Yes, this is still DropMyStraw. It looks different because we've chosen a new template to base the blog on. It's not as if we've done any work, so don't be alarmed. The blog still functions the same way with comments, links, and post archives, but it hopefully looks a little more fresh and jaunty. With this redesign, we are now officially moved over to the new Blogger engine. The cool thing about moving over to the engine, is we can execute javascript, html, and embed video clips with much more ease. As time goes by, we'll be adding new and cool elements to the blog as they become available and we have time to customize them.
If you have any suggestions, please drop us a comment.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Loreal Self-Tanning Lotion Breakdown
This is a link to great article on Wired.com that breaks down all the chemicals in Loreal's Self-Tanning lotion. It's creepy and fascinating.
Wired Article on Self-Tanning Lotion
Wired Article on Self-Tanning Lotion
An update for updates
We've been very busy recently, so the posting has dropped off a bit. I'm still working on Part II of the faux travelogue detailing our adventure out here. I know some of you have written asking where it is. It's on its way.
Mandy and I have been going to a few interviews here and there. Some are promising, but most are looking to just be filler jobs. There is an abundance of work we no longer want to do, but not a lot of what we do.
Mandy has started her 25 hours of observation at a gym about 3/4ths of a mile from out place. That seems to be going well, and by the end of the week, she'll be close to half done. She's still working on getting classes setup, transcripts transfered, and getting in touch with her profs. For the most part, her schooling is shaping up nicely.
This past weekend Mandy and I worked on a 48-Hour Film Project. Our video hasn't been uploaded yet, but when it does you should be able to find it under "Spoken For." I'll post a link when I know it's up.
The 48-Hour Film Project is an international competition similar to the 24-hour festivals we've worked on in the past, except that each city competes against each other and within a city there are no first, second, or third place positions.. This was done partially for the fun of competition, but also to do some networking with the film crowd in Denver. The group we worked with was backed by Uptown 6, a production company here in town. As a result of meeting the owners and getting to know some of the film people, I have gotten some freelance work and may be traveling for three weeks in October to work on an unnamed pilot for PBS. That would rock.
The screening of the films was last night and I have to admit, I've never been more proud of Grand Rapidian filmmakers. The vast majority of the films were lame compared to the work I saw at the 24-hour festivals in GR. I mean, these people had twice the time we did to create their pieces and the majority were incorrectly exposed, not white-balanced, and had terrible audio. And they had 48 hours! All in all it was a fun experience and accomplished the two main goals I had going into it.
On other fronts, we've met some cool people we've gone hiking with. We're trying to start up another chapter of the Cincinnati Cooking Club, and are meeting with a couple people we met at an art gallery opening to cook this Saturday and see if they're into the idea of doing it monthly. I'll post a link to a Flickr stream of some of the pictures we took while hiking in the next post.
We also just received our 10 mega pixel Canon XTi and two lenses. I will post some of the pictures to our Flickr stream and give write a quick review of the lenses and camera when I've had more time to play around with it. In the 24 hours we've had to play with it, I've been amazed. Simply amazed.
I will elaborate more on what I wrote here in the next few posts, I just thought I'd put up a quick update to let everyone know we're still alive and kickin' it in the West.
To come:
1. Pictures from our hike in Rockie Mountain National Park
2. Review of the Canon XTi, Tameron 70-300mm, and the Canon 50mm
3. A video post of a guy having a grand mal seizure right outside our window
4. A video post of us showing you all the apartment, similar to the one we posted back in July.
I'm also posting the following blip on behalf of Chad, who just had his film 'Little Thumb' get accepted in the Battle Creek Film Festival.
"Greetings friends and family,
Mandy and I have been going to a few interviews here and there. Some are promising, but most are looking to just be filler jobs. There is an abundance of work we no longer want to do, but not a lot of what we do.
Mandy has started her 25 hours of observation at a gym about 3/4ths of a mile from out place. That seems to be going well, and by the end of the week, she'll be close to half done. She's still working on getting classes setup, transcripts transfered, and getting in touch with her profs. For the most part, her schooling is shaping up nicely.
This past weekend Mandy and I worked on a 48-Hour Film Project. Our video hasn't been uploaded yet, but when it does you should be able to find it under "Spoken For." I'll post a link when I know it's up.
The 48-Hour Film Project is an international competition similar to the 24-hour festivals we've worked on in the past, except that each city competes against each other and within a city there are no first, second, or third place positions.. This was done partially for the fun of competition, but also to do some networking with the film crowd in Denver. The group we worked with was backed by Uptown 6, a production company here in town. As a result of meeting the owners and getting to know some of the film people, I have gotten some freelance work and may be traveling for three weeks in October to work on an unnamed pilot for PBS. That would rock.
The screening of the films was last night and I have to admit, I've never been more proud of Grand Rapidian filmmakers. The vast majority of the films were lame compared to the work I saw at the 24-hour festivals in GR. I mean, these people had twice the time we did to create their pieces and the majority were incorrectly exposed, not white-balanced, and had terrible audio. And they had 48 hours! All in all it was a fun experience and accomplished the two main goals I had going into it.
On other fronts, we've met some cool people we've gone hiking with. We're trying to start up another chapter of the Cincinnati Cooking Club, and are meeting with a couple people we met at an art gallery opening to cook this Saturday and see if they're into the idea of doing it monthly. I'll post a link to a Flickr stream of some of the pictures we took while hiking in the next post.
We also just received our 10 mega pixel Canon XTi and two lenses. I will post some of the pictures to our Flickr stream and give write a quick review of the lenses and camera when I've had more time to play around with it. In the 24 hours we've had to play with it, I've been amazed. Simply amazed.
I will elaborate more on what I wrote here in the next few posts, I just thought I'd put up a quick update to let everyone know we're still alive and kickin' it in the West.
To come:
1. Pictures from our hike in Rockie Mountain National Park
2. Review of the Canon XTi, Tameron 70-300mm, and the Canon 50mm
3. A video post of a guy having a grand mal seizure right outside our window
4. A video post of us showing you all the apartment, similar to the one we posted back in July.
I'm also posting the following blip on behalf of Chad, who just had his film 'Little Thumb' get accepted in the Battle Creek Film Festival.
"Greetings friends and family,
My film just got accepted to the Battle Creek Film Festival and there is a vote going on to determine the People's Choice Award based on the trailers. I agree, pretty stupid. But anyway, I thought I would put a call out to you all to at least vote for my trailer. Here is the link below. Its on the bottom on the left hand side.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Mandy is Crazy
(I've been playing with Photoshop, trying to achieve the Gnarls Barkley 'Crazy' effect)
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Sunshine and Dragon boats....
This past weekend we took in another flick at the Mayan Theatre: Sunshine. I would definitely recommend this movie to any sci-fi fans. The acting was well done and the storyline was good...up until the last section. The guy that played Scarecrow in Batman Begins was the leading actor. He did a pretty good job at being a spaced out physicist. The only thing I have to say is get rid of the Boogeyman already - it has already been played out too much and the storyline could be driven without it. Oh well....
Sunday we hopped in our car and drove out to Inesco field where we hitched a ride with the free shuttle to the Dragon Boat Festival. There we partook in Pad Thai and Coconut Curry, the sights: dragon boat races, vendors, and balloon animals, and sounds: Malaysian rock band. The event was held as Sloan's Lake which has a pretty nice park surrounding the lake. So we took this opportunity to walk the park around the lake which was a little over 3 miles.
The shuttle brought us back to the field parking lot just as it was starting to sprinkle. All in all, it was a great time!
Sunday we hopped in our car and drove out to Inesco field where we hitched a ride with the free shuttle to the Dragon Boat Festival. There we partook in Pad Thai and Coconut Curry, the sights: dragon boat races, vendors, and balloon animals, and sounds: Malaysian rock band. The event was held as Sloan's Lake which has a pretty nice park surrounding the lake. So we took this opportunity to walk the park around the lake which was a little over 3 miles.The shuttle brought us back to the field parking lot just as it was starting to sprinkle. All in all, it was a great time!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Mayan and Sicko....
Yesterday we saw Sicko at the Mayan Theater (an independent theater a couple of blocks from our apartment). The architecture of the theater is amazing, especially considering it's an independent theater and probably doesn't have terribly deep pockets. The Mayan is part of an independent theater chain called Landmark. They are big supporters of indie film and run an amazing print and online 'zine called FLM. Mandy and I first heard about them in Cincinnati where they ran a small art house called The Esquire and a first-run theater called Mariemont. It turns out there is an Esquire here in Denver too, also run by Landmark. The other cool feature of the Mayan is they run brew-and-a-view movies on Fridays where they show bad sci-fi movies and sell discounted six-packs of beer to help facilitate an atmosphere of reckless abandon.
On to our thoughts about Moore's Sicko. I will try steer away from spoilers insomuch as they exist (pssst! the American heath care system sucks). I am also not going to launch into one of my long, protracted rants about documentary filmmaking; so don't worry.
If you haven't seen the film, you can download it from any number of BitTorrent sites such as PirateBay, ISOHunt, or Mininova. Moore has endorsed the downloading of the film, so long as people aren't making a profit from it. While this may make morally justifyable to download it, the distributors of the film would still sue you. Though, the odds of anyone catching you are so remote, it's definitely worth the insignificant risk. It's really worth watching, whether you like Moore's style or not.
I've read several stories of people spontaneously holding meetings in the halls outside of theaters, writing their congressperson, and punching insurance CEOs in the face. Regardless of his tactics, Moore's made a film that seems to be resonating with almost everyone who sees, red or blue, democrat or republican. That's amazing.
It resonated with Mandy and I because, like 50 million other Americans, we have no insurance. If something catastrophy were to happen to either us, we'd be screwed. Plain and simple. There are two important things to consider when I write this. 1) For the past year we've had good jobs in fortune 500 companies with a combined income of over $100,000 and 2) We've researched and attempted to purchase insurance on our own.
The insurance that was provided by our well-paying jobs sucked. It barely covered prescriptions let alone doctors visits or any kind of out-patient surgery. For example, I've needed an MRI taken of my knee for almost a year now. Even when I did have good insurance provided by my employer, the out-of-pocket cost for the MRI was $2,700. For one knee!?!?
