• The internets will never cease to amaze me

    A few cool links today. First off, check your stomach at the door. This one did a number on my appetite. This might be why you are fat. Some of the foods posted there are just flat out ridiculous, even for my stomach of pure fast food torture.

     
    Awesome stop motion video by Rex the Dog.

    Adam Savage, of certain Mythbusters fame, shares his passion for prop making and tells the story of his Doo-Doo bird skeleton and the Maltese Falcon. I post this merely because I love how passionate he is about everything he does. I wish I was that passionate.

    I’ve been getting annoyed with Pandora. I like the Weakerthans, and have a station for them, but over half the songs are Postal Service and Death cab for Cutie, which might as well be the same freaking band, and I am not a fan of either. There has got to be more bands that something in common with the Weakerthans. Ah well, it’s a free service, what are you gonna do?

    My sister managed to break the laptop I gave her, so I am going to have to rebuild that this weekend. Joy. At least I won’t feel guilty about putting XP on it this time. Or maybe i should throw in some Linux. I do believe I still have someone’s install/instructions for a custom linux build. She might only be a little mad, I’m sure. I think it would do her some good getting to know some CL.

    I’ve been hanging with Dana and her crew a bit lately. Anna Breedlove, whom I love and enjoy her company thoroughly, and I have finally been getting back to being friends after two years of awkward tension, due to both of us being entirely too awkward for any such situations to ever resolve themselves in the sense of normalcy. Then there is my sister dear, who can not seem to avoid trouble, especially with the black and blue. We get along quite well now. Greg lives with them still, and Greg and I are getting past most of our (read: MY) awkward tension from living together. I think he hated me, but then again I thought everyone at 1818 hated me for the longest time, and it’s not like I was wrong, but I am extremely paranoid so the point might be null. And then comes SusieQ. SusieQ fascinates me. Not quite in an attracted sense. I’m not looking for any relationships really. But she still amazes me. We have many similar qualities, yet some very differing views on the world and how we go about interactions. I got to hear her sing last night in public and it reminded very much of my friend Heather, whom I suspect hates me now, and I believe this one is more than paranoia. I don’t know if I like that Susie reminds me of her. I don’t think I do. Bad memories.

    All my recent shopping items have made it into my possession. I’ve already watched the Fisher King, and will again this weekend. I haven’t been getting nearly enough sleep lately. I’ve watched 15 movies in the past two weeks. I should probably give it a rest at some point. Maybe one day. My buddy Dave came up last week. We gamed. I felt guilty for how uneventful I was that day, but I think we had some fun. I’ve been a little crazy lately. I suppose that’s OK. To some degree. You know, it’s been two months, and I still haven’t really talked about how I feel about what happened between Kelli and I. I hope to one day be able to put it into writing. Beyond single sentence bull.

    Lastly, some new music. Pedro the Lion, Band of Horses, Maximo Park, Model K, Leroy Bell, Mute Math, and two classics, Decemberists and Tapes ‘n’ Tapes.

  • So I guess I can come back to life

    And with life, a few new things.

    I found a neat website that I think is a very cool social experiment called We Feel Fine. It involves taking blogs from around the world, using some creative programming to pinpoint different characteristics of people, and searches for the phrase “I feel” and begins to categorize these phrases. It’s pretty awesome and something I do find myself truly intrigued by it. It’s a project that, while somewhat invading, is also pretty genuine and honest. The man behind this, Jonathan Harris, has also started another project, a little less intriguing to me as it’s mostly news-based, called Universe.

    Also, I’ve been getting into some new music. The Prids, Myriad, Ratatat, Ghostland Observatory, Cool Hand Luke, MGMT, El Ten Eleven, and Longwave just to name a few. I’ve always been an avid fan of Pandora, but I’ve just now started using it as a musical discovery device.

    I’ve been impulse shopping lately. Lovecraft, A shack of shrubbery, Human Document, the King of Fishers, a country in South America, best romance in a while, and a few apparel related items.

    I’ve determined I’m going to pick up a new hobby as well. I am currently saving up money to buy myself a drum set. I have my dirty jew of a friend Justin helping me pick a set out and at the same time giving me some lessons. Yay for new hobbies.

    I suppose there isn’t much else. I’ve tried to be more social as of late. Brit, sir, I am sorry for my lack of calling/hanging out. I promise you are still on the list of people I hang out with. I’ve just got to get off my bum. I suppose that’s all. For too long I have been self-concious of what I write on this site. I wanted this site to have more of a public appeal to it. However, I have to accept I don’t have anything the general populus wants, so I am going to turn this into my own personal diary, as I have been yearning for a place to vent lately. So expect random tangents and retarded junk abound good people.

