They don't make these like they used too...

If you are getting tired with buying stuff that last no longer than the common cold, please read this...

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/good-news/world-oldest-light-bulb-still-burning-bright-110-174107117.html

How to stay broke for life...

I found this article on Yahoo today. It is a reprint of an article found on http://www.goldengirlfinance.ca/.

You have no savings or investments - and you haven't even thought about retirement! But hey, you have a new car, a beautiful new house and enough power suits to last you until you're 100 years old. Plus, if you still have plenty of available credit, who cares about the bottom line when life is this good?

It's a good question, and one that many people aren't forced to consider — until it's too late. Check out the top ways you can keep the charade going and stay broke! Yes, BROKE! If you're lucky, you'll die before anyone notices...

1) Finance everything

Live for the now. If you can get a loan or buy something on credit, do it. This should be easy; after all, your salary isn't nearly big enough to cover all your "needs."

2) Pay the minimum — on everything

Take a look at your credit card statement. It should tell you how long it will take you to pay off the balance if you make the minimum payment. Shoot for a time frame that's longer than you can ever imagine living. That should do it. Now go have fun!

3) Spend it all

Financial advisors tend to recommend that you "save up" for things you want. That's impractical if you want things right now — now isn't it?!

4) Buy a huge house

Why have a smaller house, when you can afford the 40-year mortgage payments on a bigger one? If you're lucky, the market will rise, giving you some extra equity to spend!

5) Buy a new car

Car models don't change much year to year, but you can't put a price on that new car smell. Ideally, you should be sporting a new ride every two or three years and financing it (of course!) for the longest term possible. If you do this for long enough, you may end up owing more than your car is even worth. That's okay — you'll look great doing it!

6) Take a vacation

Pull out your credit card and go somewhere nice. There's nothing better than getting away from it all, and you totally deserve it! After all, you want to be able to brag about this for years to come.

7) Buy more toys

A great car is important, but what you really want to shoot for is a motor home pulling a truck, pulling a trailer with two ATVs inside (and possibly a boat, too). Then you'll know you've arrived — and you can arrive on any terrain you want.

8) Pay more when you can

Rather than worrying about saving a dollar here and there, just do what is most convenient. Coupons, shopping around and waiting for things to go on sale is such a pain — and why bother for only a few dollars? After all, time is money!

9) Shop every day

Treat yourself whenever you get the chance. After all, nothing feels better than coming home with something new at the end of a hard day. If you can't find a use for what you've bought, you can always add it to your gift closet. You do have a gift closet, right?

10) Eat out

Treat yourself to dinner out at least a few times a week. It's convenient, it's relaxing and your time is worth something - even if you wouldn't have spent it working.

You earned it?

That feeling of being on top is something only money can buy. Don't miss out. Money is made to be spent. After all, you earned it...right?

(Okay, wrong! This is where common sense finally kicks in. If there's anything that feels amazing, it's knowing you have money in the bank. The ultimate luxury is not a new car, designer wardrobe or scarlet-soled shoes; it's savings pure and simple. Don't you know that excessive spending went out of style with shoulder pads, teased bangs and Dynasty?)

Jim Henson's Birthday

Today would have been Jim Henson's 75th birthday. I was very saddened by his passing in 1990 because the Muppets meant so much to me as a child and even now as an adult. It is a great tribute to his memory that the Muppets still live on and that a new movie is coming on in November. Looking forward to it.

Artwork Project 1

I finally got the chance to install Ubuntu Studio this weekend on an old computer. It contains LOTS of software to do audio, video and graphics projects. I added the program MyPaint to it and gave it a try last night. MyPaint is an open-source clone of Corel Painter, ArtRage and other art packages.

I also used the Wacom Bamboo tablet that my wife gave me as a present 2.5 years ago. It was a blast to try it all out. It felt really natural to be drawing with the stylus while concentrating on the computer monitor.

Below is a drawing inspired by the Caribbean islands that my family have visited on various vacations. I used digital pastels to create the image with some layering effects such as opacity.

I hope you like it...

To boldly go...

Well, this past weekend was the 45th anniversary of The Original Series of Star Trek. What a ride it has been. Nobody could have predicted the impact or popularity of a little sci-fi show back then but I thank the impact it has had on my life.

Kudos to Gene, Bill, Leonard and all the rest of the group for what they did back then and ever since.

Live Long and Prosper!

My Top 5 Superhero Movies

I saw Green Lantern this week and the reviews were mostly bad. I liked it. It is not my favorite superhero movie nor is it the best but as long as you have fun watching it, that's what matters.

