I've been wearing the Moto 360 for about a week now, and it's well designed and comfortable. Not being a fan of watches with large faces this suits me just fine. It's larger that what I normally wear but not by enough that it bothers me. The display is crisp and responsive, as well as the interface being intuitive and easy to use and navigate. I really liked the various watch faces that shipped with it, as well as the almost endless options available online, make easy to change the look of the watch on a whim. The fitness tracking that comes built in is pretty neat, keeping track of activity at a glance can help someone keep on track with fitness goals. A lot of the built in functionality of the 360 is pretty cool, and for some be damn useful for some.
All that being said, for me, the Moto 360 seems to be more of a novelty item. While it allows you to check incoming text messages and email easily, this can already be done with the phone that it's already tethered to. I really don't see any real function it serves that justifies putting the money down for it. Given time the smartwatch could become a thing that is as useful as a smartphone on its own, but that will take some time and refining before that becomes a reality.
I'm not saying that it's a bad product, or doesn't have a place in the market. Just that to for it to be a product as common as the cell phone there is still some development to be done. So if it seems like something that you will get use out of or just want one because it's a neat gadget, by all means please do. Doing so will encourage further development and refinement of smart watches into better and better iterations.
Mr. Angry Beard
Monday, July 13, 2015
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Weighing in on the SCOTUS marriage equality decision.
It's been a couple of weeks now since the supreme court made a ruling on marriage equality, that is for the right of same sex couples to be married. There has been a shitload of feedback from all sides of this decision, those that are happy to see equal rights for a segment of the population that has been marginalized for decades. And of course those that are convinced that this the absolute worst thing that has ever happened in the history of the country, and those in between. Regardless of what side you happen to fall on it's a landmark decision for equal rights.
That term should be all that needs to be said on the matter. "Equal rights", it's pretty damn self explanatory, each person has rights that are equal to any other. That's it, end of argument, but of course it wasn't that easy. We had a bunch of folks that were so scared that the redefining of marriage to include same sex couples was going to destroy the traditional family, and lead to all sorts of other horrible things. The vast majority of these idiots came from the Christian right, shocker I know.
Touting that this flew in the face of God and was not consistent with 'traditional marriage', or what they decided was traditional. But traditional, according to their own book includes polygamy, does not allow for divorce, and commands that rapists must marry their victims. A classic case of cherry picking, ignore all the shit that I don't want to apply to me and demonize those that disagree. The thing of it is, what these people don't realize, is that the only way that same sex marriage will have any effect on their lives, at all, is if they go out of their way to make it effect them. To somehow see that two other consenting adults that love each other would want to have access to the same rights and privileges as them, is in someway is an attack on them, or threatens their way of life. That is a level of stupidity that is beyond me.
The majority of the arguments against this decision are based in religion, that in itself should be automatic dismissal for the argument. But sadly there are those in power that like to use the argument that the United States is a "Christian nation". No, it's fucking not, not in any way. The establishment clause of the first amendment is actually a safeguard against it. To keep religion out of the government, being a nation of various different cultures and ideologies is why it's necessary. To elevate one belief system over all others by default marginalizes those that don't share those same beliefs, makes their views less because they believe in a different deity, or version of that deity. If you are the type of person that believes that your religious liberties allow you to deny others the same rights you enjoy because of vague interpretations of an out dated bronze age book I have nothing to say to you as a person, ever.
Then we come to the slippery slope fuck wits. The "Next people will want to marry their dog" or horse, want to be able to marry children, and open the door to child molesters. This argument is in no way valid, it is simply a scare tactic, usually used by those same religious right ass bags. There is one simple thing stopping any of the mentioned worries and others from even becoming an issue. Consent mother fuckers, plain and simple, consent. Those previously mentioned parties cannot by law give any kid of lawful consent. End of story, there is no rebuttal to this.
Now there are those, who are not nearly as verbal about it, that choose not to be judgmental what someone does with another consenting adult in privacy. Because they recognize that it is of no business of theirs, and does not have any impact on their life, isn't bringing about the end of civilization, will not usher in the end of days, or destroy the foundation of humanity.
In short all those out there decrying the SCOTUS decision, and calling for christians to take a stand against this abomination. You took that stand and lost, and if you want to be taken seriously about your objections provide a valid argument. Not one that cites an book of ancient mythology full of morals that are either questionable or downright horrific, but provide evidence based arguments, facts and reason. Without those your voices will continue to be ignored.
