Greetings
The flood wasn't important enough to warrant all of these posts, but I don't have anything better to talk about.
In conclusion, here is the last flood post. This is the email sent to friends and family.
Greetings I worked from home yesterday. I had a conference in West Palm Beach at 6:30. I left my house at 5:30 to make sure I could find the place, etc. I was gone for about 3 to 3.5 hours.
During that 3 hours, Boynton Beach (where we live) got between 10 and 12 inches of rain. I didn't know this. I was in a conference listening to a bunch of geeks talk about microsoft products. (Bless them all, every last one of them, including the microsoft products. All hail microsoft. But I digress.). When I got back to the community, I thought it was suspcious that the gate was open. I thought it was more suspicious that the streets and lawns of the main road had been replaced by a lake. And when I say "lake" I'm not being overdramatic in describing a puddle. We're really talking about a lake for as far as the eye could see (assuming you don't have bionics). I just sat there sort of dumbfounded for a few minutes. I called gina and asked her to look out front. Naturally, she was afraid of the rain and was hiding under the coffee table, but I persuaded her to grab her teddy bear and go to the door. She quickly confirmed my suspicion: the house was now on the paved shore of a newly introduced body of water. Huh.
(Side bar: I proposed that we call it lake of jay, but that was lame, so it was rightly rejected. Alternatives are still under consideration.)
I parked my car a few miles away at my brother-in-law's house and got a ride back to the gate. Then I trekked through the water back to the house. Fortunately, it was just water. I feared there maybe some distateful...shall we say, "material", which would've prompted me to stay at a hotel for the night. I walked on the high parts whereever possible. At its lowest, it was well over my ankle. At its worse (remember, of the high ground) it was up to my knee.
Anyway, it was unusual, so thought I'd share. I love rainstorms and, of course, I happened to be gone for the biggest rainstorm that has probably occurred since we've lived her. Bogus. And it was dark, so I couldn't get any good pictures. More bogus. Thankfully, the water only made it about 1/2 way up the driveway. Most of you have never seen our community so I can't really describe it 500 words or less. You're just going to have to trust me. It was odd.
By this evening, the waters had mostly receeded. Then it rained again, and things started to backup into big puddles, but nothing like what happened yesterday. Good times. The cleanup should be fun.
More info here: http://jayallard.blogspot.comThere are some links and a couple of posts about it. I don't really have much else to talk about, so I'm going to milk this for all its worth. Please mark your calendar for the first annual "flood rememberance" ceremony, tentatively scheduled for 1/22/2009.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Waterfront Update
Late this afternoon, the waters had finally receeded enough so that I could see the street in all directions. Then it started raining again, and everything got backed up again, though not nearly as bad. Rather than a torrential flood, it was merely a big puddle.
The streets and lawns are a mess. All of the debris floated up then landed in what I assume to be random locations. Someone's going to need a broom.
We're not in a flood zone, so I don't have flood insurance. I should probably look into it. Maybe it will be cheap because its not a flood zone. The water was a good 10 feet from the garage door, but it was still alarming. What if I was napping in the driveway?
Last night, I was walking through it (before I dropped the car off) to see if it was low enough anywhere to reasonably drive through. Bill was hanging out in the driveway, so I called him over. He came prancing through the water like he didn't know it was there. This is a dog that hates the pool, but for some reason walking into a flood is ok. Silly dog. Anyway, it was fun watching him run around in it. He gave up quickly and headed back to the house via our neighbor's lawn.
Sun Sentinel Flood Watch report
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-boyntonfloods0122,0,561434.story
10 - 12 inches in 3 hours??!!
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpflooding0123pnjan23,0,840793.story
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/01/23/s1c_flooding_0123.html
http://www.wpbf.com/news/15118241/detail.html
There's probably 100 more, but you get the idea.
The streets and lawns are a mess. All of the debris floated up then landed in what I assume to be random locations. Someone's going to need a broom.
We're not in a flood zone, so I don't have flood insurance. I should probably look into it. Maybe it will be cheap because its not a flood zone. The water was a good 10 feet from the garage door, but it was still alarming. What if I was napping in the driveway?
Last night, I was walking through it (before I dropped the car off) to see if it was low enough anywhere to reasonably drive through. Bill was hanging out in the driveway, so I called him over. He came prancing through the water like he didn't know it was there. This is a dog that hates the pool, but for some reason walking into a flood is ok. Silly dog. Anyway, it was fun watching him run around in it. He gave up quickly and headed back to the house via our neighbor's lawn.
