Skateboarding has had one of the most unique and turbulent histories of any sport (or hobby) in the history of North America.

This article originally posted here

The sport has gone from grass root home-made boards, to being one of the most popular sports in the USA, only to crash into oblivion before resurfacing as a past time for punks and kids up to no good. Despite the changing point of view of popular opinion, the sport has held a core of devotees who kept the sport alive when it seemed all but forgotten.

These days it’s the same devotees who are working hard to keep the sport pure, desperately trying to steer the future of boarding away from clutches of the politically correct mass manufacturing power of big business.

The History of Skateboarding Infographic

Update: P.D. (the man behind the legendary Skull Skates) has emailed me telling me I’m not allowed to use any of the images from his site. The fact that I named him “one of the most important figured in the progression of skateboarding” or that I dropped multiple links urging readers to drop by his online shop and buy a deck apparently weren’t enough to let me use his photographs of skate decks.

While I respect his right to make this choice (they are his photographs), it’s kind of a dick move. It’s one thing to steal someone’s work and claim it as your own, it’s another to reference it with full props and credit to the source. From this point on I’ll have no choice but to think of Skull Skates as the Metallica of the sk8 industry.

If this is your first time on this post, just imagine images of rad skateboards instead of red cross circles.

(Article originally posted here on Manolution)The truth is out there, unfortunately the majority of the general public is unwilling to look for it, or even consider the possibility that the people in charge of our countries would make a mistake or lie to us.

No matter how reliable the sources, facts or statistics, any opinion or explanation which differs from the “official” story from the government is immediately viewed as a conspiracy theory. Once something is dubbed as a conspiracy the majority of the population writes it off without even taking at a look at the evidence.

Unfortunately, many of the people who are willing to stand up and ask questions take it too far. It’s one thing to say “these facts in your report don’t make sense, this is why”, it’s another to say “these facts don’t make sense, so you must be a shape shifting lizard-alien”. As soon as someone makes one claim which is clearly far-fetched, everything else they said gets written off with it, no matter how valid.

The world needs to understand that the people in charge are sometimes wrong, and other times knowingly lie to serve their own purposes. Galileo was forced into house-arrest for saying the earth rotates around the sun. When it comes to questioning someone’s faith or the “known truth”, facts and logic are rarely enough.

You don’t need to accept everything you hear, but you do need to accept the possibility that, no matter how far-fetched the claim, it might actually be the truth.

Below you’ll find our latest infographic, detailing 9 of the greatest conspiracy theories of the 20^th century.
Click on the image below to see the full version.

Transcript:

Welcome to the New World Order

Validity: 3/5

According to the powers that be there is no current secret society of elite citizens or government officials actively scheming towards a goal of world domination.

Conspiracy: A handful of the most powerful and wealthy people in the world currently hold massive amounts of control over the current world governments, eventually aiming for total world dominance. These claims finger many of the most prominent secret societies and elite group summits.

Facts: I wish I could say this was all clearly hogwash. Unfortunately the actions of the people reported to be central to this conspiracy are almost all seemingly in line with the end goal of the conspiracy. Then again, just about everyone with wealth and power uses their wealth and power as a tool to gain more.

Trivia:

• The term New World Order was first used to describe the proposals of global governance, giving birth to NATO and the United Nations.
• The conspiracy explicitly fingers both the Rothschild and Rockefeller families.

Kennedy is Killed by Sniper as he Rides in Car in Dallas

Validity: 2/5

President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald (acting alone) on Friday November 22^nd, 1963.

The Conspiracy: Many people believe there was a second gunman, and that Oswald was a patsy. Oswald claimed his innocence but was murdered just two days after being arrested.

The Facts: The Warren Commission was possibly the most thorough and complete murder investigation ever conducted in history, period. All of their conclusions are beyond reproach and convincingly declare Oswald as the killer acting alone, but have yet to release 100% of their findings to the public. Also, the House Select Committee came to a different conclusion, albeit based on dubious evidence.

Trivia

• Oswald was murdered while in police custody by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner.
• Oswald’s shooting score (while in basic training with the US Marines) came in at 212, barely making the grade Sharpshooter; a score he was unable to repeat.

Men Walk on Moon

Validity: 0/5

On July 20^th 1969 Apollo 11 landed on the moon, bringing the first living thing to ever walk on the moon. They did it just to prove they could and were better and smarter than the Russians.

The Conspiracy: It never actually happened; the whole thing was filmed in a Disney studio.

The Facts: Men did land on the moon, the evidence for this is overwhelming, while the evidence against is non-existent. The real question: what is NASA actually hiding about the moon landing? NASA has lied, altered, hidden and destroyed multiple pieces of documentation and evidence to do with this historic event; the reasons for this are currently unknown.

