Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Swashbuckling Johnny Depp did it again: the latest installment of Pirates of the Caribbean (PotC) is a total success, grossing on its second weekend as much as the next four movies combined. I can hear the sigh of relief out of Burbank: they had bet big time on this sequel, going as far as shooting two of them back-to-back.

As movies go, PotC 1 (The Curse of the Black Pearl) was funnier and more interesting. This one is way too long, way too predictable, and the special effects are too repetitive. Was it worth it? Not really, unless you really don’t know what to do with yourself on a hot summer afternoon. Towards the second half of the movie, I started wishing I had a remote control to zip over the less interesting scenes.

The Flanders Panel (A. Perez-Reverte)

Et tu, Amazon? The infallible suggestion engine decided I should read Arturo Perez-Reverte’s The Flanders Panel, a European (Spanish) novel of chess and murder. I guess that having read The Eight was a hint in the right direction, as both books focus on chess as a key to solving a murder case.

My review of The Eight was not too positive, particularly because the novel fails to deliver the promise of the publishing house. In all, though, it’s a readable novel that makes sense and is entirely enjoyable. Where the plot makes little sense, big adventures in the Sahara clearly make up for it.

Joomla Upgrade

Netcraft reported a serious SQL injection flaw in Mambo and Joomla. Given that SQL injection is pretty much the worst that can happen to your site, I immediately ran to the Joomla download page and got myself the upgrade from 1.0.8 to 1.0.10. Ran flawlessly, except for the usual SEF problem reported on several sites.

To fix that, I had to go to includes/sef.php and manually change the behavior. How annoying! In this case, I had to go down to line 511 of the new file, where you’ll find the following lines:

Cancel online?

I have been in a Netflix hole. That’s when you put movies on your list that you don’t really want to watch, and then they sit at home. You feel too guilty to send them back, and they just sit there. When it’s one, no problem, you watch the other two. Then it becomes two, and you exchange only the third movie. Finally, the third dud arrives, and you are in a Netflix hole.

Crazy blackbird attacks

Yesterday, I woke up with one of those stupid 1-day colds I get once in a while. I felt horrible, and by noon I needed meds. I pack up and drive to the Safeway. I remember to go to the Starbucks nearby, and just as I get out of the place, something scratches my head very briefly. Everybody around me is snickering.

I look around, see nobody. I look puzzled to the cute girl sitting at a table, doing her assignments. She smiles, points to somewhere in the air and says there is a bird defending a nest.

Google Maps updated

Google has updated the satellite images for Ninole! Here is a link link to the house. Notice the incredibly red roof, and the pyramid look (only from space…).

Back to the Mainland

The dice are cast, and the house is clean. From a process perspective, Wells Fargo says they just need the appraisal and the insurance policy, and then they can convert the loan. The appraiser is going to show on Saturday, while I am still waiting on Brad to come through with the final inspection (which was due out two months ago) to be able to get an insurance policy.

Sigh. Still a dependency on Brad. This time, it should be the last one. From now on, I can build on my own.

Sweaty

Sitting here in front of the computer, with sweaty eyebrows and wet clothes on a rainy Saturday morning.

It’s done. I have still some cleanup to do, but most of the work is completed. The bathrooms are tiled, grouted, caulked, and sealed and look positively gorgeous (waiting for the sun to take pics). The house is cleaned up, and I even found the time to wash some of the windows (i.e. the ones that didn’t force me to climb on the roof). Most importantly, I have talked with the appraiser, who is going to come next Saturday. She seemed to have a much nicer attitude than the other lady I talked with a month ago – she was upset because the site was not cleaned up and thought that was reason enough not the give me a loan.

Building your own juggling balls

I always wanted to learn how to juggle. Daniel, a friend of mine, is really good at it, and it’s one of those skills that stay with you and that give you something to do when you are bored (not that that ever happens).

I once went to Cirque du Soleil, and they sold juggling balls in three packs. I bought a set, leather balls filles with lightweight material. I juggled them for a while when in Hawaii, but never got good with them. I can juggle six throws easily, but eight is still elusive.

Cane spider in the car

Have you ever seen a cane spider? They are humongous spiders (well, maybe four inches wide) that live in the grass, actively hunt for food, carry their litter of eggs in a sack on their belly, and otherwise bother me when I have to pee in the grass or, as of lately, in the car.

Someone mentioned there was a cane spider in the car. I paid no attention, having seen none. Tonight, as I was leaving the Home Depot, I noticed something yellowish on the driver’s seat side, but before I could do anything about it, it was gone, crawled up in the console.