Danny Saiz

Atomic Chalupa

2010-06-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

I captured/rendered another video for my buddy. Afterwards, we gamed for about 2 hours on the MLG servers. Good times.

Gears of War 3

2010-06-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

I loved the first and 2nd version. Can't wait to see what Gears of War 3 has to offer.

California Voter's Guide

2010-06-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today is election day. It’s time to go hit the ballot box. It’s your responsibility as a citizen to cast your vote and let your opinion be known.

The following is a voter’s guide for California Propositions. This primary features 5 of them. Read up below to find out what it’s all about. Some background: I am a fiscal conservative, social libertarian and a political independent. Some of my good friends refer to me as an evil right-wing propagandist. Regardless of my background, I try my best to offer an unbiased summary of each proposition.

When you are done reading my post, please comment. I would appreciate opposing points of view. What’s important is that you are informed before you vote. Democracy works best that way.

Proposition 13 – LIMITS ON PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT. SEISMIC RETROFITTING OF EXISTING BUILDINGS. LEGISLATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
If you own a building and you spend money to seismically retrofit, you will no longer have to worry about your property taxes going up. Obviously, a seismically retrofitted building is safer for you and the public. This will cause the property value to go up. This law will prevent property taxes from being reassessed until you sell the building. Everyone is for this and no one is against it (No argument against was submitted on the California Voter’s Guide). The State Senate and Assembly both passed this proposition by a unanimous vote. Vote Yes.

Proposition 14 – ELECTIONS. INCREASES RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN PRIMARY ELECTIONS.
Our current election systems features a Primary Election in June and a General Election in November. The Primary Election is segregated between the political parties. For example, if you are a registered Democrat, you would vote for the Democrat candidate you want to run in the General Election.

This proposition would amend the Constitution to allow all California voters, regardless of party affiliation, to vote for any candidate running in the Primary Election. Democrats can vote for a Republican, Republicans can vote for a Green party candidate, and Independents can vote for Democrats. The top two candidates from the Primary Election results would then face off in the General Election in November. Candidates running in either election will no longer have to claim a political party.

This is known as an Open Primary. The theory is that it will result in more Moderate candidates facing off in the General Election. A Moderate politician is more likely to work with other politicians once they gain office. This is supposed to get rid of the gridlock in the California Senate and Assembly. The final result is more things will get done and more problems will be solved.
In my opinion, the theory will prove true if this proposition passes. I believe more Moderates will be elected and the gridlock will go away. I think the California State Government will become much more efficient when it comes to getting things done. If this is something you want, vote Yes on Proposition 14.

I will be voting No.

I do not want a super efficient California State Government. I think a state government that gets along will pass more bills that lead to more programs and higher taxes. Gridlock in Sacramento may not a good thing during the current economic crisis – but – an out of control State Government during boom times will only lead to more spending and fiscal irresponsibility. This is what got us into the mess we’re in now. Thinking long-term, this bill is a bad idea.

Proposition 15 – CALIFORNIA FAIR ELECTIONS ACT.
Candidates running for Secretary of State will now run using public funding. The funding initially will come from a Lobbyist fee and not tax dollars (except voluntarily by individual tax payers per Section 18798.1) . This is a pilot program to see if publicly funded elections is a viable solution to special interest dollars affecting elections.

On the surface, I think this is a great idea. When someone comes up with a new idea, it’s always a good idea to try it out on a small-scale. If it works out, you can think about expanding it to a larger spectrum. If it fails, you can ditch the idea and move on to something else. Of course, the trick is to make sure a true account of the pilot program is presented to the public before deciding whether or not to implement the program on a larger scale.

The problem with this 9 page proposition is the details. For starters, this bill will repeal section 85300 of the Government Code.

“No public officer shall expend and no candidate shall accept any p
ublic moneys for the purpose of seeking elective office.”

There is no amendment to the Government Code to prevent other offices from using public money to pad private election funds. This loophole is too big for my taste.

Another loophole of concern is the funding sources. The proposition sets up a Fair Elections Fund that receives the majority of funding from Lobbyist fees. However, there is a provision that allows the Legislature to appropriate additional revenue from the general fund (section 91135 e and g). That means tax dollars.

I am in favor of publicly funded elections. I hate the fact that a CEO of some huge corporation thinks she he or she can buy her his or her way into the Governor’s office. Even if I agree with him or her. These days, it seems like you need to be loaded to get anywhere in politics. Publically funded elections would be a great way to level the playing field.

With that in mind, I think this law has a few holes that need to be fixed. For one thing, I think there should be an expiration date to this “experiment”. I will be voting No this time around. Hopefully they fix the law to be a bit more palatable for next time.

Proposition 16 – IMPOSES NEW TWO-THIRDS VOTER APPROVAL REQUIREMENT FOR LOCAL PUBLIC ELECTRICITY PROVIDERS. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
Proposition 16 was written by PG&E. PG&E has spent more than $30 Million to support Prop 16. What is it? It’s exactly what it says. The new law requires a 2/3 vote from citizens if a city or county wants to invest in a public utilities. The law is very short and to the point.

I am usually for giving voters more control over how their money is spent. If this proposition was on the ballot in my county or city, I would be voting yes. However, since this is a State Constitutional Amendment enforcing rule of law on local governments, I will be voting No.
Regardless of PG&E’s corporate interests, I don’t like big government taking away the rights of local government. If you want a 2/3 law for your city or county, petition your local government/city council for a local ballot initiative.

Proposition 17 – ALLOWS AUTO INSURANCE COMPANIES TO BASE THEIR PRICES IN PART ON A DRIVER’S HISTORY OF INSURANCE COVERAGE. INITIATIVE STATUTE.
This is an even argument. This laws will allow Auto Insurance companies more freedom to vary their rates based on driver variables. Those against this law say Insurance companies will unfairly target drivers who have a legitimate lapse in coverage.

In my opinion, the auto insurance market is saturated. If you are a safe driver, you can get a great rate. If you have speeding tickets or other issues, it’s not fair to depend on the State Insurance Commissioner to keep your rates down.

Then again, there is a problem with lapse in coverage. If you are in the military and you leave for a 12 month deployment, that is considered a lapse in coverage and you could pay penalties. Other examples exist where a legitimate lapse in coverage could cost safe drivers.

I will be voting Yes on this proposition. I think the market will work out the kinks. If enough drivers think they’re getting screwed by a company, they can look to other companies to get better rates.

If you think the lapse in coverage issue is too big of a hurdle, you should vote No.

There you go…

There is a basic voter’s guide to the California Propositions. I hope this helps you to understand what they’re all about. For the full text pdf of each proposition, go here. Do your duty and go vote. If you are reading this sentence, you can consider yourself part of the informed electorate.

Thank You, Sammy

2010-06-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Sundays at Chevy’s Fresh Mex. Margaritas are 1/2 off. w00t!!! I usually drink two margaritas with my Mesquite Grilled Steak Tacos. This one is my first.

It’s called the Cabo Wabo Rock n’ Rita and they make it table side.

They start off with a healthy portion of Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Tequila. Sammy’s tequila is one of the most easy going tequila out there. Very smooth. Great flavor.

From there, they add the citrus juices; Fresh Orange, fresh Lime, fresh Lemon.

It is then shaken and poured into your choice of sugar rimmed glass: Watermelon sugar… Lime sugar… or my favorite, Pineapple sugar.

This is a very sweet tequila but not too sweet. Most of the flavor is from the fresh fruit. However… and this is very important to me… Sammy’s Cabo Wabo is still a dominating presence.

I have never been disappointed with this drink. Chevy’s is very consistant with the mix. It will always taste the same. Overall, I would give this a 9 out of 10. It is not my all time favorite Margarita but it is definitely great.

Rebirth App

2010-06-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

The very first synth emulator I ever "bought" was Propellerhead's ReBirth. It was recently decomissioned. Now it has been released as an iPhone app for $6.99.

If you've never used ReBirth or any type of syth emulator, don't get this app. You'll just be wasting your time. If you have experience with emulators... don't get this app.

I like it because I'm a geek. To be honest, this app needs a ton of work. ReBirth would be great on the iPad. The iPhone is way too small and makes writing a song very clumsy.

Halo: Reach - Team SWAT

2010-06-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Commentary from a Team SWAT game on Swordbase. I had a great team.

Halo: Reach - Spartans vs. Elites

2010-05-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Gameplay on Swordbase. Spartans vs. Elites. I sped up my camping session to get the video under 10 minutes.

Halo: Reach - Invasion

2010-05-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

I just fixed my computer so I had to render something. What used to take me 3 to 5 hours to render HD at 30fps only takes me 28 minutes for HD at 60fps. Sweet!!! I didn't realize until after I rendered... we lost this game. Oops. I was doing relatively well and didn't realize the Spartans won.

Halo: Reach - Boneyard

2010-05-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Gameplay from the halo reach beta on the map boneyard.

Halo: Reach - Swordbase

2010-05-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Halo reach beta gameplay on the map sword base.

Halo: Reach - Power House

2010-05-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

Halo Reach Beta gameplay. It's really touch to get a feel for the new controls. If you play bumper jumper in halo 3, good news, they have that exact setup for bumper jumper on reach. Everyone else can just suck it up, i guess.

Halo: Reach Beta...

2010-05-17T18:42:00.000-07:00

My Brother, Erick Wales...

2010-04-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

My brother is still missing. Go to FindErickWales.com for more information

Mary J Blige on Oprah...

2010-04-14T17:59:00.001-07:00

I recorded MJB rendition of Stairway to Heaven and posted it on my daughter's YouTube account. It's in HD - 1080p.

A Friend's Perfection - pt2...

2010-04-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

My friend appreciated the first render... so he asked for another. No problem on my end. It's a hobby. Coming soon, a video tutorial on how to record your video games.

A Friend's Perfection...

2010-04-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's pretty annoying watching halo videos on youtube that were recorded with a video camera. I came across such a video the other day. I contacted the guy who recorded it and told him to send me the video. I rendered it for him and now the world is whole again.

Untouchable?

2010-03-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

I've got a couple of perfections already, but I don't have an untouchable perfection. Will I get one? I get pretty close but when the end comes, who knows what will happen...

