Harry Potter Book 7

I finished it yesterday and I know all the secrets and read how it all wrapped up and I'm dying to discuss it all. What better place to do so than on my blog. However, I'm certainly not going to spoil all the drama for those who haven't read the book or are in the process of finishing it themselves. To protect that certain population who unlike me and my Mom did not clear their schedules, take time off work, and sit in one place for 14 hours straight reading, I'm going to hide the spoilers.

First off, I really enjoyed the book. It's hard for me to consider this my favorite in the series because the Prisoner of Azkaban I thought was excellent. Prisoner of Azkaban was the book that really started setting things in motion, a lot of things happened in that book. We were introduced to Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Hogsmeade, Dementors and Expecto Patronum -- all things that would become major plot points and points of interest in the books that followed.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is definitely a worthy finale for the series, however, it wasn't a perfect one. I don't have many criticisms but the book was longer than it should have been. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it was 759 pages, in fact I wish it was even longer, but the story that was told could have been wrapped up sooner. Some chapters, like chapter 15 crept along until finally within the last few pages we were introduced to what the chapter was about. This is all a small blemish on what is a great story.

The biggest things that happened in the book were all the deaths. J.K. Rowling was cleaning house. The most notable deaths were Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Tonks and Serverus Snape, surprising when Dobby died, I got choked up. I never liked Dobby throughout the series, but upon Dobby's death after he rescued everyone from the Malfoy mansion I was stunned. What pushed me over the edge was a montage I ran through my head of several Dobby moments that happened in the other books.

Snape. I can't say that may faith in Snape ever wavered, it did but I believed in my heart that he was faithful to Dumbledore. In order to believe that Snape was on Harry's side, you had to trust Dumbledore's judgment. Interestingly enough, across the series there was never an instance that would allow you to question Dumbledore's decisions, logic, and love for Harry. So why should anyone think differently of Snape, especially Harry.

In one of the final chapters called The Prince's Tale, it gave a lot of back story on Snape. How he met Lily in a park when they were just children. How he told her that she was a witch and that she would be going to a school called Hogwarts. It turned out they were best friends. What I thought interesting was they stopped being friends mainly because of who they each began hanging out with, Lily and James, Snape and Death Eaters. Then Snape called Lily a Mudblood something he regretted and apologized for but ultimately ending their friendship. His love for her continued making him a double agent for Dumbledore. This was one of my favorite chapters in the book because I I enjoy hearing the back story on characters that I have come to know very well over the course of the years. After reading this chapter I took his death pretty hard, because in fact he placed himself in the most danger to protect Harry.

I was in the camp that believed that Harry should die. Of course I didn't want him to, but thinking about the good and protection of the series. I am beyond happy that he didn't and I thought the epilogue at the end of the book was fantastic. I nearly sobbed through the whole thing. Looking at Harry's life 19 years later with his wife Ginny and their three children, Lily, Albus and James. Then seeing Ron and Hermione and their children all at King's Cross Station sending their children to Hogwarts was outstanding. What got me the most was Harry addressing his son Albus, then saying his middle name, Serverus when he was concerned about being put into Slytherin. Harry said to him, "you were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew." I still cry when I read that.

A New Design

Another redesign. I know, I tend to redesign this blog more times than I wash my sheets, but I was feeling bummed that my other design wouldn't work and I ended up losing everything when I deleted it off my web-space provider. Maybe it was for the better.

Initially I was going to do something really simple. I was picking the most bland template Blogger had. I wasn't going to make any changes, I was just going to start writing. Then the tinkerer part of me kicked in. I was only going to change the font, and maybe the color of the title. Then it all just snowballed and I added another column, messed around with RSS feeds, included a label cloud, changed how the blockquotes displayed, reworked margins, justified all the text, and added a border among other things.

It sounds like I did a lot of work, but it all came together quickly like it was meant to happen. The whole experience was very satisfying and I'm pleased that I took a moment and built on to the template I chose. In the end I'm excited with the result even though it wasn't the original design I worked so hard to get working a few months ago. The decision ahead of me now is whether or not I completely start over with the posts.

Neighborhood Insanity

I am currently being driven insane by my neighbors insistence in cutting down a tree that we believe is on our property. In a way, I am grateful that they are cutting it down and not I, but I cannot stand the sound of the chainsaw that has invaded my airspace for the better part of the day.

I wish they would just CUT IT OUT!!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!

Insurance Options

My mom and I spent 2 1/2 hours last night figuring out some choices I could make with my insurance. I have to decide what I'm going to choose by this Friday, and while initially I wanted to get LASIK eye surgery, I just can't afford it at the moment, however, I am going to finally get my wisdom teeth extracted.

This morning I called a dentist, not my dentist but after the conversation I had with the person on the phone, I want to make them my dentist. She suggested I put $450 into my Flexible Spending Account to cover my out-of-pocket expenses for the extraction. I don't know why, but I'm really excited about going to the dentist.

Script Frenzy

In a mere ten days, Script Frenzy will take place. Script Frenzy, organized by the same folks who do NaNoWriMo is a race to write a 20,000 word screenplay or stage play in 30 days. Of course I am partaking in this challenge, after successfully completing, for the first time, NaNoWriMo last year.

I have never in my life written a script, so this is all new to me. In addition to writing the script it must be correctly formatted, a rule that is not enforceable, but I imagine if it isn't formatted like a script, then it isn't necessarily a script.

Anyway, this is a great challenge and I am excited for the next 10 days to pass so I can get cracking.

A Long Time Coming

I realize it's been a few months since my last post, but there are good reasons. The first being, I was completely redesigning the blog and moving it over to WordPress, a task that proved more difficult than I first imagined. The redesign was going well, but then trying to introduce the WordPress elements required a high learning curve. Well, not so much placing the elements but rather making them mesh well with my design.

Next, my PC began acting up. So I was without my computer for a couple of weeks and had to work exclusively on my iBook. Fine, but it was not well equipped for my blog design because all my files were on the PC and I was only able to get a few on my webspace.

Finally I bought a new computer, this time sticking with the Mac format and bought my dream iMac with all the bells and whistles that came with it. I thought I would just pick up where I left off. Ultimately, I decided against that and so now, I am sticking with blogger and looking forward to getting back to my normal routine.

Poor Paul Pressler

Business Week decides to kick a man when he's down with this article about Paul Pressler and what he did and didn't do to single-handedly bring Gap to its knees. There were several moments where I laughed out loud at the ludicrousness of some of the scenarios. Hope you enjoy.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Lose: Yesterday I woke up around 7:35-ish in the morning go through my morning routine, forgetting that I wanted to hitch a ride to Target from my Mom. She had already left, but it wasn't a big deal, I wanted to listen to a CD I hadn't heard but just recently rediscovered, so the walk was fine.

I arrive at Target with intention of picking up Crackdown for the Xbox 360 to play the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta this spring. I walk down the long aisle to the electronics department to see if the game is on the shelves. It isn't, I hunt down the electronics guy who is working, and he tells me that the side stock workers haven't gone through the boxes and so it won't be out until about 12pm. I certainly am not going to hang around Target for four hours for a game I'm not sure I really want.

Win: After hearing the news I walk down an aisle that I don't normally go down to leave the store, but it looked like the staff was having some merchandising meeting that I didn't want to walk through. I look to my left and there is one of those old PC game two-packs. One of those games, Sanitarium, was one I've been wanting for nearly 10 years. Get this; the two-pack is only $2.48!

Lose: I get home, and glance at the system requirements wondering if it will work with Windows XP. It does, I install the game and go to play it; after the first level loads the game freezes and shuts down. It does this a couple more times as I try to launch the game.

Win: Today, I ran over to Target and they had Crackdown.

Lose: After buying it, I look at the case and it's broken.

Win: Mom and I went to Best Buy because I wanted to pick up a couple of DVD's that I meant to get on Sunday.

Lose: They only had V is for Vendetta in stock. I also wanted Heat, but I had to settle for Poseidon.

Win: The also had Crackdown, so I considered picking it up and almost did. Instead, I decided not to get the game and save myself $60. Who knows, I might change my mind later.

An All*Star Season

Let me throw this question out into the ether. Is there a better show on television than The Amazing Race? Now, let me answer it for you. No. The Amazing Race is not only an amazing race, but it also happens to be an amazing program, an amazing reality program. In terms of drama, action and intrigue, there is no other show on television that offers an ample supply of each.

With that said, tonight began the series premier of the 11th season. This time, some of the best teams from past seasons have returned to make up the first all-star edition of this Emmy awarding winning program. After watching it tonight, I'm starving for another episode.

Back in January I ran through the teams racing this season, so I won't go into depth about each team. Nevertheless, I think it's imperative that I make a list of them in order of most favorite to least favorite.

