Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Walk Of Life


Music has never been central to my life. I've played several instruments over the years and my CD collection seems to grow at a healthy rate, but I've never had the memory or critical ear for music that all my friends seem to have. I don't know why, it's just how I am. A funny thing though about me and music. Like others, it can transport me back to a place and time instantly. One album did that to me this past week. Walking through BestBuy, as I do on fairly regular basis, I stumbled on the 20th anniverary edition of Dire Straight's Brothers In Arms. Wow. I bought it without thinking. The last version of this album was a tape I bought... well 20 years ago. Each track is a favorite of mine and I know each by heart, not having heard them in long time. I never bought the CD although it contains some of the most personal and favorite music of mine. The album is great and listening it to again is like rediscovering a part of myself I thought I had lost a long, long time ago. Sort of like discovering a box of old photos from your youth you'd completely forgotten about. Listening to each track was like thumbing through stacks of photos, each one allowing me a new surprise and memory long forgotten. Listening, I'd catch a glimpse of my gangly teenaged self, stairing back with all the innocence and ignorance of youth. All you can do is laugh and try not to cry at the same time.
The album cost about $20, but to me.. it's priceless. A great, great album from the 80's and one I'd recommend for anyone who appriciates music more than I do.

For EB, wherever you are.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Odds, Ends and Ellipses ...

No comment...
It's been an interesting couple of weeks with most of it work related. Currently, I can't really talk about most of my work which makes it sort of frustrating talking with friends and family. I like cloak and dagger as much as the next guy but this is getting a little old, for me anyway. Good things are happening and hopefully by the end of April I can once again talk about what I've been working on and what direction my work may be taking next! Stay tuned.

The Mouse Tax...
One thing is for sure, and this I CAN talk about, first week in April, Thomas and I are on vacation. It's time for our annual round-the-clock Pirates of the Carribean ride marathon down at the House-o-Mouse! Broadband permitting, expect my first video blog in long time with some special guest stars!

We Have a Piper Down...
For St. Patty's Day, I had dinner with friend's at our local Applebee's and then headed south to the Fiddler's Hearth in South Bend. I had a great time there mixing and mingling with the great crowd that gathered there. Great music! I'll be posting some interesting music done on the pipes that I bore witness too. You just have to hear it to believe it!

SketchUp and Mustard...
I now own a copy of SketchUp. I've discovered it's great animation/walkthrough video export feature. This has become an incredible innovation tool for me at work. It's amazing at how fast I've been able to create and capture visual design and ideas using this tool. I'm working on building up a usable component libray while discovering all the .3DS files already available! Drawing hasn't been this much fun since Mrs. Jones 6th grade art class! Speaking of design, I'm reading through The Design Of Everyday Things by Donald Norman. So far, so good. Full review at books end.

Friday, March 17, 2006

Happy St. Patrick's Day!


Remember, today everyone is Irish! You don't have to love or even like Guinness to celebrate this day, which is good because it means more for me! However, go out today and seek our your local Irish Pub and get a taste of the Emerald Isle!
Here are my favorites depending on your location on this holiday:

Michigan/Northern Indiana:
The Fiddler's Hearth, South Bend, Indiana (see you there tonight!)

Indianapolis, Indiana:
Claddagh Irish Pub, Plainfield, Indianapolis (downtown), Indianpolis (north.. evey chance I can)

Austin, Texas
Fado (Every Sunday or thereabouts 1998-1999)

Chicago
Fado

Las Vegas
Nine Fine Irishman (in New York, New York...Make it there everytime!)

Irish Pub Company
People designing my next house?

Now, to be complete I have to give a mention to the Tilted Kilt in Las Vegas. They do not quality as an Irish Pub per se as I have some high standards when it comes to the food served. They get a mention here as the ONLY competitor to Hooters to use an IrishAmerican theme. Originality, I'll give 'em that.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Review: SketchUp 5 (demo)