Last year, Mandy and did research on purchasing our in insurance since we were so fed up with our current coverage. We both applied, as a married couple, to an insurance broker who spoke for the six major insurance companies. I was accepted, Mandy was declined. The reason for the denial was her pre-existing condition of endometreosis. This is slightly ironic considering Mandy runs every day, has a body mass index below the standard, and is very good health. I, on the other hand, am overweight, do not regularly exercise, and take daily medication to deal with high blood pressure.
If having a good job and being prudent about trying to procure insurance isn't trying to look out for one's self, I don't know what is. We are the people being screwed over by insurance companies. So the movie resonated with us. I've also discovered that basically every person I've spoken to who's had any real interaction with the health care system has similar stories. It's intensely frustrating since, short of moving to France or Canada, there is little we can do to alleviate our situation let alone help others who are in much more dire positions than we are.
If you haven't seen the movie I strongly urge you to do so.
If you have seen the movie and would like more information about what to do now, check out this site: www.sickocure.org I have about as much faith in web-based petitions and online protests as I do in the Easter Bunny, but it's something, at least. Beyond that, what do we do if we want to foment change? Riot? Strike? Sign online petitions?
On to our thoughts about Moore's Sicko. I will try steer away from spoilers insomuch as they exist (pssst! the American heath care system sucks). I am also not going to launch into one of my long, protracted rants about documentary filmmaking; so don't worry.
If you haven't seen the film, you can download it from any number of BitTorrent sites such as PirateBay, ISOHunt, or Mininova. Moore has endorsed the downloading of the film, so long as people aren't making a profit from it. While this may make morally justifyable to download it, the distributors of the film would still sue you. Though, the odds of anyone catching you are so remote, it's definitely worth the insignificant risk. It's really worth watching, whether you like Moore's style or not.
I've read several stories of people spontaneously holding meetings in the halls outside of theaters, writing their congressperson, and punching insurance CEOs in the face. Regardless of his tactics, Moore's made a film that seems to be resonating with almost everyone who sees, red or blue, democrat or republican. That's amazing.
It resonated with Mandy and I because, like 50 million other Americans, we have no insurance. If something catastrophy were to happen to either us, we'd be screwed. Plain and simple. There are two important things to consider when I write this. 1) For the past year we've had good jobs in fortune 500 companies with a combined income of over $100,000 and 2) We've researched and attempted to purchase insurance on our own.
The insurance that was provided by our well-paying jobs sucked. It barely covered prescriptions let alone doctors visits or any kind of out-patient surgery. For example, I've needed an MRI taken of my knee for almost a year now. Even when I did have good insurance provided by my employer, the out-of-pocket cost for the MRI was $2,700. For one knee!?!?
Last year, Mandy and did research on purchasing our in insurance since we were so fed up with our current coverage. We both applied, as a married couple, to an insurance broker who spoke for the six major insurance companies. I was accepted, Mandy was declined. The reason for the denial was her pre-existing condition of endometreosis. This is slightly ironic considering Mandy runs every day, has a body mass index below the standard, and is very good health. I, on the other hand, am overweight, do not regularly exercise, and take daily medication to deal with high blood pressure.
If having a good job and being prudent about trying to procure insurance isn't trying to look out for one's self, I don't know what is. We are the people being screwed over by insurance companies. So the movie resonated with us. I've also discovered that basically every person I've spoken to who's had any real interaction with the health care system has similar stories. It's intensely frustrating since, short of moving to France or Canada, there is little we can do to alleviate our situation let alone help others who are in much more dire positions than we are.
If you haven't seen the movie I strongly urge you to do so.
If you have seen the movie and would like more information about what to do now, check out this site: www.sickocure.org I have about as much faith in web-based petitions and online protests as I do in the Easter Bunny, but it's something, at least. Beyond that, what do we do if we want to foment change? Riot? Strike? Sign online petitions?
Monday, July 23, 2007
Not humid.....but still hot!
Before moving to Denver, I did research on what elevation does to most people, so I would be prepared if I came across symptoms that I was having. Although both Matt and I went through an intestinal yucky and slight headache period, I was not ready for the biggest change in my environment. I was so focused on the elevation that I totally skipped over the semi-arid part of the description of Denver found here. If you are from the mid-West and are used to high humidity keep this in mind in visiting or moving to a semi-arid area....it's dry. Now that may seem pretty obvious, but not for me.
Many of you know that my nose has been broken many times during high school sports. I had nose surgery a few years ago to fix the septum (or nose separation) in order to help me breathe - which it did wonders. I hardly had any problems and I could tell a distinct difference in how much I had to breathe. After being here a couple of days I found that not only does it take more effort to breathe, but it is so dry which dries out your sinuses - I keep saline spray close at hand.
Just over a year ago I had lasik surgery for my eyes. During the prep period, they check how dry your eyes are: 20-15 normal, 15-10 dry....both my eyes were a 5. I carry around eye drops in my purse, have some in the bathroom, and when it's not too hot or cold have some in the car. I have never had my eyes feel so dry and painful as I have after being here for 2 days.
I am not telling you to deter you, but more to give advice to take the necessary precautions. This seems like a great city in which we have been finding new and exciting things to do all of the time. We look forward to exploring and enjoying many more things in the coming weeks, months, and years and updating everyone when we do!
Many of you know that my nose has been broken many times during high school sports. I had nose surgery a few years ago to fix the septum (or nose separation) in order to help me breathe - which it did wonders. I hardly had any problems and I could tell a distinct difference in how much I had to breathe. After being here a couple of days I found that not only does it take more effort to breathe, but it is so dry which dries out your sinuses - I keep saline spray close at hand.
Just over a year ago I had lasik surgery for my eyes. During the prep period, they check how dry your eyes are: 20-15 normal, 15-10 dry....both my eyes were a 5. I carry around eye drops in my purse, have some in the bathroom, and when it's not too hot or cold have some in the car. I have never had my eyes feel so dry and painful as I have after being here for 2 days.
I am not telling you to deter you, but more to give advice to take the necessary precautions. This seems like a great city in which we have been finding new and exciting things to do all of the time. We look forward to exploring and enjoying many more things in the coming weeks, months, and years and updating everyone when we do!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Random Video Collection
Here is a collage of random videos I've shot over the past month or so. There's not much point to the video apart from feeling justified in spending the time shooing them. If you watch, I am vindicated.
(Teh 'mazing)
Online and Kickin' it
The Qwest guy showed up and did his thing with the thing and now we're online! Use your favorite chat client to... chat.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Petite Update #2: Getting Old
Still fighting with Qwest and Forethought.net to get the DSL modem working. We hung around the apartment until noon waiting for a technitian to show up and check the lines. When he didn't show, I called the ISP who called Qwest who said the ticket had been returned and they were still checking the lines at "The Central Office" and that I should wait another three hours, call or be called back to setup another appointment or to recheck the lines.
We didn't move to Denver. We moved to Terry Gilliam's Brazil. More to come.
We didn't move to Denver. We moved to Terry Gilliam's Brazil. More to come.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Bread: How Not to Make
This is from associate contributer Theory_of_MAF. I assume no responsibility for what watching this clip may lead you to do. I laughed. A lot.
Another Quick Update: Denver
We've arrived in Denver after two days of driving. The cats were good, perfect in fact. The second day (yesterday) we didn't drug them and they were quiet the entire 7 1/2 hour drive. Bonus!
Our connection should be coming alive today. If it does, I will put up another post to let everyone know we're back with constant access. If not, I'll post an entry detailing why we weren't online.
Keep it real!
Our connection should be coming alive today. If it does, I will put up another post to let everyone know we're back with constant access. If not, I'll post an entry detailing why we weren't online.
Keep it real!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Quick Travel Update: Omaha
Just a quick update. We made it to Omaha, NE. We're staying in a KOA "Kabin" tonight and finishing the rest of the trek tomorrow. We're about 7 hours away from Denver, by Google reckoning, plus we gain (or is it lose?) an hour when we cross into the mountain time zone at the Nebraska / Colorado border.
I'm sending this update from a small cabin, in a corn-field in Nebraska on a wireless network. In the words of Dean, "It is the 21st century!"
We'll update again when we get to a connection... it looks like it may be a while before we get the home line set up due to all kinds craziness between Qwest and a local ISP we're trying to use.
P.S. I will continue with the next installment of the trip out here when time and connections are available.
I'm sending this update from a small cabin, in a corn-field in Nebraska on a wireless network. In the words of Dean, "It is the 21st century!"
We'll update again when we get to a connection... it looks like it may be a while before we get the home line set up due to all kinds craziness between Qwest and a local ISP we're trying to use.
P.S. I will continue with the next installment of the trip out here when time and connections are available.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Convoy Part 1: The Beginning
Wednesday, June 20th
Hamilton, OH
5:00PM EST
In the midst of all of this packing, we found a few minutes to rest and surf the web. On a lark, I looked up some reviews of the moving company we're going to use. It turns out this company doesn't come highly recommended. The incredibly long list of complaints sent into the Better Businessman's Bureau has us both concerned. There are several written reports by users of the moving service about items missing, boxing being rummaged through, and expensive home-theater equipment simply disappearing. The paltry insurance the company provides pays claims based on weight: The more something weighs, the more you get for it. We figured if someone walked off with our 42' LCD TV, we could (after fighting) be compensated to the tune of $60.00
Ugh. Just canceled the service. Looking into alternatives.
Wednesday, June 20th
Hamilton, OH
8:00PM EST
Just canceled our reservation with the moving company. We decided to go at it ourselves. We've reserved a truck through U-Haul and asked Mandy's parents if they wouldn't mind helping us with the packing. I think this is a good solution because A) We will know where our stuff is at all times and B) When we're done with the move, we can actually relax when we get back to Grand Rapids.
Mandy's parents will be arriving tomorrow night around 8:00. We've got a ton of packing to get through between now and then.
