what is it about vampires?
Posted on June 30, 2003
Filed Under Entertainment | 1 Comment
For some reason which I can’t begin to fathom, I seem to enjoy entertainment fiction centered around vampires. It’s not a conscious thing. Maybe I was one in a former life? Actually, I think I enjoy that mix of romanticism and danger. I don’t know.
When I was a kid, about 13 I think, I remember loving a TV show called “Cliff Hangers.” It was a show broken down into three 20 minute serialized segments, each with its own unique action/adventure story. Each episode ended with a nail-biter to draw you in for the next time. I got sucked in and it’s my earliest memory of “appointment television.” I made sure not to miss a show. Unfortunately, that season (1979?) shows were cancelled at a record pace and NBC never gave “Cliff Hangers” much of a chance and it was cancelled in a few months after only about 15 episodes. The first segment, starring Susan Anton, was about a reporter being chased by something and was rather forgettable. I remember it was shot in black & white. The second, about guys who fall into a future-world underground and they try to get out, was a little better but also forgettable. The third segment was the most popular and well-done. It starred Michael Nouri as, you guessed it, a vampire. Count Dracula, to be exact. I think it was called “Curse of Dracula” or something like that. His Dracula was very much like Frank Langella’s. Dark, romantic, not at all violent. He targeted one woman. Unlike other vampire tales where a person can be turned on the first bite, this Dracula had to bite the same person three times in order to turn them.
I’ve written here on my “Buffy” obsession. Very different vibe and ironically their episode featuring Dracula was one of the worst, IMO.
I’ve been watching soap operas for as long as I can remember. My mom watched “Days of our Lives” and got me hooked. Yes they’re stupid but it’s escapist and light. Like a trashy summer novel with pictures. 
I watched them all at one time or another, and I have friends both IRL and online who are “in the know” who make the watching all the more interesting. My favorite soap right now is “Port Charles.” It’s short, moves very quickly and features, you guessed it, vampires. It feels very much like “Cliff Hangers” did in that it’s so unreal and fast and each ending is attempt to hold you over for the next day. Very different, and now very cancelled. I’m bummed. The worst of it is that they’re not going back into production, so the last episode will end with a cliffhanger and the core stories unresolved. I hate when that happens.
Oh, and Anne Rice is one of my favorite authors although I haven’t read any of the recent books.
it’s starting
Posted on June 30, 2003
Filed Under Macintosh | Comments Off
Every time we order something new, the old thing knows its time is limited and it starts to die. I ordered a new computer last week, and yesterday my external CD-RW drive bit the dust. Dead power supply, I think. It’s about 4 years old. My G4 had a DVD-RAM drive, for all the good that did. My new G5 will have a SuperDrive, as does Eric’s PowerBook. My iBook has a combo drive, so my old Que!Fire knew it had little purpose left in this world and decided to check out 2 months early. If I need to burn data between now and August I guess I’ll have to use the LAN to move the files over to my iBook first. Annoying. Let’s just hope it doesn’t give my G4 any ideas as I’ll need it this summer.
this ‘n that
Posted on June 29, 2003
Filed Under Misc. | Comments Off
Eric took the girls to a children’s museum, then he’s coming back to pick me up and we have to buy Emily some new sneakers. Gosh her feet grow fast. I caught up on my work that I wanted to do today so while I wait, here’s some assorted things:
iChat AV: still very, very cool. I wish it were available for PCs so my mother-in-law could see just how good it is compared to anything else. I need to Timbuktu into my Mom’s computer and set it up for her. She doesn’t have a webcam, but I’m told the audio is better than telephone and it’s certainly cheaper (free).
Font Agent Pro: For the first time in 2 or 3 years, I’ve uninstalled FontReserve. I just couldn’t take all the database errors. I tried fixing them with FontDoctor, but that only made the problem worse. I had Font Agent years ago under Mac OS 9. It did a great job of organizing and cleaning up my fonts. Font Agent Pro is even better because it does auto-activation that blows FontReserve’s auto-activation out of the water. It’s faster and it doesn’t attach its plug-in to InDesign files. The only problem I’m having with Font Agent is that my activation code is not working. I sent an email to Insider Software’s support but I’ll have to wait until tomorrow for a human to read it. It runs fine in demo mode, so no biggie for now. My 2500+ fonts have never been in better shape.
Better font management came just in time, as I’ve been busy working on the logo for my new client. When I’m working on a new logo I may activate 100 different fonts at a time looking for “the one.” They liked my first round of ideas, made suggestions on what they were hoping to see and now I’m waiting for word on round 2. It’s going to be really nice, I’m looking forward to when they decide on a final design so I can reveal it here.
Speak of new logos, I just have to give a big cheer to Adobe Illustrator 10. Every time I use that application, I find more to love.
I had business cards printed by PrintingForLess.com. They arrived on Thursday and they look great. So professional compared to inkjet cards. PFL.com is not the cheapest of the online printers, but I’ve used them before and I haven’t been disappointed.
I signed up for a subscription to lynda.com. For $25 a month I get to watch all her fantastic training videos in QuickTime, as often as I want. I’m about halfway through the one on Illustrator 10. Even for programs I think I know well, there’s always something new to learn. Great selection of titles. I can learn anything through a video demo. I’m looking forward to tackling some scripting next.
This afternoon I noticed some damage to our siding outside. Have to make sure to let Mike know tomorrow. Bummer.
Forget Eudora or Mailsmith, I’ve switched to PowerMail.
I’m getting estimates on having our driveway redone and repaired. This will probably be worth a separate blog entry.
new TV!
Posted on June 26, 2003
Filed Under Life | Comments Off
As I blogged yesterday, Eric won a local contest to name a sculpture gorilla outside a local appliance store. He picked the TV up yesterday, and it’s a pretty good one. Not HDTV or anything, a retail of about $700.
Here it is in our bedroom (we decided not to put it in the den because 1. it wouldn’t fit in our current entertainment unit and 2. it’s not HDTV and the next family room TV we get will be).
The Stamford Advocate did have a story on the contest, complete with a picture of the mayor calling Eric (click to enlarge):
a note to fellow web developers
Posted on June 25, 2003
Filed Under Misc. | Comments Off
Nothing, and I mean nothing, will make me leave your website faster than if I click on a link and it makes sound that I didn’t ask for. It doesn’t make me stay and read the ad, it doesn’t draw my attention. Stop that. Please. If I want a tune on your site, I’ll click a button. Otherwise, let me surf in peace. Thank you.
