So Long, 2007

Last post of the year...

It's been 1 year and 3 days since my first post. In that time, I've made 125 posts (including this one), for an average of about one post every three days. 108 of those have been since September, at almost a post a day. I've used 27 categories (or, more accurately, tags, as that's the way I've ended up using them).

Not too bad for Year One.

Many of you may be singing a very famous song tonight: Auld Lang Syne. This is a Scots song, so when you start toasting in the New Year, you're honoring my people.

Wikipedia lists the translation as literally "old long since," meaning either the popular "days gone by" or, alternatively, "long long ago."

Hm. Now that sounds familiar... I wonder if these would work for lyrics?

It is a period of
Civil war. Rebel
Spaceships, striking from a hidden base,
Have won their first victory
Against the evil
Galactic Empire.
During the battle,
Rebel spies managed to
Steal secret
Plans to the Empire’s
Ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR,
An armored space station
With enough power to destroy
An entire planet.
Pursued by the Empire’s
Sinister agents,
Princess Leia races home
Aboard her starship,
Custodian of the
Stolen plans that can save
Her people and restore
Freedom to the galaxy…

Ha!

Happy New Year, Everyone!!!

CHOW Profiles My Gaffer!

That's my Dad!

[c/o Yowell]

Patriots Complete Perfect Season

Damn, this millennium has been wicked good to New England sports fans!

Demand Done Right

This is exciting news, I only hope it's true.

This is why I've been waiting until January 14th to buy an TV; it may not get updated, but now is a pretty foolish time to buy, all things considered.

Here's to hoping there's a version of these digital files available in (at least) 720x1280 resolution...

Keith Richards Will Eat Me Thrice

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Stay away from me, Evil Keith! Stay away!

That's My Hometown!

From the New York Times, on smelting in Bowdoinham(!):

Rarely are you distracted from the drinking and the talking by the actual need to catch fish,” he said. “It’s an occasion for high sociability — and it’s not like there are so many of them in Maine — masked cleverly as a kind of sport.

Truer words have never been spoken; this is exactly why people up here love smelting.

Leopard Update

Monday's Leopard install was fairly uneventful. Considering how long I had been looking forward to 10.5, I'm surprised I made it this long without upgrading. Even my Dad noticed— he said it's the first time he's beat me to it.

It's always nice with the big updates—regardless of how major the changes, aesthetic or under the hood, it always feels like a new computer, at least for a day or two. I'm still trying to get used to/familiar with the new Finder windows, the dock, the pointed-edged menu bar, etc. I actually really like some aspects of the new menu bar— just not the transparency part.

One of the first things I did was to go to this AppleInsider forum and use Post #1's replacement files for the Dock. My new black Dock looks far better, and is more functional; those blue indicators are actually visible now. More Dock replacement files can be found here for those who are interested.

I also opted to switch over to the default Leopard background, that purple aurora borealis image you see in all of the promotional material. I figured, since I was already exclusively using NASA images, I might as well mix it up with a new photo for a while.

Something I hadn't realized: the "inactive" window look is very different; now anything inactive loses most of its shading and gets bright. I'd have gone in the opposite direction— darken and de-emphasize anything that was inactive. The new, current style actually draws me toward the very windows I'm supposed to ignore.

All in all, though, I am digging it, as I knew I would. Anyone who is waiting, I fully recommend going for it; QuickLook and CoverFlow are worth the price of admission alone. Unless you're waiting for specific program compatibility; in that case, keep waiting.

Johnny Chung Lee, I Salute You

There are some smart people out there, and this guy is one of them.

This is the kind of thing that I imagine people like Jamie and Adam already know about; but consider my mind blown. I get the idea of what's going on here— I couldn't engineer the device or program the computer to do it, but the ideas are very straightforward, especially as Mr. Lee explains it. Still, the second he demoed the "Camera-Eye View" of the effect, I started screaming and calling out for someone else to come and see it.

This won't be practical for general programming, like movies or TV—the single user experience discounts groups watching the same screen together. But as far as gaming is concerned... awesome.

I agree with Johnny; someone, somewhere, please make some games that utilize this!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, Joyeux Noël, and all the rest!

A little late, I admit, but I desperately needed a nap this afternoon.

So tough noogies.

Time For Leopard

Here we go...

Destiny Wants HD TV In Maine

While sitting at the airport, and prowling through my daily links, I discovered this good news: Time Warner Cable has added six new HD channels to the market in Augusta, Maine!

Now, my parents only live 25 or so miles from Augusta, so I don't know if this applies to them or not. Not that it matters, as they don't have an HD set... yet.

This is frustrating for me, though, as TWC in Los Angeles doesn't have these channels, and that is where I do have an HD TV.

I'd love to see TWC match DirecTV's level of HD support, but I recognize that as pure fantasy. I'd settle for a few more, like Augusta.

Flying Sucks

Wow, I always seem to forget just how much I hate to fly.

I'm not afraid of flying, and I like to think I'm a fairly patient fellow. But the airlines have got to be one of the worst organized customer service businesses I have ever encountered.