  • How many 5 year olds can you take?

    I might have a real post later, but until then.

    29

  • Meh.

    I don’t know if I am going to post much after all. I’ve just been down a lot lately. I suppose this is normal. I’m exhausted with everything and apathy has started to set in. It’s been a couple years since I’ve been truly not happy, but I suppose it has to happen at some point. I hope to pick this up again soon, but I don’t know. I do know I am very seriously considering taking a week off work and just driving. I don’t know where. Somewhere. I know I need it. I will soon though. Soon.

  • Tech Jargon – Ghost distaste

    So we happen to have a ghost server in our office, ver. 7.5 to be exact. Now this was the old version I used back when I worked at DTC, but back then the system didn’t have any issues for us. There was one guy who would make all of the boot discs and CDs for us, so we never really had any issues. Well no one here is actually familiar with Ghost. In fact, I know more than most the people here. So I’ve been doing what I can with what little Ghost knowledge I actually have to get it to work.

    For those of you who don’t know what Ghost is, it’s basically a full size, byte-for-byte backup of your harddrive. This software is primarly used for backups and mass installation of PCs. You can build a machine for a certain model, say the latest Dell laptop, and if you have 10 people who just got this same model in the company, you only have to build one of them, use Ghost to make a copy, and then put that image on the other machines. They suddenly have everything you want installed in about 30 minutes what would normally take 2-3 hours per machine. This can be done via drive-to-drive, which means having two hard drives in a machine and then copying from one to the other, or using what’s called a ghost server. A ghost server is more popular for the mass installation, as you can use it over a network and by merely putting in a session number, can shoot down the image to many PCs at one time, or you can upload the image onto the server from your PC, thus backing it up for later.

    Well this is all fine and dandy, except two model desktops we have here at our office do not get along with Ghost at all. The Gateway 4300 and Gateway 4100 do not like Ghost and will not even load the GUI, even when I try to do a drive-to-drive. Now I’ve tinkered more with the 4300 than the other, but after 3 hours of playing I couldn’t get it to load up the ghost GUI at any point. Not even Google could help a brother out. It was an extremely frustrating situation.

    I say to hell with Ghost. Their support isn’t all that spectacular on issues like this either. Use something more like Bart PE with DriveImage XML. This is a nice free-ware alternative to Ghost. If anyone has any suggestions to getting these model Gateways working I would appreciate it.

  • Back from hiatus!

    Hello fellow people who probably don’t read this anymore. I am going to have to start spamming this out to people again. Anyways, I am finally back to update after a 3 month hiatus. Life was all sorts of crazy in the past months. I’ll try to go over as much as I can before I forget it all.

    First, the big news. I am dis-engaged. Kelli and I decided that there might be more in life for us each other. It was a mutual thing and we are staying friends and talking, but not getting back together any time soon. This happened about 3 weeks ago, so I’m doing allright now. Let’s just say I bought lots of video games and I have already plowed through half of them. Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, yeah life goes on.

    I did get some new electronics as well. I got myself a new 42″ HDTV that supposedly supports 1080p. A new Acer Desktop. Quad Core Processor at 2.5, 8 gigs of RAM, 1280 gigs of HDD, an nVidia 9800GT card that supports DX10. Mmmm. And all that for $1500. And the cream of the crop was Kelli ended getting me a Christmas present too. A PS3! My electronic paradise is at fruition. I already went out and bought some new games too.
    Games:
    Prince of Persia (Xbox)
    Gears of War 2 (Xbox)
    Fable 2 (Xbox)
    Last Remnant (Xbox)
    Infinite Undiscovery (Xbox)
    Little Big Planet (PS3)
    Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (PS3)
    Rachet and Clank: Up your arsenal (PS3)
    Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)
    And not a single Wii game!

    I’ve already beaten: Uncharted, Rachet and Clank, Prince of Persia, Gears 2, and Fable 2. Mmm. Happy. I actually beat most of those over the past 4 days. Lots of fun, lots of good stories. All in all very enjoyable week considering recent events. The TV looks great with all the equipment too. My room has changed quite a bit. I will get pictures up soon I hope.

    I’ve not been getting anywhere with my modeling. I did go out and buy a book on 3DS and it goes over the basics of character animation. So I’m trying to get through this right now. (I haven’t even made it past the modeling section. I still need to do the rigging and skinning before I get to the animating.) I came to a realization while doing this book though. I can’t do the modeling aspect of this. All my models will be cartoony and dispoportioned because I don’t have that eye for detail to make them look realistic enough. So I’m hoping I get to do the animation parts then.

