Movie: National Treasure 2

Hey, I'm back in San Antonio after visiting my parents for the holiday. To celebrate, I saw "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" today.

What a fun movie. As usual, "Nat'l Treasure" is like a a piece of crack!fic written by an American History buff....But it's quality crack!fic. Very enjoyable with several laugh out loud moments including the scene from the trailer with the hand (apparently seeing it beforehand didn't lessen the humor at all). Also, bonus points for casting Helen Mirren as the Gates matriarch; she was brilliant! She & Jon Voight had some of the best lines of the movie. All in all this was just a fun ride of a movie.

Link to full post.

One Billion Bulbs Initiative

I realized I had never (b)logged my switch to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs back in October. So today I registered my 5 bulbs with the Instapundit group at the One Billion Bulb Initiative. I really like this initiative as it focuses on something small but concrete the average consumer can accomplish. And they make sure to let you know that. When I registered my switch, here's the blurb that came up:

Thank you for taking the time to change 5 lightbulb(s). Your total annual savings are estimated to be $65.15. Your actions will help prevent approximately 736 lbs of greenhouse gases from being spewed into the atmosphere each year.

Totally aside from any greenhouse gas reduction, these bulbs do reduce your electricity bill. One of the light fixtures I switched is on pretty much all the time (I use it as my light that's on when I'm not at home) so it had an instant effect on my electricity bill. Not to mention, the money saved on purchasing light bulbs all the frickin' time. I only have the lights in my bathroom and I'll be completely switched over. If you want to know what switching could do for you, there's a calculator at their website.

Also, can I just say that I love the attitude towards environmentally sound behavior the sponsors of the OBB Initiative take. They're part of some group call Energy Trek. Here's some notes from them:

For members and viewers of this group, the spirit of the Energy "Trek" means:

* We focus on any positive step people take. Most people are energy abusers in some way (cars, TV's, appliances, etc), and Energy Trek wants to encourage everyone to start taking steps to save energy - no matter the size - without being concerned of being criticized for being hypocritical or taking just token steps.
* Energy Trek and One Billion Bulbs comments and usage should not be political in nature. We want to bring people together to save energy regardless of their ideology or motivation - environment/global warming, national security/energy independence, saving money, convenience, or some combination thereof. As a matter of fact, we'd like you to encourage others you know, whatever their political persuasion, to help out.

Positive attitude toward change, small steps and encouraging of a variety of viewpoints so long as we can all work together? Awesome.

Link to full post.

Recent Reading: Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom

“Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom” by Cory Doctorow is in my opinion the very best kind of sci-fi novel: the kind that makes you think. It’s enjoyable of course. Well-plotted, good characters but there’s something else. The society shown, the effects of this culture of the people you grow to care about, it forces you to wonder…..How long would I last in a world like this?

See full post for answer and a very rambling summary of my thoughts after reading this story.

For myself, the answer is Not Long. While the tech enhancements and body modifications would have their appeal, I don’t know if I’d enjoy a world built in reputation and public opinion. To me there are few rights more sacred the the right to be left alone, to be unpopular, to be unlikeable. And those rights do not truly exist in this world. “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”* The problem as demonstrated by the main character is that when you have an unpopular opinion most people cannot tell the crazy from the crazy-but-true. And consensus while tolerant isn’t the same as liberty. The individuality of this world is an affected state not a state of being individual.

Even someone like Zora, the crazy transhuman ex-wife, with all her mania for wonderful body modifications: What Does She DO? Constantly changing herself but not really accomplishing anything by it. So far gone that to lose easy physical modification, to work for the more demanding mental changes into a partner/wife drives her mad. She exists to change but not to strive. To be unique without purpose.

I simply cannot get over how listless these people were. Lil especially seemed to lack any driving passion, any of the zing! that greatness truly depends on. Even her parents who thought themselves so above others because of what they had accomplished, they too were focused more on change than value. Perhaps this is the yet another step toward the observation that “The American lives for ambition, the future…. Life for him is always becoming, never being”**.

