I saw this clip of a program called ASSIST (MIT) which is used as a design aid for mechanical applications.
Probably old-news to some Crack Team members, but the clip just started showing up and I though I’d share.
http://thatvideosite.voxcdn.com/core/3406/mit_digital_drawing_board.wmv
I’m told that Microsoft has a “Physics Illustrator” that works the same way.
Anyone have any experience with this kind of software?
After analyzing photos on places like MySpace, I created a profile pic that was dark and grainy, taken at an extreme angle using a cell phone camera and a mirror. Here is a handy photo guide to explain what all that means. It may not be safe for work. Thanks to Agent ZBalance for forwarding this to me.
Life is not fair. It is just not friggin fair. I just found out that Diedrich Coffee is selling 40 of its 47 company-owned stores. To Starbucks! First they buy Seattle’s Best Coffee, now Diedrich. It’s a cryin’ shame.
Starbucks plans to assimilate all the stores and regular employees. Managers will be invited to apply for assimilation. At least with SBC, the stores were left untouched. I’m guessing this is due in part to the fact that they’re both Seattle-based based companies, and the good, independent-minded people of Seattle wouldn’t stand for it (i.e., they’d be a slight public-relations nuissance). But more importantly, Starbucks bought the entire SBC corporation. In Diedrich’s case, they’re only buying (most of) the stores, so there will still be a few operated by Diedrich and franchisees.
But you’re totally screwed if you’re in California! Two car dealer coffee kiosks are all that’s left. I am not making that up.
Unfortunately, this was a rather simple decision for Diedrich. They have two main businesses: wholesale coffee sales, and coffee shops. The former is profitable, and the latter is not. They’ve been posting losses, mainly due to their coffee shops. Since they’re a public corporation, their duty is to maximize value to their shareholders. Ergo, they sold out like Metallica.
This hits me particularly hard because I’ve always harbored a fantasy that I might one day own my own coffee shop. If a major chain like Diedrich, which has both excellent coffee and pastries (surprisingly rare), can’t make it, what chance do I have? Granted, my shop would be modeled more closely to uber-cool independent shops like The Bourgeois Pig, albeit with a name you actually spell (probably). Now I’ll have to work extra hard at making it obscenely cool. This does not bode well for my lazy ass.
Sometimes, a plot theme is explored in several films.
One such theme is “data mining,” for want of a better term.
To satisfy his personal curiosity, the protagonist deeply explores a previously gathered record of an event using his professional techniques, and makes an important discovery. Watching the professional protagonist going about his task for personal reasons is quite interesting.
“Blowup” (1966): Photography. He blows up photographs and explores details in the background.
“The Conversation” (1974) Audio. He uses various audiotape editing techniques.
“Blow Out” (1981) Both photography and audio. He synchronizes a sequence of magazine photographs with his own audio.
I haven’t watched South Park in about 8 years, but last night I was flipping through channels and stopped dead on what I thought was some sort of game demo.
Turns out it was a South Park episode all about the game “World of Warcraft” and since I know some Crack Team members are into this, I had to watch it. Much of the episode includes actual gameplay.
The story line goes: There is this high level player going around killing characters for no reason. I guess that normally characters have to accept a duel before risking their characters’ lives? Well this guy is such a high level that he overrides this rule.
The staff at Blizzard Entertainment is worried because the guy can “kill” administrators’ characters, so even they can’t stop him.
Cartman and the gang figure that if they spend every waking hour for months on end (in hiding) they might reach a level high enough for the four of them to defeat him.
Can the gang of four, with the help of Stan’s dad(a noob) and Blizzard’s banned “Sword of a Thousand Truths”, defeat the serial killer?
Quotes from the show:
Blizzard staff: What kind of person would do this?
Blizzard President: Only one kind. Whoever this player is, he has played World of Warcraft nearly every hour of every day for the past year and a half. Gentlemen, we are dealing with someone here who… had absolutely no life.
Blizzard staff: How do you kill… that which has no life?
[think about that for a minute]
Blizzard staff: There are over seven million people who log on to World of Warcraft! Are you telling me all those people’s characters are going to die, and there’s nothing we can do to save them?
