Political Spotlight: Bobby Jindal

Whether you are a Dem or a Repub, liberal or conservative, socialist or a capitalist, you need to keep an eye on Bobby Jindal. He is a young, fresh face in the Republican party, and presently the Governor of Louisiana. Jindal could be considered a threat to the Dems in future presidential elections.

Jindal called Obama’s stimulus plan “irresponsible” and even turned down over $95 million that would have gone to pay for unemployment benefits. He has a back bone and is not afraid to say what he believes. Jindal was scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention this past August, but cancelled his plans to focus on Gustav, the hurricane that was on its way to hitting his state. Yes, he sacrificed a huge political advancement to help his state.

Although I do not agree with many topics Jindal stands for, he does seem to be less of a politician and more of a real person. He could care less about what the press says about him, and cares more about helping his state. Jindal is currently the youngest governor in the country at 37 years old, and there is much more political career ahead of him.

Sony Announces New Hannah Montana PSP - Why?

To further add to the current phase of irritating Hannah Montana items, Sony has just announced that they will be releasing a special Hannah Montana version PSP for $199 (left photo). This pack includes a lilac-colored PSP, a Hannah Montana game, a memory stick, and some Hannah Montana stickers.

It is obvious that Sony is gearing toward pre-teen and teenage girls with this product. This would seem to be a good strategy to try and get more girls to play hand-held games, but Sony is ignoring the fact that Hannah Montana viewers don't like to play video games! In my life, I have seen two girls playing handhelds, but they were the exact opposite of girly.

I could see this being a good option if the product they are trying to sell is $20, but $200 seems a bit much for girls who wouldn't enjoy more than 3 games on the PSP library. The Nintendo DS, on the other hand, has seemingly hundreds of girl games (nothing to brag about). They released a DS targeted for girls as well, which was pink-colored (right photo). Both companies need to realize that designing feminine hand-helds does not pay out in the end. It might encourage some girls to purchase the product, but it will also steer many male gamers away.

At the end of the day, most girl gamers will enjoy many similar game titles as males. Designing systems geared towards pre-teens will not benefit the company; it will hurt it. Opinions aside, the Hannah Montana PSP will be released later this year. The worst part of all of this is the fact that it means one more Hannah Montana product will be out there in stores. Great...

State of the Union

Book Review: "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

On a monthly basis, I make a trip to the bookstore and search every single shelf until I find 3-4 books that I feel might be worth reading. I usually get a classic, a light reading, and something I know nothing about. This past trip resulted in: “The Complete works of Edgar Allen Poe”, “The Wealth of Nations” and “The Road”.

I knew very little about the story “The Road” but I decided to read it first. Do you ever get that feeling in the first couple of pages into a book: This is more than a book, this is a masterpiece! Only a few other times have I ever enjoyed a book as much as this. McCarthy is not just a writer but an artist. “The Road” is the story of a father and his son traveling through a post apocalyptic world, trying to survive with nothing more than a revolver and a shopping cart.

In late 2009, Hollywood is planning on making “The Road” a movie. I would recommend to any solid reader, to pickup and read this book before the film comes into theaters. McCarthy is also known for writing “There will be Blood” which was also made into a movie.

The Future of HDTV: OLED

LCD televisions have dominated the HD market for the last couple years. Their thin display coupled with great color has been very attractive to consumers in the HDTV market. It is believed that LCD televisions are the best option for HDTVs, but that viewpoint will soon change thanks to OLED displays.

OLED stands for organic light emitting diode. This technology is much more advanced than LCD because the display does not require a backlight. This means that OLEDs are capable of being significantly thinner than LCDs, most only several millimeters thick!

Another area where OLED shines is in picture quality. In the past, LCD has boasted for having a 2,000:1 contrast ratio. Sony's first OLED television has an astounding 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. This high contrast ratio can produce deep blacks as well as vibrant color.

For environmentaly friendly consumers, a 20" OLED television requires 40% less energy than a similar size LCD television. This energy efficiency gap only widens as the display size increases.

With all of these advantages, why not purchase an OLED TV now? Because the technology is very new, the prices of OLED televsions are extremely high. Sony's first OLED TV costs a whopping $2500 for an 11 inch television! At the same time, LCD television prices have dropped significanly over the past 5 years, and picture quality has increased in the last several years as well. LCD televisions are also improving in viewing angle for optimum picture quality from many different areas of a room.

OLED will be the HDTV technology of the future, but for now LCD is the best option. LCD televisions are a great deal for the money, and the picture quality is still very good. For now, LCD is the way to go for HD televisions.

Tiger Woods Returns

After almost 9 months of inactivity, Tiger Woods is finally back on the golf scene. Today marked his first official practice since he had knee surgery last June. He teed off at 7am this morning at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana, Arizona. Tiger started his round with an audience of over 100 photographers and reporters. He seemed to be swinging in good form, hitting 8 of his first 9 fairways.

In an interview with ESPN, Phil Mickelson, who also was practicing in Marana, commented on the large crowd. "I came here for a Tuesday practice round, and as I'm walking to the range, I've never seen so many cameras and photographers and so forth, especially that early in the morning, waiting for Tiger to get there." Tiger had practiced several times this year, but this was the first open to reporters. He recently practiced in Las Vegas, and he also practiced at his home early this year, as well.

Many golf fans are not looking forward to his comeback because he has been so dominant. His recent leave did give more opportunities for other golfers succeed, but no specific golfer stepped to the plate. Many fans believed Phil Mickelson would take over the domination role, but he did not. If anything, Tiger's absence hurt the sport because it lowered media attention. Golf was not shown on sports websites to the same extent as when he was playing. Tiger is a great addition to golf, and his dominant role has led to golf's increasing popularity over the last 10 years.