Fight to the Last

Well stick me with a fork, I am done. Just the other day I finished The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis, the seventh in the Chronicles of Narnia Series. If you want you can read my takes on the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth books.

This is the final book in the Narnia series, and it brings to a close the tale of almost all the characters you come to know and love in the series. It covers the last battle for the land of Narnia, and all those that reside in it. I’m not even going to go into the contents of the book much. This seems to be the most controversial book of the series, and it is also the only one to win the Carnegie Metal. It’s the one that should spark the most contemplation and discussion. I recommend reading it with your children and talking about it.

And now, on to other things in the ever growing pile of books.

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The more things change

Well, last May I mentioned that I was making a kind of lateral move in smart classroom support. Well something interesting happened last week. The worker I displaced has been moved back into smart classroom.

I’m not entirely sure exactly why he was moved back from laptop repair, but sources say something bad was about to happen. I don’t feel free to say what or by whom on this page. Some friends already know, and it was a pretty bad thing. So now he’s back over here.

None of us are sure exactly what he is going to be doing, not even him. Suffice it to say things just got more interesting. I wonder what shall come of this.

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He’s Flaaaaming

Well Sunday it was raining all day, so I couldn’t very well burn some of the branches I have piled up in the back yard. So I did something else. I went and saw “Ghost Rider.”

First of all this movie doesn’t have particularly good reviews. It’s sitting at 28% on RT, but I’ll go see movies at that percentage if I find something about it interesting. I didn’t have high hopes entering the movie, but it was pleasantly entertaining. I saw it at a matinee in a theater full of people. Basically the movie isn’t a Hellboy, but it does a decent job with a character and story that sounds pretty silly to non-comic book fans. There’s some odd acting in it, but the characters are quite odd themselves. The effects and transformations are somewhat cheesy, but I’m not sure exactly how you could make them not cheesy without making the character gross to look at. In closing movie snobs stay away, comic fans only go if you can stand it not being everything you imagined, and B movie fan head to the matinee. There’s no need to pay full price for this afternoon’s distraction.

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Weekend Fun

Well what's been going on? This past weekend a friend of mine came up from Atlanta with his girlfriend and their two dogs. The intent was to have a good time playing with the Wii he brought and cutting down a tree in my yard. Well I must say the Wii is a compelling device. It may have to be added to future purchases or gift requests. We played some Wii Sports, bowling, tennis, and boxing, and we played Raving Rabbids. This is probably some of the most fun I've had with a new system before, but Nintendo has always provided good game play for me. I could go on and on about it, but there were other things that happened as well. On to the tree killing.

As I've stated before, I had several sweetgum trees in my back yard. The trees look nice in the fall, but they produce so many of the dadblamed gumballs it's annoying and dangerous to walk on. So, I've been on a campaign to remove the trees from all trafficked areas of the yard. That entailed cutting down 3 small and one large tree previously; breaking my friend's chainsaw in the process. Luckily he had a warranty on it. This time we decided to cut down the largest of the sweetgums. I figured it would miss the house by several feet is we dropped it where it wanted to go. Below is a picture of where we dropped it. Stupid me didn't think about documenting the cutting process.


On the far right is the stump and the far left the topmost branches. It was a good 8+ feet from the house, so that wasn't a problem. This picture is looking down the length of where we dropped it.


You can see the pile of branches and the nice regular piles of sawdust where we cut the trunk up.


This was one of the sources of fuel we used to cut the tree down. I believe in using alternate fuels like ethanol. Due to the warm weather, the sap was rising earlier than I anticipated, so the entire tree was filled with water. Jennifer threw some shavings at her dog for play, and the dog thought they tasted so good she would start eating them. I guess the sugar from the roots made the shavings sweet. I didn't test that theory though. You can just make out some of the growth rings on the log, and they are huge. This thing must have jumped up fast.


