./janella.com

For some reason the blog has been acting up lately.  Pages have been loading slowly and posting has been difficult.  The problem does not appear to be the server, as I’m able to access files by FTP and use other portion of the site that are not built using Wordpress fine.

And so I’ve deployed Movable Type once more. The feeling of generating static HTML pages is starting to appeal to me more and more.  At least the pages appear to be loading faster.  Now I think I’ll need to work on modifying this template or creating my own, as I don’t like how it’s looking from a design standpoint.

Update: Movable Type keeps f-ing up on me.  I installed it for a few days, then for some reason my mt.cgi files are all screwy, not allowing me to post!  Oh well, back to WP.

I don’t know when Farrah starting putting massive amounts of pepper on her ketchup when we have fries, but now I can’t eat fries any other way.

When I met up with some friends at Yahoo! for lunch at the local In-N-Out, I notice Gloria did the same thing to her ketchup. I forgot to ask her where she got the habit from. I’m curious, who else do I know that does this? If you do this too please leave a comment and tell me how or why you started doing this? I’m just curious.

I have had about five digital cameras. I didn’t enjoy the Sony Cybershot DSC-T1 as much as I had hoped. Daytime results were good, but anything indoors or at night was very problematic. I bought it before a trip to Hawaii. This is when I learned to never buy a camera right before a trip, as you may not be happy with the results. I was happy with about 60% of the photos I took.

One of the features I liked was the ability to take these consecutive shots and have them as one image. I like this photo I took of Ernie when we met up for dinner one night.

I forgot to acknowledge several accomplishments on the blog. Kayla graduated middle school this year, and Jonathan graduated high school. Congratulations to you both!

I also forgot to mention (probably because I haven’t blogged in some time) that I have changed jobs. It’s been about a month now since I left my previous company and started working at the new one. It was a tough choice moving on, but change is good, right?

In my new job, I’m exercising a few different skill set then my last position. It is both scary and exciting. Needless to say, I am up for the challenge.

I don’t blog about work much, but it’s difficult to read that many talented people are leaving Yahoo! lately (here, here, and here). When I was luckily enough to join Yahoo! in 2002, I was met with a work environment very similar to my first Silicon Valley job. The company seemed full of energy, wanting to make a big impact on the Internet, more so then it had so far. It was exciting to be a part of Yahoo! and you could feel that throughout the company. The campus always seemed to be alive with energy.

Around early to mid-2004, if I recall correctly, the feeling within my specific group changed. What once was an exciting energetic team, became a stiff corporate group. I can’t say whether this was felt throughout the company, but I’m sure it could have become infectious. The change in work culture may have been needed for the company, but the company’s focus, and soul, were lost with the change.

For the last couple of months, I’ve had the urge to start running. I was never much of a runner. My lack of endurance only allowed for short sprints. But I think all the walking Farrah and I did in England, France, and New York has made me realize you can get far on your feet. This fact, plus the cost of gas, is making self-powered transportation a good alternative to driving. Maybe I need to invest in a couple of bikes? At the least, I think we’re going to try to hike more, possibly on Sundays.

Farrah and I are planning on going to Hawaii in September. Luckily we purchased our plane tickets before the whole crazy mess with the gas prices. Otherwise the price of a ticket would be insanely high. I haven’t been back since our wedding in 2005, so it will be a real treat for me. I can’t wait until September. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect when Farrah and I sat down to watch the latest Indiana Jones film. It has been nineteen years since the last movie in the trilogy—well, I guess it’s no longer a trilogy but a series of films—with many action films to wow us during that time. Could Indiana deliver the ‘wow factor’ still?

The short answer is yes.

OK, here is the Netflix summary of the movie:

Hollywood icon Harrison Ford returns to the role of the adventurous archaeologist Indiana Jones nearly 20 years after he last donned the famous fedora and bullwhip to save the world from imminent peril. Joining Ford for this latest installment of the Steven Spielberg-George Lucas collaboration are Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Jim Broadbent, Karen Allen, John Hurt and Shia LaBeouf as Jones’s headstrong young sidekick.