My top 5 all time is this (listed chronologically):

• Superman with Christopher Reeve
• Batman with Michael Keaton
• Batman Begins with Christian Bale
• Iron Man with Robert Downey Jr.
• The Dark Knight with Christian Bale

These movies were well written, well directed and had a great cast. Obvious things to have a great movie. Thor and Green Lantern (the 2011 movies) have been lauded by fans as awful, crappy, unworthy films. GET A LIFE!!! These movies aren't Gone With The Wind or The Godfather. They are over the top characters that exemplify aspects of the human condition (Thor is arrogant and Green Lantern must overcome fear).

Green Lantern

The reviews were bad for the most part but I liked it. It is NOT as good as many other superhero movies but it was still a fun movie to watch. The special effects were cool and hopefully, the 3D version added to the fun.

The crappy reviews and the way the movie was lauded by the press do not detract from learning about Green Lantern, a 2nd tier superhero. While not as well known as Batman, Superman and Spider-man, he is still part of the DC mythos and Ryan Reynolds did a good job of playing a selfish, brash thrill seeker who realizes that his greatest ability (Hal Jordan's) is to be able to overcome fear and use his willpower in a way that the Green Lantern Corps has never seen.

The Hangover Part 2

This afternoon, I dropped by the movie theater and watched The Hangover Part 2. A great funny movie!!! What made both movies great to me is the depth of the mystery about what happened that crazy night and the cast of characters.

I was puzzled as to the choice for the cameo. I won't spoil it for anyone but I was left puzzled. I laughed of course all the way through.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

On Tuesday night, I got the chance to see the new Jack Sparrow adventure. I have not seen the 3rd installment but the 4th one is very good. Johnny Depp is a great actor and has the best role. He nails a complex funny character with such ease. The supporting cast is very good as well.

On Wikipedia, the synopsis makes it sound like a sequel to the 4th movie. I felt (without seeing the 3rd one) that is felt like a prequel. I will try to see watch the entire trilogy this summer and formulate a better theory.

All in all, a great summer movie!

A passage from Children of Dune

I finished reading Frank Herbert's Children of Dune last week. It was a very good book and the last 100 pages were pretty intense.

Each chapter begins with a passage from a character. Here is one that is SOOOOOOOOO relevant to our 21st century world:

Good government never depends upon laws, but upon the personal qualities of those who govern. The machinery of government is always subordinate to the will of those who administer the machinery. The most important element of government, therefore, is the method of choosing leaders.

--Law and Governance
The Spacing Guild Manual

X-Men: First Class

I saw X-Men: First Class last night with my wife. We have enjoyed watching the previous 4 movies and we looking forward to this one. We thought it was GREAT!!! The dynamic between Charles and Erik was so well done. The story was great and there were 2 fun cameos as well. The only bad thing I can say is that there is no secret scene at the end of the credits.

Check it out!

The Social Network

My wife and I watched The Social Network on TV on Sunday night. It was a very interesting movie. I know it won some awards a few months back. The story of the creation of Facebook and its creators was very enlightening. I don't know how accurate the characters are to the real people, but if so, Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker are 2 of the biggest assholes in the world or at least they were.

I would highly recommend it to anyone who has heard of Facebook.

Red

I got the chance to see Bruce Willis in Red on Saturday night. I was really surprised by how good this action-comedy was. The characters were great. The plot was intriguing and overall it had a great 2 hours watching it. I have to say that I have enjoyed watching pretty much everything Bruce has done over the last 30 years. Hope he continues for a long time.

Jeff Conaway - 1950-2011

I was really saddened to hear about Jeff's passing from pneumonia. All his roles were good but my favorite was as Zack Allan on Babylon 5. Bobby Wheeler on Taxi was #2 for me. A real shame that the drugs brought him down so much...

An oldie but a goodie

I was cleaning out some old emails and found these jokes about Tiger Woods. A year and a half later and no one is laughing...it's more like pity right now.

1. Apparently the police asked Tiger's wife how many times she hit him. She said "I don't know exactly... but put me down for a 5."

2. Tiger's new movie is out: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Hydrant.

3. Tiger Woods drives very well on the fairway but doesn't fare very well on the driveway

4. What's the difference between a car and a golf ball? Tiger can drive a ball 400 yards........

5. What does Tiger have in common with a baby seal? They've both been clubbed by a Norwegian.

6. Elin's excuse? She had to play a bad lie.

7. Tiger's wife now has her own endorsement with her club of choice - PING!

8. Tiger Woods crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree. He couldn't decide between a wood and an iron.