That gives you an idea of the stump size. We hinged that thing and it went exactly where we told it to. It was fantastic, and the chainsaws worked wonderfully. Now I have to sharpen my chain. We even got to prepare some old tree leavings.


This pile was from when I had a couple of pines cut down. They were dead or dying. The tree guy piled the pieces in the back. I had burnt some of them, but I hadn't gotten the entire pile ready for ashification. Ty helped me with that one, and now they are ready to go.


I ringed the trunk sections so that they could dry out and provide a ring in which to begin burning the branches and remnants. I would have started this weekend, but events such as rain conspired against it. Maybe I'll post pictures of burning. Hmmm.

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Linked Rings

Well I’ve plowed through one more and have only one left to go. I’m talking about finishing The Magician’s Nephew the sixth publication in the Chronicles of Narnia Series by C. S. Lewis. If you want to read them, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth reviews are available.

This book was published fifth, but in the chronology it takes place first. In fact this is the book that explains how it all began, and why the other books are the way they are.

This book follows the children Digory and Polly. You may remember Digory as the professor in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Digory’s uncle sends the two children on a magical journey that leads to the origin of the White Witch, Narnia, and everything else that follows in the other books.

This book reminds me of Episode One form Star Wars. If it was the first story you saw, you probably wouldn’t be interested in the rest. Reading the other stories first plants questions that draw you through reading this one, despite it not being the most entertaining of the series.

Now It’s off to the last of the series.

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Making Them Drink

Considering the long pause it took me to finish my last book, I have quickly gotten to this one. I just finished reading The Horse and His Boy, the fifth publication in the Chronicles of Narnia Series. You can read the first, second, third, and fourth reviews there.

This book breaks form the previous ones in two ways. It is the first book to jump back in the timeline to a point before the end of the first book. It takes place during the Golden Age rule of the four kings and queens of Narnia. It is also the first book that doesn’t follow characters that enter Narnia from our world. Only Edward and Lucy of the original Pevensie children appear near the end of the story.

The book follows four characters, centering on one primarily. Shasta is the adopted son of a Calormene fisherman. He sets out from the home with Bree, a talking horse from Narnia who was enslaved. On the journey they encounter Aravis, a young noblewoman, and Hwin, her talking horse. They must overcome obstacles to reach their goal of escape to Narnia. On the way they learn more about each other and their past.

This book seems to have gotten a little closer to the entertaining with lessons formula. It should make good reading with children.

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His Shadow

Well finally, after two months, I finished reading American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis. I’ve read two of Ellis’s other books, Founding Brothers and His Excellency. I can’t believe it took me that long to read the book. I guess I got distracted and found it difficult to get back to. I probably only read the book for about 2-3 weeks, with breaks in the middle. I’ll ramble out a review after the link.

It’s funny. Ellis wrote Sphinx first followed by Brothers and Excellency, but I read it last. Also, I should mention that Sphinx also won a National Book Award complimented by the Pulitzer Brothers received. Anyway, the first thing you notice when you compare the books is that this one is much thicker. The paperback I have is 440 pages long. But you must realize that the last 70 pages are index and notes. Even with that, it is much longer. I assume being the first may have something to do with it, but there are other reasons.

Ellis decided that others had written much more expansive biographies of Jefferson before, and that he didn’t want to duplicate that. He wanted to do what he has continued to do in the later books. Ellis wanted to provide better understanding of the man named Thomas Jefferson rather than simply communicate dates. Therefore the book covers some things in detail with much analysis, and it skips other things. The book doesn’t always follow chronology either. Both can be somewhat annoying, like when he talks about something that happens later or skips the second term only to disperse some of the information in later chapters. It makes me want to read another biography just to fill in the gaps.

However, Ellis does an excellent job at what he sets out to do. As you get into the book you start to realize the reason for the length. It’s necessary in order to help you get a grasp on one of the most enigmatic characters in US history. Jefferson is often quoted by varied and conflicting groups in order to support their stance on certain topics. This occurs because people misinterpret Jefferson’s words, and because he seemed able to hold more than one contradictory ideal to be true without ever letting them touch or realize they were incompatible with each other or the realities of the world itself. It is truly amazing the complexity and peculiarity of the man.

