How are you, Corky?

For future reference

2006-06-13T12:54:21Z

Joss loves Battlestar Galactica. And Jane Espenson will be writing an episode for it next season.

Firefly is > than Angel is > than Buffy. Maybe it's the shorter the series the better I think it is...

Whedon's writing Wonder Woman which is a time and money sink hole. He needs television.

It's hard out here

2006-03-06T17:15:46Z

I really don't know what Cintra Wilson of Salon.com is talking about.

Just when you thought it couldn't possibly get any more wrist-slashingly boring, the boringness collapsed in on itself and became a deadly howling void of terrible sucking from which the light of no star could escape.

Maybe she's another of those lost Salon writers, another Farhad Manjoo. Or I'm out of touch. I really thought they were much funnier this year. Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell and Steve Carell, Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, the political ads read by Stephen Colbert. Plus, Salma Hayek...hello? I would agree that Jon Stewart isn't an Oscar host. He had some good lines (Bjork & Dick Cheney, send us your montage clips, don't escape from a burning car in slow motion), but doesn't get the laughs from the audience.

In other out-of-their-depth news, ESPN is putting Peter Gammons in the Sunday Night Baseball booth, or out in the stands (which ranks as a serious waste of talent). This is the second bone-head move by ESPN. Gammons is great...in the studio, but if there's a change to be made, it's John Miller. Joe Morgan with a good play-by-play man is all that show needs. And Gammons has a hard time getting words out. The other gaffe would be Tony Kornheiser on Monday Night Football. Tony is fantastic, and I listen to his radio show most days. He's completely wrong for Monday Night Football. He knows it. His over-under right now is at 4 games. It's a shame that he'll go down with Dennis Miller by association. He's a much better, though maybe not bigger, personality than Miller. He should have turned it down. And he still may before football starts up.

Western's CS department is still devoid of even decent teachers. Calculus II is taught very well by a funny old man.

Pathetic Criteria

2006-02-06T12:37:15Z

Not a great Super Bowl, from the commercials to the actual football. Certainly, the worst part was a god-awful set from the Stones. The mix wasn't helping anything, but you can only polish a turd so much.

I did win some money on it, so it will go down as my all-time favorite Super Bowl ever.

Kaphatin Radio

2006-01-25T02:35:17Z

Today was one of my more interesting days, which isn't saying a lot, but I don't get many. I had a 3:30 meeting scheduled with Smitley Once Removed about the project-unrelated-to-the-course-I-paid-for. This was going to mean a mere 7.5 hours of work but a trick of the bladder woke me early so I got to work a half hour earlier. Actual work consumed maybe half the time. Otherwise I prepared for the meeting, did some Calculus, worked on regular expressions, and updated Television Without Pity hoping for firm word on whether Veronica Mars would survive the UPN/WB merger (CW...fantastic name). Seems like it will. I may even get the programming if WGN will pick it up.

Smitley-OR is as flakey as his namesake and didn't show to the meeting. As a professor he makes a good throw pillow. Maybe a punching bag. I wouldn't need gloves if I aimed for the fleshy middle. Then I had class with the nice abstract foreign man. Noone knows what he's talking about but we're sure it's fascinating. There's lots of diagrams and letters.

Mel turned me on to Pandora today. Maybe I'll stop paying for Launch. Can't skip songs infinitely. Requires more study.

The girl next door and more

2006-01-16T03:51:31Z

When it was time to sign up for new classes, I finally got to the depressing task of tabulating how many classes I need to complete my degree. To speed things up, I decided to take 3 classes this semester, which is going to make things very interesting. Each class may require more attention than a semester's worth required before this. Part of this is related to maverick teachers who no doubt think of themselves as slightly lesser Jaime Escalantes. In my systems programming class, there will be a project that has nothing to do with systems programming. Also, it's a group project (though I may get to do it individually) which always makes me want to kill myself. We must come up with the idea for the project ourselves, though it must pass muster with the well-fed master. His exams will feature questions which, if you don't answer them effectively enough, will actually subtract points from your score. Rather than the question being worth 0-15 points, it will be worth -15 to 15 points. As for my project, I think I'll do a boot server. The more interesting path was a MythTV box, but someone already snatched that up.

