Hawk's Babble-Log

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Tory Kittles, and Michael Trucco
Directed by: Lee Tamahori

Outstanding! Loved it! Wanted more! I really, really didn’t want it to end!

I just gotta say something about this movie poster. This poster doesn’t really convey the coolness of this movie. It just doesn’t do it justice. A really cool scene to depict in a poster would have been the one where Nicolas Cage is walking along casually, dressed casually, and he’s walking through what looks like a war zone. He’s just strolling along, but he’s surounded by a highly trained assault team, heavily armored, heavily armed, all facing away from him. You see, he’s the one giving them tips and pointers on where to look, where to aim, where to shoot, who’s coming, when to pause, etc.

Now _that_ would have made a fantastic poster.

Anyway, I love this movie. I was so interested in what was going to happen next. And ya gotta be on your toes, because the movie plays tricks on you. Sometimes you see what would have happened, sometimes you see what really did finally happen. This is because Nicolas Cage can see his future, and if he can see it, he can change it.

I’m definitely buying it when it comes out on DVD. I hope they make more.

I got a shop vac to help me clean up after I make a mess, and also to help control the small aluminum flakes I make when cutting.

This little guy is the Craftsman wet/dry shop-vac Clean ‘n Carry, with a 5.0 peak horsepower motor and 4 gallon capacity. I got it from OSH (Orchard Supply & Hardware) for about $70 or $80. I also got the extended warranty, just in case it breaks within the next few years. I do plan on using it a lot, after all.

It’s small enough to easily fit under my desk. It was the smallest 5.0 peak H.P. vac I could find in the store. I am quite satisfied with it.

Here, you can see how I’ve got the hose rigged up. The hose runs up from the vac on the floor, around the front of my workbench, and into a little hobby vice. The hobby vice is attached to the forward-backward slider of my milling machine, and it’s almost perfect for holding the vac hose in place. This way, when I’m cutting, the little aluminum flakes get sucked up by the vac rather than collect on my workbench or float around in the air.

I am very happy with this little shop vac. One might even say… it really sucks. Sorry, I couldn’t resist!