For UMP 2004, I've reduced the music selections to Eiffel 65's Blue and Grappelli and Menuhin's Tea for Two. I may even use both of them in an overarching storyline. But with these two, I will try to come up with a plot line for each, and maybe a plot line if I used both. Since each piece is about three and a half minutes long, I can combine them and some filler material to get something about 10 minutes long.
On Monday, I resurrected the SSP '99 mailing list, which was being hosted at Caltech until almost an year ago, when half the transfer of power took place. I'm hoping that people are still checking the emails that they are listed under on the website, and if so, hopefully they'll create a small frenzy of discussion, that will expectedly die down in a few weeks. There's been some light response to me directly, already which is pretty neat.
With July here, it's time to think about plans for UCSB. This means emailing potential research advisors, finding housing, selecting courses, talking to other grad students, among several other things. Feels odd moving to someplace almost blindly. Coming to Berkeley was easier as housing was established and courses were set over summer orientation. But I don't remember feeling any of the anxiety of moving until shortly before moving. I'm feeling it now. And since this is a master's program, I'll have to go through more decisions in probably a year.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Hooloovoo
It was all planned out. I would camp the night on the streets of Berkeley, and be in line in the morning to get a ticket in order to see the former President of the United States and get him to sign my copy of his memoirs. No more. Cody's Books is not giving out any tickets except for those to the people who pre-ordered. How evil!
For now, I'm designating the project for my Intro to Digital Video Class at Untitled Music Project 2004, or UMP 2004. Hopefully, by Wednesday I will have the music I'm going to use and a rough idea of what I'm going to do. By the end of the week, I'll more or less have storyboards and by next Wednesday, principle photography will be completed.
The music selection process has been a major barrier in the project's advancement. However, from my MP3 collection and one suggestion, I have a list of 7 songs:
1. Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da ba dee) (3:29)
2. Eiffel 65 - Move your body (3:32)
3. Melanie C - I turn to you (5:51)
4. Boston Symphony Orchestra - Humoresque in G-flat Major, Op. 101, #7 (3:32)
5. Grappelli/Stephan/Yehudi Menuhin - Tea for Two (3:38)
6. Theme - Mr. Holland's Opus - An American Symphony (3:14)
7. Tan Dun, Yo Yo Ma - Night Fight (3:10)
The only certain thing about UMP is that it will include a stop motion sequence.
For now, I'm designating the project for my Intro to Digital Video Class at Untitled Music Project 2004, or UMP 2004. Hopefully, by Wednesday I will have the music I'm going to use and a rough idea of what I'm going to do. By the end of the week, I'll more or less have storyboards and by next Wednesday, principle photography will be completed.
The music selection process has been a major barrier in the project's advancement. However, from my MP3 collection and one suggestion, I have a list of 7 songs:
1. Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da ba dee) (3:29)
2. Eiffel 65 - Move your body (3:32)
3. Melanie C - I turn to you (5:51)
4. Boston Symphony Orchestra - Humoresque in G-flat Major, Op. 101, #7 (3:32)
5. Grappelli/Stephan/Yehudi Menuhin - Tea for Two (3:38)
6. Theme - Mr. Holland's Opus - An American Symphony (3:14)
7. Tan Dun, Yo Yo Ma - Night Fight (3:10)
The only certain thing about UMP is that it will include a stop motion sequence.
Saturday, June 26, 2004
ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Expectedly, the second coming of comments was small (perhaps a little too small... sneaky bastards.) Though the second time is never as good as the first. But I guess it doesn't really matter. I've made most efforts not to publicize this blog, except for a slip up on orkut. But that does bring up the question, whether I should publicize this blog more, like actually posting it in places people will see (profile, orkut, whatever).
On the one hand, this entire blog is public, as it's on the Internet. I've made no effort to create hidden posts or to even to pursue that feature. And I do not intend on deleting previous posts as I've seen other people do. I will consider it. Any comments? (and remember, you don't have to be a troll to post anonymously).
