Kids playing in the snow!

Video of the kids playing in the snow today:

Coolest iPhone app!

Okay, I thought Shazam was pretty cool (and it is), but this new app for the iPhone has taken it's place as the coolest app I've ever seen. Ocarina is a musical instrument for your iPhone! Here is a clip of me attempting (very poorly) to play Amazing Grace on my iPhone Ocarina instrument:

I'll practice more when I have more time and try and make a better video. This video was taken after playing with it for about 5 minutes...

The Bailout - How much is $700B???

I was reading about the bailout being passed and got to thinking... just how big is $700B? So, to try and grasp how big it is, I had to write it out:

$700,000,000,000.00

That didn't do it for me. I can't imagine a number that big. I had to break it down further. So, I got to thinking how I could do that. I was looking at that number and thought, "Have I even lived that many seconds?" The answer is, "no."

This was how I made that huge number understandable:

28.66 <- Years I've been alive

10,460.9 <- Days I've been alive

152,061.6 <- Hours I've been alive

15,063,696 <- Minutes I've been alive

903,821,760 <- Seconds I've been alive

0.9B seconds... that means to get up to $700B, it would be like handing out $774.49 every SECOND I've been alive.

Pardon me while I faint from shock.

Yes, I checked my math. Do the same math, and for every second McCain has been alive it's only $307 ;)

Ok... just had to share that visualization of $700B with you all.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

The first 2 issues of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane (season 2) are out and I finally got around to reading them. Terry Moore is the author and that was my main reason for picking this title up. I'll admit it, I'm a Terry Moore fanboy now. After reading the first 5 issues of Echo and the first 6 trade paperbacks of Strangers In Paradise, I'll be reading anything Terry Moore writes. He's a fantastic writer. He really knows how to make stories personal. His stories are not your typical superhero action comics with very little character development. After reading just the first issue of one of his series, I feel very connected to the character(s). And it's no different for Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane.

The first series of this title was written by someone else and the art had an almost manga style to it, so I steered clear. It also looked like it was marketed towards teenage girls. I am not a teenage girl. I avoided it. But, since Terry Moore has picked up writing the current series, I decided to give it a whirl. Boy am I glad I did.

Yes, this is probably marketed to teenage girls, but that doesn't make it not good. It is a fun, clean, all-ages comic. That is rare these days. It's good story-telling and fantastic art. Here is the cover of issue #2:
So, yeah, I like it. I'm anxiously awaiting issue #3. The first two issues came out right on schedule - it's a monthly title. Since this is a mainstream Marvel title, hopefully they will stick to that schedule. Echo, Terry Moore's sci-fi title put out by Abstract Studios, has not been so regular. Echo has been coming out about every 6 weeks or so. And even that is not bad at all when compared to All-Star Batman & Robin or Fell (almost a year between issue #8 and #9 of Fell). When books come out that irregularly, it almost makes me want to not buy the issues and just wait the 2 years for the trade paperback to come out. But that won't happen :) The new issue comes out and I'm so excited that all past history is forgotten. LOL

Anyway, back to Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. Mary Jane is the main character in this story. She and Peter Parker are sophomores in high school. It deals with high-school-type issues and is very much about the people, not so much whatever is going on in the story. Aunt May, J. Jameson, and the like are simply side-characters and we don't see much of them at all. This story revolves around Mary Jane and her experiences in high school.

It's a fun read. Not your typical capes and cowls superhero story. I'm liking it :)

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day

09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0

Event at Tony's Kingdom of Comics

My good buddy, Tony, is having a food fund-raiser event at his comic shop in Keizer on Sunday, September 21st. I encourage everyone that will be nearby to come over and check it out. I'll be taking my kids to have pictures taken with the Dark Side Troopers. Mikayla had a lot of fun last time having her picture taken with Jedi :)  Maybe this year she'll get to see a storm trooper! There will be artists doing sketches too! Bring in some canned food to help the Keizer Food Bank and you can take home free comics :)  Should be a lot of fun! 

My Dark Knight movie review

Progress on the Arcade Cabinet

I have been working on the arcade cabinet the last couple nights with Zach up in Sherwood. All my photos/videos are posted on my Phone Blog here.

Here is one video showing our progress:

Fireworks! And Lily

Lily shares her thoughts on fireworks at the end of the video.  Here are some of the MANY fireworks we shot off the night of the 4th:

First firework injury of 2008

OUCH! That hurt like nothing else! Gah! Zing! 

Playing in the Pool

Whirlpool with Brian and Sarah

Cannonball!

