BrewBlog

Town Hall Meeting

A couple nights ago I got a call from my Congressman.  You have probably received these recorded calls from a political figure.  Arnold Swartzenegger called me too, asking for my support.  Of course these were recordings.  I don't really want to get a call from a recording.  The phone is a big distraction as it is but when the person on the other end is not a person at all, it's no good.  But the call I got from Congressman Doolittle this week was quite different.  I answered the phone and heard the recording almost immediately.  I did not hang up right away because I was reaching for kitty treats or something to try to get the cat to stop meowing following his daily dose of mood altering drugs.  Before I could hang up, the recording invited me to attend a town hall meeting.  The town hall meeting was to take place right there and then.

Out of curiosity I pressed the "1" key as instructed.  Then, to my delight, I was in a big conference call with Congressman Doolittle and a bunch of Placer County citizens.  The only lines you could hear were his and the person currently in the top of the queue.  I entered the queue to get involved but I didn't get a chance to speak because we ran out of time.  The topic was the illegal alien and immigration problems.  He informed us of the different bills in the House and Senate, discussed the issues and mostly just answered questions.  I thought it was cool that I was able to join this town hall meeting and actually have some interaction with my Congressman.  Good stuff and great use of technology. 

Good luck with that, Mr BigTime

Link: ABC hopes to halt fast forwarding.

Mike Shaw, ABC's President of Advertising Sales, said this week that he would love to have the opportunity to shut down the "fast forward" button on users' DVRs. Though he did not claim that commercial-skipping TiVo owners were thieves, Shaw is clearly unhappy with how easy it is to skip his network's ads.

I'd hate to be the guy at ABC's job to try to squash the fast forward.  I hate reverse innovations or attempts to take things like this away from people.  Who would choose a DVR that does not have fast forward controls as long as ones that do exist?  Nobody.  So good luck changing them all for everything.  I can see this guy in a big board meeting, "We must eliminate this fast forward"!  I love watching big media struggle with technology!!

Crapper Napper

This little story requires little or no background.  Recently, during a break from an all day meeting at work, I went to the bathroom and discovered someone sleeping on the toilet.  I didn't notice at first but once I heard the unmistakable sound of someone snoring I knew what was going on.  I looked toward the stall and saw the guys feet and they were angled in such a way to suggest serious slouching associated with sleeping.  Even my flushing of the urinal was not enough to wake this guy and those toilets are loud.  First time I heard those toilets flush I was glad I had just peed.  I passed a colleague in the hallway once I left the bathroom and let him know of the sleeping guy on the toilet.  Once he too returned to the conference room he said he saw the guy leave the stall and later pointed him out to me.  It turned out to be an intern but it's still funny.  We called him the crapper napper.  Nice job dude. 

Delete: "Humor"

When I went back to work after baby leave I started a new job.  Same company, same division, but a different responsibility.  I was lucky enough to start my new position once I got back, giving me a nice clean break.  Being an overly organized person (control freak) I took this opportunity to go through my work notebook computer and clean out all the old stuff and start totally fresh.  Admittedly, it felt good.  Such activity actually appeals to me a great deal. 

I went through my folders, moving all of them into an archive and starting a whole new folder structure, using many of the same naming conventions and format, etc.  I went through intranet favorites, applications, e-mail folders, pretty much everything.  I even went through all my old paperwork, textbooks, training stuff, trinkets (cubical garbage), trade show shit, power supplies, discs, contracts, manuals, everything.  Literally all the nearby trashcans in my building were overflowing with my old crap.  It was ridiculous. 

Being so caught up in the process, I did something that I didn't even think much about until later.  While I was going through my e-mail folders I looked through my "Humor" folder and looked at all the funny e-mails and jokes that had been sent to me over the years.  Some sent by friends outside of work but most sent from colleagues.  I chuckled a little because I recognized the titles of some of them that made me laugh.  Then I noticed that they were all old.  My humor folder was busy five years ago.  It was busy when I started almost ten years ago.  But in the last few years there was very little.  So I deleted it since it was really no longer necessary.  I deleted "Humor" because it was no longer necessary.

