Second Star to the Right and Straight On 'Til Morning

Man so I'm never done this much driving before in one sitting. I used to think driving 3 hours is long. We're talking like 330+ miles here, give or take an hour or two, providing how many gas station/fast food places you stop at to satiate your most basic of needs. I just got done driving back home, finally getting home at midnight, and it took literally 7 hours. We started driving at like 5:20pm. We did stop a couple times to get food and other things though. It takes a lot out of you. It was fun though, heck of a weekend, but man, it takes a lot out of you. It was worth it though, we had fun and the people we visited really enjoyed our visit, asking us to come back and visit again. Maybe not in the near future, but we will. It's always nice to make some new friends and just get to know people, you know. Branch out a little and extend that comfort zone. Gigs are great.

Road trips are fun. Generally it's about getting there, not getting there. Well it is and it isn't. Fellowship with your friends, stopping at gas stations along the way and drinking Arizona Green Tea, chewing on Jacks Link's Beef Jerky or a nice Slim Jim. The obligatory sight seeing. Nature. Enjoying God's Green Earth. Breathe, take it all in. Inner reflection. Good times. I do cherish these times. A temporary release from the hustle and bustle of one's everyday schedule, eschewing it for an ebullient escapade of epic evanescence. You are on a journey with an ultimate destination, and every waking moment brings you closer to that destination. My friends, I leave you with this for today.

Life's like a road that you travel on
When there's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind
There's a world outside every darkened door
Where blues won't haunt you anymore
Where the brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore
We won't hesitate break down the garden gate
There's not much left today

Life is a highway
I want to ride it all night long

Outsourced Operations Out of Control

"Can you say that again? What?"

You know I'm tired of talking to outsourced customer service representatives operating from a back room somewhere in India or elsewhere in Podunkville, Asia. The cognitive energy required to try to comprehend and translate this thick-accented Engrish into neural impulses understood by one's brain is taxing enough, if not compounded by the fact that you have to have them repeat umpteen times what they are actually trying to saying to get the meaning across. It look like 30 minutes to finally get what I needed to get done done. Let's just say that my confidence in this certain company has just dropped 50%. I'm gonna do everything online now. Next time if I have to modify a reservation, forget it. I'm just gonna delete it and redo the reservation.

Reservations, you ask, gentle viewer? Yes, in this case hotel reservations, which I booked with Travelocity, that which is the company I speak of right now. I made a reservation for a hotel which I'll be staying at in a couple weeks with my family, and I had to extend the reservation a day. But apparently you can't just login and change it in your preferences. You have to call Travelocity's 24 hour customer service to do so. How they can operate 24/7? You guessed it, you got your run of the mill contract people from overseas who barely speak any rudimentary English to take care of customers who you know, spend hundreds/thousands of dollars yearly on your travel services. Way to spend the money in helping to take care of your clients Travelocity. Can you make life any easier for us?

So the guy I talk to, let's call him "Ralph", well that's what he called himself when I asked him what his name was, he's like how do you pronounce your city? And I tell him, and he's like how's the weather or something to that effect. I was like OK, and asked him where are you located. He answers "India." I'm like India!!! I asked him what city and he didn't reply, there was a brief silence as if he'd get reprimanded if he divulged his location. That really gives me confidence now. And then to confirm the reservation he asks for my credit card number. I'm like don't you already have it from the first I made my reservation, and he was no, it can't show the number again, and to reserve for another night, you need the credit card number again to do it, even though they aren't going to charge you until you actually check out of the hotel.

I'm like "I'm about to give a credit card number to some random dude in India of all places over the phone." I'm like I really don't like give my number over the phone, but he was like it's required. I figured to go ahead and just verify my Travelocity account. If it's correctly changed and all then it's probably legit. So I went ahead and gave him the number and logged in and yeah it was changed to my specified date. There was a confirmation number on it, and I asked "Ralph" to repeat it for me, which he did. As far as I'm concerned, that's the last time I'm dealing with live customer service people from Travelocity. I'd much rather talk to a Bob or Jane from Chicago then Abdullah from Calcutta. My preference I guess.

