./janella.com

Events (things) tend to come in threes, don’t they?  Take these three recent events:

Exhibit A - chipped Batman cup.  My favorite drinking mug!  It was given to me as a birthday present from Lotte and Fina, o' so many years ago.  It’s still usable, but my heart still sinks every time I see the chip.

Exhibit B - A nail in tire.  Ouch!  This nail is in Farrah’s front passenger-side tire.  I heard the moment it made impact while driving around town.  The tires are fairly new, which makes this more difficult to take.

Exhibit C - My dented laptop.  I dropped the PowerBook.  Yep, it slipped out of my hands.  It didn’t hit the carpet, but the 1 1/2 inch wide metal leg of my desk.  The accident also has caused the battery to not sit properly.  The damage appears to be more cosmetic then anything else - which garners a big sigh of relief.  But the PowerBook is only several month old!!!

There must be some good news around the corner, right?

Well, good news can come in groups of three as well. I had been having a drought on interviews lately.  But within a week I received one lead from a friend and I also received a response to a submitted application.  Score two for the good side!

Both opportunities yielded first and second round interviews.  Yes!  It does get better.  This past Monday I received a verbal offer!  It looks like I’ll be starting a new job some time next week.  I am very excited and very happy this opportunity.

I wanted to thank everyone for their support, encouragement, and the leads they provided me through these months of … inactivity.  I know we’ve all been there one time or another.  But If i had to characterize this break I’d have to say it was the most pleasant one I have had away from the workforce.

Too many tempting goodies at the grocery store lately.  With the large amount of time on my hands,  I have the opportunity to fully consider my snacking choices.  Currently, our weaknesses include:

• Kettle Chips - Spicy Thai

• Oreo Cookies - an old favorite

• A variety of new Peppridge Farm cookies: Amaretto Milanos, Seville Chocolate Delight Triple Chocolate Cookies, and some new cappuccino cookie they are offering.

I can feel my belly and @ss expanding as I write this.

I’m not sure how to start off describing what’s going on in my noggin right now.  So many thoughts are floating around, most involving the past few weeks and some involving future endeavors.  A lot of things happened last week, not to include my birthday.  I’m so happy Farrah took me out on Sunday to the City.  Otherwise I think I would have exploded with all that is going on.

The house has been noisy the last couple of weeks.  We had a roof leak which damaged the ceiling in the kitchen.  With Doug’s help, and a lot of persistence, I managed to get a hold of a contractor.  They started work soon after.  A couple of weeks and some significant scratch later, it looks like the work may be complete.  They had to reframe our dining room area, where some of the damage and the cause of the issue existed.  They also did some interior work on the kitchen.  The changes to the kitchen make the room feel much bigger, which is nice.

On the first day they started work, I had to take Tigger into the house so he would not get lost in the hustle and bustle of the workers.  When I picked him up that first morning to place him in the garage, he suddenly shook and convulsed in front of me.  It lasted for what I thought was 15 seconds.  It looked like he was having a seizure.  I brought him into my room and watched him for the next two hours.  He seemed fine during that time.

Later in the week, he had three more episodes in front of me.  Farrah pushed me into making an appointment with the vet.  I know I should have done it earlier.  I’ve been meaning to have him checked out.  But I’ve been fearful of doing so, given Tigger’s age.  But it’s time to face facts if they are presented to you, right?  The last thing I want is for Tigger to be in any pain.

I brought Tigger in last Friday to //Pet’s Friend Animal Clinic.  They did a full blood work-up on him.  They also noticed he had fleas and was a bit anemic.  The doctor was straightforward with me on what could be the cause of Tigger’s aliments, which I appreciated very much.  Her people skills were much better than a previous vet I visited.

The clinic got the blood work back in short order.  The doctor concluded the anemia may be caused by the fleas (which they took care of with flea ointment) and the fleas may also be causing seizure-like reactions.  She wasn’t too keen on the latter conclusion, but she said test results for other seizure causing aliments were negative.

At this point Tigger is fine, and is now a full time indoor cat.  With the anemia he cannot produce enough body heat to keep himself warm.  So Farrah and I have him in our room.  He’s been a good roommate so far, with only a few issues (e.g. potty training).  The doctor said he should have a comfortable one to two years left, if all things go right.  Not bad for a cat with no claws and no tail.  I just wish…well, you know.

