A Dark Vision

2005.06.28 - Tuesday

"Museum of Media History" Flash Project

This is a really interesting theory about the direction of the internet, and at least to me, a picture of a horrible nightmare that is all too possible. The idea that the world's media is nothing but a collection of millions of blogs, where it is impossible to tell if information is true or false, is a disastrous prospect. Blogs have their place, but they are not to be used as sources of information.

Hopefully we do something to stop this from happening.

Braga Out of Touch

2005.06.24 - Friday

Braga Says "Lost" Opened Door For Genre Serials

Ummmm, no! Yet another fine example of how completely out of touch the Star Trek producers were. Ooooh! "Were". I love that it's in the past tense! Anyway, yes, out of touch. I hate to burst Brannon's bubble, but there have been plenty of successful genre serials in the past. Just because he and his senile old boss Rick Berman were never able to write a decent story arc doesn't mean that it wasn't popular or couldn't be done. It's done all the time. Maybe he's making some kind of argument about genre serials on prime time network television, but even then, at most he would be correct on the stingiest of technicalities.

Serials have been popular, well, forever. If you only look at television recently, many of the most critically acclaimed shows are serials. The West Wing, The O.C., Sopranos, 24, etc. On the sci-fi front, Battlestar Galatica is getting all of the praise for its near reinvention of the genre, and guess what, it's a serial. Babylon 5 is a serial, and even Stargate has some continuing plot elements. Even shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race are serials, along with the ever popular soap operas.

Really, Braga is just flailing, desperate to explain is complete and utter incompetence through some kind of thinly veiled logical argument. The best thing that could ever happen to sci-fi television would be for him and dirty old man Berman to get booted out of the genre for all eternity.

Birthday

2005.06.23 - Thursday

Happy Birthday to Chris Wren!

Solar Sail

2005.06.22 - Wednesday

Success of Solar Sail launch unknown.

I'm all for private space flight, but there are certain realities that have to be overcome before they can start making any real progress. For one, everyone needs to stop relying on these super cheap converted Russian missiles to get stuff into orbit. I don't really know anything about it, but it seems to me that launching a spacecraft using a converted submarine ICBM doesn't seem like the best idea. Considering that the Planetary Society lost their first solar sail craft in 2001 due to a Russian rocket failure, you'd think they might try a different approach the second time. People might complain about the high cost of American rocketry, but it definitely seems to be a case of getting what you pay for.

The solar sail itself is a neat idea. Personally, I can't see them ever being useful for transportation unless the sail could take advantage of a laser system to accelerate it faster. Trying to get anywhere using only sunlight isn't going to be useful for much more than a test of the theory. I could imagine a network of laser based sail craft zipping around the solar system one day, however, carrying cargo between our various outposts on the Moon, Mars, the asteroid belt, and perhaps Titan or Europa. Looking at today, a solar sail might be an effective way of helping large satellites or other objects maintain their planetary orbits without the need for small correcting thrusters. I can't imagine needing to keep a satellite in orbit above our own planet for thousands of years, but it could be useful for distant exploratory missions.

None of it is going to happen, however, while we're depending on ancient Russian technology.

Blogger

2005.06.21 - Tuesday

You'll notice that Star Slattern is no longer in my links section. The blog is down again on the blogspot page, for no apparent reason. I don't know what's going on with those Blogger people, but it's simply unacceptable to experience downtime like that. This makes it twice in as many months, I think, which would nearly shatter the reputation of even the most dependable website hosting companies. The really annoying thing is that every time this seems to happen on Blogger, people lose all of their previous posts. Half of the point of a blog is to maintain an archive which the blogger can look back at. If all of that disappears, then you may as well not do it at all.

Something tells me Star Slattern will be back in a non-Blogger form in a few weeks. Someone with that big of a mouth can't keep it closed forever.

Movie Attendance

2005.06.20 - Monday

I was reading somewhere yesterday that Hollywood is in the middle of its worst slump in twenty years, and that film audiences are even smaller this year than they were in 2004. Looking at box office revenue, and accounting for the increase in ticket prices, Hollywood is bringing in 9% less money than at this point last year. Movie executives seem to be putting a strong face on for the media, but something tells me they're shaking in their boots at what the statistics might signal.