Elisha Cuthbert's twin sister is in my Calculus II class which makes the long, late hours slightly more tolerable. Shallow? Oh yes. But I'll take my comforts where I can. I talked to her a little on the way back from a coffee break. Seemed nice.

I watched the first night of the 4 hour 24 premiere. I got bored. I noticed David Fury's name in the credits. I wonder why he left Lost. Something to research. It doesn't seem like a David Fury show. It's not character driven and the dialogue...le sucks. And I garnered all this from 2 hours of the show in its 5th season.

"Remembering why I'm a misanthrope"

2006-01-06T19:43:42Z

Veronica Mars.

The show was too good for me to have ignored for so long, what with mininova constantly waving its arms at me. I'll pick up the DVDs this weekend in a small effort to show my support. Tonight Battlestar Galactica will start up again, but Veronica is what I'm waiting for. It's supposedly pitched to the young female crowd which sounds about right for these marketing departments. The ratings shouldn't be languishing as they are if there was any competancy in promotion. Firefly marketing, except that the Mars concept is more palatable to the masses. It should be the backbone of UPN. So I thank the year-end lists (and Joss Whedon) for pointing me, again, toward this show.

Nothing to Do

2005-11-21T13:49:32Z

Atrios links to some (probably famous) woman's top 10 hated movies. Atrios gives a few of his own off the top of his head and includes The Three Amigos which makes me wonder if I can continue to respect his work. Even worse, see the post's comments and how many people have E.T. and Forrest Gump on their list.

My criteria for hated movies is a bit different. My list is made up of disappointments; movies I wanted to like but couldn't.

A.I.
Lost in Translation: This would be my Three Amigos for many people
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Star Wars I, II, III
Matrix Revolutions
Bugsy: Had I seen this later in life, maybe I would have liked it
Wild Wild West: actually I doubt I went into this wanting to like it
American Beauty
Leonard 6

Those are the ones that come to mind (with some help from the comments section). I haven't seen many of the classically bad movies; Battlefield Earth, Gigli, Waterworld, etc.

How about a quick dash of favorites as well.

The Usual Suspects
Field of Dreams
When Harry Met Sally
The Godfather
The Princess Bride
Seven
Twelve Monkeys
The Shining
Vertigo
The Matrix

Cold, Dark, Joyless World

2005-11-11T13:06:05Z

Fred Upton's in the heezy. We're having a Veteran's Day celebration here and Freddy's going to take the opportunity to speak on the evils of Janet Jackson's breasts and Grand Theft Auto. It looks like he's removed his top 10 "how I'm awesome" bullet points from his website. One was that he'd never voted against a tax decrease. His fiscal responsibility is admirable. I wonder if someone will run against him this time.

Premium channels have been pulled from Comcast's analog cable in the area. No more HBO unless you pay ungodly sums for the digital upgrade. I'll be investigating the dish thoroughly today. Is it possible to live in a world without Curb? Deadwood?

Geek Chic

2005-11-09T19:45:21Z

I'm participating in my own personal Geek Week. This weekend I bought the Battlestar Galactica DVDs which have been very good so far. I have issues with some of the writing, but it's made up for in the casting. Starbuck is especially good.

I got George Martin's 4th book. The split has my expectations low as most of my favorite characters won't appear until the 5th book.

And I picked up the fourth installment of the irrigation game. Still an excellent waste of time in the just ... one ... more ... turn ... mold.

So that's me feeding the inner geek. It's all a welcome respite from past weeks of non-stop school, hectic work, wedding fever, and Theo leaving the Sox. Tonight is the episode of Lost that's supposed to wash away the taste of the last one. They seem to be advertising it as the only episode I'll need to watch all season. That doesn't seem like the right way to go marketing-wise.

Is Chicago next?

2005-10-19T12:19:38Z

The Onion reminds us of what we never should have forgotten: when Hagerstown decides it's on, goodbye Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, the article focuses on zombies alone:

"Children need to be taught from preschool that they might have to put a bullet between the eyes of their own undead mother," Fulci said.

No mention is made of the more subtle, but eminently worse, PEV. A more important story is the progress of the training in the Outer Banks. Are there enough Light Warriors and are they prepared to move?