Trivia

• For some unknown reason, the original SSTV (high quality) recordings of the Apollo 11 moon landings were recorded over by NASA.
• The original conspiracy can be traced back to a Fox TV special named Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?
• Many of the “original” photos provided by NASA clearly show signs of editing, via obvious blurring and false horizons.

Reefer Madness

Validity: 5/5

Official: Cannabis is a dangerous drug which needs to be banned.

Conspiracy: Cannabis became illegal due to the Hemp industry threatening the cotton, lumber and pharmaceutical industries. The Marijuana strain of cannabis became the crux of crucifying all cannabis strains, including those with (next to) no drug-related smokable qualities.

The Facts: The facts are all there: the conspiracy is true. All popular negative claims about cannabis have been proven entirely false. There is not a single shred of evidence to prove cannabis is dangerous or negative in any significant way, especially when compared to alcohol (argued to be the most dangerous drug known to man).

Trivia

• There have been exactly zero deaths in history attributed directly to the use of Cannabis (Alcohol responsible for an estimated 100k deaths per year).
• Despite popular belief, Cannabis has never been proven to kill brain cells. In fact, recent studies show Cannabis use can actually stimulate creation of new brain cells, and even help prevent Alzheimer’s.

R.I.P the Electric Car

Validity: 4/5

The electric car has been, and still is, a more expensive and unrealistic option as compared to a standard internal combustion engine.

The world has seen many fully functional electric cars (and reports of super efficient non-gasoline engine designs) all of which destroyed and buried by “Big Oil”.

The Facts: Business is business. If you sell Coke, you do everything you can to convince the world coke is better than Pepsi. If you can’t do that, you buy Pepsi and bury it. There is no reason to believe Oil vs. Electricity is any different.

Trivia

• Our Lithium reserves (used to make Lithium Ion batteries, the primary power source for current electric cars) are estimated to be large enough to power a total of 4 billion electric cars.
• An overnight charge from a standard home outlet will provide most current e-cars with enough juice to travel 43 miles.

Terrorists Attack New York, Pentagon

Validity: 3/5

On September 11^th 2001 Osama Bin Laden led al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial jet airliners and flew them into strategic US landmarks, most notably the twin towers.

The Conspiracy: The main conspiracy claims that the attacks were orchestrated, planned, commissioned and carried out by the United States government as a basis to initiate the War on Terror.

The Facts: No one in the general public knows what actually happened on this tragic day. All we do know is that many facts don’t make sense and the US government is clearly lying about them. Why they’re lying, what the truth is and how deep this conspiracy goes is unknown.

Trivia

• In 1962 the Joint Chiefs of Staff devised a series of “false flag” plans to start a war with Cuba, one of which included the hijacking and destruction of a fake civilian airliner.
• A study of the stock market has concluded “there is evidence of unusual option market activity in the days leading up to September 11 that is consistent with investors trading on advance knowledge of the attacks.”
• The official reports of airplane speeds on approach to impact defy the possible limits of the aircrafts used. Either the official reports are wrong or the aircrafts used in the attacks are not standard 767 commercial airplanes.

Chemtrails Cover the Morning Sky

Validity: 1/5

All reported chemtrails are actually contrails: clouds of vapor caused by jet-engine exhaust.

The Conspiracy: The government is spraying the populations with chemicals, likely to be used as a form of mind or population control. Other theories claim the chemtrails are used for environmental manipulation.

The Facts: It’s unreasonable to assume the US government hasn’t thought of or even tested the spraying of chemicals into the atmosphere for various purposes; whether any of the reported chemtrails seen above major cities are anything more than vapor is unknown and purely speculation.

Trivia

• The only report to find abnormal qualities in contrails came after a news station declared their tested fallen water from a contrail contained 6.8 parts per million of barium (extremely high). Unfortunately it was found the reporter doesn’t understand basic math, the report actually found the barium level at 68 parts per billion (0.068ppm).

Water Fluoridation: What’s the Real Motive?

Validity: 4/5

The government claims to care enough about your teeth to spend money fluoridating your water supply.

The Conspiracy: The fluoride added to the water supplies is a method of population and emotional control. According to the theorists it’s devastating to your health and/or keeps the drinkers sedate.

The Facts: If the government cared about your teeth they would give you free toothbrushes. Justification of money spent on water fluoridation must be for another purpose, that purpose is unknown.

Trivia

• Several cities to cease fluoridating their water saw cavities and Caries decline significantly after a few years; a government study from Canada reports similar results.
• All positive aspects of fluoride seem to be from a topical application, with little-to-no proven positive affect from ingestion.

The Truth is out There

Validity: 3/5

The official stance of the US government is it has had no contact with, has no evidence of and denies the existence of any extra-terrestrials or extra-terrestrial technology.

The Conspiracy: The government both has knowledge and multiple encounters with alien life, and have chosen to keep it a secret to the public.

The Facts: It’s become rather accepted that the Roswell incident was nothing more than a weather balloon, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Out of the thousands of “reliable” reports of UFO sightings or contact it’s unreasonable to assume every single one is purely fictitious.

