September 2002 Archives

So, I get an email everytime someone posts a comment. It's the highlight of my day, since there are so few of them, but that's not the point. The point is, if you're going to post a comment, think. Think about what you're about to say - is it relevant? Is it appropriate? Above all, is this the right place to do it??? I make references to all sorts of websites, both here and on my mc108.com site. And people add their thoughts to the various posts about the sites. But the thing that gets me is that these people don't think. For example, a post about a site that puts up the transcripts of the "Saturday Night Live" Weekend Update segment resulted in many people asking - basically, asking me - where they can find the transcript for XYZ show, or the one guest-starring so-and-so. Guess what? I can't help them. My names not google, and I'm not the one running the site with the transcripts.... so it just bugs me a little bit. What's worse is the ones that read about a site, go to it, and then leave me a comment asking a question about the site they just visited.

The Stand: Complete and Uncut, by Stephen King.

When I saw this in the library, I decided to take it out, partly 'cause I wanted to see how the book was, and partly because I never got to see the whole mini-series when it was on TV.

What I got was the "Complete and Uncut" version of the book - which is substantially longer than the originally released version, I understand. The note from King at the beginning of the book indicates that he originally needed to cut a lot for various reasons (including business reasons, apparently), but this new release was more in line with what he wanted to put out the first time - so it's a bit like a "directors cut" of a movie.

If you're not familiar with the story of the book, the premise is that a super-secret US Army base is experimenting with various biological agents and one of them, a shifting antigen variant of the flu, manages to get out. It kills everyone in the underground labs, and a guard at the front gate of the same labs manages to get out before he's locked into his guard shack. He knows what goes on underground, and before he left, he could see that they were all dead - so he grabs his wife and child, throws them in the car and starts to haul ass, thinking that he's not sick now, he won't get sick, and they'll get away from it all. He couldn't be more wrong.

After spreading this new super-flu across the country, the guard ends up crashing into a gas station in rural Texas. The locals call the police, and when he dies en route to the hospital, people start to wonder just what's going on. The CDC gets involved - and the Army starts it's cover up.

The flu spreads like wildfire, taking the life of most of the population of the world (the Army, while attempting their cover up, decides to set some of the flu loose in various other parts of the world, so it won't seem like it was just a problem in the US - bad move).

The folks that are left, scattered around the US, start to have dreams. Some dream of a kindly old woman, some of a scary man who's face is never revealed. People start to travel to whomever appeals to them more, and this is where it becomes clear that there is going to be a final stand off, good versus evil, and the survivors will be the ones making the final stand.

The writing is very well done. King knows how to write, and he does it well - a little too well, since in this case, it took me quite some time to finish this tome (it's frickin' long!).

Some of the scenes are very well done, and the whole concept of the book makes you wonder just whats going on, both with any real "super-powers" and in our own backyards - and in todays climate of terror everywhere, who knows what's going on. The fact that various intelligence community reports say that certain terrorist organizations have access to chemical/biological warfare agents makes it all a little too real, and just a wee bit too scary.

It's definately worth a read, and if you're so inclined, make sure you read the book before the movie - they always drop little bits out of the movies, and you don't want to miss some of the gems hidden in the pages.

Speed Stacks, Inc. Videos - The Large File QuickTime Clip of Emily Apparently "Speed Stacking" is the new sport that's sweeping the nation - or something. I will admit that its very interesting to watch - for about as long as this video. Note that the video is actual speed, and that she's really fast.

Normally I try to give new TV shows a couple of episodes before I review them, but I'm afraid that they may cancel this one, so it's worth doing now. Overall, the premise is interesting, but I have to wonder if the FBI really devotes that many people for so long to one missing persons case. I guess it makes sense, based on the limited timeframe, but it came across differently on the show - especially when the head of the unit was working like 30 hours in a row. If he does that for every case, he's going to be on some serious medical leave soon. The background work that they did for the missing persons seemed pretty realistic, as was the digging up of dirt on every person with a possible connection - I especially liked how they discovered that the doorman was arrested for dealing drugs in the past, so they kept at him until he revealed he was still dealing. Overall, the acting was pretty decent, and the production of the show itself was good. The writing was ok, but I have to wonder if the show itself will be able to stick around for long - it seems like there's only so many ways a person can go missing. Of course, I initially thought the same thing about CSI, and look how that's doing.....

