Diary of a Network Geek

Hellboy2

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

I saw Hellboy 2: The Golden Army on Saturday.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in this movie. I’d been anticipating it since it was announced and really looking forward to seeing more of the Hellboy franchise, but this turned out to be just another bland sequel.
I felt like the special effects were the entire point of the film. Well, that and all the merchandising opportunities. The director, Guillermo del Toro, who also directed the first Hellboy movie, was one of the writers on this script, and I think his influence shows. Sadly, that’s not a compliment. Del Toro is also well known for directing the brilliant Pan’s Labyrinth which featured bizarre and fanciful creatures as much as the story or cinematography. There are large sequences in Hellboy 2 that feel like they were included in the movie strictly to show off some strange creature or character that would make a good model or action figure to sell a fanboy. In fact, the entire plot device of a “goblin market” under the Brooklyn Bridge seems created for this purpose of having creatures resembling leftovers from Pan’s Labyrinth.

But, I’m getting just a little ahead of myself. The basic plot of this sad offering is that an ancient race of fairies who has been at war with humans make an unstoppable, mechanical army constructed of gold and magic. After a brutal war that shocked even the fey king, the crown that controlled the Golden Army was broken into three pieces, one of which was given to humans as part of a kind of non-aggression pact. Fast forward a few centuries and mankind has forgotten about this war and the Golden Army, but the prince of the fairies, Prince Nuada, played by Luke Goss, has not. What’s more, he wants to waken the Golden Army and break the peace with mankind, conquering them and returning his people to dominance over the Earth. So, yeah, end of the world, blah, blah, blah. Naturally, his sister, Princess Nuala, played by Anna Walton, stands in his way and runs into the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense in the form of Abe Sapien, played by Doug Jones, Hellboy, played by Ron Perlman, and Liz Sherman, played by Selma Blair. They protect her and hide her from her brother just long enough for her and Abe to fall in love. And, I mean just long enough. As soon as there’s just barely enough dialog to establish that Abe has fallen for Nuala, her brother arrives to try and get her piece of the crown and kidnap her. Talk about a worn out plot. Yawn. Then, of course, Hellboy is injured in such a way to force the team to go on a quest and well, save the world from the Prince and the Golden Army.

Nothing at all spectacular here, but in case you plan on going to a matinee, which is all this movie is worth, I’ll keep from revealing any other plot points, such as they are.
Really, considering that the first movie was so good and established these characters so well and clearly, I’d hoped for more from this film. I’m not sorry I saw it, but it’s not something I’d be all that interested in seeing again. Maybe there’s a director’s cut that has all the good parts in it or something, but, well… Well, it’s not a fantastic movie, but not the worst movie I’ve ever seen either. If you don’t think you have time to see this movie at a matinee, I can’t blame you and it might be worth seeing on video, but don’t bother to pay full price.

Brian Rothenberg of Wilco Computer Products is my new hero.

So, I’ve been having this issue at work with a FAX machine and a phone network. We’ve been wrestling with this for about six weeks. The problem, in a nutshell, is that the FAX machine we have is not playing well with the phone network since we joined our two PRIs together with some network equipment to “steal” unused bandwidth from the phone network for the data network. Mostly, it worked great. Mostly.
The problem is our FAX machine hasn’t been properly negotiating the connection speed with some older FAX machines since we added the VOIP component to our data/phone network. The result? I get yelled at on a regular basis because I can’t make a miracle happen.

My service provider told me that the solution is to make the default receive baud rate 14,400 instead of 33,600. That’s great, but I searched for days to find instructions for how to do it to no avail. I even got the people who supplied the FAX machine to us out to try and figure it out, but they came up empty.
Enter Brian. Brian Rothenberg called me looking to sell me computer equipment or printer supplies or, yes, FAX supplies. But, it turns out, he sells the devices, too. What mattered more to me, though, was that he took the time to go hunt down the super-secret service hot-line phone number for the manufacturer of the FAX machine that was giving me issues. Then, he called them and got the procedure on how to make the change and e-mailed it to me. Problem solved.
The next time I need a printer serviced, I’m calling Brian.

