4.29.2005

Completion: WILSON FAN PROJECT 2005

I am here to announce that WILSON FAN PROJECT 2005 was a raving success. Everything went smoothly from start to finish. Mostly. Here's the run-down.

I did not take a good picture of the flourscent light that graced our ceiling this morning, but here is a shot of the fixture after said light was removed. Nice, old wiring. Mmmm.






After dropping countless screws, myself, and copious amounts of plaster dust (into my eyes), I needed to aquire some missing parts. Just a fun trip to White Jones (local hardware store), where you feel as if you've moved back a decade or two. That's a good thing, remember, because we're avoiding the computer today. The guy there was very helpful, and even gave me some wiring advice. Which I probably should have taken. But didn't.

The Stats:
Number of times I dropped a part: 15
Number of times the falling part hit me in the eye: 3
Number of times I had to uninstall something because I did it wrong: 2
Number of times I read the directions: 1 (no, seriously)
Number of times I realized I was reading the Spanish directions: 2
Number of trips to the hardware store: 1
Number of times I checked the power breaker to avoid a shock: 7
Number of times I was shocked: 1
Number of lunch breaks: 1.5 (OK, so I had a snack)
Number of hours until final completion: 4.5 (includes lunch)

The final result:



And here it is all "artsy."



All in all, fans were hung. Fun was had. I need a nap.


AVed at 4/29/2005 04:09:00 PM | LINK |

Ahh... it's Friday

I know I suggested (or at least thought about) a computer break, but I wanted to throw a little information on the WWW before I began WILSON FAN PROJECT 2005. (it's more fun if you make it an event). Last night, Meg, Gardner, Ben & Skye, and I braved the 15 droplets of rain to attend the Anderson County 10th Annual Summer Soiree. It was quiet on a Thursday, but we had coffee so it was ultimately a rewarding event. Oh, and there's a guy who carves things with a chainsaw. I think Gardner needs a chainsaw.

Currently, I'm enjoying SetPixel and their "live video processing" techniques. Maybe there's something there I can use for New Spring's new building.

And to make me feel like the ultimate secret agent, I bought Scorpio Rising by Thunderball. Their site is a bit lacking, but I like their cover art and their "James Bond" motif. You can get it at Amazon, but I found this little jewel for half price at the Raindow Records used section.

And did I mention it's Friday. Expect proud pictures of the WILSON FAN PROJECT 2005 by late tomorrow.


AVed at 4/29/2005 11:40:00 AM | LINK |

4.28.2005

AV Club has left the building

It's been a hectic week. Fun. Challenging. And a bit hectic. We had a blow out of a LOST party last night, featuring kabobs of enormous stature, Sullivan's Black Bottom Peanut Butter Pie, and an hour-long refresher episode of LOST, leading us right into sweeps week which starts next week... 4 new episodes, season finale, you know the drill.

Shua's launched out on his own, so in the interim before we locate a new designer, I'm trying my hand at print work. I have always wanted to try it, so it's been rewarding. Finally, my pixels won't just stay pixels.

On the other hand, I've been staring at a computer screen for the most of my waking hours this week... I think I need a computer break. I'm going to go outside, now, and look at the sunshine (not directly, mind you, because that'll make you blind). And tomorrow, I'm playing Mr. Handyman... I'm installing a ceiling fan. Have a good weekend.


AVed at 4/28/2005 04:36:00 PM | LINK |

4.27.2005

Housekeeping

I'd just like to say that Home Group is one of the biggest blessings in my life, right now. Comraderie, fellowship, Bible study, you name it. It's all there. And food. That's there, too. If you're in the New Spring area, and you're not involved with a Home Group, get thee to Grouplink. You'll not regret it.

Also, if you're one of those weird widescreen computer people (McD, Karl), here's a new version of Desktop 04 (JPG, 1280px*800px). Enjoy.


AVed at 4/27/2005 06:00:00 PM | LINK |

4.25.2005

Media for you

I have several things for you AV Club readers, today. First, this submission from Ben, COLOR IN MOTION. It uses video to show what impression individual colors mean. Useful and well presented.

Second, if you didn't see my cameo (call me M.Night) at New Spring this weekend, you can watch a rerun of the infamous (or soon-to-be) clone/gossip video here (Quicktime, 3.7 Mb). Then pull up the Kid's Day Promo 01 (01 of 03) here (Quicktime 0.7 Mb).

Nothing shocking, motion graphics-wise, but enjoyable never-the-less.

Oh, and AV Club Desktop 04.


AVed at 4/25/2005 03:15:00 PM | LINK |

4.23.2005

The Many ... of Megret

My wife is the most avid blogger I think I know. She fully utilizes the technology, taking advantage of blogger for 4 different themed, but related, sites. She uses Picasa and Hello to post her photos. She maintains her pages with fresh content daily... sometimes posting a well thought out response to all of her sites.

