MP3 Fiesta!!!

I'll start off this post by saying that I've never really liked iTunes. I think the site is good for browsing or finding music but the format is a pain, especially if you don't own an iPod, and, for a college student, it is a little expensive. Hence, I was really happy when I found this new site called mp3fiesta.com. It is a site with a great selection of music and you can download songs for 10 cents and albums for a dollar! The sound quality is great and I've had only great things to say about it since I started using it. The songs are in mp3 format so you can add them to an iPod or any other mp3 player and they aren't protected so you can put them on multiple computers or mp3 players and listen to them without needing a password. I thought it was a good find and wanted to share the information with everyone else. Enjoy!

Moving in Slow Motion

Today sure feels like a Monday. It was a little harder to wake up and I've been moving a little slower than usual today. I felt like I was moving in slow motion...which is what spawned the idea of today's post. In a physics class a couple of semesters ago, our teacher showed us this website and used it to apply some basic concepts. I thought it was cool because it had slow motion videos like these:


a jello square being dropped...


A man being shot in the chest with a BB...


A water balloon exploding...


And my personal favorite, a man being slapped in the face.

You can see other videos like these by following this link. There is also another website I found that has color slow motion videos. You can check it out by clicking here. I hope everyone enjoys this and that it helps you move a little faster on the lethargic Monday.

Batman 2: The Dark Knight

Today I'd like to share a couple of awesome video clips for the new Batman movie, Dark Knight. It looks like it will be an amazing movie with a twisted villain. Here are the clips for your enjoyment. The first clip is the official two minute trailer which is pretty sweet. The second is a 6 minute clip of the movie that was shown with the IMAX version of I Am Legend. To see the 6 minute clip click here and then the play button on the new page.

Aside from the great action and special effects expected from this movie, I'm also looking forward to is the portrayal of the Joker. He's freaky looking and it seems like Heath Ledger really took the character to a whole new level. I can't wait to see this movie!

March Madness is officially up and running!

Ok all you crazy college basketball fans, it's time to sign up for the March Madness Bracket Challenge! To sign up click here. If you don't have a fox sports ID you will need to create one first. This can be done by going to the main page or following the above link and following the instructions. Once you have a Fox Sports ID you can follow the above link to set up a bracket by clicking "Create Entry." From there you will enter your Fox Sports ID and that will take you to a page where you can name your entry. Once you complete your entry you can choose to join a group. This can be done by following the "Manage My Entries" or following the "join a group" link on the page following the completion of your bracket. From there choose the group named 'The Man Blog.' It is private and requires a password, which is 'manblog.' After that fill in your bracket and watch the action! Remember that play begins on Thursday so have your brackets filled in by then. Have fun!

Maserati GranTurismo S

This week at the Geneva Show 2008, Maserati unveiled the new GranTurismo S. This car is not to be messed with! It comes equipped with a 440-horsepower 4.7-liter V8 engine, 361lb-ft of torque and a top speed of 183 mph! It also has an MC-shift system which is a quick shifting system with a handle on the steering wheel so that shifting doesn't require pushing in on the clutch. And to top it all of, it just looks cool! MSN has a video detailing the new GranTurismo S, you can view it here. To take a look at the other cars featured at the Geneva Show, click here. Don't forget that Monday we'll have March Madness set up so you can register and fill out your bracket. Have a great weekend!

Lost Madness!!

I'm sure that everyone has heard of the TV show 'Lost' and how great it is. Briefly, the story is about an airplane that crashes on a mysterious island where the survivors of the crash go through all kinds of adventures while trying to be rescued. For those of you who watch it regularly, isn't season 4 crazy! I think it's the best season of the series so far. For those of you who haven't watched but are interested, ABC.com has ALL of the episodes for EVERY season posted for viewing. The link to watch these episodes on ABC's website.

A friend of mine and frequent visitor of the site (thanks Chris) found a web site that is kind of like March Madness but with Lost characters being paired up and fans voting for the one they like the most. Every week the round advances. To check it out follow this link. Before voting for your favorite characters, fill out a bracket if you're interested and email it to me. We'll give 2 points for round two wins, 3 points for round 3 wins etc. and at the end I'll announce the winners! I think it's a fun way to revisit some interesting characters that have been on the show. Enjoy!

It's raining paintballs!

There's nothing quite as exciting as running around a paintball field trying to shoot your friends with a paintball gun. The mere thought of it brings a smile to my face as I remember the many times I duked it out with people on the battlefield. I used to be really into paintball in high school and even in college I played quite a bit. Then, to pay for an engagement ring, I sold my prized paintball gun (an Angel with all the perks plus compressed air and a portable fill station for those of you who are interested). Now that it's been a couple of years I am kind of in the market for a gun but am not willing (and don't have permission) to spend half of what I spent on my Angel. After much searching I think I've found the perfect compromise between price and performance. Without further ado, I give you the Trilogy Pro SF Autococker!
The SF Autococker has some very nice features. First, it has a full auto mode that shoots up to 18 balls per second! In order for this to be achieved it is equipped with an infrared eye that only shoots when a ball has been loaded into the chamber, thus effectively avoiding broken paintballs. You will need to have a good hopper to keep up with this gun. Here is a video of it shooting in full auto mode, so you can appreciate the magic.



