June 5th, 2010 by jay

As if I didn’t get enough abuse with the Mark 1 version of the Kingfish Personal iPod Touch Video Viewer (patent pending), I had to improve the design. Actually, the Mark 1 didn’t pass the endurance tests.

Introducing the Mark 2:

New and improved features include:

• Telescoping Side Rails for Depth Adjustment
• Adjustable Tilt Controls
• A Sliding Rail for Horizontal Adjustment
• A Snap-On iPod Touch Holder

Performance trials will begin soon.

February 25th, 2010 by jay

OK, this may rank up there with some of my more ridiculous schemes, but I get tired of holding my ipod touch while watching movies.  This allows me to relax more effectively, which is, of course, the real priority.

Conclusion: It’s a little too springy, so you have to sit pretty still while watching. Another generation of development may be in order. On the whole, however, it functions as designed. I used it laying down in bed last night and was quite satisfied with the results.

As usual, my wife laughed at me. Genius is never truly appreciated.

February 17th, 2010 by jay

As a part of my function as Minister of Crackpot Schemes and Unfortunate Synergies at The Secret Lair, I have the opportunity to contribute to their growing library of reviews and writings.  My first contribution is a review of the animated show Super Hero Squad, which I think is one of the best shows for kids and adults on television today.  It rarely fails to elicit a chuckle or guffaw from me while I’m watching “with the kids.”

Enjoy

January 14th, 2010 by jay

My daughter’s birthday is here, and I thought I’d surprise her with a custom made Ollivander’s wand a la Harry Potter.  After all, it’s my fault she’s a devoted fan of the novels.  It was good to be doing something creative again, especially something kind of crafty.  Despite the fact that I didn’t bother to set up a proper light box for the photos, here are the results:

The Box

I really enjoyed the box, with its taped edges and replica Ollivander’s label (properly aged with tea).  On the end I included the typical Ollivander’s wand description “Purple Heart, Walnut, 12½ in., Mother’s Hair Core:”

and inside, resting on tissue paper, The Wand itself:

I love the tropical hardwood purple heart, and I am still finding uses for scraps from a piece I bought for another project years ago.  It has a deep purple color to it, and I used it for the wand shaft.  It nicely compliments the walnut handle, which is  carved in the shape of budding leaves.  Some time ago, my daughter and I discussed what should go in a wand’s core if I ever made one for her.  We agreed there was nothing quite so magical as a mother’s love.  True to my word, the wand incorporates one of her mother’s hairs into its core.  For the record, the hair was given voluntarily, if somewhat dubiously (we’ve been married a while now, so she’s used to it).

The whole affair was tied off with string and planted outside the front door after an appropriate amount of “Did you see that owl outside?!  No?  Oh, well.   You just missed it.”  My daughter found it when I sent her out to help her mother, and that thoroughly confirmed its authenticity.  I then confessed to her that I had “special ordered” it directly from Ollivander’s for her birthday.

She went to bed listening to Harry Potter audio books (as usual), and trying various spell variations in an attempt to levitate or move random objects in her room.  One unanticipated outcome was the anxiety of her five year old brother that his sister was going to “zap him” with the wand.  We had to assure him that it was only pretend.  I believe he still had some doubts about the whole affair, and I’m certain that my daughter was holding out hope that the wand might actually turn out to be more than just pretend.

I can’t say that I blame her there.

January 12th, 2010 by jay

A month or two ago, a friend of mine asked his Facebook friends “Do you believe in God? Why or why not?”  Usually reluctant to (a) share personal things and (b) participate in the online debate / flamewar of the week, I refrained from answering.  I did follow the discussion thread as it grew, and the burden of answering the question continued to roll around in my head.

A couple of times a year, I get to dust off my professional ministry hat and put it on for a bit.  Aside from the occasional wedding, I sometimes have the opportunity to fill the pulpit for our pastor while he is on vacation.  This often happens after Christmas, as he likes to take some time off following the very busy Advent and holiday season.  I decided to use this latest opportunity as a chance to explore what I was feeling about this whole God-Facebook debate.

The attached file is the result, a sermon entitled “Skeptics and Hope.”  It’s not the greatest title, but it works.  It’s also not my best sermon, but again, it works.  (Indeed, there is a sermon I preached years ago that has become known as “The Hooters Sermon.”  I don’t know what I got right with that one, but I still have people mention it to me.)

Referenced within the sermon are a number of external sources:

• The Skeptic’s Dictionary
• Philip Yancey’s Church: Why Bother? (and by extension, J.F. Power’s Wheat The Springeth Green)
• A Letter to Non-Believers by Shane Claiborne in Esquire Magazine

Enjoy.

