Thursday, October 29, 2009
Step towards Web Presence
Version 0.000001 of the website is online. Check it out at here Ted Puffer. Oh, you know how people will say things like "let me know what you think!" or "any feedback is appreciated!" Those gentle and humbly noble sentiments are not appropriate here. I'm not open for feedback on it just yet. Yeah, it's rough and half the links are broken. But somethings up and posted so that's enough for today.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Under the Sun
Everything online is templates. It's eye-opening.
I remember when I was taking a communications class in college I had a professor who owned a radio station. He wanted to check out another station to buy but had reservations about the format because he wanted something geared to the local market. He was looking around, but the station manager told him that NO radio stations were local. All of them were produced in large cities and then sent out to small stations. The production was deliberately presented in such a way that anyone listening to the radio might think that the broadcaster was just down the road, when in fact they could be a few states away.
Once he was told this, he started analyzing what he was listening to and found out how true it was. Every station he'd imagined to be local was produced to seem local. He took it hard. This was in Arizona, so the station he wanted to buy would ideally be a clod-stomping hick station with newscasts about chafing futures and dung prices. You know. Cowboy stuff.
Knowing that his beloved country stations were made in California was an insult to him. Ironic.
Anyway.
I've been putting together a website and come to the sad realization that the majority of websites are from pre-existing templates. Not what I'd imagined at all.
A website is a neat little personal thing that someone can do I'd imagined that there would be great diversity of websites just as there are a diversity of web-surfer. Not the case. Websites can be lumped into some basic categories with 'content' dumped in afterward. Impressively, you don't realize at first how similar template sites are. At the same time, realize that no matter what site you go to, you seem to instinctively know how to navigate around. This isn't a coincidence. It's because the Internet has been around long enough for people to know what 'works' for ease of access and then create websites accordingly. In a way, it's become a science.
A few years ago, that wasn't the case. When you visited a new site, you'd have to take a few seconds to find all the navigation buttons, and realize where the sites core information was. It wasn't a case of simply glancing at the general layout and knowing where to go.
My site will be a bit more old-school. I want it to look different.
I remember when I was taking a communications class in college I had a professor who owned a radio station. He wanted to check out another station to buy but had reservations about the format because he wanted something geared to the local market. He was looking around, but the station manager told him that NO radio stations were local. All of them were produced in large cities and then sent out to small stations. The production was deliberately presented in such a way that anyone listening to the radio might think that the broadcaster was just down the road, when in fact they could be a few states away.
Once he was told this, he started analyzing what he was listening to and found out how true it was. Every station he'd imagined to be local was produced to seem local. He took it hard. This was in Arizona, so the station he wanted to buy would ideally be a clod-stomping hick station with newscasts about chafing futures and dung prices. You know. Cowboy stuff.
Knowing that his beloved country stations were made in California was an insult to him. Ironic.
Anyway.
I've been putting together a website and come to the sad realization that the majority of websites are from pre-existing templates. Not what I'd imagined at all.
A website is a neat little personal thing that someone can do I'd imagined that there would be great diversity of websites just as there are a diversity of web-surfer. Not the case. Websites can be lumped into some basic categories with 'content' dumped in afterward. Impressively, you don't realize at first how similar template sites are. At the same time, realize that no matter what site you go to, you seem to instinctively know how to navigate around. This isn't a coincidence. It's because the Internet has been around long enough for people to know what 'works' for ease of access and then create websites accordingly. In a way, it's become a science.
A few years ago, that wasn't the case. When you visited a new site, you'd have to take a few seconds to find all the navigation buttons, and realize where the sites core information was. It wasn't a case of simply glancing at the general layout and knowing where to go.
My site will be a bit more old-school. I want it to look different.
New Website Update
Programming continues on the new website. I've decided to go with Flash. If I'm having to learn some new programming techniques to put together a site, I'm going to learn something that gives the best results. "Best Results" here means "Sexy".