Thursday, June 21st
Hamilton, OH
9:00PM EST
Though we're not done packing by a long shot, we have moved lots of our stuff around and that's kind of like packing. Mandy's parents arrived an hour ago and we're all discussing the details of the moving process over a burrito we picked up at the amazing Taquero Mercado Mexican restaurant not far from our home. It was a bitter-sweet dinner since we were saying goodbye to people we have become good friends with during our stay in the 'nasti. All will be missed, though our paths will cross again (and not to far in the future actually).
We're going to pick up the U-Haul truck tomorrow morning at 8:30AM, and hopefully be done packing by noon or 1. The weather's been great these past few days, so it shouldn't be too bad.
Friday, June 22nd
Hamilton, OH
10:00AM EST
We picked up the U-Haul truck this morning. It's a piece of shit. Since we reserved a 17" truck, you can imagine my surprise when they told me to pull a 24" truck out of the lot. I politely asked the service lady, who's hang-over was quite apparent, "What the hell is this?"
"It's your truck."
"We reserved a 17-foot truck. This is not a 17-foot truck. Ergo, not my truck."
"Oh. You were upgraded."
"Upgraded?"
"At no extra cost." She attempted to smile, but quickly turned to hang-over nausea. She started to sway back and forth.
"Except the hundreds more we'll spend on gas, it's free, right?"
"Right." Again, the smile.
"Ok, then."
I drove the monster to the apartment. On the way back, it began to downpour. At least the temperature has dropped off a little and we can get some of the stuff down to the truck.
It begins.
Friday, June 22nd
Hamilton, OH
5:00PM EST
Nearly everything is packed. The freak thunderstorms have been good to us. The temp has dropped to a much more reasonable temperature and we've made steady progress. Casey and I headed out into the city to return the cable modem, stop by our bank, and pick up some pottery we painted with the aforementioned friends a couple weeks back. With the cable modem gone, there's no way I can post anymore of these updates, but since I'm writing this after-the-fact, that shouldn't be a problem.
Her parents have generously agreed to stay on another night and help with the final load and cleaning tomorrow. We hope to be on the road by 7:00AM and make it all the way to Salina, KS. That's a 12 hour trek by Google's reckoning, but I'm more than a little leery about the ability of the U-Haul truck (henceforth dubbed: "The Suck") to make very good time. Oh, I am hoping the gas mileage isn't as bad as I hope. Off to sleep. 'Till the marrow.
Hamilton, OH
5:00PM EST
In the midst of all of this packing, we found a few minutes to rest and surf the web. On a lark, I looked up some reviews of the moving company we're going to use. It turns out this company doesn't come highly recommended. The incredibly long list of complaints sent into the Better Businessman's Bureau has us both concerned. There are several written reports by users of the moving service about items missing, boxing being rummaged through, and expensive home-theater equipment simply disappearing. The paltry insurance the company provides pays claims based on weight: The more something weighs, the more you get for it. We figured if someone walked off with our 42' LCD TV, we could (after fighting) be compensated to the tune of $60.00
Ugh. Just canceled the service. Looking into alternatives.
Wednesday, June 20th
Hamilton, OH
8:00PM EST
Just canceled our reservation with the moving company. We decided to go at it ourselves. We've reserved a truck through U-Haul and asked Mandy's parents if they wouldn't mind helping us with the packing. I think this is a good solution because A) We will know where our stuff is at all times and B) When we're done with the move, we can actually relax when we get back to Grand Rapids.
Mandy's parents will be arriving tomorrow night around 8:00. We've got a ton of packing to get through between now and then.
Thursday, June 21st
Hamilton, OH
9:00PM EST
Though we're not done packing by a long shot, we have moved lots of our stuff around and that's kind of like packing. Mandy's parents arrived an hour ago and we're all discussing the details of the moving process over a burrito we picked up at the amazing Taquero Mercado Mexican restaurant not far from our home. It was a bitter-sweet dinner since we were saying goodbye to people we have become good friends with during our stay in the 'nasti. All will be missed, though our paths will cross again (and not to far in the future actually).
We're going to pick up the U-Haul truck tomorrow morning at 8:30AM, and hopefully be done packing by noon or 1. The weather's been great these past few days, so it shouldn't be too bad.
Friday, June 22nd
Hamilton, OH
10:00AM EST
We picked up the U-Haul truck this morning. It's a piece of shit. Since we reserved a 17" truck, you can imagine my surprise when they told me to pull a 24" truck out of the lot. I politely asked the service lady, who's hang-over was quite apparent, "What the hell is this?"
"It's your truck."
"We reserved a 17-foot truck. This is not a 17-foot truck. Ergo, not my truck."
"Oh. You were upgraded."
"Upgraded?"
"At no extra cost." She attempted to smile, but quickly turned to hang-over nausea. She started to sway back and forth.
"Except the hundreds more we'll spend on gas, it's free, right?"
"Right." Again, the smile.
"Ok, then."
I drove the monster to the apartment. On the way back, it began to downpour. At least the temperature has dropped off a little and we can get some of the stuff down to the truck.
It begins.
Friday, June 22nd
Hamilton, OH
5:00PM EST
Nearly everything is packed. The freak thunderstorms have been good to us. The temp has dropped to a much more reasonable temperature and we've made steady progress. Casey and I headed out into the city to return the cable modem, stop by our bank, and pick up some pottery we painted with the aforementioned friends a couple weeks back. With the cable modem gone, there's no way I can post anymore of these updates, but since I'm writing this after-the-fact, that shouldn't be a problem.
Her parents have generously agreed to stay on another night and help with the final load and cleaning tomorrow. We hope to be on the road by 7:00AM and make it all the way to Salina, KS. That's a 12 hour trek by Google's reckoning, but I'm more than a little leery about the ability of the U-Haul truck (henceforth dubbed: "The Suck") to make very good time. Oh, I am hoping the gas mileage isn't as bad as I hope. Off to sleep. 'Till the marrow.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Convoy: Prologue
After a week-long hiatus, I feel the time to start winding the tale of our journey has come. It should be told in three parts, though I'm leaving room for a fourth or an epilogue of some sort. My goal is to fashion each story with pictures and video, making some use of the cool formating features of blogger and giving the reader something to look at and (slightly) interact with. I'm thinking the best narrative style to communicate the journey is through a faux-travelogue. It will be told in the first person, and in real-time as if I were writing it during the journey.
I hope to have Part 1 up by tomorrow night, but it will likely be Thursday before it appears. In the meantime, I'm going to start putting up random posts just to get back in the habit of doing it, so keep an eye to the RSS feed or on the link you used to arrive here.
Peace n' love!
I hope to have Part 1 up by tomorrow night, but it will likely be Thursday before it appears. In the meantime, I'm going to start putting up random posts just to get back in the habit of doing it, so keep an eye to the RSS feed or on the link you used to arrive here.
Peace n' love!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Nous sommes arrives
We have arrived in Grand Rapids. A long-winded account of the trip will be coming in the next few days, but I will post the basics here:
1. We packed all of our belongings
2. We closed out our lease at Shadow Creek
3. We moved all of our belongings to Denver, CO
4. We unpacked (aprox. 75% done)
5. We drove to Grand Rapids
More details to come. If anyone wants to hook up, chill out, or blow stuff up, just email or ring us on the telly.
1. We packed all of our belongings
2. We closed out our lease at Shadow Creek
3. We moved all of our belongings to Denver, CO
4. We unpacked (aprox. 75% done)
5. We drove to Grand Rapids
More details to come. If anyone wants to hook up, chill out, or blow stuff up, just email or ring us on the telly.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Ok... Disregard
So, that last post, ignore that. It's wrong. We decided against using the moving company. We read several bad reviews of them on various forums, and just felt uneasy about entrusting all of our worldly possessions with a company. The insurance on the items sucked. For example, if our TV were to turn up missing (which happened often, according to various reviews) we would only be able to recoup the $450 worth of damages. The insurance is based on weight, you see.
Anyway, as is our style, at the last second we changed plans and are now driving a U-Haul truck out to Denver, dragging the Contour behind. Mandy parents, wonderful people they are, are driving down from GR tonight to help us pack tomorrow (Friday). We're going to have everything packed into the U-Haul by tomorrow afternoon, run some errands in the evening, then leave Saturday morning around 6:00AM. The shot from Cinci to Denver is about 18 (based on Google Maps), but that's not considering driving a fully loaded U-Haul dragging a car. We're hoping to hit either Topeka or Saline, KS Saturday night around 7:00PM. Go to sleep. Then finish the last 6 hours early Sunday, arriving at our place mid-afternoon. We'll unpack some of the stuff Sunday, the rest on Monday, drop off the U-Haul and be done. Damn it.
Then, we're heading back to Grand Rapids in the Contour either Tuesday or Wednesday. Another two drive puts us in GR Thursday or Friday of next week. By that point, we will have packed, unpacked, and driven over 2,500 miles in a U-Haul and Contour. We'll deserve a vacation at that point, and a vacation we'll have. We plan to stick around GR for at least two weeks, hanging out with peeps and relaxing. Then we'll pack the two beeping cats in the car and drive back out to Denver.
Yes, it's crazy. Yes, gas is ridiculously high. And yes, it's going to be awesome.
We're dropping the broadband modem off tomorrow, so Mandy and I will be pretty much offline for the next week or so while we traverse the country in various vehicles. We'll post updates as time and internet access provides. If you're bored at any time starting Saturday, please give us a call. We'll have lots of talking time on our hands.
"Good mornin' America, how are you?
Don't you know me? I'm your native son!
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done." -Arlo Guthrie
Anyway, as is our style, at the last second we changed plans and are now driving a U-Haul truck out to Denver, dragging the Contour behind. Mandy parents, wonderful people they are, are driving down from GR tonight to help us pack tomorrow (Friday). We're going to have everything packed into the U-Haul by tomorrow afternoon, run some errands in the evening, then leave Saturday morning around 6:00AM. The shot from Cinci to Denver is about 18 (based on Google Maps), but that's not considering driving a fully loaded U-Haul dragging a car. We're hoping to hit either Topeka or Saline, KS Saturday night around 7:00PM. Go to sleep. Then finish the last 6 hours early Sunday, arriving at our place mid-afternoon. We'll unpack some of the stuff Sunday, the rest on Monday, drop off the U-Haul and be done. Damn it.
