Has been for about an hour or so. Ground is covered. 18 inches is now said to be a strong possibility.
I'll try to post some pics on the morrow :-)
Friday, January 29, 2010
15 inches of snow coming our way
I'm holed-up in my Sanctum Sanctorum with all the essentials: lots of food, toilet paper, reading material, video games, and a bunch of Orks to paint up for Warhammer 40,000. Not to mention plenty of movies (including my blizzard tradition, John Carpenter's The Thing).
The storm headed straight toward here. May not get to dig out 'til Tuesday, if we get the temps they're calling for.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Geoff Gentry's thoughts on the iPad
"Lots of people are upset about the 4:3 aspect ratio of the iPad so Apple is rolling out one with a 16:9 screen in a few months. They're calling it the Max-iPad."rimshot
Okay, giggles at its horrible name aside, plenty of people are wondering if the iPad is already set to be a bomb for the House of Jobs. Putting it all into perspective is Geoff Gentry: good friend and techno-ubergeek whose opinion on all matters gadget I have long held in great esteem.
Some of Geoff's points about the iPad...
First of all as "magical" and "revolutionary" as the iPad is, it is 1st generation technology. With Apple that means it will get better quickly. Here are my thoughts on the new product.Hit here for more of Geoff's take on Apple's latest igizmo.The Name: Yes the word pod was out there before Apple added the "i" and made it a household word. But pad on the other hand is used for so many things and is hard to add a new definition. Did the naming folks at Apple not do any research with people or online? People automatically started making feminine hygiene jokes about it. While the name is direct, simple (two syllables) and close to the iPod it is lacking. I personally think iSlate would have been a better choice.
The Hardware: The size and astetic design are good but it is lacking in several ways. First, I know they were trying to keep the ports down to a minimum, but having to use an adapter for USB or one for SD is clunky. I look at it and I think large iPod Touch. It lacks a camera (or even better 2). It needs work on the hardware side that I hope will be addressed.
J.D. Salinger, Pernell Roberts, and Zelda Rubinstein have passed away
Not for the first time unfortunately, a trio of talent has left us.
Pernell Roberts, who is perhaps best known for playing Adam Cartwright on Bonanza and later had the title role in Trapper John, M.D. (playing an older version of Elliot Gould's character from the movie M*A*S*H) has passed away at the age of 81.
The sad news is also breaking this afternoon that J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher in the Rye, has died at 91.
And Zelda Rubinstein, the diminutive actress who made such an impression on screen but most especially as Tangina in 1982's Poltergeist, has passed away at the age of 76.
Go into the light...
Didn't watch Obama's State of the Union speech last night...
...because I already knew what the REAL state of the union is.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
What's wrong with you people?!?
I'm talking about those of you who are good friends who have blogs too. Too many of y'all have gotten more than a bit slack of late. What, you think I like reading my own all the time?! I go to you guys' blogs too... and it's absolutely heartbreaking that too many of you have seemingly abandoned your poor blogs!
At least Jenna St. Hilaire is still busy with hers. Not only that but she also just finished writing an entire novel. What do the rest of you have to say for yourselves?!?
Chad, what gives man? Two years we've been looking at that post about the Krispy Kreme Challenge that you ran in Raleigh. Time to re-brand yourself or something bro. And Brian... where are you?! Not an update in more than a year!
Don't even get me started on the two Erics.
C'mon back to the blogosphere y'all. This place is so much more entertaining with your company :-)
Lots of Christians weighing in on THE BOOK OF ELI
When I saw The Book of Eli last week, I figured this movie would cause a lot of discussion in the Christian community. And I've no doubt that this is just the beginning as more people see the film...
CJ Thomas posts his take on the movie and particularly about star Denzel Washington's opinion about what some might consider to be The Book of Eli's inherent "controversy". Meanwhile on the same site Mike Parker ponders whether The Book of Eli is a Christian movie at all (and his perspective is one that I think all of us who profess to follow Christ and also create media content should ponder greatly). Christian romance author MaryLu Tyndall has a GREAT review up on her blog Cross and Cutlass, and she also encourages fellow Christians to see this movie in spite of its violent content and occasional profanity. Randy Thomas echoes a similar sentiment in his review. Some of these write-ups might have spoilers for the movie, so consider yourself forewarned if you haven't seen it yet.
(And for what it's worth, here's my own review of The Book of Eli, humbly submitted for your approval :-)
Found any more Christians talking on the Intertubes about The Book of Eli? Feel free to post the links in the comments!