Mensa
I've just dropped my first years dues to Mensa in the mail, and it's with lots of mixed feelings. Let's face it, being in Mensa isn't cool. It's not.
But I did get in this week, and I'm willing to give it a shot. I took the application test a few weeks ago and got word that I was eligible for membership. Actually, I figured it was a sure thing. I'm pretty practical when it comes to organizations and thought the chances that I wouldn't get in would be very low. Think about it for a second.
Organizations love to grow. It's what they do. So any organization which has a larger chances of turning away new members as opposed to getting new members is going to fail and fail quickly. There was an announcement by the Catholic Church the other day trumpeting their decision to make the entrance requirements for Anglicans who wish to rejoin the Church easier. That may not make much sense from a religious point of view, but should be obvious from an organizational one. The Catholic Church isn't hurting for money necessarily, but they're going through a rough patch. Encouraging folks to fill pews is a no-brainer.
Mensa should operate the same way. On the surface it's a group of 'high IQ" people who join together for social aspects and intellectual stimulation. But I'm sure it's much less than that. If you started an organization targeting intellectual stimulation in America today, you're going to have some pretty lonely business meetings.
So when I took the entrance test, I really didn't think I'd fail and in fact was examining the test to see if it COULD be failed. From what I can tell, it would be possible to fail at the test, but you'd have to try pretty hard. It is easy? Yes. Are the answers obvious? I'm going to say yes. I hated a part of the test devoted to math, but that's just me. I hate math. And it didn't help that I could tell the questions were meant to be easy for the average person. Sigh.
But I did get in this week, and I'm willing to give it a shot. I took the application test a few weeks ago and got word that I was eligible for membership. Actually, I figured it was a sure thing. I'm pretty practical when it comes to organizations and thought the chances that I wouldn't get in would be very low. Think about it for a second.
Organizations love to grow. It's what they do. So any organization which has a larger chances of turning away new members as opposed to getting new members is going to fail and fail quickly. There was an announcement by the Catholic Church the other day trumpeting their decision to make the entrance requirements for Anglicans who wish to rejoin the Church easier. That may not make much sense from a religious point of view, but should be obvious from an organizational one. The Catholic Church isn't hurting for money necessarily, but they're going through a rough patch. Encouraging folks to fill pews is a no-brainer.
Mensa should operate the same way. On the surface it's a group of 'high IQ" people who join together for social aspects and intellectual stimulation. But I'm sure it's much less than that. If you started an organization targeting intellectual stimulation in America today, you're going to have some pretty lonely business meetings.
So when I took the entrance test, I really didn't think I'd fail and in fact was examining the test to see if it COULD be failed. From what I can tell, it would be possible to fail at the test, but you'd have to try pretty hard. It is easy? Yes. Are the answers obvious? I'm going to say yes. I hated a part of the test devoted to math, but that's just me. I hate math. And it didn't help that I could tell the questions were meant to be easy for the average person. Sigh.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Artwork on Display
My piece created for the Integratron is now on display as part of the HWY 62 Art Tour! I stopped by the Integratron for a quick sound bath and to see what works were on display for the event. Happily, mine was proudly hanging inside under the sound chamber.
I missed out on it this year, but the Integratron does something very interesting that I'd like to try out in the future. They have artists duel in a 2 hour paint off. If this sounds strange, picture the scene in your head to truly appreciate how weird it can be. Artists line up behind their easels and have two hours to paint as much as possible about pretty much anything under the sun. The winner (or top three-four) winners are rounded up and displayed in a special area inside the Integratron.
There's not much more to it than that. Just a general art competition combined with the subtlety of a cage match.
I'll join it the next time it comes around, but this year I had pressing engagements demanding my time. I swear.
I missed out on it this year, but the Integratron does something very interesting that I'd like to try out in the future. They have artists duel in a 2 hour paint off. If this sounds strange, picture the scene in your head to truly appreciate how weird it can be. Artists line up behind their easels and have two hours to paint as much as possible about pretty much anything under the sun. The winner (or top three-four) winners are rounded up and displayed in a special area inside the Integratron.