“Skeptics and Hope,” December 27, 2009

October 20th, 2009 by jay

So I convinced my 5 year old son that it was his idea to go see the Toy Story 1&2 Double feature in 3D. That part of the plan went well, and last weekend we found ourselves on our way to the closest digital theater 45 minutes away. Originally intended as a family event, it became a guys-only event when my wife and daughter discovered that Harry Potter was playing at the dollar theater 45 minutes in the other direction.  That turned out to be a bit of a serendipity, as the girls spent $12 for their tickets AND the popcorn.  We, on the other hand, paid $23 for our tickets alone. A bit shell shocked, I rallied, deciding that this was a fun little adventure and not counting the cost.  Then we went to the refreshment counter.

You know those scams aimed at young, naive cashiers?  I mean the ones where the crook asks for change from his purchase, then asks for different bills, then changes his mind again.  When he’s finished, he leaves behind a bemused and befuddled cashier who will come up significantly short at the end of their shift.  Well, that’s the way the concession stand felt to me.  Somehow, the young lady at the counter convinced me that the best bargain available for a man and his young son was a combo deal.  We left the concession counter with our popcorn and two drinks - I, bemused, befuddled, and $18 poorer.  My 5 year old son helped by barely managing to carry his own drink - 64 ounces of pink lemonade.

After the financial sneak attack by the box office and that girl serving popcorn, we made our way to the theater where we were given our very fashionable 3D glasses.  The rest of the evening went quite well, although I should point out that little kids have to be instructed not to adjust their glasses by grabbing the lenses with their buttery popcorn fingers.  That required some mid-movie education.

I must say that I am skeptical of the 3D movie phenomenon.  I’ve read articles claiming that 3D technology will be the next revolution in filmmaking.  Uh… no.  It won’t.  Movies are about stories, and a bad movie in 3D is still a bad movie.  That being said, the Toy Story movies are wonderful stories, and the 3D rendering added some new appreciation for the films.  Here are some Pros and Cons of the experience.

PROS

• Seeing these movies on the big screen again.  I don’t have blue ray yet, so some of the details of the films are unavailable to me when I watch them again at home.  I had a lot of fun reading the titles of the books on the shelves in Andy’s room and the fine print on the toys and games themselves. Even after seeing these movies over and over again (my son is five, remember), I still managed to notice new things. Did you know that there are A Bug’s Life toys on the shelves in Al’s Toy Barn?  Did you know that the little aliens have the Pizza Planet logo on their uniforms?  I didn’t.
• Visual Depth.  While fast motion didn’t seem to track correctly, some of the still shots were visually stunning.  The added depth was just enough to inspire a real “wow” reaction.  This was particularly true of outdoor scenes, where there was even more depth of field.  There was a scene in Sid’s room following the rain storm where you looked through the window to the outside.  The rain drops on the window contrasted against the trees in the distance was one of those “wow” moments for me.
• The Dad Factor.  It was a treat to sit in the theater with my son watching those two favorite movies.  The fact that he lasted through both is a testament to the quality of the films.
• The intermission.  Not only did we get a 10 minute break, but we were treated with some extra content and trivia while we waited.  Mostly, it was reused commercials from when Toy Story aired on TV combined with some new voice acting from the cast and a giant 10.9.8… counter on the screen.  Nothing special, but it made the intermission fun.

CONS

• The cost.  Wow.  I still can’t believe that.  Granted, it was a double feature and in 3D, but the cost alone will be a deterrent to seeing future films at that theater, much less those in 3D.  Another reason I’m glad I live in a small town where a full price ticket costs $8.
• Polarized glasses are dark.  It’s not a huge detraction, but the brightness of the movie does take a hit in 3D, particularly at the periphery.
• Motion doesn’t track right.  I found that my eyes were essentially dropping frames when things were moving quickly on screen.  The 3d images didn’t seem as smooth to me.  I can only speculate as to the cause, but I enjoyed still shots or slow panoramas over the action scenes.

All in all, it was a good time.  I’m glad to have done it.

August 19th, 2009 by jay

The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.

Mindmapping has apparently been around for years, but I was completely unaware of its existence until a few days ago.  I’ve been looking for the best way to build a knowledge base or dashboard for projects at work, and stumbled upon Freemind.  While watching the demo video, I was struck with the thought that this may be the

Coolest. App. Ever.