I thought I'd post some videos from our trip to Tenino for the Independence Day weekend. Here is the first of many :)

A Rant on IM Status

Instant messaging started out as a toy for me way back in 1996 when ICQ first launched. It quickly became more and more a part of my life. Now, I can’t imagine living without IM (instant messaging). I am constantly logged into MSN, AOL, Yahoo, Google Talk, and ICQ. I talk to people more over IM than I do over the phone (by a long shot). IRC and IM comprise the majority of my daily communication.

After using IM for 12 years, there are some basic IM concepts that I am so surprised that some people do not respect. The most common offense in the IM world is bogus “status”. IM status is a vital part of IM. If you are available or online, you set your status to that. If you are away you set your status to that. If you are working on something or are otherwise not available, you set your status to that. It’s not that hard. The online/available, away, and offline can happen automatically with any IM client out there. I am just amazed how many people ignore this courtesy to others by completely ignoring their IM status.

I have heard several reasons and none of them justify being rude to others by not giving them the courtesy of knowing your status. It has been a part of IM since day one. It makes a lot of sense to let people know what your status is so they know if they are leaving a message while you are away, interrupting something important, or to know if you are online and they can expect an answer/reply.

It’s not that hard. Let me break it down for you:

if you are ______, then your status should be ________

if you are online/available, then your status should be online/available

if you are away, then your status should be away

if you are not at the computer for a significant amount of time, then your status should be offline

some IM clients have idle, extended away, etc...

All I’m asking for is to know! It’s really not hard and it’s a common IM courtesy... have I mentioned that before?

I’m not targeting anyone specifically here, but you know who you are ;o)  I know a few people that are flagrant offenders of ignoring IM status, but it is becoming more widespread.

I need to think of a good bumper sticker for this cause... Maybe this:

Be Nice, Go "away"

LOL

Okay, sorry - I had to get that rant out of my system. It's been slowly building up the last few months.

William English '08

Pure wow

There are many words that could express this image, but I think just letting it speak for itself is enough:

Indiana Jones review

Due to the entire review being spoilers, I am linking to it here. Click here if you want to read it, but know that it could very well spoil the movie for you if you read it before seeing it. I am expecting that you've seen it or don't care when you read my review  =o)

Bubble Bobble rock!

Who remembers Bubble Bobble?!

Steven Curtis Chapman Family Tragedy

I've been a fan of Steven Curtis Chapman for most of my life. I just heard that on Wednesday, his 5 year old daughter was hit and killed by the family SUV. Her brother was backing the vehicle down the driveway and didn't see her. She was rushed to the hospital, but didn't make it. It's very sad and I don't really have anything to say, except to pass this song along. It is one of my favorite recent Steven Curtis Chapman songs.

Photos - 1998 to 2008

The advances of technology are changing the world in many ways. Photography and the way that consumers share their photos has changed so much in the last decade it’s incredible to think about. Ten years ago we all had film 35mm point and shoot cameras. We shot rolls of film. Rolls of film with a single ISO rating for the entire 24 or 36 exposures. Then the film sat on the kitchen counter for a few days or weeks before the next trip to Costco. Costco would ask if we wanted a single print of everything or a set of duplicates. The 4x6 prints were ready by the time we were done shopping, but family members didn’t see them until the next family get-together (which is probably that day or the next if you’re at Costco stocking up on snacks and other food). The 4x6s got passed around the room and 5 or 6 of the duplicates went to Grandma and Aunt Wilma, but the rest came back around and made their way into a shoebox under the bed. A new girlfriend/boyfriend or a high school graduation party were the only reasons for digging through those shoeboxes full of mixed prints.

Jump forward 10 years. I took my family to Baskin Robins yesterday afternoon and seconds after capturing an image of my wife and kids, it was posted to my Facebook mobile gallery and my camera phone blog. Moments once not shared with family members 20 miles away for weeks or months can now be shared with anyone in the world in a matter of seconds...very easily.

I don’t think it’s excitement or newness of having a camera phone and a webcam built into my laptop. I think this is the world of photography forever changed thanks to advances in technology. The worlds of retail and portrait photography needs to adapt quickly or they will die. People are taking more pictures than ever but buying less prints than ever. The question isn’t how to get them to buy more prints, they won’t. The question is how can you make money from the new model of photography that technology has created. But that’s another topic for another day =o)

Camera Phone Blogging

I've been enjoying taking pictures with my cell phone, so I decided to post some to a blog:

Bill's Cell Phone Pics Blog

Enjoy :)  It's fun, I can post right from my phone.