Oh the funny thing is I encounter these outsourced calls about every couple times a week. At work sometimes I'd answer the phone, and in a heavy Hindi-accented voice would ask for one or more of my co-workers. Of course there accent set me off, but I'd ask if I could take a message and number for them and have whomever call them back. Naturally they decline and say they'll call back. Sometimes though it's hilarious with their American sounding pseudonyms. This woman whose name is obviously not Susan Johnson leaves her name. Cracks me up.

P.S. The above picture is an Indian dish called Tandoori Chicken. It's awesome. One good thing to come out of India.


Flashback 80's Short Circuit Quote:
Newton Crosby: "Where are you from, anyway?"
Ben Jabituya: "Bakersfield, Originally"
Newton Crosby: "No, I mean your ancestors"
Ben Jabituya: "Oh Them, Pittsburgh."

Going Postal Over Parcels

So I take a late lunch yesteday, deciding to go home and chill abit and eat a healthy lunch of junk food and/or other things before I go run an errand - I needed to go ship out some packages at the friendly neighborhood post office. It's like 2:00 in the afternoon, the parking lot is packed. I wait several minutes on the sideline waiting for an opening so I could pull in. The girl behind me gave up and just parked at the curb. Who goes to the post office at 2 in the afternoon? Don't people have to be at work or something?

So I finally pull into a spot, sandwiched between a huge crookedly parked maroon Crown Vic (prolly some ol lady) on the left and a white Ford 350 or equivalent humongous truck with 4 doors and enough room to accomodate the Brady Bunch. I barely can open my door and squeeze my trim self out of there, and proceed to head inside the postal center. I go in there, and the line is extremely long, even for this time. Normally it's nothing. There's just a scant 2 workers working the desk. And some guy was monopolizing one, shipping about a dozen boxes priority, and he even brought his own dolley no less. He should get the medal for royally holding up the line. So that's taking a while.

I decide to try out that new Automated Postal Center (APC) that has been out several months now that they've been hyping - maybe this would be faster. Boy was I wrong. OK it wasn't that bad. But bad enough that I've decided I'd rather wait in line than to go through that experience again. You get a touch screen interface which is expected, and you choose what kind of classification of package you have (letter, parcel, etc) and then you have to weigh it. And then you enter the ZIP and choose how fast you want it shipped, and then you complete the purchase by swiping your credit card and buying the stam, applying the stamp and then dropping it in the huge receptacle in the back.

The problem is, for each package you have, you have to go through the whole process. So if you have a handful of packages, start getting used to swiping that card over and over again, with tiny credit card charges each time. Don't forget you have to enter your PIN every time. This is a hassle. Why can't you say I'm shipping 2 packages, weigh this, input ZIP and choose ship method, OK, next package. weigh, ZIP, and choose. "Will that be all?" Hit Enter, swipe your card, and it totals the 2 packages up and you pay once, and then the stamps print out all at once, and then you apply and drop it in the receptacle. What's this one transaction at a time deal. Inefficient, annoying, and definitely no return appeal whatsoever. When I was done, it was later than I expected so I hurried back to work.

Wait I'm not done yet. And then the actual stamps that are printed out. They're oversized, about 4 times as big as the normal labels you get to place in the stamp area corner. Where am I supposed to stick this monster?! Do I fold it over with the little UPC barcode on the top and the other side folded over the back that has the city, st and zip code? Do I try to fit all of it on the front? What if I have to turn it sideways? Is that gonna make it any less valid? If I fold it will the mail sorter be smart enough to look on the back for the top half of the label if he indeed needs to look at that part? I didn't see any instructions there, thank you. Aesthetics, does no one care? It looks horrible. Why can't I have a neat little package with a nice small neat little printed out label that fits perfectly in the upper right hand corner where it's all supposed to go? Eh? What gives? Hullo?

You see, sometimes technology's attempt to make things easier really complicates things. Or at least maybe the solution wasn't well thought out enough before it's being OK'ed into production. Me, I'm a purveyor of technology. I'm a tech fanboy and proud of it. Whoever invented the toaster should get a Nobel Peace Prize. But please, have the end-user's in mind please. Intuitiveness and ease of use is what is going to ultimate win the customer over. Don't be alienating a potential client by not thinking through how a user would use things. That's who's gonna be buying or using your things. Maybe I'm being overcritical about it right now. Just make it right. People will thank you for it. I need a nap.

