I need an iPod

I'm getting really bored at work. I check the news every few minutes. I answer email. I write on my blog. It's not as though there's not work. It's just that the work there is is rather mind-numbing and one needs these little mental breaks to keep from going stark raving mad. I think I might go make myself some hot apple cider shortly.

All of my colleagues either have an mp3 player or they smoke. I don't intend to take up smoking, so I guess I need an mp3 player. Maybe this will help with the need to make sure that my brain doesn't turn to a giant pile of applesauce inside my skull.

On another note, I watched Batman and Robin: The Movie last night, and it was hilarious. Very dry humor, absolutely obnoxious dialogue, and great tights. "Holy Polaris, Batman!" - very funny. It's very much in the 60's science/technology show mentality, though - I think Star Trek and Batman have more in common than I thought.

'Anticipation'

I'm listening to Carly Simon as I sit in my humid little room, in anticipation of tomorrow's fun adventures. 'Anticipation' is really a rather good song, it's too bad it's forever associated with the ultimate tease - a Heinz ketchup bottle. 'You're So Vain' is still my favorite, though, just for the 'you had one eye in the mirror' line.

Tomorrow, we're going to the zoo! I'm very much looking forward to that because I haven't been to the zoo in years, since I went to the zoo at Schoenbrunn in Austria in 2003. I am going to take my nice camera, make sure I have plenty of film, and snap lots of animals. Definitely bringing the telephoto to this place - I am really hoping for a Bengal tiger picture. If it comes even close to my brother's awesome picture when they went to the zoo a while back, I'll be quite satisfied.

Cinemax is currently running the old Star Trek movies, tonight was Star Trek IV: the Voyage Home. The storyline is really quite terrible, as with most Trek movies, but the one-liners are fantastic! As is having a Russian (Chekov) ask about where the nuclear 'wessels' are in 1980's US, and watching the great tard William Shatner for an entire movie. I'd never watched the whole movie through before, having only seen parts of it on TV (sorry, but I'm not going to bend over backwards to see Star Trek IV), and I kinda felt sorry for Leonard Nimoy, who reprised the role of Spock - something he had said he never wanted to do again - and that he will also be reprising his role in the new movie. Does anyone know Leonard Nimoy for ANYthing else, other than Star Trek? Maybe the Bilbo Baggins song.... :)

By the way, in case you were ever in any doubt as to the technical quality of the Star Trek series, The Voyage Home was nominated for four Academy Awards, for cinematography, sound editing, music, and sound (just nominated, though). It, of course, was nominated for piles of awards by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, but only won for best costumes. Best costumes?? Well, whatever.

Quotes!
McCoy: My God, man. Drilling holes in his head isn't the answer!

[on 20th Century America]
Kirk: This is an extremely primitive and paranoid culture.

Of Trekkies and power outages

This article just came out: in the new Star Trek movie, we will get a look at the young heroes of the original series - Spock, James T. Kirk, and I assume Bones and Scotty well, maybe even the rest of the crew, who knows? Anyway, I'm rather happy about the people they have working on the show (as in, SO GLAD Rick Berman is not directing the creative aspects of the film). The last film was absolutely terrible (Nemesis - they killed Data!!), so this one, if it's done even half well, will be a vast improvement. And no, in case you are now chuckling that I'm interested in Star Trek, I do not dress up, go to conventions, or study Klingon. You can, you know - learn Klingon on tape, and such.

This evening for dinner, I had a rather unwelcome surprise. The power suddenly went out when I attempted to use the oven. Their father had not yet attempted to use it because he didn't know how and couldn't read the directions (not in English, made by a German company), so he gave the directions to me to figure out. I had it all figured out, was ready to pop my mac'n'cheese into the oven, when pop! - out went the power in the entire apartment. This has happened to me before, but because of my blowdryer, so I did what I usually did, turn off all the breakers, then turn them on again. This didn't work. So, after getting the guard a couple of times, and talking to the manager, I finally figured out a way to test each switch individually. So, the power is now back on (go me!), but we can't use the oven. So, it became stovetop mac'n'cheese. Ugh.

At least we still have our movies for Friday night movie night. Tonight, it's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Madagascar" for the boys, and after they go to bed, "The Fugitive" for me. I like that show.