Lunar Eclipse

The last total lunar eclipse until 2010 occured Wednesday night, Feb. 20, 2008, with cameo appearances by Saturn and the bright star Regulus on either side of the veiled full moon.

I went out with BR and the kids. My Nephew Christopher was here too.

--It was cold and clear and a perfect viewing sky.

Blu-ray set to be DVD standard after Toshiba white flag

Blu-ray set to be DVD standard after Toshiba white flag

TOKYO, Feb 18, 2008 (AFP) - Sony's Blu-ray looks set to become the standard for high-definition DVDs after Toshiba signalled Monday that it may give up in a long-running format battle, to the relief of investors.

Toshiba Corp. is reviewing its HD DVD business and "a complete withdrawal is one of the options it is considering," an industry source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Blu-ray and HD DVD -- which are incompatible -- can provide cinematic-quality images and multimedia features but the players come at a much steeper price than current-generation DVDs.

The demise of HD DVD could spur sales of next-generation DVD players among consumers, who have been reluctant to gamble on one of the formats, analysts said, although Blu-ray was already far ahead in sales, particularly in Japan.

Blu-ray can store more data than HD DVD but was initially seen as more expensive to make.

Nonetheless, a growing number of Hollywood studios and retailers have decided to go exclusively with Blu-ray. US giant Wal-Mart gave a decisive boost to Blu-ray last week when it said it would stop selling HD DVDs.

Blu-ray also received a boost from its inclusion in Sony's PlayStation 3 video-game machine. Microsoft opted to offer an HD DVD player for its rival Xbox 360.

A study last month showed that Blu-ray, even excluding PlayStation, enjoyed a crushing 90 percent of next-generation DVD recorder sales in Japan in the last three months to 2007, although HD DVD fared somewhat better in the US.

--It looks like Marty World Theater is going Blu-Ray!!

Rejected Star Wars Toy Ideas

One of my close friends died last night.

My Friend Kelly died last night.

I'm heading out in a few minutes to go see her husband Joe.

Joe was the best man at my wedding. Kelly stood and read my poem to Brenda.

Kelly was even at my bachelor party, kicking my butt at poker.

Memorial services will be as follows:

Saturday, February 16th, 10:00am

Flower arrangements can be sent there. However, in lieu of flowers, you can make a donation to Kelly's favorite charity - St. Jude Children's Hospital. You can use our home address (listed below), or this email address: kelly_memory@eadarain.com if you'd like to have a note included with the donation.

Please contact me for additional details.

--I am still in shock.

LOST is back.

Look. I know I watch too much TV. I am trying to be more selective about what I do watch. But I still gotta watch LOST. You watch it too! You know you do!!

The writers strike is going to limit the LOST goodness this Spring. They better come back well rested and on plan!

-- At least we also get Jericho back too!!

Favorite Sci-Fi Gun

There is a meme going around the web currently regarding your favorite gun from Sci-Fi movies. This one is from Aliens, the M-41A.

--It looked real good on Ripley...

The Amazon Unbox

I have discovered the new Amazon.com Unbox service.

These people are evil. They are finding more and more ways for me to use their evil One-Click feature.

Dammit, if I miss an episode of my new favorite TV show I can download it for $1.99 and watch it right then.

I can even transfer it to my TIVO!! or the video iPods!

Oh the Humanity.

I just one clicked an episode of the orginal Twilight Zone that we were talking about today.


--God I Love Technology!

Try this!

I saw this way to create your own Album Cover. What you see to the right is what I came up with.

1. Use the random Wikipedia article feature — the title of the article that appears is the name of the band.
   
   
2. The name of the album is the last four words of the last quote on the random quotes page at Quotations.com.
   
   
3. For the cover art, use the third image that appears when you visit Flickr’s interesting photos for the last 7 days.

--Give it a try! Email me your results!

Craigslist

I love craigslist.org for so many reasons.

I always check out the free section every day. I have gotten tons of stuff from there. Six of my collection of recliners, several of the taxidermy heads in my collection, several other collectibles, pieces of furniture and other stuff.

--I drive Brenda crazy with links for campers and classic pickups!

Field Trips

It's been years since I have done any serious traveling.

In the last 4 months I have traveled more than I have in the previous 4 years. With more to come.

