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June of 2008 marked the release of The Vanguard's self-titled debut EP. After nearly two years of showcase gigs, nationwide and overseas touring, and the head-turning of critics and less judgmental music fans alike, the Astoria based band is set to release their second EP Playtime! on April 13th.

methodshop.com had the chance to speak with Aaron Barr (vocals), Rasko Ristic (bass), Luciano Rovner (drums) and David Zawadzki (guitar) - collectively known as The Vanguard – about the upcoming release, their fans and where they see themselves down the road.

Interview: The Vanguard Get Ready to Make the World a Whole Lot More Fun with their EP Playtime!





methodshop

Labels: interview, music

Have you ever asked yourself how cold it would have to get to freeze an animal dead in its tracks? Well if so, the answer is -28 degrees F. That’s how cold it was in Silt, Colorado when this coyote froze solid right in it’s tracks. There are more frozen coyote picts over at Knuckles United.

methodshop

Labels: pics

The Nintendo Wii is a great console. It's family friendly, fun and allows you to customize your characters, called Miis, used in many of the games.

The "Mii" is a brilliant concept. Instead of being some generic character in a game, you can be yourself. You can also make a celebrity look alike Mii. That way the next time you are playing Baseball on Wii Sports, you might end up with a celebrity Mii on your team like Oprah, Borat, Charlie Brown or even Mr. Scientology himself... Tom Cruise. If you are a Tom fan, then go wild and have fun. If you hate him, then beat up his Mii in Wii Boxing. It's up to you!

This methodshop.com tutorial will guide you through the process of creating a celebrity Mii and sharing it on the Internet.

Tutorial: How to Make and Share Celebrity Miis for the Nintendo Wii


methodshop

Labels: games, tutorial

Going on vacation, a business trip or quitting your job? Planning on enabling your automated Out of Office response? Don't be boring and predictable. Use this as an opportunity to get creative. Here are a few clever replies you can copy or use for inspiration. Have fun wherever you are going [via Examiner, Gleez and Ensight].


Vacation or Business Trip:

1. I am on vacation from mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy. I will allow each sender one email. If you send me multiple emails, I will randomly delete your emails until it is pared down to one. Choose wisely. Please note that you already sent me one email.

2. I am on paid leave right now for two weeks. When I get back, I will be on paid return. Upon completing my one week of paid return, I will address any issues or questions you have at a pace I am comfortable with. This is most likely a pace that you will not be comfortable with.

3. I will be out of the office and returning next week. I have incredibly easy access to a phone and email, but I assure you, it will not be used for work purposes.

4. I'm out of the office and returning tomorrow, at which time I will promptly delete all of your emails.

5. Hey there, could you give me a call instead? I'd rather deal with this over the phone. If I don't answer, just keep trying. I've been having issues with my phone.

6. I am currently out of the office. I have a cell phone, but I will not be giving it to you. If you can guess the number, I will take your call.

7. I will be out of the office from mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy without access to email. If this is an emergency, please call 911.

8. I'm out of the office. If you have immediate questions or concerns, please contact my manager [insert name here]. If your questions or concerns are not immediate, you might want to ask yourself why you emailed me.

9. I will be away from work for one week while training. When I return, don't expect any improvement.

10. I am currently in the office but swamped with work. This work was probably due to something you already requested. If you are sending me another request, go ahead and recall your email now.

11. I am out of the office at the moment. Unfortunately, I'm returning tomorrow.

12. I am currently interviewing for a new job. Upon my return, I hope to give my two weeks notice and never respond to your email.

13. I am away at lunch. You should consider trying it. P.S. - This is not an invitation.

14. Seacrest out.

15. I like balloons and cheese.

16. I am currently out of the office and probably out-of-my-mind drunk. Enjoy your work week.

17. I am currently in the bathroom dropping a deuce. If this is an urgent matter, it only takes me about 2-3 minutes to take a dump, wipe my butt, properly wash my hands of fecal matter, and return to my desk. Feel free to stop by my desk later and give me a high five!

18. (For men only) I am currently out of the office on maternity leave.

19. I am in the office but completely incapacitated by the monsterous Chinese buffet lunch I ate earlier today. It would be best if your questions waited until tomorrow. Thanks.

20. I am away from the office at this moment. I will still be away from the office at the next moment and returning at a later moment. If you have any issues at the current moment, and they cannot wait until a later moment, please contact my manager, who may actually be away at the moment. Moment. Moment.