Sun Sentinel Flood Watch report
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-boyntonfloods0122,0,561434.story
10 - 12 inches in 3 hours??!!
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpflooding0123pnjan23,0,840793.story
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/01/23/s1c_flooding_0123.html
http://www.wpbf.com/news/15118241/detail.html
There's probably 100 more, but you get the idea.
DvdFriend - Create Account
I took a break from the "other" project so that I could add the "Create Account" functionality to DvdFriend. I've put it off for a long time because I really just had not desire to do it. Its a page with some fields and some validations. Its painfully boring at this point.
The validations are minimal. When you create an account, it should send you a verification email, but it doesn't. Additionaly, it should validate your email address. It doesn't. Why not? Because I'm still not in the mood.
Even though its a meager, at least its in there.
Chris requested a link for "MY REVIEWS" so that he can see what he's done. That would be a good feature.
I started a BROWSE page recently, but didn't have time to finish it before deploying this version.
The validations are minimal. When you create an account, it should send you a verification email, but it doesn't. Additionaly, it should validate your email address. It doesn't. Why not? Because I'm still not in the mood.
Even though its a meager, at least its in there.
Chris requested a link for "MY REVIEWS" so that he can see what he's done. That would be a good feature.
I started a BROWSE page recently, but didn't have time to finish it before deploying this version.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Unexpected Waterfront Property
I was supposed to go to the office on Wendesday, but that's not happening, so I had to inform the team. Email follows.
Greetings
So I went to a MVC overview in West Palm last night. I left my house at 5:30. The MVC stuff was interesting. I learned a lot, met some people, ate some pizza, and was feeling pretty good about the universe in general.
I was whistling pleasant Disney tunes as I approached my community. The birds were singing. Animated animals greeted me and smiled. It was darn-near utopia. What could go wrong, right? Nothing! It would take something truly awful to ruin this little slice of heaven. Then I passed the threshold of the community and learned that all of the pleasantness was merely a coverup to mask a tragedy that had befallen my abode and all those around it: Complete flooding (well, not really). I have reason to believe this scenario was orchestrated by god himself in response to an unfortunate code bug I wrote in 1986. I was new to programming. It was pascal. I thought he would forgive, but he didn't. Instead, he waited all these years and finally cast his fury upon me. At last, I have been smote.
Fortunately, the flooding only made it 1/2 way up the driveway, so neither my paper-mache howitzer collection, or my gremlins, are at risk. But, the roads are unpassable. I had to park at my brother-in-laws house, get a ride back, then swim home. I'm seriously considering giving myself a tetnus shot, but that would require more courage than I have readily available.
I have 3 regrets about this whole thing:
- I love a good rainstorm. Why did I have to be in West Palm for the doozy of all rain storms? Yet another facet of god's cruel joke. Had I not been in West Palm for MVC, my car would be safe in the driveway. (So maybe microsoft is to blame for inventing mvc?)
- Why does it have to be dark at 9pm? I'd love to get some pictures. Maybe it will still be there by the morning.
- they should have just called it Struts.net instead of MVC.net
So, I'm writing to report that due to transportation difficulties, I won't be in Wednesday as planned. Lets make it Thursday instead. Unless there's an earthquake in my driveway or a worse-than-usual firestorm in my bathroom, it should work out just fine.
Question? Comments?
Greetings
So I went to a MVC overview in West Palm last night. I left my house at 5:30. The MVC stuff was interesting. I learned a lot, met some people, ate some pizza, and was feeling pretty good about the universe in general.
I was whistling pleasant Disney tunes as I approached my community. The birds were singing. Animated animals greeted me and smiled. It was darn-near utopia. What could go wrong, right? Nothing! It would take something truly awful to ruin this little slice of heaven. Then I passed the threshold of the community and learned that all of the pleasantness was merely a coverup to mask a tragedy that had befallen my abode and all those around it: Complete flooding (well, not really). I have reason to believe this scenario was orchestrated by god himself in response to an unfortunate code bug I wrote in 1986. I was new to programming. It was pascal. I thought he would forgive, but he didn't. Instead, he waited all these years and finally cast his fury upon me. At last, I have been smote.