And I wonder….The story repeatedly makes the point that the Bitchun Society didn’t have to convince people, just outlast them. But it also makes a point that those raised in Bitchun lack some ability to act against the crowd. Those that do still have it are relatively isolated from the crowd like the Saneep character and even then he would only act when he had a socially acceptable alibi. What would a society like this do when faced with something like John Ringo’s Posleen or Stargate’s Gou’auld? What about the people that actually do things like compose symphonies or design spacecraft? How do people whose pursuits depend on being challenged and building on past failures as well as successes exist in a society built solely on comfort? Would they all gravitate to the edges where they can be a part of the crowd without submitting to it?

Another weird connection my brain made while reading: The rebooting into a cloned body reminded me vaguely of Pensieves and Obliviates in the Harry Potter Universe. A year or so ago, I read an absolutely brilliant fanfiction about a Muggle woman that Charlie Weasley falls in love with. The author did a brilliant job of showing the latent and pervasive prejudice of the Wizarding world; how even a family like the Weasleys doesn’t really react well to a full-on Muggle in their midst. There’s also an interesting sub-plot about how Wizards are using Pensieves to remove memories of the War against Voldemort. The couple have an acrimonious break-up and according to the rules of the Wizarding world she has to be Obliviated. The Muggle love interest made more than a few scathing comments about how Wizards just remove unpleasant memories or things they can’t deal with instead of, well, dealing with them. She is Obliviated but takes steps to record her knowledge before losing her memory. As she finds the clues she left for herself, she starts to piece together her lost memories and feelings for Charlie. I don’t quite remember how it ends but I found the story quite engrossing at the time.

Julius’ insistence at not re-booting, not losing the recent terrible experiences he’d had reminded me very much of that story. And the character of that Muggle woman. Both had terrible experiences but couldn’t give them up, not even if if would make them happy. I very much understand that motivation. My life thus far has been for the most part one remarkably free of strife or trouble. I have not sought out adventure or daring nor risked true failure. However, I would not erase any bad, embarrassing or humiliating experience of mine. Some of those I deserved, some I did not and perhaps, the self-knowledge to know the difference is worth the cost to me. But if that cost goes up, what would I do?

In conclusion, read this story. It prodded uncomfortable thoughts and left my mind whirring in a way I’m not entirely sure of but it was a very good story.

*George Orwell
**Albert Einstein – Full Quote: “The American lives for ambition, the future, more than the European. Life for him is always becoming, never being.” – “Some Notes on My American Impressions” from The World As I See It, 1949

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Recent Reading: Mayer Alan Brenner

Earlier in the year, I checked out “Spell of Catastrophe” by Mayer Alan Brenner. Well, I finally got around to reading the other books in the series, “Spell of Intrigue”, “Spell of Fate” and “Spell of Apocalypse”. Short Version: Whoa.

Every good thing about the previous book is compounded in the other three. The characters are all present, added on to with others and expanded quite enjoyably (Note: Z.Shaa is still awesome). Also, relating to the crises at hand the books reveal an interesting twist on this particular magical world. I won’t give it away but it’s good and in keeping with the techno-magical sensibility cultivated by the first book. The plot had several twists, u-turns and switchbacks only one of which I guessed correctly (but that one was heavily hinted at). I don't know if I'll do it soon but I think I want to re-read this series to see if there were any hints I missed the first time around. These three books were all a good, witty, fast-paced read whose only serious fault is the abrupt ending. I’m not quite sure why the author chose that particular way to close out the final book. But I found it a bit unsatisfying after all the build up. Still, I’d recommend these books for anyone that likes Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams; there’s definitely a similar sense of humor in play.

You can find all four books in the series here.

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Why Signing Kyoto is Irrelevant

Via Instapundit, here's a post describing progress made by the United States in reducing emissions versus signers of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Guess what?

If we look at that data and compare 2004 (latest year for which data is available) to 1997 (last year before the Kyoto treaty was signed), we find the following.

* Emissions worldwide increased 18.0%.
* Emissions from countries that signed the treaty increased 21.1%.
* Emissions from non-signers increased 10.0%.
* Emissions from the U.S. increased 6.6%.

In fact, emissions from the U.S. grew slower than those of over 75% of the countries that signed Kyoto.

