No bidniss like snow bidniss

Yup, we got our first snowfall last night. One, maybe two inches worth of wet snow - We briefly lost power too. I was a bored last night (not wanting to turn my computer back on in case the power would go again) so I dusted off the car and went out for a drive with Rob. We found a deserted parking lot (that had already been abused like what we had in mind) and had a bit of fun. Mind you, it was partly educational - this is the first time I've driven my car in snow, and I really wanted to get a feel for how it handles. It is such a front wheel drive. We were only out for 15-20mins, but by the end I was able to do a bit of power slides with counter-steering and everything. I want to go out again so I can practice different ways of braking and turning in the snow. I really want to be familiar with how my car handles.

And of course, in true Lower Mainland fashion the snow is now melting down into a wonderfully slippery and wet slush concoction. Things are dripping and damp. I'm going to have to plan out a different route to school - that vicious hill that I usually take scares me. I'm so hosed if I get stuck.
-Cril

Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play
Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It's beautiful and so are you
Dear Prudence won't you come out to play

Dear Prudence open up your eyes
Dear Prudence see the sunny skies
The wind is low the birds will sing
That you are part of everything
Dear Prudence won't you open up your eyes?

Dana Fuchs, Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson & T.V. Carpio - Dear Prudence

Return of El Guavo

Okay, so I went back and tweaked the guava again before I printed it off. Speak of which, wow that was painful. The campus printing people have Illustrator CS3, which would not load my CS2 file. Therefore, we had to import/rasterize it into Photoshop CS3, which took ~30mins for each of the two files. Wow, what a pain. It wasn't all bad, though, the lady working in the printing services area was really nice and patient with me. I got everything printed and foam mounted for $23, which is way better than the ~$50 prof estimated. And speaking of prof... Ugh. I'm so very annoyed that we haven't seen *any* marks so far this semester. We haven't even gotten the midterm back yet. This is so frustrating, I'm going to avoid any more classes with him if I can get away with it.

So homework-wise, things are coming along nicely. I have two projects completed, one on the final stretch, and I've started the last one. Good progress. There's a little bit of work I have to do yet for.. Work. I need to do an ad for this Friday, and it's currently in the bosses hands for review and content. On other work topics, I wonder what's going on with that elusive catalogue...

And I got to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra this Friday. That should be great, but I need to solidify some plans. Like when/where we're meeting up, what we're doing for dinner... And who I'm taking along. Prolly gunna be my mom or sister. It's all kinda sad, really, that I'm turning 21 and can't muster the guts to confront the ladies. Sigh, such is life... At least the guava looks pretty, and you can't ask for much more than that.

Although, it gives me an idea for another blog. I won't say much more than that, in case it doesn't get off the ground. Like a certain other project I won't mention.
-Cril

This feeling won't last cause I cannot survive
I tell you I've been here before
When it's movin this fast
It's a matter of time
One of us walks out that door
It seems that I thrive on the dark side of things
I always feel alive when the death bell rings
Now you come and you bring out the tears in me

Santana - Wishing it Was

Coming soon to a college hallway near you...

And by 'near you' I mean 'in the Fraser Valley'. I got some better instruction from my graphic design prof for the final project. One 14x22" poster with a single element on it (this'll most likely be the textured guava. I think it's the most impressive piece I've done this term... Even if the leaves look like crap.) The other 14x22" poster is to be a mosaic/collection of differant pieces I've done. And thus I present the below.



Not much else is new... I spent ~3hrs doing yard work today, in the lovely gray and wet weather. They were collecting any yard waste people had for free, down at some dump or quarry or something. We got rid of a quarter of our hedge, many tree branches, and several shrubs and bushes. Our yard is looking a lot less depressing now, but it still kinda sucks. Maybe we can get rid of the whole hedge this spring/summer. That thing is ugly.

Speaking of gray and wet winter weather and being ugly, my skin is on the fritz. Which is odd, really, because when I was in Calgary for winters it didn't get this bad. And it's infinitely more humid here than up there. I just don't understand why my skin is so dry and tight. To all those people who do commercials for skin cream and complain about "dry, itchy skin...", you ain't got nothin' on somebody with eczema. When you're skin honestly looks and feels like leather, than "dry, itchy skin..." is such an understatement.

