Barkin

Recent Comments

• Camera Awesome for iPhone has some clever features for a mostly free app (TUAW.com)

  Mar 3rd 2012 9:53PM "My best recommendation would be to download it and see if it works for you."
  
  I suppose I could have come to that conclusion before reading the review. "Here's a free app. My best recommendation is to do what people do with apps that don't cost anything: download it and if it sucks, delete it."
  
  Top notch content, guys.

• StreamThru for iPhone - the ultimate all-in-one trip manager? (Gadling)

  Jun 14th 2010 5:14PM This post is a nice advertisement for StreamThru. But how does it compare to similar apps/services out there?
  
  I played around on the site, and tested out the process of forwarding confirmation emails.
  
  So far, I don't see a single feature of this service (and companion app) that makes it superior to TripIt.

• Five More Theme Shows and Reunions 'SNL' Should Do (AOL TV)

  May 8th 2010 6:51PM I suppose that everyone's favorite cast is the one that they grew up with.
  
  For me, that was the early-90s cast that marked the transition from the Carvey/Myers/Hartman cast to the one dominated by Rock/Sandler/Spade/Schneider/Farley. It was a huge cast, and a lot of old-school SNL fans mark this time as the beginning of the end.
  
  For me, it was a golden era. I was a teenager at the time, and watched every week. (Only to get to watch them again when SNL reruns from this era became a staple on Comedy Central while I was in college.)
  
  I also think this was a golden era because of how many of these cast members went on to greater things in the years afterwards, many of them bolstered by their careers on SNL. (And some of them went on to other things, but never managed to match the funniness they had when they were part of this cast.)
  
  So I'd love to see the 92-93 cast back on.
  
  Dana Carvey
  Chris Farley (I know he can't come back)
  Phil Hartman (ditto)
  Mike Myers
  Kevin Nealon
  Chris Rock
  Rob Schneider
  Julia Sweeney
  Ellen Cleghorne
  Melanie Hutsell
  Tim Meadows
  Adam Sandler
  David Spade
  Al Franken
  Robert Smigel
  
  Funny thing is that this could almost be a possibility. Sandler, Rock, Schneider, Spade and Meadows are all in a movie coming out next month (Grown-Ups) about a bunch of guys who get together for a reunion. I think a five-way SNL hosting gig would be a very nice way to promote the movie. Are you listening, publicity folks at Columbia Pictures?

• White Collar Travel: Airline reward programs do it wrong (Gadling)

  Apr 3rd 2010 2:01PM A lot of people have already commented about how this post clearly ignores how most FF programs work. But just to add more to the chorus:
  
  American Airlines offers status three ways:
  
  - Elite qualifying miles, which (as the post indicates) does indeed reward people for how many miles they fly, not how many dollars they spend.
  
  - Elite qualifying points, which is kind of like miles, but significantly rewards high spenders. Deep discount fares earn .5eqp/mile, whereas expensive first class fares will net you 2eqp/mile. People who fly a lot of paid int'l first or business can very quickly achieve status with EQPs.
  
  - Segments. Fly 30 segments to achieve the first level of elite status, 30 more to get to mid-tier, and fly 100 total segments to get top-tier elite status. I'd venture to guess that this is one of the more expensive ways to achieve elite status, but some people (especially frequent short-hoppers) do it that way.
  
  I think it's fair to say that this was a totally mis-informed post. Just like hotels have hybrid elite status qualifications (points or stays), almost all the legacy carriers have FF programs that will allow you to earn status on distance flown as well as on money spent or segments flown. Maybe before posting you should do just a wee bit of research.

• Tomatoes and Eggs (Slashfood)

  Mar 29th 2010 4:49PM This is a pretty common North African / Middle Eastern dish called shakshouka. You can get it for breakfast -- served with crusty white bread -- at pretty much every decent restaurant in Israel. (Yemenite and other North African immigrants brought it with them to Israel, and now it's a staple.)
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakshouka

• Continental Airlines newest money making scheme: paid exit row seating (Gadling)

  Mar 6th 2010 1:42PM I'm not sure how you can complain about this one. This isn't the usual airline cash grab (like fees for checking luggage, or for reserving a seat on BA) because it's not like Continental is looking to charge for something that is usually free.
  
  On most airlines, only elite members and full-fare coach passengers can reserve exit rows. Non-elites can't pres-reserve those seats, and their only chance at them is to get lucky when checking in at the airport.
  
  Continental is still allowing elites to pre-reserve the seats for free. Their just also giving that option to regular customers who are willing to pay a fee. Sorry to sound like their marketing department, but if anything, Continental is _adding_ an option for casual travelers while maintaining a privilege normally reserved for elites. If you ask me, that's a win-win.
  
  Want to complain about baggage fees? Fine. But Continental isn't doing anything all that out-of-the-ordinary here. People who aren't interested in paying for this extra perk can go about their business as usual.

• Did Coke Copy Another Ad For Their Super Bowl Spot? (AOL TV)

  Feb 12th 2010 8:08PM For the record, Yotvata is the name of a company, not the name of a product.
  
  Yotvata is a dairy. (Actually, Yotvata is a kibbutz in Israel that runs a dairy business, if you want to get really specific.) They sell all sorts of dairy products: milk, chocolate milk, yogurt, etc.
  
  This is a commercial for their chocolate milk.
  
  More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yotvata
  
  (Interestingly, in Israel, Yotvata is kind of like Coke. They dominate the dairy business the way Coke dominates the soft drink business. According to Wikipedia, Yotvata produced 62 million liters a year of milk and controlled 63% of the Israeli dairy market in 2008.)

• Bacteria Found In Nearly Half Of Fast-Food Soda Fountains (Slashfood)

  Jan 7th 2010 8:08PM Ok... Nice job changing the word "feces" to "bacteria."
  
  But it's still misleading.
  
  It currently reads, "Bacteria Found In Nearly Half Of Fast-Food Soda Fountains." But bacteria was NOT found in nearly half of fast-food soda fountains. It was found in nearly half of the 30 soda fountains tested by researches in and around Roanoke, VA.
  

• Ask TV Squad: The Big Bang Theory and more! (AOL TV)

  Dec 16th 2009 7:14PM http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1456722/TBBT_screen_shot_pillar.png
  
  Looks like a rack for CDs or DAT tapes or something like that.

• Review: The Biggest Loser - Live Finale (season finale) (AOL TV)

  Dec 9th 2009 9:58AM Elephant in the room:
  
  When she was on Leno after being eliminated, Rebecca announced that she was dating Daniel. She even used the word "love."
  
  Last night, there was no mention of it. And when Rebecca won the $100K, she didn't hug Daniel or even acknowledge him.
  
  Pretty sure that relationship didn't end well...