PERFECTION!!!!

2010-03-02T09:10:00.000-08:00

This is part 1/2. A perfection on Big Team Slayer on Valhalla. I had an awesome team. So awesome, I didn't think I was going to get any kills at all. The other team was crap. I should have died like 3 times at least. I should've died. It's actually pretty pathetic that they weren't able to kill me.

I had my best Skyjacking ever. I show 3 angles to show off my skills. Actually, if I failed my skyjacking, it's likely the guy on top of the hill would've got me.

The recording gets a little skittish towards the end of part 2. I guess my video capture had a little hiccup. I would've fixed it but I was already too deep into my workflow to go back when I noticed it. Oh well...

At the end of the video, there will be a link to watch part 2 of the video.

Crappy MVP...

2010-02-28T21:00:00.000-08:00

I played horrible but I still got MVP... everyone else was just a little bit worse. This is a good example of how I play when I don't get a BR to start. I forking HATE the Assault Rifle. The thing doesn't work at all on big maps like Valhalla. BRs are great for long distance and for double teaming an opponent.

Big Team Warm Up on Valhalla

2010-02-22T19:16:00.000-08:00

When I'm playing crappy, I like to switch to the Big Team Social lobby. I usually run across a lot of n00bs and not so many 50s. It doesn't take long before I start to get my confidence back up.

In this map, I'm holding the center and just trying to kill red people. I end up making it through the whole map without dying. It's pretty sad that I did so well because my performance was pretty sub par.

Little Superstar...

2010-02-01T16:13:00.000-08:00

After watching the most recent installment of Arby n the Chief on YouTube, I found myself starved of comedy. My buddy Justin recommended we search for an old video guaranteed to bring laughter. This is the first video that popped into my mind...

High Definition...

2010-01-28T08:10:00.000-08:00

I have made the move to High Definition. Observe...

This is my perfection video rendered in HD. I used the Hauppauge 1212 HD-PVR rendered at 720P .MP4. This format is okay... I think I'll be going with the AVCHD .TS codec. It renders a little cleaner and there's not so much ghosting. The Justin Timberlake video I rendered (FOR MY WIFE!!!) was recorded using the AVCHD format.

If you're into recording stuff off your DVR -or- "backing up" BluRay movies that you purchased -or- recording your XBOX 360 or PS3 gaming sessions, this Hauppauge device may just be what you're looking for. It lists for around $250 but you can find it for below $200. It's very user friendly but it takes up a lot of hard drive space... for your recordings. You may want to pick up an external hard drive while you're out.

4x4x4 cube

2010-01-25T10:17:00.000-08:00

This video was filmed with my Canon HG10 HD camcorder. I wanted to define a workflow for uploading HD videos. I used Sony Vegas Video Pro 9c to edit. The song is Foregone Destruction (MvdB) by me. It's a remix/remake of a Michael Van Den Bos track from the Unreal Tournament Soundtrack.

Perfection...

2010-01-15T12:21:00.000-08:00

I've been playing Halo 3 since it came out over two years ago. I got the Perfection medal yesterday for the first time. I have been real close before on this very map only to get ganged up on in the last couple of minutes. I got it done this time.

I should have died during my first kill but the guy was a n00b. I went crazy with the Spartan Laser and got 7 kills. Again, only because the other team was loaded with n00bs. Seriously, who drives the warthog on Last Resort? Bad move, n00b.

I almost got myself killed inside on the stairs when I threw the power drain. I still haven't gotten used to the fact that Master Chief throws things with his left hand. Good thing I was playing against a bunch of n00bs on split screen.

Grenade Stick

2009-12-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

Halo 3 is great when it comes to posting your matches on youtube. The game comes with a theater mode where you can view the last 20 or 30 matches. You don't have to view the match from your own perspective, either. Theater mode allows you to view from any other player's 3rd person view or with a a free floating camera.

In this match, I jumped off a man cannon and stuck a Banshee that was shooting at my teammates. I had seen it done before so I figured I'd try it out myself...

...actually...

My original intent was to skyjack the banshee (jump onto the Banshee, rip the enemy out of the driver's seat, then steal the Banshee for myself). The plasma grenade stick was my backup plan.

I was surprised that I was able to stick him. Since then, however, I've done it many times. It's actually not hard at all.

Cube

2009-12-10T20:44:00.000-08:00

Halo3:ODST

2009-09-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

This game was just released today. The video below does an ok job of convicing me to go get it. More than that, it has convinced me that a live action Halo movie is long overdue. Would someone please make one?

Video Game Music...

2009-09-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

Prometheus is a game-mod to Unreal Tournament 3. Created by Rachel "AngelMapper" Cordone, it was entered into the $1,000,000 Make Something Unreal contest. After it won 1st place in phase 2 of 4, I joined the team as a music composer.

The video below shows some game footage featuring my music. I wrote eight songs for the game. The first five songs, for Prometheus levels, each have seven layers. The last three songs, for Epimetheus levels, each have five versions.

For the Prometheus levels, the player controls five "Quantum States" (QS) starting with #1 and ending with #5. During the first QS, the song plays with only a beat. Each QS after adds another layer to the song until the song is complete when the level is complete.

For the Epimetheus levels, the player controls three Quantum States in an order. In fact, the player can replay any QS over again as many times as he wants. Since the QS interaction is random, AngelMapper wanted the song system different than for Prometheus levels. Each QS gets a different remix of the same song.

What I really like about the music system for this game is how good of a job AngelMapper did on the programming end. If you notice, there are no trainwrecks (see definition below). Each version/layer of the song is seamlessly crossfaded into the next version/layer. This feature is not part of the original game. In fact, I hate writing music for the game because of the train wrecks that occur when trasitioning between different versions.

Prometheus can be downloaded here. You can find more information about the game at ModDB.com. You will need have Unreal Tournament 3 installed in order to play the game-mod.

train wreck [treyn rek] - noun
A sudden and disastrous [change of the beat or] halt in the music 'set' played by a DJ. Often associated with the music styles of House and Techno where a set can last for an hour or longer. This calamity results in the loss of rhythm and ‘flow’ in a club or rave, which in turn presents a certain negative attitude by the attendees toward the DJ. This is best defined as ‘boo’. This condition often throws the DJ into an extreme state of apprehension and a fevered determination to save his cred usually resulting in an increased chance of causing another train wreck. Technical problems associated with equipment do not qualify under this definition. Derived from the visual image of a train, traveling at high speed, smashing into an brick wall.
UrbanDictionary.com

Chula Vista!

2009-08-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

I Prefer Margaritas...

2009-08-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

"I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis."

Those are the words of the most interesting man in the world. You may ask yourself, if he doesn't always drink beer, why drink beer at all? I figured out why last night.

I went out to dinner with my family to a little Mexican Restaurant in Santa Barbara - Palapa Restaurant. They have, hands down, the worst Margaritas in the world.

I've had Margaritas on 6 of the 7 continents. I've tasted the watered down disasters of Tijuana, Mexico. I drank a warm, ice-less concoction in Pusan, South Korea. I make a serious effort to drink a Margarita everywhere I go.

I wish I had a Dos Equis at Palapa.

When I ordered the margarita, the waiter warned me that it would be weak; The tequila they use is only 40 proof. It tasted like dirty water with a twist of sweaty feet. I couldn't taste the tequila at all. The waiter brought me a shot just before we left. 40 proof tequila tastes just like 80 proof - so that's not the reason it tastes so bad. It's just a horrible mix. I almost didn't finish it.

On a side note: if you ever find yourself in an Asian country trying to teach a bartender how to make a margarita, be sure to list ice as one of the ingredients.

Brandon Sanderson

2009-08-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

November 3rd, 2009 is the day the book 12 of the Wheel of Time series is scheduled to be released. This will be the first book of the series featuring Brandon Sanderson as a co-author.

As you know the original author, Robert Jordan, passed away on September 16th, 2007. Before he died, he had completed the ending and other parts of the final book. Since then, Brandon Sanderson has been selected to finish the series - AND - Tor Books has decided to split the last book into 3 separate books.

A lot of Wheel of Time fans were so excited that the series was going to be complete that they didn't care who was going to be the new author. I wasn't one of them. I wanted to know who this mysterious author that Tor Books chose.

So who is Brandon Sanderson? Is he a good author? We he be able to live up to the massive expectations that come with finishing this series? I wanted to know so I went out about and bought three of his books:

Elantris - Brandon's first book.
Warbreaker - Brandon's most recent novel.
Mistborn - Book 1 of Brandon's first series.

I read Elantris first. For a first novel, this book was great. I have some issues with the dialog; It seemed a little unrealistic, almost like a Quentin Tarantino movie. Despite the dialog, it was a great story with a simple but interesting magic system. Some people may think it's a little slow in certain areas. I think the pace is just fine. The ending is one of the best endings I've read in awhile.

Elantris is a stand-alone novel but it could easily be the first book of a series. Brandon has talked about someday writing a sequel. There are a couple of subtle story arcs that could easily be exploited to continue the story.

I read Warbreaker 2nd for two reasons. First, I didn't want to start a series (Mistborn) and follow it with a stand-alone. Second, I wanted to see how much Brandon had progressed between his first novel and his most recent.

I could see the difference right away. The diaglog was so much better - Smart, witty, real. The magic system, however, was a little cheesy; It uses breath and colors. The story more than made up for the magic system. The ending wasn't as good as Elantris but it still had the same tension and suspence.

One thing I really liked about this book was one of his main characters, Lightsong. He's a God who doesn't believe in his own religion. His bad attitude towards his extremely pampered life is a source for endless comedy.

Warbreaker and Elantris compliment each other well. Elantris is about an abandoned city that used to be home of the Gods. Warbreaker is about a city that is still home of the Gods.

Mistborn is the best book I've read in a long time. After finishing a chapter, I wanted to start another. The pace is perfect. Every single point of view was interesting. The magic system is the most creative I've ever seen. The story is great and the ending is spectacular.

Mistborn is book 1 of 3 of the Mistborn series but this book could easily be a stand alone. I haven't read book two or three but I plan to in the next couple of weeks. If book two and three are anywhere close to as good as the first one, this could end up being my favorite series of all time.

