Smapdi says...

Moving on over ...

2005-10-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

I am going to move all my blogging and file hosting over here. chad moore dot net.Come have a look see.

Assignment 3

2005-10-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

So assignment three had two aspects to it. First off, pose the provided character in an excited pose. Of course we were to seek out and observe the real world and sketch to use as reference. Second was to animate a bouncing ball. I have animated about 5 bouncing ball exercises in the past. The bouncing ball is probably the most standard animation practice exercise. It sounds easy, but it

Session 03 - planning

2005-10-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

So session 03 is starting up and I am eagerly anticipating these lectures, comments and critiques. You see I want to improve my drawing and eventually my 2D animation skills.Also I know from my own experience that the more you plan your animation before touching the computer the better end result is. I want to learn to plan better. I can't wait to watch the lecture. More later.

Updating the pose

2005-09-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

I received some great feedback about this pose from some of my fellow mentees. Thanks all. I guess I was trying too hard to math the pose that I drew, and not "Run with it". This is what using reference (drawing, people watching, video reference, films) is all about. Take little bits of info, and "run with them". Get to the heart of them, sell them. As for how this really translates to

Assignment 002

2005-09-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

The focus of the assignment was to go out and sketch some poses of people doing what they normally do. The emphasis was to capture the pose, not render a beautiful drawing. "Gesture drawing" is a common way for artisits to start thier work, and a great way for animators so capture a pose. BTW - I start a gesture drawing class in a week - i'll be posting a lot of the drawings i attempt therein.

Video chat 2

2005-09-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

We just finished up video chat number 2 with our super mentor - Bret Parker. Bret covered some tips on the 12 principles of animation. Squash and Stretch, Solid Drawing, and Appeal mostly. The class was lively with some very good questions and tips. IMHO memorizing these 12 principles isn't enough. They are so intertwined it is hard to separate them at all. I am glad Bret refreshed my

Animation Mentor on Variety.com

2005-09-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

OK, for all of you who are asking whats this Animation Mentor all about? Check this out. It about sums it up. The energy at AMO is making my head spin. Variety.com - Mentor program animates hopefuls

another oldie

2005-09-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

Amazing what you find when you check your back up CD's. Lets see, this lil' diddy was done in mid 2003. It's a silly walk. Enjoy.

Getting down to the basics

2005-09-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

I just watched Animation Mentor lecture 2. Its all about the 12 principles of animation. These principles were coined by the nine old men of Disney animation way back in the day. There so very relevant to yesterdays animation, what is going on today and in the future of animation. Regardless of Medium they help to create styles.I work in the games industry. Our department works mostly on "

More site tweaks

2005-09-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

I had some problems with the links to the anims I have posted recently, so I fixed that. Then I messed around with the sidebar and added links to my classmates. There are many more AM students blogging, but to keep it simple I just included my (Fall 05) class. If you have a burning desire for more AM bloggy goodness, check out the webring at the both of the page.Also do check out the tagcloud.

oldies but goodies

2005-09-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

This is quite possibly the oldest cg animation I ever did (and still have backed up). Since my last post about looking back a year from now got me all nostolgic, I decided to try and find some old anims. This was done in Softimage 3.x Its the artist not the tool, but I just wanted to show you how old this anim is. Maya was still powerAnimator then, and Softimage ruled the 3D animation

New design

2005-09-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

Free polls from Pollhost.comHow do you like the new layout?Nice - keep it Eww - Go back to the old one Try something new

first pics from the "superSampler"

2005-09-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

Sweet!

wip - sophisticated - post blocking

2005-09-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

Well, Here is the post blocking pass. It feels linear and mechanical to me. But overall its OK i guess.I extended the "push" forward on the "very" part and mucked with the hand. I think my acting choices are a bit cliche, especially the hand at the beginning. I am looking forward to coming back and looking at this file in a year or so. Just to be amazed at how far I have progressed by then.

wip

2005-09-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a work in progress animation I have been fooling with off and on for a couple of weeks. Its still in the rough blocking stage right now. After I tweak out the body motion I will add the facial anim. Coments critiques and critism are appreciated.Oh yes - Credit where credit is due. This is a free model and rig provided by www.cramer3d.com. Thanks!

1st chat with my mentor

2005-09-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

Man this class is going to kick some serious ass. Bret Parker (animator at Pixar - voice of Cari in he Incredibles and Jack Jack Attack) is our mentor. She seems very down to eath and quite positive. Which is very refreshing, who wants to be taught by a negative person eh?My classmates all seem crazy eager and pumped for the class, and are from all walks of life. Some are total newbies, some

New camera!