Trivia

• The most persuasive of all encounter accounts is known as the Disclosure Project where a conglomerate of high-ranking, trusted, professionals lay out their experience and evidence openly at the National Press Club.
• All evidence of the Roswell incident involving aliens has proven to be fake or extremely unreliable.
• Renown cosmologist Stephen Hawking claims extraterrestrials are almost certain to exist, but warns against our attempt to make contact, as any life-form advanced enough to make their way to our planet poses a potentially cataclysmic risk to our species.

(Article originally found here on Manolution)Looking for a list of must-see movies for guys which goes beyond explosions, tits and fast cars? If you occasionally want more than a brainless shoot-em up, this list is for you.

This article is my attempt to compile a list of the most important 25 movies for dudes. I’m not talking about the manliest movies, explosions and tits aren’t required to make this list… but they do help. I.E you won’t find a single Michael Bay movie on this page.

Here’s the main rule for this list: If you can’t really call yourself a dude without having seen it, but a girl can call herself a chick without ever having heard of it, then it’s good to go. This doesn’t mean girls don’t love it, just that it’s not required for them.

Also, I’ve tried to keep this list to only the best of the required dude movies. I’m sure you will all take exception; post your outrage in the comments below. In no particular order:

Heat

You’re not a real dude if you don’t love a good heist movie. And when it comes to heist movies no one has ever come close to Heat. If you haven’t seen it move this to the top of your Netflix list.

Full Metal Jacket

If you only ever watch one war movie in your life, make it Full Metal Jacket. If you watch two, you’ll want to fit Apocalypse now in there. I’ll warn you now though; this isn’t exactly a light “feel-good” movie. But I can promise you’ll be hooked from the very first scene.

The Usual Suspects

Up until the ending you’ll think that this was a really great movie. After the ending you’ll think it’s one of the greatest movies ever made. I’ve literally watched this movie more than three dozen times, and I still love it.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

My all-time favorite movie and one of the best movies ever made. It’s not quite as fast-paced as the movies these days, but you’ll never get bored (except for maybe in the middle with the photo montage). The guy who wrote this also wrote my second favorite move The Princess Bride, but that one’s not exactly manly, just great.

Sexy Beast

I’m not sure how to explain this movie. Just watch it, but make sure there aren’t any children within earshot.

The Big Lebowski

How can you make a list of movies for dudes, without the movie about the Dude? If you haven’t seen this one you’re clearly out of your element; mix yourself a Caucasian (white Russian) and find the man in you.

Caddyshack

Bill Murray and Chevy Chase in the first-ever movie with Rodney Dangerfield, what more could you ask for? Ohh, and it’s about golf.

Fight Club

I would be shocked if a single person who reads this article hasn’t seen Fight Club. If that person is you you’ve failed at life.

Swingers

It’s money. This movie not only changed the way the world talked, it also made a couple of LA dives so popular you couldn’t get a seat for years after its release. If you’re a film-buff watch “the making of” on the DVD, it will blow your mind.

Dirty Harry

Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you probably know the name, the picture and the line: “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: do I feel lucky? Well… do ya? Punk?” There’s a reason Clint Eastwood is one of the biggest stars in the world, this movie will show you why he got to where he is.

First Blood

For the last time, the first Rambo movie is not called Rambo, it’s First Blood. Rambo is just the name of the character, John Rambo to be precise. To be honest, this movie isn’t really all that great, but you can’t be a dude without at least seeing it once. That and it pretty much invented the action movie genre as we know it.

Predator

Not only does it have big guns, aliens, explosions and Arnold Schwarzenegger, it’s one of the first (and best) sci-fi action movies ever made.

Terminator 2

Easily the best of all Terminator movies, T2 was, and still is, an epic action masterpiece. If you haven’t seen it you must be blind. If you have, watch it again. You can never have too much Evil T1000 in your life.

Rocky

On top of being a movie about boxing, this is an astounding piece of art; anyone who says otherwise is simply a hater. I have a hard time finding a single flaw with this movie.

Die Hard (all of them)

Bruce Willis makes these movies great. Without him they would have been just another 80’s action movie, with him they are truly epic. Surprisingly my personal favorite is the third, but I wouldn’t take my word on that one being the best of the series. The only thing I can be 100% positive of, the fourth is easily at the bottom of the list.

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Pretty much everyone knows the name Guy Ritchie. For a long time you could feel cool just by knowing his name, and it all started with his first feature film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. To be honest, I like this movie far more than Snatch. Useless fact: Guy Ritchie decided to start making movies after watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as a kid.

Reservoir Dogs

This is not the best Tarantino movie ever made, that title easily goes to Pulp Fiction. But Pulp is a movie to be watched and loved by all (not just dudes), while Reservoir Dogs is much more of a dude-only film. Expect lots of talking and a killer sound track.

