McBlog

Kitt and I went to see 10,000 BC the other night. Yes, we went Gold Class again – I’ve definitely created a monster as Kitt’s loving Gold Class. Oh well…

As to the movie, like most of the reviewers, I’m not too impressed. I’m not being as nasty about it as they are and I didn’t fall asleep like some guy did in our cinema (well, there’s a waste of $30+). I am, however, saying that if you haven’t seen this one yet, well, wait for it on DVD. Sure, the visuals will be more impressive on a “big screen” but unless you’re copping a freebie, I don’t think it’s worth the cinema prices.

The visual effects were pretty good (nice kitty!) although the fur on the mammoths didn’t always work out (fur is a real pain to animate at the best of times). Sadly though, this movie once again shows us that great effects do not make up for a “been there, done that” plot and 2nd rate acting. Lets not even go down the path of people with pearly white teeth, waxed chests and well made clothing. Heck, if we did that we might even start to wonder what was up with all the metal stuff during the Stone Age or domesticated horses about 5,000 years too early.

The comment going around about the director of this movie (Roland Emmerich) was “He’s stuffed up the present (Independence Day), he’s ruined the future (Day After Tomorrow) and now he’s going to destroy the past.” He’s definitely got a thing going for ancient Egyptian look n feel as some parts towards the end of this movie were reminiscent of his StarGate movie.

So unless you’ve got money to burn or someone else is paying, wait ’til it’s in the discount pile at the video store and then get it if you really want to see it.

In my other job as Technical Director for apc.au, I get to do a lot of work with open standards, Internet governance, free & open source software and open licensing. The latest effort we’re involved in is Document Freedom Day 08, the inaugural global effort to raise awareness of the Open Document Format. There’s a fair bit going on around the planet and you can find more about it by starting with the apc.au blog entry I made about it

So, it’s Easter Sunday and the tradition in this house is to hide a stack of chocolate easter eggs for Nykolai to hunt down. We put a few out in obvious view so he knows it’s definitely on, then we sit back and watch the fun begin.

He usually manages to miss a few of the obvious ones and needs LOTS of hints for the more deviously hidden ones. I guess if it happened more often he’d remember to look inside large candles, overlocker trays and aircraft carriers :)

To help celebrate Kitt’s birthday, I took her to dinner at Kanpai (a great Japanese restaurant) and then to see Run, Fatboy, Run. Surprisingly, this was Kitt’s first ever time at a Gold Class cinema and I may have created a monster as she’s now hooked (note: we didn’t dress up for it and nor did we see anyone super dressed up – that’s just the adverts)

The movie is the third one from Simon Pegg following on from Shaun of the Dead (brilliant) and Hot Fuzz (hillarious). We’re fans of Simon’s work (remember the UK TV show Spaced?) and were looking forward to checking out his latest offering.

While it’s a good movie, it wasn’t at the same level as the earlier ones. We really like the “out there” humour of Shaun & Fuzz and appreciate the subtle (and not so subtle :) ) references to other movies, shows & issues. Simon’s gone “mainstream” with Fatboy and while it’s a funny movie with moments of hillarity, it’s way more commercial than his other works.

The character “Gordan” (played by Dylan Moran) is great and gives us much to aspire to (no, really! :) ) although I was a tad wierded out by Hank Azaria as “Whit” as I kept waiting to hear him say Dodge, Dive, Dip, Duck n … Dodge (or start doing one of his Simpson’s voices)

There are definitely some magic moments in the movie and it is well worth seeing, although perhaps for some it would be better via DVD or “Tight Arse Tuesday” (movies are usually cheaper on Tuesdays – and now, so is petrol – go figure)

I just watched the RAAF Roulettes display from the roof of our apartment building. We’re pretty close to Albert Park where the Melbourne Grand Prix is running and, while not a perfect viewing place (damned trees) it wasn’t bad.

Now, I’ll probably never be good enough to fly that kind of formation (although I do aspire to getting a formation endorsement one day), I do have to make some comments on the show. These guys are good and their show is well flown, but having seen the USAF Thunderbirds and the US Navy Blue Angels a few times, I did feel that something could have been done to pick up the act a tad.

It’s not a jet vs turbo-prop thing!

Yes, jets pack more punch BUT it’s also the choreography of the whole show.

With the last few Roulettes shows I’ve seen, you’re often looking around, either following them behind you as they re-group or wondering where they’ve gone. With the other teams (and many earlier Roulettes shows) there’s always something happening. The other groups use their “soloists” extensively so as the main group are reforming one or two other aircraft are doing something back in show center.

Today’s Roulette show did make use of the soloists, but not to the same degree of continuity as some of their past shows (let alone the level of the other teams). I guess I’m being over-picky, but it’s just something I’m left with after the amazement has worn off.

Meanwhile, I’m watching these guys do things I can only dream of and I’d love to get a ride with them (yes Carlo, I’m still damned jealous! :) ). Until then, all I can do is use the show as yet one more piece of fuel to power my drive towards the sky…

I’ve been wiped out for the past few days with a very nasty virus, the dreaded Man Flu. As ordered by the doctor (and common sense), recovery consists of lots of rest, plenty of fluids (not beer, though :( ) and no going back to work until I’m up to it. Given it has taken two days before I could even enjoy looking at a computer, let alone think my way through issues more complex than a Phantom comic, I think I’ll follow my doctor’s advice and take tomorrow off as well.

This is the third time this year I’ve had something like flu/cold/gripe/enfirmo/whatever. Usually I hardly ever get them then, if I do, I’m feeling run down for a day, have a fever that night and am fine after that. Back at the start of the year I had a bad run and now this – in between I’ve had a “normal” flu session that was gone in a day.

Is this because humanity is breeding stronger viruses thanks to dosing people up all the time with antibiotics instead of allowing our immune systems to sort themselves out? Is it ‘cos I’ve gone over the “magic line” of 40 years now? Or is it because it’s going around my office and lots of people are out sick at the moment?

*sigh*

Whatever the cause, my apologies to those who are waiting for me to produce something, be it emails, commentary or work products. I should be able to think clearly soon and will start getting stuck into the backlog…

Gary Gygax, the inventor of the game Dungeons & Dragons, died recently. Adam has suggested building mausoleum based on Tomb of Horrors – very amusing & original, but I think that the latest XKCD strip takes the cake:

Today was mostly a day of frustration, a day where one considers that no amount of work is sufficient to get on top of things, let alone clear the backlog and that Dilbert is sadly all too real. It’s not as bad as working for Vogons but it did begin to look like it might just be heading that way. The joys of working for large organisations, I guess…

It’s a blue sky day outside – warm and still. Sadly, I can’t be out flying (no funds, no time, etc) but at least we’ve been out and enjoyed the day for a while. Now I’m wading through my “to do list” while listening to DI.fm’s Lounge & Trance channels. Seems to be fitting the atmosphere and the light coming in from outside.

Fortunately, my ISP (Internode) has a repeater server for most of the DI.fm channels and a few others, including BassDrive. So long as we’re picking up the feed fromtheir server, it doesn’t count against my 20Gb download cap. Streaming music all day from around the world at no additional cost or restrictions – very nice – if only I could get this at the offices I work in :)

So, now I’m using Word Press on my site – guess we’ll give it a whirl and see if this helps me keep up to date with posting :)

I’ll update this soon and include a feed from the apc.au blog where I’m posting all my APC related info. If I add in feeds from Fly Me Friendly, all I’ll have to keep track of here will be my personal entries :)

Meanwhile, we’re watching Cowboy Bebop episodes and chilling out – not a bad way to spend a Saturday night…