Later I thought about it and realized how sad that was.  People have not been sending around jokes as often.  I'm sure it is partly because of "being afraid" of repercussions from HR and legal.  People are way more worried about getting busted these days.  Everything is "offensive".  We must be "sensitive".  I think it's also because the overall moral of the worker is lower.  People don't have as much fun as they used to.  Maybe everyone is burned out.  Maybe the culture doesn't really foster fun anymore.  Maybe I'm reading too much into it but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how true these things were.  Whatever the case, it's sad.  So, I have no more "Humor" folder.  I absolutely refuse to delete my "Personal" folder so I hope it's okay that I still have a life. 

Les Claypool - Of Whales and Woe

I'm not too thrilled with Les Claypool's latest effort.  I want to be, of course, because I want to really enjoy whatever music I purchase.  To be fair, I'm really immersed in a bunch of other really good music and I've only listened to "Of Whales and Woe" a few times.  Typically I'd listen to something many times prior to forming an opinion but in this case I just don't want to have to work so hard to "get it".  There are examples where I wrote off an album and then sang praises months or even years later but that doesn't happen very often.  I'll definitely listen to it some more once things in my CD player cool off a bit.

First of all, I must give credit to Les Claypool for being such a monster bass player, easily one of the best and some would argue THE BEST.  His work with Primus has produced some great music and some of his early solo or non-Primus work is good, even though I prefer Primus.  Lately though, Les is either trying too hard, getting bored or getting lazy.  I seriously doubt it is that he is getting lazy as it would seem that he works very hard.  "Of Whales and Woe" just does very little for me so far.  After a couple listens I read some reviews and most agreed with me.  One dude practically begs people to give it chance and give it more listens. 

So what about it?  It's just kind of boring for me.  Nothing about it stands out or gives  me what I'm used to getting in prior releases.  Usually one very good song will get my attention which leads to more listens and it grows from there.  With this one, I'm not really wanting to listen for very long.  Parts if it sound good and a few of the songs are definitely listenable but my standards are a little high right now.  It's not terrible by any means but I just can't recommend it unless you simply love Les Claypool.

So I've finally finished reviewing all my new music!  Whew.  Right now I'm listening to a lot of new music that is new to me but now a "new release" so I'll spare you from those reviews.  So what is coming up?  Right now I'm looking forward to a new Strapping Young Lad and Deftones so it looks like things are going to be getting heavy again.  Yeah!

Deadly Birds

Every now and then something happens or I'll see something that  just totally boggles my mind.  A couple weeks ago I was walking into my building at work for the first time since going on bonding leave.  The walkway in front of the front doors had a large net over it.  The net was supported by several poles and was at least forty feet long and ten or fifteen feet wide.  It looked a little like the net you'd see underneath the acrobats at the circus.  What the hell was this net and what could it possibly be needed for.  Because I was at work, my ideas for the purpose of this net were all over the place in my head.  Then I saw a sign stuck to the front doors warning of  aggressive birds because it was nesting season.  Huh?

It turns out someone was walking into or out of the building and was  attacked by a bird.  As a typical overreaction and response, "work" had this giant net installed for our protection.  Well, it's actually for their protection more likely.  Can you imagine suing because a bird attacked you?  Me either.  Then the only other reason to have the net is to protect us from the birds.  Do we really need protection?  Are they really that dangerous?  Now I walk under this net twice a day and can't help but to shake my head.  It just makes me wonder.

Thinking

I'm sitting here late in my work day, late in my work week, thinking about my little baby boy.  I'm thinking about how much I'd rather be with him instead of at my desk right now.  I'm thinking about how much he makes me smile.  I'm thinking about how lucky we are to have him and I'm thinking about how much our family rocks.

