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January 30, 2006
Still no vroom vroom
My parts haven't arrived, so no progress on the motorcycles. It's really bugging me. It's approaching the irrational.
On Saturday night we started to watch The Brothers Grimm but gave up about 15 minutes in - it was pretty bad. Disjoint, rushed, not at all what I've come to expect from Gilliam. Instead we ended up watching The Aristocrats - which had funny moments, but like Deadwood, I found the message lost in the vulgarity. (Yea, I know that's the point of the joke, doesn't mean it's a good joke.) Probably the most interesting observation I made was that at some point, a comedian's material becomes secondary to the comedian. There are comics, like Eddy Izzard, Paul Riser, and George Carlin, who I've decided are generally funny, and I'm predisposed to react accordingly.
Interesting.
Sunday we finally took down the Christmas decorations, though the tree is still sitting in the living room. It was raining pretty heavily through the day, and I wasn't interested in wrestling with a wet tree.
After dinner we watched Constantine, which I enjoyed much more than I expected. The story held together well enough, the effects were good, and while I didn't think Keanu was exactly right for the role, his Bladerunner-like delivery was adequate.
Somewhere in there, I managed to tweak my back - so I'm sitting on the ferry after a less-than-great night of sleep, wondering if I'll make it through the work day without having to spend it lying on the floor of my office (blech).
Posted by dberger at 7:57 AM | Comments (0)
January 27, 2006
Well, that's annoying...
I caught the 5:30 ferry home, but Dawnise was sitting in line, coming back from Seattle, when a Bomb threat shut down Seattle's Colman Dock.
As I type, she's picked up Brad (a friend and co-worker who also lives on the island) and they're starting the drive around. We're going into Seattle tomorrow anyway, so we'll pick up Brad's car on our way back...
Posted by dberger at 8:23 PM | Comments (0)
Requiescat in Pace
Tomorrow (the 28th) is the 20th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. I'm too young to remember JFK's assassination - the Challenger disaster is the earliest vivid memory of "world events" of my life.
It shattered our illusions that spaceflight was becoming "routine" and was a harsh reminder that exploration, and innovation, have cost, and involve risk.
Rest in peace Christa McAuliffe, Dick Scobee, Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Ron McNair and Greg Jarvis.
Posted by dberger at 8:15 AM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2006
Hooked from the Beginning
I don't normally post anything about books until I've finished them - or at least made enough progress to have formed solid opinions, so I was a bit surprised myself when I decided to post this about The Devil in the White City; Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America - a book recommended by a friend some time ago (thanks, Mark).
I'm around 20 (yes, twenty) pages in. And I'm hooked. Actually, I was hooked by the end of page 12 - which sent shivers up my spine; shivers made all the more poignant by the fact that the book - which describes events around the Chicago World's Fair - isn't a work of fiction.
A taste:
Continue reading "Hooked from the Beginning"
Posted by dberger at 9:10 AM | Comments (0)
In The Red
I just finished my first listen-through of Tina Dico's newly released album, In The Red. My initial reaction is mixed, but generally positive. Tina has an amazing voice, and unfortunately the production sometimes undermines that quality with too much texture. The sound overall is more like her work with Zero 7 (rhapsody) than her first solo album, Far (rhapsody).
There are a couple tracks repeated from Far, though the versions are new. A few of the new tracks really grabbed my attention: "The City," "Head Shop," and "My Mirror."
I ordered the disc from Tower.com specifically because they included a promotional CD entitled "Notes" that includes four tracks - three of them versions of songs from Far. They were interesting as alternate renditions, but none of them would have hooked me the way the versions on Far did.
Anyway - if you liked Far, or liked Tina's vocals on Zero 7 songs like "Home" (from When It Falls, [rhapsody]) check out the new album.
Oh, and Tina's coming to Seattle toward the end of March, playing at Chop Suey - I'm planning to be there, barring unforeseen complications and/or inability to secure tickets.
Posted by dberger at 8:45 AM | Comments (0)
Big Damn Television, Take 4
As threatened, the Vizio went back to Costco last night - the "green screen of death" symptom was the last straw.
I picked up the Philips on sale at Costco this week (the 50PF7220A/37) - another 50" that looks even bigger than the last one due to the side-mounted speakers (vs. the Vizio, which had them under the screen).
My initial reactions are mixed. Overall the unit has better "fit and finish" - and the software is much more sophisticated, but the picture quality doesn't seem quite as good as the Vizio it's replacing.
Watching the "missile-lock" scene from The Incredibles, which has great contrast range (dark scenes in the bad guys hide out, very bright scenes in the plane and during the explosion) and large fields of color (when the heroine turns into a parachute to save the kids) there was a lot of false color in the sky and noise in her red suit that neither the DVD player nor the TVs Digital Noise Reduction could eliminate.
It doesn't, however, have the immediate image sticking problem that Vizio support repeatedly claimed was "normal" for plasma displays.
I've downloaded the latest firmware update (cool feature on the Philips - it's got a USB jack, and will update firmware via USB stick) but the release notes don't say anything about color or noise correction.
