Month: July 2007

Harry Potter 5 Movie Review

by

hp5.jpgI didn’t really like Harry Potter 4 (the movie). It was too dark, and I thought Harry was a crybaby teenager with an immature angst that was downright annoying. Plus, I disliked several of the other characters as well, so it was just a cruddy movie for me. I was expecting much the same or worse with this one.

I was quite happily wrong.

The Order of the Phoenix, which I just saw with my wife and brother in law, was in my opinion better than the last. Here’s a short list of the whys:

  1. Harry, while still mad all the time, finally realizes he’s mad all the time. In the words of G.I. Joe, knowing is half the battle.
  2. Hermione (yeah, had to look that spelling up) is no longer portrayed as the cleavage induced eye candy that she was in movie 4. She’s back to the cute, down to earth kid that everyone likes as an actual person.
  3. The kids actually do some, you know, MAGIC. This has been a frustration with the books as well as the movies. If Harry is this all incredible bad guy slayer — why is he always such a weenie when it comes to the wand? At least there was some sign that he might be an advanced wizard. I was really frustrated when Hermione always showed him up in the last movies.
  4. The older Weasley boys are always great — but they shined in this movie.

It was really a good flick. I’m looking forward to the last book, which comes out in a week or so. The timing is really nice. And no, I’m not camping outside my bookstore, and I didn’t wear a cape to the movie tonight. I don’t want to be that guy.

UPDATE: Since I confessed to not reading the Harry Potter books on another blog, I guess I should clarify that I’m looking forward to the 7th book so I can read the spoilers online. 🙂

I Got Old

by

I slowly see myself growing up. Sometimes it catches me off guard, and makes me look back at the days of less stress and less responsibility. It’s funny for me to consider paying off our current vehicle, and then saving thousands of dollars to get a new minivan when this one finally drives to it’s last soccer game. It wasn’t too long ago I’d save all summer to buy a $250 car, and expect it to last forever, because once I started paying insurance and gas, there was no more saving possible.

It was only a decade ago that rent was less than $400/month, and even that was seemingly insurmountable. I look back and think that we were way to irresponsible, and downright dumb to have children. And we were. But we did it, and our children are wonderful and healthy. Now, we have the $1000 mortgage payment, $200 electric bill, car payment, gas bill, garbage bill, satellite bill, phone bill, etc, etc. Life got complicated.

It’s not all money either. Job responsibility, church leadership, family needs, prescription medicines — all these things are more complicated as you get older. It’s also not all serious stuff. I’m not sure what age it is for most men, but for me, at 31 years old, my nose decided it was time to grow hair. And protruding hair at that! I mean, what’s up with the need to pluck NOSE HAIR!?!! I didn’t sign up for that at all.

So what’s my point? Honestly, I long for simpler times. I think memories have a way of highlighting only what you’re looking for, so I’m sure there are many things that were difficult about that post-college time. I also know that along with all this responsibility I also have some ability that I didn’t have before too. Sure, money is tight, but if I had to spend $100 on something, I wouldn’t have to save for half a summer to do it.

So to you 20 somethings that read my blog: don’t let this time slip away from you. While you may not have much money — make sure to take the time to enjoy the freedom you have. While I won’t lie, some things do in fact get easier, so many things get much more complicated. In the words of Robin Williams, in one of my favorite movies, Carpe Diem. Seize the Day.

[audio:igotold.mp3]
Download Audio File Here

Quick revision

by

OK, I’ve already changed my mind on the “every article in MP3 thing.” Mainly because I’ve avoided posting because I’m not in a place I can record myself, and also because some things are too lame to have an audio version.

“I think I should mow my lawn today” Has no place in a podcast, unless that podcast is a look that the secret world of lawn-based lifeforms. Perhaps the mowing is a periodical pruning of the oldest lawn members, and it overthrows the larger grass dictatorships. If that’s true, smaller, ground hugging greenies will most likely take over the lawn as they survive the mowings.

All hail the Creeping Myrtle!