I've bought the Clinton memoirs at Cody's Books with full intention of lining up Monday night to get tickets for the former President to sign my copy. If other people are going, we can go together. Though I'm afraid that it may require getting there Monday night. I'll scope the place out immediately after work on Monday. Then gather equipment and camp out. We'll see how popular Clinton is in the East Bay. I doubt I'll get to reading it by Tuesday, if at all. I've got Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams and Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman to finish.
I'll be using a passage from Einstein's Dreams over the weekend for my Intro to Digital Video Production assignment. With any luck, I'll get some comments on framing the shot from our instructor on Saturday when I pick up the equipment. I'm subjecting multiple people to this, since ideally I could edit the shots together to flow seemlessly. Though I doubt that will happen. But it'll still be a good exercise to think about it.
I do need to figure out what I'm going to do for my final project in the course. The current idea is a music video, but not one where anyone in the video sings or plays an instrument. Essentially, it's a short with one prevalent song, by the sounds of it. Perhaps, if it's appropriate, I can intercut signing into the transitions. In order to do this, I need a song. It needs to be upbeat. It needs not be purely instrumental. Any ideas?
On the one hand, this entire blog is public, as it's on the Internet. I've made no effort to create hidden posts or to even to pursue that feature. And I do not intend on deleting previous posts as I've seen other people do. I will consider it. Any comments? (and remember, you don't have to be a troll to post anonymously).
I've bought the Clinton memoirs at Cody's Books with full intention of lining up Monday night to get tickets for the former President to sign my copy. If other people are going, we can go together. Though I'm afraid that it may require getting there Monday night. I'll scope the place out immediately after work on Monday. Then gather equipment and camp out. We'll see how popular Clinton is in the East Bay. I doubt I'll get to reading it by Tuesday, if at all. I've got Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams and Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman to finish.
I'll be using a passage from Einstein's Dreams over the weekend for my Intro to Digital Video Production assignment. With any luck, I'll get some comments on framing the shot from our instructor on Saturday when I pick up the equipment. I'm subjecting multiple people to this, since ideally I could edit the shots together to flow seemlessly. Though I doubt that will happen. But it'll still be a good exercise to think about it.
I do need to figure out what I'm going to do for my final project in the course. The current idea is a music video, but not one where anyone in the video sings or plays an instrument. Essentially, it's a short with one prevalent song, by the sounds of it. Perhaps, if it's appropriate, I can intercut signing into the transitions. In order to do this, I need a song. It needs to be upbeat. It needs not be purely instrumental. Any ideas?
Friday, June 18, 2004
The Second Coming of Comments
Time to give a shout out to all the readers of this blog, in the hopes that they will shout back. So be nice and leave me a comment, before foodhoser takes the cake... err.... yeah. And you don't have to be a member to comment (please leave a name or handle that I can try to guess who it is, and not a false handle that would make me believe is someone else... foodhoser)
I should start something with the name piarsq or piaresquare. (I do see it in some reference to a Metal band.) Why didn't I think of this 4 months ago. Would have made me harder to track down, for better or worse.
And feeling particular disregard for the temporal universe, the First Coming of Comments is anticipated for the past of a 4th dimensional being moving backwards in time.
I should start something with the name piarsq or piaresquare. (I do see it in some reference to a Metal band.) Why didn't I think of this 4 months ago. Would have made me harder to track down, for better or worse.
And feeling particular disregard for the temporal universe, the First Coming of Comments is anticipated for the past of a 4th dimensional being moving backwards in time.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
These Are the Days
Well, I was going to go to the City of Angels today and tomorrow, but no longer. The trip has been stymied in order to work and cause my options for getting back didn't finalize.
Monday, June 14, 2004
One Victory Point
As Dave Barry would say, sounds like a good name for a rock band, or maybe a Fox primetime soap (a la The O.C.).
What is it about games that is so fun? I spent over 12 hours out today, some of that was travel, a hour or so of that was dinner. The rest of it was listening to Diplomacy rules, Lunch Money, Guillotine, Settlers of Cataan, Magic: The Gathering, a round of Poy Poy, and Apples to Apples.
