Movie Reviews
I had a collection of movie reviews written that I thought about posting here. I re-read them, and I realized that I’m a horrible movie reviewer. I really enjoy movies, but I’m very much a “caught in the moment” kind of guy. I wrap myself up into the movie, ignore plot holes, and suspend my disbelief during the movie. However, once the movie is over, I leave the theater and reality comes flowing back. My reviews after the movie are typically harsh, and they do not do the movie justice. The only time I make a movie sound good is if it really impressed me. If it’s an average movie, then I make it sound like it was sub-par.
I also don’t get the movie reviews done right away, so some of the details about the movie vanish from my mind before I sit down to type it out. Instead of doing a half-ass review, I’ve decided to only review movies that I really like. Those are few and far between, so I won’t have many movie reviews here.
Career Thoughts
Jhianna posted on her blog that she kind of fell into the computer science world. That made me start to think about how I got where I’m at today.
I guess it all started in 1980 when I was 7 years old. My grandfather bought me my first computer because he was wise enough to see that they were the future of the world. He couldn’t wait until Christmas to give it to me, so when I went to his house one weekend, he had it all hooked up and ready to go. It was near the end of November when he gave it to me. I wish I was aware enough to know the exact date. It’s quite a milestone for me.
The first computer was a TRS-80 from Radio Shack. It was a great little computer, and being 7 years old all I wanted to do was play games. I asked my grandfather to buy me some games for it, but he told me that if I wanted to play games on the computer, I would have to write my own. I asked him to teach me, but he didn’t know how. He told me he was going to the store, and I was certain that he was going to go buy me some games. He came back a couple of hours later with two books. One was on how to write games in BASIC, and the other was how to write business applications on the TRS-80.
They were great books. I’ve always loved books, so I dove into these books. I’d spend hours poring over code and examples until I understood them. I’d write simple little programs in BASIC. I didn’t have a tape or floppy drive for the computer. This meant that I had to keep the computer on all the time or lose my work (which happened more than once when my grandmother would notice that it was on and turn it off for me.) Within a year, I was mastering the programming skills that would keep me entertained for hours and hours during my life.
I finally got a tape drive (it used cassette tapes like you used to play in your stereo,) so I could save my programs and data between reboots. I started working with my grandfather to write accounting software for him to track his business expenses, incoming money, and other goodies for his taxes. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was writing software that would eventually be called a “spreadsheet”. It wasn’t as fancy as Excel has become, but it served my grandfather well.
When I was 12 (1985), I came down with a bad case of mono. (Turns out the water fountains were growing the disease in abundance, and many of my classmates were also afflicted… but I digress.) To cheer me up, my grandfather came home with a Commodore 64, a disk drive (finally! Random Access files!), and a box of Logo diskettes. Like with my TRS-80, I dove into the C-64 head first. I was soon PEEK’ing, POKE’ing, and BASIC’ing my way through sprite graphics, games, a joystick interface, and all sorts of other fun stuff. It was a grand time. I had tons of fun making great circular patterns using Logo. While my classmates were using Spriographs to make interesting patterns, I was using Logo. I should have known at the time that I was a geek.
I programmed on the C-64 for a good number of years until I took my first computer science course my junior year of high school. That’s when I learned Pascal. During the summer between my Jr. and Sr. years of high school, I talked my grandfather into buying me a PC. 486′s had just come out, but I couldn’t talk him into spending $4000 on a system. I did managed to squeeze $2000 out of him for a 286 DX/22 with 1Mb of RAM. It had a 20Mb hard drive, and I was in heaven. I never thought I would fill that up (which I eventually did causing a panicked moment where I thought something was wrong with my hard drive.)
Over the years, I coded solely in Pascal. I took another year of computer science my Sr. year of high school because I thoroughly enjoyed the first year, and I was eager to learn more advanced topics. I wrote so much software in Pascal that it’s scary. I don’t have much of it left now (just one program), but you can find a utility that I wrote for the Telegard BBS online in some places.
Fast forward to 1996, and I landed a job doing tech support for an ISP in San Antonio. I was also heavily into mudding, and I decided that I wanted to write my own mud. They are mostly written in C, so I knew that I had to learn C. I did some research, and I found this “program” called Linux that came with a C compiler. I thought it was a development environment. Goes to show how green I was. I didn’t know that it was a full-blown operating system. I downloaded 98 floppies of setup data for Slackware ’96, got a book, and started my install. It took me all night to get it done, but I had a working copy of Linux going. My ISP also used Perl for lots of stuff, and I decided then that I didn’t want to do tech support for the rest of my days. I figured my way out was to learn Perl. So, at the time that I’m learning C and Linux, I also threw Perl into the mix.
