A Visual History of Gaming

A very nice piece from Kyle Downes on the History of Videogames.

[vimeo 2050495]

Dancing Cockatoo

You are welcome.

FollowCost

FollowCost: How much do you cost your Twitter friends?
It's quality not quantity, right? right?


While you’re here, you may want to add my new RSS feed. K, thanks.

Cube Renovation (Phase I)

Today I began a multiple phase remodel of my cube at work.  I mainly focused on desk placement and what I think will be more efficient.  Here's what I came up with (the first photo has notes):



Notice the small roof--battling the florescent forces of evil. Phase 2 will provide a better solution for this issue.



Future tweaks
Phase II

• Stabilize computer desk


• Extend roof/canopy


• Add coat/key/hat rack

Phase III

• Small (freestanding) table for computer/monitor


• Better lighting under roof/canopy


• Move built-in shelving to wall directly across computer


• Cable management


• Guest chair


• Rug?

While you're here, you may want to add my new RSS feed. K, thanks.

Majestic Opener

Opener for The Majestic. NewSpring's kids ministry.

HVX200 - First Footage

I took one of the HVX200's out for a little fun last night. Here is the result. Second time editing anything in HD, and I must say that I don't wanna go back to my Sony Digital8. I am spoiled now. Although the Canon HV30 paired with a Brevis 35 yields some nice results. I think it's a more feasible route.
Track: NIN - Ghosts II (Track 13)
Majority of editing in Final Cut
Color Correction in After Effects

[vimeo 1427349]

Strengthen Your Stakes

A few weeks ago Perry called an all staff meeting where he addressed the direction of NewSpring Church and expressed the vision that God had given him of the future. One of the things he mentioned was that God was about to bring in waves of salvation to NewSpring. In fact, Perry and the NewSpring staff are on board to reach 100,000 people for Christ in the upcoming years. An attainable goal if I say so myself, considering the fact that there will soon be at least seven NewSpring services held every Sunday across three campuses. That pumps me up!
Immediately following the meeting I prayed for the church and for some reason I felt compelled to read Isaiah, specifically chapter 54 (I'm not makin' this up!). In this chapter God speaks about the future glory of Zion. Verse 2 rocked me! After reading this, there's no doubt in my mind that God is doing a work through NewSpring. The timing was perfect (as God's always is)! I'm so thankful to be a part of what God is doing to expand his kingdom!

"Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.
-Isaiah 54:2

Wal-Mart Wants Me to Keep My Money

This afternoon I was going through some old receipts and happened to notice the strangest of things:

*note* Folded for emphasis

In case the picture's a little blurry, it reads:

"Keep all of your money. We can help."

Not only does Wal-Mart want me to keep my money, they want to help me do it. Amazing.

As always, context changes everything. The line above this is referring to the company's decision to cash economic stimulus checks for free, but I thought I'd have a little fun with it. I think I'll send this along to Joe Sangl.

Some things never change

This is the icon that Mac OS X Leopard assigns to any pc on your network.

Yes, that is in fact a blue screen of death. Nice uppercut Apple.

A Good Day at Work

I started my internship at NewSpring Church on Monday. There's certainly never a dull moment and I'm soaking up as much as I can from team members Will, Ken, DJ, and Ben. It's already been a pleasure working alongside these guys.

Currently I'm encoding some video for the Majestic Children's Ministry. Good stuff.

One reason I'm still on Tiger

Here's a screengrab from the latest OS X Leopard update.

420MB? What's in this thing?!? Gear Live has an extensive list. One heck of a download... but some decent feature improvements. Maybe I'll update soon.

Iron Man End Titles

I managed to catch a midnight showing of Iron Man last Thursday night. I was greeted with an awesome flick with excellent uses of animation and compositing. Check out the end titles from Danny Yount. Very nice.

1950s-70s Advertising Goodness

A very nice collection of 50s-70s ads.
1950s - 1970s Advertising - a set on Flickr</a

Graduation at AU was today (not for me, that'll be 2009 baby!). Regular posting should resume this week. It's nice to be back.

CSS Naked Day

If you've noticed a lack of styling on popular websites over the past day, this should help explain why. CSS Naked Day

Car cam

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }
.flickr-yourcomment { }
.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }
.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

Car cam, originally uploaded by Justin Beam.

Havin fun on Clemson Blvd. Wish I had time to make one of these.

Google Fools Day

Happy April Fools Day! In case you weren't aware, Google has a track record for posting the annual prank. This year's was Gmail Custom Time. Here's some from years past:

• Gmail Paper


• Google TiSP


• Google Romance


• Google Gulp


• Google Jobs


• Google Pigeon Rank


• Google MentalPlex

Google Docs Added Features

Google sure has been rolling out the goodies recently. Many users saw some added features to Gmail last week (myself included) and this week they add more features to Google Docs. Check to see if you got it too. A full added feature list is available here.

