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Lovable Quirks
Chasing Ideals
Gran Turismo Europa
Schulzone
[ mikey's blog ]
My Adventures in New Bohemia
Ben Saunders
Want to contact me? Try e-mailing 'aj' at this domain.
©2006 Transformed Planet.
All Rights Reserved.
Tue, 22 Jan 2008
I originally planned to post a list of my new year's resolutions, but especially now that January is mostly over, I think the following is a more healthy attitude to resolutions:
Posted at 04:18 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Tue, 15 Jan 2008
Pop Quiz: what's my favorite TV show? Some would guess a science fiction show like Stargate: SG-1 or Doctor Who. Others would guess The Office. Well, you're all wrong: my favorite television show, the one I can't miss each week even if it's a rerun, is the exquisite joy that is Top Gear!
"I've got 93,000,000 miles of headroom..."
The first thing you'll notice about Top Gear (besides the British accents) is the car reviews. No, reviews isn't accurate; Top Gear doesn't review cars as much as makes beautiful short films. Whether taking a Lamborghini around their track or a Fiat 500 through a snowy landscape, Top Gear makes cars into art. The show's cinematographers lavish attention on the machines and their environments, often pairing their visual art with perfectly matched soundtracks. The results more resemble music videos than objective, informative segments. In addition, especially if there's a danger of a car looking boring, they will add other elements, enhancing the film aspect as much as the car. The "race" between a Fiat 500 and BMX bikers, and the parkour video disguised as a race with a Peugeot, were simply excuses to create exciting, engaging visuals. Top Gear is never boring.
How hard could it be?
But Top Gear doesn't just make car films. Besides the magnificent cinematography, the show also features various races and challenges all over the world. Some are just funny, like their treks across the American Southeast or Africa. Others are slightly more serious and make use of the aforementioned cinematic brilliance, such as their adventure across France, Italy, and Switzerland to find the perfect road for driving. Still others, like the attempt to cross the English Channel in homemade amphibious cars, are little more than publicity stunts, but are so ridiculously hilarious you just have to watch anyway.
You look like a gay cowboy, and you look like a gay terrorist.
Lavish car videos, silly stunts, and epic adventures are fun and all, but Top Gear just wouldn't work without its presenters to pull it all together. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May are the unique group that brings Top Gear together and makes it work unlike any other show. It's obvious these guys are genuine friends (they have to be as much as they snipe and play tricks on each other). Sure, it's played up for effect on television, but put these guys together on an adventure to the Arctic or a 24-hour race on the Isle of Man, and they're just fun to watch. And yet, despite all the silliness, they manage to make the show intelligent at the same time. What other program can make snide remarks about the nation's political situation, crack jokes about its network's (and its own) editorial practices, interview an Oscar-winning actress, and show you the lush landscapes of Italy and Switzerland, all in the same hour?
Oh yeah, and of course, there's that other, mysterious presenter. How tame of a racing driver is he really? All we know is, he's called The Stig.
There's not really an equivalent to Top Gear on American television. It's both smart and silly, friendly and mean, joking and seriously beautiful. As BBC America says, "It's fun with cars." But don't take my word for it, watch the Season 10 Preview:
Posted at 02:08 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Sun, 16 Dec 2007
The year 2007 has been a year of, shall we say, transformation for me and for many around me. There's been so many events, and there remain several loose threads that should be wrapped up now before the year is done.
Posted at 21:29 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Wed, 10 Oct 2007
Leaving the Inferno
The Guide and I into that hidden road
Now entered, to return to the bright world;
And without care of having any rest
We mounted up, he first and I the second,
Till I beheld through a round aperture
Some of the beauteous things that Heaven doth bear;
Thence we came forth to rebehold the stars.
Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto XXXIV
Posted at 11:43 [/personal/catharsis] (0 comments) permalink
I am not usually one to comment about work on my blog, mostly because it's dangerous, but also because it's boring. Since tomorrow is my last day at $OldDayJob, though, I decided to indulge myself.
