Junkfood

I just placed an order for an XO Laptop through the the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) "Give One Get One" program (G1G1). The OLPC project aims to catalyze educational and other opportunities for children in less-developed countries by providing them with specialized laptop computers. The XO laptop was developed by the program to meet its specific needs-- ruggedized, low-powered, ad hoc networking, customizable, easy to use, etc. The G1G1 program allows people to receive an XO laptop by donating $399 USD (plus $24.95 shipping, in my case). The money purchases two laptops. One is given to the purchaser as a gift, and the other is donated to a child in a developing country.

I plan to use my XO for basic mobile computing-- web browser, email, and note-taking. I have no other laptop, so this will be my primary mobile device. The XO is designed to be low-powered so its batteries can be recharged manually in locations without electricity, via a pull-string dynamo or solar recharger. However, the ones being sent to donors will not include the manual recharger.

I went to the Millennium Falcon simulation two weeks ago. This is an upcharge attraction at the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. http://starwars.mos.org/

• The attraction is a mock-up of the Millennium Falcon's cockpit, with an audio-visual show that you view through the cockpit windows. Although it could be considered to be a simulator ride, it is not a "ride" in the strict sense as there are no moving parts.
• The screen is a small dome that wraps around the cockpit windows, like a planetarium tilted on its side. It also has a 3-D sound system. The total effect is similar to a 3-D ride through space.
• The ride capacity is eight people per show. Four get to sit in swivel bucket seats (two in the front, two in the back). Four get to stand in back of the seats and in the aisle.
• The total ride capacity is very low (perhaps 64-80 persons per hour?), and tickets sell out extremely quickly. I advise the advance purchase of tickets online.
• Tickets are $5. This attraction is entirely separate from the Star Wars special exhibit, and tickets to the special exhibit are not required to visit the Millennium Falcon attraction.
• Tickets are timed for showings every half-hour. When your ticket's time is called, you then wait in a short queue outside the attraction. Because you might not get to ride until towards the end of the half-hour period, be sure not to buy any other timed tickets for too soon after.
• Half of the tickets are marked "Seated" and half are marked "Standing". For each show, they admit four seated guests and four standing guests. Guests are randomly assigned to a specific spot in the cockpit. Unfortunately, the cockpit is designed such that the best view is for the two seated guests in the front. The other seats have an obstructed or distant view.
• The show lasts about five minutes.
• What is it like? It's basically a regular planetarium-type show about space travel, with some Star Wars sounds, images, and theming. It isn't especially exciting. Anthony Daniels narrates the show.
• As you exit the ride, you receive a souvenir cloisonne pin. It's about 1-inch in size, with a picture of the Millennium Falcon and the words "I made the jump" and "Museum of Science, Boston". (There's a picture of the pin on the Museum of Science's ticket store page for the Millennium Falcon.)
• Unfortunately, my opinion is that this attraction really isn't worth the $5 charge. The screen is too small and difficult to see from the back, and the show is too short. However, aficionados will probably want to go just for the souvenir pin.

I visited a preview of the "Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination" at the Museum of Science in Boston, on Sunday, October 23, 2005. It was okay. The exhibit was smaller and somewhat disappointing when compared to the previous Lord of the Rings exhibit. There weren't as many movie props to see. On a more positive note, this exhibit contained more science and educational content. http://starwars.mos.org/

Visiting Tips

• The exhibit is on the second floor of the Red Wing. The stairs to the exhibit are just past the food court.
• You need to purchase timed tickets to the exhibit. Entrance times are every 15 minutes. Adult tickets are $20. Exhibit admission includes a separate ticket for entrance to the rest of the museum which can be used anytime within six months of purchase.
• You can go upstairs to wait in line at the exhibit entrance 15 minutes before your entry time.
• It is possible for the entire day's supply of tickets to sell out, so you may want to pre-purchase.
• Once you enter the exhibit, you can stay as long as you want. However, if you leave then you cannot re-enter. I'd plan to stay about two hours.
• Strollers, food and drink, and bags are not allowed inside the exhibit.
• Yes, cameras and photography are allowed in the exhibit!

About the Exhibit

• There is a Robot Theater inside the exhibit. It is a 15-minute video and animatronics show. The show capacity is about 35, making it something you'll need to wait in line to see. My feeling is that this show is worth waiting for, though hopefully you won't have to wait more than 30 minutes.
• Like all museum exhibits, this one exits through a gift shop, this one with various Star Wars merchandise. Except for the companion book, none of the gift shop merchandise is related to the exhibit. (I had been hoping that there might be exhibit t-shirts or posters.)
• Costumes on display: Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme, assorted Wookies, Tusken Raider, Jawa, C-3PO and R2-D2, Yoda, Storm Trooper, Wampa.
• Models on display: Millennium Falcon, various other spaceships, full-size Landspeeder, Droideka, Battle Droid, Star Destroyer, Tie Fighter, Sebulba's Pod Racer, Blockade Runner, AT-AT and other Empire armored transport vehicles, Wookie tree miniature, Jawa Sandcrawler.
• Props on display: various Lightsabers, various Blasters, Thermonuclear Detonator, Medical Droids, Anakin's prosthetic arm, Luke's prosthetic arm, Darth Vader's mask.
• Science featured in the exhibit: Abiocor heart, Roomba, Robosapien, artificial skin, proposed "real" spacecraft (rambus engines, antimatter rockets, etc.), cold weather clothing, prosthetics and cybernetics, Maglev technology, Braingate cortical implant, C-leg prosthetic leg, Boston Digital Arm, exploring cold climates, exploring the forest canopy, living in desert worlds, robot vision, robot balance.
• Activities inside the exhibit: drive a small hovercraft, Maglev engineering lab, robot vision demonstration, robot design lab, virtual community game with augmented reality, a 2-wheeled robot that could balance itself.