01. Rob & Amber
02. Dustin & Kandace
03. Eric & Danielle
04. Oswald & Danny
05. Uchenna & Joyce
06. Kevin & Drew
07. Charla & Mirna
08. David & Mary
09. Teri & Ian
10. Joe & Bill
11. Jon Vito & Jill

While thinking about this list, I placed Charla & Mirna higher than I would have thought. If I just didn't hate the way David & Mary raced last season, and how poorly their racing this season, they probably would be a little higher. Kevin & Drew seemed to lose their sense of humor, and they are just a drag to watch. The last three couldn't be less interesting. I will say that Joe & Bill were great to watch in the first season, however since then, many teams made better villains.

The top three, Rob & Amber are the king and queen of The Amazing Race. Never was there a team that raced better and had amazing luck on their side. Dustin & Kandace ran an excellent race last season and I favored them to be in the final three. Unfortunately for them and me, they were unable to do so, ultimately making the final episode a little less exciting.

In this first episode, Rob & Amber came in first place and Jon Vito & Jill were eliminated for being the last team to make the same mistake as a few other teams. This worked out beautifully for me because they never made "great TV" so their elimination will better concentrate the drama.

I am optimistic that this season will be the best season yet.

Cleaning in Progress

In reaction to my post last night, I decided today would be one of cleaning. Well, maybe not all day, I mean, I have other things I need to accomplish. Nevertheless, I washed my sheets, cleared off a few surfaces, and filed my pay stubs. It may not sound like a lot, but the difference is noticeable.

Tomorrow I'm continuing the project and finish cleaning the odds and ends. Really, how many tubes of ChapStick does one person need? I don't know about you, but I need quite a few. One thing that I really want to do is laundry. I just did some laundry a couple of days ago, but there are some jeans and t-shirts that could use a second wash because of the junk once covering them.

Well, it's the last song on the new Gwen Stefani CD signaling my final moments on the computer. Time to do a quick spell check and post. I'll talk to you all tomorrow.

Sick of Collecting

I'm sick of everything. I'm drowning in the vast quantities of stuff I've accumulated over the years. I feel like I need to purge myself of all my excess, like DVD's and video games. One of these days I would like to go through my entire collection of belongings and make a list of things I'd like to keep and things I'd like to sell.

I would first go through my DVD's. I have an enormous collection of DVD's and a lot of them I haven't even opened, much less seen. It would be difficult, because I like watching movies so much, that to give any up is heartbreaking. My ideal collection would consist of no more than 100 of my favorite movies and television shows (an entire series would count as one).

Video games are next. This would be a little easier because the NES would be the first to go. I never play it and all my 152 games are just sitting in my closet collecting dust. However, after the NES things would get a bit hairy because we move into hallowed territory with the SNES, considered by many the greatest gaming console of all time. I have most of the classics like Final Fantasy III (FFVI), Chrono Trigger, The Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past, and various others. I hope that many of these would be offered as downloads on Nintendo's Virtual Console, although I would hate to have to re-buy them all.

In my head, I look at my room and it is sparse. The only furniture is one desk with a computer, a bed, a dresser a book shelf and a phat 46-52" plasma/LCD TV adorning my wall hooked up to an awesome 7.1 surround sound system. That isn't too much to ask. Right?

Anna and Her Baby

Anna Nicole Smith died! I couldn't believe it when I was told Thursday at work by a manger that has a habit of making jokes. Not necessarily jokes about death, but you get my meaning. It came as a total shock that she was dead after losing her son and giving birth to her daughter just five months prior.

Even more shocking and telling, just hours before her death, Rosie O'Donnell decided to rant about Anna Nicole Smith on The View saying,

"If I have to see Anna Nicole Smith one more time on television, one more time, that woman and her paternity tests and she can hardly even speak now. She can't even speak. It's a tragedy all around. Her son died. She has this little baby. There's obviously some kind of medication or substance involved."

Rosie O'Donnell has a keen sense of tragedy that she can anticipate when it would least benefit her career to go off on a tangent. Honestly, whom can she possibly defame and kill next?

Above that, the question of who is the father of her five-month-old daughter, Dannielynn. Is it Howard K. Stern, Larry Birkhead or Prince Frederick von Anhalt (aka Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband)? Whoever it may be, that is going to be one rich daddy.

There are tons of questions that still need answering. I can't wait to see how this modern-day Marilyn Monroe mystery unfolds.

Just Lindsay's Luck

There was a movie that I've wanted to see for a while now, but I never thought there would be an opportunity for me to watch it. The movie is called Just My Luck starring the ever popular and doped up queen of bulimia, Lindsay Lohan. Lindsay plays Ashley, the luckiest woman on the planet, that is until she meets the unluckiest man, Jake. They kiss on the dance floor and swap more than just spit; they swap luck. Now Jake who was unsuccessfully trying to get a record producer to listen to the band he represents, immediately makes them superstars. All the while Ashley finds herself living with her friends and eating scraps off other people’s plates.

My friend Kim was taking the movie home and I commented that I wanted to see it. She asked if I wanted to borrow it and I of course said yes. The movie was charming and I enjoyed it, however it was extremely formulaic. Formulaic in the sense that it borrows aspects from a thousand different formulaic movies. It had a little, Freaky Friday, Spiceworld and then your generic romantic comedy.

My relationship with Lindsay Lohan is interesting. It wasn't until I saw her host the 2004 MTV Movie Awards that I began liking her. I continued to enjoy Lindsay in Mean Girls, after which her stock plummeted when she became a causality of her own fame. The drugs, the drama, the bulimia. The whole episode of her life was just too much for me to care about that I and everyone else immediately made her a punch line. Yet, even though she is trying to get her life back together, I still don't think she is going to live down her shenanigans.

Bold Woman, Bold Decision

A customer came to my register today and told me she was moving to the Virgin Islands to be a yoga instructor and wedding planner. She also said bold women make bold decisions. I think it is obvious that this was one bold woman. It inspired me; I wanna be a bold woman too! Not really, but I would love to make as bold decisions, to leave everything I know and move to some exotic location to start a new life.

I think I would rather leave everything I know and visit an exotic location for a week or two, then return home. I can't imagine anyone wanting to live in the Virgin Islands. It's hot there and there are hordes of fat, sweaty tourists half clothed and always ready for a party. It doesn't sound like fun at all.

Thinking about it, I can't say for sure where I would like to live if I had the chance to leave Oregon. I love Oregon, the climate's great most of the year and everything I'm interested in is just a stone throw away. If I had the chance though, I would like a try at living in England, Japan, Switzerland and Alaska. That is of course assuming that I would have Internet access and FedEx and UPS were able to deliver. The only thing that's keeping me from doing that is television programming.

A Fresh Coat

I spent the bulk of the day cleaning. In the next few days, another manager or group of managers from other stores will judge our store on its cleanliness. This is always a tough time for the team because we clean and clean and clean; yet it almost never makes a difference, because we can only be as clean as our customers and the age of the store allow us.

So, as I said in the beginning I spent most of my time cleaning. The first thing I do in the morning is clean the bathrooms. I think I've mentioned that this is usually my favorite time at work, because it allows me to have a few quiet moments before associates and managers start laying down demands. I make that sound worse than it is. After I clean the bathrooms, it is nearly time to open and my second task is to wipe down all the carts.

This is not a task I do daily, come to think of it; I don't think I've ever actually done it before. I know I've attempted to dry carts for customers, but I never cleaned them. So I take out the Sani-Spritz Spray II, spritz the carts and start wiping them down. Not the most glamorous of jobs, but it did keep me busy. One of the tools I like to use when cleaning are latex gloves. This was the crux of the experience, because every time a customer was ready to pay, I had to take off the gloves and ring the customer through. After helping the customers, I put on a fresh new pair of gloves. I got both tired and good at putting on latex gloves. Sadly, it's always been a slight dream to be able to put on gloves as seamlessly as they do in medical drams like ER, and even The X-Files as I have seen Scully do a thousand times before.

After I returned from break, I was instructed to do my favorite task of all time, paint. That's right ladies and gentlemen, the painting wasn't done yet. This time I had to paint the doors. Immediately I began to panic like last time. I don't think I did a good job last time, and this time I let my general manager know it. She didn't seem to mind, but I could see my blatant lack of experience shine through. Those poor doors went through a lot.

I had three doors to paint. The first door took the longest because it was absolutely filthy. The second door was easier and more interesting. Let me tell you about the second door. There was tape all over it; some of the tape was fresh while other pieces were painted over. I used a scraper to take off most of the tape. Afterwards, I grabbed a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to try to get the goop that was left behind. The thing about the Magic Eraser is it will take paint off walls, but what happened next was a complete surprise.

I washed the door with the magic eraser and got most of the sticky goop off. I realized I still had some pieces of tape on the door, so I grabbed the scraper and went to scrape of the tape. I put the scraper to the door and pushed up and down came a long strip of paint. I kept scraping up and more of the paint came off the door. Soon I had most of the paint on the floor in these long strips. It was the most satisfying moment of the day.

