This weekend was pretty sweet. On Friday we went to Sarah's apartment and watched some crazy movie that Clint recommended called The Last Dragon. Haha it was totally nuts, a martial arts movie from the 80's with lots of super 80's vibe and ridiculous music and clothes. Pretty fun and sweet martial arts but definitely an insane movie, good times though.
On Saturday, Kevin and I went to Concord in search of Fry's Electronics and a Chick-Fil-A. No luck on the Chick-Fil-A so we got some Manchu Wok and Cinnabon which is probably just as bad. I got a super awesome Passion Iced Tea from Starbucks on the way home, I bet it is just made with the Passion Tazo Tea so I am going to try to make some at work, it was sweeeeeet.
Fry's Electronics was pretty fun, I played around a lot with the Canon Powershot SD 800IS which is probably the camera I am going to buy in December. I couldn't tell if the Image Stabilization really makes a big difference or not, but it definitely did have a nice quick multiple photo feature and it can take widescreen 16x9 ratio photos which is cool too. It is a 7 Megapixel which is almost double what I have now. Pretty nuts but it'll take some nice photos on my trip to Europe I bet!!
Saturday night we went to help Jon and Angelique with making their wedding invitations. They needed lots of help measuring and cutting envelopes and so on, it was fun and I think they really appreciated our help. They gave us some Pizza and candy and stuff which was super sweet.
Today we did the usual EBC and it was pretty busy today. Then Sarah and Kurt and I went off to fabric stores to try to find good stuff for our Halloween costumes. I am going to wear the onesie pyjamas I got at Target with a shirt and a really funny hat with a twirly thing on it that I bought. I got a piece of yellow fabric today that looks like a blanket so that is hilarious too. That should work out pretty well. Sarah and I went back to her favourite little store in Rockridge (man that place is sweeeeeeeet) and hung out there for a while, Sarah tried on lots of stuff for her costume, she is going to be Strawberry Shortcake which is pretty funny.
We got some coffee at this rockin' place and then headed over to Ross which is like the American version of Winners, discount clothes and stuff. Sarah tried on some more stuff there and we settled on some things for her costume so that was good. After that we got some good food at Trader Joe's and then back to Sarah's to eat it quick before heading off to a haunted house.
Lots of my friends from work met up and drove down to Fremont to the Haunted House there. It is apparently one of the scariest in the country, it was pretty scary, we yelled a lot so that was fun. There was a cool 3D haunted house there too so that was fun and a good random activity to do tonight. After that we drove home and everyone was tired so we all went back to our apartments. Tonight I watched Home Alone on TV, that movie is pretty awesome.
Alex my friend from Canada is coming to visit in about 2 weeks, that is fantastic and he is staying for quite a while so that will be good. We're getting lots of plans together to go and visit some of the awesome companies in the area, so that should be excellent and maybe a trip to Disneyland too?!?! Sweet.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Check out Nathan Matsuda's short film trailer
You know those who are so insanely talented in so many different areas that you almost have to sit down every time you talk to them because you are constantly blown away by their insane multi-talentedness?
Well my Pixar homey/roommate from last term/beatboxing guru/drum master/buddy Nathan Matsuda is one of these powerhouses.
Check out this trailer that he just sent me. This is a live action/CG mixed short film that he is working on. I am pretty sure he did the music, CG, probably he directed it too... I wouldn't be surprised if most of the genius here has Nathan Matsuda to thank. This dude is a total fiend. Check out his video. If you have money to help him make his video, send it to him. He's awesome and really just totally badass.
http://www.hangarnumber5.com/
Oh did I mention he's only 21? Gotta love the kinds of friends I make here at Pixar, eh??! Uber talented, brilliant filmmakers, musicians, etc etc etc. And just a few years out of high school. Awesome.
Well my Pixar homey/roommate from last term/beatboxing guru/drum master/buddy Nathan Matsuda is one of these powerhouses.
Check out this trailer that he just sent me. This is a live action/CG mixed short film that he is working on. I am pretty sure he did the music, CG, probably he directed it too... I wouldn't be surprised if most of the genius here has Nathan Matsuda to thank. This dude is a total fiend. Check out his video. If you have money to help him make his video, send it to him. He's awesome and really just totally badass.
http://www.hangarnumber5.com/
Oh did I mention he's only 21? Gotta love the kinds of friends I make here at Pixar, eh??! Uber talented, brilliant filmmakers, musicians, etc etc etc. And just a few years out of high school. Awesome.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Lots of different stuff to do at work
This week at work has been very different again than last week!! It sure is very interesting and keeping me on my toes!! Check this out: Monday: UV Mapping and Technical Presentation of some software I wrote when I was on PNG. Tuesday: MEL Scripting. Wednesday: Python Scripting. Thursday: Modeling. Friday: Back to Shading?!?! :) Hahaha amazing. So I think I likely will have had a different job to do each day this week. Totally nuts/sweet/amazing. I am really excited that they are moving me around so much, it's really awesome and it is giving me a lot of varied experience, so that rocks.
Last night we stayed really late (until like 1:45am) carving pumpkins, that was fun and I got a white pumpkin and carved a Canadian flag out of it on one side, and the word "Pixar" on the other side. Awesome!!
Here's something random. We went to get our pumpkins from somewhere in Oakland called the "Pumpkin Patch" and they took our photo and put it on their website!! Hilarious, it says "Pixar Crew" under the photo. Check it out! http://www.fpe.cc/
Here's the photo.
Buying pumpkins
Sarah had a party today at work (this is why we carved the pumpkins last night) and it was really amazing, she set it up really well and the food was awesome. Good Spanikopitas and also Apple Cider too so that was rockin'. I had a late night at work cause I needed to get something finished so it was nice to take a few breaks and have lots of Apple Cider. :)
I saw The Prestige last night, it was a pretty insane movie but really good. The Director is the same as Batman Begins and that was totally sweet. The acting was pretty awesome too and pretty interesting and weird story with lots of twists. It was funny how much they try to explain the movie to you and you never really understand it until they explain it at the end of the movie. Very well done and pretty nuts but totally awesome too.
I am definitely looking forward to the weekend, man it has been a pretty hefty week and I think I've had a cold on and off all week. So it'll be nice to just relax over the weekend, I am not planning on doing too much this weekend, just chillin' and probably getting my Halloween costume together for next week. Sweeeet.
Last night we stayed really late (until like 1:45am) carving pumpkins, that was fun and I got a white pumpkin and carved a Canadian flag out of it on one side, and the word "Pixar" on the other side. Awesome!!
Here's something random. We went to get our pumpkins from somewhere in Oakland called the "Pumpkin Patch" and they took our photo and put it on their website!! Hilarious, it says "Pixar Crew" under the photo. Check it out! http://www.fpe.cc/
Here's the photo.
Buying pumpkins
Sarah had a party today at work (this is why we carved the pumpkins last night) and it was really amazing, she set it up really well and the food was awesome. Good Spanikopitas and also Apple Cider too so that was rockin'. I had a late night at work cause I needed to get something finished so it was nice to take a few breaks and have lots of Apple Cider. :)
I saw The Prestige last night, it was a pretty insane movie but really good. The Director is the same as Batman Begins and that was totally sweet. The acting was pretty awesome too and pretty interesting and weird story with lots of twists. It was funny how much they try to explain the movie to you and you never really understand it until they explain it at the end of the movie. Very well done and pretty nuts but totally awesome too.
