Life Update

In our last episode, I wrote, in part:

So, it’s been a while since my last update, and I’m happy to report that all is well here. I met the love of my life, she moved in with me (more on that story later), and I got a Nook HD+ from Barnes & Noble.

Well, obviously I have been busy, and I am happy to report that all of the quoted things are still happening. I am now engaged to the love of my life, she still lives with me, and I still have a Nook HD+.

Here’s the scoop, people. This entry will most likely shutter this blog forever. I don’t write for any particular audience here (like duh), whereas I do on Facebook, and even then I do it Facebook style and not long-form like I do/did here. So I suppose I will pass this along pour le monde and if anyone finds this edifying, fantastic.

Unsolicited Praise for the Nook HD+

So, it’s been a while since my last update, and I’m happy to report that all is well here. I met the love of my life, she moved in with me (more on that story later), and I got a Nook HD+ from Barnes & Noble. This is the part that the internet cares about, so let’s get right to it.

Nook HD+: I haz it.

Yes, I actually have one, I bought it with actual money, and nobody is giving me any kickbacks for what I am about to write about this piece of electronics. As such, if I choose to say something like “OMG SQUEEEE” or “Meh, ghey” then you know that my account has been hacked because I don’t say things like that.

Thoughts About the Movie “Lips of Blood”

(Or, en français, Lèvres de Sang.)

Hoo boy. I need to lay off of the Netflix for a while. Or specifically lay off of what I can charitably call “Cinema Merde”. I was warned, I was told, I was advised, “don’t see this movie”. But too bad, free will is a thing, and now I get to write this lovely review. Sure, I could keep all this to myself, but there’s just so much WTF-ery involved here that I have to just shout it from the rooftops.

The again, unusually wordy synopsis (what the hell, Netflix, decide on synopsis length!):

French horror fantasist Jean Rollin directed this surreal, erotic vampire tale in which Pierre has recurrent dreams of an ancient mansion and a ghostly woman in white. When one day Pierre sees an advertisement with a picture of the mansion from his dreams, he tracks down the photographer. Soon, Pierre finds himself in a coven of beautiful women who live in the dark edges of Paris and drink human blood to survive.

So… sexy vampire ladies then?

Spoilers follow, but you know you want them. You want them so bad.

Thoughts About the Movie “Naked Fear”

Yes indeed, I’ve been streaming Netflix movies again with varying degrees of quality. For example, OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is best seen after The Artist, whereas OSS 117: Lost in Rio could be skipped altogether.

I try not to let the Netflix reviews sway my decisions when picking movies for my queue but this one had a theme running through it, pro and con: “Gratuitous female nudity.” Hmmm, well I’ll be the judge of that. To the keyboard! /trumpet flourish

Spoilers follow.

Thoughts About the Movie “The Woman”

I was loading up my Netflix streaming queue again, and happened upon a movie that was filed under “horror” called The Woman. The 2-bit summary is as follows:

When a sadistic backwoods lawyer brings home a feral woman he found lurking in the woods, he locks her in a shed and orders his family to “civilize” her.

As usual, the summary isn’t quite accurate, and as usual, spoilers follow.

Power Plus: When There is No Grid

Previously: I reintroduced this series, and presented my core thesis.

In this installment, I will spend a few moments talking about “the grid” and why we don’t necessarily have to think in “grid” terms when considering energy options for the future.

Thoughts About the Movie “Houston We Have a Problem”

Well, I think this wraps up energy-themed documentary reviews on this site for a while, but if that’s the case I do declare the run is going out on a high note. It was refreshing to see a documentary on a – put mildly – touchy subject that cast everyone in a new light and explored the issues without overt axe-grinding.

Not that there wasn’t any axe-grinding, it was just more fun to watch.

Spoilers follow.

Thoughts About the Movie “Patagonia Rising”

It wasn’t intentional on my part, but somehow I found the movie that Windfall was trying to be.

In short, what Patagonia Rising is supposed to be about is an overview of a controversial plan to build dams in the Patagonia region of Chile. That’s not quite what the finished product becomes, but I’ll hold my thoughts for after the jump.

Spoilers follow.

Thoughts About the Movie “Windfall”

I saw this movie listed under “documentaries” on Netflix and had a creeping feeling that it was going to be a hatchet job on the relatively young wind power industry, but as I cannot claim any great degree of knowledge about the wind power industry or the turbines themselves I decided to give this movie a fair hearing.

Spoilers follow.

Power Plus: The Central Argument

It’s time to revive an old series of articles I wrote at the now defunct ethmar.com (assuming nobody picked up the domain name) called “Power Plus”. They were an exercise in thinking about how energy (electricity) is generated, and how it is consumed.

Rather than re-hash all of those arguments, let’s review my contribution to the Bumper Sticker discourse, and I am of course available to speak at TED, assuming it is a short drive from my home.

My operating thesis for the future of energy generation and consumption is simply this:

Energy will be generated where it is consumed.

TED people. Call me.