Which Motrin Ad Is Offensive

First, we have the Motrin ad that seems to have enraged baby-wearing moms all across the country. I’m not a mom so it doesn’t really offend me that much but I have to say, the tone in the commercial comes across as if the viewer is dumb. Watch it for yourself and see if you’re offended by it.

Next we have a spoof on the original commercial with a totally different source of back pain. Let me know if this one was more offensive than the first.

One thing is for certain, the publics outcry from sites such as YouTube and Twitter forced the advertising agency that works with Motrin to pull the ad from their website along with their various media outlets. However, the ad is printed in magazines that are on news stands. I’m wondering if I should purchase one to save it as a collectible?

Windows Crumpled Into Chrome

Could Google Chrome be the operating system of the future? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s worth noting that the Windows Logo can easily be crumpled into a Google Chrome logo. See for yourself.

Google-Sfida-Microsoft-con-Chrome-Fieni

The cartoon was created by Federico Fieni. He has a whole assortment of cartoons like this one but they are in Spanish I believe so I can’t figure out what they say. However, the man definitely has some artistic skills.

People Call Me WordPress Guru

Or, WordPress community superstar. At any rate, these are all names given to me, not names I have chosen. But, as long as its not derogatory, I’ll take them. Mayank of BlogDesignStudio.com has published an interview he conducted with yours truly. In it, I confess about my fear of roller coasters, provide insight into my blogging opportunities with BloggerTalks and Performancing, and at the end of the article, provide a number of tips in one paragraph related to blogging/freelance writing.

Go on over and check it out and let me know what you think.

What To Call This Twitter Fail Picture

At about 11:20 A.M. EST, Twitter failed. The database is down and the service is not expected to come back online for another hour. However, instead of being greeted by the infamous fail whale, I was introduced to a few newcomers.

What Do We Name This Picture?

What Do We Name This Picture?

Ok, what do we call this image?

Fail Caterpillar?
Fail Cone?
Fail InchWormCream?
Fail Catercone?

I’ll take thoughts and suggestions in the comments.

Awesome Photography Technique

Usually I wouldn’t link to articles that I know are link bait but this one is so cool, I feel as though I have to share it. I’ve never heard of ‘Tilt Shift Photography‘ before but according to Smashing Magazine, it’s a technique where life sized objects appear as though they are at a miniature scaled size. To start taking photographs using this method, all you need to do is to shoot subjects from a high angle, especially if you can do this from in the air. Or, you can use a tilt-shift lens which provides a shallow depth of field.

Tilt Shift Technique In Action

Tilt Shift Technique In Action

Image created by Automatt.

Please check out their list of 50 examples that have utilized the technique. It is hard for me to pick a favorite but the one with the firetrucks is awesome.

New Design Is Finally Complete

If you haven’t noticed by now, particularly those who are reading this from your FeedReader, come check out the site in your favorite browser as I have finally put the finishing touches on the Jeffro2pt0 redesign. The problem with blogging for other people is that it leaves little time to do things to my own personal site. So, I spent two very long nights/days going through my theme and doing a complete redesign so that I could get the weight off my chest. The weight stems from looking around at other blogs and noticing they have a pretty good looking theme and when I look at mine, it just sucks. Also, I was sick and tired of worrying about doing the redesign when all I really want to do is publish content. Thats why I really put some elbow grease into the design and got it done as soon as possible so I wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.

I have to thank David Peralty for launching his new blog design (BrandingDavid.com) which started my thinking process of redoing mine. His site has a minimal look to it, doesn’t fill the page with widgets or chichlets so that all he has to worry about is writing and publishing content. I wanted to travel the same road by eliminating things from my theme that I didn’t need and get back to basics. I’ve eliminated the featured post block as well as the container that held all of the categories I write about. This used to be displayed underneath the header.

With regards to the header image and the trees. The fact of the matter is, I love forests. I love forest photography and I love hiking through them so I figured I’d take something I love and put it on the blog so I can see it everyday. The great thing about this header image is that I have about 6 different scenic images that I can substitute the trees with. Once the first day of Winter arrives, I’ll be changing the header image to a picture of snowy mountains.

