I Come From Laos

I can see clearly now the rain is gone

squidget — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:53:07 +0000

Game Newell on how DRM increases Piracy. (Suck it Ubi)

If chess were redesigned by MMO Designers

managers vs. makers

squidget — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:56:59 +0000

I guess I never realized but even as a manager I was on a makers schedule. I hate meetings. The only meetings I can tolerate are ones where I can dial in from my desk; this allows me to actually do work. I’ve gotten very good at listening to one thing and typing another thing. I found this article by Paul Graham about the different schedules that managers and programmers (makers) to be spot on. Apparently, I am a programmer at heart.

“One reason programmers dislike meetings so much is that they’re on a different type of schedule from other people. Meetings cost them more.There are two types of schedule, which I’ll call the manager’s schedule and the maker’s schedule. The manager’s schedule is for bosses. It’s embodied in the traditional appointment book, with each day cut into one hour intervals…But there’s another way of using time that’s common among people who make things, like programmers and writers. They generally prefer to use time in units of half a day at least. You can’t write or program well in units of an hour. That’s barely enough time to get started…”

Read the rest here.

get the most out of your existing camera

squidget — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:43:59 +0000

I’ve been wrestling with buying a DSLR lately. I really want to get more into photography and I think having a DSLR would help that. However while hanging out on Lifehacker I saw a post on how to get the most out of a point and shoot camera you already have. One day I will have that DSLR I always dreamed off but this is a good way for me to learn the basics and get some awesome shots now.

Still Alive on an exercise machine

squidget — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:41:05 +0000

There are some seriously awesome people out there in the world. Good thing youtube is around to capture the brilliance.

I was totally singing along too.

for agent K

squidget — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:02:06 +0000

I even started a new catagory.

5 creepy ways video games are trying to get you addicted

LXD (league of extraordinary dancers) at TED

The best jobs America. (with lovely pictograms!)

Japan is not funny anymore. One man’s rant on why he lost his love for Japan

What color is my avatar? Race and Videogames

Tron Legacy Trailer. Mmmmm

delayed holiday notes

squidget — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:58:42 +0000

Happy Valentine’s Day

is this the real life?

squidget — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:48:03 +0000

is this just fantasy? I’ve been in a reflective mood lately. Comparing this February to last, it’s practically surreal. This time last year I was pretty stressed out at work; I’m pretty sure this was near the time I confided in my boss that I was about to murder someone if I didn’t get out of my role & my location. Little did I know that my venting put a plan in motion. Also at this time my finances were not the greatest. The truth is I was like that commerical – I was in debt up to my eyeballs. I just bought a car so I could drive around in the winter, I was paying for school, I would send funds here and there home and I also never changed my consumer ways that I started when I had no debt and lived with roommates. Not good.

Looking at my life now, I feel like I’m in a different world, a different person. I’m in a new role that is great, in a new location as well. Yes, I still have debt but I have paid about 25% of it since last year. I changed my spending habits, my eating habits and started to really value what is important. My family, my friends and my health are worth pursuit. The shiny things still catch my attention but the needy voice inside to buy has quieted. For time to time I still hear the beast (right now it wants me to buy a 60″ Pioneer Kuro TV) but so far its arguements are falling on deaf ears.

And then, there is a part of me (ok a large part) that is afraid that the winds of fortune will change again and I will be worse off. I’m not sure what it is about me that fears good things. For whatever reason I have this irrational (maybe rational ha!) thought that good tidings lead to trouble. I am trying to change this about myself but it’s hard. I have thought this way for so long, can I change it? I don’t know the answer to this but I’m still trying. Forcing even.

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life.

Don’t smell like sunsets and baby powder. Smell like jet fighters and punching

squidget — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:36:15 +0000

In other news, I’ve been slow on the whole Friendmas calendar thing and I apologize. I plan to do it this weekend so it will be March to March. So sorry; I am a bad Panda.

the end is nigh

squidget — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:37:49 +0000

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is a very faint yellowish glow all around. Even though I know there is no heat, I still feel warm. My mind is probably playing tricks on me but I swear there is a smell in the air; smells like freedom. In 16 weeks my journey will end, and I will graduate. It has been a long and boring journey wrought with delays and debt. I’m so close but I feel more tired and frustrated then ever. I know I can do this, I must do this. There is sunshine and sunflowers awaiting me on the other side. I will not think about the journey and the foolish and forced upon reasons for embarking on it. I will just be and bask in the task of doing absolutely nothing.

A great day is coming.

vegas FTW

squidget — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:01:19 +0000

A few weeks ago me and the crew met up in Vegas for CES. There was drunken debauchery, shiny gadgets, money being thrown down on the craps table, Cirque Du Soleil and of course over size portions of food. In short? I had a great time. The big big push for CES this year was 3D. Every company that wanted to be cutting edge, they added 3D to it. TV? Check. Projector? Check. Cell Phone? Check. Video Games? Check. Blender? Check. Taser? Check. Ok maybe not that last one but you get my point. I was actually disappointed in the show as a whole. I’m told its way better then last year but I feel it wasn’t up to the CES of a few years ago. You can still feel the recession even in a setting such as CES and Vegas.

I want to buy a new TV. Seeing all the shiny new televisions this year at CES made me feel utter disappointment when returning home and seeing my puny 43″ plasma. The problem is ,I cannot justify a TV purchase. That’s right I, a consumer whore, cannot justify the purchase of a shiny new gadget. It’s a terrible feeling in my gut. My TV works perfectly fine, it looks better than most consumer LCD’s anyway and it’s big enough for the space. *sigh* Is this what growing up feels like? Man, I gotta tell you, it sucks.