One thing I noticed about all three books... When I started geting close to the end, I had no idea if the "good guy" or the "bad guy" was going to win - and I'm not going to tell you who does. Just know that Sanderson ain't no Jordan. He has no problem killing off a character or two.

After reading these three books, I know Sanderson is up to the task regarding the Wheel of Time series. He's got a great voice and a knack for suspence and tension. My only hope is that he gets this Wheel of Time gig overwith quickly so he can get back to writing his own novels.

For -or- Against?

2009-08-11T18:57:00.000-07:00

If you can't see the video above, it's likely that Obama's brown shirts have removed it, and every other copy, from the Internet in an attempt to silence any dissenting opinion (even if it's by the President himself).

Obama must think the general population is stupid. Maybe we are. I consider myself to be average in intelligence and education - High school graduate with some college with a 1400 on my SATs back in 12th grade. His argument for Government-run Health Insurance can be summed up this way:

When it comes to sending mail,
the Government-run Post Office is A.F.U.
Private enterprise (FedEx and UPS) are doing great and have great service.

If this is Obama's argument for Government-run Health Insurance, he does think America is stupid. As history has continually shown, Government-run anything is never a good idea.

The only way our founding fathers were able to convince 13 Colonies to band together into a union was to promise them to keep the Federal Government limited. The Colonies back then didn't want to give up their governance to an all powerful central entity. The Constitution was written to allow the States sovereignty - the ability to govern themselves. The Federal Government, however, was limited to specific areas.

The Constitutional requirement of smaller government is one of my arguments against Government-run and mandated Health Insurance. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the Federal Government is supposed to put their grubby mittens on health insurance, deposit insurance, retirement insurance, education, etc.

When you look at the things that Government is involved in, on the Federal, State, and local level, you won't find much success. Obama is talking trash about the Post Office in the video above. Think about it for a second and ask yourself these questions.

Would you rather send a gift with the Post Office or with FedEx, DHL, or UPS?
Would you rather send your kid to Public School or Private School?
Can you count on Social Security to be there when you retire?

When you honestly answer these questions, how can you not be against Government-run anything? In my opinion, the Government is too large. It's time to roll back all of these inflated government programs and start putting things where they belong... in the private sector.

It's time to do your country a favor; Write your Congressman or Senator and tell them to say NO to Socialism.

Got Balls...

2009-07-31T19:33:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of some balls. Nothing much. Didn't take long to model. Didn't take long to apply materials. This was an excercise in depth of field. I wanted the object to be in focus and everything else to progressivly blur. I think it worked alright.

Vacation: Approved...

2009-07-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

San Diego, here I come. The only question is if my wife's vacation will be approved. Then we'll be heading down the week of August 17th.

My parents strong armed someone and now they have free use of a beach side condo. This is going to be great!

Another interesting opportunity has arisen. It seems that all three golfers who either hold or have held the Anchor Cup will be in San Diego at the same time. If you consider there are 90+ golf courses in the general area, this could end up being an epic battle for the Anchor Cup.

Tee time will be early Monday morning at a yet to be determined golf course.

The contestants:

Erick "Buster Douglas" Wales - Defending Champion and current holder of the Anchor Cup. What's with the nickname? Well, let's face it. It was complete luck that he ended up with the trophy to begin with. And like James "Buster" Douglas, it's likely he won't hold on to it for long.

Bill "George Foreman" Wales - His claim to fame is he started this whole tradition. He has been Sans-trophy for almost a year. It was last August (2008) when he was annihilated by me. What's with the nickname? Well, let's face it. He's a little too old for this game. And just like "George Foreman", he may have had a good run but his time is up. If he's lucky, I'll let him see his reflection in the Anchor Cup as I take it from Erick's hands.

Danny "Floyd Mayweather" Saiz - (Excuse me as I Ricky Henderson this part. It sounds better if I go 3rd person) One time Champion who lost the Cup on rented clubs and a hangover. Now he's got a killer driver and his own clubs. Can anyone stop him? I think not. What's with the nickname? Before he retired (stopped playing golf due to Daughter), he was considered the best pound for pound golfer in the world. Now he's coming back out of retirement to claim what is rightfully his. The Amateurs have had their fun.

Now that we have established that I am good at talking trash, we can get down to some real talk. In reality, the Anchor Cup can go home with just about any of us. Bill Wales has got the experience and consistency. Erick Wales has the youth, the ever-developing talent and nerves of steel (he sank a 10 foot putt to take the Cup from me). And myself? I've got waning distance and terrible inaccuracy with my irons. That should make it fair for the rest of them.

Disclaimer - of the three golfers in the promotional flyer, only Danny Saiz actually has a mustache. Bill Wales shaved his mustache in 1991 and Erick Wales can't grow any facial hair whatsoever to save his life. The mustaches appearing on their faces were photoshopped from material taken from the band "the Silent Comedy", used without permission. To make up for my complete lack of respect for trademarks and copyrights, I ask that anyone who reads this should immediately download all songs posted on iTunes written/performed by "the Silent Comedy".

Cobra - Speed LD-F Drivers 2008

2009-07-24T22:13:00.001-07:00

I GOT A NEW DRIVER!!!

I used this driver when I rented it at Riverwalk in San Diego. I sliced every single shot about 90 degrees. So why did I buy it? Because I'm crazy!! Or not.

There are some important differences. The biggest is the flex. The San Diego driver, which was a 10.5 degree, had a regular flex. I'm used to driving with my tiny little Orlimar 9 degree. A regular flex is ok with the smaller driver head. This driver head is the full 460. The regular flex opens up the club face with my normal swing.

The driver I got, a 9.5 degree, came with a stiff shaft... uh... let's call it a stiff flex. With my normal grip (closed face) and a medium to fast downswing, the extra firmness of the shaft will keep the club face perpendicular to my target line.

I hit a couple of balls and so far, so good. The contact sounds a little different but it feels nice a solid. I'm guessing that I'm getting about 15 to 20 yards of extra distance against my old, beat up Orlimar. There is a little bit of a fade in the shot but it's definitely straighter than that rental I used at Riverwalk. I can't wait to play a full round with this. I'm hoping to shave at least 5 strokes off my game.

Working Vacation...

2009-06-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

Considering all of my responsiblities (work, family, ect.), I have always thought of sleeping as a vacation. If you think about it, it's probably a vacation for you as well. It's a time to relax, stretch out, close your eyes, forget the world, and dream. When I wake up, I'm refreshed, I feel great, and I'm ready to face the real world with a little bit more energy and enthusiasm.

Sometimes my dreams are demanding. If I stay up too late playing a video game and I can't get past a certain level, I'll have a demanding dream; I'll dream about figuring a way out of the level. When I have a demanding dream, it's like taking a working vacation. I get a little less relaxed. My energy is only slighty recharged.

On a completely unrelated note (which is my sarcastic way of saying "related note"), I made this render today after dreaming of it last night. Two questions...

1 - What is it?
2 - What does it do?

BTW, this is exactly how I visualize this in my demanding dreams.

How Is This Fun?

2009-06-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

Why?!?! I just cleaned up her toys when I received a call from my golf buddy. No golf tomorrow because of a surprise visit from his family. I immediately called the golf course to cancel my tee time. I was about to call my wife so she could celebrate when I noticed that Malia had just undone my cleanup. It probably took her 5 minutes because I know I wasn't on the phone that long. I can't wait until she's old enough to do chores.

SHARE WITH A SHIPMATE

2009-06-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

The Navy is great! I know they make you work a crap-ton of hours. I know you hardly get any sleep, standing watch most of the night. I know they like to send you out to sea for months at a time, sometimes evading ports like the plague. All that aside, they have these book racks throughout the ship. Free Books!!! That more than makes up for everything else.

I guess I should incorporate the title of this blog post... each free book had a stamp on the side that said "SHARE WITH A SHIPMATE". Now that that's out of the way, here are a couple of books I found on the USS John C. Stennis.

This Alien Shore - C. S. Friedman

There are no aliens in this book unless you consider the hundreds of genetic mutations/mutilations that occurred to Mankind during the 1st space age.

In an attempt to relieve the strains of an overpopulated system, Earth sent out hundreds of ships to colonize far away systems. The ships used a brand new propulsion technology which allowed fast travel over great distances. The use of this technology caused disturbing transformations resulting in human "Variations". These Variants were not only drastically different that the Terrans of Earth, they were also different from each other - you might call them Alien.

The fear that resulted from these events forced Earth to cease all interstellar travel. A period of Isolation immediately followed. Earth did not attempt to contact the Variant colonies. The Variant colonies did not contact each other. Colonies that had just begun and still required assistance from Earth fell into dark ages.

Fast forward a bit into the future, a Variant race known as Guerans has discovered a new method of travel. This launches the 2nd space age. Contact is made and interstellar travels resumes. The Guerans protect the secret of this new method of space travel and form a Spacing Guild which is very similar to the Spacing Guild of the Dune universe.

Believe it or not, this marks the beginning of the story. The beginning of two story arcs.

1 - A virus surfaces which threatens this new method of space travel. The virus has the capability to send the Humans into a new era of Isolation. An extraordinary programmer is hired to hunt the creator and attempt to deactivate the virus before permanent damage results. The programmer fights his own fears of unfamiliar environments and enlists the help of a couple of hackers to get the job done.

2 - A beautiful 20 somethings woman flees an Earth space station after it comes under attack. She leaves Earth space and travels to Variant space, not knowing who is chasing her... or why.

Are the story arcs related or not? I'll leave that for you. It's a great story that explores some of the details that SciFi fans loves: Space travel, Alien races (Variants), Cyberspace battles, and an super inflated, out of control OuterNet.

A Deepness in the Sky - Vernor Vinge

This is the future of humanity. Well established colonies though out the galaxy rise and fall in a cycle of around 500 years. Fleets of trading vessels travels between these colonies, immune from the static conditions that would lead to a collapse of civilization. The human universe is large, but defined.

The primary motivation of these trading fleets is to trade technological advancements between the colonies. The secondary, and less profitable motivation is to search for Alien races. The search for Alien races has yet to yield anything.

Until now.

