TechyDad

The Jammie Thomas Verdict and Ridiculous Copyright Fees

Posted on June 25th, 2009

Recently, Jammie Thomas-Rasset lost her court case and the RIAA was awarded $1.92 million for the 24 songs that she was found to have infringed. To those of you keeping score, that’s $80,000 per song.  You might wonder just how a song can be worth more than many new cars.  Well, part of the problem is that copyright fines are outdated.  The laws regulating them come from a time when copyright infringers were mainly for-profit operations.  These people would make many copies of cassette tapes/VHS tapes and sell them on the street for less than a legitimate copy.  For this offense, the for-profit operations could be charged $750 - $150,000 per infringement.

This is all well and good, but today’s infringer is more likely to be a home user with no profit motive behind their infringement.  They might not even know that they are infringing on copyrights.  They just heard from a friend that they could get free music by downloading Kazaa/BitTorrent/etc.  They might not have even been aware that the program opened their hard drive’s music folder for the entire world to see/download.  Now, I’ll agree that ignorance of the law shouldn’t be too much of a defense, but the current fines seem excessive even if they shared out their music directory willingly.

Let’s explore just how that $80,000 works out.  The first point to consider is that Jammie Thomas-Rasset wasn’t charged with downloading music.  Despite what the media keeps reporting, people are charged with sharing songs out, not downloading them.  This isn’t to say that downloading songs without the permission of the copyright holder is legal, just that it is hard to detect/prosecute.  So we’re not really talking about $80,000 per song but an $80,000 fine for the copies that are assumed to have been made and lost sales that are assumed to have happened because Jammie Thomas-Rasset’s MP3 file was shared out online.

For the sake of argument, I’ll make the big assumption that each download made from her shared copy is a lost sale.  In reality, I don’t believe that every illegal download is a lost sale, but let’s run with the 1 copy = 1 lost sale figure for now.  Given that the average price of a song online is $0.99, the $80,0000 per shared file works out to 80,808 copies made. Now, I haven’t seen any claims by the RIAA as to how long those files were shared out, but I don’t think that any residential file sharer is going to share out over 80,000 copies in any reasonable length of time.  Any formal study of the average number of song downloads per file sharer would run into the same copyright difficulties that Jammie Thomas-Rasset did.  In addition, as I said before, every illegal download isn’t a lost sale.  Some people, absent the shared file, would buy the songs, but song wouldn’t.  Some people will even buy the song after sampling it via an illegal download.  The illegal download to lost sale calculation is murky at best.

I don’t belong to that segment of the "Information Wants To Be Free" movement who thinks that everything should be put online for free for anyone.  I definitely think that some fine is needed for people who share copyrighted content out without the copyright owner’s permission.  However, over 80,000x the value of the uploaded material is unreasonable and leads to bankruptcy over a civil offense. 

So what should the laws be changed to?  Well, I think that a reasonable amount would be 10x the equivalent purchase price of the item.  In the case of Jammie Thomas-Rasset, her 24 music files would be "worth" $0.99 each (iTunes price).  Ten times that figure would give her a total fine of $237.60.  This is much smaller and yet it isn’t insignificant.  Losing $240 can be a financial sting that makes you take notice.

For larger file sharers, the penalties would rise, but not to bankruptcy levels.  The RIAA initially accused Jammie Thomas-Rasset of sharing out 1,700 files but limited their court claims to 24 files.  Had they gone after all 1,700 and won, my proposed fine would total $16,830.  This would be a huge financial hit, but one that she would be likely to recover from eventually.  They could set up a payment plan and she would need to tighten her belt, but it would be doable.  The equivalent verdict that the jury awarded would have been $136 million.  This would have just driven her deep into bankrupcy.  (The $1.92 million might just do that anyway.)

Our copyright laws need serious updating.  In no other area do you not have to prove specific damage amounts to get a ridiculous level of return on your product’s worth.

Posted in Copyright, Internet | No Comments »

Happy Anniversary To My Wonderful Wife

Posted on June 24th, 2009

Either years ago today, I got married to the most wonderful woman in the world.  From the first moment that I met her in a Yahoo chat room, I knew that there was something special about her.  I couldn’t put my finger on it at first, but as I got to know her online, I knew for sure that I wanted to spend more time with her.  (And we did, often talking online or on the phone late into the night.)  The first day that we met in person was wonderful.  Unlike with other women I had crushes on before, I wasn’t nervous around B.  It was the strangest feeling. I was completely at ease.  Everything I said or did felt completely natural.