I am definitely looking forward to the weekend, man it has been a pretty hefty week and I think I've had a cold on and off all week. So it'll be nice to just relax over the weekend, I am not planning on doing too much this weekend, just chillin' and probably getting my Halloween costume together for next week. Sweeeet.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Presentation at work, Alex visiting soon
Today was sweeeeeeeeet, I got to present a software tool to my team that I programmed when I was on PNG!! It was really fun and people asked me lots of crazy questions (some of which I could answer, and some of which I answered "I have no idea, but I can find that out for you" hehe.) Good times!!!!!! It worked out really well I think and I made a few jokes and I think people enjoyed it so that's great.
Tonight we went to Albertsons, a "real" grocery store that is way nicer than the one we often go to, it roooccked and I bought a lot of good stuff. Sweet randomness. Then we watched two Simpsons Halloween episodes and one of them had the 3D Homer episode, Homer ^3!!!!!!!!! Oh man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is my favourite Simpsons Halloween episode by FAR, it roooccks so much and I remember watching it like 50 times when it came out. That is amazing. I also found out that one of the guys who worked on PNG with me was actually one of the people who MADE THE SIMPSONS 3D EPISODE?!?!?! Man that is so amazing.
My buddy Alex from Canada sounds like he is doing totally awesome at work. That is great to see because he is very talented and hard-working and I am happy to hear he is succeeding and totally rockin' out. Matt sounds like he is getting to do some aaweeesome stuff too so that rocks as well. Rock on boyyeeeezzz!!!!!!!!!!
In other news Alex is coming to visit in a few weeks which is great. Alex came to hang out last summer for Siggraph 2005 which was great and it was cool to show one of my friends from home how awesome it is here. Alex and I are going to check out some of the places around here that he wants to visit, and maybe go to LA as well to see Disneyland or go to Santa Monica and stuff. Not quite sure what we are planning yet but it will be awesome for sure.
Busy day today at work but got lots of stuff done which was great and also had my presentation. I need to spend one of these evenings sending postcards to my friends back home and also doing some reading. There is a Green version of the Pixar Zip-up Jacket that I have now on sale at work. I almost wanted to buy it but that's a bit nuts since I already have the same jacket in a different colour. Hehe sure is awesome though, but I am definitely a crazy swag fiend and I think 2 versions of the same jacket is kinda nuts so I guess I'll just wait for a new T-shirt instead. :)
Tonight we went to Albertsons, a "real" grocery store that is way nicer than the one we often go to, it roooccked and I bought a lot of good stuff. Sweet randomness. Then we watched two Simpsons Halloween episodes and one of them had the 3D Homer episode, Homer ^3!!!!!!!!! Oh man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is my favourite Simpsons Halloween episode by FAR, it roooccks so much and I remember watching it like 50 times when it came out. That is amazing. I also found out that one of the guys who worked on PNG with me was actually one of the people who MADE THE SIMPSONS 3D EPISODE?!?!?! Man that is so amazing.
My buddy Alex from Canada sounds like he is doing totally awesome at work. That is great to see because he is very talented and hard-working and I am happy to hear he is succeeding and totally rockin' out. Matt sounds like he is getting to do some aaweeesome stuff too so that rocks as well. Rock on boyyeeeezzz!!!!!!!!!!
In other news Alex is coming to visit in a few weeks which is great. Alex came to hang out last summer for Siggraph 2005 which was great and it was cool to show one of my friends from home how awesome it is here. Alex and I are going to check out some of the places around here that he wants to visit, and maybe go to LA as well to see Disneyland or go to Santa Monica and stuff. Not quite sure what we are planning yet but it will be awesome for sure.
Busy day today at work but got lots of stuff done which was great and also had my presentation. I need to spend one of these evenings sending postcards to my friends back home and also doing some reading. There is a Green version of the Pixar Zip-up Jacket that I have now on sale at work. I almost wanted to buy it but that's a bit nuts since I already have the same jacket in a different colour. Hehe sure is awesome though, but I am definitely a crazy swag fiend and I think 2 versions of the same jacket is kinda nuts so I guess I'll just wait for a new T-shirt instead. :)
Monday, October 23, 2006
The Bridge School Benefit Concert and GOOGLE!!
Yesterday was soooooo sweet. I got a tour of Google (yes, it rocked) and went to an awesome concert for 9 hours. Fantastic.
Last night I went to the Bridge School Benefit Concert (http://www.bridgeschool.org), a charity concert organized by Neil Young and his wife for The Bridge School.
It was ammmmmmmmmmaaaaaaazing. It started at 4pm and went until 1am!! Amazing 9 hr concert for only $43?!!
Death Cab For Cutie was awesome as expected, they are kindof in that new Pop-Indie crowd, The O.C. soundtrack vibe, totally fantastic. They were really good in concert too.
Foo Fighters were nuts. "There goes my hero" was the best one they played.
Trent Reznor played a lot of funky and weird music but also he played his song "Hurt" which is really really intense and he did a great job.
I am not specifically a Pearl Jam fan but maaaan they were good. The singer rocks and they were rockin' out pretty fierce!!
Brian Wilson was one of the best acts of the night. He sung a whole bunch of the Beach Boys songs that he wrote in 1960, it was sooooooooo cool. It was pretty legendary to see him perform and the sound was awesome.
And for the best show of the night... Dave Matthews OF COURSE, ohhhhhhhhhh man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was great. The best rendition of Ants Marching I've heard in a live concert so far. It was nuuuuuuuts. They just went crazy. They played 5 or 6 songs and each one was over 10 minutes I think. They started with Loving Wings which was really cool and I haven't heard in concert yet. They also played The Warehouse and Grace is Gone. They ended with a 15 minute jam session of Neil Young's "Cortez The Killer" with Neil Young playing with them!! It was soooooooo nuts. Amazing and not quite the same electric guitar jam that is on the Central Park Concert's version of "Cortez The Killer" but it was still totally amazing. So crazy to see Dave Matthews jammin' so fierce with Neil Young!!
So the concert totally rocked and we had a great time. Matt Parrott showed up and were were rockin' out for the Dave Matthews set. I also ran into a bunch of buddies from Waterloo. They are all working out here in California or in Seattle, I saw my friend Travis who loves Dave Matthews Band and he came all the way from Seattle for the concert!! Haha it rocked.
Ok so if that wasn't enough excitement for the day, guess what I did before the concert?!??!?! Well since most of my Waterloo friends that I went with to the concert are working at Google this term, and since the Shoreline Amphitheatre is like 3 min walk from Google... I got A TOUR OF GOOGLE in Mountain View, California!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was awesome.