All the while two managers were trying to scrape off this horrible green paint off the third door with little success. I won't go into the details, but suffice to say, it was like watching Laurel and Hardy scrape paint. After I finished the second door, I moved onto the last one. This one needed the most work of all and I just didn't have the time to fix it. One of the managers said he would work on sanding down the divots so I could get it painted tomorrow. I can't wait.

Weaving Nightmares

I am sick and tired of working on websites. I knew the work I was doing with Dreamweaver 8 wasn't going to amount to much. I knew that it wasn't going to be compatible with Blogger. I knew all that, but there was a small part of me that believed it would. I hoped that all the hours I invested in this blasted program was going to produce something great.

It's very likely that I don't have a clue what I'm doing with the program. I'm not taking advantage of any of the intermediate or advanced features, mostly because I don't know how. What I am doing, creating style sheets, linking them to my HTML document and formatting my CSS in the HTML page takes some knowledge. However, Dreamweaver is not doing all the heavy lifting, I still am. I'm still hand coding the vast majority of what I'm doing and that doesn't seem right.

This is the problem with WYSIWYG's, what I see in Dreamweaver, is not what I'm seeing in the browser. My XHTML validates, my CSS validates, and I have cross-platform compatibility, yet there is one tag that affects the page in Dreamweaver, but doesn't affect it when I preview the page in a browser.

Later this afternoon, when I realized my design wasn't going to work in Blogger, I looked into WordPress. Many of the better-designed blogs out there use it and so I thought, if it works with them, I can see it, in the end, working for mine. The first thing I needed to do was create the template for my blog. I began reading about how to do that. I continued reading, and read some more, then more. While I loosely understand the concept, there is little out there to solidify my knowledge. Then I got lost when I realized I needed to use PHP.

I tried to learn PHP last year by buying one of those horrible 900-page Behemoth XLs (read: books) that ultimately teach you how to create the Internet. It was an attempt to make my website dynamic and I got lost at page 27. I'm sure I understood the underlying concepts and even the syntax but it was putting it all together that twists my brain into a knot.

What doesn't help is that I never start small. I always figure that if I'm going to do it, I want to go for the gold. So, I have the very complicated design that I need to shoehorn into WordPress using templates and PHP and CSS and XHTML and all other acronyms that I only have a rudimentary understanding.

For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to try and study and work on getting a firm grasp on everything I need to learn. If your thinking about me taking a college course in this, stop. They don't offer one. They offer one about Dreamweaver, and I may in the future begin taking that, but that's not what I want. I want to know how to do it the hard way before I start doing something the "easy" way.

Weaving Dreams

Yesterday I remembered there were programs out there called WYSIWYG's (What You See Is What You Get) to help with the creation of websites. I used to use on called FrontPage several years ago and it allowed me to do some amazing things. Now, with the advent and widespread usage of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) I decided to look back into these to free up some of the work.

Last evening I downloaded a free trial of Dreamweaver 8 from Adobe's website. This seemed to have all the tools I wanted to make creating a valid website with ease. I installed it and began working with it that evening. While it does a good job of keeping me organized, you still need to know the basics of CSS, its structure, and how to place your tags within your HTML document.

The program was difficult to use at first, because facing a blank screen, much like a blank canvas represents a daunting task ahead. I didn't know what to do or where to start. I took a layout I worked on a couple of months ago down from my bulletin board and began piecing together the code. The site is coming together nicely, the only thing holding me up are the graphics and what I'm going to do with all this space.

Here's a quick tip, make sure you have a plan for the space you create. I have a lot of room that I don't know what I'm going to do with. Several things are running through my head, but I'm unsure how to implement them. I just have to think everything is going to work out in the end as it normally does.

Super-Bowlers

I don't follow baseball that much, but since it is the Super Bowl, I thought I would get into the spirit of the event. While at my computer I had the game on in the background and occasionally watched grown men run up and down a court chasing a ball to make a goal. I find it amusing that this is what people wait all year to do. They buy gigantic televisions to watch this. Why? What is it about sports that require this much devotion and expense?

All right, I'm just kidding about my ignorance about sports. I'm well aware that the Super Bowl is the football game of the season. I know it pitted the AFC's Indianapolis Colts against the NFC's Chicago Bears and I even know the score. I still don't know why this is such a big deal. I look back at the days when I followed basketball like a second religion, and yet I don't know what got into me when the Finals came around. It was just another game.

Even though the Finals were big, what I remember enjoying the most was the All-Star game and I wonder if the same is for those who enjoy football. Coming up is the Pro Bowl and I think that would be a much more entertaining game to watch. While the competition isn't as intense as each team plays soft, I always thought seeing the best players in a league compete together far more interesting.

For any of these games, would I buy a $3000+ television to watch it in all its HD glory? I suppose. I know that if I had the money and the technology was more readily available back then, I would have plunked down some serious cash to watch the NBA Finals in high def. Looking at it now, it's stupid, but that's just my opinion.

The Ballad of Will Ferrell

We just finished watching Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby starring the incomparable Will Ferrell. Yes, it was funny, but not nearly as funny as I expected. I think as a whole, I was disappointed I didn't laugh until I cried. Something I tend to do.

First, let me talk about Will Ferrell. Will Ferrell has a spotty history of funniness with me. On Saturday Night Live, he was probably the funniest cast member of all time and then in 2002 he left to do films. To be frank, even while he was on SNL, his shenanigans on SNL movies were poor. Have you seen A Night at the Roxbury and Superstar? After leaving SNL in 2002, he started strong in Old School and Elf, two of the funniest movies I had ever seen. That's when things began going downhill.

Daily I come across people who think Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is hysterical. I didn't, I barely laughed throughout the entire movie, and maybe I just didn't get the joke. At that moment, my faith in Will Ferrell as a comedic actor waned. Would he ever be funny to me again? Where did his magic go?

My hopes were set high when I bought Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby when I saw the many previews. I laughed hysterically when he named his children Walker and Texas Ranger. I laughed when he begged Tom Cruise to do his magic. I even laughed when his father made him drive with a cougar in the car. By the time I actually saw the movie, the jokes weren't funny anymore. To my surprise, those were the funniest moments in the movie, and they used all of them in the previews. This is not new for movies, they have to use their best material to attract viewers, but at least leave something to surprise us.

We began watching the movie and then paused it 38 minutes in. Mom and I both silently thought to ourselves that it was the longest 38 minutes of our lives. I thought that if the first 38 minutes of the movie was this slow, I couldn't imagine what the last 90 minutes would feel like. I almost dreaded it. To my surprise, the movie got better, and Ricky Bobby miraculously got smarter.

For someone I thought was as dumb as a box of rocks, his reasoning and common sense were sharp. There were some conversations he had with his friend Carl that had me wondering if this was the same character. Then in the next scene, he would be this bumbling idiot; I just didn't really know what to think. It frustrated me that they didn't stay true to the character throughout the movie.

This is where it gets sad. The moment I laughed hardest wasn't in the movie at all, but in the gag reel. It wasn't the gag that was funny but the line, "pale and paralyzed" that had me laughing so hard. Maybe if they kept that line in the movie, I would have walked away with a better feeling. Overall, it was a good movie. It definitely had its moments, and most importantly, I got the joke and was entertained. That's all I could really ask for.

Reserved

I couldn't wait. I needed to do it. I needed to go to Barnes & Noble. I needed to reserve my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I needed to, and I did.

The time was 11:20am and I set out for my quest. It was a chilly mid-morning and butterflies where flapping a freaking hurricane in my stomach. Harry Potter, as my last posts faintly suggested, is my favorite series of all time, so it was imperative that I get this book. I was prepared to pay anything they asked. The whole amount? Sure, no problem!

A moment of terror struck as I was walking over. What if they hadn't set up the preorders in store like the one they had online? What was I to do then? I knew; I was going to scream bloody murder as I tipped the New & Notable table over and ran down the main aisle knocking every book off their themed displays. I wasn't going to let some corporate giant get in my way of me getting the most important book release in the last decade.

I still wasn't there, I hadn't even crossed the street yet; a battle I wasn't looking forward too. Crossing four lanes of traffic isn't easy, especially when coming upon the lunch rush. I was able to walk halfway across the street before having to pause in the turn lane for some idiot who obviously doesn't understand pedestrian laws in Oregon. I arrive at the other side of the street safely and make my way to the front door; heart beating a million beats a minute.

I step in expecting to see some grand display notifying all the patrons they were ready to begin taking preorders for the next Harry Potter book. I got nothing. There was no fanfare, nothing to indicate that Harry Potter existed. Surprised, I looked around to see if there was someone I could bully into reserving me a copy. I chose the fat kid in the corner. Luckily for him, there was a sign at his station informing the public about the Harry Potter book.

I walked up to the counter, and stated that I would like to preorder the book, he obliged and it was over in a manner of minutes while he typed in my information. I walked out thinking how easy it was. I mean I didn't even have to tip tables or knock down displays. The next challenge is taking down any kids that get in my way.

Does Harry Die?