Those that know me in Real Life know I tend to babble sometimes. Those that know me a little better know one of the reasons why: I cannot stand awkward silences. An awkward silence in a conversation means there is space to be filled. I've always taken awkward silences as a bad thing. I think if I just explain things a little further, the other people in the conversation will understand, especially when the subject is technical. Usually I end up weakening my stance and compromising. If it's a technical thing, I usually end up doing it myself.
After turning in my resignation two weeks ago, the $OldDayJob did something I never expected: they effectively ignored it. Oh, the proper people were notified, necessary documents generated, and sorrowful tidings exchanged. The people running the project to which I was assigned, however, acted completely oblivious. This project and everyone associated with it had been in panic mode well before I joined it 2.5 weeks ago (I'd only been on the project a few days when I gave notice). They continued to expect me to work miracles with the system they had put together despite the fact I had been dropped into the middle of the project after it was supposed to be in production. Then they apparently expected me to implement a new design for the system in days even though I had never worked with some of the technology in question before. I was more than a little shocked by this behavior; any other time I have left a job of my own accord, the last two weeks are spent training others to cover for me until a replacement can be found. I couldn't believe they had decided to ignore the fact I was leaving and depend on me to work all hours of the night and weekend to accomplish something well beyond my skill set up to the point I had my exit interview.
Eventually, I realized things could not continue. I could not build the stuff they wanted in their impossible timeframe, and I needed to train some people to take over some other things after I left. That's when a friend of mine (who isn't cool enough to have a website) gave me some advice: "Don't try to keep explaining to them. Don't use words like 'I feel' or 'I believe.' Just tell them you can't do it, give them short, direct answers why, and let them deal with the awkward silence." So that's exactly what I did.
Those awkward silences turned from a weakness into a tool. A weapon even.
In fact, it forced someone on the team to finally acknowledge I was leaving. As the dead air on the phone line lingered, I could almost hear the wheels finally starting to turn in the guy's head as it dawned on him the he needed to find a replacement for me, and probably should have been looking already.
Awkward silences can be powerful.
Posted at 02:49 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Fri, 28 Sep 2007
#/usr/bin/perl
use Job;
my $DayJob = new Job;
Yep, I have a new $DayJob, starting in October. I think it's an exciting opportunity, and I'll be working with a great group of people. A weird, funny, frustrating thing happened yesterday when I tried to turn in my 2 week notice: I couldn't find anyone to tell them I quit. There's an HR person at my branch in Phoenix, but all of my bosses are in the headquarters in another state, and apparently all were attending a fire drill or bomb scare (or coffee break) until afternoon yesterday. So trying to find someone to give notice to proved...difficult. Eventually I was successful, and surprise and confusion ensued, but now it's settled.
Time to move on.
Posted at 12:39 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Wed, 26 Sep 2007
Now or Never...
I know there's got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I'm feeling like it's now or never
Can I break the spell of the typical?
--Mute Math, "Typical," Mute Math
Posted at 10:59 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Thu, 19 Apr 2007
I've had a headache and fever all day long. I think my allergies have developed into a sinus infection. Though I feel bad, the image of me walking around the house with a washcloth on my head is funny. Or is that just the fever talking, making fun of me?
Posted at 01:22 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Thu, 05 Apr 2007
"Think where man's glory most begins and ends. And say my glory was I had such friends."
To all my friends and family: THANK YOU!
Posted at 16:06 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Fri, 22 Dec 2006
Finally...I'm rid of the work menace and the Valley of the Wretched Sun. (Though I admit the Phoenix weather has turned quite nice compared to some of the places I'll be traveling to soon.) It's nice to finally sit down and rest for awhile after such a busy month and collect my thoughts. I still have some planning to do for the trip ahead, and I have several updates to post. Best get started...
Posted at 16:11 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Wed, 13 Dec 2006
For those wanting to get me a Christmas present, I present my Amazon Wishlist. Mostly videos and books, but I also need a couple of extra memory cards; they will come in handy for the trip (I expect to take lots of large photos with the Digital Rebel).
