Hooting Yard – Frank Key
Podcast Review
"There was no hat or cap on the shriveled head I took from the sack, just a few strands of filthy, matted hair. I sat on the grass and took a pair of snippy butcher's scissors out of my pocket and gave the shriveled head a much-needed haircut."
I've been listening to a podcast called "Hooting Yard" for only a couple of weeks, but in that short time I have grown quite fond of it. Frank Key, whom I discovered through his narration of various stories on possibly the greatest ongoing podcast of all time, 'Escape Pod', writes each week's episode. Keys is a dour Brit who's voice never fails to conjure up images of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's a fascinating listening experience since the works are so surrealist and patently strange, they often have no plot at all. The material he reads and writes is not only absolutely hilarious but often has a thin vein of malice and puck-like mischievousness running throughout it. Each episode is in some way related to a warped, fun-house mirror reflection of our own world. This place, Hooting Yard, has reoccurring characters, places, and a rich mythology. While it's sometimes difficult to even understand what he's talking about, the more I listen to it, the more I come to recognize the world. It's really cool stuff.
The full effect is akin to combining the humor of the Guide, the surrealism of Dali's paintings, and the hallucinogenic quality of some strong drug—in a free, easily downloaded format.
As a quick aside, my favorite surrealist short story is Harlan Ellison's "The Mouse Circus." Unfortunately, the only way to procure a copy is to get your hands on the amazing and expensive "Essential Ellison" omnibus.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
New Reviews and Podcasting, GO!!!
I'm going to start putting up more reviews of things I like and dislike. I miss writing for Mindsplint. I've found reviewing things is a good way organize my thoughts and help me test my conclusions. Written reviews are easily critiqued and logical gaps can be pointed out because the words are not dynamic like a conversation. I'm going to try to stay away from doing formal critiques of things because they are too much work, and I spent the last two years of my life writing them and being judged by them for school. I just want the Ebert luxury of determining how good something is with my thumb and eschew literature reviews and formal declarations of intent. Bleh.
My first review is going to be about a podcast. If you're new to the podcasting thing, check out this informative link on Wikipedia.org and read my summary below. If you know about podcasting, stop reading. It will only bore and confuse you. The actual review will show up soon (probably tomorrow).
My executive summary of podcasting is as follows: Podcasting is the common vernacular for a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) web feed that points a client application to content (usually audio or video) somewhere on the internet. It does this according to a schedule defined by the content provider. For example, I record myself yodeling and put it on the 'net. The next time you boot your computer a program running on it checks to see if there is a new song. If it determines there is a new yodeling song on the 'net you have not downloaded, it downloads it for you. Not only will the song be downloaded, it will be automatically moved to whatever portable music player you have attached to your computer. The upshot of all this is all you have to do is turn on your computer and, optionally, attach a portable music device to get new content. Once you've signed-up for a podcast, it's totally hands-free.
In the case of audio podcasts, people use a podcatcher, such as iTunes or WinAmp, to subscribe to and download them. Once downloaded, podcasts can be played on a computer, moved to a portable device like an iPod, Rio, or Zen, or be burned to a CD for use on a car trip.
In the sense that there isn't a direct and immediate cost to download a podcast, this is all free. However, as open source pioneer Richard Stallman famously put it, "It's not free as in free beer. It's free as in liberated." Liberation and no cost are two very different concepts, but English uses the same word (free) to describe both. People spend time and money to produce these 'free' podcasts, so many of them rely on donations to continue to operate. I've donated to a few of the podcasts that I love because A) I love the work they are doing and want them keep producing and B) Nothing is free.
You don't need an iPod to get into podcasting. You can find podcasts that cover nearly any topic you can imagine. The podcasts are free. Hop to it already!
My first review is going to be about a podcast. If you're new to the podcasting thing, check out this informative link on Wikipedia.org and read my summary below. If you know about podcasting, stop reading. It will only bore and confuse you. The actual review will show up soon (probably tomorrow).
My executive summary of podcasting is as follows: Podcasting is the common vernacular for a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) web feed that points a client application to content (usually audio or video) somewhere on the internet. It does this according to a schedule defined by the content provider. For example, I record myself yodeling and put it on the 'net. The next time you boot your computer a program running on it checks to see if there is a new song. If it determines there is a new yodeling song on the 'net you have not downloaded, it downloads it for you. Not only will the song be downloaded, it will be automatically moved to whatever portable music player you have attached to your computer. The upshot of all this is all you have to do is turn on your computer and, optionally, attach a portable music device to get new content. Once you've signed-up for a podcast, it's totally hands-free.
In the case of audio podcasts, people use a podcatcher, such as iTunes or WinAmp, to subscribe to and download them. Once downloaded, podcasts can be played on a computer, moved to a portable device like an iPod, Rio, or Zen, or be burned to a CD for use on a car trip.
In the sense that there isn't a direct and immediate cost to download a podcast, this is all free. However, as open source pioneer Richard Stallman famously put it, "It's not free as in free beer. It's free as in liberated." Liberation and no cost are two very different concepts, but English uses the same word (free) to describe both. People spend time and money to produce these 'free' podcasts, so many of them rely on donations to continue to operate. I've donated to a few of the podcasts that I love because A) I love the work they are doing and want them keep producing and B) Nothing is free.
You don't need an iPod to get into podcasting. You can find podcasts that cover nearly any topic you can imagine. The podcasts are free. Hop to it already!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Black Market on the 3rd Floor!
I've discovered an underground market thriving on the third floor!
I work in an office building. It has all the edifices you would come to expect from such a place. Cubicles, bathrooms, buzzing fluorescent lights are as common here as they are in most suburban office buildings. The building also sports a cafeteria complete with (free) soup and salad bar, tables and chairs, and coin-op vending machines. Most basic lunch or breakfast items can be procured from said vending machines. Apples, bad sandwiches, and V8 are enclosed within a sliding-door, carousel styled machines while pop and candy bars are available from the more common chute machines. While these items are marked up a good 10-20%, I would not argue that the items are not too egregiously priced. Especially considering the trouble that goes into stocking and maintaining said machines.
On the sly, a co-worker snuck out of our pod, disappeared for about five minutes, and reappeared with a bag of peanuts. I looked at the peanuts with a sense of awe and confusion. How did she get peanuts, I asked myself. The vending machines never have them and the direction she snuck off in was opposite of the caferteria. Something was afoot.
"So, where'd you gets the nuts?" I asked.
"Oh… you know." She said, gesturing wildly.
"No, I don't. I want nuts."
"There is a place… on the third floor… many things for sale."
So, it turns out, I discovered there is black market thriving on the third floor. It turns out this market offers candy, muffins, oatmeal and even bags of popcorn for $0.50 a piece! Colorfully decorated kiosks sports edible food items of all make, variety, and sweetness. Astounding! I find it fascinating this cultural phenomena can spring up in such a small sampling of people. This small, self-contained sample of humanity a black market has sprung up to meet a need that the polished, beeping vending machines are not meeting. I investigated.
I think I could successfully argue that this kind of behavior is Marxist in its origin, and perhaps not a market based on the acquisition of capital at all. The goods offered at the third floor market are sold at, what appears, to be no profit at all. I don't have access to the trade organizer, to confirm this however. My inquires have resulted in reports of mystery and intrigue concerning one Hilda VonBruglezot, I have been advised to drop my line of investigation.
I have, however, looked into the employee handbook to determine if my purchasing a poppy-seed muffin or a Kalashnikov rifle from one of the many dilapidated kiosks could be considered grounds for dismal, but the section on "Black Markets" is also mysteriously missing. Could it be that Hilda is involved? More investigation is necessary. However, I did discover that while the company has strict policy against facial hair of any kind, you can sport a beard for religious reasons. Sometimes it's nice to be a contractor. I can sport my rebellious and unruly goatee without having to convert to Judaism.
I work in an office building. It has all the edifices you would come to expect from such a place. Cubicles, bathrooms, buzzing fluorescent lights are as common here as they are in most suburban office buildings. The building also sports a cafeteria complete with (free) soup and salad bar, tables and chairs, and coin-op vending machines. Most basic lunch or breakfast items can be procured from said vending machines. Apples, bad sandwiches, and V8 are enclosed within a sliding-door, carousel styled machines while pop and candy bars are available from the more common chute machines. While these items are marked up a good 10-20%, I would not argue that the items are not too egregiously priced. Especially considering the trouble that goes into stocking and maintaining said machines.
On the sly, a co-worker snuck out of our pod, disappeared for about five minutes, and reappeared with a bag of peanuts. I looked at the peanuts with a sense of awe and confusion. How did she get peanuts, I asked myself. The vending machines never have them and the direction she snuck off in was opposite of the caferteria. Something was afoot.
"So, where'd you gets the nuts?" I asked.
"Oh… you know." She said, gesturing wildly.
"No, I don't. I want nuts."
"There is a place… on the third floor… many things for sale."
So, it turns out, I discovered there is black market thriving on the third floor. It turns out this market offers candy, muffins, oatmeal and even bags of popcorn for $0.50 a piece! Colorfully decorated kiosks sports edible food items of all make, variety, and sweetness. Astounding! I find it fascinating this cultural phenomena can spring up in such a small sampling of people. This small, self-contained sample of humanity a black market has sprung up to meet a need that the polished, beeping vending machines are not meeting. I investigated.
I think I could successfully argue that this kind of behavior is Marxist in its origin, and perhaps not a market based on the acquisition of capital at all. The goods offered at the third floor market are sold at, what appears, to be no profit at all. I don't have access to the trade organizer, to confirm this however. My inquires have resulted in reports of mystery and intrigue concerning one Hilda VonBruglezot, I have been advised to drop my line of investigation.
I have, however, looked into the employee handbook to determine if my purchasing a poppy-seed muffin or a Kalashnikov rifle from one of the many dilapidated kiosks could be considered grounds for dismal, but the section on "Black Markets" is also mysteriously missing. Could it be that Hilda is involved? More investigation is necessary. However, I did discover that while the company has strict policy against facial hair of any kind, you can sport a beard for religious reasons. Sometimes it's nice to be a contractor. I can sport my rebellious and unruly goatee without having to convert to Judaism.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
String Theory
Cool news! I have been selected as a finalist in a video competition!
Discover Magazine, a magazine I have blogged about in the past, recently ran a video competition. The idea was to create a video, 2 minutes or less, explaining String Theory (or M-Theory) to a moderately scientifically-minded audience. They gave about a month to produce the video and submit it. I received the email Sunday morning that I, along with seven others, have been selected as finalists.
Three things, two cool and one worrying have occurred as a result of being selected. First, simply for being chosen as a finalist, I get a year’s subscription to Discover Magazine for free. This is really cool because now I can save the money I would’ve spent on a renewal.
The second cool thing is Brian Greene will be choosing the winner. Greene is a Nobel Lauriat who wrote The Elegant Universe, one of the most complete and compelling books on String Theory I’ve read. Well, it’s actually the only book I’ve read on String Theory, but it is good. Not only do I recommend it, I’ll even let you borrow my copy if you ask nicely and bring me a bribe of cheese and bacon. If you’re not into the whole reading thing, but are interested in the idea that the physical universe is fundamentally comprised of tiny vibrating strings, there is a mini-series about the book made by Nova available on Netflix.