There's not much more to it than that. Just a general art competition combined with the subtlety of a cage match.
I'll join it the next time it comes around, but this year I had pressing engagements demanding my time. I swear.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Blood Bowl
Ted Puffer's Rating: 3 stars. Maybe a bit more. We'll see how the season progresses
Blood Bowl? Blood Bowl! This started out as a board game for people who loved the idea of Warhammer, but didn't want to drop a few hundred bucks on miniatures. The good people at Games Workshop made a side game for their Warhammer line that centers on fantasy football. I'm not talking about the lame stats game that floats around the office every year. I'm talking about football played with trolls, minotaurs, Skaven, Elves and the occasional human.
This game confirms my belief that there are other people who find football excruciatingly boring and would see the addition of medieval brutality as a vast improvement. And boy is it ever!
The game came out on a foam board representing the playing field and a handful of miniatures for the team. Rules are simple, get the ball from one side of the field to the other.
Of course, there was a catch. Rules for interceptions and running were accomplished with clear plastic rulers showing pass/fail percentages along it's length. Special stats given to a single player had to be remembered and calculated differently. It's not to much to handle, but takes a bit of getting used to.
By translating the game to the computer, the computer again fulfills is full potential and greatest purpose. Namely, assisting in fantasy games.
Blood Bowl actually came out for the PC years ago. You don't remember? Probably because not many people remember buggy games with system requirements so steep to make them virtually unplayable. I tried. Lord knows, I tried. But my system would lock up, drop out of the game unexpectedly and make the usual complaints of an overtaxed processor.
This game is much better. The graphics are good. Much better than the previous incarnation of course, but that really doesn't count for much. When you're playing a game based on miniature moving across tiles, graphics don't figure into the equation. As long as you can tell which players are yours, they are suitable.
The game is stable, or as far as I can tell. The rules straightforward enough to be grasped and the AI makes a good challenge. The only complaint that is constantly being discussed in the gaming forums is the possibility that the game cheats. I'm not inclined to believe this. For one, the game will show all the rolls it makes, and they appear to be legit. The real problem is that the game doesn't rely on lucky rolls for the players.
When playing the board game, it was easy to create a strategy that required multiple lucky rolls to pull off. When you're physically rolling the dice, you're willing them to fall your way. Having the computer take the dice from your grasping mitts negates this feeling. A roll is a roll. And players planning on three or four '6's' in a roll will be disappointed. More than that, they'll be suddenly behind in touchdowns.
The winning strategy is to play cautiously. Move your free players first. Team up on each hit and advance slowly. Pass when necessary, but only when necessary.
And start with Orcs. Orcs are the beginning players best friend, which is probably the first time that sentence has ever been uttered.
Ted Puffer's teams so far:
Sandow's Slammers - Orc (with troll, not bad)
Ted's Mayhem Mob - Chaos (hammered by humans, grrr.)
Sandow's Slayers - Orc (up a division, WHOOT!)
Blood Bowl? Blood Bowl! This started out as a board game for people who loved the idea of Warhammer, but didn't want to drop a few hundred bucks on miniatures. The good people at Games Workshop made a side game for their Warhammer line that centers on fantasy football. I'm not talking about the lame stats game that floats around the office every year. I'm talking about football played with trolls, minotaurs, Skaven, Elves and the occasional human.
This game confirms my belief that there are other people who find football excruciatingly boring and would see the addition of medieval brutality as a vast improvement. And boy is it ever!
The game came out on a foam board representing the playing field and a handful of miniatures for the team. Rules are simple, get the ball from one side of the field to the other.
Of course, there was a catch. Rules for interceptions and running were accomplished with clear plastic rulers showing pass/fail percentages along it's length. Special stats given to a single player had to be remembered and calculated differently. It's not to much to handle, but takes a bit of getting used to.
By translating the game to the computer, the computer again fulfills is full potential and greatest purpose. Namely, assisting in fantasy games.
