Jaime has been working on converting an old arcade cabinet he got on eBay into a powerful emulator of hundreds of arcade games. He just finished! We’re now enjoying some serious Strett Fighter 2, Contra, Commando and all of the NEO GEO games we missed because the console was so expensive. This is the best!

JG

Wired has an interesting (and at times pretty funny) article about ingenious and ridiculous ways to “save the planet” from global warming. I enjoyed it, thought you might, too.

Crazy-sounding ideas for saving the planet are getting a serious look from top scientists, a sign of their fears about global warming and the desire for an insurance policy in case things get worse.

How crazy?

There’s the man-made “volcano” that shoots gigatons of sulfur high into the air. The space “sun shade” made of trillions of little reflectors between Earth and sun, slightly lowering the planet’s temperature. The forest of ugly artificial “trees” that suck carbon dioxide out of the air. And the “Geritol solution” in which iron dust is dumped into the ocean.

“Of course it’s desperation,” said Stanford University professor Stephen Schneider. “It’s planetary methadone for our planetary heroin addiction. It does come out of the pessimism of any realist that says this planet can’t be trusted to do the right thing.”

JG

Just for fun today I counted the number of stoplights I went through in total and the number I had to wait at. The final count?

Total number of stoplights: 39
Total number of times I hit a red light: 31
Longest wait: 1:42

Stupid California.

JG

A few of us guys were playing racquetball today and had a dispute over a particular rule. Tony, I was right. Lunch today is on you.

Return Attempts. The ball remains in play until it touches the floor a second time, regardless of how many walls it makes contact with — including the front wall. If a player swings at the ball and misses it, the player may continue to attempt to return the ball until it touches the floor for the second time.

And then I sent this email to Brian and Jeff who were playing doubles with us as well:

Jeff/Brian … this is just a reminder. Never give up on your dreams, even it there are completely confident and utterly wrong people standing in your way. Like Tony.

JG

Chick-fil-A will give away $26,000 in free food in 15 minutes to celebrate the grand opening of a new location in Irvine today – and a bunch of my friends will be there to celebrate.

Their grand opening policy is that a one-year supply of free Chic-fil-A combo meals in the form of 52 coupons will be given way to each of the first 100 adults, in line by 6:00 am. Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy has made every single store opening and of course will be on hand to help with the promotion.

They’ve probably given away close $5 Millions dollars in chicken through the ‘First 100 Fans” promotion. Amazing.

JG

My girlfriend Tony is blogging the Unleash Conference, and I sure wish I could have gone. Instead, I have to read his blog with some highlights and learnings. And you should, too. Here’s a few of them, more if you follow the link:

• “Church is an incredibly confusing place if you don’t know the rules.” When you don’t understand, the rules are confusing.
• “If you’re Baptist, you think your normal.”
• The problem with most churches is this. They say, “If you don’t know the rules, to Hell with you.”
• America is seeking God like crazy, but they’re not coming to Church to find him.
• We need creative environments.
• “Christianity is the most exciting thing to ever hit this planet, and it’s taken the Church 2,000 years to make it boring.”
• The sermon begins in the parking lot. Within the first 15 minutes, people decide whether or not they’re going to return–before they’ve even heard the sermon.
• Every week is someone’s first week in this church.

JG

This finally and definitively proves that if you snooze, you lose.

JG

OK, here’s my 12-weeks-out prediction on the winner of American Idol: Season 6.

Obviously, this is at best speculation and wishful thinking, but I’m OK with going on record with how it will play out. Besides, we do it every year the night of the Top 12 debut. Here’s the storyline:

The show plunges into an expected first few rounds, with the bottom singers going off first, despite fan appeal. Brandon goes without a doubt from the judges and Sanjaya finally falls despite beautiful eyes and girly hair. Stephanie just isn’t memorable for some reason, despite having a good voice, and Phil “I don’t want to be there when my son is born” finally goes home to be with his kid. Yawn.

Then in a surprising twist, the girls start to get picked off one by one. First Jordan, because she’s just too young and despite her personality and voice just doesn’t have the “it” factor. Haley is beautiful but lacks punch in her voice, and finally Melinda falls but still appreciates the journey and the judges reassure her she’ll do fine having graduated from back-up singer status. Then Gina goes, because rocker chicks can’t play with the big boys, and finally, judge favorite Lakisha Jones leaves the show because the Idol must look the part and America is shallow and unforgiving to female performers.

That leaves just the three boys to duke it out, Chris Richardson being the first to go – America already has Justin but still appreciates the effort. Blake and Chris duel it out in an all-guy finale where they declare a tie, and the whole thing must be done over again starting with the Top 12 this May. FOX enjoys a ratings boost and Simon Cowell has to purchase more tight shirts to complete the extended season.

Or something like that.

Eliminated: Brandon Rogers
Eliminated: Sanjaya Malakar
Eliminated: Stephanie Edwards
Eliminated: Phil Stacey
Eliminated: Jordin Sparks
Eliminated: Haley Scarnato
Eliminated: Melinda Doolittle
Eliminated: Gina Glocksen
Eliminated: Lakisha Jones
Eliminated: Chris Richardson
Eliminated: Blake Lewis
Winner: Chris Sligh

JG

Thought this was a solid video to grab and play for student leaders.

JG