Review://Life

Apple rumored to have absorbed C3 Technologies?

2011-11-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

It has recently been rumored that C3 Technologies have been bought out by Apple. Apparently this happened last year but it wasn't stated who bought them out. The reason this is interesting is the mapping technologies that C3 was developing. Check out this demo.

C3 was apparently an offshoot of the aerospace section of Saab AB which was working on rapid map prototyping. Seen in the video below.

Zombie Safe House Contest

2011-10-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

Just in case Walking Dead becomes a reality, zombie enthusiasts across the globe are gearing up to plan for the potential zombie apocalypse. The folks at Architects Southwest have devised a fun contest for designers and architects to create a Zombie Safe House.

Lithuania day 3

2011-09-02T16:08:00.003-07:00

It's 1 am and our jet touches down in Vilnius. The land greets us with what it is known best for, rain. It's a warm humid rain, the kind you don't really don't mind getting wet in. My dad and brother-in-lawmeet us at the airport. It's a long hour drive in complete darkness to get where we are going.

Lithuania day 2

2011-09-02T16:08:00.001-07:00

Day 2
Location: 31,000 ft over Canada.

Hour: 6

It's 12:18. 567 miles per hour. We still have about 8 hours of flight time. Aida managed to fall asleep as the jet throttled down the runway. She was out before the tires left the ground.

What makes a nine hour flight uncomfortable is not the cramped space your siting in nor the lack of leg room, it's the two year old sleeping on your lap, and the fear that if you adjust will wake her.

Yup... Only 8 hours to go...

Hour: 11

My impressions of the Polish airlines and it's people dwindles. They appear to be easily confused and seem to snub everyone they can. Apparently the request for "milk" was too much for one. Wtf? Annoying ass flight, between some chick allowing her kid to play angry birds with volume turned all the way up the enire night, to people crinkling plastic bottles, I mean Jesus where the fuck do they find these people? Poland I'm guessing...

Aida has been asleep the whole time, 5 hours an counting. I myself dosed off for maybe 5 minutes until we hit some turbulence, have been awake since.

Hour: 17

We arrived in Poland. Tired. Realize it's hard to find milk at the airport... However, in comparison Warsaw international is like a luxurious shopping mall compared to Chicago O'Hares Russian ghoulag. I hate you Chicago!

Hour: 18

Killing time I'm Poland.

Hour: lost track...

Still in Poland.. Took a nap on a metal bench, feel like hobo.

Hour: ---

Seems we have regained some sanity. A nap, a bit of really good coffee. Looks like were an hour away from our flight. Also found a free wifi spot which is nice to reconnect, but don't really miss it... Yet.

Aida is happily playing in the kids area completely oblivious to the fact that were down to one diaper, the one she is wearing. Hoping it holds out.

Lithuania day 1

2011-07-21T10:36:00.001-07:00

Day 1
Location: Denver, CO
Today we set out on our trip to Lithuania. With a 22 month old in tow it promises to be a roller coaster ride.

We are visiting my dad who lives just on the outskirts of Šiauliai in Lithuania. Our travel path includes a stop over in Chicago, Warrsaw and Vilnius before a car ride to Šiauliai. A total
40 hours in travel... Almost two days separated by layovers and time zone changes.

Hour: T-3:00

We arrived at the airport at 1:30 with our flight leaving at 4:09. The nice thin about The Denver International airport that very few people know about is that there are three security areas, two which 90% of the traffic goes through and one less known one which spans the main terminal and concourse A. It took us about 10 minutes to clear, pretty sweet. Travel advice, pack an empty water bottle, it will serve you well. Traveling with a toddler I recommend bringing an empty bottle and sippy cup, once you clear security fill the with whatever you please.

Hour: T+1:00

So far so good, we boarded the plane and took off without much effort. Update: 10 minutes into flight I have urine and milk on me due to diaper malfunction and curious baby. Keeping a pretty good attitude considering Aida is behaving very well in the confined space of my lap. An hour has elapsed since we took off and she is just laying around sipping on milk hugging her faithful monkey companion kicking Elizabeths shoulder. Elizabeth is felling the numbing effects of her motion sickness pills and is saving frozen Vikings on her phone. So far so good.