2005-09-20T22:36:00.000-07:00

My wonderful wife gave me this new camera as a birthday gift. I am pretty excited to try it out in the daylight tomorrow! It is from The lomographic Society International so you know it kicks the kraziness. This particlar model shoots four exposures on the same image, either in .5 second or .05 second intervals. This should make for some interesting animation refrence, and other cool motion

Animation Nation Bulletin Board: N.Y. Times article on Disney Animation

2005-09-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

Animation Nation Bulletin Board: N.Y. Times article on Disney Animation: "The box office numbers show how far the sky has fallen. The studio reached the height of its most recent popularity with the 1994 release of 'The Lion King,' which brought in $764.8 million at the worldwide box office. By contrast, the last nine animated movies Disney either made or acquired took in only $758.3 million

Animation Mentor - video Chat 01

2005-09-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

I just wrapped up the first video chat/class of Animation Mentor. Bobby and Carlos are very inspiring indeed.Aside from some glitches and hang ups in the chat, all things seem to be functioning well technically. The hiccups seemed natural with over 100 people chatting and a live video and audio stream going at the same time.The web site is a bit odd to navigate, but its OK once you get the hang

Animation Mentor

2005-09-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

Well it is official, so I guess I'll spill the beans. I am now a student of Animation Mentor!I start Monday the 19th of September and needless to say I am pretty fricken excited. I'll use this blog as a way to keep myself on track and post my work from the class. I guess I'll have to turn this into an Animation Mentor Blog and join these folks..Animation Mentor Blogs

Master Class Notes

2005-09-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

If you were at the Motion Builder Master Class I (Chad) co-presented this year at siggraph and are missing the final notes, let me know by commenting and I'll see what I can do to get them to you.Cheers,Chad

underground - a photoset on Flickr

2005-08-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

With the advent of social bookmarking and higher bandwidth it seems animation is taken on a new life on the web. Animated gifs have been around for ages, and flash animation is really cool, but check this out... Photographers are using web based slideshows to create animation. This one is especially interesting considering the photos were taken a week before the despicable and cowardly attacks

Siggraph Recap

2005-08-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

"Bring your Brain" - That was this year's slogan for the conference. It should have read "Bring your Brain - and leave it somewhere in LA". Between the all day learning and all night partying, one's brain does hurt at the end of a good siggraph. Siggraph rocked this year, although I missed some friends who couldn't come for reasons related to babies or a bearded and flanned lunatic driving

Siggraph 2005

2005-08-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

Ah Siggraph. The nerdiest place on earth. This is the middle of day 2 for me. Day one was as it has been for the last several years. Check in, meet up with friends (old and new) and head to the Alias Users Group. Good fun was had by all. I am in the hotel doing last minute preperation for our presentation, and ready to go. I think it'll turn out well. More later, back to work.

melGeek(s)

2005-07-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

We have 2 new contributors to help keep melGeek up and running. Please welcome Josh Carey of the Animation Farm, and Ian Jones. I am looking forward to more posts and general mel goodness.huzzah!

seward street: Do It for the Children

2005-07-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

This was originally posted on seward street, and sounds dangerously close to a self help tape/video. But the statements expressed really ring true with me. Also it has impacted one of my friends and colleages who is also a new Dad...BrainDump - by bclarkMaybe it's cause I am (dear God) getting older and (oh God oh God) more responsible. Maybe it's because I am blessed by having the most

Cool flash anim app and Scrat 2

2005-07-12T22:27:00.000-07:00

Check out this little flash app, it looks to be big fun. http://www.fabrica.it/flipbook/Also Scrat (and the other characters i am sure) are coming back for Ice Age 2...http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/ice_age_2/

The Bat

2005-06-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

SPOLIERS : DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVENT SEEN IT. I enjoyed the film quite a bit. I thought the fight sequeces were very good, in IMHO. They actually contributed to the characterization of batman. He isn't a superhero, he has no special powers, so he must realy on stealth, brutality, and fear to disorient his enimies, hence the disorienting effect. Man the VFX was awesome in the hallucinogenic

Madagascar

2005-05-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

So I went and saw Dreamworks Animation's latest feature Madagascar over the weekend. A bunch of us animators in the San Diego area meet up for the big animated films, and although this group was much smaller (only 3 of us) we still had a good time at the show and after. Back to the film. I'll try to keep this spoiler free.Madagascar suffers the same problems of all the recent Dreamworks

When Bloggers close a door, they open a window.