Then, we're heading back to Grand Rapids in the Contour either Tuesday or Wednesday. Another two drive puts us in GR Thursday or Friday of next week. By that point, we will have packed, unpacked, and driven over 2,500 miles in a U-Haul and Contour. We'll deserve a vacation at that point, and a vacation we'll have. We plan to stick around GR for at least two weeks, hanging out with peeps and relaxing. Then we'll pack the two beeping cats in the car and drive back out to Denver.
Yes, it's crazy. Yes, gas is ridiculously high. And yes, it's going to be awesome.
We're dropping the broadband modem off tomorrow, so Mandy and I will be pretty much offline for the next week or so while we traverse the country in various vehicles. We'll post updates as time and internet access provides. If you're bored at any time starting Saturday, please give us a call. We'll have lots of talking time on our hands.
"Good mornin' America, how are you?
Don't you know me? I'm your native son!
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done." -Arlo Guthrie
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Travel Schedule
As promised in yesterday's post, here is our updated and semi-permanent travel schedule. The times and dates are subject to change, though, by this point, it's a pretty safe assumption that most are solid.
June 19-25 - Packing / Cleaning
June 26 or 27 - Moving company shows up, loads all of our worldy possessions on their truck and drives away.
June 28 - Turn in our keys, drive to GR
June 28 - July ?? - Hang out in GR
July ?? - Drive to Denver with cats (woot) await moving truck
That's as solid as it gets. I'll periodically update this week with some amazing, vibrant pics of us packing and cleaning our apartment. I can feel the anticipation from here.
June 19-25 - Packing / Cleaning
June 26 or 27 - Moving company shows up, loads all of our worldy possessions on their truck and drives away.
June 28 - Turn in our keys, drive to GR
June 28 - July ?? - Hang out in GR
July ?? - Drive to Denver with cats (woot) await moving truck
That's as solid as it gets. I'll periodically update this week with some amazing, vibrant pics of us packing and cleaning our apartment. I can feel the anticipation from here.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Trip Update
I was planning to put this post up last night, but Mandy and I got stuck in a Paper Mario marathon that lasted until 1:00AM. You'll all be happy to know that we beat the game this afternoon, and Count Bleck was defeated. Rest assured.
We arrived back in Cinci Friday night about 11:30PM. After collecting our bags, we made it home about 1:30AM. The flight wasn't too bad apart from a death dive that happened about 15 minutes into the flight when the plane hit some turbulence that caused the plane to bank about 45 degrees to starboard. Everyone on the plane gasped, a few screamed, and I sighed. Other than that, the flight was good. We even landed about 10 minutes early.
An apartment has been procured. We signed the lease Friday, and after much wrangling with the certifiably insane landlady, we were handed our keys. Here is a link to the apartment on Google Maps.
The apartment is located south of Denver, in a neighborhood called Platt Park. It's a very eclectic area, complete with books stores, coffee shops, bars, live music venues, and a movie theater about five blocks away. Another very cool aspect of the location is that is near both the bus line and the light-rail transit system. Mandy's school is about 8 miles away, so that's really cool.
The apartment is in a single building. It has two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and lots of windows. The cost is a little shy of $200 less than what we are paying to live in Cinci, so that's good, especially considering neither us have jobs yet. It's also cool because it's a 6-month lease, and when the lease is up, it goes month-to-month with no additional charge. We're kind of looking at it as a place to hold up, get better aquainted with the city, and find our semi-permanent place. If we end up really liking it, we'll probably stay on through Spring. The only major downside is the fact that's ground-level and we can't have a dog, but that's being pretty nit-picky.
Here's a short video I shot of the apartment. Keep in mind it was shot on our little Cannon Powershot, so the quality totally sucks.
Here are a few more pictures from the trip. I'll update the blog with more info on our moving schedule tomorrow. The important part is we're having a company move our stuff to Denver and we'll be back in GR for about two weeks over the 4th of July holiday. Hooray! This will likely be the last time we're in town until Thanksgiving.
(Hard at work looking for apartments)
(King of the mountain)
(A creek running through the Rockies)
(One of many shots of the Rockies driving W I-70)
(A comparison of the SUV we rented and the Canyonaro from The Simpsons)
(Looking on towards a bright and shining future)
We arrived back in Cinci Friday night about 11:30PM. After collecting our bags, we made it home about 1:30AM. The flight wasn't too bad apart from a death dive that happened about 15 minutes into the flight when the plane hit some turbulence that caused the plane to bank about 45 degrees to starboard. Everyone on the plane gasped, a few screamed, and I sighed. Other than that, the flight was good. We even landed about 10 minutes early.
An apartment has been procured. We signed the lease Friday, and after much wrangling with the certifiably insane landlady, we were handed our keys. Here is a link to the apartment on Google Maps.
The apartment is located south of Denver, in a neighborhood called Platt Park. It's a very eclectic area, complete with books stores, coffee shops, bars, live music venues, and a movie theater about five blocks away. Another very cool aspect of the location is that is near both the bus line and the light-rail transit system. Mandy's school is about 8 miles away, so that's really cool.
The apartment is in a single building. It has two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and lots of windows. The cost is a little shy of $200 less than what we are paying to live in Cinci, so that's good, especially considering neither us have jobs yet. It's also cool because it's a 6-month lease, and when the lease is up, it goes month-to-month with no additional charge. We're kind of looking at it as a place to hold up, get better aquainted with the city, and find our semi-permanent place. If we end up really liking it, we'll probably stay on through Spring. The only major downside is the fact that's ground-level and we can't have a dog, but that's being pretty nit-picky.
Here's a short video I shot of the apartment. Keep in mind it was shot on our little Cannon Powershot, so the quality totally sucks.
(An amazing tour of the new apartment)
Here are a few more pictures from the trip. I'll update the blog with more info on our moving schedule tomorrow. The important part is we're having a company move our stuff to Denver and we'll be back in GR for about two weeks over the 4th of July holiday. Hooray! This will likely be the last time we're in town until Thanksgiving.
(Hard at work looking for apartments)
(King of the mountain)
(A creek running through the Rockies)
(One of many shots of the Rockies driving W I-70)
(A comparison of the SUV we rented and the Canyonaro from The Simpsons)
(Looking on towards a bright and shining future)
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Clear Air
The hunt is on. We continue to seek out apartments and cool places to see. We've found a couple places that are really good looking. They're on the pricey side, but nothing we can't handle. One is in a more urban setting, walking distance to restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. It is complete with hardwood floors, lots of windows, and all utilities are included. It's a bit of a hike to the school Mandy will be attending, so that's a concern.
The other place is a townhouse. It's beautiful, spacious, clean, and right near her school. It's more expensive than the first, which probably puts it out of the running. The other catch is it's in really suburban area. Chain restaurants, malls, and auto places are on every corner. It's right next to the mountains, and it really laid out nicely. It's a tough call either way.
We're trying to find more places to check out today, but we're not getting many responses from people. Hopefully, we'll have our decision made this afternoon and have our appliation and deposit off to the place we want to stay.
Here are a few pictures of the city.
(View of the Rockies to the west)
(One of the many beautiful homes downtown Denver)
(Driving into Denver)
The other place is a townhouse. It's beautiful, spacious, clean, and right near her school. It's more expensive than the first, which probably puts it out of the running. The other catch is it's in really suburban area. Chain restaurants, malls, and auto places are on every corner. It's right next to the mountains, and it really laid out nicely. It's a tough call either way.
We're trying to find more places to check out today, but we're not getting many responses from people. Hopefully, we'll have our decision made this afternoon and have our appliation and deposit off to the place we want to stay.
Here are a few pictures of the city.
(View of the Rockies to the west)
(One of the many beautiful homes downtown Denver)
(Driving into Denver)
The other great thing about the area is what's going on. There are so many events, nature trails, and festivals, it's been hard for us to pick which ones to check out. For example; there's a Breckenridge Film Festival tonight. This is a seasonal event where local filmmakers get together to watch films... in the beer gardens behind a microbrewery. There are little mini-magazine I've picked up that just show what's playing in the many locals film houses. The print edition of The Onion is free, it's everywhere.
The trick is going to be making enough money that we don't have to always be dipping into our savings to pay for rent and other necessities. With all the opportunity in this area, those prospects are looking good. More to come...
The trick is going to be making enough money that we don't have to always be dipping into our savings to pay for rent and other necessities. With all the opportunity in this area, those prospects are looking good. More to come...
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Maybe the sun will shine today...
Good news on all fronts!
Last night, Athena returned to Mandy's parent's place. A portion of tuna fish was left on their doorstep while her dad looked on from the windows. She came back around 3:30 in the morning and he snatched her up and locked her in a safe in the basement. Crazy thanks go out to the Sterk parents for an entire day of hunting for the little bugger. Good job, and thanks again!
With Athena back in custody, we were able to turn our thoughts to other things. Namely: How, what, and where we're planning to spend the next two years.
We flew out of Cincinnati this morning on an express United Skywest flight. The flight was mostly crap. There are bands of storms raging across the planes states and flew through all of them. Anticipating my hatred of flying in a tiny Canadair 700 and its tendency to be tossed about like so much salad, I popped a zanax prescribed my doctor a year or so ago. It worked like a charm. It really is a bizarre drug. When I sat down to fly, I felt tense, fidgety, and keyed up. About 10 minutes after taking it, the plane could've smashed into a mountain and I doubt I would've noticed. It's especially strange because it didn't really do anything to deal my mental side, just the physical. I still had my paranoid thoughts, its just there was no physical reaction to them. For about 45 minutes, I let the plane's constant buffeting turbulence lull me to sleep. Very strange.
We arrived about 10:30AM (MDT) and proceeded to check out a house and an apartment. The house was sub-ghetto. Complete with low-hung ceilings and a neighborhood of houses beset with all manner of gates, bars, and alarm systems. The landlady seemed nice, but the cost, house, and neighborhood just didn't add up to anything promising.
