Dots Are Famous!

I decided to attempt to make a movie of a simple Java program I wrote and upload it to YouTube. Nutty, huh? I used a program called Fraps to capture video of the program in action. Fraps is relatively inexpensive and is a breeze to install and configure. So, I uploaded the resulting AVI file to YouTube. YouTube gave me a "processing" message and later gave a "that part of the site is down for maintenance". This is what kills me. My customers would blow a fuse if their website showed a maintenance message instead of serving their needs. Imagine visiting Google only to see a terse message about the site being down.

Digg, YouTube and Myspace are notorious for making their sites inaccessible due to maintenance. How many billions of dollars are these sites worth? Can't they hire engineers who are smart enough to handle redundancy and fail-over while accomplishing maintenance? *cough* Hey, corporate owners, if you need some assistance, you can always examine my resume.

The movie failed to upload due to an issue with an unsupported codec. So I spent some time on the site reading the help pages. I learned that for best results I should resize the video to 320x240. So, I fired up Microsoft Movie Maker. In addition to resizing the video I added a title screen, credits and some music my brother Kevin gave me sometime last year. I saved it as a WMV file and uploaded it to YouTube.

This time the file was successfully uploaded. Here is the end result. In this video I am clicking on the screen spawning dots. The dots are affected by gravity and fall to the bottom of the screen. I hope you enjoy the cheese factor.

HorrorFest

For a reason that defies conventional wisdom HorrorFest starts tonight. I am rooting for this lovely woman to become Miss HorrorFest.

Chewie Did Not Get a Medal

Cinemax was showing all six Star Wars movies in high-definition (HD) this weekend. Did anybody else notice in the first Star Wars -- Episode IV, the first of the last movies not the first of the new movies -- that everybody got a medal except for Chewbacca? Sometimes I feel like that Wookie.

Archon 30 Report

This past weekend I attended Archon 30. It was good to see friends and have some fun gaming.

This year Cpt Squash convinced me to run a Kobolds Ate My Baby (KAMB) Live Action Role Playing (LARP) game. I named it Kobolds on a Plane! I stayed up late Wednesday night writing characters. In addition to the 9th Level Games KAMB books -- Kobolds Ate My Baby Super Deluxx Edition and Kobolds the Charades -- I drew influence from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Frank Baum's Ozma of Oz, White Wolf's Werewolf: The Forsaken and, of course, this summer's hit movie Snakes on a Plane!

:: THURSDAY

Since I pre-registered for Archon 30 I had a relatively short wait to pick up my badge. While standing in line the topic on most folks mind was next year's Archon. Convention organizers plan to host the 9th North American Science Fiction Convention (9th NASFiC) in place of Archon. They have also decided to hold it two months earlier than the normal Archon, on August 2-5.

I met up with my buddies Jim and Adam. We decided to to go to Applebees to grab some dinner. Adam showed us a movie of his new girlfriend out with him at dinner. Jim and I launched into talk about politics. We expect things to really interesting with some important elections only a few weeks away.

I decided to run back home to work on the Kobolds on a Plane! I put together a spreadsheet listing every character in the game, another listing all special abilities and finally a list of items in the game. Then I put together three pages of horrible death charts that the player might encounter. I put these in a binder for Cpt Squash to read in preparation for the Saturday game.

Cpt Squash threw a room party this year for his gaming club Atomic Squash. Adam was rocking out on a game called Guitar Hero. He showed off by playing with the guitar behind his head. Several of the Hex Games guys stopped by including Steve Johnson and Colin Thomas. Elonka also stopped by. She told me she had given a talk earlier about Archon's Wikipedia entry and noticed my picture. I took a picture with her and Colin Thomas, uploaded it to wikipedia and changed the caption to read "Patrons enjoy Archon 30".

I saw Kelly, formerly of Memphis and now in Seattle. She looked cute. We talked about her weekly game out there. It was funny when she apologized to me for being too geeky. Sorry to say, most of the rest of the year it usually is me apologizing to an uninterested female for gamer dorkiness.

I made ribbons for the badges that say "I Hugged Gazpacho". I gave out a bunch during the convention to the brave who actually hugged me. I have lots left over. Oh well, I guess I have some for Gen Con next year.

When I left the Atomic Squash Party about 4 AM, Britt was laying on the bed in there asking why the ceiling was moving. Uhm, he was drunk.

:: FRIDAY

I slept through the Fury of Dracula game but made it for the Elasund game at 2 PM. It was my second time playing the game and the first time I actually finished one. I won! I think I'll have to play it again.

After running out to try a Mexican place with Adam, I found my way to the Mississippian Room for the SLUGS Vampire LARP briefing. They gave me character by the name of Michael Collins. There was a Father Collins in the game a few years ago. This character was an excommunicated priest. My goal was to protect a character named Rev Teddy and see the end-times Apocalypse happened. The most serious problem I had with the game was the negativity I got from a player (name isn't important). I had my holy symbol out Friday night. "Do you have that holy symbol out?!", she asked. "Yeah. You can see my holy symbol.", I responded. "Is this your first year or something?", she had a look of contempt. In fact it is my ninth year playing the game."No, this isn't my first year.", I responded. I secretly hoped she didn't treat any first year player this way. She was not friendly. I did not care for her role playing at all. I role played away from her group. I didn't want the confrontation on the first night.