Not to mention most of the countries that increased CO2 emissions more than the US are significantly smaller than the US. That includes Finland (+15%), Italy (+16%) and Japan (+11%). China is up 55%. But that's no surprise because one of the great flaws of the Kyoto Protocol is not placing any emission reduction requirements on developing countries (like China and India). These countries were some of the first people to sign on because they were basically voting in favor of restricting their economic competitors.

The article posts a link to the absolute figures so you can compare them for yourself.

But this article points out another great flaw in the environmental movement besides their gloom-and-doom message, too many people care more about being seen signing a treaty versus actual results in reducing emissions. They want to look like their doing something as opposed to actually doing it.

Link to full post.

Palladium's Wacky Carpets

While at the movies yesterday, I managed to get pictures of some the carpet inside the Palladium 19 Theater. Ever since my first visit to this faux Greco-Roman masterpiece, I've been writing myself notes, hoping one day I would remember to take my camera with me to the theater (in a totally not copyright/piracy kinda way).

Yesterday, I remembered. Here's the pattern that first caught my eye, from the stairs:

It burns! The only forgivable thing about this print is the fact that you get to walk all over it. There is something viscerally satisfying about stomping up and down these stairs.

The other areas of the theater are decorated quite tastefully with mainly sculptures and lots of geometric prints:

Sorta like a hyper-colored art deco. That's not so bad is it? Especially compared to the last one. I apologize for the white specs but the clean areas of carpet had people on them.

On a side-note, I got significantly fewer weird looks taking pictures of carpet at the theater than expected.

Link to full post.

"Enchanted" = Fun

I saw "Enchanted" last night. Lovely movie. I mean this is total cotton candy but it is some of the most well-constructed, delicious cotton candy you'll ever enjoy. Amy Adams proves once again she's one of the most consistently funny people in movies today. James Marsden was surprisingly hilarious. I don't recall seeing him be so unabashedly comedic before. Also, whoever selected Julie Andrews* to narrate should be promoted immediately. I had a great deal of fun watching Disney both make fun of itself and justify its hokey optimism. Worth the matinée price and one I'll seriously consider buying (It was just so darn fun!).

*If you need a link for her, I hereby forbid you for reading my weblog. EVER.....Seriously, go away.

Link to full post.

Office Christmas Luncheon

My office's Holiday luncheon was today. This year : TAMALES!!!

There was a brisk “Tamales Futures” business going on this week. You’re guaranteed 3-tamales but some people don’t like them. So they would “give” their tamales to those of us for whom three tamales is a trifling and pitiful snack. Some were thoughtful enough to write documents verifying the transfer in ownership. Actual sample:

“I (insert name here), employee number 1, would like to donate said tamales to the following employees:
(list members my dept).
By signing this statement I acknowledge that I forfeit all current and future claims to any tamales distributed by (insert company name).”

Only 4 more work-days until I'm DONE for the year.

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Overheard at Work, pt 10

“Tofu is soybean. Same raw material.” – Japanese co-worker.

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Ubuntu And Women

I’ve been checking out some of the more social parts of the Ubuntu forums lately. There are several threads discussing Ubuntu and women. In one of them, someone links statistics stating that approximately 1.5 to 2.4% of Ubuntu users are female……Really!?

That’s so odd. I talk about it with my female friends often and, while I don’t think any of them would attempt some of the stuff I do, they ask questions and appear interested. In fact, they’ve shown more interest than certain technically inclined men like for instance my father who is an engineer also. Although it’s entirely likely they’re just humoring me.

Still, there are quite a few girl-techies around nowadays. It really surprises me that more of them aren’t using Linux.

Several places in the forum people are discussing what people can do to encourage more women to try Ubuntu. In terms of girl-geeks, I don’t really know. I chose to Ubuntu because it got mentions on techblogs like Engadget and Ubuntu-related articles are on Digg all the time. When I looked into it, the my selling points were the hardware support and the help forums. No other distribution was able to come close to matching those forums in terms of the variety of troubleshooting and the quality of assistance provided. In terms of women in general, the only thing I can think of is selling more computers with Ubuntu pre-installed. Installation and set-up are things that non-geek women tend to shy away from. If that’s taken care of and they have the opportunity to try something in a store, I think that would lead to more women users.

