Nov/090
Sunday Morning Music Video – Toxicity
How exactly am I to top last weeks video? I mean C'mon that guy was rockin' that harp. Well if anything can do it I'm pretty sure this can. Check out these very attractive ladies performing a cover of Toxicity... With Electric Violins
Nov/090
Eve Battle Report – Nov 15th 2009
Last night I took part in what was to become an awesome skirmish. Nibbletek had yet to be defeated since moving into black rise. Things changed last night 
Formed up 1900.
35 battleships, give or take, about 25 ish battlecruisers, and misc. support with some very dilligent scouts parked at WT staging points like nenna, OMS and reporting regularly without complaining. No logisitcs this round--we went for maximum DPS.
Rolled out with the battlecruisers, and tucked the battleships far away in lowsec.
After about an hour and a half of posturing/roaming/a few random kills, the WT's form a fleet to take on our BC+support, not knowing about our battleships. Nibbletek continues to roam Black Rise in thier standard BS/Logistics team, coming on and off the radar regularly. More after the jump
2030 ish--Amarr FC logs in (he got caught up in RL stuff) and begins to form his own fleet. I called in a favor a few days ago for the extra oomph to break triaged carrier reps, and he delivered. He maneuvered through our highsec, and finally trailing a few jumps behind us around 2200, we pick up high-speed and move from Oicx to the Abune pipe, keeping the local count hard to read. We tuck the Amarrs (originally 50+, then down to 35+ but very battleship heavy) into a dead-end system, and draw out Nibbletek.
By this time we've gone down to about 50, with 2/3 of our BS's and 1/2 our BC's left.
A 30 man WT count in Nenna doesn't change for the rest of this engagement. Originally they formed up BS heavy to take on our BC's but, unfortunately, we sprung the BS hammer smash a little too soon, and scared them off.
Convo's from WT's included Bacardi not being able to make his own fleet due to voice issues (which many of us had problems with today), and Nibbletek challenging us to jump into them with "this time it's your turn." We brought them into Heyd, got to optimals on the Abune gate.
Neutral alt Archon "elchief" hotdrops us above the gate, goes into triage to help nibbles, and the fight breaks out.
We attempted 5-10 second countdowns with massive volley damage, however a few random shots tipped off the carrier pilot to who was being primaried, and had a lot of close-call saves.
Buying time for the Amarr, we kept pushing, just about at the breaking point. They arrived in time, and to the Amarr FC's credit, is very good about following typedcomms on who we are primarying and is able to relay it to his fleet. Thier DPS combined with ours was enough...and thier RR ball begins to break.
4-5 BS's dropped, faster and faster each time, Nibbletek abandons the field, and the ensuing Archon destruction was the fastest carrier kill I've seen to date.
We took pretty heavy losses, but was able to loot and salvage to make up much of that. And this was Nibbletek's first actual loss in a week, which was more important than anything.
Props on this fight go to the scouts, who didn't get in on carrier killmails in order to feed us the intel that led to the kill. Mad props to the patient ones
Op lasted about 4 1/2 hours.
While the battle-report indicates that the Caldari/Amarr fleets took the brunt of the damage, and the isk loss. We were able to Successfully force Nibbletek into a full retreat and down the Carrier they decided to hot drop on us
Nov/090
Sunday Morning Music Video – The Trooper
Okay, this one isnt exactly a music video, so much as a video of music. Enjoy.
Nov/090
Sunday Morning Music Video – Hell bent
This week's music video is another long time favorite of mine. This is probably one of the most moving music video's I've ever seen. I simply cannot get enough of it. The artist is Kenna and the song is Hell Bent.
http://www.dailymotion.com/videox3xlfpFrom Wikipedia:
Kenna Zemedkun, the Grammy Nominated artist, known professionally as simply Kenna, is an Ethiopian-born American musician. The eldest son of an immigrant family that relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio (and later raised in Virginia Beach, VA), Kenna began to express an interest in music upon receiving a copy of U2's The Joshua Tree. The way he was discovered and the obstacles he faced to land a record deal are briefly discussed in Malcolm Gladwell's 2005 book Blink. His track "Say Goodbye To Love" was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in the 2009 Grammy Awards.