The story begins with the discovery of an anomaly. A star in some far off system that turns on and off over a 250 year cycle. The star is aptly named OnOff Star. Interest in the star is amplified with the discovery of radio frequency communications. The communications are alien. The world is not known to be human colonized. It must be another race.

Two fleets converge on the star system. The Queng Ho, a fleet of traders that have been around of 1000 years, and the Emergents, a strange civilization based on human slavery and dominance.

This book is my favorite of the two. It features a vast and believable universe with technological wonders that make you think, that could really exist. What really blows my mind is the authors achievement in making the Alien race feel real. About half of the book is written in their POVs.

Too be honest, I think both books are definitely worth picking up. After finishing them, I found myself wanting more from these universes. Fortunately, Vernor Vinge does have another title, "A Fire Upon the Deep", which takes place about 20,000 years in the future. There isn't anything is the works yet for a sequel to "The Alien Shore". Doesn't matter. These books are great. If you're a SciFi fan, pick them up.

The Gathering Storm...

2009-05-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Tor books has released the cover art for book 12 of the Wheel of Time series. Just like all previous cover art, this was done by Darryl K. Sweet. Just like all previous cover art, it sucks. But that's just my opinion.

What do you think?

My guess is if you're a fan, you are pretty disappointed with this highly anticipated book's cover art. But at the same time, you're not going to care much. Who cares what the cover looks like. All that's important to the average fan is how good the story is.

There is a good chance that if you are not a fan, you're probably not going to buy this book without reading the first 11 installments. However, if you're at the book store and you see this hardcover next to the paperback versions of all the previous books, I'm thinking you'll be put off from picking up book 1.

If I had never heard of the Wheel of Time and I saw this at Border's Books, I definitely wouldn't buy it. Who wants to read a story about a cross-dressing Bret Michaels who travels back in time to Little House on the Prairie and spends time with some firefighter with dragon tattoos who just lost his hand in a fire?

It's Very Cold In Space...

2009-05-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

The other day, I decided to take a trip around the world utilizing a Low Earth Orbiting Vehicle. I took a couple of photographs. Enjoy...

Ok... I wasn't really in space. These are actually 3D renders that I made using 3DS Max and some earth images I found online. Believe it or not, these were rendered with Scanline instead of Mental Ray.

She's 1/4 Mexican...

2009-05-14T18:29:00.000-07:00

Let me say right off the bat, Malia ate everything on her plate. This isn't necessarily proof that I'm a great cook. After all, she is just a baby. Have you ever tasted the puree peas in a jar?

Here's the lineup. Batting first is a hearty helping of home-made Spanish Rice. I didn't make a whole batch just for her. This is actually leftover rice from Mama and Dada's build-your-own tacos.

Second up is some home-heated up, canned pinto beans. Canned pinto beans are sooooo much easier and less time consuming than the home-made version. They are still a little time consuming because I have to cut each individual bean in half with some kid scissors we bought at Target.

In the hole... home-made quesadilla. This one is super simple to make. Pan on Medium. Tortilla, cheese, fold, flip... done. Of course, I also have a little more work to do there. I'm required by my wife to cut the quesadilla into 1/2 cm. x 1/2 cm. bite-size morsels. Fortunately, I'm a pro with the knife, drawing on my extensive experience in Veg-Prep on board the USS California (shout out to Addis, Shun & Jason).

Honestly, this is a pretty simple meal to prepare... and Malia absolutely loves it. Again, not a testament to my cooking ability. I just think that she feels the whole Mexican food experience is fun.

BTW, the drink container does not contain a Margarita. It is just water. She's a lot like me as far as the way she looks and acts but she's not addicted to Margaritas yet.

Three Dee Ess Max...

2009-05-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

I just "Purchased" 3DS Max 2010.

It's weird. When I first started it up, I thought for just a second it was a cruel joke. The user interface was a big blob of gray shading. Fortunately, I was able to clean it up a little. After about 5 minutes messing with a custom UI, I made it somewhat visually appealing... at least enough to start working on something simple.

The good news is the lighting seems a little easier to figure out. The bad news? Nothing yet. More to come...

Loodacris Intro...

2009-05-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

This was made back in 2006 for a fellow gamer. When she starts her game up, this is the intro that plays. Her talent was in defending the flag - by constantly spamming the flag base or anyone she sees, including her own team - so I thought it was fitting to have her defending the flag in her video.

Again, I made this with UT2004. The map I used was a custom map that I had made earlier the previous year. The music was taken from "Belgian Resistance" by Sharpside, which is the track that I use in the map.

Milk Math...

2009-05-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

When I was in High School and Middle School, I drank a lot of milk. My Dad said when I moved out, he went from buying 1 gallon every two days to 1 gallon a week. I didn't believe him when he said it. Now that Malia's drinking whole milk, I could easily see how my Dad could be right.

Malia's Pediatrician told us to give her Whole Milk instead of formula after her first birthday. Before, I would buy a 1/2 gallon every five days. Now I buy a gallon every 3 or 4 days. She's only 19 lbs. and she's already drinking a bunch. If she's anything like her dad, I'll be buying a gallon a day by the time she's in elementary school.

Propellerhead Reason...

2009-05-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

It's really hard for me to come up with something to design with 3DS Max. It's easier for me to just pick a logo and make a 3D version of it. Yesterday I decided to do a render of Propellerhead Reason's logo shown here:

This is what I came up with:

The orange boxes are just chamber boxes booleaned with a cylinder. The orange colored material is a high gloss ceramic and the black material is a two tone car paint. I used two white self-illuminated boxes to stimulate the center sphere. The stage material is a polished cement. All materials except for the self-illuminated white are standard mental ray materials.

The lighting was a little tough for me. I still haven't mastered lighting with 3DS Max 2009. I used two photometric target lights at 110K lm from each side to simulate relfected light. I also used a standard omni, with shadows enabled, from above and behind. Most of the ambient light was generated from a standard skylight directly above center.

More logos to come...

Big Smiles...

2009-05-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

I work graveyard shift so I am by myself a lot of the time. The other day I was doing a Cold Check and I thought no one else was in the room. I was startled when, out of nowhere, one of my co-workers asked me why I was smiling so big. I didn't realize I was smiling but I knew why I was.

I was thinking of Malia.

My answer to my co-worker was that I told myself a joke I've never heard before. I learned almost right away that my co-workers are a little less appreciative of baby stories than most co-workers. I've learned to keep most of them to myself.

Part of it is my lack of story telling talent. I have a hard time expressing my experiences verbally. But, thanks to modern home video technology, if I have a story to tell, I can just film it.

So here's what I was smiling about...

Spades...

2009-05-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a header design I made for my brother's poker blog. I actually made a lot of different styles but this is the one my brother likes the best.

The 4 suits were modeled with 3DS Max 2007. I used a chrome material for the edges and a checkered car paint material for the center. The surface is also a car paint material but I lower the reflectivity to lower it's presence.

My goal was to make it look as real as possible. After I finished, I felt it looked real but not real enough. I changed my goal to make it look a little abstract. I opened the file in Adobe Photoshop CS3 and added a plastic wrap filter.

Here are some other examples...

Hahaha... Remember This Video?

2009-04-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

This first time I saw this video, I was crying laughing. I had just finished forklift training and got my forklift license when the instructor showed us this video. Don't watch if you're squimish. Starts slow but then gets gory/funny.

What makes this film great is that it's 100% accurate. This is exactly what they talk about during forklift safety. Also, the music is pretty hip.

Stupid M.F. P.O.S. Internet Filters

2009-04-26T02:50:00.000-07:00

My work just decided to block all "social networking" websites. This includes Facebok, MySpace, and aparently Blogspot.com.. I feel like I'm living in China except for the oversite regarding YouTube. For some weird reason, YouTube is stil accessable. I can almost understand the logic. I am not allowed to update facebook during working hours because that could help me find a better job. However, I am alowed to watch countless hours of Jackass episodes on YouTube because that doesn't interfere with work.

On a related note, it is really hard to write a blog post using my phone.

Remember that one time you started a blog...

2009-04-23T07:30:00.001-07:00

I suck. I never commit to anything (like a paragraph or a thought). I've always thought that I was a little bit good at a whole lot of stuff; I'm not really good at any one thing. I think that has a lot to do with why I don't finish things.

Also... I'm a perfectionist.

So here I am, writing an entry in my blog. Why? Because I created a blog so the least I can do is update it every so often. I missed the entire month of March without a post. Time to make up for it by spamming my blog with a bunch of crap. Again, I'm a perfectionist so you can probably understand how hard this is for me.

What make it a little easier (posting crap) is drilling through this big, egotistical head of mine and driving home a point of fact that I choose to ignore because... well... I have an ego. The point of fact? Nobody reads my freaking blog anyway. So post away, crap master. You won't be receiving any hate email or losing any followers - by the way, the preceding was self talk in case you didn't notice.

Back to the crap...

What's going on in my boring life? I have a beautiful daughter (and wife). I just moved from a 2x2 to a 3x3. I haven't golfed in a long time (way too long, more crying later), I'm working graveyard. I'm writing music again (at least what passes for music for the average E-tarded teenager). I'm learning about 3D art/animation. I'm reading a new fantasy series - A Song of Ice and Fire.

OK, so my life isn't so boring to me. Actually, I happen to love my life. With exception to the golf neglect, I've been getting enough sleep and I feel really fulfilled with my family and my hobbies. There is a little thing in my head that has been driving me crazy. I can't really point it out but it goes a little something like this...

I think I want to create something. I create things all the time, like this crappy blog post or some amateur 3D render. Those creations are kind of small and insignificant. I want to create something big. For those who are super familiar with my work (all two of you, one of them being me), you might raise you hand and say I have already done that either with my photography stint with the Longs Drugs Challenge or with Jenny Rosales' official website. I admit; at the time, I felt those were big accomplishments. The problem is I feel they were off the back of talent from another source... like the LPGA or Jenny.

I want to create something big and important and meaningful and well known to a lot of people (not a nuclear explosion). Like a novel or a 3D animated short film. The problem is that I suck. I never commit to anything. Novels and films take a lot of work. I have some great ideas floating round my head but I never get around to letting them out. Also, I'm only a little bit good and a whole lot of stuff.