Posted at 21:24 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Unfortunately, I have been too busy to post here even though I have many things I want to share I haven't had time to write them down because I've been so busy trying to finish up work and plan for the trip and buy Christmas presents and tie up all the other loose ends I've barely had a chance to breathe and I promise I'll post more soon but right now I have to get back to work or I'll be up until 11PM working again tonight.
[breathe]
Posted at 12:50 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Wed, 29 Nov 2006
Found in my fortune cookie today:
"Although it feels like a roller coaster now, life will calm down."Posted at 15:39 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Thu, 23 Nov 2006
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am so thankful for so many things: friends, family, a job, just to name a few. Don't forget today during the holiday to stop and remember how blessed by God we all are. And don't forget to tell the people in your life how thankful you are for them, as well.
Posted at 16:04 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Thu, 12 Oct 2006
Since the accident, it has been difficult for me to get back into my normal routine of driving. Since the woman that caused the accident came across two lanes of traffic to hit my car's right rear corner (quite bizarre, I know), I much too often feel the need to look in my rear view mirrors and over my shoulder to make sure no one is about to hit my car from behind. This is especially bad when I am trying to do lane changes. Phoenix traffic makes this no easier. I noticed this week I have started to relax some, but seeing several cars coming toward me in my rear view mirror still freaks me out.
Posted at 02:07 [/personal/catharsis] (0 comments) permalink
Wed, 04 Oct 2006
After the fire is under control, some heroic firefighters still work to extinguish the fire completely.
Posted at 16:50 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Here, firefighters are working to put out the fire, which temporarily causes the smoke cloud to become even larger.
Posted at 16:50 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
The smoke cloud from the fire was quite large. The whole neighborhood still smells like something burnt.
Posted at 16:49 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Yesterday a house in my neighborhood caught on fire. Apparently no one was hurt, but the fire was quite large and it took some time for the firefighters to put it out.
Posted at 16:49 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Mon, 25 Sep 2006
I went to see the Constructing New Berlin exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum yesterday. I have to say I was impressed; the Phoenix Art Museum is quite small, and I was surprised at the originality and quality of the work displayed. My favorite artist of the exhibit was undoubtedly Frank Thiel. At first some of his photography appears to be simply pictures of Berlin's industrial decay and growth. But thinking about the people behind the ruined buildings and mammoth new construction projects lets you see deeper into his art. These are not merely ruined East Berlin buildings; these are scars left from a half-century of defeat and despair. Likewise, the new buildings under construction are not new urban sprawl; they are the symbols of a nation and a people healing, moving on from a horrible shared memory to build a new future together.
Despite making a connection with Thiel's photography, I have to say I still do not understand aspects of the German culture. While some oddity is to be expected from contemporary art, I was not quite sure what to make of some pieces in the exhibition. Art appreciation is subjective, I suppose. Regardless, I was pleasantly surprised by this exhibit and hope the Phoenix Art Museum continues to bring interesting art like this to the culture-starved metropolis.
Posted at 04:47 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Tue, 19 Sep 2006
Thought I should go ahead and post something here. I'm doing OK. A combination of things have kept me from posting here lately. I have several things, personal and otherwise, that I want to share, and hopefully will do so soon. For now, just know I haven't abandoned Transformed Planet and new blog posts will be here soon.
Posted at 03:14 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Mon, 21 Aug 2006
I'm on jury duty today. [groan] The court has WiFi access (for a fee), so I am basically doing the same thing I do every morning before work: surf the Web and catch up on e-mail. Still, there is something about jury duty that just breeds boredom. At least I get out of $DayJob for a day. At least, I hope it's just a day...
Update: Successfully avoided being picked for a jury. Good thing too, because the case I was almost assigned to sounded horrible. Now returning to my regularly scheduled life.Posted at 13:23 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Those of you that are close to me in real life know that my best friend recently moved away. Since I met him 3 years ago, I knew he wanted to move back to Europe, but we became such close friends I don't think anything could have prepared me for his absence.
