For the record

Might I say, for the record, that I prefer not to hear or read any more about Star Jones, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (or their kids), Brittney Spears, Madonna (going on 25 years of hearing too much about her), global warming nay-sayers, defense of marriage-gay basing-bigots, anti-flag burning jingoists, Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, what movie star is dating what other movie star, the latest powder keg in the middle east, but-but-but Clinton! Republican apologists, stay-the-course-damn-the-torpedoes-full-speed-ahead-things-are-much-better-than-the-liberal-media-is-telling-you-in-Iraq-head-in-the-sand-my-country-right-or-wrong red staters.

I prefer to have a pleasant, uninterrupted by the national tragedy of the moment, summer vacation. I'm assembling my stack of books and will soon head for sun and sand and cold Coronas.

Try not and blow up the planet while I'm gone.

Captain Randy Falls In Love With YouTube

Let it never be said that Al Gore doesn't know funny.

Captain Randy Discovers Wufoo

A moment of joy, shared.

Here's something that I found a breath of fresh air. A joyful, awe inspiring 3 minutes, 42 seconds. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Apparently no good Samaritans on Everest

This is utterly depressing:Hillary Blasts Climbers Who Left Dying Man

"Mount Everest pioneer Sir Edmund Hillary said Wednesday he was shocked that dozens of climbers left a British mountaineer to die during their own attempts on the world's tallest peak.

David Sharp, 34, died apparently of oxygen deficiency while descending from the summit during a solo climb last week.

More than 40 climbers are thought to have seen him as he lay dying, and almost all continued to the summit without offering assistance."

The book "Into Thin Air" put me into a full out funk for days. And now this. How many people passed him going up to the summit and then again on the way back down?

Some days I think we're all evil idiots.

everest

This Month's Help for the Clueless: Dell

Isn't it surprising and interesting that when apparently successful companies run off the end of the cliff they start grasping at straws?

Take a look at this: Mac News: Apple News : Dell Eyes Retail Again, With Apple Stores as Model: "Struggling to maintain its lead as the top personal PC maker, Dell plans to once again enter in the retail business when it launches two stores at shopping centers later this year. In contradistinction to Apple, which stocks products on-hand for customers to carry out after purchase, Dell will maintain its direct model by having shoppers place orders online for later pick-up at the store."

So, Dell sees Apple becoming wildly successful at their retail strategy. They failed at their own approach - mall kiosks where you could see a couple of computers, but had to order and wait for the computer to be delivered. So, if that didn't work, what should they do? Scale up, of course!

No, that's not right. Apple is succeeding because they have a very specific vision. First, they carefully scout locations and pick and pay for prime retail spots. Next, they went to retail experts from places like the Gap. Next, they designed stores that are clean, elegant, and uncluttered. The computers are all up front, all available and fully functional. And if you like what you see, you can take it with you. Oh, and Apple isn't targeting computer shoppers. They're targeting shoppers. A much bigger group. The local Apple store is always busy, always crowded.

I've said for some time, Dell does one thing very well: they have manufacturing a commodity PC down. They don't engineer anything, don't innovate beyond the manufacturing/inventory/production cycle.

So, Dell, if you want a chance at succeeding, don't just copy the surface of the Apple Store, copy the whole thing.

And the movie opens with this scene

KILLER BUG AIR SCARE
"A WOMAN who arrived in London on a flight from Africa yesterday is reported to have died from the deadly and contagious ebola virus."

And it ends with just a small band of plucky survivors. Time to head for the hills?

Actually, I'm told that Ebola isn't really that contagious. And no, thank you, I don't shake hands any more.

It's better to laugh

If only to keep from wearing a tinfoil beanie.

Dear NSA
"Q: Where did I leave my keys?
A: Inside pocket of your gray jacket (it's hanging in the front closet)."

Where exactly does one get tinfoil?

Also works for drunk typing

Just what I needed - a good laugh. Frankly, never even read the page and it probably is important for some people, but I was laughing too hard to continue.

PawSense helps you catproof your computer.

When it hits 25% we invade Iran

USATODAY.com - Bush approval rating hits new low

You think I'm kidding? The way I see it, the Bush administration pretty much has to create some sort of military, "line up behind the flag" moment sometime far enough ahead of the November mid-term elections to maintain any semblance of power.

July sounds about right.

Random Beach Bum

Random Beach Bum
Originally uploaded by cinemamurray.

It's rare that I like photos of me, but this one, I like.

Maybe it's because I look at this picture and see myself relaxed and happy in my Tilley Hat.

It is a damn comfortable hat.

Film at 11 (what time is it now?)

OK, experimenting with something - let's see if this FilmLoop thingie works.

Well, I'm back

Cinnamon Bay ,
originally uploaded by cinemamurray.

But it would have been so nice to stay.

I was simply amazed at how beautiful the Virgin Islands are, and specifically, St. John. And so easy to travel to from the Eastern Time Zone.

Terrific, relaxing vacation.

