Musings of Unayok

2010 May 12

20:45

Yeah, I've been quiet.

There's not much to be worth saying lately.

Well. That's not entirely true. But nothing much to natter about. Mostly introspective things.

And planning for summertime travels. And small bits of home reorganization. And work, sometimes with the (definitely aging) fourfoot in tow. iPad stuff is fun on a technical level, but it's somewhat annoying watching the way that Jobs carries on. (Not just this recent thing, but... yeah...)

Yep. Lots of little things. None worth nattering on. Which is probably why I'm not so crazy about write-only social networking.

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2010 Feb 18

15:18Furp

It's been a year.

There's an

evil_dwagon-shaped hole in my life. Life's scaffolding surrounds it as the endless assembly continues but none will obscure the gap -- it is part of the structure of who I am now.

Everybody leaves.

It's what he left behind that counts, and that's a hell of a lot.

Tags: furp

Current Mood: [mood icon]

melancholy

Current Music: Abakus - Nightwalker

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2010 Jan 10

20:59Avatar...

... The paint by numbers plot does a creditable job of staying out of the way of some very impressive visuals punctuated only occassionally by some of the problems that still seem to haunt 3D productions(*).

... A reasonable way to spend two hours (hint: it's a three hour movie).

... Implausible geography and improbable ecology provide fertile ground for demonstrating the state of the art in impressive CGI vistas, advanced image composition and motion capture. A demonstration of just how far all this has come, stitched together with bits recycled from classic SFnal stories.

... The paper thin stereotyped characterizations of the human population serve as a counterpoint to the depth of the visual artistry.

... A super-extended climactic battle scene seems de rigeur in modern epic cinema and Avatar honours its commitments here with vigour, ending with a resolution that begs the question: "what happens a week/month/year later when the next batch arrives?"

I am left with the impression that had I seen it in a 2D theatre I might have found it rather flat. (crickets)

As it was, it was an enjoyable ride that leaves few lasting impressions. Not bad for $300 million.

* - to wit: parallax problems on the periphery of the screen, a few eye-watering pans (mostly those involving on-screen computer displays), and all of the usual eyestrain problems you have when you play with depth of field in a 3D movie and have semi-interesting things in the background that people may want to (try to) focus on. Plus (of course) the seemingly irresistible temptation to continually make the point that THIS IS BIG, and HERE'S A(NOTHER) SWEEPING VISTA. That they seem to (mostly) hold their fascination through the extended period does Mr. Cameron credit.

(The first 3D movie I saw was Treasure of the Four Crowns. Things have come a fair ways since then.)

(And yes, I saw it in IMAX 3D)

Tags: 3d, movie, sfnal

Current Mood: [mood icon]

relaxed

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2009 Dec 31

20:362009

I'm not at all disappointed to be seeing the last of 2009. To be sure the suck associated with 2009 began in earnest prior to the start of the year (*cough* surgery and layoff). Contrariwise, the last few weeks of the year have been better. The new work is interesting (definitely) and I was able to cycle in to the office up to Christmas.

Still, 2009 is done. Where'd I put that fork? I could manage a few final pokes.

The take-away from this year is "Everybody Leaves". Not a new one of course, just heavily reinforced this year.

Everybody. Leaves.

Sometimes it's a bad thing. Sometimes it's a good thing. But it is universal. Everybody leaves. With skill, fate and effort, you might delay or alter the manner of its occurrence. You cannot, however, alter the fact. So... celebrate people while they are around, remember them after they leave, and don't close yourself to people arriving.

And bring on 2010.

Tags: 2009, future, mode

Current Mood: [mood icon]

amused

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2009 Dec 27

21:52pictures from a con

Very belatedly, I have now posted my pictures from Chicago TARDIS 2009. First real convention with the new camera, so I'm still figuring out how to deal with some of the difficult lighting in the various spaces, but I think a few good pics came out of it. And a few... amusing ones. It was a good convention, though the best bits are sworn to secrecy (as it should be!)

Tags: convention, doctor who, photos

Current Music: Bear McCreary - The Olympic Carrier

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2009 Dec 26

01:26Eesh

I am really not good at updating. Actually, I sort of am, but the small, minor day-to-day stuff ends up on FB.

After pretty much a year of continued suck, the last couple months have followed an uptick. Rebalancing of supplements has evened out the biologics. That's a useful basis, but it's not enough to rely on chemicals for improvements. Medical imaging shows that I'm about where I should be a year on from the surgery.

Intellectual challenge has been an important part of the recent trend as well. Getting to flex mental muscles is a good framing element -- getting paid for it makes it better. I'm doing iPhone application development now, stretching the minimal Objective C knowledge I've been carrying around for years. Any rants and raves about iPhone development (libraries, environment and app store policies) is quite a different post. It's certainly significantly more interesting than the work I was doing before.

The weather has been co-operating to an extent; I was riding my bike to work (12.5km) even this week. The last few days were a bit brisk (-10C, -15 windchills) but quite tolerable. Traffic this week was lighter than usual and I was actually fairly pleased to be doing it.

There's more, but it's all secret, you see. Or at least delayed to some future post. (ha!)

