Monday, May 28, 2007

Learning in Isolation?

I recently came to discover that of all the technology that is coming out [ED: I believe 2007 is the year of 3D!] none of it is independent of previous technology. That is to say many Comp. Sci. people want to learn the latest technology [e.g. Apollo, Flash, Silverlight, etc.] but these technologies simply build upon previous technology. We live in a world where tools build upon other tools. And this has it's advantages and disadvantages. The advantage: If you've used and/or know the foundation of the new technology then you have a step-up learning the new stuff. Disadvantage: To dive into something new becomes more and more a huge undertaking. But how exciting it is more then ever to discover the 'new'.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

DVD: Apocalypto

Watched the DVD, "Apocalypto" by Mel Gibson. Though the movie itself is minimal in story [and there's certainly a lot of running] the more interesting point was the camera movements. Very interesting.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

DVD: Pan's Labyrinth

Watched the DVD, "Pan's Labyrinth" w/Boris and Zoran. It's been a little while since I 've seen these guys but the more important thing with the movie. Tough the production value was there for the first time in my life I would say I could do a better job in editting the film. Every scene there seemed to be something missing. Maybe it was cut too early or too late. Really disappointing. The film wasn't terrible but certainly disappointing given it's potential.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Biking: First for the season

Today we had some great weather and after a long winter the bike came out for the first time this year. It was good. Mr. W phoned and we took some paths that we've done before. Things are different from last year since most of the vegetation hasn't started. It makes riding easier but the ground is still hard so not everything is perfect. Great exercise.

Saturday, May 5, 2007

Movie, "Spiderman 3"

Saw the movie, "Spiderman 3". For the 3rd movie in this series it's incredible that there is no story :-( On the positive side it's been a while since I went to the cinema, only recently seeing 300.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Book: The Software Conspiracy

Looks like an interesting book, "The Software Conspiracy" and it's FREE!

Book: Dreaming In Code

Just finished the book, "Dreaming In Code" - by: Scott Rosenberg. If you are well read in 'pop' culture computer history then a lot of the side stories will be familiar. For those that are not it's a brief look at software development specifically focusing on the Chandler open source project. The book also has a website.