The one worrying aspect about being selected is I’m not overly happy with the final video, and now there is a 1 in 8 chance that it will win. If it happened, it would mean the millions of Discover readers I greatly respect will, if they have any sense of production value, think it sucks.
Like so many college essays, 1/3rd of the project was finished the night before it was due. The few parts of the piece I really like were designed by Mandy. Being the wonderful, amazing, and intelligent woman she is, Mandy came to my aid in an hour of need. She designed several of the sequences and helped with overall flow the piece. If you every get around to watching it and find yourself thinking, “That part was pretty good.” It’s likely that that’s the part she designed.
I really wanted to rework the audio using an M-Audio preamp I borrowed from Chad. I also wanted to redo most, if not all, of the animation sequences to make them more entertaining and less like, uh, a planetarium show. Years of planetarium design have created and reinforced the unfortunate notion that the only way to present educational content is with simple animations and low, monotonous voice-overs. Ah well. We make time for what’s important, and I apparently didn’t find this important enough to finish up to the expectations I set for it. Lesson learned: Don’t procrastinate when it comes to competition deadlines.
Sadly, due to the draconian click-wrap contract I entered into to be eligible to compete, I cannot post the video here. I technically don’t own it any more; they do. According to the congratulations email I received, I do know it will be put up on Discover Magazine’s site soon. When that happens, I’ll provide a link to the page so everyone can see the finalists’ videos.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
New Equipment Time!
I just received an order two new bits o' equipment: an Ultra 2000va UPS and a Western Digital 320GB hard drive.
Ultra 2000va UPS
What: An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is a essentially a battery backup for electronics, in my case, computers and peripherals. Basically, how it works is it plugs into the wall and your computer plugs into it. While plugged into the wall, the UPS' internal battery is charged. When I use my computer, it draws power from the battery, not from the wall socket, that way there is a complete disconnect between the power coming out of the wall outlet and the power entering the computer. So, during a thunderstorm, if the power goes out, my system will stay on because it's already running of the UPS battery. Also, if there is a power surge, it will only destroy the charging mechanism instead of blowing up my computer.
Why: It will protect my equipment from power surges and outages. Our apartment has horrible wiring. Everything in it is electric; the dishwasher, stove, and furnace. All electric. When the stove is on, I can hear crackling through my PC speakers, and that isn't good. With the UPS, there will be a constant, even flow of electricity to the computer and components making for a longer, more reliable equipment lifespan. Even if the apartment power totally goes out, the system will still run for about 15 minutes on the battery. These are a good idea for any piece, or pieces, of home electronics you want to survive a power surge or outage. I would recommend doing some research about how much power the equipment pulls before purchasing one. A good rule of thumb is 1000va to 2000va UPS it plenty for a low to medium end home theater system.
The sucker cost over $200, but I look at it as cheap insurance to protect the equipment. The other catch is it had be a massive 2000va UPS because the friggen Mac Pro is a such a power monster that it can spike over 1750vas when coming out of sleep or when all the drives are spinning. On the plus side, though, I should be able to run my external Lacie drive and my monitors off of it along with the Mac.
Bonus!
Western Digital 320GB hard drive (7200/rpm SATA-II)
What: A massive, inexpensive hard drive.
Why: I bought this for a couple reasons. One, I really want to see if I can get Windows to run on the Mac. My main goal for this, honestly, is to play games. I do also have bunch of non-gaming applications (DVDShrink, Reason, and IMToo Converter) that are PC-only that I would like to run. The Mac has a nice graphics card (ATI x19000 XT) that is well-suited for playing games. However, since most computer games require Microsoft's proprietary DirectX driver platform, it will only be fully utilized on using Windows. The second reason is I want to install and play around with Linux. I'll probably opt for Ubuntu, but I would like to try Debian, since the Windows Manager is so friggen cool looking. Either way, it will be interesting to see how well I can get these operating systems running on what used to be a totally closed hardware architecture. The future is now!
I'll write a review of each after I've used them for a while, and sorry if the most boring post you've ever read. I wrote it in the traditional geek fashion, with pens in my pocket and tape on my glasses.
Ultra 2000va UPS
What: An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is a essentially a battery backup for electronics, in my case, computers and peripherals. Basically, how it works is it plugs into the wall and your computer plugs into it. While plugged into the wall, the UPS' internal battery is charged. When I use my computer, it draws power from the battery, not from the wall socket, that way there is a complete disconnect between the power coming out of the wall outlet and the power entering the computer. So, during a thunderstorm, if the power goes out, my system will stay on because it's already running of the UPS battery. Also, if there is a power surge, it will only destroy the charging mechanism instead of blowing up my computer.
Why: It will protect my equipment from power surges and outages. Our apartment has horrible wiring. Everything in it is electric; the dishwasher, stove, and furnace. All electric. When the stove is on, I can hear crackling through my PC speakers, and that isn't good. With the UPS, there will be a constant, even flow of electricity to the computer and components making for a longer, more reliable equipment lifespan. Even if the apartment power totally goes out, the system will still run for about 15 minutes on the battery. These are a good idea for any piece, or pieces, of home electronics you want to survive a power surge or outage. I would recommend doing some research about how much power the equipment pulls before purchasing one. A good rule of thumb is 1000va to 2000va UPS it plenty for a low to medium end home theater system.
The sucker cost over $200, but I look at it as cheap insurance to protect the equipment. The other catch is it had be a massive 2000va UPS because the friggen Mac Pro is a such a power monster that it can spike over 1750vas when coming out of sleep or when all the drives are spinning. On the plus side, though, I should be able to run my external Lacie drive and my monitors off of it along with the Mac.
Bonus!
Western Digital 320GB hard drive (7200/rpm SATA-II)
What: A massive, inexpensive hard drive.
Why: I bought this for a couple reasons. One, I really want to see if I can get Windows to run on the Mac. My main goal for this, honestly, is to play games. I do also have bunch of non-gaming applications (DVDShrink, Reason, and IMToo Converter) that are PC-only that I would like to run. The Mac has a nice graphics card (ATI x19000 XT) that is well-suited for playing games. However, since most computer games require Microsoft's proprietary DirectX driver platform, it will only be fully utilized on using Windows. The second reason is I want to install and play around with Linux. I'll probably opt for Ubuntu, but I would like to try Debian, since the Windows Manager is so friggen cool looking. Either way, it will be interesting to see how well I can get these operating systems running on what used to be a totally closed hardware architecture. The future is now!
I'll write a review of each after I've used them for a while, and sorry if the most boring post you've ever read. I wrote it in the traditional geek fashion, with pens in my pocket and tape on my glasses.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Mr. Forton's 45th Annual March Madness "All Name Team"
[Editor's Note: DropMyStraw is proud to present guest editor Mr. Forton's amazingly successful All-Name Team]
Its hard to find good names these days. Parents aren't keeping their eyes on the prize. Its a sad day when the All American Apple Pie Flag Waving Baby Slapping Uncle Sam Dancing 45th All Name Team has to resort to foreigners to complete the list. Homeland Security should do something about this. Well here is this years list. How do you spell Marty? And can one man be named after 2 food groups? Now for the 45th Annual All Name Team brought to you by America's Furniture in Anacostia DC "Back Dat Thang Up!"
God Bless You and America!
Scooby Johnson – Texas A&M C.C. Islanders
Idong Ibok – MSU
Goran Suton – MSU
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute – UCLA
O.J. Mayo – USC
Antanas Kavaliauskas – Texas A&M
Maarty Leunen – Oregon
Do-kun Akingbade – George Washington
Vovo Severovas – Oakland
Its hard to find good names these days. Parents aren't keeping their eyes on the prize. Its a sad day when the All American Apple Pie Flag Waving Baby Slapping Uncle Sam Dancing 45th All Name Team has to resort to foreigners to complete the list. Homeland Security should do something about this. Well here is this years list. How do you spell Marty? And can one man be named after 2 food groups? Now for the 45th Annual All Name Team brought to you by America's Furniture in Anacostia DC "Back Dat Thang Up!"
God Bless You and America!
Scooby Johnson – Texas A&M C.C. Islanders
Idong Ibok – MSU
Goran Suton – MSU
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute – UCLA
O.J. Mayo – USC
Antanas Kavaliauskas – Texas A&M
Maarty Leunen – Oregon
Do-kun Akingbade – George Washington
Vovo Severovas – Oakland
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Mac Reflections Pt. 2
My PC started acting up. I had been playing Oblivion: Elder Scrolls, converting some .movs to .wmvs, and burning DVDs (not all at the same time) just fine. Then, a couple days ago, it just seized. The screen went black and the sucker wouldn't shut even if I held the power button in for 5-10 seconds. I had to reach behind it and flip the power supply switch. I tried a couple things. I used an entire can of blow-off to clear out the mountain flotsam and dust bunnies that had collected. I reset the mobo to use the factory configuration of the memory and I'm about to try some different voltage settings and front-side bus configs to see if one of those is wonky. It could be the power supply too. I bought the "Diablo" power supply because it had a cool blue LED in it, not because it came highly recommended to actually, you know, power my computer and everything. I'll play around with it; ask some friends for advice.
I'm writing this to you on my Mac. My trustworthy Mac. It hasn't died. It doesn't need voltage tweaks or memory flash sequences reset. It just works. And works well. So, when I get around to it, I'll figure out the problem with PC. Or, more likely, I'll bribe a friend or friends with cookies and beer to get it working for me. It used to be that I defined my ability to accomplish things on a computer by how well I could troubleshoot the myriad problems I came across trying to run a Windows PC. I think I've come to terms with my consumerist, hair-gel wearing self. It's so much easier to use a computer that just works instead of one that, well, doesn't.
It's also much more productive. The PC died right in the middle of converting the aforementioned files--a task I am doing for my client in Grand Rapids. If that was my editing computer, I would be rushing to fix it because failing to do so might mean missing a deadline and loosing them as a client. I can't afford the vanity or the time spent trolling through forums and message boards trying to isolate the problem and fix it/replace it. I need this project done. Period.
It could be a bad power supply. Might be a motherboard setting. Meh. In the meantime, I'll be getting my work done on my Mac.
I'm writing this to you on my Mac. My trustworthy Mac. It hasn't died. It doesn't need voltage tweaks or memory flash sequences reset. It just works. And works well. So, when I get around to it, I'll figure out the problem with PC. Or, more likely, I'll bribe a friend or friends with cookies and beer to get it working for me. It used to be that I defined my ability to accomplish things on a computer by how well I could troubleshoot the myriad problems I came across trying to run a Windows PC. I think I've come to terms with my consumerist, hair-gel wearing self. It's so much easier to use a computer that just works instead of one that, well, doesn't.
It's also much more productive. The PC died right in the middle of converting the aforementioned files--a task I am doing for my client in Grand Rapids. If that was my editing computer, I would be rushing to fix it because failing to do so might mean missing a deadline and loosing them as a client. I can't afford the vanity or the time spent trolling through forums and message boards trying to isolate the problem and fix it/replace it. I need this project done. Period.