Movies aren't the only form of entertainment anymore, and movies even end up competing with each other in the form of DVDs which can be enjoyed at home. If you think about it, every film that is released in the theatre today has to compete with perhaps fifty years of Hollywood's back catalogue, which contains a good number of great films which are still much better than anything being released today. Like the gaming industry, the only films that are being released with big budget's today are sequels, remakes, and films based on popular books or other stories. The executives don't want to take a chance on original ideas, in case they don't pan out and $100 million has been wasted. Combine the DVD competition with the increasing interest in gaming and other entertainment, and movies in the theatre are beginning to take a back seat.

It's not just film quality that's the problem, however. It's the price, and the location. My friend Chris pointed out that you can't just walk into a street level theatre anymore and catch a flick. By constructing movie theatres in these huge, almost theme park-like centres, movie studios have tried to make going to see a film an event. In Vancouver at least, unless you live right downtown, you're going to have to drive or take transit quite a way to get to Silvercity in Richmond or to Metropolis at Metrotown. Instead of a movie taking two or three hours out of your life, they're beginning to swallow four or five. As for the price, they just keep raising ticket prices to combat the lower attendance. It's obviously not working, but they don't know what else to do. If you think about the traditional first or second date, a young male is going to have to spend perhaps $60 to take his date for dinner and a movie. If you're in university and working a minimum wage job, or even worse, in high school, a $60 per week expense is huge. Besides, if you're going to spend over $20 for two movie tickets, why not just go to Future Shop and buy a DVD? There's no hassle of trying to get out to the theatre, dealing with the crowds, and it can be a lot more comfortable and enjoyable to watch a film at home.

I don't have any solutions for them, but it would help to lower the price of movie tickets. The biggest improvement they could make, however, would be to simply stop making crappy films. We are talking about Hollywood however, and I have a feeling that may be too much to ask.

Batman Begins

2005.06.19 - Sunday

I can't remember the last time I went to see a movie twice in the theatre, but I've now seen "Batman Begins" two times this weekend. I don't even know where to start, the film is just fantastic. This Batman film is right up there with the Spiderman and X-Men movies as well as the original Superman as one of the best comic book films ever made. I really don't see why the list should be so short. If you read any of the comics upon which even the worst films of the genre are based, the entire story is there. The characters are there. Of course it's guaranteed that some movie executive will look at the comic and not "get it", demanding changes, or that some director will insist on making it his story. Considering all of the ego involved, I suppose it really shouldn't be a surprise that there are only three or four good comic book films. Luckily, this isn't the case with Batman anymore.

I only have a few minor complaints about the movie. First of all, it's impossible to have a microwave weapon which vaporizes nearby water but doesn't make people explode. We are mostly made of water, after all. The weapon is a simple plot device, however, so thankfully it doesn't really matter how it works or if it's plausible. Next, the Batsuit can still be improved, even though in this movie it looks better than ever. I'm still in favour of more flexible spandex areas, especially around the neck, to allow for more believable movement. Maybe next time. Finally, as great a director as Christopher Nolan is, he can't shoot action at all. I'm getting really tired of this Hollywood trend to shoot fight scenes with a handheld camera that looks to be about two or three feet away from the action. Combine that with ludicrous cutting speed, and you simply can't tell what's going on in any of the fight scenes. There really is no point in showing us a shot of Batman's arm moving from above his head to his waist in half a second. Maybe they filmed it like that because Christian Bale couldn't move very well in the suit, which would be all the more reason to make it more mobile, but I would really have liked to see Batman as an expert martial artist, especially in the final battle near the end of the film. As it is, we get dozens of quick shots of various arms and legs moving through the frame. If you see the film in a theatre, I suggest sitting a little further back from the screen than you would normally.

All of that being said, this is a great movie. Honestly, I wouldn't even call the Tim Burton or Schumacher movies Batman films at all compared to "Batman Begins". We finally get to see Bruce Wayne's training, and why he ultimately decides to become Batman in the first place. It's still a logical stretch, but this time there actually is some logic to why he would don a Batsuit to fight crime. From the first moment you see Bale on screen in the suit, you can't help but see Batman. This isn't Michael Keaton in a Batsuit, or Val Kilmer in a Batsuit, or Christian Bale in a Batsuit. It is Batman, pure and simple. For that, everyone involved deserves unrelenting praise. I'm just glad they're getting it.

I can't keep talking about what I loved in this film without giving too much away. It's just fantastic. If Warner Brothers and Bryan Singer can deliver an equally impressive Superman next summer, we're in for a real treat. For now, go and enjoy "Batman Begins". You will love it.

Hoax!

2005.06.18 - Saturday

Well it turns out that page I posted yesterday is a hoax. Check it out.

This link however is not a hoax, and in fact is even more disturbing than the conspiracy theory itself.