It seems like I've fallen off of the face of BlogWorld and TwitterLand lately. I'll try to get on that. Can't promise anything until I finish a documentary for my video production class though.

A break in the storm

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }
.flickr-yourcomment { }
.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }
.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

A break in the storm, originally uploaded by Justin Beam.

Conrad Ostwald Reel

One day my friends. One day I hope to be making works of art like this. Probably one of the most creative reels I've seen. Showreel | Conrad Ostwald. [Via Motionographer]

NIN - Ghosts

Even if you've never been a fan of Nine Inch Nails, you should check out their new album entitled "Ghosts." The collection is spread across 4 volumes and 36 instrumental tracks. Order it here. Did I mention that you can get the first 9 tracks for free?

iPhone SDK Jailbroken

It looks like those of us with jailbroken iPhones and (hopefully) iPod Touches will get the best of both worlds come this June. The iPhone Dev Team has already cracked the 2.0 firmware enabling users to install both user submitted apps and Apple's 'signed' apps. Read more at GearLive.

Space Invaders Hats

I don't usually wear hats, but may I please have one of these? Space Invaders baseball caps | Playfeed

How to: Finish Projects before Spring Break

So maybe you've noticed my little countdown widget in the sidebar, maybe you haven't. In any case Spring Break is only 5 days away. College students across the nation look forward to it, but the week prior can be one of the most stressful times of year. The obvious thing for professors to do is pack the deadlines into this one week. So here's my guide to survival:

Plan Your Week
Go ahead and make a physical list of all of your assignments for the week. A physical list is nice because later in the week you'll be able to see everything you've accomplished.

Assign Priorities
Theres a big difference in a 10-page Communication Theory paper and a small Newswriting exercise. Decide which assignments are most important and give them a higher ranking.

Start From the Bottom
Yes, you read right. Take care of all those little tasks you have to do first. This will give you several rapid victories early in the week and put a solid dent in that to-do list. It helps to lower your stress level and improve your state of mind, making the week seem less overwhelming.

Time Management
Turn in your work on time. No sense getting 10pts taken off for something you could've finished sooner. Stay off of Facebook at all costs (im not linking to it for your sake), it's a productivity deathtrap.

That's it! If studying/cramming for mid-terms is how you're spending your week. This article from Degree Directory may be of interest. [Via Lifehacker]

Sunrise

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }
.flickr-yourcomment { }
.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }
.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

Sunrise, originally uploaded by 313Tech.

Getting up early this morning allowed me to catch part of the sunset.

EDIT: So I really meant to say sunrise. Just shows how early it really was for me.

Crazy Weather

Does that say what I think it does? It was almost hot 2 days ago.

Adobe's Magic Lens

Apparently Adobe is working on some "Magic Lens" made up of smaller lenses that would "allow one shot to capture multiple angles and depths of field. Enabling full control over focus and perspective after the image has been taken." Sounds (and looks) incredible. Article via FEED. Video here.

iPod Vending Machine

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }
.flickr-yourcomment { }
.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }
.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

Passion '07 158, originally uploaded by 313Tech.

We had a short conversation about iPod vending machines today in A-Control. Here's a snapshot of one I saw last year at Passion in the Georgia World Congress Center.

Me Want

I'm not sure yet, but I think I kinda, really, sorta, gotta have a Canon HV20.

Video Continuity

Today in my Video Production class we began studying continuity. Basically continuity editing means that you're trying to create seamless transitions from one event to the next. While this encompasses many aspects of video, it mostly focuses on where you place the camera for a shot.

Ex:
Good continuity - In shot 1 Subject walks from left to right across screen. Shot 2 is a close up of the subject's feet as he continues walking from left to right.
Bad continuity - In shot 1 Subject walks from left to right across screen. In Shot 2 the camera has changed position and the subject is now moving from right to left.
However, if the subject changes direction within a shot the camera is free to move across the vector line (in this case, the path along which the subject was moving).

Assignment:
Follow a student as he/she walks to class without the use of a tripod (gotta have those steady hands!)
Result: Here

I apologize in advance for the bad techno (We had a 75min to shoot and edit.) Many thanks to Tadd for being our subject.

How I started my Morning

The phone rang. I clambered out of bed hurriedly to stop the incessant ringing. Then I answered the phone.

ME: (With all of the voice I could muster at 7am) "Hello?"
Phone: "HONK!" (read- hooooonnnnnkkkkk!)
Then a quite chipper gentleman greeted me with: "Hello. This is your captain speaking. You still need to claim your free boarding passes. Just call...... [click]

Yep, a telemarketer. A pre-recorded one at that. If you're gonna get me out of bed before it's time for class, you'd better be a real person and you'd better have a good reason.