My next trip is to California. I have not been there for over 10 years and that was to LA. This next trip is to San Fransisco. The BEST part is I will get to visit one of my brothers while I am there!! I have never had the opportunity to visit him since he moved there.

I travel with all this stuff I never needed before these days.

Laptop, PDA, cell phone, pager and digital camera.
My GPS and maps up to date!
DVDs to watch on the plane.

--Gone are the day of taking an OMNI magazine and a paperback novel!

What I will Miss Most for the Next Six Months

Bacon is so good. Some religions forbid it:

Thou shall not kill
Thou shall not steal
Thou shall not eat bacon...

--MMMmmmmmmm

Gray's New Hawk Color

The Road to 3.0

So I started working on the next phase of modifications to the home theater.

This is the scary phase for the wife! I actually began ripping into drywall and opening a new doorway into the theater.

I actually discovered that there are other "Tree House" home carpenters that suck worse than me at home improvement! When I broke into the wall I found a very amusing set of tree house features! Lots of reused lumber that was the wrong sizes and filled with bent nails and blood stains!

The one thing that worried me was moving a light switch. Electricity can kill you. But it was an easy move. It's already done.

Drywall, paint and a bit of tile will finish off the new doorway. The items that remain for Home Theater 3.0:

1) Tiered seating
2) Sceen Framing
3) Carpet
4) Lighting

--We are on the way!!

2007 Year in Review

Well I was looking back at the events of 07 today.

The first half of the year was a bit crazy. We were still settling into the new house. We were getting the Clemson house ready for the market and selling it.

We built the new Pennsic trailer which was way more work then I estimated.

I lost another 25 pounds in 2007. (lost 50 and gained 25 back)

There was a big focus in the second half of the year on the home theater! That has been big fun for the whole family. Spent a lot of blog space on it!

We actually had a Family reunion this year too! Friends also came and visited!

--Thanks 2007! I hope 2008 is SLOWER!

Merry Christmas World

Well it has been another wonderful Christmas.

Santa was early and generous! The kids had fun and got lots of goodies under the tree. Gray got an xBox 360 and Cady got a Video iPod. BR and I got a new High Def video projector for the home theater. We also got over 100 new movies on DVD!!

But mostly, singing Silent Night, by candle light on Christmas eve. I would have bought all that "stuff" regardless. It's the feeling you can't buy.

--Merry Christmas, one and all...

My Best Birthday Advice

As all the fans and regular readers of this blog know (both of you) December 22 was my birthday once again. It gets lost in the season. It tough to compete with Jesus when it comes to birthdays.

Anyway, here is the best advice I received this year:

"Don't count your years, make your years count."

-- or was it "beers"? Either way, that's pretty good advice

The Hobbit is a GO!!

Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have reached agreement on J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Hobbit", a planned prequel to the blockbuster trilogy ""The Lord of the Rings.

Jackson, who directed the "Rings" trilogy, will serve as executive producer for "The Hobbit." A director for the prequel films has yet to be named.

Relations between Jackson and New Line had soured after "Rings," despite a collective worldwide box office gross of nearly $3 billion — an enormous success. The two sides nevertheless were able to reconcile, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) splitting "The Hobbit" 50/50, spokesmen for both studios said Tuesday.

"I'm very pleased that we've been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line," Jackson said in a statement. "We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth."

The Writers Strike

I love the Daily Show. I was kinda surprised to find out that the staff of writers he has was so big! I don't know what I was thinking. I presumed his show would continue. I thought it was all Stewart off the top of his head!

I could be Super-funny with 12 writers!!

--John... Come back soon!

Mr. U-Turn Gets a Little Helper

My Wonderful Wife knows me ever so well.

She got me a B'Day gift that wasn't even on my list that I love!

It is a Mio DigiWalker GPS system.

This cool little thing is small, about the size of a pack of cigarettes (you remember those right?). It not only works driving around in your car, it's designed to be a walking pedometer and personal geolocation device.

--I might need to start Geo-caching!

I finally went

Today's quote from my office:

"For God's sake Marty I can hear you breathing from here! GO TO THE DOCTOR!"

Well, I went.

I was told that I have bronchitis "in all four quadrants" what ever the hell that means. All I do know is that she told me It would be cleared up in about 5 days with the prescriptions she gave me. I even have an inhaler! Man it works. Two hits off that thing and my wheezing stops!

--I can see why people get addicted!