Apparently this has been "go off on your superiors / peers" week at work. Not only did I (rather unprofessionally and with great gnashing of teeth and random cussing (and I'm not exaggerating in the least)) go off at work this morning over the project from hell (and that's all I'll really say about it) but I guess B. and M. both "had words" with people at their respective work places as well. Hmmm. Going crazy from being house- or work-bound? Or well-deserved tongue-lashings?
See, I'm a pretty good example of a Libra -- things must remain in balance for peace and harmony. And things are NOT in balance right now, believe me. Not even close. My strong independent streak also dictates actions/reactions and sometimes the combination, well, gets a bit... excitable. I'd like to think these episodes are well-past in the land of immaturity, but sometimes you get pushed into a rough spot, caught in a trap, buried under a pile of shit and the next thing you know you're sitting on the end of a one-sided scale and it's all sliding down on your head. Ok, I could probably fill up about 30 pages of emotion and ranting about today (and the past 4 weeks) but work is work and everything else isn't. This is the place for everything else. Period.

The waitress tonight at Macaroni Grill claimed that my pal Jack reminded her of Sam Kinison. I think he has the potential to do so ("auuggh! augh! augh!"), but otherwise don't really think he looks like Sam. In scrounging up a picture of Sam, I found this utterly confusing page on TV Guide. I have highlighted the pertinent areas in yellow. Whaa?!?

Apple's updated package of i-software (iTunes, iDVD, iPhoto, iMovie) is supposed to be out today. Calls to both MN Apple stores, however, reveal that it is not in stock and it is unknown when it will be in stock. Bummer. Oh well, I'll be busy most of the weekend anyway. But I have some DVDs that need making... and iDVD3 is the only way to go (for now).
Update: You can download all but iDVD from the Apple site. Hefty downloads, though, so have a fast line or just buy the whole package when it arrives.

Made another flicker. This time, a short piece called Tossed Greens for weeklydv.com.

Zoinks! How didn't I hear about this before yesterday? Check out Movielens - a collaborative filtering movie rating database. Get recommendations based on movie ratings by other users and yourself. Based over at the U of MN, too. If you are interested, I have created a group on Movielens called "MNbloggers" - join up (free and private).

Emailing a friend the other day about knowledge research and Thomas Jefferson garnered this response: "A bit of trivia here: The Library of Congress reveres Thomas Jefferson (and thus names lots of things after him) because he helped to found the library by donating over 5000 books from his personal collection which was a pretty impressive collection in the 18th century. I think it is interesting to speculate what kind of libraries other presidents could start. Reagan's would probably contain a bunch of western paperbacks and a box of Reader's Digests. W might have some coloring books and The Very Hungry Caterpillar."

Apple released some tweaked PowerMacs today -- 1 ghz, dual 1.2 and dual 1.45 ghz machines along with a new 4x SuperDrive (DVD-burner) ... and... a new 20" Cinema Display! Woohoo. I want the display, yes indeed. And don't forget, this weekend is the release of the new/updated iLife (iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto) software.

Loud by Design has released Stop-Motion-Studio 1.0 ($40), a new application that allows you to use a digital camcorder to easily create stop-frame films, ie: claymation, etc. [MacMinute]

I had the pleasure of 'working' the Scooterville booth ("fine imported scooters") at the Motorcycle show this weekend. It was great to meet so many people and share the infectious love of scooters! However, there is one thing I found I disliked: talking to somebody who drops ass (farts) and keeps right on talking like nothing happened. If it wasn't a stinker, then, hey, I can forgive and forget, but when it smells like they've been eating cabbage, rotten eggs AND dead skunks, well, jeez... have some shame! hang your head, apologize and run away.

I had a blood test done last week as I've been having abdominal pain on-and-off for some time. I had previously justified it as too much stress, but the discomfort was getting to me and I finally decided to stop being a chicken about it and have it examined. The doc called last night and said most everything looked good but that my bilirubin levels were a bit high, nothing to be too concerned about, but higher than normal. Bilirubin? What the hell is that? I thought perhaps he was just funnin' me with some made-up words. Um, no. It is a real term. Apparently it has something to do with my liver and it may be swollen or inflamed. Well, something definitely hurts in that area and it isn't my appendix. He said I should get another blood test and a colonoscopy just to make sure. Sounds fine by me. I'd rather be sure, I guess, than have it be something serious and not know about treatment options. Today I just happened to mention it to my younger sister and she said, "Bilirubin? There's something you should know..." I hate it when these sorts of things are said -- you know something is coming that perhaps you don't want to know. I guess my sister and my biological father both have the same situation and it's from a condition called "Gilbert's Syndrome." It is a liver condition where your organ isn't working quite right and your body can't fully re-absorb spent red blood cells. Your skin and eyes can, but not always will, get jaundiced looking as well. I always just thought I had a natural slight olive complexion! There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of information out there about this, but it is believed to be benign and something you can just live with. I feel nervous and stressed about the fact that I potentially have a disfunctional liver, but I'll get more information from the doctor next time I see him. I asked the doc if there was anything I should or should not be doing in the meantime (this was yesterday, remember) and he said, "Well, you probably shouldn't be drinking alcohol." Not a tough deal for me as I rarely drink (just the occasional Becherovka), but today I got to thinking and it kind of got to me that I've spent the past 33 years being very careful about things I put into my body (no smoking, very rare drinking, no red meat, no drugs, etc) and now I've maybe come to a point where that just didn't matter -- genetics had me pegged all along.

