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    6/27/2007

    Where's The Matrix???

    The American Film Institute released their list of Top 100 movies of all time a few days ago. Although the speaking lines of the script was only slightly better than wretched, Star Wars somehow made it all the way up to #13 on the list. Although it tanked at the box office, Blade Runner made #97. Although there is an entire warehouse somewhere loaded with DVDs that didn't sell, Titanic made #83. So the question is: why was The Matrix left off the list? Besides the fact that this movie single-handedly propelled DVD players into every home YEEEARS after DVD was introduced, The Matrix had all of the elements of a classic film:
    • The audience is taken along with the lead character on a journey of discovery (what is the matrix?)
    • Good vs. Eeeeville
    • A love story (boy meets girl, girl loves boy, boy is CLUELESS, girl wins boy)
    • The reluctant hero
    • The wise mentor...who can "jump" (Morpheus is actually crazy, but Ben Kenobi was a crazy old wizard, too)
    • Benedict Ahhnuld character
    • An unrelenting, seemingly undefeatable enemy (you see an agent...you run)
    • Lead character's self-discovery and self-awareness (you won't need to dodge bullets)
    • Cool clothes, cool phones, cool shades, cool attitudes...by people who in the 'real world' look like the homeless people you see living under a bridge
    • The perfect accompanying music soundtrack
    • Camera angles and shots that made comic books come alive
    • Guns. Lots of guns.
    • He knows Kung-Fu.

    There's just no justice in the world...

    4:43 PM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it
    6/20/2007

    The need for SPEED

    I've had cable broadband since it was first introduced in the NW. Hated how AT&T destroyed @Home and cut my download speeds in half. Then AT&T soooo generously "doubled" it a couple of years later before selling to Comcast. And then Comcast gave me a new modem, and speeds went up again, but recently additional speed increases weren't doing much.
     
    By chance, I found a former Comcast customer who wanted to sell his personal cable modem...a Surfboard 5120. And only 15 bucks! I took a bunch of measurements with the old modem (six different broadband speed tests), got the new modem activated today, took the same measurements, and...
     
    My download speed increased between 50 and 75%, depending on the speed test. Very nice.
     
    But upload speeds literally QUADRUPLED for all speed tests. SWEET!
    10:48 PM | Add a comment | Read comments (1) | Permalink | Blog it