Before the LARP began I wandered into the Monroe Room where the Visioncon group were holding their Mojo Tasting Party. They had samples of their namesake drink which that drink after saying this salute: "Quick! Before it eats through the cup!"

Seanta Claus was DJing the dance hall again this year. He and his crew decorated two conference rooms like the Carousel scene from Logan's Run. It was quite remarkable.

I left the convention around midnight to go back home and do more work on Kobolds LARP. I printed out character badges and item cards. I put together the booklets and printed out copies of the character sheets. I wrapped up around 4 AM and managed to get some sleep before I had to get up to get to the game.

:: SATURDAY

I had about 12 players for the Kobolds on a Plane! LARP. Everyone seemed to have a great time. I was blow away by how enthusiastic and creative all of the players were at 10 AM on a Saturday. There was a good mix of new players and veterans. In the game you could save a hit point by barking like a Kobold. The bark, though, had to be better than the last player's bark. I will never forget the attractive purple-haired werechicken hunter. She let out a high pitched bark that I think broke glass! There were also some great one liners. For example when asked where a Kobold had put his dead snake, he responded by pulling out the folded item and saying: "My snake is right here! in my pants!" Vux, the elderly Kobold, had a spell which would summon water from cupped hands. I had no idea how hilarious that would look when he held his cupped hands just below waist level. The Kobold that jumped from the plane actually got the "Undesirable High-Speed Air-Ground Interface!" from the Random Horrible Death Chart!

Here is some news. I plan to release PDF versions of the game files on koboldslarp.com as soon as I proofread them. I can't release the horrible death charts because I borrowed them from the Kobolds the Charades book. I will make my own charts if I write and run another game the year after NASFiC.

At 2 PM Ed of BYOV ran Ill Met by Moonlight, a Fey LARP. It was a beautiful game. There was a ton of background information. Even though we were short players the game turned out great. I had a great time playing it. I am looking forward to more playing more BYOV LARPs at Gen Con next year.

The second night of the Vampire LARP was a wreck. The character playing Rev Teddy did not show up. I was a little surprised to find out that a new player was playing him. The refs did not let me know. I had spent three hours pestering any judge I could find if Rev Teddy had made it back into the game. Eventually I found the character and played the rest of the night. The game ended with my character living; only the second time I've managed to do that.

The Zombie Squad crew was back with a room party. I had traded emails with one of the hosts on MySpace. He promised that this year's party would be bigger and better. They delivered! They had three hotel rooms converted into an entrance area, a dance hall and a refreshment room. It was awesome. I wish I had more time to enjoy it.

The Party Hard Corps was out in force. They were playing their games, roaming the halls and patronizing the various room parties. Babypants was giving out Jelly Bellys. I wish she had warned me about the popcorn ones. It was great to see General Dissent again and have the opportunity to social with him for a bit.

I talked with Tom J about Hogwarts LARP. He assured me that this year's game will be different. He also told me that the player with whom I had an issue was actually a decent fellow. I trust his opinion and agreed to try the Gen Con Hogwarts LARP again next year.

:: SUNDAY

Well, three days of sleep deprivation caught up with me. I slept through the SLUGS Vampire LARP debriefing and awards ceremony.

Sunday is also the day I usually register for the next year's Archon. Unfortunately, I just couldn't bring myself to spend $90 for a convention which is a week before Gen Con and is probably not going to be attended by the regular group.

My only regret is that I did not make it to the dealer hall this year. Perhaps that is a good thing. I didn't spend any money on new games. I wanted to pick up QAGS 2nd Edition and Munchkin Impossible. Perhaps I'll ask for them for Christmas.

Click on an image for a larger version

Elephants Dream

My copy of Elephants Dream arrived yesterday. It is a movie created by five guys in a period of eight months using entirely open source software. The movie lasts 11 minutes. The DVD also includes all production files freely available under a Creative Commons license. It looks beautiful. The animations are a bit jerky, but can be forgiven. That said, the crew started the project without a script. It shows. The movie is weird. By weird, I mean nonsensical. Here is a blurb from the back of the box:

Proog is tenacious, guiding curious Emo through the depths of a surreal mechanical landscape that forms his world. The pair are heading to the safest place in the machine, hidden behind uncanny traps so deadly that nothing else could ever reach them.

Huh? A movie does not need boobs, babes and bad guys to be good. But this story fails to impress me. At least the open source community benefited from the new technology the team developed for the project. The team also showed that open source tools are adequate for professional level projects.

Movies to Which I Am Looking Forward

There are not many upcoming movies that compel me to see them. I struggled to come up with ten. But I managed to find nine. It looks like another year of "soft product". In fact as I looked at movies planned for release in 2006 I had to ask myself this question: who decides that this stuff gets made?!

