Tretakoff Musings

When I hear that THX sound, I just know that I'm in for something good. Ever wonder where the sound came from? Wonder no more: all you ever wanted to know about the THX sound.

This is actually one of the best LOST theories. I've seen yet. What detail.

Becuase I'm obsessed now, here's the origin of the Ultimate Christmas Light house, featured in the video I posted yesterday. The cache is courtesy of Google, as this phenomenon has overwhelmed any servers associated with it. BTW, the music from the video is from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Check out the Wizard in Winter track.

Write a note, get banned from stores: it's the law. Just ask this carpenter what happens when an employee is a little TOO "by the book."

Amy’s not quite into the wish list side of things, but she has made it clear that if anyone is considering gifts for her, she’d love gift certificates to Sephora or Ann Taylor .

I just have to say a heartfelt thanks! To whomever sent me the Madden 2006 game for PS2! Unfortunately, it came without attribution, so I don’t know who it’s from. Was ordered on Amazon, sent from J&R (my new client!). Thanks!!! An early birthday gift…and HOURS of time-wasting fun!

OK, fire up the media player, put on the speakers, and watch this truly devoted holiday light celebration!

I've got a cell phone. It WAS through AT&T Wireless. Then Cingular bought AT&T. So, about a year ago, my phone stopped saying "AT&T" and started saying "Cingular." Now, word comes today, that Cingular is dropping their name. Guess who they are becoming? You got it. Stop these branding people before they change their brand again!

Ok, the man has done it again: If you aren't a sports fan, and are looking for an excuse to understand sports, check out Bill Simmons on ESPN.com's column this week . As a Cowboys and Lost fan, who grew up in New England, The Sports Guy says it the best: "Remember in 'Lost' this week, when Ana Lucia climbed the mountain with the dude holding the radio, and it seemed like they were having a casual conversation, only she was sizing him up the whole time because she thought he might be one of The Others, and there was that weird intensity in her eyes, like she was trying to remain cool, only deep down, she was waiting for the guy to pounce on her so she could stab him ... and it just went on like that for about two minutes before they finally started fighting? Riveting scene, right? Well, that's every Cowboys fan dealing with Drew Bledsoe right now. Stick a camera on a Cowboys fan when Bledsoe goes back to pass in a close game, and I guarantee they have the Ana L...

I've had an eFax number for years. Great service, if a little pricey. However, I recently have discovered I have no more need for it. So, I tried to cancel. First: No way to call or email them. They ONLY handle cancellations through chat. Ok, I start the chat in Firefox. It breaks. I move to IE; it requires an ActiveX control. I give permission for the control. Chat starts, tells me 5 minutes to wait. 5 minutes goes by, it breaks. I reload: 7 minute wait. 7 minutes goes by: it breaks. Finally, on the third try, it loads. Here's the transcript. If you want to see a textbook example of the "hard cancel," here it is: look at what had to happen to cancel, and note the prepackaged explanations: Welcome to chat. {Kyle W.} Hello, Joshua. Welcome to j2 Global's online support. I am Kyle, your online Live Support Representative. How are you doing today? {Joshua Tretakoff} Are you still there? {Kyle W.} Yes, I am here. {Joshua Tretakoff} Sorry; your chat thing broke the ...

All these years that I was convinced I was the only crazy bastard that liked old video games over the new ones, and now vindication is in my grasp. First, there’s the Intellivision device that you can plug into any TV, and it plays the old Intellivision games. Then comes GameTap , a great service with a promising future. Now, I find Game-Oldies.com , which lets you play most of the old Sega games, in your browser! FREE! Man, I’m excited!

And now it gets interesting. You all know how happy I am with the new Palm TX , right? Well, Cingular is making me a tough offer: my Sony Ericsson T616 has a cracked screen, so I need a replacement. What do I see, when I check out what Cingular has to offer? So, I need your help: any opinions? Comments? I can get a used T616 on eBay for about $50. What do you think?

Pauline took on a new career and had a birthday this month! To celebrate, we headed out to the Melting Pot to enjoy fonudue and friends. Take a peek!

Pete's pictures made me wonder: could I hike up to the mysterious "light tower" he visited. Well, the answer is yes: come have a walk with me on this hike up to see the mysterous installation.

Gotta love the world of open API's. Check out this use of Yahoo Maps API to create a pirate map. Best feature: the Zoom!

Ok, this stuff just does not happen in real life. Apparently, the NFL misconduct has spread to the cheerleaders. Yet in a way most fans would porbably pay more to see. Maybe Vince McMahon just did not go far enough with the XFL?

Many of the most addictive video games out there are all about finding a person and killing them. Clearly, a culture that celebrates such things needs more and more realistic outputs for the homicidal tendencies. What to do? Wait for a new video game console? Not so: bring your inner assassin to the streets, with StreetWars: A 3 week long, 24/7, watergun assassination tournament, starting this week in San Francisco. Tired of watchign too much "DOG: The Bouny Hunter," with no outlet? grab your Super Soaker, pony up your $35, and see if you've got what it takes! Wouldn't it be hilarious if it turned out to be sponsored by the US Army or intelligence services, as an alternative way to recruit? After all, the traditional ways haven't been exactly booming...:-)

You may think you've seen flight trackers: wait until you get a load of this one! more detail than you can imagine! WOW!

I get it all the time: "you're so hard to buy for; what do you want for your birthday/Christmas?" As is my tradition, I've made it easy on you: my Froogle wishlist should help you out.

Black Friday. (n) 1. The day after Thanksgiving. 2. The busiest shopping day of the year, traditionally. 3. The day retailers can offically start getting into the "black," i.e. profitability. 4. Phenomenal deals for early shoppers and risers for Xmas. And now, there's a website devoted to tracking the best deal on Black Friday. They scan the ads, put it into a database, and you can make your shopping list for the busiest day of the shopping year. Innovative.