Stand by Me

The quintessential male coming of age movie. Hands-down the best thing Stephen King ever wrote. P.S. I’m excluding The Shining from my previous comment as the book wasn’t as good as Stand by Me, it was Stanley Kubrick who made the movie into one of the greatest horror stories ever told.

Indiana Jones (the first three)

I don’t need to explain why this is on the list, do I?

The Boondock Saints

This unknown filmaker named Troy Duffy came up with the idea, wrote the script and directed one of the greatest movies to come out of the 90’s. It’s truly epic, has plenty of replay value and has a lot of people getting shot in the face. Just be warned: it’s best to pretend the sequel doesn’t exist. To date this is the only thing thing Duffy has ever done, aside from the sequel (brutal) and a TV Series I’ve never heard of, named Captain Jackson.

Honorable Mention

Point Break

Definitely a movie every guy must see, but it’s not exactly one of the better movies ever made. It’s fun, and involves bank robberies has surfing and skydiving. That’s really all you need to know.

Desperado

Much like Point Break, this movie is awesome, but not really on the same level of quality as the movies actually on the list.

Enter the Dragon

This movie is just ok, until you realize that Bruce Lee is actually doing everything you see, and has slowed down his movement for the film. The guy was nearly a god, and every scrap of film you can find with him in it is worth watching.

Dusk Till Dawn

Another Rodriguez movie and this one is a cult classic for good reason. Just about the entire movie takes place a bar/strip club called “Titty Twister” populated by vampires. Ohh, and there’s a cock-gun. What more do you need?

Anything John Wayne

He’s the duke, and if you ever find yourself with a choice putting your manliness at risk just ask yourself:
WWJWD

Anything Bond

James Bond is the role model for most men growing up. He has the toys, the girls, the witty remarks and always looks like the money. Unfortunately the character is typically stronger than the actual movies. You should watch them, all of them, but they’re not exactly crucial films.

That’s it for my list. Before you begin the flaming try to remember: If the movie is as loved by girls as guys, it won’t make the list (such as The Godfather). It also has to be a truly great movie, not just a fun or action-filled one (such as The Rock). Post away.

(Original article found here on Manoultion) I’m a big fan of a good infographic, and even bigger fan of boobs. Combine these two items of amazing and we have something worth blogging about.

Another site I write for (Real Men Drink Whiskey) just posted their first infographic, figuring the only thing which could top the largest infographic ever created would be the world’s universal trump card: breasts.

No matter what you have to offer, if its competition is a set of perky twins you’re going to have a problem. The infographic in question details just about every tidbit of information you could ever hope to find, including an epic word-cloud of 375 different words for breasts:

Click on the graphic to see the full version.

It’s somewhat ironic that an infographic written entirely about boobs doesn’t contain a single picture of actual boobs. But that’s just what it takes to put a PG13 (SFW) stamp of approval on it.

The words in the post were short and just a re-imagining of the Weekend at Bernies plot. There were no bad words, insults or even anti apple jabs. But it still got pulled. But don’t worry, you can see the pic here instead:

Now we think this image is hilarious. It’s an obvious take on Weekend at Bernies, and the picture is hilarious. Unfortunately I’m now catching a LOT of heat from the Suits here about it. Apparently it’s not OK to make any joke at the expense of Steve Jobs.

As a guy from twitter commented:

@Rosger: @SeanLind Yeah, it’s pretty much like making fun of Jesus for them.

For the record, I also think that making fun of Jesus is hilarious. So maybe I’m just a bad person, but I really think you all need to lighten up just a shade.

-Lind

While you can find multiple Whiskey Sour recipes online, I’m of the opinion that things should never be made more complex than they need to be. At the same time you should never dumb something down, if you’re going to do something do it properly.

This whiskey sour recipe is about as classic as it gets, refined by my own hand. Follow it and you’ll be the toast of your friends, literally.

What you need to make a whiskey sour

• Martini shaker
• Rye straight whiskey (if you can’t find real Rye, not Canadian Rye, use Bourbon)
• Fresh whole lemons (1 per drink)
• Super fine sugar (I like to use berry sugar, as icing sugar tastes odd to me)
• Large Egg (1 per drink)
• Orange Bitters (not crucial, but highly recommended)
• Ice

Note: This drink was originally created to be made with real Rye. It is the only whiskey I would use for this drink… but if you really can’t get your hands on true Rye bourbon will work nicely in its place.

More Notes: This drink makes a single, it will fill about half of your whiskey glass, double everything up for a full glass.

First, squeeze the shit out of a lemon into a standard short whiskey glass, removing any seeds. You’ll want to squeeze one lemon per drink, around 1oz.

Once your lemon is squeezed pour an equal amount of whiskey into the same cup (or measure the lemon and match it with the whiskey). I like to use just a tad more whiskey than lemon juice; again this will be around 1oz.

Fill a martini shaker ¾ full with ice.