So thankful that our collective priorities are in order
Tonight is the State of the Union address (which doesn't have to be a speech anyway, or even an annual event, just look it up) and as his predecessors have never failed to do, President Barack Obama is certainly poised to waste even more of our money.
But never mind that! The entire western world is anxiously holding its breath over the announcement of Apple's new tablet!
(No, sarcasm is not my usual forte...)
Funny - and true - commentary on this season's college basketball
A friend named Ray Crompton has said it best...
"It's sad that the best basketball team in NC is the Bobcats."This is the wonkiest year I've seen for college basketball in this state in Lord knows how long.
I haven't checked though: how are the Western Carolina Catamounts doing? :-)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Prison inmates banned from playing Dungeons & Dragons
The inmates of a prison in Wisconsin have so far failed to mount a successful legal challenge against their being banned from playing Dungeons & Dragons. According to the article, the staff of the prison deemed Dungeons & Dragons inappropriate because "one player is denoted the Dungeon Master... [who] is tasked with giving directions to other players... [which] mimics the organization of a gang."
Seems pretty silly to me. The prison banning Dungeons & Dragons, that is. I just can't see how a game like this is going to encourage gang activity. If anything, Dungeons & Dragons might be quite a productive use of the inmates' free time, since it constantly engages skills such as creative thought and mathematics.
Or maybe the guards are simply afraid that the prisoners are going to use Dungeons & Dragons as a "gateway" to some legit black magick!
Worth noting again that Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons & Dragons, was a devout Christian. Bet he wouldn't have any problem with his game being used like this.
Fifteen gadgets that were WAY ahead of their time
Technologizer has a fun lil' read up on their site about Hanson's "cell phone" and fourteen other innovations that were decades ahead of the curve. Like Thomas Edison's idea to print a 40,000 page book that would be only two inches thick, using ultra-thin metal plates instead of paper.
(Thankfully that one didn't see production. Lord knows that I have enough trouble with papercuts :-P )
Pathetic!
I know of no other way to describe it when a person arrives at this blog via a Google search for, and I quote, "scarlett johansson seks".
(I hope the person found what they were looking for on this post that I made over three years ago.)
What kind of a world is this coming to when even "sex" is getting misspelled?!?
Monday, January 25, 2010
Chris says that THE BOOK OF ELI should be seen by EVERYBODY professing to be Christian... and everyone else too!
(Proprietor's note: Before starting the review proper, I just gotta get this out of my system: The Book of Eli is the movie where Denzel Washington kicks the butt of local cult leader Johnny Robertson. Because Johnny Robertson is exactly the character that Gary Oldman is playing in this movie. I'm not the only one who's thinking this either. Okay, 'nuff with that. Back to the review...)
In some ways this is one of the harder movie reviews I've had to write, because The Book of Eli is a film that plays on two different levels and depending on where you're coming from it's either going to be just "pretty good" or "absolutely outstanding!"
Me? This was the second consecutive movie that I've seen with a post-apocalyptic setting. The first was The Road. Now, I loved The Road. But in terms of solid entertainment I thought that The Book of Eli was far better. And I will even say that as a story engendering thoughtfulness along with heaps of action, that I found The Book of Eli to be an even better film than Avatar.
Not only that: I would declare that The Book of Eli is the best R-rated Christian movie since The Passion of the Christ came out six years ago. But more about that later...
First I'm gonna talk about The Book of Eli as most people are probably approaching it and the way it's being billed: as an action flick. You can not think of a movie with Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman without considering the bloodfests and body counts (and there are plenty). People don't just die in pretty heinous ways in The Book of Eli: they're also left horribly wounded and with festering, gangrenous sores. This is the same type of world that The Road portrayed: with things like cannibalism run amok and a harsh deficit of goods left on the day after. But whereas we're never told what it was that destroyed civilization in The Road, it's clearly stated in The Book of Eli that this story takes place after a nuclear war punched a "hole in the sky". It's a wonderfully violent canvas and brother directors Albert and Allen Hughes play it to the hilt (mostly of Eli's very wicked knife).
Into this landscape strides Eli (Denzel Washington). He's a man on a mission: carrying something across the wasteland. The object in question happens to be a Bible: the last one known to exist. Seems that after the war a lot of people blamed the turmoil on religion, so Bibles and other sacred texts were rounded up and burned. Eli is "walking by faith" toward a destination even he isn't clear of, only that it's "west". But regardless of his own lack of understanding, he can and will kill to protect his charge.