Mikayla at the park

Mikayla, our little model

When Mikayla gets in front of the camera something happens. We aren't quite sure where she picked it up, but she becomes a model when there is a camera. She completely poses herself and cycles through tons of bizarre poses. All are cute, some are more photogenic than others.

Lily & Flowers

Lily - 5.5.08

I'll be posting a few photos from the most recent photo shoot of the girls. Usually I just post the ones I end up picking to have prints made of. This time I decided I'd post some of the ones that are not those as well.

Netflix 1 Month Free Trial

I've been enjoying Netflix for a couple months and they sent me some coupons for friends. Normally, you can get a 2 week free trial from Netflix, but with this coupon you can get a full month free! If you do the free trial, I get one extra rental...pretty cool. I've been very happy with Netflix. The turnaround time is great, I send a movie back and they receive it the next day and mail my next one out the same day the receive it. Nine times out of ten I get that movie the very next day.

Well, that was even more of a commercial than my last post. I gotta change gears. Hehehehe.

Anyway, if you are interested in a 1 month free trial of Netflix, just send me an e-mail and I'll send you the code. I only have 4 codes, so it'll be first come, first serve.

Google 411 / Google SMS

Okay, this post is for those of you who haven't heard about Google 411 and Google SMS. This is MUST KNOW information for every person with a phone. I am continually surprised how many people do not know about it, so I'm posting here to make sure I do my part to spread the information.

Google 411 is a free service by Google to help you find a business you are looking for. It is very much like the information service you can call and, for a fee, have a business phone number looked up and connected to you. The difference? It's free! Just dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) and you're all set!

Google SMS is even better than Google 411. Google SMS is another FREE service by Google. Essentially bringing the power of Google Search to your cell phone using text messaging. To use it, simply send a search query in a text message to '466453' (GOOGLE on most phones) and Google will respond back in a text message with the results. It is incredible. You can get local business listings, weather, dictionary definitions, sports scores, movie times, directions, and more. For example, if you were looking for a comic shop in Salem, you could send this to 'GOOGLE': "comics 97301". Seconds later you would receive 1 to 3 text messages with business listings as you would find in the phone book...delivered to your cell phone...free (text messages may have fees associated depending on your cell plan)! Want to know the weather report for Olympia? Simply text this to Google: "weather olympia". Don't know what 'bamboozled' means? Simply text this to Google: "define bamboozled". 

Wow...that sounded way more like a commercial than I would have liked. Sorry ;o)  I use this service all the time. It is really great and very convenient. Try it out!

Google 411 information

Google SMS information

Free Comic Book Day update

We took the kids to Tony's Kingdom of Comics to have pictures taken with the Dark Side Troopers. They had a lot of fun. Jason Martin did a sketch of Spider-Man for Mikayla too!

More photos on my flickr page!

It's Free Comic Book Day!!!!!!

Today is Free Comic Book Day! Head out to your local comic shop for some great freebies! I highly recommend All-Star Superman #1. It's free at your local comic book shop TODAY!

Free Comic Book Day webpage

Comic Book Store Locator

I'll be at Tony's Kingdom of Comics today. He's open from 11am to 5pm. Bring a donation of canned food and you can have an Iron Man print and have it signed by the artist who drew it right there. Should be fun. I'll be taking my kids to have their pictures taken with the Dark Side Troopers, a group of fun people who dress up in Star Wars costumes and let you have your picture taken with them. Maybe I'll see you there!

Connected

Okay, I admit it, I have a connection problem. Going without the Internet is something I just don't do (or at least cope with well). I have access to the Internet at home, at work, on my Blackberry, and with a cellular wireless card on my laptop anywhere I have cell signal. If someone wants to get ahold of me, there are usually at least four methods of communication that would work at any time. I have a problem, yes, but I know it and admit it. Isn't that half the battle?  ;)

Anyway, if you don't already have the links, here are some ways I'm staying connected right now:

E-mail: englishw@gmail.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/billenglish/

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/englishw/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1248769626

MSN: englishw@msn.com

Google Talk: englishw@gmail.com

AOL: englishw@gmail.com

Why I Use a Mac

I recently got an Apple MacBook Pro and people have been asking me why. "Why did you choose a mac?" "What's wrong with a PC?" "Why buy something so over-priced?" I decided I would blog about it so I could just have people read this. lol

First, a little about my history with a PC. I have been using a PC ever since I knew what a computer was. Nearly all of that experience has been in Microsoft Windows. I remember my dad being excited about being the first person on our block with a "Start" button when we upgraded to Windows 95. I have installed Windows 98 and 98SE more times than I care to remember (Bob, how many times did I install 98 in just that one night in college?). I beta tested Windows XP and loved the improvements from day one. Vista was a huge disappointment and I even ended up uninstalling it and reinstalling XP after a test drive of it.

