Friday

HACK

Predator Press

[LOBO]

It took me two months to figure out Brent's password, but I finally did.

Sure I could have hired some nerdy brainiac for like 50 bucks ... but the satisfaction of having done it personally just tickles me pink.

Plus I didn't have 50 bucks.

So I started with "1, 2, 3 ... " and so forth.

His password, fortunately, can only be 9 digits long; I only had to go to 999,999,999 before I figured out that the jerk must have letters in it too.

Oh, very clever Brent.

Very clever.

So I began again. "1A, 2A, 3A ... " and so forth.

Three weeks in, I no longer slept or ate.

-And I lost count at 87A4B669.

"Brent!" I sobbed into the air. "Truly you are a worthy adversary," I cried.

"What if his password is case-sensitive?" asked LadyTerri.

I don't remember much after that. But somebody had apparently thrown the Christmas tree through the living room window. I had been trying to get around to taking it down for some time already, and while this was an appreciably and straightforward solution to the issue, it would have been better to open the window first.

With the cold February winds blowing through the living room, it was clear that my plans to infiltrate Brent's Platform of Evil would have to temporarily be postponed: by sheer bad luck, The Ominous Comma would continue to survive on borrowed time.

At this point I was also forced to conclude that going through the 51,999,999,896,000,000,052 possible permutations of his password wasn't going to be a very practical solution.

Plus people might think I was obsessing.

I decided to sneak into his house instead.




Brent going to Texas for a wedding turned out to be just the break I needed to crack this case; with him safely out of the country, I could do a little unobserved personal reconnaissance. My three private investigators got his address within hours, and it turned out to be only about an 11 hour drive.

I put the long journey to good use by playing Tinsel of Doom backwards and at varying speeds, searching for secret messages. I found numerous. For instance, during the song Danger Couch is Coming to Town you can distinctly hear the following:


"And then I will kill LOBO, and
dancing upon the charred and blackened
remains of his clearly superior blog,
I shall build an empire that dominates the Blogosphere!"


-You have to add all the nouns and verbs to tie it together. But once you do that, the sinister message is clear as a bell.

I'll have to minimize my commentary on his startlingly tasteful decorative skill; while lacking the acid-spitting robot watchdogs I was expecting, his house is pretty cool as far as evil geniuses go.

But I was on a mission to find Brent's password, and that seemed nowhere to be found.

I needed to think like Brent.

So I put on Brent's evil pajamas, and padded down to his evil refrigerator and got one of his evil beers. And then I sat in his evil living room eating his evil popcorn and watching his evil DVD No Country for Old Men. That movie was awesome. But what was up with that ending? Did all the writers suddenly get tired and just say "Ah, whatever"?

Cursory searches provided little information, save for some rather convincing evidence here and there.

I didn't strike gold until I went into Brent's den. The evil in that room was nothing short of palpable, and his new computer hummed and throbbed with electronic malevolence.

So this is where it all happens, I thought to myself. My God.

Fearfully, I pressed the 'On' button, and the booting cycle began. And after a few moments, a deeply synthesized voice greeted me.

"Good evening Brent," it said. "What despicable evil shall we inflict on LOBO today?"

Terrified, I clutched my mouth to hold back a scream. I became dizzy and grasped desperately at the edge of his desk for balance, accidentally tearing a Post-It note by his mousepad loose.

I staggered backward in into the hallway in barely-muted horror.

Only then did I dare read the Post-It.

It said:



Reeling in the mixed emotions of victory and fright, I felt myself overwhelmed by the urge to vomit. Quickly finding a nearby bathroom I flicked on the evil light, lifted the evil toilet lid, and roared Technicolor chunks of popcorn, beer and bile for what seemed like an eternity.

Shakily, I went to wash my sweating face in an effort to regain composure.

It was then I noticed a small brown furry object on the counter.

At first I thought it was a caterpillar.

As the slow realization of what this strange object really was sunk in, the hair on the back of my neck began to rise.

It was Doctor Toboggan's mustache.

Overwhelmed with panic, I shrieked and fled the house.

Unfortunately, we may never know what Brent has done with the rest of poor Doctor Toboggans.

... But would we really want to?

Monday

Predator Press Remembers the REAL Commander Adama



Predator Press

[LOBO]

"There are those who believe that life here began out there, far across the universe, with tribes of humans who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. They may have been the architects of the great pyramids, or the lost civilizations of Lemuria or Atlantis. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man who even now fight to survive far, far away, amongst the stars."