The only thing I would add to this gun is a new barrel (16 inch boomstick) and a new delrin bolt. Other than that, it's combat ready out of the box. It retails for $300 but you can pick up a new one on eBay for less than $150. Here's to a summer full of fun and paint covered friends.

Fantasy Baseball!!

As a lover of America's past-time I've decided to start a Fantasy Baseball League and would like to invite anyone interested to join. For those who aren't familiar with a fantasy league, people who signup act as the owner/manager of a baseball team. Each player will create a draft list prioritizing the players you want. On Saturday, March 22nd an automatic draft will take place based on everyone's list and create a team for each owner. There are several ways to play games during the season. Currently, the league is set to Head-to-Head play which means that two teams will be paired up for one week. During the week each team will earn points in ten categories and will receive a win for each category with the most points. I am open to suggestions about other play options. View the Fantasy Baseball Introduction for basic information on set up and types of play.

If you are interested in joining the league, start by creating an account at this link, then follow this link to sign up! Click option A (private league). The league ID is 110437 and the password is 'manblog.' From there you just need to setup your draft rankings by March 22nd. To setup your draft list, go to 'Home' under the draft tab. In the paragraph under 'Automated Draft Overview' is a link to 'review your player rankings.' Click on this link to set up your draft order.

The league supports 20 teams, hopefully we'll get all of those spots filled. Feel free to tell your friends, anyone can join. Have fun, we'll see you on Opening Day!

Google Maps - Street view

A couple of days ago a friend of mine showed me Google Maps. It's a component of the Google website and has some pretty cool tools. The best tool on the site is a button called Street view. When you are looking at a map you can click on street view, then on a street and it will place you at the location you clicked on with a 360 degree view from where you are standing. Here is a screenshot from Provo, Utah.

Street view is available for most cities, including New York, Dallas, Denver, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco. If you want to take a look the link is here. Once you click on the link, make sure to click Street view in the top right corner. The streets that have street view available will be highlighted in blue. Have fun!

The Ultimate Steal

Today we are featuring a great deal on Microsoft Office 2007. I'm posting this mainly because the deal ends April 1st. Microsoft has setup a deal where students can purchase Office Ultimate 2007 for $59.99. It retails at Best Buy for $679.99 so this student deal is pretty good. Plus the new version of Office is much more user friendly than the previous version. All you need to verify your student status is a university email that ends with .edu. I bought it about six months ago and haven't had any problems with it. I've also installed it on 3 computers so it is a license for multiple computers. If you're interested, click on the picture below and it will ask you to verify your student status. Then, it will give you a download link for the program (it's 500MB so be prepared) along with a registration code. I put the registration code in a word document and burned it, along with the installation file, onto a CD. It's worked great so far. Once you have the installation file and registration code you're ready to go! Take advantage of this deal because it ends April 1st and you don't want to have to pay the huge normal software price.

Office Ultimate 2007 includes the basics (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) plus Outlook, Access, Publisher, InfoPath, OneNote (a great program if you have a laptop), and Groove.

The Longest Drive

Over the past week we've had some nice weather here and I've started feeling the itch to play some golf. In response to the urge to play, I've posted my dream driver, the Bang-0-matic from Bang golf.

this isn't just any driver. It's 460cc (the legal size limit), to put some bulk behind your ball and incorporates Flow Alignment (FA) technology which directs more energy from the club head to the ball with less power dispersion. Most clubs only transfer about 78% of the energy while this club head delivers 94%. How much of a difference does this make? To give you an idea, this club holds the current long drive world record for men, women, and juniors. The longest drive for men is 539 yards and the longest drive for juniors is 400 yards!! This club has some power and at $150 for the head plus an Accuflex Icon v3 or Pro Force 65 ATR shaft will still be cheaper than a TaylorMade or Calloway driver and will outperform them both. You can pick up one of these pretty ladies on ebay with a good shaft pre-installed for around $150. I'd recommend a 10.5 or 12 degree loft, as this club tends to hit a little flatter than expected.

As long as golf is around there will be people (like me) who want to drive the ball a little further. For those people, this is a great way to enjoy golf a little more.

The Indestructable Toyota Hilux

Today we pay tribute to the indestructible Toyota Hilux. This british show, Top Gear, takes extreme things and puts them to the test. In this case the Hilux is known for its durability. But how durable is it? In this video they really put it to the test.

As if this truck hadn't been through enough. Now for the final test of durability...