Not Exactly Reality TV

I don’t normally watch much Reality TV. I have friends who have fallen for American Idol, but I didn’t. I did enjoy the Joe Shmo Show, the first more than the second, but not much else. At least that was until I started watching “Who Wants to be a Superhero” on the Sci-Fi Channel. It was different enough that I have enjoyed it. Hero creator Stan Lee is the host and decider of the contest. Essentially a group of people assemble to decide who gets to be a superhero. They have tasks and are judged on how they complete them. The winner gets a SciFi weekend movie and a comic made from their character. It’s interesting because essentially they have to be really good people in order to win. It’s not based on strength or intelligence. They are primarily judged on character and determination. A “reality” show that makes the contestants learn to be better people is something I can get behind.

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State of the Plantation

Well it’s been less than a month so that’s not too bad. I’ve been slammed at work finishing classrooms and showing people how to hit power buttons. Believe it or not Masters Degrees and Doctorates can’t figure out how to hit the power button. Anyway, that seems like it’s slowing down. Apparently this year has been one of the best so far. I hope that part of it is my presence.

I finished the ceiling mudding and sanding. I had to go buy a shop vac (Actually it’s a 14 gallon Rigid vac from Home Depot. That thing is way quieter than most shop vacs I’m used to.), because attempts to borrow one fell through. I wasn’t going to use a house vac for that nastiness. Anyway that’s done, and I finished painting Wednesday. I’ve started putting furniture back in there now. I hope to put more in there today and get closer to a normal house situation.

I think I’m gonna have to mow the grass this afternoon. Friggin rain.

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Gentlemen, start your funny bone.

So as a diversion I went to see “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” at the theater. I like all the things I’ve seen Will Ferrell in and the reviews were going very well. I have to say that is just a win for virtually everyone right there. This is a funny and pretty smart movie. It doesn’t contain all of the sex of “Old School”, but it is definitely as entertaining. I recommend it as a see at full price.

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Muddin’ the Top

Well I’m sitting here in the dining room in my Lazyboy. I had thought I would be putting furniture in the rooms I head refinished this weekend, but I got sidetracked. See I decided to test something, and it happened better than I expected. See there was textured ceiling finish in the den, and It was not the best choice for the room. I tested it and the stuff came down way easy. So, I spent yesterday scraping the stuff down and starting a skim coat of drywall mud on the ceiling. I finished the skim coat this morning and am waiting for it to dry, so that I can sand it. Oh and I protected the floor before I started. I should have it finished and painted this week and can start moving furniture then. I was going to wait for this, but it’s been uncharacteristically cool the past two days allowing me to keep the doors open.

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I’m it and I didn’t know I was playing.

Well Mr. Smitty tagged me on the "share yourself using books" rundown, after Ayzair tagged him. So I guess I'll get going with it.

1. One book that changed your life?

Hmm, not sure I have one that changed my life. No real paradigm shifts in outlook that I remember being caused by a book. Lots of small ones though. However, I do remember two books that pointed down a path. I remember reading The Giant Jam Sandwich when I was 4 or 5 and pondering the technology and equipment necessary to create that sandwich. I dearly loved that flying tractor. A few months after that, a conversation with my Dad on a road trip about the car’s electrical system led to my getting How Things Work as a present. I read that one several times as well. They kind of put me on the path to engineering.

2. One book you have read more than once?

Actually I haven’t read many books more than once. In truth I probably haven’t reread a book since I was a child. That would probably make it one of the books I mentioned above, or the other childhood books like The Berenstain Bears or Amelia Bedelia.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?

Well there is the standard survival guide book or one on how to build a boat. Hmm. Most things I would probably get bored with. Maybe a really extensive study bible.

4. One book that made you laugh?

Most recently I would have to say If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell. That thing made me laugh out loud.

5. One book that made you cry?

I don’t cry often. It makes my sinuses swell and I end up with a big headache. I can’t remember a book that made tears come to my eyes right now.

6. One book you wish had been written?

How to Walk in the Other Guy’s Shoes. There is way too little of that.

7. One book you wish had never been written?

I wish that Mein Kampf had failed due to the death of the dictator, Hitler dictated it. However, if death of originator is not a possibility then I would wish that it was more widely known before the war so that other states might have recognized the insanity that was coming to power.

8. One book you are currently reading?

Sunstorm by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter

9. One book you have been meaning to read?

I have really wanted to read the Space Odyssey series form Arthur C. Clarke.

10. Now tag five people.

I’ll have to e-mail them. My blog list has been tagged already, except for Dexter.

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Streamers and Shakers

It’s pretty boring at work today. It’s kind of a nice change actually. It gives me a chance to get caught up on some things. Truthfully we are kind of waiting on other people to get stuff done so that we can come in and do our stuff. This probably means that we will be rushed to get a bunch of stuff done at once. To tell the truth I’m of the mind of telling them that we will get it done as fast as we can, but we don’t have infinite resources to throw at eight things all at once. I like to give preference to those that have planned ahead and have their stuff together.