Not much of a summary, huh? The movie takes place 19 years after the last one, placing the action in 1957. This changes the bad guys from the Nazis to Communist Russians. The action begins in Nevada, then moves to the university where Indy teaches, and to parts of South America. The action is fluid and almost non-stop, just what you expect from an Indiana Jones film.

What I Liked

It’s great to see Harrison Ford back in the saddle as Indiana Jones. After a string of so-so films (e.g., Firewall, Hollywood Homicide, and Random Hearts to name a few), it’s good to see Ford not losing a beat with the Indiana character. He just slips back into the character like a comfortable pair of shoes.

The supporting cast proves pretty solid as well. Karen Allen is the only returning character from the Indiana Jones mythology, and it’s great to see her next to Ford. The rest of the actors provide solid support, with Cate Blanchett proving to be a nasty foe.

As I mentioned previously, the action sequences are what you expect in an Indy film. They were long enjoyable sequences—well, most of them were.

What I Did Not Enjoy

Some of the latter action sequences involved a level of CGI which was noticeable. Due to the nature of the film’s content toward the end (it involves some science fiction elements), the use of CGI was difficult to avoid.

Final Thoughts

It’s great to be in the world of Indiana Jones again. I say don’t hesitate and go see it. It may not live up to your previous Indy experiences, but could it really? Believe me, once you hear the theme music and see the iconic fedora on Harrison Ford’s skull, you’ll forget about your expectations and just go along for the ride.

At about 5:30 PM yesterday Farrah heard a large crashing sound in our backyard. It seems the old lemon tree we have there decided to partially crash.

The other half of the tree is up and seems to be holding well.  We trimmed a few branches from its side just in case.

Anyone need any lemons?

OK, I have an idea of what I can write in the future on Janella.com. I have always said of myself, “I know a little bit about a lot of things.” I’m a classic example of being a “Jack of all trades, master of none”. Unfortunately, I’m not really an expert in any area, but this fact hasn’t stopped friends and family asking my advice on a few things.

I’m planning on writing a few entries on subjects I am asked about often. I am going to breakdown the what, where, why and how of the subject. I’ll try to make each entry short enough to read within five minutes, so posts won’t be too long.

Most of what I learn on a subject is through everyday application, reading, and listening to podcasts. I claim to be no expert, so please don’t take what I write as the final answer. I hope you find what I write helpful.

I’m a bit late with my review of the Morcheeba concert Farrah and I went to last week. The taxman could not wait, taking up all my spare time until today.

I knew of Morcheeba, owning a couple of albums, but to be honest I hadn’t really been into them. I prefer Massive Attack’s music. Morcheeba has always taken a backseat on my playlists. They are touring to support their latest album, Dive Deep. I downloaded the album via Amazon and enjoyed its laid-back groove. It’s no Big Calm, but it’s worth a spin. So when I heard they were touring, I asked Farrah if she wanted to go. We haven’t been to a concert for a while, so why not?

It was difficult to get into the opening act, whose name escapes me now. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. It probably didn’t help that we were a bit tired and they sang in Spanish(?). About a half hour after the end of their set, Morcheeba took the stage.

Photo by Julien Genestoux

I wasn’t sure what to expect. All I knew was that they’ve had revolving lead singers since Skye Edwards was asked to leave. The lead singer that night was Manda from Nemesea, who flew in from France. Cool, huh?

Manda sang the new songs and the hits. Songs I remember from that night that I enjoyed: Part of the Process, The Sea, Over and Over, Trigger Hippie, Rome Wasn’t Built In a Day, and the new single Enjoy the Ride. I clearly enjoyed a lot of songs for not being a big Morcheeba fan. This just goes to show you how good the performance was.

Friday night concerts are difficult at times. You come home from work, you really want to enjoy the weekend starting that night, but an hour drive up to the City, plus waiting time for the band you want to hear—well, it’s just plain tough on the body. I chalk it up to not being as young as I used to be. But I must say, Morcheeba lived up to what I thought the concert would be. They put on a very solid performance at the always enjoyable Fillmore in San Francisco.