As we dated, I quickly realized that I was falling head over heels in love with this wonderful woman.  Every time I thought that I was the most in love that I could possibly be, B would say or do something (or simply look stunning like she usually does) and I’d find new levels of love to explore.  I soon knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with B.  I proposed to her one hot July evening after going for a walk around the block with her and we were married the following June.

Since then we’ve been through highs (the births of NHL & JSL), lows (NHL & JSL’s seizures and hospital trips), gone on wonderful vacations (Vegas, Disney World) and had some very stressful situations (first home purchase).  Through it all, there has been no one that I’d rather have by my side than B.  She is the most wonderful, amazing, and sexy (yes you are, B!) woman that a guy could ask for.  She’s also an incredible mother  I love her with all of my heart and still, to this day, am constantly finding new levels of love with her.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

More Roar or How Walking With Dinosaurs Affected JSL

Posted on June 22nd, 2009

On Saturday, we had the pleasure of seeing Walking With Dinosaurs: The Live Experience.  For those of you who don’t know what this is, you travel back in time and see some real, live dinosaurs.  Ok, they’re people in costumes and animatronics controlled by people, but the production values are so good, you’d swear the dinosaurs are real.  The scale is fully kept too, so when the Brachiosaur stomps onto the stage, it is nearly 33 feet (10 meters) tall.  And when the mother T-Rex comes charging in, she is over 26 feet (8 meters) of flesh tearing, loud roaring dinosaur.  (Reminder: Do *NOT* mess with this momma’s kid.  The kid may seem small and weak but the mother can eat 144 pounds in a single bite.  The average adult wouldn’t be more than a mozzarella stick is to us.)  The whole production mixes science and entertainment perfectly.

NHL, of course, loved it.  His favorite dinosaur kept shifting depending on which dino was on stage last.  We took JSL along, hoping he wouldn’t be scared by the loud noises.  Towards the end, he was a little jittery, but not completely freaked out.  A little reassurance that daddy was there and he was fine.  We figured the long-term affects of the show would be more evident with NHL than with JSL.  (We signed him up for an archeology summer program at the local community college.)  However, tonight JSL showed that he too liked the dinosaur show.  At least, he liked the roaring and charging parts of it.  Don’t just take my word for it, though, see for yourself.

My little JSL-a-saurus!

Posted in Animals, Dinosaurs, JSL, NHL, Shows | No Comments »

The Isolation of being a Techy Dad

Posted on June 18th, 2009

I’ll admit it. I’m a bit of a nerd. (Ok, a huge nerd.) I grew up with not much in the way of social contact between myself and other people. In fact, my social contacts were just as likely to be a source of stress (kids making fun of me, awkwardness around girls, etc) as a source of serenity.  Recently, though, I’ve noticed that I’ve been feeling isolated and craving human interaction. 

When B and I got engaged, we lived pretty far apart.  We talked it over and decided that I should move to be closer to her.  So I left my life in my home town, with my then-job/then-co-workers, my friends, my parents, etc and moved to be closer to her.  I don’t regret that decision. B’s family is great and I like it here, but there are times when I miss having my own friends and family nearby. 

It doesn’t help that my work involves me sitting behind a computer for 8 hours a day, in an office with little to no human contact.  My office has no windows, so I just look at four walls all day (when I’m not looking at my computer screen).  In addition, my office is in the back of the server room, so I need to close my door lest the air conditioning freeze me out.  There are many days whenI don’t say more than "hi" to people face-to-face.  (Instant messaging or phone conversations don’t really count.)   When I come home, I need to instantly transition from Work-TechyDad to Dad-And-Father-TechyDad.  There honestly doesn’t seem like I have any time to just be TechyDad.

Recently, Discovering Dad wrote an article called Making Friends Like a Man.  In it, he laments not being able to make more guy friends.  I can completely sympathize.  Where we live, my wife is near to at least two of her friends.  She can decide that she wants to go out with one of them to see a movie, have dinner, or just vent about something.  I can go out with… well, nobody really.  I’ve lived here for seven and a half years now and I still don’t have a single friend that I can just go catch a flick with or talk with.  My life revolves around going to work and being a dad/husband.  As much as I like my job and as much as I like being a dad/husband, there are times when I wish I could take a short break from it all and just be myself with a friend or two.