New feature: MP3

by

OK, I know I’ve been playing with my website a lot lately, and today is no different. I’m going to try recording my blog posts, and publishing the audio version right along side the text. Is that cheesy? Maybe. But here’s the deal — I could use the practice with performance reading, and sometimes I like to listen instead of read while I’m browsing the web.

Will I stick with it? It’s hard to say. Let me know if you like the idea, or if it seems too redundant. But if the latter — be nice about it. 🙂

[audio:newfeaturemp3.mp3]
Download Audio File Here

Comics in the Header!!!

by

I had a big ol’ bunch of white space in my header graphic — and I thought it would be cool to have some comics in there. I created a comic with the “Comic Strip Generator“, and Photoshopped it into the graphic. It gave me great joy.

Then I thought it’d be pretty fun to have another comic. The problem was that I still liked my original comic, and wasn’t ready to retire it. So, I added a script to randomly put a header image up there. The more comics I create, the more comics will be in the pool for randomness. Isn’t that geeky cool?!?!

I really want to get a Wacom tablet, so I can actually draw my own pathetic comics — but they’re kinda pricey, so we’ll see what happens.

[audio:comicsintheheader.mp3]
Download Audio File Here

I’ve Been “Tagged”

by

I don’t normally like chain emails and such — but Lynda Walldez listed me as a blog she “tagged” to participate in “8 random things.”

I like the idea of 8 random facts, so I’ll bite. 🙂

8 Random Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me

  1. My favorite color T-Shirt is orange.
  2. I listen to The Carpenters when I’m depressed.
  3. I hate having a cluttered computer desktop, but my actual desktop is always a mess.
  4. I collect video games, yet seldom play them.
  5. I like to eat tofu cold, right out of the package.
  6. I despise Western movies.
  7. I love mowing the lawn, but I’m so allergic to grass that I’m miserable every time I do it.
  8. I love Star Trek, but I’m not all that crazy about Star Wars.

So there you have it. 8 things you probably didn’t want to know about me.

I’m supposed to “tag” 8 other bloggers, but honestly I don’t think I know 8 other bloggers to tag… So here’s your invite. Consider yourself tagged. If you want to participate, just leave a link to you “8 things” post in the comment section.

Thanks Lynda, that was fun!

The Article(s)!

by

cover160.pngI got my Linux Journal magazine in the mail today, so I guess it’s not too soon to brag a bit. LJ bought (2) of my articles, and they both appear in the August “Cool Projects” edition.

The first article appears in the “Up Front” section, on page 16. It’s all about our school’s transition to Linux thin clients. It’s actually a pretty great story if you are a Linux fan, and should be required reading if you’re planning a migration to penguin power for your place of employment/schooling/etc.

The second article, which also happens to be the cover story (Yay!) is on page 38. It’s a how-to article about building your own arcade machine. I’m pretty excited about both articles, and even more excited that it’s the first time I’ve been published!

Thanks Linux Journal, and thanks to Jill Franklin, the Executive Editor, who helped me immensely with the process. Also, thanks to John Scalzi, who blogged about my victory as well.

So I Almost Killed a Guy

by

I live in a small town. When I’m driving down the road, I wave to just about everyone I pass, because chances are I know them. I also tend to wave to everyone anyway, but here in town — I’m less likely to offend someone if I wave at everyone.

Today, however, I almost killed an elderly man on a bicycle. I was driving into the office to fix the school’s Internet connection. I passed a man, I’m guessing in his 80s, on a bicycle. Friendly guy that I am, I smiled and waved. This man grew up in a time that manners were actually taught. Decades of domestic training in standard etiquette prompted him to lift his hand and wave back. And at that moment, I thought I might kill an old guy.

He lifted his hand and waved, but lost balance and started to veer away from me and toward the ditch. He instinctively corrected, but too far, and lurched his vehicle directly in front of mine. We managed to avoid each other, but I think the generation gap was closed when we both had to go home and change our pants.

Note to self: Nod to old people on bicycles, don’t wave.