Bottom Of The Barrel: May 2006

1 day down...

Yesterday was my first day at my new job and so far so good. I get the general feeling that people are excited to have me on board and are looking forward to what we can introduce to solidify several internal and external processes here. I think today I will be talking to our biggest customer and I am looking forward to being the voice and face the company.

A big thanks to all those who have congratulated and encouraged me in the past few weeks!

Eye Of God???

This is indeed an authentic photograph — or rather, composite of photos — taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. It was featured on NASA's Website as an Astronomy Picture of the Day in May 2003 and thereafter posted on a number of Websites under the title "The Eye of God" [though I couldn't find evidence that NASA has ever referred to it as such].

The image depicts the so-called Helix Nebula [or it's technical designation of NGC 7293], described by astronomers as "a trillion-mile-long tunnel of glowing gases." At its center is dying, Sun-like star which has ejected masses of dust and gas to form tentacle-like filaments stretching toward an outer rim composed of the same material. The Sun itself may look like this in several billion years.

America The Beautiful

O beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain
America, America
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea

The Da Vinci Code: A Movie Review

With all the hype about the book [sold over 40 million copies - NY Times Best Seller for 164 weeks] and after reading the book twice, I was excited to see it come to life on the big screen and Ron Howard did not disappoint. The Da Vinci Code could possibly be the hardest book to take to screen given it's popularly and depth of information and details around the main story. Clocking in at just under 2.5 hours, the movie stays quite true to the novel. The cast is good however Sir Ian McKellen [as Sir Leigh Teabing] steals every seen he is in and brings what little humor there is to the film. Tom Hanks gives a good performance as the lead character Robert Langdon and Audrey Tautou was an excellent choice for Sophie Neveu. [I would have loved to have Ron and Tom make Angels & Demons prior to this movie or even better yet film them together and drop a double summer blockbuster on us]. There are several special effects that add some zip to the movie that were, obviously, not part of the book but they made for a better film than if they were left out. The movie does move a bit slow at times however given the amount of historical information needed to tell the "tale", it is a necessary evil. All in all I enjoyed the film and would recommend seeing it [although it will not make into our DVD collection].

Hitting her stride

Lisa did her first 5 miles today [in 70 degree/75% humidity] and finished like a champ. We averaged 11:40 per mile which was really good given the heat index. One week till the big Harpoon Race and I think it's going to be a great day! Good going honey...

Day off/Unemployed

Today is my first [or four] days off in between jobs and while I am currently unemployed I do have a big day planned. "We're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time " [see Old School]. Actually I'll just be hanging around mi casa today doing some chores and probably going to get in a nice run. Hope y'all are having a great day at work and get out and enjoy the long weekend. And on Monday don't forget to take a moment of silence, short prayer or even a quick salute to those brave men and women who have gone before us in time of war and paid the ultimate price to make this the best damn country in the whole world.

If you can raed tihs, you hvae a srnatge mnid too

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. Thephaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at CmabrigdeUinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. Therset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs isbcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

[By the way, if you beleive that the above is true - I have a bridge to sell you]

Brokeback

I have not yet seen Brokeback Mountain but it has earned much media attention, 3 Oscars and 3 Golden Globe awards [both for Directing, Screenplay, and Original Score] so it hard not to be familiar with the film. Hell even the term "Brokeback" has entered mainstream vernacular as a reference to homosexuality. Will all this fuss, you knew there would have to be some satire on the subject the site YouTube.com has the goods. So if you dare, check out these trailers for potential sequels to Brokeback Mountain [in no particular order]:

Brokeback Future, Brokeback Mission, Brokeback Gump, Batman & Robin Brokeback Forever, Brokeback Maguire, Brokeback Top Gun, The Brokeback Kid, Brokeback Star Wars, Brokeback Fiction, Beautiful Brokeback, Brokeback to School, 2001: A Brokeback Odyssey, Brokeback Penguin, Brokeback: Justice League, Brokeback Rocky, Brokeback of the Ring, Brokeback Hogwarts, The Brokeback Redemption, Return to Brokeback, Brokeback Goodfellas, Brokeback Pirates of the Caribbean, or Fight Club/Brokeback.

By the end of viewing all of these I was pretty sick of the song in the trailer which is "The Wings" by Gustavo Santolalla from the soundtrack, but at the end, the haunting music is from Thomas Newman's "End Theme" on the soundtrack of Shawshank Redemption.