In a sentence: Glorious amounts of free food. Free super fancy fresh juice, coffee, cereal, fruit, yoghurt, and tons and tons of snacks and M&Ms and Reese's Pieces and Orangina and Jones Soda and those good Starbucks Frappucino things and more and more and more. It was insane. Also, the toilets have heated seats. Haha so all of these insane extras and stuff, and cool whiteboards everywhere in case you have an idea and need to write it down. It was a very cool, open workspace, a lot like the other really awesome Bay Area computer companies. Nice, big area which looked like it would be a very comfortable work environment. I heard that the two CEOs have regular desks too, that's pretty interesting. So lots of the guys from Waterloo work there and they sound like they are enjoying it. They are living in San Francisco so they have something like a 1.5 hour commute every day which kinda sucks but they said they wanted to try living in San Francisco. There was a really cool globe image that showed the frequency of web queries coming from different parts of the world. That rocked. Also there were some hilarious and cool projectors that were showing actual search queries that people were making. Amazing stuff and what a nice place. Insanely huge workout room with like 50 ellipticals and treadmills with TV screens on them. Yaron said that actually the workout room fills up and gets pretty busy a lot of the time, which is pretty crazy!
So yeah, yesterday was pretty awesome. Seeing Google was suuuuuuuuuper cool and it was crazy to see how many free snacks were around, it would certainly be easy to get carried away. It's like you've won a food shopping spree, and it's all FREE and it's FREE EVERYDAY?!?!?! Whoa that is crazy. Other than the obvious awesomeness of free food and heated toilet seats it sure was cool over there and looked like an interesting and very cool and comfortable place to work. The food was good too. :) haha. The concert also totally rocked and it was sweet to see Dave Matthews for the 8th time!!
We stayed over in the South Bay and then caught the CalTrain this morning and then I transferred onto the BART to get back to Emeryville. We went out for breakfast and then Matt Parrott came in and we went to Ikea. I got some silly plush toys for my desk at work, a big blue shark and a small blue shark and some rats which are pretty cool.
I prepared my presentation for tomorrow, I am showing some software I wrote so that will be really fun. Tonight we watched Curious George and just chilled out a bit which was good. I am still listening to Brett Dennen and Joe Purdy who I heard at that concert a few weeks ago, they are reeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaally good.
Last night I went to the Bridge School Benefit Concert (http://www.bridgeschool.org), a charity concert organized by Neil Young and his wife for The Bridge School.
It was ammmmmmmmmmaaaaaaazing. It started at 4pm and went until 1am!! Amazing 9 hr concert for only $43?!!
- Neil Young
- Pearl Jam
- Dave Matthews Band
- Brian Wilson
- Foo Fighters
- Trent Reznor
- Death Cab for Cutie
- Gillian Welch
- Devendra Banhart
Death Cab For Cutie was awesome as expected, they are kindof in that new Pop-Indie crowd, The O.C. soundtrack vibe, totally fantastic. They were really good in concert too.
Foo Fighters were nuts. "There goes my hero" was the best one they played.
Trent Reznor played a lot of funky and weird music but also he played his song "Hurt" which is really really intense and he did a great job.
I am not specifically a Pearl Jam fan but maaaan they were good. The singer rocks and they were rockin' out pretty fierce!!
Brian Wilson was one of the best acts of the night. He sung a whole bunch of the Beach Boys songs that he wrote in 1960, it was sooooooooo cool. It was pretty legendary to see him perform and the sound was awesome.
And for the best show of the night... Dave Matthews OF COURSE, ohhhhhhhhhh man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was great. The best rendition of Ants Marching I've heard in a live concert so far. It was nuuuuuuuts. They just went crazy. They played 5 or 6 songs and each one was over 10 minutes I think. They started with Loving Wings which was really cool and I haven't heard in concert yet. They also played The Warehouse and Grace is Gone. They ended with a 15 minute jam session of Neil Young's "Cortez The Killer" with Neil Young playing with them!! It was soooooooo nuts. Amazing and not quite the same electric guitar jam that is on the Central Park Concert's version of "Cortez The Killer" but it was still totally amazing. So crazy to see Dave Matthews jammin' so fierce with Neil Young!!
So the concert totally rocked and we had a great time. Matt Parrott showed up and were were rockin' out for the Dave Matthews set. I also ran into a bunch of buddies from Waterloo. They are all working out here in California or in Seattle, I saw my friend Travis who loves Dave Matthews Band and he came all the way from Seattle for the concert!! Haha it rocked.
Ok so if that wasn't enough excitement for the day, guess what I did before the concert?!??!?! Well since most of my Waterloo friends that I went with to the concert are working at Google this term, and since the Shoreline Amphitheatre is like 3 min walk from Google... I got A TOUR OF GOOGLE in Mountain View, California!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was awesome.
In a sentence: Glorious amounts of free food. Free super fancy fresh juice, coffee, cereal, fruit, yoghurt, and tons and tons of snacks and M&Ms and Reese's Pieces and Orangina and Jones Soda and those good Starbucks Frappucino things and more and more and more. It was insane. Also, the toilets have heated seats. Haha so all of these insane extras and stuff, and cool whiteboards everywhere in case you have an idea and need to write it down. It was a very cool, open workspace, a lot like the other really awesome Bay Area computer companies. Nice, big area which looked like it would be a very comfortable work environment. I heard that the two CEOs have regular desks too, that's pretty interesting. So lots of the guys from Waterloo work there and they sound like they are enjoying it. They are living in San Francisco so they have something like a 1.5 hour commute every day which kinda sucks but they said they wanted to try living in San Francisco. There was a really cool globe image that showed the frequency of web queries coming from different parts of the world. That rocked. Also there were some hilarious and cool projectors that were showing actual search queries that people were making. Amazing stuff and what a nice place. Insanely huge workout room with like 50 ellipticals and treadmills with TV screens on them. Yaron said that actually the workout room fills up and gets pretty busy a lot of the time, which is pretty crazy!
So yeah, yesterday was pretty awesome. Seeing Google was suuuuuuuuuper cool and it was crazy to see how many free snacks were around, it would certainly be easy to get carried away. It's like you've won a food shopping spree, and it's all FREE and it's FREE EVERYDAY?!?!?! Whoa that is crazy. Other than the obvious awesomeness of free food and heated toilet seats it sure was cool over there and looked like an interesting and very cool and comfortable place to work. The food was good too. :) haha. The concert also totally rocked and it was sweet to see Dave Matthews for the 8th time!!
We stayed over in the South Bay and then caught the CalTrain this morning and then I transferred onto the BART to get back to Emeryville. We went out for breakfast and then Matt Parrott came in and we went to Ikea. I got some silly plush toys for my desk at work, a big blue shark and a small blue shark and some rats which are pretty cool.
I prepared my presentation for tomorrow, I am showing some software I wrote so that will be really fun. Tonight we watched Curious George and just chilled out a bit which was good. I am still listening to Brett Dennen and Joe Purdy who I heard at that concert a few weeks ago, they are reeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaally good.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Bill's BBQ and party
Here are a bunch of insane photos from Bill's party at his house and when we brought in Cupcakes to work. There are some really awesome pics here, lots of hilarious and crazy photos of me and the homeys.