A few years later, I was still doing tech support, but my Linux, C, and Perl skills were steadily growing. I applied for a few developer positions, but I bombed all of them because I just wasn’t quite good enough… yet. In one interview, I mistakenly said that I knew PHP when I really didn’t. The guy quizzed me on PHP, and I bombed the interview. I felt really bad for wasting his time, and I decided to rectify the situation. So, in 1998, I picked up a book on PHP, and started teaching it to myself.
Over the next 8 years or so, I’ve worked as a Windows administrator, Linux engineer, web master, tech support, Unix security specialist, and a few other things here and there.
Fast forward to present day. I’ve got 26 years of general coding experience. I’ve got 11 years of HTML development. I’ve got 10 years of C, Linux, and Perl. I’ve got about 9 years of Javascript programming. I’ve got 8 year of PHP. I’ve also got a smattering of C++, Windows development, and other stuff.
From my story, you can tell that I’ve never really made the decision to be a computer geek. I just always was. It’s what has come naturally to me, and I’ve always done it. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else for a living. It’s enjoyable to me, and I hope to be able to do it until I’m old and gray. I guess I’ll be able to do it so long as I can see, type, and think straight.
As an aside, when the computer market was horrible, I looked into becoming a veterinary technician (nurse for animal doctors basically.) I went to school for about 6 months before money ran out, and I had to retreat back to computer science to earn a living. I really enjoyed working with animals, but there was no way to make enough money doing that to live the lifestyle that I’m comfortable with. If I ever win the lottery, I’m going to volunteer at my veterinarian’s office just so I can work with those great people and animals again.
Identity Theft Redux
I read this article last week, and it got me all sorts of pissed off again. It’s a case of another company swinging fast and loose with the private data of their customers. This time it’s Chase losing data of 2.6 million people! Are these organizations that hold personal data that stupid? I think they should all be held accountable for their mistakes.
They claim that the tapes holding the data was destroyed in a landfill, but they’re not sure about it. They’re offering 1 year of credit reports for the affected customers (I don’t know if I’m one yet, but I will know in 2-3 weeks.) This is a pittance of an offer to the people that are affected by this egregious blunder.
One of the first things that I was taught in my e-security classes was “The Big Stick Principle.” It states that the person that physically controls the hardware, can do anything they want to breach the security of the computer. This is very true of computers, and it is also true of data. If someone gets their hands on those “discarded” tapes, then they can take their sweet time breaking any (if there is any!) encryption on the tapes, getting to the data, and using it without being detected.
Congress should step up and hold every loss, leak, or theft of personally identifiable information as a criminal act. If I act negligently and cause someone harm, I’m going to jail (or, at the least, paying a fine.) However, these large organizations can ruin millions of lives without seeing any form of punishment. It is time to put an end to this carelessness. As computers become more ubiquitous, data will become easier to obtain, and this will lead to larger problems. We need to start taking steps now before a real problem arises.
I propose a fine to be levied against careless companies to the tune of $10,000 per person who’s information is lost. There shouldn’t be a rebuttal of “what if no one is harmed by the loss?” If I fire a gun into a crowd and get lucky enough to miss everyone, I’m still going to jail. This should be treated no differently. I’m sure that if Chase knew they were facing a fine of $26,000,000,000, then they would have been more careful with the loss of the tapes.
It’s time for our voices to be heard. Contact your law makers, please! We need to let them know that careless conduct such as this is no longer acceptable.
Christmas Shopping
Ok. Maybe I’m a bit crazy. Well…. a lot crazy! I started my Christmas shopping this week, and except for one gift, I’m done. I just have to wait for everything to ship to me, so that I can then wrap it, stash it, and try not to forget it 3 1/2 months from now.
I was taking my lunch hour at work, and while eating at my desk, I started thinking about what to get friends. I thought about it a little more, and ideas started to flood into my head. I quickly started searching for items, and I found quite a few that fit the bill, so I added them to my shopping cart. One thing led to another, and I quickly had gifts for everyone1. The Internet is a great thing, isn’t it?
I got especially lucky, and a single site had everything (in stock, no less!) for all of the items that I wanted for my friends and family. I’m also a member of the site, so I saved a few more bucks during the checkout process. This is a good thing because we’re still carrying two mortgages.