Ever since college and the Windows 98 days, I have had a box running Linux also. The flavor of Linux has changed over the years and Linux has evolved a lot in the last 10 years, but I'm not at a point where it fits me for a desktop OS. I have a server at work I run Linux on and I have it on a box at home as well. I love it, but not as my primary machine.

I'll say right now that I have gotten bored with Windows. I've gotten sick of driver problems. I've gotten sick of programs crashing. I've been ready to move on to something new and different for a long time if for no other reason than it is different. I happen to think that OS X on an Apple computer is not only a refreshingly different experience, but I also think it is a superior OS.

So here I go with reasons in no particular order:

- Hardware bundled with software. I like the fact that OS X is not sold as a stand-alone operating system. It is amazing that Windows runs as well as it does given the infinite possibilities of combinations of hardware that it runs on. The few hardware errors or driver issues that come up are a testament to how good Windows is. Apple has it easy. They have a very limited hardware set to code around. It's easy to make a stable OS when you control not only the software, but the hardware. This is a negative thing for some people, but I'll take the stability that comes with it over more variety in my hardware any day of the week. This is the "it just works" cheesy saying you hear mac people talking about.

- Software. Now, I don't play many games. If you are a gamer, OS X is not the platform for you. Not only are the games not available for OS X, but even if you run them on Windows on a mac, you will be disappointed at some point with the hardware. Gamers upgrade their systems (mainly video cards) frequently to keep up with the latest technology. I'm not a gamer though, so that doesn't bother me. What I do like about software is I can run anything on my mac. I can run all native mac OS applications as well as Windows and Linux applications. Apple's BootCamp lets me dual boot Windows XP and OS X. Parallels lets me run Windows and OS X at the SAME TIME. Using virtualization, I can run OS X applications right next to native Windows applications with an unnoticeable performance hit. I can also run X11 Linux programs along side those applications. It's really amazing.

- Quicksilver. In short, Quicksilver is an application launcher, but it is much more than that. Instead of me try to explain something that can really only be explained visually, I'll link to a video. This is really worth watching. Quicksilver is simply amazing. Crazy good. I use it all the time now.

QuickSilver Demo Video (you have to download it to watch it, but it is well worth it!)

- The MacBook Pro. I love the size of the 15" MacBook Pro. It's has a beautiful 15" widescreen display that doesn't feel any smaller than my old 17" Acer Ferrari notebook. It's sleek, slim, and very lightweight. The battery life is incredible. The webcam is fun. The hot-keys are brilliant. The touchpad blew my mind. Every computer should have a touchpad like this one. One finger acts like any touchpad, but there's so much more. Tapping with two fingers does a 'right-click' action. Taking two fingers and moving them up or down scrolls up and down or left and right in a window. Three fingers left and right act as 'back' and 'forward' buttons in a web browser.

- Simplicity. Like I mentioned before, nearly all my computer experience has been on a PC. I have taught several people how to use a computer or do tasks on a computer. As I have been learning the mac OS, everything I have needed to do has been easy to find or figure out. It is very intuitive. Things are logically where you would expect them to be even not being familiar with the OS.

- Network. Wow. Where do I even start here? My MacBook Pro was authenticated on my domain at work much faster than a PC could ever be. Why? It didn't require a reboot. Almost nothing on a Mac requires a reboot. Wireless and wired network connections are simple. Here is an example: At work I am on a domain using a wired network connection and a static IP/DNS. At home I am on a workgroup using a wireless connection and a dynamic IP/DNS. On my Windows XP notebook, when I would go between networks I had to go into 'Network Connections' in the Control Panel and disable one network and enable the other and then 'repair' the connection for it to work. It was annoying and time consuming and initially it was a pain in the rear to figure out and setup/configure. With my Mac, setup was a piece of cake and now I don't even think about it. When I get to work, my network just works. When I get home, my network just works. No manually doing anything. It doesn't even alert me it's doing anything, it just does it and it works.

I'm sure I'll post more about the Mac in a later post, but this at least got some of the thoughts out of my head and a beginning to my reasons for using a Mac.

Do you use a Mac? Tell me why in the comments or send me an e-mail.

