For those of you with kids (or with adults), They Might Be Giants do tons of kids stuff. They have a couple DVDs on ABCs and 123s, a kid's album, and even a book that Alli hasn't read yet. Every Friday they release a Family video podcast, so check em out!
The second song in that last video is actually one of our drinking songs. Anyway, all their podcasts can be found here and probably on iTunes. Disney handles their kids stuff too, so its weird to buy TMBG things from Disney.
To switch to the exact opposite gear, George Carlin had his usual HBO special. Enlightening as usual. He gives some parenting advice, provides some insight into American thinking, WWJD, etc. Don't watch if you don't like bad words or criticism on religion or the US. Otherwise, enjoy.
Man, blogging is easy if I just post things other people make!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
I'm a particle man?
I seriously don't have anything to talk about! I'll show some pictures from a few of my projects though. Hey, maybe we should have some kind of community blog for all of us. If I was seeing Seattle more, I'd have more to blog about, but it's hard to blog about homework.
Graphics class:
Ok, this might not seem impressive, but usually when people do graphics programming, they use some graphics tools. In this program, I'm finding the color of each individual pixel on my own. So, lots of lighting, 3D geometry, and algorithms. This class has several projects, but I like the way this one looks.
Networking:
A semester long project to make a networked game. I finished the game pretty quick, it's very simple. The networking part of it has me pulling hair though. Maybe when I finish, we can play via internet!
Our semester game project:
Schizm Fighters! It's a multiplayer battle game where you cut the ground and try to get other people to fall off. I did all the graphics stuff (including the particles). Since it's just a semester game, we probably won't be able to finish it, but we're going to try to have something playable at least.
For next year, it looks like we may be making a Zelda-style adventure game (smaller though, 3 dungeons or so) with cool mouse-gestured-based action system. For yearlong projects, they usually assign some art students to it too, so I think it could be really fun and stylish. We plan to win all the awards.
Graphics class:
Ok, this might not seem impressive, but usually when people do graphics programming, they use some graphics tools. In this program, I'm finding the color of each individual pixel on my own. So, lots of lighting, 3D geometry, and algorithms. This class has several projects, but I like the way this one looks.
Networking:
A semester long project to make a networked game. I finished the game pretty quick, it's very simple. The networking part of it has me pulling hair though. Maybe when I finish, we can play via internet!
Our semester game project:
Schizm Fighters! It's a multiplayer battle game where you cut the ground and try to get other people to fall off. I did all the graphics stuff (including the particles). Since it's just a semester game, we probably won't be able to finish it, but we're going to try to have something playable at least.
For next year, it looks like we may be making a Zelda-style adventure game (smaller though, 3 dungeons or so) with cool mouse-gestured-based action system. For yearlong projects, they usually assign some art students to it too, so I think it could be really fun and stylish. We plan to win all the awards.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Happy Pi Day!
It's Pi Day! A very important day of the year for people who like Pi or pie. At the very least, each some pie today, to celebrate a popular number. It also happens to be Einstein's birthday. I myself don't believe this to be a coincidence.
So, as everyone knows, at MS&T (previously known as UMR), St. Pat's is a big deal. This year marks the school's hundredth anniversary celebrating the holiday, so it will be crazy. I predict a few casualties, no joke. Many recent alumni across the country have even migrated to Rolla this week to go crazy. While it was tempting, I am bound to my homeworks. This will actually my first year in a few years that I won't be partying for an entire week with others that understand the holiday. A few of us are at least going out on Saturday, hopefully finding a good drinking establishment, as I haven't found one yet. I will probably share stories of past St. Pat's adventures, possibly inspiring the saint into others. Like St. Pat, most people don't like snakes, so I imagine it will be easy to relate to him.
Also this week I will probably be getting a visit from Sam and Dustin. They are both considering moving to Seattle, so they want to check the place out. I'm planning to power down some work this weekend so I can dedicate some time to them. We will probably visit Downtown Seattle and Pike Place Market, and Sam probably wants to visit the Digipen art campus. If weather permits, we may go hiking. These will be the sort of things I will take all visitors to do, eventually refined into "Kelly's Seattle Visitor Guide For People Who Are Only Here A Few Days". It will be a grand guide of 3 or 4 things, and even some bonus stuff like "Feed Kelly" and "Do Kelly's Homework", and of course "CHORES". It's great to have visitors!
