Author: Eugene Glover

We’re on the short countdown now until our next trip to Taiwan. Sunday we’ll be off and the transportation arrangements on the way over promise to be unpleasant. Due to repeated problems “fixing” our actual flight schedule, we ended up with a 7+ hour layover at LAX. That would be brutal in the best of conditions, but with 2 kids, it promises to be an endurance test.

We must arrive 2 hours early in Phoenix, nearly 2 hours, wait 7, then fly another 14. That’s 26 hours in transit. I can’t decide if I want to take sleeping pills with me or avail myself liberally of the free alcohol on the flight. It’s a 777-200 in the Singapore Air fleet, but it doesn’t have power outlets, so the MacBook won’t last the whole flight. (Singapore Air is upgrading the LA=>Taipei flight to have power outlets in July.)

Meantime, I’m gearing up for a multimedia extravaganza of a trip. Videos and photos, along with nauseatingly detailed blog posts will be posted regularly.

Posts: https://lonelocust.com
Videos: http://youtube.com/profile?user=fusionpatrol
Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gridman/

Technorati Tags: Blog, Taiwan, Travel

With all the nonsense going on lately and getting ready to leave the country, I just haven’t had time to review the last 3 Doctor Who episodes. I shall be working on them this weekend, but Human Nature will be delayed until the second part, The Fmaily of Blood air next week.

Perhaps I shall write the review on the plane. I’m going to have plenty of time!

Technorati Tags: Blog, Doctor Who, Dr Who, UK, Video

I’ve been mostly immobilized with back trouble the last few days, but managed to get out for work this morning albeit somewhat slowly. As I left, I noticed that one of my two dogs, Ninja, didn’t come out to say good morning. While not unheard of, it is unusual, but I was running late.

He wasn’t there when I came home, either, so I went looking for him. He was, unfortunately, dead in the bamboo forest behind our pool.

It wasn’t a pleasant experience. Apart from having lost a family pet, I had to machete a path deep into the bamboo which grows… well, like bamboo… to reach the body, which had been there for at least 10 hours in the heat of day. He was pungent, to say the least. Then I had to extract a nearly 40 lb. dog carcass and manhandle it into bags, all the while attempting to avoid the flies and the inevitable bodily fluids which start to exude from a decomposing body.

After all that, I got to go in and break the news to my daughter. She took it surprisingly well. She looked like she was going to cry for a few moments and then the sadness switched off like a light bulb.

Still, not a good day.

Technorati Tags: Blog, Family

Seen here is James, pushing the salt and pepper shakers around the table saying, “Exterminate! Exterminate!”

Hereafter, these shall be known as Dalek Salt and Dalek Pepper, the Cult of Spice.

Technorati Tags: Blog, Doctor Who, Dr Who, Family, Kids

After reading the info on the American IT Crowd, I foolishly decided to look at the premise of the other shows for NBC this season… it’s enough to make the blood curdle (These are also all from zap2it):

The Bionic Woman

PREMISE
Struggling to make ends meet as a bartender while serving as a surrogate mom to her teenage sister, Jaime Sommers figures that her life couldn’t get any more difficult. She is terribly, terribly wrong. Nearly killed in a horrifying car accident, Jamie is saved by a cutting-edge operation — performed by her boyfriend, Will — that leaves her with extraordinary new strength, among other artificially enhanced gifts. Now, however, Jamie must figure out how best to utilize her new abilities while embracing her new bionic identity. Jonas is Will’s boss, while Ruth is Jonas’ second-in-command and Jae is the specialized operations leader.

Chuck

PREMISE
You know all those warnings about never opening an e-mail if you don’t know who sent it? Computer geek Chuck Bartowski learns that lesson the hard way when he opens an e-mail that has been subliminally encoded with vital government secrets, triggering a massive download of critical information into his brain. With assassins and international terrorists eager to nab Chuck’s noggin, it falls to Maj. John Casey and his partner, CIA agent Sarah Walker, to protect the U.S. Government’s newest and most unlikely secret agent. At least Chuck can rely on best buddy Morgan and his understanding sister, Ellie

Journeyman

PREMISE
Commuting takes on a whole new meaning for San Francisco newspaper reporter Dan Vasser, who unexpectedly finds himself traveling through time to change people’s lives. That’s the good news. The bad news is, he has to explain these sudden and unpredictable disappearances to his family and colleagues — and finding himself reunited with a long-lost fiancee can’t be good for his marriage. Or can it?

I shan’t even bother to mention “The Singing Bee” a reality-TV Karaoke program.

Technorati Tags: Blog, Television, Video

Zap2it.com => NBC’s New Shows for the 2007-08 Season: The IT Crowd

I’m still very dubious about the American IT Crowd, but my fears about the casting being completely off-base are at least 1/3 unfounded. Richard Ayoade (The original UK Moss) has been cast in the American version (presumably as Moss.)

I just hope he doesn’t try to put on an American accent, alà Daleks in Manhattan.

Here’s what we know, from Zap2it:

The IT Crowd
Midseason comedy

Premise: A group of IT workers deals with the daily humiliations of their jobs and a new, tech-averse boss. Based on a British series of the same name.

First Impressions: NBC didn’t show a preview of the show.

Stars: Joel McHale (“The Soup”), Jessica St. Clair (“For Your Consideration”), Richard Ayoade (the British “IT Crowd”), Rocky Carroll (“Invasion”)

Studio: NBC Universal TV, FremantleMedia North America

Producers: Joe Port (“Just Shoot Me”), Moses Port (“Just Shoot Me”), Joe Wiseman (“Mad About You”), David Guarascio (“Mad About You”), Gail Mancuso, Graham Lineman, Steve Tao

“No preview” is often not a good sign.

Technorati Tags: Blog, Television, UK, Video

Be the master of your own destiny and find out about Harold Saxon at VoteSaxon.org.uk or check out his MySpace profile.

Technorati Tags: Blog, Doctor Who, Dr Who, Television, UK, Video