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Netflix CEO Reed Hastings’ criticism of how Comcast meters bandwidth usage of its own Xfinity app on Xbox 360 has gotten the attention of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

ThinkGeek:

Short of whipping out a skillet and doing a quick fry-up, how can we enjoy that wonderful meaty sweet and smokey aroma without the temptation and subsequent belt-busting and heart-clogging richness of actual cured-pork ingestion? Bacon scented candles, of course!These premium scented candles are long-lasting and made from actual rendered bacon fat using a top-secret process that preserves bacon’s natural aromas and essential oils.

Mmm…Bacon. I have to imagine the only people who would buy these would be single guys. Would any woman allow you to fill up her home with the smell, however delicious, of bacon?

Hearing the commotion, Cisco came from the back yard and into the driveway, barking at the officer, as any dog would do. Mike’s hands in the air, a gun pointed at him, he was afraid for his life, and therefore could not move or attempt to quiet or restrain Cisco. He told the officer that Cisco would not bite him, to please not shoot his dog. Almost immediately, a bullet was put into Cisco’s chest, killing him instantly.

The cop was responding to a domestic dispute call, went to the wrong address and shot this poor guy’s dog.

Bill Amend:

Announcing my simultaneous first steps into the worlds of e-books and self-publishing. I’m pretty excited. If you’re an iPad user who likes FoxTrot or who has a kid who likes FoxTrot, these are for you.I’m calling them FoxTrot Pad Packs, because I like the metaphor of collectable cards and how you build up your collection via booster packs. I made them myself using Apple’s free iBooks Author software. Each $1.99 book contains 100 strips, some old, some new, some story lines, some stand-alone jokes, some black and white dailies, some color Sundays. The idea is to create mini books that take maybe 20-30 minutes to read and which aren’t bogged down with a ton of outdated references, as happens with my older, chronologically arranged print books.

Most of us are fans of the strip and this looks like an interesting way to collect a variety of them.

Amazing.

Netflix’s CEO is taking Comcast to task for violating the principles of net neutrality.

Becker Auto Design is offering luxury conversion vans that’ll set you back $400K. It’s a lot of money, but boy, you’d be riding in luxury.

Many thanks to Pixelmator for sponsoring The Loop’s RSS feed this week.

Pixelmator – beautifully designed, easy-to-use, fast and powerful image editing app for Mac OS X.

Instarchive:

There’s been a lot of talk about Instagram lately. We’re pretty sure the sky isn’t falling, but you should always have a backup, so we built this little tool for you.It’s called Instarchive, sign into your Instagram account and we’ll send your photos down to your computer in a convenient zip file. It’s quick and easy, we hope you like it.

Hat tip to Daring Fireball.

Cool Material:

The Craft Beer App has (deep breath): an enormous database of craft beer (from all 50 states), beer podcasts, beer videos, beer descriptions, reviews, ratings and food pairing recommendations. Most importantly, it will locate your favorite craft beers around your location. Want an Allagash White, like, yesterday? Done. Left Hand Milk Stout? No problem.The availability obviously depends on your location, but it’s easily the best use of geo-location to date. Besides, what else are you going to do in the car/bus/cab? Draw something? This is obviously better.

Mmmm…beer.

My dog sends me texts. I post them here. Yeah, it’s weird.

I couldn’t help but laugh at a few of them.

TechCrunch:

Livestream, the live video streaming service, is announcing an interesting new product: a $495 hardware encoder that can be connected to virtually any camera and that can stream HD video directly to the Web through a WiFi connection or most USB wireless modems.The small device is fully integrated into the new Livestream platform. The purchase price includes three months of free access to Livestream’s ad-free HD streaming service (normally $45/month). Livestream describes the device as “the industry’s first affordable unlimited ad-free HD live streaming end-to-end solution.”

This could be a very exciting piece of tech for broadcast geeks. It would allow them to quickly and easily get high quality video streamed live to the web.

Dark Roasted Blend:

Dizzying heights, pervading mists and isolation seem to invariably fuel humankind’s spiritual quests and lofty aspirations, so it comes as no surprise that we find monasteries and other sacred architecture suspended high above deep valleys, perched on impossible rocks and looming over gorges. The air is certainly clearer there, though at these heights, it’s often much foggier.Serving partly as castles and almost always as unconquerable fortifications, these ancient sites were built on steep cliffs and daring promotories, often accessible only by secret paths – and thus provide the utmost seclusion amid serene surroundings, so valued in true spiritual devotion.

As a Canadian, all I can think of is, “It must be a bear to get beer up there.”

Sigh.

Forget new gear, weapons, or sophisticated targeting systems. The newest tool coming to combat troops is low-tech: beards. In a report released yesterday, research think-tank Xegis Solutions noted that beards have a direct correlation to combat effectiveness.

Damn right!

[Via Scott Johnson]

The Vancouver Sun:

The image of a dinosaur whose remains were discovered in Alberta’s Peace Country will be featured on our newest quarter — the first Canadian coin with a glow-in-the dark picture.The quarter, being released by the Royal Canadian Mint April 16, features Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai, a large herbivore whose bone fragments were discovered by Grande Prairie, Alta., science teacher Al Lakusta in 1974.

It’s a glow in the dark 25 cent piece that costs $30. Silly Canadians.

Simpsons creator Matt Groening revealed to Smithsonian magazine which Springfield the Simpsons’ Springfield is named after.

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The Next Web:

In a move that should be a surprise to nobody, technology darling 500px is moving to take out Flickr with a new Plus plan. The company had previously held a high-level plan that was priced at $50 per year, but the Plus membership’s $20 per year pricing is aiming to hit Flickr where it hurts against its own pro-level plan at $25 per year.As for the features? Here’s what you’ll get – unlimited uploads and storage, access to files, unlimited number of collections, market functionality included, and advanced statistics on engagement.Another, smaller announcement is coming today as well. The site is introducing a desktop uploader app, for the Mac only. It’s doing so in response to the 30,000 photos per day that are uploaded to the service via the manual process, with 25% of its users on Mac machines.

I was a big fan and user of Flickr but it hasn’t really moved forward. Lots of photographers are checking out what 500px offers.

NASA: NASA’s 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) with space shuttle Discovery mounted atop will fly approximately 1,500 feet above various parts of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area on Tuesday, April 17. The flight, in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration, … Continued

Anti-malware software publisher Kaspersky Lab has set up a site and free tool you can use to check your Mac and get rid of the Flashback malware, if necessary.

Dodge will introduce wireless device charging as an option when the 2013 Dart debuts.

The Marriott hotel chain says it’s ordered its ISP to stop using technology that allows it to hijack Web page loading with its own ads.

Jack Tramiel, the founder of once-influential computer maker Commodore International, died over the weekend. He was 83.