Yesterday, while watching Master and Commander I was really anxious to get my husband's option of the film. He hasn't read all the Aubrey/Maturin books, but he's read most of them, and that's lots of reading.

My husband liked it, and he doesn't like everything. Still, there were concerns he had with the movie which I found interesting.

The books are apparently much more light hearted than the movie. More puns, more joking about, less focusing on wounds. I actually like puns myself. My husband was also disappointed that they really only covered a tiny sliver of the story and skipped over really interesting bits, like how Aubrey and Maturin met and Aubrey's personal troubles in England. Lucky Jack is apparently a genius at sea, but a bit of a fool on land.

Still, he did agree that the movie was good. There was enough symbolism for the pseudo-intellectual crowd. There is plenty of violence to impress the boys and lovers of special effects. There was a charming mix of male physiques, from choir boys in uniform to ragged old men. There was a moral tale or two blended in the story -- there is a place for such things even in this modern age -- and it was a pretty good story.

Posted by Nica @ 10:35 PM PST [Link]

Sazerac is this restaurant which I visited because:

1. It's close.
2. It's not REALLY expensive
3. It was open for Thanksgiving dinner
4. I managed to get last minute reservations there.

The decor was pleasant, but it got a little annoying when I actually looked at it. Still, the overall color scheme seemed tasteful.

My husband's Porterhouse steak was good, but seemed a bit tough to me, judging for his intense chewing. Still, he insisted it was really good.

My Catfish was presented in this really weird pinwheel formation around a mound of mashed potatoes and vegetables. The fish itself was good, and the spicy sauce which came with it was excellent. The vegetables seemed a little half-heartedly chosen, but the potatoes were really as perfect as mashed potatoes can be.

The food, some beer and wine, and we both agreed it was the best Thanksgiving we can remember. Funny how it's hard to actually remember Thanksgivings.

Posted by Nica @ 11:57 PM PST [Link]

Right on cue, Ludvig laid another egg about 44 hrs after the first one. Though Ludvig should be given a feminine name, I just can't get myself to call her anything else. She doesn't seem to mind. Soren and Ludvig have been doing a good job trading off incubating duties. It's really very impressive how they trade off about every twelve hours sittiing on the eggs. In about 11 days I hope to seeing eggs hatching.

Posted by Nica @ 10:57 PM PST [Link]

This picture was a year in making. About one year ago I imagined taking this picture, but I waited too long and the leaves fell off the little tree. The leaves need to be turning for this picture to work. Now it's autumn again, and this time I got the shot.

Posted by Nica @ 08:37 PM PST [Link]

19:14: Ludvig was making some odd high-pitched sounds. Investigations have reavealed an egg! Ludvig has proven to be very female!

11/17/03
Here's a photo of egg#1

Posted by Nica @ 11:02 PM PST [Link]

A healthly curious coworker of mine introduced me to a nifty expression, "Jumping the shark". It seems that there were attempts by script writers of "Happy Days" to bouy failing ratings by turning up the outrageousness. A key example of this being a scene of The Fonz waterskiing and jumping a shark. Sadly, I do not recall seeing this episode.

While I am amused by absurdity, "Jumping the shark" really is a sad thing like a vain child desparate for attention. The more I've reflected on it, the more I think that "Jumping the shark" is now almost the normal thing to do. We don't notice the shark jumping because that's the bulk of some shows.

How much of the Comedy Central is shark jumping? It's not 100% but there is a constant background noise of overreaching and sometimes pathetic attempts to lure viewers. Nothing to be ashamed of -- tastless sideshows have been a money making enterprise for much of history. Just don't expect any respect.

I sometimes think that gratuitous special effects are a bit like shark jumping. While movies these days often have great opening weekends, they drop fast in the following weeks. Even some movies raved about at first, in retropect seems sort of gimmicky. Remember the Blair Witch? Of course The Blair Witch Project was cursed by Marilyn Manson in a terrible sequel.

Posted by Nica @ 03:39 PM PST [Link]

I have an ever so important update to my pigeons:

I think I've finally found a good food for my pigeons. It's some sort of "tropical blend" for tropical birds no doubt, but my not so tropical birds enjoy it all the same, and it makes their turds neat colors.

I'm a little disappointed that my pigeons haven't given me any eggs. There has certainly been plenty of mating going on among the three, which brings up another issue, I'm no longer sure if Ludvig is a male. If he is a male he's practicing an alternative lifestyle with Soren. I have NO doubts as to Soren's sex.

Posted by Nica @ 03:39 PM PST [Link]

I heard a guy on the Motely Fool radio show on NPR (which should know better than carry them) explaining how he thinks it's pointless to bid early on items on Ebay. Instead you should "snipe" the item at the last minute with a generous bid.

While I'm sure lots of sellers like to hear this, I think he strategy gives the illusion of success.