Crash

The website had a big crash this weekend.  It seems on Friday night one of the hard drives on the server decided to die.  It took the technical support at my hosting company about 24 hours to rebuild everything, and another 12 hours to get things somewhat right on the website.  Unfortunately, they only had backups of my files up until the end of last month.  Which means I need to re-modify the home page to get it back to where it was.  Please bear with me while I make the changes…again!

Searching

The job search is still in full force.  Leads I thought I had have dried up. But I’ve got to keep plucking away.  I’ve been finding different methods in looking for a job.  One interesting one is provided by //Google.  Go to //http://base.google.com/ and click on Jobs.  The search incorporates Google Maps into the job search.  As always, if you hear of anything that might be up my alley, let me know, ok?

"She is startin' to damage my calm."

-- Jayne Cobb from the movie Serenity

We are constantly threatened with television shows being re-conceived and passed off as movies.  Most threats are in the form of remakes, such as S.W.A.T., Bewitched, and Dukes of Hazzard, trying to get a few bucks in the name of nostalgia.  There are a few attempts to extend the magic of a successful series onto the big screen.  There has been talk of putting Sex and the City, The Sopranos, and even The Simpsons on the big screen.

One attempt at extending a series into movie format was the X-Files. I only watched a few episode of the X-Files, so watching it translated to film format wasn’t as an exciting prospect for me as it would be for some.  To me, X-Files: The Movie didn’t work for me on a lot of levels.  The main problem I had with that film was it was drew a lot from the show’s mythos,  which other viewers were aware of but I was not.  This left me feeling out of the inner circle. Oh well, not much of a loss in my opinion.

Now comes Serenity.  The movie is based on a cancelled television show called Firefly. As I understand it, this was not any ordinary cancelled series, but one with a huge fanatic fan base.  Here’s the //Netflix summary:

Picking up where his cult show "Firefly" left off, writer-director Joss Whedon's tale of galactic unrest follows Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), captain of the transport ship Serenity, and his scrappy but loyal crew. When the ship picks up two new passengers -- fugitives from the powerful coalition ruling the universe -- "Mal" and his mates find themselves at the center of a cosmic conflict, pursued by military forces and space-roaming savages.

What I liked about the movie: The movie is very well written.  The characters are well rounded, dispensing smart and witty dialog in tense and quite moments,  never slowing down the movie.  It is a testament to Joss Whedon’s writing skills that I was able to identify with the characters, and follow the story, even though I was not a viewer of the television show.  It’s clear that “Mal” is molded after Han Solo of Star Wars, but that’s forgivable.  It makes it easier for the uninitiated to identify with the character quickly.  The space combat scenes, even though at times they involved large amount of ships, wasn’t as disorienting as those in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.  George Lucas should take note.

What I didn’t like: Acutally, I couldn’t find much fault with the movie, other than I wish it wouldn’t have ended.  I would like to see where the characters can go from here.  But I do not think the movie was successful enough to spawn a sequel, which is a shame.  We get sequels to some pretty crappy movies (e.g. Bad Boys II), but not to well made films such as Serenity. Oh well, such is the wisdom of Hollywood.

Serenity: **** (out of 5)

The //Netflix summary for Saving Face:

Dutiful daughter Wil (Michelle Krusiec) sidesteps her mother's (Joan Chen) attempts to marry her off in Alice Wu's romantic comedy set in New York. At 28, Wil's the old maid of her traditional Chinese family, so there's no way she can tell them about her budding romance with Vivian (Lynn Chen). But there's no avoiding mom's meddling matchmaking when she shows up on Wil's doorstep looking for a place to stay.

What I liked about the movie: The acting is very well done, cast with very attractive leads in Lynn Chen, Michelle Krusiec, and Joan Chen.  The story is as tight as it can be, moving at a brisk pace at 91 minutes.

What I didn’t like: I would have liked to see more character development between male and female characters, to help underscore the role of women in Chinese culture.

The Netflix summary for Rent:

Members of the original 1996 Broadway cast star in Chris Columbus's adaptation of the award-winning musical set in New York's East Village. Based on Puccini's "La Boheme," the story follows a group of bohemians through life's ups and down as they face true love, broken hearts, HIV, drug addiction … and of course, paying the rent.

What I liked about the movie: The music done by the original cast members.  Chris Columbus does a fine job of adapting the play to film.

What I didn’t like: Rosario Dawson appeared to be out of her league compared to the other performers.  It appears that the studio wanted a named actor or actress in one of the roles.  Unfortunately, her signing is only as good as an American Idol semi-finalist.

