I’m about to upgrade to the latest version of Wordpress. I’ll no doubt break something, you have been warned!

Update: Looks like it’s all working… knock on wood!

If you like Bruce Willis and especially his character John McClane from the Die Hard movies, you’ll want to go see the fourth movie in the series, Live Free or Die Hard. My official review comes out tomorrow, but I’ll just summarize by saying this is a good, old-fashioned, summer action movie.  No surprises… plenty of explosions, gun fights, and dark humor.

Today was warm and sunny, the nicest day we’re forecast to have for a while. It trends cooler with a chance of rain for the next week or so.

I took advantage of the beautiful day to go recce the neighborhoods off the north end of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. I wanted to find a spot where I could get good aviation photos. After trying a couple of other spots I stumbled over a perfect location.

Traffic was departing to the north today, so they were fairly high even where I was. I think this spot will be *really* nice on days when they land from the north. I hope to be back for more photos very soon!

A few more shots on Flickr.

John says I’m a nerd. I spent Friday evening and all day Saturday at my friend Brian’s. A couple of of times a year he hosts a big LAN party. A bunch of us haul our computers over to his big rec room and settle in for a weekend of computer games, pizza and fun. Brian purpose built a facility on the second floor of his detached garage to use for this purpose. It’s wired with extra power and built in networking, a bathroom and a small kitchenette. Everything a gamer needs!

Saturday was a beautiful day. After dropping my gear off Friday, I rode the motorcycle over Saturday morning. Brian’s wife Cindy recently took the MSF Basic Rider Course and got her motorcycle endorsement. Brian then bought a motorcycle for his wife and oldest son to use (he’s licensed as well). Cindy is still a little leery about riding by herself, so I offered to cruise around the neighborhood with her and give her pointers. She was especially worried about stopping and starting on a hill, so we found one and practiced the technique a bit.

Then it was back to gaming! I was supposed to go on a group ride down to Mt. Saint Helens on Sunday, but I was just too tired. Then I got an e-mail from the organizer that they were rescheduling the ride due to weather so I might be able to go after all! I’m spending the rest of today just relaxing before I head back to work tomorrow.

So, how was your weekend? Photo courtesy of Denyse

Tonight was Lindsey’s “graduation” from 5th grade. This is the last grade in elementary school here, after the summer break she moves on to middle school. It was a mercifully short event and the kids had a lot of fun. Can you tell from this photo that they’re 5th graders?!

After the celebration, we continued to celebrate by going out to dinner before I dropped the kids and my ex off at their house. A fine time was had by all. The kids have a partial school day tomorrow (about 3 hours for some reason, they won’t actually do anything) and then summer vacation commences.

In other news… my review of Eagle vs. Shark, the independant romantic-comedy from New Zealand, is now online. The quick and dirty summary, if you liked Napolean Dynomite you might like this, if you didn’t you may want to steer clear.

I’ve been out of the loop on movie reviews in recent weeks but am easing back in this week. I caught a screening of Evan Almighty last night and *loved* it.  I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard through a movie. I just tagged along with some of our other staffers so I’m not on the hook for the review, but mine would be positive.

I loved Steve Carell in the title role, his physical comedy is hilarious.  I also loved Wanda Sykes as his assistant, I always find her sarcastic style of humor entertaining. Morgan Freeman is back in the role of God of course, and I have to say I really enjoy him in this role. I think you’ll really find the animals as entertaining as the humans in this film.  All of the scenes involving them are amazing. Over 100 different species were used in filming.

My only real complaint, and it’s very minor, is that the environmental message embodied in the film is a little heavy-handed at times.  Not that I really minded!

Tonight I’m off to see a film that I do have to review, Eagle vs Shark. This independent film from New Zealand is a romantic comedy about a shy, fast-food cashier and an eccentric geek from a video game store.  And that’s about all I know. Could be interesting or… not.

I can remember watching Scrubs in it’s first season and really liking it. For some reason I stopped watching it. Dealing with my kidney problems last month, one of the effects was that I was often tired with no energy to speak of. I took a lot of time off and just stayed on the couch. One of the things I’d often found myself doing is watching old re-runs of Scrubs on Comedy Central.

It reminded me what a sharp and funny comedy it is. But one of the things I like most about it are the serious moments.  Set in a hospital, they often deal with serious issues that you would expect to encounter in such a setting. Even then, they tend to apply their own unique spin on things.

Tonight I caught an episode from Season 2 called My Philosophy. One of the patients in this episode is a woman named Elaine who is waiting for a heart transplant. At one point in the episode, JD (one of the main characters, a doctor) and Elaine have a conversation about the nature of death.  Elaine’s hope is that death is like a broadway musical, and that you go out with a flourish.

As you might imagine, this is a foreshadowing of events to come.  The result is an ending that I found incredibly touching. Scrubs is a show that emphasizes music a great deal and this is one of the best moments I’ve seen so far.  Fortunately I was able to track down a video of the ending to share with you.