If you really want to do things the way I think makes sense. Go ahead and call me the fool if you think I'm wrong.

Find an item your interested in.
Check the seller's feedback (with a grain of salt) and ask the seller any questions about the item you want.

With all this information decide what you would be willing to pay for the frock, including shipping. Bid the amount you would be willing to pay minus the shipping costs.

Wait till the auction ends.

If you win you win. If you don't win, that means someone was willing to pay more than you for the item.

That's it!

Q: "But what if someone wins by bidding just $2.00 more than me"?

A: "That person is paying $2.00 more than you were willing to pay. You have to have a cut-off price, or you'll bid for more than you really know is wise. If you spend more than the logical amount, you haven't really 'won'".

BTW, this way you won't need to adjust your schedule for bidding, or pay for some service to bid for you.

Posted by Nica @ 11:31 PM PST [Link]

We modern folk, by that I mean those of us alive, think ourselves outgoing, liberated, and freed from old-fashioned hang-ups. Sure there are politically correct phobias concerning race, sex, class...well, actually it's mostly about race, and PC-ness is nicely combated by hipster cartoons anyway.

But there does seem to be a problem in all this. Nobody seems comfortable introducing themselves. I'm talking about between men and women who might be romantically compatiable. It's not really considered normal for women to be making moves on guys in clubs, but as far as I can tell, few men feel right about approaching women.

While arranged marriages are generally derrided as primitive and sad, as far as I can see many of the marriages and dates in this country are "arranged" as much as the set-ups in India. These romances are arranged by clubs, family connections, manipulative friends. Meeting a stranger across a crowded room is now the old fashioned way of meeting.

And there is another weird thing going on. Nobody admits to actually being on a date. A young couple, clearly interested in each other, will go out and do things together, but insist "it's not a date." What's that all about?

Posted by Nica @ 09:48 PM PST [Link]

Some quick observations concerning Final Fantasy XI :

It takes a long time to do anything that increases your rank; some might find this a great challenge, others will only see a huge waste of time.

Though derivative, the artwork is, at worst, unobtrusive, at best, wonderfully lush.

The game is not difficult to play, but to really understand what's going on requires sorting through lots complicated systems.

FFXI is part of Sony's PlayOnline system which includes buddy lists, email, and other socially oriented services. It's all a nice idea, but the user interface is both visually unappealing and unintuitive.

Posted by Nica @ 11:16 PM PST [Link]

When I tell people that I don't like Ansel Adams much, they look at me quizzically. It's not that I hate Yosemite, or trees, or everything that is clean and natural. All that is great. I just find AA's photos bland more often that interesting. And his skills with photographing people were mediocre, bordering on the tacky.

And he invented the Zone System. At least it was him and a few other people. Put it this way, he popularized the Zone System which he had some part in developing. I've frequently complained that the Zone System actually made things confusing for people when it should make things easier. A book I've just read, The Confused Photographer's Guide to Photographic Exposure and the Simplified Zone System by Bahman Farzad cuts through lots of confusion about the Zone System.

Most people don't know what the Zone System is. They shouldn't, even if they are avid photographers. It has to do with choosing the most appropriate exposure and film processing for a given scene. The trouble I have with the Zone System is that it micro-manages the whole process to the point that it gives the photographer the illusion that he or she is getting more control that is really there. Worse, it makes some photographers frightened of quickly getting an exposure "close night" with a few seconds of thought, and instead they stick with subjects allowing minutes of contemplation time. Finally, it's made for off-putting technical sounding terms which are defined differently by different photographers. People say "Zone II" instead of saying slightly detailed shadowed areas.

The fact that the Zone System is not usually applied to color work, when it could be, and should be, has only worked against the mainstream adoption of the process.

Farzad's book is more about basic concepts of exposure in photography than the Zone System. What makes for a proper photographic exposure is generally poorly explained in books, so I'm really pleased to see simple explanations. He also explains how to photograph things which elude typical light meters: the moon, fireworks, back lit stained glass. Many things are very visually arresting, but can't be simply metered. He also explains how to set exposures without a meter.

Thank you Bahman.

And really, aren't lots of Adam's photos boring?

Posted by Nica @ 03:27 PM PST [Link]

My husband was choosing between getting into Everquest, or Final Fantasy XI. I told him to go for FF because it looked cuter.

Anyway, Final Fantasy XI is really pretty fun and horribly addictive. It's truly a vast world. Chatter goes on in English and Japanese. You get to dispatch weird and wonderfully cute critters. There are little touches that make the whole experience sweet. There is a "bow" command, a great Japanese emote. There are four continents and five races. Lots of buying and selling of imaginary items. There are auctions. You can decorate your house. You can join into parties. It just goes on and on.

The only problem is, of course, that it makes real life seems so poorly designed.

Posted by Nica @ 09:02 PM PST [Link]