A water main burst in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles which caused a giant sinkhole to form. As you can see by the picture a big, red fire truck ended up in the sinkhole. I'm not sure if the hole formed under the truck or if the truck was accidentally driven in to the hole. According to the article no firemen were injured in the incident. One time my wife drove her car through a large puddle. Fortunately, there wasn't a hidden sinkhole hidden by the murky water. Unfortunately, the cap for the air filter was loose and water got into the engine which ended up totaling the car. Apparently engines don't like getting wet. Good luck to the L.A. fire department.

Back in June we took a trip to Florida to visit my wife's parents. We spent time at the swimming pool and going to Disney World. During one of the rare lulls in the activity my kids asked my mother-in-law, Kitty, if they could watch a movie on DVD. Being the doting grandmother that she is, she, of course, said yes. Unfortunately, my father-in-law, Randy, has his home theater system set up in such a convoluted way he is the only one that can use it reliably. Any time Kitty wants to watch live TV, a recorded show on their DVR, or a movie, she needs Randy's help. If any situation required a universal remote, this was it.

I like to start planning my Christmas shopping list right around now - late August or early September.  I thought back to our trip to Florida and I suggested to my wife that we get her parents a decent universal remote for Christmas.  She thought that my suggestion was a good one.

We currently have the Logitech 610.  I give it a B-.  There are three main problems in my book.  First, it only controls a maximum of five devices.  That feels like it's too limiting, but I guess it's enough for most situations.  Second and what really bothers me, though, is how slow the 610 is.  It takes 10 - 15 seconds to go from everything off to watching TV, DVD, etc.  I always forget how long it takes.  After my internal clock says that enough time has passed so that everything should be on, I'll move the remote so that it's no longer pointing at the entertainment system.  Of course, the TV isn't on yet or it isn't whiched to the correct input device.  I generally end having to use the TV originaly remote or manually set the TV.  My wife never has a any problems, so I think it's a consequence of my impatience.  Finally, the Logitech Harmony 610 have a charging station.  This means that every four or five months we have to replace the batteries.  This isn't that big of a deal, but it's a nice to have.

Other than those few issues, the 610 is a pretty good.  Setting it up was simple and it only took about 10 minutes after connecting it to my laptop using the included USB cable.  I have an older Denon receiver which the setup process found the programming codes for and now the remote controls that without a hiccup.  I was worried that I would have to go through a lengthy learning routine before the remote would control my Denon. I also like the size and feel of the remote with its sturdy plastic buttons and case.  Even though it is a decent remote, I would not buy it again and won't use it as gift either.

I had been leaning toward the Logitech Harmony One as a gift for my inlaws.  However, Logitech just announced the Harmony 700 on their blog.  Details are really thin at this point, but I definitely plan on keeping an eye on things as we move closer to the anticipated release date later this month.

A few weekends ago I saw Kathryn Bigelow's new movie called "The Hurt Locker."  This is actually the first movie about the Iraq were that I've seen.  I have been so against the war since it's inception that I haven't been motivated to see any movies on the subject.  I guess I've been in denial for the last six years.  I also thought that most of the movies on the subject were not that good.  However, I just looked at the reviews for a couple of films and they were quite good.  For example, IMDB.com gave In the Valley of Elah a 7.5 which is a great rating.  In the near future, I'll probably see "Battle for Haditha," "In the Valley of Elah," "The Lucky Ones," and "Stop-Loss."

"The Hurt Locker" is about a small group of Army bomb-squad technicians working in Baghdad.  The movie begins as the Bravo company closes out the last 38 days in their deployment rotation.  The three main characters are Sgt. J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mack), Spc. Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), and William James (Jeremy Renner).  Mark Boal's script puts each character into three stereotypical characters.  James is the wreckless hero.  Sanborn is the straightlace, by-the-book character and Eldridge is the scared, nervous, 18 or 19 year-old kid.

The violence in the movie is very realistic and graphic, but never over the top.  The acting is good and the script is decent.  In the end "The Hurt Locker" is an engaging and worthwhile movie to watch.