November 26, 2002
In other news, they’re remaking Solaris. This would mean nothing to me if I hadn’t accidentally watched a good portion of this Russian film from 1972 that, if personified, would surely be Ben Stein’s character in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It is probably the most boring science fiction film I’ve ever seen, and that includes all those boring parts of 2001 and THX-1138. Note to self: […]
Monday, November 25, 2002
I’m back from a great weekend with Saalon, during which our most important achievement was our work on the Daemonsong website. Daemonsong is now live. And thanks to our application of Extreme Programming practices, it all works. It all works. Some of the back-end stuff doesn’t work yet, but that’s okay. The public website works. I’m repeating that because it’s so rare. Far too […]
Friday, November 22, 2002
In the early 1930s, Disney animators were struggling to bring the same depth of acting skills to their cartoon characters that actors were achieving in live-action films. Cartoons are a deliberately simplified representation of reality, stripped of the incredibly complex subtleties we are accustomed to in the real world. These animators realized that they could never portray the same subtleties through animation, since the medium was too broad by nature. Instead, they […]
Friday, November 22, 2002
In the early 1930s, Disney animators were struggling to bring the same depth of acting skills to their cartoon characters that actors were achieving in live-action films. Cartoons are a deliberately simplified representation of reality, stripped of the incredibly complex subtleties we are accustomed to in the real world. These animators realized that they could never portray the same subtleties through animation, since the medium was too broad by nature. Instead, they […]
Thursday, November 21, 2002
Here are the promised pictures of my new bedroom.
November 20, 2002
Please read my manifesto about the way I’d like to run a company, and comment by editing the page (click the “Edit text of this page” link at the bottom of the page). I realized today that I’m living a science fiction novel. And not in that happy, Star Trek, gee-whiz-cel-phones-are-almost-magical sense. I’m living a Frederik Pohl novel, whose name should be sufficient warning in itself. Here’s the situation: I work in an open office environment. I work in one […]
Tuesday, November 19, 2002
I’ve been reading the books of the Apocrypha recently, those bits of the traditional Bible that have been left out in more modern versions. It’s been a useful experience, as I’ve gotten a feel for the books. Most of them are purely historical, or collections of proverbs, and understandably uninteresting to most readers. But I read the book of Tobit last night, and I was bowled over. It’s a genuinely well-written story. And that’s what amazed me: it’s […]
Monday, November 18, 2002
Sorry for not posting for awhile; my parents have been literally tearing my room apart for the past week, redecorating it as my birthday present this year. And WOW, did they do a fabulous job. My bedroom is now a medieval sitting room. I plan to post pictures once they finish the details. IAE, our cable modem is routed through my room, so while my parents were painting and staining my floor, the cable modem […]
Friday, November 15, 2002
This is useless?!? It’s entrancing. And I mean that, blast it. His writing sucks me in, and I surface at the end of it not knowing how long I’ve been reading. That’s the mark of great writing. Whether Brennen’s writing is great or not, it’s certainly worth preserving and getting more of. Please, Bren, write more. Please. (more later)
Monday, November 11, 2002
I have completed my two-week vacation from the internet. And not only was I okay, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The internet — as wonderful as it can be — tends to be a massive time sink, and I found that keeping my distance from it gave me some perspective. I still don’t plan to renounce the digital world, but…well, now there’s a “but.” These past two weeks have given me the opportunity to prove to myself […]