UbernerkleRuminations of a Renaissance Geek

Dailymail.co.uk posted an article regarding photographs taken from the International Space Station of a volcanic eruption in the North Pacific. Check out those shots, just gorgeous,:

Gizmodo.com brings the Coffin Couch to the attention of the wannabe Goth Geeks out there who do not already have their own coffins. Only $3,500 from Etsy.

“Oh No, R2! We killed them!”. Gizmodo.com has given me yet more goodies to nerdlust over with a very nice pair of Trash Compactor book ends from A New Hope.

May the merchandise be with you continues…. Star Wars.com announces the availability of three more Star Wars themed Mr Potatohead. Introducing Chipbacca, Mashter Yoda, and C-3PotatO. This proves a bit of a dilemma for Ubernerkle as he already owns Darth Tater and the Spud Trooper from the existing ones: Artoo-Potatoo, Darth Mash Maul, Darth Tater, Luke FryWalker, Princes Tater, Spud Trooper, Spudda Fett

Here are my two hanging on the top of one of my bookshelves with the Lego Yoda Mrs. Ubernerkle got me for Valentines one year and Optimash Prime.

Michael Jackson had a cardiac arrest around noon today and was not breathing when paramedics arrived. Well that would complete the 3, Ed Mcmahon , Farah Fawcett and now Jackson. CNN announces his death.

Woo hoo! So I just posted CBS’s Schedule over at TemporalConsumer.com and I’m looking forward to the back to back airing of NCIS Season 7 and the debut of NCIS: Los Angeles.

During an errand run on Sunday, Mrs. Ubernerkle and I treated ourselves to takeout.  Seeing as it was Fathers Day, I picked Frankie The Bulls’ BBQ which is celebrating its three-month anniversary this week.  Located parallel to the 5 Freeway at 1127 West Morena Blvd., it’s hard to miss the gigantic bull standing on the top of the building.

Being a Limey, or “Anglo-Californian” as I now refer to myself, understanding American BBQ is something that I am still working on after ten years of living here.  I was first inducted at Dreamland BBQ in Birmingham, Alabama.  Since then I have begun to understand the different classifications; wet, dry, sweet, smoked, spicy, pork, beef, etc.  BBQ definitions shift depending on geographical location. Frankie is Texan style dry rub and smoked meat served with sauce on the side.

That precursor aside, let’s get back to Frankie’s.  The restaurant is stylishly decorated and equipped, which is a change from the normal BBQ dives I have frequented.  The feeling is authentic and comfortable and the staff have actual personalities.  The smell was intoxicating and had we not needed to hurry home to meet the Minions, we would probably have eaten there.

The menu is classic and short.  Frankie knows what they do well and they stick to it. I had the beef ribs and beans; Mrs.Ubernerkle had pork ribs and macaroni & cheese.  On the drive back we had to keep the windows open because the smell drove us to distraction.

The beef ribs were hefty and perfectly smoked. The surface crackled lightly with juicy, well-seasoned and smoked meat that flooded my mouth. The sauce was a tangy, mildly spicy, perfect accompaniment that did not drown out the meat, but rather enhanced it nicely. The pork ribs were more delicate and just as flavorful. We could find no fault with the beans either - they were great.

We will be returning to Frankie’s many times over in the future to sample the other delights from the menu and just to enjoy the atmosphere. I might just try and get my picture up on the “Trough Wall of Fame”.

ComingSoon.net has some concept art and shots from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Looks amazing, Depp as the Mad Hatter, Helena as the Red Queen and Anne Haffayourwaywithme as the White Queen.

And in honor of the wonderful pillaging of child hood properties to be remade I give you more Toy Movie Trailers:

Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | More Video Clips

‘Tis Summer Break and I hear the yells of jubilation from parents everywhere! Yes dear readers, today is the eve of the “Big Beathe Easy”. Tomorrow the Minions will commence their Summer Break.

This manifests a simplicity of life for me in many ways:

I shall not need to rouse them in the mornings. I can sleep in or roll out of bed and slip into work early. I will not have to prod, poke, tickle and physically drag the unconscious drooling bodies from their knotted blankets.

I shall not need to make them breakfast, snacks and lunch for the day. No navigating the mine field of picky eating habits and balanced meal equality so that no one child feels the other is being given preference over the other.

