We’re Moving!

Ok, ok…I know its been months since our last article. But we have lives too, no matter how boring or unfulfilled. We have been considering letting splOOg die, all the nights of hard work just thrown away. However, I made the executive decision to start fresh. New. Improved. Moved. Yes, in the next few weeks we will be moving to a new site, sploogblog.blogspot.com. Now I can’t promise anything, but, I think the move will help us develop splOOg into a world class bag of crap. Just be patient. Sit tight. Because if we build it…YOU WILL COME.

Live From Las Vegas Baby!

Okay, so I know its been a while (two months) since we’ve updated splOOg much, but we’ve all been really, really busy. I’ve been working non-stop in Santa Cruz, haven’t even gone to the Boardwalk yet! Ryan’s been uh…well…not doing much at all, but I’m sure he has good reasons for his absence of content (Its called WOW). Anyways in a few weeks it will be back up to speed again. Hopefully. At the moment we are both in Las Vegas, FOR FREE! Thats right, we got free airfare and a gi-normous suite at The Venetian, and all I had to do was go on stage for a focus group on movies and music. So ya, I’ve been a little distracted, if you know what I mean. There are a lot of “distractions” in Sin City…and I mean a lot.

Post Drought… Take 2: Finals Edition

Blog + Finals/Moving to Santa Cruz = Disappointed blog visitors.  Next weekend… we promise.  Post EXPLOSION!!

Bored?

We thought so. Why else would you be reading this, right? Haha… *sob sob sob*. Anywho… what better place is there to go when you’re bored than the site named after it? Bored.com links you to some incredible things you never knew you needed until they showed you. Kinda like the Song Tapper that’ll tell you what song you’re thinking of if you can tap out its beat, which is really a great idea (when it works). There are links to everything you could ever need to stem the approaching tide of boredom. Flash games, music, video, yadda, yadda, yadda. You get the picture. Basically it’s just a portal to the rest of the interwebs, but it’s definitely got links to some fun stuff. Plus, I don’t think it’s possible to be bored enough to forget the name.

By Ryan Squires

Amazing Personality Test

Don’t expect quizzes and tests to become a regular feature or anything on here, but this one is just incredible. So, focus on the “amazement” part of that picture and not so much Mr. Jackson’s curiosity. The personality test at simpleminds.com starts off in a very no-frills, modest manner, and pretty much sticks to that theme throughout, so I hope you weren’t expecting some shiny piece of Web 2.0 goodness, because I’m sorry to say that you’ll be sorely disappointed. Like your grandpappy always said though, “Ya shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, sonny, else ya might find yourself on the money end of one of those dirty Red’s rifle barrels!” Ehhh… what were we talking about again? Oh yeah. Personality. Right. Anyways, after answering 50+ quick questions of the “That describes me!”/”That doesn’t describe me!” variety, you’ll be confronted with what I think is the best personality analysis that I’ve ever seen. It even figured out my major! (Engineers ftw) Leave a comment down there and let me know how well it had you figured out. Hopefully something along the lines of “OMG!!”

By Ryan Squires

Woot Off!! – Ladies and Gentlemen Get Ready for 72 Hours of Deals

I am sure most of you have heard about, or are addicted to Woot.com. Their mission is simple, to offer one item at an unbeatable price per day. Every day a different item. Or as their slogan goes, “One Day, One Deal.” Once in a while, they mix things up a little by throwing what’s known as a “Woot Off”. During this period of generally 24 to 48 hours, new deals are posted after the previous item sells out. It creates a frenzy of buying along with heated discussions on what might come next. The holy grail of Woot Offs, Bags of Crap, are sometimes placed in as the featured deal. Priced at only $1, these grab bags can contain worthless trinkets, or possibly items worth hundreds of dollars, even a Nintendo Wii! Woot Offs are a great marketing technique as it forces buyers to purchase on impulse, fearing that the offer will disappear. There are even websites dedicated solely to Woot tracking information and updates, such as trackwoot.com and bagsofcrap.com. Anyway you look at it Woot.com is a fun and unique take on online shopping. And just a little hint, a Woot Off is going on right now, so hurry on over before you miss out! I already got my first woot, an emergency roadside kit worth $80.00, for only 17 bucks.