Saving Face:*** (out of 5)

Rent: ***

I don’t know if other people have the same problem I have, but I sometimes get Reese Witherspoon and Kirsten Dundst mixed up.  I don’t get confused when I see a photo of either of them.  The mixup happens when recalling movies they may have done.  I know the Reese Witherspoon has had memorable roles in Legally Blonde, Sweet Home Alabama, Highway, and the recent Walk the Line. I know Kirsten Dundst is known for the Spider-man movies, Jumanji, and Bring It On.  Come to think of it, maybe I don’t have a problem recalling what roles they have done.  I think I just may have had a blonde moment or I’m not sure how to start a review for two of their movies Farrah and I just watched on DVD.

The first movie is the light romantic comedy featuring Reese W. called Just Like Heaven. The //Netflix summary is:

Shortly after David Abbott (Mark Ruffalo) moves into his new San Francisco digs, he has an unwelcome visitor on his hands: winsome Elizabeth Martinson (Reese Witherspoon), who asserts that the apartment is hers -- and promptly vanishes. When she starts appearing and disappearing at will, David thinks she's a ghost, while Elizabeth is convinced she's alive. Their quest for the truth ultimately leads to love in this spectral romantic comedy.

What I liked about the movie: Reese Witherspoon did a fine job as the career driven, yet lovable, doctor.  I also liked the fact the story was set in San Francisco, though it didn’t really play any major role in the film expect some shots of the Golden Gate Bridge.

What I didn’t like: Mark Ruffalo isn’t romantic lead material.  I think he’s more suited for dramatic roles.  He reminds me of Vincent D’Onofrio, who isn’t romantic lead material as well, though he is a very fine actor.

The story follows the romantic comedy formula to the “t”.  How can you have a romance when one of the character’s is dead?  Well, you’ll have to watch the movie to find out.

For Elizabethtown, the //Netflix summary goes:

Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) is fired after causing his shoe company to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. To make matters worse, he's also dumped by his girlfriend (Jessica Biel). On the verge of ending it all, Drew gets a new lease on life when he returns to his family's small Kentucky hometown after his father dies. Along the way, he meets a flight attendant (Kirsten Dunst) with whom he falls in love. Cameron Crowe directs.

What I liked about the movie: The actors are very likable, with good supporting roles for Alec Baldwin and Susan Sarandon.  You can recognize Cameron Crowe’s words, who has a good ear for dialog, coming out of the actors' mouths.  He captures a portion of America I’ve never personally experienced, and one that Orlando Bloom’s Drew hasn’t either, and manages to make the discovery a shared experience.  I enjoyed the road trip portion of the movie.  The music is on par with other Crowe movies.  He writes so well, though….

What I didn’t like: …some of the editing in the movie I didn’t like.  I understood, as I was watching the movie, that there was more to background on why the shoe failed and was recalled.  This bugged me throughout the movie, even though I understand the specific fact of why it failed wasn’t important as much as the failure itself.  There also didn’t seem to be enough development in some characters, such as Jessica Biel’s as the girlfriend, and development in relationships, such as between Orlando Bloom’s Drew and his mother played by Susan Sarandon.

Just Like Heaven: ** (out of five)

Elizabethtown: ***1/2

When I post my photos online, my main goal is to share them with family and friends.  Most of the photos are private, but some that I truly like and think are very nice shots, I leave for public viewing and comment.  I would never think that they would be used for anything.

When I was trying //Zoto.com, I posted several photos that I had public in my //Flickr account.  I then forgot about Zoto.com.  Well, yesterday I logged into my account on Zoto.com and I looked at the featured photos page and there was one of my photos!  It’s a photo of Tiana, which I like very much, and thought it was cool.  Then today I go to Zoto.com’s home page and see:

It’s cool and unsettling to see a photo you took on the front page.  They do give me photo credit (my username in the lower left-hand corner) and the photo is used within all legal guidelines according to their Terms of Service (TOS).  So I just need to be fine with it, since I did sign up for their service.

The lesson here?  Just know that any photo you post on the Internet, whether public or private, has the potential of being used.  You should know your rights if someone is using your photos elsewhere.  And last but not least, read the TOS before signing up with a service.

Believe me, I like the photo.  I like it being used - in a way.  I just feel a little awkward about it all.

Apple today announced some new products.  The Mac Intel versions were announced, as expected, with particular attention paid to the new laptop offered.  It’s called the //MacBook Pro

After hearing about it, a friend contacted me on IM and said, “Dude, don’t you feel cheated?  Are you pissed [for recently buying a PowerBook]?”