Last night, we had a flight from LA to Las Vegas, with a two hour layover before flying to Boston to meet Tracy's parents.

We got to Vegas fine, but things rapidly started to go downhill.

Our 11:30 flight out to Boston was first delayed to 2:30 a.m., then 4:30, and then cancelled. Turns out, I think, that it was the same plane as a flight out of Boston that was getting delayed and then eventually cancelled, which killed our chances of getting out of Nevada yesterday.

After a long wait at a Delta counter, we got some taxi, meal, and hotel vouchers. After a long wait for a taxi that accepted vouchers, we got to our hotel (the Greek Isles). After a long wait to check in (a few dozen folks were in the same boat), we got to our room.

Which at least was non-smoking, and had a solid shower.

Delta had "created" a new flight at 12:10 p.m. Friday for everyone on our previously cancelled flight. And that seemed nice. But when we got to McCarran airport this morning... we had already been delayed. That seems strange to me; how can a newly scheduled flight, created solely to accommodate people from canceled service, be delayed by almost three hours four hours before it's scheduled departure?!

Ahhhh!

As of right now, Tracy and I are camped out in Terminal D, waiting for our "Delayed" departure time of 2:40 this afternoon. McCarran has sporadic floor AC outlets, which is nice; Tracy and I found an empty plug, and will probably watch a movie soon. And they offer free WiFi, a service I wish more airports and hotels would start to implement. I'd be far more irate (and trust me, I'm already a bit pissed) if I couldn't check my e-mail.

I have a lot of sympathy for the airlines. Not only is it an incredibly difficult engineering feat to manage the volume of flight they do, but it's a scheduling nightmare as well. Plus, you get to deal with your customers at their worst; when they're tired and frustrated and just trying to get somewhere.

But really? The US government has given you guys a few billion dollars of the past decade, and this is the best you can do? Shit will always happen; I'm not so naive to think that things like this can be perfect. But this is ridiculous. There are a lot of smart people out there, and I'm willing to bet a few of them are feeling frustrated, as they work for airlines but don't have the power/wherewithal/cajones to implement the changes they can see are so obvious. So let's fire the dumbass bureaucrats who are getting in their way.

The LA public bus system is more reliable than this; and many of you know how late and irregularly the 156 runs sometimes. But when I pay my buck-twenty-five, I feel like I'm getting solid, easy, and ultimately dependable service for my money. Multiple the price of admission by about 500%, and suddenly I'm wishing I took the bus.

Sigh.

Happy Day!

Best. News. EVER.

Peter Jackson is officially producing The Hobbit and an untitled sequel based on stories and information from The History of Middle-earth series.

My co-workers just got to see me freak out in a big way over this. Those of you who know me understand just how important Lord of the Rings is to me; the books are among the first my father read to me, and the films happened at the exact right time in my life.

So this is, to say the least, exciting.

Here's to hoping that PJ also decides to direct...

2010 can't come fast enough...

While we're on the topic; back in 2000, before any of us knew what we were in for, New Line released an Internet-only trailer for the entire Lord of the Rings series. It started as a making-of featurette, with Jackson and others talking about the process, some b-roll of the filmmakers at work, and then a bunch of (semi-)finished shots. All of it scored to X-Ray Dog's "Gothic Power."

I fooled my computer into downloading this trailer (as QuickTime had it set to not allow this), and must've watched it a hundred times.

And then my computer died. And it was lost.

So... does anyone out there know where I can find this thing? Did you save it too? is it hidden on a disc or a DVD somewhere?

Because I wants it, and they stoles it from me!

My Work

A couple of pieces I've onlined have gone up on the internet.

Yay!

Check out the list below to see how I make meaningful contributions to a healthy society.

Charlie Wilson's War “The Real Charlie”

Go to the "Video" section, and click on "Real Charlie." I knew nothing about him, so I thought it was an interesting piece.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets “Locations Around the World”

Rotten Tomatoes has this as "Exclusive Featurette," with a couple of viewing options. I recommend the "High Resolution" Quicktime. Sadly, we did this piece in HD, but they only have it at SD size. Oh well.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets “MySpace”

A collection of lo-res pieces that are a little less formal; plus, the "Locations" piece pops up again.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets “The President's Book”

This is in really low quality, which is, again, a shame since we did it in HD, but it's still there. Funny note: Fandango has mis-spelled the title as "Presidents." Which make sense, but doesn't match the card in the piece.

Trajan

This is the kind of thing I notice, too. This cracked me up.

Other overused fonts: Copperplate (sorry, Dad, but since Universal Studios uses it, it seems like every other film tries it out) and Bank Gothic (Transformers, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and the ubiquitous "24" are all guilty, among many others).




[c/o Daring Fireball]

Yup

'Nuff said.

This is why I am so unenthusiastic about these services, and much happier with a blog; I am obligated to all of my readers equally, no matter how (or if!) I know them.

High Wire

The following video is pretty damn incredible.



For me, the long take of him "walking" along the wires, with a second worker coming into frame behind him, is one of the most beautiful and mesmerizing images I've seen in a while.