So, you know what? If you need someone in the Greater Houston Area that sells office equipment and supplies and goes the proverbial extra mile? Go to http://www.wilcocomputerproducts.com/ and ask for Brian. Tell him I sent you.
Thanks, Brian.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Give others a piece of your heart, not a piece of your mind."

AntedW

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

I saw Wanted today.

I’m not a huge fan of Angelina Jolie, or the comic book this movie is apparently based on, but I have to admit, it intrigued me when I saw the trailers and TV ads. I’d seen mixed reviews and even had gotten a less than stellar review from a friend who loves movies, too, but I really, really wanted to see this. In fact, I wanted to see it so much that I went by myself today at a matinee because all my friends who had talked about wanting to see it were otherwise engaged this weekend. I try to do this, actually, occasionally, because I always admired people who were so comfortable with themselves that they could go to a movie alone. Yeah, a little weird, but, well, there you are.

Anyway, the movie was good. It started with a narrator describing his sad, pitiful life as a cube drone with a crappy “best friend” who’s banging his nagging, shrewish girlfriend. He’s got an obnoxious, cruel boss who gets her jollies by making her employee’s lives miserable. The sad thing is, Wesley Gibson knows all this and, in case he’s not sure, he ought to figure it out when he gets no results Googling his name. His life changes, though, when Fox, played by Angelina Jolie, finds Wesley in a drug store buying his anti-anxiety medication to tell him that his father has just been assassinated. Before he can digest that little tidbit, someone tries to kill him. Naturally, Fox saves him and tell him that his father was a member of a group of assassins who keep the balance of power called the Fraternity. And Wesley can be one of them.

These assassins all are a little bit beyond human. They’re faster, stronger and more resilient. They have ways of regenerating any damage they take in the course of their assassinations very, very quickly. And, they can do things with bullets that violate the laws of physics and ballistics. They call it “bending” the bullet.
After some pretty intense training, the leader of the Fraternity, Sloan, played by Morgan Freeman, tells Wesley that he’s there to kill the man who killed his father. Eventually. First, he has to kill a few other people who are picked by Fate, via a code that the Fraternity can read and interpret, to practice up first. Well, before he can off to many people, Wesley finds himself being quite vigorously pursued by this mysterious assassin and forced to fight back.

Well, to tell you more at this point would be spoiling the movie, so let me say that there are several twists and turns, some more expected than others. And, keep in mind, this isn’t so much a mystery movie as an action movie. There’s a little suspense in regard to who is trying to off who and why, but, mostly, the plot only exists to show off the great special effects and Angelina Jolie’s tattoos and ass. Mostly, her ass. In all those goals, the movie performs remarkably well.
The action is consistently pretty good and, as I’ve already mentioned, the effects are very good. They just sort of disappear behind the rest of the movie, which, of course, is just what good special effects should do.

It’s well worth seeing, especially if you’re an Angelina Jolie fan or a fan of action movies. But, don’t go thinking it’s going to be a classic, by any means. It will be largely forgotten by this time next year, which is fine and not a reason to skip this movie at all.
And, of course, if my friends who wanted to see this movie, too, get disentangled in time to catch it next weekend, I’d be happy to see this again, which is rare enough for me.
So, it you have the chance, Wanted is worth a look.

Hancock

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

I saw the movie Hancock today.

After the movie was given less than stellar reviews, I was very pleasantly surprised by just how good this movie was. It may not be the best movie I see all year long, but I do think it will be one of the best. Certainly, I liked it better than the Incredible Hulk or even Iron Man. Of course, it’s much more than the simple superhero movie that it’s been billed as. Granted, it is a superhero movie, but it’s an original story, not something that’s bogged down with the weight of an entire comic-book universe and history like the Marvel movies are.