The apartment we checked out was in really cool neighborhood. Near a huge park, lots of little shops, bars, and restaurants. We could fully flex our hipster legs in such a place... if it weren't so friggen small. It was about 600 sq/ft and only one bedroom. We are planning to downsize our belongings and go back to in-college mode for a while, but I'm not sure how we could happily pare down to this size. We'll see.
Tomorrow we have an appointment to check out a property at 10:00AM MDT (that's 8:00AM EST), another at 3:30PM and a couple that we can show up to look at anytime we please. We're hoping to see either a neighborhood or apartment/house that we can concentrate on on Thursday, leaving us Friday to drive out to Rocky Mountains or some such.
I'm writing from a business-center PC, so I'll have to post pics tomorrow when I can get my laptop connected to another network.
From Denver, with much love.
Last night, Athena returned to Mandy's parent's place. A portion of tuna fish was left on their doorstep while her dad looked on from the windows. She came back around 3:30 in the morning and he snatched her up and locked her in a safe in the basement. Crazy thanks go out to the Sterk parents for an entire day of hunting for the little bugger. Good job, and thanks again!
With Athena back in custody, we were able to turn our thoughts to other things. Namely: How, what, and where we're planning to spend the next two years.
We flew out of Cincinnati this morning on an express United Skywest flight. The flight was mostly crap. There are bands of storms raging across the planes states and flew through all of them. Anticipating my hatred of flying in a tiny Canadair 700 and its tendency to be tossed about like so much salad, I popped a zanax prescribed my doctor a year or so ago. It worked like a charm. It really is a bizarre drug. When I sat down to fly, I felt tense, fidgety, and keyed up. About 10 minutes after taking it, the plane could've smashed into a mountain and I doubt I would've noticed. It's especially strange because it didn't really do anything to deal my mental side, just the physical. I still had my paranoid thoughts, its just there was no physical reaction to them. For about 45 minutes, I let the plane's constant buffeting turbulence lull me to sleep. Very strange.
We arrived about 10:30AM (MDT) and proceeded to check out a house and an apartment. The house was sub-ghetto. Complete with low-hung ceilings and a neighborhood of houses beset with all manner of gates, bars, and alarm systems. The landlady seemed nice, but the cost, house, and neighborhood just didn't add up to anything promising.
The apartment we checked out was in really cool neighborhood. Near a huge park, lots of little shops, bars, and restaurants. We could fully flex our hipster legs in such a place... if it weren't so friggen small. It was about 600 sq/ft and only one bedroom. We are planning to downsize our belongings and go back to in-college mode for a while, but I'm not sure how we could happily pare down to this size. We'll see.
Tomorrow we have an appointment to check out a property at 10:00AM MDT (that's 8:00AM EST), another at 3:30PM and a couple that we can show up to look at anytime we please. We're hoping to see either a neighborhood or apartment/house that we can concentrate on on Thursday, leaving us Friday to drive out to Rocky Mountains or some such.
I'm writing from a business-center PC, so I'll have to post pics tomorrow when I can get my laptop connected to another network.
From Denver, with much love.
Monday, June 11, 2007
"Well I'm going out west where the wind blow tall..." -Tom Waits
(Denver at Twilight)
I'll post some pics and thoughts as they come about.
On a sad note, our cat Athena has escaped from Mandy's parent's house and is lost somewhere in their neighborhood. The little bugger loves to dart out of open doors, run away, and hide. Our guess is she's hiding somewhere in the neighborhood right now. It's really crappy timing considering how we have to concentrate on our apartment hunting, but now we're totally distracted by the missing cat. Ah life. So full of little twisty turns.
We'll keep everyone updated on both the trip and Athena.
"And I'll be high as a kite by then." -Elton John
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Reject Wii Games
I really don't have any to add. It's hilarious. My personal favorite is "Seal Hunter." I'd play that.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Contract Done - Testing Over
This past Friday I finished out the contract with my client. My hope is that will about wrap it up for me and testing. With our impending move to Denver, I hope the three fates will shine on my job hunt and provide me with a lovely video job. My only concern about leaving the testing profession behind is money, and with Mandy heading back to school full-time, there may be a compelling reason to head back to the dark side. We'll do everything we can to stay away from that, since one of the goals of heading to Denver is for both of us to get into careers we actually enjoy.
Here's me saying goodbye to my work nameplate:
Here's me saying goodbye to my work nameplate:
Friday, June 01, 2007
It's official: Denver, CO for 2+ years
We're moving to Denver, CO. Here's the tentative plan:
- Matt finish work 06/01
- Mandy finish work 06/08
- Fly to Denver 06/18
- Explore city, look for place to live, eat food 06/18 – 06/22
- Fly back to CinCity 06/22
- Pack 06/22 – 06/27
- Drive to Denver with all possessions 06/27 – 06/28
- Unpack, return trailer, sleep 06/29 – 06/30
- Drive to Grand Rapids 07/01 – 07/02
- Chill in Grand Rapids 07/02 – 07/12
- Drive back to Denver 07/12 – 07/13
- Stay in Denver until Thanksgiving while working, entertaining guests, and going to school. Maybe get a dog.
Obviously, these dates are subject to change, but that's our tentative schedule. The big question mark in all of
this is how / if we're going to get back to Grand Rapids for the 4th of July celebrations. We may or may not, it really depends on how burnt out we are from traveling, packing, and driving around with two half-drugged, screaming cats. We're really going to try to make it down around then to see everyone, because it will likely be months before we fly back East.
Next week, I'll write more on the impetus for the move as well as some personal reflections on my time spent in CinCity and what I hope to accomplish over the next couple of years. I'm hoping Mandy will do the same.
For now: Denver dreamin' on such a summer's day…
(Ugh, all these damn formatting issues. This is what happens when you compose posts in Word.)
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Treat for Voters
Thanks to everyone who voted. The voting closed about 6 hours before the late email told me it would, so who knows what they're doing at Discover Magazine. I love the magazine but, man, this contest has sucked in terms of how it was run and even the submissions. I really didn't like our entry, mostly because we finished it about three hours instead of taking the neccessary time to make it good, but I go into more detail about that in the previous post. Thankfully, the best entry, in my opinion, had the most votes and I do hope they've won. I'll post more when I hear from them, if I hear from them.
Here's a treat for everyone who voted. I have a soft-spot for really hard to contextualize video clips. My favorite is still the black and white film footage of the German midget laughing at a camel as seen here. Below you'll find a clip from a Bollywood knock-off of Superman. It has to be seen to be believed.
This link comes from the never tiring, always amazing BoingBoing.
Here's a treat for everyone who voted. I have a soft-spot for really hard to contextualize video clips. My favorite is still the black and white film footage of the German midget laughing at a camel as seen here. Below you'll find a clip from a Bollywood knock-off of Superman. It has to be seen to be believed.
This link comes from the never tiring, always amazing BoingBoing.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
String Theory Vote! DO IT! DO IT NOW!!!
Everyone,
In a previous post, I mentioned that I had been selected as a finalist for Discover Magazine's "String Theory in Two Minutes or Less." In addition to noted physicist Brian Greene selecting the winner, there is also a viewer's choice award. I was never alerted that this was happening, or even notified that the video had been made available until this afternoon when I received an email letting me know that voting is ending tomorrow at midnight. So, please go here and vote for an entry. Mine is called "Mass Through Strings," vote for it if you like it the best.
This voting has been going on for about a month, it seems, and I'm second from last (sigh). I have no idea why I wasn't even informed the voting was happening. Anger.
Go vote and tell your friends!
In a previous post, I mentioned that I had been selected as a finalist for Discover Magazine's "String Theory in Two Minutes or Less." In addition to noted physicist Brian Greene selecting the winner, there is also a viewer's choice award. I was never alerted that this was happening, or even notified that the video had been made available until this afternoon when I received an email letting me know that voting is ending tomorrow at midnight. So, please go here and vote for an entry. Mine is called "Mass Through Strings," vote for it if you like it the best.
This voting has been going on for about a month, it seems, and I'm second from last (sigh). I have no idea why I wasn't even informed the voting was happening. Anger.
Go vote and tell your friends!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Future Shock
I have a feeling that the world is no longer progressing towards something, more that it's just changing without direction. I think the common definition of the future is that it is the place we are going, as a culture and as individuals. The future is a point in time ahead of now, where things will be better. It's an intrinsic part of the dominant American ideology that we progress and improve in so doing. Keep in mind that for most of human history, the future really didn't exist as a positive, cohesive place we were traveling towards. It was commonly held that if tomorrow was different than today, things were going wrong.
In a recent interview, Cory Doctorow made the point that if one were to compare stone axes from 15,000BC to 10,000BC, they would not be able to detect any noticeable differences. For 5,000 years humans never thought to change the ax or make better tools. It worked as an ax, and our ancestors evidently thought, "Ax hack wood. Ax chop head. Ax good. Screw improvements."
In ancient Egyptian times, one of the most exalted gods was called Mi'at. This was both a god and an expected state of affairs. One of the chief charges of the office of Pharaoh was to maintain Mi'at. Mi'at could be roughly translated into a term like "status quo" or "make sure tomorrow is exactly like today." Even in the East, the primary role of the Chinese Emperor was to maintain peace and stability—to keep things unchanging and constant. In the West, throughout the Middle Ages, humans thought about the future in very similar terms. All of the great truths about mathematics, philosophy, and art had been revealed by Aristotle and his bearded, bare-chested ilk. Answers for questions concerning government, social order and spirituality were codified in the Bible. Different kings ruled, empires rose and fell, things changed but did not change into anything other than more change. The concept of future, as we now think of it, hadn't been invented yet.
The Copernican Revolution, the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment laid the groundwork for the Modern Project and the idea of a future was born as a result (I realize this is a totally unqualified statement, but, oh well). Things started to get "better." We could look at generations past and say, with confidence, "Boy, I'm sure glad I don't live way back then. It's so much better now." History became important. For much of our past, we really weren't interested in knowing much about the generations before us, because, after all, they very similar. With Modernity, we became increasingly interested in how humanity organized and reorganized itself. Whether change came upon a culture suddenly or gradually. Logically, for humanity to have a collective future to progress towards it needed a cohesive past to recede from.