Hagerstown appears to be more up front about their purpose. They advertise ghost and haunted home tours. These are relegated not to the outlying areas but to the downtown itself. No doubt these will serve as easy feeding grounds before the PEVs march, or float, north. Note the picture of a PEV about to feed on a poor guitar man. God help us all.

Those genes kick in about now

2005-09-19T13:51:58Z

Brother Jacob is off to that crock they call Sixth Grade Camp. Early reports are not good. The powers that be were kind enough to put him in a group in which he knows noone. Of course, through all the team-building exercises they will come together and bond. Mmhmm. I guess sometimes you just have to go through a week of sleepless misery to prepare you for a future of sleepless misery.

Sixth Grade Camp really needs to be cut. If nothing else, it rips into a needed week of relentless preparing for the standardized tests that will determine exactly what kind of sleepless misery your future holds.

All I remember about camp is that they piped in Charlie and the Chocolate factory at night. That and a wooden wall in the woods. No doubt we were supposed to get over this wall somehow. I doubt I made it.

It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth

2005-08-29T16:28:52Z

A weekend marathon of the O.C. 2nd season has brought me up to date with the happenings in Newport. Unfortunately, I now have to go to regular tv viewing of the show, which is not the way God intended. The 3rd season makes me a bit nervous as it's college time. New settings might upset the delicate balance. Really, there's only the lounge area of the school that was established as a regular venue, so I suppose that won't be missed. I hope to see Anna from Pittsburgh return to attend OCU (or whatever college they conveniently all attend together). Ryan's dad is about due for an extended appearance. Ryan's past must intrude once a season (though it's always there in the subtext...he's so dark).

I'm not saying Mischa Barton should be killed off...she's pretty central. But god, imagine if they'd picked even a decent actress. She should not be getting other gigs. Imdb.com says she has a couple of things in the works. One stars Hayden Christensen. Lethal.

My professors should speak fluent, unaccented English. This more than makes up for the massive tuition hike that threatens to break my fiscal back.

Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off

2005-08-12T17:55:46Z

Intern has left us for good. We mourn the loss of her piercing hotness and broad ineptitude. We'll never know if her tan was real or store-bought. Only the Pink Lady remains for study on that issue. May Intern be a shining light to those empty Nebraska plains. I will miss her hair most of all.

I need a hard drive. The online world fills one's drive capacity rather quickly, especially when one lacks a moral compass. Perhaps an external hard drive? On the server? One is giddy at the notion. One realizes his patheticness runs rampant.

The class is over. I did not get to fill out an evaluation, but it would have been scathing. Lab teacher's constant trembling voice was all that saved her from non-stop ridicule. She still has not responded to an email related to our final project due yesterday. I can only hope for the best.

Lions tonight. Joey's job is on the line. I hope he succeeds but doubt it will happen.

Spoilers and Wild Speculation. Beware of the leopard!

2005-07-20T12:12:09Z

I do so love starting these series before their conclusion. With books it's difficult not to since they run so long between volumes and the trilogy is considered a quaint artifact. With TV I should do better for the most part. This is not true for The OC, and probably Lost when I pick that up on DVD, but they are out of the norm. TV on DVD is the greatest idea since Kobayashi decided to eat his first hot dog, and his second, and his third...

As to the book. I did well with it, but you get about 120 pages out and you really can't stop, which put me well past midnight last night and dead to the world this morning. The French Roast will not fail me, however.

While I wait for Martin's 4th book (disappointment abounds as to his choice to split it) I'm going to take this time to put down my wild speculations about the 7th Potter book which I believe she should finish writing today and publish next month. Cause you have to give em time to find the typos. I've had theories before, but I forget them in the waiting. So, should you be reading this and you have not read the sixth Potter book (2 trilogies is less quaint), or if you wish the 7th unspoiled (all of these theories are obviously correct, fools),

I believe:
Snape is not evil. Well. Not Dark.
R.A.B. stands for one Regulus ... Asomething Black
The locket will be found in ~~Grimmauld Place or with a LeStrange (via Kreacher)~~*
Malfoy will be redeemed
Harry is, or contains, the unknown Horcrux. He will live.
Ginny will not let Harry go. Remember, Harry, love. Love, 'arry!
Certain other persons who may or may not have died in the end have, in fact, died.

*Okay, after checking a few other theories, it appears I was stupid to have forgotten Mundungus's brief appearance in the book which would have no other purpose than to indicate he'd stolen the locket. Still, right-y-o on the RAB.