So, if you’re not familiar with the movie at all, it stars Will Smith as Hancock, a “superhero” with a drinking problem. And, can you blame him? I mean, as he says himself in the movie, he’s the only one of his kind. Super strong, virtually invulnerable, and he can fly, but people expect him to be a hero and to act accordingly. That has got to get old. So, he drinks. A lot. A whole lot. And he passes out on park benches. And swears. A lot. And, he doesn’t like it when people call him names, because, well, they do, since he’s not really a nice guy. At all.

Except, really, he is. He’s just an alcoholic. With super powers. Not a combination that lends itself to being loved by the public. So, when he saves Jason Bateman’s character from getting run over by a train, he invites Hancock home for dinner. At dinner, Ray Embrey, Bateman’s character, a PR guy trying to change the world, offers to do some work on Hancock’s image for him. Oddly enough, Hancock takes Embrey up on his offer. Hilarity, and drama, ensue.

It’s a brilliant story, really, the redemption of a super hero turns out to be a truly compelling story! Watching his transformation from broken-down drunk to a caring man who finds his soul again is no less compelling for the fact that he’s a super hero and Will Smith really sells the idea. It’s pretty amazing. And, of course, the effects are brilliantly done as well. In fact, so much so that you don’t hardly notice them, which is just how effects should be done.
There are plenty of great lines, too. Bateman plays his role to perfection, always believing in Hancock, even when we begin to doubt him.

Naturally, there are a few twists in this heroic tale, with at least one being provided by Charlize Theron. I have to admit, her mere presence in this film was a surprise to me, so the fact that her role turns out to be pivotal was just icing on the cake.

In short, if you haven’t seen this movie, even if you’re not a fan of super hero films, you owe it to yourself to get out to a theater and see it. Trust me!

I watched No Maps For These Territories this weekend.
I’m not a huge fan of documentaries, even though I like shows in the Discovery Channel and National Geographic Channel.  But, I’ve been really getting into my Netflix subscription lately and, as a result, I’ve been renting DVDs that I might not otherwise get.  So, since William Gibson is one of my favorite authors, I thought a good “stretch” for me to take was getting a documentary on, and starring, William Gibson.  In general, it was okay.  It’s certainly not something I’d be interested in if it were some other author, but, somehow, hearing and seeing Gibson talk about his work and the future and writing in the back of a moving car was an oddly engaging format.  I think, in particular, hearing his voice talking much like he writes was appealing, at least to me.

Of course, it’s not something that would interest anyone who wasn’t a Gibson fan.  It’s not the kind of thing that someone who’s interested in simply science-fiction or writing, for instance, would find all that appealing.  I think, too, that Gibson himself is an acquired taste.  Even people who have enjoyed his writing may not be particularly captivated by this documentary.  The “arty” portion of the film was somewhat, well, annoying, to be honest.  When the film-maker was being subtle, by altering the view outside the car’s windows, it was good.  However, when the effort was more obvious, it was just distracting and irritating.  I don’t know quite what he was going for with some of that video stream-of-consciousness but it failed at being anything but confusing and silly.  A straight interview with Gibson talking to us from the back of the car would have been better, I think.  He is, after all, the draw for this film.

Some of the extras were nice, though.  For instance, some of the things that were cut out and compiled with the DVD were as interesting as anything that were included.  In fact, I think I would have just left them in the main part of the film.  There were also several readings, by Gibson and others, which had no video with them, that were nice, too.  I just closed my eyes and listened to Gibson read his own writing, feeling the pace and timber of his voice.  Really, that may have been the best part of the whole thing.
I could have done without most of the film-maker talking about making the documentary itself, though.  There was only one section worth including and that was really about the interaction between the crew and Gibson as they filmed in the car.  The rest of the segments where the documentarian talking about his “process” are, to me, worthless crap.

In all, it was an interesting departure for me.  Worth a look for the hard-core William Gibson fan, but not really for anyone else.

I finished Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge last week.

There’s a reason Rainbows End was awarded the Hugo for Best Novel in 2007. It is, to put it simply, a great book. There were parts that got a little slow for me, but, over all, it was a great piece of work. Of course, it probably didn’t hurt that I knew Vernor Vinge taught Computer Science and that the book had won the award. That is why I got it to read, after all.

