Allan Deonarine

When I was in high school, I was watching a local variety show when Anthony Bourdain, then referred to as Tony Bourdain, came on to promote his new book: Kitchen Confidential. I instantly liked the cut of his jib. For some reason, Miss Dream on Rainy Days remembers this(and the fact that I don't like to read) and got me the audiobook. It's read by the author himself, which I like due to his salty vocabulary. 

One particular section that resonated with me was the chapter on what it's like to work in a professional kitchen. In many ways it's similar to my own experiences in that environment. The copius amounts swearing and sexual innuendo. Getting cuts and burns, taping it up and getting back to work without complaining. Kitchen staff having a general mistrust of the front crew. Being sick or late or lazy not being tolarated. But mostly, having to work weekends when everyone else is off. Missing dinners, birthday, and holidays. 

I ended up picking up a paperback copy of Kitchen Confidential, not to read, just to put on my bookshelf in case I ever want to refer to it.

Apple homepage remembering Steve Jobs

The recent passing of Steve Jobs, Apple and Pixar CEO, got me thinking of the first computer I ever used. An Apple computer. I was in 3rd grade. The teacher was asking some sort of question that I got right. The reward was time on the class computer. I had never touched a computer before, but I was able to use it without any instruction. That is the core of Apple. Designing technology that was easy to use as well as a powerful tool. The intersection of technology and liberal arts. I spent the rest of lunch time playing Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

I'm not going to go into my later love/hate relationship with Apple's products and decisions over the 20 years subsequent. That's a post for another time. As for Growing Up Geek, I think I may continue this series in the future.

Nintendo vs Apple

Nintendo has been enjoying record success during the most recent console cycle. With the Wii and the DS selling like hot cakes, the risk they took on motion controls and touch screen gaming seemed to have paid off. However, Nintendo's fortunes have taken a sharp down turn recently. The Wii's sales have dropped significantly and their freshly launched 3DS has not been selling a well as predicted.

There has been a lot of discussion as to the cause of Nintendo's recent woes, most of which seem to center around the idea that motion gaming is a novelty and that there is no compelling reason to own a 3DS.

Increasingly in recent years the smartphone is becoming a convergent device. It has already replaced my point-and-shoot camera, my iPod, my GPS, and my PSP. Why carry around all that when your smartphone can do most of those functions, if not the best, at an acceptable level?

As for the games on the mobile space, there is a huge price gap between a 99 iPhone game and a $40 DS cartridge. Granted the games on the 3DS have a high production value, but is that really necessary for a game you want to pick-up and play for 5-10min while on the subway or waiting for a bus?

At the 99¢  price point, developers are allowed to take more risks and have come up with some truly innovative games for the smartphone, but on the 3DS, publishers are not willing to invest the $5-10 million on a game unless they know it will be a success. The market is filled with a bunch of remakes and squeals as a result. Nintendo's President recently apologized for the companies' failings in an open letter. It was surprising to hear a executive speak so frankly on the matter.

In a world where everyone will soon own a smartphone that can do most of what they want reasonably well, I fear that the dedicated gaming hand-held is going the way of the Dodo.

I saw Transformers: Dark of the Moon last night and I've been struggling to figure out if I liked it or not.  A little back story: I was a fan of the 80s TV show and toys. So when the first Transformers movie came out I was dismayed at what Bay had done to the character designs. Then when I saw Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen I felt as if they had mutated the franchise into a CGI tech demo.  I came into Dark of the Moon with very low expectations. How much worse could it possibly get? 

First, let me talk about the action scenes, because you don't see this movie for the story.  These were some of the best actions scenes I have ever seen. Not only the quality of the CGI, which was expertly done by ILM, or the fight chorography, but the scale.  The scale of these scenes are incredible. In the last 45min action scene, a building is severed in half as our heroes are still inside.

The 3-D was just as impressive. Bay used the same crew from Avatar, and it shows. Moviegoers are getting tired of bad post-production ports of 3-D movies and have stopped spending the extra money on those tickets. But when 3-D is done well, it is worth the extra money. Something you can't get at home(yet). 

If you're going to see a Michael Bay movie, you're going to see a spectacle. Bay shoots women like they're cars, and cars like they're women. Everything is this movie is sexy and shiny. It's like having cake with ice cream topped with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. It is so good, but you can't eat too much. The last action scene was like that for me. It was constantly at eleven for what seemed like 45min. 

Part of why I felt it dragged was because the movie was so schizophrenic. One minute you're in an action movie next you're laughing at hangover style humor next you're your in a buddy cop film with a quirky sidekick. It felt like I was watching several movies and considering the runtime, I could have.

The story is nonsensical and is barely worth a mention because there barely is any.  The relationship between LaBeouf and the android like Huntington-Whiteley is hardly believable in the best of circumstances. There is little chemistry between them.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon not a very good movie, but you should go see it. Go see it because it is about the spectacle and not the story. Go see it in 3-D because it's actually good 3-D.  Go see it because it is cheesy, has hot actors, fast cars, and great action.  Go see it because it is summer and this is a summer blockbuster through and through.

Jenson Button - McLaren MP4-26

I just wanted to do a quick blog post about one of my favourite sports Formula 1(F1). The season is only three races old and there is no shortage of excitement, pomp and circumstance. The last race in Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix saw Mark Webber start 18th and finish 3rd while the win, by Lewis Hamilton, wasn't decided until 4 laps from the end. 

F1 combines two things I'm passionate about: Sports and Technology. The Technical Regulations have really made the races this year pretty unpredictable. Particularly, the departing of Bridgestone and the introduction of Pirelli. Pirelli have been tasked with the unusual goal of making their tyres less durable. This single rule has upended all the team's strategies this year.

I cannot wait until the season moves to europe starting with Turkey this weekend. Won't you join me in watching?

Sebastian Vettel (Current World Champion) in the drivers parade at the Chinese Grand Prix