Underdog

I cannot wait to see Underdog. Skip even wants to dress up Blossom as Underdog for Halloween. Well, she is a beagle.

The TV show recently came out on DVD but I don't think I can watch it. I'd rather keep my great memories. I recently tried to watch an episode of another of my childhood favorites, Ultraman, but could only watch 10 minutes it was SO BAD.

Underdog!

Doh!

Life has been busy lately, so here's an update...

It turns out that Skippy is just miserable in Colorado as I'm gone most of the time, so we're moving back east! Cross fingers, we should know if we got the house we want to rent today or tomorrow. Plans are to move to just below Baltimore the last week of August. We'll be back near friends and family, and I will (mostly) only have 45 minute plane rides instead of these 4 hour affairs I'm going through now.

I'm finishing up the project I'm working on in NYC this week (although I'm in Cambridge) and supposedly next week I start as Senior Architect for another huge Manhattan-based client. It also looks like I'll start working as a full-time employee either for my contracting company or the company that hires my contracting company.

I learned about the new position last week at a great kickoff dinner at Delmonico's in the Wall Street section of Manhattan.

The Simpsons Movie was excellent. It certainly was strange watching it in a movie theatre, especially when I looked around and noticed that a lot of the people (kids) in the theatre weren't even born when The Simpsons started! I remember seeing their short films on the Tracey Ullman show and thinking what a great show it would make. Truth be told, I prefer the voices and drawings from the very early shows the best.

How sad

Tammy Faye has passed. It just broke my heart seeing her on Larry King Live this week.

From her CNN obituary:

"Tammy Faye Messner has also been known as one of the few evangelical Christians who had the support of the gay community. She was one of the first televangelists to reach out to those with AIDS when it was a little-known and much-feared disease. In return, she told King in July, "When I went -- when we lost everything, it was the gay people that came to my rescue, and I will always love them for that."

I think that Tammy Faye was a true Christian. The world could be such a better place if more Christians were like her...

People are so mean

For whatever reason, I have been spending more time lately reading comments on certain sites I visit (tvsquad.com, joystiq.com, etc.). The amount of hate and vitriol in these comments makes me angry and sad at the same time. What is wrong in people's lives that they feel the need to put other people down in the meanest ways possible?

If I detach myself from it a bit I do find it interesting that people can get mad and say someone's opinion of a tv show is "wrong". Whaaa?

While I'm being sad about the meanness in the world, please please please don't let CNN show any more pictures of those poor pitbulls that were in fights. They make me want to cry.

I went to Harvard!

Since I'm only here for 2 or 3 weeks I've been trying to do as much sightseeing as possible. Last night I walked 3 miles to Harvard. Like a lot of campuses part of the campus is scattered and part is in a specific area, this one surrounded by a fence. I walked inside and around for a bit (the picture is from inside) and it make me sad thinking about how I wasn't able to finish college. Even at Harvard the students and teachers look like they do anywhere else.

Harvard Square is great too. Lots of shops, I ended up having sushi. I wanted seafood but none was to be found.

Taking a cab back, we drove along the river and it reminded me of driving in Arlington/Alexandria along the Potomac.

It could use a trim...

but this is a great "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ad starring Marvel vs. DC Comics.

Exactly what I was afraid of...

Normally I don't quote other people's blog entries, but this post by Dan Renzi describes my fear about the Hairspray movie. It went from a glorious John Waters spectacle in the original movie to a not-quite-so glorious John Waters spectacle on Broadway but you didn't care because Harvey Fierstein and the score were just brilliant. Evidently now it's been watered down to appeal to the masses. I'm still waiting for Netflix.

"Saw an advance screening of Hairspray last night.

I was extremely excited.

It's not the deepest piece of cinema you're ever going to see, so I'll be brief.

1) John Travolta is very funny and completely steals this whole movie.

2) But the rest of the cast plays the whole thing entirely straight--I'm not sure if anyone actually saw the original movie. Almost every shred of the John Waters aesthetic has been washed out--nothing is edgy, nothing is sexy, nothing even comes close to being shocking. The fact that Divine played Edna Turnblatt in the original movie wasn't just to have a drag queen running around; Divine was only one part of the larger twisted flavor of the film. In this blase' version, there's really no reason to have John Travolta dressed up in drag at all. So his (excellent) performance seems very random and out-of-place.

