SG Movie Review: Cloverfield

I was lucky enough to get free pre-screening tickets for Cloverfield yesterday night before the theatrical release on 1-18-08. The basic premise of the film is a monster movie, from the point of view of people in the city, shot entirely on a hand-held camcorder. And it works. Let's get right down to it: this is an excellent movie. When it ended, all I wanted to do was watch it over again.

Without spoiling anything, I will say that the film raises more questions than it answers (what else would you expect from the creator of Lost?). I think they may intend to leave these mysteries unresolved, but--also like Lost--the movie has an accompanying ARG you can explore for background material on the characters and the monster. Cloverfield Clues gathers it all together.

"Mystery is more important than knowledge" --JJ Abrams

Citizen Police Academy: week 9

060622-N-9742R-061, originally uploaded by milosz.reterski.

Our ninth class was Awesome Week for the citizen police class: dogs, bombs, and mounted patrol (horse & motorcycle).

K-9 Unit
German Shepherds are the dog of choice because they are agile, tough, and smart. On the other end of the totem pole you have Pugs, which are clumsy, dainty, and dumb (IQ rating just above a shovel). But, you would see a lot of Pugs on the beat if police dogs were picked for being adorable!

The drills were impressive. Our instructor hid a canister of black powder in the room and told his dog to "find bomb." The dog sniffed it out, eventually, then sat down and refused to move from that spot. Fun fact about K-9 units: when they spring a dog from that crate, it can't tell the difference between bad guys, cops, or bystanders. The dog will attack whoever looks threatening. Carry a chew toy.

Bomb Squad
For one reason or another, Minnesota gets a lot of bombs. St. Paul is a local leader and trains many regional units. By federal mandate, all U.S. bomb squads must have a robot by March 2009; St. Paul already has two. One of them is an older model "Ford truck" robot named Gary that's relatively easy to repair in the field. The other is a Packbot, an over $100,000 device made by iRobot (the same company that makes the Roomba). That's one of them in the photo above. It doesn't have a name.

Motor & Mounted Units
Motorcycles are now used primarily for traffic enforcement, and they are not allowed to do ride-alongs (lame). Horses are good for patrol because a mounted cop covers more ground than walking beat. They're also trotted out for crowd control, especially to clear the streets after big events (such as Grand Old Day). When a formation of horses comes walking down the street, people move out of the way. They know a police car isn't going to run them over, but a horse just might trample someone and not even care.

Incidentally, a lot of cops get hurt by horses too. We watched some painful videos of mounted officers falling and being thrown off their steeds. One former St. Paul mounted officer is now on permanent desk duty because of equestrian injuries. Horses, dude. They're scary.

Citizen Police Academy: week 8

highscore, originally uploaded by baboon™.

For our defensive tactics class, we met at the old station in downtown St. Paul. The session was held in a dilapidated exercise room, with piles of old fitness equipment pushed into a corner. The windows were tarped over. When we began for the night, we gathered on a flotilla of wrestling mats that covered half the floor, and picked up punching bags.

Kick! Punch! I had flashbacks to my lessons in Tae Kwon Do. We paired up with a sparring partner and practiced the basic moves for unarmed close-quarters combat. After that, we got to swing around some padded Asp batons (for maximum force, you strike with the tip). One of our classmates wanted to tussle with the instructor, but his dream of sparring with a cop was denied.

Lastly, we discussed cuffing techniques and practiced with both chain and hinge-style handcuffs. (Officers might choose one or the other based on personal preference and the circumstances of the individual who needs to be restrained.) The training officer told us that some people can slip their cuffs from back to front. I took that as a personal challenge, and I learned a valuable lesson: with no shoes on, I can indeed step out of cuffs, but I can't do a whole lot afterwards.

Lace Starliner custom painted hot rod

This amazing hot rod paint job was laid down by using two different lace patterns (one for the center, another for the side panels) as stencils. The owner plans to display the finished product at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona. I think it would be worth the trip just to see this car!

Look at the message board for notes and more beautiful close-up shots. (Link, Link, and Link)

found at BoingBoing.

The smallest announcement of all

juno2.jpg, originally uploaded by -leethal-.

I didn't write yet about the most important thing to happen in 2007. Partly because I didn't want it to get lost in the shuffle, and partly because I couldn't think of a clever way to say it. But I guess it doesn't matter how I share the news. It's just awesome.

