Some of you know Kris Kwilas as Nakor around here. He’s been with Stardock since, I think, 1996. Last week he’s moved from our VP of Technology to being a consultant. He’s going off to do new and great things. It’s been a long planned move. He gave me a 2 year notice that he was eventually going to do it. But I feel like my right arm is missing. Our management team continues to evolve. We’ll have to do a new management page. These days it’s: Me A...
His accomplishments and awards were legion. He was one of the very, very few to have won an Emmy, Oscar, and Tony Award, a Lincoln Center Tribute in 1999, The Kennedy Center Honors in 2003, and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2010. He was born Mikail Igor Pesckowsky, 11/6/31 in Germany. “He began his career in the 1950s with the improv troupe, the Compass Players , predecessor of the Second City in Chicago and as one half of the comed...
Happy Halloween everyone! Just pouring some thoughts out into the ether here. I <generally> don’t like boycotts I’m only speaking of myself here. So don’t think that those of you reading this who engage in boycotts are being tut-tuted by me. Here’s my rationale: I don’t like coercion. I don’t like the idea of using economic power to stifle someone’s speech. The answer to speech I don’t like is more speech. When we decide to exert our economic power to punish ...
Khara Plicanic (who is an amazing teacher) will be covering the practical basics of Photoshop in a two day course on creativeLive. “This class will take you through the Photoshop program – teaching you easy editing tips and tricks you can use, along the way. You’ll master the basic functions and learn how the system operates. Khara will show you where things are, how to find them, switch between them, and close them when you are done. You’ll learn: Working with...
This is your chance to learn the basics, the right way and for…free. Not only that, learn from a truly great instructor (for finicky Jafo, it should be instructress ). Lesa Snider is simply wonderful: She is blessed with humor and patience… “Lesa Snider, internationally acclaimed author and speaker, is on a mission to teach the world to create better graphics. She’s the author of several books including the best-selling series, Photoshop: The Missin...
Don’t miss it…weather permitting. Because the earth’s atmosphere will be seen on the moon, the predominant color of the moon will be red…hence the misnomer, “Blood Moon”. You guys (AzDude, Philly) out west should start watching around midnight, and the max eclipse will be around 1:17 a.m. and end around 6:32 a.m. In the East, we won’t see the max…but at about 4 a.m. and on, watch the western sky – it’ll help if you...
OK. This was a new one on me. LifeHacker really surprised the heck out of me! F’rinstance, who knew there’s a ‘Quesarito’? There’s tons of stuff pertaining to the ‘secret menus’ of 12 food chains here: http://hackthemenu.com/ F’rinstance, here’s Chipotle’s: http://hackthemenu.com/chipotle/secret-menu/ and “Most importantly, we created detailed instructions on how to order each secret menu item at Chipotl...
There’s a lot of justifiable fear out there. This is to hopefully increase your knowledge and decrease your fear. Yes, I know that isn’t easy. The first time I encountered the saying “Knowledge Prevents Fear” was at the entrance to the wonderful Disneyland known as Jump School. My first reaction (and others’) was “R-i-i-i-i-ght!” (Cosby inflection here). We’ve known about it since 1976 when it first emerged in 284 peopl...
Do ghosts exist? Maybe...
I like that Sci Fi ‘inventions’ become real. Exoskeletons (a normal attribute for insects and crustaceans) are now finding their way into mankind’s world. They exist…for medical and industrial as well as military uses: The first is the ‘Walker’ for paralyzed people which is undergoing medical trials prior to FDA approval. The second is ‘HULC’ ( http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2011/june/LockheedMartinsHULCRoboti.html ) hel...
I’d hazard a guess and say most everyday memories aren’t really linked to strong emotions…it’s hard to get really excited about the location of a pen or some such. Other memories are not quite so benign. I’m referring to those with strong emotion linked to them. Those can be good or destructive. Well, at MIT, neuroscientists have found (in mice) the neuronal circuit that is critical to linking memory with emotion. Furthermore, the researchers found that they could reverse the em...
Pretty much the sum total of human knowledge is on the internet, but no one promised you’d be able to find what you really want. So, I look for folks who collect useful links…for photographers, this is useful: 23 free and great books about photography…and the follow up with 23 more…total? Forty six free ebooks. There’s got to be something you can profit from here: http://www.lightstalking.com/23-free-photography-e-books http://www.lightstalking.com/23-more-eboo...
Was tardy with Po’s birthday wishes…not with yours, Mr. JcRabbit. Jorge, after seeing your car, I understand why the women of Europe all clamor for you! Then there’s the plus of knowing how to code…until they discover it’s just crappy handwriting. Wishing you the best of health and happiness between now and next birthday…then repeat, yearly. So have a good one and enjoy your special day!
Robin Williams…the funniest comedian and fine actor is gone. He died this morning. Lately he’d gone into rehab to help him deal with Depression. I’m sure we all have great memories of him in his routines, in Mork and Mindy…Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting… I’ll never forget what he did for Christopher Reeves and his family. Anyway, a true great is gone. I’m having a really hard time wrapping my head around this one. Rest in Peace, Robin. Thank you for the in...