The quick answer is no.

The MacBook Pro has a lot going for it:

• It's stated to be four times faster than the current PowerBook.
• It has a built-in iSight camera.
• It includes Front Row with Remote.
• And it's thinner than current PowerBooks.

I’m sure there are a lot more positives about it.  The way I see it, I am still happy with my current purchase because:

• It's a 12" laptop whereas 15" seems to be the smallest MacBook Pro offered.  You can't believe how much 3" makes a difference.
• It's a first generation MacIntel collaboration.  There might be some kinks to still workout.
• I got my PowerBook on a slight discount. With it, my PowerBook was considerably less in price than the least expensive MacBook Pro.

I’m sure I’ll upgrade some time in the future, depending on reviews. (You know how much I like reviews).  But for now, I’m still a very happy Mac user.

PS: Want to see //photos of the MacBook Pro?

Heard of the latest //Windows flaw?  From what I understand of it, and I may not understand all of it, but the only thing a user needs to do is visit a malicious website to get infected.  It doesn’t matter if they are using Internet Explorer or Mozilla, just as long as they are on Windows!!!  The websites given as //examples seem innocent.  So now viewing a seemingly simple photo can get your computer into virus issues!!!

My Reasons?

I’ve been looking at moving to a Mac for some time.  I must admit part of it started with the iPod, a very cool product by Apple.  I find the iPod to be a solid piece of hardware that has been very useful in the two years that I have had it.  It’s been a great gift that I truly appreciate.

Other input has come from radio shows I listen to, mainly //Leo Laporte’s show, who touts Macs and Unix.  Leo continually has end users calling in with a lot of Windows problems.  Granted, 80% or more of the home users out their user Windows.  But listening to these callers has just convinced me that their must be something better out there.  One of Leo’s main reasons for moving is he feels that non-power users shouldn’t need to be security experts in order to use their computer.  I mean, you need to know to run spyware protection, to run virus protection, to know what to disable and enable in your browser.  I know all of this, but haven’t realized that I really don’t need to know all of this.  After all, there are no known viruses or spyware for the Mac (at least not now).

Another part of it stems from all the computer problems I have experienced, mostly through friends and relatives,  with Windows-based machines.  I was at someone’s house (they shall go nameless) who was having computer problems.  They said their computer was running very slow.  I did a virus and spyware scan and…BAM!  forty-four instances of spyware and at least four viruses!  It was impossible to clean, so a reinstall will be the most likely solution.  (I still need to do this).

Then on our recent trip to Hawaii, someone asked me to look at their laptop to see what was wrong.  Guess what?  It had viruses galore on it!  The laptop wasn’t even used that much on the Internet, and when it was it was through a dial-up connection!

So I took the leap to Mac. I have used a Mac before.  At my first Silicon Valley job we used Macs to answer customer questions.  I took a while to get used to, and the group I was in was the only group on Macs.  I slowly moved that group to Windows, as I had some problems exchanging reports with my boss who was on Windows.  So that was the last time I touched a Mac.

Moving to Mac

I’ve been living with my Mac PowerBook for about a month now, about the same amount of time I’ve been out of a job!  My last job had a perk where you could get a slight discount on Apple products.  I decided to use it by purchasing a Mac computer.  I wasn’t sure which one I would get, but I knew I wanted one.

I went with the 12" PowerBook.  I knew I wanted to take a little leap, without too much cost.  The Mac Mini might have been a good choice, but I didn’t need to replace my desktop.  I looked toward laptops since I wanted to be portable.  I was initially going with the 15" PowerBook, but the price for me turned out to be a factor.  Plus I loved the size and feel of the 12" PowerBook.

How’s it Going?

What I’m finding is that the Mac is suiting most of my computer needs: surfing, emailing, and composing Word documents.  I did plunk down some $$ for Microsoft Office, but other than that the PowerBook came with all that I needed.  I still haven’t found a suitable photo management program, and probably won’t look for one until I get a Mac desktop computer.  This PowerBook only has a 100 GB hard drive, so I’m not using it for music storage or image editing.  But I am using it for everything else.

The only outstanding issue I have is my Mac is running slow on my home network.  I don’t know why this is the case, as  it seems to be running fine here at Starbucks.  I’ll need to figure this one out.  But hey, I highly recommend the Mac at this point.  And with the new Intel Macs coming out soon,  you should consider a Mac if you are looking for a new computer.