It could be a bad power supply. Might be a motherboard setting. Meh. In the meantime, I'll be getting my work done on my Mac.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
slacking
We have a number of people write, call, and IM that we haven't been as prolific with updates these past couple weeks. While true, it isn't totally without reason. I have been crazy-busy these past two weeks. A massive computer crash (no, not the Mac), a deadline pushed up two weeks by my client in GR, and fun visit by Chad and Megan last weekend are all reasons why I haven't been posting, not excuses. I should be posting regardless. I'm trying to keep people amused and informed about our going-ons down here in the great sweeping Ohioan expanse, and I can't do that unless I post.
It's strange doing this blogging thing. Both Mandy and I will go through periods of creativity and interest in it, then just as suddenly loose interest. What I need to do is during my next bout of creativity, write a few posts and just keep them in draft, so when I'm not feeling up to writing, I can just post one of those.
To recap, here's few things we've been up to since the last post:
1. Chad and Megan came down to visit last weekend. It was great to hang out with some them.
2. We had a really successful cooking club last weekend. The theme was fondue, and there was much dipping. A special thanks to Chad's parents for the use of their awesome ceramic fondue pot.
3. We saw Grindhouse last night. Words cannot describe the experience. It's so unlike any other movie-going experience I've had, that I'm reluctant to even call it a movie. It's something has to be seen to be believed, both in a good and bad way.
4. Mandy and I have been thinking of adding another member to the family. Keep looking back for more updates on this...
(One of the many amazing scenes from such a wonderful movie. Too bad YouTube resolution is so crappy.)
It's strange doing this blogging thing. Both Mandy and I will go through periods of creativity and interest in it, then just as suddenly loose interest. What I need to do is during my next bout of creativity, write a few posts and just keep them in draft, so when I'm not feeling up to writing, I can just post one of those.
To recap, here's few things we've been up to since the last post:
1. Chad and Megan came down to visit last weekend. It was great to hang out with some them.
2. We had a really successful cooking club last weekend. The theme was fondue, and there was much dipping. A special thanks to Chad's parents for the use of their awesome ceramic fondue pot.
3. We saw Grindhouse last night. Words cannot describe the experience. It's so unlike any other movie-going experience I've had, that I'm reluctant to even call it a movie. It's something has to be seen to be believed, both in a good and bad way.
4. Mandy and I have been thinking of adding another member to the family. Keep looking back for more updates on this...
(One of the many amazing scenes from such a wonderful movie. Too bad YouTube resolution is so crappy.)
Monday, March 19, 2007
So friggen cool
On March 3rd I posted a quick summary of a book I was reading called "A Beginner's Guide to Immortality" by author Cliff Pickover and just a quickly forgot about the post. If you haven't read the post yet, I encourage you to do so.
Today I was checking Pickover's Reality Carnival, a link-blog he maintains daily. It's kind of like Fark, but more science/art influenced. I've had a link to it on the right side of Dropmystraw since Mandy and I first started it. It's the first thing I check whenever I hop online. It's always one link and it's always interesting. Especially the 3/17/2007 link.
I was amazed to find that he, of his own volition, linked back to Drop My Straw! If you click on the reality carnival link on the right side, look for the link for 3/17/2007 - it links back to my post! The coolest thing is I never submitted the blog or my post to his site. He must've found it by googling his name, book title, or some combination. Either way, it's really cool. It's amazing how enabling the internet is becoming. I read a cool book, post a quick review, the author finds the review, link back to my site, I post about the linking and everyone knows everyone. It's really cool.
Today I was checking Pickover's Reality Carnival, a link-blog he maintains daily. It's kind of like Fark, but more science/art influenced. I've had a link to it on the right side of Dropmystraw since Mandy and I first started it. It's the first thing I check whenever I hop online. It's always one link and it's always interesting. Especially the 3/17/2007 link.
I was amazed to find that he, of his own volition, linked back to Drop My Straw! If you click on the reality carnival link on the right side, look for the link for 3/17/2007 - it links back to my post! The coolest thing is I never submitted the blog or my post to his site. He must've found it by googling his name, book title, or some combination. Either way, it's really cool. It's amazing how enabling the internet is becoming. I read a cool book, post a quick review, the author finds the review, link back to my site, I post about the linking and everyone knows everyone. It's really cool.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Exploding Sand Castles!
I haven't posted anything in a while. Been real busy working on my reel, string theory thing, and the project for Mandy's parents. Also no one ever posts comments. Last weekend, when Mandy and I were town, nearly every person quoted something from the blog and yet so few posts.
Here's a quick primer for those who are comment-deficient:
1. Click the comments hyperlink at the bottom of the post
2. Type either "Good" or "Bad" in the text box
3. Click Publish Your Comments
That's it. Really easy, isn't it?
As a gift for being such a good student, here's a really sweet video of sandcastles blowing up in reverse. It reminds me of my 'Revo' days when the favorite pass time of my friends and myself was recording things then playing the tapes in reverse. We were easily amused.
Here's a quick primer for those who are comment-deficient:
1. Click the comments hyperlink at the bottom of the post
2. Type either "Good" or "Bad" in the text box
3. Click Publish Your Comments
That's it. Really easy, isn't it?
As a gift for being such a good student, here's a really sweet video of sandcastles blowing up in reverse. It reminds me of my 'Revo' days when the favorite pass time of my friends and myself was recording things then playing the tapes in reverse. We were easily amused.
(Man, this is awesome)
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Product Review: V-MODA Earbuds for iPod
If you own an iPod (really, any portable MP3 player) and find the stock earbuds that come packaged with it lacking, I have a great alternative.
'The V-MODA Bass Freq' earbuds. I picked up a pair of these babies for $35 from Amazon about two months ago and they're so far above the listening experience of the stock iPod earbuds it's hard to describe.
If you listen to your iPod with a pair of unpowered earbuds, you'll find these little guys to be the single best investment of $35 you can make to improve your listening experience.
(Sexy earbuds)
I listen to my iPod, through earbuds, for about 6 hours everyday at work. Anyone that has worked with me knows this isn't an exaggeration. I listen to a wide range of music, podcasts, vidcasts, and everything in between. I basically got tired of getting headaches from listening with the stock headphones, not to mention the sound is atrocious, and started doing some research into a better set. I found out about these via this review on CNet. While they may not be up there with the Sonhiser or Sharp in terms of sound clarity, they'll only set you back $35 compared to the $100 - $200 you'd have to spend to get a really good set. Again, if you listen to portable music devices often, do your ears a favor a buy a pair.
Pros:
'The V-MODA Bass Freq' earbuds. I picked up a pair of these babies for $35 from Amazon about two months ago and they're so far above the listening experience of the stock iPod earbuds it's hard to describe.
If you listen to your iPod with a pair of unpowered earbuds, you'll find these little guys to be the single best investment of $35 you can make to improve your listening experience.
(Sexy earbuds)
I listen to my iPod, through earbuds, for about 6 hours everyday at work. Anyone that has worked with me knows this isn't an exaggeration. I listen to a wide range of music, podcasts, vidcasts, and everything in between. I basically got tired of getting headaches from listening with the stock headphones, not to mention the sound is atrocious, and started doing some research into a better set. I found out about these via this review on CNet. While they may not be up there with the Sonhiser or Sharp in terms of sound clarity, they'll only set you back $35 compared to the $100 - $200 you'd have to spend to get a really good set. Again, if you listen to portable music devices often, do your ears a favor a buy a pair.
Pros:
- Good sound insulation
- They come with three ear canal adapters to fit various sized ears holes
- Non-fatiguing sound: I can leave them in for hours at a time without them bothering me
- Comfortable, ergonomic design
- Sound quality is amazing for a set of earbuds
- They are biased towards being bass heavy, due to how little SPL the drivers can pump out
- The cord is really short
- I know it's nitpicky, but it's really hard to read the tiny 'R' and 'L' indicators on the cans
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Yeah Marvin, what is really going on?
I was sitting at work, watching my scripts crawl like digital cats across the application, seeking out bugs to snack on, when I heard something amusing on my iPod.
I had been listening to a collection of Marvin Gaye tunes (I’ve been on a Motown kick for some reason) when the golden standard, “What’s Going On?” came on. The song begins with ambient sounds of the beginnings of a party which ends up being the foundation for the song. For about 15 seconds, the listener can only hear a clamoring of saying things like, “This is a groovy party, man.”, “Everything is everything.”, and, “I dig it.” Alone, this is worth a grin because of how dated the phrases are, but something oddly coincidental is said just as the music kicks in.
Once the beat starts, and mid-way through the first Saxophone note, you can distinctly hear my friend Esquire in the background answering the question, “Hey man, what’s your name?” with “It’s Dennis.” The voice sounds just like Esquire and the fact that it’s saying its name is ‘Dennis’ at a party at Marvin Gaye’s crib c. 1972 is the coolest thing I’ve ever heard. If Dennis existed in some alternate dimension, this is where he’d hang out. If you know, or are, Esquire, you’ll understand and smile knowingly.
It's hard to hear, but if you turn it up and listen to the right speaker, you can make it out.
I had been listening to a collection of Marvin Gaye tunes (I’ve been on a Motown kick for some reason) when the golden standard, “What’s Going On?” came on. The song begins with ambient sounds of the beginnings of a party which ends up being the foundation for the song. For about 15 seconds, the listener can only hear a clamoring of saying things like, “This is a groovy party, man.”, “Everything is everything.”, and, “I dig it.” Alone, this is worth a grin because of how dated the phrases are, but something oddly coincidental is said just as the music kicks in.
Once the beat starts, and mid-way through the first Saxophone note, you can distinctly hear my friend Esquire in the background answering the question, “Hey man, what’s your name?” with “It’s Dennis.” The voice sounds just like Esquire and the fact that it’s saying its name is ‘Dennis’ at a party at Marvin Gaye’s crib c. 1972 is the coolest thing I’ve ever heard. If Dennis existed in some alternate dimension, this is where he’d hang out. If you know, or are, Esquire, you’ll understand and smile knowingly.
It's hard to hear, but if you turn it up and listen to the right speaker, you can make it out.
(Click on Marvin to listen to / download the clip)
Monday, March 05, 2007
Weekend recap...
Wow, what a great weekend. I’m not surprised that it went so fast, I was having so much fun all weekend long.
Friday, Matt and I relaxed at home. We practiced more on perfecting our pizza. What would pizza be without beer?...and the Sopranos?....and some Beatles? We ended up watching the last episode on our Sopranos disk (from Netflix), and then watched another hour of the Beatles documentary. If you like the Beatles and have never seen this documentary, you should. It is 8 hours long, and it packs all of the Beatles goodness in!
Saturday, I woke up and felt like baking a little. I made some blueberry-orange muffins and then made some chocolate-chocolate chip muffins. Matt worked on his reel, but was able to pull himself away for some tasting.
Saturday night we met up with a couple of our friends, Erin and Dean, at an Indian restaurant in Clifton. We ordered the veg dinner for two and they ordered the non-veg dinner for two. There also ordered a nice bottle of white wine for all of us to drink. There was a lot of food, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
After dinner, we stepped over to the Esquire theater, with all intentions of watching Other Peoples Lives, but we were a bit late and probably would have missed 20 minutes. We were able to get tickets for Pan’s Labyrinth. Although Erin is not too keen on movies with insects and violence, she was a really good sport!