Sprinkle 1 heaping teaspoon of sugar over the ice (you can use more or less of this to taste, if you like things a little more sour start with one flat teaspoon and work from there).

Pour the lemon/whiskey mix over the ice.

Crack an egg and add just the egg white on top of the ice. If you’ve never done this before just “juggle” the yolk from one half of the shell to the other, letting the white slide out into the shaker.

Put just 2 drops (not dashes) of Orange bitters into the mix. You’re not trying to flavor the drink orange, this is just to help round out drink for a complete full-bodied flavor.

Put the lid on the shaker and shake the living fuck out of your mix. You’ll want to shake harder and longer than you have ever shook any martini. The reason for this is to beat up the egg white, which will give the drink a perfect frothy meringue like head, and a distinct every-so-slippery texture.

Be warned, a metal martini shaker will get extremely cold while doing this. In fact it can get cold enough to really hurt your hands. I suggest holding it all (tightly) in a tea towel.

Strain out the mix back into the glass, and enjoy.

PS. Since the mixture is frothy from all the shaking it can take a little while to strain the whole contents of the shaker into the glass. Just jiggle and be patient.

Garnish: No real man will ever garnish this drink with a maraschino cherry. If you really feel the need to get fruity and garnish, use a slice or orange. You should also never fill the glass with ice, we’ve already diluted the whiskey with lemon juice, no need to water the drink down any more.

There you go, not only do you get to drink an amazingly delicious fruity drink, it’s won’t make you feel like any less of a man while you drink it.

This post was originally written at Real Men Drink Whiskey: Summer Drinking: Whiskey Sour Recipe

Originally posted on another blog I work on, Manolution, I’ve created an infographic detailing the history of Microsoft vs. Apple, plotting every major product release and event, along with the corresponding stock prices.

I think it’s terribly interesting, but then again I’m a geek. If you have any interest in the world of personal computing, take a look. Hopefully you like it, and if you do share it with the world. I’d appreciate all the links/tweets/diggs I can get.

Image By Manolution – The Blog for Men

A quick history, leading up to this infographic:

After launching their first Disk Operating System (DOS) in 1980 Microsoft quickly began to grow into one of the biggest names in personal computing.

Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded their company, Apple, on April 1^st 1976, just short of one year after the inception of Microsoft. Unlike Microsoft, who chose to focus on operating systems for other people’s hardware, Apple began their business by selling bare-bones hand-built computer kits, named the Apple I.

After Wayne sold his shares of the company to the Steve’s for just $800, Apple incorporated on January 3^rd, 1977. With the backing of Multi-millionaire Mike Markkula, Apple Computers Inc. had the funding it needed to develop the most advanced personal computer to date, the Apple II (launched on April 16^th 1977).

(original article found here on manolution) Over the last while I’ve come across multiple situations when trying to watch a movie on my PS3, whether it was incompatible file types, Cinavia protection or lack of subtitles, I had to find answers.

While all of the answers are out there, I’ve never come across a simple complete guide giving me all the information I need in one place. So that’s exactly what I’ve decided to create. This guide uses just two programs, both free, for everything you need to do. I’ve made it as simple and quick as possible.

I should mention I didn’t create or come up with many of the tips below; they’re stolen from forums, blogs and sites around the web. I would give credit, but I’ve pieced this all together over the last few years. I really have no idea where most of this advice came from. Sorry if I’m ripping you off.

If you have any questions, or need to know something I’m not covering here, just drop them in a comment below and I’ll see what I can do to get you sorted.

Note: Everything in this document is for a Windows machine only. I would include Mac tips as well, but I’ve never found the software I need for OSX. When it comes to video on the PS3, I’m a PC.

How to Stream Video from your Computer to PS3

This is actually the shortest part of this guide, because I have a very simple solution: don’t do it.

While you can stream from your PC to your PS3 by using Windows Media Player, PS3 Media Server, Nero or any other streaming app, the problem is simply reliability and network speed. Despite having wired connections (or wireless N) I’ve often ran into buffering and network errors.

If you’re anything like me you only download 720p or 1080p quality, it’s just too much data to consistently transcode and stream 12 gig on the fly over 2 hours. Yes, technically it can be done, but you can save yourself a lot of headache by using a USB stick.

How to Play Video on your PS3 from a USB Drive

Firstly you need to get a USB stick with 16gig storage or more, and the stick has to be formatted with the FAT32 file system (technically you can use an external hard drive, but you’ll need to create FAT32 partitions, google it if you don’t know how). After that it’s just a few steps to play your video:

• Drag any compatible file to the stick from your computer (the PS3 will not play MKV’s; advice for those is found below).
• Plug the stick into the front USB ports (where you’d plug in a controller).
• Browse to the stick under the Video section of the PS3 main menu.
• With the stick highlighted hit the Triangle button, and select “Display All”

You’ll see all your movies in a list, just select the one you want and hit X. If you don’t choose “Display All” the PS3 will show no videos found.