And because she puts so much into her sites, I felt compelled to unleash my CSS Skillz onto her default templates and create Meg's Blogosphere. Four sites, all interconnected, freshly coded this weekend. Take a look, let me know what you think, post any browser "glitches" to the comments on this post, or e-mail me.

The sites: Random Muses of Megret, Photos of Megret, Baby Wilson, Morsels of Megret (NEW!).


Production on AV Club v.2.0 has been put on hold until Meg's site is complete. I've hit a few CSS roadblocks, but after a triumph on today's projects (links above), I'm ready to tear back into it. Or skip AV Club v.2.0 and move directly to AV Club v.2.1. We'll see.


AVed at 4/23/2005 10:55:00 PM | LINK |

try this

Spend some quality time with whitekiwi. Play it online.


AVed at 4/23/2005 01:58:00 PM | LINK |

RSS Bonanza

Gmail is integrating RSS slices (that you can customize, of course) directly into the Gmail window. Finally, news and information without added clutter. Now I have more RSS options than I can handle.


View HERE


AVed at 4/23/2005 09:53:00 AM | LINK |

4.22.2005

Job Opening

New Spring Community Church is seeking a full time Creative Director. If you are interested in applying, download the job description here (Adobe PDF, 52k).


AVed at 4/22/2005 11:35:00 AM | LINK |

Meg and I take our garden seriously.



AVed at 4/22/2005 11:02:00 AM | LINK |

a tilling we will go

Dad working in the garden (I was taking the picture, but honest, I was working hard that day). Anyone want watermelon? Seriously, I could feed New Spring with the numbers we planted.


AVed at 4/22/2005 11:02:00 AM | LINK |

S.T.E.E.L.

The first wall, and beginnings of S.T.E.E.L. are being put in place at New Spring.


AVed at 4/22/2005 10:59:00 AM | LINK |

4.21.2005

Celebrating NHFD 2K5

Well, National High Five Day 2005 is upon us today. To celebrate, high-five someone you don't know, then explain the special place this day holds in each of our hearts. Then watch the official VIDEO.

This is for you, Lee.


AVed at 4/21/2005 11:44:00 AM | LINK |

4.20.2005

Feed the Inner Geek

Here's a complete history of Computer and Motion Graphics. It's actually fairly interesting, and I'm going to put it in my PDA for later study. OK, now that was bad.


AVed at 4/20/2005 10:12:00 PM | LINK |

I know I just told you this...

It's the Impactist reel. A sight to behold. I especially love their treatment of shot footage. Very stylistic and warm.


AVed at 4/20/2005 09:31:00 AM | LINK |

4.19.2005

IMPACTIST-a-plenty

Whilst browsing Robot Factory, I came across the IMPACTIST site, as well. Note to self, get as good as these guys with the motion graphics thing.


AVed at 4/19/2005 11:24:00 PM | LINK |

I Like This.

this right here. Pretty.


AVed at 4/19/2005 11:02:00 PM | LINK |

4.18.2005

no click

I am strangely attracted to the navigation of this YAMAHA Global Gateway site.


AVed at 4/18/2005 05:02:00 PM | LINK |

Let's hope they keep the Macromedia web design

Macromedia announces today that it will be acquired by Adobe in this press release. That makes for a very formidable combo.


AVed at 4/18/2005 04:42:00 PM | LINK |

4.15.2005

RSS Extravanganza

RSS Popper, Thunderbird, NewsReader, BlogLines, Feedburner, AvantGo, AND now Gmail adds feed reading.

I can't digest that much RSS data.

Thanks to Jared for this.


AVed at 4/15/2005 07:39:00 PM | LINK |

This makes me happy. UHaul in my neighbor's yard.


AVed at 4/15/2005 09:56:00 AM | LINK |

4.14.2005

Not yet...

I'm still here, learning CSS and all things geek. AV Club v.2.0 is getting closer to release. Hey, once I get the hang of things, I'll probably change my blog as frequently as Shua.


AVed at 4/14/2005 05:27:00 PM | LINK |

4.12.2005

there is something brewing in the quiet

I've been fairly quiet the past few days... minimal posts and all. Just so you don't think I've forgotten the AVClub, I'll keep you informed. I finally watched (and wasted 136 minutes on) Van Helsing yesterday. Weak CG, shallow plot, but I still like vampire movies so I'll let it slide. Still doesn't compare to Underworld, another recent vampire flick. The current soundtrack of my life is Beck's newest, Guero. It's great, a nice cohesive blend of Mutations and Odelay.

Oh, and I'm learning CSS and working on AVClub v.2.0.1. Prettier graphics, better content. It will make you popular. It will make you smarter. And your biceps will get bigger, too. Or just the prettier graphics thing, I haven't decided.