Big Brother Indeed

2005.06.17 - Friday

Check this out!

No no no! The Patriot Act will only be used to fight terrorism. It would never be used to spy on people, or in any other criminal investigation. The President said so, and the President always does the right thing. He said that, too. What was that? What did you say? You must be one of those America haters! You're with the terrorists! America is the greatest country that has ever existed. Only people in America are truly free. Why can't you see that? It's so obvious! The President said so!

No More Black!

2005.06.17 - Friday

I like Penny Arcade as much as the next guy, but for the love of God, they have got to stop releasing black T-Shirt designs! Seriously, take a stroll through their Think Geek hosted store. Almost all of it is black, and the shirts that aren't black are the lame designs.

I don't know if the guys at PA think they're tapping into some accepted realm of gaming culture, but really, you've got to give people some options. Take a look at the selection at Gameskins, there's plenty of black, but also plenty of other colours. In fact, I liked a couple of their designs enough to actually buy two T-Shirts from them. I've never bought anything from PA, mostly because their merchandise is designed to use your torso as a billboard which proclaims "look at an example of a geeky, game playing loser!". Gameskins tends to design their stuff as more of a tasteful in-joke; something an actual adult could actually wear in the real world.

I'm sure Penny Arcade sells lots of T-Shirts, and they probably think they're doing pretty well. All I'm saying is that they're likely to sell a lot more T-Shirts with some improved designs and non-black colour choices. After all, the "gaming loser living in their parents' basement" market is only so big.

Smaller Gear

2005.06.16 - Thursday

We all knew it was coming, and yesterday everyone finally found out how much smaller goalie equipment will be when the NHL starts up again. Pads will be trimmed to 11" wide from 12", blockers will be 1" shorter, gloves will have a 3" shorter circumference, pants and chest protectors will also be shrunk. It's too bad that the goalies have allowed themselves to be blamed for the state of the game, and it will be interesting to see what happens when these gear changes only result in a small statistical change. After all, a boring hockey game that ends 3-2 is just as boring as one that ends 2-1. Maybe if we didn't have a basketball man running the league, people would recognize that.

I'll probably get the new, smaller gear in a year or two, but I don't expect it to affect my game very much. Usually when a goalie gets scored on, it's because he missed the puck completely, not because it just barely squeaked through some impenetrable wall. I rarely make saves with the edges of my equipment, so taking 1" off the pads isn't going to affect the number of shots I stop beyond a statistical insignificance. Go ahead, change the gear. It's not going to change anything.

What's really too bad is that no one will be able to analyze the equipment changes on their own. If they go ahead with other rules changes, like removing the 2-line pass, they will have a much greater effect on the game and will most likely lead to more goals. Of course, Bettman and his dog Colin Campbell will say that the smaller goalies are the cause of more scoring, and lead a push to reduce gear even further, or to make the nets wider. Whatever the case, I really don't see hockey surviving as the game we know today so long as people like these are allowed to sit at the wheel.

Battlefield 2

2005.06.14 - Tuesday

EA is releasing Battlefield 2, the sequel to Battlefield 1942, at the end of this month. The first version of the game was set during World War 2, but they aren't pulling any punches with this one, copying the popular "Desert Combat" mod and setting it in the modern day. Teams will be formed using the militaries of either the US, China, or the "Middle Eastern Coalition", which for all intents and purposes means Iran. I downloaded and played the demo on the weekend, and I can tell the game is going to be a blast.

The game still offers some creepy moments, however, where for just a second you can almost forget it's not real. This will usually happen while gunning down one or two soldiers who are walking down the other end of a very Iraqi looking street. It makes me wonder what future games will look and feel like. If, at the moment, the percentage of the population who can't distinguish from reality and fantasy is extremely small, will that number increase as games become more realistic and more convincing?

Rebuilt

2005.06.13 - Monday

I've finally got my computer back up with a fresh install of Windows. I've been busy installing programs most of the weekend, and changing tons of settings to get the system back to where I like it to be. That part of the chore isn't quite finished, but it's getting there.

My big hurdle with the rebuild turned out to be the backup. I mentioned before that my backup drive wasn't working in full USB 2.0 mode, and I never could fix that. I picked up a new USB 2.0 card at Future Shop, but it appears that Microsoft has been making hardware manufacturers release products with drivers that will only function in Windows XP Service Pack 2. Since my previous copy of Windows didn't have that installed, I couldn't use the card in USB 2.0 mode and had to do my entire backup at USB 1.1 speeds, which took the entire week.

