Nope, I still haven't seen it, but I can't wait.

And now I think I gotta go see it in style, though...

(Dunno what's with the You Tube videos that keep coming my way, but it's cool that they encourage hotlinking.)

Big fan that I am of Google Maps, here's a great ad for it:

You scored as Batman, the Dark Knight. As the Dark Knight of Gotham, Batman is a vigilante who deals out his own brand of justice to the criminals and corrupt of the city. He follows his own code and is often misunderstood. He has few friends or allies, but finds comfort in his cause. Batman, the Dark Knight 79% Lara Croft 75% Neo, the "One" 67% The Terminator 63% Maximus 63% William Wallace 50% El Zorro 46% Indiana Jones 42% The Amazing Spider-Man 42% Captain Jack Sparrow 38% James Bond, Agent 007 38%

Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0

"You're nocturnal; you enjoy working at night" -- yeah, I guess that's me. The technology angle seems pretty obvious too.

Been a long time since I did my song roll.  So here are the first 10 random picks:

King's X - Far, Far Away
U2 - Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Newsboys - Shine
The Commodores - Old-fashion Love
Us3 - Knowledge of Self
Porcupine Tree - Phase III
Stuart Hamm - Snoopy's Theme Song - Peanuts
Sting - Why Should I Cry for You?
Relient K - Chap Stick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry
Ohio Players - Only A Child Can Love

Good mixture, I think.

This is totally bizarre, but for well over a year now, I've found myself with a certain song in my head when I'm really troubleshooting code.  I only get that song in my head when I'm working hard, and I always realize it after the fact.

Even more intriguing is Which song:   "Axel F" by Howard Faltermeyer

Yes, as in Eddie-Murphy-the-wisecracking-80s-cop movie.

No, I'm no big fan of his (Howard's or Eddie's), nor of that song (except as it defined part of the 80s, me being a music buff thereof).  So could there some quality to that song which is uniquely similar to the coding process as they both involve to the brain?  In other words, do they tickle the same gray stuff?

Dunno, but I'd love to know if this happens to anyone else.

Anyone?
Anyone?
Anyone?

Crazy.

Ah, if only the CSS Zealots would admit it's really "Anti-Table" design.  Use the right tool for the job, I say.

Next in my random song roll:

Transatlantic - In Held (Twas) In I
Audio Adrenaline - Glory
King's X - Over My Head
Ben Folds - Still Fighting It
Lit - Over My Head
Ray Charles - One Mint Julep
Galactic Cowboys - Not of this World
Crimson Glory - Cydonia
Metallica - Wherever I May Roam
Jars of Clay - Faith Like a Child

Wow, lotta prog rock this time...

The user-interface was obviously very simple (even at the time), but the gameplay was amazingly rich.  I loved it, and spent many days of my life "in the dungeon," but eventually moved on to flashier graphical games.

So flash-forward 15 years to last week, I see this User Friendly comic mentioning "NetHack," and then another random mention of the game got me curious and googling. 

I am tempted to say I want some sort of multi-player version, tho.  Especially considering a favorite game of mine: BattleZone, an early 80s arcade classic, which Activision did an amazing (groundbreaking) job resurrecting in ~1998 as a multiplayer FPS.  I'm still playing it 7 years later.

But for now, it's NetHack again.  It's nice when old friends visit.

Symptoms:

Bad acting.  I guess Frakes & Sirtis are several years outta practice (and shape).  And who wrote that dialog anyway?

Bad effects.  Can't think of a good excuse here.  I mean, really: stars between the camera and the ship?!? (space-fireflies???)

Bad production.  Tons of obvious overdubs.  They must've already pink-slipped the sound engineer.  (Not to mention the amateur-looking phasers...)

Why end an otherwise decent series (and legacy) on a bad note??  Bah!

Diagnosis:

"slapped together"

Next in my random song roll:

The Grays - Everybody's World
Argent - Hold Your Head Up
Atomic Opera - The Circle Is Closed
Kool & The Gang - Stone Love
Bullmark - Track 12
Newsboys - Breakfast
Spock's Beard - The Great Nothing
Jason Falkner - Don't Show Me Heaven (live)
Mike Helm - Still Alive Somewhere
Queensryche - Empire

Hm.. mixed feelings about participating in a meme, and moreso since the last few posts have been borderline shirking.

(But wait, how can I shirk?  Did I made an regular-original-content-creation-committment?!)

Anyway, it's a fun one via Ed Bott: load your entire music collection, randomize, and list the first 10 songs, uncensored. 

Here's what I got:

Porcupine Tree - Every Home Is Wired
Spin Doctors - Someday All This Will Be Road
Blind Guardian & Iced Earth - The Whistler
Flower Kings - Rumble Fish Twist
Earth Wind and Fire - Shining Star
The Fixx - Red Skies
Andy Grube - I Surrender
Audio Adrenaline - I'm Not The King
King's X - Mississippi Moon
Galactic Cowboys - Kaptain Krude

(Wow, rand()/fate was kind -- nary a Raffie or bubblegum pop song in the lot!)

"A modern computer is a magic box filled with ceremonial components that traps in a little evil spirit who is forced to work for you."

Nothing like a little Fenestredigitation, Open Sourcery, and Voodoo Debugging to start the day.

"when velocity and distance are incorporated into the equation, the 5 second rule is dramatically increased"

25 And Over - Playtime's Over, Kiddies

Hilarious and disturbing in how much it has needed to be said.  My favorite bit:

“4. Develop a physical awareness of your surroundings. As children, we live in our own heads, bonking into things, gnawing on twigs, emitting random squawks because we don't know how to talk yet. Then, we enter nursery school. You, having graduated college or reached a similar age to that of the college graduate, need to learn to sense others and get out of their way. Walk single file. Don't blather loudly in public spaces. Give up your seat to those with disabilities or who are struggling with small children. Take your headphones off while interacting with clerks and passersby. Do not walk along and then stop suddenly. It is not just you on the street; account for that fact.”

My own contribution to this is the boring “keep right except to pass.”   I'm usually just bothered by two things when driving:

• Passing Lane Squatters (as I've dubbed them, except the term sometimes follows a less-descriptive, more emotional adjective), and...
• Failure to Indicate (as in turns or lane-changes).

Unfortunately, the entire Passing Lane situation is complicated by two other things:

• My Lovely State's lack of any laws related to the Passing Lane, and...
• My Larvaly State's perverse plethora of Left-side Exit Lanes!  (pardon the alliteration)

Hence the righteous indignation (which might otherwise lead me to shoot cars with paintball guns) must remain at bay. 

Laws can be changed, but Exit Lanes are forever.