I've Seen It All Before

So I saw District 9 last night, and for a while I struggled with whether I liked it or not. Waffled would be a better term as I liked it, then didn't like it, then liked it again. This post is full of SPOILERS so if you haven't seen it, don't read the rest of this post.

I don't like the "shaky-cam" craze that's been going around. Frankly, it makes me motion sick, and really detracts from the movie. The style can help bring people into the moment of the film, and getting the right things on camera while making it look random has to be rather complicated. The style breaks half way through from there being a cameraman behind the shaky-cam that the actors talk to and interact with, to just a shaky camera during private moments, but I can see how that is necessary to tell the story. I just get way too sick to enjoy any of the cinematography.

Putting my eminent puking aside, the movie was exciting and entertaining at the surface level, which is the only point of some types of movies (*cough Transformers). However, I tend to expect a little more from my serious science fiction in general and Peter Jackson specifically. So after the movie was over and the theatre had stopped spinning, I looked back on the movie in my head and was quite disappointed with what I found.

I couldn't think of anything in the movie I hadn't seen before. Big floating saucer-like mother ship? Seems familiar. Bug like aliens? Too many to name. Big war machine robots? Again, too many to name. Big bad private corporations doing secretly evil things? /yawn. Private security forces answerable to no one? Hand in hand with the previous one. Even the slums, riots, gang violence, and forced migration all tasted like things we see every day.

I was expecting to see a thoughtful, in-depth geopolitical screenplay about what impact aliens would have on the world stage. Turns out, that's not what Jackson had in mind. Instead we get a very small, biased view of what was going on, and that frustrated me. It was only later I discovered that what I was expecting, and wanting, wasn't new either. I wanted a Star Trek, or a Mass Effect.

So with all that in mind, and quite a bit of help from my girlfriend, I tried to find out what the point of the movie was beyond its entertainment value (of which there is plenty). And I think the point is, none of it looks new. We've seen all this before. Just because it's aliens being oppressed and misunderstood doesn't mean things will be any different. The movie is commenting on the fact that even if there WERE space aliens, we as a race and a culture probably wouldn't treat them any better or different than anyone else we don't like or don't want around. Pretty grim, but I think that's the message I got out of this movie.

There are a few things you have to take on faith, and since this is a film, and not a documentary, that's perfectly fine. The first is that I doubt the world powers would let South Africa handle the first ever immigrants from another world. And I doubt that control over their assets, technology, and health would be handed over to a private corporation. I don't know whether there'd be a slum or not, but if they were here long enough, without being blended into the general population, it seems quite likely.

Bottom line is, I liked this movie, and I think most of you will too. If you can get past the motion-sickness, some of the shots are really quite great, and it does a nice job of blending live action with CGI believably. Go see it, and then tell me what you think.
-Ty

Pic via Teaser-Trailer

Fallout 3 as a Life Commentary?

I've recently finished my play through of Fallout 3, and am now continuing my 2nd play through of Mass Effect. I know, its a little late, but I take forever to play games, especially while going to school. You may see from my "top 5" list that Mass Effect is number 1, and that Fallout 3 is not even ranked. The top 5 list is written from the perspective of how much I enjoyed playing a game and not necessarily how good the game is.

Some people, like my good friend and author of Adge's Rambles, play pseudo-sandbox games like Fallout 3 by allowing themselves to be someone completely different than who they are in real life. Using such games to fully explore their "alter ego" or approach situations with a solution that they would never choose in the real world. Sandbox games are designed for such purposes, to allow the player to explore all sorts of actions and situations without regard for real-world consequences.

As much as I may try, I am incapable of playing in the truest form of the sandbox. I can not bring myself to make decisions contrary to what I would make if I were in that situation for real. I get too involved in a game, so much so that the consequences in the virtual world are almost as important to me as the consequences of the real world. I even feel guilt for doing something bad or contrary to my personality. I think this is the reason I like Mass Effect, and do not like Fallout 3.

When I do try an make decisions that I wouldn't normally make, it feels like I've removed myself from the game. All of a sudden I don't care as much as about my character or the world in which I am playing and it detracts from the story. For example, in my first play through of Mass Effect, I was presented with a tactical choice. One team mate was stationed at one objective, and another at a second objective. I chose to sacrifice the team mate at the objective that I felt was not as tactically important to my mission. When the mission was over, I was not pleased with my choice in sacrifice because the member who died was a vital part of my team, and I would have had to play the rest of the game without the team mate that I found extremely valuable. So I went back to a save game before the decision and made the other choice. As soon as I did that, I regretted it. I felt I had cheated the game. The whole point of Mass Effect is that your decisions influence game play and story throughout the remainder of the game, and I had neutered that. Even now, on my second play through I am conflicted because now I know what will happen in that decision, and I can never be as involved in it as I was the first time around.

