OK, I've seen it . And, the 3/4 explanation.
Well, I saw it. Saturday night, May 21, 2005. Clearly the best of the prequel trilogy. I will not talk about plot points yet. It was very well done.

And, since someone asked, I will explain the "3/4." It's really rather bland, but it does recall a simpler time.

As I said in my previous entry, we had one theater in town in 1977, and it had one screen. So, when a movie was showing there, it was the only thing showing. On Saturdays and Sundays, the movie would be shown four times.

For someone like me, who had fallen in love with Star Wars, this provided a great opportunity. I could buy a ticket to the first showing of the day, and just sit in that dark theater until they were done showing it the last time. And, at that point, I had to pay, what, $2.00 for a ticket?

Those were the days. Sure, I felt a little guilty paying only once -- but I suppose it provided somewhat of a thrill. It's the sort of thing teenagers do, and we adults are supposed to disapprove of. But really, teenagers need this sort of minor sin to commit, to help them satisfy their rebellious urges. This is my rationalization, anyway.

So, I was there one Sunday afternoon. I had planned to watch all four showings, and many of my friends showed up for the third showing, with a commitment to watch through the final showing with me. But, guess what? Yep, some of them decided they had had enough after 3/4 of the final showing. I was torn, but ultimately, I decided to leave with my friends. I'm not sure what viewing that was, but I do know I saw the film at least a couple more times after that.

Nevertheless, I now have a memory associated with that film -- my friends deciding other things were more important than seeing the movie through to the end for the second time in a night, and me deciding to go with them. In the end, it's a better story. And it shows that, no matter how obsessed I was with Star Wars I at least had some priorities set right.

No. I have NOT seen it. Yet.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith opened at midnight last might. It makes sense that people would ask me if I've seen it. I have not. I hope to see it very soon. Friday, perhaps?

I am, after all, the guy who saw the original Star Wars movie 23 and 3/4 times. In the theater. Back in the days when each movie house had only one theater.

If anyone asks, I will tell them why "three-quarters" exists in that personal record.

The summer of 1977 was a magical time. The thrill I got from seeing that film -- it can still surface in my memory and make me tingle.

Firefox - your alternative to Internet Explorer
I have converted to using Firefox from work instead of Internet Explorer. In the past, I would use Netscape for all financial transactions, because of the pervasive nature of spyware which attaches itself to Internet Explorer.

Now, the open-source Firefox browser is finally to a point where, functionally, it feels every bit as good as Internet Explorer.

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

OK, there are still some things I have to get used to -- I'm not quite sure how to order my bookmarks in a non-alphabetical way. The drop-downs are a bit more sensitive to cursor position than I am used to.

But all-in-all -- this is a good browser.

Of e-mail, blogging, IM, and other networked things
Mike just e-mailed:

"Thank heaven for e-mail!"

Hear, Hear!

Do you remember the pre-Internet world? It's hard -- but think back.

Sure, I kept in touch with my distant friends as well as I could. But before e-mail became so pervasive, we had to write letters, mail them, wait for someone to respond -- conversations just couldn't happen.

Nowadays, if one of us is having a particularly tough day, it's so easy and quick to get some support and advice. If we used Instant Messaging it would be even quicker, but I think maybe we appreciate the thought which goes into composing a response rather than simply responding. Besides, IM technology is not nearly as compatible as e-mail.

In any case, on this, Syttende Mai, I concur with my esteemed colleague from Seattle:

"Thank heaven for e-mail!"






[Now, where are the e-mail addresses of my Norwegian relatives, so I can send them greetings? Oh yeah, on that crashed hard-drive..... Well, technology still has some problems.....]

Blogging in the Shower

Sometimes Sore is Good
I spend most of my life sitting. In front of this screen, or that screen, or another screen.

So when I spend a weekend doing physical labor, I get sore. I'm sore.

And it's good.

Now, if I can only resist the temptation to let the pain keep me off my treadmill tonight, all will be well.

Garage is cleaned. Law is mowed. Some brush is burned. Some dead trees are cut into burn-able sections.

... and both shoulders have pulled muscles, both knees are creaking, and both feet are still a little swollen.

Little Girl No Longer
Topic: From a Father
Transitions. Life is full of them. Last night, this father witnessed the approach of another.

The Century Concert Choir held their spring concert the evening of April 25. It is the final local concert for my daughter, Sarah, as a high school student. In five weeks, she will graduate, and then head off to college. Seeing her perform with the group to which she has devoted so much time, energy and passion over the past three years would have been moving enough, but last night went beyond that.

The concert was set up in two segments. In the first, the Concert Choir sang five pieces. They performed with excellence, as usual. Sarah had a solo in one, and another was the F. Melius Christiansen version of ?Beautiful Savior? which had been the traditional alumni song at the Decorah High School Christmas concert when I was in that choir. The second segment was for ?Senior Recitals? ? choir members who will be graduating performed alone or in groups, showcasing their individual musical gifts. It was during this portion of the program that my ?little girl? served notice that she is, indeed, growing up.

