TBWAIN - AKA Jeff Svare's Blog

On this Christmas, I thought I'd like to post one of my favorite passages by Charles Dickens. This is from Sketches by Boz , from the chapter entitled "A Christmas Dinner." Christmas time! That man must be a misanthrope indeed, in whose breast something like a jovial feeling is not roused — in whose mind some pleasant associations are not awakened — by the recurrence of Christmas. There are people who will tell you that Christmas is not to them what it used to be; that each succeeding Christmas has found some cherished hope, or happy prospect, of the year before, dimmed or passed away; that the present only serves to remind them of reduced circumstances and straitened incomes — of the feasts they once bestowed on hollow friends, and of the cold looks that meet them now, in adversity and misfortune. Never heed such dismal reminiscences. There are few men who have lived long enough in the world, who cannot call up such thoughts any day in the year. Then do not select the me...

We had a health fair at work today. All the usual stuff was there. People telling us soda is bad for you, fried food is bad for you, white flour is bad for you, sugar is bad for you, we're too fat, we're too thin, we don't get enough rest, we don't get enough exercise. All the usual stuff. Including lots of swag. Water bottles, pamphlets to tell you more about disease than you want to know, pens that don't work, candy (that seems rather out of place), useless stuff that people pay to get their business name on, and drawings to win stuff. There was a drawing to win a $300 mountain bike. I didn't win. But I did win a cool Ogio bag! It came in really handy for putting all my swag inside.

At ComiCon Leonard Nimoy made this comment on the script for the new Trek movie, "By the way I should mention this is a fabulous script...this is going to be a great movie. And I mean that, I don't say these things lightly. It is a wonderful script and great team putting it together." Boy, I'm really glad to know it's going to be a great movie. Where have I heard that before? Read the entire article here or the transcript here . They also released a new poster for the movie. You can see that at this link .

Thus spake J.K. Rowling on Wednesday, 18 July, whilst imploring Potter fans not to breach the secrecy surrounding Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows . At midnight on the 21st, all will be revealed, and we will all know it together. I have to admit it, I'm more than a little intrigued by this story. My kids have sucked me into the mythos, and I want to know what happens! But, I'm staying firm on my resolve to wait. Even though I work at a bookstore, and we all want to know, the seals on the boxes are intact! We've been wondering what's being depicted on the banner we have in the store. It shows Harry and Voldemort in some kind of area, being watched by hooded figures who may be Death Eaters. Harry is looking up with his left hand upraised, and Voldemort's arms are outstretched and he doesn't appear to be looking at Harry. We think we know what's going on. It's a Quidditch Death Match. Harry's hand is reaching up to grab the snitch and bring Vo...

Genealogy is a pursuit where you'll never know what you may turn up. Or the fascinating things that drop in your lap. Some people approach genealogy wanting to prove some old family legend. Some just are curious about how their family got to where it is. And others, well, some others want to see what they can get from someone. Once upon a time, not very long ago, a man came in to the Family History Library and wanted to trace the descendants of a European royal (any royal, pick one -- no kidding!) to see if he was a descendant. We explained it was easier to go backwards from your self and see where you connect up. He didn't like that answer, and I don't think he ever came back. Someone once said the easiest way to trace your family history is to run for office. There's a lot of truth in that old chestnut. So the other day I was glancing through the online Deseret News and noticed an article about Mitt Romney and his LDS roots. As I was reading the article, I cam...

In an interview with SciFi Wire the writers report the script is complete and they are in preproduction (which is such a nebulous term that I think it's meaningless), and are "still casting." Here's a great quote from the interview: '"Kirk is in the movie," he said. "Some kind of Kirk."' Maybe that's another term for "preproduction." When asked if this was a kickoff for a new series, Roberto Orci said "I'm sure CBS is thinking about that." Perry Mason Mode On: Objection! The witness is not capable of knowing what other parties are thinking. PMM Off Yeah. I'm stoked for this. Really. Can'tcha tell? Read the announcement at http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=42031

The RIAA's trained government attack dogs, the Copyright Royalty Board , has determined that Internet Radio Broadcasters must make increased royalty payments effective 15 May 2007, with the increase retroactive to 1 January 2006. This is action appears to be designed to force Internet broadcasters out of business, leaving only providers who sell DRM-encoded music at excessive prices. Estimates place the new rates at approximately $US 155/listener/year for Internet broadcasters compared to $US 25/listener/year for commercial radio stations. If you want to continue to have your listening options limited to mind-numbing top 40 with banal banter by talking heads, do nothing. If you want to let the RIAA know they've gone too far, go to SaveNetRadio.org .

No, this isn't another anti-DRM post. The Daleks have been voted the scariest villain on Doctor Who ! I'll confess that I had always thought the Cybermen were more interesting baddies than the Daleks. That was until I saw the Doomsday episode. I just loved the banter between the Daleks and Cybermen. The story can be found at Scifi.com .

On 16 April, the RIAA's happy group of yes-men determined not to rehear a plea from Internet Radio broadcasters regarding the proposed royalty payment structure. This means the new rate structure goes into effect on 15 May 2007, retroactive to 1 January 2006. Nothing short of legislative intervention will stop Internet music services from going silent on May 15th. Go to savenetradio.org and contact your elected representatives and ask them to take action. First they said I can only listen to music I've paid for on a single device. Now they are telling me I can't listen to music using the delivery mechanism I prefer.