Nov/090
Sunday Morning Music Video – Jumpers
So, I had this crazy idea this morning to feature a music video every week. I know it is a lame attempt to get myself to actually post stuff on the blog. But here goes. This weeks video is a personal favorite of mine. I think a lot of people can relate to the message in this one. The video is Jumpers by Sleater-Kinney
From Wikipedia:
Sleater-Kinney's musical style sprung from the fertile Olympia, Washington punk scene of the early- to mid-1990s. They formed around the last years of the riot grrrl movement that included bands such as Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. Their stripped down, hard, anti-establishment music was reminiscent of the sound and spirit of the early punk movement of the late 1970s
Oct/090
Hey look, I made glass…
Okay, so it's been almost a year since I have delved into any real 3d work. I guess I was more distracted by level-design and kind of put my 3d work on the back burner. That is until I found out earlier this week that the indie license for unity3d had become free. I decided to give it a try. It's a pretty powerful game engine. I've already been brainstorming Ideas for some kind of game. This of course will consume most of my time in the future. While playing around with the engine. I noticed that it natively supports Cinema 4D. I have had very little experience with C4D. But everyone I've spoken to who uses it seems to love it. Way back when I was just learning the ropes of 3ds max 7 one of my personal goals was to learn how to properly make glass objects. Its amazingly simple, yet just looks so damned cool when completed. After about 10 minutes of toying with the interface in Cinema 4D, I was able to come up with this.
Hey Look! Glass.
It's far from perfect, but so far I'm really enjoying the C4D interface. It will still take me some time to dig into the program and find everything I'll need to know to start producing some detailed models. But for just under 10 mins. I'd say today was a success. Also, While it only took 10 mins to construct. The render time for this was closer to 30 minutes.
Oct/090
Oktoberfest 2009
Well again I have let the importance of maintaining this blog slip between the cracks. It's not even that I do not have the time. It's just that I've not been doing much of interest. After recovering from what I can only assume was a case of the "swines" I again volunteered for Oktoberfest Tulsa. It was wonderful. The food was great. I finally managed to find the Marshall's after about an hour. Zac and I managed to down a pitcher of Marshall's Oktoberfest. Lets just say that the rest of the night after that was a bit cloudy.
Anyhow, below are some pictures from this years Oktoberfest. The rest are still on Zac's camera awaiting his return from Six Flags. Enjoy
Jun/090
It’s a wrap, Tulsa Lan Party is over!
For the past few month's there has been one major project that I've been working on. I'm proud to announce that everything went without a hitch. There were a few power issues and the record high temperatures outside made it a little less comfortable than many would have liked. But overall everyone had a great time. There are some photo's of the event after the break
Jun/090
Being Unemployed, Is it really a bad thing?
This morning was going to be such a great morning. My allergies were not bothering me yet and sun was out. The drive to work was enjoyable. Even the first few minutes of my day had been going well, that is until my boss called me to the conference room. It did not take me long to figure out what was going on. People usually only get called to the conference room for one reason and this time my card was up.
I was informed that I was being let go and that they would pay for the remainder of the day. Typically I would have expected a flood of emotions to be coursing through my head. I was amazingly calm. I said okay, and proceeded to my desk so that I could pack up the very few things I actually cared to take home with me. I walked out the door.
The minute my foot hit the asphalt there was a sigh of relief. By all accounts my life should be crumbling into tiny little pieces right now. But for some odd reason I feel almost reborn. I really loved my job, I made many good friends and enjoyed the company of pretty much everyone in the office. But what I think it boiled down to for me was how I felt on the inside. The last few months I have felt somewhat held back by my job. I would not say that I was burned out. I still enjoyed every day. But I know that I’m far too qualified to be doing the work I was assigned. And over the past year It had become more and more apparent that there was really no room for growth. Now please do not get me wrong. I’m not bitter and this situation is not the making of anyone specific above me. It’s just that It’s a very small company that focuses on very specific tasks. The few people who do have an edge on what is actually going on prefer to keep it that way. as it is in their best interest to do so.