The moved-towards-future concept is still powerful today, but I think it's take on shades of plasticity and change without direction. These changes fall broadly under the Post Modern school of thinking, but I think they have more broad implications. I don't know if this is necessarily a bad thing. I've heard compelling arguments made for either case. One thing, however, that gives me pause, is camel racing.
Now the camels have robot jockeys. Robot jockeys! I remember Robot Jox. I saw it at Showcase Cinemas the week it came out. My friend Jesse and I went. I can still remember my amazement at how empty the theater was. Where were all the people, I thought. This is Robot Jox! It was so awesome. Giant, stop-motion mechs sawing the hell out of each other in a post-apocalyptic war zone with Gary Graham, the dude from Alien Nation, as the protagonist! Can it get any more awesome than that? Check out the clip below and revel in the ball-flattening awesomeatuude:
And now, robot jocks are a reality. Observe the picture below:
(RoboCamel)
Notice anything strange? For me, it's the fact that in one picture there are so many strange, contradictory, and flat-out scary implications it makes my head spin. The world is changing, but I don't think it's progressing any more. I think people have given up on the idea of the future, and are instead reveling in the absolute unpredictability of now. A digital picture of robots riding camels while people wearing millennia's old religious garb should be proof enough for anyone that we are well and beyond the looking glass.
In a recent interview, Cory Doctorow made the point that if one were to compare stone axes from 15,000BC to 10,000BC, they would not be able to detect any noticeable differences. For 5,000 years humans never thought to change the ax or make better tools. It worked as an ax, and our ancestors evidently thought, "Ax hack wood. Ax chop head. Ax good. Screw improvements."
In ancient Egyptian times, one of the most exalted gods was called Mi'at. This was both a god and an expected state of affairs. One of the chief charges of the office of Pharaoh was to maintain Mi'at. Mi'at could be roughly translated into a term like "status quo" or "make sure tomorrow is exactly like today." Even in the East, the primary role of the Chinese Emperor was to maintain peace and stability—to keep things unchanging and constant. In the West, throughout the Middle Ages, humans thought about the future in very similar terms. All of the great truths about mathematics, philosophy, and art had been revealed by Aristotle and his bearded, bare-chested ilk. Answers for questions concerning government, social order and spirituality were codified in the Bible. Different kings ruled, empires rose and fell, things changed but did not change into anything other than more change. The concept of future, as we now think of it, hadn't been invented yet.
The Copernican Revolution, the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment laid the groundwork for the Modern Project and the idea of a future was born as a result (I realize this is a totally unqualified statement, but, oh well). Things started to get "better." We could look at generations past and say, with confidence, "Boy, I'm sure glad I don't live way back then. It's so much better now." History became important. For much of our past, we really weren't interested in knowing much about the generations before us, because, after all, they very similar. With Modernity, we became increasingly interested in how humanity organized and reorganized itself. Whether change came upon a culture suddenly or gradually. Logically, for humanity to have a collective future to progress towards it needed a cohesive past to recede from.
The moved-towards-future concept is still powerful today, but I think it's take on shades of plasticity and change without direction. These changes fall broadly under the Post Modern school of thinking, but I think they have more broad implications. I don't know if this is necessarily a bad thing. I've heard compelling arguments made for either case. One thing, however, that gives me pause, is camel racing.
Now the camels have robot jockeys. Robot jockeys! I remember Robot Jox. I saw it at Showcase Cinemas the week it came out. My friend Jesse and I went. I can still remember my amazement at how empty the theater was. Where were all the people, I thought. This is Robot Jox! It was so awesome. Giant, stop-motion mechs sawing the hell out of each other in a post-apocalyptic war zone with Gary Graham, the dude from Alien Nation, as the protagonist! Can it get any more awesome than that? Check out the clip below and revel in the ball-flattening awesomeatuude:
And now, robot jocks are a reality. Observe the picture below:
(RoboCamel)
Notice anything strange? For me, it's the fact that in one picture there are so many strange, contradictory, and flat-out scary implications it makes my head spin. The world is changing, but I don't think it's progressing any more. I think people have given up on the idea of the future, and are instead reveling in the absolute unpredictability of now. A digital picture of robots riding camels while people wearing millennia's old religious garb should be proof enough for anyone that we are well and beyond the looking glass.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Moving Report
Strange things are afoot at the Circle K
Mandy and I are heading into flux territory again. The wheels of life begin to grind once more and a great evil looms in the East.
Our lease is up at the end of June. So, between then and now we have to decide the following:
1) Where we're going to move
2) What school Mandy can get into to finish her degree
3) Where we can work
4) How/if I can find work that relates in any way to video
We have about six weeks to figure all of this out. While we are on our way to getting a number of these things nailed down, there's still work to be done. My posts will remain sporadic for the next month and a half as we work our way through the big Decisions. I will try to keep the blog updated with details about our job situations, where we're moving, and what we're planning.
So, to start, I am 15 calendar days away from not working at my current job. I tendered my two week resignation this past Wednesday. My last day will be June 1st. My plan is to use the month of June to finish Sue and Casey's travel dvd, help pack up all of our belongings, travel to the new city and find an apartment, and move. Our current thinking is Mandy will be done with her job one week after I am done with mine, so we both can travel to the city to check out apartments and neighborhoods.
This strategy carries some obvious risk, but such is the case with anything worth doing. A career change on both our parts, medical and video, will not come about without sacrifice and work. I think we're both in a much better position financially and emotionally for the change due in large part to our hiatus to CinCity. We both feel the project was a success and are eager to move on to the next thing.
An example of something I've recently had to reassess is my rubber band ball strategy. My work environment is beset with rubber bands of all shapes, sizes, and colors. They gather in dimly lit corners in small, dusty piles. They find their way into cups of coffee, between printouts, and even into shoes. To help with this problem, many of my co-workers have begun to capture the stretchy strings and wind them into rubber band balls of various sizes. Some are monstrous; the har labor of many years. Others are dainty and colorful, the fruits of a passing interest. My goal was to create three fist-sized rubber balls I could juggle. However, my resignation has forced my face up to the fact that this an impossibility. I had only created one complete ball and had just started a second. I realized that the average volume of rubber bands that come my way is not enough to complete the project before I would be leaving. So, this morning, while watching scripts run on my computer, I unwound the smaller ball and merged the bands with the larger ball; my thinking being, one large ball is easier to keep track of than two smaller ones.
(This is two of me pushing both of the balls together)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Go speed racer, go!
This weekend, Mandy competed in her third River Bank Run 5K in Grand Rapids. She placed seven in her class and did a bang-up job. Despite being slightly injured she pulled off a respectable 10 minute per mile average. Angie also competed and did an amazing job. Congrats to all!
I can say I was little jealous to see everyone running and standing at the sidelines as I had the first year. I am going to run the Buck Creek Run in July, so keep an eye on the obituaries that week.
Here's a little video I shot of Angie and Mandy running past the turn just before the 2 mile mark. Sadly, I was only able to capture a few seconds for each person, so I padded the video with a little extra content to make it a watchable length. Even now, it's still pretty unwatchable. Please forgive me.
I can say I was little jealous to see everyone running and standing at the sidelines as I had the first year. I am going to run the Buck Creek Run in July, so keep an eye on the obituaries that week.
Here's a little video I shot of Angie and Mandy running past the turn just before the 2 mile mark. Sadly, I was only able to capture a few seconds for each person, so I padded the video with a little extra content to make it a watchable length. Even now, it's still pretty unwatchable. Please forgive me.
(Sad, sad little video camera.)
Monday, May 07, 2007
You Can't put the Smoke Back In
The saga of my sad PC continues. Tonight, I replaced my old power supply with one Kleiner-One-Niner gave me (what a guy). I unplugged all the cables on my old one, unscrewed it, and yanked it out. I fastened the new one to the case, plugged all the cable back in, and hit the power button. Crackling sounds and smoke began to pour out of the case. I yanked the plug from the back and inspected the damage.
It turns out, I plugged a cable in the wrong way. It was a small, four-pin power cable that ran to my front-side sound panel. Normally, these plugs have guide wings that force the inattentive user to plug in the cable one way only. Sadly, this card doesn't have any and I was the inattentive user. When I plugged the cable in, I was off by one pin... and that one pin apparently didn't like being left out.
The worst part about all this is the power supply doesn't fix the problem I was having. The computer still randomly reboots and sometimes won't even post when being powered on. More investigation is necessary...
The damage:
(Click for a close look)
It turns out, I plugged a cable in the wrong way. It was a small, four-pin power cable that ran to my front-side sound panel. Normally, these plugs have guide wings that force the inattentive user to plug in the cable one way only. Sadly, this card doesn't have any and I was the inattentive user. When I plugged the cable in, I was off by one pin... and that one pin apparently didn't like being left out.
The worst part about all this is the power supply doesn't fix the problem I was having. The computer still randomly reboots and sometimes won't even post when being powered on. More investigation is necessary...
The damage:
(Click for a close look)
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Response to "Dont't pump gas on May 15" Email Virus
Now that summer is upon us again, and the seasonal gas additives are being additted, it seems the "Let's not pump gas on a certain date" virus has started its relentless march across the internet. Several people have forwarded this email to me over the past few years, and now I am bored enough to write a response to it. Below is a step-by-step breakdown of how nearly every statistic, point, and conclusion found in the email is wrong.
The original email will be formatted this like this. My comments will be formatted like this. Also note that I haven't changed the original email in any way. All the misspellings and grammar mistakes are preserved for your amusement.
Original email begins here:
I say its worth a try!!
Ø NO GAS...On May 15 2005
Body: Don't pump gas on may 15th
Body: ...in April 1997, there was a "gas out" conducted nationwide in protest of gas prices. Gasoline prices dropped 30 cents a gallon overnight.
::There is no record of this happening. This claim has absolutely no evidence to support it. There are plenty of sources that list that is NOT true. This statement is false. However, there is some evidence that this has happened in 1999, and throughout the 2000s. Ironically, as a result of these later boycotts, most gas stations saw an overnight price spike, not a drop. So, if anything, boycotting gas stations for one day causes the price to go up, not down.
