McDuck

I love the premise for Lust Lizard, so it's now on my list. In fact, I love this guy's writing so much that I'm forced to buy every book he's written to see if he falters at any point in his career. I'm working my way steadily through Dirty Job, and I don't think I've gone more than five minutes without laughing out loud. One thing I've noticed about his style is that he seems to have a lock on dialogue between characters. That's something my writing has always been hindered by. I guess his work prior to becoming an author gave him an incredible insight into human interactions. Plus, I'd be willing to bet he's one of the few truly self-aware people alive today. His characters always seem to have something that you can relate to, even if you don't agree with their choices or story arc. Writing like that takes enough suppression of ego to see yourself in each of the characters, no matter how big or small in relation to the story. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

The 'keep the ultimate antagonist hidden as long as possible' device is a page right out of Chris Carter's book, who borrowed the idea from other's I'm sure. It works in certain formulae, but can be rather frustrating when used incorrectly. And going too far in either direction (show the antagonist too early or not at all) can be a thorn in some movie-goers' crotches. Think "Blair Witch". FWIW, I thought "Signs" was excellent UNTIL they showed the alien walking down the street in the middle of the day. That took the excitement out of it for me. Oh, and I LOVE that you use the same moniker for that filmmaker that I do (been calling him 'Shamalamadingdong' since "The Sixth Sense".) Regardless, it all boils down to personal preference and life experience. [captain obvious voice]Some people will like JJ Abrams' new film, some won't and some won't even know it existed before it hits the shelves of Wal-Mart.[/captain obvious voice] Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

Maybe you've got some

Do you remember which of his books you read? Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

I couldn't remember if it was you that asked me, before the holidays, if I had read anything by him. I TRIED to verify with you yesterday, but you T-cubed-H'd* me on MSN yesterday. * Talk to the hand Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

You must mean "Fluke; or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings". I want that one too. Coyote Blue is one of his earlier books, and I'm interested in that one for other reasons... Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

I picked up "Practical Demonkeeping", "A Dirty Job" and "Lamb" this past weekend (mainly because I was immediately enamored of the basis and tone of "Lamb" from the jacket) and I finished "Practical Demonkeeping" in one day. That's how much I'm loving Moore's quirky, satirical style of writing. I swear, it's almost as if he's laughing his ass off while writing these books, they're that much fun to read. I'm in the middle of "A Dirty Job" right now, and I'm finding it to be the perfect mix of satire, genuine emotional chaos and quirky humor. I plan on picking up "You Suck: A Love Story" and "The Stupidest Angel" next, along with "Coyote Blue". I was curious to see if anyone else reads his work and what your thoughts are regarding his style. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

Oh, and Abrams has been taking advantage of the league of microwebologists (my term for people who comb web sites for hidden links, data and clues) to promote this project. I believe it's called "Alternate Reality Games" or ARGs, where clues are provided in brief glimpses on film and embedded on web sites. Trent Reznor did the same thing for his latest album. Cloverfield is doing this with several sites, like Slusho and

JJ Abrams has promised that it isn't a Godzilla ripoff, and this is the guy who got us entranced, initially, with a group of plane crash survivors on an island in the middle of nowhere who get randomly attacked by a moving column of smoke. The current rumors are that the monster is some sort of Chimeran-like creature...or a giant lion. JJ promises that it's an original creation. I'm hoping that the back-story of the creature is more intriguing than the typical "nuclear abomination" take on monsters. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

Happy birthday, Doctor Prof! When does your multi-million-dollar birthday gift finally arrive? Sorry we punked out on sushi the other night, but the Asians were comatose by 5pm. Hope you had a great birthday, my friend. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

Happy birthday, Lee. I'll tip a few back in your honor, brother. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

According to a few reliable sources, we were the most entertaining team to watch...mostly because of our penchant for dogpiling on YOU. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

The hardware is all the same, they are all operating on the same version of Linux and the databases are all located in the same area of each appliance's hard drive. I plan on finding out what db back end these appliances use and if any of them are operating on a different version/revision of that back end. Thanks for the suggestion. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

I'm actually already using an appliance-based NAC, with a centralized Enterprise Manager and additional appliances at as many nodes as we could fit in the budget (currently 32 appliances and one EM, all of which we deployed in about two weeks). Each node's NAC manages the segments of the network assigned to the router at each node, to reduce the amount of traffic handled by the EM, but if a specific NAC goes off-line, the EM takes over management of those segments. The appliances are using a modified Red Hat flavor, and I'm not entirely sure what database back end they use, but what I'm encountering is random "database corruption" that results in the appliance bouncing until I rebuild it. The engineers for the company these NACs come from have no clue as to what might be causing the database corruption, but I'm beginning to suspect it has something to do with their db back-end and compatibility with their h/w. If it was just one appliance, that's one thing. But when it's 5 out of 32, I'm guessing there's a larger issue. I was just curious if anyone here had dealt with this type of situation with NACs, as I'm finding that more and more of my work day is becoming dedicated to ensuring these appliances stay functional. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

Any of you currently use any NAC appliances, and/or have any experience running them in a large-scale environment? Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

We just finished what I'd like to call "Tekken Tunnel League", but will most likely be called by a different moniker, and we had a BLAST! There were six 4-way-plus-stinger teams ranging from "fun to watch" to "kick-freakin-ass", and everyone left with a smile. Thanks to Tim, John, Kirk, T-Thack and all of the teams and observers for a great time! I can't wait to do this again.

Yeah, but Boingo as a group is no more...for now. I miss knowing I'll miss the Halloween Bash and the New Year's Eve concert. And I was SURE this video would elicit more responses...slackers. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

For Jello-J Man, I miss these guys. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

So Ian, now that you two are going to be "legal", you're no longer welcome in our house of sin. Congratulations, my friend!

That's really not surprising. Was he at one of those all-male reviews again? Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

There might be a repeat in Feb. I'm working on it Do you know how incredibly cool it was to be home, at the DZ and see you two adorable women wandering around Perris? That just rocked. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

How about this one: http://www.nigeriaembassyusa.org/f_index.html You are my hero, Bolas. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

- The same, tired old holiday email forwards like the "fries are done" song, and other equally over-forwarded crap. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

It would be kind of neat to tell them the guy moved and left his new number, then give them the number of an embassy of a foreign nation. Those places tend to be able to find out who is calling them and from where. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

Merry Christmas to you too, monkey. Cora says she misses you.