draft
If at first you walk down the dark path, forever is your destiny affected. What you name a project may indeed be changable later, or it may not be. So, choose wisely.
A piece of software to assemble various elements to create a single render stream for an image shall be called ... what?
Contenders (to be updated)
Opaque
Wedge
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Short Trip to Joshua Tree (postmortem)
draft
Instead of just hauling ass down the road for a month or two, I decided to start off slowly and do a few day trip to Joshua Tree. Many interesting things were learned and here is a list of a few of them.
1. Check the weather. We had a record setting blizzard during the exact time I chose to go. It was exciting but maybe not the best choice. For the kids and adults of Joshua Tree, this was a peak experience. They had not had a snow storm like this for at least 11 years, according to one native.
2. Many exciting new symptoms seem to be present when I travel when sick, without the usual medication and in a blizzard. Memo to File: Do not do this again.
3. Just a little further down the road from Joshua Tree is a 24 hour medical center. The staff was very nice to me and let me hang out until I felt better. They were particularly impressed with the blizzard. A reminder that even medical workers on the night shift can act like big kids.
4. The Safari Inn was a perfect little motel for a great price.
5. The Crossroads Cafe was very good and I immediately fell in love with the hostess.
6. The mexican restaurant is just so so, but it is open 24 hours which is nice.
7. Google Maps does not check the weather when giving directions and nearly got me killed.
8. Joshua Tree is really nice when there is a foot of snow dumped on it.
9. Azuza, CA apparently stands for A - Z in the USA.
10. CalArts is right on the way to Joshua Tree if you take the Santa Clarita route.
11. Its important to pack critical items (like vitamins, medication, food, etc) in a place where you can trivially find them in your car when you are sick, havent slept for 24 hours, you are in the middle of an amazing snow storm, and everything in the car has been shuffled several times.
Other Notes:
12. The wind farm on the way to Joshua Tree is really interesting. Plays on size and scale.
13. There is a nice donut store back up the road from Joshua Tree in Yucca Valley.
Instead of just hauling ass down the road for a month or two, I decided to start off slowly and do a few day trip to Joshua Tree. Many interesting things were learned and here is a list of a few of them.
1. Check the weather. We had a record setting blizzard during the exact time I chose to go. It was exciting but maybe not the best choice. For the kids and adults of Joshua Tree, this was a peak experience. They had not had a snow storm like this for at least 11 years, according to one native.
2. Many exciting new symptoms seem to be present when I travel when sick, without the usual medication and in a blizzard. Memo to File: Do not do this again.
3. Just a little further down the road from Joshua Tree is a 24 hour medical center. The staff was very nice to me and let me hang out until I felt better. They were particularly impressed with the blizzard. A reminder that even medical workers on the night shift can act like big kids.
4. The Safari Inn was a perfect little motel for a great price.
5. The Crossroads Cafe was very good and I immediately fell in love with the hostess.
6. The mexican restaurant is just so so, but it is open 24 hours which is nice.
7. Google Maps does not check the weather when giving directions and nearly got me killed.
8. Joshua Tree is really nice when there is a foot of snow dumped on it.
9. Azuza, CA apparently stands for A - Z in the USA.
10. CalArts is right on the way to Joshua Tree if you take the Santa Clarita route.
11. Its important to pack critical items (like vitamins, medication, food, etc) in a place where you can trivially find them in your car when you are sick, havent slept for 24 hours, you are in the middle of an amazing snow storm, and everything in the car has been shuffled several times.
Other Notes:
12. The wind farm on the way to Joshua Tree is really interesting. Plays on size and scale.
13. There is a nice donut store back up the road from Joshua Tree in Yucca Valley.
For Those of You Attending the Academy Awards
draft
For those of you who are attending the awards tonight, I have compiled a short list of things to remember to help make everyone's experience more rewarding.
First, remember to wave at your fans as you get out of your car. They have waited since last night to get a glimpse of you. Second, dont walk too fast down the red carpet, you want the best chance possible for the TV cameras to linger on you. Third, its never a problem to get a date to the Academy Awards (tm) but think carefully about whether the person you choose will send the correct optic to those who are in a position to help your career. Fourth, as men get older, they are advised to either grow a beard or go clean shaven. The unshaven look just looks disreputable over a certain age. Fifth, and finally, on the one hand you should remember to thank the little people when you pick up an award, but dont overdo it as that would be tiresome.
Good luck tonight!
For those of you who are attending the awards tonight, I have compiled a short list of things to remember to help make everyone's experience more rewarding.
First, remember to wave at your fans as you get out of your car. They have waited since last night to get a glimpse of you. Second, dont walk too fast down the red carpet, you want the best chance possible for the TV cameras to linger on you. Third, its never a problem to get a date to the Academy Awards (tm) but think carefully about whether the person you choose will send the correct optic to those who are in a position to help your career. Fourth, as men get older, they are advised to either grow a beard or go clean shaven. The unshaven look just looks disreputable over a certain age. Fifth, and finally, on the one hand you should remember to thank the little people when you pick up an award, but dont overdo it as that would be tiresome.
Good luck tonight!