This is what really made the job hard for someone like me. I am always looking to learn something, innovate, or be a part of something. But its really hard to do that when every assignment is a need to know basis. Training is reserved for only those in positions of authority who then tend to delegate it to those below them who had never been given any formal training and left to just “figure it out.” Fortunately, I was pretty good at figuring it out and it was those few moment when I felt that my job was actually a challenge.
So needless to say I’m in the job market again. I have already found a few prospects, and it hasn’t even been a day yet. I really hope I can find a career that both interests and challenges me. Something that helps me better myself and allows opportunities for advancement.
I would really like to take a little time to catch my breath and evaluate what I want to do in life. Unfortunately life does not afford such a luxury. So I will make the best of the days to come and take everything in stride. Even as tough as our economy is. I know that I am valuable. I know that no matter what happens I will find a way. Most importantly I know I have the support of my friends and family. Is that not all that really matters?
Jun/090
Thank you Microsoft! 1 vs. 100 is Crack!
Alarms were set, Agenda’s cleared. I had plans for a sat night and not one of them included going out. Last year Microsoft announced the new Xbox Primetime service. The service would be included for free to all Gold subscribers. After missing my opportunity for the first US beta on June 1st I would not forget this one.
It was 8:45 when I heard that friendly chime coming from my TV. It was the reminder that the game was about to begin. I quickly wrapped up whatever trivial things I was doing on my PC, refilled my Tea, made a quick run to the restroom and kitchen for snacks and began what would be the quickest 3 hours I have ever spent answering trivia questions.
The first round was pretty straight forward. Some chap was picked to be the 1 and 100 people were chosen for the Mob. I was not one of the lucky ones. I was a little skeptical going into this if i would enjoy it or not. As soon as I was informed that I would be part of the crowd I was matched up with 3 other random players. We quickly introduced ourselves and had a nice little chat while the formalities were taking place. I thought to myself. This is it, time to prove myself.
The questions began to roll in and I was on a roll. I was racking up points right and left and constantly at the heels of the top 10 list. It was a few moments later that I was invited into a private party with some of my Friends. The 6 of us were all helping each other out trying to get any one of us into the top 10 as well as yelling uniformly into the headset when the one would miss what we considered an easy question, and thus awarding the entire mob with a prize. Of course because this is just a beta there were no actual prizes.
The questions themselves were not entirely too difficult. But it seemed nearly impossible to get into the top 10. It seems that even half a second could mean all the difference when bidding for the top spot. Personally I’m convinced its the delay using the Wireless controller that Is killing me. Next show I will use the wired controller, after all anything for an edge right?
The interface was very smooth and seeing our avatars interacting with each other was humorous to say the least. There were a few moments where it felt like someone should be talking to us. And the commercials made for an excellent excuse to take a piss.
After the main event we were awarded with another two hours of free-for-all extended play. In extended play mode you compete with the entire crowd and there is no one. Of course your total score, streaks, and other bonuses still carry over and the questions can prove to be pretty difficult.
The only prizes I have seen so far have been dividends of Microsoft Points. These points can be used to buy live arcade games, or in the future full Xbox games. No word yet on if they will incorporate bigger prizes. There is however a sweepstakes. Each question answered gives you an entry into the larger sweepstakes. They are giving away a samsung entertainment system, a Laptop, and I think a Zune. Also, achievement whores should fear not. Each season of primetime games will include unique sets of achievements.
I really think that Microsoft has the right Idea when it comes to the future of gaming. The highest number of players I remember seeing during the extended play was just under 100k players. This number may not seem very large when you compare it to MMO games like world of warcrack. But for a casual primetime game. It’s very impressive. I cannot wait to see what other games Microsoft is planning to unveil for us. I am also curious to see what the future will hold for the game. Right now rumor has it that the game will be Friday and Saturday nights.
All in all I think that the beta alone has proven the game to be a huge hit. If this was/is just a testing ground for future possibilities. I would like to think that the amazingly huge turnout tonight is an indicator that, yes, even hardcore gamers will enjoy the casual-friendly side of things.
*EDIT I was unable to get a recording of our session. But I did stumble across these people who did record the game. This should give you an Idea of what to expect. Our conversations were not much different
Where am I?