I just checked my e-mail and I received e-mail from both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com preparing me for the event of the decade. On July 21, 2007 the release of the final installment of the Harry Potter franchise of books, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Panic has surged through my body as I am in disbelief at how quickly this day has come.

Several years ago I remember going Christmas shopping at the mall while my Mom was at some seminar for her job. I walked into the B. Dalton books and picked up the first Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone after pre-militant lesbian Rosie O'Donnell talked at length at how great the book was.

It was a kid’s book and I had grown out of those. In fact, I had grown out of those long before I was supposed to since all the books were geared towards girls. It was very difficult to find a book that a boy would enjoy reading. Finally, I sat there in the food court after all my Christmas shopping was done, and began reading.

The Boy Who Lived was the title of the first chapter and it sparked in me a reading frenzy unlike any book or series ever did. I devoured the book, and then I bought the second one. Even though I didn't think it was as good as the first, I still relentlessly took it all in. Then I added the third, Prisoner of Azkaban, currently my favorite in the series and consumed it.

When the fourth book came out, that's when trouble arose for me. The book was the longest in the series, and I just couldn't get into it. It was difficult for me to become excited about the Triwizard Tournament because it seemed like it was going on forever. I thought it would never end. I did press through and finished the book, however it took me much longer than the other three combined.

I finally reached a point when I dropped almost anything for Harry Potter. Upon the release of the fifth book, I actually took Saturday off so I could read it. I knew I had to get through it quickly as everyone and their grandmother was going to start discussing it and I wanted in on the discussion. When it arrived, I opened it up and began reading. I barely stopped and was able to get through it in the weekend. It was the largest book I ever read in such a short amount of time. I seem to remember that Charles Bronson died around that time, yet hardly anyone was talking about his death, but more about the death of Sirius Black.

I made the same arrangements upon the release of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I took that Saturday off and when I finally got the book, I began reading and didn't stop until I finished that same weekend. It's almost necessary to read them all the through as quickly as you can because people talk and want to discuss things about the book, and if you haven't read it, than the dreaded spoiler will ruin the experience.

Even though the task is daunting, I am looking forward to reading this book all the way through. What is even better is that there are about six months before the final book's release. Therefore, I just might read all six books in the next six months to be up to date on everything Harry Potter since I haven't read a Harry Potter book since The Half-Blood Prince, nearly two years ago.

A Wink and a Nod

My right eye is twitching. It's been twitching for the last several days and it is driving me crazy. There are two reasons why this is happening to me, first, the lack of sleep. I have not been sleeping very much because of being so busy. I get up relatively early in the morning and I don't get to bed until rather late. During the late night hours, I am most creative, so I need to harness as many of those as I can.

The second reason is eyestrain. I spend many hours in front of a computer screen. I'm going to blame this and another blog I am trying to get started. In fact, I started it yesterday but I'm waiting until I have more posts before it's "launched" in a couple of days.

Naturally, a twitching eye can be a little embarrassing in public. I can be talking to someone and my eye can begin to twitch resulting in a wink. Thankfully, no one has called me out on it, and probably no one has noticed my spastic winks. However, I'm waiting for the moment when someone reads more into it than an involuntary spasm. I hope that I will be able to put an end to it on Monday when I can sleep in. Until then, if you see me winking at you, it's not what you think and just let it go.

Are You Reading Me?

It's weird to learn that people other than family and friends have read my blog. It's an uncomfortable feeling that my opinions are out in the Internet ether for the entire world to read and comment. Regardless of how uncomfortable it feels I've placed myself out there for a reason; I wanted an open forum, a street corner on the Internet where I can stand atop a soapbox and talk about anything I wanted.

It's interesting, if I were out in public, standing on a soapbox, rambling on about the Barry Manilow concert I attended, I probably wouldn't get much attention. However, on the Internet someone is willing to stop and listen to what I have to say. I'm surprised to tell you that that is exactly what happened. Someone stopped and listened while I rambled on about my Barry Manilow experience.

I was checking my "Google Juice" on Google yesterday and came across Barry Fun: A positive, fun blog, about Barry Manilow. One particular post had links to different reviews of the Portland Barry Manilow concert including mine. In addition, the blogger used my concert ticket graphic, which would have been a point of contention if the blogger were stealing bandwidth by hotlinking. Plus, it's a Barry Manilow site, I had a scan of a Barry Manilow ticket; it's all good.

Then I found that "James Doogin", a friend of mine, Dugg my post called "First TV Show to DVD". It was then Dugg a few more times by other people. It never gained critical mass to make it popular, but this blog is so diverse that it's unlikely going to make me famous, unless a lot of people really like hearing about showers and sandwiches. I'm sure there aren't many out there.

Water Cooler Moment

In Oregon, we have soft water, which means our water has a low mineral content. This enables us to get a nice frothy lather when we use soap and toothpaste. Conversely, Southern California has hard water, so getting a good lather is difficult. What does this all have to do with my post? Actually, very little, but it's still all within the same family of discussion.

Yesterday evening, I had 10 minutes to take a shower before dinner was ready. I aggressively took on this challenge and hopped into the shower. Usually I can quickly attain a nice soapy lather due to the soft Oregon water. This time however, it was difficult. When I attempt the quick shower, looking back it's always difficult to lather-up. Why?

I thought about this while showering and wondered what causes this phenomenon. Could it be that the body must absorb enough water for the soap to effectively lather? Does the body need to reach a certain temperature to react to the soaps chemical structure? Would using a liquid soap over a bar of soap remedy this? All these questions cascaded through my mind.

I then began breaking down what my process is when showering. The first thing I do when I step into the shower is an initial rinse off. This ensures that my body is wet and I can maintain the soapy lather. As you might of guessed, I do a lot of thinking in the shower, so I never rush to begin the actual washing. During this time, the water heats up considerably and I am more than adequately drenched before beginning.

When I take the quick shower, this process is dramatically shortened. I do the initial wet-down, before I do the lather-up, but because of the time constraint, I don't do an as thorough job within the wet-down stage. This leaves me to believe that the body needs to absorb enough water to begin lathering the soap. Yet, the water hasn't warmed to its highest temperature. I seem to remember a time when I took a stone cold shower during a summer month before we had air conditioning, and the soap didn't react.

So, what is it? Why didn't I get the lather? Is it the water temperature, or is it the body's water absorption level?

Geeked Out

For a couple of weeks, I've been consumed with taking all my DVDs and ripping the disc image to a hard drive. To clarify, by ripping the disc image, I would be putting an exact replica of the DVD onto the hard drive. Naturally, this idea is just a piece of a much larger and complex puzzle, because there are many different factors that go into accomplishing this.

The idea goes far beyond just putting DVDs on a hard drive. Ultimately I want to access them or any of my data from anywhere in the world. When you look at it that way, you can see the logistical nightmare this could entail. That is a focus for another day and likely another generation of hardware. For now, I'm willing to settle for anywhere in the house.

To begin, I will require a new computer. The computer is the most essential part of the process; it acts as the foundation, and dictates future expansion possibilities. If I choose the wrong platform, I could be shutting myself down even before I begin. The question is Windows or OSX. The both have their strengths and they both have their weaknesses.

The major downside for Windows is I will have to buy a computer from a manufacturer who will fill it with a bunch of useless trial programs (AOL, Napster, etc.) that, in the end, screws up the entire system when you try to uninstall them. Also, Windows tends to have many cool features that never actually work as their intended, or at all. However, Microsoft has a clear vision that is in line with my own, so it seems only natural to go with them.

The trouble with Apple is I don't see their vision. It seems only recently that they are trying to enter into the living room with their AppleTV. A great concept, but certainly not on par with what Microsoft is doing with Vista and Media PC. In addition, Mac hardware is more expensive, Mac memory is outrageously expensive and their software is not up to the task. However, the stability of the OSX platform is outstanding, while it wouldn't be easy or cheap, there would be as sense of confidence that everything would work as it should.

Beyond the purchase of a computer, there is a small issue with hard drive space. I currently have 543 barcodes in my DVD collection. I say barcodes because there are collections of movies within a single barcode, like the seven Superman movies in the Ultimate Collectors Edition. Today, I went through my entire DVD collection updating how many discs each DVD had while filing DVDs that hadn't filed. After going through and counting all the individual DVDs, the total count came to 1,114 DVDs that would be ripped to a hard drive. This does not account for dual-sided DVDs, which would slightly raise that number.

Looking at the maximum capacity a DVD can hold (dual-layer: 8.5GB; single-layer: 4.7GB) and multiplying it by 1,114, I would need approximately 10TB of space. TB stands for terabyte, which is like a 1,000GB. This is assuming of course that every DVD I own is dual-layered and using all 8.5GB. I know this isn't true because the first disc of Superman Returns only uses 7.43GB and I'm positive I have single-layered DVDs in my collection.

The cost of one terabyte of storage is expensive, and then multiplying it by ten is ridiculously expensive. The least expensive solution is a $500 external hard drive from Western Digital, for one terabyte worth of space making the final total $5000. I get the distinct feeling that I'll have to wait 10 years before I can affordably accomplish this.