Next on JJCJ: Wal-Mart Self Service Check Out vs. HEB Self-Service Check Out

Tired of Change, No Time to Spare

Man it happened tonight. I'm traversing the Valley here, chatting on the phone, unaware of my surroundings, and then all of a sudden, I hear some clunking down below the chassis, I'm like whatever and proceed cruising on down the way, everything dandy as usual so I thought. Then it started it happening...the road gradually gets bumpier and bumpier as my front left of the car starting lowering. I'm like did somebody tinker with my hydraulics without my knowledge. Am I in the process of transforming into a lowrider. Are neon lights gonna bulge out from the bottom of my car and is everything going to get blinged out?

Sadly, no. My driver's side front tire got was punctured by a roadside hazard and I got a flat. Joy! For the first time in over 4 years with this car, I finally got a flat. So I hang up the phone, and decide to maybe pull over and park since it wouldn't be cool to drive with the actual metal itself. I do like fireworks, but you know. I find the closest and safest place to turn in, and it's the neighborhood HEB, so I turn in as fast as I can, car wobbling as if it had Parkinson's, into a nicely lit parking space on the right, right under the floodlamp. Thankfully no dark alleys for me, well unless it's in my next movie where I am confronted and I unleash the fury, taking out a gang of muggers.

So I call my friend Rich up who works with cars and he came down and helped me get everything changed up and stuff. Went to the Diamond Shamrock and filled up the spare and the other tires to a comfy 32 psi each. I'll be doing some long distance travelling this coming weekend anyways, so it was good to check anyways. Thanks man, I appreciate it. My two front tires are actually pretty new, I got them at the Ye Olde Discount Tire several months ago. Luckily I got their roadside hazard coverage, so I'm gonna get it repaired or replaced for free. Awesome. A poem, ah hem...

Ode to a Good Year

Oh round ebony donuts of rubber
How you keep me moving, this landlubber
Fast and slow, day or night
You never tire in doing what's right
From Point A to Point B
That's where you always take me
All for one, one for all
Three without one, it's a certain crawl
Akron, Ohio is where you are from
Also is where the deer and the antelope roam
Your many revolutions have blessed me so
Making it possible for me to go
Do the things that I have to do
Like go home and eat beef stew
Next my friends, it'll be my treat
A rotate and balance, it'll be sweet.

(Jeffrey J. Chiu 2/21/05)

UPDATED: I went to Discount in the morning and ended up getting a brand new tire per the road hazard warranty I purchased (since I kinda drove for a stretch on the flat tire, which messed up the tire wall all away around. Well I kinda had to, be quiet.) So for this new tire, I had to get another warranty (13 clams) which is aight since 13 is way less than 93 which would have been full price. Small price to pay for the assurance that I'm covered if this ever happens again. And knowing the way that I drive...

Take Stock in Chips

I'm snacking on delicious chips and queso provided by our secretary. Velveeta, salsa, beans, ground beef goodness setting aside their differences and living in harmony to create a dazzler of a dipping delight. Bless you Deana. And your slowcooker. Yum. For today, a Velveeta haiku:

Pasteurised processed
Log of orangy goodness
Better than cheddar

Constant Crap

Remember the first time you watched The Matrix, and walked out of the theater wowwed by the refreshing premise of the movie, the sharp writing, metaphysical musings on life and death coupled by engaging action and direction? Sadly none of that is found in The Keanu's latest screen offering, Constantine. Being that genre films are released few and far between the arthouse drivel and your generic action/romantic comedies, Constantine looked promising, starring Neo as a dark tortured anti-hero seeking redemption, battling the forces of darkness and saving people's lives: you know, a decent superhero movie with cool CGI action, human themes of good and evil with supernatural undertones that should satiate the genre fans, but also be accesible to general viewers. Well at least that's what the trailer purported. Instead of being intriguing in its seemingly genre proceedings, the movie ends up being an utterly silly and offensive cinematic fair that fails on all fronts of moviemaking.