1: I’m not getting anything for my family back in my hometown. I’ve received nothing from them for birthdays, anniversaries, or Christmas over the past decade. I’m tired of keeping them in mind while being blatantly ignored. I’m pretty sure that it’s a case of not caring on their part. Except for my oldest little brother, they don’t have jobs, so it’s not like they are overwhelmed with responsibility to the point that they forget me. Neh. I’ll stop ranting. This is a whole other topic that I could blog about for a week.
Estes Park
Kiara, her parents, and I went up to Estes Park for the day in the middle of last week. The obvious place to visit was the haunted Stanley Hotel that was used for the movie The Shining. It looked like a nice place to visit, but I’m not too sure I would ever want to spend the night there. It’s not the hauntings that keep me away. It’s the prices! We thought about eating while at the Stanley Hotel, but a rainbow trout lunch was priced at $38 and change!!! I didn’t look at the rest of the menu. I was too scared to look.
All four of us agreed that we would rather go someplace cheaper, so we ended up at McDonald’s at the bottom of the hill. What a difference, eh? We had a decent enough lunch, and then headed to the Stanley Museum that was in the strip mall near the McDonald’s. We poked around there for about 30 minutes before heading upstairs to an art gallery. The most interesting thing in the art gallery was a photo of a violin superimposed (and faded out) over the back of a nude woman. It was an interesting juxtaposition of shapes. I was quite impressed.
After the art gallery, we headed deeper into town. We stopped by the local park, and Kiara called her work at the quilt store to find out where the local quilt store in Estes Park was at. We got directions that were basically, “Walk north across the park, and you’ll see it there.” Easy enough. Kiara’s folks split off to go to some other store. I hung out outside the quilt store while I finished my soda. When it was done, I headed inside, and looked at all of the pretty fabrics that I had no intention of doing anything with. Kiara was finally ready to go, so we headed to the nearest Dairy Queen to use the bathroom before heading out. Since I had used their bathroom, I decided to be nice and buy a Blizzard treat (so much for my diet, eh?)
One odd thing that I noticed was that the two girls at McDonald’s had Russian (or similar) accents. I figured that they were sisters that got a job there. Well, the girl at Dairy Queen had the same accent. She also had the same nose as one of the McDonald’s girls. It made me think that all three of them were from the same family, group, cluster, or something there in Estes Park. It’s made me curious to know what the demographics of Estes Park is now. If anyone knows, please drop me a comment with some more details.
We ended the day driving back home. The only thing that I can report about the ride is that the handling on the Chrysler 300M that my in-laws rented is way too stiff. One little twitch of the steering wheel, and the whole damn car shudders and jerks to one side. I was trying to read the next chapter of my book for my ethics class, and it was impossible to do so. I spent 3 hours reading about 18 pages because I couldn’t keep my eyes focused on one line of text long enough to get through it. I didn’t remember a damn thing that I had read. I had to go back later and re-read everything, so that I could write my papers on my ethics class. Blech.
Zoo
My in-laws were in town, so my father-in-law, mother-in-law, Kiara, and I went out Monday (Labor Day in the U.S.A.) to the local zoo. We usually go once a year, so this was our annual outing. We had some good burgers at a local bar & grill on the way, and that filled us up nicely.
We made our way around the zoo, and saw almost everything. There were a few things that we missed, but we had all been there before. It wasn’t like we were missing things that we hadn’t seen before.
The special exhibit for this year were wallabies that you could walk around without a barrier between the animals and yourself. The wallabies were like miniature kangaroos. If they stood upright, they would maybe come up to your chest, but most of them were smaller than that. They spent most of their time hunched over on all fours, so that they could eat the leaves and branches that were lying on the ground.
Near the end of the day, my left knee was burning and aching, so I opted to sit and rest a bit while the rest of the group headed uphill to check out the primates, hippos, penguins, and other things. After sitting for about 10 minutes, my knee felt better, so I decided to head uphill to the top of the zoo. I managed to catch up to the group. They were taking their time looking at everything. The only thing that I stopped to watch was the feeding of the penguins. I love penguins. I think that they are one of the most fascinating creatures out there. Watching the penguins gobble up the fish was great.
After walking the entirety of the zoo (with a few exceptions,) we decided to head home and rest for a while. It was a good day at the zoo.
Ooohhh!
Jhianna, Craing, Kolvedic, and I were talking about Clerks 2, and we all can’t hear the sound “Ooohhh!” now without thinking of Jay, chapstick, nipples, and a little dance that he does during the movie.