One downside is that the unit doesn't have VGA-RGB in, only two HDMI inputs (and component) - so I have buy a break-out cable to hook up Dawnise's notebook.
So, the jury's still out - but I was hoping for a more solid win.
Posted by dberger at 5:24 AM | Comments (0)
Ack! It's too early...
Day trip to SF today - so I was up at 4:30 to catch the 5:20 boat for a 7:30 flight.
Blech.
I wouldn't mind as much if I was going to have time to see any friends, but that's pretty much out of the picture - so I'm mildly grumbly about the whole thing.
Posted by dberger at 5:22 AM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2006
If it's too old, you're just... dumb.
One of the first musicians I could recognize by sound, and who's name "meant" anything to me was Jackson Browne. The Pretender and Running on Empty were (and still are) two of my favorite LPs from my dads (sparse) record collection.
My dad had Jackson's self-titled first release (not actually titled Saturate before Using, apparently) on reel-to-reel. I didn't hear it as often, 'cause it was a bit of a production number to set it up. The same held true for stuff like Pete Seger, who has somehow escaped my record collection thus far...
Anyway - wandering through a Borders a month or so back, I discovered that Jackson Browne has a "Solo Acoustic" album out - and I picked it up the other day, along with Tina Dico's new album (but that's another story).
Listening to it in my office, as I type, I'm struck with the grace, power, and depth of Jackson's writing and performing. His songs have an agelessness, a certain sadness, and often biting lyrics. A bunch of his stuff (including the Solo Acoustic Album) is on Rhapsody, give him a listen. First time or repeat, it's worth it.
Continue reading "If it's too old, you're just... dumb."
Posted by dberger at 1:17 PM | Comments (2)
Finding Serenity
On the ferry this morning, I finished Finding Serenity - a collection of essays on Firefly, edited by Jane Espenson and including contributions by Jewel Saite, Mercedes Lackey, David Gerrold (the author of The Trouble with Tribbles).
Highly recommended for Firefly fans; not all essays were outstanding, but as a whole, the collection was an entertaining and thought provoking read. I particularly liked "Listening to Firefly," written by Jennifer Goltz - a professor of voice and music theory at Scripps. It thoughtfully teases apart Greg Edmonson's score, pointing out the sub-narrative the music presents.
Not all the essays were overwhelmingly positive - which made the collection even more valuable, and pleasantly upset my expectational apple-cart.
Posted by dberger at 1:06 PM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2006
Small Victories, Ongoing Frustrations
I managed to make progress on a long-running project this weekend - finishing the install of half the under-counter lights in the kitchen. By far the nastiest part of the job was fishing the wire into the wall so I could wire them up to a real switch. Took about 30 minutes of trial and error, much cursing and gnashing of teeth. But it's done. One more set to install, on the other side of the kitchen, but my patience was wearing thin.
I made no progress, however, on the motorcycles. I learned that none of the bike stores on my side of the Sound carry the oil filter for either of my bikes, so I ended up ordering the filters, and the oil, and spark plugs, and brake fluid from Cycle Gear. I miss having the Fulerton CG store - they stocked just about everything I cared about and were pretty close. The nearest CG to us now is in Tacoma, and their stock is pretty pathetic.
Assuming the consumables arrive by next weekend, I'll spend a day working on the bikes - oil change on the Trophy, renew the clutch fluid, clean and gap the plugs, clean the carbs, blast out the air filter element, and hope the bloody thing starts.
I picked up a heat gun at Home Depot, which should break down the thread lock and allow me to disassemble the RS without sacrificing another fuel coupler - assuming I don't blow up the gas tank in the process...
If I don't get anywhere on this attempt, I'm crying uncle and having the bikes trailered to the nearest Triumph shop (Cycle Barn, in Lynwood, across the Sound). It'll cost a small fortune, but enough is enough.
Posted by dberger at 8:01 AM | Comments (0)
January 19, 2006
Nothing is worse than having an itch you can never scratch
I've got a growing jonesing to play in a good RPG.
Trouble is (whining) we don't have a game group up here, though I have to admit not having spent a tremendous amount of time trying to find one.
The bigger trouble is (being a snob) that once you've played with folks like Dru, Coz, Rob, John, Catherine (and all the other Samru and Arafe folks I've neglected to enumerate), it's hard to even imagine a group that could stand in.
It's a problem...
Posted by dberger at 1:10 PM | Comments (1)
January 18, 2006
She had the Birthday, we got the presents
The first wave arrived a week ago Thursday - my sister flew in and met my brother, who was a surprise for her and my parents, at the airport. She had figured out who she was meeting, but had the good sense to keep it to herself (smart one, she is). Dawnise and Mike picked me up from the ferry Thursday night, and when I got home Laurie was asleep on the sofa.
I took Friday off, and the four of us went into Seattle where we hooked up with Vince and Donna, who had arrived late Thursday night. We did the downtown "thing" (Pike Market and surrounds) before heading back to the house, fresh fish and herbs in hand. We had grilled tequila-honey-rosemary salmon, pan fried red potatoes, and sauteed portobello mushroom and flash sauteed green beans, with fresh bread for dinner, and stayed up chatting 'till fairly late in the evening.