3) The truest performance actually comes from Amanda Bynes, and that's just because she can't act. In this movie, she's pretty fun, she's the only one who "gets it."

4) The dancing? Fabulous. But after a while, you don't care.

5) The outcome: a totally mediocre movie. I say, wait for the DVD, it's not worth ten bucks plus popcorn. It's odd to think that this film--which is based on a John Waters story--is actually the perfect summer film to take your kids.

Kind of a bummer. Hopefully Harry Potter is better."

Have you made your Simpson?

Introducing Jeff Simpson. Make yours...

A laugh to start your morning

One of the most funny and horrifying things I have ever read. Can't write, must laugh umm cry, umm ...

The Air Conditioner

How my iPhone saved an old man from getting beat up

This is a story of stupid and stupider.

I walked into Boston after work and saw Transformers. Awesome movie.

After I left the movie I decided to walk around and find something to eat. While doing that some guy (red shirt) decided to turn down a one-way street the wrong way. Well this old guy (white shirt) decided that was a no no and stepped in front of his car to stop him. They argued a bit and then the guy in the car got out and started pushing him, yelling about how he was willing to risk the ticket from the cops, he wanted to drive down the street the wrong way.

Well arguing turned into shoving. One way of course, the old guy wasn't stupid enough to fight back. So I stepped up and started taking pictures with my trusty iPhone, one of which you see in this entry. The guy gave me a nasty look but got right back to arguing.

Then two bellman from the next door Hyatt walked up to the two guys and started talking. Again, the younger guy could have cared less and kept on arguing with the old guy. So then I stepped up even closer and called 911. As the phone was dialing, he jumped back into his car and started driving away. I had enough time to give the operator his driver's license before he got to far. I was transferred and the new operator asked for the driver's license again. Luckily I had taken a picture of the driver's license so while I was talking to the operator on my iPhone I looked at the pictures on my iPhone so I could tell her the exact driver's license number!

After I got off the phone, I started walking to find dinner again. The old guy and one of the bellmen stopped me to thank me. As soon as the words were out of their mouths, the next ones were (in unison) "is that an iPhone?"

Oy. I finally found sushi. It was delicious.

The Mother Ship

Well here I am in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I can see Boston across the river. I am about ready to go to the main office for the first time ever! I even finally get a badge today.

I like this area a lot, it reminds me of the Washington, D.C. and Arlington area.

Too funny

I don't think this ad would fly here in the States...

As my brother pointed out...

Microsoft has actually listened! Due to an amazing hardware failure rate (a recent survey of console-selling companies lists the XBOX 360 failure rate at about 37%, the PS3 rate at 1% and the Wii rate at 0%), Microsoft has agreed to extend the warranty for all XBOX 360s to 3 years. Here's betting their next console goes through a more rigorous testing process.

Fireworks

Who else was cold while they were watching fireworks last night? Anyone? I'm talking go inside and get a coat cold.

Musings...

The older I get the more I want nothing to do with scary rides at amusement parks. This summer has done nothing to persuade me otherwise...

The only time I watch Fox (blech) News is at the gym and then it is only glances here and there while I'm doing cardio. I have noticed that they spend a lot of time talking about Rosie O'Donnell. Consistently. Almost every time I am there. Yesterday it was for almost 15 minutes in a segment called Rosie's Rants. Interesting.

I still don't feel 100% after coming back from Germany. The jet lag has left me tired and happy I didn't have to travel this week.

I think my chances of seeing the Spice Girls in concert are pretty bad. Evidently 1 million people have signed up for 11 concerts so far.