My are Riley fought online, and it was a worthy duel. Dumb as he is, he has a good handle of Sonic, Pit, and ROB. They were good fights, even though he is stinky, fat, ugly, and idiot.
You heard me.
Update: No visitors! Sam got screwed by a teacher or something, so the trip is postponed.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
You're either on the bus, or off the bus
So the new Smash Bros is out, and I think I've been talking about it since August or so. It's fun! For those who don't follow games, it's a game featuring lots of Nintendo characters like Mario and Link and Donkey Kong all competing against each other. And it is only a matter of time before I'll be playing on the internet with friends and family in Missouri. So, it is a good thing I'm ahead on my work. Oh yeah, anyone who gets the game, let me know so we can exchange friend codes.
I finally saw the movie Across the Universe, which is a musical with all Beatles songs. They work in the songs so that they fit what's going on too. There were parts of the movie that were pretty weird, but I liked it. I think it might have been allegorical, but I'm not sure. Like, there was a character that seemed like she was supposed to be like Janis Joplin, and another one like Jimi Hendrix. They weren't them of course, they were just similar. And the main characters might have respresented Paul and Linda, and after that I don't know. There was some cameos too, like Bono singing "I am the Walrus", and Eddie Izzard doing "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", and Joe Cocker himself sang "Come Together". Anyway, I imagine it's only for people who like the Beatles, and even then, not for the kind of fan that thinks the Beatles should be left alone. I myself like to see reinterpretations of recognized stuff.
It looks as if my entire month of August will be open, so I will probably be home that whole time. No promises, but that's the plan at the moment. Back to games!
I finally saw the movie Across the Universe, which is a musical with all Beatles songs. They work in the songs so that they fit what's going on too. There were parts of the movie that were pretty weird, but I liked it. I think it might have been allegorical, but I'm not sure. Like, there was a character that seemed like she was supposed to be like Janis Joplin, and another one like Jimi Hendrix. They weren't them of course, they were just similar. And the main characters might have respresented Paul and Linda, and after that I don't know. There was some cameos too, like Bono singing "I am the Walrus", and Eddie Izzard doing "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", and Joe Cocker himself sang "Come Together". Anyway, I imagine it's only for people who like the Beatles, and even then, not for the kind of fan that thinks the Beatles should be left alone. I myself like to see reinterpretations of recognized stuff.
It looks as if my entire month of August will be open, so I will probably be home that whole time. No promises, but that's the plan at the moment. Back to games!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Diseaseweek
Well, I guess one of the things about conferences (especially in February) is that everyone gets sick. I've been battling a cold pretty well, then on Monday I went home with a fever (102.7) that had me in bed all day. By the end of the day though, I was dandy. My cold starting caving too, so I was back on the bike by Thursday.
So, my original plan was to power through my projects this week so I'd have a clean slate when I get Smash Brothers on Wednesday. But school decided that this dream was not to be, as my current projectload is enough to keep me busy for a while, along with a midterm on Monday. Still, I will do what I can. I think I can knock a couple out this weekend, but there's a big one I can only work on at school that might take me a couple more weeks. I'm looking forward to next year when I'll have fewer classes and fewer projects. Projects are stressful, it turns out, especially several at once.
Oh hey, I found a video of me fighting in the Brawl tournament! It's not a very good video, but I'm playing Zelda, the girl in the black dress. The camera guy is rooting for someone else, so it's hard to hear a lot of people rooting for me.
If anyone has extra hours to donate, I will take them. Although GDC was great, that extra week would have been really nice. Oh well, back to work!
So, my original plan was to power through my projects this week so I'd have a clean slate when I get Smash Brothers on Wednesday. But school decided that this dream was not to be, as my current projectload is enough to keep me busy for a while, along with a midterm on Monday. Still, I will do what I can. I think I can knock a couple out this weekend, but there's a big one I can only work on at school that might take me a couple more weeks. I'm looking forward to next year when I'll have fewer classes and fewer projects. Projects are stressful, it turns out, especially several at once.