The reason I didn't like Fallout 3 is not because I didn't play sandbox style, but because of the choices I was forced to make. It's a post-apocalyptic world where its every man for himself. The game put my character in positions where there was no clean answer. I was forced, on more than one occasion, to make decisions that I felt were morally wrong and conflicting in order to survive or achieve some greater objective. It left a bad taste in my mouth because it means that if I were really in this situation, I would have made the same decision. It means if I am ever really that down on my luck, I would rather make the tough choice than die for my principles. Not very heroic I know. It is this simple realization that made my play through of Fallout 3 less than enjoyable. And it is this very same fact that I think makes Fallout 3 a great game. It showed me a side of myself that I had never faced before, one that I don't like, and am a little ashamed of. It has shown me a small slice of my own humanity and that is quite astounding for a video game.

You may say that I just get too involved, and that games are supposed to be fun and nothing more, but I would reply that is a short-sighted view of the possibilities of the medium. A method of storytelling that allows direct interaction in the world is the truest form of self exploration. If you let it, it will teach you things about yourself that you never knew. All this is pretty heavy for a video game review, but that's what I got out of the game. Even though I didn't like Fallout 3, I would have to say it is one of the better games I've played. Whether it's better than Mass Effect...well, I wouldn't go that far.
-Ty

Normandy pic via Bioware
Brotherhood Knight pic via someone's blog
Kill shot pic via TGR.com

The JWST

This next post is not quite as heavy as the last one: more of a housekeeping thing really. Of those of you who voted, two of you got the correct answer. It was the James-Webb Space Telescope. The picture was of the thermal shielding designed to keep sun off the optics and radiate heat away from the (nearly) absolute zero imaging core.

To learn more about the JWST and its systems and mission, visit JWST/NASA.

The new image is up, again, a nerdy theme. Take a vote if you know what it is. Good hunting.
-Ty

JWST image courtesy of NASA.

So, there's this thing...

So, there's this topic I've been mulling over for a while now. The discrimination and harassment officer came to give a lecture to us TA's at our weekly meeting. The thing is, its kind of a sensitive topic, and I really don't want to ruffle any one's feathers. On the other hand, if I don't ask, I don't learn, so please try to keep an open mind and realize that I am not trying to offend. Each paragraph covers a different issue I am struggling with, and opinions/insights on any or all of them would be helpful. Here goes.

The ombudsperson, who's gender will remain ambiguous for the sake of my point, and whom I will refer to as Sam(-antha or -uel), came in to speak about discrimination in the student environment. Sam started with an introduction about race, and race stereotypes, then gender and gender stereotypes. There was quite a bit of statistical data to back up Sam's claims but it was clear that these were issues of personal relevance rather than pure conclusions from the data.

The claim that really surprised me, and one that Sam enforced particularly vehemently was the distinction between girl, woman, and lady. I have never paid any attention to the difference these labels imply. In fact, I would have even said they are synonymous. Sam took great exception to this fact, stating that a girl, is a female human shy of age 18, a woman is a female human aged more than 18 years, and lady is a class distinction and social assumption. I tried asking questions, and any time I said girl, Sam fiercely interrupted me and would not let me continue until I had said woman, at which point, more often than not, I forgot what I was asking. My professor raised his hand at one point with a reply to Sam taking exception to the term lady, stating that lady was a compliment, synonymous with gentlemen. Sam replied by asking how a lady was expected to behave, and they argued back and forth for a while before Sam conceded that my professor was just from a different era. My professor is ancient. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he had witnessed the colonization of the western United States. And Sam is quite old, all grey hair at the least, but not at retirement just yet. My question is, in this day and age, with reasonable young adults such as myself and my readers, is this still a valid concern? I've always used, guys/girls, dudes/lady-dudes, bi*ches/c*cksuckers, whatever...

The second issue that I found surprising was the need for "women only" manufacturing classes. The reasoning behind these classes is that when in a class of dominantly male students, the females tend not to take initiative and therefore don't learn the machines as well as a guy would. In order to address my issue with these special classes, lets take an example: genderless people (which is the ideal in an educational environment). Student A and B go into a shop class, and student B takes hold of the machines, makes the part, and does the work, while student A stands behind B and watches. Then when both tested, student B gets a pass, and student A fails. Why? Because student B did the work. Student B took the initiative to actively learn while student A did not. So the grade seems fair? Or should we make a class where only student A can attend, and make sure student A gets the education that he/she was unwilling to apply him/herself toward? Perhaps this is the method that is used in high school, but college is voluntary, only students who want to be there pay that much money to go. If student A doesn't want to learn, fine, right? But what if student A is a girl, and student B is a guy? now all of a sudden student A should be given extra opportunities to learn? should be given "women only" classes? That tastes a little like "special privileges" doesn't it? And isn't giving special privileges to women a recognition, even a validation, of their need for such treatment? Isn't a "women only" class simply underlining the fact that people think they can't do as well and so should be treated differently? Perhaps there is another metric I'm missing here. And when I asked Sam if there was, the answer is that the school is trying to raise the number of women in attendance in the engineering program. Which I also disagree with, because if you make special compensations to raise the statistics in one group, that's equivalent to padding your data, which I find ironic for the school of engineering and applied science.