Keanu Reeves is John Constantine, a man who grew up with a curse (or gift) or seeing things that other people don't: angels and demons and other things not of this earthly plane of existence. Later in life, he tries to commit suicide, and ends up doomed to spend eternity in H-E-double hockey sticks. So, utilizing his gift of sight, and different supernatural crime fighting gadgets provided by this movie's version of Q, Constantine fights evil, sending half breeds (demons who take human form to influence people's lives negatively) back down there, hoping that his actions will earn him a place in Heaven. Along the way he meets Angela Dodson, a police officer investigating the apparent suicidal death of her twin sister, but she believes otherwise and seeks Constantine's help to find out the truth. There are numerous other subplots and characters introduced that , that all ends up as a mishmash of things done before and don't really cohere well at all.

I'd like to say that the movie was carried by the brilliant acting of our two leads, but I'd be lying To start off, having Keanu Reeves act in any movie is like directing a marionette puppet on screen. Wooden, non existent emotions, you know, the usual Keanu. Rachel Weisz is mediocre with her role. Her whole subpplot was not intriguing at all. Stick with The Mummy franchise, girl. Some of the pseudo supernatural stuff that Constantine is laughable at best, trying its hardest to create a mythology that is just too silly and stupid to believe. Well as much as you can believe, watching a fantasy movie. I think the one thing that made it silly was the CDOUS. Cockroach Demon Of Unusual Size. Yes Virginia, they exist! We just don't see them in our visual spectrum. Right. Just an example of the inaneness that abounds in this movie.

Technically speaking though, there is some visual style in this movie, and that should be credited to the first time movie director Francis Lawrence. At least he injects some style in the movie to visually stimulate the viewer. Some of the CGI was cool , though I doubt Hell looks like a nuked out LA complete with demolished cars. Some groteque imagery was too much for my taste actually. Scene composition and direction were competent, quite stylized actually, and at least that deserves some mention. The director does his best to try and elevate from script mediocrity, but this time, all the style in the world cannot make up for the lack of coherent substance. You see, some movies can easily do it, such as Jackie Chan's Hong Kong movies. Sure, the script kinda sucks and they decided the story that morning of the shoot , but Chan has his quirky onscreen charm, and you see Chan risking his life doing outstanding action scenes that never should have been attempted by man, time after time, and that, my friend, redeems those type of movies. Sadly Constantine has none of those redeeming qualities.

Great concept, but poorly executed, Constantine is a movie that if some decent thought had been put into the script, would have been a great introduction of an anti-hero and a creation of a potential movie franchise, launching into a trilogy of films or more. Sadly, this movie will probably be the only one of its kind, doomed for eternity to die slowly in the dark recesses of a studio film vault. Constantine couldn't even save itself.

Tympanic Tantrums

Hey y'all, man I gotta tell you. I've been plagued by a bad case of the hiccups today. You know what I found out. See it's like this, if you cough hard enough, you know the coughs of the guttural kind (partial lung expulsion) it then has the possiblity of triggering the most feared of hiccups. You see, my throat recently has been in that funky tickly stage, the dry cough kind, but last night and most of the day, I cough, and then it is followed by the initial hiccup. There's the respect that makes calamity of so long life.

Now there is a possibility if you hit the timing just right, after that initial hiccup, if you try to quell the spell by your usual methods, hold your breath, etc. and the spell will surely pass quickly. But if the timing is off. That hiccup sets off that dreaded chain reaction and then it starts. You lose diaphragmatic control and then the internal organs rumble like a huge gong was struck in the near vicinity, 50 decibels pulsating through your innards like you were sitting in the front row at the Metropolitan Opera. Seriously.

And you know that fail safe method of swallowing sugar? Well I've discovered that you have to be careful because you have to swallow it dry. I the idiot let it melt in my mouth too much and it defeated the whole purpose. You gotta swallow as much of the dry sugar as you can without it getting wet. At least from my empirical data. I found myself swallowing 2-3 teaspoons of sugar trying to stop the hiccups. You gotta be careful or you're gonna eventually overload on sugar and get Type II diabetes.

Couple times at work it got pretty bad. I'm trying to do my work and ^&%(&*!@#^(*& I'm trying to talk to a coworker and work on something when all of a sudden @#*(&@(@. I tell you, one of those days. Finally it passed. And sometimes hiccups know how to feign its quelling, as you hold your breath for 10 seconds, and nothing happens, you relax, thinking, "Ah yes, I've conquered this spell once and for all". You then let your breath out and as you do so, let your guard down, and then....#&(#*(!@*. Neverending cycle I tell you, neverending cycle...