So now I'm back where I started. I'm thankful for my life: great family, fun hobbies, tolerable job. I'm just going to suck it up and learn to live without that great important creation. Seriously, how many people actually get to do those kinds of things? I created Malia (with a little bit of help from the wife). She's small, but she's important and meaningful and well known to at least my family. She's pretty freaking cute, too.

Back to the golf...

Seriously, I shoot a 90 for the best score of my life and then spend the next 6 months golfing only once (and losing the family trophy in the process). If I go golfing today, I'll be lucky to break 110. Is it too much to ask for 1 round every 2 weeks? I need to keep up my game.

FYI, I just did my first spell check and every word is spelled correctly... except for E-tarded. But I invented that word. It's short for Retarded on Exstasy. And I just spelled Ecstasy wrong.

It's not the money. Golf here in the Bay Area is relatively cheap. It's the time and energy required. Golf takes about 5.5 hours out of my life. I spend 9 hours with work, 6 hours sleeping and the rest of the time, I spend with my girls. I suppose I could golf when I get off work but then I have the energy factor to consider.

If I golf in the morning then work that night, I find it really hard to stay awake past 1am. Then around 3am, I get the most painful cramps in my calves - OK, I admit I don't really have anything worth calling calves. I normally call them chicken legs but I call them calves here so you can have a good anatomical point of reference regarding the source of my pain. I can't just say cramps without the anatomical reference or you may think I am having Pre Menstrual Symptoms... which I am not because I am a dude - and in my triceps. I can't work very well half asleep and in too much pain to walk.

So I guess the only day I can golf would be Thursday morning. My father-in-law is here Thursday mornings to watch Malia while Mama is working and Dada is sleeping. If I skip out on the sleep and golf instead, I'll be tired. But that's OK because I won't have to work that night. That is my best option.

Sleep... or Golf. See how good my life is? This is about how tough my decissions get. I guess I truly am a blessed dude... a little lucky, too.

Until next time...

long time...

2009-04-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't made a post in awhile, here's a quick little render.

Tweaking...

2009-02-19T22:42:00.001-08:00

I recently "purchased" 3D Studio Max 2009. The previous version I had was 2007. This is so much better. It took awhile for me to get through a lot of the changes but I think I'm finally figuring it out. Below is my blog header plus the re-rendered version using the new version of Mental Ray and also using some great mental ray materials that came with the software.

3ds max 2007

3ds max 2009

Geeking...

2009-01-29T04:11:00.000-08:00

Here's another logo. BSL stands for Bath Scientific, Ltd. That's the company that built the machine that I run at work. I made this to use as a desktop wallpaper on the machines control computer. I know... I need to get over the whole chrome thing. I promise I'll start working on other types of materials.

J.Ro Logo

2009-01-17T08:53:00.000-08:00

The 2009 season is about to start for the LGPA. I decided to make a 3D logo for my favorite golfer, Jenny Rosales. I used ornament material for the blue outline. I used a checkered carpaint Raytrace for the pink and a chrome material for the... chrome looking part. I'll probably make a desktop wallpaper available for download on her website.

San Diego Super Chargers...

2009-01-12T02:34:00.001-08:00

What a great season it would have been if they went all the way. Oh well, maybe next year.
Those Steelers looked really good Sunday. The Chargers? Not so good.

Phillip Rivers was great when he actually got the chance to play. He had two plays that I think really messed up the Chargers chances. The first was in the 2nd quarter, I think. Vincent Jackson broke free on a stop and go but Rivers put a little too much on the ball. Jackson laid out and almost made a great play. If Rivers hits him in stride, he may have gone all the way.

The 2nd play was that dreadful interception after mini-me's great kickoff return. The thing is, it wasn't River's fault. That ball was deflected at the line of scrimmage and made like a punt with the ensuing hang time. Bad luck.

Rivers finished 21 for 35, 308 yards, 3 touchdowns and that lamer interception. Those stats look pretty good except that 62 of those yards came on Darren Sproles 62 yard "mercy" touchdown (if the game was close, Palomalu would have rocked him).

Darren Sproles, the hero of last week's upset of the NFL MVP was significantly less stellar. He only had 270 all purpose yards. You might think 270 is a lot... and it is. You have to remember that the Steelers scored 5 times and therefore had to kick off 6 times. Darren got 5 of those kick offs and 2 punts, racking up 164 return yards. The biggest return was the 63 yarder that was capped off by a crappy interception. There was also one punt he didn't get to return because Weddle thought he was playing soccer and tried to header the football. And don't forget the 62 yards gained on the "Mercy" touchdown.

The part of the game that really made me mad was the Charger's defense. Everyone knows the basics of the 3-4 defense. For those that don't, here's a quick explanation... the 3 stands for three down linemen. The 4 stands for four linebackers. The three linemen generally rush the quarterback or try and stop the run. The four linebackers are supposed to defend the short to intermediate pass and also plug gaps in the case of a run. Also, coaches sometimes blitz one of the linebackers so that there are four defenders to contain the quarterback. The trick of this scheme is to disguise which linebacker is going to blitz.

I guess that sounds crafty but it really isn't. Any high school offense line can defend against a basic 3-4 pass rush, even if one of the linebackers blitzs. If you really want an effective pass rush, you need to send more than just one linebacker. The Chargers, for some reason, don't do this. They only sent one linebacker on pretty much every single play.

I understand that the Steelers had established the run. I also understand that sending two or three linebackers on a pass rush when the offense decides to run can be really bad. But you at least have to guess and blitz the crap out of them every once in awhile... like on 3rd and 11 or 3rd and 6 or any of the other 3rd and long situations that the Steelers converted on with great ease because Ben had a ton of time in the pocket.

Maybe I'm on crack. Maybe I have this all wrong. After all, I'm not the football coach in the family... that's my brother Brandon. But it seems to me that the defense that did such a great job making Peyton Manning cry last week was a completly different set of guys for this game against the Steelers.

Maybe next year.

Brandon Saiz vs. John Clayton...

2008-12-29T15:07:00.000-08:00

My brother, the football coach, wrote a cool article about my AFC West Champion San Diego Super Chargers. It won't be published because he pretty much calls John Clayton an idiot. However, it's a great read if you have a team in the playoffs.

Speaking of the AFC West Champion San Diego Super Chargers (of soon to be Oceanside), what a great late season charge! I went to work Sunday night with the biggest grin on my face. No pats on the back because they're all fans of that college team, the Oakland Raiders. Aside from that, what a great game against the Broncos. That revenge was so satisfying.

Ornament Material quick tutorial...

2008-12-22T17:11:00.000-08:00

After many hours of tweaking around in the material browser, I have finally figured out how to simulate christmas ornaments using the mental ray engine.

Using a standard materail, I set up the diffuse to black RGB(0,0,0). Specular Level:80, Glossiness: 40. Use a fresnel falloff map in the reflection with an intensity between 50 and 65. The falloff mix curve should be set up as shown below.

The second color on the falloff is set as "raytrace" map with your favorite HDR image as the background map. The first color of the falloff will be a "mix" map.

The first mix map color will be another raytrace map with the environment settings as the background map. the second mix map color should be set to whatever color you want the Christmas ornament to look like... except you'll want to drop each RGB channel by about 10 to 15.

The mix level should be set whichever way looks best. The ball on the left is set to 15. The red ball is set at 40 and the green ball is set at 50.

Setup the mental ray for final gather (set to around 40 or 50). Also, I use the Lanczos filter with pixel sampling setup at 4 min. and 16 max.

There you go. Rendering time will take a long time. You can kill the fresnel level raytrace for faster rendering times but you will lose quality. Add it to your favorite ornament model and you're done.

More 3d Logos...

2008-12-12T21:42:00.000-08:00

America's Team

Brandon's Team

2009 Superbowl winners

Chargers 3d Logo...

2008-12-05T14:26:00.001-08:00

I spent a lot of last week learning how to make realistic materials for 3DS Max. This image was made using a chrome-like material and a couple of high gloss materials.

It took me just a couple of hours to model. It took another hour to figure out the lighting. A couple of tweaks to the rendering engine and this is what I got. It took 4 minutes to render this one image. I also rendered a high resolution (1440 x 900) for my new desktop wallpaper. If you want one for yourself, email me.

a'dam 3d render...

2008-11-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

This is an a'dam from the Wheel of Time series. I rendered it with 3ds Max. This scene is made up of 1 light, 1 camera, 8 materials, 38 objects and 195,140 polygons. It took about 10 hours to make.

So what's an a'dam?

"An a'dam is a ter'angreal designed to hold a female channeler captive. It takes the form of a flexible silver collar and bracelet, usually joined by a long "leash" although that convention is not strictly necessary to its functioning. They form a basis for the "leashed channeler" social status in the Seanchan Empire; the leashed woman is called a damane ("Leashed one"), and the women who holds the bracelet a sul'dam ("Leash holder")."

a'dam. WoT.wikia.com. Retrieved November 29, 2008, from WoT.wikia.com website: http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/A%27dam

2008-11-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

I made a flash countdown timer for Malia's Birthday. It is being used on her blog, allaboutmei-mei. It was pretty simple to make. The hardest part was the graphics. The actionscript was ripped off an online tutorial... a little bit of editing and modifying was all it took.

Hardest hit ever...

2008-11-26T13:52:00.000-08:00

I just finished uploading this to youtube. Check out the ball carrier's helmet logo. It does not survive the collision.

WoT Movie...

2008-11-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of days ago, Dragonmount.com announced that Red Eagle Entertainment was going to produce a movie based on the Eye of the World, book 1 of the Wheel of Time series.

Exciting...

That got me thinking a lot about who would be cast as some of the main characters. Here is a list of some actors/actesses that I think would be a good idea. You can reference a post by seamas without pants , which shows artistic renditions of various characters. Keep in mind, I only name these people based on their appearance, not their acting talent.

