Quick Movie Review: Cloverfield

Quick Info (from Yahoo! Movies):

• Title: Cloverfield
• US Rating: PG-13 for violence, terror and disturbing images.
• Starring: Lizzy Caplan,  T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman

From My List, I have to say, overall, I was a bit disappointed. I wanted to see something come of all the viral marketing and mysterious internet advertising. Don’t get me wrong, I had fun watching it. It just didn’t deliver to the extent that the hype built it up to be. I am not a huge fan of the whole shaky-cam filming concept, but I can usually get past it and enjoy the movie. I was upset that the camera guy, Hud, bit it (or vice-verse) at the end. And no one lived. Seemed kinda anti-climatic. I heard that there was some more dialog after the credits at the end and I need to check that out as it foreshadows a potential sequel.

I give it 3 random characters out of 5: ~ ~ ~

-Timmy

Bike to work!

UPDATE!!! We took a test drive last night and went around 2 miles round-trip. I was towing Wyatt in his attached bike and I found a couple things out… #1 My bike needs some serious adjustments (gears mostly) and #2 At an elevation around 5,000 feet, air is a little harder to come by in a hurry. We determined for my health and safety, we should probably keep building up to a ride like that; plus it’s supposed to snow again later this week.

Hey y’all! I live exactly 4 miles from work! Rachel measured it for me today. I think before the week is out and if the weather holds true, I will bike to work. It’s nice since I don’t have anything I have to pack in, other than a frozen meal in a Wal-Mart bag. I’m excited as this should be what gets me the exercise I just can’t get into via traditional means. I am really concerned lately as my mid-section has been expanding and the numbers on the scale have been elevating. I’m feeling my back getting strained while I sleep and when I do some moving around. My shirts are all getting tighter too. I would think with my new job and there being a lot less stress in general, that this kind of pattern wouldn’t continue. That doesn’t seem to be the case. Let’s get this bike riding down to a science so I can start losing this awful gut. I’m in! Are you???

-Timmy

Dodge and Transmissions

Why would we have to have a new transmission put in our relatively new Caravan?? It just crossed 56,000 miles. I’ve heard of transmissions being a common problem for some older Caravan models, but ours is a 2005. What we started noticing a couple weeks ago was that we would hear a high-pitched rubbing sound from the front-end when we took low speed turns to the right. This was odd and we asked around a bit but heard anything from bearings to CV Joints. This went away and then we started feeling a jerky movement when starting from a stop. I attempted to make an appointment at our local Dodge dealership but each time, the phone was disconnected. Finally, I just asked Rachel to take the car in. They took it in this past Monday and said it was definitely a bad transmission and they would replace it. Fortunately, we purchased an extended warranty and it was all covered except for a $100 deductible including a rental. They said we should be changing the fluid and having the tranny checked every year. We never had that done till now, but never observed any reason for this. All said and done, we are satisfied and things are good to go. We also had a few days to revel in a new 2008 Caravan.Have any of you experienced a similar situation? Is this common?

-Timmy

After a couple days…

Hi all! I am sitting in my cubicle at NovaRad (yes that R is caps!). So far, it feels pretty mellow. I’ve been training and shadowing a lot. I hope to get moving quickly. A lot of my training is based upon me installing the tools on my own system. It’s been challenging but isn’t that what makes it good? I will let you all know more when I know more!

A few notes:

• Rachel was turned down by both jobs.
• We might be planning a trip to Las Vegas.
• I posted Wyatt’s latest camera card full of pictures, click on the picture on the right.
• I got a 1 terabyte external drive that promises much to the progression of XRT-FM!
• We put Wyatt on a new disciplinary plan (will explain later)
• I’d like to broadcast live this weekend… (will let you know)
• I love my family!

Novarad, here I come!

After numerous interviews with various important folks at Novarad, I’ve been offered a Tier 2 Technician position to begin Monday, 3/10. I really enjoyed the process, it was quick and efficient. Part of the beauty of this new opportunity is that it is literally blocks from my house in American Fork! I feel like I made a good impression on Lloyd, the help desk manager. I also need to thank Tina Escobar from the Smith Johnson Group. We worked together for a time at SlashSupport. Now she is a high-level recruiter and had this opportunity almost right out of the gate.

Ultimately, while I am still a bit miffed about the entire SlashSupport situation, I am grateful for the chance to have worked there, both for the friendships that were made and for the experience I gained.

Thanks all for your comments and prayers!

-Timmy