All For One, One For Me

Goodday friends, I just finished off a 3 Musketeers chocolate bar a little whiles ago. My mouth is still burning of the sweetness, all the tastebuds of my tongue retching from the refined sugars that makes up 99% of this delectation. May my tastebuds heal. May I be able to taste another sweet thing again cuz right now even a pure sugar cane would taste bitter that candy bar was that sweet. ARRGH. Well actually it was pretty good. It's actually been a while since I had a 3 Musketeers. I'd have to say several years, as generally I try to stay away from sweets. I mean, I don't mind it once in a while, but only if it's provided and within an arm's reach. I prefer M&M's generally. And those Bon-Bon whatchamacallits. For the multiplex, it'd have to be Whoppers and Junior Mints. But nary a recent day have I partaken in those gems of glucosic goodness.

Speaking of 3 Musketeers, one of the best movie soundtracks ever produced was for it's semi-sequel, Man In the Iron Mask, starring two Leo's, which movie-wise was OK, but sported the best film score that I've ever heard. The composer is a protége of German uber-composer Hans Zimmer (of the Lion King,The Rock fame). Zimmer actually has a company comprised of film composers that all compose in a similar tried and true style, aka Hans Zimmer style for various projects. Think of every Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay collaboration and you'll know what I'm talking about. To this day is my favorite film soundtrack album that I own. And I've owned a lot. If you were to be stuck on a desert island with one choice for a soundtrack CD, Man In The Iron Mask is it. Pirates of the Caribbean comes in a distant second. Savvy?



Yes it is an affiliate link, and I will make oodles and oodles of kickbacks if you purchase by clicking the link. Tallyho! Indulge in your materialistic proclivities. Peace.

I'll Be Bach So Sleeper's Awake

Happy Valentine's to you this Moonday morning. Google once again is awesome. Go tell a loved one that you love them. Life is short. Anyways this morning we have a funny brought to you by one of my bosses Steve. Enjoy!

Top Ten Things to Say When Caught Sleeping at Your Desk!

10. "They told me at the Blood Bank this might happen."
9. "This is just a 15 minute power nap they raved about in the time management course you sent me to!"
8. "Whew! Guess I left the top off the Whiteout. You probably got here just in time."
7. "I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new business strategy."
6. "I was testing my keyboard for drool resistance."
5. "I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve work-related stress. Are you discriminatory toward people who practice Yoga?"
4. "Darn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out how to handle that big accounting problem."
3 "Did you ever notice sound coming out of these keyboards when you put your ear down real close?"
2. "Who put decaf in the wrong pot?!?"
AND THE NUMBER ONE best thing to say if you get caught sleeping at your desk........
1. Raise your head slowly and say,
"...in Jesus name, Amen."

Guitar Epiphany

Man it's been a while. One of those moments of clarity when something just hits your thick noggin and you go "Whoa" like Neo. A moment of inspiration which pushes you to exceed your limits, escape that comfort zone of complacency and grow in your humanity. Something which just clicks in your head randomly and you just know something. "I know kung-fu..."
"Show me." Such was the case this morning, as I was practicing on my guitar. I've played for several years, and I'd like to think I'm decent at it, but recently one of my goals was to dive into scales deeper, improvisation, and learning some new licks.

For quite some time now, I've wanted to learn a little guitar intro on a song from one of my favorite bands, Salvador, which incidentally I got to see their concert when they came to town last Saturday. Awesome. I must have heard the song a million times. And Wednedsay I sat down with one of the guitarists in my band and we were trying to figure it out. It was slow but the general idea was to walk down from C minor to G with some technique thrown in of course. Unfortunately, there was little progress.

Well this morning after eating breakfast with some friends (at a Mexican hole-in-the-wall for some massive breakfast burritos), running some errands, etc. I sat down and picked the guitar up to practice my fingering, and I played that intro in my head a couple times, and tried it out on the guitar. Slow-going, and then tried again couple times and then it sounded more and more like what it was supposed to be. Epiphany I tell you. Do this here and there and I think I got it. I couldn't believe it. I'm now more motivated to expand my horizons and leaping from the plateau which I've been for a while. Share this joy with me gentle viewer. May you have that epiphany that you are looking for. Peace.

Battlestar Galactica Renewed for Second Season!!!