The story follows one Robert Gu, a famous poet who’s fallen victim to Alzheimer’s Disease, as he’s cured and reintegrates into society.  The “down side” of his cure is that he’s lost the miracle of his poetry.  Somehow, whatever the cure does to fix the dementia alters Robert’s brain in such a way that he is no longer the man he used to be.  And, he’d do just about anything to get that magic back.  The story also follows Robert’s son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter as they deal with his regained ability to interact with the world.  The twist comes in with the fact that his son, Bob, and daughter-in-law, Alice, are in the military as part of the group who keeps America, and the world, safe from terrorists of all stripes.  International spies find a way to use Robert’s desire for regaining his poetic skills to get inside Bob and Alice’s command.  Their goal is somewhat less clear, but it involves a plot to manipulate the minds of the unsuspecting world public to “improve” everyone’s way of life.  Of course, things rarely work out the way anyone intends.

Well, as you can imagine, there are some very good reasons this won the Hugo for 2007.  It is a very good book.  I got a little distracted in the middle when life got a little strange, but, for the most part, the plot moved along at a good pace and always had something interesting to offer.  One of the attractions for me was the view of future computer technology that Vinge describes in this book.  His concept of wearable computers that are partially integrated into clothing and contacts seems like a logical step from where scientists are experimenting today.  Vinge presents this, and all the hard science-fiction in this book, in a realistic, no-nonsense way that makes it all seem very plausible.
He also draws some believable characters who’s actions are logical and reasonable given their motivation and the circumstances.  I can easily see myself doing some of the same things these characters do, both good and bad.

In short, if you enjoy science-fiction, there’s plenty to enjoy in Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge.  Definitely a change for me, but a good one which I heartily recommend.

Strangers

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

Quite possibly the least frightening scary movie I’ve ever seen.

Well, Child’s Play may have been worse, but The Strangers really is a bad, bad movie.
Granted, I am not the biggest fan of so-called horror films because I find them sadly formulaic and predictable, not to mention generally not scary, either. Also, mostly, the people in these movies never seem to learn and they make giant, ridiculous mistakes. Sadly, as much as I hoped this movie might surprise me, it did not.

So, the basic premise of The Strangers is this: A “happy” couple has a bit of relationship trouble after a friend’s wedding but end up out in the country at an isolated house where they’re stalked by persons unknown. One of the many formulas for horror films. So, naturally, here’s this couple, played by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, and they’re having a fight about the fact that he’s asked her to marry him but she’s not ready to marry. And, of course, their fight leads them to sex. Well, almost… As they’re starting to get their freak on, a girl knocks at the door asking for some other girl by name, but, of course, not anyone the couple knows. That’s the last drama for almost an hour. Yes, that’s right, an hour. He goes out for cigarettes and she changes clothes while she dashes about the house hearing the usual “is someone there?” stuff that end up in horror movies. By the time he gets back with her cigarettes, she’s freaking out and we know that someone else is there. And, finally, there’s some hope that plot will occur and someone will die.

Well, there are finally a couple of deaths and a little bit of suspense and a bit of violence. But, let’s look at the mistakes now, shall we? First of all, they’re eating Bluebell Ice Cream. Now, that means that these folks are in the rural South somewhere, since that’s mostly where Bluebell is available. In fact, I’m betting they’re supposed to be in Texas, which is home to the Brenham-based dairy. So, that would mean that there should be guns in the house somewhere. Not just the shotgun they find, but one or more revolvers. I mean, seriously, can anyone believe that a rural Texas home doesn’t have more than just a shotgun? Really? Or that a guy would not have at least a passing understanding of how to use it? C’mon! I bet Live Tyler in real life has a better understanding of guns than the “hero” of this story!
Then, Liv Tyler spends most of the movie running around barefoot. Can you not take the time to put on shoes before trying to outrun a someone you think is going to kill you? I mean, seriously, am I going to make a mad dash to a barn over an unknown hillside trying to get away from a murderer without putting on shoes? Yeah, I don’t think so, either.
And, do I really need to go into the whole “stay together” thing? Or, do I need to reinforce what a good idea it is to keep your cellphone charged? Or how silly it is to stand by the windows when the killers are right outside and have an axe? Seriously, the two characters in this movie deserved to die. They were too stupid to live. It was just evolution in action.

