Collin's Blog Post Idea: Super Mario Brothers Music!

While browsing the Internet tonight, my 4-year-old son, Collin, came in to sit on my lap. While he was with me, I loaded up this blog to take a look at some of the comments I've been left recently. My son noticed it was his daddy's picture at the top of the page and started asking questions about the site.

Thankfully Collin was satisfied with the overly simplified answer that this blog is a place where, "daddy writes about all kinds of stuff." I went on to show him where I've written about Super Mario Brothers 3 coming out for the Nintendo Wii, and about music from Super Mario Brothers.

So Collin asks me, "what about Super Mario Brothers 2?" Smart kid. Yes, what about Super Mario Brothers 2?

The music from Super Mario Brothers 2 is just as catchy as Super Mario Brothers 1 and 3, but never gets the same "air time". This is probably due to the fact that Super Mario Brothers 2 was a departure from the previous formula, and was never played as much as the others. Super Mario Brothers 2 had no level time limits, the bonus game took mastering to earn extra lives, you could select different players between levels, and to beat enemies you had to throw things at them instead of jumping on their heads. Seemed more like Megaman than a Super Mario Brothers game.

Everyone played the original Super Mario Brothers because it came packaged with the Nintendo Entertainment System. Everyone played Super Mario Brothers 3 because it was so widely anticipated and packed full of surprises and fun features. Super Mario Brothers 2 never got the same play, period.

Collin helped me do a little Super Mario Brothers 2 research on YouTube, and we came across this little gem posted by ceedjay. Here's a couple of guys, having fun playing one of the beloved tunes from Super Mario Brothers, but they did something very interesting with it. They combined piano with guitar, and the result is absolutely amazing. The fact that it only has 319 views (as of this posting) tells you that Super Mario Brothers 2 just wasn't as well received as the rest of the series. The performance these two guys give deserves many, many more views than that.

With no further ado, Collin and I present to you the sound of Super Mario Brothers 2.




If you like what you heard, swing over and give them a Digg, will ya?

I Saw It On CNN, Now I'm Wearing It

How many times have you been on CNN and saw an outrageous headline and said, "damn, I wish I could get that on a shirt!" What, you neither?

Well your non-existent wish has been granted! Now you can click the handy little t-shirt icon next to your favorite headlines and order a custom "I saw it on CNN" t-shirt, complete with the CNN logo and the time stamp when the headline appeared on the CNN.com site!

(Click the shirt icon and have the story immortalized in fabric forever!)

If I see someone wearing one of these shirts in public, the temptation to walk up to them, poke them in the chest and shout "why isn't the story loading?!?" will be too great.

The Beatle Barkers - You'll Never Hear the Beatles the Same Way Again

Ever wonder what it would sound like if it was Bingo instead of Ringo? If it was Poodles instead of Paul? Fido instead of George? Or Rex instead of John?

Wonder no longer, because here they are... the Beatle Barkers!

Today's Open Question: "Does having a bluetooth earpiece make me a 'douchebag'?"

Earlier today I posted the above picture with TwitPic with this question on Twitter:

"Does having a bluetooth earpiece make me a 'douchebag'?"

What got me thinking about this was a picture Thomas Hawk posted on Flickr of a man who was angry about having his picture taken in public. When you hover your mouse over this guy's bluetooth earpiece, you'll see a user, Leela.a, tagged it as "This explains it all..."

Is there something generally understood about people who walk around with a bluetooth earpiece dangling off the side of their face?

Here are some of the responses I received on Twitter:

• fireton @ hoopadoo Used to be when we saw someone talking to themselves we called the funny farm. Now we just check their ears. about 5 hours ago from web in reply to hoopadoo


• swhitley @ hoopadoo It is really difficult to tell the crazies from the bluetooth wearers. Those Oakleys aren't going to help. about 5 hours ago from web in reply to hoopadoo


• JeannieGrrl @ hoopadoo http://twitpic.com/106i <- Nope, not a douchebag. (biased here) My hub has one about 5 hours ago from TwitPic in reply to hoopadoo


• metrogal84 @ hoopadoo douchebag? no. only if you're in an elevator...I always think ppl. are talking to me when they aren't. it can be confusing! about 5 hours ago from web in reply to hoopadoo


