Mystery Beast Killed

This story is all over the news right now but sounds like it came straight from the X-Files. Apparently some hybrid mutant beast was hit by a car and killed this past weekend. Interesting that they don't know what it is. Probably the best site with the most pictures of it is shown here, but just do a google search for "Turner, Maine beast" and you will come up with quite a few hits.

MSNBC
FOXNews

Even out here!

Had I known earlier, I woulda posted something at the beginning of my vacation! Who knew I could access wirelessly out in the middle of the forest!?

Anyway, it is a slow connection and I just wanted to say it's been great seeing all this cool stuff! Ah, I love camping!

Krudd

Krispy Kreme Closes

The unthinkable has happened in my neck of the woods...

The Oxnard Krispy Kreme store, the only one in Ventura County mind you, has closed it's doors on August 3rd. It was located on Rose Ave, not too far from my old house on Licho, and I still remember the traffic jams and police presense that was needed when the popular donut shop was first opened back in 2001. There has been no official word on why it's been closed. I guess I have to get my sugar fix elsewhere...

WWDC 2006 Keynote

So yesterday morning Steve Jobs (with help) gave his highly anticipated keynote. As far as product announcements go, all I cared about since Jobs announced the switch to Intel processors at last years WWDC was knowing when the Power Macs would be updated. Now the date has finally arrived with the introduction of the Mac Pro.

Am I disappointed with the absence of a slick new case? Of course! Nothing like a new case design to send current owners into instant buyers remorse! ;) But in a way it makes perfect sense. All the other previously updated products were externally unchanged so Apple was just being consistent. I reasoned that they could have shrunk the overall dimensions since such a massive cooling system for the previous G5s wouldn't be necessary anymore. But what the engineers apparently did was take advantage of the "extra" room by beefing up the capabilities of the machine. I can't fault Apple for that. Extra hard drives, a second optical drive, plenty of PCI Express expansion slots- some of these were valid criticisms of the design of the original Power Mac G5.

So as usual, reading Apple's website with all the pretty pictures and techy specs (Quad Xeons- wow) made me want to customize my own dream machine and hit the buy now button. These are the machines I always wished Apple would make to truly compete with the best out there for professional work. (Actually the previous Dual and Quad Power Macs G5s were the machines I always wanted but the Intel announcement simply made them less than desirable for future use.) But unfortunately for me the HP workstation I purchased in September 2004 is still going strong and will be my primary machine for quite some time. I would consider a new Mac Pro to replace Rika's six and a half year old Power Mac G4, but since she's in the midst of a career change, it would be gross overkill.

So who's buying then? Oh and FWIW, my dream (but realistic) configuration would have been this:

• Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
• 2GB (4 x 512MB)
• 500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
• ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB (2 x dual-link DVI)
• Apple Cinema HD Display (23" flat panel)
• 1 x SuperDrive
  

Total: $4,348.00

You don't know the power of the dark side...

So, the twins got to see my new toy! This is just for you, David!

Can I just say that lightsabers are so much fun? They aren't just for kids at halloween and thier cheesy jedi costumes! This should become a full time sport! I think everyone should get one! Or maybe 2!

May the force be with you!

Krudd

Still at work...

Ok, so I did go out to Hollywood and Vine! :)

It's great to have a connection while working! And I went to a lil hole in the wall sushi place near the corner! Mmmmm, sushi! Not bad too! I had the spicy tuna roll, from a place called the Sushi Wagon!

Krudd

A day on the job

Well, this is me on the job today.

No, this is not typical of what I do at work, only on those rare occasions when something other than my normal shift comes up. So what is it I'm doing that I have internet access and am in my own cloths and not the work uniform, you may ask?

Today, I am a driver for the college band! And today they happen to be at Capitol Records in Hollywood for a recording session! Which is why I am in the break area above the studio they are recording in! The best part is that I have a connection and am able to go online! I can even play WoW if I wanted to! Which I actually did log onto before this blog, but only to see if anyone I know was online right now, which no one was. :(

After this, I may wander to the nearest fast food and get something to eat for lunch. The band doesn't go back till around 1-ish, so I have plenty of time to wander around Hollywood, surf the net, play a game, work on photoshop, or just about anything I can think of for the remainder of my time here at Capitol Records.

BTW, did anyone know that you are not allowed to take pictures without thier permission here? Unless you are on a public street that is. But once on property, you have to actually ask a Capitol Records person, whomever that may be. Too bad I didn't bring a real camera! I'd go outside on Hollywood and Vine and take a pic then post it! You'll have to settle for the breakroom!

Krudd

Star Wars Pepsi Challenge

I recently decided to start working on the Star Wars LaserDisc/DVD transfer project again, when I thought I would take some comparison screen shots of both the LaserDisc and from the more recent Special Edition Episode IV DVD. Can you tell which is which?

Perhaps I should just can the whole project and wait for the original trilogy to be released on DVD? As Rob says, GIGO.

Superman Returns: the late review!

Ok, so, did anyone actually blog Superman Returns? I didn't notice...

But I will now, late as this review may be! I know all the commentary from fans, casual moviegoers, critics etc., and it seems like most people were split on this movie. I am on the side of it being a good movie! I liked it, it was better than I hoped! Then again, I'm easily amused. However, I thought the storyline was good, the acting good and the effects good. Ok, they were awesome. Wow! That was one of my favorite movies!

Yes, I know I'm biased because I am a Superman fan, but a lot of comic and Chris Reeve Superman fans hated it. One, it didn't stick to the comic lore! Two, no one can replace Chris Reeve! The funny part is, those who like the comic lore don't like the Chris Reeve movies, for the break in the lore and those who liked those movies don't know the comic lore.

I liked all of them, minus movies 3 and 4 which do not exist in the real world. However, Returns was excellent! Good conflict, good plot, lots of drama, lots of action, great effects and good actors! And it was a clean movie to boot!

It was also uncanny how Routh (Supes/C.K.) was so close to the Reeve portrayal as well! Almost everyone gasped at how he also looked and sounded like Reeve when he first turned his head as he came back to the Daily Planet! Uncanny! I thought he did a great job as the new C.K./Superman!

They also had some of the best effects and transitions from human to animation I've seen! There are too many to blog about, but some of my favorite effects I saw were the Supes making the sonic booms, his landing and making a small crater on the new land, stopping the airplane on the baseball field and the bullet in his eye effects! There are more, but that's ok, I don't have to go into all of them as I thought all the effects were awesome!

Can little kids go see it? Maybe not 7 and under, but 10-ish is a good round number for it. Some of the violence may be a bit munch for the younger ones.

I recommend this movie and it's a must buy DVD for me!

Krudd

Creapy Commercial

Came across this 80's commercial while watching some other videos on YouTube. A classic case of Engrish. Produced by the Morinaga Milk Co., it's evidentially the most popular creamer in Japan. Rika says that I can buy it at the local Mitsuwa store which I think I will, mainly as a conversation piece at work.