Just can't get Enough

Some people were complaining about how my emails are short. To them I say, "It's not how long the email is that matters. What matters is how it feels in your inbox."

Dog Gone Modern

I remember a cartoon, I think it was called Dog Gone Modern. The cartoon was a humorous exploration of the future. Mainly it showed a sort of 50's view of the future. Kitchen robots and the like. To tell you the truth I don't really remember. I just remember that it sent my imagination into hyper-mode. My point is that someone should do a re-make of that cartoon. Update it for today's technology and view of the future. Maybe someone already has. I don't have the Cartoon Network, so I wouldn't know. How sad for me.

You are my Sunshine, my Eternal Sunshine

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a really good movie. Michel Gondry is so amazing with his seamless use of technology. This movie snuck up on me. I hadn't seen a trailer or heard about it at all. The premise of the movie is that a guy gets all his memories of his girl friend erased cause he finds out that his girl got him erased. Then during the procedure he changes his mind. Hijinks ensue. The timing of the release of this movie is kind of odd. Just a few weeks ago I was pondering memory erasing.

Only a small set of things could cause a person to think about erasing their memory. The set would include war, torture, and love. In my case it was love. You've got to understand, I don't fall in love that often. Cupid is not a good enough shot to hit my skinny arse. This time though he got me good. Hit me right in the bull's eye. I'm not sure where the bull's eye is (that was not covered in anatomy class) but Cupid nailed it. Regrettably, his arrow did not hit the target of my affections. Perhaps one day I will document my fall in another post.

Being of technical mind and mildly escapist I started to imagine the design of a selective memory erasing machine. The device shaped like a lozenge would sit on your philtrum (indentation below the nose.) Then nanoscopic molecular tendrils would begin to grow from the device. They would extend into your nostrils and run through your mucus membranes. Detecting the olfactory nerves and running along them, extending into the brain. As a tendril extended it would branch like a vine. The sub-tendrils would seek out each axion of every higher brain cell. Once fully extended into the brain the device would report the firing of each synapse in real-time. Then as the subject was reminded of certain memories the axions could be altered by the tendrils to eliminate the unwanted memories.

Unfortunately, the outcome is as each of my history teachers told their classes, "If we forget our history then we are doomed to repeat it." My device is detrimental. I must destroy the plans. Although, if the device were used for learning and organizing the brain... hmmm.... I know Kung Fu!

Bloody Hell

I'm working today. Got to make sure the ancient greek zombies shoot blood onto the walls before E3. Brought Dude in with me. He's playing with the security guard. He stole one of her gloves and she is trying to get it back.

Take it with a Grain of NaCl

Being a programmer I can be a bit pedantic and semantically anal. When people (especially people with whom I have had no prior interactions to base my interpretations upon) ask me questions my brain automatically explores all the permutations of what they might be asking. As a simple example, when someone asks me, "Where are you from?" My brain tries to decern whether they mean where was I born? or do they mean where did I live before where I live now? or where did I spend my developmental years? or they even may be asking where do I live now?

But if someone is telling me a story I expect exaggerations to be made and poetic license to be taken. I really am irked by people who must interject and destroy humor in stories because they feel that they must correct all the embellishments and ground the story. Those people suck the fun out of everything. Bastards.

Farm Aid

I came across this video of what looks like cockpit footage from an AH-64. I know this because I used to work on simulators for the AH-64. The display is in FLIR (forward looking infared.) So the lighter an object in the video is, the warmer it is. I'm not sure in which conflict the video's situation occurs. The footage looks very similar to our simulators. Except, in our training the soldiers would shoot things like tanks and guys obviously carrying large weapons. Instead it looks like these guys are shooting some farmers fixing a tractor. But, who knows, that tractor looking thing could be a mine layer and that vegetable truck they blow up to kill the guy cowering under it, that could be where they are storing the nuclear war heads.

Oh Say Can You See

I picked up my new glasses today. Glasses suck! They give me all kinds of odd transformation around the edges and totally limit my peripheral vision. I would get the laser surgery, but the only other surgery I had was a wisdom tooth removal and that was horrid. Didn't stop bleeding for days. I looked like a chipmunk for a week. Besides, the eye surgery prevents you from getting in the ocean and I can't have that.

Inconceivable!