• brianhewitt @ hoopadoo http://twitpic.com/106i <- I love 'em, but if you walk around all day wearing it even when you're not on the phone.... about 5 hours ago from TwitPic in reply to hoopadoo


• RhiRhi @ hoopadoo Only if you walk around the grocery store talking to it. about 5 hours ago from twhirl in reply to hoopadoo


• sigsegfalt @ hoopadoo Possibly. Do you wear it (in public) regardless of whether or not you are actually talking to someone? about 5 hours ago from twhirl in reply to hoopadoo

Speaking of those people who seem to hold an "imaginary conversation" whenever they're out in public with a bluetooth earpiece glued to their face, I think Larry David may have come up with the best solution for handling that situation:

Now I ask the rest of you... what do you think about bluetooth earpieces?

This Guy Should Work For the British Secret Service

Here is an autistic person who people have dubbed the "Human Camera". He can draw aerial views of complex areas after only taking one short helicopter ride over the city.

His art is absolutely stunning... and so accurate it blows your mind.

Did Osgood Get What He Deserved from Ribeiro?

Take a look at this video from Game 2 of the 2008 Western Conference Finals on May 10, 2008. Watch closely as Chris Osgood's arm jerks when Mike Ribeiro passes by. That jerking was Osgood's stick getting closer to Mike Ribeiro, and making contact with him.



Does this justify a slash in the chest over the net? Those on the Dallas side of the fence might say that Chris Osgood is in the wrong. He poked the wasps' nest and had it coming. But I want you to take a good look at Osgood's stick when it makes contact with Ribiero. It rattles pretty good in his hand, meaning he didn't have a very tight grip on it. (Speaking of poking the wasps' nest, what was Ribeiro doing so close to the Red Wings' net with less than a second to go in the first place?)

I understand that frustrations are running high. You and your team just lost a close game, and now you're down in that ugly 2-0 hole. You're heading back home to Dallas and will split games 3 and 4 (if you're lucky), only to come back to Detroit to lose in Game 5.

Now, with the game decided, the Red Wings goaltender appears to take a small shot at you as you skated by.

What do you do? You snap. You swing your stick at that goaltender and send a message.

What do you do next? You sit for Game 3, at least.

Let's not forget another goaltender that was on the ice and what he did during the game. He blatantly pushed his stick out and pulled the skates right from underneath a player. That was Marty Turco. Why didn't Valtteri Filppula get up and give Turco a mighty slash? Probably because he realizes he has another series to play, while Turco has tee times in a couple weeks.

Bottom line: Whatever contact occurred between Osgood and Ribeiro at the end of the game, a two-handed slash was not justified.

Remember When: The Red Green Show

I can remember watching the Red Green show on CBC as teenager here in the Metro Detroit area. Anyone living in Canada or Michigan definitely got the "yooper" style comedy. (A "Yooper" is the term we Michiganders affectionately give to people who live in the Upper Penninsula of our state.)

The clip pretty much tells you everything you need to know about the show.

$795 or $19.95, which Font Highway is better to travel?

Stumbled across a website, clearviewhwy.com, which touts a font named, you guessed it, ClearviewHwy. (Now you see why the marketers get paid the big bucks when choosing domain names!)

According to their website, ClearviewHwy is the first federally approved road guide sign font system. Good for them.

Call me cheap, but I'm not going to fork out nearly $800 bucks to a company as a reward for jumping through some federal red tape, when I can a nearly identical font that was designed in 1963 for $19.95.

Don't believe me? See for yourself.
Click here for the Transport font, and then change the sample text to ClearviewHwy.
Then click here to see the ClearviewHwy font layout.

Are there differences between the fonts? You bet. $775 worth of difference? Not a chance.

Note: I am not affiliated with MyFonts.com, in fact I didn't even know they existed until I did a Google search while writing this blog entry.
Sign above made with Kurumi's Sign Maker 2.3.1

rmbrme bcuz im un4gettble

I wrote this comment in response to a review "rmbrME" that I read on Download Squad. The service is designed to make it easier to send your social networking contact information to individuals on their cell phones, for 49 cents a whack.

I wanted to share this comment with you here on my blog as well.

Reminds me of another paid service that recently cropped up, that supposedly made it easier to find out where your friends were at... for a fee.

When services like these pop up, I always wonder... are these companies solving a problem that actually exists? Or trying to have a problem solved before its even created?