Once the backup was done I went to install Windows again, only to find that my brand new floppy drive wasn't working. The drive would power up, but couldn't read any disks. I ended up taking it back to the store for a test, where it worked perfectly on their machine. I was worried for a while that my motherboard's floppy I/O port was damaged and that I'd have to get a new one. Luckily I tried the floppy again in my machine, but without screwing it into the case, and it worked immediately. I guess it was picking up a short or something while screwed in. I only needed the floppy drive to install some RAID drivers during Windows setup, so as soon as that was done I unplugged it and put it away in a box.

So I'm now back up, running a legit copy of Windows XP and have finally gotten around to installing the latest video and chipset drivers. Everything is running very smoothly, and it's a relief to finally have this chore almost completely out of the way.

Backup Continued

2005.06.07 - Tuesday

I'm still backing up. I'll have a long explanation in a few days once the computer is rebuilt. Needless to say, it's been much more of a pain in the ass than it should have been.

Backup

2005.06.06 - Monday

This past weekend was supposed to be my big computer backup. I went out and bought a Vantec NexStar 3 external hard drive enclosure on Saturday, along with a 250 gig hard drive and a copy of Windows XP Pro. The idea was to copy my whole machine to the backup drive, then wipe the machine and reinstall everything on Sunday. Unfortunately the backup drive didn't work very well. I'm pretty sure it's because the USB 2.0 connectors which came with my motherboard don't work properly. I'll be making a trip to Future Shop later today for a proper PCI USB 2.0 card, which should solve the issue. In the mean time, I've been copying stuff to the drive over my USB 1.1 ports, which isn't very functional since USB 1.1 is over 40 times slower than USB 2.0. I managed to get some stuff copied, but not all of it.

The crappy thing is that now I'll have to spend my evenings this week rebuilding my machine. I guess there's no avoiding it though, it has to be done. Now, I just have to decide if I'm going to keep my RAID array or not.

Human vs. Robot

2005.06.04 - Saturday

Every time someone makes a sci-fi film or television show where humans end up fighting machines, why are the machines only slightly better than us? Usually they'll be extra strong, or a little faster, or perhaps have a special mode of vision. Almost never, however, do these stories show us what it would really be like to combat a force of advanced military machines.

A truly advanced robotic enemy, especially one designed for combat, would be almost untouchable by any human without significant technological assistance. The robot would be faster, much faster. It might be capable of firing its weapon 50 or 60 times per second, with each shot hitting a distinct target with almost perfect accuracy. It would be able to run or move at speeds that would make it nearly impossible for any human to hit it with any weapon, especially if it randomly and rapidly changed direction. The robot would be strong, much more so that we're used to seeing. It might have the lifting, springing, and crushing power of a hydraulic system, capable of exerting hundreds of pounds of pressure per square inch. Combined with the speed, this is deadly enough.

Now it gets really interesting. The electronic abilities of any combat robot would make its physical power nearly irrelevant. Vision systems that can see in every spectrum of light, even X-Rays, at any magnification, as well as advanced heat detection sensors. Audio systems capable of picking up even the quietest noise from miles away, and perhaps even audio creation systems designed to easily confuse and disorient the robot's human enemy. Add to that high powered jamming instruments and other electronic countermeasures systems that take away the humans' technological edge, and you've got an almost unbeatable robotic foot soldier.

Multiply that by a factor of thousands, and add in aircraft, spacecraft or watercraft, each with equal ability, and any human military force would be completely decimated almost without effort.

I suppose that's why no one writes realistic stories about wars against machines; writers simply haven't figured out how to make us win. I do hope that someday someone tackles it. I'm tired of seeing scary robot soldiers than miss their targets, trip over rolling logs, or fall victim to an "electromagnetic pulse". Please people, let's try and push the envelope at least a little.

Paper

2005.06.03 - Friday

I spent the last two evenings filing papers. Tax papers, bank statements, and worst of all, receipts. It's finally done, but while doing this mind numbing chore, I began to wonder about the so called "Paperless Society". Is it even possible?

I'm not sure that it is, at least not completely. We're already able to do away with things like bank statements through online record keeping, but many people refuse to wade into that potential mess. Any number of computer or security errors could damage or destroy your records. Most people still prefer to have a paper copy. Even if you could overcome this preference however, could we really get rid of paper? People need proof that they've purchased things, so shops give everyone a receipt. Would it be possible to develop some kind of digital receipt? If so, would it actually be cheaper and more efficient than a simple piece of paper?