21. I'm away from my desk right now. I still have my cubicle, but someone took my desk. I went looking for it. I'll respond to you when my desk gets back to my cubicle.

22. (For females only) I'm on vacation through the 23rd. If you have any questions, issues, or concerns, please feel free to call my colleague [insert name here] while I'm out. If you're a single guy, good looking, and want to travel to Mexico to have a little "fun", call me at [insert phone number here].

23. I'm out of the office due to a family emergency. Our DVR is on the fritz. I will return to work upon a succesful recording of Law & Order SVU on the USA network.

24. At doctor. Peepee like fire.

25. (For man or woman) I decided to take the morning off. Long story, but I have to drop off Pat O'Brien after an evening of one too many cocktails and copious amounts of booger sugar. I will respond to your email when I arrive at noon.

26. I'm not really out of the office. I'm just ignoring you.

27. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all.

28. Sorry to have missed you but I am at the doctors having my brain removed so that I may be promoted to management

29. I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless emails you send me until I return from vacation on 4/18. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

30. Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first ten words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message.

31. The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection and is unable to deliver this message. Please restart your computer and try sending again.' (The beauty of this is that when you return, you can see how many in-duh-viduals did this over and over).

32. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.

33. Hi. I'm thinking about what you've just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.

34. I've run away to join a different circus.

35.  I will be out of the office for the next 2 weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as 'Loretta' instead of 'Steve'

---

Quitting Your Job:

36. I will be out of the office until... hell freezes over.

37. I am no longer able to check my email. The company and I came to a compromise and I am no longer able to come within 500 feet of the building. In exchange, I will not serve any time. Thanks for your understanding and I hope you find what you're looking for, but it's very likely I stole it.

38. Dear friends and foes, it is with great pleasure that I tell you I will no longer be responding to your god forsaken emails as I no longer work for this company.

39. Hi! I'm busy negotiating the salary for my new job. Don't bother to leave me any messages.

40. I am no longer working for the company. My last day was MM/DD/YYYY. The date is only provided for you to witness how long it takes IT to shut down my email address.

41. I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position.

42. They say the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence. I am currently testing that theory. Wish me luck.

43. I recently quit this job because of emails from people like you. I hope you are happy.

44. Over the past X years, I have provided you with many answers. Many of you thought I was incredibly resourceful. I may be gone, but you can still find the answers to all of your questions at the link here.

45. I left the company to pursue my dreams. If you need to reach me, I'll be sitting on my couch watching TV.


methodshop

Labels: internet

Every time Conan O'Brien tweets, the Twittersphere goes gaga. Well, he's at it again. Last week the social media newbie/sensation tweeted" "Want to see an insecure celebrity avoid eye contact? Meet me courtesy of Amex: http://bit.ly/bEUqsh."

The link takes you to a page promoting an American Express spsonored Conan O'Brien tour titled Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour. Five random winners who tweet before midnight ET tonight (March 22, 2010) Will receive two tickets for O'Brien's shows in San Francisco (April 22), Los Angeles (April 24), Dallas (May 13), Chicago (May 19), or New York (June 2).

To enter the contest, all you have to do is follow American Express on Twitter and tweet, "Hey @americanexpress I want to be with Coco in (insert your city of choice). Pick me! http://bit.ly/bEUqsh #amexConan."

Good luck!

methodshop

Labels: social networking

Looks like the bad blood between Google and Apple keeps getting worse. First Apple rejected Google Voice from the iPhone, then Bing was announced as the default search engine for the iPad. Now it looks like the iPad won’t support Google’s photo sharing service, Picasa.

What makes this story even stranger is how we know that Picasa won't be iPad compatible. Press release? Company blog post? Interview? Nope. Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, has personally started responding to Apple Support emails.

Here’s the Picasa email exchange that took place between Steve Jobs and an unnamed Apple customer:



[via 9to5mac]


How do you get the honor of getting a personal response from Mr. Jobs himself? Good question. But he seems to be responding to customer emails more frequently. If you get an Apple Support response from sjobs@apple.com, please let us know.


methodshop

Labels: apple, gadgets, tech news

Every year on March 17, we honor Saint Patrick (circa 385–461), one of the patron saints of Ireland. Whether or not you choose to celebrate the holiday by wearing green, eating Irish foods, imbibing Irish drink (usually Guinness), or attending parades, we wish you a safe and happy holiday.