I have a soft spot for most of Google's work. With the exception of Google Desktop, I've been a big fan of all their desktop applications. Then it should come as no surprise that I'm absolutely in love with their latest acquisition, SketchUp. This is one of the most powerful applications anyone who has ever wanted to convey a visual thought should have in the software toolbox! SketchUp is a deceptively simple 3D modeling program. I have toyed around with commercial 3D applications for a long long time, always with the intent of doing something relativley simple that looked decent. I wasn't trying to make a movie or a photorealistic model. This program gives a user the ability to quickly create a 3D sketch that looks incredible. The polygon and 3D surface tools are extremely intuitive. The built-in hands on tutorial is the BEST tutorial for any application I have ever used, period. I went through it (very worth the while) and afterwards was comfortable with 90% of the program! Just to prove the point, here is what I created after finishing the tutorial and using the program for one hour; a scaled model of my house! I've only tested the demonstration version and there are a few features such as terrain modeling that are not included with this version. The import and export capabilities are truly outstanding and there is even a plug-in for Google Earth to allow KML exports right into Google Earth for sharing. I'm still working on getting the placement of the house just right so stay tuned and soon, you'll have a Google Earth version of Fort-Knight! As you've noticed, the product is a demo and is time expired after 500 minutes of use. This is more than enough to get a feal for the power of the program. The full version costs $500 which when compared to other similarly featured packages isn't that bad. Aside from the house, I've also done several other models including one of a product I'm working on for work as well as the tradeshow booth it will go into!
This one is going in the toolbox! Just go to the website and check out this video!

Monday, March 13, 2006

A Million Young Poets...

Smells can take people back to a time and place instantly. Crayons seem to have a very strong effect on most of my friends. With me, the smell of a Crayola 64 pack takes me back to Mrs. Rice's 3rd grade class instantly. My blue plastic pencil box stuffed with crayons and number 2 pencils! Bang. There I am again.
The sound of rain and windchimes for example, takes me back to when I was 9 and we had a back porch in Indiana where my father and I could listen to the rain and thunder. It's something we still get to do, ableit rarely these days.
Music, of course, has this miraculous power as well. Growing up in Indiana, it's easy to see why its native son John Cougar Mellencamp and his music could so easily define a time and place for me and anyone else in my generation. There are many memories that are stamped in my mind by his music. It starts with the last day of 6th grade where were listened to the single "Jack and Dianne". Another song, Lonely Old Night, takes me to the Indiana State Fair. Not only did I hear it there during some fun teeenage evenings, but the music video was also filmed there and one of my childhood friend's can be seen strolling the midway! Good times. Another one of the songs takes me back to high school. The song is Check It Out and while it initially reminds me of those turbulant and defining years of youth, the song's words always made me look into my future and wonder how I would look back on those days, what dreams I would have and which ones I would sacrafice. The words are written from a point of view I know only to well now. With age, a marrage (and divorce), a son, jobs, mortgages, all the good with the bad, all the trappings of adult life; the song helps me put a lot in perspective. It helps me look back to what my hopes and dreams were in my youth and with the benefit of time, appriciate what I have in my life and just as importantly, what dreams I still have despite life's adversities. And so without futher ado, the song.

John 'Cougar' Mellencamp
Check It Out
Written by - John Mellencamp
From - The Lonesome Jubilee
Peaked at #14 - 4/88

A million young poets
Screamin' out their words
To a world full of people
Just livin' to be heard
Future generations
Ridin' on the highways that we built
I hope they have a better understanding
Check it out
Goin' to work on Monday
Check it out
Got yourself a family
Check it out
All utility bills have been paid
You can't tell your best buddy that you love him
So check it out
Where does our time go
Check it out
Got a brand new house in escrow
Check it out
Sleepin' with your back to your loved one
This is all that we've learned about happiness
Check it out
Forgot to say hello to my neighbors
Check it out
Sometimes I question my own behavior
Check it out
Talkin' about the girls that we've seen on the sly
Just to tell our souls we're still the young lions
So check it out
Gettin' too drunk on Saturdays
Check it out
Playin' football with the kids on Sundays
Check it out
Soarin' with the eagles all week long
And this is all that we've learned about living
This is all that we've learned about living
A million young poets
Screamin' out their words
Maybe someday
Those words will be heard
By future generations
Ridin' on the highways that we built
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Hope they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Hope they have a better understanding
Check it out...


If you'd like to listen to a good cross section John Mellencamp's work, I recommend the WORDS & MUSIC CD and DVD collection.

This I Believe...