Hour: +2:00

So officially I have become a parent. I have changed a diaper above 30,000 feet. You don't often get an achievement like that.

Upon our arrival to O'Hare international the transition was pretty easy. But traveling internationally you get to become part of O'Hares dirty little secret otherwise known as Terminal 5. Terminal 5 is the international hub to the world, in other words, it's the crapiest place on earth because foreigners don't complain.

The first impression of Terminal 5 can be foreshadowed by it's proximity to the rest of the airport... it's way the crap out there. So far away actually, that you take a train to it. You realize there is no Terminal 4 and can only assume it was torn down to increase the isolation of Terminal 5. Upon arrival, you are greeted by a McDonalds on the left and security on the right. Once past secucurity there is no life, no food, and no drinks. Your only choice is an overpriced concession stand that has questionable and overpriced sandwiches and a few soft drinks. Needless to say we paid $21.25 for two drinks and a yogurt. All while greeted by people who clearly hated their lives...

To our luck we managed to find a fenced-in learning center where Aida was able to run around and play while we huddled in the corner plugged into the pillar with electrical sockets. We were greeted by a mother traveling on the same flight as us. She had a 23 month old boy named Yusef (Joseph) who was only one month older than Aida. Were were only so fortunate to spend the next two and a half hours watchin the two run themselves ragged with delight.

Something worth writing about.

2011-05-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time, and I have been quietly and patiently waiting but there it is!!! Its not quite OgreTactics but I will take it! Final Fantasy Tactic coming to IOS! Heck Yea!

Ever since playing OgreTactics, I have fell in love with Square Enix. The story, the customization, just awesome!

Random comic

2011-04-12T06:58:00.001-07:00

Cardiff

2011-03-30T22:36:00.001-07:00

The beginning of Cardiff. Size 2x6

Puffer fish

2011-03-29T22:42:00.001-07:00

The joke...

2011-03-27T22:03:00.001-07:00

So he was telling me this lMe joke I was totally asleep in my helm..... shit.... he's right behind me isn't he!??!

The art of lighting.

2011-03-27T21:55:00.001-07:00

I was told once that the best way to learn about lighting was to photograph an egg. A simple white egg. When I heard that I though how brilliant that was. A simple subject like that was easy to wrap your brain around. You would be able to see where he shadows and highlights fall just as it would on a person you were photographing.

However I have never tried the egg thing, seems easy enough, but in the end I felt it was too daunting. I ended up using Legos. Star Wars storm troopers to be exact. These little plastic people are perfect. You can set the up any way you like, for lighting I just use a cheap flashlight. I feel like this type of setup gives a much better idea of how your subject will be lit.

My thoughts on zombies and the culture they have created.

2011-03-24T21:45:00.001-07:00

Zombies have become quite popular with my 25-35 generation. Something about them just makes it so very interesting. Being a man of science and logical thought, it's a pretty big stretch for me to believe that one day our world would become over run by these brain eating crawlers. When taking into account at what zombies are it's very difficult to justify their existence. But in the end it's just down right exciting.

I believe that the underlying principals of such an event foreshadow a large scale biological disaster which in today's climate is very real. Understanding and accepting this fact, it has become part of the social subconscious. We just have to put a picture of something which is not so grim... Zombies. All in all I feel like preparing for the future zombie apocalypse is the same for my generation as it was for those in the cold war era, we just have a much more entertaining adversary... Even though we might never encounter them.

My gaming addiction.

2011-03-24T21:31:00.001-07:00

Many people will admit they have a gaming problem. I am one of those people. I love gaming. I have more games than I know what to do. Sadly this is where it stops. Unlike most game addicts, I actually don't have the time to play them all. I have enough games to last me a solid century or two. It's almost like a form of OCD hoarding. In my case it's digital. Most folks will never see my over filled hardrive. And I cannot be blamed for gaming too much because ... Well simply put, I don't have time for it.

The writing of blogs.