Oh hey, I found a video of me fighting in the Brawl tournament! It's not a very good video, but I'm playing Zelda, the girl in the black dress. The camera guy is rooting for someone else, so it's hard to hear a lot of people rooting for me.
If anyone has extra hours to donate, I will take them. Although GDC was great, that extra week would have been really nice. Oh well, back to work!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Show me your moves!
~Warning~ Most of this is a geek post!
GDC was as fun as snail pie (which is fun)! First, I'll mention what mom saw on the news. There's a new little headset thing that lets you play games with thoughts AND your facial expressions. The one I played was by Emotiv, but I was told there was another one. Anyway, I played a demo where you do things like lift rocks by imagining the rock lifting, repairing a bridge the same way, and eventually conquering a challenging of lifting a mountain. Some people found it challenging, but I RULED. It was very empowering, lifting a mountain with my mind. The demo seemed a little rough around the edges, but it is currently scheduled for Christmas, so I'm sure there will be a lot of hype then.
There was several technology things on display, like motion sensors and new kinds of input. Sony had a thing that could scan parts of a tank you drew on paper and put the tank in a playable game. My favorite games were the independent ones, because they are allowed to do more innovative stuff. Some were featured in the Indepdent Games Festival, including a Digipen one that won best student game. There was also some good ones part of the XNA Community, only featured on XBox Live. They are made with XNA though, which means any ol goober can have a game on XBox Live.
By the way, I was a volunteer at the conference so that I got a free $2000 all access ticket (still had to pay for travel and lodging) for 15 hours of work. The downsides are waking up at 7am everday, not having as much time to look at all the cool stuff and setting up job contacts, and putting up with a bunch of childish weirdos. It was RA-style silliness, where you don't mind the work and even do a little extra, but they treat everyone like kids. Not my thing. But still, completely worth it, and I will probably do it again next year. Just a note, there were a lot of lectures on how to make good music scores and audio stuff too, so if anyone wanted to do this, it'd be worth it for them too (BWILEY).
I was in a Smash Brothers Brawl tournament! I was in the top six out of 160 enthusiastic Brawl fans. It was just a fun tournament, so items and goofy levels were on, but still, it was great to experience the game so early. By the way, the game is a ton of fun to watch! Everyone was going crazy! In the first tournament bracket, I played as Ness, because I assumed he'd be a crowd favorite, and I was right. I got a huge rush out of beating people with hundreds of people cheering "KELROY!" Seriously, I'm not sure if I'll be able to play anymore without an audience. In the final bracket, I chose Zelda, because I win more with her. I was one fight away from the final game, and at first I was winning hard, but then a person I beat in the previous round starting heckling me. People told him to shutup, but he did not. It messed me up because I got a little madder than I should have. I still enjoyed myself a lot, but it is too bad that people like that exist. Anyway, a friend of mine won, so it was still celebratory.
Those were the highlights! I will probably have more to say next time, and maybe pictures and videos.
GDC was as fun as snail pie (which is fun)! First, I'll mention what mom saw on the news. There's a new little headset thing that lets you play games with thoughts AND your facial expressions. The one I played was by Emotiv, but I was told there was another one. Anyway, I played a demo where you do things like lift rocks by imagining the rock lifting, repairing a bridge the same way, and eventually conquering a challenging of lifting a mountain. Some people found it challenging, but I RULED. It was very empowering, lifting a mountain with my mind. The demo seemed a little rough around the edges, but it is currently scheduled for Christmas, so I'm sure there will be a lot of hype then.
There was several technology things on display, like motion sensors and new kinds of input. Sony had a thing that could scan parts of a tank you drew on paper and put the tank in a playable game. My favorite games were the independent ones, because they are allowed to do more innovative stuff. Some were featured in the Indepdent Games Festival, including a Digipen one that won best student game. There was also some good ones part of the XNA Community, only featured on XBox Live. They are made with XNA though, which means any ol goober can have a game on XBox Live.