How to Play an MKV on your PS3

The majority of HD videos you will get these days are in the MKV format. The PS3 will not play an MKV natively, and the files are too large to fit on the FAT32 file system (FAT32 is limited to 4gig for a single file). Don’t worry though; there is a simple solution for this:

• Firstly, download mkv2Vob: http://www.mkv2vob.com/showthread.php?tid=1 and install it.

This program converts MKV’s into AVCHD’s. In normal speak: this turns the MKV into a format read as a Blu-ray by your PS3. It also splits the file up into chapters, getting around the FAT32 file size limit. Just like a Blu-ray you’ll never know when you move from one chapter to the next, to the viewer it’s seamless.

How to use mkv2vob

When you start the program the first thing you want to do is head to the configuration tab. You can change the configuration as you see fit, but I would start with your setup exactly as you see here:

What you need to know:

• If you do not have a DTS sound system you must check “Always Transcode DTS” on the right side. Failing to do so could damage your current speakers.
• I leave the transcoding codec as MPEG-2 (Fast), it’s technically not as good as X264, but you really can’t tell the difference (I’m using a 52” 1080p plasma). If I’m fine with it, I’m sure you will be as well.

Once you have the configuration setting setup click on the Add File tab (Add Directory is only needed for easily adding multiple files with subdirectories).

Set the Destination Directory to whatever you want, and then click browse to find a source file. Once you’ve picked one, clicking on Add File will start the process.

Protip: If you set the destination directory as your USB stick you can skip the 5-10 min it takes to copy the final video to the USB stick after the program runs. If you do this you need to open the USB stick after the program completes and move the AVCHD sub-folder out of the folder named with the video title to the root of the USB stick. Since you’re just moving and not copying this only takes a second or two.

The program will only transcode video if it needs to, if not it will skip straight to muxing, which typically takes less than 5 min (obviously depends on the speed of your CPU). If it does have to transcode it will typically take anywhere from 10 min to an hour.

Once you see the lovely “completed” Status head to your destination directory. In it you’ll see a folder with the name of your movie. You must open that folder to see the subfolder named AVCHD.

This is what you copy to the root of your USB stick.

NOTE: This AVCHD folder must be on the root of the USB stick, and can’t be named anything but AVCHD. This means you can only have one AVCHD folder per USB stick. If you want to add multiple videos to one AVCHD you can use the program multiAVCHD. Unfortunately the program take forever to run, I’ve found it easier and less time consuming to just add files one at a time.

Once it’s copied find the USB stick plug it in to the PS3 and find it under the Video section. When using AVCHD’s you don’t need to pick “Display All”, just hit X on the USB stick, and X again when AVCHD pops up. Your video will start in about 5 seconds.

When using mkv2vob TSMuxer Crashes (mkvtoolnix)

When the TSMuxer crashes it typically means the video is fine, but the muxing was done in a way mkv2vob doesn’t understand. Don’t worry though, you’re only going to have to do one more quick step before you can use mkv2vob. So stop and close mkv2vob if you haven’t already and download mkvtoolnix: http://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkvtoolnix/win32/

You’re looking for a file named something like: mkvtoolnix-2.2.0-setup.exe the numbers will change as it’s updated, but you want the –setup.exe.  Download that and install it.

After it’s installed go to your start menu and run mkvmerge GUI from the mkvtoolnix directory. You’ll see this window:

Click on Add and find your mkv file you need to fix. You’ll see it populate the box, something like this:

Now in the Tracks, chapters and tags box you need to select each line (one at a time), click on Extra options in the box below and set Compression to None.

By doing this on all tracks you’ll stop the program from transcoding/compressing (we’re going to use mkv2vob to do this, no need to do it twice), and will simply re-mux the mkv. Once you have all tracks set to Compression – None click on Start muxing. The process should take less than 5 min.

When it completes with no errors, you’ll find a new mkv file in the same folder as the old one with (1) added to the end of the name. Simply run that file through mkv2vob and you’re good to go.

How to Hardcode Subtitles to an MKV

This is actually dead simple, just use mkv2vob. (You can learn how to use it above under the section:How to use mkv2vob)

Make sure the .srt file is named EXACTLY the same as the video (except with the .srt extension in place of the .mkv) and is in the same folder. Once you’ve done that make sure “Always Encode Subtitles” and “Load Subtitles from File” are both checked in the configurations tab, and you have your languages set.

When you add the file the subtitles will be added, you can toggle them on or off (or change languages) using the standard Blu-ray menu (hit triangle while the movie is playing).

How to Hardcode Subtitles to an MP4 or AVI

.mp4, .mpg, .avi … these are all just containers. Here’s the very basic example: Your video is like your dinner. You start with raw ingredients (like a DVD rip) and then you mix and compress those into one meal. You can cook your meal in many ways, in video these cooking methods are things like: MPEG-2, Divx, Xvid, X264.