Sarah and Kurt
Bill on his birthday
Cupcakes that Sarah and I made
Kurt the superhero
Word
Jake and Clint
Bill working the BBQ
Homeys
Cat that looks like Adam
The cat wants to play
The other cat in Bill's apartment
The best photo of the evening
Weird/hilarious picture of me and Sarah
That bread didn't have a chance
Hip hop flava
Hahahaha Kurt is nuts
The two crazies
Another awesome picture
Homeys 1
Homeys 2
Staged photo of Alex pretending to punch Kurt
haha
Bill the BBQ man
This one is nuts
Serious for a moment
BBQ Veggies
Sarah and Kurt
Bill on his birthday
Cupcakes that Sarah and I made
Kurt the superhero
Word
Jake and Clint
Bill working the BBQ
Homeys
Cat that looks like Adam
The cat wants to play
The other cat in Bill's apartment
The best photo of the evening
Weird/hilarious picture of me and Sarah
That bread didn't have a chance
Hip hop flava
Hahahaha Kurt is nuts
The two crazies
Another awesome picture
Homeys 1
Homeys 2
Staged photo of Alex pretending to punch Kurt
haha
Bill the BBQ man
This one is nuts
Serious for a moment
BBQ Veggies
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Bill's birthday, Bravia Paint and Borat
Today was Bill's birthday so Sarah and I presented our huge stack of cupcakes and icing that we made last night. That was really fun and I think Bill enjoyed it. Good times! Today was a pretty busy day at work, lots of stuff going on and lots of different things to work on. Awesome as usual though, and looks like I'll be presenting some software that I wrote when I was on Production Engineering to my team next week!! Super cool.
Tonight we went to Bill's house in Oakland and he actually had a nice little backyard and patio too, it was pretty excellent. We had a BBQ and chilled there for a while, it was great.
I was just checking out some more Borat trailers and stuff, man that looks hilarious. Check out this insane photo I found from the movie. I think he is driving around in an ice cream truck and there is a bear in the back of it for some reason. That movie looks insane.
A scene from the Borat movie
On RottenTomatoes.com, the movie is currently rated 100%!!!!!!! I hope the rating stays very good once more reviews come in, it looks so awesome and hilarious and I think it is going to do very well.
I saw the new Sony Bravia ad from the same company that made the bouncing balls in San Francisco ad. It is ammmaazzzzing. They sync up a soundtrack of classical music to tons of exploding garbage cans full of paint which they explode from a tall apartment building, it's really quite amazing.
Bravia Ad
Pretty awesome eh?! Check out the ad at: http://www.bravia-advert.com/paint/thead/
So lots of stuff going on and this weekend I am going to see Dave Matthews again!
Tonight we went to Bill's house in Oakland and he actually had a nice little backyard and patio too, it was pretty excellent. We had a BBQ and chilled there for a while, it was great.
I was just checking out some more Borat trailers and stuff, man that looks hilarious. Check out this insane photo I found from the movie. I think he is driving around in an ice cream truck and there is a bear in the back of it for some reason. That movie looks insane.
A scene from the Borat movie
On RottenTomatoes.com, the movie is currently rated 100%!!!!!!! I hope the rating stays very good once more reviews come in, it looks so awesome and hilarious and I think it is going to do very well.
I saw the new Sony Bravia ad from the same company that made the bouncing balls in San Francisco ad. It is ammmaazzzzing. They sync up a soundtrack of classical music to tons of exploding garbage cans full of paint which they explode from a tall apartment building, it's really quite amazing.
Bravia Ad
Pretty awesome eh?! Check out the ad at: http://www.bravia-advert.com/paint/thead/
So lots of stuff going on and this weekend I am going to see Dave Matthews again!
Monday, October 16, 2006
Egg Cup and onesie pyjamas
Well it certainly was a busy weekend again.
Friday night we watched 2 movies, "The Science of Sleep" by Michel Gondry and the French film "The Vanishing". They were both very good, the first one got a 69% on Rottentomatoes.com and the second one got 100%!! Crazy. Anyway looks like we are still making sure to go to and rent good films. It was funny, I saw the list of top 20 box office movies on Rottentomatoes.com and it looks like I have seen all of the "Certified Fresh" ones over the past month, and maybe only one of them which was below 50%. Awesome!!! We are just kindof making decisions to go to movies without necessarily checking the ratings and looks like we're making good choices which is good to see!!
The Science of Sleep was very interesting, Michel Gondry is the director of Eternal Sunshine and also of many many amazing music videos for The Chemical Brothers. It was a visually amazing film with some interesting messages in it, at some points it was a little confusing but I think this was intentional. Often it is hard to understand if you are watching the characters in "real life" or in their dreams, and often these worlds are interchanged. It's really interesting and it looked amazing.
The Vanishing was super scary, it was kindof a thriller film, and it was the 1988 version from France. It was more of a subtle thriller than the usual kind of scary movie, but it was definitely totally nuts. The kind of scary emotions that the character in the film is going through are understood by the viewer because they are also trying to understand the story and the purpose for a kidnapping that is not explained until near the end of the film. The whole time the viewer is also trying to figure out what is going on!! It's a very different method of telling the story than the usual kind of film and it was very well done. There was apparently a US remake of the film in 1993 or something, and I heard it totally sucked. Rottentomatoes.com gave the remake a 50% rating, haha rough, I guess it's a better idea to check out the original instead.
So that was our busy Friday night. Saturday I went into San Francisco with my roommate Yisheng and we went on a, haha, wait for it... yes we went on a shopping spree. Yisheng said he wanted a "murse" like mine (haha, a "murse" is short for a "man-purse", and I have an Alias man-purse/shoulder bag that I wear almost all the time 'cause it's pretty useful), haha so that is great and he managed to find a good one. I bought a new Tommy Hilfiger shirt which is pretty fancy and awesome and was like 80% off. Sweet. I also got some new Levi's and a new belt which I actually needed. Yisheng had some coupons off for another store so I finally got a bottle of Hugo Boss "Hugo" cologne that I have wanted to buy for ages but never wanted to spend that kind of money on (essentially) smelly water. :) So we got a sweet deal, it was probably about 1/3 of the cost of buying it in Canada so I figured I'd go for it. I also went to the Alessi store and bought this egg cup holder. Haha weird eh? See explanation below!! :)
Alessi Cico Egg Cup holder
So pretty awesome eh?? Well the reason I bought this is not necessarily because I make a lot of hard boiled eggs and need an egg cup holder, but because I have seen the 3D model version of this little guy many times!! Back at Alias, I remember seeing this little guy, I guess he must have been a test model for the project I was working on at the time. It was pretty awesome to see this in real life after seeing it in 3D graphics so many times. Awesome. It was really cool and they were a bit more expensive before, I think they have come down in price so I bought one for my desk at work. :)
Ok after that Yisheng and I went to Chinatown and ate in a nice Chinese restaurant which was very typical and very Chinese, hehe. Yisheng said it was much more food and much better than other Chinese restaurants he has been to in the area.
Last night we just hung around and didn't do too much, just relaxed a bit.
This morning we went to EBC for the usual. After this I needed to get a hair cut and Sarah needed to get one as well so we took off to Berkeley and rocked out there for a bit. Sarah got a cool jacket which rocked and we got our hair cut and then went to Target and got some pretty sweet Pizza Hut breadsticks, man I love those they are soooooooooo good it's ridiculous. MAN that marinara sauce?!??!?!?!? It's so good it's insane.
