Sword of Azrael: Zoophiles

Apparently, there's a movement to make bestiality illegal in Germany. That kind of headline was unbelievable... there has to be a law to make that illegal? To me, that should be a common sense thing. Anytime a country is established, that should automatically be in effect. It was shocking to learn that there are countries who allow it. Whoever is defending it should be locked up for good.

Bounce Back

Last night's game was strangely like the previous 27-point blown lead. The Bulls started off on fire against the Mavs. That always has me worried. As I've mentioned, they've been a comeback team of late and this 2013 iteration, they don't have a deep enough roster to fall asleep and still win. It was 58-42 at the half, but they learned their lesson from the night before. The 3rd and 4th quarters were pretty even, so the 2nd defined the game. The Bulls were able to defend their lead. They had 5 guys in doubles lead by Deng's 22. Noah had his typical double-double. Hinrich and Hamilton combined for 7 assists. Robinson provided spark off the bench with 14 pts & 6 asts. The win evens up the Bulls at 7-7.

Arrow 107 - Muse of Fire

The streak of supporting DC characters continued in last night's Arrow as Huntress made her first appearance. It seems like they're filling up Green Arrow's world with Batman characters. Huntress wasn't actually named yet. It was just Helena Bertellini in a motorcycle outfit. Just like the comics, she's secretly hunting her father's (a mafia boss) henchmen, but there's no mention of her being a school teacher as cover. It also looks like she's going to be the love interest here. A preview of next week's episode show the debut of her alter ego.

Return of D-Rose (Part 6)

Watch the conclusion of the episodic journey documenting D Rose's inevitable return to the game. What's inside him, can't be stopped. From his Belief, Hope, Focus, Push and Drive, D Rose is all in for his fans.

Missing the Mob

We're about a month into the NBA season and the Bulls are hovering around the 500 mark. They're grinding out wins and losing games that they should win. This is happening more so because the Bench Mob was broken up than Derrick Rose injured. When the starters were having off nights, there was always a member of the Mob who could step in. Remember Asik basically had the same numbers as Noah off the bench. Watson had starter-like numbers. Korver could nail several 3's in a row and erase a large deficit. They really don't have any of that this season and it really showed last night. The Bulls started out on fire, building up to a 27 point lead and they lost the game. That's inexcusable even for a bad team. Last year, they would have had a slump and given back 10-15 points. But they would have still secured the game. They're just missing that extra kick, which will still be missing even when Rose returns. Even though he's an All-Star, he's still one guy.

Barclay's Hardwood

I'm watching the Nets vs Knicks right now in a close game of a potential rivalry for rulership of the city. Both teams have built up their rosters for championships and it's been a while since both were good at the same time. This is also my first look at the Barclay's Center. I've seen if before in pictures, but this is the first Nets game I'm watching and they did a great job with the stadium. The floor is the best of any arena. It has a nice original pattern and naturally, it's shiny new.

Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday used to be a term used for the leftover sales that went to the online stores... stuff leftover from Black Friday. When it was first coined in 2005, it was sort of an underground thing that the tech savvy knew about. Just like Black Friday, it's now very diluted. Stores are trying to sell Black Friday leftovers... which were in turn left over crap from the rest of the year. It's also not an underground thing anymore. It's overmarketed to the point everyone shops online. Even during Black Friday, many consumers opted to shop online instead of waiting outside for doorbusters.

I write regarding tech products of course. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still statistically successful in the bigger picture, so I imagine that deals for clothing and household items were good. After all, retail shops don't slap refurbished clothes in their ads!

Black Friday Fail II

Though I did a Black Friday post this year, I still feel that it has failed for the 2nd year in a row. None of the deals I listed were spectacular. Those are prices that you'll find throughout the year if you shop at the usual places. Something I noticed more about this year's event is that there were a lot more old (outdated) models and even a lot of refurbished items thrown into the mix. Many deals that looked like great prices Online at CompUSA and Newegg turned out to be refurbished items. The other items were no better than the weekly deals from their newsletters. It looked like Black Friday was a leftovers garage sale for crap leftover from the rest of the year.