~ Bill

The plunge

Well, it finally happened. I am writing this to you on a MacBook Pro. My laptop at work died and terrible flaming death and I got approval to get a new notebook. I chose to go for the 15" MacBook Pro. So far, I am absolutely loving it. I feel liberated. OS X is so...smooth...light...fresh...simple... 

I have a long history of trying to escape Microsoft, so this is a long awaited victory. And, after using OS X for just 2 days, I have decided that I'm not going to be upgrading my home computer. I'm going to wait for the right time and then replace it with a mac as well. I'm a full convert now.

Dancing

I took a few videos of the girls dancing...I have no idea where they get these moves, but it's hilarious. Enjoy =o)

Italian Chinese Dancing Duck:


Italian Chinese Dancing Duck (part 2):


Crazy Dancing Kids:

Italian Pizzeria

Moses with horns

View from Delphi

Still getting through pictures. I love the effect that a circular polarizer has on the sky =o)

Sitting in Pompeii

Well, as most of you know, we made it back from Europe and we had a great time. I know I’m slow getting this first blog entry out, but things have been crazy since we’ve been back. I’m going to try to get through it all though and get to posting pictures. I took a TON of photos and I won’t bore you with all of them. I’ll post a few here and there and then when I’m through all of them I’ll update my flickr page with a better selection. For now though, here is a shot of Krista and I in Pompeii.

Pompeii was incredible. Acres and acres of ruins. It was crazy walking down the stone roads, preserved incredibly for nearly 2000 years. It was a little like walking through a ghost town. I’ll post more “traditional” photos of Pompeii, but I thought this one was cute.

Flickr Update!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/englishw/

Update from Rome

Flickr page updated!

10:00 PM Sunday night

Well, we arrived safely in Rome, Italy and have been enjoying our stay very much. A few people in our group have been sick (my mom, our tour leader, included). We are very tired, but are having a lot of fun.

Thursday was entirely a travel day. We left Portland airport at 7am and arrived in Rome at about 6:30am Rome time. We stopped at the hotel to drop off our luggage and then boarded the bus. We saw the catacombs first (no photography allowed). It was absolutely amazing. After that, we toured a few churches right around our hotel. It is so amazing how old these buildings are. The "new church" as they call it here is 500 years old. They call it "new" because the "old church" is 1500 years old. Amazing.

There are street vendors everywhere trying to sell everything imaginable. It is fun to see them pack up and run with a sheet filled with their goods on their back. It must be illegal and they must have a scout that whistles or something when policia are coming, because in 2 seconds flat they go from trying to sell you a purse to having everything collected up in a sheet on their back and running to a nearby ally.

Saturday we got to tour the Vatican. It was incredible. I took lots of pictures, but due to limited internet, I am only posting a few on my flickr page at a very low resolution. When I get back I'll be posting high resolution photos and lots of them I'm sure.

Today we were able to see the coliseum and the roman forum. We also got to see the jail where it is believed that Paul was held right before he died (the place he wrote II Timothy). That was incredible to see. The coliseum was surreal. It is so massive it is hard to really appreciate it. I took some shots to combine into a panorama, we'll see how that works out when I get home.

I am very tired and very very sore after walking all day for several days now. Tomorrow is a travel day, we will spend from 7am to noon on a bus going to another town in Italy. I will post again with more photos as I can. We have very full days and I have to give up coveted sleep to make these posts. Krista is sleeping right now :)

Bill out.

PongOut

Ok, there is this flash game called PongOut...you play Pong and Breakout at the SAME TIME. I had a blast with it for about 25-30 minutes and then realized I got the top score of all time. The oldest score is a week old, so it probably hasn't been out much longer than that. But still, there is a certain satisfaction with getting #1.

Odd perspective: Movie to book

I just finished reading 'Stardust' by Neil Gaiman. I really enjoyed it. However, after reading nothing but graphic novels for a few months, there weren't enough pictures ;) Anyway, it was very weird reading a book after I saw the movie. I think this is the only time that has happened for me. I have read books and seen the movie later on several occasions. Almost without fail the movies are a disappointment. But, it has always been watching the 90 minute movie after reading the 8+ hour book. Now that I have experienced reading the book after watching the movie, I think it's terrible thing. You should always read the book first, or just skip it entirely. I had a hard time enjoying Stardust...without thinking about the movie the whole time. I could never really get into Neil Gaiman's story as it "drifted from the movie." Maybe in a few years I'll be able to go back and enjoy the novel. It was a good book, don't get me wrong, but I knew what was going to happen. Or, I thought I knew what was going to happen. When events didn't happen like the movie, I was more distracted by that and thinking about that than I was the actual story I was reading.