Most importantly while at Target Sarah found my onesie footie pyjamas!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh man!!! I have been looking for something ridiculous like this for a long time and Sarah found them today so I totally had to get them. For some insane reason they were only $10 so it was an obvious choice. I got the XL ones of course, they are a bit small around the waist and so on but the length is decent and they will probably work out pretty well. They are glow-in-the-dark with planets and stars on them. Yes I am actually 24 years old and yes I realize I just bought Pyjamas of the 2 year old persuation but I am not too worried about that. They ROCK. And I've been trying to find this kind of thing for ages, so I am totally psyched.
Sweet onesie pyjamas
This evening Sarah and I went to Jamba Juice and got some crazy Trader Joe's action going and then went out with Clint and another dude from work to a place in Rockridge that was sweeeeeeeeeeeet, man I am interested in checking that place out for breakfast too. Of course nothing can beat EBC for awesome friendliness, those guys are so nice and awesome that I love to support their business. But this place might make a good breakfast for days that EBC is closed, hehe. :)
Tonight I had to sort out my courses, I have to sign up for them tomorrow so I needed to get that sorted out.
Looks like this is what I am going to sign up for:
Alright well it's 2:20am so I am off to bed. Busy weekend but totally sweeeeeeeeeet.
Friday night we watched 2 movies, "The Science of Sleep" by Michel Gondry and the French film "The Vanishing". They were both very good, the first one got a 69% on Rottentomatoes.com and the second one got 100%!! Crazy. Anyway looks like we are still making sure to go to and rent good films. It was funny, I saw the list of top 20 box office movies on Rottentomatoes.com and it looks like I have seen all of the "Certified Fresh" ones over the past month, and maybe only one of them which was below 50%. Awesome!!! We are just kindof making decisions to go to movies without necessarily checking the ratings and looks like we're making good choices which is good to see!!
The Science of Sleep was very interesting, Michel Gondry is the director of Eternal Sunshine and also of many many amazing music videos for The Chemical Brothers. It was a visually amazing film with some interesting messages in it, at some points it was a little confusing but I think this was intentional. Often it is hard to understand if you are watching the characters in "real life" or in their dreams, and often these worlds are interchanged. It's really interesting and it looked amazing.
The Vanishing was super scary, it was kindof a thriller film, and it was the 1988 version from France. It was more of a subtle thriller than the usual kind of scary movie, but it was definitely totally nuts. The kind of scary emotions that the character in the film is going through are understood by the viewer because they are also trying to understand the story and the purpose for a kidnapping that is not explained until near the end of the film. The whole time the viewer is also trying to figure out what is going on!! It's a very different method of telling the story than the usual kind of film and it was very well done. There was apparently a US remake of the film in 1993 or something, and I heard it totally sucked. Rottentomatoes.com gave the remake a 50% rating, haha rough, I guess it's a better idea to check out the original instead.
So that was our busy Friday night. Saturday I went into San Francisco with my roommate Yisheng and we went on a, haha, wait for it... yes we went on a shopping spree. Yisheng said he wanted a "murse" like mine (haha, a "murse" is short for a "man-purse", and I have an Alias man-purse/shoulder bag that I wear almost all the time 'cause it's pretty useful), haha so that is great and he managed to find a good one. I bought a new Tommy Hilfiger shirt which is pretty fancy and awesome and was like 80% off. Sweet. I also got some new Levi's and a new belt which I actually needed. Yisheng had some coupons off for another store so I finally got a bottle of Hugo Boss "Hugo" cologne that I have wanted to buy for ages but never wanted to spend that kind of money on (essentially) smelly water. :) So we got a sweet deal, it was probably about 1/3 of the cost of buying it in Canada so I figured I'd go for it. I also went to the Alessi store and bought this egg cup holder. Haha weird eh? See explanation below!! :)
Alessi Cico Egg Cup holder
So pretty awesome eh?? Well the reason I bought this is not necessarily because I make a lot of hard boiled eggs and need an egg cup holder, but because I have seen the 3D model version of this little guy many times!! Back at Alias, I remember seeing this little guy, I guess he must have been a test model for the project I was working on at the time. It was pretty awesome to see this in real life after seeing it in 3D graphics so many times. Awesome. It was really cool and they were a bit more expensive before, I think they have come down in price so I bought one for my desk at work. :)
Ok after that Yisheng and I went to Chinatown and ate in a nice Chinese restaurant which was very typical and very Chinese, hehe. Yisheng said it was much more food and much better than other Chinese restaurants he has been to in the area.
Last night we just hung around and didn't do too much, just relaxed a bit.
This morning we went to EBC for the usual. After this I needed to get a hair cut and Sarah needed to get one as well so we took off to Berkeley and rocked out there for a bit. Sarah got a cool jacket which rocked and we got our hair cut and then went to Target and got some pretty sweet Pizza Hut breadsticks, man I love those they are soooooooooo good it's ridiculous. MAN that marinara sauce?!??!?!?!? It's so good it's insane.
Most importantly while at Target Sarah found my onesie footie pyjamas!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh man!!! I have been looking for something ridiculous like this for a long time and Sarah found them today so I totally had to get them. For some insane reason they were only $10 so it was an obvious choice. I got the XL ones of course, they are a bit small around the waist and so on but the length is decent and they will probably work out pretty well. They are glow-in-the-dark with planets and stars on them. Yes I am actually 24 years old and yes I realize I just bought Pyjamas of the 2 year old persuation but I am not too worried about that. They ROCK. And I've been trying to find this kind of thing for ages, so I am totally psyched.
Sweet onesie pyjamas
This evening Sarah and I went to Jamba Juice and got some crazy Trader Joe's action going and then went out with Clint and another dude from work to a place in Rockridge that was sweeeeeeeeeeeet, man I am interested in checking that place out for breakfast too. Of course nothing can beat EBC for awesome friendliness, those guys are so nice and awesome that I love to support their business. But this place might make a good breakfast for days that EBC is closed, hehe. :)
Tonight I had to sort out my courses, I have to sign up for them tomorrow so I needed to get that sorted out.
Looks like this is what I am going to sign up for:
- CS 492: Social Implications of Computer Science
- CS 349: User Interfaces
- MUSIC 246: Soundtracks in Film
- ACTSCI 223: Group Health Insurance
- HIST 223: History of the Holocaust
Alright well it's 2:20am so I am off to bed. Busy weekend but totally sweeeeeeeeeet.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Yes, I am doing ridiculous MySpace surveys instead of sleeping
Hehe yes I know it's 3am and I should be asleep. I think I ate too much food this evening and I am still totally awake. So I am doing MySpace surveys. No I am not 15 years old, haha.
Sweet. Apparently I am not very geeky. Awesome and kinda expected I hope. I got none for "Sci-Fi Geekiness", awesome.
Sweet deal. I am a "Perfect" kisser. Booyah.
Cool, I am an "Auditory Learner" haha.
Yeah for Emo!!
Yeah I am a CS student!
Haha the only "slacker" thing I do apparently is not clean my bathroom enough.
Yeah for Pop Art!
Whew! Only 5% Redneck.
Sweet deal. If this works out I gotta get that Lamborghini Roadster.
Sweet, this one is the best!!
Ok it's late and time for bed. Rock on!