Fortunately, the flooding only made it 1/2 way up the driveway, so neither my paper-mache howitzer collection, or my gremlins, are at risk. But, the roads are unpassable. I had to park at my brother-in-laws house, get a ride back, then swim home. I'm seriously considering giving myself a tetnus shot, but that would require more courage than I have readily available.
I have 3 regrets about this whole thing:
- I love a good rainstorm. Why did I have to be in West Palm for the doozy of all rain storms? Yet another facet of god's cruel joke. Had I not been in West Palm for MVC, my car would be safe in the driveway. (So maybe microsoft is to blame for inventing mvc?)
- Why does it have to be dark at 9pm? I'd love to get some pictures. Maybe it will still be there by the morning.
- they should have just called it Struts.net instead of MVC.net
So, I'm writing to report that due to transportation difficulties, I won't be in Wednesday as planned. Lets make it Thursday instead. Unless there's an earthquake in my driveway or a worse-than-usual firestorm in my bathroom, it should work out just fine.
Question? Comments?
Friday, January 18, 2008
Dog Food
I made 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I was hungry.
75% of the first sandwich is all I could eat before completely losing interest.
So, I shared 1.25 sanwiches amongst three dogs resulting in approximately 0.416 sandwiches per dog.
I say "approximately" to allow for an error of margin, but that's just a formality. In actuality, I was very careful about distribution of the 1.25 sandwiches. Thanks to modern technologies, I'm confident that the distribution wasn't only fair, but was also accurate. I used the latest industry tools for weighing, measuring, and cutting the remaining sandwich parts.
I intentionally neglected to consider the weight of the dogs. (There was not a dog-weight-to-sandwich-mass ratio in my calculations.) I figure they all deserve just as much regardless of their size. The important part is the joy of eating them rather than the nutritional value.
Leia ate hers in two swallows. She doesn't chew things when she doesn't have to. I don't think she fully appreciates what she's eating; she just wants to eat.
Fred actually chewed his, but did so in one sitting.
Bill took his allotment back to his pillow and laid it out. He then nosed it around and ate it in chunks. He's always been a connoisseur of fine dining, so his behavior didn't surprise me. (To be honest, I lied about nosing it around. He just dropped it.)
The "crumbs" remain an issue. I think I'll just throw them away. I've already done enough math for one day.
75% of the first sandwich is all I could eat before completely losing interest.
So, I shared 1.25 sanwiches amongst three dogs resulting in approximately 0.416 sandwiches per dog.
I say "approximately" to allow for an error of margin, but that's just a formality. In actuality, I was very careful about distribution of the 1.25 sandwiches. Thanks to modern technologies, I'm confident that the distribution wasn't only fair, but was also accurate. I used the latest industry tools for weighing, measuring, and cutting the remaining sandwich parts.
I intentionally neglected to consider the weight of the dogs. (There was not a dog-weight-to-sandwich-mass ratio in my calculations.) I figure they all deserve just as much regardless of their size. The important part is the joy of eating them rather than the nutritional value.
Leia ate hers in two swallows. She doesn't chew things when she doesn't have to. I don't think she fully appreciates what she's eating; she just wants to eat.
Fred actually chewed his, but did so in one sitting.
Bill took his allotment back to his pillow and laid it out. He then nosed it around and ate it in chunks. He's always been a connoisseur of fine dining, so his behavior didn't surprise me. (To be honest, I lied about nosing it around. He just dropped it.)
The "crumbs" remain an issue. I think I'll just throw them away. I've already done enough math for one day.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Blog readers? / New Side Project
It has come to my attention that there are actually people out there who read this blog. They are an elite few. Vadim said he found it by searching for something else altogether. Interesting.
Anyhoo, some people left comments and I have not, to this point, acknowledged them. That's primarily because I didn't see them, and I didn't receive email notifications. Notifications were sent, but I didn't get them because of my spam blocker. That's been resolved.
So, comment away.
Speaking of comments, Chris has requested a DvdFriend feature that would allow him to respond to people's reviews. Neutral and negative comments about certain comic based movies inspire him to educate non-believers in the errors of their ways. In the old site, you could leave comments. On the new one, you cannot, but I'll get there. Its a good suggestion. He also mentioned how he has his blockbuster and facebook linked together, and he'd like to do something similar with DvdFriend. I didn't completely follow because I was thinking about a cheeseburger, but I'll follow up. It sounded like an interesting idea. However, a cheeseburger was more important at that particular moment.