2011-03-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

So recently I have decided with my wife to start writing blogs. At least one entry per day. My wife is an amazing writer so it's a wonderful exercise for her, but me? Well my personal journal that I have once tried to keep averages about 1 entry every 1.2 years... Yea it's not a very optimistic result but I'm hoping to get better at. I guess for me it will be a creative exercise. Hopefully I can sneak some sketches into it. We will see... I'm optimistic.

New Type Of Entanglement Allows 'Teleportation in Time,' Say Physicists - Technology Review

2011-01-18T15:52:00.000-08:00

Travel through time. Scientist in Australia discover a new type of particle entaglement which is linked through time. In theory allowing a particle (or whatever) to travel into the future. I cant help but think of H. G. Wells "Time Machine" as sci-fi as the story is it sticks to the fundamentals that time travel is possible (if only into the future).
New Type Of Entanglement Allows 'Teleportation in Time,' Say Physicists - Technology Review

Humble Indie Bundle #2

2010-12-15T14:45:00.000-08:00

Humble Indie Bundle #2: "

“Pay what you want. If you bought these five games separately, it would cost around $85 but we’re letting you set the price!

All of the games work great on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

We don’t use DRM. When you buy these games, they are yours. Feel free to play them without an internet connection, back them up, and install them on all of your Macs and PCs freely. There is no time-limit on your downloads.

You can support charity. Choose exactly how your purchase money is divided: Between the game developers, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or the Child’s Play Charity. Also, if you like this deal, a tip to the Humble Bundle itself would be much appreciated!”

Five great games, you name the price. Proceeds help the developers and the Child’s Play and the EFF.

What are you waiting for? Get it now!

Saving your iPhone Battery Life

2010-11-17T11:54:00.001-08:00

The basic idea is this: anything running on your iPhone uses up the battery, so we’re going to go into the Settings app and turn some things down, and turn others off altogether. The more you turn off, the longer your batter will last — but of course the less you’ll be able to do. It’s a balancing act but one that can help you squeeze out a little extra juice when you really need it.

Set Auto-Lock to 1 minute
Turn off any extra sounds, like keyboard clicks
Turn off the iPod EQ
Use headphones instead of the speaker if you have to listen to audio or music
Turn down the screen brightness
Turn off Bluetooth when not using it
Turn off Wi-Fi when not using it
Turn off 3G when not using it
Turn off Location Services when not using them
Turn off Push Notifications
Set all email, calendar, and contacts accounts to “Fetch” (turn off Push)
Double-click the Home Button to activate the multitasking dock, hold your finger on an app to enter “jiggly” mode, and kill any apps that might be running in the background, especially VoIP (like Skype), streaming audio (like Pandora), or navigation (like TomTom).

If you’re really desperate, put your iPhone in Airplane Mode and save the radios for when you need them (works really well). If you’re really desperate, you can also turn your iPhone completely off until you need it (it will still use a tiny amount of power but far, far less than anything else).

Politics and Religion

2010-01-12T03:32:00.000-08:00

It is often a matter of etiquette when bringing up politics or religion into a dinner and or party conversation, or any conversation for the matter of fact. They are the two subjects which people feel so strongly about that nations have been forged out of them and wars fought. But this ... i dont know how orwhat to say about this... i just saw this headline and i am speechless... simply speechless... i .. what!?!?! how ... where the hell is she getting support from and how did the .... WTF!?! is this the work of Stephen Colbert? Im just waiting for the aha moment...? What?

I found this this morning on thedenverchannel.com site
Full article at: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/politics/22200783/detail.html

The Plight of the Designer

2010-01-11T05:45:00.000-08:00

I happened to read an amazing collection of bizzare and weird client requests that other designers have recieved (http://bit.ly/82SjGM). Sadly I have heard at least half of these if not more. everything from the very ignorant to the flat our stupid. But you know what? I try to look at it this way. If your a talented brain surgeon who refuses to understand how the internet works... hey thats fine, I cannot perform brain surgery, and I'm thankful there are people who can should I ever needed. But if your a (insert generic job title) and you convince yourself that your 2 years of community college in your filed also includes a specialization in the field of design, theory, art history, psychology, social trends and media... well then... I humbly step aside. However you hired me!

