We watched Hotel for Dogs last Friday (rented from the MovieCube at Publix) for weekly Family Night. Cute movie, typical Nick-esque plotline (in other words, kids doing great things, with no need of adults). Everyone enjoyed the movie. I will warn you that there is a sad part about 3/4 of the way through. We didn't even think Claire was paying attention to the movie until that scene, when I realized she was no longer trying to distract us and was staring at the TV. She started bawling and ran out of the room with Amanda chasing her, trying to catch her to console her. As with all kid movies, it has a happy ending, but I think Claire was worried for a minute there.

Roku Digital Video Player

Have you seen this? Subscribe to Netflix and you can do the movies-by-mail thing, but they also support unlimited streaming video to a PC or to a supported device like the Roku. They have a bunch of stuff, including the recent seasons of popular TV seasons. The quality is less than DVD, but it definitely shows where we are heading w.r.t. the Internet replacing broadcast TV.

I suddenly realized I hadn't heard anything about the Ender's Game movie. Turns out Wolfgang Petersen left as director and they were searching for a new one - as of a year ago. They have released a comic book series based on Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow (the beginning of the Bean series), but no word on when the movie will come out.

I listened to Ender's Game years ago, as well as Ender's Shadow. They are very good books, especially when they are read. It's one of those series where they use multiple voice actors to convey the different parts, unlike the Harry Potter audiobook series, where Jim Dale does all the voices (and excellently, I might add). Jim Dale also does the narration for Pushing Daisies, which I'm sad to say won't be returning next season.

Advertising during shows now more expensive on Hulu than on TV

Who would have thought this would happen so quickly? Tier 1 shows like The Simpsons and CSI now have higher advertising rates on the web, which bodes ill for the broadcast medium.

Wow. All I can say is, wow.

Ding! Installed WotLK this weekend, one of my Father's Day gifts. Amanda got it off Amazon for $30 (although I can only find it for $32).

Video of Romancing the Road by Growing Bolder, at growingbolder.com

Video of Romancing the Road by Growing Bolder, at growingbolder.com

Great story of a 94-year-old woman and her Ford Chariot with 500K+ miles on it.

The Heaviest Element Known to Science

The Heaviest Element Known to Science

... and you know it's true!

Skinny House
The narrow dwelling with mile-wide malice

Be prudent about sharing vacation data online

Be prudent about sharing vacation data online: "Most social-networking operations let users restrict access to people they approve. But many people fail to take this important step, especially if they are seeking a wide audience or trying to look ultra-popular."

Don't be foolish.

The TWiT Netcast Network with Leo Laporte
One of my favorite podcasts, TWiT, hit its 200th episode. Congratulations, Leo, even if this show was a bit slow. But the junk drawer at the end...

The White House - Blog Post - Responsible Fatherhood

The White House - Blog Post - Responsible Fatherhood
Who knew that this past Sunday was the 100th anniversary of Father's Day?

Emily, Alex, and I finished "Prince Caspian" this weekend and started on "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader". Our intention is to read through the entire Chronicles of Narnia - well, I'm reading, they're listening. I'm hoping that will be a memory that will stick with them when they're older.

It's taken us quite a while to get to this point (book 5). There were stretches when we went 2-3 weeks without reading even a single chapter. But we are re-energized right now and hope to finish the series before the end of summer. Wish us luck!