Now that the new and shiny aspects have worn off, I still think it’s an incredibly cool tool.  I’ve been playing around with it at work for projects.  I’ll also start trying to use it to track all of the stuff that spills out of my brain.

Last night, I started mapping some ideas that I’ve had floating around, only to discover that there wasn’t much there.  What happened to the fount of creativity that spawns half-baked ideas at breakneck speeds? Either my brain is actually empty, and I’ve been fooling myself for years, or it’s time to start some creativity replenishing.

July 1st, 2009 by jay

Long ago, my wife and I discovered that one of the keys to a happy marriage is to provide each other with lists of gift ideas or cold hard cash.  As callous as that sounds, I really enjoy my new Father’s Day gifts from my kids.  With a little judicious use of eBay, and I got three gifts for the price of one.  In addition to the Orange Box on Steam (which allows me to get my butt regularly kicked by the other Olde Fartz in Half Life 2 Deathmatch), I picked up these two items:

The Superman bobblehead, as shown here in its native habitat next to my Yoda bobblehead (I do NOT collect bobbleheads, by the way).  I was searching online for the Einstein Bobblehead from Night at the Museum, but they were sold out from the Smithsonian Store.  This was a good substitute.  I was most impressed by the quality of the sculpt and the material.  Both were much better than expected.

Adding to my ever-growing Justice League pantheon that lives atop my desk, I found this DC Universe series Captain Atom figure going cheap.  I think someone bought him looking for the build-a-figure part and then sold the remaining figure.  I like this line of DC figures very much, and I wish they weren’t so hard to find or expensive.

June 2nd, 2009 by jay

I have long ticked off friends and family by not following their lead and subscribing to a single political party.  I’ve made no secret about being registered as an Independent voter.  I think at its core, I find Libertarianism to make the most sense.  Indeed, in the last election I voted for a Republican, a Democrat, and a Libertarian.  I was kind of proud of that.

Lately, it seems as though I have needed to hide more and more friends’ posts from my Facebook news feed.  Maybe I’ve just lost patience with zealots in general, but discounting entire ideologies or people based on a label seems to demean us all and our capacity for critical thought.   I’m not really speaking of a particular current event in the news.  The examples are new every day.  Listening to political opinions has become embarrassingly predictable, both from individuals and pundits alike.  Whoever is on the “other side” will be portrayed as utterly incompetent or thoroughly evil, or often a combination of the two.

I wish we could give up the labels and start having dialogs about individual issues.  It saddens and frustrates me that the best we can offer the world is that “the other” team will somehow usher in the apocalypse, and the only way to fix it is to completely disavow anything they might bring to the table.  I did not think that Bush was entirely evil, nor do I think that Obama deserves that label.  Both men are what we all are - flawed human beings with personal agendas and ideologies.

I resent:

• Logging into Facebook and hearing how someone thinks we’ll be lucky if we all live to participate in the next presidential election.
• Being told that Fox News or MSNBC are nothing but partisan hatemongers.
• Turning on Fox News or MSNBC and hearing nothing but partisan hatemongering.
• Owning a majority stake in a nationalized car industry.
• Having my son believe that Alaska is where the villains live, because someone thought it would be funny to make Ted Stevens the villain de jour while playing Batman with him.

and so on.

We seem to be restricted to being either Red or Blue, therefore I hereby declare myself purple.  Of course, that now gives me the right to ridicule, abuse, and marginalize anyone who is not purple.  It’s the American way.

April 14th, 2009 by jay

I buy very few things sight-unseen.  Two notable exceptions are Harry Dresden novels by Jim Butcher and fantasy novels by Raymond E. Feist.  Both guilty pleasures, I anxiously await the latest installment in these sagas (well, saga may be too strong for these books, but the novels do create one long continuity in each case).  

Harry Dresden is the only professional wizard practicing openly (complete with an ad in the Yellow Pages) in the Chicago area.  Unfortunately for him, he’s one of those people that fate continues to kick in the privates.  If anything weird or evil is going to happen, it’ll happen to or near Harry Dresden.

Raymond Feist’s novels of Midkemia span several hundred years, and I’ve followed them all from year one.  Feist has a rare ability to create a sweeping fantasy saga that can immediately draw you in and make you feel invested in the lives of the characters, and later their children and their children’s children.  Short on undecipherable dialects and pretentious characters, I find them easy to enter and quick to ensnare my imagine.

In the past two weeks, the latest works from both gentlemen arrived in my mail box.  These two novels will be how I spend my leisure reading over the next week or two:

Like I said - guilty pleasures both.

-kingfish