Well if anyone has a ton of VC to throw out there, I have an idea for a business for people who are too shy to text someone they just met. You text the service and it will contact your intended recipient with a note that says, "Do you like John Smith? Please reply with yes or no." If the person replies with a "yes", you will be informed and can initiate normal texting. If the reply is negative, the service will inform you as gently as possible.

Collin, the Super Child Genius

Not a day goes by where I am not completely blown away by how incredibly intelligent my son is. He started reading by the time he was 2 just like I did, and now I can see his reading and writing ability has surpassed what mine was at age 4.

At just 4 years old he can pick up any grade level book and read it, and not just read it aloud but actually comprehend what he is reading.

Not only can Collin read, but he can spell too. I let him play with my phone from time to time, and one of the ways he picked up spelling is through the "auto-complete" feature that most texting phones have. This is the feature where you punch in the first few letters and it gives you a row of words that match so you can select one without having to spell out the entire word.

He'd get on my phone and send text messages to his mom and a few of my friends, and they'd be nothing but long lists of words he picked out.

He has come a long way since then, and now he can actually type to you what's on his mind.

The Nintendo Wii gives you the ability to send e-mail, and I like the fact that you have to register addresses before they are able to send you messages. This is perfect for my son, whom I want to introduce to the world of e-mail without having to subject him to advertisements for natural male enhancement from Darren Rowse's imposter.

Well last night when I got home late, I found this in my Gmail inbox:



I have never received a better e-mail in my life.

Let's have a chat, shall we?

If you look on the left hand side of my michaelrbeck.com site, you'll notice I have a "Chat with Michael Beck" link. If I'm online, feel free to say hello and ask any questions you may have.

If you already have Google Talk, feel free to add mrbeck@gmail.com so I can know who you are as well! (Unless you really like being known simply as "guest")

Father of the Year

My 4-year-old son Collin bowls the game of his life, a 219, and I crack him over the head with a 300 game. Man I'm such an awesome dad.



At least I didn't get up and ride the bull. I reserve that for when I beat my buddy Matt by 2 pins.

The Dude Cleans Up Nice

Well, maybe not. But at least I gave it the ol' college try. I think I'm going to grow my beard back that way people can actually tell I have a jaw.

Wii Bowling: 2nd Perfect Game in Two Nights

I found my pocket. I found that sweet spot where I can do no wrong. I am the greatest Wii Bowler on the face of the planet. It's just a game and I don't care. Don't steal my glory, punk.

7th Grade Geek Love

Back in the day BASIC programming was all the rage, with "the day" being circa 1990. It's been a long time since I've played with BASIC, but I got to thinking about it today through a very obscure thought process.

While talking about music today to the very lovely woman I'm seeing, I mentioned making her a "mix tape" and how that would be "so 7th grade".

But what was I doing in 7th grade when I liked somebody? While others were making mix tapes, or passing notes around that said "Do you like me? Yes/No - Circle One", I was printing off little professions of love on perforated printer paper like this one I just wrote for the before-mentioned lady in my life:

10 DESTINEY = BEAUTIFUL
20 DESTINEY = SWEET
25 DESTINEY = FUN
30 WHILE DESTINEY = HAPPY
40 MIKE = HAPPY + LUCKY
50 WEND

For the ever curious minds out there, all it will do if you copy and paste it into qBASIC is lock up your computer... but it is a "working" program.

The beautiful thing about "love notes" in BASIC is you can show your geeky side and still be understood. Isn't that wonderful?

Photo by kumar303

The Winning Hairstyle...

After receiving suggestions via e-mail, MySpace, and this blog, I have decided upon the hairstyle I will get this afternoon.



Why am I posting this picture and not just a picture of my haircut after I get it done? Safety net. If I'm making a mistake, someone out there has roughly 4 1/2 hours to make an impassioned plea for me to have something else done to my head.

Start the clock... now.

The Makeover is Half Complete

The man shaved the bulk of his beard. It's a miracle.



The haircut is next. How are we doing so far?

Sometimes I forget he's only four...

My son is so extremely intelligent for his age that sometimes I forget that he's only four. Tonight while I was in a vulnerable position in the bathroom, I asked Collin to go downstairs and get me some toilet paper. He came back up with three sheets.

He did exactly what I asked. I should have asked for a roll instead of "some".

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Merelymel13