Blizzard President: Yes. And it won’t be long before everyone gets really really frustrated and stops playing altogether. Gentlemen, this could very well lead to the end of the World…… (of Warcraft).
Cartman:[Trying to convince others to join his cause.] If you had a chance right now to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn’t you do it? I mean, I personally wouldn’t stop him because I think he was awesome, but you would, right?
Great Noir poses the question: Why me? Why is this happening to me? And the answer is for no reason, for no reason at all. Noir concerned with error and confusion.
-Errol Morris
These are notes I took during Cinema History class some years ago. I hadn’t seen them written quite so clearly on the Internet (I probably didn’t look hard enough), so I am doing so. Thanks to both gentlemen for their contributions (any mistakes are mine, not theirs).
Schrader’s Recurring Characteristics of Film Noir
Here is the addenda provided by my professor, Robin Matthews:
Matthew’s Recurring Characteristics of Film Noir
Imagine Marc Bolan backed by Black Sabbath while Ozzy was on a bender, and you’ve got a pretty clear idea of Wolfmother. Aussie Ozborne, if you will. If you’ve got a healthy taste for classic rock, by which I mean the hard stuff, you’ll find their self titled album pretty fanstastic.
I’m ever impressed by bands these days who really capture a particular sound from years past. Interpol, She Wants Revenge – those aren’t bands that are influenced by the Manchester music scene of the 80’s – they’re the real thing. Wolfmother does the same thing for 70’s rock. I seriously doubt there’s a modern instrument among them.
And cover art by Frank Frazetta for cryin’ out loud!
Some people think embracing an era that strongly is lame and unorginal. I’m of the opinion that it’s actually way harder to pull off than anyone gives them credit for. Also, it sounds awesome. Also, my opinions count more than other people’s. Sorry, that’s just a fact.
You’ve probably heard Woman by now, and maybe Dimension if you watched Dane Cook’s Tourgasm. Here are some other tracks I thought were particularly good:
White Unicorn: Just the title is evocative of the 70’s fantasy literature and art embraced by bands like Rush (did you know they had a song called The Necromancer? And another about trees fighting each other?) and Led Zeplin (who weren’t afraid to sing about Middle Earth).
Mind’s Eye: little slower, but with a rockin’ chorus. Keyboards remind me of The Who.
Love Train: Little funk, little Latin vibe thrown in.
I been encouraged to post this clip of my daughter Haylee, everywhere I can.
It probably won’t “hit home” unless you have kids of your own. Otherwise, it may help you avoid having kids altogether.
I took this video about five months ago, shortly after her 5th birthday, to show what we go through dressing our daughter.
Here’s the rundown:
Haylee thinks the matching shirt is too big for the pants “Mommy brought me the biggest one of all!”
The pants are on too tight, pressing against her so that she can’t push her belly out. Yet if loosened one notch, they are too loose because she can see her underwear. So indead she wants to wear a “Trina” which is her word for “dress”.
Enjoy my torment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJpl-RN_ji4
The second clip I have to offer is a movie titled “A man, A Desk and A Dream.”
It’s me at work, being stupid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY-108FoeEM
Masterchief submitted a fantastic video from Weird Al, rapping White and Nerdy. There have been others who’ve explored nerd-core, which is a sort of running in-joke for nerds, but in rap form. Most of it is simply OK – amusing lyrics, but mediocre skillz. The quality of Weird Al’s stuff is far superior, but let’s face it – it’s a parody. He doesn’t come up with the original music. Nonetheless, this may be considered the archetypal nerd-core track.
Coppola and company will be turning The Conversation into a television series. It will pick up where the movie left off, so put that into your Netflix queue. From Variety:
Producer Tony Krantz (“24”) is teaming with scribes Christopher McQuarrie (“The Usual Suspects”) and Erik Jendresen (“Band of Brothers”) to turn Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation” into a weekly series for ABC.
This is great news for team members of The Crack Team, which made this an official CT Classic Movie long ago. I think this is a great crew to make it happen, judging by their body of work (although I didn’t watch Band of Brothers). I’m just curious who will star. Hackman is 76, so that might be a bit of a stretch. But we’d need a gruff, everyman for the part. Any suggestions?