And why do I? Simple. I don't like my computer telling me what I can or cannot do with something I have legally purchased. I've been trying--not very hard, but trying nonetheless--to record all my vinyl to mp3. And when I say vinyl I'm including the tape used on my cassettes and 8-tracks . I also have a fully functional Marantz Quadrophonic 8-track player on which to play my aforementioned 8-track tapes. So the other day I wanted to record my copy of Wishbone Ash 's Live Dates lp. But I can't find it. So I found my cassette of the album, plugged it into the tape deck I have connected to my PC and fired up Audacity and left the room. When I came back and checked the recording, all I had recorded was the loud squeal of a over-tensioned cassette. So now I have a lost lp, a junk cassette, and no Wishbone Ash to listen to. If I buy the CD, it'll cost me $19, which is almost the same as downloading it from Yahoo or Wal-mart. If I try the Russian site, Allof...

According to Sci Fi Wire, Doctor Who will be getting a fourth season . And another old villain will make his reappearance. Maybe the fourth season will also bring some new revelations on the Time War. Care for a jelly baby?

"The beauty of Daylight Saving Time is that it just makes everyone feel sunnier," Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass, quoted by Associated Press, 22 July 2005. He wouldn't have said that if he was at my house this morning. :-P I'm sorely tempted to make a comment about the absence of sunshine and the space between his ears.

TrekWeb posted an excerpt from an MTV interview with the screenwriters for ST XI. The TrekWeb article can be found here . Here's some highlights: "The challenge of the movie is to be 100 percent true to the fanbase but also to bring in a whole new group of people who've never seen 'Trek' before," Kurtzman said. >My comment: Isn't that what they've all said before? And how well did it work? Of course, this one just might do it. Maybe. Orci and Kurtzman also confirmed that the film is not in any way a prequel but a reimagining of the franchise. Whether that means a whole new look for Star Trek remains in question. "We're not going to start totally from scratch," Orci said. "We want it to feel like it's updated and of the now. That's actually the discussions we're having now: how to keep the look of the universe yet have it not look like nothing's new. It's tricky." >My comment: Reimagining is so cliche....

This is not for the faint of heart. Really. A Lego Sponge Bob at the American International Toy Fair. Photo from PCMag.com's Photo Blog. I needed this to remind me why I'm glad we got rid of the satellite dish.

I am completely comfortable with the fact that I have to pay taxes to support government services. I acknowledge the fact that I get far more in return in benefits than what I pay. What I don't like is having to pay to file my taxes. E-filing is cool. It speeds up the entire process. Getting your return to the IRS is faster, their processing is faster, and you get your money back sooner. So why is it we have to pay a fee of $15.95 to pay our taxes? It certainly can't cost that much to process a return when there's no hands touching it? It would make more sense if they charges $15.95 to process and send a refund when it was sent in on paper. When you file on paper, how many steps are involved? Lots. Copying your return, taking it to the post office, the postal service sorts and delivers the return, the IRS receives the return, they sort and deliver the return, a warm body checks the return, maybe another warm body checks the return, they approve the return, it's sen...

I live in a part of the county where many people believe in places that don't exits. It's not like people believing in Kansas, Oz, or even Neverland. In this case, many people here call places by the wrong name or mispronounce the name or even generate an entirely new word. It annoys me to no end. For example, there is a city about 90 miles from here that many people call " Evingston, Wyomin ." No, I don't think so. Please note how the "g" has shifted from the state to the city. A local institute of higher learning is called Westminister College. Nope. Try Westminster . I've often wondered when someone says " irregardless " do they mean we should regard it? Another new word that I've heard several times lately is " homogenius ." From the context, I'm fairly certain the word that was intended to be used is " homogenous ." If this new word was to be found in Merriam-Webster's lexicon, I suppose thi...

Trektoday.com is reporting that the first draft of the script includes a young Kirk and Spock, as well as Christopher Pike and Montgomery Scott. From the article: "The feature film’s storyline is non-linear, there are different timeframes addressed," the IESB article added. "This goes along with the rumors of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy's involvement." I can only say that I'm not very impressed with this revelation. Time travel is overused, and rarely well done. Going back to where we've already been, for apparently no reason other than that's what everyone else is doing, is not very compelling. And having different actors play roles established by others has only worked on Doctor Who. And maybe the three different Catwoman on the old Batman TV series. Of course, believe nothing until you get official word or see it on the screen. Read the original article at http://www.trektoday.com/news/160107_02.shtml .

Maybe. Hillary Clinton announced today that she is forming an investigation committee for a possible presidential bid. This really isn't any surprise to anyone. It's been obvious that the presidency is what she's wanted all along. And, I daresay that if she's elected, she'll look on it more as a re-election, than an election. Do you remember her famous "We are the President" statement? I'll take this opportunity to revisit an old question some people had. Why, when she was a long-time resident of Arkansas, did she run for the senate in New York, when she really didn't live there? Easy answer. A New York politician is much more visible, and wields much more influence than a senator from Arkansas. Don't believe me? Name a current senator from Arkansas without looking it up first. Hillary's platform includes health care reform. I remember Bill promising reforms to the health care industry within the first 100 days of his presidency. ...