Blood Bowl actually came out for the PC years ago. You don't remember? Probably because not many people remember buggy games with system requirements so steep to make them virtually unplayable. I tried. Lord knows, I tried. But my system would lock up, drop out of the game unexpectedly and make the usual complaints of an overtaxed processor.
This game is much better. The graphics are good. Much better than the previous incarnation of course, but that really doesn't count for much. When you're playing a game based on miniature moving across tiles, graphics don't figure into the equation. As long as you can tell which players are yours, they are suitable.
The game is stable, or as far as I can tell. The rules straightforward enough to be grasped and the AI makes a good challenge. The only complaint that is constantly being discussed in the gaming forums is the possibility that the game cheats. I'm not inclined to believe this. For one, the game will show all the rolls it makes, and they appear to be legit. The real problem is that the game doesn't rely on lucky rolls for the players.
When playing the board game, it was easy to create a strategy that required multiple lucky rolls to pull off. When you're physically rolling the dice, you're willing them to fall your way. Having the computer take the dice from your grasping mitts negates this feeling. A roll is a roll. And players planning on three or four '6's' in a roll will be disappointed. More than that, they'll be suddenly behind in touchdowns.
The winning strategy is to play cautiously. Move your free players first. Team up on each hit and advance slowly. Pass when necessary, but only when necessary.
And start with Orcs. Orcs are the beginning players best friend, which is probably the first time that sentence has ever been uttered.
Ted Puffer's teams so far:
Sandow's Slammers - Orc (with troll, not bad)
Ted's Mayhem Mob - Chaos (hammered by humans, grrr.)
Sandow's Slayers - Orc (up a division, WHOOT!)
Zork Update
Legends Of Zork has gone through a few update, and most of them are for the better.
They've added quests, which was a much needed feature in the game. Early on players are left to their own devices to explore the world, which is fine except that the world has a similar feel no matter where you go. Players could go to different districts which had a base to rest at and surrounding countryside to fight monsters. Fight monsters, return to base to rest. That was pretty much it.
Quests actually give you a reason to go looking around the world. When you fight monsters you get gold and drops. All the drops are sold the second you set foot back in town, so you really don't have much to show for your adventuring around. It is quite possible, and up till now logical, to keep farming the same stretch of mountains forever. With quests players are sent on a scavenger hunt of sorts around the world.
The drawback, not enough quests. At least not yet.
Also, the base screen has been modified so you get a VGA representation of your character as he or she wanders around town. This is something that I could do without. Before, when you wanted to go to a shop you clicked on the link and appeared in front of the shopkeeper. Now you see your little animated avatar walk to the shop, and then appear in front of the shopkeeper. The first time it's cute. The second time will have you tapping your toe.
Sandow and Suggoth are both leveling, but at the moment lack a clear goal. From what I can tell, the next milestone they'll reach is in about 10 levels when they'll be able to get a sidekick. To tell the truth, it seems thin reason to keep monster whomping for 10 levels.
They've added quests, which was a much needed feature in the game. Early on players are left to their own devices to explore the world, which is fine except that the world has a similar feel no matter where you go. Players could go to different districts which had a base to rest at and surrounding countryside to fight monsters. Fight monsters, return to base to rest. That was pretty much it.
Quests actually give you a reason to go looking around the world. When you fight monsters you get gold and drops. All the drops are sold the second you set foot back in town, so you really don't have much to show for your adventuring around. It is quite possible, and up till now logical, to keep farming the same stretch of mountains forever. With quests players are sent on a scavenger hunt of sorts around the world.
The drawback, not enough quests. At least not yet.
Also, the base screen has been modified so you get a VGA representation of your character as he or she wanders around town. This is something that I could do without. Before, when you wanted to go to a shop you clicked on the link and appeared in front of the shopkeeper. Now you see your little animated avatar walk to the shop, and then appear in front of the shopkeeper. The first time it's cute. The second time will have you tapping your toe.
