Writer. Nerd. Gamer.
Combat naps are supposed to last anywhere from 10 minutes to about an hour (if you’re really lucky).
I laid down to take a combat nap this afternoon.
I woke up around midnight.
If this were a field of battle, I’d either be dead or deep inside enemy territory as the line would have probably advanced around me.
Getting old sucks.
This website has finally been moved to another web hosting company.
Whew.
You see, I have a slight problem.
My bandwidth settings on my websites are wrong and they need to be corrected. Because of a problem that is beyond my reach or ability to fix, I have submitted a help desk request to have this problem corrected.
So far, this is the way it’s going.
Me: Help Desk Ticket#1 Opened. I can not change my bandwidth up or down.
Them: Ok, here is what you do. Change your bandwidth of the biggest account down to 1 megabyte. Make sure the other accounts don’t exceed your maximum bandwidth and then change your biggest account back making sure not to exceed your bandwidth settings.
Me: Huh?
Them: Help Desk Ticket Closed.
Me: Huh? Um, I can not change my bandwidth settings up or down.
Them: Send us a detailed description of your issue with login instructions, what you click on, etc.
Me: Huh? Why?
Them: Help Desk Ticket #2 Closed.
Me: What? My issue isn’t fixed. Help Desk Ticket#3 Opened. Pictures and login information sent.
Update: Finally got someone who understood the problem and corrected it.
Now. The universe can continue.
Update#2 : The Strictly Right Mark Steyn podcast has become so popular that it’s hogging all of my bandwidth. No; I’m not providing a link. Re-read Update#2.
This might actually be a regular feature around here. I wrote this late Friday evening after watching this on the Netflix site. Early Saturday morning (for shits and giggles) I decided to look up some other reviews on the movie. They all agreed with me. Rare? Yes.
Movie Summary
The idea of the film is that an alien race believes that Earth is on a dangerous course to becoming an eventual threat. In a preemptive action, the aliens send 666 “megalith” robots to Earth to destroy it. In addition, they send two humanoids. The male’s mission is unclear and never really known. The female called “The Destroyer” is in charge of deciding whether or not the humans should be destroyed or if they have a quality that makes them worth saving.
Initial Problems
The movie was made in 2008 and they were still using CRT monitors? Granted, they took over a warehouse building in the very beginning of the film. What computers were they using? Just big bulky old looking desktop PCs littered the “command center” and give the viewer the feeling that these props were donated by the local recycling center. In the beginning shots, someone off camera is talking while the camera is focused on people who seem to have nothing to do with what is being said.
Displays (when shown) were nonsense and didn’t portray a visual idea of what was happening. For example, Independence Day had various computer displays used to enhance the viewing experience. You should be able to look at these displays and get some type of “understanding” about what the actors see and what is happening. In this film, the displays made no sense and I couldn’t tell what they were trying to show. Is that a picture of a megalith? Why is it blinking? What does this mean?
A few great effects such as the megalith standing in the middle of the city were under utilized. The shots were really well done as far as CG (computer generated shots) goes. The problem with this film is that there were not enough CG shots. They re-used the same shot over half a dozen times. This makes me think that they had a woefully small budget or only had the use of a Commodore 64. Judging by the CRT monitors, I might just be right about that.
Military Problems
The military was poorly done. No real uniforms. No rank insignia. Drove Chevy Suburbans instead of Hummers. Couldn’t tell what branch it was. The movie didn’t contain shots showing the scope of military involvement. The commander’s lackey (assistant?) wore a suit and tie and looked to be about 16 years old. There were a few shots in the beginning of the movie where the lackey held a cell phone to his ear; ok, why? The guy in charge was clearly unshaven and his haircut was borderline unsatisfactory from a military standpoint. In other words, he would never pass any basic military inspection. The highest ranking officer on scene would have been a General and not a mere Commander.
Script Problems
Story was probably a 1st rough draft and not developed. If the script would have been developed and then shot by a competent director, this movie would have been pretty good aside from the fact that it still would have been considered a rip off of The Day The Earth Stood Still. I felt that it was made just because someone gave the money to do so. After reading other reviews on IMDB, it has been brought to my attention that this movie mimics “The Day The Earth Stood Still.” The remake was released around the same time and someone in the review section thinks that by releasing a movie with a similar name they hoped to garnish some of the other movies audience.
This is the 2nd movie (The Land That Time Forgot was the other one) that I’ve seen that was directed by C. Thomas Howell and in both cases, they weren’t directed very well. I wonder why he’s doing it. He also stars in the film and “over acts” nearly every scene. I used to think that C. Thomas Howell was a young actor who was going places. He did; go places. He just didn’t go to a good place.
The basic plot of the movie and the basic questions should be answered in the first 10 minutes (10 pages of script) of the movie. This movie did not do that. Only about mid way through the movie did we understand what the plot was and what the protagonist needed to do to succeed.
