On Avatar

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I thought Avatar was a fine movie. Good blockbuster spectacle, coherent plot, fine characters, and well-made all around. It was the first movie I've seen with the newer 3D system (as opposed to the older blue and red cellophane glasses). I thought that the 3D effect was pretty good, too, though I don't know that the movie would have felt lessened in any way if I'd seen it on a regular screen. A lot of people have lobbed some criticisms at it for a "standard" or "generic" plot. Sure, it's the same plot as Pocahontas, Dances With Wolves, and probably Read more…

The Girl Who Played With Fire

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I read the 2nd book in the Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. Again, I was totally hooked. It didn't have the freshness of the first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but it was still very very good. Good enough I'm tempted to buy the third book from the the Amazon.co.uk site rather than waiting for it to be released in the US (which isn't until the end of May).

It’s a good thing we didn’t rename the Tacoma Dome the Comcast Dome … Xfinity Dome? Lame.

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Chief Executive Brian Roberts said Wednesday the company will rebrand its cable products under the banner “Xfinity” in an effort to reinvent its relationship with customers as the company’s cable systems shift to new technology platforms. via online.wsj.com Also, note to troubled companies with bad reputations. Changing your name to start with an X doesn’t mean we’ll start liking you. I’m looking at you Xe.

U.S. To Be Hit By Massive Cyber Attack On Feb. 16. (But it’s all pretend.)

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At least three times this year, the US government has held private versions of cyber wargames. This will be open to the press. CNN has agreed to record the event for broadcast later in the week. via politics.theatlantic.com That broadcast sounds better than a movie about the same topic. I’m there. Let’s just hope the producers can find a way for a computer plays Tic-Tac-Toe with itself as a climactic finish.

Street View hits the slopes at Whistler

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via google-latlong.blogspot.com So cool. [googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=Whislter+BC&sll=50.136975,-123.113995&sspn=0.070527,0.181789&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Whistler+Creekside,+Whistler,+Squamish-Lillooet+Regional+District,+British+Columbia,+Canada&t=h&layer=c&cbll=50.091941,-122.885529&panoid=VpfX2_7wGCOfmeqIVXbZfQ&cbp=12,318.53,,0,16.44&ll=50.066616,-122.947054&spn=0.011756,0.033646&z=15&output=svembed&w=425&h=350]