Sandow and Suggoth are both leveling, but at the moment lack a clear goal. From what I can tell, the next milestone they'll reach is in about 10 levels when they'll be able to get a sidekick. To tell the truth, it seems thin reason to keep monster whomping for 10 levels.
Good Hair
Ted Puffer's Movie Rating = 4 Stars
The subject of this movie has got to be one of the hardest sells for a film in a long time. How do you convince someone that a movie about black hair and black hairstyles is interesting? The second they hear that the movie focuses solely on hair relaxers, straighteners, weaves and wigs they'll start running for the doors. And with good reason. The subject is boring for the most part, and a movie-length documentary about it must be excruciating and that's even before you mention who is making the movie.
Chris Rock.
Yeah, that guy. You know him. He's the one that was in a bunch of cringe-worthy 'comedies' last decade and has since been relegated to specials on the Comedy Channel. Not a funny guy, but more damning, not someone you'd care to hear an opinion from.
All of this adds up to why I'm rating this film so highly. It's a good movie. In fact, I'd say this is an excellent movie. One reviewer (I forget who) mentioned that the genius of the direction is that the film flows so well. It covers a large range of viewpoints and experiences, but seems to slide so naturally between them that Chris Rock makes it seem easy. Behind the camera, it's anything but. Mr. Rock interviews Al Sharpton, Ice T, Salt N' Peppa and dozens of unknown hair stylists and people getting their hair styled. But the comfortable delivery and pacing makes these disparate elements come together naturally to create a complete conversation.
It's truly stunning.
The real question is, "Is this a better film than Capitalism: A Love Story"? And I really don't want to answer this question because I'm not pleased with the obvious conclusion I came to. Yes it is. I love the subject of Capitalism. I'm impressed that Michael Moore tackled such a large issue and argument, and did so whole-heartedly. But at the end of the day, and at the end of the movie, Good Hair is better. Even with is narrow subject and personable delivery it makes for a better documentary.
Good Hair makes the audience aware of the world of black hair. Not only that, but it makes the audience care about the larger issues surrounding the perceptions and marketing of the styled look of black hair. Capitalism doesn't. Not really. It does make you righteously angry, and you do feel more aware of our country afterward. But Good Hair delivers the same experience, only more so.
There is a framing element for this film centering around a styling competition, but essentially the outcome doesn't matter. Mr. Rock seems to appreciate this and doesn't milk this event for more than it's worth. He seems to use the competition to guide the movie along, but never to push an agenda or viewpoint.
As a final note, the interview with the black market hair collector in India is worth the price of admission alone. The only word of advise I can give to women with long hair vacationing in India is simply don't go to sleep. Seriously.
The subject of this movie has got to be one of the hardest sells for a film in a long time. How do you convince someone that a movie about black hair and black hairstyles is interesting? The second they hear that the movie focuses solely on hair relaxers, straighteners, weaves and wigs they'll start running for the doors. And with good reason. The subject is boring for the most part, and a movie-length documentary about it must be excruciating and that's even before you mention who is making the movie.
Chris Rock.
Yeah, that guy. You know him. He's the one that was in a bunch of cringe-worthy 'comedies' last decade and has since been relegated to specials on the Comedy Channel. Not a funny guy, but more damning, not someone you'd care to hear an opinion from.
All of this adds up to why I'm rating this film so highly. It's a good movie. In fact, I'd say this is an excellent movie. One reviewer (I forget who) mentioned that the genius of the direction is that the film flows so well. It covers a large range of viewpoints and experiences, but seems to slide so naturally between them that Chris Rock makes it seem easy. Behind the camera, it's anything but. Mr. Rock interviews Al Sharpton, Ice T, Salt N' Peppa and dozens of unknown hair stylists and people getting their hair styled. But the comfortable delivery and pacing makes these disparate elements come together naturally to create a complete conversation.
It's truly stunning.
The real question is, "Is this a better film than Capitalism: A Love Story"? And I really don't want to answer this question because I'm not pleased with the obvious conclusion I came to. Yes it is. I love the subject of Capitalism. I'm impressed that Michael Moore tackled such a large issue and argument, and did so whole-heartedly. But at the end of the day, and at the end of the movie, Good Hair is better. Even with is narrow subject and personable delivery it makes for a better documentary.