Superbowl Festivities

I hear that the Superbowl is on right now, but here's what I'm looking at:

Yep. Just me, an empty coffee shop and Building Communication Theory. Oh joy.

Seriously?

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }
.flickr-yourcomment { }
.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }
.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

Seriously?, originally uploaded by 313Tech.

Is this necessary?

Quote of the Day

Today's quote comes from buddy of mine Chris Merritt.
In class, the teacher had just booted up the PC for a presentation.
Some student: How can you keep those stupid notifications from popping up?
Chris: Buy a mac.

By the way, he works at Best Buy.

Why I Love NewSpring Church

I simply love NewSpring Church. Here are some reasons why:

It is one of the most genuine churches I've ever been in. Perry simply tells it like it is.

I get the privilege of serving. Having the opportunity to provide a distraction-free environment for people to worship and hear God's Word is awesome.

I get to volunteer alongside a team of amazing people. Seriously, in my years of working in production, I've never been around a group of people that were as passionate about what they do as my friends in A-Control... and they do it well!! Excellence is a core value.

But most of all, I get to see people come to Christ. It serves as a constant reminder that God is working through me to help make a difference in the lives of others. I want to do this for the rest of my life.

Parting Shot:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

This verse was listed on the back of today's handout. What an awesome reminder/challenge on how to live my life. Today's services were awesome. Perry did an awesome job explaining the seriousness of the Lord's Supper. The atmosphere was incredible. You could just feel it.

Comp

Currently working on a DVD package for Beyond Church in Lancaster, SC. As part of the new year, they're giving the look of the core values a facelift. Here's my work in progress. Click for a bigger view.

Free DJ App for Mac

DJ Shadow left me wanting to go out and buy my own turntable, but I figured I'd try to find a free alternative first. This just proves that there's a free Mac app for everything. DJay 2

DJ Shadow

Thats a portable turntable. Anyone else think that DJ Shadow looks like Ken?

Quicktime v. AE CS3

It seems like the latest Quicktime update has caused After Effects to experience some problems. Check out the Apple discussion here. Some people have experienced render issues while others complain about file permissions. If you use AE and haven't already updated, I might suggest sitting this one out... at least until Adobe or Apple sends out another update.

Xbox 360 & Game Reviews

So I got a 360 for my birthday last month and I've really been enjoying it. Here's what I'm playing:

Assassin's Creed - A very well designed game with a great storyline.



Call of Duty 4 - Storyline seemed very short, but great nonetheless. Best part of the game is the online multiplayer.



Guitar Hero III - Fun to play with friends, not so much by yourself.



Halo 3 - Doesn't disappoint. Unless you've been living under a rock over the last few years, you know about Halo.

Nice Photos from the Library of Congress

Flickr has a nice selection of copyright free photos from the Library of Congress. Check it out here. I especially like the 1930s and '40s selections.

Back to a darker time

I thought these days were over.

My old HP has officially passed away. I guess I got my mac just in time. Although it wasn't great news for mom, who inherited the machine. It all worked out though; she got a new laptop for Christmas (complete with Vista. woo.).

iPhone (and iPod Touch) Firmware Update

It seems like a lot of my friends got the iPod Touch or an iPhone for Christmas. So as a follow up to my recent review, here's a video of what we can expect with the 1.1.3 firmware release.

via Gear Live

Bowl 'o Stuff Strikes Again

Remember KFC's "were gonna throw everything in a bowl and call it an entree?" To refresh your memory, go here.
Well it seems that Huddle House is following this sad food trend. See for yourself.

iPod Touch v. Hipster PDA

I've had my iPod Touch for a few days now and I must say that I am very happy. Contacts, internet browser, calendar, music... everything that I had expected.  I've even started to effectively use the keyboard.  I recently adopted the Hipster PDA to jot down random ideas and to do lists. It's too early to tell, but I think that it may have a few advantages over the iPod Touch (emphasize few).
Pros

• Always having a pen and some paper. I've already been surprised at how much my Hipster has aided in this area.
• The satisfaction of physically checking off a task on your to-do list.
• Faster. Typing on a 2-3" screen kinda slows me down, and thats after I access the right app.
• iPod Touch = $300-$400 ... Hipster PDA = $5-$10 (depending on your pen choice)

Cons

• You can't really fit an entire address book on a 3 x 5" card.
• Or browse the internet
• Or listen to music
• Or add and organize events directly to your calendar (that later syncs with iCal)
• ... I think I'll stop there.

It's obvious that the Touch has a lot more bells and whistles than the Hipster. Is it more productive or does it add more distraction? Guess it depends on the user.I love both, but I think one's gotta go (I only have so much pocket space)... maybe in a few weeks I'll be able to make a full assessment. Heck, in a few weeks Apple releases the developer pack. Who am I kidding?