I'm going to be a dad!

So, my life is going to change, and I am very excited about that. I don't know how the blog will change. I'm not sure if I feel comfortable writing about very personal things on this very public forum. On the other hand, I don't feel qualified to plan for anything after the due date, so who can say which direction I will go? I just know that 2008 is going to be a very interesting year.

SG Retro: most popular posts of '07

Sarah-2, originally uploaded by daverice.

I like to reminisce about my personal favorites, but after a year of tracking stats, I felt qualified to add a second category of links for 2007. The previous list was topics & activities that I enjoyed; these posts are the top hits for visitors to Sui Generis, based on keyword analysis.

5. Men's fashion. Who knew that so many people were interested in pocket squares? How to make them and when to wear them (always) were the most common queries.
3. Cars. The second half of last year was car-tastic! Unexpectedly, the new Transformers movie apparently inspired me to discover our automotive heritage. I went to a couple of car shows (parts 1-2-3-4) and bought myself a new car.
4. Bikes. Bicycle posts, though infrequent at best, remain popular. Usually my visitors are seeking information on a particular marque, such as Rabeneick, Sekine, or Bianchi (RIP); sometimes on more general topics such as fixed gears and British cycling.
2. Crafts. Our friends opened a store! I'm glad I helped so many people find I Like You, their new boutique in Minneapolis. As much as I'll miss being the first hit in Google, they have an I Like You blog now that has unseated me from the top spot.
1. Porn. 2007 is the year SG became an authority on tattooed models. For every 100 people who found me via Google, at least 2 or 3 went to that page first (and then immediately left, in disappointment). In hindsight, the popularity of this post is not surprising. Maybe next season, ANTM will consider having a tattooed girl on the show for more than one episode. I'm ready to provide ongoing blog coverage if they do! This is your SG ink correspondent, signing out.

SG Retro: my memories from 2007

bookshelf spectrum, revisited, originally uploaded by chotda.

It's a good time for reflection. At the end of every year, I like to take a look back and review my exciting adventures, while I prepare for the future. It seems like only yesterday I was writing my recap of 2006 (maybe because I did it in March?). The following are my personal favorite memories from 2007:

• Graduating from the Citizen Police Academy (I'm still catching up on posts--more to come)
  
• NaNoWriMo was my fourth year in a row. In previous years, I dropped out of blogging during the writing process. This November I told my story through Flickr pictures.
  
• Sibley Bike Depot moved to a new location just blocks away from my house. Now I have no excuse not to volunteer, or to ride a bike when I do.
• My job sent me on a brief Vegas vacation.
• I challenged myself to post once a day throughout October, and I did it.
• Motorcycle BRC (day one, two, three, 1/2)
• Our 2nd annual Craftstravaganza was successful.
  
• Home brewing cider was fun.
  
• Letterboxing is my new favorite outdoor hobby.
  

Lastly, I post about a lot of "stuff" over the course of the year; cool things that I covet. Most are passing fads that tickle my fancy only momentarily. Some stick around. As of today, these are still a few of my favorite things:

• Blythe
• Knockman
• SWAKtopus
• Custom-painted Consoles & Case Mods
  
• Custom Action Figures
• Vintage and Punk Rock Fishing Lures
  
• Poketo Wallets (I'm now a proud owner of the model shown; thanks Jhenn!)
  

The Biggest Gainer

jerk chicken @ mr jerk's, originally uploaded by lomokev.

So far, the weight gain experiment has been a huge success! I set a target to pack on one pound per week throughout the remainder of December, tracked my calorie intake with The Daily Plate, and stuffed my face with food. As a result, I'm up two pounds in 14 days. But there are other interesting side-effects to this exercise.

By recording what I have eaten, I become more mindful of what I am putting into my body. Now I know what it feels like to eat 2,570 calories a day. If I go for a few hours without any food, I have an awareness that it's time to eat something again, whether I feel hungry or not. And the nutritional information is staring me in the face, so when I eat something unhealthy, I know it.

I would recommend this practice to anyone, whether you're trying to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain it. And I would still recommend The Daily Plate as a tool to do it.

2 0 0 8, originally uploaded by bunny ♥.

Citizen Police Academy: week 7

Deep in Blue, originally uploaded by tal0w.

