I was supposed to go to the beach this past weekend but it didn't work out. So we stayed home. Even though the beach was out of the question we still took Monday off and went for a hike which was very nice. Kelly and I, along with the two dogs, hiked the Cabe Lands Trail section of the Eno River Park trail system in Durham and we did 1/2 of the Eno Quarry trail (a branch off Cabe Lands Trail) until a creek cross thwarted our attempts to continue. Wet feet on a cold day don't mix well.
We enjoyed the hike and the dogs did as well. All of us slept like rocks last night thanks to the adventure. I think we'll end up checking out move of the Eno River trails in the near future. It was quite a nice couple of hours in the woods. I must say, the Eno River is a quaint body of water and had it been the summer I'm sure all four of us would have spent some time in the shallow water cooling off. Maybe next summer.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
My how far we've come
I sit here in my bonus room moving scads of data around from a Firewire 400 to a USB 2.0 disk and it occurred to me how far we've come with personal computers. My computer is not remarkable, in fact it's rather outdated being a simple 1.5 Ghz Apple mini G4. But what amazes me is I have a gig of ram (not remarkable) and one terrabyte of disk space (today not remarkable) yet a far cry from the sixty gig it shipped with from the factory.
It wasn't too long ago I witnessed my first 1 gig RAM installation in a Silicon Graphics server in the then Glaxo data center back in, oh, 1994/5 or so. Back then that was amazing! The gig of ram fit onto a single board the size of a spiral-bound notebook and slid into a massive chassis the size of an upright refrigerator. The largest consumer data disk you could purchase on the open market at the same time was a Western Digital 1 gig drive and that seemed massive in its size. Now a gig of disk space is laughable. Hell, I have two USB thumb drives downstairs that combine to greater than eight gig - and I spent less than $15 on them COMBINED!!! To put things in perspective the first Western Digital 1 Gig hard drives cost $1000.00 retail. Now it's possible to have a gig or more of VIDEO RAM!! Amazing. What's next I can only imagine.
True, applications today require more disk space. A video editing suite such as iMovie, Final Cut or whatever the Windows version is from Adobe or others can generate multiple gigs of data in a sitting. Garage Band, the app I wish I could use should I be able to play an instrument, can itself eat up half a gig with a single multi-track song. Speaking of Garage Band, I wonder what would it cost to commission Larry Karnowski to record a copy of Plastic Jesus in Garage Band for me? Let me know, Larry. I'd love to have a copy of that song recorded by someone I know, it's one of my favorites. Bring it over when you're done and we'll all watch Cool Hand Luke. At the beach, if you want.
My, how far we've come with personal computing. How far can we go and what it will be like when we get there?
Scotty, beam me up.
It wasn't too long ago I witnessed my first 1 gig RAM installation in a Silicon Graphics server in the then Glaxo data center back in, oh, 1994/5 or so. Back then that was amazing! The gig of ram fit onto a single board the size of a spiral-bound notebook and slid into a massive chassis the size of an upright refrigerator. The largest consumer data disk you could purchase on the open market at the same time was a Western Digital 1 gig drive and that seemed massive in its size. Now a gig of disk space is laughable. Hell, I have two USB thumb drives downstairs that combine to greater than eight gig - and I spent less than $15 on them COMBINED!!! To put things in perspective the first Western Digital 1 Gig hard drives cost $1000.00 retail. Now it's possible to have a gig or more of VIDEO RAM!! Amazing. What's next I can only imagine.
True, applications today require more disk space. A video editing suite such as iMovie, Final Cut or whatever the Windows version is from Adobe or others can generate multiple gigs of data in a sitting. Garage Band, the app I wish I could use should I be able to play an instrument, can itself eat up half a gig with a single multi-track song. Speaking of Garage Band, I wonder what would it cost to commission Larry Karnowski to record a copy of Plastic Jesus in Garage Band for me? Let me know, Larry. I'd love to have a copy of that song recorded by someone I know, it's one of my favorites. Bring it over when you're done and we'll all watch Cool Hand Luke. At the beach, if you want.
My, how far we've come with personal computing. How far can we go and what it will be like when we get there?
Scotty, beam me up.
