Life In The Pacific Northwest
I delight in many things geek, like science fiction, things Star Wars and Star Trek, comics, comicons, anime, technology and science. Seattle is a great place to live with those interests.
The good folks at xkcd hit a home run with this gem and it’s follow up.
I adore them and have been following them for years. You should, too. Here’s the link to their RSS feed, their Twitter page, and here’s where you can subscribe to their email newsletter.
I’ve been kept in the loop about the different groups encompassing the #StopeHateForProfit initiative and their meeting with Facebook a few days ago (here’s a recap of the situation if you need it). Other folks have written about Facebook’s strategy and risks, so I really have nothing to add there. However, one element has given me pause. What happens if the site collapses?
No, I don’t think that Facebook is going to fail simply due to this issue. However, there are a huge number of challenges that Facebook faces, from privacy to a lack of public accountability. All of that makes me wonder what the breaking point will be? Ultimately, I believe Facebook’s Waterloo will be a combination of all the issues facing it, along with the natural conservatism that comes with huge success and an IPO, and the creation of a challenger. And I have something of a fatalistic view: that the end will come for it. Not that it will suddenly vanish. It’s a well-run business. However, I expect it will simply fade from relevancy once the new thing appears (i.e.: MySpace).
For me, this speaks to the importance of having my own website, my own place on the interwebs. One where I control everything. My own personal brand, I guess. Mainly, though, where my presence is independent of decisions made by some random group of individuals.
I realize that, in many ways, this is a fantasy. This site is hosted by a company, built on WordPress…external factors that I don’t have much control over. However, I can move my site to another host. I can port my blog from WordPress to some other platform if need be. Everything on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, will simply vanish if those sites end.
Now, maybe this makes sense as I’m currently studying web development and design. As I was told many years ago, “having your own domain is the height of being a nerd” (I own that with delight). So, I guess this might be my inner geek. But I see deep value in having my own site, using it as a hub to the rest of my internet presence. And I see the value for you, too.
I’ve long enjoyed the cyberpunk genre. Stumbling upon this video was rather fortuitous. I appreciated diving deeper into cyberpunk’s history and seeing the way different media influenced its growth. One thing I took away: cyberpunk was the first genre where video games were a key part of its evolution.
Below is a playlist of a video series: The Origins of Cyberpunk. I hope you find it as fun as I did.
Murder hornets?
Is this fake or not? I’m not sure anymore.
Stay safe, everyone.
I have really enjoyed the final season of Star Wars: Clone Wars. The animation is amazing, and the stories, well, for me at least, perfect. I’ve reconnected with the characters enough that it’s going to hurt when Order 66 goes down.
Last week’s episode, The Phantom Apprentice, was powerful. Part of that was bringing back Ray Park, who performed Maul in the Phantom Menance, and an exceptional martial artist. The team used motion capture to create this dynamic, engaging piece of film (can I call it film if it’s only digital?).
Below is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the episode. Well worth watching if you’re fascinated by the production of movies and tv.
Just over a month ago, I learned I was being let go from my current role. I’ve wandered this path before, so I, initially, wasn’t terribly concerned. However, the more I thought about it, the more concerned I became. Mainly, I’d been laid off twice in less than a year. Thinking further, since 2009, I’d been laid off 4 times. I’m a bit tired of that. Yeah, even being a tech-savvy executive assistant/project coordinator, that work is too easy to outsource. Plus, with digital assistant growth, the lessening of friction for scheduling, the ease at which most folks can book their own travel, and you see the recipe for a dying career. I’m ready to be, shall we say, more essential.
Pretty much all of my life I’ve had a fascination with technology. As a young boy, my love of robots and radios (I had a particular fascination with shortwave radios), evolved into space and aviation, then into computers. Early PC games and BBSs then morphed into a vocational certificate in Information Processing (mainly databases and spreadsheets). Looking back, my biggest contribution to most of my past roles has been digitally based. Whether it’s my ability to fix a copier, 90% of PC issues, set up and manage a network, use things like Photoshop and AutoCAD, or build a website, those were the things that added the most value to the world around me.
I believe that the web holds our future. We will interact with most systems and data with web tools. SaaS models are already driving there…in the fast lane. Web development is a fast-growing path (projected 27% growth over the next 10 years), with decent salaries to boot.
So, it looks like fun, and there’s a need, which seems like a great combination. Thus, off I go.
Sadly, this weekend’s schedule isn’t letting me get down to this year’s Brickcon. Running today and tomorrow at Seattle Center’s Exhibition Hall, if you’re into Legos, you’ll be in heaven.
I don’t have a great connection to the Golden Compass, or the His Dark Materials series, but this trailer is making me inclined to check this series out.
The good folks at Nerdist have written up a nice summary of where we are in this production, from the first movie, The Golden Compass, to this most current video series (what should we call these bingeworthy series at this point? Back in the day, they were mini-series. Now what?)
Are you looking forward to it? Do you love it enough to share? Say, sharing your HBO account credentials?
These folks reached out to me letting me know of this fun event down in Puyallup. On the perfect day, “Small Business Saturday”, check out all kinds of great geek-centric crafts for your holiday shopping.
My calendar’s event has more details, as does their Facebook page. And register at Eventbrite.
To see more geektastic fun, check out my ever evolving list of regional events.