Rand al'Thor - Christian Bale
Perrin Aybara - Jake Hager
Mat Cauthon - Seann William Scott
Morraine Damodred - Kate Beckensale
Lan Mandragoran - Vigo Mortenson
Nynaeve al'Meara - Summer Glau
Egwene al'Vere - Vanessa Hudgens
Wil al'Seen - Zach Efron
Padan Fain - Jeff Goldblum
Min Farshaw - Jewel Staite
Loial - Rosie O'Donnell
Bayle Domon - Robin Williams
Logain Ablar - Hugh Jackman
Ba'alzammon - Peter Stormare
Morgasse Trakand - Angelina Jolie
Gareth Bryne - Clive Owen
Elayne Trakrand - Taylor Swift
Siuan Sanche - Catherine Zeta Jones
Elaida a'Roihan - Sigorney Weaver

From later books:

Aviendha - Alicia Keys
Faile Aybara - Carrie-Anne Moss
Tuon - Sophie Okonedo
Berelain Sur Paendrag - Jessica Alba

Gears of War 2...

2008-11-07T22:55:00.000-08:00

Gears of War 2 is out and I own it.

Sunnyvale Golf (10-18)

2008-11-05T23:01:00.000-08:00

Hole #10 - Par 5, 500 yards

Aim your drive to the far right side of the fairway. You should try and crush if you want to reach in two. If you slice, there is a lot of real estate in the 11th fairway so don't worry too much.

If you really get hold of it, you will be left with between 200 and 250 yards to the green. The farther you hit, the better your chances, obviously. There are 8 sand traps in play during your second shot. 5 traps on the left, 1 on the right, and 2 on the back of the green.

You should choose a club that you know you can hit straight. If that means laying up, lay up. Don't mess with the traps on the right or you will be hitting trap to trap until you reach the green.

If you hit over the green, one of two things will happen. 1) you'll land in one of the two traps. 2) you'll end up under the fence and on highway 237. Don't hit over the green.

Hole #11 - Par 4, 380 yards

Aim to the left of the fairway bunker. Don't aim over the bunker unless you have some serious power. It is a 255 yard carry. A good 1st shot will leave a 125 yard pitching wedge. Stick it close and putt for birdie.

Hole #12 - Par 4, 360 yard

This is a complicated hole that can turn into a 400 yard par 4 if you don't play it right. Everything depends on your drive.

If you hit an iron, aim just to the right of the fairway bunker. If you hit a driver, it will take 200 yards to carry the bunker and land on the fairway... but if you hit it more than 250 yards, you'll hit through the fairway and end up in the rough.

I play this hole like a wanna-be Tiger. I tee it up an extra 1/4 inch and aim over that first tall tree (see image on the left). That angle requires a 245 yard carry and will leave a 65 yard loft wedge for your second shot.

It is a little risky but I find there is not much trouble if I don't make it to the fairway. Plus, if I slice it, I end up in the middle of the fairway just past the fairway bunker.

If you stick it close, a birdie putt is makeable. The green slopes slightly from back to front.

Hole #13 - Par 3, 165 yards

A trap on the right, a trap in the back, and a huge trap on the left. There is also a steady breeze going right to left.

The green is large and slopes from back left to front right. Hit it close or you may find yourself 3 putting. If you find the sand, any out is a good out... unless you hit it into a trap opposite the green.

Hole #14 - Par 4, 335 yards

Aim your drive right down the center. Hit it straight and true. If you slice it, there is hidden water on the right if you don't get enough on it.

Your second shot will be between 90 and 110 yards to a green that is well protected in the front. Hit if far enough to clear those bunkers. There is enough room behind the green so don't worry about hitting it too much. The green slopes slightly back to front.

Hole #15 - Par 3, 175 yards

The green is surrounded by 4 sand traps. If you miss right or left, you will most likely end up there. The trees surrounding the green protect your shot from the wind so aim right at the flag.

If you hit past the green, you should be able to find your ball. If you hit too far to the left, you will be in the middle of a ton of trees. I call it the bird cage. Try and stay away from there.

Hit it close and putt for birdie.

Hole #16 - Par 4, 300 yards

The water on this hole is a mere 248 yards out. If you use your driver, you need to be accurate with your aim. Most people in my playing group will use a 3-wood or 3-iron.

I always use my driver. I figure I'll either hit it straight or I'll slice it. Aiming for the beginning of the cart path, I'll tee it up low and do everything I can to crush it. If I hit it straight, I usually role down the left side of the water and end up safely on the second section of the fairway. If I slice it, I end up on the 17th fairway with a pretty good look at the 16th green. When I am trying to crush it, I never end up with a hook.

If my drive is successful, I am left with a 35 to 40 yard second shot. From there, I can stick it close and knock down a birdie. If you opt to drive just short of the water, you will be left with an easy 90 to 100 yard shot. Don't pay attention to the water and stick it close.

Hole #17 - Par 4, 345 yards

This fairway is extremely narrow with nasty trees on both sides of the fairway. Don't miss the fairway. Aim to the right because that is the best side to miss. You may want to use an iron. A 200 yard iron drive will leave 150 yards to the green. A 250 yard drive will leave just 100 yards. I use a driver.

The green is protected by sand traps right, left, and in the back.

Hole #18 - Par 4, 325 yards

Aim your drive right down the line of the left side of the fairway. If you hit it straight, you will end up right of the water. The water is 226 yards out and 295 yards to carry. If you hook your drive, you'll be in the water if you don't clip the trees. If you slice, you will end up in those nasty trees I mentioned from hole #15.

A good drive will put you between 65 and 85 yards out. Depending on your angle, the water may still be in play. Again, who cares about a little water. Pretend it's not there and stick it close.

If you land in one of the two sand traps behind the green, you could be in some trouble. The green is two levels, the higher level in the back. A good out should land on the upper level, otherwise you could role your shot into the water. It's a very good idea to stay out of the sand.

Presidential Election...

2008-11-03T15:08:00.000-08:00

Don't vote for Mccain or Obama. They're both the same no matter what they say. If you really want change, vote for someone you've never heard of...

taken from http://www.tsgnet.com/pres.php?id=370743&altf=Ebooz&altl=Tbj9

Sunnyvale Golf (1-9)

2008-11-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course is located where highway 101 and 237 meet. It is an 18 hole regulation length course, par 70, 6,255 yards, 70 rating, and a 121 slope. This is my home course so if you are the same skill level as me, I will beat you 9 out of 10 times.

The following is a course guide for the front nine...

Hole #1 - Par 4, 375 yards

Bust out your driver and hit it right down the middle of the fairway. Unless you hit it 300+ yards, you should stay out of the back rough. If you hit it like John Daly, you might want to think about using a 3-wood.

If you slice your tee shot, you will be in the water so hit it straight… no pressure. Straight down the middle of the fairway should leave you with a 125 yard pitching wedge to the center of the green. Green slopes back to front.

This hole is easy. A lot of golfers try to get cute and use an iron off the tee. That will leave water, sand and trees in play for your second shot. Just hit the driver and hit it straight.

Hole #2 - Par 4, 370 yards

Again, tee off with a driver. I like to aim just to the left of the fairway trap on the right. You need to hit it 230 yards to clear the trap if you miss hit. If you slice your drive, you will most likely clear the water on the right unless you hit it really bad.

A 250 yard drive will leave a 125 yard pitching wedge to the center of the green. Green slopes slightly back to front.

Hole #3 - Par 5, 480 yards

This hole bends ever so slightly to the right at the first sand trap. Hit your driver just to the left of that first fairway trap. If you have some power, aim over the trap. It will take 240 to clear the trap and 250 to reach the fairway.

It is pretty easy to reach in two. A good drive will leave you between 200 and 220 yards to reach the center of the green. A bad drive is not a huge problem. A slice puts you in the fairway on hole #9. There are a couple of trees but nothing to worry about. A hook is a little bit more of a concern as there are trees to the left of the fairway to deal with.

The green is protected by a trap to the right and in the rear. Not much slope on the green so a two putt or one putt is expected.

Hole #4 - Par 3, 150 yards

Use your 150 yard club. For me, an 8 or a 9-iron. Stick it close and putt for birdie. Not much to this hole. Sand on the left and in the back. A pretty big, receptive green. Easy hole.

Hole #5 - Par 4, 300 yards

Keep your driver in the bag. The trees to the right of the tee box are way too tall for a "reach in one" attempt.

Use 4 or 5-iron, tee it up about 1/4 inch higher than normal, and aim along the trees to the right. This should put you right in the middle of the fairway about 90 to 110 yards out. You want to tee it up just in case your line if off. Your trajectory will allow you to clear the trees.

If you slice your first shot, you should be able to find your ball in the trees on the right. Your second shot will be tricky because of the trees and the first sand trap. The trap is pretty big and slopes up to the green.

The green is pretty big and slopes from back right to front left.

Hole #6 - Par 4, 360 yards

This hole has the appearance of a par 5 because you can't see the hole. The fairway takes a 45 degree right turn after the first 200 yards. It is not a good idea to tee off with your driver, which makes your second shot pretty long. Again, feels like a par 5.

If you use your driver off the tee, you can expect to hit through the fairway if you have any power at all. It is only 210 yards to the end of the fairway if you hit it straight. There is also hidden water 250 yards out. If you insist on your driver, hit a fade. A slice is not going to cut it because there are some very tall trees guarding the right rough.

A good drive is a 3 or 4-iron hit straight to 200 yards. That will leave you with a 7 or 8-iron and 160 yards to the center of the green. Getting in trouble on the right is messy with three sand traps and foliage that should not be called grass. The green is higher than the fairway and relatively flat. Don't overshoot the green or you will be talking a long walk.

Hole #7 - Par 3, 135 yards

Club up so you don't land in the water. This green is huge and slopes from back to front. There are two traps on the right and towering trees on the left. Hit it close and putt for birdie.

Hole #8 - Par 4, 320 yards

I hate this hole. On average, I lose 2.4 balls to water. That's based on my last 10 rounds. As you can see in the picture to the left, there is a crap ton of water on the hole. Before you decide to putt from the tee box, relax... don't even think about the water. Just hit it straight.

You can use your driver on this hole. I hit my driver straight 17 out of 18 times. Unfortunately, that 1 time in 18 comes during the 8th hole at Sunnyvale. A slice goes in the water to the right. A hook goes in the water to the left. Use an iron.