MOVIES TO WHICH I AM MOST LOOKING FORWARD
YEAR 2006

1. Silent Hill
2. The Da Vinci Code
3. Cars
4. Orange
5. Freeborn
6. X-Men 3
7. Saw 3
8. Superman Returns
9. Scary Movie 4

The Great Raid

I watched the widescreen director's cut of the movie, The Great Raid. It is about a troop of 120 Army Rangers during World War II that infiltrate the Japanese occupied Philippines. They are hugely outnumbered but manage to rescue 500 American prisoners of war. I found the movie to be educational and inspiring. It is my new favorite movie of all time. In fact it replaces The Thin Red Line as my favorite war movie. It also replaces King Rat as my favorite POW movie.

Underrated Items of 2005

The past year, 2005, brought its share of hype and hero worship. As I did last year I decided to give a select list of underrated items some exposure.

I read an excellent article on podcasting. Would anybody listen to a gazpacho dot net podcast?

Lebowski Fest at the Moolah Theater

Here is a charity event that should be painless for you if you enjoy "The Big Lebowski". The non-profit organization, Gateway Council, is putting on the 1st Annual St. Louis Lebowskifest at the Moolah Theatre/Lanes on Thursday night, Feb. 2. Event and bowling tournament start at 8 p.m. Ticket price is $25 and includes a free t-shirt, a free beer, free bowling and a midnight screening of the movie. If you come dressed as your favorite Lebowski character, you could win a ton of other free stuff. For ticket and event info visit www.moonlightramble.com.

Cupcakes of Narnia

You've gotta see this one. Saturday Night Live spoofs hip hop with The Chronic(what?)icles of Narnia short. It is hilarious, especially the "Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious" part. Hey, the technology nerd in me loves the references to Yahoo! Maps, Mapquest and Google Maps, too.

Here are the lyrics for you to follow along at home:

Lazy Sunday, wake up in the late afternoon
Call Parnell just to see how he's doin'
Hello, what up Parn, yo Sanberg, what's crackin'
You thinkin what I'm thinkin? Narnia! Man it's happenin'
But first my hunger pains are stickin' like duct tape
Let's hit up Magnolia and mack on cupcakes
No doubt that bakery's got all the bomb frostings
I love those cupcakes like McAdams loves Gosling

Two, no six, no twelve, baker's dozen.
I told you that I'm crazy for these cupcakes, cousin.
Yo where's the movie playin'? Upper west side, dude.
Well let's hit up Yahoo Maps to find the dopest route.
I prefer Mapquest. That's a good one too.
Google Maps is the best. Tru dat. Double True.
68th and Broadway. Step on it sucka.
What you wanna do Chris? SNACK ATTACK MUTHA -beep-

The Chronic - What - cles of Narnia
Yes the Chronic - What - cles of Narnia
We love the Chronic - What - cles of Narnia
Pass that Chronic - What - cles of Narnia

Yo stop at the deli - the theater's overpriced.
You got the backpack, gonna pack it up nice.
Don't want security to get suspicious.
Mr. Pibb and Red Vines equals crazy delicious.
Yo reach in my pocket, pull out some dough.
Girl acted like she never seen a ten befoh.
It's all about the Hamiltons baby.
Throw the snacks in the bag, and I'm ghost like Swayze.

Roll up to the theater, ticket buying what we handlin'.
You could call us Aaron Burr from the way we're droppin' Hamiltons.
Parked in our seats, movie trivia's the illest.
What Friends' alum starred in films with Bruce Willis?
We answer so fast that we're scary.
Everyone stared in awe when we scream MATTHEW PERRY!
Now quiet in the theater or it's gonna get tragic.
We about to get taken to a dream world of magic.

The Chronic - What - cles of Narnia
Yes the Chronic - What - cles of Narnia
We love the Chronic - What - cles of Narnia
Pass that Chronic - What - cles of Narnia

Underrated Items of 2004

The year 2004 was filled with many overhyped products. I decided to give some exposure to a few items I feel did not receive the praise they deserve.

Good news! My Windows installation is mostly working. Look for the article on quiet PCs soon.

Shoes Objects

I talked to Mike, a former coworker, this week over IM. He told me he reads my blog and wants me to write something entertaining. The pressure! Hey, I will appease him for now by giving a link to Mike's Blog.

Just finished playing Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring on the PS2. For you joystick junkies out there this is fun, but short. I was having fun but it was over too quickly. On the plus side there were many characters in the game that did not appear in the movie.

You Have Mail

Ok, this has been bugging me. AOL has a voice that says: "You've got mail." You know the voice. It was featured in a movie. But is it correct English?

Shouldn't it say either "You have mail" or "You've gotten mail"? What rules of grammar give us "You've got mail" => "You have got mail"? Of course you wouldn't have gotten mail until you actually read it.

So I think "You have mail" would be the proper thing to hear. Leave it to AOL to elevate preverted English to ranks of big budget movies. Or, maybe that says something about the movie industry. Or, maybe I was just bored to tears with "The Talented Mr. Ripley".

"We all of us live too much in a circle." - B. Disraeli