Oh yeah, Versa (of Versa Productions) asked me to look over his HDTV capping and compressing guide last night. It's nice to be thought of as good enough at something that the guy who got you started asks your advice. Actually, from looking at his guide, it seems that my process is a little more refined than his. I find that interesting. I guess that's the perfectionist in me.

I also finished up the music for Matt's fire school gradation DVD yesterday. I initially told Melissa that I couldn't make a medley of songs that she wanted, but since Nero 6 kicks quite a bit of ass it seems that I was able to. Now, the only things left to getting that DVD finished are get my initial logo and the congratulations slide in there, and then create labels.

A lot of people are clamoring for my Empire DVD. I'll probably start on that after I finish Matt's DVD.

Ok this blackout thing is getting old real fast. I know it happened in New York which is where all the media is based, so I guess it's more real to them, but come on. Your power is out, it happens. That it was this large of a problem means it should have gotten some media time, but this is a little bit too much.

So I'm reading the Sword of Truth books by Terry Goodkind, and they are definitely entertaining if not nearly on the level of storytelling of the Wheel of Time. Probably because Mr. Goodkind lifted significant portions of WoT and incorporated them into his series. Anyway, I'm reading book 6 at the moment (Faith of the Fallen), and I stumbled across some passages last night that I thought were fairly profound.

"Reason is a choice. Wishes and whims are not facts, nor are a means to discovering them. Reason is our only way of grasping reality-it's our basic tool of survival. We are free to evade the effort of thinking, to reject reason, but we are not free to avoid the penalty of the abyss we refuse to see."

Taken by itself the quote is pretty good, but take it in context by reading the end of book 5 (Soul of the Fire) there are some interesting reflections in our modern day world where many people born into freedom don't fully grasp what it means and 'evade the effort of thinking'.

While I definitely think Robert Jordan is a much better epic storyteller than Goodkind, Goodkind has an ability to reflect adult ideas in his work that Jordan lacks. Whether it's the characters who don't bitch about why they were chosen for greatness every time you visit them, or the theme of fighting for your freedom, Goodkind can relate his books to the real world in ways that Jordan can't. Goodkind should still be sued for plaigarism though.

I finally hit > 1.0 on my DC hub (a few days ago). At least temporarily I'm not a leacher!

If you're interested at all in wireless security (802.11) I highly recommend a book called Real 802.11 Security (Wi-Fi Protected Access and 802.11i). Randle picked it up for me at Def-Con and it's fascinating, even for someone who knows nearly everything about wireless security.

I'll probably update this a lot more in the beginning as I try to get the things on my mind posted before they flee out the backof my head.

So Star Wars: Galaxies is kicking my ass at the moment. Despite the monumental trouble I've had getting it to run, I'm enjoying the hell out of it. If you are someone else reading this and you happen to play, look up Sri'La on the Tarquinas server.

While Chris and I want to end up being a Jedi killing squad, we'll probably take much different paths on the way there. I'm on my way to Droid Engineer at the moment, but I think I may take a side path to make some serious bank. I had the idea to open up the Sri'La EnerCorp Installation Maintenance company. The idea is to fill all the mundane tasks in keeping structures running for other people. I'll generate my own energy, and then fill up 25 hours worth of energy and upkeep for whoever pays me. By selling my own energy at a premium and then charging a fee to deliver it for people I should bring in a hefty income.

Now that I figured out how to get this thing to show up, I'll clarify my post from two years ago. At the time I was renting the house from The Money Pit. It was supposed to be a 2 bedroom 2 bath place, but we never actually got the second bathroom to work. We also lost the other bathroom several months into the lease when I literally fell through the shower wall. (no I wasn't dancing in the shower, it just rotted). That place was awful. Thankfully my wife and I purchased a house a year ago in May, and things have been much better.

Teh fingers are tired. I must go back to work.

So I'm back. I didn't even remember creating this blog until I tried to do it again and found that my account was still here.