Sweet. Apparently I am not very geeky. Awesome and kinda expected I hope. I got none for "Sci-Fi Geekiness", awesome.
| Your Geek Profile: |
 Academic Geekiness: Moderate Fashion Geekiness: Moderate Internet Geekiness: Moderate General Geekiness: Low Movie Geekiness: Low Music Geekiness: Low Gamer Geekiness: None Geekiness in Love: None SciFi Geekiness: None |
Sweet deal. I am a "Perfect" kisser. Booyah.
| Your Kissing Technique Is: Perfect |
 Your kissing technique is amazing - and you know it. You have the confidence to make the first move. And you always seem to know what kissing style is going to work best. Sometimes you're passionate, sometimes you're a tease. And you're always amazing! |
| You Are a Auditory Learner |
 You tend to remember what you hear, and you have a knack for speaking well. You excel at debating, foreign languages, and music. You would be an excellent diplomat - or rock star! |
| You Are an Emo Rocker! |
 Expressive and deep, lyrics are really your thing. That doesn't mean you don't rock out... You just rock out with meaning. For you, rock is more about connecting than grandstanding. |
Yeah I am a CS student!
| You Are Incredibly Logical |
 Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic You think rationally, clearly, and quickly. A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer! |
Haha the only "slacker" thing I do apparently is not clean my bathroom enough.
| You Are 4% Slacker |
 You are anything but a slacker. You're truly a go getter. You never let laziness get in the way of living your life - and you can't stand to see it in others. |
Yeah for Pop Art!
| You Are Pop Art |
 When it comes to art, you're definitely not a snob. You can appreciate the mainstream aspects of culture, even if you need to twist them a bit to make them your own. Whether you're into comics, retro pinups, or bold colors, you embrace what's eye catching and simple. As far as most other art goes, you consider it a little too elitist and high brow for your tastes! |
Whew! Only 5% Redneck.
| You Are 5% Redneck |
 I'll slap you so hard, your clothes will be outta style. You ain't no redneck - you're all Yankee! |
Sweet deal. If this works out I gotta get that Lamborghini Roadster.
| Your Chances of Being a Multimillionaire: 80% |
 You have a good chance of being a multimillionaire. Better than most people. You simply have a natural knack for money and the personality for success. |
Sweet, this one is the best!!
| You Have A Type A- Personality |
You are one of the most balanced people around Motivated and focused, you are good at getting what you want You rule at success, but success doesn't rule you. When it's playtime, you really know how to kick back Whether it's hanging out with friends or doing something you love! You live life to the fullest - encorporating the best of both worlds |
Ok it's late and time for bed. Rock on!
Shading, Courses and maybe Disneyland
This week at work has been totally legendary. I have been moving around to a bunch of different tasks this week, finishing up some UV Mapping from last week and then MEL scripting like a fiend yesterday and then today I am moving onto some very new territory for me... the land of Shading!! Crazy!!!!! This is suuuuuuuuuuper awesome and really cool that I am getting to work in lots of different areas this term. Sorry as usual I cannot discuss specifics of what I am doing, but in general I am now going to be working on shading for a while. This is cooooool because I will be shading a bunch of props in the movie, and I reckon I might have to bust out some UV Mapping again perhaps too. This is great. Another cool and different thing to work on which is soooo interesting and wicked. This roooccks!!
I have seen some of the models that I created (for those of you who don't know, modeling is sortof like digital sculpture), now shaded by the shading artists and mannnnnnn it is so exciting and cool that this is going to be in the movie. What a great feeling of accomplishment this job gives me. Every single thing I get to do here is so different and interesting and awesome... I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. :) I guess the 12-year old Mike Jutan had it right, "Man... I have to do Computer Graphics when I grow up!! It's sooooo awessssoommme!!!!!!!!" :) Sure glad I had the opportunity to figure this out so early on and that I still am totally jazzed up by this stuff. Good times.
Hehe so there is another happy rant about why I love my job. :)
Let's see what else is going on. I am chatting a bunch with my buddy Alex from Canada, he is actually working at Alias now (Autodesk Toronto) and is having a great time. Sounds like he is working really hard and doing a fantastic job. He is coming out here in November to hang out for about a week and a half which is sweeeeet and we are thinking of getting some people together from work and going to Disneyland and also doing a bunch of other fun stuff. I have some friends at Google so they invited us to come see the Campus and come for some free Google food on a Friday night so that should be pretty awesome.
Man I gotta get my courses sorted out for next term. I still think I am going to take Social Implications of CS, User Interfaces, Judaism, Soundtracks In Film and then a Math class. I gotta get this figured out like asap. I just read a bunch of stuff and it looks like JS 217 (Judaism) is running next term and so is HIST 223 (The Holocaust in History). Both of these look very interesting and important for me to take, but I'd also like to take a Film course. There are 2 of those that look great too!! Ahh it's going to be hard to decide which courses to take this term.
Wow I have a lot to write about tonight. I guess that is because I haven't been home at my apartment in the evenings enough this week and there is stuff piling up that I need to sort out, like emails and laundry and sorting out my courses, hehe. Definitely the laundry is piling up and I am starting to run out of pairs of socks that I like. I think tomorrow I am going to have to wear those big huge uncomfortable ones because all my normal sport socks are now in the stack of laundry that I need to sort out this week. Crazy.
Maybe this weekend I shouldn't run around like a maniac again like last weekend, and just stay around here a bit and get stuff cleaned up and sorted out, probably a good call. I want to mail a bunch of postcards to my friends and stuff and I still haven't done that yet. Oy. I also wanted to get started planning my trip to Europe and as expected I bought those Lonely Planet books 3 weeks ago and still haven't opened them yet other than to just look at the pictures and read about Annecy, France. :) Man I have lots of stuff to do. :)
Hehe I guess I should explain Annecy, France. There is a really awesome Animation Festival there and looks like I'll be in France next year when it is on. Maybe I should arrange to get to Annecy so I can attend the festival, that would rock.
Ok what else can I talk about instead of going to bed? Hmm. Well my savings are going well!! Haha. I bet my buddy Jake is making fun of me now if he's reading this. "Jutan, stop talking about random stuff that no one cares about!!" he would probably say, haha. Anyway the savings are going well. I am being careful not to waste money on stuff I don't need. I am going out for dinner with my friends a fair bit, but I'm buying less food and eating less which is good and also spending less which is good too. Pretty much all the money I save this term is going to Europe, so the more I save, the more cool stuff I get to do in Europe. That is a pretty decent goal I think!! Also I am hoping for a monstrous tax return next year in April just before I leave. I am not planning for this in case I don't get it, but I will have paid something like $3500-$4000 in USA taxes by the end of the year, since I've had 8 months of Co-op jobs this tax year. That is pretty awesome and last time I got back about 65% of the taxes I paid, so if it's the same percentage that's about $2600! I am not going to get my hopes up in case I don't get this back, but it sure would be helpful for my trip if I get a bunch of this back.
It would be cool if I had time to learn some more Python scripting, and also if I had time to work on my Raytracer. Haha and also if I had time to draw on my Wacom Tablet at home more often. I also feel like the pace of Waterloo CS is so nuts that I am pretty bad about keeping in touch with old friends. I am trying my best on my work terms but there is always a lot going on here too. I guess lots of people feel like this but oh well I hope my old friends understand. This blog is great for this though, so if you are an old friend reading this, please know that I am thinking of you!!!!!!! Please send me an email if you'd like to chat one-on-one!! :) Otherwise I hope you are enjoying the blog and thanks for keeping in touch with me through this Blog and it's cool that you're interested in what I am up to. Thanks. :)
Well I guess that's enough random stuff for tonight. :) Hope you are all doing well!
