Best of Today, Right Now, in February

Everyone is doing a "best of" type of blog, which is great, because it usually invalidates crappy advertising.  I'm realizing that advertising means far less today than it ever did with the supplement of the internet and the increase of general knowledge about how the world works. Yes, there are still biases, some we don't even realize, and yeah, that SuperBowl commercial with the Darth Vader kid was cute. But does it make us want to buy a Volvo?

So here is the best of from my perspective:
Best games (i.e. the ones I'm playing right now):

Console: Call of Duty Black Ops multiplayer - they just released new maps for more playing. I would tie this game with Halo multiplayer, except my friends are not playing Halo right now.



iPhone: Tie between Dungeon Raid and Oregon Trail
Dungeon Raid has the addictiveness of Bejeweled plus a little bit of bad guy action like PuzzleQuest (which I didn't like). Bonus that my fiancée got it for me for Valentine's on sale!!
Oregon Trail is very similar to the version you played in the 6th grade computer lab class, plus it has a great interface. I'm not sure why the narrator's chin looks like a butt though. That's new.

Best podcast:
It takes me approximately 45 minutes to get to work, so I enjoy a good audio show 2-3 times a week. Adam Carolla, hands down, is my favorite show. There are other shows out there that I like, such as Larry Miller and Big O and Dukes, but Adam hits home with his philosophy-slash-humor bit. If you are new to the show, I recommend the one from last week where he features Kevin Smith, the creator of Clerks.

Best drink:
This is also a tie, and one will win depending on time of day:
Donut House coffee is my new favorite coffee in the morning. I'm not sure how to describe a good coffee. I certainly know bad coffee, as I work in the Navy (meaning that people's standards of coffee really define lower bounds of what is drinkable). I can say that sometimes Starbucks seems to burn the beans that go into the coffee, and anything freeze dried transforms into swill. Good coffee? Donut House. Or maybe Dunkin Donut's Turbo Coffee.
If you like tea, then Stash's Super Irish Black tea is mighty strong and does the job. If you like tea for taste, then Yogi Detox Tea will do the trick, plus it helped me lose a couple pounds from evening to morning.
The Dogfather Beer is entirely delicious, although the main flavor is coffee so do the math.
If you're a wine person, then Trapiche from Argentina (2008) for ~$10. I like dry drinks, so if you want sweet, then Peach Fuzz from Burnley Vineyards is like liquid candy wine.

Best online service:
Amazon.com - I don't know a week where I don't buy something from this website, whether it's cat food, Splenda, dish-washing liquid, or paper towels. We got the Prime Service because we needed to buy our textbooks for school with 2-day shipping, but the $80/year is totally worth the amount of stuff as we buy on this site This is more economic than getting a Costco or BJ's membership because the product is delivered to our doorstep. Then the reviews are available, which are what support or invalidate the advertising of a product.

There are probably other online services that are great, but this has been my go-to for several years.

Best timewaster: Facebook.com and GoogleReader. I don't have a lot of time to waste, but these are the sites I go to most often.

I hope you liked the "Best Of." I'll see you next time!

-L