Don't freak out but I'm going to say something nice about Microsoft. My XBOX 360, built in 2005, had the dreaded 3 red rings of death meaning the hardware failed. I called to get it fixed and they told me it was out of warranty so it would cost me $140 to fix. Well Microsoft has admitted to production problems with consoles made in 2005 so why should I pay for them to fix their mistake? I waited about a month, called back and asked again that they fix it for free since it was their (admitted) issue. The lady tried to tell me that I had bought the console in May 2007 (2 months ago) when I actually bought it in November of 2005. OK so that wasn't the nice part. I told her about the 2005 issue and after doing some research she told me that the offer to fix 2005 consoles was a limited time offer. I explained that I travel every week and therefore don't play it nearly as much as these young whippersnappers these days and that's why it took so long to break. She didn't budge. I told her she had lost a Microsoft customer and I was just as happy with my Wii and I would obviously not be buying any more 360 games or accessories. She asked if she had satisfied me and I said, "well no, if you had wanted to satisfy me you would have made me an exception to your limited-time rule and you would fix my console which was clearly manufactured in a period where you were having production problems." "Well sir, I'm not authorized to make that kind of exception." "You could talk to your supervisor and get an exception if your goal is truly to provide exceptional service as you have told me." So a few minutes later after talking to her supervisor (or not?) she approved the exception and in a month or so I should have a fixed XBOX 360. OK so only the very last part was nice, for the rest she was just an idiot.

Speaking of gaming, check out Overlord. Or at least check out the demo. Having your minions kill rabid flesh eating unicorns? HIlarious! Really, it's a very funny game.

My iPhone impressions

Well I had no intention to post an iPhone review as there are so many out there already but I had a request... So I'll give you my impressions.

It is smaller and lighter than you think it will be.
The screen is just fantastic, bright and clear.
Even when you get smudges on it (which come off fairly easily just with your shirt) the screen is clear.
The web browser is fairly slow (much faster when connected to WiFi) but faster than on the Blackberry Pearl. You can set up WiFi locations and if the iPhone finds you in one, it automatically switches to that location to speed things up for you.
Synching is very easily, just a few extra options over an iPod.
Using it as an iPod is wonderful. Using it at the gym, I only had one gripe... If I wanted to forward to another song on the Nano I could just reach down and push a button without even looking. Now I need to unlock it (slide a slider to the right) and then push forward. I haven't mastered doing that while it's on my hip yet.
The video quality is something to be seen. I'm working my way through the 2nd season of Lost (hi Deb!) and it's so easy to watch.
Although the camera is only 2 megapixels and has no flash, etc. it still takes great pictures under the right conditions (proper lighting).
I exported my Lotus Notes contacts to the Mac Address Book so they could sync. Now my caller ID shows who is calling along with their picture. Sweet!
Sending email is pretty easy, the addressing uses type-ahead to speed things up for you.
With my fat fingers I thought I would have difficulty typing. It's still not very fast but I know it will get faster with practice.
The device is fast. I haven't noticed a lag doing anything yet (except for web browsing, of course).
Google maps on the device is sweet. Maybe I just don't know how but it doesn't seem like you can save locations. Hopefully that is on it's way...
Even the calculator looks cool.
The Weather and Clock are sweet. On the Clock I can see the time for Los Angeles, Denver, New York and Berlin all on the same screen for easy comparison.
Using the web browser to get my lotus notes mail is FINALLY easy. I've never used a pda that could view the page without me inputting the url to go directly to the Inbox. Zooming on pages and clicking URLs is easy also. All my Safari bookmarks are there since they sync up also.
Unlike a lot of people, my activation process was very smooth and trouble-free.

So what don't I like about my iPhone?
I wish the glass didn't smudge but that's just the neat freak in me.
I wish you could map the external volume buttons to forward/reverse for iPod play.
The headset jack is recessed so most headphone jacks won't fit. No worries, Skip has some device he used to grind the plastic on the headphone jack down and all is good.
No games (without using the web browser)!
In many places when you rotate the iPhone the screen rotates with you between vertical and horizontal (wide-screen). I wish it did it everywhere (so I could have the wide keyboard when writing email for example).
8 gigs (7.2 gigs usable space)? Well I don't like it but I have a ton of music, all my photos, contacts, mail and bookmarks on it and still have 2 gigs free so I guess I can't complain too much.

Would I buy it again? Hell yes.

Blossom

I haven't posted a picture of Blossom in a while. She is doing great. She's calm around people and does her tricks very well (sit, down, stay, roll over, spin around, etc.). She will even stay while I go another room. But of course as soon as I "free" her she runs for me at full speed! Every night is cuddle time on the couch and last night Skip and I were both on the couch, so she just made herself as comfortable as possible draped over us.

I am so weak

At least I lasted two days.