We got back a few minutes ago from a small party at our friends house. They recently moved into a new house. They moved only a block, but the new house is bigger and has more land. It's the first time we've visited since they moved and they really put a lot of work into fixing it up. The kids all had a great time and it was good to hang out and talk with friends.

Last night, I went and saw XXX with Martin and Len. We debated on whether to see Goldmember or Pluto Nash, but we ended up seeing XXX since it's the kind of movie to see on the big screen. It's not a bad movie. I enjoyed it and had some good laughs. A couple night ago I finally watched Pitch Black on DirecTV and understood why people thought Vin Diesel was going to be a big action star. I had seen him in Fast & Furious and Boiler Room and was unimpressed. He was good in Pitch Black and I look forward to those sequels.

XXX is just a modern version of James Bond, right down to the specific characters. Samuel Jackson plays the M role and a geeky dude plays the Q role. Everything was typical Bond hyperbole and over the top stunt action. I was hoping for a new twist on the spy thriller, but there wasn't much out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, it was fun.

Lastly, I recently finished the book on Salt I had been reading. The book was long and took me about two months to get through. Everyone around me at work and home has had to endure my stroies about salt while I've been reading the book. The writer, Mark Kurlansky, definitely did his research and it shows. There is nothing left for me to learn about salt, I now know it all. If you like reading history, you'll probably enjoy this book. If you are looking for action and adventure, this ain't your book.

The funny thing is that as long as it took to read this book and the chore that it was to finish it, I find myself interested in his book on cod. Evidently, the cod fish drove much of the economic development of North America and the eventually collapse of the fishing banks. Someone stop me before I buy another 300 page history book...