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We opened Episode 7 with the “Star Spangled Banner.” Fortunately, Josh Howard was not present to ruin the National Anthem for us. We were befuddled at his reaction to the song that starts all sporting events in our country. None of us were surprised by his comments, his actions, and the fact that he was supporting Obama. Quite an amateur act for an alleged professional.

Hacking Palin’s email led into an aggressive debate between Brian and Chris. Brian baited for Chris to defend her and after lengthy discussion, Brian did agree that he could understand why she might have used her email. Brian did argue that Chris had not read all of the email messages, which was true, at least I did read all the published ones. I am sure that all email messages that had anything of substance in it were published in another smear campaign.

Our support for the LHC crumbled, much like the LHC itself, as magnets melted and helium was released. We pondered calling Heider to ask him if he was even more worried.  Brian felt that it was possible that the LHC could break and that something may fail, of course Brian shops for Lemons.  Chris was disappointed that it was so weakly put together and Fabio threw in that if it was Made in the USA we would not have to worry about it.

Jen’s Box, was interrupted by some jive from the great movie Airplane, and then she told us about how her box was unsatisfied. She seems to not find satisfaction in Entourage but Brian was angered by the fact that both of them did not rate it as high as he did.  We celebrated Arie’s (Jeremy Piven’s character) Emmy win.  Jen, having TiVo’d the Emmys, suffered “Premature Box-u-lation” from her finding out information about shows that she had not seen yet. Jen continued on to talk about BB10, which Chris thought meant “Barack and Biden 10 years” and was frightening.  It was agreed that Fabio would make a great Big Brother contestant. Jen said that 90210 was getting its last recording on her TIVO.  She did tell us she had shows lining up to get in her box and she would have an overflow next week. Jen was impressed to know that we love the “Big Bang” that the LHC gives us. And star Kaley Cuoco looked fab on “Stars without makeup” a show that Chris, Brian, and Fabio will never watch or be on.

Another chunk out of Apple as we celebrated a $250000 application for the Iphone. A game that is only superseded for Fabio and Chris by Bowling Buddies. Chris reigning supreme with a 188.  Chris admitted that he was busted by the wife during a round of bowling buddies. Fabio told Chris to accessorize his bowler the same way he dresses.  

Doctorates in Dorkology were handed out to the advertising executives for the Microsoft commercials with Seinfeld and Bill Gates which were horrible. It was so time consuming to figure out what the point was that we forgot what we were trying to figure out. Brian and Chris offered to spend the money that the advertiser’s paid Seinfeld. 

Napster is not legit, well it is, but no one can think otherwise. Best Buy purchased Napster for a bargain price, just slightly more than Microsoft paid Seinfeld. Brian was not sold on the fact that anyone would buy music from Best Napster, however, Chris argued that it was a challenge to WalMart and Apple.  We weren’t sure the employees would show up to sell it. Brian didn’t believe Chris but he had no proof as Fabio could not get Stickam Live Video to work.

Some great calls were made as we contacted a 7-11 where the employee clearly had dealt with live calls before. He said “I am on camera and there is a microphone and cannot talk.”  Then we talked to the White Castle in Harlem.They had just had an African parade. The clerk did not know that Yankee stadium had closed as she was not a sports fan, however she was very nice and invited us down for a A-1 slider.  She did end the call sadly with the fact that she was an Obama supporter.  Finally, we talked to Brian the manager at Mickey Mantle’s.  A former Irishmen, he talked of crowds throughout the weekend before the final games of Yankee stadium.  He also says he pours a mean Guinness and never talks bad about customers, even White Sox fans. He also invited us down and we were thankful to get two great calls to close it out. Well…..we did have to get back to Bowling Buddies….till next week…BOWL ON!

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Hurricane Ike blew in Podcast #6 as Fabio reported small amounts of rain in the Texas area. Although, he does not live in Galveston and if he did, he said he would have evacuated. (Because smart people leave when they are told to!) Brian and Chris were less sympathetic to the needs of those that defied official calls for evacuation and now were crying for help to be saved.  We were so happy just to be alive after they turned on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) although we noted that no collisions have occurred yet. It was just a test firing. 

Speaking of test firing, Fabio found himself firing on all cylinders as he dominated the new Rock Band 2 DIfficult level songs.  After waiting in line with 3 people at midnight, he was able to get a copy and test it out. So far he is not disappointed with too much except that hard means easy for him. Guess you’re just a Guitar rock star Fab!

Fabio had to call upon the powers of the Geek Squad as he had a Vista crash. The NTSB is no longer investigating Vista crashes as they are a daily occurrence. In Fabio’s case, he dedicated the next 1/4 of a day to rebuilding his system. (He has the technology, it’s call XP Professional). More importantly, he was happy to know that he did not lose any of our podcasts.

A lengthy discussion of Spore and its DRM issues was had. More importantly, we were amazed that Amazon.com lacked the technology to manage comments/reviews on products. Oh, apparently it was just this product they had a problem with. Thankfully it was resolved, of course after everyone had heard about it. Good Job inhibiting the free flow of information and the reviews of HATE for Spore’s DRM. Thank God Fabio is not a Spore fanatic as he has already reinstalled his Windows system 3x this year.

“Spore” was not the title however of a porn movie being watched on an airplane. Concern over “wi-fi” on planes and people visiting porn sites has prompted a hateful reaction from flight attendants. We the travelers could not care less, as there are more important issues that Brian pointed out like: Legroom, nicer flight attendants, snacks/meals at no cost, and no charge for baggage. (Hey no one charges the flight attendants and look at how much baggage some of those senior ones are carrying!!) They are more concerned about porn though being watched across the plane. Guess they are worried about : “Snakes on a Plane.”

