Lunch With George!

Agenda

• IMDB to go
• Killer App
• Cine Capri
• Mojitos
• Hike Report

IMDB to go

I surprised George when I powered up my

The Palm version contains all movies for the last 24 months. We even used it during lunch when George was telling me about a movie he saw called the Transporter (more later), when he couldn't remember who starred in it!

It's not all the movies, and it does not include hyperlinks for actors and directors, but it's still very cool. The iPod version downloads the movie entries into the Contacts database of the handheld MP3 player.

Sheppard uses the IMDB data under a special usage license. He updates the data files weekly, so they're pretty much always up to date.

Killer App

George stumbled across a web browsing tool which he says is the coolest program he's seen in a long while:

The online help is extensive, well-written, and frequently humorous. The three most recent sections George read were titled "Obfuscating more clearly", "Breaking up isn't so hard to do", and "Some comments on comments".

There's only one drawback... it hasn't been ported to Linux! But then it occurred to George: He can run Proxomitron on his Windows box and still use it as the proxy server for the browser on his Linux box. And sure enough, it works!

George has already hacked around with the customizable features, creating a custom filter last weekend to clobber those animated ads that zip across the AZCentral main page.

Cine Capri

Teri and I tried out the new cine Capri, the reborn Cinerama-screened Harkins Movie Theatre. Anyone who has been in the valley for 10 years or more remembers the great experience of watching a movie at the Cine Capri, formerly located as a stand-alone, single screen theatre on the corner of 24th Street and Camelback (the original was bulldozed in 1998 after Harkins' lease ran out).

Is it really the rebirth of the old Cine Capri? Well, no. Even though the theatre seats 600 people and has a curved screen that's even bigger than the original, even though there's a gold curtain in front of the screebn which opens prior to the feature film, it just doesn't have the same feel.

The new Cine Capri features 100% stadium-style seating, which gives it an entirely different feel. Another thing that seems similar but completely fails to capture the original is the gold curtains. I realized while telling George about it why I didn't like it: The curtains were open for the 45 minutes we sat waiting for the film to start, watching (sort of) the advertisements which run continuously. When it was time for the feature, the curtains closed, only to re-open immediately. What's the point of that? Then I remembered that during the golden years of the real Cine Capri, the curtains stayed closed until the start of the previews. then it made sense (sort of) to open them at the start of the show. Oh well. It was still a great experience!

We saw Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and it was the perfect place to see it. I had pretty low expectations for the movie, and decided to just go along for the ride. And what a great ride it is! I left the theatre having totally enjoyed myself! Thinking back overthe film, I could not think of anything I didn't like about it (I wish I could say that about the Matrix Reloaded).

If you've seen the other two Terminator movies, you know the drill: Human=looking robot comes from the future to kill leaders of the human resistance so they never exist to resist. Another human-looking machine from the future arrives to try and save the humans. Most humans have no idea what's going on. Well, it's the same theme, but there are enough twists and turns that I was never bored. You might want to rent the first two movies and watch them before you catch Terminator 3. I did, and it was amazing how far the CGI techniques have come.

George saw the movie The Transporter, starring Jason Statham. The movie is about a man (Statham) whose job is to deliver packages without asking any questions. Complications arise when he breaks those rules.

George really enjoyed Statham as the main character of what George referred to as a brainless action flick, but was disappointed that he had never heard of him (and still hasn't since, really). He found it odd that Statham was an unknown, yet he heard about a very similar action-figure actor, Vin Diesel, almost constantly.

George still has to look up Statham's name (we used my Palm to do it with the new IMDB to go!) because it's difficult to remember. Statham has a great physique, like Diesel (whose name, while kinda lame, is pretty darn easy to remember), but a lot more charisma. Geeorge said Jason Statham's character and the 'inspector' in the movie both injected some humor which is always welcome in a film like that.

If you'd like to see Jason Statham in another film, check out The Italian Job, a re-make starring Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron.

Mojitos

That's exactly what he's been doing, with mixed results. Over the last couple of months, George has been putting in a flower bed above the pool in his back yard. He used rock which he uncovered during the excavation as a border, and planted a variety of flowering plants (e.g. Vinca, Merrigold), along with Basil and Mint. The mixed results: Some critters in the area seem to like everything but Vincas, and have eaten them down to little stubs. As a result, George now has a beautiful flower bed full of Vincas, and mint growing in a pot near the house where the critters haven't found 'em yet.

Hike Report: Woods Canyon Lake

Over the July 4th weekend, Teri and I wanted to take a hike. I searched several web sites and found a great hike about 35 miles North of

We found out that some areas below the Rim near Christopher Creek were open, so we headed that way. At the general store in Christopher Creek, we found out that the trails around Woods Canyon Lake were open, so away we went.

I aw so surprised to see such a beautiful place! The resevoir was created by the Arizona Department of Game and Fish back in 1955 to provide a recreational area for fishermen (fisherpersons?), campers, and hikers. The lake is surrounded by Ponderosa pine, Spruce, and Oak, and the ground is peppered with green ferns.

There are several hiking trails in the surrounding woods, but the one that caught our attention was the trail which circumnavigates the lake. We shouldered our packs, tightened up our boot laces, and set out. The hike was great! You never are farther than 50 feet from the lake, and the majority of the trail is in shade. Two and a half hours later, we arrived back at the car, logging 5 miles total.

I would recommend the hike for families, just make sure everyone is wearing good shoes and carrying plenty of water.