Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that [...]
Archive of posts filed under the kids category.
Creating interactive fiction with Inform 7
If you owned a personal computer in the 80s and played computer games, you probably played at least one Infocom text-based adventure game like Zork or (my personal favorite) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Known as interactive fiction, or IF, these games used the most powerful computers on the planet for their processing engines [...]
WIJFR: Catching Fire
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. [...]
Amazon Kindle Keyboard (WiFi + 3G)
Six months ago I got my daughter a refurbished 2nd generation Amazon Kindle from woot! and she has been inseparable from it. Thus, it was a distressing day for her this past Thanksgiving weekend when she turned it on and found just a series of black lines on the screen. None of the reset methods [...]
Universal, Labor Day Weekend 2011 – Day 2
We got up early this morning to take advantage of the early (8am) opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure for hotel guests. Of course almost every other hotel guest was doing the same thing, but since there are only a few Universal hotels, the crowd was still manageable.
Universal, Labor Day Weekend 2011 – Day 1
The last time I’d been to Universal Studios was in 1999, right after Islands of Adventure and CityWalk had opened (almost 12 years ago!) so I was really looking forward to our visit today.
Happy birthday, Luxo, Jr. (and Pixar)
Twenty-five years ago (Aug. 17, 1986), “Luxo, Jr.,” a short depicting the misadventures of a rambunctious little desk lamp and his weary father, premiered in Dallas and did something no computer-animated film had done before: It made audiences laugh. The first film from Steve Jobs’ newly formed company Pixar and the second from director John [...]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2)
This afternoon we took my daughter to see “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” (not in 3D, thank goodness). It’s hard to believe it’s been 14 years since J. K. Rowling first introduced us to the Boy Who Lived and 10 years since the first movie was released … and now, it’s all [...]
WIJFR: The Once and Future King
The whole world knows and loves this book. It is the magical epic of King Arthur and his shining Camelot; of Merlin and Owl and Guinevere; of beasts who talk and men who fly, of wizardry and war. It is the book of all things lost and wonderful and sad. It is the fantasy masterpiece [...]
Cars 2
This afternoon we caught a matinee showing of Pixar’s latest film, “Cars 2.” My random thoughts (as usual, no spoilers): there were some great “cameos” like Sig Hansen and the Northwestern from “Deadliest Catch” as Crabby, and Bruce Campbell as American spy-car Rod “Torque” Redline (an obvious nod to Campbell’s character Sam Axe on “Burn [...]
