Whats up Everyone!

Just wanted to remind all of my East Coast readers who love quality hip-hop to MAKE SURE and attend the QN5 Megashow on August 7th at the Highline Ballroom in NY.

(click the flier below for more details and to buy tickets)

I saw what was dubbed as the “Mini-Mega Show” at the Fox Theater last year, and it was indeed one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended (shout out to Nancy Drew for her unrivaled promoter skillz - we miss you!)

I’ll just say that seeing Tonedeff jump into the audience to initiate a full-on conga line was one of the more hilarious and memorable sights I’ve ever witnessed from a hip-hop performer.

Bottom Line - If it is at all possible for you to attend this show, make a point of doing so!

Check out this video for some cool Google Easter eggs and tricks.

Some interesting stuff here

Whats up everyone!

Now that the dust has settled from the Lakers series, I just wanted to give a quick shout out to the Denver Nuggets for their 2008-2009 NBA season.

I was admittedly a little worried when Marcus Camby (my then favorite Nugget player) was traded.

However, things change when Chauncey Billups is on your side.

so here it is:

Congratulations to the Denver Nuggets, for an incredible season! Look forward to more!

This shit is hilarious!

What up my peoples!

One of the main reasons I love Colorado is because I get to go snowboarding at Arapahoe basin all the way into June.

Due to the recent warm weather, a large puddle has formed at A-basin for the first time in a few seasons.

Unfortunatly I didn’t have my camera this weekend to document the mayhem, but I found someone who posted the below video of the puddle-action.

I did the puddle twice, and fortunately my fate was better than dude in the below video

Enjoy!

Whats shaken people?

I Just wanted to share a little link-love with the Agile Blog from Rally Software Development.

Its updated regularly, and full of great advice on all things Agile! Check it out!!

Click below to Subscribe!

What up my peoples!

Every now and then i stumble upon something on the internet so ridiculous that demands to be shared.

I’m sure my enjoyment of this had something to do with the fact that I was wasted upon first viewing, but none-the-less, I proudly present you with (drum roll please……)

manbabies.com!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ahhhh, the joys of the internet!

Whats up everyone!

Just wanted to give a shout out to Louis Amundson’s new blog on the Phoenix Suns website

Lou is a Boulder native  - and all around good dude - so its particularly cool to see him enjoying his break out season in the NBA.

Gotta have respect for someone who was undrafted playing in the D-League - worked his ass off -  and is now getting regular minuites next to Hall of Fame NBA players.

Here is a tasty hip-hop treat that I bet you didn’t know about!!!

some enjoyable appearances here!

(and is that Rev Runs wife singin the hook on here???)

Click Here to peep this rare holiday hip-hop gem!!!

Happy festivities

-Mad Props

Now we all know that words are power and with an increased vocabulary mixed with a swaggered persona, getting what you want can be VERY easy.  I’ve always been fascinated by conscious and subconscious facets of the human psyche and how easily it can be exploited.  Every day we are bombarded with marketing ads for products we may or may not need but end up consuming them anyway.  Why are we so susceptible to persuasive ads like these?  Partly because people are more responsive to actions that trigger raw emotions.  TV series are a great example of enticing these emotions especially when it comes to drama.   Why do you think its so fun to watch shows like Cheaters, Desperate Housewives, Survivor, etc ?

There is great power embedded in emotional manipulation.  The book,  Art of Deception by Kevin Mitnick is a perfect demonstration of this power, though alot of the examples are similar to those of a con man.

Below is an awesome article from http://www.grahamenglish.net/ explaining the subtleties in using the right language to get what you want.  Enjoy!

How To Make People Want To Follow Your Commands

There are ways of giving commands to people without their conscious awareness of ever having received a command. The trick is to embed the command within a sentence that’s specifically designed to bypass the conscious mind.

Let’s take a look at the following sentence:

“You really should buy this book.”

Contrast that sentence with this one:

“You know, some people find, as they imagine themselves having God-like power over people, that they really want to buy this book.”

Wow! What a difference, isn’t it?

Read the rest of this entry »

What up my Peoples!

Today I want to do a little shout out to the group People Under the Stairs and their new album Fun DMC (in-stores 9/30). P.U.T.S. has consistently been one of my favorite hip-hop act’s over the last 9 years and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

And though they sell out most of their shows, have soundscanned over 130,000 albums on their 5 previous efforts, and have an international following, there has been almost ZERO press about FUN DMC. too bad.

Even in the age of rampant downloading, this is one of the 1 or 2 CD’s I will actually be purchasing this year. And even though the press won’t give them any love, Beyond My Horizons will!

Cop that FUN DMC shit on September 30th!

