Got to enjoy Star Wars in Concert yesterday with family. It was quite a treat to enjoy the symphony orchestra, and the touches they added to make it entertaining to the masses worked out well. And seeing Anthony Daniels was fun, I'm always impressed at how much he's embraced the C3PO role.

In a discussion of the future of Blu-ray, one of the minor things being mentioned is how they plan to get rid of load times: By doing the loading during the time when you're being forced to watch previews. In other words, the concept of splash screen is coming to Blu-ray discs, but just in the form of trailers.

Maybe I missed something, but why does setting up a menu, even in a limited device like a set-top player, require any effort? DVDs may have had their fare share of things I couldn't skip, but at least they never made me wait to connect to the internet, download updates, and then compile menus, all so the menus could dance around and find new ways to annoy me.

Because of this YouTube video, my next trip will be to Germany. I don't think I have a choice.

Local lawmakers are now considering turning the secondary offense of talking on a cell phone while driving into a primary offense. They've apparently figured out that no one cares about a law if you make it unenforceable.

My question: Why? Since 1979, it's illegal to be a negligent driver. Clearly this law isn't being enforced, so how will yet another law help matters? This is a larger cultural issue that needs resolution that simple laws won't help. Sadly, lawmakers seem to see the solution to a problem as a new law.

Now, it turns out aspirin may help prevent colon cancer. I think I'll put the doctors behind this study and my doctors in a Mad Max-esque Thunderdome and let a battle determine which treatment advice I should follow.

Interesting: Scientists have developed a gene therapy that can be used to cure colorblindness.

It's on been demonstrated on animals, but it would be amazing for me to be able to see colors I've never seen.

You may have never heard of him, but one of the world's true heroes, Norman Borlaug, passed away on Saturday.

He's perhaps responsible for saving the lives of more people than any other person. It saddens me that he won't get nearly the press coverage that people who entertained us get.

What is the Dissenting Pebble?