I was very busy with a project last Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Then we went to the Big E on Wednesday. I have some cool/cute photos of the Big E, but they're being processed (i.e. I need to Photoshop 'em). I'll have something up, maybe later tonight, but wanted to let "my peeps" know that I was just a little burnt out - haven't really done much on the computer until this afternoon. First up: eBay stuff (to sell). After that, some Big E stuff, then who knows what else - more projects, probably....

How do you get a web developer off of your porch? (click it).

Max Casella played him on Doogie Howser, M.D.. Anyway, watching The Soprano's tonight, I noticed him as one of the guys. Fun!

Had to bring you this: Bizarro And also apologize for no recent updates. I'm up to my asshole in alligators, so to speak, working on various projects and continuing the "Mr. Mom" experiment further and further. This week, Mr. Mom escorted :emma: to her first ever soccer class. She did a really good job, and I think we may have a World Cup contender on our hands - but that's just her daddy talking :). More in a day or so, when the bulk of the work is done and I've had a chance to rest a bit.

Forest Whitaker is the new host of "The Twilight Zone" on UPN. Forest is a decent actor, but he's coming across a little odd in the role of the narrator - but maybe it's something he'll need a little time to get into.

The pilot featured two stories, both of them good, both of them creepy, and one of them done before in many variations. According to the official site:
When rebellious teenager Jenna (Amber Tamblyn) and her family move into an exclusive gated community that her parents hope will help them better control the troubled teen, Jenna soon discovers the dark truth behind how her new neighbors deal with discipline problems.

In the second episode, a young doctor (Tyler Christopher) is suddenly confronted with a patient who claims to be "Death" (Jason Alexander) incarnate.

The first story has been done several times (including a nice version in "The Outer Limits), but the episode with death was good - especially the zinger at the end.

I think the show has definate potential - especially when you consider that a few of the folks involved in the show have worked on "The Outer Limits," which has a rich and fabulous history in the sci-fi/fantasy world.

Empire out flanks Milford
Milford seeks way to prohibit adult store Ok, so let's see... a new "adult" store wants to come into town. The local city ordinance dictates that they can't be within 300 feet of a church, school, or liquor store. Their choice is right next to the on/off ramp of I-95 (actually just down a mile down the road from my house), and it's probably about 400 from an "alternative" high school. My biggest problem with this whole debacle? "Judy Drapp, director of the Little White House Learning Center nursery school and kindergarten about a block from Erotic Empire's proposed new home at 9 Banner Drive, said she's devastated to learn such a business will be the school's new neighbor." I have an issue with how they portray the new store (which I could care less about) and the nursery schools relative location. The Little White House is about 1/10 of a mile down the road, hidden (or maybe "nestled" is a better term) in an industrial park. You can't see it from the road, and it's certainly not going to be a "neighbor" of the Erotic Empire - any more than I am going to be a "neighbor" of it, and I live a mile up the road from there. Orange First Selectman Mitch Goldblatt said he's "not happy" to hear Milford also is faced with another adult store. "I'd prefer not to have this type of business in our town," Goldblatt said. "I'm just shocked there's this much demand for this and that people would venture out in public to these types of establishments." Does Goldblatt really believe that in this day and age, people are still doing things the way they were back in the 1600's? We're not all Puritans - heck, there's some people out there that have sex with members of their same sex. And let's not forget that some folks are having sex with multiple partners, too - I'm sure that's just as wrong in his book. But just 'cause he doesn't like it doesn't make it wrong..... Erotic Empire plans to sell G-strings, Playboy and Hustler wear, adult videos and other adult products. It will not feature live entertainment, food or liquor. So, if there's no live entertainment, there's no liquor, and there's no food, what's the problem? It's on the other side of the highway from two truck stops - and a low-cost motel (which, should be noted, is just a little bit seedy). Truck stops have, in the past, been notorious for illicit drugs and prostitution - and I'm sure Milford isn't immune to such things. Does this mean that local politicians and citizen groups have decided to ignore this slightly bigger problem in favor of a new local business that will actually pay taxes back to the city? I think we all have bigger problems that need to be addressed - so how about we figure out what they are let people have their porn if they want it - and if they don't, the business won't be there long, so then the "Uptight Citizens Brigade" will be happy again.

