Everyone knows about Ratatouille and Flushed Away, but I'd not heard of One Rat Short before. Do watch the trailer - if you're in the mood for a realistic, and strikingly atmospheric, CG portrayal of rats, this is it. Unfortunately, it's still on the cinema circuit, and only on a few screens at that - next up are two showings in LA, then SIGGRAPH 2006's Electronic Theater. (Reminds me, I need to post those CG virtual imagings of DNA replication sometime. So very cool to see how it actually occurs)
What's the received wisdom on Luxology's wares, compared to Maya, Blender, and friends?
From the Nifty Hacks Department comes ShadowBook, which can send an event to the VirtueDesktops multiple desktop manager. So, just wave your palm over the left speaker, and you can switch desktops. ^_^
Perhaps fairly obvious, but this AP story notes that the immune systems of wild rats are much more active than those raised in the lab, with "as much as four times higher levels of immunoglobulins, yet weren't sick, showing an immune system tuned to fight crucial germs, but not minor irritants, Parker said." It also quotes one doctor as saying that "challenged immune systems - such as kids who grow up with two or more pets - don't tend to develop as many allergies." Does this tally with your own experiences? (I grew up with big dogs; I had hayfever from about 10 to 13, and that's about it)
Love & Monsters.. as bad as Boom Town? Sadly, much worse. As the sage once said, "And let us never speak of this again."
Via
And if you're driving back from AC, a friend suggests you could do a lot worse than Vincent's for some memorable pizza. He notes it's "located on Ardmore Blvd, way out in Forrest Hills (on the way to Monroeville). Take the US 30 exit off the Penn-Lincoln Parkway, for a couple of miles, and you're there (or have blown right by and not noticed it; -it's not exactly prominent, but people do know it's there -if indeed it still is)." "This is Vincent's Pizza. It ain't Burger King.
You get it OUR WAY, or you don't get the son-of-a-bitch at all!"
If you should make your way there, and Vince is actually still around, he asks you let him know that "Shoop" still remembers him and his pizza very fondly. ^_^