As for the color scheme, I’ve always enjoyed darker themes but I can never seem to get the link colors and content presentation down pat. This time however, I browsed through template monster and through the galleries presented at VandelayDesign.com as sources for inspiration in terms of text colors to use on a dark theme. The current design is definetly colorful but it falls right in line with my header logo. Also, the colors don’t make the site boring and in fact, the color scheme changes slightly from the home page to a single post page view.

I was going to use the comment threading feature found within WordPress 2.7 but I’ve found out that it’s current implementation sucks. I can’t style it and modify it’s look as easily as I could do with the old comments system. So, I’ve decided not to use the built in threaded comment feature or threaded comments in general. However, thanks to some code that was given to me via Kaspars (Konstruktors.com) commenter’s can now click on a reply link which works exactly like the link in the WP Comment Remix plugin except now I don’t have all of the extra baggage that the plugin provided. The code is not publicly available but with some coaxing, we might be able to convince him to release it.

Speaking of Kaspars, I really want to say thanks to him for all the help he provided to me. Thanks to him, I was able to finally get a styled, working version of his Tabbed Widgets plugin. Also thanks to his help, I’m able to configure specifically where widgets are displayed within the theme using his unreleased Context Widgets plugin. I’ll write about this in a future post but in a nutshell, it is an easier to configure version of Slayers Custom Widgets.

As for comments, I completely redesigned that area as well, thanks again to Kaspars. Ajax edit comment works and so does the comment luv plugin although you can not save the options for comment luv. There is some sort of incompatibility that the plugin author is aware of. I also installed the Quick Tags plugin to make it easier for you to style your comments if you choose to do so. Much better plugin than the Tiny MCE for comments.

There is plenty of other stuff to talk about including a post describing why threaded comments in WordPress 2.7 sucks. Stay tuned for that and more, including an updated list of plugins I’m using.

Wee For A Wii

Nintendo WiiWell, I finally managed to be at the right store at the right time and picked up the hard to catch Nintendo Wii. This thing has been eluding me since it’s launch over two years ago. When I went out with the girl last week, we happened to stop by Target which I was told by a friend at work had plenty of the consoles in stock. I think he is blind because Target was out of stock. So, the girl and I went over to the local mall and while walking around, I made a pitstop to GameStop. Thankfully, they had plenty in stock but when I looked at the price tag, I “REALLY” had to convince myself to make the purchase.

A recent episode of the Buzz Out Loud podcast produced by CNET recently described a news story that highlighted the fact that the Nintendo Wii continues to out pace consoles by 3 or 4 to 1. In fact, the Nintendo DS is in second place while Xbox takes third and Playstation takes fourth. I picked up a Wii because they were in stock and I’ve been wanting one for quite awhile. I believe there are many people in my situation where they couldn’t get a Wii due to its scarcity. That’s why I hopped on the opportunity and snatched one up.

Wii Bowling

Overall, I’m very pleased with my purchase. Unlike consoles of the past where you had to use a gamepad type controller, this new way of interacting with games is a blast. It’s been really fun to have the entire family involved with the console where reflexes don’t mean as much as they used to. We’ve been enjoying Wii Bowling while I’ve personally enjoyed Wii Tennis. I have to tell you though, after playing Wii sports for six hours straight, every muscle on the right side of my body was aching. The Wii makes for a great way to get in shape and to perform physical activities inside the house while inches of snow fall outside.

I’d like to know what sort of experience have you had with the Wii, if you own one. Also, I’m taking suggestions on games I should purchase that the entire family can play. I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving where the Wii will be the centerpiece of enjoyment. As a side note, my dad does a great job creating Miis. He made one that looks just like him which is hilarious to see in game.

Disk Streaming

This is the kind of advertising I enjoy. Something cool that shows off what your product can do. This is a video showing off Ardence now known as IntervalZero which is a piece of software used to stream operating systems onto desktop PCs.

I’ve been told via email that this piece of software is not owned by IntervalZero but is instead, Ardence’s software-streaming products have been rebranded and are now part of the Citrix portfolio. IntervalZero, a new company, acquired the former Ardence Embedded business from Citrix in July 2008. IntervalZero does not develop nor do they have rights to Citrix’s software-streaming product.

The music fits in nicely with the video.