Play Now for Effect





-I said play it now!





Sad kinda, isn't it?  To end this decorated military career -a war hero- selling food to dogs.  I mean I like dogs.  But dogs don't have money, or pockets for wallets and stuff.

And nobody takes checks from dogs.

-Even if the dog has a valid ID.



Sunday

Ask LOBO

Predator Press

[LOBO]

People are always asking me, "LOBO, what is the secret to your staggering successes when it comes to keeping women happy?"

Well, I'm glad you asked me that. Now, happily married for well over a year, I feel I am qualified to lecture comprehensively on the subject.

As a busy and successful entrepreneur, trying to fit in all my meetings, alien and zombie insurrections and Muscle and Fitness photo shoots barely leave me any time whatsoever for my more scientific endeavors –let alone the day-to-day chores such as taking out the garbage; one only has to have his still-beating heart ripped from his chest and impaled by salted glass shards a dozen times or so before he realizes that there is definitely room for improvement in overall relationship contentment and stability.

One solution that showed moderate success was to ensure Terri had an ample and adequate supply of chocolate available. This often seemed to “take the edge off” of conventional disputes: when chocolate chip cookies and/or brownies were readily on hand, she would often forget to salt the glass -in fact there were times when she didn’t even impale the pulsing organ with any salted objects whatsoever, instead electing to douse it in gasoline and torch it with matches. While not considered entirely a success, this did in fact provide a sterilizing effect and cauterize the points where her fingernails penetrated, significantly improving the odds of surgical reinstallation.

The seemingly obvious solution –to actually remember to take out the trash- is a simpleminded, Luddite-esqe approach. Why go through all that effort if modern chemistry could take care of all that for you? I then presented the crack staff of Predator Press Scienticians with this problem.

According to the rjxchange.com, “Studies have shown that people in love have an unusually high amount of [Chocolate], thus, [Chocolate] is also known as the “love drug.” [Chocolate] increases blood pressure and sugar levels and creates the feeling of well being and [Chocolate] contentment.”

And so what if the article was really about heroin? The solution is clear: an abundance of chocolate is indeed the key. Confident I was “on” to something, I designed a custom Chips Ahoy holster and spent countless hours practicing a quick-draw technique –ultimately achieving a high level of deadly accuracy.

Unfortunately Terri, when upset, can be very uncooperative with science: numerous computer simulations were conducted, proving conclusively that the cookies would simply shatter against her clenched and growling jaw serving only to enrage her further. (Worse, the broken cookies would only contribute to the afore mentioned neglected trash.)

Thus it was back to the drawing board. If Terri was to resist high doses of chocolate as they are required, what good is this knowledge at all?

And that’s when we developed the Predator Press Chocolate Blowdart [retailing at $799.50, available at Ace Hardware and Autozone]. Days of garbage-forgetting ambushes can be a thing of the past: with a simple deep breath and exhale, you too can watch as your formely-hostile spouse’s eyes glaze over in loving contentedness. And once sedated, you can “tag” them with such pertinent information such as address, blood type, a tracking device, and a microchip preemptively transmitting anniversaries and pertinent birthdays to your Blackberry.

Order today and receive a $10 off coupon for the Predator Press Skillet of Love and free shipping.


Saturday

Where There's Smoke, There's ART

Predator Press

[LOBO]

One of the most intriguing sites I've found tooling around on the web is PaperKraft.net.

It claims that you can take this:



And make it into this:



Unfortunately, I can't confirm the veracity of the site because I always end up with this:


and occasionally this:


-It always seems to come apart during the flight stick assembly.




***


Woe to thee PaperKraft.net -if in fact that is your real name: you have cost me 17 hours of life, eighty pounds of construction paper, four gallons of Elmer's glue, and caused countless paper cuts resulting in $1,457 in self-inflicted hospital bills my insurance will no longer cover.

For this I'm directing the full and mighty vengeful force of Predator Press to inflict swift, lethal payback by beating you at your own game.

Jerks.

Tune in next week, 'O Loyal Reader. For then Predator Press will launch our own series of fantastical origami art tutorials.

We will teach you to take this:



And make stuff like this:


Tuesday

Keeping the Romance Aflame

Predator Press

[LOBO]

I have recently made the observation that the most significant appliance in my marriage is a medium-sized cast iron skillet.

See, upon occasion I lose my sense of decorum and post about, um, fisting androids and random loose allusions about pornography.