OBAMA
I wake today with renewed optimism of the direction and place in the world that American holds. Last night the Country rejected four more years of minority Evangelical misrule in favor a candidate who offers hope and optimism for ALL Americans regardless of color, economic standing or religious belief. For this I am thankful.
This morning I also wonder what does it mean to be conservative? Conservatives can no longer say they are for smaller Government, Bush having presided over the largest expansion of Federal Government in the history of the Country. Conservatives can no longer say they are for reduced Government spending, Bush having run the economic ship aground through reckless misuse of our Country's finances. Lower taxes? Forget that. You can only have low taxes if you keep spending in check. Even Joe Six-Pack feels he in danger of becoming Joe Mad-Dog 20/20 because of unchecked spending and massive deficits leading to the devaluation of the dollar.
No, it seems all the conservatives can say is they are against abortion and homosexuals, ironically the group of people least likely to have an abortion for obvious reasons.
So, conservatives, it's time to try to reinvent yourselves. Try to keep off those feet you shot repeatedly over the last eight years, they will take a while to heal.
This morning I also wonder what does it mean to be conservative? Conservatives can no longer say they are for smaller Government, Bush having presided over the largest expansion of Federal Government in the history of the Country. Conservatives can no longer say they are for reduced Government spending, Bush having run the economic ship aground through reckless misuse of our Country's finances. Lower taxes? Forget that. You can only have low taxes if you keep spending in check. Even Joe Six-Pack feels he in danger of becoming Joe Mad-Dog 20/20 because of unchecked spending and massive deficits leading to the devaluation of the dollar.
No, it seems all the conservatives can say is they are against abortion and homosexuals, ironically the group of people least likely to have an abortion for obvious reasons.
So, conservatives, it's time to try to reinvent yourselves. Try to keep off those feet you shot repeatedly over the last eight years, they will take a while to heal.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
One last thought on Election '08.
McCain keeps saying that he is "a maverick ready to shake up Washington" thus implying that he is an outsider. True, McCain calls Arizona home as I once did. Like McCain I also called Washington D.C. home, until 1979 when my family pulled up stakes and moved West.
Something in McCain's speech has caught my ear this election, something that says he's spent far TOO long in Washington and he's no outsider at all and that is his pronunciation of the word "Washington". D.C., and the surrounding "beltline" areas of Northern Virginia and Maryland all commonly pronounce "Washington" as "Warshington", listen closely and you'll hear it - but generally NOT from Congressmen and women.
Why? In general these people bring their local dialects to Washington that reflect the patterns of speech of the people who elected them to office (except, of course, the carpetbaggers who are a different story altogether). McCain speaks like he's from Washington because he has been there so long and spent so much time there he has identified himself as a local of D.C. rather than of Arizona and that is reflected in his own speech.
Don't believe me? Listen to Libby Dole if you are able. She speaks with an accent complete free of any North Carolina influence. Why? She lived in D.C. and Kansas the last, oh, 25+ years, perhaps longer, and spends less days in North Carolina a year then I have hot meals in a month. It's sad really. If you don't spend time in your home state how can you know how to reperesent the people who elected you? It's really quite a quandary.
But I digress. McCain is no outsider of Warshington. He's a professional elected official, an "insider", a resdient of D.C. more than a resident of Arizona (despsite how many houses he may own in the state). Let's just hope he stays a Senator and then, just maybe, the good people of Arizona may later question if he is really representing them at all.
Something in McCain's speech has caught my ear this election, something that says he's spent far TOO long in Washington and he's no outsider at all and that is his pronunciation of the word "Washington". D.C., and the surrounding "beltline" areas of Northern Virginia and Maryland all commonly pronounce "Washington" as "Warshington", listen closely and you'll hear it - but generally NOT from Congressmen and women.
Why? In general these people bring their local dialects to Washington that reflect the patterns of speech of the people who elected them to office (except, of course, the carpetbaggers who are a different story altogether). McCain speaks like he's from Washington because he has been there so long and spent so much time there he has identified himself as a local of D.C. rather than of Arizona and that is reflected in his own speech.
