Scuba diving and tormenting his cat.

Meet the Scuba Kitty.

Yeah, ok, this is another one that I sent to the mailing list a few years back. Still makes me laugh, though, so I thought you might enjoy seeing it again.

The Rockwell Retro-Encabulator

So we watched Idiocracy, the latest movie from Mike Judge. It had one of those Brazil-style production horror stories, complete with public studio fights, reshoots, and a stealth release. I figured that it would either be a misunderstood masterpiece or a flaming train wreck. Either way, given what Judge has done in the past, I expected it to be something to see.

So we saw it, and I can’t really say what all the fuss was about. It was funny, but not hilarious. It was mean, but not really all that mean. It was coarse and crude… but no worse than a lot of what’s on TV.

I’ve seen movies that were much, much worse so I don’t know why Fox buried the release.

Maybe it was a masterpiece that the studio succeeded in lobotomizing. Maybe it was a train wreck that they fixed up enough that we didn’t notice. The voice-over is a dead giveaway that they changed a lot. There wasn’t a commentary track, so I don’t have any details. I’d love to see something like The Devil’s Candy or The Battle of Brazil (both of which are fascinating, btw) to find out what happened.

So stick it in your Netflix queue for an evening when you want some light satire. Keep your expectations in check and you’ll have a good time.

If you do see it, leave a comment and let me know what you think. Did I miss something?

It’s been a beautiful, spring January. January showers bring February flowers, and all that.
The goat tree is in full bloom. It’s early for goats. I don’t know what the heck I’m going to do with them all. They’re like zucchini.

Maybe a banana-nut-goat bread?

Futurama is coming back in 2008.

Check out this interview with executive producer David X. Cohen.

Writing is in progress, and they’re just starting animation. Watch for the full 22 minute version of Everybody Loves Hypnotoad!

There was this thing that I really, really wanted. Would have been a big deal for me. I didn’t get it. It stings.

No, I’m not going to tell you what it was.

Worst of all, it’s my own damn fault. I could spin some BS about how I was fighting the good fight, but we both know that it’s not true.

Being right was more important than being kind. Kind is always the right answer, and I knew this, yet somehow it wasn’t the answer I chose.

Yeah, I know: woulda, coulda, shoulda.

Still.

I am not my favorite person right now.

First you refactor:

It should be noted that no ethically-trained software engineer would ever consent to write a DestroyBaghdad procedure. Basic professional ethics would instead require him to write a DestroyCity procedure, to which Baghdad could be given as a parameter.

My other favorite:

Should array indices start at 0 or 1? My compromise of 0.5 was rejected without, I thought, proper consideration.

These are from a collection of funny Quotes about Computer Languages.

Were you expecting something else?

Serenity was one of the first movies that actively chased internet buzz. The studio courted fans of the TV show, and provided them with all sorts of promotional images and materials.

The fans ate it up, and created a huge amount of free advertising. They made clothing, posters, and did everything they could to support the film.

It wasn’t enough. The rabid and vocal fan base didn’t translate into big box offince numbers. Sure, you could point to the fact that the movie was just so-so, but that smacks of defeatism. No, what’s needed here is a strategy that makes absolutely clear who was responsible for the failure.

Clearly, there’s only one thing for the studio to do.

Sue the fans.

Wow.

DP sends along this video, wondering if it’s me.

I spend a lot of time naked so I can see why he’d think we were similar, but no. To get me you’d coat him in a thick pelt, add 50 pounds and a bunch of zits, then don’t let him shave for a week.

Actually, I think that this next one is closer to the experience of having me around. He looks nothing like me, but fast forward to 1:30 which is when he totally channels my essence. Stick a coffee cup in his hand, and this is what you get if I show up in your meeting.

It’s like looking in a mirror.

Malthus was wrong.

We are so awash in cheap food that the government has to subsidize farmers to keep them in business. Hunger is a political problem, not one of economics or production capacity.

Don’t believe me?

According to the WHO,

obese people now outnumber malnourished

Zimmet, an expert on diabetes at Monash University in Australia, said that overweight people now outnumber the undernourished. The World Health Organization’s estimates agree: globally, there are one billion overweight adults, and 300 million of them are obese; in contrast, about 800 million do not have enough to eat. Today obesity is a problem mainly in rich countries, but the WHO estimates that by 2010 the developing world will have more than caught up.

Somebody is going to make a zillion dollars bringing weight loss programs and gyms to north Africa.

[thanks, bb]