After the movie we went next door to a coffee shop named Sitwell’s – think it might be owned by Sally’s father (from Arrested Development). We each had a warming, and mighty alcoholic coffee/cocoa. It was a cool little shop – and we had good conversations.
I liked the Clifton area. Even though it was really cold, there are a lot of things to do within a short proximity.
Sunday, was low-key. We hung around the house until about 3pm, and then went shopping for some odds and ends. We came back with Chinese food, and watched Little Women - or I watched it and Matt watched some :)
He had some more work to do on his reel, so he left part way through.
All in all, I had a very relaxing enjoyable weekend.
Friday, Matt and I relaxed at home. We practiced more on perfecting our pizza. What would pizza be without beer?...and the Sopranos?....and some Beatles? We ended up watching the last episode on our Sopranos disk (from Netflix), and then watched another hour of the Beatles documentary. If you like the Beatles and have never seen this documentary, you should. It is 8 hours long, and it packs all of the Beatles goodness in!
Saturday, I woke up and felt like baking a little. I made some blueberry-orange muffins and then made some chocolate-chocolate chip muffins. Matt worked on his reel, but was able to pull himself away for some tasting.
Saturday night we met up with a couple of our friends, Erin and Dean, at an Indian restaurant in Clifton. We ordered the veg dinner for two and they ordered the non-veg dinner for two. There also ordered a nice bottle of white wine for all of us to drink. There was a lot of food, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
After dinner, we stepped over to the Esquire theater, with all intentions of watching Other Peoples Lives, but we were a bit late and probably would have missed 20 minutes. We were able to get tickets for Pan’s Labyrinth. Although Erin is not too keen on movies with insects and violence, she was a really good sport!
After the movie we went next door to a coffee shop named Sitwell’s – think it might be owned by Sally’s father (from Arrested Development). We each had a warming, and mighty alcoholic coffee/cocoa. It was a cool little shop – and we had good conversations.
I liked the Clifton area. Even though it was really cold, there are a lot of things to do within a short proximity.
Sunday, was low-key. We hung around the house until about 3pm, and then went shopping for some odds and ends. We came back with Chinese food, and watched Little Women - or I watched it and Matt watched some :)
He had some more work to do on his reel, so he left part way through.
All in all, I had a very relaxing enjoyable weekend.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Cliff Pickover and Immortality
Cliff Pickover's newest book begins, "Last night, I dreamed I was eating Truman Capote's brain. It tasted like black licorice, but smelled of blood."
I discovered Pickover when he was interviewed by George Norry, the host of Coast to Coast AM. First understand that Coast interviewees range from people who channel the ghost of JFK to the shrieking rants of conspiracy theorists. Most Coast guests have very unconvincing credentials and are a questionable lot, to put it lightly. So, when this mad scientist appeared one on the show one rainy summer evening, talking about similarities in DMT drug experiences experiences, time travel paradoxes, and comparisons between sushi and the native language of Hopi Indians, I didn't pay any more attention than the round-table discussions of the shape of alien eyes. Keep in mind I'm not trying to diminish how interesting these topics can be (though nearly all are patently false they sure are fun to listen to), it's just that they are as common on Coast to Coast as Brittany Spear's recent haircut is on more mainstream news shows.
Partially due to time, but mostly due to lack of interest, I never listen to a Coast interview twice. However, over the next few weeks, I found myself returning to that interview again. It was basically three hours of a very articulate person concisely describing fascinating thought-experiments that act as a kind of catalyst for thinking about the world in new ways. I did a little research and found that Pickover has published over 30 books and has real credentials to back up his science ideas. He received his Ph. D. from Yale in molecular biophysics and biochemistry.
On a whim I bought his then newest book, "Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves" and have never looked back. As Mandy will tell you, it's not something to lightly attempt reading if you are suffer from any form of A.D.D. Most of the topics are covered in two or three paragraphs and whose thematic connections are loose and ever-changing. It's like reading a book that was created by using the linking, cross-indexing architecture of HTML to organize a jumble of loosely related subject material.
I'm mid-way through his latest book. "A Beginner's Guide to Immortality." It's structured in a much more linear fashion than "Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves" complete with chapters and everything! It still wildly surges from dissections of the works of Capote to the esoteric genius of John Parsons creating surprising neural linkage in it's wake. As an aside, Parsons is the man, who, in the 1950s, was most responsible for creating the NASA space program, solid-fuel rockets, and the founding of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He was also certifiably insane.
If you're in the mood for some strange, mind-expanding reading, you can't go wrong with Pickover. A good quote from Wired sums him up well, "Bucky Fuller thought big, Arthur C. Clark thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes them both."
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Lunar Eclipse a' comin!
This Saturday, March 3rd, you will be able to see a total lunar eclipse. These aren’t particularly rare (the next one is in August), but they are interesting to see. Unlike a solar eclipse you won’t see one celestial body completely cover or “eclipse” another. The moon will pass through Earth’s shadow, causing it to change to a reddish brown color in the Eastern Time Zone. Unfortunately, it will be at moonrise, so it won’t be amazingly dark, and given that we live in the mid-west, clear skies are also rare.
However, if the skies are clear and you are so inclined, the moon will begin to move into the outer shadow (the penumbra) of the earth starting at 4:30. It will enter totality or the darkest part of the shadow (called the umbra) at 5:44 and float through it for about an hour and 15 mins. At 6:20, the moon will be at mid-umbra which is the time the moon will look the darkest, reddist, browniest of the eclipse. From 6:20-8:12 the moon will start moving out of the Earth’s shadow until it looks all nice and regular at the end.
Here is an amazingly bad video explanation of the eclipse. Note how the astronomer never looks up from the cue cards she is reading and the full shot of her with a red lighting her head and none of her body. I've said it before and I'll say it again: NASA cannot make space videos look good no matter how hard they try.
It’s great example of how the laws that govern things gravity causing my coffee mug to roll off my desk and splash me this morning are the same laws that cause the earth, sun, and moon to move through the cosmos. It's also a great example of shoddy government-sponsored video explanations.
However, if the skies are clear and you are so inclined, the moon will begin to move into the outer shadow (the penumbra) of the earth starting at 4:30. It will enter totality or the darkest part of the shadow (called the umbra) at 5:44 and float through it for about an hour and 15 mins. At 6:20, the moon will be at mid-umbra which is the time the moon will look the darkest, reddist, browniest of the eclipse. From 6:20-8:12 the moon will start moving out of the Earth’s shadow until it looks all nice and regular at the end.
Here is an amazingly bad video explanation of the eclipse. Note how the astronomer never looks up from the cue cards she is reading and the full shot of her with a red lighting her head and none of her body. I've said it before and I'll say it again: NASA cannot make space videos look good no matter how hard they try.
It’s great example of how the laws that govern things gravity causing my coffee mug to roll off my desk and splash me this morning are the same laws that cause the earth, sun, and moon to move through the cosmos. It's also a great example of shoddy government-sponsored video explanations.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Yummy dinner!!
Last night, Matt and I made our dinner fabulous by improvising. We started off with agreeing to make the roasted garlic and eggplant soup that we like so well. After scrounging around in the kitchen, we found that we did not have many of the ingredients. That’s when we threw the cookbook to the floor, rolled up our sleeves and started creating. Although we do not have a name for it, yet, I will let you in on what we did…
Ingredients
Garlic – whole clove
Eggplant
Onion – chopped
Tomatoes – large can
Artichokes – canned and slightly drained
Tofu – ground “meat” type
Pasta – elbow, penne, etc.
Feta w/basil
We started off by roasting a whole clove of garlic. If you have never done this before, you must do it! It is so easy and wonderful. The basic idea is to take a bulb of garlic and cut the top of the skin, just so you can see the cloves inside. Pour a small amount of olive oil into the bulb. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Take a small piece of tin foil and wrap the garlic in it, leaving a small opening at the top. 375 degrees for about 30 min
We also roasted a whole eggplant. In order to do this, there are a couple of things that need to be done before popping it in the oven. First, thinly slice the eggplant, sprinkle with salt and arrange on and cover with paper towels. Place something heavy on top of the eggplant to draw the excess water out of them. Approximately 15 minutes later you may liberally coat the eggplant and place on a cookie sheet. 375 degrees for 15 – 20 min
Cook onions in a large pan with a little olive oil. Add can of tomatoes and ground tofu. Cook pasta in separate pan, and transfer when al dente.
Remove eggplant and garlic and let cool slightly. Add eggplant, garlic (can be squeezed right out of the bulb!), and can of artichokes with ½ of the liquid to food processor and blend thoroughly.
Add food processed items to large pan, and heat through. Serve topped with feta.
Yummy!!
Ingredients
Garlic – whole clove
Eggplant
Onion – chopped
Tomatoes – large can
Artichokes – canned and slightly drained
Tofu – ground “meat” type
Pasta – elbow, penne, etc.
Feta w/basil
We started off by roasting a whole clove of garlic. If you have never done this before, you must do it! It is so easy and wonderful. The basic idea is to take a bulb of garlic and cut the top of the skin, just so you can see the cloves inside. Pour a small amount of olive oil into the bulb. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Take a small piece of tin foil and wrap the garlic in it, leaving a small opening at the top. 375 degrees for about 30 min
We also roasted a whole eggplant. In order to do this, there are a couple of things that need to be done before popping it in the oven. First, thinly slice the eggplant, sprinkle with salt and arrange on and cover with paper towels. Place something heavy on top of the eggplant to draw the excess water out of them. Approximately 15 minutes later you may liberally coat the eggplant and place on a cookie sheet. 375 degrees for 15 – 20 min
Cook onions in a large pan with a little olive oil. Add can of tomatoes and ground tofu. Cook pasta in separate pan, and transfer when al dente.
Remove eggplant and garlic and let cool slightly. Add eggplant, garlic (can be squeezed right out of the bulb!), and can of artichokes with ½ of the liquid to food processor and blend thoroughly.
Add food processed items to large pan, and heat through. Serve topped with feta.
Yummy!!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Gifts
Mandy's uncle, a very talented artist and craftsman, built us an end table for a belated wedding gift. I have included a couple pictures of the table below. It's an amazing gift on two levels: One is the fine craftsmanship and working of the table, the other is the fact that he thought to make it. From the pictures, you can tell that no small amount of effort was put into creating the table. It's artificial aging, woodworking, masonry, and wax finish are very high quality. He even used blends of woods and finish so it would match our couches (a detail I completely missed until it was brought to my attention). Mandy and I have personally set glasses of water of it to verify it provides the necessary functions a table should.
Gifts are always nice, but we feel they are especially effective in conveying love and gratitude when they are made, rather than purchased. The construction of a gift is a literal rendering of a person's feelings. Living in Kentucky, he was unable to attend the wedding, but he wanted to show his love and respect, so he crafted this table. The gesture was deeply moving for both Mandy and I, considering our general stance towards gift giving and for me in particular, considering an entire half of my extended family felt it unnecessary to even attend the wedding.
The many gifts we have received throughout the years, purchased or otherwise, are a powerful reminder that we live blessed lives, filled with an abundance of wonderful friends and family we feel deeply honored to know and love. I don't think we say thanks enough, so here it is: Thanks!