Shoot/don't shoot. That is the question we explored in this class, during our first simulated training exercise. Last week we got to handle a disassembled Glock and some different caliber bullets while discussing firearms safety. This week was a real hands-on experience, as we went through a training exercise that is used in the actual Police Academy.

We began with one-on-one classroom instruction with the Range Master. Using a laser training pistol, each student got a crash course in proper handling technique for a handgun. Next, we went individually into a dark room for a simulated police call. A filmed scenario played out on a giant screen on the wall in front of us, and we had to decide whether or not to pull the trigger. After the scenario was complete, it was played back (including a record of shots fired, if any) and our actions were evaluated.

I performed well on the my first solo situation: walking into a bar that was being held up, I coached the man into setting down his gun. Didn't have to fire. Disaster averted successfully. Then we replayed the scenario, but this time he turned the gun on me. I fired and scored a lethal hit with my first shot. Later, I did a partner scenario with a classmate. The setup here was that we were responding to an active shooter in a school. When the gunman walked around a corner, my partner took him out; I just fired without aiming and managed to squeeze off over a dozen shots, none of which hit. It was intense. The exercise was a small glimpse into the world that cops inhabit every day.

Polymer cephalopods on Etsy

Bunny X Productions sells these beautiful hand-made octopuses on Etsy. They're crafted from polymer clay, and available in many gorgeous colors. Each one looks more amazing than the last, and they must be wonderfully jiggly when handled in real life, what with eight metal ring joints holding the legs to the body. This glow-in-the-dark "SWAKtopus" was a special order.

found via BoingBoing

TomTom Saves Christmas

TomTom One, originally uploaded by Ludo2Besac.

My wife gave me the TomTom ONE Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator for Christmas this year. It is the perfect gift because I am always getting lost on the road. I configured it right away (with "Tim," the British male voice, because he sounds a bit like The Current DJ Mark Wheat) and we left the house to run some errands.

My TomTom had an opportunity to prove its worth on that very first trip. The roads were icy and slick. A recent two-car crash was blocking our freeway entrance ramp. The TomTom immediately charted a new route, and Tim's soothing voice guided me through Minneapolis' East Bank neighbourhood and back to the road. It was a GPS miracle!

Happy holidays!

White Christmas Tree, originally uploaded by Ronald Suello.

Best wishes from all of us at Sui Generis secret headquarters. May you have a magical Christmas.

"Hyperfake" reproductions from Da Fen Oil Painting Village

Houses of Parliament, London, originally uploaded by jough [formerly jough].

Kevin Kelly has a fantastic write-up about a "counterfeit painting city" in China. Artists in Da Fen paint original reproductions of famous works. "Re-painting masters," Mr. Kelly notes, "is a venerable activity [...] What's new here is the scale of this re-work, which brings down its cost similar to machine reproduction."

If you could walk into an art store and purchase a re-painting for the same price as a print, which would you rather have? The machine-printed copy may be more technically accurate compared to the original, but a hand-painted image is infinitely nearer in spirit. Given a choice between the two, I would prefer to own an actual oil painting, even with some imperfections.

There is an energy imbued in objects that are created by human beings. I would go as far as to say that the Chinese reproductions are "art" more than a poster of the same painting is "art." Are they on the same level as the original work? Of course not. But I would value a human original, even if it's a "copy," more highly than a mechanical copy. Now where can I get my hands on one of these?

2008 Dodge Challenger

2008 Dodge Challenger, originally uploaded by jalopnik.

If the Charger, Camaro, and Challenger are the main contenders in the new "muscle car wars," then I'd declare this one the winner. I'm enamored with the sleek styling on Dodge's concept 2008 Challenger. You might say that it moves the muscles of my heart.

There's actual information about this car at Jalopnik and Allpar.com.

Badger & blade: the classy way to shave

Two Bits (Day 46), originally uploaded by sumbler.

All of a sudden, I have developed a weird desire to learn the gentlemanly arts. Before this year, I didn't have the slightest interest in Windsor knot-tying or pocket squares. Now I feel like the height of sophistication would be to come home from work, put a jazz LP on the hi-fi, change in to my smoking jacket, and mix myself a cocktail at the wet bar.

In that vein, I introduce the new allure of vintage masculinity. John Koontz wrote a compelling guest post on Zen Habits, in which he advocates reclaiming the ritual of shaving with a double-edge razor. He provides a list of 5 purported benefits; the most compelling of which, to me, is that "it's fun!" There's also a brief beginner's guide to wet shaving.