Not long into the movie and Eli winds up in a ramshackle town (think Megaton from Fallout 3) run by obsessed bibliophile Carnegie (Gary Oldman). In exchange for providing clean water and other necessities of life, Carnegie has his people out looking for books. Problem is, by this point in history there is barely anyone left who's old enough to know how to read. Carnegie's gang of bikers keeps bringing him trash like The Da Vinci Code when what he really wants is... yup, you guessed it... a copy of the Bible. In due time Carnegie discovers that Eli – who only came to town because he needed a recharge of his iPod's battery (don't laugh, it makes sense) – is in possession of that what he seeks most, and the chase is on.
If I could possibly do it, I would gladly buy a ticket for every preacher, pastor and evangelist in America to see The Book of Eli while it's playing in theaters. And if they didn’t want to see it, I would tie them to the seat and force them to watch it like that that guy in A Clockwork Orange played by Malcolm McDowell (who also appears in The Book of Eli). As a follower of Christ, what I appreciated most about this movie is that better than any other film that I can think of, The Book of Eli is a narrative examination of the Holy Bible and how those who call themselves "Christian" invariably choose to either understand it or exploit it.
Two men. Each with their own desire for the Bible. For Carnegie, it's all about the power. He lusts for the Bible because within its pages he knows there are words to drive and motivate his people toward something bigger and mightier than what he has now. Out of all the hundreds in his town, Carnegie is the only one who can read the printed word. Were he to acquire the Bible, it will be entirely at his discretion what his people will hear from within it. They will cling upon his every spoken utterance because no doubt they will believe that he has been chosen of God. That just as Carnegie brings them water to drink, so too will he and he alone bring them the water of the Word.
Sounds like damn too many people in our real world, doesn't it?
And then there is Eli. The one who has the Bible. He has read from its pages each day for more than thirty years. Of all the people left in what was once the world, Eli is perhaps the only one who begins each meal with a prayer. That alone screams volumes about the fundamental difference between Carnegie and Eli. Oh, Carnegie certainly knows what a mealtime prayer of thankfulness is... but he doesn't care for what it signifies. Carnegie is the man who has and wants more, while Eli is thankful for what meager blessings he has been given. Eli is not motivated by the power he carries toward any selfish end, but that doesn't mean he can't understand its true potential. He knows that what he carries is not meant for one person, but for all people.
I'll let you decide in the end which one comes out the better. But while watching this movie, I couldn't help but think of the words of Jesus as recorded in Luke 8:18...
"...Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him."That is the ultimate parable of The Book of Eli, in my mind. That one can choose to cling as hard as one can to worldly power and affluence. Or one can choose to live "not by sight but by faith". One may lead to comfort, but it is only for a season. The one who can overcome the ways of the world and can even sacrifice self stands to gain something far greater...
...and no amount of claiming the Bible can change any of that. One can choose to wield the Word of God as a weapon, or one can choose to use the Word of God for His sake.
The references to scripture comes fast and hard in The Book of Eli, but never does the film seem to demand having a Bible or concordance handy in order to appreciate it. I'm not sure what kind of background scribe Gary Whitta is coming from, but the dude has crafted a story that, in my mind anyway, stands as an amazing testimony of what Paul wrote about in 1st Corinthians 9:22: "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."
That's what The Book of Eli represents to me: a witness for God in a language that a lot of people will enjoy being tuned into as opposed to listening to tired old sermons or being accosted on the street or at their own homes by "the faithful". It's a very Christian movie with a bad-ass 'tude... and I can't really see anything necessarily wrong with that.
Mila Kunis turns in a great performance as Solara, the daughter of Carnegie's blind wife Claudia (played by Jennifer Beals). Also look for Tom Waits, Ray Stevenson (who won wide acclaim for his portrayal of Titus Pullo in HBO's Rome) and a particularly eccentric couple played by Frances de la Tour and Michael Gambon (who is most recently known for playing Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies). In addition to the performances, I also have to praise the gorgeous cinematography of Don Burgess (who, I am told, shot The Book of Eli with the RED ONE digital camera). Atticus Ross composed a fine score for the film: I'm gonna be looking for it at the local big-box entertainment store or on iTunes.
I'll give The Book of Eli my highest recommendation for a film. There's something here for just about everyone, including a jaw-dropper of a plot twist that I dare not intimate about at all. Can't wait to buy this on Blu-ray when it comes out!
Finale of Marco van Bergen's new film NORMALSVILLE
Fellow filmmaker and good friend of this blog Marco van Bergen want's y'all to know that he's put the final scene of his new film Normalsville up for your viewing pleasure. Here 'tis!
For more of the wonderfully wacked work of Marco and his crew, visit the website of Route 64 Vintage!