Other, cheaper solutions don't involve ripping anything to a hard drive. Sony makes a device that holds 200 DVDs and hooks up to a PC. I would only need six of these, and it's half the price at $400 a pop. The problem, it's not what I want, and it is not as versatile as having digital files. Until the next waves of computers come out with HD DVD and Blu-Ray drives in them, I won't know what I'm going to end up doing. It's all dependent on whether the hardware enables the software.

My Day

My day began like most of my days, waking up 90 minutes before I leave for work, immediately saying to myself how much I don't want to go. I promptly amend that statement by saying to myself, "I don't want to be at work today." I don't mind going to work, it's the being there that's hard. However, I just needed to get through the next nine hours and I am without a job for the following three days. Yes, for the entire month of January I decided I was going to take control of my schedule by requesting Tuesdays off.

After watching another hysterical episode of Psych, it was time to get ready. I had on a red shirt that I don't normally like to wear because it's a very large medium, so it looks big on me. Since I like to layer my shirts, I was going to put on another shirt over the red one. I looked in my hamper of clean clothes and noticed a nice blue one. Because I recently began a rather unhealthy obsession with the Superman movies, I immediately snatched the blue shirt out of the hamper and pulled it over the red. I felt like Superman, faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. It did not prepare me for what I was about to do at work.

A couple of years ago, I was asked by the general manager to paint some walls in the backroom. I first had to prime and then paint one of the walls this horrifying blue and a couple of others red. I did a terrible job, in part because I'm not an experienced painter and the drywall sucked up the paint like a dry sponge. Fast-forward, a couple years later I'm sitting in the office when the current General Manager asks what I wanted to do today. I give her my usual, "anything is fine", secretly hoping she doesn't banish me to the registers. She responds by asking me if I wanted to Spackle and paint a few walls in the backroom.

Panic started to set in because I remembered the debacle that occurred last time I attempted such a feat. Regardless, I agreed without hesitation because it would get me off the sales floor for the day and I certainly didn't want to deal with "Saturday customers". She found me the small container of Spackle, the Spackle knife and I began applying it to the wall. It was a nightmare.

There were thousands of little holes in the wall from all the tacks we used to post announcements. When I began, the wall was blue, by the time I finished spackling it had turned to a pale pink. I put on so much Spackle I thought my hand was going to fall off. The last time I spackled anything was when we first moved into the house 16 years ago. I felt like a poser, reading the instructions and not having a clue what they meant, but pretending to work the knife like a pro. Thankfully, I watched more than my fair share of Bob Ross creating snow on the happy little trees that lived in the forest.

Once I faked my way through spackling, it was time to sand it all down. I only realized I needed to sand it because my friend and professional painter, Marsha came by and said, "You're gonna need to sand it down." To which I responded, "That's next," with a confident authority. I'm certain I would have been able to find that next step as my Trading Spaces training was beginning to shine through. I found some sand paper and began sanding all the rough edges of the Spackle. Darin, another employee said we had a sanders block, or whatever he called it. He found it and gave it to me which made the job go my a lot faster.

The dust went everywhere. I didn't put anything down on the floor because I was going to sweep it up anyway and what's a little fine dust. The dust got over everything; even in places I didn't think it would. I got some canned air and blew dust off the time clock and mirror, then swept most of it up. The rest would have to be picked up by the mop that I would use at the end.

The dreaded painting was next. I hate painting because it's such a production, having to first clean the tray and roller that was sitting out with dried white paint covering the things. Next, I made a makeshift drop cloth out of a large trash bag and then painting around the edges and finally rolling out the paint. To my credit, this time it went a lot better and my end result was much better than I expected. Although I was proud of my results, the nagging feeling that my GM expected better of me was something I couldn't shake. To her credit, she didn't indicate to me that she felt that way.

I followed these steps for the other two walls I needed to paint and touch-up. I got tired of washing rollers, brushes and trays. I expressed this to Marsha and she said that I should have lined the paint tray with a trash bag, then poured in the new color, that way I would only need to clean the tray once. OMG!!! That was the most brilliant freaking idea I had ever heard! The next time I paint anything, I'm doing that. Instead, I'm going to start by lining the tray with a trash bag, so I wouldn't have to clean the tray at all.

It was a very long day of paint fumes and Spackle dust and I was ready to go home. I took my last 15-minute break 15 minutes before I had to leave. Paul, a manager that constantly joked that I missed some spots and I walked over to Starbucks to get a Supervisor some coffee. I bought a Raspberry Green Tea Blended Crème, which was pretty good even though I don't normally like the flavor of raspberries. While waiting for my beverage, I heard them announce a Hazelnut Green Tea Blended Crème and I got excited. I'm totally going to get that next time.

By the time we got back, it was time for me to clock out. Thank goodness, I don't think I could have handled another minute there without going crazy. Even though it was a rough day, it was a million times better than having to deal with customers. Come to think of it, anything is better than that.

I Hate Heelys

It isn't uncommon to walk around outside, inside, anywhere in public really, and have a child come gliding past you. This is thanks to Heelys, the worst piece of footwear available on the market today. Heelys are shoes that roll. They are a basic athletic shoe with a wheel hidden into the heel, allowing the wearer to roll by shifting their weight to their heel.

Typically, children wear these, although they are available for adults, they have become a bane of my existence, and dare I say the global society. Children are already unpredictable, reckless, thoughtless, unfocused, and ignorant of their surroundings, so some mental-health supervisor in Oregon decided that he should develop shoes allowing them to move faster. The shoes only amplify their faults making for extremely dangerous scenarios.

I know it's terrible for me to say, but as with any thing that annoys me, seeing it get the better of the child is always a welcome scene. There is nothing like witnessing a child attempting a trick then watching them pick pavement out of their teeth. Or rather, pick their teeth out of the pavement. I suppose that's the only instance in which I would find Heelys acceptable.

When I'm at work and children are racing around the store, I will make no effort in moving out of the way allowing them to crash right into me. This ultimately gets them in trouble with their parents, who probably begrudgingly bought them the shoes to begin with. It's a shame that everyone has to suffer because of these shoes.

Regardless, Heelys are skates and parents are retarded to think they are safe. Most of these so-called parents of children who wear this footwear probably require them to wear protective gear if they were on rollerblades, or a skateboard, even a bike, but they some how miss the obvious feature in the shoes they bought for their children. This goes to show that parents these days don't take an active role in their children's lives.

An After School Activity

When it's slow at work, my mind tends to wander to the inane or ridiculous. So, while I was working in the fitting room, there was a woman with her two children, trying on clothes. Afterwards, she comes out and her children begin to run up and down the fitting runway.

Once the mother gathered her children and left, another employee looked at me with that look one makes when they see a parent not parenting. I think we've all had that look on our face at one time or another. The employee then motions me over and I see the little girl on the ground. "Did he knock her over?" I asked. She nodded yes.

This got me to thinking. Everyone is familiar with cockfights. If you're not, cockfights are an aggressive blood sport that pits two specially bred and trained roosters against one another in a pit. Often wagers are made to determine the winning cock and fleeing from police will become a favored past time. But why not substitute roosters with children?

After continuing to think about this, it was clear that a cockfight with kids was too pedestrian. It needed more structure, so I decided it needed to have the grit of Fight Club, with a UFC rule thrown in for safety. I certainly don't want any children to die that would be irresponsible. Therefore, I decided to come up with a few rules.

Rule #1: Only combatants between the ages of 2 and 10 are eligible.

Rule #2: Combatants will fight those in the same weight class.

Rule #3: Only two combatants to a fight.

Rule #4: The fight is only over when a combatant is knocked out.

Rule #5: Fights will go on for as long as the combatants are conscious.

Rule #6: Everyone goes out for ice cream after the fight.

I figure if kids are going to fight, and they are; you might as well give them an arena to do it with a few basic guidelines. These fights can be held anywhere where children are available, toy stores, play grounds, schools, you name it and a fight can take place.

Mr. Pressler Falls Down

For those unaware, Paul Pressler, CEO of Gap Inc. has stepped down. I'm almost sure this has nothing to do with the criticism's I raised about his leadership in my post, "AberGAPpie & Fitch". Nonetheless, I'm willing to take the credit for Mr. Pressler taking a much deserving break from destroying iconic brands. Gap Inc., you can thank me by adding a little something extra in my check next week.

Now what happens? Well, the son of the founder's of Gap Inc. is taking over on an interim basis while they scour the globe looking for someone with retail experience. Hey, wait! I have retail experience! Pick me! On second thought, please don't, although I do have a few thoughts on what I would do if I were to become the CEO of Gap Inc.

The first thing I would do is start closing stores, a lot of stores. I'm talking a third of them across all brands. After which I would focus on upgrading and cleaning up the existing stores. If you walk into an Old Navy right now, they seem rundown, especially ones that have been open for a while.