::Since the premise is flawed, any deductions are equally flawed, QED. There was no "Gas-out in April 1997." Even if there was, the date of the gas-out is not supplied, so there is no way to tell when the overnight price drop of $0.30 would've occured. Even if we did know the date (we don't) and we did see a price drop (we didn't), there is no way to make a causal relationship between people not going to the pumps and the gas price dropping. We don't know how many people didn't go to the gas pumps.
On May 15th 2007, all internet users are to not go to a gas station in protest of high gas prices. Gas is now over $3.00 a gallon in most places.
::Assumptions galore! Who said gas is "$3.00 a gallon in most places"? This is a completly unqualified statement. Again, we have to assume it's true for any of this to work. Secondly, the phrase "high gas prices" is completely arbitrary. People in England would be happy to pay $3.00 for a gallon of gas as would people in Canada.
It's also import to note that the price we see on the local Shell Station marquee is not the actual price of gas. It's a subsidized price. The way it works in America is the goverment collects taxes from its citizens, then uses some of the money to pay oil companies to keep the price down. It's called oil subsidization. Americans are actually paying close to the same amount for gas as people in other countries, it's just that we pay part of the price at the pumps and part of the price in taxes that come out of our income.
Due to this fact, people can't make very effective comparisons between gas and other non-subsidized goods. We have to look at the true cost of a good to make a comparison, otherwise it's apples and oranges.
There are 73,000,000+ American members currently on the internet network, and the average car takes about 30 to 50 dollars to fill up.
1. People are not members of the internet. They might use it, but they can't join it like some kind of fan-club.
2. The average car may take $30 - $50 to fill up from empty, but the point the email is making is that every person who uses the internet also owns a car. Of course, this is preposterous. Many non-driving-age children, people who ride bikes, use public transportation, and millions of other people use the internet yet don't buy gas.
3. The most current CIA statistics for Americans who've used the internet once in the past month is 205 million. So, that static is also wrong.
If all users did not go to the pump on the 15th, it would take $2,292,000,000.00 (that's almost 3 BILLION) out of the oil companys pockets for just one day, so please do not go to the gas station on May 15th and lets try to put a dent in the Middle Eastern oil industry for at least one day.
::Okay. There are so many grammatical, logical, and statistical problems with this run-on sentence, I'll have go step-by-step.
1. We've already established that not everyone who uses the internet owns a vehicle (let alone a car) or is responsible for filling the vehicle, so any conclusions being deduced from that premise are, by definition, wrong. But, just for laughs, let's see where this hypothetical argument takes us.
2. Assuming the above numbers and conclusions are correct, this scheme still wouldn't work. It certainly wouldn't be keeping much money out of oil companies pockets since much of the cost of the gas we buy at the pumps isn't a direct result of the crude oil prices alone. 25% of the price comes from local and state taxes. 9% comes from distribution and marketing of the gas. So, if this happened, people would actually be depriving their AMERICAN communities and AMERICAN-run gas stations and trucking services of money, in addition to a Middle Eastern oil company. As a result of the boycott, these AMERICAN companies would suffer the greatest harm.
Here's a good report from the Council on Foreign Relations that explains the where the high cost of consumer bought gas prices comes from. This is backed by, you know, evidence.
3. Most importantly, the email just asks people to not buy gas on that day. So what happens on May 16th? When we do run out of gas, where are we going to purchase it? The gas stations. At the end of any given week, even if everyone skipped a day, the sales would still be the same. The reason this seems so appetizing is because it's a quick fix. Even in principle, the only way to affect gas prices at the pumps is by changing your gas consumption habits over a long period of time. Come May 16 th, everyone would still have to fill up somewhere.
If you agree (which I can't see why you wouldn't) resend this to all your contact list. With it saying, ''Don't pump gas on May 15th"
::The email claims to not understand how anyone would not want to do this. It's easy to understand why: This is email is riddled with half-truths and lies. It attempts to make its arguments be appealing to emotion, not fact. If something seems too simple and good to be true, it is.
This "no gas" email is a well-documented internet virus. These are commonly called social engineering viruses because they are spread not by security problems with email applications, but by exploiting weaknesses in people's understanding of security. This is A) An appeal to emotion B) An idea that seems very simple. It is not, however, anything anyone could put any stock in due to being riddled with logical, economic, and grammatical horrors.
Before re-forwarding emails that have been forwarded to you, check out Snopes.com. It's a clearinghouse for these kinds of urban myths and social engineering email viruses. Here's the link for a more thorough dissection of the "No Gas" virus that has been spreading.
For you are my rock and my fortress;therefore,for your name's sake. Lead me and guide me. Ps.31:3
::What does this passage have to do with oil? I mean, come on! It's not even remotely related. A quick note: If someone invokes the bible to make their point, it's probably an appeal to emotion, not reason.
Warning!
(This guy kept forwarding these emails. Look what happened to him.)
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Mac Reflections #4: Boot Camp Pt. 1
Mac Reflections #3: Boot Camp Works!
A warning to readers: In terms of a past posts, this one is long, highly geeky, and more technical than usual. Swim at your own risk.
A couple weekends ago I was able to get Windows XP to run on the new Mac Pro. I used the beta of Boot Camp with virtually no problems. First, I had to slipstream Service Pack 2 into Windows XP to get it to install and went through the setup process. I also ran some benchmarks to test the performance and stability under stress. These updates will come in a later post.
A quick note before considering trying any of this: You have to be running the latest version of OS X and you must run the latest firmware updates. Check the official Boot Camp page to make sure you're running the right firmware and OS X updates for the version of Boot Camp you're about to install. I've read absolute horror stories of people killing their hard drives and ruining the BIOS on their Macs by not having done this. If the term "Flashing the BIOS" is unknown to you, don't try this at home.
Step 1) Get your legally purchased and fully authentic copy of Windows XP (Service Pack 2) out of the vault.
This was the first hurdle. My copy of Windows XP Pro is old. To run at all, Boot Camp requires the copy of Windows XP being used to be at least to the Service Pack 2 level. This is tricky since the way it usually goes is A) Install Windows B) Run the Service Pack 2 update. I needed to update the Windows files to Service Pack 2 before I even installed it.
To get my old version of Windows up to the Service Pack 2 level, I had to slipstream the update into the installation disk. I followed this guy's tutorial, and it worked like a snap. It took a couple hours of downloading, running, and burning but it worked like a charm.
Step 2) Install a new hard drive.
While this isn't technically necessary, it is really helpful. I try to keep like-purposed files on different physical drives when I am able. It's an old habit hearkening back to the days when the operating system had so much processing overhead, that it was smart to keep the media files on a separate drive to speed things up and add a little insurance. Wait a minute! Have you seen the system reqs for Windows Vista? 1GB to recommended just to run the OS? What kind of madness is that?
I purchased a 320GB SATA-II (3gb/sec) hard drive for $79 through Tiger Direct. I installed it via the amazingly simple process detailed in a previous post. I formatted it to run just like any normal hard drive on the Mac. I rule.
Step 3) Download Boot Camp
Boot Camp is a basic boot loader that lets the user, on boot, choose which OS they would like to load. In addition to a raw boot loader, Boot Camp also comes with a simple installation wizard that takes the pain out of building cross-platform driver disks, partitioning / formatting drives, and what to do once you begin the installation process. While I found it to be incredibly stable, Boot Camp is still in beta, so be warned. Beta just means that it's not officially released yet: If you have any problems with it, Apple will not provide support. A quote from the Boot Camp webpage summarizes it as, "We do not sell or support Windows. Duh." As an aside, the new version of OS X, Leopard, will come with the full, gold version of Boot Camp already installed and, by default, supported by Apple. By October (when Leopard is not reported to be released) they'll have worked out most of the bugs. So, if you're the paranoid type, wait until then.
Boot Camp can be downloaded right here.
Step 4) Install and run Boot Camp
The installation process is the same as any other Mac app. Unpack the .dmg file, browse to the mounted virtual drive and copy the .app file to the application directory. Run the app. Bonus!
Boot Camp will prompt you to do two things before you can install Windows. It will make you print a copy of the instructions and burn a disk of Windows drivers. I got around wasting the paper and ink by copying the instructions to our laptop via a handy 2GB thumb drive Mandy's parents gave me for my birthday (thanks!). Either way, you need to have access to the directions some other way than through the Mac box. You do have to burn the driver disk, however. The driver disk becomes vital in step 6.
The last thing it will do is prompt the you to choose the drive and partition size you where you want to install Windows. I chose the new hard drive I had installed and told it to split the drive in half, allowing 150GB of space to install Windows and 150GB for use as either storage in OS X or a Linux installation some point down the road. After the drive had been partitioned and formatted, it prompted me to put the Windows XP disk in the drive, reboot the computer and pray.
Step 5) Install Windows
Windows installs just like always. The terminal-looking blue screen, complete with the bad Courier font has the warm, nurturing feel of an iron pipe to the face. I followed the Windows on-screen instructions and the Boot Camp provided .pdf on the laptop until Windows was fully installed.
During this phase, Mandy read film trivia questions out of a book I received from my sister-in-law. I got every one of them wrong. Good thing I spent all those thousands of dollars on a film criticism degree.
Step 6) Configure Windows to recognize Mac peripherals
After several reboots and an hour of running the Windows installer, I was presented with the XP Desktop. The first thing you'll notice is the resolution is horrible, there is no audio, and the eject button doesn't work. This is because Windows doesn't come with the drivers necessary to run the hardware peripherals built into the Mac Pro box natively. This is where the driver disk Boot Camp forced you to burn in Step 4 comes in handy.
Simply pop open the disk drive and run the disk. Of course, the eject button on the upper-left corner of the Mac keyboard won't work. Windows doesn't recognize the keyboard layout, remember? To open the disk drive you have double click on My Computer > Right-Click on the DVD drive > Select Eject. Once the driver disk is inserted and the drive closed, Windows will run the driver package on the disk and force the system to reboot. Again.
If all goes well with the driver installation, the next thing you'll hear is the creepiest sound ever to come out of a Mac: The Windows Startup Fanfare. I literally felt a shiver run down my spine when I heard it played through the internal speaker.