My best friend is the most loving person I have ever met. He genuinely loves people. I have never known him to meet someone and not try to get to know them. He most often succeeds; he knows most people better after 15 minutes of talking to them than they know themselves. His talent for forging relationships makes him an excellent judge of character, and an excellent chooser of friends (though I'm biased). Even when a person has tons of flaws, he can always see their potential, and he strives to help a person reach it.
My friend's love of people makes him the most Christian person I have ever known. He has taken Jesus's commandment to "love one another" to heart. Some people are surprised that he does not go to church regularly, but that's the point: God does not live at a church. He lives in our hearts. My friend knows that, and is the best representative of God's Love I have ever met.
My friend inspires me in so many ways. He tries to help people whenever and wherever possible. He always smiles, and tries to make others laugh. He used to tease me endlessly trying to get me to smile when he thought I was unhappy. I admit I didn't always appreciate this as his sense of humor can be relentless. But I know he was only trying to help me enjoy life. After all, Life is Beautiful. It is so easy for me to forget that, and yet it is always foremost in his mind.
My best friend, in my mind, is the personification of true friendship. He shows God's Love to everyone he meets. He inspires me to be a better, more loving person. I have never met a more caring, genuine, unique person, nor a truer friend.
Skyler, I miss you terribly.Posted at 04:33 [/personal/catharsis] (0 comments) permalink
ca·thar·sis
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Some of you that know me in real life know the past few months have been pretty rough. Several traumatic events have happened recently, throwing my life into chaos. My typical response to such events is just to shut down, work through the problems as best I can, and deal with my emotions later. However, I was already ignoring problems as it was; having so much dumped on me at once caused me to completely shut down, to repress it all. Ultimately, this is unhealthy and only works for a short time. In order to move forward you have to deal with all the sadness, the anger, the loneliness, the pain. In a word, catharsis.
Until now, I haven't posted much personal stuff of consequence on this blog. I'm not accustomed to posting at length about truly personal things. In addition, I was actively trying repress everything. I can't do that anymore. I originally chose the name "Transformed Planet" because my life, my world, had become so much different than it was. Now, another transition is upon me. What better place than here to write about it?
Some of the things I post in the coming days will not be pretty or well-written, and sometimes may sound weird. They will be attempts to deal with my emotions and the events that have brought me to this point. Please be patient as I work through this process.
Posted at 04:27 [/personal/catharsis] (0 comments) permalink
Thu, 10 Aug 2006
My desk at the $DayJob offices has become the permanent residence of the WebGUI Octopus (given to YAPC::NA attendees by plainblack). The octopus seems quite fond of the picture my friends gave me for my birthday (as am I).
Posted at 03:33 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Mon, 07 Aug 2006
Point of No Return
"All of life can be broken down into moments of transition or moments...of revelation. This had the feeling of both...There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight is not against powers and principalities, it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender. The future is all around us, waiting in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future, or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain."
Posted at 04:35 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Fri, 04 Aug 2006
I (re)started my exercise routine a couple of weeks ago. I started to notice some muscle stiffness (especially in my back) and realized I hadn't been to the gym in about 6 months, so I figured it was time to start again. Of course, starting an exercise routine is also a good way to cause muscle pain, so I decided to sign up at one of the local massage places to help ease the transition to "active lifestyle" mode.
Apparently, the exercise and massage therapy came not a moment too soon. I appear to have a lot of knots and sensitive areas in my back and shoulders, which would explain the recent muscle spasms and general discomfort. But I also realized something else: it is extremely difficult for me to relax. Here I was paying for this relaxing thing, and I yet I was still tense; I felt incapable of relaxing. It's no wonder I have been having muscle and backaches; I've carried tension and stress around so long it's settled into my body. Muscles form knots when they're constantly "on," and long-term inability to deal with stress and emotions has caused these tense muscles to stick.