The main part of it is the inherent social interaction. While it's "just a game," it also brings out each player's character. Their style of play greatly mirrors their train of thought, especially in a situation with a fairly even playing ground as far as simple rules. Anyway, the rest of this entry recounts the details of the more intense games mentioned above. It's probably not all that interesting, especially if you don't know how to play either of these games.
Settlers played with James, Bill, Drew, and Thomas:
As a note, we did not follow the standard rule of alphabetical placement of the numbers. Instead they were placed randomly. Consequently, rolls of 4 and 8 were turns of drought, and adjacent 3s and 6s were randomly changed, but adjacent 10s lay on the board.
Initial settlements largely favored one half of the board, with Thomas being the main settler on the other half. These initial positions gave Thomas sole control of adjacent brick mines, and James control of the adjacent 10s on forests. Drew controlled wheat and sheep, and Bill had large control of wheat, sheep, and ore. Thomas jumped out to an early lead on a near monopoly of brick production; as evidenced by his longest road and first to new settlement. In the process of this, along with a direct race to settlement between James and Drew, James' middle settlement was cutoff from further expansion, and James put at a severe disadvantage. Bill took especial exception to Thomas' early lead and refused to trade with him and used his soldier development cards shut down Thomas' brick production and steal his resources. With brick production slowed dramatically, and wool production at last increasing, they built a lead: Bill on the strength of his development cards, and Drew on the strength of his trade agreement with James, which allowed tariff-free use of James' wool port and Drew' wheat port. Sensing that Drew was becoming a bigger threat, Thomas was eventually able to buy Bill's soldiers to move the thief. With brick back in production, and a more easy trading relationship with James and Drew and Bill's concentration on Development Cards and Cities, Thomas was able to amass the necessary resources to upgrade a settlement to a city, and finish the game with one a final settlement, and using the only development card he bought along the way, a Market card.
Winner: Thomas with two cities, three settlements, a Market development card, and the longest road (9).
Magic played with Alissa, Amber, Thomas, Matthew, and Amy:
Amber jumped out to an early lead using her life giving creatures and spells to get to 32 health, while attacking Matthew down to 8 heath and Thomas down to 13. After the rise of Thomas' Shivan Dragon, Thomas took a nasty hit to save his dragon knocking him down to 7. But allowing him to soon gain a second Shivan Dragon. With an additional Barbarian Horde and land clearing sorcery from Matthew turned the tide wass in Thomas' favor. At this point, Thomas eliminated Amber and Amy, and set about attacking Alissa with some good help from Matthew's attack nullifying land. Crucially, Alissa decreased Thomas' health to 4, and killed one of Thomas' Dragons with a spell, and on her last turned enchanted the other Dragon with a -3 to player if the Dragon attacks or blocks. However, Thomas summoned a 5/2, immediately playable creature in to kill Alissa. But this left the door open for Matthew's two 1/1 creatures and a 2/3 creature to end Thomas' reign of terror and take the game.
Winner: Matthew
What is it about games that is so fun? I spent over 12 hours out today, some of that was travel, a hour or so of that was dinner. The rest of it was listening to Diplomacy rules, Lunch Money, Guillotine, Settlers of Cataan, Magic: The Gathering, a round of Poy Poy, and Apples to Apples.
The main part of it is the inherent social interaction. While it's "just a game," it also brings out each player's character. Their style of play greatly mirrors their train of thought, especially in a situation with a fairly even playing ground as far as simple rules. Anyway, the rest of this entry recounts the details of the more intense games mentioned above. It's probably not all that interesting, especially if you don't know how to play either of these games.
Settlers played with James, Bill, Drew, and Thomas:
As a note, we did not follow the standard rule of alphabetical placement of the numbers. Instead they were placed randomly. Consequently, rolls of 4 and 8 were turns of drought, and adjacent 3s and 6s were randomly changed, but adjacent 10s lay on the board.