A 3, 4 or 5-iron will put you between 120 and 135 yards out. This is a good, manageable position to be in considering there is water in front of the green. A wedge will bring you home.

The trick to the second shot is to imagine that you are hitting into one of the two sand traps behind the green. There is a sneaky wind that will blow your high flying wedge shot into the water. Aiming for the sand will put you in the middle of the green. Worse case, you'll be in the sand. The sand is not the water. I hate the water.

Good luck on this hole. Actually, good luck on holes 1 - 7 and 9-18. That is where you will make up for the 8 that you will score on 8. Green slopes slowly toward the water.

Hole #9 - Par 4, 400 yards

This hole is immediately adjacent to the par 5 3rd hole. It feels a lot like a par 5 but you only get 4 shots to get home. Hit your driver straight and long or you will feel a little depressed (especially after the 8th hole).

A hook will put you on the 3rd hole fairway. A slice will put you in short rough will very little trees to deal with. Hit the ball straight, aiming for the left side of the sand trap (220 yards to carry).

A 250 yard drive will leave only 150 yards. Hit your 8-iron and stick it close. A birdie will put you back on track after carding a snowman on the previous hole.

California Voter Guide continued...

2008-10-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

This is part 2 of 2 of my California guide to propositions. Again, I am a conservative independent but I tried to stay unbiased... except for Prop. 8. On a side note, I am voting for McCain. I don't believe in redistribution of wealth or any of the other Socialist ideas Obama has been pimping.

Here's the proposition list...

Prop 6 – Safe Neighborhoods Act

This proposition would be a great idea if it was written for a large town or small city. The problem is that it is written for the whole state. This proposition would create an Office of Public Safety Education and Information with a $12.5 million annual budget. This $12.5 million dollars is for statewide coverage.

I’m voting “No”. This proposition has a lot of good ideas but it is ridiculous to think they will work on a statewide scale.

Prop 7 – The Solar and Clean Energy Act

Regardless of what you believe about Anthropological Global Warming, this proposition is about the inevitable road to clean energy. I have always believed in the free market, private industry leading the way in technological innovation. I have never trusted in government programs or regulation to force change. Regarding solar energy, I would bet that any electric company would prefer investing in solar panels instead of having to pay for fossil fuels and the associated facilities. Solar Energy is so much cheaper to maintain and sunlight is free.

The first thing I noticed when reading the full text version of this proposition is the excessive use of rhetoric. Terms like “Special interest groups” and “Big Oil” are thrown around like it is an article for the New York Times. My instincts tell me this proposition was written with the primary purpose of sticking it to “Big Oil” and Special interest groups”.

The second thing that caught my eye was the Clean Energy requirements. Power companies will be required to produce 50% of their product via Clean Energy by the year 2025. Right now, only 10% of California’s Energy is generated from clean sources. It would be a huge undertaking for electric companies to meet this goal considering the rising level of demand expect over the next 10 to 15 years. Combine that with the fact that fossil fuels can produce much more power than clean energy for a given square footage.

The way I see it, it is very likely the electric companies will limit their output, regardless of demand, just so they can meet the 50% clean energy standard. That means rolling blackouts during peak use. The alternative for them is stiff financial penalties that could not legally be passed on to the consumer.

I’m voting “No”. If you are in favor of counting on the government to drive innovation, you should vote “Yes”. If you believe the private sector, university research and the free market should drive innovation, vote “No”.

Prop 8 – California Marriage Protection Act

This is my favorite proposition because it is only a couple of lines. The California Constitution will be amended to state the following: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California”. How can you argue with that?

Marriage is an institution of Religion. In most religions, homosexuality and gay marriage is forbidden. Therefore, as a gay, you are either a) religious and recognize your religion’s belief that your lifestyle is forbidden and marriage is impossible or b) not religious and have no desire to get involved in some crazy religious ritual.

Besides, a civil union affords all, if not, most of the rights enjoyed in a marriage. Therefore, you are not being denied any rights that anyone else has. Furthermore, if you really want to get married, Mr. Homosexual has every right to marry a woman just as Ms. Homosexual has every right to marry a man… provided they are of age, not already married, and human.

Put this to bed and vote “Yes”. Any more talk could lead to my Brother marrying my Sister or my Dad marrying my Daughter.

Prop 9 – Victim’s Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsy’s Law

This proposition already passed way back in 1982. Vote “Yes” or “No”, I don’t care. I will not vote on this proposition because most of the provisions are already in place. The highlight of this proposition is that Parole guidelines become tougher on the criminal. This law would not be needed if California’s prisons were not overcrowded.

Prop 10 – California Renewable Energy and Clean Alternative Fuel Act

If this passes, $5 billion dollars that California does not have will go towards research and development in the area of alternative fuels and renewable energy. I’m voting “No” because California is broke.

Prop 11 – Voters FIRST Act

This is all about redistricting. As the law is written now, an elected official can draw his own district, thereby insuring his or her re-election. Incumbents in California are re-elected 99% of the time. I’m voting “Yes” because is a solution to an unfair situation. The districts as they exist are ridiculous.

Prop 12 – Veteran’s Bond Act of 2008

If passed, this proposition will authorize the issuance of $900 million in bonds to assist veterans who are purchasing homes or farms. I’m voting “No” even though I am a veteran because I don’t want more tax dollars being spent when California is broke. Again, if you are not a super duper Conservative, you might want to vote “Yes”.

California Voter Guide - Propositions...

2008-10-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

I'm a Conservative Independent. The following is part 1 of 2 of my California Voters guide. I tried to keep it as unbiased as possible. I'll be the first to admit that being completely fair is just about impossible for me.

If you are a liberal, communist, Anti-American, Fascist pig, you should read this and vote the opposite of my recommendations. If you are a fellow conservative or a middle of the road independent or Democrat, you should read this and use your good judgement to make a good decision.

Prop 1a - Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century

I’m voting “No”. This is what responsible tax payers would call a boondoggle. The supporters say it will cost $40 billion to complete this project. The proposition is written to raise around $10 billion via the issuance of general bonds. There is no guarantee that the High-Speed project will ever be completed. Not to mention, recent estimates put the final cost at around $80 billion.

As a conservative, I can’t in good conscious vote for a bond measure that will only cover less than 15% of the total cost of a project that may never be completed… or may never even start. If passed, this “bond money” will go towards a bunch of bureaucrats who will pretend to work towards the goal of building that shouldn’t be built by the super efficient California government.

In reality, these bonds, which will have to eventually be paid for by tax payers, will do nothing except help these bureaucrats continue to live their lives as unproductive members of society (High-Speed Passenger Train Finance Committee and the High-Speed Rail Authority).

Prop 2 - Standards for Confining Farm Animals

First of all, I don’t care about food animals. I’m voting “No” for that reason alone. I understand that some people who read this might actually care a lot about animals raised for food. If that is the case, go ahead and vote “Yes”. For those of you in the middle, read the following.

I know proponents of the proposition have been showing full grown cattle being handled by a forklift, but this proposition has nothing to do with that. In fact, the whole forklift/cow incident is already illegal. This proposition will only cover egg-laying hens, calf raised for veal, and pregnant pigs. So, most of California’s livestock industry will remain unaffected.

This is expected to hurt California farms, more specifically, producers of eggs and veal. It is estimated that the cost of an egg from California will go up 25%. This will lead to more importing (from other states and Mexico) of eggs. As of right now, the majority of eggs consumed in California are from other states.

What does this proposition do? It requires commercial farmers to confine these animals in a way where they can freely extend all of their limbs and turn around in a circle without touching their enclosure. Failure to comply will result in a misdemeanor fine not to exceed $1000 or up to 180 days in a county jail.

This proposition looks to slightly lower tax revenues in the agriculture sector (around 1%). In my opinion, this prop could pass or not pass. I don’t care. When it all comes down, this would be a minor victory for the animal rights groups. However, following the theory of “Creeping Incrementalism”, this could lead to some wacky, far left propositions in the future.

Prop 3 – Children’s Hospital Bond Act

I’m voting “No” because I’m an evil conservative who does not want my tax dollars to go anywhere until the California State Government can get their act together. If you are not an evil conservative, read below.

This bond will provide close to $1 Billion in funds to the five major Children’s Hospitals in California and to any other qualifying hospital. This money is needed for facility renovations. From what I understand, equipment and facilities are becoming outdated and are in need of upgrade.

Like all of the other propositions, I have read the entire text version of this bond measure. It seems like a pretty responsible proposition. If you have to spend tax dollars, this seems to be a winner. I was concerned at first with the “other” hospitals and facilities that could qualify for funds. After reading the requirements, I feel it is safe to say that only hospitals and clinics dedicated to children’s care are eligible to receive funds. If you are not super duper conservative, I recommend voting “Yes”.

Prop 4 – Child and Teen Safety and Stop Predators Act: Sarah’s Law

If this proposition passes, Physicians will be required to notify parents if a minor requests an abortion. I’m voting “Yes” because I believe parents have a right to parent their children.

There are a number of arguments against this proposition. The most prominent argument states that children who live in abusive homes will attempt a “back alley” abortion because of their fear of punishment. I understand this argument but it is not applicable with this proposition.

Part of the law will allow the (unemancipated) minor to take her case to a judge. The judge can then rule on whether informing the girls parents is not in her best interest. This provision was added to protect unemancipated minors from abusive parents.

In my opinion, I believe the “judge” part of the proposition is more likely to be abused by minors who want to bypass the law. California certainly has a lot of liberal judges who would rule in favor of a secret abortion on bad faith.

Regardless, I think this law would be a great victory for parental rights. I think a lot of liberals will vote no thinking they’re protecting some imaginary slippery slope that leads to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That line of thinking is bogus and is not supported by any evidence. I recommend everyone from all political leanings to vote “Yes”.

Prop 5 – Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act

This proposition is huge. The text version takes up 21 pages… but I read them all. I’m voting No.
A little history…

New York prior to Giuliani was a cesspool of crime and drug use. Giuliani implemented a police policy that required cops to arrest anyone who was using or distributing drugs, even if they were not committing any other crime. The removal of drug users and dealers from the streets led to New York becoming one of the safest cities in the US.