Don't believe me? Listen to Libby Dole if you are able. She speaks with an accent complete free of any North Carolina influence. Why? She lived in D.C. and Kansas the last, oh, 25+ years, perhaps longer, and spends less days in North Carolina a year then I have hot meals in a month. It's sad really. If you don't spend time in your home state how can you know how to reperesent the people who elected you? It's really quite a quandary.
But I digress. McCain is no outsider of Warshington. He's a professional elected official, an "insider", a resdient of D.C. more than a resident of Arizona (despsite how many houses he may own in the state). Let's just hope he stays a Senator and then, just maybe, the good people of Arizona may later question if he is really representing them at all.
Adios!!!
Today I wave goodbye to the Political Ad. This morning I wondered why and how they have embedded themselves so deeply under my skin against a raw nerve but then I figured it out: this campaign has been going on for well over four years.
Think I'm joking? During the last election the Republicans did not elect to have anyone run against Bush. The reason was obvious: the less they had the idiot speak in public (and God help him, debate) the less chance of the people asking themselves "is this idiot the right man for the job?" The ploy worked. Kerry failed to rally the Democratic faithful and Rove's dirty tricks won the day, more or less and now we find ourselves in the midst of the greatest financial disaster our Country has ever faced (possibly with the exception of The Great Depression, but we're not through this one yet people).
Not long after W stammered his way trough the Oath of Office, where he once again pledged to defend a document he does not believe in or recognize, the campaigns on the Democratic side ramped up starting with John Edwards. Hillary Clinton became "the thing that would not quit in the face of insurmountable losses" and that carried the Democratic campaign all the way to Puerto Rico, the very last territory to vote in the Primary. After that Hillary still wouldn't leave, crying all the time that she should have been elected and she was now broke because of all the money she "loaned" her campaign and, "oh, wouldn't you please donate to my campaign even though I already lost?" Pathetic.
After the whole McCain/Obama thing got started and later Palin brought in a whole new breath of (fresh?) air into the mix. Now, I think, most people see Palin as dangrously unqualified and not the brightest light in the room, which is really saying somethign when you stand next to W.
So tonight we find out the fate of our great nation. I already voted so now I just sit back and watch and hopefully toast "my" candidate's victory tonight!
It suddenly crossed my mind that I should have organized some kind of rally. Oh well, too late now.
Think I'm joking? During the last election the Republicans did not elect to have anyone run against Bush. The reason was obvious: the less they had the idiot speak in public (and God help him, debate) the less chance of the people asking themselves "is this idiot the right man for the job?" The ploy worked. Kerry failed to rally the Democratic faithful and Rove's dirty tricks won the day, more or less and now we find ourselves in the midst of the greatest financial disaster our Country has ever faced (possibly with the exception of The Great Depression, but we're not through this one yet people).
Not long after W stammered his way trough the Oath of Office, where he once again pledged to defend a document he does not believe in or recognize, the campaigns on the Democratic side ramped up starting with John Edwards. Hillary Clinton became "the thing that would not quit in the face of insurmountable losses" and that carried the Democratic campaign all the way to Puerto Rico, the very last territory to vote in the Primary. After that Hillary still wouldn't leave, crying all the time that she should have been elected and she was now broke because of all the money she "loaned" her campaign and, "oh, wouldn't you please donate to my campaign even though I already lost?" Pathetic.
After the whole McCain/Obama thing got started and later Palin brought in a whole new breath of (fresh?) air into the mix. Now, I think, most people see Palin as dangrously unqualified and not the brightest light in the room, which is really saying somethign when you stand next to W.
So tonight we find out the fate of our great nation. I already voted so now I just sit back and watch and hopefully toast "my" candidate's victory tonight!
It suddenly crossed my mind that I should have organized some kind of rally. Oh well, too late now.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Roku Roundup
I did indeed watch many movies while working all weekend at the living room sofa or dining room table (both in view of the HDTV). Wireless Ethernet and VPN technology sure do make life easier.
To the movie reviews:
King of Kong
Previously reviewed. Was working and wanted something familiar on the tube. A great documentary.
Bigger, Stronger, Faster
A very interesting documentary about steroid use in America. This should be required viewing for high school athletes. *** out of *****.