Honestly, if this isn’t the worst movie I see all year, I’d be shocked. In fact, if I hadn’t only spent four dollars on the matinee to see The Strangers, I’d be really upset. Do yourself a favor, though, and don’t bother seeing this movie, or even renting it. Trust me.

ChroniclesofNarni

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

I saw The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Friday night.

First of all, let me say that this was as good as or better than the first Chronicles of Narnia movie. Also, I read the books when I was a kid, but I haven’t read them again since. I do remember some of the books, but, most importantly, I recall that I enjoyed the books quite a bit at the time.

This movie was about the four “Sons and Daughters of Adam” of legend, and from the first movie, coming back to find a very different Narnia than they left. Naturally, as we found out in the first movie, time moves quite a bit differently in Narnia than it does in our world, so when Lucy and Susan and Edmund and Peter go back, they’ve become ancient history. The kingdom they built with Aslan has fallen to a foreign invader. They’ve ruled for more than ten generations, driving the Narnians into hiding, after trying to kill all the former subjects of Narnia, that is. So, as you can see, there may be a bit of tension between these two factions. Now, picture if you will, a prince who’s been taught all the old stories and has a very different view of his people’s ancient enemy. And, there, in a nutshell, is the central conflict of the movie. Prince Caspian fighting his own people to bring about an age of peace and prosperity between traditional enemies.

Now, as I generally do on this blog, to keep from ruining the movie for you, I’ll stop here lest I accidentally fire off a spoiler. I will say this, though, the movie was great. Also, to a Christian and a writer, there were quite a few very obvious references to not only the Bible but many ideas central to Christian theology. The idea that we must come to God through faith and that He cannot be truly proven or disproven, but can only be found via faith, for instance. And, that God’s way may not be the most obvious way or even the simplest, most straight-forward way to do things. And, of course, all the images that are echoes of Biblical stories and images which run through the movie are far too numerous for me to count. But, I don’t think that a non-Christian would be put off by any of this, as it’s presented in such a non-intrusive way that they’d probably never even notice.

All in all, this was a great movie, with a good plot and excellent production values. Well worth seeing and, even seeing again.

FandSFMagJuly

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

I got a free review copy of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine last week.

F&SF Mag, as I will refer to them for the rest of this post, had a deal which I was lucky enough to get in on. They offered a free review copy of their July issue for bloggers who would be willing to review that issue and, well, blog about it. They kept up their end of the deal, so, now, I’m keeping up my end.

F&SF Mag is, in general, fabulous. The July issue will be no exception. Now, I haven’t read all of it yet, but what I have read lives up to the already high standard that they have set for as long as I can remember.
In this issue, you’ll find one novella, two novelets, three short stories and all their regular columns. The novella is The Roberts by Michael Blumlein. The novelets are Fullbrim’s Finding by Matthew Hughes and Poison Victory by Albert E. Cowdrey. The three short stories are Reader’s Guide by Lisa Goldstein, Enfant Terrible by Scott Dalrymple and The Dinosaur Train by James L. Cambias. Now, I haven’t heard of any of these authors, but, frankly, that doesn’t mean much as I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction the past several years. Also, they may be short-form stars, but, honestly, there just aren’t that many venues available to showcase fantasy and science fiction short work any more. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to get this magazine and why I’ve bought it regularly in the past.