Last is very similar to the previous issue, except that instead of gender, it involves race. Being half Asian, but not looking it, gives me the unique perspective of seeing both sides. I'm treated as middle-class white-America by my peers and friends, yet I am a minority, especially here in Colorado. I visited the multicultural center once, and have never gone back. I was treated with a little bit of scorn because I don't actually look Asian. So here is this middle-class white guy coming into the center looking for some help. Needless to say, not the warmest welcome one would expect to receive. My issue with this is the same as my issue with gender, and again, I suspect it arises from ignorance about all the intricacies of the issue.

The conclusion that I have come to is that compensation and special treatment are not effective means of breaking down sexual and racial barriers in an institution. In fact, I would posit that it causes the opposite of the desired effect by drawing real, tangible, boundaries between the different race and gender groups. Perhaps it makes the numbers look better, but what should we be more concerned with, attendance numbers, or segregationist thought?

The unfortunate result of all this is that I've now begun to notice. Notice the fact that some of my student teams only have 1 girl in them, notice the teams that have girls as the team leader, or notice when a girl is doing active work in the machine shop. Notice when an Asian is doing the writing, notice when a black student is giving the presentation. And worst of all, once or twice, the thought "wow, good for them" fluttered across my mind. Where once I wouldn't have noticed, I now distinguish, where once I wouldn't have cared, I now feel the differences. I once was blind, but now I see, and that is definitely not a good thing.
-Ty

first image courtesy of Wikimedia

Fullmetal Alchemist

It's that time again!

Time to name the answer to my title-bar quiz and post a new image to be guessed at.

For those of you who voted, 5 of 7 of you got the correct answer. It is indeed an Alchemic Trasmutation Circle which comes from one of my favorite anime series: Fullmetal Alchemist (FMA).

There are several different transmutation circles the characters use to manipulate the world in various ways. This particular circle is quite significant in the series in that it is used to seal a homunculus. I won't go into more detail than that because if you haven't seen the series I wouldn't want to ruin it.

FMA is an excellent blend of beautiful anime, with humor, and a storyline to melt your brain. One of my favorite elements of the show is the character interaction. By the end of the 14 disk series you get such a feeling of family and connection to all the characters because they all have a connection to each-other. It was so popular as a manga and anime in Japan, that it has been translated into English extremely well. So much so that I would recommend watching it in English! I know, I know, blasphemy, but seriously, they did such a good job that the subtitles just don't do it justice.

If you live in the Boulder area, I'd be happy to lend you my copy, or I'm sure you can rent it from Netflix if that's more your thing.

Now, onto the new picture! Take a vote if you think you know where it comes from. Again, its just a snippet from a larger image, and it will most likely have a nerdy influence.

Good Luck!
-Ty

pic via someone's Friendster profile

A Slightly Greener Ski Season

As you may or may not know, I try, where possible, to be "green." This means that I recycle, use a personal cup at Starbucks, buy eco-conscious products and clothing, and try my hardest to get good gas mileage.

It's a terrible shame that ski racks cause so much aerodynamic drag when you're driving at relatively high speeds (40+ mph). Your car feels sluggish and your gas mileage tanks (pun totally intended). One way to help that is to buy a fairing. It eliminates the area between your ski rack and the top of the car, thus keeping your top profile continuous, and reducing drag. I won't go into all the nerdy details, but they really help.

I've been meaning to get a ski-rack fairing for quite some time now, its just been a matter of money. I had a birthday recently and got an excellent present from my father in the form of a check. Which I used a rather large chunk of at REI to buy the fairing that was made for my ski rack. Much to my dismay, and not much to my surprise, it didn't fit. I seem to have a non-standard cross bar for my car, which gives me no end of trouble. So now disgusted not only with the product I bought, but the outrageous price I paid for it, I took it back.

Then while I was in class this afternoon, I got a great idea to just build my own! The university has tons of scrap materials, and they'll let you use the machine shop any time its open. So I took an hour this afternoon and fashioned my own with some rudimentary measurements of my rack. The results of my labor and dumpster diving are...


Amazingly, it worked on the first try. Any of you who know me, know that I can hardly ever get anything right the first time. I tried it out on the highway and there was no rattling or buzzing or anything! I coated the bottom edge in cloth (hockey) tape so that it wouldn't scratch my roof.

I paid $3.60 for raw materials (instead of the $80 REI wanted), spent an enjoyable hour in the machine shop, and came out with an easy way to make my car more efficient. Not only did I stop that annoying whistling sound that the rack makes when there are no skis in it, I get to show a little nerd pride with all the stickers.
-Ty

You'll also notice I'm saving water by keeping my car absolutely filthy!

Professors

I am now a few weeks into my Master's career at CU Boulder, and I have begun to notice several differences between the masters program and the bachelors program. The classes are smaller, the work is more difficult, there is quite a bit less supervision, and the most striking thing is that students get the chance to actually meet and interact with the professors on a regular basis.

This has given me a chance to see the teaching styles and personalities of my professors, and compare them to one another. Even after only 4 weeks, I can easily decide which professors I like and which ones I do not. But less obvious is deciding if my reasons for liking or disliking them means that they are a good or bad professor.