Vanishing Point
A favorite of mine. Can an enjoyable movie be made about a guy simply driving a car? It appears so.
The Host
Another favorite. This may be THE BEST monster movie ever created. No joke, it's that good.
Westworld
Yul Brenner at his best! A classic from the 70's. Or was it the 60's? Regardless it's good stuff though one wonders about the gaping plot question "why would they give the robots real bullets in the first place?"
Heavy Metal
Animated classic from 1981. The first major release of an animated movie rated R. Good, classic metal soundtrack. Listen for John Candy and Eugene Leavy.
Eraserhead
WTF is this? Really. Seriously. This is some kind of nightmare, I think. So bizarre, even for David Lynch. **** out of *****
Trailer Town
Never, ever watch this movie. It's sick and disgusting not to mention pointless. Only watch this movie if you want to be able to answer "what's the worst movie you have ever seen" without any internal conflict. Is it possible to give zero stars? This movie sucked and, yes, I watched the entire train wreck. I now have the rest of my life to wonder why. (seriously, how the hell did this movie find distribution?) zero out of *****. It's not that bad, it's worse.
Area 51
Documentary about Area 51. No huge revelations where. Good cinematography. Excellent video of the area around Area 51. Made me homesick for the West just a wee bit. ** 1/2 out of *****.
The American Hobo
Darn entertaining this short documentary was. Learn where the term 'hobo' originated. See video of from inside of boxcars (this is illegal and dangerous, by the way). Still, I have to admit, I wanted to hop in a box car myself and travel around the country for a week after seeing this movie. I've known two people who have done this in their younger years. Dave, he was one of my roommates that attended the University of Arizona and he would either hitch-hike all summer or ride the rails during summer break. An interesting guy. He saw a lot of the Country traveling around randomly. Mike, well, he was a bit different. He got fed up with work one day (around his 23rd birthday), quit his job and "hobo"ed around via rail for 18 months. He also nearly froze to death going through Colorado (he trail was supposed to be "staying warm" between San Diego and Phoenix. Oops. And another time he though he was on a trail through Nebraska when, in fact, he was heading the wrong direction and ended up in Detroit. Not a great rail yard if you believe his descriptions. Anyway, this was a fun little movie narrated by Ernest Borgnine of all people! *** 1/2 out of *****
Jericho: Season 1 Pilot
Been there, saw it already. Still good and entertaining. I wish the series could have kept going.
Longtime Companion
I was looking for a specific movie made in the late 80's about the HIV outbreaks of the early 80's. This wasn't it. But still it was a decent movie. Look for Bruce Davidson and Dermot Mulroney. *** out of *****
Joint Security Area
Excellent movie though somewhat slow moving. If you worked or served in South Korea I think you'll be entertained by this movie. **** out of *****. Look for Kang-ho Song, who also stars in The Host.
Home Sweet Home
I'm sorry, but this movie was really terrible. It's "too British" for my liking. Not to mention depressing. I just didn't strike a chord with me. ** out of *****.
The Open Road
Now I'm stretching. This was a documentary about... drumroll please. AMERICAN RETIREES! Oh, the fun of watching retired people be retired. Parts of it were informative and they were thoughtful enough to include a cross-section of people including those that have enough money to travel as they wish down to a guy who drives a cab because he has to. I felt kind of sorry for the cab guy (he died in 1994 without really having ever "retired"). *** out of *****
The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made
Somehow, and don't ask me how, Trailer Town didn't make the list. Perhaps they only meant theatrically released movies. Anyway, see footage from the cheap Jaws rip-off Great White and other horrible, horrible movies. No genera is left out. There's a little something in this one for everybody. I just wish some of the clips of the terrible footage could have been longer. They were entertaining! *** 1/2 out of *****.
Believe it or not, that was all the movies I watched. Oh, except for the stuff on the Apple TV. I only watched one or two movies on the Apple TV so I didn't include them in the list.
To the movie reviews:
King of Kong
Previously reviewed. Was working and wanted something familiar on the tube. A great documentary.
Bigger, Stronger, Faster
A very interesting documentary about steroid use in America. This should be required viewing for high school athletes. *** out of *****.