Naked Problems
Wow, the gratuitous nudity in the beginning of the film reminded me of the last C. Thomas Howell movie I had seen. Not quite sure why both of the human “alien” characters crashed their ship when the walking two-legged robots landed without a problem. Ok, so they crashed their ship; so at what point did they need to be naked? I am all for nudity but only when necessary and it just didn’t seem appropriate here. Don’t get me wrong; Sinead McCafferty is gorgeous without her clothes on but this movie could have been made without her showing her goodies.
Logistics Problems
The female alien human chick gets shot (for reasons I’m still not clear about) and afterwards while lying on the hospital bed her mascara runs. The woman was captured in her naked state and then given clothes and she is locked in a room. At what point would she have applied mascara and at what point would she have known what it was? This is another element that was out of place and didn’t fit.
Near the end of the movie when we are still unclear as to the fate of planet Earth, all the lights all over the planet go out. We cut to a shot of a car chase and low and behold, the lights are on in the city. Huh?
Judd Nelson was listed in the credits and only makes a brief appearance. His wife gives birth in the back seat of a Suburban. The baby is born with none of the usual “mess” and also appears to have aged 3 months from womb to air.
Because of a poor story, inconsistent visual elements (like the mascara), and bad acting this movie was painful to watch.
One of the best short writings on the subject you’ll find.
The article can be found here. Short and to the point.
I like it. Working in your pajamas is over rated.
This never gets old.
The Glenn Beck 08/28 Rally
The Jon Stewart Socialists Rally
If any of you are wondering what a good Linux Distribution is, I have a good suggestion.
Linux Mint. (excellent article on LifeHacker)
I run Linux Mint on an old Dell with a Pentium 4 processor and use that box to test Word Press code as well as other projects where I need a good Guinea pig.
As with most Linux distributions, Linux Mint is free.
Linux also carries a similar file structure to that of Apple so you need not worry about viruses and spyware; at least, not for now.
Many folks out there who just want to test their themes or a plugin will find Linux Mint more than adequate enough. In addition, all of the appropriate files are included so you don’t need to go searching for MP3 codecs, video codecs, etc. Everything just works out of the box.
High recommended.
When it comes to spreadsheets, word processors, and general office software I hate change.
I remember using one of the very best Word Processor’s ever written SpeedScript for the Commodore 64 and wondering how anyone was ever going to top that simplistic gem written by Compute! Magazine contributor Charles Brannon. I remember literally typing in the code from the magazine to create the software. Ah, those were the days.
We’ve come a long way since then. I use half a dozen different programs for different purposes. Word processors, manuscript writers, concept writers, etc.
Office 2010 is a major jump for anyone who uses Office 2003. Let’s face it; we’re talking a seven year gap.
I remember using Office 2007 and becoming frustrated by the new menu system.
I did some catching up last night by taking a few online courses and we’ll see how it goes.
Update: Our offices are now entirely upgraded to Office 2010. I think that once you get used to the “ribbon” and where they’ve moved everything, its not a bad upgrade. At least I no longer get errors when I try to open any Office document.
For reasons unknown to me, Word Press is not allowing me to delete widgets or even just make them inactive from the sidebar.
It just sits there and gives me a spinning wheel of nothing.
Why is it that every time these people make a change they seem to break the basic functionality of Word Press itself?
Enhancements are great but not at the expense of basic functionality.
I will have to step away from WP before I break something…
…else.
Update: Re-installing Word Press fixed the issue. I’ve since moved to another host and everything is still working. Yah!
Last night as we were taping The Delivery with Jimmie Bise on UStream, it hit us.
The Republicans “Pledge to America” did little more than support “big ink” because most of the document is a complete waste of time and of course, ink.
I’ll be writing about this in depth in the next few days but wanted to warn you first.
The british man who recently bought the Segway company has died by the same.
via Reuters…
(Reuters) – The British millionaire businessman who owns the firm Segway has been found dead at the bottom of a cliff with one of the two-wheeled electric scooters near his body, police said on Monday.
Very weird way to go.
You bet.
In a New York Times piece* this morning, Charlie Savage has this to say…
WASHINGTON — Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone.
Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.
Wire tapping someone online is vastly different then wire tapping a telephone or cell phone. I believe that this type of thing will open the door to more far reaching internet regulation which will be bad for everyone in the long run.
Of course, hackers will probably answer the call and write routines that will scramble our Skype chats among other things.
The argument will be made that if you are not doing anything wrong, you’ll have nothing to worry about.
The problem is not whether YOU are doing anything wrong but rather whether or not the GOVERNMENT is doing something wrong.
Politically speaking, even bringing this subject up before the November elections is a death sentence for the party in power.
