cJw.314

And you thought they were for writing. Pfeh!

2006-01-10T15:05:00.000-05:00

Pentrix - Videos

Wow.

I'm sure you've seen it; some kid in class a couple seats over from you, spinning his pen around and around his thumb, or inbetween two of his fingers. Annoying? No, not unless he keeps dropping it, over, and over, and over. ; )

A couple months ago, I stumbled upon a group of websites, dedicated to enlightening the public to the art (yes, I said art) that is Pen Spinning. The above link will take you to a list of 'tricks' and 'combos' movies that literally look to defy physics and/or gravity. Take a second and be distracted - it might lead to hours of distraction and/or a new hobby for you.

Note: I'm currently stuck, after a week of concerted effort, on the 'sonic' and the 'charge' fundamental tricks. I've gotten the 'fingerpass' (and it's reverse) down fairly well, and finally 'nailed' the Thumbaround last night. : )

Oh - and Happy New Year; welcome to 2k6.

del.icio.us

2005-12-22T09:00:00.001-05:00

music:none so far - it's too early

'morning.

I'm setting up my del.icio.us account to auto post my online bookmarking activities (in the sidebar to the right), so there shall now be more to read here. Maybe this way I can actually consistently fill this blog with renewable content. :grin:

In case you don't know, del.icio.us is an online bookmarking community. It's quite simple to use, even though the interface doesn't appear that user friendly. It's incorporation with Firefox has been the final straw to my finally deciding to give it a try.

Now, then, to actually implement my nefarious plot...

New traffic...

2005-11-21T08:57:00.000-05:00

music:sigur ros

I'm expecting a little cross traffic, so I suppose I should actually start posting. :grin:

Infuriation Update:

Roche said earlier this month that it is prepared to share its technology with other companies and governments under licences to accelerate production, in an apparent change of emphasis in response to huge demand and political pressure for the availability of the medicine to be increased.

via Forbes.com

That's a little more like it.

Infuriation.

2005-10-24T12:51:00.000-04:00

music:Xploding PlastiX!

I'm in awe...

I read a sentence today in an article about the Bird Flu issue and it instantly incensed me. I don't understand how anyone anywhere can allow an attitude like this to continue when so many millions of lives are at stake. I can't say I'm shocked, but I'm certainly appaled. Here's the sentence...

Meanwhile, large Western drug companies that manufacture antiviral drugs are up in arms over threats by Indian and Chinese companies to make cheap clones.

Who do they think they are, these 'Western drug companies', that they're allowed to complain about others making antiviral meds when there is an antiviral drug shortage? A drug shortage that has the capabilities to kill millions of people? Their greed is putting a sizable chunk of the world's population at risk - possibly even myself! It's ridiculous that they even have the gall to complain about the possibility of a company making a 'cheap clone' antiviral medicine.

The almighty dollar has gotten entirely too strong. I'm off to lose my lunch now.

@#$%ing greedy bastards.

Untitled...

2005-10-18T09:29:00.000-04:00

music:33.3

I got a lead on an archive of entertaining web comics yesterday, and spent some time reading through the archive. Quite entertaining, and seemingly drawn with the obsessive motive of nonsense. Cheggitout @ PBF. (Mostly SFW.)

Also, I wandered upon the Pop vs Soda website - an experiment in regional dialectual decisions. This page shows the country's preferences, interactively complete with statistics. I grew up outside of Detroit, saying 'pop' exclusively,which changed when I ventured into the midwest and my vocab became amalgamated and soda took over.

Found this great article via Lifehacker. If you're not familiar with Firefox, this will show off some of the abilities of this free and more reliable option for your web browser.

In case you need this link...

Macho Man... is, uh, back?

2005-10-17T09:23:00.000-04:00

music:Macho Man Radio!

"Macho Man is back! He's blowin' up the spot with his brand new album."

Yo.

Macho is apparently trying to get his ass kicked, as he's talking loads of smack about the Hulk, and we all know the Hulkster would simply crush Macho's little girly arse - it's a given.

This is hilarious; I don't know what's worse, the fact that I'm posting about it, or the fact that I not only let 'Macho Man Radio' actually LOAD, but I'm letting it PLAY the whole time I'm posting this. I suspect maybe it's time for some aural palette cleansing.

Care for a game?

2005-09-30T15:35:00.000-04:00

music : Beady Belle - Goldilocks

Playing chess against computers sucks - they never make mistakes and generally respond with the same moves. If you're ever in the mood for some human error and inventiveness, try cowplay (complete with chess variations) or queen alice (a cleaner, faster loading interface). Both come highly recommended and only require the obligatory e-mail adress registration process.

flickr - 'portrait'

2005-09-29T09:58:00.000-04:00

portrait, originally uploaded by cJw314.

An experiment with vector and raster : more of my photoshop work for your viewing pleasure here.

flickr - 'orb weaver 1'

2005-09-29T09:56:00.000-04:00

orb weaver 1, originally uploaded by cJw314.

Gorgeous visitor we had last week. More pics @ my flickr site.

flickr - 'illinois'

2005-09-28T13:37:00.000-04:00

illinois, originally uploaded by cJw314.

I moved to KY from Chicago about 3 years ago - amazing coincidence? I think not...

flickr - 'new toy'

2005-08-31T08:55:00.000-04:00

new toy,
originally uploaded by cJw314.

Hey! I plan on actually using this blog now via flickr.com, so check back and there just might be new stuff. Maybe... -.-;

Anyway, this Lego 'Falcon rawks; it's perched atop my 2nd monitor staring at me as I type this. Toys @ work are a must.

Lunch.

