5 Smart Tech Upgrade Cycle Tips

Being afflicted with tech envy, one can find themselves easily convinced upgrades are necessary with every model release. While some people absolutely need new tech for their work, most of us can do without it. Here’s how you can survive the vicious cycle of upgrades without unnecessarily breaking the bank…

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Castle Cuffed S04E10 (ABC)

Castle title card via Wikipedia

I’ve been a Nathan Fillion fan for quite a while. Ever since Firefly, I was really impressed by his acting. Since he is starring in a new series named Castle, I took it upon myself to watch it weekly.

Anyway, what do I like about Castle? Well it stars an obnoxious, womanizing novelist. Detective Kate Beckett is a closet hottie, played by Stana Katic. Her hotness is kind of hard to explain. The actress is quite hot, but in Castle, she toned it down. She doesn’t wear much makeup and favors a natural look, kind of like “Oh I’m hot, but I could be the girl next door, BTW, FYI, I’m still smoking hot.” That’s how I described her in my mind. She’s kind of got the ex-catwalk model look going for her, which is quite good.

So that’s a good point. Plus she’s Canadian and a good actress. That’s always a good combination.

Warning: spoilers ahead

Fringe Neither Here Nor There S04E01 (Fox)

Fringe intertitle, image via Wikipedia

It’s fitting that this show will premiere on Fox, since this was the network of the X-Files. Fringe has got much in common with the X-Files, yet it is different. Fringe is the latest show of wunderkind J.J. Abrams. Like most new shows, the pilot was leaked on the internet a few weeks ago.

Just like a few other shows, like True Blood, I’m happily surprised by Fringe. The production values are great and I’m enjoying it a lot. A lot of money has been pumped into this show, and it just looks fabulous. The protagonists are also an interesting bunch. There isn’t much more that we learn of the Pattern, but Massive Dynamics is most definitely deeply connected with those events, even though they aren’t sharing their information with Agent Dunham.

I think that this show takes a few common elements from Alias, especially for all the things that concerned the mystic scholar Milo Rambaldi. The same kind of esoteric science is involved in this show. It’s done very well. I’d actually like to see this type of mystic science have more of an impact on the show. It would suit the show very well. A bit of the supernatural wouldn’t be bad either.

Warning: spoilers ahead

5 Easy Ways of Fostering Bilinguism in Your Child

While a lot of adults will struggle trying to learn another language, kids can usually pick it up quite quickly. It’s always surprising how fast this can happen, especially if you make a point of fostering this as much as possible, within reason. It’s always important to keep things fun, doubly so if your child is quite young.

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Teen Wolf Pilot S01E01 (MTV)

Teen Wolf title card

Following the success of The Vampire Diaries and Twilight, it was only a matter of time before another supernatural series, in this case about werewolves, would grace our screens. This time around, it’s on MTV and that’s about all that there is to say about this. The setting is your typical teen drama, about an angst-ridden outsider (you wish), who becomes popular because of his new abilities.

It’s honestly pretty bad and I don’t really like it at all. I fast watched eps 2 and 3 and it just gets worse. The ‘werewolves’ are sort of stuck in an in-between shape, that’s fugly as hell and not that impressive. Obviously, we’re dealing with a teen TV show, so there not much in lieu of budget. In my opinion, it’s best to skip this show.

Warning: spoilers ahead

Three Cackling Birds

Old World Babbler

On a Monday morning, I was greeted by three cackling birds, sitting on my balcony. I heard them as soon as I woke up. Waking up is strange. It’s like when you emerge out of water. The sounds and sights are all muffled and blurred. You make your way back into reality. Slowly, the world comes back and you start hearing things again. I noticed that I start hearing things first before seeing them, because my eyes are usually closed.

One of them had a cockroach in his mouth, which he quickly dropped, because he was quite excited. They all were. He tried to get it back, but it had fallen down to the ground floor. I like on the 4th. They were all cackling along, to each other and at me. My pets were looking at them strangely, especially my cat Yoda. She didn’t like them and wanted to pounce on them. She started making the strangest sounds.

The birds continued cackling while I continued with my morning routine. When I went out to walk the dog, they flew to another balcony, and promptly came back to cackle some more. They were still on my balcony when I left for work. They stayed in our courtyard for a few hours. They must have been someone’s pet birds. Maybe they had escaped. Their wings weren’t clipped.