I have seen some of the models that I created (for those of you who don't know, modeling is sortof like digital sculpture), now shaded by the shading artists and mannnnnnn it is so exciting and cool that this is going to be in the movie. What a great feeling of accomplishment this job gives me. Every single thing I get to do here is so different and interesting and awesome... I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. :) I guess the 12-year old Mike Jutan had it right, "Man... I have to do Computer Graphics when I grow up!! It's sooooo awessssoommme!!!!!!!!" :) Sure glad I had the opportunity to figure this out so early on and that I still am totally jazzed up by this stuff. Good times.
Hehe so there is another happy rant about why I love my job. :)
Let's see what else is going on. I am chatting a bunch with my buddy Alex from Canada, he is actually working at Alias now (Autodesk Toronto) and is having a great time. Sounds like he is working really hard and doing a fantastic job. He is coming out here in November to hang out for about a week and a half which is sweeeeet and we are thinking of getting some people together from work and going to Disneyland and also doing a bunch of other fun stuff. I have some friends at Google so they invited us to come see the Campus and come for some free Google food on a Friday night so that should be pretty awesome.
Man I gotta get my courses sorted out for next term. I still think I am going to take Social Implications of CS, User Interfaces, Judaism, Soundtracks In Film and then a Math class. I gotta get this figured out like asap. I just read a bunch of stuff and it looks like JS 217 (Judaism) is running next term and so is HIST 223 (The Holocaust in History). Both of these look very interesting and important for me to take, but I'd also like to take a Film course. There are 2 of those that look great too!! Ahh it's going to be hard to decide which courses to take this term.
Wow I have a lot to write about tonight. I guess that is because I haven't been home at my apartment in the evenings enough this week and there is stuff piling up that I need to sort out, like emails and laundry and sorting out my courses, hehe. Definitely the laundry is piling up and I am starting to run out of pairs of socks that I like. I think tomorrow I am going to have to wear those big huge uncomfortable ones because all my normal sport socks are now in the stack of laundry that I need to sort out this week. Crazy.
Maybe this weekend I shouldn't run around like a maniac again like last weekend, and just stay around here a bit and get stuff cleaned up and sorted out, probably a good call. I want to mail a bunch of postcards to my friends and stuff and I still haven't done that yet. Oy. I also wanted to get started planning my trip to Europe and as expected I bought those Lonely Planet books 3 weeks ago and still haven't opened them yet other than to just look at the pictures and read about Annecy, France. :) Man I have lots of stuff to do. :)
Hehe I guess I should explain Annecy, France. There is a really awesome Animation Festival there and looks like I'll be in France next year when it is on. Maybe I should arrange to get to Annecy so I can attend the festival, that would rock.
Ok what else can I talk about instead of going to bed? Hmm. Well my savings are going well!! Haha. I bet my buddy Jake is making fun of me now if he's reading this. "Jutan, stop talking about random stuff that no one cares about!!" he would probably say, haha. Anyway the savings are going well. I am being careful not to waste money on stuff I don't need. I am going out for dinner with my friends a fair bit, but I'm buying less food and eating less which is good and also spending less which is good too. Pretty much all the money I save this term is going to Europe, so the more I save, the more cool stuff I get to do in Europe. That is a pretty decent goal I think!! Also I am hoping for a monstrous tax return next year in April just before I leave. I am not planning for this in case I don't get it, but I will have paid something like $3500-$4000 in USA taxes by the end of the year, since I've had 8 months of Co-op jobs this tax year. That is pretty awesome and last time I got back about 65% of the taxes I paid, so if it's the same percentage that's about $2600! I am not going to get my hopes up in case I don't get this back, but it sure would be helpful for my trip if I get a bunch of this back.
It would be cool if I had time to learn some more Python scripting, and also if I had time to work on my Raytracer. Haha and also if I had time to draw on my Wacom Tablet at home more often. I also feel like the pace of Waterloo CS is so nuts that I am pretty bad about keeping in touch with old friends. I am trying my best on my work terms but there is always a lot going on here too. I guess lots of people feel like this but oh well I hope my old friends understand. This blog is great for this though, so if you are an old friend reading this, please know that I am thinking of you!!!!!!! Please send me an email if you'd like to chat one-on-one!! :) Otherwise I hope you are enjoying the blog and thanks for keeping in touch with me through this Blog and it's cool that you're interested in what I am up to. Thanks. :)
Well I guess that's enough random stuff for tonight. :) Hope you are all doing well!
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Dinner, Movie, YouTube, and some Stephen Colbert
Today was freakin' awesome at work as usual. I wrote a script last week to streamline the current UV Mapping process I am doing, and it is working out super well!! Thanks to this script I am ensuring that I am spending the most of my time and effort on the areas that count, and not repeating work that I can just do well once and then simply copy-and-paste. Good times!!
It was my friend Clint's birthday today, so we got like 10 of the interns together and went out to Askew Grill which is actually pretty super awesome. I got a Texas BBQ chicken skewer and it roooockked. Man that place is tasty. I just got one skewer this time instead of 2, so that was a good call, it's a lot of food.
We went to the movie theatre afterwards to see "The Departed", a Martin Scorsese film. So the cast was amazing, with Martin Scorsese directing this insanely talented bunch, it's no surprise it was a good film... the cast included Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen!! Crazy. The acting was superb, Leonardo DiCaprio pretty much stole the show, my roommate and I both think he will definitely be up for an Oscar for his role... it was really well done. Looks like the movie has an 8.7 on IMDB right now.
After this we came back home and I watched the usual John Stewart and Stephen Colbert and it was pretty sweet, Stephen Colbert talked about 2 specifically awesome things tonight, Pixar and Canada!!!!!! Haha it was awesome. His guest was Randy Newman, who has done music and songs for many of the Pixar films. He said, "My guest tonight is Randy Newman." Then he whispered to the camera, "I told him it was a Pixar film!" haha awesome. He also mentioned Canada, specifically an OHL (Ontario Hockey League) team who is actually from Michigan, who named their new mascot "Steegle Colbegele the Eagle" haha that is hilarious.
Haha here's something random, I saw a Facebook group which was against today's announcement of Google buying YouTube?!?! Weird. Something to do with how "most things will be gone from YouTube now because of copyright infringement." That's a bit of a silly argument I think. If you look on "Google Video" right now, there are plenty of Family Guy and Simpsons cartoons that I am sure are not specifically sponsored or posted by Fox. I think that for a company like Google to buy YouTube, it means a lot of interesting new possibilities for video delivery online, which is also the way that Apple sees the future of movie and TV show purchasing... maybe even the future of TV altogether. Very interesting times. I think YouTube is probably very happy to have been purchased by Google, since Google is a very forward-looking and innovative company... this can mean some very interesting and big changes for video delivery online. Cool stuff.
It was my friend Clint's birthday today, so we got like 10 of the interns together and went out to Askew Grill which is actually pretty super awesome. I got a Texas BBQ chicken skewer and it roooockked. Man that place is tasty. I just got one skewer this time instead of 2, so that was a good call, it's a lot of food.