    I got to see Alexa last night. That was good. Although she put video games in front of me and I became mildly distracted. She is definitely one of the most fascinating people I’ve ever met. I always find myself intrigued by everything she says. Is that weird? Maybe. But I’m strangely comfortable with that.

    I haven’t seen too many friends lately, and it’s been terribly hard to adjust to not being able to call someone 24/7 with the reassurance of that person always answering and not avoiding my calls. Meh. I’m needy. Which is why I am probably back on the internets now. Seriously, if anyone wants to game at all, hit me up for it.
    Xbox account: Chaotic Buthead
    PS3: chaoticbutthead
    Steam: sljesa@hotmail.com
    I also have Brawl codes if someone wants to share. I like playing with people so join me! That sounds gross. Anywho. That’s all I’ve got. I’ll try to get more stuff up one day.

  • Why do I believe in total genocide?

    Because of things like this. My prayers go out to those families. This ruined my day.

  • Total Productivity for Weekend: -10%

    Well, I managed to get nothing worth while done, other than going up and checking out where my wedding is going to be. Heh. I still find myself a little taken aback by it all. It’s all good though. I have a few reviews to post still. Movies: Traitor and Lakeview Terrace. Games: Too Human and Metal Gear Solid (THE FIRST).

    The reason I’m doing such an old review is because I played it last night… and beat it again last night. In tribute to my love of all things Hideo Kojima, I am going to play through all the MGS. I debated whether to do it in game order, or chronological order. I ended up going in game order, and managed to knock the first one out in one sitting. Strangely enough, the game still held a high rank to me, despite being a PS1. I find it strange. Other than graphics and missing a few gameplay features, it holds up to par with today’s games. Bah, I will review it properly later.

    Also, I was very sad to have missed SUPER ART FIGHT: ROUND 1 this past weekend. I hope to attend the next one. And maybe some linux nerd I happen to know won’t be all “d00d, l1n|_|x 1$ t3|-| $|-|!t” and come be a different kind of nerd for once. Heh. Hugs and kisses. 🙂

  • Going on vacation…

    So I’ve been trying to go on vacation all weekend, but to my dismay I haven’t been able to get out of my bloody apartment. First I wanted to attend the almighty SUPER ART FIGHT in Baltimore. But none of my friends could/wanted to come. Then, we tried to go to Kelli’s grandad’s golf resort place, but it’s all booked up this weekend. So any ideas as to how I can get out of Atlanta are much appreciated.

    So I realize I didn’t even go a day with my new “schedule”. Ha. Well, life has been pretty chaotic, I must say. But I need to stay motivated. I plan on sticking to creating prop related things in 3DS to keep my skills on par. I’ve already learned a few things I didn’t know last time. So hopefully I can still fulfill that. I’m trying to come up with something original for my website. I think I need to just stick to the concept, Trashed Ideas, which I know I have a few things for already. I need to start writing them down. I just need to figure out how to implement them, since I can’t really draw, and I am not good enough with 3DS to make it there either. I will figure something out. Expect a video cast sometime soon. I’m going to go over a popular topic for me.

    Why Mac isn’t greater than a PC. IT’S TRUE.

  • Not the big post, but a post nonetheless…

    Just saw the trailer for the new Max Payne movie. I really dug into the games, moreso the first than the second. It was the feel I expected to get out of Hitman that I never could quite achieve. I like the art style they seem to be taking with it, and I am even more excited that his demons seem to play such a large role in the film. That’s where the real story lies. I can say this is the first time I am genuinely excited over a gaming film (excluding FF7:AC because I am such a fanboy).

    More news later.

  • Well…

    Already falling behind as opposed to what I originally planned, but this weekend was a bit crazy so that is to be expected. I do however have something to post.

    prop time
    prop time

    Just a few props I have been working on. Nothing too spectacular, but I’m getting back to being more comfortable with modeling again. That’s always nice. The hardest one to do was actually the book. Heh. I suck with Turbosmooth. Heh.

    The next big news I will post at a later time when I have more pictures. But it is pretty big and pretty life changing. So yeah. Be ready.

  • Few mentionables today

    Firstly, I am drawing nearer to Sept 20 which is when I plan on taking my giant trip all the way up to Maryland for the best Super Art Fight to exist ever! Which should be loads of fun. I am looking for any other bums who want to share a ride. My car could easily fit 5 people comfortably, and so far I only have one other person coming. So three more stooges? If you love me you would come. I have some relatives in MD that would let me stay at their place while I’m there, so only gas and food moneys would be required. I am just looking to be crazy at least once more in my life. That’s the plan anyways. It will be loads of fun though. Want to learn more about What Super Art Fight is? Check it! Let’s represent the south! Wait, let me try that again. Lez reprezent da SOUF! … Yeah.

    Secondly.