Happy now?
Gifts are always nice, but we feel they are especially effective in conveying love and gratitude when they are made, rather than purchased. The construction of a gift is a literal rendering of a person's feelings. Living in Kentucky, he was unable to attend the wedding, but he wanted to show his love and respect, so he crafted this table. The gesture was deeply moving for both Mandy and I, considering our general stance towards gift giving and for me in particular, considering an entire half of my extended family felt it unnecessary to even attend the wedding.
The many gifts we have received throughout the years, purchased or otherwise, are a powerful reminder that we live blessed lives, filled with an abundance of wonderful friends and family we feel deeply honored to know and love. I don't think we say thanks enough, so here it is: Thanks!
Happy now?
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Body Massage
(Who wants a body massage?)
We're only a few weeks away from the whole "set our clocks to a different time for no good reason" experience. It's funny to see Microsoft having to patch Outlook to accommodate the change in the day we reset our clocks. I like to watch Microsoft scramble around, fixing bugs that would've been discovered months ago had they adopted an open development model. There's something really interesting about how people love to see the big and powerful make mistakes. Maybe it's out of spite or jealousy, but it seems like all the infotainment pap I see in newsstands, websites, and TVs is heavily geared towards this impulse. Every time I see some formerly "important" movie star, athlete, or politician get roasted by the press, I feel a little twinge of justice, like there's some powerful universal force grinding them beneath its thumb. It all makes me smile and pump my fist vigorously towards the heavens with shouts of, "Git er' done!" and knee-slaps a plenty. For example:
It's interesting to wonder why people are so enamored with this kind of information. Is it because people are innately shallow or because our culture teaches us to be this way?
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Top Ten Differences Between Living in Michigan and Ohio
Chad asked for this list the second week we moved down here. I've finally gotten around to writing it. I hope it satisfies.
10. Interpretation of risk associated with weather.
In Ohio, 3 inches of snow is considered a state emergency. They actually preemptively close schools: This means they close school before it snows. The fear of snow, not actual inclement weather, causes schools to close. Where I grew up, if there were fewer than five buses stuck in ditches, school was open. Here, ever city has an alter whereupon children are sacrificed to Frostzor the Cold One, in hopes of keeping His icy will at bay.
9. Driving skills of the populace.
It is amazing, but Ohio drivers really are worse than Michigan drivers, perhaps worse than any other drivers on the planet, universe, and all of creation. Maybe even beyond that. And by bad, I mean driving through red lights, cars and people flipping through the air, bursting into flames, driving over grandmothers, and welding hunks of metal to their bumpers to inflict as much damage possible. Driving around in Ohio is like driving around the Mad Max universe in a Ford Pinto with Mel Gibson riding shotgun, spitting random racial slurs and vodka; like some kind of Australian post-apoplectic wasteland of Mohawk sporting cannibals crashing 10-ton death machines shaped like giant phalluses into each other. And remember that midget with the boomerang that cuts off that one dude's fingers in Mad Max 1? That was awesome.
8. Perceived risks of imbibing alcoholic beverages on the Sabbath.
In the area of Ohio where we live, people have this strange notion that purchasing alcohol on Sundays does not constitute and unpardonable sin—punishable only by death. There are no public executions of heathens caught purchasing flasks of devil juice on the holy day. It's so boring without the weekly beheadings. On the other hand, Hamilites don't appear to be stuck in some romantic view of the world c. 1500AD like Grandville is. That Ye Olde Timey feel is gone. Many fewer corpses and piles of feces line the streets of Hamilton, so I guess that's a plus. The surfs of Grandville really ought to petition Lord Hemingsford to ask favor of His Majesty the King to lift the ban on the purchase of alcoholic spirits on Sundays and join the real world.
7. Usage of Chili
Nearly every food is coated with chili. From spaghetti to hot-dogs, it's rare to go into any restaurant that doesn't provide the option of having your entree coated with a steaming pile of meaty chili. There are more Skylines (a local chili chain) than McDonalds in most places.
6. The quantity and quality of Indian restaurants
Indian restaurant are all over the place down here. Some come in the tradition of American tex-mex restaurents where the food served is based on how an American who has never traveled more than two states away would think the food should taste like. Most restaurants, however, serve dishes we've never seen in other Indian restaurants. Not that a lower frequency of a given food item appearing in different restaurants makes it any more authentic or anything. It just tastes good.
5. The quantity and quality of jobs
The Western Michigan job market sucks. Not much more to say, really. It just sucks. Southeast Ohio? Not so much.
4. Comparative lack of microbreweries
Explain this to me: Why would a city like Cincinnati (the very bread and butter of the mid-West) not have more than one microbrewery? Sure there were the riots in 2001 that destroyed downtown, and the rampant murders in Over-the-Rhine, and the gas-crazed Mad Max cannibals driving around town, but what does that have to do with beer? I can see basic infrastructure like roads, sanitary drinking water, electricity, and civil order flying out the window when the Sickness killed half the population and left the other half blind and insane, but the beer? Come on Cincinnati. Get your act together.
3. Different geological topography
It's really windy and hilly here.
2. Different stance on recycling
You may think it's strange that this would come in second, but it's really unnerving. We grew up in Michigan, one of only two states in the union that pays its citizens $0.10 to bring back their beverage containers. We also grew up in a primarily Dutch (read frugal, penny-pinching misers) community where the value of ten cents was not something to scoff at. There is a strong, pervasive belief among our parents that somehow returning 20 cans would give us enough money to fill our gas tanks. I can remember how, on countless occasions, my father would hand me a bag of stinking cans, smile and say, "There you go! That ought to fill up the old tank."
So, in Michigan, throwing away a can is akin to throwing away cold, hard cash. And not only that, but magic cash that, despite only having the appearance of $2.00, will somehow fill up your gas tank.
In Ohio, there are is no payment-for-recycling program. You either seek out a recycling plant, pay to have your cans picked up, or just toss them in the trash. Fighting the hard coded compulsion to wash out, line up, and bag those cans is taking its toll. It's a daily struggle.
1. The importance of organized sports
In the days of ancient Greece, everything revolved around the Olympics. People would stop warring, everyone's safe travel was insured, and the next four-year calendar was named after the winner of the chariot race. It's much like that here. When we first arrived, people would drive up next to us at lights and scream, "Hoo Day!" and drive off laughing. It wasn't until much later we realized that this is the war cry of Bangles fans. Elderly, white-haired grandmothers walk around with temporary Bangles tattoos on their foreheads and babies are dressed in the team's colors. It's very disconcerting.
10. Interpretation of risk associated with weather.
In Ohio, 3 inches of snow is considered a state emergency. They actually preemptively close schools: This means they close school before it snows. The fear of snow, not actual inclement weather, causes schools to close. Where I grew up, if there were fewer than five buses stuck in ditches, school was open. Here, ever city has an alter whereupon children are sacrificed to Frostzor the Cold One, in hopes of keeping His icy will at bay.
9. Driving skills of the populace.
It is amazing, but Ohio drivers really are worse than Michigan drivers, perhaps worse than any other drivers on the planet, universe, and all of creation. Maybe even beyond that. And by bad, I mean driving through red lights, cars and people flipping through the air, bursting into flames, driving over grandmothers, and welding hunks of metal to their bumpers to inflict as much damage possible. Driving around in Ohio is like driving around the Mad Max universe in a Ford Pinto with Mel Gibson riding shotgun, spitting random racial slurs and vodka; like some kind of Australian post-apoplectic wasteland of Mohawk sporting cannibals crashing 10-ton death machines shaped like giant phalluses into each other. And remember that midget with the boomerang that cuts off that one dude's fingers in Mad Max 1? That was awesome.
8. Perceived risks of imbibing alcoholic beverages on the Sabbath.
In the area of Ohio where we live, people have this strange notion that purchasing alcohol on Sundays does not constitute and unpardonable sin—punishable only by death. There are no public executions of heathens caught purchasing flasks of devil juice on the holy day. It's so boring without the weekly beheadings. On the other hand, Hamilites don't appear to be stuck in some romantic view of the world c. 1500AD like Grandville is. That Ye Olde Timey feel is gone. Many fewer corpses and piles of feces line the streets of Hamilton, so I guess that's a plus. The surfs of Grandville really ought to petition Lord Hemingsford to ask favor of His Majesty the King to lift the ban on the purchase of alcoholic spirits on Sundays and join the real world.
7. Usage of Chili
Nearly every food is coated with chili. From spaghetti to hot-dogs, it's rare to go into any restaurant that doesn't provide the option of having your entree coated with a steaming pile of meaty chili. There are more Skylines (a local chili chain) than McDonalds in most places.
6. The quantity and quality of Indian restaurants
Indian restaurant are all over the place down here. Some come in the tradition of American tex-mex restaurents where the food served is based on how an American who has never traveled more than two states away would think the food should taste like. Most restaurants, however, serve dishes we've never seen in other Indian restaurants. Not that a lower frequency of a given food item appearing in different restaurants makes it any more authentic or anything. It just tastes good.
5. The quantity and quality of jobs
The Western Michigan job market sucks. Not much more to say, really. It just sucks. Southeast Ohio? Not so much.
4. Comparative lack of microbreweries
Explain this to me: Why would a city like Cincinnati (the very bread and butter of the mid-West) not have more than one microbrewery? Sure there were the riots in 2001 that destroyed downtown, and the rampant murders in Over-the-Rhine, and the gas-crazed Mad Max cannibals driving around town, but what does that have to do with beer? I can see basic infrastructure like roads, sanitary drinking water, electricity, and civil order flying out the window when the Sickness killed half the population and left the other half blind and insane, but the beer? Come on Cincinnati. Get your act together.
3. Different geological topography
It's really windy and hilly here.
2. Different stance on recycling
You may think it's strange that this would come in second, but it's really unnerving. We grew up in Michigan, one of only two states in the union that pays its citizens $0.10 to bring back their beverage containers. We also grew up in a primarily Dutch (read frugal, penny-pinching misers) community where the value of ten cents was not something to scoff at. There is a strong, pervasive belief among our parents that somehow returning 20 cans would give us enough money to fill our gas tanks. I can remember how, on countless occasions, my father would hand me a bag of stinking cans, smile and say, "There you go! That ought to fill up the old tank."
So, in Michigan, throwing away a can is akin to throwing away cold, hard cash. And not only that, but magic cash that, despite only having the appearance of $2.00, will somehow fill up your gas tank.
In Ohio, there are is no payment-for-recycling program. You either seek out a recycling plant, pay to have your cans picked up, or just toss them in the trash. Fighting the hard coded compulsion to wash out, line up, and bag those cans is taking its toll. It's a daily struggle.
1. The importance of organized sports
In the days of ancient Greece, everything revolved around the Olympics. People would stop warring, everyone's safe travel was insured, and the next four-year calendar was named after the winner of the chariot race. It's much like that here. When we first arrived, people would drive up next to us at lights and scream, "Hoo Day!" and drive off laughing. It wasn't until much later we realized that this is the war cry of Bangles fans. Elderly, white-haired grandmothers walk around with temporary Bangles tattoos on their foreheads and babies are dressed in the team's colors. It's very disconcerting.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Weekend Update
This past weekend was a good one. Friday Mandy and I went to eat at the amazing local Mexican restaurant "Taqueria Mercado" then headed home to watch "Born Into Brothels" which was also very good. Hot Mexican food, good microbrew beer, and an award-winning documentary comprise the very essence of rest and relaxation for me.