Adobe is hosting a free InDesign seminar here in the Twin Cities on February 27th and if you are waiting (still) for Quark's new version (ahem), you really do owe it to yourself to go to this free event and learn about InDesign. I switched from Quark many many months ago and have not regretted it one bit. InDesign is powerful, full-featured (great type handling, transparency, etc), and pretty easy to use, too. It can also open up existing Quark files. Nice. Featuring David Blattner or Sandee Cohen, both of whom are well known publishing authors. You can also reserve your spot by calling 877-303-9422.

Wow. I just got a shakedown (not really) from Minneapolis' finest. With guns. Big guns.
I was over at the scooter shop taking some pictures for the website and I am squatting in front of a scooter, back to the door, when I hear it slowly and quietly open. I don't think much of it, perhaps just a tentative customer. This happens alot. Then I hear the man say something. I turn my head, see him peeking through the window and hear him say "Show your hands." I say, "Huh?" with a very puzzled look on my face. He says "Show your hands!" and comes into clear view from behind the door with a very -duty pistol in his hand. I'm confused, brain churning, figuring out that he's wearing a uniform, talking to me, holding a serious gun. I turn slowly and show my hands - one empty, one with my Sony camera. "You work here?" he demands. "Uh, yeah" I reply, as if that is the most obvious question on earth (my stressed response). His behemoth partner steps into the room and fills the doorway. Big cop has an even bigger gun - a mean looking shotgun with some sort of tape wrapped around the front stock/barrel. Part of my brain is going, "Take a picture! Get a picture of this!! Hurry!" but thankfully my body doesn't respond. Just sits there, calmly squatting on the floor. Bob, the owner, comes out of the office. He goes into some kind of silent shock at the sight of two large cops with even larger firearms. The cops finally explain they got a robbery alarm from the security system at the shop. Apparently, somehow, the remote panic button got hit, completely by accident while moving some stuff in the office. After a few more questions they were satisfied that we were just scooter geeks and they finally holstered their weapons. All is well.

Ok, if you were a youngster during the seventies, you'll recognize the look, feel and sound of this little time-waster. Mac OS X. I will not play it. Nope. Not even for one second. I won't... really. Uh-uh.

Um... hello? Is anybody home in movie-viewing land? How the hell does Kangaroo Jack take top spot at the box office this past weekend?! Holy crap, that movie looked so pathetic in the trailer, I couldn't imagine sitting through the whole thing. It only garnered a 9% (out of 100%, people) on RottenTomatoes. Now, I did not see it, and won't see it, so why the hell am I ranting here? Because! Because there are a multitude of well-crafted, rarely-seen movies out there and the studios push out and hype this big ol' turd! How could it possibly be good? A kangaroo that raps and steals money from the mob?! Who's got the dirt on the people in charge of greenlighting this film? They must have something really incriminating. Damn, what about all those indie films that only saw release on a few screens? What about foreign films crafted with care and passion (ie: Bread and Tulips? Lagaan? etc) -- surely, there are another 49 films of higher quality for every one like this.