Once your meal is cooked, you need to put it in a container to serve/store it. You could use a plate, Tupperware or Ziploc. In the video world these containers are extensions such as: .mp4, .avi and .mpg. If you have a program which will allow you to simply change containers, you don’t need to re-cook the video.

Luckily we already have a program to do this. All you need to do is follow the steps for: When Using mkv2vob TSMuxer Crashes (mkvtoolnix). When adding your file you’re just going to add the .mp4 or .avi instead of an mkv. Follow every other step and the program will create an mkv for you.

Then follow the steps above for hardcoding subtitles to an MKV, and you’re good to go.

How to Bypass Cinavia Protection

Believe it or not mkv2vob does this for you. As long as you don’t have “Always Transcode DTS” checked, it will remove Cinavia protection for you. Obviously you’ll only ever need to do this for when you back up movies you already own. I would never condone illegally downloading videos off of the internet, especially of sites like demonoid, isohunt or thepiratebay

In my experience this feature works around 90% of the time. For the other 10% the only solution I’ve found is to play the video on my computer through VLC at the same time as the TV, and use sound from the computer. Not really a solution I know, but that’s the best I have for you.

UPDATE: How to Watch MKV’s with FLAC Audio

I’ve gotten some comments asking about getting an error when trying to use MKV2VOB with an MKV encoded with FLAC audio. I have an answer, but you might not like it (it’s more than a couple steps). The problem is that the PS3 doesn’t support FLAC, and neither does MKV2VOB. To play this video you need to convert the audio to something the PS3 can play, to preserve the quality you’ll want to go from FLAC to AAC (the apple codec used by iTunes).

To do this you need to follow these steps (sorry for no pictures on this one, but it’s an update so don’t look a gift horse and all that):

1. Install MKVtoolnix
2. open MKVExtractGUI (not pictured above, but it’s in the same MKVToolnix folder in the start menu)
3. Drag the MKV into the now opwn MKVExtractGUI
4. Select the audio stream (it should say FLAC on it somewhere)
5. Click extract and save the extraction somewhere you can find it
6. Convert the FLAC to AAC (to do this you’ll need to get some audio conversion software. I have never done this using a free app personally, but this MIGHT work. I haven’t used this program, I’m not vouching for it but it’s what I would try first in your shoes:http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Video/Encoders-Converter-DIVX-Related/MediaCoder.shtml. This should convert it straight to AAC. If you use something else you can convert to WAV and then import into itunes, which will convert it to AAC (check your iTunes conversion settings, lots of guides out there if you google it).
7. Now open MKVMerge GUI
8. Add your MKV (or drag it into the top box)
9. Drag in the converted audio track
10. in the chapters box, uncheck the FLAC audio
11. You don’t want to re-encode the video (to save time) to follow the steps above to turn off compression in the extra options for your video stream.
12. Hit the Start Muxing button
13. Add your new MKV into MKV2VOB and use it as you normally do.

That should do it for you. In the future try to avoid downloading (or encoding) MKVs with FLAC audio. When downloading look for AAC in the filename somewhere.

That’s it guys, again post any questions of comments you have below. Enjoy

Whether it’s online banking or online poker, if you have money online it’s imperative to learn how to keep it safe.

The jerks and thieves of the world already know how to steal and scam you out of every cent in your online accounts. The good news for you is that you can take a few simple steps to successfully stop the thieves in their tracks.

Before you can learn how to protect yourself, you need to know how it’s possible for someone to access your personal account; there are only a few ways this is possible:

1. Hacking the sites’ database and servers. This is next to impossible, not impossible, but next to. Every server which hosts your online account information, including online banking and internet poker, has built-in security comparable to the servers used by the FBI. If a person can hack a server like this, they’re not about to waste their time on your account.
2. Someone working for the site with database access (and the ability to decrypt any encrypted data) is stealing passwords. Although this is technically possible, it’s highly unlikely. The sites make sure to install multiple layers of security against this sort of attack. Although it’s theoretically possible, it’s the first security risk every system engineer looks at.
3. You installed a keylogger program: probably unknowingly and by mistake. A keylogger is a program that records every button you press on your keyboard for someone else to read. By doing this they can see your username and passwords for any site you go to. A keylogger can be installed on your computer in a few ways:
   • You go to a “bad” website which installs the program on your computer.
   • You illegally download 3^rd party software via a torrent or P2P client. It’s possible for a scammer to add their keylogger to the install of the program, installing the keylogger first, and the program after.
   • Someone plugs in a physical keylogger between your keyboard and your computer.
4. Someone physically used your computer with a saved password. Make sure you don’t leave your computer out and unlocked when hosting a party.
5. Someone cracked your password (cracking is not the same as hacking). This is difficult, since you typically only get a few tries. If someone can guess your password in less than six tries, you were asking to be robbed.
6. Someone watched you type your password; be careful in public.
7. Someone stole your password from a 3^rd party site.
8. Someone is “snooping” on a shared wifi connection.