And there it is: A Mac booting to, not emulating, Windows XP. To choose the operating system I want to boot to, I just hold down the Option key when the computer is starting up, and it will ask me to pick.
I will post some final thoughts and benchmarking figures in a couple days.
A warning to readers: In terms of a past posts, this one is long, highly geeky, and more technical than usual. Swim at your own risk.
A couple weekends ago I was able to get Windows XP to run on the new Mac Pro. I used the beta of Boot Camp with virtually no problems. First, I had to slipstream Service Pack 2 into Windows XP to get it to install and went through the setup process. I also ran some benchmarks to test the performance and stability under stress. These updates will come in a later post.
A quick note before considering trying any of this: You have to be running the latest version of OS X and you must run the latest firmware updates. Check the official Boot Camp page to make sure you're running the right firmware and OS X updates for the version of Boot Camp you're about to install. I've read absolute horror stories of people killing their hard drives and ruining the BIOS on their Macs by not having done this. If the term "Flashing the BIOS" is unknown to you, don't try this at home.
Step 1) Get your legally purchased and fully authentic copy of Windows XP (Service Pack 2) out of the vault.
This was the first hurdle. My copy of Windows XP Pro is old. To run at all, Boot Camp requires the copy of Windows XP being used to be at least to the Service Pack 2 level. This is tricky since the way it usually goes is A) Install Windows B) Run the Service Pack 2 update. I needed to update the Windows files to Service Pack 2 before I even installed it.
To get my old version of Windows up to the Service Pack 2 level, I had to slipstream the update into the installation disk. I followed this guy's tutorial, and it worked like a snap. It took a couple hours of downloading, running, and burning but it worked like a charm.
Step 2) Install a new hard drive.
While this isn't technically necessary, it is really helpful. I try to keep like-purposed files on different physical drives when I am able. It's an old habit hearkening back to the days when the operating system had so much processing overhead, that it was smart to keep the media files on a separate drive to speed things up and add a little insurance. Wait a minute! Have you seen the system reqs for Windows Vista? 1GB to recommended just to run the OS? What kind of madness is that?
I purchased a 320GB SATA-II (3gb/sec) hard drive for $79 through Tiger Direct. I installed it via the amazingly simple process detailed in a previous post. I formatted it to run just like any normal hard drive on the Mac. I rule.
Step 3) Download Boot Camp
Boot Camp is a basic boot loader that lets the user, on boot, choose which OS they would like to load. In addition to a raw boot loader, Boot Camp also comes with a simple installation wizard that takes the pain out of building cross-platform driver disks, partitioning / formatting drives, and what to do once you begin the installation process. While I found it to be incredibly stable, Boot Camp is still in beta, so be warned. Beta just means that it's not officially released yet: If you have any problems with it, Apple will not provide support. A quote from the Boot Camp webpage summarizes it as, "We do not sell or support Windows. Duh." As an aside, the new version of OS X, Leopard, will come with the full, gold version of Boot Camp already installed and, by default, supported by Apple. By October (when Leopard is not reported to be released) they'll have worked out most of the bugs. So, if you're the paranoid type, wait until then.
Boot Camp can be downloaded right here.
Step 4) Install and run Boot Camp
The installation process is the same as any other Mac app. Unpack the .dmg file, browse to the mounted virtual drive and copy the .app file to the application directory. Run the app. Bonus!
Boot Camp will prompt you to do two things before you can install Windows. It will make you print a copy of the instructions and burn a disk of Windows drivers. I got around wasting the paper and ink by copying the instructions to our laptop via a handy 2GB thumb drive Mandy's parents gave me for my birthday (thanks!). Either way, you need to have access to the directions some other way than through the Mac box. You do have to burn the driver disk, however. The driver disk becomes vital in step 6.
The last thing it will do is prompt the you to choose the drive and partition size you where you want to install Windows. I chose the new hard drive I had installed and told it to split the drive in half, allowing 150GB of space to install Windows and 150GB for use as either storage in OS X or a Linux installation some point down the road. After the drive had been partitioned and formatted, it prompted me to put the Windows XP disk in the drive, reboot the computer and pray.
Step 5) Install Windows
Windows installs just like always. The terminal-looking blue screen, complete with the bad Courier font has the warm, nurturing feel of an iron pipe to the face. I followed the Windows on-screen instructions and the Boot Camp provided .pdf on the laptop until Windows was fully installed.
During this phase, Mandy read film trivia questions out of a book I received from my sister-in-law. I got every one of them wrong. Good thing I spent all those thousands of dollars on a film criticism degree.
Step 6) Configure Windows to recognize Mac peripherals
After several reboots and an hour of running the Windows installer, I was presented with the XP Desktop. The first thing you'll notice is the resolution is horrible, there is no audio, and the eject button doesn't work. This is because Windows doesn't come with the drivers necessary to run the hardware peripherals built into the Mac Pro box natively. This is where the driver disk Boot Camp forced you to burn in Step 4 comes in handy.
Simply pop open the disk drive and run the disk. Of course, the eject button on the upper-left corner of the Mac keyboard won't work. Windows doesn't recognize the keyboard layout, remember? To open the disk drive you have double click on My Computer > Right-Click on the DVD drive > Select Eject. Once the driver disk is inserted and the drive closed, Windows will run the driver package on the disk and force the system to reboot. Again.
If all goes well with the driver installation, the next thing you'll hear is the creepiest sound ever to come out of a Mac: The Windows Startup Fanfare. I literally felt a shiver run down my spine when I heard it played through the internal speaker.
And there it is: A Mac booting to, not emulating, Windows XP. To choose the operating system I want to boot to, I just hold down the Option key when the computer is starting up, and it will ask me to pick.
I will post some final thoughts and benchmarking figures in a couple days.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Hawking Floats and Beams
This is a great picture of Steven Hawking floating around in "Vomit Commit" airplane that simulates microgravity by flying through a series of parabolic diving maneuvers. Here's a quick video on how the a aircraft of this kind works:
And here is the man who held the same seat in mathematics as Einstein and Newton:
(I grin, therefore I am.)
And here is the man who held the same seat in mathematics as Einstein and Newton:
(I grin, therefore I am.)
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Watch what you say….
Last week I was driving into work when I caught the end of a story that has since made it big – Alec Baldwin had a personal phone call to his daughter blasted over air waves all over the world. Yes, he was angry and called her names, but I think the scary point of this whole media story has been missed. He made a PERSONAL phone call and left a PERSONAL message, which someone in turn used to discredit him.
I don’t know how many websites that I have been to in the past few days where they were berating him and his abusive language to his child. Yeah, I don’t agree that a kid should be talked to like that but c’mon!! Do we not care about our personal rights at all? I don't know about you, but I like to have the "luxury" of my private calls being private.
Are we so content to live a life of cattle where anyone at anytime can take our PERSONAL calls and use it against us. We are giving the US government an extra hand for tapping our phone lines…they don’t have to do it anymore our neighbors will.
I don’t know how many websites that I have been to in the past few days where they were berating him and his abusive language to his child. Yeah, I don’t agree that a kid should be talked to like that but c’mon!! Do we not care about our personal rights at all? I don't know about you, but I like to have the "luxury" of my private calls being private.
Are we so content to live a life of cattle where anyone at anytime can take our PERSONAL calls and use it against us. We are giving the US government an extra hand for tapping our phone lines…they don’t have to do it anymore our neighbors will.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Deeplightmedia.com Online!
After many delays and much cursing, my demo reel / portfolio site is chugging away in the cyber-ether.
Here’s a quick summary for anyone interested: A demo reel acts as a video resume for film/video peeps. Or, as it is in my case, film/video wannabes. Very often, when applying for video work, I have to submit a resume and a reel. The resume is the same as any regular resume. It details my work history, education, and skill set. However, unlike the resume, the reel is what has the power to actually get me the job. It has to be short, fast-paced, and catchy. The goal of a good reel is convince the person watching that A) I have talent and B) They have a strong desire to call me in for an interview.
In its present state, the reel is admittedly rough around the edges. It has flow problems, some of the clips can be improved or dropped altogether, and a few of the animations need to be reworked. I opted to put up an imperfect reel in lieu of spending the time retooling it to perfection. Reels are always a work-in-progress if the video person is working on new projects (I am). To me, an incomplete reel does more good than no reel at all.
In the not-too-distant future, I will have the full flash version of the site running. Non-flash adopters, and there are many and for good reason, will be directed to static HTML page. Those of the more artistic, flamboyant, and non-web standards compliant persuasion who have opted to install flash, will be directed to the flashy, noisy page. I want to make the content as accessible as possible, and I think the simplistic layout of the static page does the job nicely for the time being, but I am trying to persuade artsy people to hire me. I think the flash adds a nice flare to the content.
Special thanks on the static site goes to comrades Mark and Mandy for their help. Mark designed the sweet, swirling graphics that can found throughout the site. It’s funny, actually, I think this is first time he and I have tried to collaborate on a project that has been 100% successful. In the past, we’ve always had large bureaucracies (i.e. Mark threatening to sue to Public Museum for lack of payment) get in the way. This creative process has been a further testament to how liberating it is to the have tools of production in the hands of the proletariat. As Marx wrote, “The workers control the means of video production!”
Mandy spent a good chunk of her Saturday reworking the code to get the video embedded and the image maps to correctly align. She also helped with the formatting and aligning of the fields on the Contact form, as well as numerous code tweaks. This insane attention to detail is something I have never quite mastered, and I’m endlessly grateful that she has helped out. Thanks again!
As previously written, reels are works in progress. As I take on and complete future projects, I will be dropping out weaker segments of the reel and replacing them with newer, better content. I will also develop different reels that appeal to specific clients and audiences. For instance, I may have a reel that just highlights commercial content, while another focuses more directly on cinematography or motion animation.
To help with the evolution of this reel, I’m asking everyone to take a look at it and email me their comments and critiques. When critiquing, try to act the part of someone determining whether to interview me based on the strength of the reel. In other words, be as (constructively) critical as possible. I really need to know where the weak parts are so I can know what to modify and what to drop. Thanks!
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