NotSoDeepSouth

59 posts
NotSoDeepSouth resides in the jewel encrusted buckle of the Bible Belt, which is Dallas, Texas. He's often wrong but seldom uncertain about anything. Find him at twitter, gmail and google+

Forget the Cloud, Go Get an SD Card

VW Headunit with SD Card
It seems the business model these days is to get us consumers to pay monthly for something we didn’t used to need to pay monthly for. Take music for instance, we all love music but a monthly subscription to a music service is an ongoing cost and it requires you to stay wired all the time. I could see using something like Xbox music if you can’t stand listening to the same tracks often. I prefer to hear my favorite tunes unless I’m in the mood for new music. When I’m driving isn’t when I’m in that mood. The solution for me is the SD and I’m really happy with it. Continue reading

The Human Slingshot and Other SkyMall Crap

As I write this I’m flying to Vegas for my cousins wedding. Because nothing says Sanctity of Marriage like a place that allows drive through weddings, Elvis impersonators with legalized prostitution. To take my mind off how heterocentric this entire process can be, I’ve decided to take out my bitterness on SkyMall because let’s face it — SkyMall is asking for it. Continue reading

State Fair of Texas Icon “Big Tex” Burns and I Didn’t Do It

Grease Fest Turns to Tragedy

In a bizarre coincidence of timing, the 52 foot tall man known as “Big Tex” has burned down the day after my first ever visit to the Texas State Fair(TSF). Big Tex has been standing proudly over the TSF since 1952 when he was purchased from the City of Kerens, TX. Kerens had constructed what was at the time the world’s largest Santa Claus in 1949.

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Nest’s New Thinner and Smarter Thermostat

New shiny, thin NestWhen I originally learned of the Nest Learning Thermostat, I understood that its creator had a history within Apple and thus the design of the device was slick and it the device itself, revolutionary. Now I’m reading that the third generation Nest device is about to be released. The site, nest.com is touting the new device as having “a refined design that’s enclosed by a single solid stainless steel ring.” This starts to remind me of the song and dance we’re used to by now with Apple releasing an ever thinner and faster version of basically the same exact thing – year after year. So it seems that design isn’t the only thing Tony Fadell, (co) inventor of the iPod, learned from his days with Apple. Continue reading

Apple: You Can’t Have any iPhones China, But Thanks So Much For Making Them All

U CAN HAZ NO

Every now and then a story comes along that makes my acid reflux kick in. I’m still trying to digest a riveting story of the Foxconn plants in in Shenzhen, China where all things Apple (and a lot of other things) are made. Basically just deplorable working conditions like 16 hour shifts, no talking at work. None. Period. Overtime that doesn’t get paid out and if you complain you will be blacklisted and fired. On the job injuries that are completely avoidable like repetitious movements that are non-stop with no rotation into other duties. Think carpal tunnel but in a country where you’re not going to get any FMLA or Workers Comp. Underage workers and cluster suicides have been documented. It’s hard to listen to and not start thinking “I can’t believe everything I own,” and I mean actually a great deal of things I own since I am a computer nerd, a geek, a guru and a participating citizen of this great nation of consumption, “…is made in this manner.”

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Photo Phriday: Dude Your Mom Is Hot

This is Mary Lynn circa 1966. She alone bore NotSoDeepSouth into this world and while looking into this image, so ripe with promise and innocence, who could hold that fact against her? (Shut up: it’s not entirely her fault I’m so damaged)

Reviewing 1966 in The Googles, I see that it wasn’t all smiles and eyebrows. Vietnam, IRA bombings, Communism (not the fruit growing, hemp loving, feminist bookstore frequenting kind, the other kind), The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Fidel Castro – the list could go on forever.

In that other age of turmoil, upset and unrest it warms my heart to see that Mary Lynn, the lady I call Momma, had it together – at least she appears to have it together in this photograph. She will forever be smiling into the distant unknowable future with that soft glow of goodness we know as yesteryear. Continue reading

Nominate Crasstalk for the 2012 Bloggies

It’s that time again folks: The 2012 Bloggies are coming up fast. Nominations close on Sunday, January 15 at 10:00 PM EST. What is all this? The Bloggies are webblog awards nominated and voted upon by the readers of the internet. (Like Wikipedia!) There are quite a few categories so I’ve listed just a few below with some of last years winners: Continue reading

Open Caption: Huntsmentum

A Scene from Whoville

Today Rachel Maddow tweeted something about “Feel the Huntsmentum!” and it left me wondering: If Huntsman only had one moment to say anything, surely that moment is now. What would that something be? What should that something be?

“Don’t anybody move! I’ve lost my contact lens!” Continue reading

I Really Wanted to be Uncle Arthur

I often use the one-liner that “I was raised by a pack of rabid televisions.” It’s either not as funny as I think it is or most people just don’t get it. But in any event the truth is I was raised by the television and before the dawn of Glee. You know there didn’t use to be any role models for an impressionable gay youth, such as myself. I once thought I’d found one in Paul Lynde.

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Open Caption: Come to Jesus

How to hail a cab if you're blind

With Michele Bachmann’s animated corpse of a campaign in dire trouble, the couple have been spotted at local places of worship attempting to get the attention of their Higher Power, or practice telekinesis or photosynthesis. I dunno. You tell me what’s going on in this picture.

“Are you there Gaaaahd? It’s me Michele.” She begins quietly.

“Elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist…” Marcus practices, as if waving from a motorcade.

You know the rules: There’s only one rule in Open Caption: Be Funny. Continue reading