I know that Wikipedia has been around for some time. According to the site, it started around January of 2001, and it grew to be a world-wide monster of an encyclopedia. I think it’s just awesome that, with the help of moderators making sure no fluff or spam content is published on it, anyone on the internet can view millions of entries that regular people like you and me have made. Not only that, but anyone can edit these entries, too!! Man, talk about adding your own .02¢ in!

I made my own entry today, for my favorite musical underdogs. I noticed that, in the entry for Christian Metal, there was an inactive link for Theocracy. Also, they weren’t listed at all in the entry for Power Metal. Sooooo… here’s the Wikipedia entry for Theocracy that I created. (Link deleted; see next blog entry)

Cheers, and happy jamming!

Thanks to Jan Kabili of TUAW.com for this article.

When Apple came out with it’s new iMac, with built in iSight and Front Row media center software, it made us early adopters of the iMac G5 very upset. Many of us bought this computer late last year and early this year. Then Apple decides to upgrade the product in September, for the same price, and can’t offer any compensation or upgrade for the early adopters!

Enter hackers Andrew Escobar and Jackson Browne. Andrew’s article, featured on TUAW.com, on installing Front Row on any Mac, is easy to follow and gave me some great results. Here’s the pics to prove it:

The Steve Vai artwork is low quality compared to others in my collection, which look stunning in this application. Click on the pictures for a better view!

It really is a slick piece of software! I have it set up for activation using the F8 key. Once activated, the desktop screen you were currently on fades into the back and Front Row’s main iLife menu pulls to the front. Very nicely animated! The new iMacs that have this also ship with an integrated IR remote, but other users can just use the arrow keys and enter/return to make their entertainment choices. However, being the semi-power user that I am, I went a step further. Other users reported using their Erricson cellphones to control their Macs via Bluetooth connection. Of course, my Sprint LG phone can’t do that (Sprint, in their infinite wisdom, crippled the BT capabilities to force their other services on you!), but I found out that, through Salling’s Clicker, I can use my Palm Tungsten as a BT remote. This is better than the IR remote because IR is only line of sight, whereas BT can go through other rooms! Aaaaand the computer now transmits info on what’s playing on iTunes directly to the Palm. The only good thing about the IR remote would be less power consumption, but I digress.

This Front Row app, along with the AirPort connection to the living room stereo, and the Clicker remote software, enables me to be in the living room listening to music from the computer’s iTunes library and changing selections without having to be at the keyboard (the computer’s in our bedroom). It’s times like this that I start to really love working with modern technology!

On a side note: Because of what FrontRow is capable of, along with AirPort, I think Apple is setting up for the next (I think) logical step. Since AirPort only streams sound, the next thing would be video streaming to any TV or video display. This would definitely make ANY computer with FrontRow be a very capable media center, especially the low-profile, diminuitive Mac Mini. Oh, the possibilities are making me salivate!

Cheers!

My wife asked me an interesting question today, and I thought to write about the results of my musings here. When were boxers actually fashionable for guys? This led me to some (sometimes wild) speculation in my explanation of the history of boxers and briefs. Let me go away for a bit and research this. I’ll be back soon…

… Okaaaayyy! I’m back and I found out that, for the most part, my theories on the history of men’s underwear may be correct. Hopefully others can evaluate what I’m going to say here and add their $.02 in or prove me wrong.

Now “boxers”, as they are called, actually came about around the 1930’s. They slowly replaced the “union suits”, which were long-john type undergarments that covered legs, torso and arms as well. The boxers moniker is derived from the shorts that were worn by heavyweight fighters of that era.

Briefs actually came out almost around the same time, maybe a little later than boxers. The manufacturer that later came to be known as Jockey put a Y-fly in both long (boxer) and short (briefs) underwear. From what I can surmise, boxers were almost always more preferable than briefs in those times. Men’s jeans were regular fit, and most grown men wore the more professional business slacks, and boxers were a comfortable fit in both of these clothing styles.

I think briefs (Fruit-of-the-Looms, whitey-tighties… whatever), along with the shorter low-cut briefs, became more prominent with men’s jeans becoming tighter in the 70’s and especially the 80’s (my formative fashion era). Briefs, from my own personal experience as well as observation, were more comfortable in these jeans. Boxers would just get bunched up inside men’s Levi’s and the elastic would be pressed too tightly on the waist, chafing the skin with any movement.

Again, from personal experience and observation, during the 90’s and recent years, boxers have risen in popularity. I think this is mainly because most men are generally more comfortable in boxers. Also, jeans have for a while now have gone to a more loose, baggy fit, making boxers not so uncomfortable anymore when worn inside these jeans. Oh, and it seems more women prefer a guy in boxers, as opposed to briefs.

My personal taste: I like the snug fit, myself. Boxers are good for me when lounging around, but I’m also not self-conscious if people see me in briefs. I still have an athletic build, no gut to speak of, and my wife seems to think briefs look good on me. If a guy has a noticeable, even pronounced gut, boxers generally make that gut look more acceptable. Also, some of my boxer wearing friends said they feel more “confined” if they’re wearing briefs. As for me, I love the *ahem* support briefs have to offer.

I’m actually thinking about trying the newer hybrid boxer-briefs. Most styles of this that I’ve seen look really good, provide the support I mentioned, without some of the chafing annoyances that come with the elastic around the “sensitive” area, if you know what I mean.

Now that I’ve put my unmentionables out on the clothesline, so to speak… let me know what your thoughts are on this, everyone and one and all. Cheers!