Everyone wants to be Irish on St. Patrick's Day... even computer operating systems (WARNING: Serious nerd humor below). So as you raise your glass to St. Patrick this year, try to pretend your beer was a computer operating system. It might go a little like this...



Macintosh Beer
Considered by many to be a "light" beer. All the cans look identical. When you take one from the fridge, it opens itself. The ingredients list is not on the can. If you call to ask about the ingredients, you are told that "you don't need to know." A notice on the side reminds you to drag your empties to the trashcan.

DOS Beer
Requires you to use your own can opener, and that you read the directions carefully before opening the can. The can is divided into eight compartments of 2oz each, which have to be accessed separately. A lot of people keep drinking it after it was discontinued.

Windows 3.1 Beer
Was the world's most popular beer in the mid-1990s. Looked a lot like Mac Beer's. Requires that you already own a DOS Beer. Claims that it allows you to drink several DOS Beers simultaneously, but in reality you can only drink a few of them, very slowly, especially slowly if you are drinking the Windows Beer at the same time. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, a can of Windows Beer will explode when you open it.

Windows NT Beer
Windows NT beer could only be purchased by the truckload. This caused most people to have to go out and buy bigger refrigerators. The can looked just like Windows 3.1 Beer. Touted as an "industrial strength" beer, and suggested only for use in bars.

Windows XP Beer
Tastes like Windows 2000 beer but comes with a pretty dress. It opens sometimes without asking and if you leave a case of it open for awhile, it might explode all over your basement. Oh best of all, sometimes Windows XP Beer likes to open your front door and let people in to hang advertisements all over your house and steal your credit card number.

Windows Vista Beer
Windows Vista Beer looks a lot like the newest Mac Beer but tastes more like Windows XP Beer. Most people will probably keep drinking Windows XP Beer until their friends try Windows Vista Beer and say they like it. Many people try Windows Vista Beer, then spit it out and spend hours trying to put Windows XP Beer back into the same can.

UNIX Beer
This very heavy beer comes in 32oz cans, and has been around for years, rumor has it that it was originally brewed as a hoax by a couple of bored workers, only for them to find that some people actually liked the stuff. It tends to be drunk only by freaks or eccentric academics, often with beards; and drinkers of it do not like drinkers of any other beer. In its basic form it doesn't look particularly impressive, but with the addition of a magic ingredient named "X", it can be converted into an all-singing all-dancing beer on a par with the others. Many other varieties exist, with a huge range of flavors and (often unpronounceable) ingredients. Mac Beer has many of the same ingredients as Unix Beer.

OS/2 Beer
Tasted like a mix between Unix and DOS Beer. Allowed you to drink several DOS Beers and a Windows 3.1 Beer simultaneously, but slowly. You never saw anyone drinking OS/2 Beer, but the manufacturer (International Beer Manufacturing) claimed that 9 million OS/2 Beer 6-packs were sold. The best place these days to find a an OS/2 Beer is inside an old ATM machine.

Amiga Beer
The company went out of business, but their recipe was picked up by some weird German company, so now this beer is an import. This beer never really sold very well because the original manufacturer didn't understand marketing. Like Unix Beer, Amiga Beer fans are an extremely loyal and loud group. When this can was originally introduced, it appeared flashy and colorful, but the design never changed much over the years, so it looked dated in its later years.





VMS Beer
Requires minimal user interaction, except for popping the top and sipping. However cans have been known on occasion to explode, or contain extremely un-beer-like contents. Best drunk in high pressure development environments. When you call the manufacturer for the list of ingredients, you're told that is proprietary and referred to an unknown listing in the manuals published by the FDA. Rumors are that this was once listed in the Physicians' Desk Reference as a tranquilizer, but no one can claim to have actually seen it.


methodshop

Labels: holiday, internet

Wicked Lasers is a company that makes lasers that are so powerful that they can melt plastic and light matches. One of their more extreme products is a flashlight called the TORCH

The Torch, according to Wicked Lasers is the "world's brightest and most powerful flashlight and has 4100 Lumens with an adjustable high efficiency reflector." Let’s put that in perspective. A typical flashlight is only 100 Lumens.

So what can you do with 4100 Lumens? There are videos of people frying eggs and burning stuff with this “flashlight.”

Why you would want to cook an omelet with a flashlight is beyond me, but its nice to know you could. The Torch sells for about $300. The biggest drawback to the Torch is the battery life is a low 15 minutes.