B recently told me that she’ll be heading out one night with a friend of hers to catch an upcoming movie that they wanted to see.  I lamented that I couldn’t do the same to see, say Star Trek.  B told me that I could go with her father or her friend (who likes Star Trek also), but I said no.  I don’t want to go out with her family or her friends.  I want friends of my own.  However, I’m completely clueless how to remedy the situation.

Do you have many friends outside of work/family?  If so, where do you go to socialize/make friends?  If not, do you ever feel isolated?

Posted in Life | 1 Comment »

Dealing with Hatred and Bigotry

Posted on June 11th, 2009

The recent Holocaust Museum shooting and the focus on White Supremacist James W. von Brunn has brought up a lot of memories for me.  Being Jewish, I’ve dealt with bigotry a few times in my life.  The first time I encountered it was sitting in the hall in school with a friend of mine.  He introduced me to another friend of his.  This guy, knowing that I was Jewish, starting spouting off some very anti-semetic things such as "Hitler should have finished the job" and such.  Now, I’m not usually a violent person, but my friend had to restrain me from decking this guy right in his hate-filled mouth.  My friend apologized and tried to claim that the guy was a nice guy despite his views.  I didn’t care.  I didn’t want to be associated with anyone like that.

My next experiece dealing with hate came from within.  I was sitting in my high school Biology class talking with some classmates.  We were joking around and I make a joke regarding Jehova’s Witnesses.  Someone else in my class turned to me and said "I’m a Jehova’s Witness."  Now, I don’t know if he was serious or what, but his words hit home.  I suddenly realized that I wouldn’t like it if people were making bad jokes as the expense of Jews.  So why was it alright for me to make bad jokes at the expense of someone else’s religion?  (Of course, the answer is that it wasn’t.)

This led me to "discover" that my father was quite bigoted.  I don’t think I quite noticed it before, but he was.  He’d make comments about "modern" (for the time) music being "whites listening to black music when it should be the other way around."  He’d see a black man walking in our general neighborhood and wonder "what’s he doing here?"  That sort of stuff.  He didn’t hate other groups per se.  He just thought less of them because they weren’t like him.  Growing up with that kind of attitude is infectious.  It takes a conscious effort to break the cycle, but after that Biology class remark, I made that effort.  I won’t say that I’m 100% free of my father’s prejudices, but I recognize them whenever they try to bubble up (a rare event nowadays) and actively push them from my mind.

My third experience came during college.  A friend of mine, who worked for the school paper, leaned over to me during class and told me not to get upset.  Apparently, the paper was approached to run an add and they accepted it.  The ad, actually a 27 page insert called "The Revisionist", was from a man named Bradley R. Smith and detailed how the Holocaust never happened.  He seriously claimed that not a single Jew was gassed to death by the Nazis, but instead Jews made up the Holocaust to gain sympathy.  Needless to say, I was enraged.

The paper’s editors tried to justify the printing of the 27 page "ad" by saying that he has a right to free speech and that they were simply presenting both sides of the argument.  My response was that, while he had a right to free speech, they had no responsibility to promote his speech.  Their decision to do so was their own, not born of any Constitutional necessity.  In addition, there are no "two sides" and there is no argument.  The Holocaust happened, the evidence for it is clear and its historical authenticity was proven long ago.  Would the paper, I asked, run an ad claiming that slavery never happened and blacks were always treated nice by every white guy they encountered because it "would be presenting both sides" and it would be giving the ad’s authors "their right to free speech"?

My college’s Hillel chapter ran a counter-campaign and I, and others, wrote letters to the school newspaper lambasting them for giving a voice to this Holocaust Denier.  Some others also wrote letters.  One, outragously, claimed that those who died during the Holocaust would be happy to see that we are arguing over whether it actually happened.

During my college years, I also had the opportunity to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC.  It had many powerful exhibits like having to walk under the "Work Makes One Free" sign that once marked the enterence to a concentration camp or the room filled with shoes.  When I entered one of the cattle cars used to transport Jews to the camps, my mind tried to picture fitting as many people inside of it as the sign indicated the Nazis stuffed in there.  It just couldn’t grasp how they all fit in.  Of course, I realized, that was because I was thinking of fitting *people* inside.  To the Nazis, they were stuffing in beings that were worse than animals so they didn’t care how atrocious conditions were in the car.  My mind was being limited by my own humanity.  (Thank goodness!)