This proposition would not only prevent the incarceration of drug users, but it would reduce the parole requirements of those who were already in prison. This is not good for fighting crime.
Additionally, this proposition would increase the size of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. I am never in favor of growing government.

What really makes me angry about this law, it does not allow for one dime of funding to go towards Religious-based drug treatment programs. Also, a judge can’t allow the option to go to a Religious-based program in lieu of jail. The only programs that qualify are science-based programs that don’t even have to be licensed or certified by the State.

The advertisements on TV suggest that non-violent drug offenders should be treated instead of going to jail. The advantage is that jails will be less crowded and drug offenders are more likely to kick their addiction. In my opinion, I think this is relatively an acceptable idea but the proposition is poorly written. I would recommend a “No Vote” or voting “No”. There is too much extra baggage for this proposition to be considered good law.

Brendan Fraser sucks...

2008-10-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

How does this guy keep getting movie roles. He is a crappy actor and, from what my wife says, he's not much to look at. I decided to take some time to review this poster child of the decline of western cinema. The following is a look at his life and his "art".

Brendan Fraser didn't get a good start. His parents were both Canadian. Nothing good ever came from Canada, notably Alanis Morissette, Celine Dion, Crash Test Dummies and Barack Obama. Actually, Barack Saddam Hussein Obama Bin Laden was born in Kenya, but he sucks just as much as any other Canadian.

Here is a list of his most popular movies...

The Mummy - Great movie if you ignore the leading man.
The Mummy Returns - A great example of Hollywood taking too much from a good thing. Also, the leading man sucked.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - Seriously, this franchise died with the thought of making the first sequel. To quote the crappy leading man, "Not again". Jet Li? I thought your last film was 5 years ago. Make better career decisions or you might end up co-starring with Jakie Chan... uh ... too late.
Journey to the Center of the Earth - I'm not going to admit to seeing this. So... judging by the advertisements, this looks like a kid flick. Speaking of kid flicks...
George of the Jungle & Dudley Do-Right - Again, kid flicks. Perhaps Mr. Fraser will take a hint and stick to this genre.
Crash - Awesome movie. This movie is just about flawless. The only problem is the character portrayed by Brendan Fraser sucks.
Encino Man - Another great movie and his best movie role. In a completely unrelated note, Brendan doesn't speak at all with exemption to grunting a couple of words here and there.

Message to Hollywood: Stop putting this guy in movies. If you can't stop, then please don't advertise for the movies you put him in. If you can't stop spam advertising, please keep your movie trailers on the Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, or Nickelodeon.

The basic anatomy of a Hollywood movie trailer consists of a narrator with a deep voice, a couple action scenes, and the "coolest" and "funniest" one-liners from the movie. The problem with these "cool" and "funny" one-liners is they suck, especially when spoken by Brendan Fraser. So while I'm trying to watch House, Law and Order, Heroes, or any other great show with great actors, I have to suffer through crappy one-liners uttered by Brendan Fraser during the commercials.

Demon Intro...

2008-10-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

This is my first machinima creation. I made it with Maya 5, Unreal Tournament 2004 and Sony Vegas Video 3. It only took about a day because there was only one custom model and texture... the DFA seal at the end.

DFA stands for Death From Above, which is the name of my geeky gaming clan. This is one of four videos I made for the clan captain and 3 co-captains.

The two songs featured are "Extinction Clinic" by Bexarametric and "I Stand" by Mudvayne.

Stupid header image...

2008-10-21T02:13:00.000-07:00

The header image at the top of the page is starting to drive me crazy. Why??? Because I'm a perfectionist and the image is not perfect. Maybe you might have noticed, maybe not. The lit light bulb has a shadow.

Of course, that's impossible.

Shadow shad·ow -noun [shad-oh] -

a dark figure or image cast on the ground or some surface by a body intercepting light.

Obviously, since the body intercepting light is in fact a source of light in and of itself, it cannot cast a shadow.

The reason there is a shadow is because I am not as experienced at 3D modeling and rendering as I would like to be. I think I did an OK job modeling the light bulbs and setting up the lighting and textures in 3D Studio Max. The problem I had was trying to make the 3rd light bulb look illuminated. This problem was only half solved by adding the lens flare and point source effects using Adobe Photoshop.

Photoshop is great for touching up images but it should never be used to light up the subject of a scene. The illumination effect looks great but that stupid shadow is still there. Adobe can't make that disappear without some serious, time consuming editing.

The solution is for me to learn how to illuminate a light bulb model in 3D Studio Max. I somewhat know what to do but I can't get the illumination to look as good as in Photoshop.

This is a "...to be continued" project. You'll know I have solved the problem sometime in the future when you will no doubt navigate to my thoroughly entertaining and intellectually stimulating blog and notice that the annoying shadow, which has plagued your thoughts and dreams for what seems like decades, has finally descended into the decrepit cespool known as mediocre art hell.

shadow. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved October 21, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/shadow

Classic Rock

2008-10-15T03:28:00.000-07:00

My IPOD is only 2GB. I consider myself to be a music lover so it is hard for me to decide what songs to put on my IPOD. After months of consideration, I have finally determined which songs I need to have on my IPOD. The following is a list of just the Classic Rock songs:

Boston - Foreplay/Long Time
Cream - White Room
Deep Purple -Smoke On the Water
The Doors - L.A. Woman
Pink Floyd - Money
The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
Eagles - Life In the Fast Lane
Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower
Rolling Stones - Miss You
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Saturday Night Special
Tom Petty - Breakdown
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
Eagles - Life's Been Good
Led Zeppelin - Ramble On
Eric Clapton - Cocaine
Lynyrd Skynyrd - That Smell
Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
Ted Nugent - Stranglehold
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man
Heart - Barracuda
Tom Petty - Mary Jane's Last Dance

Honorable Mention: Peter Frampton - Do You Feel (Live). Can't buy this without buying the whole album.

I left out a couple of tracks that I neglected to remove. I will remove them as soon as I am synced up. I don't know how some Fleetwood Mac songs happened to sneak on my playlist. The songs in bold blue are my favorites.

Lemming's Intro...

2008-10-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

This was the quickest machinima video I ever made. It only took me a couple of hours. I had this idea and I wanted to put it to video.

The music is Edvard Grieg's "Morning Mood". I forget the map name but it comes with Unreal Tournament 2004. I didn't do any custom 3D modeling but I did do a lot of scripting.

The Unreal 2 game engine does not allow scripting of vehicles so I had to cheat with the Manta. I converted the Manta vehicle to a mesh then added it as a mover. Every movement you see with it is keyed as a mover and not actual vehicle animation. The sound of the Manta jump and crush was added later using Vegas Video 3.

Beast Intro...

2008-10-09T16:44:00.000-07:00

This flick was made using Unreal Tournament 2004, Maya 5, Photoshop, and Vegas Video 3. The track is "Windmill Sessions" by Bexarametric. It took me about 3 months to get this finished and it's still not perfect.

You can see there are a two bodies that actually fall through the floor. The camera work is a little choppy. I have a stray mosaic effect in the last 30 seconds.

What I like about this video is that it is one continuous shot. It took me forever to get the scripting and timing right. Even with the minor mistakes here and there, I am very proud of this sequence.

It's called "Beast Intro" because one of my clan captains set this up and the intro to his video game. I have 3 other intro videos that I'll post later. By far, this is my best work.

Some things to note...

DFA films is based off of my clan name, DFA. Stands for Death From Above. Our clan specialized (past tense) in Capture the Flag on Unreal Tournament 2003 using the Excessive Overkill mutator. The music track is also featured in a number of custom maps for the game UT2k4. Bexarametric has other tracks that are also used throughout the video game industry.

Flash test and the battle of wills...

2008-10-08T19:03:00.000-07:00

This is just a test post to see if I can post flash movies. It looks like I can, which is too bad for you because I plan to post a lot of flash videos of my baby girl.

Speaking of my baby girl, she was a bit of a crazy girl today. My daughter does not like green beans, peas or any other green vegetable. She's only 8 months old but she already has a picky taste in food. She gets that from her mom.

This crazy little girl absolutely would not eat her food. She would not open her mouth. When she started crying, I thought I'd be smart and put the food in her mouth... that was messy. It took an hour to feed her a little container.

I have to stay true in this battle. My will is strong and I will see her through to the end. If not... S-P-O-I-L-E-D is the only thing that can result. She may look at me and swear she's adopted but she will finish her vegetables.

I won today. It was a tough battle but with if I continue to stay strong and do what is best, I will win the war.

Wheel of Time...

2008-10-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a little over a year since Robert Jordan died. There was a lot of anxiety in his fan base on whether or not he would finish the series. As of now, the series is still not finished.

There is hope for WoT fans, however because author Brandon Sanderson is hard at work with the final book. It is scheduled for publication in Fall of 2009.

In preparation for the release of the last installment, I have begun rereading the series. I just finished book 2 - the Great Hunt. Even though I remember just about everything about the books, I still find it a great read. My perspective is different now that I've read all 11 books so the first couple of books are a little different.

For example, the first time I read these books, I had no idea what the Emond's Fielders meant when they talked about "false dragons" and "Aes Sedai". Moiraine mentioning "the ways" meant nothing to me the first time either. When Min describes the auras she sees on Rand, Egwene, Matt and Perin, I understand what the auras mean.

I don't normally reread books. In this case, I decided to reread more for proficiency than for enjoyment. I want to be ready for book 12 when it comes out. As it turns out, I am really enjoying this series. Robert Jordan is a great writer. His description of environments and action/battle scenes are detailed and interesting. His characters are fun and memorable.

I can easily see myself rereading this series for a 3rd or 4th time. For those of you who have not read it once, I highly recommend you pick up book 1 - The Eye of the World. Even if you are not an Epic Fantasy reader, you will enjoy this series.

On a side note...

I was supposed to start reading book 3 yesterday. The problem is I'm depending on my buddy to let me borrow it. He keeps forgetting to bring it when we hang out. So instead of reading book 3, I find myself scouring the internet for discussions, articles, and artwork inspired by the Wheel of Time series. I found some gems and I'd like to share.

My two favorite Wheel of Time concept artists host blogs here on blogger.com - Jeremy Saliba and Seamas Gallagher. Check out their artwork when you have the time.