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Written by Mahoney
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Tuesday, 31 January 2012 00:00 |
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One of the things I like to do other than building things is to make films. In fact, if you haven't seen our pilot episode for the New Nerdy Workshop show then you should check it out. We set out initially to make a series of build episodes of some of our projects, but it just hasn't panned out yet. Maybe in the future?
Anyway, if you are into filming, or just want to get started then there are a lot things to consider. Writing, locations, actors, and sound just to name a few. Lighting is what it's all about in this quick little build. It's the down and dirty on rigging yourself a DIY light kit. There's a lot more to lighting than just a DIY kit. I try my best to blog about these things over on the HYSEY Films website. Also, there are some really cool ideas on these things from places like the forums at IndyMogul.com and the Frugal Film Maker.
For now, let's get dirty and start making a simple solution to improve upon the clamp lights everyone is so in love with.
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Written by Czar
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Friday, 20 January 2012 16:34 |
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My 5 year old graduated in to a man this last Christmas. He went from Duplo blocks to Legos. You know, the real deal ones where you can fit about 50 in your mouth at once, each one capable of being choked on in an instant. Quickly, we found one problem. He doesn't have enough! Epic skyscrapers cannot be built without acquiring more building materials.
Since I'm trying to slowly introduce my child in to video games, I figured this was the perfect time to show him Minecraft. After the break, read on to find out how I not only got him interested, but played along side him in what was to become his first LAN party.
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Written by Mahoney
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Tuesday, 13 December 2011 16:15 |
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If you've ever watched a show on TV about green energy solutions you have inevitably heard someone say something along the lines of "A solar farm the size of X square miles in the empty desert of New Mexico could power the entire United States." Or maybe it's about wind turbines on mountain ranges, or wave generators off the coast, or cosmic x-ray alien things. Okay, I made that last one up, but the next thought is "Why don't we do that?"
Well there are a number of reasons. One is the obvious cost, no one who would want to do that has the money to do that. Second, when people make these statements they are not taking the power loss over distance into account.
A basic concept to people who work with electricity is that all materials have some resistance to electricity. Even metals have a, albeit very small, resistance to electrical current. What is negligible over your 100' extension cord is very noticeable over miles of power line. All that energy made in a solar farm in New Mexico has very little chance of effectively making it to Maine.
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Written by Mahoney
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Monday, 28 November 2011 14:55 |
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There are a lot of things that gamers have accepted as standard now, or complain should be standard. For instance, instruction manuals are pretty much gone as developers have made the first ten minutes of game function a tutorial on walking around. I don't really mind that, in fact it seems my brother may be the end winner in that decision as he was the one who would just plug the game in and figure it out, while I poured over the instruction manual.
But it seems lately that features or developments that would otherwise benefit gamers have taken a backseat to things that make the publisher money and push game sales.
If I hear one more gamer complain about how "game theater should be standard" I swear I will start shoving my boot so far up your sphincter you'll be licking my knee caps. Let me tell you something right now. Your frag video is crap, and no one cares. Also see the following: Your machinima video is crap, and no one cares.
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Written by Czar
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Monday, 07 November 2011 19:41 |
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I play video games.
I have a 4 year old kid.
I want my kid to play video games with me.
It's not as simple as just handing him the controller or sitting him in front of the mouse and keyboard. If it was, we'd be an unstoppable duo on Command and Conquer: Generals Zero Hour. But why isn't it that simple..? Practice makes perfect, right? He'll die a few times and soon enough it'll be time to pwn.. WRONG! And here's why.
Your kid may not be able to read well or at all yet based on age.
Your kid may lack an understanding of the spacial concepts needed for the game.
They may totally suck at it, try a few times, and get bored/uninterested.
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Written by Mahoney
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Friday, 04 November 2011 15:41 |
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The PROTECT IP Act being proposed is nothing new to the world of the internet. Formally known as S.968 the bill has provisions which groups like Demand Progress have called an Internet Blacklist. Opponents to the bill claim it could be the end of Twitter and YouTube permanently, while others decry the increased punishment of making copyright infringement a Federal Felony as being too rough.
Proponents of the bill (read: Big Money Media Studios) have pointed out that no where in the language of the bill does it call for a list of any kind, nor does it at any time use the word censor. Such things already have negative associations, and to use that language would mean an immediate rejection. But all laws, no matter how written under go the same scrutiny of interpretation.
If you dare, and I won't think less if you don't, follow me after the break for my personal take on these things.
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Written by Mahoney
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Monday, 31 October 2011 16:56 |
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One of the great ironies of being stranded on a desert island is that you are surrounded by water, but unable to drink any of it. How much would it suck to survive crossing the Saharan desert only to be confronted with salt water you couldn't drink when you found the ocean? And my last post about the Zompocalypse had me thinking of what all my NYC friends might be able to do about finding a steady supply of fresh water in the even of a catastrophic disaster.
The use of the sodis (Solar Disinfectant) method is nothing new, and neither is the idea of an evaporator, but these ideas are currently implemented in a way that encourages some kind of lone wolf survival. Let's be honest, in the event of a systemic failure of society you'll need more than just yourself to get by. Someone needs to watch your back while you tend the garden.
Anyway, to keep your little community hydrated without the use of modern equipment I figured there was no need to reinvent the wheel. Just combine several basic wheel ideas to a much larger one.
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Written by Mahoney
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Thursday, 27 October 2011 21:19 |
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Let's get one thing straight. The Zompocalypse is imminent. Not a theory, but imminent. So while stock piling ammo, blunt trauma weapons, and food be sure not to forget the toilet paper. We're not going to rebuild civilization by wiping our butts with leaves.
The problem is, when examining the pop culture and lore surrounding zombies there arise certain problems that seem to undermine the entire threat of a zombie invasion. The biggest one is that zombies by way of viral infection will never spread as it is depicted. I can hear your shouts of blasphemy now, but take the time to hear me out. I think I have some valid arguments as to why the Zompocalypse may not be so global.
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Written by Mahoney
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Tuesday, 25 October 2011 12:18 |
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Over the course of the day while I sit at work my mind wonders, like any sane person's mind would, and I think up of some really cool hacks that I would like to build. There are a number of reasons that I don't get around to building them, but mostly it's a a matter of money and time. Parts cost money. And assembling those parts takes time. Between kids, wife, dog, and TF2 I don't have much of either.
But just because we can't directly build our thoughts doesn't mean we should rule out the idea of drafting our thoughts on paper... or digital files. I've decided I'm going to at least draft down the theory of what I would do in some projects and leave it up to public debate on how viable of a solution it all is.
First on deck from my mind is an idea to hack parts together and create a high efficiency source of wind power.
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Written by Mahoney
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Sunday, 23 October 2011 20:16 |
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Battlefield 3 is one of the most anticipated games on the 2011 holiday season. It's been years since a new installment came to the Battlefield series, and no, I don't count the Bad Company games as they were more stripped down versions of BF2. Also I still remember how EA gave the royal middle finger to their PC fan base when they didn't even release a PC version of BF:BC1. Somehow all of my fellow pc gamers forgot that one when BF:BC2 came out.
Anyway, let's try to stay on target rather than tear into EA as a whole. The game at the time of this writing costs a pretty penny at $60 USD. That may not be a lot for some people, but this nerd has two kids to feed! But I believe there is a solution at hand. EA should reduce the price of the game, and I explain why after the break.
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