The most powerful exhibit, however, was surprisingly one meant for children.  It was called Daniel’s Story.  In it, you walk into the life of a little Jewish boy named Daniel just as the Nazis came to power.  His life seems pretty normal as first, but as you progress through his life (by moving from room to room), Nazis intrude into his life.  At first, it is just small things like having to wear a yellow star, but you end up staring at the entrance to a concentration camp.  The exhibit masterfully connected you emotionally to Daniel, so when the tragic ending occurred, it hit me hard.  I’m not one to cry in public, but I was extremely near tears.  Only a odd fluke that I found mildly humorous (a letter by a child hanging on the wall who the same name as me) kept me from breaking down completely.

In addition, I found a renewed reason not to hate others different from myself while in the Holocaust Museum.  One section described how Hitler approached a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses.  To simplify matters, he basically told them to keep out of his way while he killed the Jews and they would be left alone.  They, however, didn’t think it was right and opposed him.  For their opposition, they were put in concentration camps and killed.  From this I learned that, despite your differences with someone, you should always try to find the good in them.

Unfortunately, I just can’t find any good in James von Brunn or in people like him who turn their hate-filled views into violence.  I hope he survives his injuries only because he deserves to be tried and convicted of murder and locked away for the rest of his life.  My condolences go out to the family of the slain guard and my thanks to out to him and the other guards who kept this tragedy limited to only one life lost.  Had they not reacted as quickly as they did, more innocent lives could have been lost to this madman.  I think an appropriate response to James von Brunn’s hate is information.  Where there is ignorance, hatred thrives.  We should all strive to learn more, whether it be about a group of people who are different than us or about an event in history that we don’t know all the details about.  The more we learn, the more the light of knowledge shines, driving hatred into the ever decreasing shadows.

Posted in Judaism, Life, Religion | 1 Comment »

Our Week In Disney World - Part VI - Terror, Beast, Mermaids and Mom

Posted on June 9th, 2009

When we last left our intrepid Disney World vacationers, they were headed for the Tower of Terror.  As you may or may not know, the Tower of Terror is basically a thirteen story elevator shaft that you get dropped down - repeatedly.  Now, I have a fear of falling.  Not heights, just falling.  I’m fine behind the window of a 20th story building, but put me on the edge of a 2nd story balcony and I get nervous.  Naturally, then, a ride whose sole purpose is to make you fall multiple stories over and over wouldn’t appeal to me.  Indeed, when we went to Disney World in 2001 for our honeymoon, I refused to ride on it with B.  Why did I go on it this time, then?  Simple, because NHL had declared that he was going on it and I couldn’t let my 5 year old show me up.  Macho pride prevailed over plummeting phobia.

Nevertheless, I began to get nervous as we wound our way through the corridors, past the "story room" (where the back-story to the Tower of Terror is revealed) to our elevator.  I was quite happy to see the seats, actually.  For some reason, I thought that we would be standing when we dropped.  In hindsight, it was a stupid thing to think.  Imagine the liability of dropping an elevator full of standing (read: not buckled in) people even 2 stories.  Disney would be paying out millions in injured back, broken bone, and whiplash claims.  So we sat in our seats and I braced myself.  At first, we went up slowly and were "treated" to some more setup story.  There were ghosts, thousands of stars, and lots of other creepiness which served as a distraction to the fact that you were climbing ridiculously high up.  Finally, we were shown that we were, indeed, high in the air.  Then, we weren’t.  We plummeted down and I tried (unsuccessfully, I think) not to scream.  Then we shot back up again.  And I mean shot.  This was no mere elevator rising, but more along the lines of "falling up."  Then we fell back down again.  Then back up again.  Then back down and up.  Then, finally, back down.

Eventually, our elevator car came to rest and the doors opened to let us out.  The only reason my legs consented to carry me out was that, had they refused, I’d likely be forced to go up and down a few more times.  As I struggled to walk normally, I asked NHL if he thought it was scary.  He didn’t think so.  He didn’t want to go back on, but he wasn’t scared.  That tears it.  My son is braver than me when it comes to rides.  (This much I’ve known for quite some time.)