Well, enough whining from me. I'm coming on the end of the term, that means final projects, midterms, and trying to decide what to take next semester. Needless to say, I think I'm going to play some TF2. But on the good side, it looks like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is coming to Vancouver late this month. My mom booked me two tickets for my birthday. It's a shame that I don't have anyone to invite that I'm not already related to... Hey Frank, wanna come up from Miami to see a group you've never heard of?
-Cril

Sexy Baby
Happiness and silhouettes
Revolving in the deep water indigo
It's high tide, night sky
Pleasure moment
Thinking big
Thinking positive
And itching to get on with it
It's all stops out

Imogen Heap - Daylight Robbery

Wish Liszt

Every so often I open up a text document called "Stuff.txt" that I keep on my desktop. About once a year, in fact. At about this time. "But Chris," you ask, "What could possibly be in this wonderfully vague titled notepad file?!"

"Well," I reply, "IP addresses and student numbers and server names and passwords and a wonderful plethora of small bits that I never make use of twice."

Oh, and a list of items and such that I'd like to acquire at some point. Music albums, DVDs, video games, mainly. At this point in time, it looks a lil' bit like this...

Moby - Go
Frou Frou - Details
INXS - Switch
Apocalyptica - Apocalyptica
William Orbit - Hello Waveforms
Ocean's Eleven OST
Ocean's Eleven
Cowboy Bebop OST
Gears of War PC
Call of Duty 4
Twilight Princess
Mario Galaxy

Generally speaking, this are things that I'd like to purchase for myself when I get the money (hah!). I honestly don't expect to receive anything from this liszt in gift form. That'd be most unlikely. But hey, THE WHOLE INTERWEBZ CAN SEE THE LISZT LOLOLOL. That means anything's possible, right?
-Cril

It's like it was meant to be
I'm not kidding, it's like it was meant to be

I'm not kidding
No, I'm not kidding
I've never been more serious in my life
My life with you
OH

I'm not kidding
I'm seriously not kidding
I'll never stop joking
Oh wait, I mean I will stop joking
Because I'm serious
It's like it was meant to be!!

Strong Bad - It's Like It Was Meant To Be

Call of Duty...tastic.

Illustrator seems to have issues with anti-aliasing some objects that are skinned. You can see it mainly on the large red and blue shapes. Whereas the other smaller swirls used a solid colour, I used gradients with the larger ones. I wasn't pleased with how the built-in texture/skin shading feature worked, so I fudged it by just making it a gradient. The object of the assignment was to make an abstract scene based on putting patters and symbols onto 3D shapes. It turned out to make an interesting abstract background, but the AA problem kind of cripples it. Gah.

It other news, Call of Duty 4 destroyed my weekend. What a fantastic game. I got a hold of the uh, 'downloadable extended demo' for the single player campaign. And I gotta say, I was so blown away I'll pick up a retail (or Steam) copy as soon as I have some cash. The characters were memorable, the story solid and fluid. And the method of story telling was excellent. I mean, it shakes the very foundation of my inner Half-Life fanboi. There were some absolutely moving scenes, and some perfectly executed cinematic scenes. A true masterpiece. If anything would sweep the GoTY award away from the Orange Box, Call of Duty 4 has my stamp of approval. And I haven't even played the multiplayer component yet.

Sigh... Procrastination, thy name is me. I haven't done any homework yet. Hopefully I can get some done tomorrow.
-Cril

So drink me in
Like tainted wine
Come bite down on my sharpened cup
And taste the dreams that numb the mind
A simple word
A harmless glare
That binds me with the thinnest thread
And pins me down to pleasures bed
Everybody wants
Everybody says
Everybody begs in time

Moist - Silver

Mmm... Beeftastic

Ok, so we dabbled in using Illustrator's built-in 3D engine. We had to make a humorous object so... Aerosol Beef Spray it was!



I'd be lying if I said I wasn't starting to grow fond of Illustrator. It still has the odd quirk that drives me NUTS, but I'm really seeing the advantage over Corel Draw. Wish I could say I was growing more fond of my prof, though. For our final project of the term, he gave us a brief spoken description of what he wanted. Is it just me, or for something like a final project wouldn't it be nice to have a physical sheet with written instructions? Maybe it's just me. Oh well, either way I'm going to need to get two 22"x14" posters printed out and mounted. Ugh. Probably going to cost me a wee fortune.

This weekend I need to homework. That being:
MUSC - Make a song and invent some notation to write it down with
PHIL - At least read over that essay. It'd be nice if I could put it into standard form, but we'll see.
MACS - I want to finish the final project for the course. Just needs some checking over and fine-tuning.
GD - Do that darn abstract art thing. I have a baaad feeling about it...

Wow, I have homework in every class. I didn't realize that. But then again, I didn't realize that this was a long weekend, what with Rememberance Day. Hopefully I can get it all done.
-Cril

There's an art to perception
So see it as you will
Can you adjust my reception?
Just give me the latest pill
I don't need to deceive you
'Cause I feel no pain
Maybe I should let you
Come on and eat my brain

Odds - Eat My Brain

Recreational fraggin'

Warning: If you are not a nerd and/or gamer you do not want to proceed past this point. Trust me, I'm getting my Geek on.