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2009 Aug 25

21:22NY-DWNY

After Furp's BBQ, I took a side trip to New York. The DWNY monthly pub night was conveniently the following Wednesday and some blue sky searches on airline fares showed me that it was even slightly cheaper to swing through NYC on my way home from Milwaukee. For air fare, of course. The trip itself was more expensive, but it was still a good time. Did a few touristy things, one of the most amusing was my 'commute' up the Hudson (River, not the four foot) on the 'water taxi'. I was able to get a few cool pictures and not worry about being 'touristy'.

It's amusing to find that in NYC, as in most other places I go, people stop to ask me for directions. Sometimes I can even help! Not this time, though.

On Wednesday, the DWNY pub night was a fun time. SoHo is quite an interesting part of town. As with many places in New York, it resonates with parts of Toronto. Of course, the NYC versions are more likely to be the original, as they feel more complete and intense. The pub night was decently sized; perhaps 40 people there all told. Much fun and some alchohol was consumed.

The star attraction of the evening was Gary Russell, relatively well-known in Whovian circles. Of course, there was more than just Gary (but don't tell him that!). Eventually, some forays were made for food, and a place serving hot dogs with bulgogi and kimchee was located. Surprisingly good!

Eventually, the evening ended. I got to meet people from Gallifrey One, and some very cool new people. Unfortunately, JRB wasn't there; would have been excellent to see him again. But I can say I may well try to make it to more of the gatherings. Definitely fun.

Tags: doctor who, nyc, travel

Current Music: Dafunk - Primary Star

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2009 Aug 23

01:10Furp's BBQ

Last Saturday in Wisconsin, I attended evil_dwagon's BBQ memorial. Just shy of 6 months since he was killed in February, his family and friends gathered to enjoy each others' company and memories of him. Contrary to the funeral, this was not a sad ocassion. He'd certainly not have wanted it to be; there had been many other BBQs in the past and none of them sad occasions.

There was food aplenty, company galore. Even wine for unclekage to enjoy.

Security provided by Hunter. As you might expect, I managed to take some pictures.

Furp's fursuit (Zeblong) has found a good home; so has some of his other things -- others will find their new homes soon.

Lynne, Hank and their whole family are amazing people and the way that they are moving forward is an inspiration. It's quite difficult at times, I know.

There's still a lot I have to work through myself, but this gathering was a very good and powerful thing. Thanks to everyone I met (and met again) for contributing to it!

(There was a lot more I might have said, but it doesn't seem so important right now...)

Tags: furp, travel

Current Mood: awake

Current Music: PowerTrace - Zoids (In The Better Days)

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2009 Jul 25

22:40Click

A week ago, I picked up a new camera. After years of point and shoots. In years gone by I had used a Minolta SLR with a small assortment of lenses. When the digital age arrived I opted for easily portable Point and Shoot style cameras, especially given the expense (and initial unavailability) of proper Digital SLRs. Since the field has matured much over the last few years, it seemed about time to get back into it (and given that prices have become much more reasonable).

With the legacy glass, the obvious choice was Sony. In the end I decided on the A350, which is a nice compromise between affordability and power. A sweet spot. And, as it is "last year's model", it's being marked down. I find this amusing as I found the A350 much more appropriate to me than either of its possible replacements in the mid-level consumer DSLR market (A330 and A380).

Of course, I now need to relearn (and learn the first time in some cases) how to work with (D)SLRs and take Real Pictures. A new twist of course is the "workflow". I'm only taking RAW format images so I can have some fine control over results. I'm not making any claim to greatness, but I'm enjoying the learning experience and having a few fairly respectable images, even in this teething period.

Now, if I can only remember to reset *all* the camera settings correctly after I mess around with them. And find willing subjects...

Tags: photos

Current Mood: productive

Current Music: Alcazar - Stay The Night

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2009 Jul 22

16:11The Sun!

Last week saw an interesting development: the installation of 1.75kW of solar PV panels on the house. It took a bit longer than the plan was, but that was okay. I learned a lot from the installers, and they were cool guys. They've been very busy this summer. Ontario has instituted a feed-in tariff for residential (and small commercial) PV that's very attractive -- 80.2 cents per kWh -- basic rates for electricity run around 11 cents (once you add in Ontario Hydro debt retirement and all the other extras on a hydro bill).

While I'm fairly sure that the structure of society will be significantly different at the other end of the 20 year contract that the rate is good for, it's a good deal for now and helped to drive this preparation -- such as it is. Better to have a little electricity than none. Of course, the tariff is only for grid tie, so there's no storage at the moment. But that can be added later.

It's already gotten some questions, and some semi-serious inquiries from a couple of neighbours. The more that get installations, the happier I'll be. (Plug for the buying group near me: R.I.S.E. Again.)

The only disappointing part is that even though the panels are up and tested, they're not yet connected to the grid. This requires an inspection from the Electrical Safety Authority... and their primary inspector for my area is on vacation, doubling the workload on his backup. Could take a couple of weeks for the inspection. Then comes the connect order and the installation of the new meter... probably another week. Every day lost is sunshine wasted!

In any case, there are some pics here.

Tags: powerdown, technology

Current Mood: [mood icon]

calm

Current Music: Дима Билан - Горе-зима

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