Here's a gauntlet for someone: shoot an HD series on human beings doing their jobs. Not just exotic and weird stuff, but maybe things we don't usually see. Cooks in a kitchen, people making penicillin, the guys who run snow-blowers on ski slopes... this piece isn't quite as majestic as I would want it to be, but I sure as hell want to watch more.


[c/o Kottke.]

Star Trek: The Tour

Star Trek: The Tour opens in Long Beach in January.

Who's with me?

Because I am so there.

YouTube x3

Because work is all about receiving, viewing, and passing along humorous internet videos.



This one's courtesy of Jeremey Foley, who can't stop watching it. The humor comes on slowly; like The Big Lebowski and fine wine, it gets better with age. Once you anticipate what's coming, and laugh at the reporter as she herself laughs, it gets pretty good.

I do feel bad for the kid; what he's said, even in the context he has, is not that different from a lot of things kids say. But he ends up on YouTube, and suddenly a million people are laughing at him.

You know what? When I was a kid, I misunderstood a reporter asking me questions on the news... so I started talking about a local recycling initiative instead of an infamous murder case.

Shit happens, I guess. And that is still funny.



This one comes from Adam; he, Jamie, Belinda, and I have been mulling this one over for a day or two. Jamie has already put up a blog post about it, and then a response post to the original.

I am so five minutes ago.

This is, on examination, quite clearly staged. The kid starts screaming and moving in a way obviously designed to attract the dog's, ah, affections, and the camera-person is expecting this, and intentionally not rushing to the child's aid. But I like to think that this is a recreation, for the benefit of the camera, of a prior event, a candid moment where all parties found themselves in this shocking (and hilarious) circumstance, which, at its conclusion, left all involved thinking "I wished we had that on tape!"

Well, now you do.

Jamie also makes the excellent point that, regardless of the human intentions on display, that dog is dead serious.



Lastly, here's my favorite strike video yet. If you don't know what strike I'm talking about... you don't live in LA. So good for you.

This week is when a lot of normal viewers are going to start noticing the Writer's Strike. This is pretty much the last week of new scripted entertainment until... well, who knows when. Half of the shows out there start are already showing repeats, and the late night shows have been out of production for over a month.

This video does a good job of positing what would happen if more media formats ran out of content with the striking WGA...

And isn't David Cross great?

OS X Dock Stacks

I came across this video showing the behavior of Stacks in the Dock back in beta versions of Mac OS X Leopard.

The salient difference, for those of you saying "That's the same as my stacks now," is that the stacks are in the application portion of the dock. Not consigned to the Document/Trash/Windows side of the dock, but useful as a true application launcher.

I think this looks pretty cool; the ability to name (and rename) stacks, as well as live-reorder them, seems pretty damn awesome too.

Maybe in an update? 10.5.3 or something?

Unreal

[WARNING: I found this story to be pretty disturbing... it isn't violent or offensive, but unsettling on a very basic level.]

A man in Indonesia cut himself as a teenager.

And, before long, he started growing warts, which kept growing...

Into roots. Or, more accurately, root-like growths.

This gets to me. This mans body turned into... something else, something alien. This is the exact same body anxiety movies like Alien play at: that your body is turned into a host for another organism, eating at your humanity.

This stuck in my mind for days; particularly when he shows off his hands in the video.

But, if you're interested, the video is the only way to get a real sense of what these growths are.

With a week's worth of distance, I find this scientifically fascinating; that HPV could run so rampant belongs on House, and the final result is right out of The X-Files. But I am still deeply unsettled... I hope that, someday, doctors are able to remove and restrain this man's unnatural warts, so he can use his fingers again.

And I hope I never get warts like that.

Good luck, brother.

Flash Drive Testimonial

Yesterday, I sent my USB flash drive through the wash, nestled comfortably in my pants pocket.

Doh!

Imagine my surprise and pleasure, then, to discover that it still works perfectly.

If ever there was a better recommendation that this, I don't know it.

So, everyone, if you're in need of a USB flash drive, I heartily recommend the Cruzer Titanium — I have the 2 gig variety.

Go Cruzer!, originally uploaded by Hutson H.

It's A Mystery

Tracy has told me about this before, but I came across an article today about the Racetrack Playa rocks. Short story is these very large rocks seem to slide around the playa, leaving long trails behind them... but no one has ever see seen them move, so no one knows how it happens.

Awesome. I want to go there.

And the good news is... it looks like I will!

When Tracy's parents come out for their (now) yearly LA trip, instead of heading down to Joshua Tree State Park, there's been talk of heading to Death Valley. Where Racetrack Playa is.

And I will make Tracy take us here. With my camera.

A similar place (in the opposite direction) that I want to check out: The Bonneville Salt Flats. Many of you may have seen them as "Davy Jones' Locker" in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End this past summer.

Tracy is right; geology is cool.

Web 2.0 On The Menu

This is a pretty funny story.

Any other ideas? Google Salad, Almond-Crusted Mahalo, with a Triple-Layered MySpace Tiramisu for dessert?

None of that rolls off the tongue nearly as well as "Stir-fried Wikipedia."