By Joe Famularo

Take a peek into Pandora’s box…

It’s been a bit since I’ve read up on my Greek folklore (read: never), so bear with me if this is a bit off. Pandora’s box was the last gift that the gods gave the human race. No one was quite sure what it would be, until somebody opened it and got sentenced to being eaten by vultures for the rest of eternity. Or something like that. Look it up. What am I a friggin’ encylopedia? ANYWAYS, Pandora is a lot like a modern-day, non-pagan, Web 2.0 version of that. In fact it wins the splOOg seal of approval as “Quite possibly the coolest thing ever”. Type in any band or song that you love, and it will find endless songs that are similar, and therefore awesome. Thanks to the lawyers, you can just have it play any old song that you want it to, but you can get it to play a song from an artist you like if you type in their name. It’s definitely worth a look. Check it out. Now. Please? I’ll be your best friend!

By Ryan Squires

Mail Those Old CD’s Out for Some Fresh Ones With lala.com

Trading instead of buying/selling seems to be what’s hot in today’s internet marketplace. Last week I reviewed a website, swaptree.com, that let users trade their old CD’s, DVD’s, and games with others for only the cost of shipping. Now, lala.com brings its own flavor to online trading posts. Instead of all media, lala focuses solely on music. They also charge a flat fee of $1.75 per trade, shipping included. Once you sign up, the company sends you a welcome package with five CD cases and mailers. Then, just add your CD’s to your “have list” and choose others for your “want list”. Then you play the waiting game. Depending on how many CD’s are on your want list, you should receive one of your choices in the mail in a few weeks. Each CD you ship to another user gives you one point. One point, one CD, one dollar. And some change. Simple as that. After using both Lala and Swaptree, I’ve found that its easier to get rid of your CDs with lala.com. I recommend using both services in order to find the most choices. Lala is currently live, so no waiting for a public beta. If only there was a way to avoid typing in UPC codes for every CD. Audiophiles…looks like you’ve got a lot of late nights ahead.By Joe Famularo

Girl Fakes Enrollment at Stanford for Eight Months – NEW SPLOOGER ALERT!

Uh oh, a new member of the highly accredited splOOg team. Meet Mr. B. A legend among the community, Mr. B’s sheer presence evokes awe and commands respect. We welcome him to the blog with his first post, and you better pay your respects. Unless you’d rather pay $100, that would work too.

Whats up Y’all, This is Azor12, aka Mr. B, new author for my two taskmasters…err I mean “friends.” Lets go with that. So I will try and introduce some random thoughts as well to this Blog. To start this thing right take a look at this story.

Ok. Read up. Good

Damn Don’t know if I should be impressed with her or just shocked that Stanford did not catch this for 8 months. Wow. Impressive Stanford. Hats off to you.

Well, later days folks.

By Mr. B

It’s Friday!

Happy Thursday! Wait… no, that’s not right… *checks website* Ohhh… ok! Thanks isitfriday.net! This is just one of the many ways (ok, the only way) that IsItFriday.net can make modern life simpler. From the people who brought you purple.com (or at least people of a similar mindset), comes the “Is It…” websites. Yes, they actually made isitmonday through isitsunday.net’s and put similar sites on each, although there seems to be a problem with Monday at the moment. But isn’t there always? Ba dum CHA! If you’re ever stuck without a calender and have a desperate need to know what day of the week it is, these websites should do the trick. And by the way, yes, it is Friday. Go ahead and check out the entire week of the “is it” sites… but only if you’re really, REALLY bored.

This just in:  Isitfriday.net, is not affiliated with all of the other “is it” sites.  The creator told us so.  Holy crap we’re famous.

By Ryan Squires