Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Private: Private: How Do You LifeStream Part 4

This is part 4 of a 5 part series on LifeStreaming. Here are links to the previous post in this series; 1, 2 & 3.
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Beowulf Movie, The Good And The Bad

No Spoilers in this post.

I was able to see an advanced screening of Beowulf last night. I hadn't read anything about the story or the movie, I only heard Angelina Jolie was in it. Well that's what I get for not doing my homework before seeing a movie.

The first thing I learned was the movie is all computer animation. I don't really care for all computer animation, but I really liked the way 300 was made using real actors with computer animation added. The next thing I learned was the movie is in 3D. Yes, in 3D. Images of uncomfortable paper red/blue glasses ran through my mind. But that wasn't the case. The glasses were actually really nice and looked like a pair of sunglasses. They were comfortable and covered your whole eye area so there was no distractions coming from the side. The next thing I learned was the showing would be in the IMAX theater. That excited me. I love IMAX theaters and the one in Jordan Commons is really nice.

The movie itself was fantastic. The 3D worked really well. Despite having to sit near the front of the theater I really felt the depth of the 3D. They did a good job. At one point during the show the cameras got out of sync and it made my eyes cross. That only lasted for about 30 seconds and never happened again. I would say the 3D coupled with an IMAX screen and exceptional computer animation made up for any of the other crap that happened. The movie was great.

** This movie is not Kid friendly ** There, I warned you.

While standing in line this guy, apparently associated with the theater or production company started to tell us they wouldn't allow any electronic devices into the showing. In fact they had what looked like metal detectors at the entrance. This person said if they caught anyone with devices in the theater they would escort them out and suggested we take our cell phones, cameras, PDA's and iPods (not sure why an iPod would be targeted) to our vehicle's. So, I left my spot in line to take my mobile phone out to the car. That pissed me off which is part of the reason I had to sit in front.

Once everyone was seated this same person started repeating the no electronic device mantra he was spewing in the lobby. Funny thing was, there were dozens of people sitting in the theater with mobile phones on, with cameras, one guy was playing a PSP, and the whole time the guy who was laying down the law just stood there. I'm thinking, didn't you tell everyone out in the lobby they couldn't bring anything into the theater, and I lost my place in line while you stand there and do nothing? What ever. It was very lame.

I'm not sure if the whole phone/pda deal was a Jordan Commons thing or something the movie distribution company mandated, but the guy didn't do a very good job, I felt like a thief, and don't they know a version of this movie will make it out on the Internet whether they want it to or not? Besides, you can't take quality photos with a camera phone, and there wouldn't be enough storage or long enough battery life to record on your phone. Duh, get a grip.

I do want to thank Jeff Norris at iscifi.tv for providing the tickets. You rock Jeff. I also had a chance to meet Capn T. Rex. He's the awesome guy who started iscifi.tv. We had a good conversation which I will blog about later.
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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Communities Do Matter For Developers

The guys over at Lonely CEO pointed to a blog post of mine where it mentions I'm a Utah Facebook Developer. First, as I've said before, there was a reason I mentioned I develop Facebook applications and I live in Utah. But second, it is extremely important people know what community you live and work in. Do I expect being from Utah will make a difference, perhaps not, but I am trying to help build a community and I want people to know where I am. Does a company in New York or Florida care I'm in Utah, probably not, but companies in Utah care, and so its important they know I'm here.

One thing I've learned over the years is building a network is very important to a successful business. You may have killer technology but if you are unable to find the right investors it will be a short lived venture. Utah has a growing tech community. There are a number of companies who look for skilled workers with various new media and social media backgrounds. Are they finding you?

The truth is, as my friends at the Lonely CEO say, you can build software anywhere. So what we really need to do is market our services as Social Software or Community Software Developers. If your focus is on Facebook, or MySpace, or any number of other platforms, people that need your services will be searching for it under those terms, so its important search engines find you there. But I think it's equally important companies in your own backyard know you're there and are capable of fulfilling their needs.

So whether its important or not I'll continue to make sure my neighbors know I develop Social and Community Software and consult on other new media technology, and I'm right here in Utah.

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Private: Private: How Do You LifeStream Part 3

This is part 3 of a 5 part series on LifeStreaming. Here are links to the previous posts in this series; 1 & 2.
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Poll: What Is You Favorite Song And Why?

OK, today I want your involvement. This is a simple Poll question: What is your favorite song(s) and why. The important part is why. Since I like more than one song I'm going to share three.

Smooth Jazz

Say What? by Brian Culbertson - I love this song for one reason, the bass. I typically judge a song by how strong the bass line is.

Contemporary

I'd Like To by Corrine Bailey Rae - I like this song because it has real strong lyrics. Corrine has such a great voice.

Rock (ok Metal)

Leper Messiah by Metallica - Again, I like this song because if it's strong bass line. The whole song is just put together very well.

The Black Album by Metallica - This is probably one of the best metal albums ever recorded. There isn't one track on this album that doesn't truly rock.

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