Next, I would put the brands through a product overhaul. Let me tell you what Old Navy's problem is, it doesn't know who it's customer is or why they should shop there. If someone on the street were to come up to me and ask me why they should shop for their clothes at Old Navy, or any of the Gap brands, I couldn't tell them. It certainly isn't as value priced as it once was, they are generally unstylish and occasionally obscene.

Finally, get rid of the Tri-Brand Credit Card. Yes, it saves the company a lot of money but the truth of the matter is, store cards are bad for your credit regardless of the ridiculous benefits. Instead, I would roll out a co-branded Visa or MasterCard. This would not only ensure that Gap Inc. would maintain a loyal customer base, but every time they used the card to buy gas or groceries, they would be reminded of their favorite stores, and continue to earn points towards coupons they can use at all Gap Inc. brands. Coupons incite spending.

I know, I'm a genius. It's just a shame they haven't started doing this, they could have saved themselves a lot of embarrassment. Maybe with the next CEO, they will finally get it right. Sometimes I get the feeling this company is like Donald Trump, it always tends to focus on the wrong thing.

Superman Marathon

I spent the better part of yesterday and this morning watching five of the seven Superman movies. It's an interesting experience watching several movies in a series back to back, because you get some continuity that would otherwise be missing. Except in this case where there is a lack of continuity within the first four movies as a whole.

Superman and Superman II really make a true continuing storyline as they were both filmed simultaneously and Superman II is an extension of the first Superman. These were, by far, the best movies of the four. I do have a couple issues with the Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, the first deals with continuity that doesn't make sense near at the end of the movie. In the Donner cut, Superman reverses everything by spinning the world backwards. After doing so, he goes back to the diner to confront the guy who beat him up after he got rid of his powers. Except, that guy shouldn't remember beating him up, and the diner own shouldn't have remembered that it cost him a fortune to fix the damage. Another issue was with Lex Luther, who was able to put too many pieces together about how to hurt Superman. Really, to go from an exploding Krypton to Kryptonite fragments being lethal? That's weak storytelling.

Then Superman III happened. There is just so much that's terrible about this movie, it's hard to get started. I suppose the first problem is casting Richard Pryor to play a computer genius. At the beginning of the movie, he can't keep a job at a fast food restaurant for a half hour, but by the end he develops a super-computer that could kill Superman! It's too far beyond ridiculous. Even more stupid is Superman going bad because of a synthetic Kryptonite Gus (Richard Pryor) develops with tar as an ingredient. Now it isn't fair of me to blame the stupidity of this movie solely on Richard Pryor, as the writing was terribly idiotic.

I originally thought that Superman III was the worse film in the series, and then I watched Superman IV: Quest for Peace. This one was practically unwatchable. I was so completely disappointed in this movie, that thinking about it almost brings tears to my eyes. How could something go this wrong! The entire concept of the movie is terrible as its primary story is preaching the importance of nuclear disarmament. As if the story wasn't bad enough, the special effects look more like special-ed effects. I can't remember a movie that looks substantially worse than the 9-year old original.

Finally, Superman Returns, thank goodness for this breath of fresh air. I think it's interesting after watching the previous four movies, which were all filmed in the better part of the 80's and then watching this movie, there is a difference. Superman Returns is a better movie than the others are. When it comes to Superman, I'm not a purist so I'm not going to align myself with the original just because it's the original. I think Superman Returns' storytelling and pacing is better than the others. This goes to show how far filmmaking has come since the late 70's and 80's.

If I were to list the movies in order of favorites, it would go as follows.

01. Superman Returns - I think it's more entertaining, pleasing to watch, polished and still has that timeless sensibility. It even makes homage to Superman: The Movie with various quotes including, "Well, I hope this experience hasn't put any of you off flying. Statistically speaking, it's still the safest way to travel."

02. Superman II - I've seen this a million and a half times and the battle between General Zod and his compatriots is still a favorite of mine.

03. Superman: The Movie - It's number three because they spend a little too much time on his youth.

04. Superman III - Not the worst, but certainly not the best. This is kind of like Batman Forever, It's a terrible movie, but it has its moments.

05. Superman IV: Quest for Peace - Quite possibly the worst movie ever made in the entire history of cinema. There is absolutely no redeeming value, not entertaining in the least, and doesn't effectively get its nuclear disarmament message across.

There you have it, my take on the Superman movies. I still need to watch again the original Superman II as well as the extended Superman: The Movie to get a clearer picture on which versions are actually better.

A Super Set

After a couple months of waiting, I finally picked up Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition. This 14-Disc collection includes these seven Superman movies:

01. Superman The Movie
02. Superman The Movie: 2000 Expanded Edition
03. Superman II
04. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
05. Superman III
06. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
07. Superman Returns

I was going to get it the week it was released, but the Target I go to never seemed to have one that wasn't damaged. Ultimately, I requested a rain check in hopes they would get one that wasn't all bent out of shape. So I waited and looked them over as the received them in and they were all damaged. So, I waited some more until they stopped replenishing the set. This was a huge disappointment because my rain check was for $69.99 and nowhere else had it at such a great price.

Recently I checked Amazon.com and saw they had the set for only $70.99, a reasonable price for sure. I batted around the idea of just buying it on Amazon; the problem with buying over the Internet is you don't know what kind of shape it will be in when it arrives. Since there are no Amazon stores around, exchanging it would be a nightmare.

A few days ago, I received some Best Buy coupons in the mail giving me 10% off any regular priced movie, music or video game purchase. I took the coupon to my local Best Buy store and found they had it in stock. They were offering it for $79.99 and so I picked it up. With my coupon, it would bring the final price down to, $71.99, $2 more than Target and $1 more than Amazon. That's reasonable, considering I can't get it at Target and Amazon is kind of a crapshoot.

It's nice to know that I have all the Superman movies in one convenient package. Better still, by buying this Ultimate Collector's Edition I saved a minimum of $70 over buying each of these movies and documentaries individually. That makes the wait and price worth it, plus this aluminum case will take up far less space on my shelf than each DVD case would.

Season Limits

I've decided there needs to be a change in television. My mom and I watch a lot of television; we would put the average viewer to shame as to how much television we consume on a daily basis. That ultimately makes us experts. We know what's funny and why it's funny. We know what's sad and why it's sad. Heck, my Mom and I can even anticipate and quote dialogue before a character even utters it. That's how much we know about television. So when I say there needs to be a change, guess what, TV execs need to listen.

The change that must occur are season limits. Often a show will go on for much longer than it should, take Friends, Scrubs and The Simpsons begin prime examples of what I mean. Honestly, how many times did Ross and Rachel have to break up and get back together? To prevent this from happening in the future, I am proposing that all television shows limit how many seasons they are on the air.

First, let me talk about the half-hour sitcom. The sitcom is notorious for staying on the air longer than it should. After awhile the jokes become predictable and stale, and I feel the writers begin grasping at straws to gain the audiences attention. They will either introduce a new character or make the show raunchier. Ultimately these tactics fail and the show is canceled. My proposal would limit sitcoms to a maximum of five seasons. I think in five seasons, the writers can develop their characters and still maintain a fresh perspective and sense of humor. Obviously some shows, like Two and a Half Men, should have been finished in three.

Scrubs is a great example of this. Now in its sixth season, Scrubs is finally wrapping things up and a sense the series is coming to an end is apparent. The problem, this season should have been last season. The jokes now are predictable and stale. Yes, Dr. Cox is going to call JD by a girls name; the janitor and JD are going to be at odds once again; Turk and JD are going to confess their love to one another. These things happen on a weekly basis and it's time to put this baby to rest.

So rarely is there a series that breaks the five-season rule and maintains that fresh sense of humor, Seinfeld and Frasier immediately come to mind. These series are so rare they should be considered the exception and not the rule. Because as we know, more series fail than succeed.

As for hour-long dramas, this type of show will normally tackle serious topics and thus characters tend to need more development because of the type of work they do. But when these series go too long, much like comedies, they in a way lose their identities. Writers begin to put characters in outrageous scenarios, like relationships or putting them in trouble with the law or even giving them a child. That is why, in order to prevent these things from happening, a season limit of seven should be put into place.

When looking at dramas currently on right now and how many have met and exceeded seven seasons (ER is in its 13th season; Law & Order, 17th season; Law & Order: SVU, 8th; CSI:, 7th), it may comes as a shock to think about losing some of your favorites. One would need to keep in mind that you may get a better experience because it would force writers to make the most of each episode. You likely would get deeper and denser storylines and the character's development would be quicker.

ER is a great example of this. This series really should have been off the air years ago. With so many cast changes, it's time to put this baby to rest. Don't get me wrong, I love ER and have been watching it since I was 15 years old, so it is a part of my personal culture. However, ER would have been just as good if it was only on for seven seasons as it is at its 13th season. Another prime example is The X-Files, which ran for a couple of years longer than it should. David Duchovny had the right idea when he decided to leave the series after the seventh season, though he did play a small role in season eight.