For some more parody, check out an actual scene from Scary Movie 4 and with honorable mention [since it is not a movie], the My Name Is Earl Brokeback Edition - just because I do like the show.

PS: Yes I have too much time on my hands this last week of work.

2006-2007 TV Lineup

The major networks have put out there planned programming for all to see and some have even put together slick web based interfaces to show off what they have up their sleeve for this fall. Here is a list of shows that I think will be interesting this fall:

ABC - 6 Degrees looks like a Lost style show without the sci-fi angle.
CBS - Not a lot of new shows on the #1 network but I do look forward to the return of HIMYM.
CW - Nothing new of interest on the new CBS/UPN/WB network yet. They may be working on some other shows that are not publicly announced.
FOX - We'll all just be waiting for AI to return in the mid-season next year.
NBC - Heroes looks intreging and, if successful, would have unlimited possibilities for story lines for ordinary people with extraordinary abilities [like the X-Men movies and their ability to continually role out new characters].

As for slick design, NBC's first look is by far the coolest presentation of their fall schedule. I give a virtual pat-on-the-back to their flash developers for their work. Very very cool.

Blogging by the numbers

Just a quick post regarding the status of the BOTB Blog and here are the important and not-so-important stats:

Date started: March 16, 2006 [total of 67 days since then]
Number of public posts: 57
Number of posts started but not yet public: 6
Number of links under my profile: 13
Number of links in my public posts: 133
Number of references to the yet-to-be-run Harpoon 5-Miler: 5
Number of pictures in my blog: 19
Number of pictures of me in my blog: 1
Number of pictures I took in my blog: 2
Number of comments posted on my blog: 63
Number of comments by people I don't know: 13 [including the author of a site I referenced which is cool and creepy all at the same time]

The other thing I wanted to mention is my new guest map which is a guestbook for the blog but it allows you to put a marker where you live for all to see. This is like a virtual map which shows where everyone is who has "signed" the guestbook. So go ahead and drop yourself on my guest map. The link to the map will remain on the top right on this blog for eternity!! Well maybe not that long but it should stay as long as it keeps getting hits.

Thanks to all who read, comment and hopefully enjoy my writings.

BB 5K

This past Saturday Kym, Lisa and myself took on the BB 5K in Sturbridge. The event was held to raise money [and awareness] for Melanoma Education & Research. Before the race we were told that the BB represented something that Jennifer Linscott Tietgen used to say, Be a Believer. It was a very warm message to all those who attended and I for one know I was glad I was there on a chilly May morning.

The run was down some pretty country roads along Big Alum Lake however we encounter several hills along the way but what did we expect, a flat spot in central Mass? I don't think so. There we several people along the way cheering us on, many of the participants encouraged each other and the kids at the water station even gave us high-fives!

Kym finished first at 31 minutes and Lisa was right behind her at 34 minutes. I think Kym had an advantage over us since she runs in those hills all the time. Lisa did great only adding about 45 seconds to her normal time which was awesome considering we normally run mostly flat at home. As for me, I finished dead last for runners and only ahead of 5 walkers at 64 minutes but in my defense I did run the course twice.

All in all, it was a great day and I am really proud of the girls and how well they did. Next up, the Harpoon 5 Miler in two weeks, which is sold out so for those of you who have been procrastinating on signing up we'll just have to see you in the beer tent.

Is DVR changing TV?

You bet your sweet ass it is! We have had our DVR from a couple months now and we tape everything and watch it back in much less time. In some cases nearly half the time. When American Idol first started out this season, they had some shows that were 2 hours long. One night I timed it and we got through the whole show in 70 minutes. Fast forwarding the commercials is quite handy [now if my DVR could just not tape the commercials altogether, that would be awesome].

I had read recently that approximately 4 million Americans have a Digital Video Recording device in their homes and that by the year 2011 that number would expand by 5 to 6 fold. The people buying these devices are the exact same demographic that the advertisers are trying to reach. In an other article I read today, the Hollywood TV producer types are trying to push back on product placement in their shows and story lines, although they all agree that is a necessary evil in today's entertainment world. What they want is artistic freedom without advertisers forcing their products into the story line. The thing is, is product placement really that hard to write into a show?