My sister's wedding was so magical. It was beautiful. My sister studied Ballet at USF. She's a dancer and performer at heart. I was so happy when I saw how my new brother-in-law had taken dance lessons. They were stunning together in their first dance as man and wife. He paraded her around the dance floor showing her off. I'm happy for them.

Wave Whore Turned Wave Snob

I got barreled in a wave last month. The barrel was not very impressive. It wasn't a stand up, I was in a low crouch. It only lasted 3 seconds and it closed on me before I got out. All that considered, it was the most exciting thing to happen to me all month. I still get a smile on my face when I think about being inside that tube. The wave totally enclosing me. My eyes wide open, the way the sun changed when occluded by the lip. What made it even more fantastic was my friend, having taken the previous wave, saw the whole thing from the inside. He was so jealous.

That one experience has transformed me into a total wave snob. Formerly, I was a wave whore. I would paddle out on any day just to get wet. Now I look out there and I'm like eh, looks crappy I'll go hang with The Dude.

But, I went out today and it wasn't that great looking. I caught some waves. Turned out to be fun. Then the Lords of Kooktown showed up. Yep, Heath Ledger, Michael Angarano, Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, and John Robinson. These guys are gonna be the cast of Lords of Dogtown a David Fincher production to chronicle the adventures of Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva, Jay Adams, and the other Z-boys. I hope their skate lessons are going better than their surf lessons. I get that you guys want to stay authentic but come on! Get some leashes till you get some skills! You don't want to be splitin' anyone's skull.

Shake Your Asimov

More robots comming soon. I hope that I, Robot is good. The director (Alex Proyas) did Dark City which I thought kicked arse.

Plush Outbreak

There is a company called Giant Microbes that sells plush dolls of viruses and bacteria. Just the thing for the little nerd in your family. I think that my favorite is Ebola. You have to admire its simplicity. It's one billionth our size and it's beating us.

Robotic Poopie

Robot Stories was not very good. The acting wasn't great. Direction not so good. Stories were mostly lame introductory Sci-fi. I wouldn't recommend it.

All Robots Meet Their Makers

The DARPA Grand Challenge turned out to be a serious disappointment the leader of the robot pack only went 7 miles of the 150 before collapse. I guess there is always next year.

Dude

Dude didn't poop inside at all today or yesterday. We went to the vet and he got the remainder of his shots. Doc says he's good to play with other dogs now. So we went to the Joslyn Dog Park. He was shocked when we got there. He looked at me as if to say, "Why have you never spoken of this place to me?" He ran in and immediately got tackled and humped in the face, but he got up did it right back. That's my boy!

East is East

I saw East is East last night. It is supposed to be a hilarious comedy. I did not find that to be the case. It had its funny bits, but mostly it was depressing.

More Robots, I sure do love me some robots

I am going to see Robot Stories tonight at 8.

Games

I make video games for a living. I've been playing this one game a bit. It's very simple yet it's kinda complex. I'm diggin it. Check out Gunbound!

The interface was not that intuitive to me. Prolly cause I'm an American and the game was developed by a Korean company called Softnyx.

Speaking of interesting things coming from Korea check out Wonderful Days.

Dude pooped outside today!!! Twice!!!! Yahoo!!! Now if only I could get him to stop melting my eyes with his flatulence.

So, I am a surfer. I don't mean that I'm a pro-surfer. I just mean that I like to surf. I am not phenomenal, I'm not even really good.

Me and my friends hit the surf at least 3 times a week. More most of the time, since I don't have to be at work till 10:30. We like to surf El Porto, CA and other breaks in the LA area. I was surfing down at El Porto quite a bit, twice a week then surfing Santa Monica on the weekends. Getting down to Porto was taking its toll, a 40 min drive chunk out of my day. Less surf time is bad. So I stopped going there for a bit. Santa Monica's beach is about 2 miles away so I can be in the water much sooner.

Down at Porto I used to surf with these guys Gio and Ken. It was a running joke that I had never seen Gio stand up on a wave. Others had seen him, just not me. I'd only witnessed him tumbling over the falls and being directly in my way for a sweet wave. Apparently he's gotten much better because not only have I seen him on a wave, you can too. The guys at Eppic Surf took this sweet pic of him. I wish I had a quality pic of me.

Introduction

Hello. I am TMIV. My dog is The Dude.