year 4
Harry Potter returns to the big screen today in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I just finished reading the book last night (first book I’d read in nearly 2 years). Surprisingly, it took me only 2 and a half weeks to finish. Great story; can’t wait to watch it tonight with CL and D at the Lincoln.
Audio Blog 1031
Shownotes:
been a long time
work: good and bad
family
D’s PSP
Christmas wishlists
$2.29 a gallon
what I want
- iMac?
- Powerbook?
- more like Dell or Shuttle
time off during the holidays
Episode III DVD
Halloween and rain
hello again
Hey gang, it’s been a long time since I last blogged …
The Cardinals were defeated in Game 6 at Busch Stadium by Roy Oswalt and the Houston Astros. St Louis fans were happy to see the Chicago White Sox sweep the Astros in the World Series (despite the NL link).
Work is crazy. The biggest problem we’ve had is our email server. It’s crashed twice in the last week and a half. We’re lucky to have it back, but the server’s a mess and all the data needs to be migrated to a new one. I’m also learning about the power struggles that goes on in this dept. Politics and control play a huge role, and I’m doing my best to stay out of it. For the first time in my career, I love the work but the teamwork sucks.
CL’s parents were in town last week; it’s always good to see them. We also hooked up with her brother and his family. Will post pics when I find the time.
I’ve been dealing with pain in my right ear. It’s similar to pain I feel when I’m sick and on a plane. The problem is I’m not sick and I’m not on a plane. If it continues this week, I may need to seek medical attention; super.
D celebrated his 13th b-day with friends last night at our house. We all ate pizza, then I took the boys to see The Legend of Zorro. Very entertaining; I liked it (as did the boys). They in turn stayed up all night, so they’re lacking in the energy dept.
Christmas is just around the corner. To my family – we need wishlists! I’ll probably post mine here. I’d really like cash towards a new PC. But I’ll have a list nonetheless.
Audio Blog 0829
Recorded on the way home from work.
shownotes:
- post-job interview
- department birthday celebration
- food preparation
- Hurricane Katrina
- yard cleanup
- daily podcast?
- Labor Day weekend plans
good movies
We haven’t gone to the movies much this year. In the past week, we rented 2 movies.
- Hostage – starring Bruce Willis; very tense action thriller. Can be disturbing at times. Liked it.
- The Terminal – Tom Hanks pairs with Spielberg for the 3rd time. Charming movie; liked it a lot.
Haven’t been crazy about what’s playing at the theater lately. D and I might see Transporter 2 next weekend. Depends on my mood.
Harrison Ford Has Agreed To Indy Jones IV
Details on the Indiana Jones IV release date, Steven Spielberg’s comments about Indiana Jones IV.
ROTS on DVD
It’s official – Revenge of the Sith will be released on DVD on Nov 1. According to Digital Bits, there will be a 6-film box set of the entire Star Wars saga, but it will probably not be anytime soon (not this year, and probably not in 2006).
can you digg it?
Hey gang – how’s it going?
- Fixed the computer. Did a restore; now instead of 10 GB of free space, I have nearly 60.
- Finally uploaded our pics to my gallery and all albums are available to view. Phase 2: replace certain files with better quality pics.
- Haven’t been to the movies much this summer. CL, D, and I saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith a few weeks ago (pretty good). Last night CL and I watched Meet the Fockers (funny stuff).
- Cards are hot. At 62-35, they have the best record in the NL. However, key players are hurt, and they lost to the Cubs yesterday.
- Speaking of hot. 100 degree temps and heat index above 110 is ridiculous. Grass is growing without rain because it’s so tropical outside. Geez, it’s hot. It’s too hot.
- Digg.com – check it out. Top news in tech thanks to the users of Digg. See what news I digg in the right hand column, then digg some news yourself.
Stay cool if you can.
Audioblog – DNT at Episode III
(recorded May 19 and 20)
Here’s me, Daniel, and occasionally Christine as we head out to see the midnight showing of Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Excuse the loud noises, particularly at the theater, and my crabbiness (I wasn’t feeling well that night). Approx. 25:46 into the file, it cuts to us in the car after the movie. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, don’t listen – there are spoilers.
I didn’t have time to edit, so it’s raw in form; 46 minutes in length (21 MB). Better to click on the player than download the file. Enjoy!
MP3 File
busy saturday
I finally had a pretty productive Saturday. Took CL to work so I could clean out her car. Walked the dog, then took him to the groomer’s for a haircut and bath. Did a whole bunch of laundry, including our sheets and blankets (smelled like Stinky). Vacuumed and washed the car (even as it rained a few times). Didn’t bother drying it since I knew the rain was coming, and it came in buckets just after I finished (at least it’s clean now for our big road trip). Finally got a haircut, showered, then picked up CL followed by the pup. Poor Salem spent the whole day there, and his paws hurt – she clipped his nails too close (one bled).
Now that I have a summer cut, my head feels so much better now! It was very long and thick, all over my ears and in my eyes. My ballcaps wouldn’t fit anymore. Bill asked me “How tight you want it?”. I told him, “Real tight! I want almost all of it gone!” Bill gives great haircuts, and as busy as they were, I was glad to get him.
