Random musings

Wow. Got a ton of hits on Groundhog day. Almost 400 visits. That blows my daily average of a whopping 10 hits per day out of the water. I guess a lot of people wanted to see what old Neddy was doing. Most of the hits came from searches for "Ned Ryerson." Sad to say, I am no longer the first result, but am still on the first page.

Got an iPod Touch last week. I started running on the treadmill again, and was looking for something I could use to watch videos with while running. I've been using my iPod classic, but the screen is so tiny that I can really only watch movies I have seen before, because it's hard to make out any detail. I considered an iPad or a Samsung Galaxy, but they both were too big and expensive for what I wanted.
I didn't realize when I ordered the Touch that you can stream Netflix movies on it. This is the greatest thing ever! No more ripping DVDs and converting to iPod format. Now I have access to Netflix's (Netflixes?) whole streaming library.
It actually arrived on Wednesday the 2nd, so the first thing I watched was Groundhog Day. Thought that was a good way to inaugurate it. Haven't quite finished it yet. Right now I'm running about a half an hour, three nights a week. Will be finished it tomorrow (Wednesday), and then I need to start something else.
I was thinking about watching a TV series that I haven't seen. My thoughts right now are:

• Firefly (I have already watched the first 2 episodes)
• Battlestar Galactica (yes, it's true, I have never seen this show. I'll turn in my geek card now)
• Dr Who (see comments for Battlestar Galactica)

Let me know in the comments (I keed, I keed! No one even reads this, let alone leaves comments) what your thoughts are.

I have to say, the iPod Touch is like a gateway drug to an iPhone. I have been thinking about getting a new phone sometime late this year, and was considering an Android phone, but my new toy is pushing me over closer to the dark side. I like a lot of the things it can do, but I'm confined to the house with the wifi. Being able to use more of the features anywhere I want would be pretty cool. Most of the apps are better than the Blackberry versions (which is what I have now), and the games are beyond better. (There really are no good games on Blackberry).
So when the time comes, I may be getting an iPhone instead of an Android. We'll see. (Definitely not getting another Blackberry. That ship has sailed.)

Happy Groundhog Day

Happy Groundhog Day, everyone!
Bing!

A few thoughts on Legoland

• The maps stink. Literally. I couldn't figure out what the nasty smell I kept smelling was until I stuck my nose in my map and discovered that it smelled like raw sewage.
• Most of the rides are designed for 1 parent/1 kid or 2 parents/2 kids. 2 parents and one kid means that one parent will be riding by themself or just watching. Contrast to Disneyland where both parents and the kid can fit in the same seat in most rides.
• Miniland is really cool, but seriously needs a maid. A lot of figures and buildings are covered with dust and spider webs. Gross!
• We could (and should) have had a better lunch at Karl Strauss across the street for the same price as 2 sandwiches and a drink.
• If you have a toddler, go left from the entrance and circle the park clockwise. The age ranges for each section will start young and get older if you go that way. We went right and counter-clockwise, and passed a lot of things that our kid couldn't do.

That is all. Signing off for another 11 months. (Hopefully just kidding there!)

Hitchhiker Update

So I ended up ordering the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Complete BBC Radio Series from Amazon last week. Here is a link (It's not one of those cool links that gives me money if you click on it. I'm not set up to do that - yet).
I also ordered a PS3. They both arrived last Friday (More on the PS3 later - or not).
I've been listening to the Tertiary Phase and have almost finished it. It follows the book (Life, the Universe, and Everything) more closely. In fact, it starts off with Arthur and Ford trapped on prehistoric Earth just like the book does, even though in the radio series, they are rescued during the Secondary Phase by Zaphod Beeblebrox and the Heart of Gold.
So far it's very good. Almost all of the original actors reprise their roles, except for a few exceptions, notably Peter Jones as the book, due to his passing away. The transition to the new voice (William Franklyn) is done very well - the book is having its speech circuits updated and transitions back and forth between Jones and Franklyn during the first chapter.
Have to day, I like it so far. Hope the Quandary Phase and The Quintessential Phase hold up as well, but I'm sure they will.

What do you get when you multiply six by nine?

When I was in Jr. High, I had a friend whose older brother like to be called "Ford Prefect" instead of his real name. Apparently the name was some character in a book that he liked. My friends and I thought he was a total nerd.

When I was in High School, we didn't have cable, so there were only about 4 channels we could get on TV. PBS was one of them. One afternoon they were playing The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy. It was British, it didn't make a lot of sense. It turned out that it was the third episode of the series. I watched the rest of the episodes and I liked it well enough.

A few years out of High School, I had a friend who had cassettes of the Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy radio series. He (or a friend of his) had recorded them off NPR. I borrowed them and loved them. I listened to them multiple times. I could quote lines from the entire show. I finally had some inkling why my friend's brother would name himself after one of the characters (Well, not really. Man, what a nerd!).
I never did return those tapes.
I eventually bought all the books and read them several times. I even got Mostly Harmless in hardcover right when it came out.

About 10 years ago, after the tapes had long worn out, I discovered that the radio series was available on CD. They weren't published in the US at the time, and I had to order them from Amazon.co.uk, but I finally got them. I listened to them a lot. I noticed every edit that they had made between the original broadcasts and the CDs (they had to cut a little bit of material for copyright reasons)

Last week, while digging through my car, I found the CDs again. I have been listening to them in the car on the way to and from work. I've also dug out the books, and am in the process of reading them again. Plus, I have re-discovered the original TV series. It turns out it has been in my DVD cupboard for a few years, still in shrink wrap. I don't even remember exactly when I got it.
The radio series is still my favorite. I don't like the TV version's Ford Prefect or Trillian.

Out of curiosity I checked Amazon.com to see if there was anything else Hitchhiker related and discovered that in the last few years, they have made new radio dramas of the remaining books and that there is a CD set containing all of them. Surprise was not enough, and I was forced to resort to astonishment.
Needless to say, I will be ordering them straight away.

The Internets are broken!

Our internet access crapped out at home a couple of days ago. I assumed that it was Cox who was at fault. The power light on the cable modem was lit, and the receive light was blinking, which is what happens when the cable is down. TV was working fine. Unplugged the modem and plugged it in a few times, but that didn't fix it.
Yesterday it was still out, so we called Cox and they sent a guy over today. Turns out that the modem is dead. He said that 7 years was a pretty good run for a cable modem.
Going out to buy a new one tonight. Here's hoping for another 7.

Hi Everyone

I often wonder what percentage of blog posts on the internet start with "Sorry for the lack of recent updates." I bet it is pretty high.
In that spirit I would like to say:
I refuse to apologize for the lack of recent updates. I'm busy. I have some ideas. Stuff is coming. It will be great. Be patient. Go check out one of my linked sites while you wait.