For the sake of example, we'll call one professor A and the other B. I didn't really like professor A as an undergraduate, he taught a class that was wholly uninteresting to me and I had a little trouble understanding him. Where as professor B taught my favorite subject and while he talked strangely, was not difficult to understand. After taking graduate classes from each professor, I have come to realize that I liked/disliked each professor more because of the subject they taught than because of the type of teacher/person they were. I never went to office hours as an undergrad, but my friends always told me that professor A was very nice and helpful, while they said professor B was sort of hard to get a hold of.

Since being a graduate student, I have had nothing but good experiences with professor A. He IS helpful, and patient, and genuinely seems to want to listen to your questions and answer them. With professor B however, I have gone to his office on many occasions, some with prior arrangement and some without. In both cases, he had someone else in his office, or was not even there. One occasion he was chatting with the department's AA for 20 minutes of my hour with him while I sat in the hallway waiting. He even said to me on one occasion, that he would not help me, because I am a graduate student and he wouldn't hold my hand. Which I would expect if I went in there and said, "do this homework for me." But I had gone in wanting him to clarify his lecture because I had no idea what was happening.

Each professor's attitude toward me has greatly influenced the method in which I learn for the class. In professor A's case, I email him asking my question. Without fail, I get a helpful (if sometimes vague, which is fine) answer back within the hour. In the same situation with professor B, I rarely ever get an email, so I am forced to go to his office hours, where he tells me he won't help. I got through the last few assignments by going to one of his graduate students and asking them if they had any source material that would help, and I went home and read it.

I think each professor's style can be broken down into one of two categories: Teach Yourself, or Learn by Asking. It's easy for me to pick my preferred method, and I presume my readers can guess it just by the tone of this post so far, but I vastly prefer the latter option. I pay exuberant amounts of money to have interaction and instruction from intelligent individuals who's job it is to instruct me in the complexities of our field. If I wanted to teach myself, I could just go to the library and read the material there for free. It is much easier to learn when the knowledgeable individual answers questions, and leads the student to the correct conclusion. That way, both the student and the professor know the student is on the right track. In the Teach Yourself method, how is the student ever to know if he or she has drawn the wrong conclusion at any of the million steps it takes to learn a subject matter?

While my preference is clear, does either method mean that the professor who employs them is a bad or good teacher? Having the students be actively engaged in their learning does seem to be an effective method. And you do learn quite a bit by teaching, so perhaps having students learn on their own, and then teach others is an effective method. But it begs the question, what do you need a teacher for? And it begins to feel a little like the blind leading the stupid. Perhaps the solution to this problem in the Teach Yourself method is to provide light supervision and direction to make sure the students are learning the correct things on their own. But this is a very difficult thing to do, and most professors aren't very good at it.

I used to think that research professors made terrible teachers, but it seems to be that anyone can be a good teacher as long as they give thought to the learning that their students are doing. Therefore it seems perfectly plausible to have a good research professor, who is also a good teacher (as in the case of professor A). Unfortunately, as in the case of professor B, it is equally plausible to have a professor utilize the Teach Yourself method (while not my favorite, a proven method) to avoid active participation in his student's learning.
-Ty

Clearly, Post-Transition Life Has Been Busy

If only indicated by the fact that I haven't posted in a while, things have been quite busy since I quit my job and started grad school (see previous posts). I also apologize for the scattered nature of this post, I need a little while to get back into the swing of blogging.

I'll try and give a status update for the things that were left hanging in the last few posts, but I don't want to talk too long about my personal life because I suspect most of my readers don't care. And next post will be more fun I promise.

So It's the 3rd week of class. I have had 1 killer assignment and the rest is still sort of picking up. I have yet to pay any bills as a student (because it isn't Feb 1st yet) but I suspect this first round will go pretty smoothly.

Some good news, I got a TA-ship, and through a program called Earn/Learn, am making grad-level stipend! You might ask why this is special since I'm a grad student, but its quite an opportunity because all the regular positions were filled last fall. So I don't get my school paid for, but the ~$300/mo should go a long way toward maintaining my style of living.

The internship fair is this week, and I'm pretty optimistic. The people from Ball Aerospace seemed pretty excited to have me apply as an intern, so with any luck I'll have something to do (and bring in money) this summer.

I suspect the nature of my posts will start to change now that I am a student again. I don't have time to read as much news as I used to, and I predict that my posts will take a turn away from political. But I just wanted to take this opportunity to say how wonderful it is to have an administration that appears to value the founding principles that used to make this country great!

All in all, things are looking up right now.
I think the only downside to school is that I'll have to install Vista on my mac.
-Ty

pic via Southerngent

Transition Part 3 of 3: School

I spent a day on campus last week, to see my various graduate advisers, and get the remainder of my class schedule sorted out. I gotta tell ya, it felt good. Really good.

I knew I missed the student life, but I never realized just how much I missed it. Sitting in the semi-plush chairs in the Engineering Lounge, sipping coffee and plugging away on the free wi-fi while the hustle of students milled around and conducted their various school and non-school related tasks. It made me feel young, and alive. I know thats a strange thing for a 24 year old to say, but having spent some time in the "real world" has really aged me.