Saturday morning, Dawnise got her presents, and my parents arrived around noon. At Dawnise's insistence we sequestered Mike and his stuff in the TV room downstairs - the last stop on the nickle house tour. Watching my mom and dad's face as it dawned on them who was reading on the sofa was well worth the price of his ticket from Northern California. :) We caught up for a few hours before rounding up the troops and heading for the ferry for our dinner reservation in Seattle.
Dinner at Gordon Biersch was good - tempered a bit by the slightly surly waitress and a long rectangular table that sorta partitioned up the conversation. We had intended to dine at the Pyramid Ale House, but due to a football playoff game they wouldn't take our reservation - clearly they didn't need the money that a 17 person dinner tab represented...
Continue reading "She had the Birthday, we got the presents"
Posted by dberger at 6:21 PM | Comments (1)
January 10, 2006
If this music doesn't touch you...
...check your pulse.
Before Firefly was even canceled I (and countless other fans) started pestering Fox music to release a soundtrack album. After an initial download-only release a few months ago, they finally did the right thing and released a real CD, with cover art and everything.
Even if you've never watched the show, you should check out the music. And if cue 6 ("The Funeral") doesn't evoke some sort of emotional reaction - you might be comatose...
Posted by dberger at 8:07 AM | Comments (0)
January 7, 2006
Coolest. Christmas. Gift. Ever.
A couple years ago, Dawnise and I stumbled on The Voodoo knife block. It was quirky, cool, slightly twisted, and I wanted one.
Trouble is, they were made and sold by an Italian company, and no one was importing them into the US.
Time Passes (cue cheesy special effect)...
And I open a box on Christmas morning, and my jaw hits the floor. It was a Voodoo, only the box proclaimed it to be "The Ex." Apparently I wasn't the only one that thought this was the coolest thing since sliced bread - and some company had started importing them.
And Dawnise found me one.
It's been sitting on our kitchen counter in all it's glory since Christmas morning - but I didn't post anything about it 'till after we'd bought another one and sent it to a friend who had the same reaction to the Italian version I had. They like it too - thought their seven-year-old daughter, on seeing it, declared "that's disturbing."
Perfect.
Posted by dberger at 4:15 PM | Comments (0)
Procrastination
Since getting Dawnise's car out of storage after the move (about a year ago now) it's been on my list to clean it's rugs.
I finally kicked procrastination out the window this morning, grabbed the shop vac and carpet machine, and spent the next three hours (!) extracting sludge from the cars carpets.
Blech.
On the plus side, the car looks (and smells) much better - on the down side, it's damp, and I'm not sure if it'll dry before we want to leave for the improv tonight.
On a related note - I'm the not-so-proud owner of two - count em two - motorcycles that won't run.
Continue reading "Procrastination"
Posted by dberger at 3:33 PM | Comments (0)
January 3, 2006
Strike 3 on the Big Damn TV
Well, it's official - the third (and last) V Inc. 50" plasma isn't long for our house.
Dawnise picked me up from the ferry tonight and mentioned that she'd tried to watch a movie today but all the TV would display were green noise bars. Even the "No Signal" box - normally blue - was just random noise. She ended up giving up after several tries and watching the movie on her notebook.
I checked it out when I got home, half expecting to find the problem had fixed itself, and was surprised to find that it was still misbehaving. Regardless of the input - or even if anything was connected to any input - the TV would display 50" of green noise.
Figuring it's microprocessor had gotten a little verklempt, I unplugged it for about 20 minutes and tried again.
Sure enough - the TV got it's brain back - but enough is enough.
We've had three units, and all have had some sort of fatal flaw. Not the quality I expect for the amount of money spent. For those playing along at home, I'd suggest avoiding V Inc.. For the money, you can get a good 42", or for a bit more, a better 50".
Not sure which we'll do yet, but at the first opportunity to replace it, it's going back (let's hear it for Costco's return policy).
Posted by dberger at 7:55 PM | Comments (1)
Roku Soundbridge: First Impressions
I had been looking for a non-PC device that would let me access my music collection and Rhapsody content from the entertainment room. I had decided on a Roku SoundBridge, and saw one discounted (open package) at the local Best Buy over the weekend.
It works nicely. I'm using SlimServer to stream the Ogg content on my linux box, and my only complaint with it's Rhapsody support is that it can only access content that you've added to your library (hello gargantuan library...)
SlimServer, on the other hand, I've no complaints with yet. It's a solid bit of software that seems to "just work."
Posted by dberger at 2:46 PM | Comments (0)
Danger Will Robinson
I can't tell you how many hours I spent playing the Ultima series games on my old Apple II. Ultima IV was probably my favorite, and Ultima V the last one I played.
So this filled me with nostalgia, and a certain form of dread. I bought Dungeon Siege - and it sucked. It sucked beautifully, but sucked none-the-less. Perhaps all it needed was a story... I should probably not download the mod.
Posted by dberger at 2:38 PM | Comments (1)