Ristorante Del Jeremiah
january 19, 2003

- Insalate -
Fruited Spinach with Currant Vinaigrette
a spinach salad with green onions, fresh strawberries, currant jelly, mandarin orange slices and a zesty vinaigrette
- Pane -
Rosemary Olive Oil Focaccia
- Pasta -
Furious Shrimp Linguine
fresh shrimp sauteed in an olive oil and clam juice broth full of red pepper flake and garlic served over cracked black pepper pasta
- Dolcé -
Butter Pecan Non-Dairy Ice Cream
- Digestive -
chilled Becherovka

I drove all over the metro yesterday - first down to a graduation party in Hastings and then back into town to the northern 'burbs to meet up with Jack and Michelle to go out and get some seafood (Michelle's craving), followed by a late-night movie. Handy dandy having an iPod to shuffle music whilst mobile, let me tell you. We ended up going to see a "fluff" movie (Two Weeks Notice, better than I expected) and the only show we could get into by the time we finished eating and talking was the 11:30pm show at Wynnsong theaters (a very nice theater with very late shows, if you are a nite-owl like us). Laughably, we were the only viewers of this flick. I decided then that I should take the opportunity to sit in every single seat in the theater. I can tell you that the 2nd from top row in Theater 1 has two broken seats (danger!) and there is a seat on the right side aisle that tilts to the right and a seat on the left side aisle that tilts to the left. The first three rows are just too dang close for total enjoyment.... I may have danced in the aisles just a bit, too...

Had to get away and somehow ended up at the Mall. At least I was smiling. This week was pretty stressful for me with work and personal things going on and I think I was developing that eye-twitch that pre-psychos usually get in the movies. Augh! Just kidding. My sanity is intact now after riding the rides, watching the mall dwellers and checking out the aquarium. Ahhhh.
The DDR Guy at the Camp Snoopy arcade was loose and funky and he was very good. I couldn't stop laughing, however. His finale was so exceptional, though, that I went up and high-fived him. He loved it. I loved it. Over in the rotunda, a breakdance, b-boy/girl competition was going on. Some pretty wack performers, but a few exceptionally good ones, yo. The human beatbox crew was probably the highlight. The MC guy was so lame. Sad.

My friend Amy sent over an email about a story on Frontline regarding the Icelandic Airwaves Music Festival (something I've been wishing to attend for two years now). The sub-site is pretty cool and has pictures and music samples. Worth checking out. There's more than just Bjork (although "just Bjork" is plenty in my book - she rules).

Ok, I hereby challenge you all to get off your butts, grab your video camera, and make something for WeeklyDV.com. Sure, it is difficult to slap together something in only 4 hours of time and get it online each week. That's the whole idea - force you to produce/create even though you may think you don't have time. Like last night, for instance: I've been stuck at work for the past few days and have had no time to think or plan or even start working on a movie. Then, in my stressed out stupor, a tiny idea pops into my head. Yeah, very short, should be easy, works with the theme... I'll try it. It took about 1.5 hours to crank out this micro production of a micro idea for a micro movie. Next week: your turn.

Just got news that a friend passed away Sunday after a seven year battle with Hodgkins disease. I'm not finding many words to express myself. He was in our vintage scooter club (he was one of the originals 'round here) and he ran a print shop in Minneapolis -- always super friendly and upbeat. I thought he was doing better after a long visit to the doctors in Rochester. Now, as is usually the case, I sure wish I'd known him even better. He was great. Peace, Tim. Thanks for everything.
UPDATE: The memorial service was very sad and all of us cried a lot. But it was also a very joyful gathering and lots of people got up and shared beautiful memories. Very very moving. Laughter and tears and smiles and warmth.

Over the weekend my furnace went off (not out, there is no pilot light) two different times and the temps in my house went below 60F -- brrrr. Too cold for me. It did this back in December as well and I had a guy out the next day to fix it. Well, apparently not. Today another guy came out and explored the inner mysteries of the device and discovered that my control board was not up to date. About a year and a half ago they replaced all the control boards with an updated version. I somehow managed to get an old version in my furnace. Hopefully this will be the last time I need to see the furnace technician (it is a high-end Carrier, 97% efficient, looong warranty) and my fingers and toes stay toasty.

This is a slick little app with seemingly much customization available (sizes, orders, etc) and full keyboard control. Kinda like Launcher on steroids - big clickable icons pop up when you need 'em and disappear when you don't - like a full-screen temporary dock. Don't really know if I'll use it, though. I like interface things small and unobtrusive. [MacNN]

Ohmigosh. How cool is this? A 3.2 megapixel digicam that can fit inside an Altoid tin?! Zoinks! The new Pentax Optio should be in stores (and pockets) at the end of March '03. Click the mini-pic for a larger view. [DC Resource]

Hey, we each got a $100 bonus at work yesterday. Nice. Who wants to go out?

I completed another flicker for weeklydv.com this week called Statements. Instead of me making a statement, or a whole string of them, I decided to let other people do the talking. In retrospect, I guess that is my statement: your statement is important. Check it out. Feedback welcome.

