every word of it.

We Are Keeping Netflix Profiles Dear Raishad, You spoke, and we listened. We are keeping Profiles. Thank you for all the calls and emails telling us how important Profiles are. We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused. We hope the next time you hear from us we will delight, and not disappoint, you. -Your friends at Netflix

Yep, my blog is powerful. So far it’s saved 30 Rock, Pushing Daisies, and now Netflix Profiles.

Sadly, I just couldn’t save Arrested Development, or Speed Racer. But I’m ahead though, and that’s what matters.

Speaking of Speed Racer – not one person asked for a ticket refund. This either means that no one reads this OR that everyone who felt compelled to see Speed Racer after my post, loved it. I think it’s the latter.

Sadly, it looks like Speed Racer is out of theatres. Until I’ve seen Hancock and The Dark Knight, Speed Racer remains the Summer Movie of the Summer.

iLiKETRAINS is a band that plays music that is somewhere between Tindersticks and Mogwai.

Just watch this video for TERRANOVA

If that doesn’t scream Tindersticks + Mogwai, I don’t know what does. But that’s not a bad thing at all. I love the Tindersticks. I love Mogwai.

A few days ago, I hit a nice streak of iLiKETRAINS on the iPod on the way to and from work. The song THEBiBLE came on – and it threw me for a loop. It was just so completely different from what I know as the “iLiKETRAINS” sound.

And it makes sense. Since THEBiBLE comes from a rarities compilation called THE iNDiCTMENT.

Enjoy.

Are you excited? I am. Hopefully we’re excited about the same thing.

Today, Eclipse Ganymede was released. Eclipse is a software platform that has an amazing plug-in system that allows it to disguise itself as a Java Development Environment. That’s how it sneaks in. “Don’t mind me, I’m just a Java IDE.” And then all of a sudden you’re using it for reporting.

But, I love Eclipse. Most days, I spend my entire working day staring at Eclipse. So it’s nice that it’s a pleasure to use and continues to improve.

I’ve already mentioned the bread crumbs. Honestly, I haven’t made much use of them in practice. It’s a nice feature to have, but I find it is faster just to use the Package Explorer + Outline to get where I need to be.

A feature of Ganymede that I love and use all the damn time is the enhanced search results.

This is an example search. Notice how the results list the context of where the term was found. It makes scanning a list of matches easy.

One of the features I’m excited about is the Save Actions

I haven’t really used it, since I just found out about it. But it looks to be a nice time saver. Performing a lot of clean up automatically for you.

Also kind of interesting and part of the Ganymede release is the Eclipse Communication Framework. This allows for Collaborative Editing. Collaborative Editing isn’t new, but it could be more useful now that it’s “standard” from within Eclipse. We’ll see.

The “New and Noteworthy” is a mile long. It really is amazing that the Eclipse Foundation can coordinate a release with 23 different projects.

So thanks Eclipse, for making my life easier.

Here’s a tip

At the intersection of I-20 & Great Southwest, gas is amazingly cheap. $3.87 cheap. I’m not sure how it’s possible. But it’s been that way for the past week. I suggest if you’re in the area, take advantage of the situation.

Speaking of gas, I found more evidence that the Toyota engineers’ who designed the RAV4 made a pact with the devil. A co-worker recently purchased a Lexus IS250. That comes with a 2.5L V6 making 204hp mated to a 6 speed transmission. For a car lacking a hatch, it’s very nice. The EPA gives the IS250 21/29. In real life, said co-worker mentions that she gets 24-27mpg. That’s what my RAV4 gets!

Let’s go to the tape

Bigger Engine, More Power, Heavier, Holds More Crap – and stills gets comparable mileage.

Important News Regarding Netflix Profiles

Dear Raishad,

We wanted to let you know we will be eliminating Profiles, the feature that allowed you to set up separate DVD Queues under one account, effective September 1, 2008.

Each additional Profile Queue will be unavailable after September 1, 2008. Before then, we recommend you consolidate any of your Profile Queues to your main account Queue or print them out.

While it may be disappointing to see Profiles go away, this change will help us continue to improve the Netflix website for all our customers.

If you have any questions, please go to http://www.netflix.com/Help?p_faqid=3962 or call us anytime at 1 (888) 638-3549. We apologize for any inconvenience.

The Netflix Team

I will miss the Profiles. They were a great way of making sure I got my movie, and my mom got her crappy Indian movies every week. No need to manage the queue manually.

Netflix is a customer friendly company. So it’s kind of disappointing they’re removing features (that I use).

The Boy Detective Fails.

I just finished reading it. I really enjoyed it. I started it on my flight back from Grand Rapids, and finally finished it this morning.

It was recommended to me by Jackson Publick.

P.S. If you’re a fan of The Venture Bros.–especially the sad and lonely parts about loss and failure–I highly recommend Joe Meno’s The Boy Detective Fails, which I recently re-read, and which is available at finer bookstores everywhere.

And he was right. It was fantastic. Maybe read it if you feel like it?

And Jackson Publick wasn’t kidding about the “sad and lonely parts about loss and failure”. This book has it in spades.

Sunday was the Rilo Kiley show. Now just to get this on the table, I’ve never listened to a Rilo Kiley album. I’ve heard maybe one song by them. So going in, I was fresh.

Rilo Kiley were competent.

They just didn’t do anything for me.

Thao Nguyen. She had something going on. I really enjoyed her set.

The Palladium was also a great venue. The Loft and The Palladium – both excellent places to listen to live music.

But you know who the real stars of the evening where? Etymotic ER 20 High Fidelity Earplugs. I bought them after the British Sea Power show, and this was my first opportunity to use them in a club. And you know, it made everything sound better. It was like an equalizer for your ears. I recommend them highly.

I would travel to to London on Sunday November 16 to see

Sun 16 November – TMWRNJ Reunion Special – Many of the cast of the cult BBC 2 show get together for the first time on stage for almost 10 years. Please be aware that most of these people will be doing their current acts rather than material or characters from the show – including Stewart Lee, Richard Thomas, Paul Putner, Emma Kennedy and Trevor Lock. Hopefully Kevin Eldon will also show up, though he hasn’t got back to me yet. The evening will be headlined by a short 10 minute set from defunct double act LEE AND HERRING. This is the kind of gig that only comes along once in a blue moon and will sell out first, so BOOK NOW!

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I love Stewart Lee and I love Richard Herring, and I especially love Lee and Herring together.

I’m saving Speed Racer. I did it with 30 Rock, Pushing Daisies, and I’m doing it again.

I mean, Speed Racer only making 2 million this weekend is one of the most disappointing things this side of Hillary Clinton’s Primary Race.

Go see Speed Racer. Out of all the movies I’ve seen this summer, it’s winning Movie of the Summer. For the record, I’ve seen Iron Man, Indiana Jones, and Speed Racer.

Here’s the first 8 minutes

It’s filled with so much joy and entertainment. The visuals are amazing. It’s not cheap and annoying some would have you believe. It’s like pop rocks for your eyes. There probably won’t be a movie like this again. You owe it to yourself to see it in a theatre. The blending of live action with CGI just works so well.

And you know what, I believe in Speed Racer with such conviction – I’ll offer a money back guarantee. That’s right – if you watch Speed Racer, and don’t enjoy it – I’ll refund you the cost of your ticket. And just so this won’t end up on digg and result in me going to the poor house – I have to know you personally. And also, I can refuse to pay up if I feel like it or feel like you’re lying.

Also, Expensive, Cool, T-Shirts