After we got off the ride, we met with B, B’s mother, and a now-awake JSL in front of the Beauty and the Beast stage show.  We quickly took our seats and while I fed JSL an apple (he missed lunch while sleeping, remember), the show began with a loud *BONG*.  A *VERY* loud *BONG*.  Everyone jumped and JSL got quite afraid.  They soon stopped the show, announced some technical difficulties and had us wait while they fixed them.  A few minutes later, we were watching a "tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme."  The show itself was quite nice, touching on all of the major points of the movie while cutting it down to stage show length.  Some things were cut, of course, such as Belle’s father.  She was just said to have wound up at the castle due to "an amazing series of events."  The only remnent of Belle’s father in the stage show is a line from the movie where the Beasts’ servents say that Belle has lost her father and freedom in the same day.

After the stage show, B and her father went on the Rockin’ Roller Coaster again.  We stayed to see the photo taken during the ride, got our photo taken in front of the guitar, and then headed right for The Little Mermaid show.  This show was indoors (always nice to get out of the hot Florida sun) and the boys enjoyed the songs and story.  It was over pretty quickly and, after a little shopping, we headed for the 50’s Prime Time Cafe for dinner.

This restaurant was quite appropriate for Mother’s Day dinner as the whole setup is that you’re sitting down for dinner at "mom’s house" circa 1950.  The waiting area has a bunch of old black and white TVs for you to watch and old-style furniture.  Your server takes the role of "Mom", telling you to keep your elbows off the table, eat all of your vegetables, set the table (take the napkins and silverware from a central backet and place them out) and do your homework (decide what to order).  It was quite funny to watch one of the cast members (pretending to be a cousin, I think), doing the "airplane manuver" to get a woman at another table to eat her veggies.  (They don’t push it too far, of course.  Just enough to be funny.)

After our dinner with "Mom", we headed to Downtown Disney to do some shopping.  Here is where NHL finally got to see the long-promised World of Disney.  If you have never been there, the World of Disney is the world’s largest Disney store.  The shop is so large, that I’ve gotten lost in it.  You get turned around and can’t figure out which way you turn to get to Plush Animals from Mensware.  After the World of Disney, we stopped by Goofy’s Candy Shop, but didn’t buy anything there.  Finally, exhausted, we made our way back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Posted in Disney, Family, Photos, Travel | No Comments »

Disney Photo Of the Day (June 5, 2009)

Posted on June 5th, 2009

We came upon this "toy soldier" while trying to find a location to eat.  He was barking orders to some other toy soldiers while a crowd watched on.  I don’t know what his mission was, but if I was them it’d have been my mission to get out of the bright sun and 90+ heat before I melted into a green puddle.

Posted in Disney, Photo Of The Day, Photos, Travel | No Comments »

Our Week In Disney World - Part V - Muppets, Motorcars and More

Posted on June 4th, 2009

Hey all.  Due to a hectic work schedule (both work at work and at home), I took a week off of blogging.  Now that I’ve cleared a few things off my plate, I’m ready to resume my tale of our Disney World trip.

When I last left, we had just enjoyed the Toy Story Mania ride.  After leaving that, we walked around for a bit and eventually wound up by the Muppet Vision 3D theater.  B and I had seen this show when we went to Disney World on our honeymoon.  We knew that the kids would love it too and they definitely did enjoy seeing the 3D exploits of Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, and the biggest Muppet star of all: Ms. Piggy!

After exiting the Muppet Vision 3D theater, we noticed that a few Disney cast members were setting up the Cars meet and greet area.  Here you could get your picture taken with Lightning McQueen and Mater.  There was a very short line, so we joined it and before we knew it, NHL was posing between the two stars of Cars.  Then the rest of us (B, JSL and I) joined in and got some photos of all of us.  While NHL was excited, JSL wasn’t too sure about the whole setup.  Mater was making far too much noise for JSL so we had to move him more to Lightning’s side.

After Cars, we headed back to Toy Story Mania for our Fast Pass ride.  This time, I took JSL with me and B took NHL.  Following the Toy Story Redux, we split up.  B’s parents went off to Fast Pass Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster and generally walk around.  We wandered around until we came to the Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage show.  The line for this was short and the show was about to start, so we got on line.  Once inside, we took our places on the floor and waited for the show to start.

The show started out with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - a favorite in our house.  Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Daisy were planning Minnie’s surprise party.  They split up to do various tasks (write a song, bake a cake, put up a banner), but needed some help.  In true Mickey Mouse Clubhouse style, they called upon Toodles to assist them with some Mouse-ka-tools.  The Mouse-ka-tools took the forms of stories from the characters from Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, and My Friends Tigger and Pooh.  NHL and JSL watch all of these shows at home and they enjoyed seeing the characters come to life in front of their eyes.

