I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I have gotten hooked on British TV over the last few years. I always loved Ab Fab and Benny Hill, but then again who in their right minds doesn’t love Benny and Eddy. It is just that the rest of the TV shows from the UK seemed so….British. I just didn’t get the point. Even Monty Python, with the exception of a few skits, always left me cold. That kind of changed for me about 3 years back when the BBC relaunched the new Doctor Who.
Bit Torrent…is kinda like crack.
A couple of my friends are going through withdrawal because their favorite torrent site, Demonoid, shut down last week as a result of pressure from Canadian version of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). This also comes on the heels of their other favorite torrents sites, Isohunt and Torrentspy, shutting down access to people in the US. The issues with Isohunt and Torrentspy’s new policies were minimal since many people can still access the sites via a foreign proxy. However things are different with Demonoid since they may now be down for good. That really Continue reading “Bit Torrent…is kinda like crack.”
Run….run like the wind!
I am so proud of my wife. She completed the NYC Marathon last Sunday in a little over 3 and a half hours. I have to give her a hand because she trained hard all summer to get into shape. Personally I don’t know how she did it. Running 26 miles at that pace would probably force me to sleep for a couple of weeks. However my girl ran the race and still got up the next morning and went off to work with a spring in her step. It was her second time running in the NYC marathon. The last time that she did it was 11 years and two kids ago. The amazing thing is that she ran a faster pace this time than she did 11 years earlier.
Family Night Out: Knick Game!!!
One of the benefits of having a cousin who has Knicks season tickets is that every once and awhile he can’t use them and is generous enough to pass them over to me. That is what happened this week. My cousin C called me up and asked me if I wanted to take the family to the Knicks game against the 76ers. Luckily none of the fam had any previous plans that evening so it was clear sailing. I had taken my son to his first couple of games earlier this year. Needless to say, he loved it. However this was the first time that the whole fam would Continue reading “Family Night Out: Knick Game!!!”
NYC Blender Conference
This weekend I attended the first NYC Blender conference at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn. The two day conference brought together some of the best Blender artists on the East Coast. For those that don’t know, Blender is free open source 3D animation program that can be used for everything from modeling and animating, to creating interactive 3D applications. Blender is available on all the major operating systems and is similar in scope and depth to other high-end 3D software such as Softimage|XSI, Cinema 4D, 3d Studio Max and Maya. Continue reading “NYC Blender Conference”
MS Bike Tour: I thought I was in better shape
I participated in the MS Bike tour yesterday and rode under the LaGuardia banner. I got to the start line a few minutes late so I didn’t get a chance to hook up with the rest of the team from LaGuardia. As a result I rode the whole length of the course by myself. I didn’t mind too much since I had the iPod loaded with Jay Z, Biggie, and some ole’ school Run/DMC. Still it wasn’t the same as the previous bike tour. You see, Ski and I did the race last year. We had a great time despite the fact that I had to bail out at the thirty mile mark because I was so outta shape. I figured that I wouldn’t have any problems this year since I had been Continue reading “MS Bike Tour: I thought I was in better shape”
Used Macs: eBay to da’ rescue
Since we got back from overseas the kids have been bugging me to get them new computers for their rooms. They still were using an old eMachines PC that I had given them back when they shared a room together. That unit had seen better days and the kids had recently taken to co-opting my desktop for their gaming and homework. I felt that I had to assert myself and put a stop to that practice since it was starting to seriously cut into my World of Warcraft time.
The kids had fallen in love with my MacBook Pro laptop, Winona, over the summer and kept hinting at me to get them Apples. Because they now had separate rooms, they of course wanted separate machines. Since the new iMacs and Macbooks start at about 1100 dollars, I decided that I was going to have to search around and buy them used or refurbished if the kids were gonna get their wish. Continue reading “Used Macs: eBay to da’ rescue”
Halo 3 mania! WTF?
I was out riding my bike yesterday and rode past a Game Stop store on the night that Halo 3 was set to launch. I was out at about 9pm and was amazed at the number of people that were lined up at this little out of the way store. The line as down the block at 9pm. It was a good 3 hours before the game was set to go on sale and people were damn near around the block. There probably wasn’t a single person on the line under 25. Continue reading “Halo 3 mania! WTF?”
The best part about my job!
One of the benefits of teaching at a large urban community college is that I get a chance to help a diverse group of young men and women chart the course of their professional lives. I am blessed to be able to watch them mature and grow as digital professionals. I bring this all up because today was graduation day and a number of my best students graduated today.
Microsoft XNA gaming presentation
Gus Webber of Microsoft came to LaGuardia today to talk about the Microsoft XNA gaming platform. For those that are unaware, XNA is a rapid gaming platform that Microsoft has developed for the PC and Xbox 360 platforms. It encompasses a set of tools and a consistent framework Continue reading “Microsoft XNA gaming presentation”