Quick update on things and such. Mainly of the videogame variety.

I downloaded the Need for Speed Pro Street demo and... Was quite unimpressed. Call me shallow if you want, but I think the more "realistic" car handling isn't that great, you become far too reliant on getting just the right line through corners. Also, the damage modeling is mediocre. I think the first FlatOut did a better job, and that is already a few years old. The wipeout physics still feel a bit wonky too. I still want to play the game, though, if for no other reason then the customization. Hopefully that's been a wee bit fixed since Carbon. I have to admit that I'm excited because they're including my model of Civic. I think I'll have fun virtually pimping my ride. So I'll strike this game from my list for the time being. Perhaps I'll look into it in a year when the prices has dropped 60%. I might see about downloading an "extended demo", and if it turns out better than I'll buy the retail copy.

Call of Duty 4... The reviews are looking pretty good, and it didn't run too terribly on my system. I may just pick it up. I'll probably get it for my b-day at the end of the month unless Frank really wants to play it. Then I can scrape up some monies from somewhere to make it happen.

Gears of War PC. Apparently my system doesn't meet the minimum reqs. Hopefully they'll have a demo so I can see how my rig holds up. If not, then I'll see if I can find an "extended demo" and give it a go. As much as I want the game, it'd be rather foolish to buy it only to find out I can't play it. I've drawn the line in the sand - I'm simply not upgrading for another two years at least. I guess I'll just stop paying attention to new games. All of the sudden I'm starting to see the allure of consoles. Oh well, at least Valve is developing for common hardware. Half-Life for life <3

Oh, and I'm watching Cowboy Bebop. Again. Yeah, this'll be my third or fourth time through. It's such a good show. The music is perfect, the animation fluid, and the humour excellent. What more could you possibly ask for in an anime?
-Cril

PS- I'm hoping that if I let out my inner post fiend I can get in 100 total posts before the year is up. Will it happen? STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT!

Spring has come
Women are looking in mirrors
Egg pies are baking

Yoko Kanno - Green Bird

EPIC FAIL!

LEt November the 2nd be always remembered as... The day that Chris, yet again, failed a drivers test. I suppose this can be looked at from two angles: (1) I'm not actually a good driver and/or (2) I get ridiculously nervous. Funny how that works. I almost failed the whole thing at the FIRST intersection, but a lack of right-hand shoulder checks and inability to properly line up and proceed at intersections ensured I didn't stand a chance. It's funny, because at the end of the test I couldn't feel my feet. It was like they fell asleep. It's never happened to me before while driving and, as one would image, makes it rather hard to operate the clutch/breaks/gas. I must have been see freaked out that my body stopped fully circulating blood through my legs. Go figure.

In other news, a textured guava:



Sigh...
-Cril

You got me running and there's no fun in it,
Why should it be so much to ask of you,
What you're doing to me?

Beatles - What You're Doing

Damn extroverts...

Ok, so in Media and Communications we had a student-led activity today. The group was talking all about our use of internet and media in our lives, blah blah blah. One chick started talking about how she uses email and facebook and her cell to keep in touch with her friends. She said she sends THREE-HUNDRED text messages a MONTH and that "it's probably average for everyone else with cell phones".

I almost threw up a little. There's something about it that drives me nuts. This chick sits a table infront of me in class, and she's always chatting in MSN or posting Facebook comments. I don't know why but I just can't stand it how some people are oh-so-social. I have no good reason in this - I don't really see what's wrong with keeping in touch with however many friends through whatever means are convenient. But I can't stand it. Damn extroverts.

If it is average for people of my age to be constantly be sending messages from their cellphone... I must be a rare breed indeed. To think I only turn on my cell phone in cases of emergencies or special circumstances. Go figure.

I posted a Guava about a week back - I've been playing with using various pattern-fills to give the appearance of texture. I think I may have figured out something that'll let me apply a gradient to make the textures more effected by light. It's all so very exciting and in-depth (...probably not), I'll post the results if I get it to work.

I have a drivers' test tomorrow. So if you'll excuse me I need to go prepare to fail. I mean be nervous. I mean to pretend to know what I'm doing.

And by all that, I mean "Play around with guava textures and then play some Team-Fortress 2". Yeah, that sounds like a plan.
-Cril

Through ups and downs of facing each other
Together were better together we'll find

We try
To crawl
(Together)
To live
To know
(Better together)

The Polyphonic Spree - We Crawl