An updated Webster's Dictionary...

Once every ten years Webster's Dictionary is updated. This time around some new Internet-era words like "dot-commer" and "McJob" made it into the dictionary twice as fast as usual. A new word that I didn't see mentioned that my wife and I have been using lately is "McMansion," which describes a large, expensive suburban house that is closely related to its less-expensive sibling the "cookie-cutter." Maybe next time.

It's the Ultimate...

As of last Thursday, I've joined the 2003 Kansas City Ultimate Summer League. Ultimate is kind of like soccer or hockey played with a frisbee. I've been wanting to try it for a long time, and I'm glad I did; it was a lot of fun. Actually, I can't believe how strenuous it is. I realized that I'm in pretty bad shape. Anyway, I'll give you updates throughout the season. I'm not very good, and I hardly know the rules so there's no where to go but up.

The battle for Iraq's cell phone network...

Wired News has a good article about the fight to decide on which technology to base Iraq's new cell phone network. Originally, MCI was awarded a contract to build a GSM network. US politicians were upset about two aspects of this...1) that MCI does not actually own or operate a cellular network in the US and 2) that GSM is a European standard and not widely used in the US.

The most upset was a congressman from California who thinks Iraq should have a CDMA network. His view point is slightly skewed because Qualcomm, who owns the CDMA technology, is based in his home state and would benefit greatly from Iraq using their product.

My viewpoint is that since GSM is the European and Middle Eastern standard, the US should not contract someone to build anything but a GSM network in Iraq. A CDMA network in Iraq would mean that Iraqi's could easily use their cell phones thousands of miles away in the US but not in their own region. That just doesn't seem right.

An adult theater at the Plaza?

Well, probably not the adult theater you were thinking of, but the Palace theater (owned by Cinemark) on the Plaza in Kansas City no longer allows children without adult supervision. Actually, children under 6 won't be allowed under any circumstances.

These new rules are not completely logical because teens make up the majority of moviegoers, but the rules do help position the Palace as "Kansas City's Premier Theater," which has been their aspiration for some time. Other recent tactics used to stop the teen influx were removing all student discounts and raising ticket prices (first $7.75, now $8.00).

I think there are a lot of people (me included) who will pay a premium to see a movie without the distractions that kids bring. However, there is a limit on that premium, and I think $8.00 is right about there for me. To pay $8.00 and still have to sit through 10 minutes of commercials (not movie previews, but Skittles commercials) is borderline outrageous.

I don't know right now if the changes will change my movie-going frequency. I guess if the Palace's theory works, my wife and I will go more often.

More details are available in this story from the KC Star.

How do you explain this when you get home...

Today, I ran across a story about a woman who hit a homeless man with her car, drove home with him on the hood, and left him in her garage as he died. It happened in 2001. I faintly remember it, but it's so outrageous it needs an encore. She ended up getting caught months later after telling people about it at a party. Here's a link to the CNN article I read.

Weekend weather in Kansas City...

Mother Nature has not been friendly to Kansas Citians this year. On Sunday, southern Kansas City got pounded by heavy rain and large hail. Here's a picture I got from a co-worker showing the size of the hail that rained down on his house for about 30 minutes.

Now that I’ve seen The Hulk…

I disagree with the harshness of most of the reviews I’ve read. My plan was to not read any reviews, but, of course, I ended up reading some on Friday. Needless to say, they were less than glowing and, in my opinion, too negative.

Overall, I thought The Hulk was a good movie. Not great, but it definitely gives you a different take on the summer blockbuster. The story is engaging and kept my interest. The animation was very good – opposite to what a lot of people have said. The comic-book look and feel is the strongest part of this movie, as Ang Lee uses split screens, unique transitions, and fast editing to set the mood.

I thought the animated Hulk was very good. I do agree with the criticisms that the Hulk lacks the emotional capability to draw the audience in, which hurts the film because we need to feel for the Hulk for this to truly work. The action scenes, however, are very impressive. I truly enjoyed the Hulk smashing tanks, fighting helicopters, and bounding around the desert. It was great fun.

The Hulk...

I'm getting excited about seeing The Hulk this weekend. I think it's going to be different than most people expect. Some of the trailers I've seen are all action, with the Hulk throwing tanks around like they were toys. However, the radio spots I've heard talk more about how this is going to be a summer blockbuster like you've never seen and stress the fact that much of the film is more drama than action.

With Ang Lee directing, I would expect that the movie takes the necessary time to develop the story, and personally, I think most of the summer blockbusters would be better with more story and less action. Anyway, later this weekend, I'll post my review. Until then, if you're curious you can check out the postings on IMDb.

Oops, there goes my job...

It's no secret that the job market is not so hot, but after reading this article in Fortune, it looks like we should all learn a trade or move to Bangladesh very soon.

Fortune is saying that the White Collar job market is caught up in the out-sourcing trend that has moved manufacturing and Blue Collar jobs to Mexico or China over the last 25 years. Lucky for us, it's now our turn to be out-sourced.

I think this trend is sad but true. The talk around my workplace is that out-sourcing is in our near future. After discussing this with my soon-to-be Economist wife, these companies shipping jobs overseas aren't seeing the big picture that if every company does this there will be no one left in the U.S. with enough money to purchase the goods and services now being produced in India. In the end it hurts everyone...except the CEOs who will be rewarded for their short term profit gains.

The credit card prank...

I ran across this and thought it was really funny.

This guy tries to see how unintelligible his signature on a credit card receipt has to be before they refuse it. Needless to say, his signatures get extremely creative, and no one seems to care. How's that for security?

And then there was one...

It shouldn't be surprising that Microsoft announced that they would no longer support the IE browser for the Mac. With Apple's release of Safari, it doesn't make sense for Microsoft to continue developing a product that's given away. I honestly don't see a lot of difference between browsers, but lately I've been using Safari. I like it mostly because the interface is cleaner and it keeps the same look and feel of the other Apple apps.

Microsoft said they're not retreating from the Mac platform, as they will continue development of other Mac-based products. The full story is here.

MCI has a sugar daddy...

OK, telecommunications won't be a regular theme here, but I wanted to mention the fact that although MCI (formerly WorldCom) has gone through one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history and cost shareholders enormous amounts of money, the Government continues to award them large contracts. I don't think this is right (and it's not because I happen to work for a large telecom). The Motley Fool did a good job summing up the issues here. Take a look.

My iPod obsession...

I don't think it's a unique affliction, but I've spent a lot of time recently obsessing over the the new iPods. I haven't been able to convince myself that it's worth 300 hard earned dollars (at a minimum), so I've been searching eBay for a used one.

Searching eBay has been an interesting experience because I expected that eBay, being a well-functioning and well-informed marketplace, would have the older iPods at a hefty discount from the current retail prices. What I found was that older iPods hold their value extremely well. A used 2nd generation 10 GB iPod is selling for approximately $225-$250 on eBay, when you can by a new 3rd generation one for $299. I don’t know if this is because the iPod purchasing community on eBay is not as well informed as I expected or because the new iPods are in short supply. Anyway, it surprised me, and I guess I’m going to either wait until the prices on eBay fall or make a trip to MacHardware and buy a new one.

Welcome to my life...

Well, I've decided to join the communications revolution and start my own blog.

I have fairly diverse interests, and my blog will likely reflect them. I'm interested in the arts (movies, music, etc.), aviation, technology, advertising, and politics (to a certain extent). I hope you enjoy.