I shall not have to drop them off at their early morning program.
We shall not have to race to pick them up from their afternoon program.

My schedule becomes my own again.  I can work early, I can work late, I can go grab a beer or a glass of wine before heading home. Huzzah, huzzah, huzzah!

I do not have to care if they shower every night or go to bed by 8 p.m. They can fall asleep to movies in their rooms or playing Xbox until their eyes crust over.

There will be a reprieve from the mental water boarding of helping them with their homework. It’s not that they are incapable of doing homework or that it is too complex, but if I could harness the energy it takes to keep them focused, we could power the world for four centuries on clean energy with plenty left over.

Traffic will largely die down during the morning and afternoon commutes. No more suicidal SUV-mounted death squads with their quad Chai Latte grenades in one hand and mascara bayonets in the other, navigating streets and freeways at twenty miles over the speed limit while screaming at their spawn in a way that drill instructors can only wish to achieve. No more risking life, limb and child in the school parking lot as they crash their SUV’s over the shrubbery like landing craft at D-Day, battling to get the one spot not in the range of the machine gun nests.

Of course two weeks from now, I will be cursing the whole thing and begging for a return to the time-occupying educational institution to just stave off that blood-rage inducing comment, “I’m bored.”

Sad news from Writerswire.com this morning that David Eddings has passed away at the age of 77.

David, along with his wife Leigh who passed two years ago, were responsible for encouraging my bookworm tendencies, along with Tolkien, Raymond Feist, Terry Pratchett, Robert Jodran, Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, Wies and Hickman, and more. These are the authors who talked to a confused young man evolving through adolescence and the awkwardness that came with it.

In my tweens I raided the local library every weekend. I stumbled upon Pawn of Prophecy and within a couple of months had read everything he had published. “Silk” was one of my favorite characters from the series.

Now twenty years later, some of those authors, including the Eddings’, have died. Their works transition from a living bibliography that grew, enthralled, and entertained into a still echo of the word-smithing that took minds outside of their bodies and realities and let them trip the ether. The heroes – I mean the authors, not just the characters - of my youth are losing their immortality but I hope that generations will relish their echoes for a long time to come.

Amazon: The Works of David Eddings

Amazon: The Works of Terry Brooks

I was introduced to The Sword of Shannara about the same time I was given Feist to read. I remember being on a family vacation in Cardiff, Wales and my cousin letting me read some of his copy.

Amazon: The Works of J.R.R. Tolkien

It all began with The Hobbit, but the Simarillion kicks my ass to this day.

Amazon: The Works of Raymond E. Feist

In the later half of my secondary school years I had been reading Wies and Hickmans Dragonlance books. My english literature teacher, upon receiving an essay I had written on the first of the series, recommended to me that I upgrade my reading to something a little more challenging and in-depth so he introduced me to Raymond E. Fiest and Magician. Twenty years later and a continent away, I find myself standing in a comic book store in San Diego behind a gentleman who is very familiar but I cannot put my finger on where I know him from. After paying for my purchases and introducing the Minions to Transformers and X-Men comic books, I left the store just in time to see the car with the licencse plate “Feist” leaving the lot.

Amazon: The Works of Terry Pratchett

One of the most prolific authors who has had an impact on me as a reader, writer, and me as a person, is Terry Pratchett. He is one of the funniest, sharpest, and most sarcastically talented authors I have ever read. He is not dead, but it saddens my heart to know he is fighting off the onslaught of Alzheimer’s.

Amazon: The Works of Weis and Hickman

I was a role-playing game geek but I’m in hibernation with the hobby right now until the Minions are old enough to start getting into it…then I will return! The Dragonlance books came very quickly on the heels of The Hobbit.

Gizmodo.com has a story up about an electric super bike which uses an iPhone for the dashboard.

Kotaku.com gets more details on LastFM. I’m putting this under gadgets because the new plans Microsoft announced for the Xbox 360 at last weeks E3 included a bunch that have nothing to do with the actual playing of games. In this case we are talking about Last.FM which will be made available to Xbox Live members. For more details on the the Last.FM service availble on PC already, click here.

Westerrn Digital 4 TB External HD for $649.99, reported by Engadget.com. It’s eSata compatible which in theory means you could hook it up to your Series 3 TIVO for HD content armageddon.