Saturday we went to the humane society and walked some dogs in the snow. We didn't walk or see any that stole our hearts the ways others have, but they were so hyper and happy to be out in the snow we still had fun. There was one cocker named Julie that was hilarious. She had this little frozen beard that made her look like a tiny billy goat. She would burrow under the snow and run around beneath it; a moving mound of snow (a la Bugs Bunny) was all we could see. Good times.
Saturday night we went out with some friends to go bowling. Mandy won a game and I won a game, which is amazing considering how terribly we play. Not that our friends played a comparatively poor game, quite the contrary. We all played horribly, Mandy and I just played very slightly less horribly than the others. To illustrate how poorly we played I offer this example: In one game we all barley broke 100.
After bowling we drove to a Micro Center (?) a few miles down I-275 to see if they had a Wii to purchase—we wanted to continue bowling, we just wanted to do it on our TV. This Micro Center is a Home Depot-sized store that only sells geek equipment. Imagine those large bulk bins at Meijer or CostCo that are filled with jelly beans and oatmeal, now imagine the bins filled with hard drives and you'll start to get the idea. Sadly they did not have any Wii's for sale, so we left empty-handed.
The cool part was the drive. Our friends, Dean the Machine and Erin, own a Prius. The Prius is one of those new-fangled electric/gas hybrid cars you keep seeing and wanting but never getting around to buying. It was really cool to see how the system worked, to watch the little in-dash display of the motor charging the battery, and to have it all explained by the driver. It was like a trip into Tomorrow Land at Disney World. The coolest thing about the car is how quiet it is. When we pulled into parking lots, the gas engine would literally shut off as the car switched to the electric motor and would become totally silent. It was really cool. It's a like a geek gadget you can drive.
After the Micro Center, we went to eat at a local Peruvian restaurant. We ordered fried chicken things, green potato things, and volcanically hot dipping sauce things. It was good, though overpriced considering the portion sizes. Afterwards, then all headed home to hang out and talk.
Sunday we met a couple friends for breakfast at a local Waffle house. One of them, Steven, returned my copy of World of Warcraft I gave him to try the 10-day trail declaring he had bought a retail copy and the expansion pack. Yet another example of how giving things away can be a part of a very robust business plan. Even if I don't play, I can deny that 8 million subscribers can't be wrong.
The rest of the day Mandy worked on taxes and I worked on my reel. It was productive and fun!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Mo Mac
The Mac Pro arrived last week. The benevolent aspect of the universe shined its glorious light upon me as, within ten minutes of each other: As I was notified that the Mac was waiting at the leasing office I was also told that we were being told to go home early because it had begun to snow outside. To appease the snow deity that took pity on me, I ceremoniously left a plate of cheese and barbeque sauce on my doorstep. Thank you Snow Buddah! Well, technically the Buddah isn't a diety, and since I am now a full-fledged member the MaCult, I guess Snow Steve Jobs would be the more appropriate deity to leave snacks for.
I can't say too much about the experience of actually using the Mac above the rote routine of installing any piece of hardware. There was a hefty amount of unwrapping, plugging, unplugging, and swearing to be done. In the end, however, I can say that the actual OS X user interface (UI) is so far above and beyond the Windows XP experience as to not even be worth comparing. I hear the new Windows Vista UI "Aero" is pretty, but that's about it. Amazingly, the MacOS UI is not only very nice to look at it, but it's also very intuitive. Things just seem to be where you'd naturally expect them to be. The most used options are the easiest to find, and even the more technical options of a given application are simple and highly adaptable. I'll report more on using the software as I have exposure to it, but for now, I'm very excited about the prospect of exploration.
The hardware layout, I can say with certainty, is brilliant. I installed a new, off-brand 320GB hard drive I purchased through TigerDirect for $79 (which is a about 1/4 the cost of buying the same sized drive through Mac). After the nearly 2 hour installation of Final Cut Pro Studio 5.1 (it comes on 6 full DVDs), I decided to give installing the hard drive I had purchased a week back a shot. To physically install the hard drive involved the following:
1. Remove side panel via a lever on the back of the case.
2. Pull out a hard drive sleeve.
3. Screw the hard drive to the sleeve with four screws
4. Push the sleeve back in place
5. Replace the side panel.
That's it. When I booted the computer, it brought me to a disk maintenance app that took, literally, 3 clicks to clear and format the drive to be used. The entire process took less than five minutes. Mac are expensive, don't get me wrong. I would go so far as to say they are prohibitively expensive for the average web surfer and word processor. However, now that Apple is adapting Intel architecture, these costs will, as my third-party hard drive experience demonstrates, come down over time. Video cards, which, traditionally, have had the largest cost gap between Mac and PC, are starting to be released cross-platform, and all new Macs are adopting the PCI-E architecture.
I can't say too much about the experience of actually using the Mac above the rote routine of installing any piece of hardware. There was a hefty amount of unwrapping, plugging, unplugging, and swearing to be done. In the end, however, I can say that the actual OS X user interface (UI) is so far above and beyond the Windows XP experience as to not even be worth comparing. I hear the new Windows Vista UI "Aero" is pretty, but that's about it. Amazingly, the MacOS UI is not only very nice to look at it, but it's also very intuitive. Things just seem to be where you'd naturally expect them to be. The most used options are the easiest to find, and even the more technical options of a given application are simple and highly adaptable. I'll report more on using the software as I have exposure to it, but for now, I'm very excited about the prospect of exploration.
The hardware layout, I can say with certainty, is brilliant. I installed a new, off-brand 320GB hard drive I purchased through TigerDirect for $79 (which is a about 1/4 the cost of buying the same sized drive through Mac). After the nearly 2 hour installation of Final Cut Pro Studio 5.1 (it comes on 6 full DVDs), I decided to give installing the hard drive I had purchased a week back a shot. To physically install the hard drive involved the following:
1. Remove side panel via a lever on the back of the case.
2. Pull out a hard drive sleeve.
3. Screw the hard drive to the sleeve with four screws
4. Push the sleeve back in place
5. Replace the side panel.
That's it. When I booted the computer, it brought me to a disk maintenance app that took, literally, 3 clicks to clear and format the drive to be used. The entire process took less than five minutes. Mac are expensive, don't get me wrong. I would go so far as to say they are prohibitively expensive for the average web surfer and word processor. However, now that Apple is adapting Intel architecture, these costs will, as my third-party hard drive experience demonstrates, come down over time. Video cards, which, traditionally, have had the largest cost gap between Mac and PC, are starting to be released cross-platform, and all new Macs are adopting the PCI-E architecture.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Snow, Editing, and Primier
The weather has been shite down here. There hasn't really been a ton of snow, it just keeps going from melting to freezing, so there's 4-5 inches of ice covering everything. The upshot of the crap weather is we were able to stay home on Tuesday. This provided me with some time to work on my reel. I ripped copies of Stalemate and Le Denoument, and started picking clips that I like. My goal is to have all my clips picked and my structure laid down by the end of this weekend. Next week will be working on the After Effects sequences. It's coming along really well now that I have all the applications I need to put together.
(Our neighbor's car)
Last weekend was fun. We headed down to Grand Rapids Thursday night and stayed until Sunday. Friday we hung out, went to lunch, and saw the world premier of Chad's film "Little Thumb." I have much, much more to say about the premier and the movie, but I'm still reflecting on it, so I guess everyone will have to wait with bated breath for that post. Afterward, we hung out with friends at Grand Rapids Brewing Company and caught up with friends and family. It was great. It summarized some of the things I miss about GR: Good friends, family, and micro-brew beer. There's only 2 micro-breweries withing driving distance of Cincinnati. What's up with that?
(The drunkards.)
Saturday we slept in, ran some errands, and hung out with Team Forton to un-celebrate Zach's big birthday. It was great to hang with the gang again. We sat around, joked, caught up, laughed at really bad tv, and had a smashing time. We always have such a good time over there.
(Angie preparing to eat William)
About 6 o'clock we prepared dinner at Mandy's parent's house and sat down to watch Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas and sat by the warm fire. The strangeness of Fear and Loathing aside, I think everyone had a good time. We drink some white wine, ate good food, and partook of the warm and friendly company.
Sunday we ate a quick breakfast and headed out. We made it home around 7:00PM and got some Chinese take-out from a local wok. It was a really good weekend.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Viacom 100,000 Take Downs
A few weeks back, I posted two video segments Chad and I made for a friend's bachelor party. The video segments were straight-up parody (which is protected speech), not-for-profit, and terribly funny. If you scroll back to these two posts you'll find that the videos no longer work. The reason they don't, is because Viacom sent 100,000 cease and desist letters to YouTube. YouTube promptly removed all of the alleged offending content, without verifying if any of the content actually broke their rules. Chad's videos were removed as a result of the take down.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF.Org) is attempting to gather examples of clips that were unnecessarily removed. So far, several cases have been reported including a home video of people eating a restaurant--obviously having nothing to do with Viacom. They have put together a simple a video to pass around to people who may have been affected by the take down. I include the video at the bottom of the post, in the hopes that Chad follows up with them. Our work is both parody and a form of fair use falling under the "mash-up" style of expression which is increasing in popularity.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF.Org) is attempting to gather examples of clips that were unnecessarily removed. So far, several cases have been reported including a home video of people eating a restaurant--obviously having nothing to do with Viacom. They have put together a simple a video to pass around to people who may have been affected by the take down. I include the video at the bottom of the post, in the hopes that Chad follows up with them. Our work is both parody and a form of fair use falling under the "mash-up" style of expression which is increasing in popularity.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Mac is arrive.
Hopefully, by the time I get home, my Mac will have arrived. My hope is that I will be posting this via Safari or Firefox 2.0 running on OS X.
The demo is coming along as well as it can while waiting on the computer I'm going to use to finish the composition. I've been scanning through a ton of music I found at Archive.org. Some of the music has the most liberal Creative Commons copyright, the share-alike, derivatives-friendly, no commercial use license. The problem is, most of the tracks aren't really conducive to a fast-paced promotion piece. The vast majority of the tracks released under the license I need are generally ephemeral ambient music. I need beats and lots of variation so I can transition between clips, using the audio as a cue or to help keep a sense of pacing as a flip between shots that often have nothing in common.
In other news, Mandy and I are preparing for the long crossing. There is good reason to believe that this trip is going to be slow-going due to inclement weather. We're still planning to leave Thursday after work, but when we arrive in GR is anyone's guess. Accuweather calls for clear but cold down here and snowy up North. Since there is an escalating possibility of getting stranded up North, we're bringing the cats.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Cooking and Waiting
We had a fun potluck last night. Some work friends came over and we all shared food. Most of the people were Indian women, so the food was amazing and diverse. Mandy and I made egg fried rice with veggies, some basmati rice, cinnamon bread, and focaccia bread with sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella. They made idly with coconut chutney, tandoori chicken, golab jamun (little deep-fried donuts in a single sugar syrup), onion pakoras, and Kentucky Fried Chicken... yes, KFC. It was cool to hang out with everyone and swap stories about cultural differences, movie likes, and recipes.