I look forward to reading more about the Revolutionary Generation, and I thank God we were lucky enough to have them when we needed them.

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Links for the hell of it

I’m not sure if I’m going to keep doing this, but I feel like it to today. So there.

There’s an interesting ballot that popped up in Washington state. It proposes that all heterosexual marriages that do not result in a child’s birth within 3 years will be dissolved. It’s absurdity is designed to point out the absurdity that marriage exists solely to provide stable families for childrearing. It’s interesting, and thought provoking. Talk amongst yahselves.

In another short article on the NYTimes site is about Walmart, Whole foods, and other companies trying to promote sustainable fishing and grow the ocean’s fisheries back to higher levels. There are a few recommendations of fish to stay away from and some that are good choices. Personally I love farm raised catfish, which happens to be one of the best for farming with limited ecological impact. It’s something more people should know about. Expect the day to come when we have to force limitations in fishing to stop the ecological disaster that’s currently happening. In other words, Eat More Chikin.

DailyTech had an article up about a cellular book from Telecom Italia that is the closest production item to a global communicator from Earth: Final Conflict that I’ve ever seen. I want to play with one.

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Links redux

Several months posted about the FDA approving a new vaccine that I had mentioned the year before for several of the viruses that can cause cervical cancer. Well the NYTimes has an article up(signup required) about the Texas Governor Rick Perry signing an executive order mandating the vaccine shots for all girls entering 6^th grade, excluding those whose parents refuse to participate. I’m actually really surprised that Texas was the first state to do this, though the article says that Texas has the second highest number of women with cervical cancer. The executive order does offer the opportunity to bypass a lot of political wrangling in the legislature, and I don’t think there will be a big fight to eliminate it. Plus, the implementation conditions seem to be reasonable. I’m hoping Texas opens the door for a lot of other states to add this vaccine to the normal series of vaccinations women receive through their lives. Here’s hoping.

Several weeks back DailyTech had an article about a Naval rail gun test that passed the 8 Mega-joule range. I tell you I like that stuff. It bodes well for safer and longer range guns and a cheaper, more reliable plane catapult system. Where do we get those wonderful toys?

Well I spoke before about the Real ID Act, with my opinion that the security problems and ability for abuse outweigh the potential benefits. Well Ars has an article up about the growing opposition to the act. Seems more people are getting concerned about it for all the right reasons, security, abuse, and monetary. Maybe the system does work occasionally.

Oh and for friends that like the ideas of wikis and writing Ars posted about a “novel wiki” taking place. So far it looks like a situation of too many cooks in the kitchen. Should be interesting to watch.

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They'd smoke ‘im if they got ‘im

Friday I went out with some of the guys I took a class with last semester. We went out to teat and then went to see “Smokin’ Aces.” I was curious about seeing the movie, since it has an interesting cavalcade of stars. RT has it reviewed at 27% by the critics, but the lay people have it closer to 74%. I’d have to put it somewhere in between. There’s lots of shooting, blood, and cursing. I know I’d curse with all that shooting and blood. Basically lots of people converge on one location to try to save, kill, or take into custody one Buddy "Aces" Israel. It’s not a great movie, but it can be quite entertaining. The key is seeing it with other people. I saw it with some friends in a 60% filled theater. That was about perfect. I don’t think it’s worth full price though. Make an afternoon of it and catch a matinee while the theater is still busy. Either that or rent it and watch it with some friends. Of course a large TV and surround sound would be the preferred method.

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By the games we play

As I said before, I received an Onyx Nintendo DS for Christmas. Since then I have gotten a few cartridges for it. In fact that’s one of the reasons I’ve been taking longer than usual to finish that Jefferson biography. Well hopefully I’ve gotten a handle on that and will be back to my book devouring self before too long. Anyway it occurred to me that I should write up a little something about the games I’ve been playing. I’ll ramble on about them following the link.