By the way, I was a volunteer at the conference so that I got a free $2000 all access ticket (still had to pay for travel and lodging) for 15 hours of work. The downsides are waking up at 7am everday, not having as much time to look at all the cool stuff and setting up job contacts, and putting up with a bunch of childish weirdos. It was RA-style silliness, where you don't mind the work and even do a little extra, but they treat everyone like kids. Not my thing. But still, completely worth it, and I will probably do it again next year. Just a note, there were a lot of lectures on how to make good music scores and audio stuff too, so if anyone wanted to do this, it'd be worth it for them too (BWILEY).
I was in a Smash Brothers Brawl tournament! I was in the top six out of 160 enthusiastic Brawl fans. It was just a fun tournament, so items and goofy levels were on, but still, it was great to experience the game so early. By the way, the game is a ton of fun to watch! Everyone was going crazy! In the first tournament bracket, I played as Ness, because I assumed he'd be a crowd favorite, and I was right. I got a huge rush out of beating people with hundreds of people cheering "KELROY!" Seriously, I'm not sure if I'll be able to play anymore without an audience. In the final bracket, I chose Zelda, because I win more with her. I was one fight away from the final game, and at first I was winning hard, but then a person I beat in the previous round starting heckling me. People told him to shutup, but he did not. It messed me up because I got a little madder than I should have. I still enjoyed myself a lot, but it is too bad that people like that exist. Anyway, a friend of mine won, so it was still celebratory.
Those were the highlights! I will probably have more to say next time, and maybe pictures and videos.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Cali Steals Your Soul
Or so I'm told!
So, I've been hearing horrible things about Missouri weather being wacky. Seattle weather is actually pretty boring compared to what I'm used to. Temperature doesn't go up and down, just stays about the same. Rarely gets below freezing. And next week I'll be in San Fransisco, which also stays about the same weather all the time.
Hey, the writer's strike is over! YAY. Now maybe they'll start making more new cartoons. Also, that bonus Heroes thing, whatever that is. TV has definately been in a dry spell lately. To be honest, I have not been tuning in to American Gladiator or other "reality television". Ever. Not ever.
So, politics have been hot lately. Things are pretty tight between Bill Clinton and Bob Bop Perama. And on the other side, it seems that Darth Applebee has been pushed into lava by John Wayne. So, between Bill Clinton, Bob Bop Perama, and John Wayne, I don't think we can lose. I am personally going for Bob Bop Perama, because he is mega-honest and recognizes the silly Red vs Blue problem. It'd be cool to have a lady president, but Bill Clinton seems to be another politician that says what we will get her the most votes, so we're not actually sure what we're going to get. I'm sure she'd be great, but I likes me some honesty. And John Wayne is just a swell guy, though it seems like he has extra war plans.
We'll see! brb, California
So, I've been hearing horrible things about Missouri weather being wacky. Seattle weather is actually pretty boring compared to what I'm used to. Temperature doesn't go up and down, just stays about the same. Rarely gets below freezing. And next week I'll be in San Fransisco, which also stays about the same weather all the time.
Hey, the writer's strike is over! YAY. Now maybe they'll start making more new cartoons. Also, that bonus Heroes thing, whatever that is. TV has definately been in a dry spell lately. To be honest, I have not been tuning in to American Gladiator or other "reality television". Ever. Not ever.
So, politics have been hot lately. Things are pretty tight between Bill Clinton and Bob Bop Perama. And on the other side, it seems that Darth Applebee has been pushed into lava by John Wayne. So, between Bill Clinton, Bob Bop Perama, and John Wayne, I don't think we can lose. I am personally going for Bob Bop Perama, because he is mega-honest and recognizes the silly Red vs Blue problem. It'd be cool to have a lady president, but Bill Clinton seems to be another politician that says what we will get her the most votes, so we're not actually sure what we're going to get. I'm sure she'd be great, but I likes me some honesty. And John Wayne is just a swell guy, though it seems like he has extra war plans.
We'll see! brb, California
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