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Hollywood Rumble

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Unintended Consequences - Mars Edition

One of the things I love about engineering, ones of the reasons it's such an enjoyable career is that it provides some really wonderful opportunities to take a problem and make it into a solution.

Turns out, this is true no matter what planet you're on.
(1) Mars Rover breaks (lame wheel)
(2) Engineers find a way around it (go backwards instead)
(3) Because Rover is functioning differently, they find something they weren't looking for (evidence of past water)

Very cool.

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Texas Tradition Gone Weirdo

Texans, especially in the Southern part of the state, usually eat tamales around Christmas time. My grandparents always have them for their Christmas Eve dinner. Well, at work today one of my managers gave us....Chocolate tamales!

The wrapping is quite pretty (in a craft fair sort of way). Still, what prompted someone to look at a tamale and say “Hmmmm, this needs to be more chocolaty.”?

In addition, the chocolate was cherry-flavored. I have no idea why...

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Hillary Nutcracker

One of my co-workers exchanges joke political gifts with his cousin (who is of the opposite party affiliation). He gave her “The Reagan Diaries” because he couldn’t find a joke gift.* According to him, the Republican candidates are "too bland". Her gift to him this year:

I had heard about these but it’s even funnier than I thought it would be. The quotes on the back of the box are comedy gold!

My favorite is Kim Jong Il.

*Considering his history of cross-dressing, I’m surprised no one has made a Rudy-Guiliani-in-drag doll. Although that’s more scary than funny.

Link to full post.

Krav Maga - Yoga Class

Last night, I drove through the fog to attend my first KM Yoga class since Thanksgiving. With the holidays (and associated eating), I decided to start attending two KM classes (Yoga and Strength/Cardio). Yesterday's class was great but one thing has really struck me about these yoga sessions.

In the past, I’ve purchased yoga DVDs. My thinking was that I’m not really a gym person and know I’m more likely to complete the exercises if I can do them at home. However, the yoga DVDs never held my interest. Even though some of the same positions are covered, I find the classes much better.

The instructor is very conscientious about provided multiple versions of the same pose to accommodate different body types and levels of flexibility. Before, after and during the sessions she asks about any discomfort or pain. For a couple of others she’s spent a few extra minutes going over corrections to their form to avoid pain and provided some additional guidance. Also, she goes around the room, pushing on us to go further than we would go alone. There have been several times she’s started correcting my position or “challenging my body”. At first I sort of tensed up expecting it to hurt. But I usually end up bending further and more completely than I thought I could.

Little things like these are making these yoga sessions a great deal more rewarding than I expected....

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"Zombie Robert Heinlein"

Or Why John Scalzi is AWESOME (and has the best commenters on the 'Net)

My favorite quote:

"Being politically incorrect is not actually a liability in science fiction."

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#^*#*)%! AMPTP

Well damn....It looks like the AMPTP was just screwing with the writers (and us TV viewers). Per Nikki Finke, the talks are over (for no damn good reason).

Look, I'm generally pro-corporation. I think for the most part, corporations are reasonable entities and there is no shame in making money or in making hard decisions to make money intelligently. HOWEVER, there is a real and critical difference between hard decisions and heartless decisions. I beleive the AMPTP has crossed that line.

After reading their statement to the WGA (available here) and the comments, I feel a bit conflicted about some of the WGA's demands. Most especially on the issue of the reality and animation writers. The comments include stories pro & con for adding those writers to the WGA umbrella. I don't like or support the fact that when writers for America's Top Model wanted to join the WGA, they were fired. However, I don't agree to any situation where people are required to be members of unions in order to even get a job. The comments also mention several of those instances. I don't really know enough of the industry to side one way of another on this issue.

I know that adding the animation and reality writers has actually been on the table longer BUT I feel the internet residuals issue is the one where the WGA has the strongest and clearest moral case. Speaking to my friends who do not particularly care about the strike beyond it's affect on new episodes for their shows, the internet residuals issue has the broadest public appeal. People really do understand that issue and the writer's perspective with minimal entertainment industry know-how. These other issues are understandably part of the negotiating process but the internet issue to me is the most glaring injustice of the current situation.