2005-03-01T10:54:00.000-08:00

Hi all,I am going to kill this blog soon. There are many far more interesting blogs covering animation out there. Check the right hand side for the blogs/commentary links. Also please be sure to check out the newly redesigned keith lango animation. He's moving to a blog format too. It is truly amazing that all these incredible artists are willing to share information freely and openly. So

Two Minutes with Ray Harryhausen

2005-02-08T22:02:00.000-08:00

G4techTV - Feature - Two Minutes with Ray Harryhausen The master of stop motion speaks!

melGeek

2005-02-02T21:32:00.000-08:00

Use this as a gauge to measure my geek-dom. melGeek I am going to use this blog to further my MEL studies, and hopefully help other MEL users out.

The Animation Show 2005

2005-01-31T21:48:00.000-08:00

The Animation Show is gearing up again! Last years was a great time with hard to find animation from all styles represented. Hopefully year two will be just as good. Great poster, I am a big fan of Tim Biskup's. Especially the beatnik stuff. San Diego Opening April 1st The Ken Cinema 4061 Adams Avenue (619) 819-0236 See ya there San Diegians!

Animation Mambja Jamba

2005-01-28T19:03:00.000-08:00

It's been a while and lets see, there is a bunch of news in the animation world these days. Lets start with Toy Story 3. Yep Disney is going ahead without Pixar on this one. I dont think you can doubt the artistry of the folks at Disney (I thnk the animation in Chicken Little will be great), let's just hope the politics work themselves out. You can read some dirt here. The Seward street

The Incredibles VS The Polar Express - Ready - Fight!

2004-12-01T21:48:00.000-08:00

Just kidding. I haven't seen the Polar Express, and I am convinced that The Incredibles is one of the greatest animated films ever. So I am biased. Everything I have seen of the Polar Express reminds me of the Uncanny Valley theory - Link. I know a lot of very hard work by some very good people went into the Polar Express. I dont mean to offend, but I think that kind of detail in human

Another animation Blog

2004-11-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

Here is another : B L O G : about animation. All this stuff available on the web now is amazing. Check out the resources section, its all good stuff.

Fresh Air: Tuesday - November 9, 2004

2004-11-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

NPR's Fresh Air: Tuesday - November 9, 2004 Has a animation special. Chuck Jones interview from 1989, an Incredibles review and commentary on Looney Tunes. Check it out...

The Incredibles

2004-11-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

Pixar has made the mother of all CG animated films. The Incredibles deserves a full blog post, which I will do soon, but I just gotta tell you this movie is absloutley superb. From design to animation to story. Every other animated film (and some live action ones too) will be judged againts this film for decades to come. Bravo! and thanks to the talented folks at Pixar and to Brad Bird for a

seward street

2004-10-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

All these blogs about animation! Fantastic stuff happening on the web these days. This blog has a real upbeat feel, and is very inspiring. The refrence for the name of the site is great as well. Check out seward street !

A Blog about Pixar

2004-10-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

A blog dedicated to Pixar Animation Studios. "The Incredibles" is getting great buzz already, I can't wait to see what Mr. Bird and the crew at Pixar has cooked up for us...

The Business of Animation: A Commentary

2004-10-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

The Business of Animation: A Commentary An anonymous industry vet speaks out. It's not all fun and games in the animation world...

ACME Animation: Online Animation Education

2004-10-02T16:58:00.000-07:00

ACME Animation: Online Animation Education This seems like a good way to get some animation practice and get some great feedback.

The Incredibles - A Yahoo! Movies Exclusive

2004-09-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

Here it comes animation fans, get ready I have a real good feeling about this one... The Incredibles !!

Animation Link-o-rama

2004-09-15T17:40:00.000-07:00

ToonHub - Animation Links and Information Tim Linklater's big list of animators Enjoy!

Wired News: Kaiju Monsters Invade Hollywood

2004-09-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

dinosaur_f Originally uploaded by smapdi. Wired News: Kaiju Monsters Invade HollywoodThis has got to be the Coolest thing ever. What do you get when you combine your love of wrestling, creatures and aliens, and sprinkle in a little japanese anime type seasoning? Kaiju!

Frank Thomas - goodbye.

2004-09-09T21:28:00.000-07:00

Frank Thomas a pioneer in the animation industry (to put it mildly) passed away today. He died peacefull in his home, at the age of 92. Thank you for all you animation and your ability to teach us the "Illusion of Life". There is a nice thread here, paying tribute and giving thanks to Mr. Thomas... CGCHAR -> Frank Thomas.