I heard a quote from Bull Durham today which got me thinking. The quote is from when Crash (Kevin Costner) is telling Annie (Susan Sarandon) who he is and what he's about. The monlogue is basically a list of things Crash believes in. I thought it was an interesting device to develop a character in one big scene. It's also a nice way to list out a bunch of things that help define who I am. So here' my first stab at a list like Crash's, edited for the general populous.
What do I believe in? I believe... I believe in opening a door for a lady. I believe in standing until a lady is seated. I believe in paying for the date (unless otherwise threatened). I believe in reading to a loved one on a rainy day on the couch. I believe in drinking coffee on Sunday morning over breakfast and the paper. I believe voting my consious, not a party line. I believe in standing up for what I believe in, in the face of critizism and scorn. I believe in doing what's right, no matter what. I believe in taking care of my family and friends. I believe in treating every day like it's my last. I believe in real butter on popcorn. I believe in being friends first. I believe in holding hands. I believe in respecting others opinions. I believe in never hating someone's soul. I believe comic books aren't just for kids. I believe Lego is the best toy. I believe that making someone laugh is gift. I believe friendship should be unconditional. I believe TV will rot your brain so use it sparingly. I believe in watching both features of a double feature. I believe in following your dreams (no matter how many you may have). I believe in turning all the lights off, opening the windows, and watching the thunderstorm all night. I believe in helping others as best we can. I believe in being true to yourself. I believe in random (anonymous) acts of kindness to strangers. I believe in praying for peace and justice. I believe in standing up for those who can't. I believe tomorrow will be better than today. I believe there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. I believe in working hard and playing hard. I believe in enjoying life. I believe children are our future. I believe we really did land on the moon. I believe we will return to the moon someday and go to mars. I believe Moore's Law will continue for a long time. I believe Guinness is the best beer on the planet. I believe we are all related and connected on this planet. I believe bluegrass music is real music. I believe Jazz is a national treasure. I believe in personally thanking veterans on Veterans Day for their service. I believe in remembering the past and its mistakes. I believe in working towards creating a better future. I believe we will have flying cars someday I believe reading Edger Allen Poe shold be mandatory in school. I believe learning how to balance a checkbook should also be mandatory in school. I believe the Cubs will win the World Series before I die. I believe George Lucas is a better writer than director. I believe in God.

New Car


New ride?, originally uploaded by johnmknight.

This is my shiny new 2006 Saturn Relay.
Not exaclty the convertable I was thinking about... but much more utilitarian. :)

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Review: Battlestar Galactica

Frak this is good!
This is a tough review to start. First, there is a miniseries, a complete first season and an incredible start to a second season of some of the finest TV on. Where to begin? Well, how about with the original series. I loved the original Battlestar Galactica and in the early post Star Wars days Battlestar was a welcome addition to a young sci-fi fan's daily intake. I admit that when I heard of the new series I absolutely refused to see it. "Blasphemy!", I said. They even dared to replace Starbuck with a woman! Insanity! I now admit that the beautiful and very talented Katee Sackhoff has reinterpreted a character originally owned by Dirk Benedict in such an incredible way. See, that's the way the entire show has been done. The entire cast, especially Edward James Olmos, one of my favorite actors, as Adama has taken beloved characters and made them their own unique creations. What about the sory you say?
In The Beginning...
The shows overall plot follows the original series with the humans of the 12 Colonies having created the Cylons to serve mankind, only for them to eventually turn on their masters. The Cylons leave to form their own civilization only to return decades later with a plan. This is where the miniseries begins and I have to admit that after having watched the miniseries I was hooked. Season One literally begins right where the miniseries left off and is one of the most powerful beginnings of a series ever. The tone of the show is more serious than I remember the original being and like all great and time timeless television allows itself to be influence by current events enough to turn simple entertainment into what real sci-fi, like the original Star Trek, can do: be a piece of art that not only entertains but connects with us on a different level and makes us feel and think as we reflect on the world we live in. Don't believe me? Watch season one or two and keep the topics of a post 9-11 world in mind. Paranoia, terrorism, abortion, religious freedom, and ones faith are all topics dealt with in a very serious and thought provoking manner. It's awesome TV. Naw, it's frakin awesome TV and that's no feldercarb.

New Internet Term: Thumbnail-Goggles

Aaron and I have come up with the latest Internet term: Thumbnail-Goggles.
Here's the official definition:

An internet term referring to viewing of small pictures that lead the viewer to believe that the people in those photos are beautiful but when opening the
larger photo, they are sadly mistaken. This event can most often often be seen on Myspace and Flickr.
Definition origin: John Knight and Aaron Dykstra
Created March 6, 2006 9:35 PM PST

Monday, March 06, 2006

AirZoo iTunified


AirZoo iTunified, originally uploaded by johnmknight.

This one is an old photo I manipulated to look like it came out of the iTunes interface. Essentially I bordered the image in gray, then mirrored it vertically. Next I lowered the contrast and brightness on the mirror image and then folleded that by a nice feathered crop. Voila! I'm going to add a few icons that use this style on my website but experimented with this image first. Thoughts?

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Airzoo Saturday Afternoon


Airzoo saturday afternoon, originally uploaded by johnmknight.

Thomas as I made another trip to the Air Zoo in Kalamzoo (Michigan). Here Thomas can be seen in front of a BF 109 or more precisly a Hispano HA-1112-M1L Buchon. It's a Spain built version of the German BF109. I've been able to sit in the cockpit of this one and I have to admit it's a bit of tight fit. The Corsair is a better for for me!