Mr. Besilly's Blog

Choosing The Right iPod: Apple 101

The best part of buying an iPod is walking into an Apple Store with eye candy popping up everywhere and stimulation stations every two feet for your viewing pleasure. That's the fun part, now the hard part begins. Which iPod is the right one for you? If you're picking out an iPod as a gift for someone else or it's you're first iPod, this can be a daunting task. I have owned almost every iPod since their release. I currently own five iPods that I use for different purposes. I've written a few basic guidelines you can follow to help you choose the right iPod.

Web 2.0 Stole My Husband

Since I joined the blogsphere with One Man's Highway my wife has suddenly realized that blogging stole her husband. To be more precise it's Web 2.0 that has stolen her husband. The term refers to the perceived second generation of Web-based services such as social networking sites, wikis and search engine optimization that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users. I am a member of MyBlogLog which is a blogger community so popular it was just purchased by Yahoo which also hosts the Web 2.0 site Flickr where I post my photos. I'm a member at digg, newsvine, squidoo, vizu, blog carnival and stumble upon as well. Get the picture?

Since the sale of MySpace and YouTube for enormous sums of cash entrepreneurs are clamoring to create the next big thing in Web 2.0 destinations. For a comprehensive listing of such sites GoToWeb2.0 will make your head spin.

"There's still a huge amount of disagreement about just what Web 2.0 means, with some people decrying it as a meaningless marketing buzzword, and others accepting it as the new conventional wisdom."  O'Reilly

The Sarah Silverman Program

Get ready to LOL! The Sarah Silverman Program is new to Comedy Central but it packs a wallop of outrageous fun with topical humor and satire. OMG! Sarah has no issue pouncing on serious taboos, and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, antisemitism, religion, marriage and divorce to name a few. I can't help but laugh out loud at Sarah's over-the-top delivery from her stereotypical Jewish-American princess perspective. This is really funny stuff. My favorite episode to date is "Humanitarian Award. But be warned, her show contains seriously twisted humor and a mandatory Sarah-sings moment of absurdity.

Denial

"If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck."

Denial is a defense mechanism we use when the truth is too painful to face. Minimizing the truth is also a form of denial. This occurs when we are willing to admit the fact but deny it's seriousness. This has been my issue for the past year. My cardiologist insisted that I shed at least thirty five pounds to fight my high blood pressure and protect my heart. I exercise often but I have still not focused on shedding the excess weight. I tell myself I'll be fine, it's not like I'm morbidly obese.

I decided to check my denial against the body mass index calculator (BMI). Body mass between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight. Above 29.9 (20% or more above your ideal weight) is considered obese. I clocked in at a whopping 33 BMI. For a male my height, weight and age I am considered obese. What? I am officially jumping off of the denial train at this juncture. I have serious work to do.

BMI Calculator for Men  BMI calculator for Women

Motivation In Reverse

      
If you hate those motivation posters you see adorning many an office wall then I have a real treat for you. Demotivators were created by despair.com for that perfect moment when saying something painfully direct is a much better fit. I have a large number of their note cards that I send to friends for a timely giggle-fest. I cannot resist this kind of bleek humor. :(

The Best Time To Plant A Tree

"The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now."

I spent a good number of years killing my own personal growth and momentum simply by not staying planted in one place long enough for opportunity to find me. I felt more comfortable making sudden changes when I would become uncomfortable with my daily life. That would apply to my job, relationships and even the city I was living in. It just felt good to pull up my roots, transplant somewhere else and make a new go of it.

Absinthe Minded

A good friend invited me to sample absinthe the Swiss distilled spirits that carries with it a long history of folklore. It's popularity grew in the late 19th and early 20th century France, particularly among parisian artists. The hysteria surrounding absinthe fueled the misconception that absinthe was a powerful intoxicant, caused hallucinations that drove men "mad", threw them into epileptic fits, and made Van Gogh slice off his ear.

Often referred to as 'The Green Fairy' because of its coloring, absinthe originated in Switzerland as an elixir. I found this elixir to be quite potent but warming as it went down. A strong anise taste penetrated each sip. I found the absinthe ritual of dripping water over a sugar cube with a special spoon to be exhilarating. The clear green absinthe turns into a cloudy yellow color after the water is added. One small glass was plenty being 68% alcohol by volume making it 136 proof. A memorable evening was had by all. The hand made apple tarts were exceptional. The absinthe experience... brilliant! My ears are still present and accounted for.

Purchase Absinthe from UK    View More Photos 

My Last Time With Anna Nicole

Vickie,

I wanted to send you a quick note to thank you for lunch yesterday. I so enjoyed our time together but it was too short. The baby is beautiful, you both seem so bonded and happy together. I wish I did not have to run off so fast and cut our day short. Such is life. I promise that I'll come by next Saturday leaving my day open so we can spend more time. It's been too long since we could just laugh together like that. See you next week.

Protecting New Yorkers from Themselves

New York State Senator Carl Kruger has introduced legislation to ban the use of high tech gadgets such as iPods, Blackberry devices and video games while crossing the street in NYC. Talking on cell phones is included in that list. This kind of self-protection legislation is big brother politics. Kruger went on to say that "it's becoming a nationwide problem."

"Government has an obligation to protect its citizenry," Kruger said in a telephone interview from Albany, the state capital. CNN – Technology

Anytime technology advances it takes a reasonable amount of time for our operating habits to catch up with our daily living. Creating legislation to protect me from my own cell phone or iPod while walking is a knee-jerk reaction. Can you imagine getting stopped by New York's finest to be handed a $100 fine for using your iPod while crossing the street? The thought of that is ridiculous! My iPod is often the best defense I have against the numbing din and clatter of NYC streets. Please chime in here. I will leave you with this quote;

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."  Benjamin Franklin

Posh Spice goes Hollywood with her personal Blog

Former Spice Girl Victoria Adams Beckham wife of soccer star David Beckham has been chronicling their media spectacle of going Hollywood on her personal blog. You will also find tasty bits of video featuring the posh one at her book signing among other bizarre clips. A quite absurd lookee-loo site for those ex Spice Girl groupies like me.
So tell me what 'cha want, what 'cha really, really want?

"On the site's photo blog, Posh is shown flying on a private jet and basking in the California sun on the balcony of Beverly Hills' Four Seasons Hotel. Posh Spice indeed."

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