Its seems more often than not people try to throw in their ideas and personal likes and dislikes in to the creative pot. There is a time for that in every design process. Every designer wants to accommodate with the wishes of the client. But people must realize that designers are trained to make things work. There may be elements and ideas of the client that simply don't work. Sure we can give the client anything they want, the design might fail horribly, does that matter to you?

I find myself working on a model of the state capitol for the elections later this fall. It will be used as a graphic airing in TV spots and the news. Im a graphic designer, yet i had to adapt to using 3d software to become a modeler, using blueprints and architectural models, referencing architectural objects on the building which refer back to my old art history books of roman art. Using reference pictures of doric, ionic, and corinthian columns. Using textures of known materials. Working with lighting. Animating the subject. Camera movement and placement. Video editing. Not to mention the basics of composition, color, and text. All these things just to get a picture of the capital building. And this is just a single project.

When I have to work on any project, i become a pseudo expert in the subject. Whether it be medical, architectural or scientific. I have to know how the heart works, how the planets rotate and how that gizmo in your large machine functions in order to be able to convey the same knowledge in layman's terms to my viewer who does not want the complete history of it. time is money.

So the next time you tell me that my idea doesn't work because you have a personal conflict with a color you don't like, think about your field of expertise and all that encompasses. If you mow lawn, drill me about my lack of watering my plants, not composition of typography.

2008-12-29T08:00:00.001-08:00

Sweet video.

China and the Olympics

2008-08-05T05:07:00.000-07:00

The Chinese heighten security as the 2008 Beijing Olympics near. Which involves police officers oddly mounted on Segways pointing little guns as they ride around squatting? I think China was that misunderstood kid in high school that had to stand out in the most crazy way screaming for attention. I like the guy in the back...what is that? A sniper rifle? Like who is the person who thought of this?

People Eater

2008-08-05T05:03:00.000-07:00

Apparently the Japanese have come up with a robot which eats people? Supposedly its supposed to evacuate rubble and bodies from disasters... but i mean wtf... seriously?!? I want that job!

A cookie for thought

2008-06-17T04:23:00.000-07:00

The first ladies to be are having a cookie contest. Michelle Obama is sporting a healthy looking shortbread cookie which looks to contain nuts and fruit, neatly cut into bite sized squares. Cindy McCain is firing back with an Oatmeal Butterscotch cookie. It looks like a fatty pile of s***. Ok that was a rude and biased statement but it really does. It does look like something that would be rather tasty and comforting, however i would question its nutritional value. But then again... that could be said for both. Still, my money is on Michelle, seems like someone has some sense of presentation. If applied to politics, she has my vote.

Cloth BMW

2008-06-13T02:50:00.000-07:00

Sweetness!! A car made of cloth! Bring thread and needle in case of emergency.

Ok so the car is not completely made of fabric, but it still drives. BMW has made a cloth exterior which can conform to necessary conditions at the puch of a button. Need more down force? Bigger spoiler? Wider sides? The fabric moves and conforms to the conditions you require. Pretty neat huh? Too bad its being whisked away to the BMW museum. I guess I won't be tempted to extend my morning sleep in this cloth beauty.

More Images

Police Saving Gas?

2008-06-12T05:38:00.000-07:00

The El Paso county police department in Colorado has issued orders to their officers to no longer patrol neighborhoods. Due to the increase in gasoline prices, the police department is seeking changes to save money. Instead of driving around, the patrol cars will now wait in strategic locations waiting for calls to come in... So if your getting mugged, make sure its withing line of sight of one of those spots. This goes into effect on June 1st.

Political Change

2008-06-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

Today the report came out that the Democratic National Convention has too many volunteers. In case anyone missed it, the Democratic National Convention is being held in downtown Denver during the last week of August this year. Officials were seeking to fill 10-thousand volunteer positions, as of today nearly 26-thousand people have signed up. 9-thousand of those volunteers are out of state. Officials said they will try to utilize everyone they can.

On the opposite spectrum, the Republican National Convention in Minnesota also called out for 10-thousand volunteers, so far only 4-thousand have stepped up. With two months to go. So what does that mean? Either people are really rallying behind the Democratic party, or Colorado has some really nice people wiling to give away their time and help. Hmmm...