When I was younger, my mother would always say how our family liked school so much, most of us never left. Which is true, almost every member of my extended family is involved with one university or another in some faculty related function. I always used to scoff in my head, and think that it was just because they were dorks. But really, its pretty sweet being a dork. You have intellectually challenging activities every day, don't have to worry about bosses (in the traditional sense), get to keep your own schedule (for the most part), and never really stagnate as is common in the working world.

I feel like school will be a good thing for me. I can continue to better myself, and improve what I have to offer; while at the same time get away from the hum-drum working world and live as a student for just a little while longer. As for all the logistics of quitting my job and going back to school at a time like this, I still think it's the best thing for me.

I have been wholly un-affected by the financial crisis to date. I have no mortgage, no short term stock investments, my car is paid off, I have no kids, and the 2 years worth of retirement I have accumulated has lost a net of $73.92 since the economic meltdown started. Many companies, including mine, are going through force reductions in the next year or so. But I'll be in school during all that. I will be leaving on my own terms, before I get laid off (which may or may not have happened), and will avoid the worst year my company will see in a long time. And I may even get to come back at a higher salary into a leaner company after school finishes.

My school is funded by loans. Which is un-fortunate, but the federal loans are un-affected by the financial crisis, so I don't need to worry about getting another one next semester. My professor is extremely excited to have me on his TA staff next semester because I have come through his program, and he and I were good friends while I was an undergraduate. The best part is that TAships pay for school, and give you a stipend! So it is likely that I will only need to get through this first semester on loans, and even then, I will supplement my loan with an hourly job to bring in a little spending cash. There is also a remote possibility that in a year or so, I could work with the lab I was employed with as an undergraduate as a designer for their new Mars program . Thats a long shot, but it would be a dream come true.

I feel that this decision is the right one. I avoid all the ugliness of a force reduction at my job, get a higher-education degree, and will come back in a better position to get the work I want, and an even better salary than the one that I have grown accustomed to.

So it is with a clenched fist and head held high, that I begin the transition back to student.
Now if only they'd post the text-book list...
-Ty

pic via CU

Transition Part 2 of 3: Freakout

The most prevalent thought running through my head recently has been

Holy Crap I Quit My Job!

What am I doing!?! I'm 24 years old for crying out loud! I was a design engineer for a huge engineering corporation. I had job security, I was doing design, the work I want to be doing. Sure it was on boring rockets, but you gotta make some sacrifices yeah? What the hell was I thinking!?!

Whenever I tell someone that I quit my job recently, the most common question I get asked is

Aren't you afriad of quitting during these difficult economic times? When people are being layed off, and the un-employment rate is skyrocketing, aren't you concerned about leaving your job?

And that's a pretty scary thought. Yeah, people ARE getting laid off by the thousands, people have lost large portions of their retirement funds to the crashing stock markets, and there are real fears of another Great Depression. Am I being stupid and naive to give up my good paying job and semi-satisfying career right now? Sure, moving around is perfectly normal, but is it wise to do it now?

I am a little afraid of change. Who wouldn't be? Why risk what you have in the pursuit of what you might not get? It seems stupid to give up a bird in the hand for 2 in the bush.

On top of all that, I am, as of 10:35pm December 21st, 2009 in $10199 of debt to the united states government. That may not seem like a lot to most of you, but it is my biggest loan yet, and for being my sole source of income, its a bit of a doozy.

I view my time working for the corporate monster as something similar to being in an abusive relationship. In the beginning, you know somethings not right, but you can't really put your finger on it. Then you start to feel depressed and a little pained, until one day, you forget that those feelings aren't normal, and you learn to live with it. You even miss the pain when its gone, because it doesn't feel like a weight has been lifted, but rather something is missing. In the same way a drug addict gets used to the high, I have begun to get used to the low of the corporate environment. I think that when I pack my cubicle, and return to the hustle and bustle of the student life, that I will miss the stagnant comfort of the padded walls, and soothing demeanor of the office paint scheme.

It's the end of a dark, but significant, era in my life, and I will be a little sorry to see it go.
-Ty

pic via Brokertov

Transition Part 1 of 3: Quit

So I quit my job today.

By quit, I mean I sent in my official resignation letter today. I actually told my manager and the HR rep last week, but that was just to get my work transition started.

I had always planned to quit. I think from the 2nd month I started here, I was ready to quit. I stayed on with the company for 1 year, as recommended, to work through the bump and grind of starting a new job. And after 1 year, I started making plans to leave, the culmination of which, is today.