SIGGRAPH 2004

2004-08-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

I just returned from SIGGRAPH 2004 last night. It was a good show, one of the best ever I think for me personally. I met a ton of great people from artists to techies to software makers and support. I ran into a lot of old friens, which always makes for good partying after the confrence. The most exciting thing for me professionally for me was the announcment that Alias bought out Kaydara.

Acting for Animators

2004-08-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

We just finished up with Ed Hooks Acting For Animators class at work. I thought the class was very good. The audience consisted of all kinds of game development people, not just animators. Structurally the class was designed for Film animators, and Mr. Hooks was eager to alter his material to fit into the game animators world. My favorite points he brought up were how "Indicating" is a bad

Another quick animation

2004-06-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

Here is an animation I did for the Animation Showdown over at digital|rendering.com. I put in about 2 hours, and of course theres a lot I can fix. This weeks topic was "Hug". They give you a topic and 4 hours to complete something. If you view the animation hopefully you'll see how the recent events in my life have influenced this anim. Thanks Sophia.

Sophia's web site.

2004-06-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hey all. You can see pictures of Sophia, read news about and even add your own comments over at... Sophia Anne Moore

Sophia Anne Moore

2004-06-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

The baby is here!!!!!!! Sophia was born at 4:38am on June 8th 2004. She is amazing. She weighed 8 pounds 14 ounces. Emily is recoving well, all is good. We are very tired, very excited. cantt type properly. More to come later, need slleep.

"Welcome to Planet Pixar"

2004-05-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

Wired magazine has a great article on Pixar, and their separation from Disney. It is refreshing to hear that despite the rapid growth Pixar is staying true to their roots, the story.

Emily joins the blog nation!

2004-05-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

Emily's Blog

Can Star Wars: Episode III be saved?

2004-05-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

Continuing my thread of anti-hollywood film, read on this. You can even make suggestions. Can Star Wars: Episode III be saved??

Van Helsing Sucked So Bad.

2004-05-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

Ok so you've got every classic monster in film history, good looking lead actors, hot vampire brides and some really great CG effects. This should equal movie gold. Why does this film fall so short? Because of the story. Steve Sommers wrote (dare I use that term) and directed this stinker. Hes also responsible for the horrific "Mummy" series. Mind you, I do not mean scarry and exciting when

3 years

2004-04-02T20:43:00.000-08:00

April 01 2004 marked my three-year anniversary here in San Diego, California. Needless to say a lot has changed for me over that time. I have an amazing wife, who will soon provide me with the most incredible gift one can imagine. I am so excited about the birth of our daughter I really can't see straight sometimes. We have officially become home owners today, as our loans and all the legal

New Animation - Cat Burglar

2004-02-12T12:31:00.000-08:00

Another animation for the digital rendering challenge! This was done in just under 4 hours. Thats not a lot of time to animate, but its fun being under the gun.

Big Update

2004-01-30T19:29:00.000-08:00

Well well well... So its been a long absence, and I appologize for neglecting you Blog. And you the readers as well. Things have been quite crazy around here. Our little baby girl is doing well, she's growing strong, and Em and I are about to start the baby shopping frenzy. Buying cribs and mountains of one-zies. It will be total madness. Work is just now winding down, and the powers that

Work Work Work

2004-01-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

I havent posted in a while because work has been crazy. We are motion capturing and animating like crazy men on a project that may be seen this coming Sunday on national tv. More to come as details can be released.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2004-01-06T15:32:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest sonogram picture of lil' baby Moore. She is doing well and looking good according to the doctors. I really can't express how excited Emily and I are. Truly Amazing!

More LOMO

2003-12-19T13:39:00.000-08:00

Holiday Party Pics

Animation Test 2

2003-12-09T23:06:00.000-08:00

Well here is the finished animation. Rather, the as close to finished as its going to get animation. I have decided to let this one be. I would have liked more time to finish up the arms and adjust more motion. In Some places its swimmy and some places its too poppy. But I have put in 10.5 hours on this and am ready to move on. Critiques are welcome from fellow animators and non animators

Read this book!

