Tech Theatre

So, we’ve found our calling. Remember Mystery Science Theatre 3000? We’re going to take that idea and move past it: Tech Theatre. We’ve discovered that, as a department, we’re really, really good at watching movies and making snide, sarcastic comments. What better way to contribute to society than by filming ourselves watching movies and making snide, sarcastic comments for all the world to see?

We’ve yet to reach a final concensus, but I don’t think we’re going to have robots on our show. I think it would be too obvious. But Tech Theatre is definitely the working name for now.

I think this could work.

Thoughts?

Reviews

Mac OS X 10.3 (aka Panther):

Most excellent release of Mac OS X. It was a much smoother transition from 10.2 to 10.3 than it was from 10.1 to 10.2 (for starters, QuickMail didn’t fight 10.3 the way it did 10.2), although there were a few incompatibility problems, most notably Silk. I also don’t know if anyone has successfully compiled and/or run PostgreSQL on 10.3 yet. Remote Desktop 1.2 seems to be working, which is a pleasant departure from past upgrades. Tragically (and I’m not being sarcastic), Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 is unplayably slow. That one hurts.

The new Finder is nice, although it’s taking me more time than I expected to get the hand of it. The metal interface is cool and all, but it’s an awful lot of chrome (no pun intended) taking up space. I think I may actually prefer the 10.2 Finder. The threading in Mail is exceptionally well done. Safari 1.1 is there, but I haven’t noticed a difference from 1.0 yet. iChat AV is no longer a beta version. Exposé is wicked cool, and the new Command-Tab switching is implemented well. The overall look is much more polished. I especially like the new tabs, much more than I thought I would.

The big news? Mike and I have successfully authenticated Panther against Active Directory at login without using a Mac OS X Server. Woohoo! Now all we need to do is figure out to map home directories to the network and we’re golden.

iTrip:

I also received my new iTrip yesterday, the one for the third generation iPod. So far, I really like it. Dan, Mike, and I immediately went out to the VUE to test it, and it passed with flying colors. Mike then ran a completely unscientific test showing that the range on the iTrip is about 20-25 feet, at least in our parking lot using my radio. Dan tried it in his car and got decent reception considering his antenna is broken off. Mike was able to pick up the iTrip’s signal in his car while it was still in Dan’s car.

We were especially pleased with the bass; it was much boomier than we expected it to be over an FM signal.

Overall, it sounds pretty good. It certainly isn’t as clear as a line in, or even a cassette adapter, but considering it was my only real choice, it’s pretty good. Jen even gave it a thumbs up.

Now to purge my car of compact discs…

Recent Conversations

The Saturn Snobs
Me: Geez! Did you see the way that guy just cut me off?
Jen: Mm hm.
Me: Man. And that was a Saturn, too. He doesn’t deserve a Saturn.
Jen: Oh, please, it was an Ion.

Alumni
Jen: So we took the kids over to the Millersville pond today. They collected pine cones and acorns, and for some reason, seashells.
Me: Seashells at the pond?
Jen: Yeah. I don’t get it.
Me: So you went to the Millersville pond at school today, Gracie?
Grace: Yeah.
Me: Can I tell you something about Millersville?
Grace: What?
Me: Did you see all the big buildings around the pond?
Grace: Yeah.
Me: That’s where Mommy and Daddy went to college.
Grace: Yeah, I know. Millersville University, right?
Me: Um, yeah.
Grace: I knew that, Daddy.
Me: Maybe someday, you’ll go to college there.
Grace: [rolls eyes] I don’t think so, Daddy.
Me: [laughing] Yeah, that’s what Mommy and I used to say, too.

Garage Sale
Mother-in-Law: Well, if the garage sale starts at 7:00, you want to be out here by 6:00. It was listed in the paper as starting at 7:00.
Me: It starts at 7:00; I’ll be out at 7:00.
MIL: But the real bargain hunters will be out at 6:00.
Me: But it starts at 7:00.
MIL: They like to come out early.
Me: That’s sick. If it starts at 7:00, it starts at 7:00, not 6:00. I don’t get these people who get up at the crack of dawn to go to garage sales before they even start. It’s sick! These people are mentally deficient.

Lists

Top Eleven Cartoon Spinoffs: Gilligan’s Planet only amassed twelve episodes, mostly because that’s the gamut of shows the public could’ve put up with before wondering why the gang built a space ship instead of, you know, a BOAT.

50 Reasons Why Lord of the Rings, As They Say in America, “Sucks”: Every time Frodo or Bilbo went invisible with the ring they should have also gone BLIND.Your eyes cannot function unless light is reflected off the cornea.If light passes through it (as must be the case with invisibility) sight is no longer possible.Also, rings do not turn you invisible.

Top 34 Signs That Irritating That Hacker Last Week May Have Been a Mistake: You recieve your death certificate in the mail.

Jim Croce’s List of Things It Would Be Imprudent To Do: Talk back to your mother, go swimming right after eating, return to work without washing your hands, leave your pet in the car on a hot day, mess around with Jim.

Recent Unpatriotic Thoughts, Canadian Edition: As a solution to the Mid East peace crisis, suggested to several friends that we give Saskatchewan to the Palestinians.

The FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives: Osama bin Laden.

Top Ten Urinals:Hong Kong Shertaon Hotel and Towers, Hong Kong.

Siskel & Ebert’s Top Ten Lists.

Top Ten Web-Design Mistakes of 2002: Links that don’t behave as expected undermine users’ understanding of their own system. A link should be a simple hypertext reference that replaces the current page with new content. Users hate unwarranted pop-up windows.

Amy on Music

Just read Amy’s post on Switchfoot and FFH: are Walt and I the only people left on earth who don’t like Switchfoot? oh, they just grate on me…. like Jeremy Deibler of FFH… but apparently all the mu-ivcf clan just think they’re the bee’s knees. I do not understand.

I was going to leave a comment, but I’m too lazy to sign up with Xanga, so I’ll just comment here.

I couldn’t name a Switchfoot song to save my life. Somebody lent me a tape of theirs several years ago. I gave it a cursory listen and promptly forgot about it. I think I gave it back to the lender later. I hope so, because that was several moves ago, and if not, it’s long gone.

And FFH? Well, suffice to say that I have some issues with FFH. I have some tangential connections to them and have been familiar with them personally and with their work for quite some time. I’ll only say, however, that they are not, and I say this emphatically, the bee’s knees. I wouldn’t rate them anywhere above the bee’s ankles.

No, in fact, I don’t listen to much Christian music. Most of it is either too musically bland or too lyrically vapid (if well-intentioned). My current favorite Christian act is probably Rock’n’Roll Worship Circus. Their passion and their energy are inspiring, especially live, and their music is right up my alley. I’ve always been a big Jars of Clay fan, and I still appreciate their music. Most of my favorite Christian bands are no longer together: Jawbone Hill, rainchildren, Dime Store Prophets, Black-Eyed Sceva (who later became Model Engine), Dryve, and some others, especially Anonymous Joe. Oh, and of course, like any well-behaved Christian guitarist, I believe that Phil Keaggy actually is the bee’s knees. I can listen to Third Day and Caedmon’s Call, as well, but I wouldn’t rate them among my favorites. I do like Delirious. Oh, I almost forgot Chris Tomlin. He’s quite good. I also like the worship music being put out by Vineyard and by Saddleback Church.

Ahhh, the MUIVCF clan. Boy, that takes me back. Back to when Bill and I used to heckle whoever was doing announcements by doing our Beavis and Butthead impersonations just loud enough to be distracting. Heh heh, that was cool. But, boy it annoyed the crap out of anybody trying to do announcements, because we always sat right up front.

As A Man Thinketh…

According to this quiz, sovaldi I am a Musical Thinker.

Musical Thinkers:
– Tend to think in sounds, purchase and may also think in rhythms and melodies
– Are sensitive to the sounds and rhythms of words as well as their meanings
– Feel a strong connection between music and emotions

Other Musical Thinkers include
Mozart, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix

Careers which suit Musical Thinkers include
Musician, Music teacher, Sound engineer, Recording technician

Who am I to argue?

Note, however, that “Assistant Director of Technology” is not in the list of careers that suit me. Hmmm…

If The Ducks Are Dancing…

Bill’s sister Amy is blogging now. Her latest missive on love and romance provides this insight: Never, ever EVER start dating someone in the spring. When the birds start to sing, and it starts to get warm, and people start sunbathing, it seems that everyone’s thoughts turn towards love. Even the ducks. and suddenly you find yourself entranced by someone who had merely been annoying previously. Don’t crack! It’s just the weather!

Interesting observation. I’m happy to report that Jen I and started dating in February (of 1991). So I guess winter time was a great time to start a relationship, because we’re still going strong.

(By the way, you haven’t lived until you’ve met the Fenstermaker clan. Seriously.)

Stupid School Tricks

From Wired: A pioneering elementary school district outside Chicago has been sued for installing a wireless computer network by parents worried that exposure to the network’s radio waves could harm their children. Oh, puke. Give me a break. You don’t provide the tools, people complain. You provide the tools, people complain. Besides, I’ve had a wireless network in my house for almost two years, and I’m fine, except for the stutter I’ve developed. And sudden, uncontrolled urination.

And from Yahoo! News comes this gem. A student shared his inhaler with his girlfriend, who was having an asthma attack and had forgotten her own inhaler. He helped her. Let me repeat that: he helped her. What’s his reward? A three day suspension. Oh, yeah, and possible expulsion. Oh yeah, and he was arrested. Arrested! Why? Zero-tolerance policy. The school nurse reported the student to the campus police for violating the drug policy. The school principal said he couldn’t do anything about it since Kivi not only broke school rules, but also allegedly violated state law. Bull. The school principal could take a stand for common sense and say, “You know what? Nothing bad has happened here. No one was hurt, no one really did anything wrong. Let’s just forget about it.” Nope, instead he says there’s nothing he can do.

OK, enough about American schools, how about Australia? Well, it seems as though a five-year-old Territory girl shocked teachers when she showed her class how to make a bong out of a Coke bottle during a “show and tell” session. Yep, 5 years old. And not only does she know how to make a bong, not only does she do it, she does it for show and tell, so all the kiddies can learn!