I've received by new monitor, Final Cut Studio 5.1 software, and 320GB-friggen-hard-drive for $79. The only thing that's missing is the Mac. The tracking number was last updated on February 1st and it places the date of arrival here around February 7th, but I think it will show up before that--hopefully tomorrow.
I've been hard at work on my demo reel. I created a cool 10 second intro clip and another 8 second conclusion clip. I started splitting the scenes out that I want to use, but with a Mac on the way, and having to convert everything from MPEG2 to Quicktime when it arrives, I've been dragging my heels. I figure one long weekend push will get into a form that I wouldn't mind showing to potential employers. Taking Josh's advice, I'm going to put just the video clip, my resume, contact info up on a basic .html page while I work on the more in-depth flash site that will showcase my writings, photography, and audio work.
After the reel is done, I'm going to move full-force into working on Mandy's parent's cross-country bike trip video diary. I'm going import that footage, break into sizable chunks, and figure out how to pace it based on notes that Casey left me. I think that's going to be fun since it will give me an opportunity to relearn FCP, Soundtrack, and Motion - the Mac apps I haven't really been playing with since I left school.
This week we're packing up and getting ready to head North to see the premier of Chad's documentary "Little Thumb" and to see our nephew, Zach, for his fourth birthday. I'm really anxious to see Chad's film. He's been working on it for a over a year. I've seen various drafts of the outline, shot some of the footage, and debated the theme over many a pint. It's always so gratifying to see people accomplish the goals they set for themselves. Woot!
I've received by new monitor, Final Cut Studio 5.1 software, and 320GB-friggen-hard-drive for $79. The only thing that's missing is the Mac. The tracking number was last updated on February 1st and it places the date of arrival here around February 7th, but I think it will show up before that--hopefully tomorrow.
I've been hard at work on my demo reel. I created a cool 10 second intro clip and another 8 second conclusion clip. I started splitting the scenes out that I want to use, but with a Mac on the way, and having to convert everything from MPEG2 to Quicktime when it arrives, I've been dragging my heels. I figure one long weekend push will get into a form that I wouldn't mind showing to potential employers. Taking Josh's advice, I'm going to put just the video clip, my resume, contact info up on a basic .html page while I work on the more in-depth flash site that will showcase my writings, photography, and audio work.
After the reel is done, I'm going to move full-force into working on Mandy's parent's cross-country bike trip video diary. I'm going import that footage, break into sizable chunks, and figure out how to pace it based on notes that Casey left me. I think that's going to be fun since it will give me an opportunity to relearn FCP, Soundtrack, and Motion - the Mac apps I haven't really been playing with since I left school.
This week we're packing up and getting ready to head North to see the premier of Chad's documentary "Little Thumb" and to see our nephew, Zach, for his fourth birthday. I'm really anxious to see Chad's film. He's been working on it for a over a year. I've seen various drafts of the outline, shot some of the footage, and debated the theme over many a pint. It's always so gratifying to see people accomplish the goals they set for themselves. Woot!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Um... wtf?
After some research, I found out this clip is from a Werner Herzog film which sort of breaks my heart. I was totally convinced it came straight from hell.
Herzog is a famous, and amazingly talented, filmmaker who specializes in documentaries. I found the clip on the amazing video filter site Videosift.com. When I started watching it I was initially confused. The confusion quickly gave way to an intense feeling of anxiety which just as quickly became laughter. As many a constant reader has commented on how I find something about tiny people very, uh, alluring. I post this clip, however, not because it contains a tiny German midget laughing at a camel doing situps, but because the scene is so bizarre, so totally absurd it has to been to seen to be believed.
Here it is: The strangest clip I've ever found on the internet. You have to play it through to the end to hear the midget nearly die from laughing so hard.
Herzog is a famous, and amazingly talented, filmmaker who specializes in documentaries. I found the clip on the amazing video filter site Videosift.com. When I started watching it I was initially confused. The confusion quickly gave way to an intense feeling of anxiety which just as quickly became laughter. As many a constant reader has commented on how I find something about tiny people very, uh, alluring. I post this clip, however, not because it contains a tiny German midget laughing at a camel doing situps, but because the scene is so bizarre, so totally absurd it has to been to seen to be believed.
Here it is: The strangest clip I've ever found on the internet. You have to play it through to the end to hear the midget nearly die from laughing so hard.
The funniest comment I've seen about this was from videosift when someone wrote, "Does this mean I'm going to die in seven days after seeing this?"
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Strange
Friday, Mandy and I went out to dinner with a couple friends. At a cooking party last weekend I noticed that they had a copy of a "Born Into Brothels" a supposedly stirring documentary about children in India who are, evidently, born into brothels. I left the copy at their house, so we met up to pick it up. At dinner we were discussing religion and the topic of people going door-to-door to witness to strangers came up. There was much discussion about how to deal with these people. I brought up the fact that I had never once, in my life, had one of these people come to my door. Ever. No one believed me, but it was true. I had never seen them before.
The next morning two guys from a local Baptist church dropped by our apartment inquiring about
the status of our souls. I politely declined their advances and returned to the breakfast table where we discussed how it odd it was that we had just been discussing the same thing the night before.
This is my long, protracted way of explaining much purchase of a Mac. I've spent most of my life dissing the Mac. Mac's are for people who don't understand computers and want a simple / expensive path to digital enlightenment. It figured that if you had to spend 30% more to not have to know anything about IRQs, IDE Channels, and how hack your registry to get a program to work, you didn't deserve the computer. I still stand by this argument. The only difference is, I've discovered a cadre of Mac users who are quite adept as IT professionals. Many, like myself, are lapsed Microsoft people--people who have become so fed up with MS's desire to destroy the enabling forces of the internet, privacy, and self-determination, that they've gone to the only real competitor there is. The many people I know who use Macs as their primary computer also have version of Linux or Windows running on other drives, they're also primarily IT professionals who are sick of their computers crashing, data getting lost, and configuration problems.
While I doubt I'll be running Linux on my Mac anytime soon, I will be running the Final Cut Pro Production suite. This is a professional video editing and compositing suite built to take advantage of the dual 64-bit processors the new Intel Macs (Mac Pro Series) are sporting. I may go into more detail about the frustrations I've had trying to get MPEG2, Quicktime, and MP4 codecs to convert correctly in another post. The main point is, I need a machine that will edit and edit well. This will do that.
Alas, I have a Mac heading my way. I've joined the cult. The only difference between this cult and others is instead of shaving my head, I have to buy hair gel.
(P.S. I will post pictures of me buying the Mac as soon as I can get the memory card to work.)
The next morning two guys from a local Baptist church dropped by our apartment inquiring about
the status of our souls. I politely declined their advances and returned to the breakfast table where we discussed how it odd it was that we had just been discussing the same thing the night before.
This is my long, protracted way of explaining much purchase of a Mac. I've spent most of my life dissing the Mac. Mac's are for people who don't understand computers and want a simple / expensive path to digital enlightenment. It figured that if you had to spend 30% more to not have to know anything about IRQs, IDE Channels, and how hack your registry to get a program to work, you didn't deserve the computer. I still stand by this argument. The only difference is, I've discovered a cadre of Mac users who are quite adept as IT professionals. Many, like myself, are lapsed Microsoft people--people who have become so fed up with MS's desire to destroy the enabling forces of the internet, privacy, and self-determination, that they've gone to the only real competitor there is. The many people I know who use Macs as their primary computer also have version of Linux or Windows running on other drives, they're also primarily IT professionals who are sick of their computers crashing, data getting lost, and configuration problems.
While I doubt I'll be running Linux on my Mac anytime soon, I will be running the Final Cut Pro Production suite. This is a professional video editing and compositing suite built to take advantage of the dual 64-bit processors the new Intel Macs (Mac Pro Series) are sporting. I may go into more detail about the frustrations I've had trying to get MPEG2, Quicktime, and MP4 codecs to convert correctly in another post. The main point is, I need a machine that will edit and edit well. This will do that.
Alas, I have a Mac heading my way. I've joined the cult. The only difference between this cult and others is instead of shaving my head, I have to buy hair gel.
(P.S. I will post pictures of me buying the Mac as soon as I can get the memory card to work.)
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Millions React to MindSplint Death
This past weekend, I had to pull the plug. The patient had long been neglected. It was feeble, unconscious, and contributing nothing to society but web moss. It went peacefully. A few twitches and a long exhale of bits and bloops and it died.
MindSplint was a side-project of Chad and mine for about two years. We posted reviews... and that was about it. There was no real upkeep of the site and no concerted effort to get new visitors. Hell, we hardly paid attention to basic grammatical rules when writing. It was more an exercise in learning how to articulate our film ideas in a written form. The lack of follow-up and free time with which to see movies ultimately led to its demise. It was fun while it lasted, but I've gotten tired of paying $7.00 a month for a site that really only entertained its authors.
"MindSplint" Link on the left-hand navigation bar will ultimately lead to, the MindSplint Archive. Nothing is really pressing me to repost the reviews. If anyone would actually be interested in reading them, I'll post them. Otherwise, it'll continue to link to closed graphic it now links to.
(R.I.P. MindSplint - 2005-2007)
MindSplint was a side-project of Chad and mine for about two years. We posted reviews... and that was about it. There was no real upkeep of the site and no concerted effort to get new visitors. Hell, we hardly paid attention to basic grammatical rules when writing. It was more an exercise in learning how to articulate our film ideas in a written form. The lack of follow-up and free time with which to see movies ultimately led to its demise. It was fun while it lasted, but I've gotten tired of paying $7.00 a month for a site that really only entertained its authors.
"MindSplint" Link on the left-hand navigation bar will ultimately lead to, the MindSplint Archive. Nothing is really pressing me to repost the reviews. If anyone would actually be interested in reading them, I'll post them. Otherwise, it'll continue to link to closed graphic it now links to.
(R.I.P. MindSplint - 2005-2007)
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Are you looking at my MONEY???
If you've ever wondered why Esquire and I greet each other with, "Hi Bingo." This video will explain it.
I first saw this movie many years back, before Mandy and I started dating. She and Esquire had bought a slew of cool electronic gizmos to replace the ones her ex had stolen from her house. I had just arrived angry from a fight I had just had with my ex-girlfriend over the phone. To have something to play in her new DVD-player, she purchased disk called the "Computer Animation Showcase." It contained the following the CGI short. That night has gone down as some sort of myth or legend from the amount conversations we've had about the different pieces showcased in it.
I first saw this movie many years back, before Mandy and I started dating. She and Esquire had bought a slew of cool electronic gizmos to replace the ones her ex had stolen from her house. I had just arrived angry from a fight I had just had with my ex-girlfriend over the phone. To have something to play in her new DVD-player, she purchased disk called the "Computer Animation Showcase." It contained the following the CGI short. That night has gone down as some sort of myth or legend from the amount conversations we've had about the different pieces showcased in it.
Bingo The Clowno'
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Hoping for the life after Number 5
I am not too familiar with death. In fact, I have been blessed to have most of my family still alive. The inevitable fact is that we will all die, and I understand this, it is a lot harder to deal with that fact when someone that you love dies.