In the season finale of "How I Met Your Mother", Marshall and Lily were in the midst of an argument when they called pause and suddenly decided they were hungry, and headed to Red Lobster [including a quick exterior store shot with the two characters eating inside for a very short scene - now was that so hard?]. Who was the lead advertiser in the very next commercial break? Red Lobster of course.!

So here's my idea for the upcoming 2006-2007 TV season, why not make product placement just part of the show and cut out commercials all together. From time to time we see s show run the entire time allotted with one major sponsor [like a full hour of 24 brought to you by Ford]. So why not a whole half hour of a sitcom with nothing but product placements? I can see it now, Barney rolls into his office taking on new BlackBerry 8700g, while Marshall & Lily register at Macy's and Ted & Robin talk about their new dating life while sipping Frappuchino's at Starbucks. Plus the viewer will get a full half hour [or hour] of the show. Sounds like a win-win[-win] situation to me.

This blog entry was brought to you by Chrysler, Nike, the number 3 & JIF and if of those TV executives want to discuss my ideas, please feel free to contact me.

102 Minutes: A Book Review

When I saw this book in the store, I was not sure I was ready to read it but I bought it anyway. 102 Minutes: The Untold Story Of The Fight To Survive Inside The Twin Towers is a book put together by authors Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn which covers the story of those who experienced 9/11 in a way that most of us did not - they were there, in the World Trade Centers.

The two authors draw on hundreds of interviews with rescuers and survivors, thousands of pages of oral histories, and countless phone, e-mail and emergency radio transcripts to tell the story of September 11 from the inside looking out. The book not only captures the confusion within the towers on that day but also highlights historical facts and issues which lead to the devastation that was and is September 11.

We have all heard the stories of the police, firefighters, emts, port authority officers and other public servants responding to the call and for 343 firefighters and 75 police offers, they paid the ultimate price. However in the book, they outline men and women like Frank De Martini, Carlos DeCosta Judith Reese and Esmerlin Salcedo [and many other people you have never heard of] who were amazingly strong and brave during an unimaginable situation. Many of these folks helped others in need, even to survive the day, and all told 130 of the people mentioned in the book did not make it out. For many survivors, there was a fine line between life and death and even in the worst of times the workers and occupants of WTC 1 and 2 responded with incredible bravery.

At times I felt like it would take me 102 days to read this book because of the memories of that day are still very sharp but I am very glad that I have read this book. It gives you a new perspective on what was, in my opinion, the worst day in the history of this great country.

Ice Cream 2.0

Imagine that you crossed a Cold Stone Creamery store with a vending machine, what would you get? MooBella ice cream vending machines. Yup that's right, you walk up to a MooBella machine, select your flavor and your mix-ins and less than a minute out comes your personalized ice cream treat. This is such a brilliant idea and I can't wait to give it a try myself. If you want to try it out, currently they have machines at Children's Hospital in Boston and the Radisson Hotel in Marlborough. Since I'll be working in Marlborough in a few weeks, maybe I'll pop in to give it a try. MMMMmmmmooooo

Evolution of Dance

I had seen this on Friday of last week and when we received it from our friend Kym last night, I just had to post it here....

[Click the image above to play the video]

Please raise your hand if you remember doing all of these dances. That's what I thought [my hand is raised too]. Ok, now put your hand down and get back to work.

New Job

For those who have not heard, I will be starting a new job on May 30th at Kubotek USA. My new title is Manager of Support Services and I will be overseeing their customer support department, licensing, beta programs, customer requests for features and product defects. I am very excited to get involved with a company like this that is growing and really wants to make their internal processes run more seamless and push itself to new heights. Plus I will be returning to WPI this fall to continue working on my MBA.

It has been a great [nearly] 5 years here at AccuSoft and leaving here is bittersweet. I have worked with some great people and solid products. I will miss coming to 71 Lyman Street but Marlborough is not that far away so we can still go The Shoe for a beer from time to time.

Turlington's Lower Back Tattoo Remover

This is an old SNL commercial worth viewing [or reviewing if the case maybe]. I have seen it many times and laugh every time. Just a gentle reminder to get those tat's in the right place.

Automotive Black Box

The automobile black box is a very important invention and the National Transportation Safety Board recently divulged they had covertly funded a project with the U.S. auto makers for the past 5 years, whereby the auto makers were installing black box voice recorders in four-wheel drive pichup trucks and SUV's in an effort to determine in fatal accidents, the circumstances of the last 15 seconds before the crash.

