Wegg’s Blog

Wow what a GREAT movie!  I took Isabelle to go see it today and was blown away.  I was at the edge of my seat almost the whole time.  The story, the humor, the characters, the animation, the music. . . everything was spot on.  I was very impressed by the visual quality of everything.  Especially all of the viking hair.  The Father’s beard and hair were especially well done.  So tactile and believable!  And the flying scenes were so amazing!  Equal to Avatar only . . . more innocent and fun.  It blew me away.

Isabelle (4.5 years old) was a little bit scared in a few places.  At one part the lead dragon gets shackled and she didn’t like that AT ALL. . . but she soon got over it and in the end said it was a good movie.  ”Especially the part where Hiccup and Astrid kissed!”  Oh boy. . .

We saw it in 3D which was good but I always have a hard time with the glasses and the brightness level.  We tried to see the 2D version but the theater was all but full (a few seats way up the front) so we exchanged tickets to a later 3D version.  I like the 3D effects but. . . my eyes tend to get sore a little bit and I end up squinting so much so that when I get out I can feel all the muscles around my eyes have had a major workout.  I wish they could brighten up the screen more.  I can’t wait to buy this on Blueray and just watch it on my HD TV without the “gimmick” of 3D.

Anyway. . . awesome awesome awesome. . . everyone go see it.  

Saw it.  I think if I had walked in and seen the trailer and walked out I would have been happier.  The actual movie had as much story and character development as the trailer did. . . Its one of those situations where more does not equal better.  I really like chocolate but only a little bit at a time.  When I go to Sees Candy and they give me my free sample I’m usually satisfied right there.  I’ll order one piece of something else to try it out later.  Anything more than that and its just too too much.  I get overwhelmed by it all.

Clash of the Titans was a giant box of super rich chocolate with no sustenance.  Watching it was like being forced to eat the entire box.

There were some good parts.  I thought the Gods were awesome.  Especially Hades.   Very epic and creepy at the same time.  Especially when he first reveals himself to the king in his hall.  Wow.  Way to make an entrance.  I really liked the bark dude.  Probably because he didn’t speak English.  I almost think I would have enjoyed this movie if it were french and I could ignore the subtitles and just imagine character development. . . and maybe pretended like I actually cared for the character’s plight.

I can’t recommend it.  I’m not upset that I went to see it like I have been with other movies.  It wasn’t THAT bad.  But I just can’t see myself ever encouraging anyone else to go see it.

A while ago my Uncle got an Amiga and a game called Settlers and according to legend. . . spent 6 months, every single day trying to beat that game.  Then when new Settlers games would be released he’d then proceed to sit down and spend months and months beating that game.  He got all the way up to Settlers 4.  He said 3 was his favorite so I managed to dig around e-bay and found a copy to try myself.

Man what an intense game.  Every single thing you want to do in the game has to be planned out far ahead of time.  For example if you want to create a little fighting man you first have to build a house for him, then you have to build a sword.  To build a sword you have to have a blacksmith.  The blacksmith needs iron and coal, Iron is created by a smelter and needs Iron Ore and coal.  In order to get Iron Ore you need to mine it so you need miners.  In order to FIND the iron in the ground you need geologists.  And all these people during the process need to be fed so you need to grow wheat, mill the wheat into flower, take the flower and water to a bakery and that creates bread and then you need to take the bread to each of the workers along the way.  Its nuts.

But the one thing my Uncle kept saying over and over was that “Its real. . . you have to keep reminding yourself that it is real.”  At first I didn’t really understand what he was saying but now I kind of get it.  It IS real.  So often in games ammunition just pops out of nowhere conveniently for you to just grab.  You get multiple lives, things just happen for you.  But in The Settlers. . . you start off with rocks and wood.  And from that you have to create every single thing needed to create a civilization big enough to defeat your opponent who is competing for the same raw resources you are.  It can get quite epic.  When you see a little army man go into battle you have personally been involved in every single step in that little guy’s development so it IS real.  When he dies or wins you feel it because you have invested so much time in his creation.

Warcraft, Command and Concur etc. . . have little hints of that but never to the extent of The Settlers games.

So now The Settlers 7 is out.  And it is just as epic as the older games.  As your playing you are constantly paranoid about forgetting something.  And if you DO forget. . . ooooo man you suffer.  There are so many times where your civilization comes to a halt because you forgot to make a hammer.  Didn’t build a windmill, forgot to have a Forrester and chopped down all the trees in the land just as you were about to level up on a massive cathedral or trading post.

The interface to manage all of this craziness is much better than the other Settlers games I have played in the past.  Things seem to be a lot more intuitive so you can be game to try things that were always too frustrating in the past.  Trading is now very fun.  The one time I managed to find someone to trade wheat for fancy ruby rings. . . and ended up with more gold than I could possibly ever spend.  I was euphoric.  

The graphics are incredible.  Each little building you make is a work of art that is alive with activity.  It sure did bring my computer to a halt till I found some setting that worked. . . I’ll have to spring for a fancier graphics card I guess.  The style of everything is really fantastic.  A great balance between the old “cute” little characters and a more realistic feeling of the environments.  The cut scenes are especially well done.  Great animation, textures, style etc.  Very very well done.