High-class Hobbit hole
This subterranean house in Vals, Switzerland is just the sort of place that Bilbo Baggins would have loved had he been able to blow his loot on such conveniences as digital satellite television and outside lights...
The house, designed by SeARCH and Christian Muller Architects, includes "all the facilities a common house has, such as a guest room, an entertainment area, but also 'specialized' interiors like an underground pathway. The entrance is a wide oval opening that you are driven to by some traditional stairs made in stone. Large windows make it noticeable and draw attention to the inside décors- that is when the people living there are up for some company."
Dig down here for more photos of this amazing house!
Practical fusion energy takes step forward with levitaging magnet
If further experiments continue to bear good results, it could prove to be a much-needed breakthrough in the longstanding effort to produce cheap, clean fusion energy.
From the article...
A new experiment that reproduces the magnetic fields of the Earth and other planets has yielded its first significant results. The findings confirm that its unique approach has some potential to be developed as a new way of creating a power-producing plant based on nuclear fusion — the process that generates the sun's prodigious output of energy.This will be a helluva awesome development, folks. Fusion is darn nearly the most ideal form of energy that's possible for mass power needs. And wouldn't it be fun to have a real Mr. Fusion producing electricity for our homes? :-)Fusion has been a cherished goal of physicists and energy researchers for more than 50 years. That's because it offers the possibility of nearly endless supplies of energy with no carbon emissions and far less radioactive waste than that produced by today's nuclear plants, which are based on fission, the splitting of atoms (the opposite of fusion, which involves fusing two atoms together). But developing a fusion reactor that produces a net output of energy has proved to be more challenging than initially thought.
The new results come from an experimental device on the MIT campus, inspired by observations from space made by satellites. Called the Levitated Dipole Experiment, or LDX, a joint project of MIT and Columbia University, it uses a half-ton donut-shaped magnet about the size and shape of a large truck tire, made of superconducting wire coiled inside a stainless steel vessel. This magnet is suspended by a powerful electromagnetic field, and is used to control the motion of the 10-million-degree-hot electrically charged gas, or plasma, contained within its 16-foot-diameter outer chamber.
The results, published this week in the journal Nature Physics, confirm the counter-intuitive prediction that inside the device's magnetic chamber, random turbulence causes the plasma to become more densely concentrated — a crucial step to getting atoms to fuse together — instead of becoming more spread out, as usually happens with turbulence. This "turbulent pinching" of the plasma has been observed in the way plasmas in space interact with the Earth's and Jupiter's magnetic fields, but has never before been recreated in the laboratory.
Most experiments in fusion around the world use one of two methods: tokamaks, which use a collection of coiled magnets surrounding a donut-shaped chamber to confine the plasma, or inertial fusion, using high-powered lasers to blast a tiny pellet of fuel at the device's center. But LDX takes a different approach. "It's the first experiment of its kind," says MIT senior scientist Jay Kesner, MIT's physics research group leader for LDX, who co-directs the project with Michael E. Mauel, professor of applied physics at Columbia University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.
The results of the experiment show that this approach "could produce an alternative path to fusion," Kesner says, though more research will be needed to determine whether it would be practical. For example, though the researchers have measured the plasma's high density, new equipment still needs to be installed to measure its temperature, and ultimately a much larger version would have to be built and tested.
Kesner cautions that the kind of fuel cycle planned for other types of fusion reactors such as tokamaks, which use a mixture of two forms of "heavy" hydrogen called deuterium and tritium, should be easier to achieve and will likely be the first to go into operation. The deuterium-deuterium fusion planned for devices based on the LDX design, if they ever become practical, would likely make this "a second-generation approach," he says.
When operating, the huge LDX magnet is supported by the magnetic field from an electromagnet overhead, which is controlled continuously by a computer based on precision monitoring of its position using eight laser beams and detectors. The position of the half-ton magnet, which carries a current of one million amperes (compared to a typical home's total capacity of 200 amperes) can be maintained this way to within half a millimeter. A cone-shaped support with springs is positioned under the magnet to catch it safely if anything goes wrong with the control system.
Levitation is crucial because the magnetic field used to confine the plasma would be disturbed by any objects in its way, such as any supports used to hold the magnet in place. In the experimental runs, they recreated the same conditions with and without the support system in place, and confirmed that the confinement of the plasma was dramatically increased in the levitated mode, with the supports removed. With the magnet levitated, the central peak of plasma density developed within a few hundredths of a second, and closely resembled those observed in planetary magnetospheres (such as the magnetic fields surrounding Earth and Jupiter).
Sunday, January 24, 2010
A thought on creationism versus evolution...
Creationism cannot explain mutation, but evolution cannot explain flatulence.