Rather than standing on the train tracks waving my arms trying to stop this run away train from hitting the big fat 18 wheeler sitting on the tracks ahead, I’m going to simply stand aside and let these “brilliant” folk hit the truck.
Popcorn anyone?
* FREE registration may be required to view the article.
The latest Twitter glitch allows you to post that you like to have sex with goats.
via TechCrunch…
Either a lot of Techies are into really kinky things, or there is a Twitter worm going around. It looks like a ton of people just started sending out Tweets saying “I Like Anal Sex With Goats.” This Tweet is followed by another one that says “WTF” and includes a link. Do NOT click on this link; it appears that it will cause you to send out the same series of Tweets from your account. It looks like this is happening across third-party clients and on Twitter.com
Guaranteed that we’ll see this later on TWiT! They are LIVE all day today and will be doing the official TWiT (this week in tech) show at 6:00 pm EST.
Ha!
Update: No. TWiT never mentioned this. They instead discussed the ever boring Michael Arrington and had a guest on who started off the show dropping a bullshit reference. Bad internet connection, crappy camera, and a complete disregard for the fact that you don’t play with your microphone and headset while taping made her one of the most obnoxious guests that have ever been on TWiT. On a positive note, Veronica Belmont and her boyfriend Ryan Block made the crappy guest more palatable.
After about 3 years or so I have finally decided to turn on my cell phone’s voicemail feature.
Anyone trying to call that particular phone for the last few years will be able to attest to the fact that you have not been able to leave me a message because I didn’t set the mailbox up.
Well, now you can.
So, please don’t.
This bi-polar moment brought to you by the Are To Are Not Foundation.
For those of you waiting for the Hobbit movies to come out will just have to wait longer.
Now, according to the BBC we have union troubles.
Those contracts “provide no minimum guarantees of wages or working conditions”, no payment for future broadcasts and no cancellation payments, they said.
“The International Federation of Actors… resolved that the time had come for performers around the world to support their colleagues in New Zealand and seek a union contract for all performers on The Hobbit,” a statement said.
The FIA said producers have argued that entering into an agreement with the union would break New Zealand competition laws.
getthebigpicture.net points out the top three reasons why this movie can’t seem to get started.
– Guillermo del Toro leaving as director (granted, Peter Jackson stepped in, but a director leaving is a director leaving)
– MGM’s financial woes
– The film still not being greenlit by New-Line and MGM
In any event, those of you waiting to see The Hobbit will just have to wait longer.
via Wired…
1960: USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is launched in Newport News, Virginia. CVN-65, nicknamed Big E, was the first carrier of its kind, powered solely by its eight nuclear reactors.
With nuclear power to propel it, the Enterprise does not need to carry its own fuel oil and has more room for aircraft and weapons. It routinely carries 70 to 90 planes. The ship measures in at 1,120 feet (about 100 feet longer than the USS Saratoga), with a 250-foot-wide flight deck and 93,970 tons displacement. It relies on a crew of 5,700.
All this came with a price: around $451.3 million (equivalent to $3.3 billion in today’s money), according to Jane’s American Fighting Ships of the 20th Century. The Enterprise came in well over budget and ended up being the only ship in its class. Five other planned ships were not constructed.
According to Wikipedia, the Enterprise is scheduled for decommissioning in 2013.
Yes, it is still on active duty.
You can get Galaxy on Fire 3d for free today only on iTunes.
Go here.
So much for unlimited bandwidth on your cell phone.
via Reuters…
It’s the beginning of the end for unlimited data plans on smart phones. Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile carrier, plans to stop selling unlimited data plans to new customers and instead introduce two service plans with monthly data caps.
They had to see this coming.
If you read the entire article, the author never raises the question of whether or not the carrier needs to drastically upgrade their equipment to handle the extra phones, instead they decide to limit users access to the system.
Carriers have long insisted that their top bandwidth users are at the upper 5% of the spectrum. Sound familiar? The top 5% of wage earners should pay most of the taxes type of thing. Well, in this new scenario the top 5% of the bandwidth users will be paying for the bandwidth.
That is all well and good but it doesn’t address the root problem of poor infrastructure. In a way, the carrier will argue that setting limits will alleviate infrastructure issues and in the short term they will be correct. Unfortunately, people are not going to stop buying smart phones and in fact, they will most likely buy even more.
Without the infrastructure upgrades, this problem will happen again.
Treating the symptoms and not treating the disease; that is all this is.
I wonder if these two stories a could be related?
Hmmm.
Question: There doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. How do I get more time?
Answer: Stop watching television.
You are welcome.
Location: Take That Media, LLC main office outside of Lancaster, PA.
The mountain bike brings home a smashing victory!
Literally.
The table was picked up by the storm and landed square on top of the bike which in turn, smashed it.
The chain was knocked off. The kick stand was pushed forward.
Other than that, everything else looks fine.