The story feels a tad forced.  I haven’t finished the game yet so I don’t know quite where it is headed but. . . its not really very logical.  Lots of random switches of allegiance and silly motivations etc.  I guess there had to be SOME back story to it all so I’m ok with looking past the logic of it all. . .

There are some frustrating things though.  Instead of winning by destroying every last building of your enemy. . . there are these “missions” that you need to accomplish.  The first civilization to finish a pre-determined number of missions wins the level.  This makes for quicker progress to the game but sometimes gets frustrating when your civilization is doing really really well but your opponent is “winning” because he sent X number of clerics off to some shrine on the other side of the map faster than you did.

I know the old games suffered from epically long completion times per map but this new mission system sometimes just. . . cheapens victory.  One time my opponent had CLEARLY concurred more of the map than I had but I won due to running around on these silly little side missions than he did.  So thats my only real gripe with the game.  Everything else feels just like the old games only “better”.

So in conclusion. . . for me, The Settlers 7 is the very best of all of the Settlers games I have played and I would highly recommend it to anyone who was a fan of the old games and has a fast enough system to handle all the new amazing graphics.

We are finally starting to get into a rhythm with the little 9 week old baby in our home.  Its still not back to normal by any means but we are able to finally do more things instead of just sleep/feed/burp/sleep.  Isabelle’s school gave her a free night at Classic Skating so her and I had a blast!  I got some skates for Christmas and Isabelle’s little Barbie skates finally fit her good so we trucked around for a couple hours.  Playing the games.  There were a lot of people I knew there this time so that made it fun.  A few spills but thats all part of the fun.  Toughens kiddies up.  

The problem child from last week’s sundayschool class was there with her friend!  I went out of my way to play with them at their level and towards the end I heard them proudly say to one of their other friends “Thats my church teacher!”.  Mission accomplished.  

Yesterday it was finally warm enough to go for a big long walk.  We took the dogs, Isabelle and the baby out to Mountain View Highschool’s football oval and let everyone run around while we napped on one of the big pole volt pads.   The sun was JUUUuust warm enough to keep it nice.  Dogs terrorized all the joggers. . . Isabelle got to play with a bunch of other kids that were there with their Dad. . . good times.

When we got the little baby he was only 9 lb.  His knees and butt and elbows were literally saggy skin.  No flesh underneath.  Now 2 weeks later he has a butt, his cheeks are filling out and his knees and elbows are still kind of loose but not. . . strange like they were at first.  The little bugger seems much more content now as well.  I can manage to get some smiles every now and then and there are even the beginnings of little baby talk sounds coming out.  Random babble but at least its better than constant crying.

I’m very lucky to have a family.  Its not always easy but very much worth it.

So whenever we bath this little runt we have always done what they said and made the water “room temperature”. The instant the baby’s skin touches the water it screams till the second it gets out. So today I tried “womb” temperature water. Very warm to mimic what it would have been like on the other side of a woman’s belly button. Whaddya know. Calmed down almost instantly and just flopped around in there like a pig in mud. Even gave me a smile.

So thats my advice to the baby ignorant out there who have screaming babies. Give them a very warm bath. “Womb” temperature. Little poop shooter is sleeping soundly now without a care in the world.

For the past week we have had a little baby in our home.  We have been foster parents for a long while but this is the first time we have had a little baby.  Its only 7 weeks old now and.. .  wow what a challenge.  The longest sleeping period on record so far is 4 hours.  Most of the time its only 3.  So at all hours of the night we are up feeding, burping, rocking, cuddling.  It was AWESOME at first but now we are going into our second week and Jen and I are wiped out.  Sleeping at all hours of the day whenever we can etc.

I’m learning lots of neat tricks though.  I can get this little bugger to burp just by wiggling it’s chest/belly area as I slowly lift it up from laying down.  Thats always fun.  Way quicker than the over the shoulder pat em on the back method.

When feeding with the bottle I can kind of control the speed of consumption by not allowing the bottle to re-fill with air. . . this forces the baby to have to suck a bit harder to get to the milk and that usually makes it so nothing gets thrown up after eating.

Our daughter Isabelle has been VERY very good.  Always super quick to hand us the things we need. . . very very loving and understanding.  She is an awesome little 4.5 year old helper.

I know we have a looooong road ahead and its always difficult when you don’t know what the long term status is but its an experience I wouldn’t want to give up.  I can now fully empathize with mothers.  Especially single mothers raising multiple kids.  I don’t know HOW that is even possible. . .  <yawn>  Our neighbors, friends and family have been awesome.  I was sick for the first little while so I kind of had to shoot up a “help us!” flare and they all came to our rescue.

Thank you.

I teach a Sunday School class full of little 5 and 6 year old kids.  90% of the time things go very smoothly but there is a lethal combination of kids I was warned about at the beginning of the year that happened today.  Wow.  Totally different class.  It didn’t go very well at all.  Separating the culprits, talking to them at their level, enforcing all the class rules with the pre-determined privileges that were being taken away etc.  All proved fruitless.