Multimedia Tour

• There's an audiovisual Multimedia Tour that you can purchase. The price for adults is $5.
• The Multimedia Tour is free for visitors with hearing or visual impairments.
• The Multimedia Tour is basically a Toshiba PocketPC device with headphones. The device has a touchscreen which is the way you interact with the device. Certain exhibits have a number, and you can enter the number on the device for an additional audio track.
• The device comes with a lanyard for you to wear around your neck as you walk throughout the exhibit. You pick up the device just outside of the exhibit entrance upstairs, and you return it just in front of the exhibit exit.
• There are only 22 exhibits that have a Multimedia Tour track. Some of these tracks lead to additional sub-tracks.
• Though touted as "multimedia", most of the Multimedia Tour tracks are audio-only. There are only a few video clips and still images. The video clips were difficult to hear-- the volume is softer than the audio tracks.
• There is some sort of bookmarking feature which will allow you to send content via email. I didn't try this feature.
• My overall impression of the Multimedia Tour is that it might not be worth it. There just isn't that much content available for the device.
• If you do get the Multimedia Tour, I advise not using it at the beginning of your visit. There are a lot of other things to see, videos to watch, etc., and your time might be better spent with these before listening to the Multimedia Tour. Where the Multimedia Tour comes in handy is for killing time in line for Robot Theatre.

Millennium Falcon ride

• There's an upcharge Millennium Falcon simulator ride (not a motion ride, I believe-- just audiovisual). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get tickets for this.
• You'll need to buy timed tickets for this ride. Tickets are $5.
• My impression is that the ride has a low capacity and that tickets might sell out quickly.
• The simulator is on the ground floor of the Red Wing, near the stairs to the Star Wars exhibit.
• Apparently, the ride comes with a souvenir pin.

In Boston, there's a new interactive walkthrough game called Tomb. It's sort of an Egyptian-themed haunt where players have to solve puzzles and perform actions. It's from a new company with a stupid name spelled "5W!TS", and they anticipate having different shows in the future.

I visited on Saturday October 24, 2004-- they are in the Fenway district of Boston. When I got there, I discovered that someone I knew was also there by coincidence. His sister had recruited a group trip. The price was $16.80 (with tax), the weekend matinee price. Our group consisted of 11 people.

Without giving away any spoilers, I found Tomb to be interesting. Visually, the theming was very beautiful and realistic-looking -- you can almost imagine that you are in an Egyptian pyramid. The special effects and lighting were also really good. The audio was very clear-- no crappy haunt sound here. As for the puzzles and tasks, some were cheesy/easy and others were very difficult.

The replayability of this show is suspect-- I don't think that anyone would go more than once, unless you "die" and are unable to complete the game the first time. I seem to recall reading that if you "die" you might get a discount coupon for future visits. I recommend going with a group of people-- an intact group with no strangers. I believe that the optimal group size is 6-8 people, though I think that it will also work acceptably with a group of 4-10. It will also work best if there is no group waiting to go after yours, so you aren't as rushed. You'll probably want your group to be made up of friends and family, though it could be argued that the stress of the experience could be a friendship-breaker.

Because of the replayability factor, I have to question whether this company will stay in business long. The place seemed empty when I went, with the exception of our large group, and the staff looked bored. (However, my friend went by a few hours later and found the place to be crowded.) They have a year lease for this space.

In conclusion, Tomb was an interesting experience, and I'm glad I went. I do recommend it, with some reservation.

http://www.5-wits.com/

Summary: It's okay. Polar Express is not a good movie, but it is a visual spectacle worth seeing if (and only if) you can see it in an IMAX 3D theater.

You could tell that the movie was intended to be viewed in 3D. Most of the "camera" angles and shots were 3D-centric, and because of this the movie probably will look a bit strange in a regular theater. If you've ever seen a 3D movie on a 2D screen (like seeing Jaws 3 or Friday the 13th Part 3 on television) you'll know what I mean. Some of the sound (mostly rumbling of the train) also seemed to have been designed for IMAX theaters. For these reasons, I think that the movie is worth seeing only in an IMAX 3D theater.

The story itself was dull, and the movie seemed to be made of unrelated action sequences strung together. Parts of the plot didn't make sense. Visually interesting, but soul-less. I guess it is what comes of trying to turn a 29-page picture book into 2-hour movie.