Watched the Big Unit shut down the Cards 5-0, grilled some hot dogs, then CL and I watched After The Sunset. Good movie with plot twists and humor. Sorry D – it may be PG-13 but it’s not for you! Maybe in 2 or 3 years. 
episode iii easter eggs
If you’re like D and you’re going to see Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith again (and again), check out this list of easter eggs. When it somes to Star Wars, only repeated viewings reveal the good stuff.
Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith
Saw the movie at 12:01 AM today with CL and D. St Clair was showing it in 2 theaters, and both were sold out. Fantastic! I really liked ROTS. Very dark, full of evil deeds – not recommended for kids under 10. The epic saga comes full circle as Anakin Skywalker turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. George Lucas does not disappoint. It’s full of action, but, for once in the prequel era, the story drives the movie. For a little over 2 hours, ROTS got to the point and was fast-paced. I’m a Star Wars fan who has been disappointed with the prequels, but I am very pleased with the final installment. If you are a fan of the original trilogy, you should enjoy this movie. Nothing beats the originals, but Episode III delivers with a bang.
ROTS review (sort of)
D wanted to know if I was gonna blog about my playing experience with SW-Episode III: ROTS. So, D – here it is.
The game is the closest you will get to actually fight as a Jedi. Is it the best Star Wars console game? No – Rogue Leader for the GameCube gets that honor. If you want lightsaber action and the powers of the Force, then ROTS is for you. Screw the story missions; the lightsaber duel is where the fun’s at. You can play as either Anakin Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi (as you play, you can unlock more Jedi or Sith to choose from). The Force enables you to throw things, push your opponent, heal yourself, or other things I have yet to figure out. The combo system allows you to do moves you won’t see in the movies. I haven’t played it enough due to spoilers that come from the gameplay and the featured scenes from the movie. So I can’t really judge a whole lot. I do like the game for one reason and one reason only – the duel.
ROTS and TWIT
Daniel and I only have 2 weeks til the last Star Wars movie is released. Until then, we have merchandise to tide us over – I’m currently enjoying the soundtrack to the movie while Daniel has the book and his toys. Is it enough? Of course not!
Today, 05-05-05, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – The Video Game is released. Daniel, having fear that it will sell out (I don’t think so), reserved it a few weeks ago. So when I get home, we will head out to Toys R Us to get his game. The game is supposed to deliver the “ultimate Jedi experience”, something I’ve been looking for in a Star Wars game forever and have yet to find. I am anxious to play this, but I don’t want to get my hopes up only to be let down. We’ll see tonight.
“Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. ” — Calvin
(courtesy of TWIT)
TWIT is here! This Week In Tech is a new site and podcast featuring the original crew of the now-defunct TechTV’s The Screen Savers (informative TV show on anything tech, from computers to gadgets). Created by Leo Laporte, the podcast is fantastic to listen to, especially if you’re a geek. They’ve had 3 shows so far, and I cannot wait to hear more. Leo, by the way, has his own radio show, The Tech Guy on KFI, in which he takes calls for help on the air. For nearly 2 hours, he is basically tech support for his audience; I learned a lot listening to his archives. These guys are the reason I’m leaning towards a Mac instead of a PC for my next computer.
episode iii
Bought 2 tickets online last night for Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith! D doesn’t know yet; I don’t want his excitement to boil over. I think he’s frustrated and thinks we’re the only 2 big fans who have yet to buy tickets. It opens May 19, and we’re going to the midnight show in Fairview. CL and I will allow him to miss school for that day since the school year’s practically over. I was able to get the day off. I did tell D that if his behavior didn’t improve, he wouldn’t get to see the movie until it came out on video!
hodgepodge
Links of interest …
- Fan interferes as Sheffield tries to field 2-run triple – Thursday night, Gary Sheffield for the Yankees took a hit to the face as he was fielding a ball. What is the world coming to? The fans that act like this don’t deserve to ever attend another sporting event. You can boo and jeer and heckle them all you want, but when you want to get physical, be prepared to face the music. I know I’ll hear about this, but I feel if they stop serving alcohol – that might teach some people a lesson.
- Star Wars – Episode III tickets on sale now – Thanks to Donny for the update! D cannot wait to see this movie, and neither can I. I’ve been disappointed with the prequels to this point, and I’m anxious for the saga to go out with a major bang. It’s the episode SW fans have been waiting for. We know what happens; we just want to see it happen! I’m debating on when we’ll see it; D’s behavior needs to improve before I can say it’s ok to see it on opening day.
- OpenOffice.org – a free productivity suite that is compatible with Microsoft Office. I just downloaded this the other day. Our PC has a 60-day trial for Office 2003; I’m waiting to see if this is a better alternative (not to mention cheaper).
Pics of my niece Jasmine …
My podcasts are on hold until I can figure out where I can put them. “The DNT Show” will be on hiatus as well until D gets his act together – can you say “attitude”?
Hope everyone had a nice weekend; here we go with a new week. Have a good one!
