Number 13: February 2009

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lost Generation - YouTube Video

This video came to me in my iLearn Technology RSS feed. I very much want to share it. The message of the piece is fantastic and the clever presentation is stunning.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Image via Wikipedia

Turner Classic Movies recently showed two versions of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the 1931 film which starred Fredric March and the 1941 version starring Spencer Tracy. I DVR-ed them and watched each on consecutive nights. The storylines were very similar, but I rather prefered the Fredric March version to the Spencer Tracy edition.

I could never really buy into Ingrid Bergman as the dance hall girl, Ivy. Miriam Hopkins was superlative in that role in the earlier movie. Also, the Jekyll-Hyde transition effects in both films were crude by modern standards, however, I thought the 1931 provided a more convincing changeover. I did feel that Spencer Tracy's Hyde character was more believable than March's.

As I had enjoyed watching both films, I chose to download and read the Robert Louis Stevenson novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from Project Gutenberg. I was quite surprised to find that the story told in the 1888 novel was very different from that presented in the films. The relationships between Hyde and Ivy and between Jekyll and his fiance (Muriel Carew in 1931, Beatrix Emery in 1941) were central to the films' storylines. In the novel, neither Ivy nor Muriel/Beatrix ever existed.

If I were to quantify the degree of similarity on a scale from 0 (virtually nothing in common) to 5 (nearly identical), the similarity factor of the two films would be 4. The similarity of the novel with either film, I'd rate as a 2.

The next theatrical version written by, directed by, and starring Mark Redfield was released in 2002. I have not seen this version, but I feel it might be interesting to take a look at it some time soon.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Tweet, Twit, Twitter

I've finally gotten Twitter to the point where it has become a useful tool and not simply a recreational social network. It took a while to find the people I wanted to follow, but I have garnered so much good stuff from those people that the development process has been decidedly worth it.

During that process, I've drawn some conclusions about what constitutes a good member of the Twitter community.

You should bring something to the party which adds value to the network. Share. If you've found a good web site or interesting video, share a link to it.
Provide a little description of what you are linking to. Tweets like this, "Take a look at this http://www.####.com" are often going to be ignored.
If you get something good from a post, don't tweet it as if you found it yourself, retweet (RT) the original post. Give credit where it's due.
Avoid serial tweets. If you need more than two or three tweets to get your message across, use something like TinyPaste to enclose your message in a single post.
Don't carry on protracted personal conversations as if Twitter were an IM service. There are better, more appropriate tools for this.
Use direct messages (DM) for personal posts (using d + username + message).
Thank people for following you. They don't have to you know.
Please don't be a persistent whiner or complainer. If 2 out of every 3 tweets you post is a complaint, you won't stay on follow lists too long.
If you post a tweet that solicits responses, acknowledge those responses with a DM.

I know I've broken every one of these rules at least once, but by trying to follow these principles as much as possible, I hope to be good, valued member of my Twitter community.

One final thought, beware of people whose number of followers is far greater than the number they follow.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

We're Off to See the Wizard ...

The wind is howling like an angry monkey! Gusts up to 60 mph. If you go out better put some rocks in your pockets!

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Free Grand Slams at Denny's

Slideshow of images from the Grand Slam giveaway at Denny's in Altoona, PA, 3 Feb 2009

Monday, February 02, 2009

Watch the Super Bowl Ads via Hulu

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Closed for the Super Bowl

Apart from bars and restaurants with big screen TV, this sign pretty much typifies Super Sunday in Steeler country ...

Super Bowl XLIII Prop Bets

The term prop bet is short for proposition bet, and this type of betting involves wagering on certain details of the game, such as which team will win the coin toss, which team will score the first touchdown, or many more arcane events.

Prop bets can be a terrific way to be generate interest in every aspect of the Super Bowl. They can also give you a better chance of taking away some winnings.

Here are some examples of current prop bets on this year's Super Bowl ...

Which team will win the coin toss?
Who will be named MVP?
Will Kurt Warner break Joe Montana's career Super Bowl passing record?
Will Limas Swede or Jerheme Urban have more receptions?
Will Hines Ward or Santonio Holmes catch a pass first?
Will Larry Fitzgerald or Anquan Boldin catch a pass first?
Will Kurt Warner throw a TD or an INT first?
How many yards will Edgerrin James have on his first carry?
Will Kurt Warner's first pass be complete, incomplete, or intercepted?
Will Willie Parker or Larry Fitzgerald score a TD first?
Nate Washington's first reception will be how many total yards?
Will Willie Parker's total rushing yards be an odd or an even number?
Will Alex Ovechkin have more points than Willie Parker has receptions?
Which team will score last in the first half?
Wll the team that scores first win the game?

Number 13