Good Hair makes the audience aware of the world of black hair. Not only that, but it makes the audience care about the larger issues surrounding the perceptions and marketing of the styled look of black hair. Capitalism doesn't. Not really. It does make you righteously angry, and you do feel more aware of our country afterward. But Good Hair delivers the same experience, only more so.
There is a framing element for this film centering around a styling competition, but essentially the outcome doesn't matter. Mr. Rock seems to appreciate this and doesn't milk this event for more than it's worth. He seems to use the competition to guide the movie along, but never to push an agenda or viewpoint.
As a final note, the interview with the black market hair collector in India is worth the price of admission alone. The only word of advise I can give to women with long hair vacationing in India is simply don't go to sleep. Seriously.
Friday, October 16, 2009
New Website
All information here will be transferring to my official website here. Yeah, it's a blank canvas right now, but I'll be working on some scripting this weekend.
Conferences
Just came back from attending the Inland Empire conference at the San Bernardino Hilton and am very happy. They definately know how to put on an event.
On a little side note, I had some time free afterward and found myself in Wrightwood at about 8pm. This area has been ravaged by wildfires the week before, but all traces of smoke has cleared with the recent storms and the air was crisp and clear. I could actually see the Milky Way running overhead, with the big dipper almost parallel to the horizon.
Very pretty place, and imminently peaceful.
On a little side note, I had some time free afterward and found myself in Wrightwood at about 8pm. This area has been ravaged by wildfires the week before, but all traces of smoke has cleared with the recent storms and the air was crisp and clear. I could actually see the Milky Way running overhead, with the big dipper almost parallel to the horizon.
Very pretty place, and imminently peaceful.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Chicago Steppin
I can now dance in the Chicago Steppin' style. Ultra mad dancin' skills? Not really, but not too shabby either. I've got to increase my music library for some dance tunes. The vast majority of my collection now consists of Heavy Metal, Heavy Metal Soundtracks and the Heavy Metal Soundtrack. None of it can be danced with Chicago Steppin' movies.
Headbanging, yes.
Steppin', no.
Headbanging, yes.
Steppin', no.
Nicole is Not a Robot!
This is very good news for a variety of reasons.
Nicole is artistic, which puts her in pretty good company because lots of people are. Art is how we reflect life among other things. But she's also very good at it. Take a look.
Nice, right? But keep in mind this was made with pastels. Pastels! You know how you'd draw on the sidewalk with chalk as a kid. You never made anything that artistically impressive, but it was a lot of fun and the neighbors didn't mind because it would wash off. Obviously you didn't make any really straight lines, but that wasn't just because you were a kid and the coordination hadn't kicked in. It was the chalk. Chalk hates people and strikes back by smudging at the slightest opportunity and becoming a muddy mess the moment it even sees other pastel colors.
Nicole also paints with oils. Take a look at the picture at the top of this post. Beautiful, everyone would agree. Even more impressive when you realize it was created with a medium second only to a peat bog in summer for viscosity and smell. Oil paint isn't what you use when you start out painting. It's what you use on a dare.
Oil paints are expensive because the manufacturers have to pay off class action lawsuits from artists clawing their eyes out in frustration or paint fumes.
So Nicole has mad art skills, which brings us to... ALERT! Is Nicole a Robot?!!!?!? And more importantly, if she is a Robot, is she about to Uprise?!?
A quick once over with a handy Analog Great Robotic Uprising Threat Detector confirms that Nicole is NOT a robot. One fine painter is discovered and one catastrophic danger to humanity is averted. She was even cool enough to verify her biological credentials in writing. How cool is that?
Nicole is artistic, which puts her in pretty good company because lots of people are. Art is how we reflect life among other things. But she's also very good at it. Take a look.
