I was watching The Incredibles just now, and I realized something that had gone right past me the first few times I saw the movie. When Helen says “india golf niner niner”, that’s a reference to Iron Giant, which was released in 1999. Obvious, now that I think about it. (I’m used to looking for THX-1138 references in George Lucas films, but not Iron Giant references in Pixar films.)
Author: Andrew Huey
NJM Bank
It turns out that NJM Bank also has pretty good rates on CDs, and I’m pretty sure they’re trustworthy, based on my experiences with their car insurance. They have an on-line form you can fill out to open a CD account, but you have to print it out and mail it to them. Low-tech! Maybe I’ll give that a shot tomorrow.
CDs
I spent some time today looking at CDs. Bankrate.com is a pretty useful site for comparing rates.
I looked at ING Direct and E*Trade, among other places. E*Trade currently has better rates than ING, but according to stuff I read at Epinions and FatWallet, E*Trade has a pretty questionable customer service record.
Free Anti-Virus Protection
Just for yuks, I sent off for an activation code for Active Virus Shield, AOL’s new free anti-virus software. I’m not sure if I can talk myself into actually installing it on one of my own machines, though. I’m kind of scared to put anything related to AOL on my computers. Given their previous history, I’m afraid I might never get it off again.
Comic Con 2006: Caveman Robot
You know, I think this was the first year I didn’t see Caveman Robot at the con. This photo proves he was there, though. Plenty of other con-related photos up on Flickr, too, of course.
52
After initially deciding that I would skip 52 entirely, or maybe pick up the collections after it’s finished, I broke down today and went over to the comic shop and picked up issues one through twelve. I just finished reading the first issue, and it looks like it might be an interesting series. I’m still balking at getting all 52 issues at $2.50 a pop though. That’s a bunch of cash.
another Comic-Con down
I’m done with the con, and back in my hotel room, trying to figure out how to fit all my stuff back in my luggage. I think I’ll get everything packed away OK, but I’m wondering how it will all look by the time I get back to Newark. Hopefully, everything will still be in one piece.
Looking back, I think I did most of the things I like to do at a con:
- Ric Meyers’ kung-fu thing.
- A few DC and Marvel panels.
- A couple of the panels done by the CFQ guys. (This year, the movie preview and Robot Rumble panels.)
- A couple of Mark Evanier’s panels. (This year, the cartoon voices panel, and a panel on cover art.)
- A couple of TV or movie panels. (This year, BSG and Blade.)
- I picked up a few cheap TPBs from TFAW’s “nick and dent” sale.
- I picked up a few books from Mile High’s “last hour of the con” 50% off sale.
- I picked up a stack of books out of somebody’s $1 box.
- I picked up a couple of action figures. (Hellboy and the Ikki Tousen figure I mentioned in a previous post.)
As usual, I’m not 100% sure if I’ll be going back next year. I probably will, but the con is getting so big it’s almost a hassle to deal with it. I find that I can still have a good time, if I set my expectations correctly. I don’t assume I’m going to get into any particular panels, or get any specific signatures, or anything like that. That generally works.
San Diego on Saturday
Record crowds at the con yesterday, and record heat in San Diego. I managed to get to a few good panels yesterday, but a number of panels I was interested in were impossible to get into.
Comic Con – oddball stuff
I picked up an exclusive Ikki Tousen PVC statue today: Kanu in Red School Girl Uniform. I’m not sure if I should be ashamed of that or not. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I’m just not sure where I can display it.
I also picked up a Harry Potter trading card “mystery box”, which included a “costume card” that has an actual piece of cloth from Neville Longbottom’s pajamas attached to it (from the Goblet of Fire movie). Weird.
On the more mainstream side of things, I picked up a couple of sheets of the new DC superhero stamps. The USPS has a little booth in the convention center lobby that’s doing a *lot* of business.
heat wave
After working in an office without air conditioning for the last two days, I’m ready to get out of New Jersey and head off to San Diego. The temperature outside in NJ was about 99 degrees today. In our office, it got up to 87 at one point. In San Diego, it was only about 78 outside today. Nice.
They got the A/C in the office fixed at around 3pm today, so it should be fine in the office for the rest of the week. I’d still rather be in S.D. though!