Monday, February 18, 2019
Dream as reported to Geoff Allen in Ireland
draft
Near a hill in Ireland. Sleeping there to find out where to dig ... something. Rabbit/hare shows me a hole/place to dig. I set off fireworks to alert the people. They come by and ask could I not wait until morning? Then they discussed rock and roll (Cream?) in gaelic. Or what my sleeping brain thought was gaelic, god only knows. What does it mean?
According to Geoff this may mean that it is time for me to do a "walkabout" He never thought I was very aboriginal.
Near a hill in Ireland. Sleeping there to find out where to dig ... something. Rabbit/hare shows me a hole/place to dig. I set off fireworks to alert the people. They come by and ask could I not wait until morning? Then they discussed rock and roll (Cream?) in gaelic. Or what my sleeping brain thought was gaelic, god only knows. What does it mean?
According to Geoff this may mean that it is time for me to do a "walkabout" He never thought I was very aboriginal.
Friday, February 15, 2019
Called My CongressPerson
draft
So I called my Congressman, Carbajal, CA-24, and talked to a nice intern. I asked to leave a message to ask Congressman Carbajal, and wanted to know when they were going to impeach Trump and the rapist Kavanaugh.
I am really getting tired of this shit. Too bad the american government failed.
So I called my Congressman, Carbajal, CA-24, and talked to a nice intern. I asked to leave a message to ask Congressman Carbajal, and wanted to know when they were going to impeach Trump and the rapist Kavanaugh.
I am really getting tired of this shit. Too bad the american government failed.
Saturday, February 9, 2019
Anne Adams Feb 3 2019
My friend Anne Anne M. Adams is in a hospice and is not expected to regain consciousness. She did an amazing job of fighting cancer and the chemo worked very well for years. She was completely Anne until less than a week ago when she stopped being lucid. I worked with Anne at Degraf/Wahrman and Viacom, and she worked at many of the early "multimedia" companies as well. She really did not deserve this. It makes me very sad. The picture is from her farewell party less than a week ago.
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Metropolis at the Arlington on a Wonder Morton
I finally saw Metropolis by Fritz Lang, and not only that, I heard the track played live on a Wonder Morton at the Arlington Theatre at the SBIFF!
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Read about the Wonder Mortons and where they are today:
https://gstos.org/organs/the-bob-balfour-memorial-wonder-morton-theatre-pipe-organ/the-5-wonder-mortons-where-are-they-now/The Santa Barbara International Film Festival
https://sbiff.org/
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Hunter vs Carbajal
draft
Once upon a time, I lived in CA-50, the district of Duncan Hunter, one of the more obnoxious right wing congressman in the house of representatives. I called and left a message, and was treated very well. I emailed him, and would get call backs from the 212 area code (Wash DC). Maybe every other letter, and these letters were quite inflamatory, would get a response, perhaps a position paper on the topic (net neutrality). Of course this was all his office not Congressman Hunter himself, and of course it made no real difference but it was nice, it felt engaging.
Now I am in CA-24, Congressman Carbajal, a Democrat, and after 5 emails and one office visit. Nothing. Zip. Do not exist.
The result may be the same, but I much preferred being represented by Hunter.
Once upon a time, I lived in CA-50, the district of Duncan Hunter, one of the more obnoxious right wing congressman in the house of representatives. I called and left a message, and was treated very well. I emailed him, and would get call backs from the 212 area code (Wash DC). Maybe every other letter, and these letters were quite inflamatory, would get a response, perhaps a position paper on the topic (net neutrality). Of course this was all his office not Congressman Hunter himself, and of course it made no real difference but it was nice, it felt engaging.
Now I am in CA-24, Congressman Carbajal, a Democrat, and after 5 emails and one office visit. Nothing. Zip. Do not exist.
The result may be the same, but I much preferred being represented by Hunter.
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Channelling Concept Art from A Horror Movie
draft
More entertaining accidents from my tests of GANs and machine learning. Perhaps concept art from a horror movie I did not know I was working on?
More entertaining accidents from my tests of GANs and machine learning. Perhaps concept art from a horror movie I did not know I was working on?
Friday, February 1, 2019
Counterintelligence is Slow
draft
Counterintelligence is slow. There is no law or rule that says that those who do counterintelligence have to tell you everything or, for that matter, anything. Their job is to defeat certain kinds of attacks on this country and they take that job seriously. Trump and his gang sincerely think they are the smartest guys in the room and that they can get away with it. And probably did not understand the significance of what will be known as their treason. We are in the middle of one of the most amazing stories in American history, but the candidate was not brainwashed. He was just a fuck-job bully rich kid racist who did not realize that there are lines you can not cross, and boy did he/they cross those lines.
Far worse than Trump was the betrayal of this country by the Republican party. They knew, yes, I am pretty sure they did.
Counterintelligence is slow. There is no law or rule that says that those who do counterintelligence have to tell you everything or, for that matter, anything. Their job is to defeat certain kinds of attacks on this country and they take that job seriously. Trump and his gang sincerely think they are the smartest guys in the room and that they can get away with it. And probably did not understand the significance of what will be known as their treason. We are in the middle of one of the most amazing stories in American history, but the candidate was not brainwashed. He was just a fuck-job bully rich kid racist who did not realize that there are lines you can not cross, and boy did he/they cross those lines.
Far worse than Trump was the betrayal of this country by the Republican party. They knew, yes, I am pretty sure they did.
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