Oliver Willis: Reality Distortion Field Oliver is a very bright guy, and he's got a point here: O'Reilly is a moron with a big mouth, and the liberals are just rolling over and letting him have their way with them. He's also right about King Bush I failing the world back in the Gulf War. Todays local paper has an article about VP Cheney coming to visit our little state (Groton, to be specific) to stump for U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons and using the campaign visit to go on and on and on about how we need to kick Hussein's butt now, not later. Of cource.... "the vice president had barely left the posh fund-raiser before Simmons began explaining his continuing opposition to the Bush administration's claim that the U.S. may need to take swift, unilateral action against Iraq.". So it's nice to see that not all of the conservatives think we need to just go in there and kick some ass. We would need some proof. The way I see it, King Bush II is just trying to continue the "war on terrah" that he started on 9/12/01. Sure, terrorists are bad and all, but now he's just looking for anyone who's butt we can hopefully kick. His father failed to do it the first time, so let's finish the job now, right?

Jen came home from work this morning with a fortune cookie that a co-worker of hers wanted me to have: So there's that to look forward to, right? In other news, I took :noah: with me to the chiropractor today, then we went to CompUSA for some father/son geek time. I showed him the new Apple iMac with the 17" cinema display, and he liked it. Especially when I made iTunes go into visual mode. He rather enjoyed that. Then we stumbled upon a dual giga-hertz G4 with a 22" cinema display. The display alone is worth almost as much as my car is right now. Scary! This computer had "The Lord of the Rings" in the DVD drive, so I made it go full-screen and hit play. Noah liked that a lot too. I asked him if we should buy one, and he nodded empatically. Sometimes I love that boy so much.... :) On the way out, we walked past a display for the Monsters, Inc. DVD just out today. I didn't even really notice it, but he did. Quite loudly, in fact. Looks like I'll be buying yet another instant Disney classic for the kids. If it wasn't for the fact that the movie is produced by Pixar, I probably wouldn't care, but Pixar's done some pretty sweet stuff, and the fact that Steve Jobs is the CEO of both Pixar and Apple doesn't hurt either.... There was some other little tidbit I wanted to share, but I can't recall now. Maybe in the morning......

While I will grant you that many, if not most, of what I post isn't news per se, so that would exclude me (mostly, anyway) from the "hard news journalist" categories. But I've noticed that folks like Dave Barry, Andy Inhatko, and Bill O'Reilly aren't exactly hard news folks, but they're still journalists of a sort. And don't get me started on that O'Reilly fella - just don't.

Still not too much news on the job front, but as usual, I'm always hopeful. More and more interesting jobs in the paper, but still no-one seems to be hiring. I actually just read that Connecticut's recovery from the current recession is going to be a jobless recovery. "What's that?" you ask? "A jobless recovery?" Well, according to the paper, it means that instead of all those jobs that disappeared at the start of and during the recession won't be coming back. For example, they said that there were like 2,500 new hirings in the first quarter of this year. There were like 600 for the second quarter. Is it just me, or is that a sign? A really, really, REALLY BAD SIGN?????

means that I don't get time to play. Or blog, for that matter. Little things around the house, little projects I have to do for myself and others, little kids that need attention....

The kids wanted to watch 101 Dalmations last night while at my folks, so I let them. Was that a bad move?

Glenn Close is absolutley evil. Well, actually, I guess she's more like De Vil. Cruella De Vil. Fashion queen Cruella has the lovely Anita (Joely Richardson) in her employ. Anita owns a Dalmation (Perdita), which is where she draws her inspiration. Cruella, of course, loves her designs. The fact that she also loves wearing animals (and has a rare Siberian Tiger killed and skinned so she can wear it) is a little disturbing at first, but don't worry - it gets worse.