Reality shows are a bone of contention. As much as I don't want my daily television to be bombarded with reality shows, they are. Not just with me but for the millions of views of them around the world. These are probably to most loved and hated genre of television by most everyone. They take up more time than they should and they keep adding more every season. To keep things under control, I would limit reality television to a maximum of three seasons.

You don't know how hard this is for me to say, because you may have read my last post about the 11th season of my favorite reality television series, The Amazing Race. Regardless of how much I love this series, it did make a fatal flaw in it's eight season when they did the family edition. Talk about a jump the shark moment.

Then you have a series like Survivor. Survivor is one of those shows which rely heavily on a psychological and strategic aspect of play, but that is only half the show. The other half has the contestants running the same obstacle course, doing the same puzzles repeatedly. In addition, the game can only be played a few different ways, socially, strategically, as a leader or as a provider. I have yet to see it played any other way no matter what they throw at them. After only three seasons, it all still would have felt fresh and would have gone out on a high note.

This all may seem like a harsh way at looking at television. But it's time for something new: new shows, new characters and new storylines. These things are hard to come by when we are constantly watching the same programs year after year. My plan would shake up television, by providing a better experience for the viewer and the actor. Actors will work harder because they know that their job is temporary, and they need to land that next role. Viewers will receive better stories and well-rounded characters as well as get new experiences ever few years. And that's how it should be.

The Amazing Race: All*Stars

It is no secret that I love The Amazing Race. I love it more than any other reality show on television and arguably more than any show on television. I also hate it more than any other show on television, because I am so invested in the race and teams that I cannot relax to save my life.

When last season ended, I finally was able to take a breath. Now, the eleventh season of The Amazing Race is starting in under a month and I can't wait! This time, they are bringing back some of the most popular teams from the past ten seasons.

Season 1
Kevin & Drew - These guys were great! They made a brief cameo in the family edition of The Amazing Race as hot dog vendors. The teams were supposed to find them and ask for a clue.

Joe & Bill (Team Guido) - The smug couple who lost big time. This was the biggest upset I think of the entire series. Team Guido were in the front of the pack for nearly the entire race, but unfortunately ended up stuck in Alaska while the other teams raced to the finish line. They never officially completed the race as they were too far behind but they received a note informing them that the other teams had already finished.

Season 2
Oswald & Danny - They really surprised me because they practically ran the race very calmly. I remember specifically they would go to five star hotels and have the concierge help with reservations and directions. They even took the little money they were given in the race to go shopping.

Season 3
John Vito & Jill - To tell you the truth, all I remember of John Vito & Jill are their names.

Teri & Ian - Same with Teri & Ian. Apparently, they are the oldest team to ever finish the race.

Season 5
Charla & Mirna (Mirna & Schmirna) - These two aggravated me beyond words. They occasionally talked about their faith and then go stab everyone in the back. The most memorable moment though is when Charla, the dwarf, hoisted 50 lbs of meat on her back and carried for a quarter of a mile.

Season 7
Uchenna & Joyce - This team was tough. One specific memory I have of them was when they had to shave their heads to get a fast-forward. One interesting note, Uchenna used to work for Enron and Joyce used to work at WorldCom.

Rob & Amber - I seriously thought they were going to win. People recognized Rob everywhere, and his luck was so good, I thought them unstoppable. The best moment was when, after deciding to quit a roadblock that required the participant to eat four pounds of meat, Rob convinced other teams to quit as well.

Season 9
Eric & Danielle (Eric & Jeremy : Danielle & Dani) - Eric & Jeremy came in second and Dani & Danielle came in eighth. Now Eric and Dani are dating so they are representing season 9. I just remember Danielle and Dani were nicknamed the "Double D's" and tried to act smarter than they were. Eric and Jeremy were cocky and ultimately lost it when they couldn't finish a puzzle faster than BJ & Tyler.

Season 10
David & Mary - As much as I like them as people, they ran the race terribly. They didn't understand the point of competition and they practically took themselves out of the race. I would be surprised if they make it very far in this race with the competition they are facing, and how they ran the last race.

Dustin & Kandace (The Beauty Queens) - The chicks were fierce. One of the hardest racing teams I think I've seen on The Amazing Race. I was worried that Tyler & James were not going to make it. It's too bad they didn't make it into the final three, because that would have been the best episode ever in the history of the series.

This season is going to be awesome. You have a group of people who spent some time going over what they did wrong and what they are not going to do again. They understand the race timelines, realize their weaknesses and are racing towards that $1 million like no other season before. I can't wait until February 18 to find out how it goes.

Another Awkward Experience

Have you ever seen a couple and wondered how these two people of obviously different leagues got together? I happened upon a couple today while I was doing my time in the fitting room. A man walks in, looking slightly above average at a quick glance, possibly average upon closer inspection, wearing all black or what I like to call, "cliché-chic". I show him to his room and go back to my task.

A few seconds later a woman walked in and said, "I'd like a room next to my husband." I thought; what husband? Certainly she wasn't talking about the man I just showed to a room. That was impossible, she looked below average whether you were glancing at her or looking her straight in the face. I walked her to the room next to her "husband". As I was opening the door, she said, "Next to that young strapping man." WHAT!? Immediately I felt enough awkwardness for both me and her husband who was probably feeling the same. I politely chuckled and promptly went back to my task.

One would hope that was the end of it, to my horror, it wasn't. It actually got more awkward. While they are both in their separate rooms, she says aloud, "My husband, I like saying that." This garners no response from him. I get the feeling they are newlyweds, but of the older variety. If you looked at the husband and thought young, he would look young. If you thought slightly older, he could pass as being in his mid thirties. The wife on the other hand, just looked old.

Next, she says, "I love you." He responds in kind, but a somewhat exasperated "I love you" like he didn't want to say it, but felt he had to. They both step out of their rooms to get each other's opinions and the wife talks about how the pants look too baggy. Yes, they're baggy, that's kind of the point when you pick out Loose fit khakis; they fit loose, so they're going to look baggy. I didn't say it, because I was just overhearing a conversation and didn't want to take part in anything that was going on there.

She continues to pick at his pants and says, "This style doesn't work for you, you're more GQ." I immediately smiled, because that applies amazingly well to their relationship. He's GQ style; she's Old Navy style. If you read GQ and you heed GQ's advice about men's fashion, you don't go to Old Navy. They both close their doors and put the next item on.

She comes out of her room first and proclaims to her husband for all to hear, "You're not going to like these pants, big camel toe." If you don't know what that is, I'm definitely not going to explain it, and I advise you not to look it up. Needless to say, I was unprepared to hear it said and I thought how utterly low class this woman was. The awkwardness in the room elevated infinite fold. Again, what did this man find attractive about his wife?

My mind turned to mush for a few minutes, trying to recover. The man comes out of his room and hands me the clothes he wasn't getting. I couldn't look him in the eye, and he probably didn't want me to. He hung around for a few minutes waiting for his troll of a wife to finish and then walks out. The wife comes out of her fitting from looking for her husband repeating loudly, "Runaway husband" in her obnoxious tone that could peel paint. If I were he, I would be running as far away from this woman as possible, but he was just standing outside the fitting rooms by their cart.

When they finally leave, I wondered how long this marriage was going to last. By the sound of it, she probably had something on him that he didn't want to get out. The only way she would keep his dirty secret was by marrying her. That can be the only explanation. He must have done something terrible to warrant such a punishment.

Kid vs. Cart

Because of the winter blast we had yesterday, work today was slow, but it was still with incident. As you might expect, most incidents involve children. The simple fact is parents generally do a poor job of watching their kids. You can walk into my store and there will be children climbing on ladders or fixtures, playing soccer, basketball or football, you know, just being kids.

Well, a mother walked in with her two boys trailing behind. She had a Michaels cart with an infant in a carrier/car seat where it should be and she began shopping. I would see them from time to time watching the kids climb on the side of the cart and playing around. It was no big deal, because at least they stayed with their mom, and I didn't have to dodge them at any point.

Near the end of their shopping, I'm walking out of the register area and I see the younger child of maybe 3 years old climb up on to the side of the cart. The cart tips over with the infant in the carrier/car seat still secured in the cart. I literally gasped and stood their in shock for a millisecond before running over to help the mom lift the cart off her crying son, and making sure the infant was okay. To my surprise, the mom kept a cool head, made sure the infant was all right and then tended to her crying son who stopped crying soon after.

I see kids do this all the time, climbing on the side of carts, and I think it is only a matter of time before it tips over. What I don't understand is why parents do not keep their kids from climbing on the cart. They have to know it's dangerous and the carts are not jungle gyms, they are not bolted to concrete; they move . . . and tip. I know this is absolutely terrible of me, but I refuse to warn parents because;

a. Parents should know better.
b. I'm not the parent.
c. Hard lessons need to be experienced to be learned.