Their cackling was quite loud, not melodic, and they seemed to be having a jolly old time. Spike wasn’t too bothered, but the cat definitely wanted to hunt them down. While it seemed quite harmless, it made me feel somewhat weary for most of the week. I’m not superstitious, but it was strange waking up that way. It was also eerie the way that they stayed at my window for so long. For some reason, I imagined them outside the frosted glass of my bedroom window, which is on the other side of the apartment. I’m not sure about this, but it could have just been the loudness of their cackling.

I was on edge, but nothing happened. It was just another random encounter of life.

Game of Thrones A Golden Crown S01E06 (HBO)

Game of Thrones intertitle via Wikipedia

This new fantasy series is based upon The Song of Ice and Fire books by George R.R. Martin. Unlike other fantasy settings, since it is being broadcast on HBO, it features nudity and adult language. Unlike Camelot (Starz), which enjoys tearing apart Arthurian Legends, Game of Thrones is a compelling TV show. The premiere episode was on Sunday and the overall quality of the show, plus its unique setting makes it something to watch for the next few weeks.

It is also the polar opposite of a show like Spartacus, where there is so much nudity that it’s almost common place. In Game of Thrones, it’s part of the story and it feels like it’s an uncensored version. The story could be told without nudity and adult language, but it makes this show appeal to the target audience.

The most disturbing scene in this first episode involved the Queen played by Lena Hadley and her twin brother having incestuous relations. As a result, they end up throwing Stark’s son off a tower to keep their secret.

The story is set set in Westeros where “summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime”. I was surprised to hear that some US viewers wanted subtitles for this show. I mean, it’s in English. Granted, there are some different British accents, but it’s not like it’s so strong that it’s hard to understand. Those viewers who need subtitles should watch more international broadcasts.

All in all, I liked this show. I haven’t yet read the books, but it’s an intriguing setting and I and eager to find out what will happen next. The characters are quite complex, and the storyline will mix political intrigue with what will come through the wall of ice. Like many stories of this kind, there is a great evil that will come with the fall of winter, and it won’t be pretty.

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Castle Knockout S03E24 (ABC)

Castle title card via Wikipedia

I’ve been a Nathan Fillion fan for quite a while. Ever since Firefly, I was really impressed by his acting. Since he is starring in a new series named Castle, I took it upon myself to watch it weekly.

Anyway, what do I like about Castle? Well it stars an obnoxious, womanizing novelist. Detective Kate Beckett is a closet hottie, played by Stana Katic. Her hotness is kind of hard to explain. The actress is quite hot, but in Castle, she toned it down. She doesn’t wear much makeup and favors a natural look, kind of like “Oh I’m hot, but I could be the girl next door, BTW, FYI, I’m still smoking hot.” That’s how I described her in my mind. She’s kind of got the ex-catwalk model look going for her, which is quite good.

So that’s a good point. Plus she’s Canadian and a good actress. That’s always a good combination.

Warning: spoilers ahead

Six Snarling Stray Dogs

Six snarling stray dogs came at me and Spike this afternoon while I was walking Spike. They went for Spike, who was pleasantly going about his business at the park. They acted like a hunting pack and were growling, snarling, and snapping. When I saw them approach and surround my Frenchie Spike, who was off leash, I ran at them, shouting and swearing loudly, using my umbrella to scare them.

And scare them I did. They ran off, almost as quickly as they appeared. I pursued them until they were gone. Umbrellas work well with strays, who are usually scared of them and run away. Most strays are scaredy cats; they’ve grown used to men harming them, so they stay away from people who make noise and have umbrellas or sticks.

I realized I hadn’t been afraid and I’d be damned if some ruthless strays would hurt my Frenchie. Spike didn’t move during the exchange. He’s a dominant dog, but he knew that he was outnumbered. They didn’t hurt him either. One of them snapped at his neck and jowls, but I started my charge before they drew blood. Maybe I should have yelled ‘Sparta’.

The Persians

On my way home from school on Thursday, after having filled up Die Rote Zora with 98 octane, I saw a girl holding her Persian cat. It was partly orange and had big green eyes. It barely moved in her arms. I was at a red light. The cat got too heavy for the girl, who was about 10, and she gave it to her mommy. They crossed the street and I’ll probably never see them again.

I always like going to the vet’s because his place is always swarming with animals. He’s got a few nice cats, including a grey Persian, who loves to get a pet. They are usually all over the place and it’s quite entertaining to watch. It’s almost like cat reality TV.

My cat is like that from time to time, but she’s definitely got some annoying qualities. She gets very vocal, but at least with me home, she doesn’t wake me up during the night. She just loves getting attention, but she’s got a strange way of going about this.