I grew up without a job, well, I worked at Nordstroms for a summer, but other than that I never had to work. All during college I worked at a research laboratory on campus. So I was quite shell-shocked when I arrived into the large corporation engineering world. The taupe walls, the buildings, un-renovated since the 1970's, the cubicles, the dress code, all served to send me into what can only be described as a depressed, numbed, emotional state. Before working here I could never understand how someone could say

I've worked with this company for 35 years!

without breaking into tears for having a wasted life. But now, I think there are 2 reasons a person could say that. The first, and as I have observed, the more likely, is that they are trying to convince themselves that they like where they are instead of realizing that their current situation is not driven so much by liking what they do, as fear of what could be worse. The second reason is that they truly ARE proud to be where they are, and they actually DO find enjoyment out of what they do.

While the second reason is much less likely than the first, it is what I long for. To be satisfied intellectually, financially, and socially with a job to the extent that working there for an extended period of time would be not only acceptable, but preferred and desired. But there is a certain allure to the stagnant lifestyle, to becoming complacent, to hiding from change for fear of losing what I already have. And I have quite a bit! I have financial independence from my parents, a job that pays for more than my needs and wants at this point in my life, a wonderful girlfriend, and a comfortable home. There is quite a bit to fear to lose. But I can not allow myself to fall into complacency and apathy for my career lest I risk my spirit. Lest I risk becoming one of the neutered drones I see wandering past my cubicle every day, lost in a sea of taupe foam dividers.

I have always planned on returning to school. It was never a question of whether or not I would, simply a question of when. My friends, today is that day. From here, I move forward.
-Ty

The Votes are In!

It's been a while since my last post, things have been crazy busy. I promise I will elaborate on all the juicy bits in the near future.

But for right now, I think it's about time to change that title bar picture, would you agree?

For those of you who voted (and there were quite a bit more than I thought) 90% of you got it right. The image was in fact, the NCC-1701 Enterprise from the new Star Trek movie!


The image is credited to snarkerati.com (or that's where I got it from anyway).

This was a pretty easy one to start with since most of the readers are nerds like me! It'll get more difficult in the future I promise.

The new image and voting system are up so give it a try! And I've scrambled the image name so you can't just download it and read the title...cheaters.

Congrats to you who got it, and good luck in this next round!
-Ty

Colorado Symphony Orchestra v. Nobuo Uematsu

So I wasn't going to post about this, but I figure if I've been harping on something for weeks, perhaps writing it down is a way to get it out of my system so I stop bothering all my friends with it.

Final Fantasy

I suspect many of my readers are familiar with this genre-defining series of games, and if you aren't you can read about it here. Even if you are familiar with the FF series, the number of foot-notes and cross-references in the article might be surprising.

One of the cornerstones of the Final Fantasy game series is it's original scores; orchestrated first on 8 and 16-bit MIDI, and later with full symphonies by the musical genius Nobuo Uematsu (No-boo Uey-maat-su). It would not be much of a stretch to say that a Final Fantasy game without Nobuo's music would not really be a Final Fantasy (which is partly why this author believes FFXII felt a little off).

Even in it's original 8-bit form, you can hear a sense of epic grandeur in Nobuo's work. A feeling that despite the technological limitations, he could hear entire orchestrations under the simple beeps and hums of the first game soundtracks. It's a testament to his musicality and innovation that he would invest so early in such a new artistic medium. A dedication which has paid off tremendously, making him the most recognizable composer for the entirety of an art form.

So it is with great anticipation that I went to see the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in Boettcher Hall in Denver perform Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy. Having been an amateur musician, I understand that a professional symphony may only get a few days to work on a project before they begin performing. But that is standard for the caliber of musicians that they are composed of (some of the best symphonies sight-read their performances!). It is also in the norm of musicians to be rather critical of other musicians, and it can get a bit snobby. So imagine yourself an accomplished musician, you've landed a symphony chair (the holy grail for classical musicians), and your director tells you your next performance will be playing music from a video game. You'd scoff. right? Well, I wouldn't scoff, but imagine if you were 50 (the average age of a symphony musician) and hadn't grown up in the video game age. Pretty easy to shrug off the music as a "piece of cake." I have a feeling that the CSO was surprised by the musicality of what they were trying to play.

Having left the performance, after hearing snares more than 1/2 beat off from the symphony, a guitar virtuoso fail almost completely and a choir that more than likely had no idea what was going on, I was understandably disappointed. I hadn't really realized the full potential of Nobuo's music yet. My good friend bought the CD (which I avoided because I was turned off by the performance), and I later realized that the CD was not performed by the CSO, but the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra!! I begged and he obligingly let me rip the CD so I could listen to it.

Since then, I can not count how many times I've listened to the whole CD, beginning to end. You could tell the Stockholm Philharmonic practiced, and didn't assume the music would be easy. In the CD, the full potential of Nobuo's epic themes comes to life, perfectly represented and faithfully executed by Sweden's finest musicians.

I have since re-fallen in love with Nobuo's work and feel a little guilty that I didn't get in on the whole Final Fantasy craze until college. It's sort of ruined me, my first real RPG (if you don't count Pokemon) was FFVII. The undisputed champion of the genre and one of Nobuo's crowning achievements. I have since been looking for that contender game that can knock FFVII from the top spot: it is yet to happen, and music is one of the deciding factors in my favorite games list.

What have I learned from all this?

1. Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra > Colorado Symphony Orchestra
2. Nobuo Uematsu = Visionary = Genius
3. Author of this blog = music snob.

I think it's clear that the final verdict is:
Colorado Symphony Orchestra - zero.
Nobuo Uematsu - Win.
-Ty

image via music4games

It Can't Be Contained

Well, its happened: my embarrassment, modesty, and slim hope of remaining cool can no longer stifle the enthusiasm I feel toward the re-boot of Star Trek.

If you haven't seen the new trailer yet, its a must-see here.

Now that you've seen it, you won't mind if I riff a little.

It's a re-boot. Keep that in mind. When I first saw the teaser for this movie a few months ago, there was in an image of the enterprise being built (its on my site somewhere, but the exact location eludes me at the moment :D) and it looks like it's being built in an atmosphere. I was pissed.

"The enterprise is too big to be built on earth and then reach orbit! They specifically said that in the show! Its been that way forever! What about the Utopia Planetia shipyards? Are they just going to ignore that?"

Well, the answer appears to be yes. But I'm OK with it. Because its been made clear that this is a re-boot. Meaning, they are starting over. Loosely based in its origins, this new Star Trek has a new cannon, a new direction, and the potential for an entirely new take on the Trek universe.

A few years ago, I would have been pissed because a re-boot meant that they were stealing an idea and just doing whatever the frack they wanted with it. But then a little show called Battlestar Galactica came out. It was a re-boot, in the best definition of the term. Tenderly cared for by my hero Ronald Moore, it expressed how awesome a re-boot could be. And now that the community has seen what it takes to have a successful re-boot, I don't think JJ will do it wrong. A fan-boy can hope anyway.


A few things I noticed about the new trailer:

1. Kirk jumping out of a sports car that skids off a cliff....why? but adrenaline junky seems to fit his persona.

   'is the rolling necessary?' 'It helps.'

2. Apparently Spock and Kirk had a bit of a rocky start, judging from the shouting and choking we see. An interesting development, I always suspected Spock was a little annoyed at Kirk from time to time
   
3. A new enterprise. Interesting. I'm OK with it. Similar enough to look familiar, but different enough to look new.
4. A goofy Scotty. I know he was being serious in the original series, but something was always hilarious about him. I'm glad they've embraced that humor.

I've heard a lot of other fan-boys trading around the phrase "raped my childhood" when referring to this movie. I disagree with them. While it is well known that I have a harsh view on un-original ideas, a good friend of mine made the point that something, while based in an old idea, can still be original. What we need to do is not view this with the same fondness we reserve for the Trek of our childhood, but instead with the open-minded curiosity that we would approach any new sci-fi, it just happens that some of the things here will look familiar. We should view all the things we recognize as salutes those heroes of our childhood, but not let them get in the way of what this new thing is trying to be: a new Trek.
-Ty

spock pic via startrekmovie.com
enterprise pic via Big Yellow Taxi

'Twas Bound to Happen

Open warfare here in Old-Man Town (Lockheed Martin/ULA).

A group of older republicans over the cube wall started talking (a bit too loudly to be natural) about how the economy is going to tank, how we are all going to have to pay more taxes, how we will have to sell our cars and get tiny ones, and how we will have to stop having personal possessions now that Obama has been elected president.

The younger guy who sits in the cube near me just started busting out laughing, and I have to admit, I laughed too.

Of course then all hell broke loose.

We just finished a 30 min shouting match about Sarah Palin. They said they liked her, and asked why didn't we? It was brought up that she didn't understand that Africa was a continent. It was brought up that she would have preserved the great country of America for Americans. It was then argued that the previous statement doesn't make any sense. One quote sticks quite prominently in my mind: "She has way more experience as the governer of a state than Obama does as a senator. That level is where all the work happens, where shit gets done."

Lawl.

The general atmosphere around here is subdued, quiet, embarrased, and pissy. And I have to say, I am loving every minute of it.
-Ty

BTW: I recommend reading the entirety of the page I just linked to in this article. Lots and lots of juicy tidbits, including many that I feel sort of redeem McCain.

Welcome to the New World America

Welcome my friends, to the first day that we can truly hope for a 21st century America.

I have no words that can better describe my hopes and dreams for what our nation can be than those already spoken.

I know that the rest of the world feels as we do when we say "finally, the chance for CHANGE."
Europe, Africa, Asia, and even international markets, breathe a sigh of relief as America takes another progressive step in shaping its own destiny.

Today I can hold my head up high and say "Yeah, I'm an American," and today I have seen first hand evidence of the American Dream that was so talked about while I was a child.

To those of you who are still afraid of what CHANGE may bring, I offer these words that were not mine, but had I been more eloquent, would have been.
-Ty

pic via AFP

Vote!

Are ya Votin yet?
After a 7-1 win for the Browncoats at midnight last night, I woke up surprisingly bright and optimistic today. And that is because today is the day that I re-start being proud to be an American. With the GOP's chance of taking the House, Senate, and Presidency appearing to dwindle, it is looking more and more likely that my country will finally start reflecting my views.