If I were to warn them about the dangers of carts, how would I go about doing that? Could I say, "I don't know kids, but I know carts and these tip over when kids climb on them." I don't know. If you confront the wrong parent, you could get a lecture about how their little precious isn't doing anything wrong. I would do almost anything to not have to deal with that.

"Winter Blast"

It's snowing outside. I took this picture of what it was like outside earlier this morning. The news stations are all excited calling this snowfall a snowstorm. Since we don't get a lot of snow like other parts of the country, news channels consider any snowfall a chance to wheel out Storm Watch 2007 and have their reporters out in the field informing the public of all the dangerous road conditions.

What I love most is that Storm Watch is very climate specific. Take for instance Los Angeles that will have round the clock reporting when a little rain falls. Here in Oregon, it rains all the time, so unless there is massive flooding a little rain gets nothing more than a comment in passing.

To see just how bad it is out there, check out this video of drivers sliding down a hill bouncing off cars and poles like a pinball machine. You may consider this first-rate stupidity, as many of these drivers were warned not to drive down that particular hill. It's on days like today where the most stubborn make their appearance. Why can't people just stay home?

Sandwich of the Year!

Look what I had for lunch today! It is the biggest sandwich I have ever made, thanks to the very large pieces of bread I used. I made this egg bread myself. It was the subject of my controversial post, "Bread is Life". The bread turned out fantastic, although it didn't quite look or taste like I had originally envisioned it; however, the texture was a bit chewier. Each slice of the bread was as thick as two slices of the grocery store ilk one would buy.

On it I had to put more spicy brown mustard than I normally would due to the large slices of bread. Additionally, I also had to really beef up the amount of turkey because I didn't want the fixin's to be completely enveloped by the bread. There really is a fine balance when it comes to sandwich making. Too much of one thing can overpower the flavor of the sandwich. In order to avoid having my turkey sandwich taste like a bread sandwich, I needed to take care that my turkey distribution on the sandwich was high enough. You will also notice I put sprouts on it as my vegetable. In terms of turkey sandwiches, there isn't a lot of variety. Some might ad tomatoes, avocados, maybe some lettuce and bacon. Since I'm too lazy to cut these fruits and vegetables up, let alone look for them, I decided to leave them off.

So how did it taste? Let me just say, there was a lot of bread . . . a lot. My mouth wasn't wide enough until I got past the crust. There was more sandwich than I thought I could eat in the beginning, about three quarters of the way through, I felt I was getting full, but I persevered and crossed the finish line. I felt like I achieved something, eating one slice of this bread is difficult, but eating two with sandwich fixin's, makes me believe I should be in some competitive eating event.

First TV Show to DVD

A couple of weeks ago I was entrenched in thought about which was going to win the format war, Sony and their Blu-Ray Disc or Toshiba's own HD DVD. Not that it really matters right now, as I will support neither until it is clear which provides me with a better viewing experience. However, the format war is not what this post is about, I still want to address television shows on DVD.

You may remember on January 4, I wrote a post about my DVD Dilemma, giving you some insight on my obsession with television shows on DVD. While I was thinking about the Blu-Ray and HD DVD format war, I was wondering which complete television season would make it onto those formats first. Upon thinking about that, I then began to wonder which television show made it to DVD first.

I spent some time looking around the Internet and found a message board post about the subject. To my dismay, most of the contributors misunderstood the topic and began rattling off the television shows they first bought on DVD. That of course did not help me. Some who understood the topic believed that it could have been the X-Files, but after some digging, I found that to be false.

Today, after a few clicks of my mouse, I may have found the answer. I came across an article by Greg Hernandez of the Los Angeles Daily News called, "TV shows old and new send DVD sales soaring". In this article he says, "It began a few years ago when HBO began selling entire seasons of its hit shows "The Sopranos" and "Sex in the City" in boxed DVD sets."

I checked with Amazon.com, which specifies the DVD release date on the product information page. The Sopranos was listed as being released on December 12, 2000 and Sex and the City on May 23, 2000. It looks like Sex and the City may have been the first television series to make it to DVD as I have yet to find any releases that predate it.

Now we have entered a new generation of media formats so we can easily figure out what the first series will be on Blu-Ray and HD DVD. Because I am such a nice guy, I will you spare you the suspense. For Blu-Ray, it is none other than The Sopranos Season 6, Part 1, which was released on December 19, 2006 a little over 6 years since season one was released to DVD. As for HD DVD, Smallville The Complete Fifth Season came out first on November 28, 2006 trumping the HD DVD release of The Sopranos Season 6, Part 1 on December 19, 2006.

I think this mystery is solved as it was bugging me for a while. Of course, if anyone knows of a TV to DVD release that comes before Sex and the City, I hope you let me know.

Old Navy Ethics

It's funny how disappointment works, somebody you care about or respect does something that you don't approve of, and rather than get angry you feel this numbing pain like an awful truth was just revealed. For me, disappointment is one of the worst emotions I can feel, some respect is lost and I can't bear the thought of associating with them for a while. Disappointment crossed my emotional threshold today.

My Old Navy is currently having a clearance event in which all of our clearance is an additional 50% off the clearance price. It's an event that stirs a community. Throughout the year, people constantly come into the store and ask when the next clearance sale will happen. So this event is what it is, an event. When it happens, word spreads quickly as the lucky few in the beginning call their friends, who call their friends who then call their friends, until the traffic in the store is so high that it can be difficult to navigate.

This event also brings in the people who want to take advantage of our generous price adjustment policy, which allows someone to bring in their receipt and receive a price adjustment on merchandise they purchased within a 14-day period. Except this time, and from what I was told by a manager, we were never supposed to give price adjustments to anyone during these clearance events unless it was on full priced merchandise. Nowhere is this information posted for the customer. Not on any of the signs we have littering the store, and not on our return policy clings we have at the register counters. In fact, the price adjustment policy clearly states, "We offer a one-time price adjustment when an original sale receipt is presented within 14 days of the date of purchase."

This raises some ethical questions. Should a company be allowed to temporarily change a public affecting policy whenever it is in their best interest? When temporarily changing a policy, is it the responsibility of the company to notify the public of the change? Without any notification of a change, should the company be held to its posted policies?

After thinking about these questions for a few minutes I concluded that it was unethical for Old Navy not to allow price adjustments on clearance merchandise. I spoke to my available manager about this and his only retort was about how it would affect our raises. I replied that I was no longer eligible for a raise so that didn't bother me. This quick conversation left me concerned that a leader in my store is willing to forgo ethical behavior because it might affect his raise.

For a company so committed to the "customer experience", I'm surprised that Old Navy would institute this pseudo-policy without at minimum a sticker, notifying customers of the change. My disappointment lies within a company that would rather make a quick buck than instill public trust; trust it needs now more than ever. My disappointment lies within people willing to take part in unethical behavior because they are either too afraid to speak up or they see how much they can gain over the short term.

I never would consider myself the poster child for ethical behavior, but I always strive to make the right decision. Here, a right decision by my store could have been made and wasn't. And so, I sit here with that numbing pain, hoping that it will go away within the next three days so I can walk into that store glad to be there. I have a feeling I won't.

Bread is Life

I would have posted this yesterday, but the wounds were too fresh for me to relive and so tonight, I bring you a story of disaster. I came home from work at 4pm yesterday, took off my two sweatshirts, turned on Oprah in the kitchen and began gathering the ingredients for egg bread. I make bread using a bread maker that was purchased during my time at HomePlace, America's Bankrupt Home Decor SuperStore. I just recently began doing this after a few year break, but seeing that bread maker sitting in the corner made me long for the smell and taste of fresh, home baked bread.

There are three essential parts of the bread machine, you have the machine, the pan and a paddle that mixes and kneads the dough at the appropriate time. I begin dumping the ingredients in the order it states in the recipe book, all the while sobbing uncontrollably during a segment of Oprah. I was so tired after coming home that it took me nearly a half hour to assemble all the ingredients and get the pan in the bread maker to begin baking. I leave the kitchen and take my shower.

Once I finished my shower, I sat at my computer and began writing the post directly below this one entitled, "Shake It Like A . . ." My mom comes home, an hour later she walks into my room and tells me the bad news, I had forgotten to put the paddle into the bread pan. Disappointment flooded my consciousness and I walked into the kitchen to see what was going on. I lifted the lid and all the ingredients were sitting as they did 2 hours before in the same heap. The pan wasn't even hot! Nothing had happened! We were both disappointed it was way to late to begin another loaf as it takes about 3 hours to bake.

That wasn't all the bad news I received that evening. Apparently, when I started the dishwasher that morning, a spoon fell through the hole in the silverware basket keeping the water jet from rotating and cleaning the dishes. Some of the dishes were clean, but all the silverware had to be run through the dishwasher again as well as a few plates. This news may not have been life altering, but I just didn't feel like hearing that something else had gone wrong.

Today was much better. I was able to remember the paddle, so this evening we were able to have the bread we longed for last night. Plus, I had sloppy joes for dinner, and that's always a good thing.