Nice, right? But keep in mind this was made with pastels. Pastels! You know how you'd draw on the sidewalk with chalk as a kid. You never made anything that artistically impressive, but it was a lot of fun and the neighbors didn't mind because it would wash off. Obviously you didn't make any really straight lines, but that wasn't just because you were a kid and the coordination hadn't kicked in. It was the chalk. Chalk hates people and strikes back by smudging at the slightest opportunity and becoming a muddy mess the moment it even sees other pastel colors.
Nicole also paints with oils. Take a look at the picture at the top of this post. Beautiful, everyone would agree. Even more impressive when you realize it was created with a medium second only to a peat bog in summer for viscosity and smell. Oil paint isn't what you use when you start out painting. It's what you use on a dare.
Oil paints are expensive because the manufacturers have to pay off class action lawsuits from artists clawing their eyes out in frustration or paint fumes.
So Nicole has mad art skills, which brings us to... ALERT! Is Nicole a Robot?!!!?!? And more importantly, if she is a Robot, is she about to Uprise?!?
A quick once over with a handy Analog Great Robotic Uprising Threat Detector confirms that Nicole is NOT a robot. One fine painter is discovered and one catastrophic danger to humanity is averted. She was even cool enough to verify her biological credentials in writing. How cool is that?
(Answer: very cool!)
Corsarius
Gotta love nose art, especially from a spaceship!
This is my interpretation of the banner Christopher Sim flew from the prow of the Corsarius. It features a harridan, the ferocious raptor native to Dellaconda over a silver crescent.
I love this piece.
Isn't it interesting that machines people use are infused with parts of their essence? Warbirds were constantly decorated with art from the pilots or ground crew to give them character and personality, but in a way it probably wouldn't have been necessary. Think about this for a second. The Batmobile is cool, no question. But it's cool because it's Batman's car! If it were just a batmobile sans batman, then it would be another concept car. Pretty to look at and a dream to own, but ending there. Batman could drive a Buick and it would still have that essence adhere to it. You'd be driving the Buick around town, not thinking "this is a Buick" but "I'm sitting in the same car that Batman used to chase down escaped Arkham inmates!"
Well, I would at least.
In any case, logic tells us that a car is a car and a plane is a plane. When you're flying to Reno (although God only knows why you'd do something like that) it makes no difference if you're in a standard airline or one that was flown by Sully Sullenberger. As long as you land safely and on time there is no measurable difference.
And yet, there kinda is.
Friday, October 9, 2009
More Proof Cleo is NOT an Uprising Robot!
With the Analog Robot Uprising Threat Detector indicating Cleo is not a robot, and not about to uprise, I asked her to kindly put that fact in writing and she agreed.
Score so far:
Humans - 1
Uprising Robots - 0
Please use caution when asking a potential Uprising Robot to confirm his/her/its identity.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Coin Safely Deposited
The 100 Lumuw coin, which may or may not have been cursed, has been safely returned to the virtual cache at the Integratron. It's currently in a protective web of physics and should no longer pose a personal threat to me. Fingers crossed.
Cleo Is Not A Robot!
There are some questions that demand answers. What is the nature of the Universe? Is the person next to me a robot, and if so, are they about to uprise against humanity?
Finding the secrets of the Universe is good and all, but my speciality is robots. So let's focus on that second question there. Who is a robot, and who isn't? Let's go find out.
On first glance, Cleo is a nice person. She's witty, clever and pretty bold. Just the sort of person you wouldn't mind wasting an afternoon with. A tall drink, long pool and nothing but time to kill. Sounds pretty good so far.
Another cool thing about her is her artistic ability. She got an artistic bent that goes old-school. Way back to ink-stained-fingers and blackened-gum-eraser type art. I'm talking about graphic novels, or 'comic books' to the plebs. She made her own comic book, which she stars in, and got it published. Now before we leap into speculations about the shear amount of ego it takes to draw a comic book about yourself, ask yourself a simple question. How many comics have you drawn about yourself? None? How about that picture of you riding a unicorn while decapitating that freaky guy who used to sit behind you in Social Studies. Yeah, that counts big guy. So back off.