People Under the Stairs - FUN DMC - in stores 9/30

UPDATE: PUTS just released a video for the song “The Wiz”, which is on this album. Their first video ever in their 10 year career.

CHECK IT OUT

-Mad Prop’s

When the internet was first created the initial goal was to share scientific information between remote universities but an explosion of data inadvertently shrunk the planet.  With signals transcending vast networks of information; voice and visual communication have become the internet standard.  The webcam industry has ambitiously tried to make plug and play convenient for the end user.  Unfortunately, like buying concert tickets online convenience comes with a price.  We live in a world where privacy is increasingly becoming less practical and basic security setups are unbeknownst to some.

Today’s equivalent of Big Brother; the little giant named Google has its index numbers in the billions.  So when people leave their digital windows and doors wide open it’s easy to pry into the lives of the unsuspecting.  Webcams all over the world are sending their feed to the internet and with the help of Google’s finest we are able to view our planet from the cameras’ perspective.  Try typing this into your next Google search:

inurl:/view/index.shtml

The results will bring up URLs of thousands of webcams and not just those sexy webcams you see ads for all the time.  Some of them show live events or lackthereof such as university campus, parks, people’s living rooms, alleys, top of buildings, etc.  In some cases you have full control over the camera allowing you to rotate the view to pre-defined coordinates.  Last time I tried this I was controlling one somewhere in Russia almsot giving me this seeing through God’s eye feeling.  I even stumbled upon a wierd setup where they had a porcelain doll staring back into the camera, kind of eerie. So if you want to see the world through digital eyes give it a try! If you find anything odd or interesting let me know.

As the Nintendo Wii continues to dominate the next-gen consoles with crazy new game play concepts you’d think that Nintendo has a well guarded vault full of innovative gamers.  Fortunately, technology provokes the brightest of minds.  Johnny Chung Lee a Ph.D. Graduate at Carnegie Mellon University has come up with some very intriguing applications (<- details including software and how to) using the WiiMote.   By taking advantage of the WiiMote’s infrared camera Johhny is able to track objects like your fingers in 2D space.  Since the device can simultaneously track up to four points, one could create an interface like that of the movie “Minority Report”.  Add a head mounted sensor bar and more custom software, you can view your television as though it were a window creating the illusion of depth and space.  This essentially brings you even closer to a VR-like experience.  Johnny is definitely hurdling technological creativity and if Nintendo has not tried to recruit him, they are making a huge mistake.

This project seems like tons of fun if I get ever get some extra time.  But if anyone out there has the motivation to set this up, I’d be interested in your results, thoughts and opinions. Maybe you can bring it to the next level!

Tracking fingers with the Wii Remote

Head Tracking for Desktop VR Displays using the WiiRemote

After 11 years of playing, I can get quite obsessive when it comes to chess. In my early years, I was able to build a solid foundation with intense tactical and positional training.  Although I played minimal tournament chess, I was always able to get game going at chess tables on the 16th street mall in down town Denver.  With a multitude of highly skilled players finding a challenge was never a problem but after a while I noticed the majority of the players’ arrogance and obnoxious belligerence begin to increase with their talent.  And you can only imagine what geeks with big egos are like with a much needed remedy in the form of a bitch slap.

You may find me at the chess tables once in a great while but I’ve been playing most of my chess online now.  Currently, I’ve been using the BabasChess interface for online play which ties in to FICS (Free Internet Chess Server).  There are a ton of cool events happening on FICS like tournaments, analysis, lectures, etc. I usually play 15-0 (thats 15 min with 0 increment, rated between 1700-1800) and occasionally play blitz (5 min with 0 increment, rated between 1400-1500), so if anyone would like to play me online, I go by the name “lordjules”.  Another great chess site to check out is jrobichess.com where there are informative videos on tactics, openings, analysis and a database of games by chess legends.  Below is an interface to test your skills against an online computer called Shredder 11. See you online!

Hollywood has always had a knack for making the art of lockpicking look so effortless.  But if anyone wanted to know anything about lockpicking googling the MITs Lockpicking guide is a great place to start.  Armed with the lockpick tai chi fundamentals, the uber hackers at Inventgeek have a relatively easy project (<-details) transforming a small Oral-B electric toothbrush into a quick and dirty electric lockpick.  It’s really kind of a proof of concept build considering you’re pumping 9V through 1.5V motor so it will wear out rather quickly.  The cost is between $9-$15 for the parts and takes about a half hour to build.  So if you’re the curious and inquisitive type, I’m sure this project can open doors for you, literally.

I know subjects like these can easily become controversial topics.  Knowing how to lockpick does NOT make you a criminal, abusing this information by breaking into peoples houses or cars makes you a criminal.  So please regard this as for educational purposes only.  Have fun and be safe.

Here it is live in action on a deadbolt.