I dunno...anyone else have a similar experience?

Heroes and comics and a cool online download thingie

I really enjoy the TV show 'Heroes'. The first season was wonderful. The second season ended a little less wonderfully because of the writers' strike, but now that that's over, I look forward to season 3 of 'Heroes'!

I was just turned on to WOWIO.com. It is a site that lets you download up to 3 books or comic books a day for free as PDFs. Very cool site for people looking for PDFs to read.

WOWIO has a parody comic of the TV show 'Heroes' called 'Hewoes'. It is hilarious! If you are a fan of the TV show, I highly recommend making a free WOWIO account and downloading 'Hewoes #1'. I couldn't stop laughing - great stuff!

Eclipse photos

I shot a few photos of the eclipse last night and posted them on my flickr gallery. CLICK HERE.

9 Tips For Coping With The Next BlackBerry Outage

1. Always keep a spare fiber-optic cable with tin cans attached to each end.
2. Take a deep breath, stretch, and count to 20. When you're relaxed, you can throw your BlackBerry much harder.
3. Acquire an advanced degree in telecommunications engineering, so you can decipher the eventual explanation from RIM.
4. Call your local Homeland Security office and threaten to blow it up in the name of Holy Jihad. Then the BlackBerry outage will be the least of your worries.
5. While they may not be fast, today's carrier turtles are more reliable than ever.
6. Use your writing or photography skills to chronicle the tragedy for future generations. The world must never forget.
7. Consider learning semaphore.
8. Take advantage of the accompanying chaos to loot an iPhone.
9. If you experience feelings of murderous rage, remember: incompetent buck-passing millionaire executives are people, too.

No, that's not original by me...it's a shameless rip from the Woot.com blog ;)

Seen any good movies?

I'm looking for movie recommendations :) Post in comments or e-mail me :)

Thanks in advance!

Reading something new

The combination of darkness and a stubborn windshield wiper made it very hard to see. I pulled into the Albertsons’ parking lot and was amazed by the number of cars. I guess 6pm the Saturday before Christmas is a popular time for others to be preparing for holiday events as well. After finding a parking space, I ran through the rain and across the parking lot to the crowded store. I had a relatively short shopping list but the lines where backed up into the aisles. I could only be thankful I was not at Costco or the mall.

What should have been a five minute stop on a normal day ended up being more like 20 minutes. I pushed my cart to the car and unloaded into the trunk, trying to be as quick as I could to avoid being completely soaked. Finally, I was sitting down in the dry car after a few moments of arguing with the door lock. Leaning back, I sighed and wondered why life seemed so busy. I turned my head and noticed that Tony’s comic shop was open and looked empty of customers. Remembering that I was going to pick up Krista a copy of the latest comic based on one of the games she enjoys playing, I decided to drive across the parking lot and take care of that now.

I walked in and immediately felt like I was 12 years old. The thoughts of cleaning, working, guests, planning, shopping, etc. all were just wiped off my mind. I wandered around looking at the Batman and Superman comics, the Spider-Man and X-Men comics, and was amazed at the ridiculous prices of the “collector figurines”, or toys as I call them. When I was a kid, a Green Lantern toy was $2 and you played with it. Now, they don’t move, cost $150, and are meant to be displayed behind glass. I found the comic I was looking for and picked up a copy. I also grabbed a Spider-Man, Action Comics, Batman, and Green Lantern.

I was never an avid comic collector growing up, but I enjoyed them and somewhere in my parents’ garage or my attic, I have a good sized box full of comics from when I was 10-12. A lot has changed in the last 15 years in comics. First of all, you need to call them “graphic novels” now. There are also a lot more options to read than just stories of men in colorful tights. “Superheroes” have become much more human. Comics deal with political and social issues. Marvel is doing an adaptation of The Iliad and Moby Dick. An independent comic publisher has done several adaptations of Shakespeare plays. Of course, there is still Action Comics, Batman, Superman, and the whole slew of heroes we all know and love.

Anyway, since that night I have been enjoying reading several graphic novels. Alan Moore’s Watchmen is by far the best I have read so far. I just started reading Frank Miller’s Batman. I always liked Batman and Green Lantern growing up.

If anyone reading has any suggestions of graphic novels I shouldn’t miss, a comment or e-mail would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Sony BMG plans to drop DRM!

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2008/tc2008013_398775.htm

One more step towards a DRM free music world.