Arguably the best sci-fi series on right now, Battlestar Galactica (sorry Stargate) has officially gotten a second season go-ahead from Sci-Fi Network, according the Sci-Fi Wire, the channel's news service. The actual details as to the number of episodes for the next season are still being hammered out currently. The first season contains total of only 13 episodes which ends in a cliff hanger. Writers are currently working on 6 additional scripts to tie up loose ends brought about by the end of the first season. So far with its excellent ratings, don't be surprised that the show gets a full season order (22-24 episodes).

For those of you who haven't had a chance to experience Galactica yet, set your VCR's/TiVo's/DVR's, on Friday night 9pm central. It's one of the few non-reality TV shows on the air right now that is actually worth an hour of your time each week. A fresh, compelling war drama set in space, Galactica is about the created turning on the creators. With only less than 50,000 people left in the human race, the band of survivors from the 12 human colonies take to space after a massive enemy offensive decimating their homeworlds. Led by an old aging warship Galactica, they struggle to evade the relentlessly pursuing Cylons (once created to serve man, but evolved into sentience and rebelled.) Not so much Star Trek (no dough-headed random aliens of the week, thankfully), but a gripping human drama set in futuristic space that should even be accessible to even the most stubborn of non-science fiction-loving viewers (you know who you are).

Battlestar Galactica the series is based on the initial 4 hour mini-series that aired on the Sci-Fi network in December 2003, which was in turn a "re-imagining" of the popular '70's series of the same name that starred Lorne Greene (Bonanza) and Dirk Benedict (A-Team). This re-envisioning angered many fans of the original show because of extensive story and character changes. However, despite the negative buzz, ratings for the miniseries were some of the highest the network ever received, ergo it'd be stupid not to have a series that would bring ratings up for the network, with the Stargate franchise being their only cash cow. The mini-series was an excellent introduction to the Galactica mythology: high quality production values, well developed characters, exciting space battles, and raw emotion drove the story.

The series continues this tradition, expounding on the characters more, their backgrounds, military vs. civilian aspects of life, while maintaining the emotional tension, drama and desperation of a dying race of people fighting for their survival. Very few TV shows are very good in their first season. Most take several years in order to find their footing, story and character-wise. Some get cancelled before even finding it (i.e. Enterprise, in its 4th season no less!) Galactica found its footing right from the beginning, hitting the ground running and never slowing down, to quote a cliché. It's all there, and more. And, with the showrunner being Ronald D. Moore, the man who raised the standard for science fiction and turned Star Trek: Deep Space Nine into an excellent action war drama in its latter seasons, there is a lot of promise for what future seasons will bring.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!!

Just wanted to drop a quick line and say Happy Lunar New Year to everyone out there. 2005 is the Year of the Rooster! Me, I am Year of the Snake. Our wonderful friends at Google have a custom graphic on their front page, it's awesome.

Just click on the picture to google some info on this joyous occassion. Check out your local Chinatowns, they should be celebrating with fun foods, lion dancing, fireworks. Fun!!

The Dirty Dozen

So funny you gotta check this out. My sibling just sent me this. Best thing since sliced bread. Go to www.iloveegg.com. Click on English, and then the Egg Song on the upper right hand corner for a little flash movie. I cracked up. So will you. You can then go the Animations for some well done Flash animations. View one if you need a quick picker upper if your day has been really scrambled and maybe it'll be over easy and you can see the sunny-side of life.

In other news, I took this random nerd test to see how I'd rank, and here it is:



Yeah that's right, laugh it up fuzzy, go take it yourself and we'll compare notes. It's all relative anyways. For further amusement, here is a rant about the difference between "nerd" and "geek." Is there even a difference, you ask? Why yes there most definitely is. Read more...

He's Dead Jim. Star Trek: Enterprise Is Officially Cancelled

Yesterday, UPN and Paramount Network jointly announced that this current season of Star Trek: Enterprise would be its last. For the first time in 18 years, TV would be without any incarnation of Star Trek, save reruns. Here is the full press release.

The latest, or shall we say late prequel series of the Star Trek franchise has been floundering in ratings since its first season, not seeming to gauge any interest among old Trekkies, nor new fans. As a long time Trekkie and sci-fi geek I was not surprised when this was announced.