Vanishing Point
A favorite of mine. Can an enjoyable movie be made about a guy simply driving a car? It appears so.
The Host
Another favorite. This may be THE BEST monster movie ever created. No joke, it's that good.
Westworld
Yul Brenner at his best! A classic from the 70's. Or was it the 60's? Regardless it's good stuff though one wonders about the gaping plot question "why would they give the robots real bullets in the first place?"
Heavy Metal
Animated classic from 1981. The first major release of an animated movie rated R. Good, classic metal soundtrack. Listen for John Candy and Eugene Leavy.
Eraserhead
WTF is this? Really. Seriously. This is some kind of nightmare, I think. So bizarre, even for David Lynch. **** out of *****
Trailer Town
Never, ever watch this movie. It's sick and disgusting not to mention pointless. Only watch this movie if you want to be able to answer "what's the worst movie you have ever seen" without any internal conflict. Is it possible to give zero stars? This movie sucked and, yes, I watched the entire train wreck. I now have the rest of my life to wonder why. (seriously, how the hell did this movie find distribution?) zero out of *****. It's not that bad, it's worse.
Area 51
Documentary about Area 51. No huge revelations where. Good cinematography. Excellent video of the area around Area 51. Made me homesick for the West just a wee bit. ** 1/2 out of *****.
The American Hobo
Darn entertaining this short documentary was. Learn where the term 'hobo' originated. See video of from inside of boxcars (this is illegal and dangerous, by the way). Still, I have to admit, I wanted to hop in a box car myself and travel around the country for a week after seeing this movie. I've known two people who have done this in their younger years. Dave, he was one of my roommates that attended the University of Arizona and he would either hitch-hike all summer or ride the rails during summer break. An interesting guy. He saw a lot of the Country traveling around randomly. Mike, well, he was a bit different. He got fed up with work one day (around his 23rd birthday), quit his job and "hobo"ed around via rail for 18 months. He also nearly froze to death going through Colorado (he trail was supposed to be "staying warm" between San Diego and Phoenix. Oops. And another time he though he was on a trail through Nebraska when, in fact, he was heading the wrong direction and ended up in Detroit. Not a great rail yard if you believe his descriptions. Anyway, this was a fun little movie narrated by Ernest Borgnine of all people! *** 1/2 out of *****
Jericho: Season 1 Pilot
Been there, saw it already. Still good and entertaining. I wish the series could have kept going.
Longtime Companion
I was looking for a specific movie made in the late 80's about the HIV outbreaks of the early 80's. This wasn't it. But still it was a decent movie. Look for Bruce Davidson and Dermot Mulroney. *** out of *****
Joint Security Area
Excellent movie though somewhat slow moving. If you worked or served in South Korea I think you'll be entertained by this movie. **** out of *****. Look for Kang-ho Song, who also stars in The Host.
Home Sweet Home
I'm sorry, but this movie was really terrible. It's "too British" for my liking. Not to mention depressing. I just didn't strike a chord with me. ** out of *****.
The Open Road
Now I'm stretching. This was a documentary about... drumroll please. AMERICAN RETIREES! Oh, the fun of watching retired people be retired. Parts of it were informative and they were thoughtful enough to include a cross-section of people including those that have enough money to travel as they wish down to a guy who drives a cab because he has to. I felt kind of sorry for the cab guy (he died in 1994 without really having ever "retired"). *** out of *****
The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made
Somehow, and don't ask me how, Trailer Town didn't make the list. Perhaps they only meant theatrically released movies. Anyway, see footage from the cheap Jaws rip-off Great White and other horrible, horrible movies. No genera is left out. There's a little something in this one for everybody. I just wish some of the clips of the terrible footage could have been longer. They were entertaining! *** 1/2 out of *****.
Believe it or not, that was all the movies I watched. Oh, except for the stuff on the Apple TV. I only watched one or two movies on the Apple TV so I didn't include them in the list.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
What in God's name..
This is the strangest thing I've ever seen. Thank God I watched it during the day and not last night. This movie is so ******** bizarre. I'm at at loss for words. David Lynch's home planet should be turned into some kind of tourist destination.
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