Mr. Angry Beard
That term should be all that needs to be said on the matter. "Equal rights", it's pretty damn self explanatory, each person has rights that are equal to any other. That's it, end of argument, but of course it wasn't that easy. We had a bunch of folks that were so scared that the redefining of marriage to include same sex couples was going to destroy the traditional family, and lead to all sorts of other horrible things. The vast majority of these idiots came from the Christian right, shocker I know.
Touting that this flew in the face of God and was not consistent with 'traditional marriage', or what they decided was traditional. But traditional, according to their own book includes polygamy, does not allow for divorce, and commands that rapists must marry their victims. A classic case of cherry picking, ignore all the shit that I don't want to apply to me and demonize those that disagree. The thing of it is, what these people don't realize, is that the only way that same sex marriage will have any effect on their lives, at all, is if they go out of their way to make it effect them. To somehow see that two other consenting adults that love each other would want to have access to the same rights and privileges as them, is in someway is an attack on them, or threatens their way of life. That is a level of stupidity that is beyond me.
The majority of the arguments against this decision are based in religion, that in itself should be automatic dismissal for the argument. But sadly there are those in power that like to use the argument that the United States is a "Christian nation". No, it's fucking not, not in any way. The establishment clause of the first amendment is actually a safeguard against it. To keep religion out of the government, being a nation of various different cultures and ideologies is why it's necessary. To elevate one belief system over all others by default marginalizes those that don't share those same beliefs, makes their views less because they believe in a different deity, or version of that deity. If you are the type of person that believes that your religious liberties allow you to deny others the same rights you enjoy because of vague interpretations of an out dated bronze age book I have nothing to say to you as a person, ever.
Then we come to the slippery slope fuck wits. The "Next people will want to marry their dog" or horse, want to be able to marry children, and open the door to child molesters. This argument is in no way valid, it is simply a scare tactic, usually used by those same religious right ass bags. There is one simple thing stopping any of the mentioned worries and others from even becoming an issue. Consent mother fuckers, plain and simple, consent. Those previously mentioned parties cannot by law give any kid of lawful consent. End of story, there is no rebuttal to this.
Now there are those, who are not nearly as verbal about it, that choose not to be judgmental what someone does with another consenting adult in privacy. Because they recognize that it is of no business of theirs, and does not have any impact on their life, isn't bringing about the end of civilization, will not usher in the end of days, or destroy the foundation of humanity.
In short all those out there decrying the SCOTUS decision, and calling for christians to take a stand against this abomination. You took that stand and lost, and if you want to be taken seriously about your objections provide a valid argument. Not one that cites an book of ancient mythology full of morals that are either questionable or downright horrific, but provide evidence based arguments, facts and reason. Without those your voices will continue to be ignored.
Mr. Angry Beard
Sunday, July 5, 2015
My journey into amateur gunsmithing.
Guns, I like guns. I like to shoot them and I like to modify/build them. I took up the hobby of amateur gunsmithing a couple of years ago. Now, it can be a bit of an expensive hobby, but you can get exactly what you want and spread the cost of a very nice custom firearm out over a longer period of time. You also get a greater appreciation of what goes into making a gun, as well as a better understanding on how it works and being able to trouble shoot issues should they arise. I started my journey into amateur gunsmithing with an AR-15 build.
Being an Army infantry veteran this seemed like a logical first step to me, already pretty familiar with the platform and how it functions, but wanting to go deeper into the fitment and process of the actual build intrigued me. So I bought myself a stripped lower and got started. I spread the build out over several months and made sure to do my research. Because as a grunt I used the rifle a lot, but was unsure about some of the smaller specifics of what went into the actual building of the rifle. So, I visited several forums and hit the AR-15 subreddit ( an amazing community stuffed full of knowledge) quite a bit and learned. How barrel length and twist rate mattered with the bullet weight you shot, various sight setups, gas systems, buffer weights, all that.
And then the actual building of the rifle was next, for that I actually found all I needed on Youtube. Multiple step by step guides on assembly, as well as little tips and tricks that veteran builders had figured out to keep some of the smaller pieces that are under spring pressure from flying across the room and getting lost forever. In the end, after a few changes I ended up with a rifle I could be proud of. Not the most high end of rifles but it suited what I wanted, and it was mine in a way that a store bought one could never be. And this is what I ended up with.
I've currently have two more builds in progress, a .300 AAC Blackout AR pistol, and a full size 1911. I'm really looking forward to getting into the 1911 and having some fun along the way. Coming in the next couple of days I will be posting a review of the frame and slide for that, although I'm not sure if it's going to be a video review or another standard blog post with photos. if you have a preference let me know. Until next time, enjoy your self.
