Monthly Archive for July, 2006

Electric car alive & well?

Published on July 31, 2006 in Miscellanea. Closed

So, I would love to hear a car geeks thoughts on Tesla Motors…

They look to be a start up that is based out of California with the intention of popularizing electric cars. I heard a piece on NPR about them. The jist seems that they have decided to go after the rich, early adopter market to try and bring the cost down for average folks. So, sensibly their first model is a sporty roadster. According to the story, the first 100 will cost about $100k for a signature edition and then the production model will decrease to $80-85k.

All in all, I think the car looks gorgeous and the idea seems somewhat sound. I bet there are lots of the upper class who would buy a car that is reported to be rather fast with cheap “fuel” costs and a large driving range…

So, when can I get a small SUV like my Honda CR-V for under $25k ? :)

Ben sleeping in his Papasan Swing

Published on July 31, 2006 in Personal. Closed Tags: , .

Here is a video from Ben’s first week at home where he is passed out in his papasan swing.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-29909312363895220

Feeding Ben in the Hospital – Part 2

Published on July 31, 2006 in Personal. Closed Tags: , .

Yes, I know no one has seen part 1. I uploaded the videos out of order and part 1 is coming in the future. For some reason, Heather liked to focus on my hairless head ;)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1638779276111804962

Screensavers, Screensavers, Screensavers

Published on July 31, 2006 in Software. Closed

Phill Ryu has a very good list of the best Mac OS X screensavers out there…

I personally use Marine Aquarium almost all of the time, but some of the others caught my eye as well.

Ben waking up from a nap

Published on July 28, 2006 in Personal. Closed Tags: , .

This is the first of probably many home videos I will try to be posting. Google Video is very easy to use and I like the fact that I can embed the videos here easliy. There is an excellent yawn about 47 seconds in ;)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6398787071874339109

Sad, just sad …

Published on July 26, 2006 in Toys. Closed Tags: .

This is just sad :(

Iron Man Teaser Poster

Published on July 25, 2006 in Movies. Closed

If you are a comic movie fan, you need to check this (potential spoilers) out. Sounds like the interview should be up sometime today and I can’t wait to see what was said. This movie does have me somewhat psyched because I like Jon Favreau. From Rudy to PCU to Swingers to Daredevil, I enjoy the parts that he has played. How will he fare as a director for an action movie? I can’t answer that, but I have some faith in this man as he seems to be a comic book geek. He is also actively involving fans by his use of Myspace (ugh!, but still commendable)…

All info came from the indispensible Ain’t It Cool News and if you’re wondering why I am up at such an ungodly hour, I just finished a bottle feeding for Ben and I couldn’t quite go back to sleep :( Luckily, I am now feeling tired again :)
Check out this poster:

Iron Man Teaser Poster

Hypnotizing a prairie dog

Published on July 23, 2006 in Miscellanea. Closed Tags: .

I thought this was very cute and for some reason I am royally hooked on both prairie dogs and fennec foxes. They currently dominate my Flickr favorites. Hell, I could have worse fascinations ;)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2305513704175314574

I’m not nor can I be cool :(

Published on July 23, 2006 in Personal. Closed

This thought hit me last night on my way to the theater last night. I know I am not cool, but I could occasionally entertain that illusion. I had my windows down, sunglasses on, and some nice Rage Against the Machine playing on the iPod. Yet, that is no longer enough for me to feel “cool” :) I now have a baby seat in the backseat, a nice sunshade in the window for Ben, and diapers in my car. This, I think, obliterates any notion of coolness I will ever have.

The good thing is that I am okay with that now. I got to talk to Ben on the phone this morning. Well, actually I did all the talking and he merely listened. He has been out of town with Heather since Wednesday and I was a bit worried he might have forgotten my voice, but when she put the phone up to his ear I could hear he was being a bit fussy and as I talked to him, he almost instantly calmed down. Now, I will choose to believe that was due to the sound of my voice. Please don’t shake that last notion I have to cling to ;)

Review: Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest

Published on July 23, 2006 in Movies. Closed Tags: .

Dead Man\'s Chest

4 out of 5 stars

Pirates of the Caribbean was a really fun outing. After a nice day of working on the weekend ;) we headed down to the Beaver Creek 12 to check out this flick…

I met up with the group that consisted of Sarah, Marie, and Marie’s friend, Karen. We got the necessities (yay! Coke Icee and Popcorn) and headed on in.

So, the film was dirty, filthy, all manner of nasty, but that was on purpose. Only Miss Keira Knightley had clean teeth. She is a truly beautiful woman and her acting in this film is greatly improved in this second outing for Pirates. Well, that may not be fair. Her character gets a much bigger slice of the action in this film. The others also perform well, i.e. Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp, etc, but I am most excited by another returnee and a new addition to the franchise. It is great that they brought back Jack Davenport from Coupling fame. Also, as a new actor to join the franchise, is Bill Nighy from Shaun of the Dead and Underworld. I terribly enjoyed his role in both of those films and he is excellent in the movie. He has such an expressive voice that is just a joy to listen to. Obviously, it is hard to actually pick out any of his characteristics other than his voice due to the role he is playing, but still a very nice job.

This second outing quite different than the first. We already know the majority of the players so there is no time spent introducing the story. You will miss most of the backstory without seeing the first. The action kicks in fairly quickly and the story held my interest. The combination of action and comedy is still very much present and there were some scenes that definitely were laugh out loud.

After the film, we went to MacGregor Draft House to grab some food and we were talking up the movie. In general, everyone enjoyed it. The big standout for us all was the terrific scenery, set design, and costuming. The attention to detail is just extraordinarily high.

All in all, it is a film that will quickly enter my DVD collection and I am definitely anxious for the third installment.