Almost as compelling as the tradition itself are the classic accoutrements of shaving. (Did you know that the bristles of a quality shaving brush are made of badger hair?) I am tempted to try it. Consider me intrigued.

Inspirational Vegas

I Win, originally uploaded by Kevin Labianco.

When I learned that I would be taking a two-day business trip in the midst of novel-writing season, I was concerned that the distraction would adversely affect my word count. In fact, it did quite the opposite. This was due to a combination of two factors: long, uninterrupted time in the air, and inspiration from being in a strange environment.

I don't have to explain the benefits of working on the plane. With nothing to distract me and a three hour flight stretching out ahead, I just turned on my laptop and plugged away. I typed over 5,000 words on both flights combined. That's 10% of my novel right there!

Then, the atmosphere in Las Vegas was tremendously helpful for stirring up my imagination. Everything on the strip was bright and sharp and designed to get a reaction. Plus it was a great place for watching and meeting interesting people. On the taxi ride to the airport, I told my driver I was from the Twin Cities, and he told me that he served with the founder of Groth Music. There are stories everywhere.

Nutrition logging site review

Reykjavík, originally uploaded by Stebbi.

I gave up on FitDay for tracking my daily nutritional intake. The interface is decent, but there were some glaring problems that quickly discouraged me from using it. For one, their food database was woefully inadequate. I could have forgiven this, except that it also automatically logs you out after an hour or so, so you have to log back in multiple times over the course of a day. I would have forgiven this in 1997, but not in 2007.

Next I explored Calorie Count, which is owned by About.com. Enough said? My least favorite feature was the weird lack of Google-standard automatic "and" queries, so that adding terms will expand your search results, instead of refining them. For now I've switched to The Daily Plate, a very Web 2.0 application with a massive user-submitted database and lots of fancy features.

As a dietary footnote, I tried taking fish oil supplements today. It's great to get those Omega fats, but there is a ghastly side effect. Every time I burp, it tastes like I'm vomiting salmon.

Citizen Police Academy: week 6

Glock 40 cal, originally uploaded by IMAGO escandon.

Introduction to firearms! Now we're talking. This was the most interesting week to date for me, and possibly the most boring for Jenna. The Range Master showed us examples of guns and ammunition, and spoke about training, safety, and tactics. We learned:

• the service weapons that St. Paul officers carry
  
• (including the .40 caliber Glock pistol, above)
• St. Paul cops must qualify at least once per year on all authorized weapons
  
• that the majority of people shot by handguns do not die
  

Handgun ammo is designed to crush tissue and run the organism out of "hydraulic fluid" (i.e., blood), to shut down oxygen supply to the brain. They move at a relatively slow velocity, so the damage area is only as large as the hole caused by the bullet. The advantage of a handgun is versatility--you can roll around and fight with it. It's easier to handle when you don't know what you're getting into.

If you know that you're going to a gun fight, you bring a rife or a shotgun. A long gun bullet is smaller but faster. Liquid does not compress, so a high velocity bullet will create a shock wave as it explodes outward dramatically. Higher speed means more tissue affected and a wider range of damage, whereas a handgun bullet will only make a hole as large as the caliber of the bullet.

Geeky gambling in Las Vegas

pong slot machine, originally uploaded by lokialbertson.

While I was in Las Vegas, I stayed at the Tropicana. It's a little worn down and frayed around the edges, and totally underwhelming from outside compared to the other casinos on the Strip. But when I first walked inside, it was an impressive experience for my first Vegas casino. I didn't do much on that first night except for dinner at the Eiffel Tower, but on day two I walked across the street to the MGM Grand. That place totally blew my mind.

I didn't intend to drop any money in the machines until I saw this post on Kotaku the week before my trip. After that, it was my mission to find the Pong slots. I spotted them while walking through the MGM Grand, sat down, and promptly lost one dollar. It wasn't very fun. I think I was doing it wrong.

On my way back to my room I decided to try again with the Alien machine. Right off the bat, I won 50 cents on a 10 cent bet. I considered cashing in my considerable winnings and celebrating with a drink. Instead, I kept going in an attempt to recoup my full dollar of losses from before, and ended up losing it all.