On Monday, I had a meeting that secured a side project. As usual, the hobby site will take a back seat to actual work. The upcoming project is pretty big, though I hope I can still pick away at DvdFriend. It really needs a CREATE PROFILE page, but I'm bored to death with doing those. When I need a break from the other thing, maybe I can commit to doing that. (Maybe commit? That sounds like a non-commitment)
The side project is an update to a system I originally built 6 years ago. Since then, I've been occasionaly recruited to add new features. (Those who know me know the project I speak of)
Over the last couple days, I've been working on setting up a development vm including:
- vb 6.0 (for the vb stuff)
- vs 2005 (for the .net 1.1 stuff)
- vs 2008 (for the .net 2.0 and, possibly 3.0 stuff if the project requires new code)
- Sql 2005. This was supposed to be sql 2000, but the install keeps hanging and I can't connect. The application is a SQL 2000 application, so I'll just lower the db compatability, assuming that the 2005 install works)
It started off as an asp/vb COM+ app, but has evolved over the years. Each time somethine new comes out, I use it for new development. The new project involves changes to the foundation of the app, so I will most likely be coding in asp and vb.
That's about it.
So the DVDFriend community is now active with three people. World dominations starts with three people, so we're on the right track.
Anyhoo, some people left comments and I have not, to this point, acknowledged them. That's primarily because I didn't see them, and I didn't receive email notifications. Notifications were sent, but I didn't get them because of my spam blocker. That's been resolved.
So, comment away.
Speaking of comments, Chris has requested a DvdFriend feature that would allow him to respond to people's reviews. Neutral and negative comments about certain comic based movies inspire him to educate non-believers in the errors of their ways. In the old site, you could leave comments. On the new one, you cannot, but I'll get there. Its a good suggestion. He also mentioned how he has his blockbuster and facebook linked together, and he'd like to do something similar with DvdFriend. I didn't completely follow because I was thinking about a cheeseburger, but I'll follow up. It sounded like an interesting idea. However, a cheeseburger was more important at that particular moment.
On Monday, I had a meeting that secured a side project. As usual, the hobby site will take a back seat to actual work. The upcoming project is pretty big, though I hope I can still pick away at DvdFriend. It really needs a CREATE PROFILE page, but I'm bored to death with doing those. When I need a break from the other thing, maybe I can commit to doing that. (Maybe commit? That sounds like a non-commitment)
The side project is an update to a system I originally built 6 years ago. Since then, I've been occasionaly recruited to add new features. (Those who know me know the project I speak of)
Over the last couple days, I've been working on setting up a development vm including:
- vb 6.0 (for the vb stuff)
- vs 2005 (for the .net 1.1 stuff)
- vs 2008 (for the .net 2.0 and, possibly 3.0 stuff if the project requires new code)
- Sql 2005. This was supposed to be sql 2000, but the install keeps hanging and I can't connect. The application is a SQL 2000 application, so I'll just lower the db compatability, assuming that the 2005 install works)
It started off as an asp/vb COM+ app, but has evolved over the years. Each time somethine new comes out, I use it for new development. The new project involves changes to the foundation of the app, so I will most likely be coding in asp and vb.
That's about it.
So the DVDFriend community is now active with three people. World dominations starts with three people, so we're on the right track.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
DvdFriend Updates - Library
I've been working on other projects for a couple months now. I put both on hold last night so that I could work on DvdFriend for a bit.
Chris T has offered a lot of feedback on what the site should be able to do. Fortunately, most of the stuff he has come up with is stuff that the old site could do. Once it gets rebuilt in the new site, it should be better than the orignal.
LIBRARY / RATINGS
When you click a product, you go to the product page where it shows you all of the ratings, reviews, prices, and summary information. There's a new section that allows you to:
- Change your rating (if you already have one)
- Add a rating (if you don't have one)
- Edit or Write a review (depending if you have one)
The ADD A RATING isn't perfect. It brings you to the EDIT REVIEW page rather than offering the drop down list. This is because that in order to create a rating, you have to specify the rating type such as MOVIE, BOOK or XBOX 360. Products in DvdFriend don't have product types. They're ambiguous. That's good because it allows me to bind anything to anything. Its bad for situations like this where I would like to do something specific.
There's an EDIT PRODUCT page in the admin side of the site. I'm going to work on that (eventually) and add some default information.