Roger (Jeff Daniels) is a happy go lucker video game designer, who also owns a Dalmation (Pongo). His is trained to get him up in the morning, as well as start the shower, fetch the paper, and turn on his computer.

Anita and Roger both ride their bikes and take their dogs with them to the park. One day, Pongo gets a look (or is it a whiff?) of Perdita and starts dragging Roger through the park, the a shopping mall, through traffic, and into a pond, trying to get his way to Perdita and her master. Once he meets Anita and Perdita and gets Pongo back, they part ways - until Perdita pulls the same stunt and Roger and Anita end up warming up by the fire in Rogers home. They get married, of course.

Anyway, Pongo and Perdita end up having puppies, and Cruella wants them. Badly. When she is refused the chance to buy the puppies, she goes crazy with rage, and hires two bumbling idiots to dognap them. Then you have the ensuing chase scenes to get them back.

What really stood out in this movie was Glenn Close as the insance Cruella. She cackles easily, dresses the part, and has just a hint of that insane gleam in her eye through the whole movie. If she had never appeared in any other movie, I'd probably come away from this movie wondering about her sanity - actress or not, she obviously put a lot of work into this role.

A little scary for younger kids, there is mostly just comedic violence, but the undertones for the scarier stuff are there, and some pretty bad stuff is just implied - meaning that it might be worth watching WITH your older kids, to make sure they understand it all in the right context.

Dan Piraro is a very funny man, and he draws some really kick-ass cartoons. I always check him out whenever I can (and just signed up to receive the cartoon via email every day - how handy is that?). The only upside to missing several days of his work is that I can then enjoy several strips at once, instead of just one a day!

1. What was/is your favorite subject in school? Why?
Anything where the teacher showed lots of movies ;). 2. Who was your favorite teacher? Why?
Mr. Ball, for a creative writing class in high school. He would start class with a free-writing exercise, and always put jazz on his record albulm (yes, RECORDS!) and putter around the room while we did our thing. Very cool. 3. What is your favorite memory of school?
A couple of friends and I would usually eat lunch outside in high school. Not in the assigned eating area, but we'd just go outside and pick a spot. Kinda like pic-nic'ing, only with the barbed wire and guard dogs :). 4. What was your favorite recess game?
Probably kick-ball. I was ok, but I never got razzed or anything, so that was good. I hated being singled out for ridicule.... 5. What did you hate most about school?
Where to begin....? I never really hated school itself, but some of the teachers, and a lot of the work....

Yahoo! News Search Results brings us many links to articles about.... The Sept. 11 NY lottery results. Why is that so important? What if I told you that the numbers drawn were 9-1-1???

Haven't heard back from anyone about any of the jobs so far - with one small exception. I sent a couple of resumes out last week, and I have an interview set up for one next week - so that's a possible good thing. In other news.... OS X continues to grow on me. I'm hoping that the developer of a couple of my every day programs finish either testing or creating their applications for OS X and release them (or certify that they work properly with the latest version). The biggest stumbling block right now is my eBay auction tracker. While it still works, it's slower and takes like 5 minutes to launch (it's "Classic", so that has to start first). I'm working on making some more backend changes around these parts. I recently considered a new look, but will hold off for the time being - if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? The backend stuff is probably beyond anyones care, but there's a new version of MT coming, and I have some other ideas I'm working on. The problem I have is getting those ideas either onto paper so I don't forget or not getting sidetracked while trying to make the idea a reality. Those damn video games keep getting in the way. :) Has anyone else in CT noticed how chilly it's been lately? The strong winds on Wednesday were bad (they blew a bunch of our garbage around the yard while we were gone and snapped our flag pole off the house!), but now it's just cold. Sure, it's creeping into the 70's during the day, but it's like 50 at night. I know I shouldn't complain, but that's a little chilly for my tastes. And going downstairs in the morning is a bit of a shocker - heck, even getting out of the nice warm bed in the morning is a bit of a shock. Oh well.... Here's hoping that my day is filled with succesful phone interviews (you know, where they size you up and decide if they actually want to have you come in?) and other fun callbacks.

