Adapting = Ruining?

I just noticed in this article that NBC is "adapting" The Office for TV in America. Why do they have to "adapt" it? They "adapted" Coupling this year, and it failed miserably, it simply wasn't as funny as the British version, and I'm sure they'll wind up doing the same thing to The Office, which is hilariously funny as it is. If you're a Netflix user, make sure to add it to your queue, you'll enjoy it quite a bit. So why can't NBC just get the rights to air the British version? Why mess with success?

Happy Birthday Dad

Today is my Dad's 56th birthday, I hope his present gets there. I had to send it UPS, because they're the only carrier that delivers reliably out in the Nevada desert where my parents live, hopefully it doesn't receive the same treatment as my UPS package did, or there's going to be a mess. I didn't send it UPS ground, so we'll see how 3-Day Select packages get treated...

20/20

I picked up my new glasses and contacts today at Mauer Eye Center. Erica, (see photo) the young woman "dispensing" them, managed to put a large gouge in my right lens with a pair of pliers, while attempting to adjust the fit, so I guess these fancy Crizal lenses aren't that scratch-resistant. I gave her a hard time about this, and mock-cautioned her not to hurt herself when she went back to make a second adjustment, but I wasn't really angry, I found it kind of funny. I have to go back in 3 weeks for another contact check anyhow. I also noticed they give you much nicer cases for your glasses when you buy a name brand, as this Nautica hard case is great, usually I get something that looks like it came from the half price bin at the dollar store. My new contacts from CooperVision feel much better than my old Acuvue Torics did, and the eye doctor was amazed that I could get 20/20 from them only 5 minutes after putting them in, and on the first shot too. I have astigmatisms in both eyes, and it usually takes a few tries to get contacts that work for me, but I think we may have gotten it on the first try.

Even more validation

I've been redesigning the top layers of this web site to be valid XHTML, and I've greatly reduced the file size. The svelte new front page of the site is now only 4K, it used to be 12K, and there's actually more content now than there was before. I wish I could take full credit for the design, but the truth is it's a page you learn how to build in the Zeldman book I'm reading right now (the orange one on the left). I modified and simplified some of the code to fit my needs, but I'm not that good with CSS yet.

Spring Break

It's spring break here at the University, and all is quiet. This is the time when Sysadmins actually get things accomplished, and don't spend the whole day in meetings about password policies. Now it's time to go set up another server...

Comment Spam

I've had a few instances of Comment Spam this weekend, so I've installed the MovableType anti-spam plugin. I'd already set the site to throttle the commenting rate to 1/minute, so I only had one instance of each spam to clean up and blacklist the IP. Not a major hassle, but if I can put one more roadblock in place for the comment spammers, I might as well do it.

Why not to use UPS

I'm glad there was nothing breakable in this package, just a cable for my old MP3 player, as apparently UPS decided to back over it a few times en route to my house. I always thought the "Ground" in UPS Ground referred to the method of travel, not the manner in which they mutiliate the package. This is why I ship via Fed Ex.

IT Draft

I saw this article over at Slashdot, mentioning that the U.S. may hold a draft for people with computer skills at some point in the future. I can't see how drafting a bunch of out-of-shape computer nerds who already dislike governmental authority will possibly turn out well. I'm 27 now, hopefully I'll be exempt from any such draft if it's ever implemented, otherwise, I've got the 'ol trick knee... It's not that I'm not patriotic, I am, but as Heinlein said, "A nation which must resort to conscription for it's defense, has no moral right to exist." Another way to look at it, is if your nation has entered into a war which is so unpopular it can't fight solely with volunteers, it shouldn't be in the war, and any nation under attack whose citizens won't rise to defend it also doesn't deserve to survive.

Now if Uncle Sam wants to hire me for my IT skills, that's another story, just show me the money. :)

Iowa vs. Michigan

You're all welcome to come watch Iowa vs. Michigan in the Big Ten tourney this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in glorious high definition from ESPN HD via my Dish. I'm taking time off, and will be watching it at my house on my 53" HDTV in surround sound. :)

The Worst Wing

Regarding Dave's comments about the West Wing today: I think David Chase's description is correct, but only for the current season. Since they lost Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme, the show has gone seriously downhill. Have you noticed that every episode is hyped to the extreme? They've cranked the drama to 10, and almost everything that was clever about the show's writing is gone. It's been ER-ified in my opinion, and I like ER, but I want my old West Wing back, with the friendly banter between all the characters, and less doom and gloom. I also don't like how the look of the show has changed, it's too dark, like Sorkin and Schlamme took the lamps with them on their way out the door.

And what happened to Toby's kids? They were born at the end of last season, but we haven't seen them mentioned since. Dule Hill has been given an average of 2 lines per episode since Sorkin left, but they've brought in other throwaway characters, like Toby's secretary with the low-cut blouses. There needs to me more of Donna and less of her.

Okay, enough WW bashing. I really am a fan, I even own Season 1 on DVD, signed by both Martin Sheen and John Amos. How many people can say that? :)