You'll also see there's a LIBRARY section. Here, you can select what formats of the product you own. DVD, HD-DVD, BLU-RAY, BOOK, XBOX 360, etc. This list is too long, but will work for now. Once the concept of PRODUCT TYPE exists, the list will adjust contextually.
When you click a checkbox in the library section, it uses ASP.NET AJAX to save the call automatically. This isn't anything fancy; its just an update panel.
XBOX 360
By request, I added an XBOX 360 entry and an image, so now we can review and sell games. I added some prices. They went in as DVD. I'll change those to XBOX when I feel less lazy.
REVIEW SOMETHING
There used to be a REVIEW SOMETHING link and a SEARCH link in the menu bar. The search sucked because when you found a product, you wouldn't have a way to write a review or rating. So, then you'd have to go to the REVIEW SOMETHING page and search again. Lame. Really, that was just due to the fact that the product page was incomplete. It was lacking a lot of functionality. That functionality is now in there, so it should be a better experience.
I got rid of the REVIEW SOMETHING link altogether. I used to need that so that I could add non-product related entries, such as news items, rants, etc, but I haven't used it much, so I don't need it. If/when I do need it, I'll add it to the admin site.
NEXT STEPS
Now that the library stuff is in there, I need to make it more available. I'm picturing a BROWSE page that will allow you to look at products different ways. Immediately, it would be nice to list all of the HD-DVDs so you can just go down the list and click those that are in your library.
Once people have items in their library, the next logical step is to share the list with friends and co-workers. In the old site, this was called DVD COMMUNITIES. I'll have to start rebuilding that.
Also, I think its about time to open up the site. I currently enable users on an individual basis because I haven't finished all of the signup stuff. I should probably make that a priority.
In the meantime, if you would like to be able to login to the site to set ratings or write reviews, let me know.
Chris T has offered a lot of feedback on what the site should be able to do. Fortunately, most of the stuff he has come up with is stuff that the old site could do. Once it gets rebuilt in the new site, it should be better than the orignal.
LIBRARY / RATINGS
When you click a product, you go to the product page where it shows you all of the ratings, reviews, prices, and summary information. There's a new section that allows you to:
- Change your rating (if you already have one)
- Add a rating (if you don't have one)
- Edit or Write a review (depending if you have one)
The ADD A RATING isn't perfect. It brings you to the EDIT REVIEW page rather than offering the drop down list. This is because that in order to create a rating, you have to specify the rating type such as MOVIE, BOOK or XBOX 360. Products in DvdFriend don't have product types. They're ambiguous. That's good because it allows me to bind anything to anything. Its bad for situations like this where I would like to do something specific.
There's an EDIT PRODUCT page in the admin side of the site. I'm going to work on that (eventually) and add some default information.
You'll also see there's a LIBRARY section. Here, you can select what formats of the product you own. DVD, HD-DVD, BLU-RAY, BOOK, XBOX 360, etc. This list is too long, but will work for now. Once the concept of PRODUCT TYPE exists, the list will adjust contextually.
When you click a checkbox in the library section, it uses ASP.NET AJAX to save the call automatically. This isn't anything fancy; its just an update panel.
XBOX 360
By request, I added an XBOX 360 entry and an image, so now we can review and sell games. I added some prices. They went in as DVD. I'll change those to XBOX when I feel less lazy.
REVIEW SOMETHING
There used to be a REVIEW SOMETHING link and a SEARCH link in the menu bar. The search sucked because when you found a product, you wouldn't have a way to write a review or rating. So, then you'd have to go to the REVIEW SOMETHING page and search again. Lame. Really, that was just due to the fact that the product page was incomplete. It was lacking a lot of functionality. That functionality is now in there, so it should be a better experience.
I got rid of the REVIEW SOMETHING link altogether. I used to need that so that I could add non-product related entries, such as news items, rants, etc, but I haven't used it much, so I don't need it. If/when I do need it, I'll add it to the admin site.
NEXT STEPS
Now that the library stuff is in there, I need to make it more available. I'm picturing a BROWSE page that will allow you to look at products different ways. Immediately, it would be nice to list all of the HD-DVDs so you can just go down the list and click those that are in your library.
Once people have items in their library, the next logical step is to share the list with friends and co-workers. In the old site, this was called DVD COMMUNITIES. I'll have to start rebuilding that.
Also, I think its about time to open up the site. I currently enable users on an individual basis because I haven't finished all of the signup stuff. I should probably make that a priority.
In the meantime, if you would like to be able to login to the site to set ratings or write reviews, let me know.