Pink Lady Watch

2005-06-30T20:33:31Z

One week down and I own Thunderdome. Lab teacher is prohibitive to the process I'm afraid. But I will work past lab teacher. I will make lab teacher my bitch.

The Pink Lady wears the pink on her pants today. They approach hot pink.

I have the O.C. first season (used and cheap) to watch. I've heard good things.

I am, at present, attempting to get away with not buying a parking sticker. So far, complete success. The true test begins tomorrow.

This July the Lawsons come to town. I will not see them much as they like Rush and I have few hours to give them.

I think I want a Shelby GT 500. I bet they're easy to come by.

Interns at War!

2005-06-25T16:56:31Z

Ajay holds his class in a small room. The ventilation is loud on 95+ degree days. He speaks softly. He speaks with an Indian accent. He is difficult to understand. Welcome to Thunderdome.

The company held an ice cream social for the interns. They were rats coming out of the walls. I didn't realize how many were here. The air is thick with dislike among the ones in my area. Intern one, she of the fantastic hair and key initiatives, draws the attention of the male interns multiple times per day. On the other side sits intern two, stellar in her own somewhat offputting way. Is she losing? Hard to say. She manages to take her breaks with said male interns. I really think with a concerted effort, and more inappropriate-for-the-work-place tops, she can pull it off.

We don't know what we'll do when the interns head back to their sororities to work toward their MBAs, complete with fresh resume filler. Life will be a little more gray, the air less musky with tension.

Memorial Day -- how do I skip the gathering...

2005-05-27T15:01:52Z

Firefly was really good. How did it get cancelled? I suppose if the movie does well it could rekindle the series, but what was Fox thinking?

The Red Sox are into the grind of the season. That time when they play half-assed baseball and hope to come out of it in August or September. It worked once in 86 years so it's a good strategy.

This weekend I plan on setting up a web/mail/firewall/file/music server. I'm giddy with glee about the situation. Geek? Yes, go to hell.

Wil Wheaton has a blog. You may remember him from such television shows/movies as Star Trek: Next Generation, Stand By Me, and Toy Soldiers (crappy film I enjoyed). It's a pretty good read. He was Ashley Judd's first onscreen kiss. I even remember the episode. Cause I'm cool like that. And she sort of stood out.

The Ashley Judd of our office is leaving to take a better job. Pfft. Like there's something better than this mind-numbing pointlessness. She is so going to rue the day.

No wonder it's on TNT

2005-05-26T02:47:36Z

Big shout out to the refs for taking over Game 2. This is the kind of game I like to watch. Weak fouls, flops and acting abound. Today's NBA, it's beautiful.

When do college hoops start up?

There are tremendous people...

2005-05-20T02:56:40Z

I am a tremendous human being. I am tremendous because I do not feel at all envious of the summer intern. I am not threatened by the intern's attendance of meetings with bigwigs I've said possibly 3 words to. Because I am a tremendous human being. I do not feel envious of the intern's work on "development projects." First, I thought it unfortunate that the intern was to be used and abused as an administrative assistant. I am tremendous and thought of the poor intern's welfare. But when I heard that the intern was not to be used in this way, but rather as a cog in a superior capacity I was happy for said intern. And I reveled in my tremendosity. People of lesser character would hold a grudge against the intern for petty reasons. But not me, no. I will revere the hot intern and her tremendous hair.

Biased Against the Biblical

2005-05-13T17:53:03Z

In my continuing commentary on the important events of the day, I'll say that Michael should stop reading his bible so much during work hours or I shall have to fire him. What? I can fire people? Well, there's semantics involved. I don't make the final call, but mine is the word of God. He should be reading the book of me. Then he shall know the consequences of his actions.

And do I get paid more for my managerial duties? Perish the thought.

I have two free iTunes to my name and I'm thinking carefully about what to use them on. I'm leaning toward the Grateful Dead's "Mountains of the Moon" because it's unlikely I'd ever purchase the album it's on. Also, the Band's "Jawbone" but probably not because I should buy the album. Possibly Bellbottom Blues. I'm having difficulty pulling the trigger on "Bust a Move."

It was nice of the Washington Post to cover the British memo two weeks after the fact. On page A18. Tremendous.

