General

The tv show Firefly drove the purchase of my first Tivo.  I annoyed the hell out of a coworker who had a Tivo to tape it for me, and he finally said ‘no’, and I realized I needed one badly rather than miss an episode. The show, which packs the same quantity of creativity and…

If I was famous, I’d be asked all sorts of inane questions like, "What tv shows are you watching?"  (Deadwood, now that Carnivale is in between seasons).  Perhaps the poker press would want to know my 1 table Sit N’ Go strategy.  (Don’t draw to any hand for the first three levels, and if you want, wash your dishes during that time if you can also keep an eye on the computer while you’re doing it.)

But I’m not famous, which means I’m going to tell you something about myself for no good reason.

I love apocalyptic film.   I love to see civilization destroyed.  Note that I said civilization, not the physical planet we live on.  And one of the best apocalyptic genres, in my opinion, is the zombie film.

Where else do they ruin the world and toss in the ever present threat of gruesome death?  Zombie films rock, with my ties for a favorite being "28 Days Later" and the remake of "Dawn of the Dead".  "28 Days Later" has one of the best music/suspense arcs I’ve ever watched, and if you get a chance, watch the scene where Jim breaks into the military mansion to rescue Selena and listen carefully to the soundtrack.  The slow build creates an amazing amount of tension that becomes taut when Selena and Jim nearly kill each other.

So, with that in mind, I suggest you read "How to survive a zombie attack", over Kuro5hin.  You never know, it just might help you out someday.

Yesterday was the momentous return of baseball to Washington DC.  After a hard fought political and economic battle, Washington DC opened it’s first major league baseball game in over thirty years.  My company bought season tickets, and I claimed the Washington Nationals Inaugural home game for Sarah and I.

I have always been fascinated by Tablet PCs.  When they came out there was a resounding cry from Microsoft and HP that it was the next evolution in computing, while Dell was skeptical and unofficially branded the entire product line as stupid.  Although I have no first hand knowledge of why Dell would react this…

I was home recently to keep an eye on my father during some non-life-threatening surgery.  Afterwards, With my father safely back home and conked out for the next 24 hours my mother and I done with our quality time, I went out to run some errands and play some cards.  I ended up at the…

Periodically someone says something that puts it all into perspective.  It makes all the petty details of life entirely moot.  Such a thing happened to me last week. The call came from a globe-trotting friend.  "N’s getting out of Elbonia.  He’s got a visa and a passport.  I’m not sure how he got it, but…

In the Mall of Georgia (which is actually in Georgia, but outside Atlanta proper), Sarah and I found ourselves trying to catch a quick bite to eat in stripmall-land. Me: Hm, let’s go see if there’s anything edible at the food court….Uh oh, "Buddha Express".  What are the odds they serve something the Buddha would…

As I read the comments on various friends’ blogs about the Terry Schiavo case, one stood out in particular.  The web being a medium in which speech you find offensive or objectionable should be answered with more speech, I offer the following counterpoint on my friend Cheryl’s take on Michael Schiavo’s behavior from her blog,…

If you’ve ever turned down an invitation for dinner at my house, here’s a sample of what you missed. Cream of garlic soup, a la Susan Spicer’s "Bayona" in New Orleans Mustard crusted rack of lamb from Stephen Raichlin’s "How to Grill". Chocolate volcano (chocolate fondant) with candied and chocolate-dipped grapefruit peels, as recipied by…

I leave for two days, and when I return: You’ve toppled the government in Kyrgyzstan and begun looting, You made a mess of the beautiful warm weather I left here in Washington, and Britney Spears got yet another breast augmentation.  (She’s had a couple.  Is that even healthy?) I can’t trust you people alone for…