I expect that things like books, newspapers, billboards, and maybe even the bank statement, will eventually give up paper and move into purely digital delivery methods. As for the rest of it, I'm not so sure. After all, if we were to have all of our civilization's records stored digitally, I can imagine several scenarios in which they could all be lost. Best to have a backup, tucked away in a filing cabinet somewhere, at least for now.

Another "Sith" Review

2005.06.02 - Thursday

This time, Mark Steyn gives "Sith" the treatment it deserves. I find it comforting that I knew "Sith" was a horrible film while I was watching it. I had to wait until the end of Episode 2 to figure it out about that one, and it took me several viewings to grasp the horrible truth regarding Episode 1. I'm willing to meet movies half way a lot of the time, so long as there's a good idea or premise somewhere that I can latch on to. The trouble with these Star Wars films is that there's nothing there. Once you're done looking at the visual effects, that's it.

Star Wars exists more as potential now than substance. I hope that some day, perhaps in thirty or forty years, someone who's more of a Peter Jackson than a George Lucas will decide to re-make all six movies, and turn them into the definitive space fantasy story, perhaps even becoming more enjoyable than "The Lord of the Rings". I see now reason why Star Wars couldn't be that good, so long as the right people were working on it.

New Voyages

2005.06.01 - Wednesday

I remember reading about "Star Trek: New Voyages" a while ago, but for one reason or another never bothered to put much effort into checking it out. Basically, it's a fan made show, released over the internet, which continues the original five year mission of Kirk's Enterprise. You're probably having the same reaction to the words "fan made" as I originally did, and for the most part that reaction is deserved. However, there is definitely potential, and it certainly proves that it could be possible for fans to produce their own quality material in the coming years, since the big studios don't seem up to the task anymore.

Things have a long way to go, however. For "New Voyages", they could be sped up with the following:

1) Just because you are an amateur doesn't mean you have to look like one. The "New Voyages" website, for starters, needs work. It doesn't look at all professional and at times feels like every page has a different look. I'm not sure if they were trying to nail the "fan site" look on purpose, but if so, they succeeded. It's also horribly slow and doesn't provide easy access to the two episodes that have been produced so far. What they need is a slick looking website, hopefully with no flash, that's fast and to the point. The episodes have to be hosted on the main site, instead of through a series of unreliable mirrors, and should be easily accessed and quickly downloaded. I know bandwidth can be an issue, but it might be possible to negotiate some kind of deal with a host in exchange for exposure. It's been done before. Finally, they need to advertise. I almost never see links to "New Voyages" on other Star Trek sites, and even when someone like Trek Today features them in an article, a link to the site is no where to be seen.

2) The scripts need some work. Don't get me wrong, I was actually quite surprised at how good even the first episode was, but they can do much better. First of all, this is supposed to be Star Trek "New Voyages", so how about some story ideas that don't depend on old Trek themes or episodes for their ideas. I like the Guardian of Forever as much as the next guy, but we've seen that story before. Re-used stories is the main problem which plagued both "Voyager" and "Enterprise", and I'd hate to believe that a fan produced series can't escape that. Check out Star Slattern's "The Trouble With Trek" piece to get a sense of some of the ground rules that should be followed.

3) Visual effects. This is way down the priority list for me because for a fan produced series like this, visual effects aren't going to sink or sail it. Also, VFX work takes a long time, especially when it's only being done by one person as it is on "New Voyages". Still, I think the effects could be improved a huge amount without adding to the work load. There are a lot of Star Trek fans in the VFX industry, including myself, who would be willing to help out or at the very least, critique some of the work before it gets distributed. These people could be a valuable resource to the "New Voyages" crew and should be used. The animation in particular needs work, as huge starships simply don't move like that. I have no problem with the Enterprise doing a barrel roll, so long as it looks heavy and powerful, and not like a sparrow dodging some power lines. Remember folks, visual effects isn't about things being right, it's about them looking right. If you have to distribute a technical manual which explains gravity drives, inertial dampers, and structural integrity fields with your VFX shots so that people don't laugh out loud, then chances are the experiment has failed and more believable movement is required.

That's about it for now. Don't take my criticism badly however. I'm not trying to attack these people or belittle what they've accomplished, as I'm sure some others already have. Any kind of film production is extremely difficult and expensive, and knowing what little I know about it, I can say that what the "New Voyages" crew has accomplished so far is amazing. That doesn't mean, however, that they couldn't do a lot better. The great news is that from what little I've read on the forums, it seems like they actually do listen to some of the viewers and value their opinions, and that's a great thing. I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment of this series. I suggest you check it out.