They were surprised to find in 41 of the 50 states the recorded last words of drivers in 61.2 percent of fatal crashes were, "Oh Shit!"

Only the states of Oklahoma, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama and Texas were different, where 89.3 percent of the final words were: "Hold my beer, I'm gonna try somethin."

Dilbert Newsletter

If anyone is a fan of the cartoon, you should sign up for the newsletter. There is always something funny in each issue. Take for example Newsletter 63:

[Dogbert answers tough questions with tough love.]

Dear Dogbert,

I recently joined a company and I don't have an official title yet. When I asked my boss about it, he said, "You don't need a title. Titles limit your ability to explore and do other things at work." What do you think of what he said?

Nora

Dear Neithera,

Bad news: You’re a secretary.

Sincerely,

Dogbert

Classic!

Harpoon 06 BBQ

The Harpoon 5-Miler is now only 25 days away and yesterday we got the surprise announcement of Scott joining us on the road. Scott will have the whole weekend off, which hasn't happened since spring break of 1996, and I am hoping we do not have another "Bill" incident at the finish line. Note to Scott, we will drink while you are sick on the side of your car but we'll feel bad for you [but won't really try to help].

Also there will be a cookout at mi casa afterwards and all are invited to come over and eat, drink and be merry [and maybe rest those tired legs]. Hopefully the croquet court will be set up for the summer's first tournament.

M:i: III

So Mission Impossible III was number 1 at the box office and made $48 million domestically this weekend but that seems weak as the first big summer blockbuster goes. The past 2 missions have open with [in millions]:

Mission: Impossible - $45.4
Mission: Impossible II - $57.8

Taking in account higher ticket prices it looks like approximately 7.3 million people took in the film, which is down from 10.3 and 10.7 for M:i and M:i:2 respectively. And with an average viewer rating of just a B, will M:i:III have legs over the next few weeks based on word-of-mouth? We'll see. I'm betting that we will see a steady fall off and this film will just be a pop to start the summer season, not bang.

Perhaps running around the planet acting like a crazy person does have some negative impact on your "likeability". Even for one of the most popular actors of our generation.

I'll drink to that...

Reuters posted the following story yesterday on it's Oddly Enough section of their website:

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian builders who drank their way to the bottom of a huge barrel of rum while renovating a house got a nasty surprise when a pickled corpse tumbled out of the empty barrel, a police magazine website reported.
According to online magazine www.zsaru.hu, workers in Szeged in the south of Hungary tried to move the barrel after they had drained it, only to find it was surprisingly heavy and were shocked when the body of a naked man fell out.
The website said that the body of the man had been shipped back from Jamaica 20 years ago by his wife in the barrel of rum in order to avoid the cost and paperwork of an official return.
According to the website, workers said the rum in the 300-liter barrel had a "special taste" so they even decanted a few bottles of the liquor to take home.
The wife has since died and the man was buried in a proper grave.

So in honor of Cinco De Mayo, raise a glass of your Mexican drink of choice [maybe without rum] and let's toast to the victory of the Mexican army over the French at the Battle of Puebla and let's hope to not experience that "special taste" this year.

fukitol, the pill of the future

Some days you really wish the pharmaceutical industry would come up with this pill:

Crazy Cereal Box Covers

Cover Pop Cereal Box Covers is a pretty clever [and busy] page but it must have been created by someone with:

A. Way too much time on their hands
B. Really, really good eye sight
C. A slight case of insanity
D. All of the above

In anycase, see if you can find your favorite cereal box. I was able to locate Cap'n Crunch pretty quickly.

Color of Sound

Ever wonder what the color of sound is?

Synaesthetes often experience correspondences between the shades of color, tones of sounds, and intensities of tastes that provoke alternate sensations. For instance, a synaesthete may see a more intense red as the pitch of a sound gets higher, or a smoother surface might make one taste a sweeter taste.

Well now you can listen and vote for the color you hear on Concrete's Color Of Sound board. Take a listen and see if you see what others hear.

Blog on PhotoBlog

Forbes.com lists the Daily Dose Of Imagery as one of the top 5 PhotoBlog's however I rated it the best of their list. Sam takes photo's that I would like to some day. Maybe it's in the equipment??? I especially like guestmap. I think I want one for BOTB.

Enjoy.

Bottom Of The Barrel