But the AMPTP made a critical error I think. What these guys don't appear to realize is that in the age of weblogs, YouTube and webforums, their ability to control broadcast (ie - MSM) news is kinda useless. Anyone with an internet connection can read Nikki Finke or United Hollywood and go to the Fans4Writers forums. I'm a prime example of how badly these guys have miscalculated. I'm NOT in favor of unions in general. I think they are a relic of a dying age. The ONLY reason I am supporting the WGA is because the entertainment industry has one of the most dated and stagnant business models around, so an old-school solution like a strike makes a lot of sense. When 6 companies control the industry, you've got a situation where it's unions or submission. I get that. I don't agree with everything said at the pro-strike web-sites. But even I totally understand that writers deserve to be paid for internet work and $250 is ridiculously ridiculous.

I sincerely hope for the day when the entertainment industry joins the 21st century. When, their economic model doesn't lean so heavily toward the kind of oligarchy that makes unions necessary. Perhaps that day will never come. But how much would the average writer, hyphenate and teamster benefit if they had more options? If they had the power to set their own terms a la Silicon Valley?

The AMPTP asked the WGA to "trust them". They issue press releases like we're supposed to trust them. Considering their behavior before the strike, I find that a reprehensible tactic. What have the AMPTP done to deserve that trust? Nothing. They have acted like every bad cliche of industrial moguls. For that, I hope they drown in pencils.

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My Desktop - 12/8/2007

I liked one of the upholstery pictures from Thursday so well that I decided to build a desktop around it. This is the result:
Clean

Busy

Info & Links:
Wallpaper: Chair in My Apt Offices
Emerald Theme: Modified Beryl Default – I made the window shadows bigger and more orange, rounded the corners and changed the reds in the title bar to match the wallpaper better.
Controls Theme: Glider with yellow/green coloring to match wallpaper
Icon Theme: Suede
Cursor Theme: Lila - Black
Firefox Theme: Ubuntu Human
Thunderbird Theme: Default
XMMS Skin: Cathedral by regener8ted

This was an interesting challenge in several ways. Red is not a preferred color of mine so I had a concern about making something I could stare at for hours. Also, building a well integrated red desktop was remarkably difficult. While there are red emerald, controls, Firefox and cursor themes, getting them to match and appear like they belong together...is not so easy.

On a side note: I decided to modify the theme of my XP desktop at work. One, it sucks to look at the same thing every day for five years. Two, I was curious if XP allowed me to do some of the things I’d been doing in Ubuntu. When I had XP at home, I will admit that I didn’t try to get the most out of it. My assessment: XP does provide for a great deal more tweaking than I was aware of but it’s not as well done as Ubuntu. The lack of a color picker is a key deficiency. Also, XP had a tendency to bundle things I wanted to do separately and to separate things I wanted to do together. Both of these faults make it much more difficult to get a unified looking theme.

Link to full post.

Movie - "Dear Frankie"

I watched “Dear Frankie” last night. What a wonderful film! It’s very quiet and restrained in that British character-study way. All the actors were fantastic and the little boy did a stellar job portraying “Frankie”. On another casting note, I love British cinema because they more frequently include people who actually look real instead of like supermodels. There were several things that struck me as awesome: Gerard Butler was mesmerizing (just as good looking fully clothed as half-naked and slaughtering Persians); the motivations of the Mom were superbly revealed and consistent; they didn’t include a lot of crowds and background characters, this gave the whole movie a very intimate focus; and the ending which was neither saccharine-happily-ever-after nor depressing but bittersweet in a way that made you believe these people were one day going to be happy but not quite yet. It felt very real and earned. Needless to say, go see this film. You won’t be disappointed.

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Overheard at Work, pt 9

My supervisor: “You’re a fan-boy because no matter what anyone says Rush is always the best band ever.”
Accounting Guy: “That’s not because I’m a fan-boy. That’s because I’m right!”

(cough)fan-boy(cough)

Link to full post.

B&G Crepes – San Antonio

Today, my co-workers and I went someplace new for lunch: B&G Crepes. It is a Japanese-style crepe restaurant. Check it out!