    Huh. So uh, you come here often?
    Huh. So uh, you come here often?

    Thanks to Blast-O-Rama for my favorite Lucas picture. EVER.

    Lastly, I plan on posting some 3D stuff this weekend. I am just doing basic modeling to get back into the groove of things. I may do some animation stuff down the road, but for now just except screen grabs of everything.

  • So to keep things rolling…

    I’ve decided that I will begin a project. One 3D post a week of my own creations. I’ve been doing research to see if going back to college for a Bachelors in 3D design would be worth it, and given my location, time and financial constriants, it doesn’t appear that this is a viable solution.

    SO! I am going to once again try the self motivated route. I will only be working in 3DS as that is the program I am most familiar with. I have a hard time keeping myself motivated because I think of so many fun things I could work on and I get overwhelmed with the possibilities as well as the amount of work it would take to fulfill these projects. I now look back at MODAT as some sort of miracle that I managed to get it finished.

    This doesn’t mean what I will be posting will be fanciful movies. Mostly screen grabs of what I managed to accomplish that day. I will start off with easy cartoony things that are easy to rig and animate, slowly experimenting my way through this project. My goal is to have at least one project, hopefully a follow up to MODAT, done by within 4 months, so hopefully near the end of the year. So yay to that.

    Secondly, I plan on posting at least every other day from now on. I have been extremely lazy lately and I need something to occupy this space. Some if it will be neat, some of it will be old, but I want to start getting on a schedule. I need structure… Wow, the corporate life is killing me. That’s all for my posts as of late. I will see you again in a couple of days.

  • Still fixing things, but in the meantime…

    MACHINE GIRL and TROPIC THUNDER!


    So I managed to sit down and watch this today. It was pretty outrageous and over the top, much to my liking. I think I had an overload of ridiculousness this weekend.

    First, Machine Girl was a japanese gore festering action flick in the same tone of Evil Dead. A grade A B-movie. It was a very low budget movie, lower than I expected, but I still found the things they tried in the movie to be entertaining, if only for thinking of such a premise for a death scene. It has entirely too much gore, not that that’s a bad thing mind you, and at some points tries to give more plot than necessary. If you have a group of friends, huddle round and bring out the tempura and wait until about 30 minutes into the movie. The movie is over 100 minutes long, but I believe it was worth it.

    Then there was Tropic Thunder! See, this movie was a little special to me before going in, on account of two things. First, I love Jack Black. Anything that man touches I love. I’ve been a big Tenacious D fan for many years and would gladly pay whatever is necessary to see his next film. I even managed to find a pilot for a show he almost did with Owen Wilson called Heat Vision & Jack. That’s dedication. Secondly, the name, which has a story. I am not a big fan of sports games. The only kind I like are the over the top NFL Blitz and NBA Jam kind of sports games. So when NBA Street came out, I gave it a shot. I managed to find a favorite character, a real life BBall player from decades ago, whose nickname was Chocolate Thunder. Anytime I would play this character, I would reign down the shots while screaming at the top of my lungs, “CHOCOLATE! THUNDA!” So when I heard the name of this movie, I was instantly brought back to screaming, “TROPIC! THUNDA!” There. My story is over.
    No but seriously, the movie is all sorts of ridiculous. I found myself taking breaks during the musical interludes to laugh and contemplate on the ludicrousness of the film. I was impressed by the depth of each character’s role and that all were given a fair amount of screen time. There were lots of names in this movie, one of which was Tom Cruise who managed to blow away myself and my friends with his performance. It definitely caught me off guard. And each role fit the actor so well. It wasn’t until they first step down into the jungle for real that the real comedy of the movie started to shine through. Definitely worth checking out, albeit a might bit offensive. OK, a lot of bit offensive. Not for the thin-skinned.

    Anywho, working on getting the site back to 100%. Might take some time. Later.

  • HATE TO ALL SQUATTERS!

    WELL! I finally got the site back up after a week of hiatus. Rather than shelling out the extra $100 someodd dollars it would have been to get my site back from those filthy jerks at ENOM.COM, who are a domain hosting site themselves. SO A BIG F-U TO THOSE BASTARDS AT ENOM.COM. TO HELL WITH ALL WEB SQUATTERS. TO HELL TO EVERYTHING I WASTED ON THE FIRST SITE.

    The reason it was so abrupt was because our website was purchased for 3 years. So I had no idea when the 3 years were going to dry up and the email warnings were going to an email address I don’t use anymore. SO, it wasn’t on the market for even a few hours before ENOM stole it. I hate squatters. I wish the worst of business luck to Enom. Jerks. I will take my .net and never ever ever let anyone I know use enom. Go away squatters.

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