Some people have said that the movie is scary for kids, but I didn't think so. It's not as bad as Wizard of Oz or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It's true that Santa is somewhat stern and unsmiling, but it's nothing compared to the Santa in City of Lost Children.

Even though the movie isn't that great, it is a visual spectacle worth seeing, and I suspect that Polar Express will become a movie that families go to see every year at the IMAX.

I saw Polar Express in the Jordan's furniture store in Reading on Saturday [November 20, 2004]. I was able to get a walk-in ticket to the 10:00am show, but by noon all of the other showings, except for the 10:00pm show, had sold out. I noticed on the ticket web site, that by Saturday night all of Sunday's shows had also sold out, except for the final, 8:30pm show. If you are going to see it on a weekend, I recommend advance ticket purchase.

Update: I saw Polar Express again last Saturday, accompanying someone who had not yet seen it. So, even though it isn't that great a movie, the IMAX 3D version is something that can be enjoyed multiple times, like a theme park roller coaster.

I went to see The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: The Exhibition which is currently at the Museum of Science through October 24, 2004. It is a traveling exhibit that previously appeared in New Zealand, London, and Singapore. This is the only stop in the United States. It travels to Sydney, Australia next. I met some people from Minneapolis who traveled to Boston specifically to see this exhibit.

This is a exhibit with artwork, models, props, and costumes from the movies. It had a focus on the science behind the movies (special effects, prop making, etc.). They had a lot of stuff. There were video clips that showed interviews with the movie makers and explanations of how certain things were done. They also had The One Ring on display (encased in lucite) that I found myself strangely drawn to, going back repeatedly to gaze at it.

Also, there were four interactive exhibits:

1. They have a greenscreen set up where you and a friend can sit side-by-side in Gandalf's wagon. One person is scaled to be hobbit-sized and the other wizard-sized. It's free, and for $5.00 you can also have a souvenir picture taken.
2. Another greenscreen is set up so you can try motion capture technology. You hold two pieces of foam, and the computer maps your movement to control a CG warrior or elf on screen. One hand controls the movement of the shield/bow and the other controls the sword/arrow.
3. You can stand along a measurement wall, and a sensor will determine your height and tell you what Middle-earth race you could be. (I am as tall as an orc.)
4. In the final interactive exhibit, you can have your face scanned by a laser. A computer then maps your face using polygons, smoothing, and texture. The final image is your face as a stone statue. I think that this was used to model the Argonath based on Viggo Mortensen's face.

Some tips and hints for seeing the exhibit:

• Avoid wearing green clothing. You'll want to show up properly in the interactive exhibits that use greenscreen technology. (They'll lend you a blue shirt if you happen to be wearing green.)
• The exhibit is $19/17/16 for adult/senior/child. It includes a separate ticket for general museum admission, usable anytime within six months of purchase. For members, admission is $3.
• A limited number of tickets are sold for 15-minute interval entrance times. Once you go in, you can spend as much time as you want inside.
• It is conceivable that the day's allotment of tickets could run out. You may want to consider advance purchase, especially on holidays and weekends. I note that today (a Monday, not a holiday) at 11:00am tickets up to 12:45 were sold out, and at 2:38pm, tickets until 4:15pm were sold out.(I arrived at 9:00am on Saturday and had no difficulty purchasing a ticket for 9:00am.)
• There is a queue outside the exhibit, for ticket-holders to wait for their entrance time. However, I don't think that it is worth getting there early and waiting. This is because I can think of no benefit to being one of the first admitted within your time group. (In 15 minutes another group will be entering, anyway.)
• I spent 2 and 3/4 hours in the exhibit. I read just about every display and watched every video clip.
• There is no re-admittance to the exhibit once you leave. There are no restroom facilities in the exhibit.
• I recommend going early in the day. There are lines for the interactive exhibits, and I imagine that these might get to be long during the popular times. There were almost no lines from 9 to 10am.
• No cameras, strollers, bags, or mobile phones are allowed in the exhibit. No weaponry is allowed either for those people who attend in costume (and there were a few of them there).
• Like most museum exhibits, this one exits through a gift shop (which wasn't very impressive).
• The Green Line no longer goes to the Science Museum stop, due to construction. The museum advises visitors to catch a shuttle bus from Government Center (though the shuttle also stops at Haymarket and North Station.)
• If you park in the museum garage, the ticket gets inserted with the stripe on top and on the right. (I had trouble figuring this out.)
• Sean Astin (Sam Gamgee) is scheduled to visit the museum on October 15 and 16.

Posted a forsale message to junk today:

Seabiscuit: An American Legend
The #1 New York Times Bestseller by Laura Hillenbrand

     This is the mass market paperback.  It's a nonfiction book about
a horse.  The book was recently made into a movie starring Tobey
Maguire.  I bought the book last week and read it once; the book is in
excellent condition, though the spine now has creases.

     I'm selling the book for $2.00.  Exact change only, please.  (The
cover price is $7.99, and I bought it at Target for $5.99.)

I should point out that Tobey Maguire does not play Seabiscuit in the movie. Instead, he plays a jockey.