I don't know why I continue to see movies based on books I've read. It's always disappointing - ALWAYS.

The first time that I recall having that big let down moment as the credits rolled was with The Firm. It was a phenomenal book and then someone decided to change the story and strap Tom Cruise onto it and my joy died quickly.

More recently I was let down by Memoirs of a Geisha. That movie actually left out whole parts of the story. BLAH! I couldn't tell other people enough that they should still read the book because they missed stuff. It was seriously frustrating.

Finally, yesterday, I rented ShopGirl. I was sure that if Steve Martin had a strong and in the movie that it would all work out okay. But, again, it turns out a picture sometimes isn't worth a thousand words.

So, choose wisely - either stop seeing movies about books you've read or stop reading. Hmmm? They're both tempting.

- Judianne

I got sidetracked today while getting together next week's movie stuff.  The culprit?  An American Haunting.  It's true that I'm a sucker for ghost stories and anything supernatural in general.  Even though I lean toward the skeptic side, I still find it all fascinating.  Even if these ghost, haunting, etc. stories turn out to be bogus, it's still interesting to me to find out what it was that made people think something went down.

The Bell Witch story (the one behind next week's film) is an old one.  And while, supposedly, the film offers an explanation, the film is actually based on a fictionalized account of the tale.  It always seems like the best ghost stories are the ones that are embellished - but are there really unexplained phenomena out there?

I'd always like to believe it, because I always thought it was cool, but the rational person in me says 'no way'.  I guess it's hard to reconcile ghosts and hauntings against real-world problems - and maybe that's why we gravitate toward the supernatural in the first place.  It's an easy place to banish our own personal demons - especially back in the 1800s when science and technology weren't all that hot.  I guess for now label me a skeptic, but I'm always interested and willing to keep an open mind.

    -Tucker

It's bring your kids to work day at my work today. There are probably about 40 kids, ranging in age, running around the office. Looks fun (for them).

I also see a lot of adults running around with them and showing them how to work cameras and computers and stuff. I wish I had known that I could sign up to NOT work today and just be a camp leader for a day. I could pretend to like kids for eight hours - REALLY, I COULD!

- Judianne

Well, we've finally done it - no need to get into why we never had them before, but here's announcing the MergeDigital.com Message Boards. They're pretty slick, and they're as fully functional as any boards you've seen elsewhere online.  No need to register to post, just fire away anything you like.  Of course, registration is optional if you want to set up an avatar and junk like that, but we respect your anonymity.

Stay tuned, since we'll be constantly adding and improving things.  But we won't know what works best for you until we hear about it, so make sure you let us know.  What are you waiting for?  Check it out.

    -Tucker

Came across a tech headline this morning about Microsoft complaining over releasing their source code to EU courts.  I'm not even going to get into that, or into their admittedly shady business practices...  But what does irk me is that one of the main "issues" in the EU court is that MS's stuff is/was incompatible with other platforms and software.

Are you kidding me?  That's an issue?  Shit, I guess we'd better go back and sue Apple for 30 years worth of damages because until now I couldn't run their software on a PC.  The article mentions Sun as one of the poor folks clamoring for access to MS's code...  Hmm, the same Sun who used to force system administrators to purchase Solaris machines so they could run Sun's crappy server software?

I'm all for fair business practice, but forcing MS to give up their source code is ridiculous.   ESPECIALLY on these retarded "compatibility" grounds.  If we're going to have an open-source world, then fine, but then make Apple, Sun, IBM and everyone else turn over their code and trade secrets as well.

But then, what do I know?  I'm not sitting at the top of an EU court trying to dole out hundreds of millions of dollars in fines.

    -Tucker

I'm sure anyone that has been reading our blogs lately is pretty sick of hearing about my poison oak. Well, I'm sick of having it. So, we're in the same boat. The good news is, it's almost over.

I finally got a prescription for a steroid gel to help it heal faster. The doctor said not to expect any miracles but she was totally lying. I put it on last night before bed and just six hours (or so) later it's a million times better. I think a few more days of this stuff and I'll be back to normal.

Steroids are a good thing in my book. And I'm not even a baseball player.

- Judianne

Good lord, if you want to do yourself in there MUST be easier and less painful ways than driving 12 nails into your head with a nailgun.  Of course, then it REALLY sucks when you survive.

Yeah, I've seen the x-rays of other people doing similar deeds, whether by accident, out of malice or on purpose, and there was a Grey's Anatomy episode dealing with the topic, but c'mon people - freakin 12 nails??  Forget that "This case represents the only known survivor of the largest number of foreign objects [12] ever purposefully penetrated into the skull."  Forget that the old record was nine.  Think for a second about the fact that this dude apparently stopped at one point, reloaded the nailgun and started again with nails that were 1/2 inch longer.  Now that's just F'd up.

Props to the guy for living through it - and although I wouldn't recommend anyone else try this, it certainly seems like shooting one's self with a nailgun is NOT an effective way of guaranteeing non-survival.  In other words, don't try this at home; but you could survive.

    -Tucker

I was at a local sprots bar last night and I was pleased to see that there was a TV pretty much everywhere I looked. Even walking down the stairs there was one on the wall. There was one in our booth and lots all around the rest of the dining room. The only problem was that some of them were cable and some of them were satellite.

So the audio would go on our little TV and then 20 seconds later, the audio would go on the main TV. It was pretty annoying. If I listened even closer there were at least three delays and repeats of audio from the hockey game that was playing.

Oh well - at least we got it first at out personal TV. Otherwise, it would have sucked to hear what was going to happen before it happened.

- Judianne

When I'm driving around the Valley I often see things that I can't believe. I always scramble for my camera phone only to find that it's too late or too dangerous to attempt. My latest sighting was a woman strolling across the Minsi Trail bridge with an iguana clinging to the front of her shirt. I'm not talking a baby lizard either, this was a full grown (big and green) iguana. She walked along like it was no big deal, stopping to wipe something off of her leg. I sure hope that thing didn't "go" on her. ICK!

- Judianne

There are certain things in this world that are just meant to be a certain color. Calamine lotion is one of them - it's pink. Just like I want my milk white, I just expect calamine to be pink. That was my personal theory anyway. Until this morning when I found out that it's also much close to a fact.

"Calamine: An astringent made from zinc carbonate or zinc oxide, usually used in lotion form to treat skin problems that cause itching or discomfort." I have been using something that claimed to have the same results but it was clear. I questioned it only briefly and didn't do much research. One week later I still have poison oak (really bad) and I went to the store to buy some new lotion. Turns out the stuff I was using doesn't actually have calamine in it at all. So I some of the version that does (under the same brand) does and guess what color it came out? PINK!

I should have known to trust my color instincts. I wasted a week on that clear crap and now I have to go to a doctor because I didn't get better. DAMN IT! Beware "pharmacy friends" who think they know what they're talking about when it comes to meds. Just ask a real pharmacist.

- Judianne