It was a disappointing series that definitely squandered its potential from the beginning, eschewing what it could have been for the same tried and re-tred boiler-plate writing, zero character development, generic aliens, etc.

Enterprise is nothing compared to the compelling new Battlestar Galactica series on Sci-Fi Network. Although it's only in its first season and only 3 episodes have aired, Galactica has more substance and emotional resonance than all the past seasons of the Trek prequel combined.

Currently in its fourth season on CBS-owned netlet UPN, Star Trek: Enterprise was actually showing a modicum of promise this season, which decided to bring in new writers and a new showrunner with carte blanche to renovate a show steeped in shallow ratings.

Utilizing the mini-story arc concept instead of the previous year's season-long story, the writers would be able to send our ship on some mini-epic adventures while maintaining the continuing plot arc. Stories involving familiar elements of the established Trek universe would draw old fans back. Yet, unfortunately, for the fans, and the producers, it's all a matter of too little, too late.

Do You Gibberish?

This is worse than a lipsum generator. If anyone can decipher the following excerpt from some spam I got, I'll give you a dollar. Definitely top of the line crypto.

inexcusable undeniable propesterousness prevalentsinfedile. Rope engagement exterior wall linings modify interiors. Ifyou acosted unconstitutional wallabies chandalier way then what. Alterior decor shamurugs scruffields donutss frequencies often disturtoday i wanted to go and see the ocean but it was closed. I don't understand why the sky is blue but it just is maybe someday it won't be but im notsure . whales are a great source of oil in many peoples opinion. where is the cat in the hat and why doe(65aw4654sef645fh64hujil654x132a35w457dfgb315sczvbfdbd)incommunicato intellectually situated alasbasteredintoxicated complexity geographical fictionalitypuzzles compositions residently supreme.astonishingly oblviousingeniously indegentamazingly flamable increasings extrematerialsplastered aluminimalium disposable cranesbavarian motoroworkshen galithia espania.precivado placating gattica flabergastedcorporately reserved policiesincomparabley atrocious astronomically idiotic.southeasternwest endzone flyflag flowerbelenterprisingly marksmenship istheway of earthl

New Book Releases For Today

A little midday chuckle for you, courtesy of my co-worker Paul. Danke mein freund. Ich habe sauerkraut.

- "How to Write Large Books" by Warren Peace
- "The Lion Attacked" by Claude Yarmoff
- "The Art of Archery" by Beau N. Arrow
- "Songs for Children" by Barbara Blacksheep
- "Irish Heart Surgery" by Angie O'Plasty
- "Desert Crossing" by I. Rhoda Camel
- "School Truancy" by Marcus Absent
- "I Was a Cloakroom Attendant" by Mahatma Coate
- "I Lost My Balance" by Eileen Dover and Phil Down
- "Mystery in the Barnyard" by Hu Flung Dung
- "Positive Reinforcement" by Wade Ago
- "Shhh!" by Danielle Soloud
- "The Philippine Post Office" by Imelda Letter
- "Things to Do at a Party" by Bob Frapples
- "Stop Arguing" by Xavier Breath
- "Raising Mosquitos" by I. Itch
- "Mountain Climbing" by Hugo First

Hello World!

Well well the day has come. I wouldn't have thought this happening. I am finally officially partaking in the blog bandwagon, signing up for this free service on blogger.com, owned by Google. Yes I am conforming to the masses. Which brings up the question, if you choose not to conform to the masses are you conforming to non-conformism? Anyways, no longer will I have a journal composed of just one long html file with entries I added manually via Textpad. Now the adoring masses can leave me comments ad infinitum. I can even email my entries in whenever, whereever. Ah, technology, isn't it wonderful.

Well anyways, it's a chilling February morning, and I'm at the old crib as it were giving one of my old computers that's been sitting there gathering dust a second birth. My sibling lovingly mocks my eclectic collection of computer parts and dubs my creations "FrankenPC's", which is not too far from the truth because I'm crazy about interchanging parts on the fly when it suits me. Anyways, hopefully I'll get to sift through my backlog of old vacation and wedding videos needing some creative editing and sweetening. So many things to do, so little time. You know if we lived on Venus, one day there would be equal to 243 Earth days. Wouldn't that be grand. I could stop and smell every single rose. Anyways...