On a side note: there are so many more super rich Americans than I'd ever really thought about. In my daily life I'm sure I see them, but there, in the islands, it's completely clear who has not just money, but extreme amounts of it. Frankly, I'm not envious, just astounded. Who has the millions and the time to sail about the Caribbean in the spring for weeks at a time on multimillion dollar yachts? Apparently far more people than I ever imagined.

Well, good for them. Glad to see someone doing so well. As for me, I'll dream of going back sometime in coming years.

And I use to call a green pepper a mango.

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

15% Upper Midwestern

10% Yankee

5% Dixie

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Another Reason Not to Live in Jurassic park

I like Florida well enough to visit, but I don't think I could live anywhere that dinosaurs crawl up into your back yard to eat your pets and bugs the size of your hand might land on your face in the middle of the night.

Alligator Knocks on Fla. Woman's Door: "So now the alligators are going door to door. When Lori Pachelli heard someone knocking at the door of her home in a gated community in this southwest Florida community earlier this week, she looked out to see an unwelcome visitor on her front stoop: an 8-foot alligator."

Another point in favor of nice, quiet Ohio. Nothing bad could happen here. No siree, Bob.

That is not an invitation for you to send me a list of all the bad things that could or have already happened here. Screwed up presidential elections do not compare to a freak'n eight foot lizard knocking on your door. Yeah, "Land shark". Not so funny now, is it?

humor, florida, ohio, SNL

Not jumping on the bandwagon, but running along side

I really hope they are fully committing to the complete cheesiness.

Film Article | Reuters.com: "As film back-stories go, this one is fairly serpentine. The Samuel L. Jackson thriller 'Snakes on a Plane,' which wrapped last September in Vancouver, went back before the cameras this month for five days of additional shooting in Los Angeles."

What they don't point out is that "Snakes On A Plane" is a long standing Hollywood in-joke/complaint. It represents the worse possible "high concept" idea and is a phrase equivalent to "what'cha gonna do?"

That someone really made it as a movie is both scary and funny. Scary if they were serious about it. Funny if they embrace the absurdity.

What is brilliant is that the studio understands the groundswell of internet attention and have gone back to shape the movie to more appeal to this audience.

I smell a hit!

humor, movies, snakes on a plane, hollywood

Just a few more weeks till spring break.

I may not come back.

Special Relativity Of Framing

When I saw the link to this article I though, "hmm, sounds link an interesting physics article." Sorry, no. It's a badly framed article about cosmic rays and their aging-like effects.

Was Einstein Wrong about Space Travel? | Science Blog: "Consider a pair of brothers, identical twins. One gets a job as an astronaut and rockets into deep space. The other stays on Earth. When the traveling twin returns home, he discovers he's younger than his brother.

This is Einstein's Twin Paradox, and although it sounds strange, it is absolutely true. The theory of relativity tells us that the faster you travel through space, the slower you travel through time. Rocketing to Alpha Centauri -- warp 9, please -- is a good way to stay young.

Or is it?"

OK, please, if you're going to do popular science writing, get it right. Einstein wasn't wrong. You, article writer person, are. Einstein is talking about the effects of speed. You're talking about the effects of cosmic rays. So, putting on my scifi hat, I simply raise shields, no more cosmic rays, but still special relativity effects when traveling at sub-light, but very fast speeds.

Now, if I'm traveling faster than light (see the article below), then we can also forget about relativity.

These 2 things have nothing to do with one another. The writer thought that they were being clever, but frankly, they're just confusing people that might not understand.

science, ftl, Einstein, aging, relativity, cosmic rays, tags

Just Bury Me In A Captain Kirk Coffin

CNN.com - Scenes from Homer found in Cyprus 'warrior tomb' - Mar 20, 2006 "In one large painting, Ulysses and his comrades escape from the blind Cyclops Polyphemos' cave, hidden under a flock of sheep. Another depicts a battle between Greeks and Trojans from the Iliad."

This is an astounding find, but reading about a warrior being buried in a coffin decorated with scenes from the Odyssey made me smile. Essentially, he was buried in a pop culture themed grave. It's like having a NASCAR funeral, or being buried in a box decorated with scenes of the Death Star and Ice Planet Hoth.

Don't get me wrong. I believe the Odyssey is one of our greatest stories - a remarkable piece of literature. But I also don't forget that it was popular entertainment for people 2,500 years ago.

OK, so I want to be cremated, after anything useful is removed. But before you light the fire, dress me in my Star Fleet best.

star trek, homer, humor

Faster than light travel possible after all?

After reading this article, I'm left with the question: Is faster than light possible? Evidence for Universe Expansion Found: "Physicists announced Thursday that they now have the smoking gun that shows the universe went through extremely rapid expansion in the moments after the big bang, growing from the size of a marble to a volume larger than all of observable space in less than a trillion-trillionth of a second."

If the universe expanded that quickly, did it physically move through space over that trillion-trillonth of a second? Or did it move from marble sized to universal sized in the same period without traveling through the intervening space?

The term "inflation" brings to my mind the expansion through space. Perhaps I'm getting it wrong, but if this is so, there's got to be some big implications.

Should we start construction on our starship fleet now?

science, ftl