Well…. I was in an art gallery with Kiara and her folks yesterday, and Kiara’s mom saw something that caught her eye. I was standing around the corner, but I clearly heard her say (almost exactly like Jay), “OOohhh!” I suddenly had the image of her putting on chapstick, rubbing her chest, and dancing around like Jay. You’d have to meet my mother-in-law to get the full picture, but just imagine a 60-something woman with short, gray, curly hair that is slightly overweight, a little hunched over, and has large glasses on. Now picture her doing the “Jay Dance.”
Yeah…. I almost fell over myself trying to get outside because I was laughing so hard. I still get a good chuckle, and a big smile on my face when I imagine her doing the dance. It’s quite a treat.
Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter, was killed over the weekend. I never met the man, but I did admire him from afar. His wild ways, daring adventures, and quirky habits made him a joy to watch. I’ve never seen anyone that loved the wild as much as he did. His ability to take even the most ferocious animal seem like a household pet was amazing.
I do admit that I was one of the people that watched the show because I half expected him to be killed by the large animals that he was around. It’s part of the human psyche that carries them to want to watch something horrible happen. I never wished him ill, or desired his demise. However, it was one of the attractions that brought me to his shows.
I wasn’t a big enough fan to TiVo his shows, but if I happened across one of his shows, I would sit and watch. The way he would care for the creatures that he came across would strike me dumbfounded. Even when an animal would bite him, claw him, or draw his blood, he would never retaliate. He would always blame himself for the injury, and never the animal. He always knew that he was a guest in their house, and if they did something against him, it was his fault for not being the proper guest.
There was one show on a few years ago where they were talking about venomous snakes, and he said something along the lines of, “I’m very proud of the fact that I have never been envenomed by an animal.” It’s a bit of irony that the killing blow that he took was from the venomous barbed tail of a stingray. I’m sure that in his final moments of life, he apologized to the stingray for invading its space. Even in his death, I’m sure he didn’t blame the animal that was responsible for his death.
Steve Irwin, you will be missed, but we will carry on your efforts in your absence. Sleep well knowing that you changed the world for the better.
Colorado Springs Fiction Writers’ Group
I was in Poor Richard’s Restaurant a while back eating a good slice of pizza. I was sitting next to the cork board where people can announce concerts, book readings, property for sale, and other random stuff that may interest the community.
I was reading the various items while eating my pizza,and I came across a couple of bookmarks posted on the board. They were advertising the Colorado Springs Fiction Writer’s Group. I was in a similar group years and years ago back in Texas. It was quite fun! I have several stories in my head that I’ve been trying to get down “on paper”. Maybe joining this group will give me inspiration to get the stories done.
I’m going to try to make the meeting this month to see what it’s all about. Maybe it will be an open and friendly environment for writing fiction. That’s what my old group was like, so I hope to find that this group is the same way. Since the meetings are at the end of the month, this gives me time to finish and polish my short story for a potential reading. I should have it done by then.
Fiction
I’m in the middle of (amongst other things) writing a short story that I hope to get published. It’s also the seed of a longer story that I might try to turn into a novellette or novella. I’ve got almost 6,700 words written to setup the story. I expect to write another 2,000 to finish the story.
I was curious about how long short stories would be, so I did a little Googling on the matter, and found this page and this page. They seem to mostly agree with one another, so I stopped looking there. Heh. I could have found two pages that were totally off, but still agreed with each other. Oh well. I’ll research it more once I get closer to trying to get my story published.
According to the pages that I’ve found, I’m going to be about 1,700 over what is acceptable for a short story in a magazine. That’s pretty typical for my writing. I’m going to finish the story as I see fit, then go back and do some editing. I hope I don’t have to chop too much out of the story.
The first page talked about about “micro-fiction.” I’ve never heard the phrase before, but it explained what it was all about. As an example of micro-fiction, the author used this story: “For Sale: Baby shoes. Never Worn.”
I glanced at it, but it didn’t catch me. I figured it had a point, so I went back and read it again. It hit me the second time around. I went back and read it a third time just to make sure I got it right. It amazes me that those simple six words can tell such a profound story. Sure, most of it is left up the readers’ imaginations, but it’s such a spark of insight that one can’t feel something deep inside them by reading those words. The story is attributed to Ernest Hemmingway, and it doesn’t surprise me at all that he was capable of expressing so much with so little.
Well, time to get back to my short story.