More info on the frell-up with Farscape: Apparently, the fan response is more than expected, so they are only going to dismantle the sets this week, not destroy them entirely. What does this mean? We still have a chance!!! Go to SaveFarscape.com, get the contact info, and write a letter. Don't let one of the best written, acted and executed shows on TV (not just sci-fi, but all of TV!) be cancelled!!! The Slime Pit is collecting contributions to put a full-page ad in the Syndey Morning Herald to thank the cast and crew for all their hard work. Make a donation and help thank them! Save Farscape was something I linked to before, but this domain name is easier to remember. They have all sorts of contact info and updates, so check them out! The SciFi Wire published by Sci-Fi channel reports on the demise of Farscape. Cinescape reports the same.

So, that "censored" post the other day was due to the fact that my former employer laid more people off. One of them was on vacation, and wasn't told about it officially until today. I didn't want to say anything to spoil their vacation - I happen to know that they are among my few regular readers - so I kept my mouth shut. In other news, I've been on another interview, and so far, I've heard back nothing. My resume is once again making its way to various potential employers, but I have to say that the economy sucks, so no-one is hiring. I can understand why people aren't hiring, but that doesn't make me like it anymore. In other news, I'm happy to report my switch to Mac OS X (10.2, or Jaguar, to be specific) as been very successful so far. I'm getting used to the new OS and it's differences, and I'm finding that the "Classic" applications that I thought I'd be using all the time are either available as OS X applications or run decently in the Classic environment. It's not ideal, but it's working for now, so I'll just accept it and move on.

This is very bad news for sci-fi fans. It seems that the folks at the Sci-Fi channel have decided to cancel one of their best shows yet: Farscape. The cast and crew just finished filming the rest of season 4, and they were just told that there will be no season 5. Very disappointing news.

Some links:
SAVE FARSCAPE! online petition

Save Farscape - has some addresses of who to write to - remember, if you write, be nice!

Discussion on Slashdot - more info

Crackers do matter - another list of the addresses, also has a fax number.

GummyDongs.com Let's see... they're gummy like candy. They vibrate. And they're sugar free!

It seems like there's more and more cop shows on tv. And they keep getting better and better.

Some recent examples:
CSI on CBS. I may have mentioned this show a few hundred times in the past, but it's because it's so good. The show is about the Crime Scene Investigators - the geeks with guns who figure everything out. Ok, not everything, but lots of things. Trace evidence analysis, DNA sampling, paint residue analysis, they do some really cool stuff. The science behind the show is pretty solid, and they always find a great way to "show" some of what it is they're talking about. The acting is great, the writing is great, and the pacing is always keeping you on your toes.

Third Watch on NBC. Now entering it's fourth year, Third Watch had a (to me) rocky start with some mixed quality shows in the first season, and the ever horrible floating time block. When they finally put the show into it's Monday night spot, I think it started to do better, and they're cranking out some quality work lately. They were supposed to have some big black out/riot to start off last years season, but that was replaced by stories dealing with the events of 9/11 from the point of view of the same heroes that were in the spotlight at the same time the episodes were airing. There are fire-fighters and police officers in the cast, and I'm sure they were instrumental in bringing some of the very moving scenes dealing with this very sensitive time. NOTE: A&E just started airing re-runs of Third Watch at 11:00 (local, probably). They're airing them in order, with the exception of the episodes playing on 9/10 and 9/11 - they are the ones that deal with the events of 9/11 and the direct after math. Some very powerful stuff there.

The Wire on HBO. I wasn't too sure about this show, but HBO has a habit of both surprising me and keeping me guessing, so I figured it was worth a try. The first couple of episodes were a little slow to start, but that was mostly laying the background of the storyline and setting up the confrontations for later in the show. I don't know if they plan another season - the finale is supposed to be next week - but if they did, I could see them doing a good job with it. The biggest problem that I see with the show is the extensive use of slang, both with the cops (and DA's) and the dealers. My wife occasionally watches part of the show, but she gets lost very quickly. Part of this is the language, and part of it is the fact that she hasn't seen all of the episodes - and this is definately one of those shows where if you don't get in on the ground floor, you're likely to get lost.