Sarah and her boyfriend Vang reached center stage to perform the sixth piece in the Senior Recital program. They locked hands, half facing each other, and half facing the audience, and sang a duet ? a love song ? with such feeling that it was clear to everyone in the audience that this was no mere performance. If anyone attending did not know that the two of them were a ?couple? before the song, I?m sure they were convinced by hearing these two. Their voices blended perfectly. At times, Sarah was on melody, in her pure soprano voice. At other times, Vang?s tenor took the lead and Sarah dropped into an alto sub-harmony. Smiling, expressive, dynamic, and moving, the two delivered the highlight of the evening.

Here she was, my little Sarah, announcing to the world, to her friends, and to me, that she is growing up, moving on, and will soon be emerging as a young woman who is ready to explore the full passion of life, to break away from the comforts of her childhood home and make a new place, her own place, in the world.

Welcome to the rest of your life, Sarah. You are ready. God bless.

... the moon and New York City, ..."

What does that mean? What did it ever mean? Even in the context of the movie "Arthur" did it mean something?

Do any of Dudley Moore's movies age well? I don't know -- I'm asking. Would I find "10" as hilarious now as I did then? Could I enjoy watching him and Liza in "Arthur"?

"Bedazzled" was quite clever when I first saw it, I recall. I saw it again later; the slow, dry, quiet comedy of the British style did not trip my trigger. I have often wondered if the Brendan Fraser version would have been more to my liking, despite the fact that it is supposed to have the same screenplay.

Why am I talking about Dudley Moore? Hard to say, really. I was just thinking about being caught between a rock and a hard place, and then, since I recently saw the "Friends" episode where Monica asks Phoebe to cut her hair in the style worn by Demi Moore, but Phoebe mixes up the Moores and gives her a cut in the manner of Dudley Moore, I think I connected them.

Now, this is a very bloggy topic, I think. Random. Stream-of-consciousness. Maybe?

Whatever.

Ultimate
I had planned to write something pithy. I have a post about "tradition" all queued up in my head. But it's too serious, and requires too much work, for the first entry in weeks.

So, instead --

How awesome is "Ultimate" as a game? Fast paced. Lots of scoring. Simple enough that a novice can play and/or watch. Complex enough to dazzle you.

If only it didn't rain every time I went to watch it.

Don't know what "Ultimate" is? Well, to help you out, here are a couple of sites:

What Is Ultimate?

The Ultimate Players Association

But to really find out, you should watch a game or two.

If you have to travel ...
? you may as well travel like this.

I travel for work, on occasion. I expect it averages out to about three times a year. Unfortunately, for this year, two of the times are separated by only one week between.

I am on the first of the trips now. Leah?s State basketball tournament wrapped up this afternoon (Sunday) and after getting a quick sub for lunch, Sherry and Leah dropped me off at the MSP airport. I spent the next few hours near my gate, and while I did finish the scenario of HoMM III I was playing, I could not find an outlet in which to plug my power cord, so I had to move on to non-computerized distractions.

Fortunately I had thought ahead and brought along ?The World?s Largest Dungeon? (TWLD). Sure, it?s heavy, but it?s fun to read. I am trying to decide whether to break into it in the ?middle? and run my current adventuring party through it, or rather to ask the D&D guys to make new characters specifically for the dungeon.

Anyway, TWLD is a nice distraction.

Then, in the gate area I ran into someone I know from work who will be attending the same conference I am. So, I will have someone to share a taxi with on the way to the hotel. Jim (the ?someone?) is very intelligent and, while pleasant, enjoys his solitude perhaps even more than I do. I suspect we will see each other some, but not too much, on this trip. I can think of many, many other co-workers who would have assumed I wanted constant companionship. Jim will not. This is good.

To make the trip even better, I discovered I have a First Class seat assignment on this leg of the journey. I?m pretty sure it was an automatic upgrade ? I don?t recall selecting this seat when I made my reservations. In any case, the added leg and arm room, together with the extra special attention from the flight crew, make this part of the trip pretty enjoyable.

This trip, by the way, is the closest thing to a ?boondoggle? I?ve ever had as an IBMer. I am going to a conference in Orlando, FL. But, while there I am not expected to present any papers ? I get to just sit, learn, and meet people in the Software side of development. Furthermore, the conference organizers have arranged for buses to take us to Epcot on Tuesday night, and have given us each a $25 certificate to be used at the food vendors there. Apparently the evening culminates with dessert and drinks at some IBM-sponsored area in the Technology section. So, while I will definitely be doing work while I?m there, this is not a ?heavy lifting? conference, and it even has some fun built right into it.

In contrast, the trip I take in a couple weeks will be less enjoyable. I will be driving to Chicago (yuck) for two full days of a week-long conference. Now, again, I am not expected to present anything ? just network (meet people and hobnob) and attend presentations. But I have to drive there! And back! It will take most of a day each way (well, most of a ?work-day?) ? and we?re talking Chicago! Heavy traffic and road construction year-round, in my experience.

Still, the week between contains Leah?s 14th birthday. That will be great. And I am not missing any weekends, nor any important events in the kids? lives, so all-in-all, this is not bad.

But I do expect to enjoy Orlando in March more than I will enjoy Chicago in March!