2003-12-09T16:26:00.000-08:00

The Contortionist's Handbook This is a great read. Check it out, you can find the 1st three chapters on that site. I bet you'll be hooked after the first. I found this book through the Chuck Palahniuk web site. Similar themes as any one of Chucks books, but in a completely different style. The protagonists story is so damn interesting, and while its a bit out of left field, I think most

Animation test

2003-12-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

Digital Rendering has these animation challenges. They have you post an email to them, they send you back a topic, and you have 4 hours to create an animation and send it back. Then the contestants vote. Pretty neat. This is my first try, and I only was able to work on it for 2.5 hours. The topic was "your character wins the Lotto" and I don't think I have been clear enough about that in

LOMO in full effect!

2003-11-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I updated, and a lot has happened recently. Some of these events merit thier own entries, and I will get around to posting more soon. For now... I finally got the Lomo LCA !!!!. Here are the first round of pictures... www.lomohomes.com/smapdi More Lomo to come.

More Incredible..er

2003-10-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a larger version of the Incredibles promo (I guess it is airing [or aired] during a Toy Story brodcast). Please to be enjoying...

The Incredibles!

2003-10-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

Do you like Pixar Films? Do you like low quality previews of thier upcoming work? Then click here!

What the hell is motion capture anyway?

2003-10-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

Here is a little Motion Capture document I wrote up a while ago. It may help clear up what it is I actually do for a living. It's not always sit around and play games. Click the pic to go to a story Tech TV did on our studio a while ago. Tech TV story

NOCK

2003-10-07T18:06:00.000-07:00

Check out NOCK. AKA Chuck Carr. He is a co-worker of mine at SCEA, and is quite the musician. I took (and edited) some of the photos used for his site and the interview here... iZotope, Inc.

The Universe: Powers Of 10

2003-10-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

Behold the vast size of the universe!

Radiohead

2003-09-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

RADIOHEAD came to coors amphitheatre last night. Myself and Mike G went down to check out the show. I have become a big radiohead fan, just recently though. I always thought they were a decent rock band since I heard the bends, pablo honey and the OK computer stuff. It wasn't until 2000's Kid A that I got hooked. I really enjoy what they're doing musically. My main concern about the show

Happy Birthday Emily

2003-09-25T10:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Bday Emily. I hope you liked the card, and I look forward to tonight. -Chad

Rafting Picture

2003-09-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

Here is the picture taken of our raft mid-rapid, I believe we just landed from going through "Big Momma" at this point. Big Momma was a class four (out of 5) rapid. What a super fun trip. I can't wait to go again. small picture big picture

New Photos

2003-09-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

A couple of new pics for your viewing pleasure. Balboa Park, August 2003 Balboa Park, August 2003 Balboa Park, August 2003 All of the above used a lens extender loaned to me by Bob Bull. Thanks Bull. Portsmouth NH, August 2003

LOMO!

2003-09-04T23:20:00.000-07:00

Hey Kids! you gotta check out the cool images from these cameras. Designed in the former Soviet Union in the 80's these cameras have a real distinct look and feel to the imagery they produce. Wide angles, super saturated colors, and you can pull off double exposures, and other tricks. I can't wait to get my hands on one of these mamba jamba's. The lomographic Society International Thanks to

Xavier Smiles

2003-08-29T22:33:00.000-07:00

Check out this great pic of Xavier... guy smiley

The Animation Show

2003-08-29T19:55:00.000-07:00

Be sure to check this animation show when it rolls around to your town. Hertzfeldt is a brilliant albeit nutty animator. His "Rejected" is a great take on the artists struggle with commercialized society. Welcome to the Animation Show

Babypalooza!!

2003-08-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

Congrats to the Youngs on the birth of thier first child, Skylar Young. Skylar and Mom Becky

Bullog

2003-08-24T21:50:00.000-07:00

Bullog Another net users converts to blog nerddom. Everyone please welcome Bob!

It has ended.

2003-08-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well vacation is offically over. Good friend, Best Man, and disco dancer- Bob Bull left on Saturday. Emily and I had a layover in Nashville Tennesee on the way back from New England. Old crazy ass Bob jumped on the plane and hung out all week, it was good to see him. We took a lot of pictures and saw a Padres game. Also Tuesday night we saw Medeski Martin and Wood. I am a huge fan of that

Its alive!

2003-08-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

New look, new title feature, new commenting. New New New. Yeah!

2003-08-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

Ooooh a fancy pants new style. I'm tweaking the design still so please bear with me. I am off to work for a little jump start on the week. Crazy deadlines are approaching!