Tonight was The Police concert in Seattle’s Key Arena! I can’t tell you how much fun it was… what a great evening to fulfill a desire from my high school days that has been impossible since the mid-80’s. I’ve always wanted to see them play live, they were my favorite band during key years of my life and I still enjoy them to this day. And now, I’ve seen them in concert!

I met John and his lovely wife, and Deb and my friend Terry before the show and we grabbed a bite to eat at Ozzie’s just a few blocks from Key Arena. I’d met John before but it was a pleasure meeting his wife and Deb. We chatted for a good while… there was some kind of conversation about cheese, I think I dozed off during that part. Then we talked about LOTR Online, so I perked back up.

About that time we figured we should probably mosey over to the arena for the show. Our timing was just about perfect, we got there just as the opening act, Fiction Plane, was finishing up. They might be a decent band, but personally, I was there to hear The Police!

The concert was everything I hoped for. They played all of the hits that fans know and love. Most of them have been tweaked with new arrangements, so while they were familiar they were also new in a sense. There was a little bit of banter between numbers, but for the most part the night was about the music. Counting the two encores, they played a total of 22 songs I think, the same play list as they played in Vancouver.

I did snap a few photos with my phone cam. The tickets were marked “No photography or video” so I didn’t want to chance trying to take a decent camera in. The photos are blurry and the exposure is awful but they do still capture the sense of what it looked like. The stage and especially the lighting was simple but excellent. There are a few more photos on Flickr.

And now, I’m exhausted… good night!

Update: Seattlest asked for permission to use one of my photos to accompany their review of the concert… I was happy to oblige.

I took Lindsey out to dinner tonight so I could show her the new car.  Matt got to ride in it over the weekend but we kept it a secret from Lindsey.  She and Laura were out of town this weekend visiting Walla Walla, WA.

That all went well.  On the way home just as I’m coming up on my exit I see this motorcycle barreling up on my six. I notice these things mind you.  Then I notice the Tukwila police car behind him with lights flashing. I peal off on my exit, so does the bike and police car.  I figure the bike is going for the side of the off ramp so I don’t pull to the side immediately.  Nope, he whips by me on the left and runs for it so I immediately dive to to the side of the road to clear space for the police officer.  And off they go, through a red light and away. I don’t know what happened after that.

Honestly, it makes me angry.  I see this guy on a motorcycle, wearing a t-shirt and jeans, tennis shoes, basically no gear except the helmet. And of course he’s running from the law. And that’s what most people think of when they think of sport bikes at all. It really chafes me that squids like this guy are out there tarnishing the reputation of those of us that do take motorcycling seriously and take responsibility for our actions. I ride fast and hard at times, when I feel it’s safe to do so.  But if I blow past a trooper and he decides to light me up, I’m going to pull over and take my lumps. You play the game, you pay the bill when it comes due.

I can’t fathom what idiots like this guy I encountered are thinking… I guess they aren’t, are they?

Thanks to everyone that has checked in during my recent medical adventure.  Things are pretty much back to normal now.  I have a check up in three weeks but apart from that, no doctor visits on the horizon.

At my Friday appointment I had my temporary stent removed.  It was a procedure I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I’m just thankful I didn’t scream or pass out.  I did break into an instant cold sweat and had to concentrate on breathing for a few moments though. After that, all was good. My energy levels are getting back to normal, my appetite is good and I had a great weekend, mostly hanging out with my son Matt.  Among other things, we went and saw “Knocked Up.”  Great movie, we both loved it.  Not your typical father-son fare I guess, but we never claimed to be normal.

Then today I decided to get rid of my Dodge Neon and replace it with a new Dodge Caliber.
Is it a sport wagon?  A small SUV? I dunno really, but I fell in love with it while researching new vehicles from Dodge.  This vehicle replaced the Neon (canceled in 2005) for the 2007 model year. I didn’t have any real issues with my old car, this wasn’t a logical decision.  It was more like a reaction to the effects of a year and half of medical problems, doctor visits and the latest surgical procedure. I’ve decided to focus on seizing the day and letting tomorrow take care of itself for a while. Who knows how many tomorrows any of us have left anyway?

Anyway, my Caliber looks exactly like the one above. A 2007 SXT Sport model with a small, frugal 1.8l 4-cylinder engine and a 5-speed manual transmission. I’ve always liked thrashing through the gears on a small, revvy four banger and this one is definitely fun to drive. The Neon was similarly equipped, I’m not a fan of automatics.

 
I really like the interior too, mine looks like the above except for the manual stick shift. I did spring for cruise control, the power sunroof and the “vehicle information center” that provides you with digital compass, temperature, tire pressure, mileage, etc. Keyless entry, power windows, etc are all standard now. It’s got more cargo room than the Neon, which I wanted, and tons of little cubby holes and storage bins to stow odds and ends.  The rear seats fold down flat and the passenger seat does also. One nice feature is the presence of a standard 115V power outlet for plugging in chargers and other electrical items you might want to use on a road trip.

I’ll try to get “real” photos this week! So, how was your weekend?