My cousin Andy died tragically just before Thanksgiving. As children, I remember Andy fondly. Although we were not “best friends” I do remember looking up to him and having a lot of fun with him. As an adult, I was not close to him or his family. I feel badly about that, but there is no way to go back and change time. The whirlwind of emotions that I am now facing were spurred on by the death of my cousin, but being as we were not very close, many of the emotions were connected to the fact that I had not dealt entirely with the loss of my friend from the year before.
The thing that is usually not brought up at the funeral is the different “stages” of grief the family and friends generally experience. On the other hand, a phrase you hear a lot is time heals all wounds. This may be true, but I have found that “time” is relative to the person.
Many experts agree that there are five stages most people have when handling grief. It seems I am no exception to this….
- Denial – During this time I found myself trying not to keep my mind focused on other tasks at hand, as well as thinking in the back of my mind that it was not real. My brain would argue with itself about the reality of my friend being dead. Sometimes it seemed like I was an outsider to the conversations that happened inside my own head. This numb, imagined world was not a place where I wanted to live. The only way I was able to leave this fantasy realm was to understand that he was not in away on vacation, but was, in fact, dead. This resolution brought more tears with it…
- Anger - Someone I worked with suggested that I be ready for the time when my anger would start. I assured them that there would be no way that I would be mad that the person died. How could I? Needless to say, there was a good couple of months were I was VERY mad….to the point were I was furious. I have dealt with my anger and luckily have moved on.
- Bargaining – I feel that I am currently in this stage. I had a dream the other night where I found my friend sitting on some bleachers. I said hi to him and he ignored me. When I attempted to give him a hug he crossed his arms in front of himself. I began to cry and ask him why he won’t give me a hug. I remember begging him through my tears, pleading that I would do anything that he wanted me to if only he would hug me. My husband was also in the dream and I remember him trying to console me by telling me that James could not talk to me now. I woke up crying.
- Depression – I am not here yet. I have past experience with depression in my life, and this definitely one stage that I am not looking forward to.
- Acceptance – I am not here yet. This stage will probably be the easiest to deal with and hopefully the quickest one.
Based on everything I’ve read, I feel I have passed through three of the five stages. It has been a rough journey so far, and I am sure there is more to come. The best I can do is hope for the end of #5 and my life afterward.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Ode To Camelot and Pratt
Here is a short video I edited two Christmases ago. After the South Carolina job fell through, Mandy and I lived at her parents for a short period while we vainly searched for a job in Grand Rapids and held nightly pity parties for ourselves. It was during that time that I became antsy for a quick video project to work on to calm my nerves and stay in practice. I had an old tape of a Camelot party that had been short two to three years earlier (so, from today, we're talking maybe 5-6 years ago). The total length of the tape was, at most, 30 minutes. It was also horribly shot (due to the intoxication of the various camera operators), the quality of the camera, and the completely uncooperative people attending the party.
I post it because there is substantial footage of our good friend Mr. Pratt, who died of a drug overdose about 4 years after this was shot. Mandy and I are still trying to completely get over his death, and it feels somewhat cathartic to post this video and present the world of Camelot to friends and family.
It was an amazing period of both of our lives. It could be argued that I grew up more in the two years I lived there then all of the time leading up to it. I think everyone has a period in their lives that they look back on as the pinnacle of self-determination and growth. When everything we think we know about the world gets torn apart and has to reconsidered. Camelot (the name of the street we lived on) was a microcosm of partying, film-making, studying, barbecuing, and angst. Everyone I know who lived there or visited often remembers it fondly, but always with the caveat that, "That sure was fun. Man, I'm glad that I've grown up since then."
I post it because there is substantial footage of our good friend Mr. Pratt, who died of a drug overdose about 4 years after this was shot. Mandy and I are still trying to completely get over his death, and it feels somewhat cathartic to post this video and present the world of Camelot to friends and family.
It was an amazing period of both of our lives. It could be argued that I grew up more in the two years I lived there then all of the time leading up to it. I think everyone has a period in their lives that they look back on as the pinnacle of self-determination and growth. When everything we think we know about the world gets torn apart and has to reconsidered. Camelot (the name of the street we lived on) was a microcosm of partying, film-making, studying, barbecuing, and angst. Everyone I know who lived there or visited often remembers it fondly, but always with the caveat that, "That sure was fun. Man, I'm glad that I've grown up since then."
Camelot
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
"The world certainly is full of things." -King of All Cosmos
I have a profound love for Japanese pop-culture craziness. One of the most beloved sites I have ever happened across is Engrish.com. The image below is just one of many, many examples of hilarity.
(There is indeed)
(There is indeed)
Sunday, January 07, 2007
The Dark Tower Trailer
Here's a mock trailer I made for the Dark Tower books by Stephen King. I had been thinking of how to approach a trailer for the books for a long time. There were a couple of other choice scenes I would've liked to have included, but I couldn't get my hands on them. All in all, I think it came together well.
The Dark Trailer
Friday, January 05, 2007
Behind the Music: Tyler Berrington Pt. 2
As promised, here is the part 2 of the Behind the Music: Forbidden Love. If I recall correctly, this part was done by Chad before he brought me into the fold. After watching, and laughing, we decided to do two more parts to make it a full 30 minutes VH1 parody (well, 22 minutes with commercials). However, like many of our projects, it remains 2/3rds of the way complete. Perhaps, someday, we'll find a free weekend and complete the whole thing.
I'm also posting these two parts to announce that I've changed the link from Chad's woefully unkempt Opa Documentary Blog to his YouTube site. He updates his YouTube channel "Epsilon Ltd." often. I'll periodically post links and embed videos to remind people to check it out on occasion.
I'm also posting these two parts to announce that I've changed the link from Chad's woefully unkempt Opa Documentary Blog to his YouTube site. He updates his YouTube channel "Epsilon Ltd." often. I'll periodically post links and embed videos to remind people to check it out on occasion.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Behind the Music: Tyler Berrington Pt. 1
This is Part 1 of a project Chad and I worked on years back. It was premiered at Tyler B's bachelor party and has been the bane of the guests of many future gatherings. It is here presented in two parts: The Beginning and Forbidden Love. The Beginning weighs in at around 8 minutes and is certain to be appreciated by people who have at least met Ty. I think, even now, it holds up well against later projects.
I will post Part 2: Forbidden Love tomorrow.
I will post Part 2: Forbidden Love tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
New Blogger (finally)
We finally transfered over to the new blogger. I won't bore anyone with the details of the transition, but our testing skills finally some practical real world application. The good folks of Blogger ended up doing some switch throwing on their end to get us uprighted again, and here we are. I'm going to try to keep this more up-to-date now that the transition nastiness is behind us.
To keep everyone in the know, I'm going to list off some doin's that done transpired that should have resulted in blog posts had we been able to:
1. Mandy is working for a different consulting company and is currently on assignment at a way-big company. The work is semi-interesting, but her consulting company is da bomb. She got a pay bump to jump.
2. I am still working for the same consulting company, but on a different assignment. Interestingly enough, I jumped to her vacant seat when she left for her new gig. It seems the fate of good ex-Quixtar testers is to end up working on a Cincinnati Financial contract at some point in their career, and I'm not exception. I got a pay bump not to jump.
3. We just returned from a extended trip to our homeland. We left Port Royal by steamboat on the 1st of May, 'rounded the Cape of the Tempest come late Spring. Boarding a mighty air zeppelin, we were deep in the jungle primeval of the Amazon by mid-summer's eve. All in all it was a harrowing journey filled with adventure, mayhem, and a little romance. It was great to catch up with friends and family and share in a little holiday cheer. Holiday cheer can come in the form of watching the resurrected ghosts of James Brown and Gerald R. Ford pound the hell out of each other in a Playstation 2 game, and in the case of one late family holiday party, it did.
4. Christmas was great, but where the feck is the snow? Something is amiss... Maybe Art Bell is right.
Thanks again to everyone for the great gifts, good times, and especially to the Sterk family for opening their home to Mandy and I for nearly two weeks.
To keep everyone in the know, I'm going to list off some doin's that done transpired that should have resulted in blog posts had we been able to:
1. Mandy is working for a different consulting company and is currently on assignment at a way-big company. The work is semi-interesting, but her consulting company is da bomb. She got a pay bump to jump.
2. I am still working for the same consulting company, but on a different assignment. Interestingly enough, I jumped to her vacant seat when she left for her new gig. It seems the fate of good ex-Quixtar testers is to end up working on a Cincinnati Financial contract at some point in their career, and I'm not exception. I got a pay bump not to jump.
3. We just returned from a extended trip to our homeland. We left Port Royal by steamboat on the 1st of May, 'rounded the Cape of the Tempest come late Spring. Boarding a mighty air zeppelin, we were deep in the jungle primeval of the Amazon by mid-summer's eve. All in all it was a harrowing journey filled with adventure, mayhem, and a little romance. It was great to catch up with friends and family and share in a little holiday cheer. Holiday cheer can come in the form of watching the resurrected ghosts of James Brown and Gerald R. Ford pound the hell out of each other in a Playstation 2 game, and in the case of one late family holiday party, it did.
4. Christmas was great, but where the feck is the snow? Something is amiss... Maybe Art Bell is right.
Thanks again to everyone for the great gifts, good times, and especially to the Sterk family for opening their home to Mandy and I for nearly two weeks.
Happy 2007!
Monday, December 11, 2006
The Asimo Falls
When I first saw this little robot walk up and down a staircase, to be honest, I was a little freaked out. It's creepy how it walks. It looks so natural. Watch the whole thing - it's only a minute and a half long. It's worth it.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Pointless Product #3
It's number 3, I think. Here's what Homer has to say about it. This one is lifted straight off of BoingBoing (which, in turn, was linked from the Modern Mechanix blog), but it was so damn funny I had to put something up about it.
(February 1939 - The 2nd funniest thing is the writing of maybe as "may be" I love it!)
There are two scenarios I see here. In one, you are a squinty punk who pulls the trip on a fire alarm that ensnares you until a cop twirling a baton and sporting an Irish accent approaches saying, "Toy! Toy! What's all this then?" In the other, the same cop enters the burnt ruins of a building, twirling a baton, only to find a charred corpse dangling from the fire alarm, "Toy! Toy!" He says, "What's all this then?" Can't see much of a difference.
If there's a chance that a device can be used for something wrong, then a few people wrongly trapped isn't such a small price to pay. It's amazing that this logic still persists in most consumer electronics today.
(February 1939 - The 2nd funniest thing is the writing of maybe as "may be" I love it!)
There are two scenarios I see here. In one, you are a squinty punk who pulls the trip on a fire alarm that ensnares you until a cop twirling a baton and sporting an Irish accent approaches saying, "Toy! Toy! What's all this then?" In the other, the same cop enters the burnt ruins of a building, twirling a baton, only to find a charred corpse dangling from the fire alarm, "Toy! Toy!" He says, "What's all this then?" Can't see much of a difference.
If there's a chance that a device can be used for something wrong, then a few people wrongly trapped isn't such a small price to pay. It's amazing that this logic still persists in most consumer electronics today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