24 on FOX. Starring Keifer Sutherland, this show just plan rocked. Meant to happen in real-time during each episode, the show was a look at one 24 hour period in the life of FBI Special Agent Jack Bauer, head of a Counter-Terrorism Unit. I'm sure that the events of 9/11 changed some of what they had planned for the show, but even if it did, it wasn't noticable. The plot is excellent, the writing excellent, and the acting, with one or two exceptions, also excellent. Each episode brings new twists and turns - some shocking, some expected - and at the end of ever episode, you found yourself wishing it was next week already. This show was originally slated for one season, but the powers that be decided to go on from there. Probably a good choice, but we'll have to wait a few episodes and see. The neatest part of this show is that they've already released season one in a 6 disc set. Just in case you want to review everything before the next season starts....

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
Law and Order: Criminal Intent both on NBC, also appearing on USA. Both of these are spin-offs of the original Law and Order, but both of them manage to do allright by themselves. SVU is about the folks who investigate the more sensitive crimes - usually sexual in nature. Detectives Benson and Stabler, the primary focus of the show, have their own issues in dealing with the crimes they investigate, but they manage to pull through - convincingly - and treat each crime as if it's the only one that ever mattered. Criminal Intent is supposed to be "seen through the eyes of the offender", but it's not - it's just the cops investigating the bad guys. Both shows seem like they've stretched the collective Law and Order writing staff a little thin at times, but they come through in the end. The acting is usually pretty good, and the major twists in the episodes - while kept to a minimum - usually do throw you for a loop and make you pay even more attention.

This coming season has some good looking shows (CSI: Miami, Boomtown, Robbery Homicide Division to name a few), but it's too early to tell how they'll do. I can say, however, I expect no good from CBS's new show, "Hack." The fact that it's loosley based on "The Enforcer" is a bit much, but looking at the extended commercials that they've been playing for it (in, I might add, a very heavy rotation) make me cringe when they come on and give me little hope for the show. I do want to give it a chance, but I have a bad feeling about this one.

Something happened, but I can't say what. It didn't happen to me, but it happened to some people that I care about (and some I don't), and it just pisses me off. I can't say anything more at this point, but it's quite a pisser.

SUCKY. Today I spent about 5 hours cleaning out the gutters. On top of a ladder. At an 80 degree angle. In the hot hot blazing sun. Now I have clean gutters, but the back of my neck is pretty sun-burned. Ouch.

Yahoo! News brings us.... Well, a very disturbing photo of Jerry Lewis doing his MDA telethon.

I got my latest ThinkGeek newsletter today, and inside it were two goodies:

The Color Changing Brick Of Light (from the same folks that invented the LavaLamp)

The TrackerCam (which makes your web cam more useful) Now if only I had a job so I could afford these (and many other) toys. But to keep you interested, I present ThinkGeek's latest items, via their RDF feed, and processed by RSSMonkey. Check it out. You'll lust after their stuff much like I do.

But my life has been consumed (to a point, mind you) with trying to find some sort of gainful employment. Possible freelance work aside, what I really need is a full-time job with a good (or, preferably, great) paycheck every other week. Since it's hard to do that when I'm doing the "Mr. Mom" thing, I've started doing the job search thing at night - like now. Hopefully something will come of all this, and then I'll go back to my usual posting schedule - aka as erratic as now, but slightly more regular. More updates as events warrant. Or whenever I feel like it. :)

Yahoo! News - Baseball Cracks Down on Web Sites This summer, with baseball seemingly consumed by the just-resolved labor dispute, the two superfans were stunned when Major League Baseball tried to bench their sites and those of at least two other fans. It's ok that the fans want to do something for the teams and each other - they apparently just can't use the names or logos of the teams that they're fans of. How stupid is this?

From PhilRingnalda.com:

NextBlog! gives you a random recently updated Blogger-powered blog.

random blog gives you a random blog from the blo.gs database (updated in the last seven days).

RandomFreshBlog is my version of the weblogs.com version of NextBlog! that Dave wants - I'm using the blo.gs changes.xml file rather than the weblogs.com version, since blo.gs's file is a superset of weblogs.com's. Wonder what else is out there that plays with the XML files.....