When I got the DS I also got a copy of Brain Age. It has a bunch of exercises designed to exercise different functional areas of the brain. I found that I was rusty on some of the tests. Well rusty may not the best description since I hadn’t performed some of the exercises before. Many of the tests I’ve gotten better at, but I still have a problem with the rote memorization of words. I’m going to try forming sentences or stories with them next to help memorization. I’ve been having a good time with it. It’s a really interesting product, but I wouldn’t call it a game. It does inspire competitiveness and drive though. I think exploration into areas of unique game play are going to be a big boon to Nintendo and help draw in a much wider group of consumers. I’m sure that played a big role in the design and marketing of the Wii as well.

The next game I got was Lego Star Wars II. A friend had played the first one on the Game Cube, and I co-played II with a friend on the XBox. I enjoyed the game the short time I played it , and it got good reviews. It’s a really fun game. It’s an interesting combination of game types. It’s easy enough for children to play, but also offers complexity for adults. I haven’t come close to doing everything yet. There are lots of extras that can keep you coming back for a long time. It’s fun to go through the stories we all know, but they also took a little poetic license with the stories. It’s just too much fun to watch the Lego characters wink at the camera or sashay around. The only complaint I really had is that the game seems a little buggy. I’ve had it freeze up a couple of times, but mostly I’ve had textures disappear. That means my ship, enemy ships, walls, etcetera would vanish. Also, sometimes the camera would get stuck in certain locations. It’s these problems that keep this game from being a total joy to play.

I went to Best Buy to buy a game for my brother; he got a DS for Christmas as well. While there I found that Age of Empires: The Age of Kings was there for $20. I had heard good things about the game, and I loved the PC version, so I bought it. I have to say they did a great job with this game. They turned a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game for the PC into a Turn Based Strategy (TBS) game for a mobile system. The graphics and animations are great. In fact I’m surprised at what they could do with the processing power of the DS. This game is entirely as addicting at the PC game was originally. I’m really optimistic for group play, but it requires everyone to have a copy of the game. In case you didn’t know some games can be played by multiple DS with only one needing to have a card. At $20 this game is a fantastic steal. It’s probably the best game I’ve gotten so far. The only caveat I have is that in some complex games the game may lock up after playing for a while. I recommend saving every 5 days in the game. But other than that the game is fantastic.

The last game I got, and have devoted the least time to, is Final Fantasy III. I’m really impressed with the graphics on this game as well. It’s hard to believe it’s a remake of a console game. If this speaks of the future of games on the DS, the system will dominate for quite some time. It’s a turn based Role Playing Game (RPG) like everyone expects of the FF series. It offers all the treasure of the FF series in a easily portable system. So far, I’m loving it, and I think I’m coming closer to convincing some friends to invest in a DS.

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Snow Day

I have not forgotten you blogspherians. It’s almost a month since my last post. Really there hasn’t been much going on. Or at least that’s the excuse I’m making for what is probably just an episode of laziness or indifference. Or maybe it was distraction. Anyway I had the pleasure of having a snow day this past Thursday. It’s one of the small perks of working for a University. I didn’t get out in it really. There just wasn’t enough to make it worthwhile for play. I did manage to get out and take a couple of pictures though.

I went out the kitchen door. It was a really wet snow, so I had to be careful of slippery wetness.

I stood under the carport and watched it drop who knows what mixture of frozen and liquid precipitation.

Then I walked out to the end of the driveway to get a shot of the house. You can see my footprints in the snow at bottom right. I was actually still in my slippers, pajamas, and robe. Actually I was wearing one of my cowboy hats to keep the precip. of my head and the camera. I probably made a pretty strange sight. I can’t wait for a real honest to goodness snow with some accumulation. I wonder how many years that will take.

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