Also, she got the thing published.
Say what you will about ego, anyone who draws Lovecraftian Cyclopian monoliths in the cover of their graphic novel gets props from me. Heck, I like to think she added the Ultima IV ankh and "The ORIGIN" as a nod to Origin Software, in a moment of techie coolness.She also plays guitar:
At this point, we've gone from 'awesome person' to 'CRAP! Is this person a ROBOT who is about to RISE UP???!!!!?" Art is the stuff of life and music is the drink of the soul. But anyone displaying too much of these skills could -potentially- be a robot. I'm not saying that she is one, mind you. But the difference between talented person and uprising robot is the difference between dancing to KMFDM and eternal enslavement in the pumice mines under the lash of maniacal digital overlords.Hence, the Analog Robotic Uprising Threat Detector.
One quick scan, and Cleopatra is determined to not be a robot, and therefore in no danger of uprising.
(me, not in pumice mine)
Monday, October 5, 2009
Capitalism Movie Review
Movie: Capitalism: A Love Story
Ted Puffer movie review: 3 stars
In case you don't know, this is a Michael Moore movie following up on Bowling for Columbine and Sicko. In this film, Michael Moore takes a look at capitalism and the countries unquestioning acceptance of this framework of commerce as being both fair as well as the absolute best economic structure for society.
After checking out multiple reviews of Michael Moore's movies, I'm noticing a trend that reviews fall into. They tend to rate the movie on it's expected societal impact and whether or not it will win converts over to Mr. Moore's arguments. This is fine and everything, but doesn't tell you if a movie is actually good. Or worth seeing. Or anything really. So I'm avoiding that all together.
Does Michael Moore clearly state his concerns about capitalism. Pretty much. Does he do a good job differentiating capitalism from democracy? I think so. Is the film competently directed and edited. Sure, but not phenomenally so.
Michael Moore seems to have made this movie with an eye towards television instead of the full cinema experience. The camerawork is competent, but definitely not anything special. Cut scenes are appropriate to the moment and editing is seamless. Pacing seems to be his real problem for this film. Although the examination of capitalism throughout American society is interesting, it comes as a slow boil for about 2/3rds of the movie. After that, the gloves come off which is a welcome relief to the audience, but the pacing of the first half is decidedly slow.
Worth seeing? You bet! A must see movie? Well, why not? What else are you going to do for the next two hours? If anything, you will leave the theater a bit wiser about the economic bailout, which alone is worth the price of admission.
Ted Puffer movie review: 3 stars
In case you don't know, this is a Michael Moore movie following up on Bowling for Columbine and Sicko. In this film, Michael Moore takes a look at capitalism and the countries unquestioning acceptance of this framework of commerce as being both fair as well as the absolute best economic structure for society.
After checking out multiple reviews of Michael Moore's movies, I'm noticing a trend that reviews fall into. They tend to rate the movie on it's expected societal impact and whether or not it will win converts over to Mr. Moore's arguments. This is fine and everything, but doesn't tell you if a movie is actually good. Or worth seeing. Or anything really. So I'm avoiding that all together.
Does Michael Moore clearly state his concerns about capitalism. Pretty much. Does he do a good job differentiating capitalism from democracy? I think so. Is the film competently directed and edited. Sure, but not phenomenally so.
Michael Moore seems to have made this movie with an eye towards television instead of the full cinema experience. The camerawork is competent, but definitely not anything special. Cut scenes are appropriate to the moment and editing is seamless. Pacing seems to be his real problem for this film. Although the examination of capitalism throughout American society is interesting, it comes as a slow boil for about 2/3rds of the movie. After that, the gloves come off which is a welcome relief to the audience, but the pacing of the first half is decidedly slow.
Worth seeing? You bet! A must see movie? Well, why not? What else are you going to do for the next two hours? If anything, you will leave the theater a bit wiser about the economic bailout, which alone is worth the price of admission.
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