Initial settlements largely favored one half of the board, with Thomas being the main settler on the other half. These initial positions gave Thomas sole control of adjacent brick mines, and James control of the adjacent 10s on forests. Drew controlled wheat and sheep, and Bill had large control of wheat, sheep, and ore. Thomas jumped out to an early lead on a near monopoly of brick production; as evidenced by his longest road and first to new settlement. In the process of this, along with a direct race to settlement between James and Drew, James' middle settlement was cutoff from further expansion, and James put at a severe disadvantage. Bill took especial exception to Thomas' early lead and refused to trade with him and used his soldier development cards shut down Thomas' brick production and steal his resources. With brick production slowed dramatically, and wool production at last increasing, they built a lead: Bill on the strength of his development cards, and Drew on the strength of his trade agreement with James, which allowed tariff-free use of James' wool port and Drew' wheat port. Sensing that Drew was becoming a bigger threat, Thomas was eventually able to buy Bill's soldiers to move the thief. With brick back in production, and a more easy trading relationship with James and Drew and Bill's concentration on Development Cards and Cities, Thomas was able to amass the necessary resources to upgrade a settlement to a city, and finish the game with one a final settlement, and using the only development card he bought along the way, a Market card.
Winner: Thomas with two cities, three settlements, a Market development card, and the longest road (9).
Magic played with Alissa, Amber, Thomas, Matthew, and Amy:
Amber jumped out to an early lead using her life giving creatures and spells to get to 32 health, while attacking Matthew down to 8 heath and Thomas down to 13. After the rise of Thomas' Shivan Dragon, Thomas took a nasty hit to save his dragon knocking him down to 7. But allowing him to soon gain a second Shivan Dragon. With an additional Barbarian Horde and land clearing sorcery from Matthew turned the tide wass in Thomas' favor. At this point, Thomas eliminated Amber and Amy, and set about attacking Alissa with some good help from Matthew's attack nullifying land. Crucially, Alissa decreased Thomas' health to 4, and killed one of Thomas' Dragons with a spell, and on her last turned enchanted the other Dragon with a -3 to player if the Dragon attacks or blocks. However, Thomas summoned a 5/2, immediately playable creature in to kill Alissa. But this left the door open for Matthew's two 1/1 creatures and a 2/3 creature to end Thomas' reign of terror and take the game.
Winner: Matthew
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Capitalistic Pig
Okay... time to be a greedy person for a moment, and go through some of the things I want and want to learn.
Want:
Video card:
Digital camera: At least 4 megapixels, that provides quality images.
Laptop: The current candidate is a T41, though that 32mb ATI looks a bit puny.
Car: A less than $20,000 car with a PZEV rating. Rally abilities a big plus, and 4 to 5 star crash ratings.
To Learn:
Drive a stick shift: Got to get that old racing feel.
General driving techniques: from parallel parking to 180 turns.
Fly a plane: I could fly, I could fly, I could fly.
I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them at the moment.
So long and thanks for all the fish... gotta do laundry.
Want:
Video card:
Digital camera: At least 4 megapixels, that provides quality images.
Laptop: The current candidate is a T41, though that 32mb ATI looks a bit puny.
Car: A less than $20,000 car with a PZEV rating. Rally abilities a big plus, and 4 to 5 star crash ratings.
To Learn:
Drive a stick shift: Got to get that old racing feel.
General driving techniques: from parallel parking to 180 turns.
Fly a plane: I could fly, I could fly, I could fly.
I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them at the moment.
So long and thanks for all the fish... gotta do laundry.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Karen is a dodo
I can now imagine what it's like to be a travelling businessman, going places without knowing any of the people there. But for those extroverted people (unlike me), good way to make acquaintances.
I am currently in search of someone willing to make a trip from Berkeley to the City of Angels (specifically, UCLA) on the night of the 17th, or the morning of the 18th. This is so that I can attend my high school friend's graduation. Any takers?
And now, back to work... must parse file using C.
Before I forget, Karen is not a dodo. She told me I could type it if that's what I was thinking. So I fooled myself just long enough to make it the title. :)
I am currently in search of someone willing to make a trip from Berkeley to the City of Angels (specifically, UCLA) on the night of the 17th, or the morning of the 18th. This is so that I can attend my high school friend's graduation. Any takers?
And now, back to work... must parse file using C.
Before I forget, Karen is not a dodo. She told me I could type it if that's what I was thinking. So I fooled myself just long enough to make it the title. :)
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