2005-03-22T12:53:00.000-05:00

music:Nothing.

Ahhh, lunch.

The break in the day that allows a distraction from workload and coworkers. . . usually.

Today, it's canned ravioli from Chef Boyardee and lemme tell you, it tasted much better when I was 6.

Regardless, the time has come to begin the wait to the new SW flick; work's abuzz with Anakin this and George Lucas that. . . is it May yet? :sigh:

Also, updated the aquarium some; click here to open a new window with the image, it's a little large for this page to handle.

I've moved things around a bit expecting a few more focal points near the middle. Check back to see how it develops.

Blogger.com is acting teh fool, so more later.

All sorts of things

2005-03-17T09:07:00.000-05:00

music:David Gray

Hey hey - been a bit.

My adorable daughter is now officially a year old; when I get her site updated with the new pics, I'll link it here.

Also, I "inherited" a 30 gallon fish tank from my out of state fam; I've been pretty excited about that and have been spending a lot of time researching gear/fish/et al. If you're interested, here and here are tons and tons of info.

I've been neglecting all sorts of things this past week. Gaming has taken a back burner to my daughter's birthday party and the ensuing visiting relatives, work's load picking up tremendously and, of course, the fish tank.

Regardless, I haven't much more time than this to post today, so more will follow. Soon. I swear. :grin:

Shades of Blade Runner?

2005-03-03T14:05:00.000-05:00

music: Interpol

This is some scary shit.

Sculpture; eerie. . . just give that endoskeleton and a learning processor and you're got a T-1000. :shiver:

Obligatory linkage post.

2005-03-01T08:58:00.000-05:00

music:Beastie Boys:The In Sound From Way Out!

I thought I'd finally let you in on some links I visit as often as I can - but first, you must check out Orinisal - a site full of slick ass flash animation.

Ok, onto teh goods.

Sinfest - horrible name, very clever comic; updated practically daily.

Penny Arcade - of course; by gamers, for gamers, beware insanity.

GU Comics - comics for gamers, but with a little more smart and a little less fart.

Google news - Good ole Google. Don't forget Google maps - the new mapquest killer.

Enough of this for now. . . but in the meantime, consider this:

Predator or man-child? Pfeh; I wonder.

A Scanner Darkly

2005-02-25T08:59:00.000-05:00

music:Pink Floyd

“Like a graphic novel come to life, A Scanner Darkly will utilize live action photography overlaid with an advanced animation process to create a haunting, highly stylized vision of the future. The technology was first employed in Linklater's 2001 film Waking Life and has evolved to produce even more impact and detail.”

This looks muy slick - I'm a little hesitant about all things fantasy/sci-fi with Keanu involved, as that's practically all he's done in years now. Expect it in theaters 09.15.05

On other fronts, the Pope has probably passed away. May God have mercy on his soul.

The future is now.

2005-02-23T09:50:00.000-05:00

music: Iron & Wine

Last night a few articles were brought to my attention that I think deserve a lot more coverage than they're getting.

First:

"Flexonics is still in its infancy, but the technology’s potential raises questions about what it will mean to be a consumer in an era of devices-on-demand. You’d no longer pay for a product, Canny says, you’d pay for plans. I look forward then to a generation of do-it-yourself industrial designers, tinkerers who tweak commercial product designs to improve and customize them. How will I access the fruits of their labor? Peer-to-peer plan networks, of course, where designs for blenders and mobile phones and TV remote controls are swapped like so many MP3s."

Excellent article at that link; it gets better, though...

Second:

"Z Corporation 3D Printers are capable of creating early stage concept models of any complexity directly from digital data, quickly and inexpensively. A typical part can be printed in a few hours.Z Corporation 3D Printers are capable of creating early stage concept models of any complexity directly from digital data, quickly and inexpensively. A typical part can be printed in a few hours."

Why go to the mall for that new pair of shoes? You can print 'em in an hour or so.

“Three-dimensional tubes of living tissue have been printed using modified desktop printers filled with suspensions of cells instead of ink. The work is a first step towards printing complex tissues or even entire organs.”

This is insane. The fact that we're a mere couple of years away from creating organs en masse is so advanced, medically and technologically, that it staggers me.

Pimpzilla

2005-02-19T19:15:00.000-05:00

music: the sound of clothes in the dryer, round and round and round. . .

Use Firefox? You should. . .

. . . and once you install it, head here to get a nifty, stylin' theme, or you could even get Pimpzilla.

I got some Watersooi on the stove; I'm outtie.

Survivor?

2005-02-17T15:56:00.000-05:00

music: Led Zep

Forgive me for admitting it, but a new Survivor season begins tonight. Wha? No, I won't watch it, that'd be ridiculous. . . there're plenty of other ways to waste my Thursday night. :grin:

I could always stop into Designologue and expand my creative process. . .

DT

2005-02-16T16:13:00.000-05:00

current music: Dream Theater

Nothing more needs to be said - if you don't know them, then you should.

Click here to feed kids.

The hardest part.

2005-02-16T13:52:00.000-05:00

The hardest part so far is coming up with an interesting Title for each post.

So this is my blog; I'm doing this only due to my curiosity and plethora of interesting (?) things in my head that need to be shared with the world. If you're reading this, then you'll be privy to some imaginitive ideas. . . eventually.

At this point, I'm still working with the settings and such, not exactly sure what I want this blog to do or how I want it to look. Meh.

I suppose, as trite as it is, I can share what I'm listening to, at the very least - today it is Of Asaph - check 'em out (with samples) @ their website.

'nuff said.

In the beginning. . .

2005-02-15T11:33:00.000-05:00

. . .the Earth was without form.