Mr. Angry Beard
Being an Army infantry veteran this seemed like a logical first step to me, already pretty familiar with the platform and how it functions, but wanting to go deeper into the fitment and process of the actual build intrigued me. So I bought myself a stripped lower and got started. I spread the build out over several months and made sure to do my research. Because as a grunt I used the rifle a lot, but was unsure about some of the smaller specifics of what went into the actual building of the rifle. So, I visited several forums and hit the AR-15 subreddit ( an amazing community stuffed full of knowledge) quite a bit and learned. How barrel length and twist rate mattered with the bullet weight you shot, various sight setups, gas systems, buffer weights, all that.
And then the actual building of the rifle was next, for that I actually found all I needed on Youtube. Multiple step by step guides on assembly, as well as little tips and tricks that veteran builders had figured out to keep some of the smaller pieces that are under spring pressure from flying across the room and getting lost forever. In the end, after a few changes I ended up with a rifle I could be proud of. Not the most high end of rifles but it suited what I wanted, and it was mine in a way that a store bought one could never be. And this is what I ended up with.
I've currently have two more builds in progress, a .300 AAC Blackout AR pistol, and a full size 1911. I'm really looking forward to getting into the 1911 and having some fun along the way. Coming in the next couple of days I will be posting a review of the frame and slide for that, although I'm not sure if it's going to be a video review or another standard blog post with photos. if you have a preference let me know. Until next time, enjoy your self.
Mr. Angry Beard
"The Martian" a spoiler free review and personal impression.
So, I just finished"The Martian", a novel by Andy Weir and soon to be movie starring Matt Damon. As a book was pretty damn good, especially being his debut novel. And if the film stays true to the book, it's one I'm really looking forward to seeing it. I know there are those out there that don't really like Damon but it seems that he'll fit nicely into the role of the main character Mark Watney. Like a "Good Will Hunting" like intellect and attitude as stranded astronaut. Now on to the book itself which I will keep spoiler free.
The basic premise of the novel goes like this. The third manned mission to Mars is forced to leave the planet early,but in the scramble to get to the launch vessel during a massive dust storm one of the astronauts is lost. He finds himself shortly after alone and realizes what has happened. He now has to figure out a way to use the remaining supplies and equipment to survive until the next manned Mars mission which is four years away.
The majority of Watley's account is in the form of a mission log that details his predicament and how he plans to work through the problems he faces. His log, to me, seems pretty realistic on how someone trained properly would approach the problems. He states early in the book that should he not survive that he wants this log to be able to be read not just by those in NASA but the average person. He does so in a way that brings an well explained and understandable account to the most average person on what he is doing and often times in a humorous manner. I caught myself laughing out loud several times, and had to put the book down a couple of times to finish laughing because I couldn't keep reading until I had fully processed the statements.
Watley's accounts, via his log are told right along side with the goings on at NASA, and the crew of the ship, 'Hermes', that are traveling back to Earth. This secondary narrative paints a hell of a picture of the good folks over at NASA on how they approach problem solving. From the moment they realize that he is still alive they launch full bore into the problem solving on how to save this lone human millions of miles from home.
In short Andy Weir's first novel is an awesome example of story telling. Compelling, engaging, and draws you in to keep reading. He makes you care about the stranded astronaut and cheer for him as the story progresses, Even though there are a few spots where it slows down a bit, the book keeps you interested. As far as I'm concerned this is a must read for any sci-fi/science fan. And hopefully will translate into a spectacular movie. Go now and grab or download this book and get started, you will not be disappointed.
Mr. Angry Beard
The basic premise of the novel goes like this. The third manned mission to Mars is forced to leave the planet early,but in the scramble to get to the launch vessel during a massive dust storm one of the astronauts is lost. He finds himself shortly after alone and realizes what has happened. He now has to figure out a way to use the remaining supplies and equipment to survive until the next manned Mars mission which is four years away.
The majority of Watley's account is in the form of a mission log that details his predicament and how he plans to work through the problems he faces. His log, to me, seems pretty realistic on how someone trained properly would approach the problems. He states early in the book that should he not survive that he wants this log to be able to be read not just by those in NASA but the average person. He does so in a way that brings an well explained and understandable account to the most average person on what he is doing and often times in a humorous manner. I caught myself laughing out loud several times, and had to put the book down a couple of times to finish laughing because I couldn't keep reading until I had fully processed the statements.
Watley's accounts, via his log are told right along side with the goings on at NASA, and the crew of the ship, 'Hermes', that are traveling back to Earth. This secondary narrative paints a hell of a picture of the good folks over at NASA on how they approach problem solving. From the moment they realize that he is still alive they launch full bore into the problem solving on how to save this lone human millions of miles from home.