!!!WHANGGG!!!

-In a fraction of a second the "message" is delivered loud 'an clear.

Once I'm out of the hospital, several days of apologetic groveling must ensue: this typically includes flowers, chocolates, window serenades, jewelry, luxury cars -whatever it takes to trick her into thinking I have deeply-rooted “feelings” and warrant forgiveness.

Conversely, if I’m mad, she uses this exact same skillet to make my favorite food: pork chops. Pork chops -minus the time to defrost them- take maybe an hour and max out cost-wise at around $15.

This versatile utensil is truly remarkable, and when factoring in the innate marriage-saving properties it must be regarded with a certain awe … an awe that could bring an entrepreneurial blogger such as myself an assload of cash.

-Cash that can be used for the afore mentioned apologetic groveling.

As many of you longtime readers know, Predator Press has always been a blog dedicated exclusively to successful relationships and personal fulfillment. It is in this spirit I’ve contacted DuPont and –with Doctor Phil onboard as a consultant- have developed the official Predator Press Skillet of Love.

No couple that takes itself seriously should be without it.

Retailing at around $1,249.93 (plus S&H), the Predator Press Skillet of Love is constructed of contoured space age polymers and alloys making it extremely lightweight, balanced, and aerodynamic for hurling ease and accuracy -while the virtually impervious coating provides a non-stick surface that rarely requires cleaning, seasoning, or even heat.


Detachable laser targeting scope (pictured) is optional and sold separately.

Saturday

New Mars Rover Convertible, Has Cup Holders

Predator Press

[LOBO]


"AM radio?  Dammit Houston, the antennae is fucked up again."


Middle-aged men buy exotic sports cars in an effort to be more alluring to women.

It occurs that NASA, trying to find life on Mars, should adopt this same logic: perhaps they should build a rover that would be more alluring to aliens.

-You know.  Fill it up with rednecks not wearing pants and carrying crappy cameras.


Friday

People Say "Book Burning" like it's a BAD Thing

It was a one night stand
... stop calling me!

 Predator Press

[LOBO]

Now working for a book distributor, I'm developing an increased awareness of how many of you nerds weren't left smashed on the schoolyard good 'n proper.

Books were things teachers made us endure because they hated and liked to punish us.  And yeah I sell them.  I sell them for the same reason everyone else does.

Miss Addington, have you met Elmo?
-Spite!

But every day I see perfectly good, normal-seeming adults flipping them open and watching these 'books' for hours on end, just like it's a football game or something.  I'll sneek a peek over a shoulder every now and then just to make sure I'm not being tricked -you know, like maybe they're watching American Idol on a concealed iPad or cellphone?

But no, it's usually just another one of those bookwatchin' cult weirdos starin at squiggly lines.  Sometimes there will be a picture, but they don't move or anything.

No Kim Kardashian, no "Situation," no cartoons ... yet these bookwatching freaks just sit there, hour after hour.  I'm squeamish, too: Christ, watching people do this to themselves is the equivalent of cutting the top of my skull off, and pouring in salt and broken glass.

What has America come to?

This is just plain depressing.


*** BONUS CUT ***

Just in case you guys doubted these books exist, I decided to link the pics to places they are being sold.

But Amazon.com made me shoot coffee through my nose when I saw this:




Quotes from Amazon page:


"Share your own images"

"Gift wrap available"

"23 used from $0.41"

"Want it delivered Monday, November 28 ... ?"



Internet Swag

Predator Press

[LOBO]



Report: Many U.S. Parents Outsourcing Child Care Overseas


What if our Alien Visitors are Delicious?

Predator Press

[LOBO]

Oh, come on ... you're all thinking it. I'm the only one that has the cajones to come right out and say it.

And I can already hear you bleeding heart liberals complaining, 'But LOBO, aliens capable of interstellar travel would be super-intelligent!' blah blah.

Oh please ... ridden a bus lately? What if these are celestial losers tryin to get a picture of themselves next to the intergalactic equivalent of the 'World's Biggest Ball of Yarn?"

Pthbttt!

The capability of travel doesn't impress me. In fact non-intelligent beings travel every day (see photo, right).

And frankly, these rude and unannounced tourists being 'intelligent' only makes the idea more attractive: what could be better than a meal that preheats the oven, sets the timer, lathers itself in a fine mornay sauce and is fully cooked to a succulent golden-brown before you even get home?

As far as I'm concerned, the only question is whether to serve them with a white wine or a red.