Here’s a full review of the TORCH and several demonstrational videos of stuff being burned to a crisp.

methodshop

Labels: gadgets, review

Having iTunes authorization problems? Files downloaded from the iTunes Store can only be authorized to play on up to 5 computers at a time. If you try to go over 5 computers, then iTunes will give you an authorization error.

For most people, 5 computers is plenty. One computer at home, one at work, a friend's computer, your laptop, your car (wait... did Xzibit Pimp Your Ride and put computer in your car?).

Where you really start to run into authorization problems is when you get a new computer. Before you sell or get rid of an old computer, you should always "deauthorize" it first in iTunes. You should even consider deauthorizing your computer before sending it away for repair or upgrade - in case it doesn't come back in one piece. Deauthorizing your computer does not erase your music files; it simply prevents your purchased music from playing until you authorize that computer again with your iTunes password.

This methodshop.com tutorial will walk you through the entire iTunes Deauthorizing process.





methodshop

Labels: itunes, tutorial

Mint.com created an interactive infographic of America’s best cities for working mothers. The map is based on data from Forbes.com. Factors considered include: salary, comprehensive benefits, safe neighborhoods, schools, parks, childcare and medical care.




Infographic: The Best Cities for Working Mothers

methodshop

Labels: internet, pics

Jon Stewart from THE DAILY SHOW encounters several reporters and naked masturbating men as he explores Chatroulette.




methodshop

Labels: internet, video

Has a virus or hard drive crash wiped out your entire music and video collection? Imagine the loss. Imported CD's, ripped DVD's, downloaded files from the Internet and most importantly, all that money you've spent in the iTunes Store!

Is it all really gone? Maybe not. Your music and movie files are still on your iPod or iPhone right? Let's get it all back. Here's how to rip media off your iPod or iPhone and save it back to your computer.

TUTORIAL: How to Save Music and Videos OFF Your iPod or iPhone





methodshop

Labels: gadgets, iphone, ipod, music, tutorial

With Apple's latest product, the iPad, only days away from being in the hands of consumers, many people are already speculating on what Steve Jobs has coming up next.

iPhone - Revolutionized the mobile phone industry and created a whole new economy around "Apps."

iPad - Many people are already proclaiming the iPad to be a Amazon Kindle and Netbook killer.

iBoard - Look out cardboard industry! From queue cards to presentations, the iBoard will change the way people display information in their hands.

iMat - Hey Steve! How exactly are we suppose to do multi-touch with our butts?

[ Photoshop by our friend @davidvogler ]


methodshop

Labels: apple, gadgets, pics, tech news

Here's a blast from the Internet's past. Before YouTube and Twitter were part of daily Internet life, people had to swap QuickTime videos if they wanted to share something. One of the more popular videos of 2004 was titled "Supermodels and Meat Sports." The bizarre clip was deleted off our hard drives years ago, but apparently someone saved it and reposted it on Twitter. If you haven't seen it yet, the NSFW video features scantily clad supermodels dancing around with processed meat... and potato salad. It's like a weird art film but with a budget and models. The video reminded us of the raw meat iPod covers [pic]. Remember that?

Anyway, let's hope alien civilizations get exposed to Beethoven and Da Vinci before they judge our planet by "Supermodels and Meat Sports" [video via @DavidVogler].

Want to save this YouTube video on to your computer? Here's a step-by-step methodshop.com tutorial on how to rip video files off YouTube.com and convert them for any iTunes compatible device like an iPod, iPhone or Apple TV.

methodshop

Labels: internet, video

If your URL could sing, what would it say? CodeOrgan.com knows. Just type in your URL and Code Organ will translate it into song.

Here's the methodshop.com song:
http://www.codeorgan.com/?url=www.methodshop.com

Any URL will work. You can even type in your Facebook or Twitter URLs.




So how does Code Organ work? Believe it or not, it's not random. Code Organ creates music by analyzing the "Body" content of your page. Of all the letters on your page, Code Organ only keeps charters found in the musical scale (A to G). The other letters are stripped out. The most commonly used letter becomes the "key" of the song. Then the synthesizer is chosen based on the amount of text content on your page. Longer pages will have a different synthesizer than shorter pages. The drum loop is based on how often you use letters from the musical scale (A, B, C, D, E, F and G). Put it all together and you have a custom song based on the content of your web page. Cool right?

Go give it a try at CodeOrgan.com.


methodshop

Labels: internet, music, video