Friday, January 04, 2008
The Death of HD-DVD?
Oh crap.
I spent $500 on the HDA1 HD-DVD player when it first came out. My goal was to be the coolest kid on the block, though I didn't go door to door to confirm. Not too long later, Microsoft created the HD-DVD drive for the XBOX 360. Once again, I rushed out to get it. $179.
Since then we have ammassed a pretty good collection of HD-DVDs. In fact, 8 of them came in today due to a BUY 1 GET 1 FREE sale at Amazon. I ended up with Dante's Peak to round out the bunch, which I'm not proud of.
Ah, heck... why not. Here's the list of 8
- Fearless
- Breach
- Meet the Fockers
- Dante's Peak
- Knocked Up
- Assualt on Precinct 13
- Traffic
Dante's Peak is easily the weakest of the bunch, but the special effects should be pretty good in HD. Meet the Fockers was a hesitant choice, but its funny.
Anyhoo, I'm going to guess that we now have approximately 20 HD DVDs. That's a few bucks.
So, I'm invested. I knew there was a format going on, and due to my rabid hatred of Sony, I backed HD-DVD. I doubt my investment in the technology caused any perceivable ripples, but I did my part.
I never agreed with the "lets see who wins" approach to the format war. HD-DVD players got pretty cheap, especially if you own an XBOX. Rather than wait for a winner, people should jump in the ring and fight. A lot of people can't due to the cost, so we'll leave them alone, but if you're a technology nut with the means of picking one, then pick one.
Ah, the War. At the beginning of the summer, it felt like that BLU-RAY was winning. By the end, it felt like HD was winning. Paramount and Dreamworks signed exclusively with HD-DVD. Michael Bay made a ruckus about this, then retracted his comments the previous day. (That was actually kinda cool. He didn't try to pass it off as misunderstood, or something lame. He put it down as a rash remark, and moved on.)
Somewhere along the way, there were some stories stating that Blu-Ray wasn't going to allow adult movies. If that turned out to be the case, then I'm confident that HD would've won. The adult industry is a billion dollar industry. (Or more. Maybe less. I don't know. I'm obviously just making up numbers as I go.). Say what you will and object all you like, but porn drives industry.
I have been a little bit envious about Blu-Ray. I would like to get Spiderman 3 on Blu-Ray, for one. The Incredibles would be something special too. The standard "Resident Evil: Extinction" dvd came in today... The Blu-Ray version would be better. But, that's the way it goes. You pick a side and you get the good and the bad, and you miss out on some of the good. I'm ok with it.
Warner Bros supported both formats, until now. Today they announced that they will drop HD-DVD in May. Most of the "analysts" say that that's the end of the format war. It will be over in a matter of weeks at the most. I don't know if that true or not. I'm not familiar with the qualifications of the said "analysts", but I'm the trusting sort so I'll assume they know what they're talking about.
Christmas just passed. I know of one co-worker who got an A3 for Christmas. Another one is going to buy one this weekend, though maybe he'll change his mind now. I don't know. Either way, it feels like then beginning of the end of an era, and I don't know that his purchase (or lack thereof) will have an impact either way. C'est la vie. (I don't know what that means for sure, but it seems to be contextually accurate).
If this is the end of the format war, then lets make it a quick end. They're saying days or weeks. Let it be so.
Supposing that Blu-Ray does win, how does that affect moi? As already covered, I'll have to buy a Blu-Ray player. I won't buy a PS3 because I still rabidly hate sony. Nor will I buy a sony Blu-Ray player for the same reason. There are enough others to choose from.
I just jumped onto CircuitCity.com to look at the prices on Blu-Ray players. Then I realized it doesn't matter, so I stopped looking. If Blu-Ray wins, we'll have to buy a player, so it doesn't matter what they cost. If the time comes, it comes. Lets give it some time and see if the analysts are worth their salt. (Again, I don't know what that means. Is salt a currency?)
The focus of my website will have to change somewhat, too. When I add movies to the database, I have to choose an image. My current priority is HD-DVD, BLU-RAY, STANDARD. I'll have to reprioritize. (In a related story, I also have to change the site to store images per product format rather than per product.)
And that's it. Damn Warner Bros. If this were an actual war, they'd be the French. (I know I'm not being fair to Warner Bros or the French, but that's ok. This is a rant. I'm not required to be fair, accurate, or even cohesive. Be grateful that I'm using complete sentences.)
