Harry's Ruminations

Sideways : What's the big deal? I mean, it's a decent story and it WILL make you want to try Pinot Noir, even though it's the most tasteless, bodiless wine out there. This is not a funny movie, as it's made out to be. It's a sad, cautionary tale of a divorced man beginning the long decline of middle age who must witness the joie de vive of every other person in Napa valley as he reflects on his own failures. It's well acted, and there are moments of comic relief, but the general thread ("This guy is SUCH a loser") runs so strong that I never could get into the other characters. Virginia Madsen is good, and certain scenes have excellent dialog, but the whole Nihilistic uselessness of the whole story turned me off. It's worth watching, if only to encourage you to do SOMETHING with your life (kids, career, hobbies, marriage) by the time you're 40.

This is as blown as I've been since that time in College where I wrote my 'History of the South' term paper in 30 hours, from the start of the research to the completed, bibliographied, 20 page work. I've been overseeing the translations workshop, trying to use my damn product along with the translators, and it's been a revelation. We're 4 weeks from release, and the product doesn't work. Not even close. Certain features perform under ideal conditions, and certain features just don't. I'm tempted to host an amnesty day, in which all the programmers get together and reveal all the hacks, bad code, and issues that exist with their pieces of the codebase, because unless everyone gets very real, very soon, we're doomed. I can't BELIEVE how embarrasingly bad the user experience is at this point. Anyway, I've been here past 9 or 10 at night since Monday and I'm starting to see things floating through my vision. I'm going to go ho...

Spanglish is a revelation: Touching, genuine, intimate, and involving, it's the "small" picture at its best. The story is one of integration and separation, as a single latino mother (the stunning Paz Vega) makes a way for herself and her daughter in the swankiest parts of Los Angeles, amid a family tearing itself apart. The mother is a control-freak basket-case (Tea Leoni, taking a page from Annette Benning's character in American Beauty ), the father (Adam Sandler) an irresolute chef afraid of his own restaurant's success. Their two children are amazingly well adjusted, considering. Scenes in this movie will make you remember the sweet moments in your life--unrequited impossible love, the joy of simple kindness, the awkwardness and discovery of a new culture and place. In particular, the scene between Sandler and Vega speak volumes with a single look.

Conversation I had during the 2 1/2 hours I was working the course yesterday whilst the wind froze me and the sun burnt my face to a crisp: John: Man, Tony's WRX is awesome! Me: Yeah, he's got everything on it...his 6-speed transmission alone cost $4k John: Holy SHIT...what does he do for a living Me: He's a programmer, I think... John: See, now that's what I need to get into...no more of this turning wrenches for Uncle Sam Me: :-) You never know...sometimes, it's not what it's cracked-up to be

Why were American cars from the early 90's so crappy? Specifically, I'm speaking of the the Chevy Lumina and Ford Taurus. Granted, these were cars of the (now non-existent) cheap, mid-size, soft suspension class, but where's the quality? Drive a 10 year old Accord versus a 10 year old Taurus, and the Honda is a revelation. Why is it people at autocross keep trying to kill me? I was 10 feet away from 3 spins this weekend, one of which saw a guy in a Mitsubishi Evo sliding at me WITH HIS FOOT STILL ON THE GAS. Also, got to watch a 4000 lb Volvo S60R slide right into a patch of grass I'd been standing in just 10 minutes before. Why must mother/daughter relationships be so rocky? Is there something about estrogen + estrogen that's similar to magnetism: Like charges repel? Is it the Electra complex, only lasting for 40 years? I had serious relationships with 3 women, and none could stand her own mother.

The day is nearly over, and I've done quite a bit: took the powerless powerbook to CompUSA down in Lexington for its first warranty service. Turns-out the PB is fine, my A/C adapter's worn-out. I have a new one on the way from Cupertino, all free of charge. Had a rather fruitless quest for a new cell phone (which I don't need, anyway..) The Nokia 6230 is backordered in the whole region, and I don't like the Motorola V551 very much Got a new Sam's Club card and bought a year's supply of razor blades for $28 Visited the mecca of tools (sears) and got a new pair of gloves and a Craftsman Strap-wrench (sounds like a sex-toy, doesn't it?) for my next task... Changed the oil in the GTO with fresh 5w30 Mobil1 and a AC Delco PF46 filter. The gloves and the strapwrench made it a nice, easy job, and I finally had a good drip-pan from Wal-Mart. This is the point at which I really started to enjoy my day I watched my first DVD in a long time... Lock Stock and Two S...

I just feel frickin' OFF today. I don't know if it's my job, the crushing importance of EVERYTHING I do these days, or various other things. Called in to work to take the day off...it's going to rain until Sunday and I just don't really want to be around people today. I feel like a total lout... What's bothering me? :-) Guess. Go ahead. I'll wait.... Anyway, I'm going to try and get a few things done today and get outside and just generally try and feel a bit more like myself and a bit less like an automaton. Again...just OFF. Off-center, off-kilter...OFF.