I read Reader’s Guide by Lisa Goldstein, Enfant Terrible by Scott Dalrymple and The Dinosaur Train by James L. Cambias, but I plan to read the longer work, too, eventually.
Reader’s Guide is a story about a kind of librarian in a special kind of library filled with potential books, as well as books that have already been written. The story follows the protagonist through a transformation to a new, deeper understanding of the library and the people who haunt it. But, to tell you more than that would, I think, ruin the story.
I also read Enfant Terrible by Scott Dalrymple. This story was about a very special little boy and his somewhat symbiotic relationship with another life. Again, to say more would ruin the story and, as this story is better than the last, I’d hate to diminish your pleasure in reading it.
The third, and best, story I read was The Dinosaur Train by James L. Cambias. I wouldn’t be surprised if this author ends up being an award winner in the near future. The Dinosaur Train was about a family who own and operate a dinosaur circus. Sadly, the circus has seen better times and, what’s worse, their main attraction, a huge sauropod, is sick. The plot is driven by both this, and the conflicts within the family. It is, as I already mentioned, the best story of the bunch. I look forward to reading more from this author. And, I must admit, I may have had a bit of deeper resonance with this story due to my own family’s history in the circus business.

The short story, indeed, all short fiction, is a very different art than the epic-length novel. Sadly, it seems to be a dying art. There are fewer and fewer venues that we might find this form and, thankfully, Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine shows that form in my favorite genre very well. I’m glad that they seem to still be doing so well. If it’s been some time since you’ve looked at magazines with short fiction, I highly recommend getting the next issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine. It’s worth every penny and then some!

Oh, and if you’re interested in getting a subscription to Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine, they have a special offer for bloggers who did a review. Just click this link!

IronManStub

Originally uploaded by Network Geek

I saw Iron Man Friday night.

I love comic books and used to read lots of them on a regular basis. Iron Man wasn’t one of those I followed, but he was such a big part of the Marvel Universe that he was more than a “blip” on the radar of comic fans. The movie was great.

First of all, what’s not to love about a millionaire-playboy who’s also an engineering geek? An early scene shows him blowing off an engineering awards ceremony to play craps in Vegas while flirting with hot chicks. Oh, and did I mention he’s a bit of an alcoholic? They don’t play this up much in the movie, but there’s enough of it there from the comic book to add an extra dimension to
Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark and makes him an interesting character. Also, it doesn’t hurt that Downey is a recovering addict himself.
And, as someone else pointed out in one of the many, many reviews of this movie, they actually show Stark doing engineering design work! How cool is that? I’m betting there were some geeks in the audience that would have really liked to have his customized CAD environment. True 3D? Voice activated with interactive, touch-based controls? It made me want to design something.

But, don’t forget, this was an action movie! Boy howdy was it! It starts off with Stark getting captured by terrorists in the desert, jumps to a flashback to show us how he got there, then switches back to the terrorists who are forcing him to build a missile for them, like he designed for the U.S. military. Instead, he builds the Iron Man v1.0 suit from scraps. Naturally, he uses it to break out of his desert cave prison and return to the “civilization” of the West Coast Hollywood military industrial complex. And, of course, he’s a changed man. He vows to stop building weapons and promises to use his amazing engineering powers for good, not evil. Sadly, his partner in the business has other ideas. So, while Tony is falling in love with his gorgeous assistant, Pepper Potts, played by the “ow-it’s-so-bright-it-hurts-my-eyes” beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow, Obidiah Stane, his erstwhile partner, played by Jeff Bridges, goes into the desert to recover the abandoned Iron Man v1.0 armor.
Naturally, an epic battle ensues, but I’ll leave the rest for you to see in the movie.

Let me add, though, that the special effects were fabulous. The technology was spot on and absolutely believable. Robert Downey, Jr. was a totally believable Tony Stark and, frankly, was the perfect choice for this film. He was brilliant. Rumor has it that there’s already talks of an Iron Man 2. I hope so!
Also, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, stay all the way through the credits. There’s a cameo at the end which sets up both Iron Man 2 and the long rumored Avengers movie. I think it happens to be a crossover from the latest Hulk movie, too, though I’m not positive about that. Yet.
Oh, and look for a very funny cameo by Stan Lee playing a Hugh Hefner-like character! Go Stan! Excelsior!

In short, if you’re a comic book fan or a science-fiction fan, you absolutely need to see this movie!