The end.
I spent $500 on the HDA1 HD-DVD player when it first came out. My goal was to be the coolest kid on the block, though I didn't go door to door to confirm. Not too long later, Microsoft created the HD-DVD drive for the XBOX 360. Once again, I rushed out to get it. $179.
Since then we have ammassed a pretty good collection of HD-DVDs. In fact, 8 of them came in today due to a BUY 1 GET 1 FREE sale at Amazon. I ended up with Dante's Peak to round out the bunch, which I'm not proud of.
Ah, heck... why not. Here's the list of 8
- Fearless
- Breach
- Meet the Fockers
- Dante's Peak
- Knocked Up
- Assualt on Precinct 13
- Traffic
Dante's Peak is easily the weakest of the bunch, but the special effects should be pretty good in HD. Meet the Fockers was a hesitant choice, but its funny.
Anyhoo, I'm going to guess that we now have approximately 20 HD DVDs. That's a few bucks.
So, I'm invested. I knew there was a format going on, and due to my rabid hatred of Sony, I backed HD-DVD. I doubt my investment in the technology caused any perceivable ripples, but I did my part.
I never agreed with the "lets see who wins" approach to the format war. HD-DVD players got pretty cheap, especially if you own an XBOX. Rather than wait for a winner, people should jump in the ring and fight. A lot of people can't due to the cost, so we'll leave them alone, but if you're a technology nut with the means of picking one, then pick one.
Ah, the War. At the beginning of the summer, it felt like that BLU-RAY was winning. By the end, it felt like HD was winning. Paramount and Dreamworks signed exclusively with HD-DVD. Michael Bay made a ruckus about this, then retracted his comments the previous day. (That was actually kinda cool. He didn't try to pass it off as misunderstood, or something lame. He put it down as a rash remark, and moved on.)
Somewhere along the way, there were some stories stating that Blu-Ray wasn't going to allow adult movies. If that turned out to be the case, then I'm confident that HD would've won. The adult industry is a billion dollar industry. (Or more. Maybe less. I don't know. I'm obviously just making up numbers as I go.). Say what you will and object all you like, but porn drives industry.
I have been a little bit envious about Blu-Ray. I would like to get Spiderman 3 on Blu-Ray, for one. The Incredibles would be something special too. The standard "Resident Evil: Extinction" dvd came in today... The Blu-Ray version would be better. But, that's the way it goes. You pick a side and you get the good and the bad, and you miss out on some of the good. I'm ok with it.
Warner Bros supported both formats, until now. Today they announced that they will drop HD-DVD in May. Most of the "analysts" say that that's the end of the format war. It will be over in a matter of weeks at the most. I don't know if that true or not. I'm not familiar with the qualifications of the said "analysts", but I'm the trusting sort so I'll assume they know what they're talking about.
Christmas just passed. I know of one co-worker who got an A3 for Christmas. Another one is going to buy one this weekend, though maybe he'll change his mind now. I don't know. Either way, it feels like then beginning of the end of an era, and I don't know that his purchase (or lack thereof) will have an impact either way. C'est la vie. (I don't know what that means for sure, but it seems to be contextually accurate).
If this is the end of the format war, then lets make it a quick end. They're saying days or weeks. Let it be so.
Supposing that Blu-Ray does win, how does that affect moi? As already covered, I'll have to buy a Blu-Ray player. I won't buy a PS3 because I still rabidly hate sony. Nor will I buy a sony Blu-Ray player for the same reason. There are enough others to choose from.
I just jumped onto CircuitCity.com to look at the prices on Blu-Ray players. Then I realized it doesn't matter, so I stopped looking. If Blu-Ray wins, we'll have to buy a player, so it doesn't matter what they cost. If the time comes, it comes. Lets give it some time and see if the analysts are worth their salt. (Again, I don't know what that means. Is salt a currency?)
The focus of my website will have to change somewhat, too. When I add movies to the database, I have to choose an image. My current priority is HD-DVD, BLU-RAY, STANDARD. I'll have to reprioritize. (In a related story, I also have to change the site to store images per product format rather than per product.)
And that's it. Damn Warner Bros. If this were an actual war, they'd be the French. (I know I'm not being fair to Warner Bros or the French, but that's ok. This is a rant. I'm not required to be fair, accurate, or even cohesive. Be grateful that I'm using complete sentences.)
The end.
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