9. Phil Mickelson contacted Tiger's wife to pick up some tips on how to beat Tiger!

Project 5: Movies I want to see this summer

Well, I went to see Thor this weekend and I liked it. The visuals of the movie were great, especially those of Asgard (home of Thor) and the land of the Frost Giants. I was a little disappointed by the writing in some spots. The movie was co-written by J. Michael Straczynski of Babylon 5 fame. He wrote several Thor comic books and knows the material. Yet, I feel his last few writing projects (Wonder Woman, the last Babylon 5 movie and Thor) are weaker than his work in the 90's.

Still, it is a COOL movie and don't leave until the secret scene at the END of the credits!


Other upcoming movies I would like to see this summer are:

• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
• The Hangover Part 2
• X-Men: First Class
• Green Lantern
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• Captain America: The First Avenger
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
  
• Cowboys and Aliens
• Conan The Barbarian

Gilles Villeneuve RIP

Today is the 29th anniversary of the death of Gilles Villeneuve. He was one of the best F1 drivers to not win a championship. Watch any video on the net to admire the greatness.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms of the world! I wish to salute all the hard work my wife, my mom and my grandmothers' have done over the years.

I love you all!

Project 4 - Movies I've seen in 2011: Part 4

Hello again! Here is the review for the worst movie I've seen this year: The Expendables. This movie had promise based on the amount of testosterone that the cast brought to the project: stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Willis, Schwarzenegger. A true collection of action stars from the 80's, 90's and 2000's. However... it REAKED!!! The story is soooooooooooo bad. The acting is sooooooooooooooo bad and the person who speaks the most understandable english is JET LI and he was born in China!!!

My friend Simon, who is a semi-professional screenwriter and director, loved The Expendables and did not like The Green Hornet. We are SORELY at odds when it comes to those movies. To each his own...

Project 4: Movies I've seen in 2011 - Part 3

Today's movie review is for the Ridley Scott - Russell Crow version of Robin Hood. The reviews weren't that great when it came out in theatres. Movie critics and fans seemed to poo-poo on it. It was on TV on a Saturday night and my wife and I watched it for kicks. We felt is was very good with some nice twists.

Everything about the movie was believable. The Kevin Costner version was great but was a Hollywood movie. This one is a British version. Which is better? They both have their merits and faults. Have Scott and Crow worked on too many movies for people to start snubbing them? Time will tell.

If you want a good action movie with British accents, give it a try.

Project 4: Movies I've seen in 2011 - Part 2

Here is another movie I saw. The coolest movie (very funny as well) was The Green Hornet. I saw it on my birthday in 3D and I was very impressed by the 3D effects as well as the story. Great laughs from Christoph Waltz, Seth Rogen and Jay Chou.

Seth Rogen can seem like a big loud-mouth in most of his movies, but you can deny his writing ability in all the films he contributed to. I hope they do a sequel to this one.

Project 4: Movies I've seen in 2011

This week, I will post some reviews of movies I've seen this year ahead of the blockbuster season that starts this Friday with Thor!

Let's start today with Get Him To The Greek. This is the funniest movie I saw in the last 6 months. It was a SCREAM!!! Russell Brand and Jonah Hill have great chemistry together. The story is great and Sean Combs is a riot all through the movie.

Well worth the rental price!

May is Project Month

I am starting a new initiative this month. I want to complete many little projects that have been lying around for a while. I will blog about technical issues on my other blog and about fun, cool stuff on this one. Stay tuned on either one for daily updates.

Fun blog: Fortress of Fun
Technical blog: ConsultSKC

Gary Fest 3 Results

Well, the game came and went. It was an interesting evening to say the least. I got the chance to see my friend Yves for the first time in 10 years. He played a classic dwarf warrior. JP played a cleric and Simon played an androgynous elf warrior/magic-user.

My concept for the game was a search and rescue mission led by the cleric. My serious development took a backseat to the antics of the elf, sadly.

Still, we had fun using the Swords & Wizardry rules which aim to recreate the original classic Gary Gygax & Dave Arneson version of D&D. The Sleep spell details are WHACKED by the way.

50th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's Flight

April 12th 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight, the first by a human being. Wikipedia and other sites have very nice articles about Yuri and his impact on the world.

Gary Fest 3

Today is the 3rd anniversary of the passing of Gary Gygax, co-founder of the Dungeons and Dragons game. To mark this day, I will be running a little old-skool gaming session with my friends this evening.

I will post some of the gory details on the weekend.