We all ordered the lunch special. You get 2 crepes for $5.50. Two crepes were almost too much for me (they are a good size). Everybody took bites of everyone else’s food so we tried a good variety of stuff. I can vouch for the tuna, ham&cheese, Hawaiian, chocolate and banana chocolate crepes. Also they have rice bowls (the teriyaki is good). I thought this place was a fantastic and interesting spin on the usual sandwich fare.

How to get there:
NW area of San Antonio
On loop1604 exit Bandera (S.H 16) / Helotes
Turn on Bandera towards outside the loop
U-Turn at 1st light
Turn Right at the Silverado 16 Theater sign (into shopping center)
Take 1st Right into 1st mini-strip center parking lot
It’s on the opposite end next to Rooster’s Barber shop.

Link to full post.

My Apt Offices - Upholstery Goldmine

Usually, I'm only in my apartment offices to pick up packages. Today I was waiting for some paperwork in the offices when I noticed the furniture. Suddenly, I glance down at one of the chairs....Next thing I know I'm taking pictures of everything. Some of these patterns are just out of control. They had so many different kinds on just the chairs!

Teaser:
More pictures in the full post.




And my favorite of the day:

This was actually in someone's office. When I asked if I could take the picture, the guy gave me such a look. I tried to explain I collect these things because it's something to do when I travel. He then asked me, "Do you frame them or something?"
"No."
Another look. "Um, OK."

Link to full post.

Bash Aliases - Cool Trick

I spent part of the last couple days studying command-line stuff via LinuxCommand. They have several helpful example scripts and even walk you through developing a script to generate system information on your computer. I found it very helpful.

Another cool discovery was this thread in the forums on bash-aliases. Apparently, you can create a file with all your preferred command line shortcuts. All you have to do is save it under a particular filename (“bash_aliases”) and then un-comment a few lines in another script. I found this incredibly handy. Some of my favorite aliases are below.

Most of these are from the help thread (some I modified for my use):

alias cp='cp -i'
alias mv='mv -i'
alias rm='rm -i'

Sets interactive mode ("Are you sure?") before copying, moving or deleting files

alias google=’firefox http://www.google.com/'
alias ubuntu-help='firefox http://ubuntuforums.org/'

Opens Google and the Ubuntu help forums in Firefox

alias ed-alias='gedit home/jessica/.bash_aliases'

Open alias file in text editor (original used nano text editor but I don’t like that one)

alias ls='ls --color=auto'
alias lal=’ls –al’
alias ll=’ls –l’

These are for listing files in a directory. The first automatically colors the files based on type and read-write permissions. The second is a shortcut for listing in long-format all the files in a directory including hidden files. The last one is for listing all files except hidden files in a directory in long-format.

alias today='date +"%A, %B %-d, %Y"'

Displays the date.

The other cool thing is that if you forget what your aliases are, you can just type ‘alias’ at the terminal and it lists all the aliases allowed (ie - in your ".bash_aliases" file).

After setting this up, I spent a little bit moving files around and changing the read-write permissions from the terminal. I think I’ll be spending a few hours a week until Christmas just working on my command-line skills. That way during my Christmas time-off, I can (hopefully) start to really work on my scripting.

Link to full post.

Errors in Employee Training

My company just opened a company-wide “University” of sorts. Looking through the course catalog this morning, my initial skepticism started to fade. There’s several engineering and accounting classes that appear interesting. However, I came across one entry for a remedial skills class that was unintentionally hilarious....

Class: Internet Explorer
Purpose: To teach employees how to browse & find info on the Internet.
Format: On-Line

Link to full post.

The Ten Tenors!

I just got back from seeing "The Ten Tenors" LIVE at the Majestic Theater. FANTASTIC!!!!

They did several songs that I'd seen on YouTube when looking into them for my original post. They also included a nice blend of Christmas music. But the best song of the night was "Bohemian Rhapsody"....Most of the theater stood up after that one.

In addition to a great show and two encore songs, the guys were nice enough to come out in the lobby after to sign programs. My friend and I got 9 out of 10. We couldn't get the last guy because of the crowd. If these guys come to your town, you have to go check them out!

My signed program:

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