We went to the movie theatre afterwards to see "The Departed", a Martin Scorsese film. So the cast was amazing, with Martin Scorsese directing this insanely talented bunch, it's no surprise it was a good film... the cast included Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen!! Crazy. The acting was superb, Leonardo DiCaprio pretty much stole the show, my roommate and I both think he will definitely be up for an Oscar for his role... it was really well done. Looks like the movie has an 8.7 on IMDB right now.
After this we came back home and I watched the usual John Stewart and Stephen Colbert and it was pretty sweet, Stephen Colbert talked about 2 specifically awesome things tonight, Pixar and Canada!!!!!! Haha it was awesome. His guest was Randy Newman, who has done music and songs for many of the Pixar films. He said, "My guest tonight is Randy Newman." Then he whispered to the camera, "I told him it was a Pixar film!" haha awesome. He also mentioned Canada, specifically an OHL (Ontario Hockey League) team who is actually from Michigan, who named their new mascot "Steegle Colbegele the Eagle" haha that is hilarious.
Haha here's something random, I saw a Facebook group which was against today's announcement of Google buying YouTube?!?! Weird. Something to do with how "most things will be gone from YouTube now because of copyright infringement." That's a bit of a silly argument I think. If you look on "Google Video" right now, there are plenty of Family Guy and Simpsons cartoons that I am sure are not specifically sponsored or posted by Fox. I think that for a company like Google to buy YouTube, it means a lot of interesting new possibilities for video delivery online, which is also the way that Apple sees the future of movie and TV show purchasing... maybe even the future of TV altogether. Very interesting times. I think YouTube is probably very happy to have been purchased by Google, since Google is a very forward-looking and innovative company... this can mean some very interesting and big changes for video delivery online. Cool stuff.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Wildcat Canyon Park
Today we did our usual intern breakfast and then checked out the mall a bit. I didn't really have anything to buy so we just hung out for a bit. After that I was going to do some work but instead Sarah and Clint and I went hiking in Wildcat Canyon Park near Richmond and El Cerrito. It was pretty awesome and quite a long hike, maybe 4 hours or so. That rocked and it was nice to get lots more exercise today and hang out with my friends.
In the evening I wanted to get some work done so we had dinner sortof around here rather than going too far. We went to Rockridge which was actually super awesome. I really liked it up there, it's sortof on the edge of Berkeley and it was really fantastic. We went to a Crepe place but I didn't get a Crepe because that seemed weird for a dinner item, instead I got a totally amazing salmon pasta with alfredo sauce, it was awesome and I was really hungry from the hike. It was too much food though so I packed it up in a to go carton, with the intentions of eating it later on in the evening. On the way back to the car there was a homeless man who looked like he needed my leftover food more than I did, so I gave it to him. I prefer to do this than to give people money because this way I know exactly where it is going and clearly he needs to eat at some point. If I ever give money to people I don't feel very good about it because it is always a possibility that the money I give is going to be used for a habit or something else which is not food, and that I would not want to support.
Often it feels like when people ask me for money around here I usually say "Sorry" and keep walking. So that is not great, and I think when I have leftover food that I don't really need, it's a good idea to give it to someone who looks like they need it. It's good to take it home anyway from the restaurant too because the restaurant will of course throw it out and then it just goes to waste instead of feeding someone who is hungry. I am going to try to remember to box up leftover food at a restaurant so that maybe I can share it with someone who needs it. It seems like there are more homeless people here than back in Canada, and I think it's important that citizens who can afford nice dinners like us should be willing to put in a little extra 30 second effort at the end of dinner to wrap up their leftovers and help out people who are less fortunate.
In the evening I wanted to get some work done so we had dinner sortof around here rather than going too far. We went to Rockridge which was actually super awesome. I really liked it up there, it's sortof on the edge of Berkeley and it was really fantastic. We went to a Crepe place but I didn't get a Crepe because that seemed weird for a dinner item, instead I got a totally amazing salmon pasta with alfredo sauce, it was awesome and I was really hungry from the hike. It was too much food though so I packed it up in a to go carton, with the intentions of eating it later on in the evening. On the way back to the car there was a homeless man who looked like he needed my leftover food more than I did, so I gave it to him. I prefer to do this than to give people money because this way I know exactly where it is going and clearly he needs to eat at some point. If I ever give money to people I don't feel very good about it because it is always a possibility that the money I give is going to be used for a habit or something else which is not food, and that I would not want to support.
Often it feels like when people ask me for money around here I usually say "Sorry" and keep walking. So that is not great, and I think when I have leftover food that I don't really need, it's a good idea to give it to someone who looks like they need it. It's good to take it home anyway from the restaurant too because the restaurant will of course throw it out and then it just goes to waste instead of feeding someone who is hungry. I am going to try to remember to box up leftover food at a restaurant so that maybe I can share it with someone who needs it. It seems like there are more homeless people here than back in Canada, and I think it's important that citizens who can afford nice dinners like us should be willing to put in a little extra 30 second effort at the end of dinner to wrap up their leftovers and help out people who are less fortunate.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Airshow and chillin' in San Francisco
Today we went to an acrobatic Air Show in San Francisco which was pretty cool. Before it we went to the Embarcardero and I got some freakin' awesome Coffee and bread and cheese, good times!! We watched the Air Show for a while and then bussed to House of Nan King, then ate a bunch of awesome food, and then walked around Washington Square for a bit, then went out to a cool Coffee Shop in North Beach, then walked back to Ghirardelli Square then walked all the way back to the Embarcardero!! Crazy!! Long day of walking and stuff but totally sweet.
I met the legendary Brian who is now working at LucasArts with Matt. Matt came to hang out with us today too and that rocked. Good times.
I had like 3 coffees and a green tea today, hopefully I won't be up all night. :)
J-kiz
A funny dog that was running around
Haha cute dog
Sweet sailboat
Airplane tricks
Sweet
More acrobatics
A huge one
The Blue Angels
Blue Angels 1
Blue Angels 2
Blue Angels 3
Blue Angels 4
Sean rockin' at Ghirardelli Square
Me and Brian
Me and Brian
Sean and Brian at House of Nan King
Yisheng enjoying the Chinese food
Me and Matt's friend at House of Nan King
Hahaha fantastic
Sean after dinner
Green Tea
Matt at a coffee place in North Beach
Chillin' in North Beach
Ghirardelli Square on the way back home
Awesome pic of the bridge
I met the legendary Brian who is now working at LucasArts with Matt. Matt came to hang out with us today too and that rocked. Good times.
I had like 3 coffees and a green tea today, hopefully I won't be up all night. :)
J-kiz
A funny dog that was running around
Haha cute dog
Sweet sailboat
Airplane tricks
Sweet
More acrobatics
A huge one
The Blue Angels
Blue Angels 1
Blue Angels 2
Blue Angels 3
Blue Angels 4
Sean rockin' at Ghirardelli Square
Me and Brian
Me and Brian
Sean and Brian at House of Nan King
Yisheng enjoying the Chinese food
Me and Matt's friend at House of Nan King
Hahaha fantastic
Sean after dinner
Green Tea
Matt at a coffee place in North Beach
Chillin' in North Beach
Ghirardelli Square on the way back home
Awesome pic of the bridge