Jackson is quickly approaching six months old but it seems like he was just born.  EVERYONE tells me how fast babies grow up and how quick the time goes by.  I'm feeling that now but soaking up every second as well because it is true.  Watching his development has been a joy.  Every week, maybe even every day, we're noticing subtle improvements in motor skills and new tricks or expressions.  My current favorite thing is making him laugh and seeing that big toothless smile.  I simply can't get enough.

This week was Jackson's first week in daycare (Allison calls it Baby Harvard).  Starting daycare was a big milestone.  It was a scary one too.  Allison had to deal with going back to work when my leave started.  Now that I'm also back to work we're both dealing with baby withdrawals.  Daycare is a big step and we feel very good about it overall.  We're happy with the place so far.

New things we've seen recently:

• Screeching out of excitement
• Toy mastery.  He's got good control of both his hands now.  Maybe it isn't quite mastery but still
• Solid food consumption.  He's now eating solid foods twice a day.  He eats rice and oats and a little bit of sweet potatoes (we have a funny picture to share)
• Stinky poop.  His poop has developed an authentic smell
• Face grabbing.  He loves to grab our faces and squeeze
• He sleeps in his crib now!  Well, he sort of sleeps. 
• Many smiles and giggles

Superman Review (no spoilers)

The following is a review of Superman written by my good friend Don Crandall.  He's the man when it comes to reviews so I thought I would share.  I have yet to see the film but I plan to eventually.  Enjoy...

SUPERMAN IS BACK, SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

So I was so excited about this one, the "big one" for me this year. Seeing that Bryan Singer "sequelized" the old films, rather than made a "remake" or "reinvention," this was big news for me. Superman the Movie is Dombles’ #8 fave film, and Superman II is #11. The great news is, yes, this is very much a sequel to Superman II (you just have to "go with it" that they’re all new actors, and 25 years later in the world.) I’m thrilled that much of the art direction is the same (esp. the Krypton stuff) and the characterizations are exactly in tune with what Donner & the Salkinds did in the old films. Best of all is the frequent usage of John Williams’ genius score and the many variations of our old beloved themes. If you’re a film score buff, get out there & pick up the CD right now! The opening credits may give you chills, and certainly a feeling of great nostalgia.

So how is the actual movie? Fear not, it’s good. Not in the league of Superman I or (even despite its Richard Lester faults) Superman II, but it’s enjoyable from start to finish. Brandon Routh is a great Man of Steel and a good Clark Kent. Bosworth is fine as Lois, but didn’t overwhelm me. Spacey is a terrific actor, but maybe it was the writing or directing here, it just didn’t seem to ever reach its potential. Still, Spacey has a lotta presence, and is nice to watch him in the iconic role.

The story is a dark chapter in Supes’ & Lois’ life, hence, I think, the somewhat dark look & tone of the film. Admittedly, it’s a wee bit serious & somber to be the joyous ride the first 2 Superman films were. It’s a bit anticlimactic as well. And Singer’s sometimes almost lethargic pacing made me recall just why X-Men 1 & 2 weren’t perfect films. But there’s plenty of coolness here & there, and so much for superfans of the old Reeve films to keep it fascinating. Is this a problem, I wonder, with this film being so reliant on the specifics of the old films, that the young generation(s) of viewers might be scratching their heads at times? Two elements are so dependant of having seen the first 2 films. One is the Kryptonian crystals and the other is... well, this is a spoiler-free review, but try to remember back to Superman II, and one of the unique events to the Superman lore that occurred in the film.

I had to give this film kudos for catoring (hopefully not exclusively) to us 30 & 40-something fans of the Reeve films. There’s a lotta love on the screen, and Singer knows & loves the material. Not quite a joy to behold, but we finally get a proper continuation of Superman I & II’s terrific storyline, which, like the best Star Trek movies, really shakes up the mythology and takes it to a new level. And it’s a very good film in its own right. "Better than Batman Begins?" Maybe not quite, but I’m more a Supes fan than the Bat, so I liked it more.

Plus, if yer lucky, you’ll see the new Spider-man 3 trailer before the film!

Don Crandall