Exercise will help. Massages will help. But what will really help is changing my lifestyle so I don't stress about everything, and don't bottle it up when I do. Perhaps most importantly, I need to learn to relax!
Posted at 01:20 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Wed, 26 Jul 2006
So the power is out at my house (I'm writing this on my organizer to post later). Amazingly, we're experiencing a thunderstorm in my part of Phoenix, and the electricity has been knocked out on our block. I think this is the first time since I bought the house that we've had a bad enough storm to knock the power offline.
My presentation at $DayJob about my YAPC Chicago trip went pretty well this morning. There was supposed to be two people presenting, but the other was a no-show so I had to stretch my talk a little. Since I was presenting information on SVK, this wasn't a major problem. :-) I probably need to make some modifications for the Phoenix.pm talk Thursday, maybe add another topic or some photos from the trip.
(Electricity was restored around 1AM.)
Posted at 11:55 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Sun, 23 Jul 2006
I've been slacking on updating my blog, unfortunately. I've been busy writing some new photo gallery software, and some presentations I'll be giving next week at $DayJob and Phoenix.pm. As an adjunct to the new photo software, I've also been going through the pictures from our last Europe trip (which I have yet to post to the Web) to do a full-on test.
So I have a bunch of things planned for the next few days. I'll be updating Gran Turismo Europa with new software. If that works out, Lovable Quirks is next. Assuming all goes right with that, I'll post the software itself here on Transformed Planet in case anyone is interested in it (be forewarned: it will still be alpha-quality). Somewhere along the way I'll post my presentation slides and (if I can find the time) do a Wireless Device Dimension post too.
I should also note I have other, non-computer things going on too. I'll have to talk about them along the way, when I can.
Posted at 04:39 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Sat, 22 Jul 2006
The odometer on my car turned to 300 miles today. (This isn't the best picture since I took it with my phone.) I haven't really been driving it much, but it's been great so far. It's like I got my other car back!
Posted at 03:19 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Sun, 16 Jul 2006
The second 2005 Pontiac Grand Am GT1 @ 188 mi
Posted at 01:13 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
In what can only be described as a miracle from God, today (with help of Jamie) I was able to find another brand new Grand Am GT. Except for the color and the non-chrome wheels, this car is identical to the one I lost. Plus, I paid less money for it. What a blessing!
Posted at 01:13 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
This is probably the best picture I have of my car after the accident. Both the front and rear suspensions on the right side were destroyed. The right rear wheel is barely still attached to the car. Miraculously no one was hurt in the accident. The car, however, was declared a total loss. It had only traveled 6000 miles and hadn't even had its first oil change.
Posted at 01:12 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
Thu, 06 Jul 2006
When it rains, it pours. I had another car accident this morning, the day after the 1 month anniversary of the first. No one was hurt, and it wasn't my fault. Someone pulled out in front of me, and I swerved to miss her, swiping another car in the process. Luckily, both I and the driver I swiped saw the license plate of the person causing the accident, and the police did rule it was that driver's fault. Still feels lousy though.
Posted at 21:02 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink
- Traveling is fun.
- Pizza is good, especially with gooey cheese. From room service, even better.
- Expensive hotels are nice. Expensive hotels you get for free are nicer.
- I can't get Plagger to install, and it's really starting to frustrate me.
- I wonder if Skyler made it to Berlin yet. I miss him.
- My eBay bid for a Mac Mini is currently winning.
- I can't believe I've been away from home for almost two weeks.
- I hate my job.
Posted at 00:55 [/personal] (3 comments) permalink
Tue, 06 Jun 2006
Coming back from our latest trip, some of us had an accident. Everyone involved is alright. My beloved Grand Am GT, however, is toast. I have to wait and see if the insurance company thinks it's salvagable.
As they towed the car away, it was easier to smile; no one was hurt. We are truly blessed.
Posted at 06:50 [/personal] (0 comments) permalink