In the name of being the best, technology manufacturers are constantly pushing out new product, along with updates to older generation devices. Often, these new gadgets boast something new and improved, making our lives better in some way. Once in awhile, though, we get a product that makes us scratch our collective heads and wonder what on Earth the company in question was thinking of.

Are companies pushing themselves TOO hard to create the next big thing? Are they sometimes sacrificing quality – and sometimes pushing things out too quickly – in the name of beating their competitors to the punch? I happen to think this is absolutely the case, and cannot help but wonder why it’s so all-fire important to hurry? What’s the rush? Where’s the fire? Why don’t these companies take their time to create something truly unique? In my mind, they’d sell far more units – thus making more money – were they to take the time to truly think things through prior to production and rollout.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with me, or do you think I’ve lost my mind (again!)?

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Super Bowl Sunday is famous for something other than just football! It’s also all about the snacks you put out for everyone to nom on during the game! I had to call in an expert, since I’m not a football person myself. Thankfully, my Dad is here visiting and could give me a hand. I’m also not a cook, so I am grateful that Imei was here to lend a hand with food preparation!

Imei helped us come up with five traditional Super Bowl snacks, as well as five not so traditional ones! I’m happy to report that all of them are yummy, and sure to be a big hit with your crowd!

Traditional Snacks

• Chips with guacamole dip or 7 layer bean dip – We used Fritos’ Scoops, and got store bought pre-made guacamole. If you want to go with homemade, use ripe avocados, diced red onions, and minced jalapeno pepper. The bean dip was also store bought, but it has refried beans, sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, guacamole, lettuce, and salsa. I would add a top layer of crumbled bacon bits just to make you die and go to heaven!
• Sliders – Mini hamburgers plus 2 or 3 accompanying sauces to choose from! We used grain-fed ground beef, formed into two inch in diameter patties, one inch high, cooked on stove top with light oil until juices run clear. Add some Tomato slices, onion, ketchup, and dijon mustard.
• Nachos – Add melted shredded cheese, ground beef, sliced olives, pepperonchinis. We used whole wheat multi-grain Tostitos brand chips (there’s still corn in it, but less).
• All-beef franks/wursts with sauerkraut – Hebrew all beef franks, boiled five minutes.
• Veggie tray with assorted dips – You can easily buy these at the store, or make up your own! It’s fun doing your own, and choosing the types of veggies and dips you want to have on hand.

Non-Traditional Snacks

• California Sushi Roll – You can use crab, but we used cooked wild salmon, which can be mashed with Rooster (hot sauce) or soy with Wasabi mustard; sushi rice with rice vinegar; seaweed on the outside. Roll and slice with sharp knife.
• Prosciutto and Feta cheese – We used store bought Proscuitto, wrapped it with a spoonful of Feta cheese, and sporked it with a toothpick.
• Fondue with apples and bread cubes for dipping – We used Laughing Goat Cheese, melted in the microwave! Add two tablespoons of Martini and Rossi or Vodka. Cut up some Granny Smith apples and cube some thick bread for dipping.
• Tempura chips and fries – Instead of regular batter, use Tempura batter – took some of the salmon and dipped in Tempura batter (buy at store, add water and whisk gently). Cook thoroughly on stovetop. You can also Tempura vegetables, including green beans. This is a great way to get men to eat their vegetables! Use a good vegetable oil without transfats.
• Boiled soybeans encrusted with rock salt – Edamame can be found in the frozen food section. Boil for five minutes and then drain. Add a tablespoon of rock salt.

Thanks to Imei, I know that my Super Bowl snacks will be a huge hit this year! What’s your favorite Super Bowl snack of all time?! What can’t you live without during the big game?

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Super Bowl Sunday Snacks

If you’re on Facebook, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Recently, we’ve seen more than our fair share of chain messages making their way around, but not in our Inbox. These lovely little pieces of garbage are being sported right in the status boxes of thousands of profiles! One message claimed that if you re-posted it as your status, Facebook would donate a dollar to the Haiti relief efforts. Yet another was supposedly only for women. They were supposed to post their color of certain undergarments in their status pane, leaving the men to guess what it referred to.

It was only a matter of time, I suppose, before things like this made their way onto social media platforms. We’ve already had to deal with “legitimate” spam, of course. Now, we have to try not to tear out our hair every time we see yet another of these over-forwarded messages on Facebook and even Twitter. I promise you… Facebook isn’t donating a dollar for every person that posts that particular message. And, of course, you aren’t going to see some random woman’s bra or panties if you post the color of them in your status!

Just think about what you’re doing before you blindly click on or forward a link? And if you need links to click on, try these – posted by our community today. Keep up the great work, everyone!

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While watching the Super Bowl last Sunday, we learned that Jack (of Jack in the Box fame) was injured! I couldn’t keep up with what was going on, since nothing was getting posted on Twitter. Seriously, how do they expect us to know the latest important World news if they don’t tweet??

I was able to finally get updates by heading over to Hang in There Jack. In lieu of flowers, the company is requesting that all of you go out and buy Jack in the Box food! I did my part, buying and eating a Sourdough Jack.

Hang in there, Jack. All of us Geeks are pulling for you!

Super Bowl Commercial – Hang in There, Jack!

Well, either this story will make you laugh or cringe (or both).

According to the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson-area cable TV broadcasted porn during the Super Bowl:

A short clip of a pornographic movie cut into a Comcast broadcast of the Super Bowl in homes in and around Tucson. Officials at Comcast confirmed that its signal was interrupted during the Super Bowl, but the company is still working to figure out how porn broke into its cable feed. Engineers at Comcast will be working throughout the night to determine what happened, said Kelle Maslyn, a Comcast spokeswoman.

Well, this would certainly top the infamous Janet Jackson / Justin Timberlake flash from a few years back. I suppose that it could have been worse, too (imagine if the interruption had been a full-on Rick Roll).

This report also states that Comcast’s digital feed was untouched – only the analog / standard TV signal was affected. Let this be a lesson to you laggards: UPGRADE TO DIGITAL, ALREADY.

Obviously, Comcast will have to answer a very important question: how the heck did this happen?! They’ve been accused of traffic shaping, but now they’re going to be accused of broadcasting immorality? Well, traffic shaping IS immoral…

Anyway, I’m sure the amount of complaints were equal: 50% complained that it happened, and 50% complained that they didn’t show enough. Mitch Wagner from Information Week wrote more on the subject.

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Comcast Broadcasts Porn During Super Bowl

Yeah, I’m watching the Super Bowl right now (just about everything is entertaining in HD). I don’t wanna start a conspiracy theory, but… it sounded to me like Billy Joel’s voice (during the Star Spangled Banner) was being aided by some kind of electronic equipment? Not the whole song, mind you – he missed a noteat the beginning of the anthem. From that point forward, he sounded synthisized in certain parts. I’m sure it wasn’t a vocoder, but I really think his voice was enhanced as a contingency. I hope he’s okay; I love Billy Joel. I think he was auto-tuned:

Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor for correcting pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise inaccuracies and mistakes and, due to its increasing use in modern music, has allowed many artists to produce more precisely tuned recordings. Its manufacturer, Antares, offers the processor in several plug-in formats as well as in a rack mount hardware solution.

Billy Joel at the Super Bowl