After the Playhouse Disney show, we met back up with B’s parents.  While B and her father went on the Rockin’ Rollercoaster, I got Fast Pass tickets for the Tower of Terror.  Then, JSL, NHL, B’s mother and I went to find a place to eat lunch.  After a few less-than-perfect possibilities, we settled on the Backlot Express.  JSL fell asleep during the walk over there, so NHL, B, B’s parents and I ate lunch.  Although, it was hot out, I opted for a veggie ciabatta, cheesecake and lemonade.  The entire meal was tasty and we left ready to do more.

Unfortunately, on our way back towards the Tower of Terror, B noticed that her glasses were off.  A quick glance showed that a nose pad had fallen off.  We searched the immediate area, but it was quite obvious that we wouldn’t find it.  After all, it was a small, transparent nose pad and Disney’s Hollywood Studios was so big.  So, with B putting up with the annoyance of cockeyed vision, we continued on to Tower of Terror.

Posted in Disney, Family, Photos, Travel | No Comments »

Our Week In Disney World - Part IV - Hollywood, Here We Come!

Posted on May 26th, 2009

We spent our first full day (Mother’s Day) at Disney World in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  We arrived before the park opened and waited for the gates to open.  Our plan was for everyone to walk through the gates, hand me their passes, and then I would run to Fast Pass the Toy Story Mania ride.  The plan didn’t work out quite that way, however.  As we walked through the gates, I collected the cards.  Meanwhile, B and B’s mother were handed flowers for Mother’s Day.  After I had all of the cards in hand, I wound my way through the crowds to the front of the pack.  Then I hit the rope.

Apparently, when they open the park, they don’t *really* open the park.  They just let people in so they can see the opening ceremony.  In it, a "casting agent" drove up with two audience members (possible honeymooners).  He introduced the "director" who drove up in another car.  The director, in turn, introduced us to his "stagehand" and told us that we were part of his latest film.  We were instructed to say our lines and then *WALK* down Sunset Blvd.  He couldn’t stress enough that we would all *WALK* down the street.  At his signal ("1… 2… 3…"), we all chanted "Light, camera, action!"  The two chosen audience members then shouted "Hollywood, here we come!"  The director, stagehand, casting agent, and two chosen audience members drove off and we were allowed to *WALK* into the park.  To make sure no running was involved, Disney employees walked in front of us with their arms outspread.

At one point, I thought I spotted a shortcut and made a break for it.  Unfortunately, I was told by a Disney employee not to go that route.  (Plus, I stepped on a woman’s sandal on the way, causing it to pop off.  I fought the crowds to retrieve it for her.)  After returning to the crowd, I made my way back towards the front.  I got to the Fast Pass and got our tickets just as B and everyone else caught up with me.

Since everyone else was Fast Passing Toy Story Mania, the actual line for it was quite small.  We decided to take advantage of this and go on the ride right then and there.  The entrance/line area was amazing.  Tons of giant toys were scattered everywhere.  Everything from Bucket Of Monkeys to Candy Land to drawings by "Andy."  At one spot was a giant talking Mr. Potato Head telling jokes.  ("I’m a potato.  I comment on things.  I guess you could call me a commentater.")

I got in a cart next to NHL and we went for a ride.  It was NHL’s first real Disney World ride and it was amazing.  You ride on a cart with a gun mounted in front of you and 3D goggles on your head.  By pulling the string in front of you, the gun "fires" off rings, balls, or pins (depending on the section of the ride).  The game is a series of carnival games.  In some, you are popping balloons.  In some, you are firing off rings to loop around the little three eyed aliens.  In some, you are tossing balls to hit targets.  In all, you are having a ton of fun as balloons and other objects fly past you (complete with little breezes of air).  Needless to say, everyone had a blast.  (I was very pleased to hear that they’re working on a version of the ride for the Nintendo Wii complete with 3D effects.)  It was a very nice introduction to the kinds of rides that we would experience on our Disney World trip.

Posted in Disney, Family, Photos, Travel | No Comments »

Disney Photo of the Day (May 26, 2009)

Posted on May 26th, 2009

While at Hollywood Studios, B’s parents bought a snack for themselves and shared it with the boys.  Their snack was a small bag of pretzels.  Of course, this *is* Disney World, so the pretzels were shaped like Mickey’s head.  Not just simple mouse ears, though, but his entire face.  Nice touch.

Posted in Disney, Food, Photo Of The Day, Photos, Travel | No Comments »