Crispy Bacon

Take one paper towel and place on a large deep plate.

Place half-strips of bacon on the paper towel and cover with another paper towel.

Microwave for 2 minutes.

Remove bacon, place on sandwich or another paper towel.

Bacon will be cripsy, and cleanup is easy and mess free!

Cloverfield is a love story

Saw Cloverfield this morning at the Rave at 12:31 am.

SPOILERS FOLLOW:

Everyone knows the movie is a monster movie, that's been known for a while. It's ALSO a love story and a tragedy. There are three love stories going on in the movie, each one ends tragically due to the events and destruction wrought by the monster as it ravages Manhattan. The movie is VERY jerky at the beginning, it's shot using a camcorder perspective... I felt VERY ill during the first 5 to 10 minutes due to how the camera was being handled. Since most of the film is shot from a first person perspective of the cameraman, Hud, it is VERY much like playing a First Person Shooter.

When you throw in the parasites, and the monster, and the military and all of the destruction you feel like you're playing Half-Life with some sort of super graphics. Especially where the characters move from environment to environment, like in the apartment, then to the street, electronic store (to stock up on batteries for a cell phone), alleys, subway, subway tunnels, a maintenance room, a mall shop, then up an apartment building and over to one which is leaning against it, etc... Very game like, very unreal because it is SO realistic. The monster is slowly revealed throughout the movie, but by the end I felt the creature was a bit unrealistic, as it didn't take much if any damage from the modern weapons being hurled against it.

All in all though, if you like FPS games, and are a Half-Life fan you should like this movie. The special effects are excellent, and the story and the way the characters react is very realistic. It's worth going to see at least once, and if I can pick it up cheap on DVD in a couple of years I'll likely end up watching it in slow motion! :-)

Brake Service and Battery Top Off

This last weekend I did some service work on the Vulcan and the Blast. I checked the brake fluid and then installed the battery lead that came off of Marie's bike before she wrecked it. That allowed me to charge up the Vulcan's battery. I rode it around the neighborhood, got the engine warmed up and put it away. Both bikes need to be washed badly, they've both got a nasty layer of garage dust on them. A rinse would likely fix the majority of the problem. :-) If the weather would just warm up good enough I'd wash both bikes.

I finished Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman, and my friend Greg loaned me American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Fragile Things was VERY good. It ended with the LAST American Gods story I'm told, so I am going to have to work my way through it. I loaned him The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly, and also Fragile Things.