Whenever I get the piddly details completed, I'll let you know.


AVed at 4/12/2005 12:05:00 PM | LINK |

4.09.2005

the minibosses aren't the only ones

For you gaming geeks out there who enjoy a good tune, OverClocked ReMix offers quite a large catalog of mp3 video game soundtrack remixes. Go forth and nerdify.


AVed at 4/09/2005 11:55:00 AM | LINK |

4.08.2005

We. Are. Family.

I must say, I'm proud of my family. They are so "techie." It's inspiring to see them fully embrace the digital realm. Lest you wonder what I'm talking about, here's the current Blog Offerings from the Wilson/Gravely group.

Preston's Pictures (my father-in-law's artwork site)
Miriam's Photos (my mother-in-law's photography site)
Muses of Megret (my wife's "general thoughts" site)
Photos of Megret (my wife's photo site)
Gardner's site (my son's site... he's six months old so we update it for him for the time being)
AV Club (you are here)

It makes me proud.


AVed at 4/08/2005 07:33:00 PM | LINK |

Net Diction

One of my personal pet peeves is "'net speak," or pseudo-saavy computer talk. I don't like abbreviations, especially those that aren't immediately understandable. But no longer will I be held confounded by exclaimations of techie language. Now, there's the UrbanDictionary.com. You can look up the true meanings of words like w00t, LOL, and SIC. But, we all know, people who use these expressions are just n00bs.


AVed at 4/08/2005 12:26:00 AM | LINK |

4.07.2005

RIP Jim.

RIP Jim. Beloved Fish (Swordtail).
November 2004 - April 2005.
Jim was a loving fish, full of life.
He decided to end it all around noon today by swiming directly into the filter. Some things, we'll never understand.




AVed at 4/07/2005 02:03:00 PM | LINK |

4.06.2005

Oh. My. Gosh.

As I was immersing myself in RES magazine's DVD tonight, I came across leftchannel. I've never heard of these guys before, but you need to check out their work. Visit the site, click on "Work," and watch the RJD2 video for "1976." It will probably blow your mind, or leave you thinking "I could do that... maybe... if I had enough time."


AVed at 4/06/2005 11:02:00 PM | LINK |

new work by Shilo

Shilo owns me. Their motion work is beautiful... look at their "most recent work" section for something pretty and inspiring. Oh, and the new RES TOP 10 is out. Get their Mar/April issue for details.


AVed at 4/06/2005 04:16:00 PM | LINK |

4.05.2005

i see you

Google Maps has now integrated a satellite view into their mapping system. Now you can see my grass.


AVed at 4/05/2005 09:51:00 AM | LINK |

4.03.2005

iThought iTunes was easy

If you were under the impression that iTunes was not geek friendly, read this article and learn how deep the smartlist rabbit hole goes.


AVed at 4/03/2005 11:41:00 PM | LINK |

and just got its first tooth

Google Blog reveals that gmail turns one on Friday, and releases a lot of new features. If you still want an account, just leave a comment here with your address.


AVed at 4/03/2005 11:21:00 PM | LINK |

4.02.2005

iPod Agent

UPDATE from PREVIOUS POST:

I've concluded that iPod Agent is the freakin' man. It has a setting that allows you to sync your data (ratings and playcount) from the iPod back to the iTunes library. There's my answer. No data loss. No manual sync of your iPod library. Just like that. Now I can sleep peacefully.


AVed at 4/02/2005 12:18:00 AM | LINK |

it was just supposed to play music

It didn't take long for my "what if" scenerios to infest my newest favorite, the iPod mini that my wife gave me for my birthday. I just spent the greater part of this evening looking into ways to mod this beautiful little device and improve on Apple's already perfect interface. You know how geeks work. It started like this. You can rate songs on a 1 to 5 scale both in iTunes and on the iPod. Great. However, if you bypass the autosync routines in iTunes (I WOULD have to do the "manual" thing), then the ratings made on the iPod do not transfer. Well, that... just... won't... do. Now how to tweak the system to bring in the ever so precious ratings. Someone found a way to bypass the manual bug on ipodlounge. However, to do that, I would end up deleting the contents of my iPod and would have to reformat. No, I don't like the sound of that. So, enter my search for a way to move my iPod's contents back to the hard drive. I found it here. This little utility installs on the iPod itself, allowing you to plug it in to any computer and move songs off the iPod onto the computer. Then I found this. iPod Agent not only allows you to move tunes off the iPod, it will sync your Outlook mail, calendar, notes, RSS text feeds, Podcasts, you name it, to your iPod. It just keeps getting deeper. What's next?

Geez, that was a lot of techno babble.

This operation is still in process.

I'll let you know if it works.


AVed at 4/02/2005 12:05:00 AM | LINK |