Protecting Yourself

Almost all recorded cases of online accounts being “hacked” have been as a direct result of user error, meaning all of these cases could have been avoided. All it takes is a little education, and a few steps of security.

Except for #8, we can group all of the possible ways for you to get robbed into three categories:

1. Out of your control (numbers 1 and 2)
2. Keyloggers (malware, spyware, viruses)
3. Bad Passwords

#8 is unique because the only thing you can do to be sure you’re protected is to avoid shared wireless connections altogether. Even that is often not enough as it’s extremely simple for anyone with the will to get onto a “secure” wireless network. If you really want to be safe, plug your computer into your router directly, disable wireless and follow the steps below.

Obviously since #1 is out of your control, there is nothing more I can type about it here. Since it has never happened (or if it has, has never been reported in a place where I could find) you seriously don’t have to worry about it. If you’re playing poker on a reputable site, or your banking with a well known firm, there is little to no chance of this ever happening.

For those of you who think online poker is insecure remember: you have the same chance of someone working at the Bank of America stealing your paycheck as you do someone stealing your online poker money: technically possible, but absolutely improbable.

How to Protect Against Keyloggers

The first step is to make sure you don’t have any bad software on your computer, and have ways to keep the software from being installed. To do this I recommend these (free) sites:

1. Trend Micro Housecall. This is a free, online virus scanner. Run it now.
2. Malwarebytes. This free malware/spyware scanner/remover is one of the best.
3. Snoop Free. This is a safe software program that lets you know if someone is snooping on you. Install it, share it, love it.
4. www.getfirefox.com. No matter how you look at it, Internet Explorer is simply the least secure internet browser out there. Firefox has many great plug-ins to help keep you even more secure. It’s free, give it a try.

There are other great free options; such as Lavasoft and AVG, whatever you use, just make sure it’s up to the task. For those of you with Norton installed: for your own safety, I still recommend you use all of the programs I just listed.

A Strong Password is Crucial

Now you need to make sure that you have a strong password. In fact, you need to make sure you have at least three strong passwords (I’ll explain why you need three soon). The first step in making a strong password is understanding what a strong password is.

To learn on what makes a password strong, and tips on creating your own take a quick read of this blog entry: http://www.darknet.org.uk/2006/04/good-password-guidelines-how-to-make-a-strongsecure-password/

Don’t use the Same Password for Everything

If you like to keep it simple have three passwords:

1. One for money (your bank and poker account)
2. One for email and other “trust worthy and secure” sources
3. One for third party private sites.

Your money password should only be used for highly reputable and secure sites, such as your online bank and your major poker site. This is a highly secret password, and should never be given out, regardless of circumstance.

Your emails and whatnot should use a second password. Although you may have to give the password to your email address out to someone, you should regard this password as being almost as secret and important as your money password.
Finally third party sites, although many sites are trustworthy, there are many other sites out there that are just run by one guy with a server in his basement. Typically you sign up to a site like this by giving out your email address and a password.

If you use the same password for everything the owner of this site now has access to your email account, your email account will have records of your poker account username and possibly even your banking information… you can see where this is leading to.

Anyone who can get access to your email (the email you used for your online account) can do almost anything they want to your online world.

Your Email is the Key to Everything you do Online

Most sites you sign up to email your username and password to your email address, this cuts a path to everything in your online life.

Most importantly, even if you use a separate password for your bank account than your email, the scammer can just use the “forgot password” function on the site, and have a new password shipped directly to your email inbox, which they now have access to.
Your email is your connection to all other passwords on the web; protect it with your life… or a good password.

Even if you follow all of the tips in this guide, you should still be changing all of your passwords on a regular basis. Even the most diligent computer user can easily be phished into giving away their password, and never know it.

*Phishing is when a site builds a webpage which looks like the log in for another webpage you’re used to. For example facebook.user.com is not Facebook; it’s a page (subdomain) on user.com.

By going to a place like this and logging in to what you thought was Facebook; you’re simply giving away your username and password to user.com.

Always make sure to check where you are before you type your password. When it comes to online security the old cliché says it best: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

-Lind

I found a post about creating custom YouTube embed code which will insert a link back to your own page (instead of just linking to YouTube) below the video, and figured I’d make a tool to speed up the process.

The post in question came to me by way of the Distilled Blog: Getting Links and SEO Value from your YouTube Videos.

This post does exactly as it claims, but requires users to find and replace text, and know at least a little bit if HTML. It’s not tough, but I figured I could save you all time, and help out the true HTML newbies out there. So here’s my tool, just fill out the three boxes below, hit submit, then copy the code you’re given on the next page and paste it onto your own webpage. Simple.

PS. This works with both the old and new YouTube embed (iframe and object).