May 24th a banner day

2005-05-13T02:46:27Z

On May 24th, the first 2 seasons of Newsradio will be released on DVD. I'm preordering mine right now. It's about a buck an episode...so worth it. I fell hard for the show in syndication when it was on A&E in the afternoons.

I suppose I'm also going to have to try out this Firefly show. The movie trailer looked pretty good. The last movie I saw in a theater was The Interpreter. Speaking of trailers that look good...I hesitate to say that Star Wars may be decent this time. The downfall is in Lucas's dialogue...and that's a big downfall. I need to see a decent small budget movie soon. Definitely renting the adventures of Stevesie and Klaus over the weekend. In other imdb news, Fast Times at Ridgemont High (A quart or so) is much better than its 7.1 rating. The Jerk (I was born a poor black child) receives 6.8. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (Cleaning Woman!) 6.5. These are crimes against the laws of Gods and Men.

On the Linux front, my hardware's a little too cutting edge for most everything I've tried. Currently, Kanotix works the best. No sound and generic video driver = best experience possible. On the plus side, my wireless card gets up to 2x the speed on Linux that I get on Windows. That's using the Windows driver wrapped up. (ndiswrapper)

I'm going to set myself to learning Lisp. It has many parentheses. It pleases me.

mattack @ 2005-04-22T15:17:00

2005-04-22T19:58:30Z

School is winding down. I'm done at Western. At least until June rolls around. Then it's 8 weeks of hardcore programming. A Thunderdome of curriculum in which the unworthy are weeded out. Two men enter. One man leaves.

Valley is not done. I have been singled out for excellence in my necessary/unnecessary Calculus class. J.P. is a tool I'm afraid. He whines about how we are all too lazy to succeed in Calculus because we don't put in the time. Then he's too lazy to grade tests. I dislike the man. He broaches uncomfortable topics without thought. One woman had a miscarriage half way through the semester. He lectured her on proper living. In front of all of us. He continues to call her Mom. Does she appreciate this? I don't know. Last week he got into a conversation with a gentleman who has issues with his father. They talked about it. In front of all of us. Math is manipulation. Life is moneypulation. So spake J.P.

Tomorrow I will avidly watch the NFL draft. Scratch avidly. Adverbs are not your friend. Tomorrow I will watch the NFL draft like a homeless man devouring some chowder. Ahh...that's good writing. I don't like the simile. Because I'm not good at it? Sure. But really, I don't think very many people are. Metaphors are your friend. And to close, I like David Pollack or Derrick Johnson for the Lions. Or Mike Williams should he fall so far.

I find myself finishing quick passages of typing with flourishes of the hands. Accents of pomposity.

Misplaced Ire...the Schiavo complex, if you will

2005-03-25T19:59:30Z

Eddie Sutton, may you burn in Hell. May you bear an obstruction of Swearengen proportions. You bitch.

I put too much stock in Red State teams. They look and sound strong, but it's all a facade covering ineptitude. Illinois I love you! Go MSU!

go louisville...

I'm sorry, I like Pitino.

45% job approval. Kinda late, motherfuckers.

Baseball soon

2005-03-23T15:00:52Z

Please please please be retiring, Barry. Never come back. Never speak again. You are not one of the 5 greatest players. I disregard your records. You are not number 3 on the list, Mays is back.

61* is still the number to beat.

Keep an eye on the Tigers. Jeremy Bonderman is 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 18 spring training innings. Craig Monroe has 6 homers.

Garciaparra has 6 homers also. He has something to prove. I dislike No-mah.

Here's to a Red Sox repeat.

My picks suck. Never again, Syracuse, you pansies. Well, maybe not never. You did help me out a couple years ago. We'll talk.

Edit: I lied, Monroe has 5 home runs. Still excellent considering he has 34 at bats.

Sheet of Integrity

2005-03-17T16:20:50Z

My Sheet...of Integrity. Last year Alabama killed me, so I'm hooking up with them this year. Many people think they'll lose their first game. I will be displeased with that result.

I stuck with my Disrespectables, and added Texas Tech to the list.

The sooner North Carolina, Kansas, and Illinois lose, the happier I'll be.

Dumbest pick: Villanova over North Carolina. But UAB beat Kentucky last year so come on.