At the end of the lesson I decided to try and attack the problem head on.  I took hold of the worst child’s hand and walked that child out into an open/public area, had the child sit down next to me with my arm around the child’s shoulder proceeded to have a very long talk about reverence, respect, their life, the church, etc.  I tried to find out all about what made that child tick and tried my very best to make sure they felt safe but that they weren’t going ANYWHERE until I was done talking to them.

I never physically hurt the child but it COULD. . . possibly have been considered constraint.  I have never had to do anything like that before but. . . well this was just so extreme I felt I had to do something.

Our little “come to Jesus” meeting lasted about 20 minutes and when we were done we joined the rest of the kids for the rest of Sunday School.  This child sat next to me and appeared a little. . . shocked.  But was well behaved.

I won’t really know if my efforts will have done anything until this little kid comes back while I’m still teaching.  I HOPE it had an impact.  I tried to make it positive while being very very firm.  I think I’m a little more upset about it than the kid but. . . I had to do something.   :-/

What has happened in Haiti is horrible beyond words.  Tragic, catastrophic and heart crushing.  I am very proud of those who have immediately mobilized and taken action.  Proud of everyone but the US military.  That part doesn’t make ANY sense to me.

We are a sovereign nation with borders.  We have a constitution in place to confine our government to specific tasks.  Nowhere does it say that it is ok to send our military into another nation if there is a natural disaster!  What are they going to do?  Shoot the earthquakes?

And of course whoever has the guns is the boss.  So the stories I’m reading just make me SICK.

US Army’s 82nd Airborne division, who immediately after landing in Port-au-Prince, marched through the city’s rubble-strewn streets and past its smashed businesses to take control of the hospital.

“Look at that – they’re already telling us to leave,” said Shelove Cassamager, 33, who said he had come to the hospital to tend an injured relative, but was unceremoniously shown the door by the US troops.

. . . . . . .

US military helicopters also touched down yesterday on the grounds of the damaged presidential palace, dropping off more than 100 US marines – a deployment met with even greater ire on the part of many patriotic Haitians.

For many dejected Haitians, even as they welcome the prospect of vital aid, the arrival of US troops is a symbol for how low the country has fallen in the space of one dismal week.

And the US deployment was not welcomed by some in the crowd who saw the arrival as an affront to Haitian sovereignty.

They are a sovereign nation!  Proud of who they are and have hope for the future and it must just CRUSH their very souls to see a foreign military land at their capital.  Imagine if things were in reverse and China were landing at the White House with fully armed gunmen “taking command of the situation.”

We bully our way around the world in a way that continues to cause unforeseen problems generations later and when we realize its happening. . . even with our “Change” president. . . we just go ahead and do it again.

If there was REALLY a need for security then wouldn’t it be smart to HIRE security?  Retired police and service men who would probably even volunteer.  They could be hired, organized and work under the relief organizations themselves.  No single big entity that “represents” our country.  No need to build monumental permanent structures and housing while starving kids look on.

NO MORE NATION BUILDING!  PLEASE!  Our country is broke and yet we constantly go around the world trying to solve the world’s problems using money we don’t have with methods that have been shown time and time again not to work.  You can’t shoot everything.  You don’t send our young kids with guns into countries without there being consequences that are never good.  Its just common sense!  Please please please stop this madness.  :-(

I love it here.  I feel like I only take half as many breaths to get twice as much air.  No need for air conditioning. . . just a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean.  Swimming in bath temperature ocean water. . .   The food, the smells. . . its all so “home”.

I have had Gigner Beer, 3 pies, the most amazing watermealon, Nutrigrain.  Mmmm.

A few frustrating things.. .  all these “rules”.  There was a sign saying we couldn’t go on a walk on the beach due to alge.  Bugger that. . . we walked anyway and just hosed our feet off when we got back to the house.  But there are fines and fees and rules for everything!  It feels very “big brother”.  You can’t chop down a tree in your own yard!

And then the cost of everything continues shock me.  $4.50 per gallon for fuel.  Little bitty houses are $400.000 etc.  It presents such a frustrating barrior of entry that I keep feeling like I’ll never be able to live here again. 

Going to be meeting up with an old friend and heading down to the Gold Coast today.  That should be a blast.

When setting up a renderfarm, one of the most important things you need to be able to do is get instant access to each machine on your farm with as little physical interaction with that machine as possible. You want each machine to be like an appliance. You walk up to it, press a button and it starts rendering.

One of the main hurdles to that is the initial startup of each machine. You could just not enter in any name or password but then Windows security doesn’t allow you to use Remote Desktop to remotely administer it. And when you create an account and enter in a name and password Windows requires you to enter that in at bootup time. Hard to do when your computer doesn’t even have a keyboard!

SO! This is how you get around that. Its not great for security obviously but most render nodes don’t need to see the internet so. . . its good for this.

In this video I walk you through how to enter tell Windows what account to use at startup, how to make it automatically enter in a password and boot into Windows without you having to do anything but turn the machine on.

Link to the product.

I’m rendering a big project right now so I took advantage of the fact that I had to set up a new machine on my farm and made this little video. Not sure how appealing it will be to people but its something that really stumped me for a little while.