BKaF – Brad Kovach and Friends

I got my iPod touch the other day. I’m not going to post photos. You can go to Apple’s website if you want to see it. I’m a little frustrated with it. It has less features than the iPhone. The features are missing for no apparent reason.

Dear Steve Jobs,

I recently bought one of your newest iPods, the iPod touch. It upset me very much that most of the useful applications, such as Mail and Notes were taken out. Even more, the calendar application was deliberately stripped down. Why can events be synced to the iPod, but not added in the application, like they are on the iPhone? It doesn’t make sense.

It could be argued that PIM features, such as the Mail and Calendar features are smartphone features. Any pocket-sized, internet-connected device has an obligation to provide email, and internet, at the very least. What does this iPod come with? Internet and YouTube (stripped down, too, by the way). I’ll be honest: I expected a little more productivity built in.

Eventually, myself and dozens of other iPod users would like this thing to be as powerful as it can be without being a phone. That includes a full featured calendar, and Mail.app, so I can stop using my ugly, non-iPod ready webmail solution. I also suppose that the iPod will mercilessly hacked until these features appear in their gorgeous, eye-candied interface.

On the bright side my iPod shipped early, makes Internet surfing convenient, manages multiple Wi-Fi profiles brilliantly, it’s definitely the best iPod ever made (at least that I’ve owned), and has a roomy-considering-it’s-a-flash-based-player 16 gigabyte hard drive.

Sincerely,
Brad Kovach
bradkovach.com

College planning days are coming up at the high school. Usually these are a good time to review regional colleges and remember JUST why you don’t want to go into the military (If you do, enjoy your signing bonuses).

Let’s make it fun this year. There will be 35 schools/agencies there this year. And that will make a lot of fun.

We all know that colleges give away free stuff. The point of the College Planning Game is to take the colleges/military for all they’ve got. Including pens, lanyards, CDs, Bags, Signs, Banners, Cars, etc.

How to play

1. Tell your friends to play
2. Get a score card
3. Goto the planning days at SVHS on Monday, September 24 at 6:00 PM.
4. Gather as much stuff as you possibly can. You may have to be exceptionally sucky-uppy.
5. Count your loot.
6. Hand your card in to Brad.

Grand Prize: Gift Certificate of your choice.

Get The College Planning Game Score Card

Trojan (the condom manufacturer) is running a controversial advertising campaign on MySpace. Their message is “evolve.” I’m not even going to discuss the irony that evolution with a condom is impossible.

I am, however very upset that a company is promoting “sexual health” by advertising condoms. This is just wrong.

The facts

* Sexually transmitted diseases are nearly impossible to transmit unless having sexual intercourse.
* Abstinence is the best contraceptive and the best disease “control.”
* Just because abstinence education isn’t working, doesn’t mean that it’s a waste of time.
* We aren’t beasts, as sensationalized marketing states.
* 42,000 people contract an STD annually.

Quit patronizing me. Your marketing tactics are evil.

You’d think that a large, multi-national company would have a positive message, such as “don’t have sex, until you are in a life-long relationship, like marriage.” Instead they (Trojan) say:

Often, we promote ideology over information—such as when we deny people comprehensive sex education in favor of “abstinence-only” programs even though government studies show they don’t work.

That’s almost as pointless as saying late detection of cancer might as well go untreated. Our generation is in a hard place. We shouldn’t be having sex right now. We should be making good choices, like picking a college and responsibly enjoying our time with each other. We should NOT let ourselves be inundated with immoral messages implying that we are beasts and should therefore have sex (because we’re obviously ready), but just use a condom.

By the same logic, you could say don’t do drugs, but if you do, use a clean needle. It’s mind-numbing that this message is being broadcast to over 200,000,000 people! It needs to stop. If you are sick of it, send along the message.

If you believe in abstinence until marriage, sign your name at the bottom and pass it on. If you believe that Trojan has no business broadcasting a sexually promiscuous message to over 200 million people, sign this and pass it on. If you believe that the best way to stop unwanted pregnancy is to stop having sex, sign it and pass it on. We need to stand up for our generation! If we’re going to “evolve,” we’ll make the safest choice: abstinence. Sign it and pass it on!

I have been “tagged” by Neil Hokanson. Here’s the game…

1) Post these rules before you give your facts.
2) List 8 random facts about yourself.
3) At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 people and list their names, linking to them. (I’m not doing this… sue me)
4) Leave a comment on their blog, letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Here’s mine…

1. I’m a computer programmer by night and a sod farmer by day.
2. I once spent $42 bucks for a 2 pots of bubbling booze-cheese
3. I’m fluent in 3 languages: English, HTML, and PHP!
4. My strongest desire is to take over the internet (with the help of Mark Zuckerberg).
5. I can type well over 80 words per minute.
6. I cannot yet successfully lucid dream.
7. I was responsible for the redesign of the Star Valley Independent’s website.
8. After being told that the toilet sprays invisible germs when you flush it, I cannot flush without putting the seat down.