Its not all rosy shit and sunshine however. Lets not forget how we got here: President Bush, the GOP's policies for the last several years, and the paranoia, elitism, and fear of the American person. Its easy to line up behind quite possibly the greatest choice for president that we've had in my lifetime, and even easier to blame all the problems we face on his predecessor. But we have to remember that we live in a democratic state. And so the actions of our government reflect on us. The choices it makes can be directly attributed to the choices we make. Far too often have I looked on the actions of our government with shame and disbelief. And just as often I am reminded that everything that has happened, has been allowed to happen. Has been a reflection of the fear that Americans feel and the distasteful acts that arise when fear takes over. We can not allow ourselves to shunt our shame on our government. Because the American system is built such that America as a country acts similar to America as a people.

What I say to you today is Fear No Longer. Act, but not from fear. Act from responsibility, from the goodness of your heart, and America as a nation will act accordingly. Our savior is here, and its not Barack Obama, its not the democrats, its not a bailout package, it is a CHANGE in the hearts and mind of the American people, and because of that, we can all be...Proud to be American.
-Ty

pic via picoodle

To Window, or Not to Window

what I'd look like if I had a window
So an article on a very informative and well written blog that I frequent reminded me of a topic I wanted to discuss.
Office windows.
Now I understand that in a 21st century business world, it has (finally) been recognized that adequate natural light improves productivity, employee health (both mentally, and physically), and general work place atmosphere. But I'm not talking about the new buildings, or progressive companies. I'm talking about the company that rents a building constructed in the 60's, built to withstand the commie zombocalypse.

So, windows: some of us have them, most of us don't. Windows are generally a luxury reserved for those faithful employees with seniority in a company. Basically that means, employees that have been there for 3+ decades.
The problem with this is that when you've worked somewhere that long, your minimum age is 50. That means you're old, approaching geriatric. And what do old people* hate? sun. And you know what that does to the windows? PUTS SHADES OVER THEM!!!
So they work FOREVER in a windowless cave/cube/cage/hole/bunker and when they finally actually get to have a window, they are so frightened and injured by the overwhelming influx of light and warmth that they turn away and close every part of the blinds that they can.

Case in point:
I was desperately trying to soak up and enjoy the 1 tiny sliver of golden light clawing its way timidly across the floor when in a flash, it was gone. I looked up in horror squinting through the glaring, flashing light of the fluorescent overheads to see my boss, taping paper to the window in the spot where the sun had so mercifully seeped through. Half cursing and half begging I said "if you don't like the sun, why don't we just trade cubes?" To which he replied, "....hahaha, you can't see a thing with the sun so bright." I thought to myself, not only is that counter-intuitive, it should be considered cruel and unusual.

They give prisoners, in maximum security state penitentiaries windows. You know why? Studies show it reduces suicidal tenancies. I've figured it out, commit mass murder, get an 'effing window every day. Perfect!
-Ty


*the author harbors no ill will toward the few old farts who enjoy sunshine and other similar "hippie liberal sex sharing pot smoking" pleasures. In fact, he salutes you for hanging on to those ideals for so long. Preach brother.

photo via www.photobucket.com

More Harmonica Please

Well good afternoon everyone!

Today I am in a harmonica mood.
The free song on iTunes today got me in that mood. I would recommend checking it out.
It is folkey, and quiet, but it is really growing on me. Its called "Oh My God, Charlie Darwin" by The Low Anthem. The lyrics are pretty simple and lack as much impact as you'd expect a song with such a title to have, but I find myself entranced by it. Definately check it out if you have iTunes.

If you're in as much of a harmonica mood as I am, here are some other good harmonica songs:
Devils & Dust - Bruce Springsteen
Canadian Railroad Trilogy - Gordon Lightfoot
Spokey Dokey - Yoko Kanno (listen here)

Those are just the first few that hit the top of my brain. If you know more, please tell me 'bout them!
-Ty

photo via www.threeworlds.com.au

Heavy Issues

So, lets get this blog started in heavy fashion.
I was reading through the interwebs this morning and came across this article on BBC news.

Unlike others I have talked to, I am extremely nervous abut this nation's upcoming election. It is no secret that I can be regarded as a hippie liberal treehugger with a smacking of optimist. But despite all that, and despite voting last saturday, I still have a very present fear that our republican candidate, despite his opponent's vast lead, will win the election.

The pure and simple basis for this fear of mine is racism. Have we, as a peoples, transcended this founding hypocrisy of our great nation? Was Lincoln's surgery on the American system adequate to correct its birth defect of bigotry? Unfortunately my answer is no, I don't believe so.

Analysts talk of the Wilder effect, and how it may undermine Obama's projected lead. Despite optimistic articles dismissing the impact of such "closet racism," I fear it will be enough to confirm that this country is not above base bigotry, not above the dark scars that mar its history, and not ready to step into the light that I hope to one day witness.

Either way, I suppose there's not much more I am willing to do about it. I have voted, I have instilled my hope and faith in my countrymen, and I await the final verdict on our baser image as a peoples come Nov. 4th.
-Ty