Hackers made their way into the LHC network posting up a webpage; however they did not cause any real damage. We spoke to “Heider” at the Kempinski hotel in Geneva Switzerland. He said that he and his colleagues were worried about the LHC firing up and were concerned for their safety. Although Heider is a member of the Imperial Forces, as Darth Vadar and Barack Obama are his favorite leaders, we could not find fault with him saying that Pam Anderson and Sarah Palin were hot. Heider informed us that the Kempinski offers nightly stays for around $580 a night and that they will leave the light on for you. Thanks Heider for not being to much of a Hater. Check out the hotel at www.kempinski.com.

We transitioned smoothly to our newest segment,  ”Jen’s Box” which was sponsored by Insurancehookup.com.  Jen told us about what’s in her box, well her TiVO box. Since the season hasn’t fully started, she referred to it as a partially shaved box. Favorites of hers include gossipy chicks on the Hills, which Brian watches to impress women.  The VMA awards which she complained had a lot of hate for America from the British comedian host Russell Brand. There was unanimous approval for Entourage and the opening scene, well maybe not unanimous, as Jen thought it was more like a season ender. Fabio, Chris, and Brian will take that opening scene though every week.  Our favorite zip code is back, “90210″, as the actors struggled to make it in 2008, they have chosen to come back together and make “90210 AARP”. The show blows and quite possibly will not make it to Labor Day (oh wait that passed….Columbus day then!) Finally, Big Brother 10 chatter occurred, although no real men watch the show, we found out that Fabio enjoys it and TiVOs it right after Gilmore Girls.  Jen is excited for the season finale and final person this week.

We ended our show with an attempted call to the Galveston area where we got no one. We also called Chicago, to a non-English speaking 7-11 clerk who could not comment on the Bears but did tell us to call back at 2. We called “The Chicago Bear” bar where the waitress who answered was less than enthralled and did not have kind words for us. (HATER!!!!) 

Till next week……..

“There is no point in driving yourself mad trying to stop yourself going mad. You might just as well give in and save your sanity for later. ” ~ Douglas Adams

“The universe is simple; it’s the explanation that’s complex.” ~Woody Allen

A man with one watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches is never quite sure.  ~Lee Segall

There’s more to the truth than just the facts.  ~Author Unknown

The obscure we see eventually.  The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer.  ~Edward R. Murrow

Sometimes it’s necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly.  ~Edward Albee

If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.  ~Russian Proverb

One day, someone showed me a glass of water that was half full.  And he said, “Is it half full or half empty?”  So I drank the water.  No more problem.  ~Alexander Jodorowsky

Apple fans will be rejoicing – or maybe counting their coins – after the latest announcements from Apple.

There’s a bunch of new iPod products being released immediately, even down here in pavlova land (that’s New Zealand, despite what the Aussies say).

The good news is that the iPod updates are no more expensive than previous models, and if all you’re planning to update is to the new iTunes 8, then it’s completely free.

read more | digg story

Essential hacks, tricks and secrets for Microsoft’s supposedly closed system

read more | digg story

Kanye West was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday police have confirmed to Access Hollywood. West was arrested at 7:51 a.m. PST on charges of battery and vandalism. He is still in custody at the airport.

read more | digg story

This week Brian, Chris, and Fabio gathered to discuss a topic that is pulling people in different directions. The Itunes App “Pull my Finger” was removed. Unlike iBeer, which allows you to pour a virtual beer, then drink it as people could watch it drain away, “Pull my Finger” got corked,  Apparently Apple is concerned about stinking up the joint. So no one will get to pull my finger. But stinking was a topic of healthy discussion as Fabio lamented the Chargers loss and I reveled in the Bears victory.

Our show is so shiny, we discussecd Google’s new CHROME browser and Brian and Chris, tabbed browser users, were impressed with the speed and download way.  Fabio, who has about 8 plasma screens connected to his system, will continue to go Old School and open a browser on each monitor. All approved of Incognito mode (something the Mac already has) in an effort to prevent the spouse’s from checking up on us.  Instead they checked up on us during the podcast, as mine hammered a calendar and Fabio’s provided her input on an undisclosed subject matter. (edited out).

Happy to be capable of seeing Army Wives in HD, Fabio looks forward to the new TIVO box. Unfortunately, he will have to wait for the 09-10 season before he may get to actually see it. Fabio loves the fact though that his TIVO can think for him. I am not sure I know what a TIVO is with a wife and two teen girls, I call it MTV-O.

All of us offered our sadness to here that “Enter Sandman” from Metallica would not come over to Rock Band 2.  Metallica sold out for Guitar Hero and the release of their next album on “Guitar Hero 3.” But Fabio looked forward to the newest version of his family’s favorite video game and committed verbally to purchasing both games. Apparently Fabio pays no taxes.

A short discussion into the Hanoi Hilton health care program and John McCain’s medical care for his broken arms was had as well as a discussion of Obama’s Universal Health Care offer. Continuing our discussion of ripoffs, we touched on “Ultimatesteal.com” where students can get a full Microsoft Office Suite for $65.

Talk of the LHC, which until this weekend, meant Lake Havasu City and Spring Break to Fabio, Brian, and I, is actually the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. We discussed the possibility of a black hole swallowing the entire Earth. Brian quickly pointed out that this would solve the election, Global Warming, and all world problems.  Magnets would be used to maintain the black holes in place, however it could fail and we could all be sucked into it. I think it is time for Lieutenant Sulu and Captain Janeway to save us.

Finally, we tried a couple calls to the Palin Family and the Obama campaign.  Unfortunately, they did not work out. Then I got sidetracked into a rant about my experience calling voters and how people are looking at the experience or lack of experience issue.  And I ranted about how aggravated I was with the discussion of National Security experience.