2003-08-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

Well we are back from our vacation, and man was it great. Lets us do a top ten vacation highlights for now. Later I'll do a full post about the trip... 10. Checking out the MIT bookstore in Boston - Nerd Alert! 09. Madon Ami... Mike's Pastry in the North End was awesome. 08. Cheating Death by the Big Dig. We were standing mere feet from where two cars almost collided in the construction crazed

2003-08-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

Blogitude This is Baditudes site. Check him out... If you dare.

2003-07-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

I am an Uncle (In-law)! Emily's brother Jeff and his wife Danielle gave birth to Xavier Joseph Paquette at 3:12 am July 16th. Congrats, and I cant wait to meet little XJP in August!

2003-07-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

Well I just got back from seeing 28 days later... Interesting movie, I was told (by the tv ads and buzz surrounding the flick) that this was "The Reinvention of the Zombie Movie". Well it had Zombies in it, and they were cool. Not like other Zombies previously. But much like "The Beach" the film went in many directions. Was 28 days later Meandering? I'm not sure. It all made sense, and I

2003-07-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

An amazing feat. The best song ever, tied to an amazing dancing bannana. It truely must be seen and heard to understand its majesty. http://www.ebaumsworld.com/peanutbutter.shtml

2003-06-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hello Blog, Sunday Emily and I traveled to Santa Catalina Island. We drove about an hour north to Dana Point, hopped on the ferry wich took 1.5 hours through stormy choppy seas. Emily and I stood outside on the front of the boat for a while. It was cold, and bumpy, but what an incredable feeling to be at sea, the wind rushing and roaring in your ears. It was pretty crappy out until right when we

2003-06-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to Emily and Me! Yesterday was our two year Anniversary. I can't believe how fast time is flying by. Thanks Emily for another great year (and for the book). We will celebrate by going to Catalina Island next weekend. For dinner last night we tried the Kensington Grill. Very cool resturant, eat there and catch a movie at the old Ken Cinema.

2003-05-19T14:50:00.000-07:00

WOW! E3 came into LA and kicked a whole lotta ass. Some say its the same old thing year after year, but man is it crazy. The highlights of the show for me were seeing the Doom 3 trailer (its not my cup of tea, but sure looks good) Battlefield 1942 (the best game EVER!) has a new expansion pak, its not really based in reality as the earlier version of BF 1942 were, but sure looks fun. On a sort of

2003-05-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

So its been a while since I posted. Emily's folks were in twn for the past week or so. They had a great time. It was thier third trip to San Diego, and they really like the area (How could you not). At work there was a 4 day Maya MEL training given to members of the department, myself included. I learned a ton of information, and I am now trying to digest it all and make it usefull. Emily has

2003-05-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

OK I am in super nerd mode. I am posting to my blog via a konfabulator widget.

2003-05-06T06:43:00.000-07:00

Emily's parents arrived on Saturday. We enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend. Saturday night we went to Old Town's famous Casa De Bandini. Its a really great Mexican resturant. Food and atmosphere were perfect as usual. It was rainy and overcast that day, until right about the time we went down for an early dinner, then the sun came out. It was perfect. We went early to avoid the crowds of people

2003-05-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

We are getting fired up for Xmen 2. Our department is having a "team building seminar". We'll go watch the film to do some VFX research and have a good time. I'll review the film later.

2003-04-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

Damn those geniuses at apple! They inspire my technolust*. Gotta get a new iPod. Mine works fine, thanks for asking, but man those new ones are slick. I wonder how much I can get for mine on eBay and then use that money for a new one. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! * Technolust - An overwhelming desire or craving for the lateset gadgets and gizmos. Technology - The application of science,

2003-04-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

A sad day for New York Hockey fans. The Isles fall 4 to 1 to the Senators and are eliminated from the playoffs. The Senators are a mighty team, and I wish them well in the playoffs. And to the Isles, thanks for a good season.

2003-04-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

I missed the second softball game due to another commitment. Team [MCP] was involved in a super nerdy Battlfield 1942 tournament at the E sports arena. We totally dominated the opposition and had a great time. The event was sponsored by the US Navy, and they were there pushing their idea that playing a war video game may prepare people to actually be a good soldier. I am a bit unsure of that. I

2003-04-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have posted. I'll have to update in multiple posts since so much has hapened. First off Softball. Our F League All Stars 1st game was a loss, but I would say it was a success. It was good to get out there and play. I hit into a fielders choice and flied out to the outfield. Oh well better luck next time.

2003-04-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

Softball starts tomorrow night! I am excited to get out on the field, though it has been many moons since I have played. We will see how the "F League All Stars" weather the storm.