Thanks to a super-human effort by Geoff I have migrated to Wordpress. It is something I have been talking about for a long time and with Geoff's help was finally able to make it happen.

The new url is http://thegibsons.wordpress.com/

www.thegibsons.com will be redirected to the new site.

See you there.

-Jess

Rating - B+
Saw on DVD

As a novelist (Emma Thompson) struggles with how to kill off her main character, IRS auditor Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) begins hearing her narration in his head and realizes he must prevent his own death. Crick's world turns upside down, and it's a life-or-death situation as he tries to persuade best-selling author Kay Eiffel to change the ending of her novel. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman and Queen Latifah lead the fine supporting cast.

I am not a real fan of Will Ferrell's over the top comedies - but in this one he was much more subdued and subtle. It was great to see someone who is extremely anal break out and have a life - there is hope for us geeks.

Rating - B-
Saw on DVD

Hoping to snag some free beer by helping a brewery owner reclaim her business, goofy Canadian brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie (SCTV's Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) wind up battling criminal Brewmeister Smith (Max von Sydow), who plans to take over the world by releasing his hypnotic brew to the beer-guzzling population. Now, the fate of humankind lies in the hands of Canada's biggest "hosers" in this classic comedy..

A classic that I wanted to share with the boys. At first Landon was not too excited, but within the first 5 minutes he was laughing. Not a great movie, but one of the movies everyone should see at least once, eh. Now take off you hoser.

The lust, must satisfy the lust.

As stated in a previous entry I was not gaga over the iPhone when it was introduced. I appreciated it's elegance, but had some reservations. As the launch date approached in late June the technolust started to build but I was able to ignore it. After the iPhone hit the streets, I was not going out of my way to hold/touch one, but if the opportunity presented itself I was going to take.

At a recent lunch Geoff was showing someone else the cool things the iPhone could do and I finally got my hands on one. At that point techolust went to 11 (damn you Geoff ;-) ). Now it was only a matter of when, not if. So last Thursday I finally got my fix satisfied - aaahhhhhh.

After a minor hiccup caused by having Parallels installed I was active and in iPhone heaven.

About my previous reservations:
- Screen - suprisingly the fingerprints on the screen are not bothering me that much. A quick wipe with my shirt and all is good. And after seeing this PC Magazine test regarding the durability of the screen, I was not as concerned as I had been in January.

- Keyboard - Still getting used to it. I am not as fast as I am on a Treo keyboard, but most of the online reviews have said that you have to give it some time to get used to it.

- Robustness - see the PC Mag test - enough said on that front.

- Radio - yeah EDGE is dog slow. Have not done any surfing using EDGE and not looking forward to it. But then as I said in the previous entry, I can always fall back on my Sprint device using their EVDO network.

- Battery - So far battery life seems good. My Treo has a swappable battery, but it is very rare that I swap the battery because it is out of power. Granted I am not as careful about the charging/discharging of the battery and how it affects the life of the battery because I have access to more batteries.
With the iPhone I am more aware of the charge/discharge issue and will be trying to charge it only once a day instead of always having it off and on a charger.

Pluses I have discovered since I got the iPhone:
- it is a great photo album. The brightness/clarity of the screen, the UI to move between photos - all WOW inducing.
- the ability to quickly check my personal email without waiting for my MacBook Pro to wakeup from sleep and connect to the internet.

Bottom line - no regrets and looking forward to my time spent with my iPhone (but don't tell my wife).

Rating - A-
Saw on DVD

Michael Moore sets his sights on the plight of the uninsured in this eye-opening documentary. In the world's richest country, 45 million people have no health insurance, while HMOs grow in size and wealth. Moore also explores the widespread use of antidepressants and their possible link to violent behavior. With his trademark humor and confrontational style, Moore asks the difficult questions to get to the truth behind today's health care.

I know that Moore's opinions will influence his filmmaking, so I have to take what he shows with some grains of salt. What he shows is upsetting and I am sure there is another side to the story - but it is hard to believe that we can have a system that is so critical to our lives be so screwed up. Makes me regret giving up my Canadian citizenship.

This post is late - but better late than never - right ;-)

Any hoo - best way to sum it up is to say that The Police concert was good, Roger Waters was GREAT.

This review on Epinions sums up the show very well.
Like the reviewer I was pretty heavy into Pink Floyd in college (wore out the groves on The Wall), but stopped following them for the past couple of decades. Was at the right place at the right time to get to see this show and I am so glad I did - he rocked.

Rating - B-
Saw on DVD

After a multiyear hiatus from Metropolis, Superman (played by Brandon Routh and Stephan Bender) returns to find a city that's managed to survive without him, an old flame (Kate Bosworth) who's moved on and an old enemy (Kevin Spacey) who wants him destroyed. Parker Posey, Eva Marie Saint, Peta Wilson and Marlon Brando (through the magic of archival footage) co-star in this long-awaited installment of the superhero saga.

Nothing special.

Good article on the "Safe Sleep" on the latest portables from Apple.
I agree with the author and always make sure Safe Sleep is off - hate waiting for my MacBook Pro to go to sleep.

Here are a couple of reviews by Robert Scoble and Dave Winer that I wanted to share.

I am more in the Scoble camp regarding the iPhone.

A great article by Michael Gartner that Alex posted on his blog.

This is for Geoff

Great clip of Tommy Chong on The Colbert Report with his take on Paris Hilton.

Great new show with Jeffrey Donovan as a CIA agent who gets a pink slip and ends up in Miami trying to figure out who did "burned" him and why. Along the way he uses his "special" skills to help out others.

Rating - A-
Saw on DVD

After Princess Diana's shocking death, Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren, in an Oscar-winning role) and Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) engage in intimate talks as Britain demands the princess be memorialized in a manner beyond standard protocol. This Oscar-nominated drama for Best Picture goes behind the scenes as the queen and prime minister try to manage Diana's death on a personal level while also dealing with a public calling for royal treatment for their beloved princess.

I could get use to Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth, but had harder time to see the actors playing Prince Phillip, Prince Charles, or Tony Blair as their characters. I think I have seen enough pictures of the Prince and Blair to know what they should look like and could not get past that. Mirren did a great job as the Queen, you could see the angst and turmoil she was going through as she tried to understand what was happening.
This one is a "thinking" movie - as opposed to a movie with lots of sex/violence that you can just float along with while watching.

Rating - B
Saw on DVD

An expert marksman (Mark Wahlberg) is coaxed out of seclusion by colleagues who need his help in preventing a plot to kill the president. But he soon realizes he's been set up when he's framed for the assassination attempt. Can he elude the law long enough to bring the real culprits to justice? Danny Glover and Michael Peña (World Trade Center) co-star in this political thriller based on a novel by Stephen Hunter.

Lots of things getting blown up and/or shot - what more can you ask for.

As a father of two teenage boys this song is MOST apropos.

with sons you only have to worry about 1 di¢k - with daughters you have to worry about every di¢k.

It hurts just watching the video.

This is wrong in so many ways.