That’d be me.
It’s 2:59 AM… I just walked through the house and peeked in on each of the sleeping members of my family. Too cute. Each of them. my son… my daughter… and my wife. Each with their quirks when they sleep and just so at peace and content.
*sigh* I’m a pretty lucky guy.
Contributed by: Scott Copperman
Ink for my Versajette Printer.
No real significance to it, I’m just using this blog post like a post it note. Ha ha ha ha… um… yeah, well.
I keep forgetting to do it. And while I could just as easily be ordering it now than typing this blog post, this is a bit more fun.
And, I haven’t compared prices yet.
What’s the big deal about versajette printer ink? Why can’t I just go buy it at Staples? Well, that’s a good question [insert name here]… (actually, it’s funny I learned the other day how to use to make the site look at visitors’ IP addresses and make the site actually put in some identifying info, but that would freak a lot of you out, and that would require a good amount of code I don’t feel up to typing so… go ahead and insert your own name there.)
Let me quote Amazon.com (whom I suspect are actually quoting someone else…)
The VersaJette Color Inkjet Printer is the world’s only inkjet printer designed to print 100% bank-compliant checks. Personal and small business users save 50-80% or more vs. buying pre-printed mail order checks from their banks. The printer features advanced bank-compliant VersaInk-nano Magnetic Ink (MICR). With VersaInk-nano you’ll generate guaranteed bank-compliant checks for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition devices used at retail and financial outlets everywhere.
Pretty cool, huh?
So, yeah… I need it for work. Hey Scott, don’t forget to order it.
Contributed by: Scott Copperman
Syfy has this show called “Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files.”
Right off the bat, let me say I know it’s pure entertainment. I don’t expect anything of the intensity of a Mythbusters or other committed to science show… I know it’s going to be fluff anytime I watch it. But watch it, I do… because its accessible.
My son and I have watched a couple of episodes now, and let me tell you… the “investigations” they do are beyond casual. There is no real effort to test hypotheses there… the goal is entirely to produce 11-17 minutes of video that can be spun to look like a serious effort was made and a definitive stance can be taken. We watch and critique their methods in each show.
Last night we watched the episode “Predator/Red Sky at Night”. It may well be our last. It’s not that we “want to believe” or anything like that, it’s how flawed their tests are and how much of a leap they make when they conclude it MUST be this or COULD NOT POSSIBLY be that. A helicopter makes the perfect “ufo” look in the sky, but is too loud… so you try having the helicopter move farther away. Right… that makes sense, but you have to move away until the helicopter cannot be heard anymore and then see if it still looks like the UFO did. And, if it doesn’t… is it possible the lights/apparatus being towed might be made bigger so that it DOES again look like the supposed UFO?
You’re going to investigate a forest for a supposed Hell Hound? Great… camp out, use motion sensors, infrared, really canvas the area… nahhhh, let’s just spend a few hours, one night walking around one part of the forest. And when we hear growling but can’t identify the source, let’s just pack up and go home instead of staying a second night. BUT… we’ll create a cgi of a wild boar/black lion hybrid and then show how our cgi model behaves exactly like the creature in the source footage. Hmmm, so you created a computer model, a cartoon really, where your imaginary creature behaves and looks just like the shadowy thing in the film? Well, yes, by all means that suggests that the imaginary creature MUST exist and be what’s on film. There’s no other possible explanation. Sure we never actually looked at a wild boar, but the boar/lion hybrid is a great fit so a boar by itself is ridiculous to check.
Ugh… I don’t mind how cheesy it is. And I enjoy and value the discussions I have with my son about how their investigations are a joke. But I do wish there was a serious look into some of this stuff. I don’t want to see his cryptozoological faith crushed, but it’s that much more fun to believe and wonder when credible studies are being made (like the old canvassing of Loch Ness by 70 boats with sonar and such).
Anyway… I think I’m done with Fact or Faked, and I suspect the lack of concern about that on my part is mutually felt by their producers.
Contributed by: Scott Copperman
Tron Legacy comes out soon…
It looks pretty cool, and I definitely want to see it. And I’d like to share the experience with my son. But here’s my dilemma…
He hasn’t seen the first film and I don’t think he’d particuarly enjoy it. I mean it’s a classic, but it’s not really paced quick enough for his post-MTV generation mind. Consider this scene…
I had a similar quandry with Clash of the Titans – he found the original too slow, and I can’t imagine he’ll make it far enough into Tron to get to the light cycles. Even if he does, it’s an inconsistently paced film beyond that.
I could try to introduce him to the subject matter with the original video game or even the prequel game they are releasing soon. But I don’t know… I would prefer to go the original film route, if I can.
I have quite a bit of time to decide, but I have a feeling it’s going to be tough call to make.
On a side note, this is one of the rare instances where I feel a reboot/sequel is appropriately titled and well planned. At least from what I know of the story. Unlike Star Trek, which needless made use of the original cast of characters, this film seems to incorporate a mix of old and new in a way that makes sense.
We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.
Contributed by: Scott Copperman
No, not that Dexter, it’s Dexter’s Laboratory from Cartoon Network.
I have three words for you, “omelette du fromage”.
Contributed by: Scott Copperman
According to my daughter, “eat goldfish crackers or cheezits or cheetos… each time you do, it’s good for the rain forest.”
To quote Hannah Montana, “something something something say what?”
She spent the day at the Philadelphia Zoo, and said that’s where she learned that little tidbit. I have no idea what the real origin of that factoid is. Maybe an exhibit sponsored by Frito Lay? Perhaps they were saying some brands do not care about the impact they have on the environment while others do. I have no idea. But, that’s one wacky piece of information I’ll have to deprogram out of her.
Contributed by: Scott Copperman
Well, it was a stress-filled couple of weeks… and judging from the site data about visits to this blog – people were worried about me… or morbidly curious. I’ll admit, I was too (worried, not curious).
So, let me say without any further delay… I’m fine.
Haha, well, as fine as you can be when your blood work says you need to go for an ultrasound which finds something that requires going to get nuclear scans, and in between that you have to get a root canal and a crown because you broke your tooth on a banana chip, but the good news is that the testing is done for the next couple of months. I’ll be reevaluated in the fall, but the scan thingy appears to be the last test I’ll be needing for now.
So, breathe a sigh of relief (as we did… you can even get a little misty eyed if you want to) and go make sure your “affairs are in order” (I spent the last three weeks wishing I had done it, and now I need to go get that taken care of asap), and make sure you recognize something to be happy about in what you did today… and every day.
Contributed by: Scott Copperman
Contributed by: Scott Copperman
That other chipped tooth? Oh, that would be mine. I tried eating healthy, and I lost one fourth of one of my molars. Of course, saving the tooth will require a root canal. Woo hoo!
Add that into my busy 7 day stretch of bloodwork, ultrasounds, and nuclear imagings, and I suspect I’ll be spending more time at doctor’s offices than I will at home.
As they say … “when it rains, it pours.”
And, at the moment, I feel like I’m living in a flood plain.
Contributed by: Scott Copperman
Jay and I went to see Iron Man 2 last Friday.
It was okay… good, really. I liked how true the first one was to the origins of Iron Man, where Iron Man 2 seemed to skip a lot of Iron Man mythology to jump to introducing War Machine (like there should have been an Iron Man 1.5).
Overall, it was enjoyable… and Jay liked it better than the first movie; however, I’m waiting for this sequel to be developed.
Contributed by: Scott Copperman