Anyway, while I’m waiting on that, I read IT stuff on the web and such. One of the other things I do is listen to radio station streams. I figured I’d post the two stations I frequent for you to give a listen to, and post yours here as well.

http://www.99x.com/

I got addicted to 99x in Atlanta while visiting a friend. I especially like the iPod weekends. I like the mix of Alternative music and other things.

http://www.wtmx.com/home.php

I had been wanting a station like The Mix for a long time. While on the road to see Smitty’s World’s home office I came across a station in southern Georgia called The Mix that played a fantastic assortment of music. Alas I couldn’t find that Station, but I did find a similar one out of Chicago. I only wish that a similar station opened in my area. It would probably receive all of my listening business. I wish more stations realized that lots of people like listening to more than one category of music. Anyway, back to the stream.

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Polymer Solvents

Well today we pretty good for me. I received word yesterday that the person who I hired to refinish the floor in two rooms wanted to start this morning, a full week ahead of schedule. I had some down time at work, and I found an inexpensive replacement part for a piece of equipment that could have held up an install at work. Of course given the visit by the flooring guy I’m sitting in a house that smells of polyurethane fumes. I can live with that if it means I’ll get the floors done. So for now I’m sitting in me bedroom with all my stuff shoved into half a house. I can’t wait until I can retake my den in the name of living space.

As an aside I mowed half my garden today. The previous owners couldn’t devote time to it over the past year or so. The entire thing is overgrown with abandoned plants, grass, and a huge crop of giant marigolds. I mowed it down, so the sun could kill some of it. Then I’m going to cover the area with a tarp to kill the rest. I prefer that to spraying the area. Oh and an abandoned cantaloupe plant yielded a fruit. I’ll find out what it tastes like tomorrow.

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Wet Celluloid

I missed reviewing a couple of movies as well. I went to see “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and today “Lady in the Water.”

I saw PotC II at DLP theater at Greenville. I tell you I am now a believer in DLP projection in theaters. Theoretically it should decrease movie release costs, but don’t bet on seeing any of that coming off ticket prices. Anyway, I enjoyed PotC II almost as much as the first one. It had plenty of action and humor, and I can’t wait to see the next one. Everyone that liked the first one should see it. And DLP is my standard for all new must see in the theater movies.

Today I saw LitW by M. Night Shyamalan I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, despite the reviews on RT. I have liked all of Shyamalan’s movies I have seen. This is not his best work, but I liked it a little better than “The Village.” I must say that I also like “Unbreakable” more than “Signs,” so take it for what you will. You can wait for it on DVD though.

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When the scary things get scared

This is a short review of Dark Allies the Star Trek New Frontier novel by Peter David. Look at my previous reviews to find out more about this series. Basically this takes up near the time the previous book left off. Two of the greatest “evils” in that area of the galaxy are on a collision course that will see the destruction of at least one. Captain Calhoun and the crew of the Excalibur must decide whether to take this opportunity to try to destroy a seemingly unstoppable eating machine called the Black Mass or stand aside and let it destroy one of their greatest adversaries, the Redeemers.

This is the eighth in the series and David is most consistent in the entertainment value he provides in his books. The book reads fast and is worth the small cost of the paperback. It’s cheaper than most movies now days.

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Could you repeat that?

Well lookie there I’m actually typing this on Sunday. I can’t believe it. I’m finally getting around to reviewing those two books I read. This post will be about the Deborah Tannen book You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. I’ll ramble on about it on the other end of the link, to help keep the front page cleaner.

I sought out this book after reading The War Against Boys. It was referenced a few times and I decided to get it and see what it said for myself. I’ll say now that I’m glad I did.

Basically the book covers differences in communication structure and dynamics between sexes. It includes both verbal and body language communication. The differences are similar to watching two groups from very different cultures try to negotiate a contract. They have different ideas of how the negotiation is supposed to proceed, but the methods may not be compatible. It leaves a lot of room for misinterpretation. Tannen points to examples of this difference in style in conversations between sexes. However, I would say that the style differences can occur between any two people, but the most common and dramatic differences do occur across sexes.

Really the book reads pretty fast, and holds your attention quite well. It’s divided into sections that are only a couple of pages long. That makes it easy to pick up the book and read at short breaks in the day. I would recommend this book to most people. It sheds a lot of light on being able to notice different conversational styles, and thwart escalating misunderstandings. In fact two days after reading the book I saw a couple having a conversation in the store that epitomized some of the conversation styles covered in the book. I think it would also be an asset to anyone writing fiction and seeking to make more realistic text.

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Hope in one hand and…

Guess which one filled up first? I got back from Florida and work really swung into effect. This is the busiest time of year at work, and will probably remain so until September. I spent most evenings in July preparing to move, moving some items, doing work at the new house, and trying to stay up on some of the normal web reading I do.

So now I have been technically moved into the new house for about a week now. I’m waiting on someone to come refinish the floors in two of the rooms, so I can’t move everything around to final locations until that is done. That means my house is in a state of mess. I’m going to try to spend some of today to do a little catching up on here. We’ll see if this works out any better than before.

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