In short Andy Weir's first novel is an awesome example of story telling. Compelling, engaging, and draws you in to keep reading. He makes you care about the stranded astronaut and cheer for him as the story progresses, Even though there are a few spots where it slows down a bit, the book keeps you interested. As far as I'm concerned this is a must read for any sci-fi/science fan. And hopefully will translate into a spectacular movie. Go now and grab or download this book and get started, you will not be disappointed.
Mr. Angry Beard
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Coming Soon
Coming in the next few days I should be posting a couple more reviews and maybe a couple of rants. As soon as I finish "The Martian" by Andy Weir I'll be putting up a spoiler free review of that. And as soon as I figure out some video shit I'll be giving my impressions on a 1911 frame and slide that is my current amateur gunsmith project. After I finish "The Martian" my next book is going to be "Seveneves" by Neal Stephenson. As well as some thoughts on the supposed upcoming shows "Ghost Brigades" a TV series based on the "Old Man's War" series by John Sclazi and "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman. I may also weigh in on upcoming "Star Wars" movie and the still shrouded in secrecy "Warcraft" movie. That's all I can think of for now but I'm sure that something will pop up in the news that will piss me off and throw me into a rant. I would post something about the recent SCOTUS decision on gay marriage equality but it's been a a few days and most people have said enough about it. Just suffice to say that it's taken long enough for marriage to become legal to all those who want it, the fact that it was something that needed to be decided by the Supreme Court is fucking insane. I still may but if I do it will probably be a fairly long winded post and my go off topic a couple times.
That's all for now folks. I'm still figuring out how to work this site so give me a little leeway there, but after a little Google-fu I was able to add a twitter button up at the top. WOOO!
Mr. Angry Beard
That's all for now folks. I'm still figuring out how to work this site so give me a little leeway there, but after a little Google-fu I was able to add a twitter button up at the top. WOOO!
Mr. Angry Beard
First post, also a brief review of 'Terminator :Genysis'
Hello there Internets, I am Mr. Angry Beard, and welcome to my blog of randomness. There really is no plan or structure planned for this thing but that my change in the future. This blog will contain rants, reviews, and other assorted randomness that crosses my mind that I feel like documenting. I may even from time to time put up the occasional video. Like I said earlier there is no specific scope to this blog so you can expect to see stuff on here ranging from tech related reviews, guns, movies, random rants about whatever happens to be in the news that pisses me off at the time, or other randomness that strikes my fancy.
All that being said let's get started with a brief review of 'Terminator: Genisys'. Over all it was a pretty decent movie. The action scenes, of which there are plenty, are well done and make for good eye candy. So for that matter does the new Sarah Conner played by Emilia Clark. As I am not a professional reviewer, the acting for me was passable, and moved the story along for me just fine. There were a few instances though where the science of the film was just wrong, but I will suspend belief for the sake of entertainment. There were a couple plot twists that sadly were seen coming a mile away, but still helped the story. The addition of J.K. Simmons' character was a nice touch and provided some well placed comic relief for an action, blow shit up movie. And the inclusion of Matt Smith in a movie centered around time travel made me happy although I wish he could have had more on screen time.
All in all it was worth watching and is one of those movies that I will probably end up watching several more times when it's released for home viewing to try to pick out some of the more subtle plot points and Easter eggs.
I realize this is a pretty short post/review but I'm trying to avoid spoilers for the film as well as I like to keep things short and easy to read. That may or may not continue to be a trend, it all depends on the subject and how I feel about it at the time.
So, until next time, uh... do whatever I guess.
Mr. Angry Beard
All that being said let's get started with a brief review of 'Terminator: Genisys'. Over all it was a pretty decent movie. The action scenes, of which there are plenty, are well done and make for good eye candy. So for that matter does the new Sarah Conner played by Emilia Clark. As I am not a professional reviewer, the acting for me was passable, and moved the story along for me just fine. There were a few instances though where the science of the film was just wrong, but I will suspend belief for the sake of entertainment. There were a couple plot twists that sadly were seen coming a mile away, but still helped the story. The addition of J.K. Simmons' character was a nice touch and provided some well placed comic relief for an action, blow shit up movie. And the inclusion of Matt Smith in a movie centered around time travel made me happy although I wish he could have had more on screen time.
All in all it was worth watching and is one of those movies that I will probably end up watching several more times when it's released for home viewing to try to pick out some of the more subtle plot points and Easter eggs.
I realize this is a pretty short post/review but I'm trying to avoid spoilers for the film as well as I like to keep things short and easy to read. That may or may not continue to be a trend, it all depends on the subject and how I feel about it at the time.
So, until next time, uh... do whatever I guess.
Mr. Angry Beard
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