How do you feel about the world today? "Let's make our own commercials and get them on TV." Why not? Perhaps you agree that consuming mass amounts of gas and oil resources is a huge problem and you wish there was something you could do about it... now you can. Make a small donation to The Detroit Project and help fund two commercials that may just lift a few blinders. This recently worked with a commercial for "Buy Nothing Day" from the AdBusters group.

Wow. What a great MacWorld keynote this morning! I got up and went over the U of MN campus and watched it live via satellite (the only way to watch short of being there in person) thanks to the Journalism and Mass. Comm. department. I had low expectations for today's event and I ended up very very impressed with today's announcements. It was very exciting -- similar to the keynote that brought us the first iMac. I won't ramble on here forever (you can simply visit Apple's site yourself) but they brought out the goods today: Safari, iLife (with updates to iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD), Keynote, Final Cut Express (this alone will put amazing pressure on the competition and sell a ton of units -- order now!), new kick-ass Airport Extreme (54 mbps wireless!) and of course the new 12" Powerbook and the killer 17" Powerbook! Breathtaking! Amazing! Spectacular! Ambient light-sensing illuminated keyboards! Oh, I'm drooling again... and I haven't even mentioned Firewire 800 (twice the speed) or Bluetooth.
Go watch the new commercial, too, as it will make you laugh.
Anyway, another thing that showed up today: TiVo is planning on offering a premium service package that will use Rendezvous technology to automatically see Macs connected to a network, and allow users to listen to shared music or view photos through their TV.

Short of having a video-iPod (one that can be a digital wallet for my digital camera's memory sticks or MP4 video clips (which I would buy in a split second)), my next dream for the iPod would be a wrist-remote (the iPodWatch?). I hate having to pull my iPod out of the case or reach for it from it's safety spot on my desk to see which song is playing. I listen to a lot of new music and don't always have the artist/title memorized. The best idea would be a wireless (bluetooth?) watch/remote that would control the iPod and display all the info. To avoid accidental button-pushing whilst under a sleeve or jacket, I moved controls to the outer edges (like most any watch) and made the entire face a twistable (rotating) control instead of a touch-wheel. It is a spring-loaded face that only turns a few degrees and takes a firm bit of force to do so. I think this sort of design would be similar enough to the iPod's built-in controls that most people would find it intuitive. Under the face of the iPodWatch is the wireless bluetooth transmitter/receiver (could use for Palm, phones, etc, also). To go along with the iPodWatch would also be a nice set of wireless bluetooth headphones. Relief! No more tangled or dangling cables!
Of course, it would be a fully functional watch as well.
Note: This is only my dream. I have no connection with Apple in any way or form except as a customer.
UPDATE: I wasn't terribly far off in my idea as Apple and Burton came out with the Amp jacket.

The Future Is Here, or, was here, about 10 years ago. One of my pals came across this old letter I wrote to Computer Graphics World magazine back in December of 1992 and I've dug it out for giggles, just in case anybody had any doubts about what I geek I was, or am. Yes, I used to be deep into Amiga computers before fully switching to Mac. The funny thing is, and I realize that predicting the future of computing ten years out is quite the challenge, Mr. Stock was SO far off on his specifics -- yeah, real-time video in/out with a 200 meg hard drive and 8 megs of RAM! :^) Of course, I've been forced to teach Photoshop on such a platform. Yikes. To his credit, his vague items (speech, wireless) were fairly accurate. In retrospect, I feel good about my claims, even though I never got a commission check from Amiga and they were so horribly mis-managed that they pretty much died. What are your predictions for computer technology 10 years from now?

Very interesting site devoted to short video clips of specific neighborhoods. Features "The Valet Chronicles" about a (duh) valet in North Beach, San Francisco.

Just came across a nicely done photography site called 28mm. It is clean, simple, fast, bold. They have two "iss" online now and I am certainly looking forward to future "iss."

Oh. My. Gosh. I was astounded, blown away, moved... I laughed, cried and got really sweaty hands... yes, I really really liked The Two Towers. Wow wow wow. A must-see movie.

"breathtaking full-screen QuickTime panorama of Times Square ringing in 2003, photographed last night by award-winning photog Jook Leung." [via Boing Boing]

Whew. Yesterday was a bit of a whirlwind day: worked a half-day (really more like a full shift, ugh) then ran quickly to the Lagoon and saw "Adaptation" (in itself quite a ride! odd, intense, quirky, great acting by Cage, Streep and Cooper, coherent even though the story line is all over the place) and then ran back home only to leave right away to go to a party over in St. Paul (see people I have seen in many months, always nice) and then rush over to the north-west Minneapolis area before midnight to show up at another party. Traffic was very light all night, a bonus, and nobody I was around was really drinking too much -- is that all passe now? If so, fine by me.