Black Friday Deals

Mice / Keyboards
- Logitech M325 @ BB for $9.99
- Logitech M185 @ ST for $9.99
- Logitech M525 @ ST for $14.99
- MS Wireless Comfort Keyboard @ ST for $29.99
- Logitech M310 @ OD for $9.99
- Logitech M510 @ OD for $19.99
- Logitech M525 @ OD for $19.99
- Gigaware Optical Mouse @ RS for $9.99
- Logitech K360 Wireless Keyboard @ RS for $14.99

Flash
- SanDisk 32GB @ OD for $14.99
- SanDisk 64GB @ OD for $29.99
- SanDisk 32GB Ultra SDHC @ ST for $19.99
- SanDisk 32GB @ RS for $9.99

HDD
- 1 TB Seagate Portable @ BB for $69.99
- 3 TB Seagate Ext @ BB for $99.99
- 3 TB WD Ext @ OD for $119.99

Accessories
- 2 Dynex HDMI cables @ BB for $19.99
- Logitech Harmony 650 @ BB for $39.99
- Logitech Harmony 600 @ RS for $29.99
- Skullcandy Ink'd 2 Earbuds @ BB for $9.99
- Skullcandy Ink'd Earbuds @ RS for $8.99
- Sony 3D Wi-Fi Blu-ray Player @ BB for $99.99
- Toshiba Smart WiFi Blu-ray Player @ BB for $39.99
- Logitech C210 Webcam @ OD for $9.99
- magicJack PLUS VoIP Phone Adapter @ RS for $49.99
- Beats Solo @ RS for $179.99

Tablets
- 16 GB Kindle Fire @ BB for $199.99 + $30 Gift Card
- 8 GB Kindle Fire @ BB for $159.99 + $30 Gift Card
- 16 GB Kindle Fire @ ST for $199.00 + $20 Gift Card
- 8 GB Kindle Fire @ ST for $159.00 + $20 Gift Card
- 8 GB Kindle Fire @ OD for $159.99 + $25 Gift Card
- PointMobl Universal Stylus @ RS for $9.99

Store Key: BB = Best Buy, CU = CompUSA.com, DI = Directron, NE = NewEgg.com, OD = Office Depot, RS = Radio Shack, ST = Staples, TG = Target

D Rose 3

I'm really liking this series. The D Rose looked good since version 1. I thought 1.5 and 2 were the best looking shoes out there and now they're continuing the good work with the 3rd version. They're good looking and well made. I gave them (the 2's) the physical therapist test by twisting the sole and compressing the tip and they work out better than anything Nike makes.

Arrow 106 - Legacies

This is the second episode in a row that DC fans will enjoy because it features another comic book villain... or group of villains. In this case, it was the Royal Flush Gang... playing card themed family of thieves. This gang has appeared in many different forms across the DC Universe, but I liked this translation. They managed to keep the costumes realistic and not too elaborate. The hard masks still looked good with the card theme. And they did a good job working them into the Green Arrow storyline.

I should also mention that Deathstroke's costume was also a great translation into realism for last week's episode. He had black body armor and not the orange tights over navy blue scales.

So far we've seen Deadshot, Deathstroke and Royal Flush. Who else will be in this series? I can't wait!

Subway Tales: GC AMNY Guy

You know the AMNY guys? The guys that hand out the paper to you every morning? I know that they get rated or evaluated on how much they hand out. How? Well, if you've ever passed through Grand Central station in the morning, the AMNY guy in the tunnel used to practically beg commuters to take the paper from him! He would say "AM New York... help me out fellows... please help me out!" We was doing this for months, but I haven't seen him in a while, so I think he finally gave up. He drew the short straw though. Grand Central is to most people a final destination or transfer station. Commuters usually pick up their copy of AM before taking their first train. By the time they're in the Grand Central tunnel, they already have it. In my commute, if I hit the tunnel, I would have already passed 2-3 AM guys. So I feel bad for this guy!

Arrow 105 - Damaged

In this episode, Green Arrow sets himself up to be captured so he could in turn set up the cops and media to disassociate the hooded vigilante from Oliver Queen. It features the developing relationship between Queen & his sister, bodyguard and Laurel. I mentioned last time that the costume needed a mask because Arrow can't always tilt his head down for the hood to cast a shadow. Well... they added the mask (face paint) this time, so it's more practical and believable.

Comic book fans will also enjoy the villain in the flashback... Deathstroke! I'm sure we'll see more of him in future episodes.

Sandy

What a crazy week it's been. In all of my life, NYC has never faced such a long downtime due to weather. The blackout was roughly 2 days but fell on a weekend.Snow has only knocked us out for 1-2 days in the past, even the worst blizzards. We're coming around 1 week now and everything still isn't up. Downtown is in bad shape as is NJ and Long Island.

Fortunately, my power loss was minimal and I was able to work from home. I still felt disconnected because there were no subways and buses. Supplies at many stores were also running low as no shipments could get in... and in some cases no employees could make it to work.

Right now, most subway lines are running with limited service. Many downtown areas are still flooded or have water damage. Hopefully the weekend will be enough time to expand service for Monday's rush.