Incredible Friends, an owl and a cat!

This is an incredible video of an owl and a cat playing together

http://animalvideos.yahoo.com/video-detail?vid=25272362&cid=24037722

I only believe it after seeing it.

Amputee shows off robotic hand

Ckeck out this link to see robotic hand in action

Pirates of the Caribbean 4

I have to admit I am not a fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. More for kids than adults, there is generally little to keep the mind occupied. If it weren't for Depp's fine handling of his Jack Sparrow character, I'd probably have seen very little of the series at all. Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, let's face it, are hardly up there with the great actors of our time. Dare I say they are playing more on their looks than talent. Once again I give credit to Depp, who fought to downplay his looks in the franchise, and give his character some 'character' (sorry about that :D).

As for the special effects in the movies, there is some entertainment value there, but little to keep my attention for very long.

So now I must admit to wanting to see the new installment, Pirates of the Caribbean 4. How can this be? Well now, I have to admit to a guilty conscience here. Penelope Cruz has always struck me as very sexy. Much more than Knightly or Zeta-Jones, but still a back seat to Jolie. Cruz's career has been choppy in my opinion, but she still holds my attention for the same reason that I condemn Knightly and Bloom. I look forward to seeing Depp and her play off each other, and the quips that surely will put a grin on my face.

Windows 7 is ridiculous

Windows 7, Microsoft, or Microsoft updates, or perhaps all of them, are ridiculous. Having my new PC for less than two weeks, I don't know how many times the machine has been updated. It seems like every few hours. I have to remember to shut off the internet connection before shutting down. That would take care of it. Don't get me wrong, I know the machine is in constant need of updates, given Microsoft's record for bugs and love of pushing out software in Beta mode, or worse.

Today, I forgot to shut off the internet connection before powering down, so it left me hanging, telling me not to touch it until it downloaded whatever latest tweaks Microsoft decided to put in. Then when I powered back up, it kept me waiting, telling me the updates were being installed. That initiated another restart, which initiated another install of the updates. Foolish me I thought I was through it all. But no, once Windows 7 desktop appeared a message popped up and told me to restart the machine -- AGAIN! So after one start and two restarts I was finally in. You can bet I miss Windows XP. It gets to the point sometimes where I miss DOS. There at least I had some control. Windows 7 hides everything so that your helpless or spend too much time searching for the things you really need. At this point I'm not sure if I will go back to XP or go to Linux.

I'll keep you posted.

P.S. Can people really be buying mobile phones with a Windows operating system?

Anyone catch the new Virgin Mobile commercials?

Caught two new Vigin Mobile commercials and thought they were good.
The storyline is that Vigin Mobile needs a new celebrity couple for
mobile phone users to follow to boost sales.

The second commercial was the one I liked the best. You see a manager
draft two of the office workers to act as a celebrity couple. With
the right spin and clothes she figures they can pawn their office
workers off as a couple that the public will follow on Facebook,
Twitter, or wherever. At the end, the manager is showing off a
dress and suit to the two office workers to explain what she has in
mind. The manager turns to the mannequin with the dress and shows
how the shoulder strap easily breaks so that it will expose a breast
(think Janet Jackson). Then she turns to the other mannequin and the
crotch of the pants explodes. The manager quickly says "we're still
working on it".

It gave me a laugh.

How the States got their Shapes

How great is the History Channel!

While other people are watching reality TV on MTV and elsewhere,
I'm enjoying a very different reality shown on the History Channel.
The program I watching is "How the States got their Shapes". This
is exactlty the type of program I enjoy. With a mixture of
famous, and not so famous, characters from the past and citizens today
effected by the curious decisions of state boundries, it delves into
the logical, political, and strange reasons for the lines that divide
up our country.

The program covers United States history topics as well known as the
California Gold Rush and the Mason-Dixon line to little known items such
as the Republic of Franklin that in the late 1700s applied to the Continental Congress for acceptance into the Union. The facts span
centuries, from the lines laid down by kings to the still on going disputes of boundries between various states such as Georgia and Tennessee. The creators also included some details of the personalities
of those involved, making sure this would not be a dry list of factoids,
but a fascinating look at how geography, commerce, crime, and egos all
played a part in defining state boundaries.

I can't recommend this program enough. Catch "How the States got their
Shapes" on the History Channel if you can, hopefully dragging the kids
off Facebook to join you.