Robbie's Journal

Sanctuary (and film making)...

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:19:20 GMT

Just watched "Sanctuary" with Amanda Tapping... starts a little slow, but gets steadily more awesome as it goes. Most of it's available for download in some format or another.

But.. it's all done using green-screen and computer animation.

Obviously so. And this is not a bad thing, because it's not about cool scenery and effects, it's about the story and the acting.

And I'm thinking... I could do that. I know actors. I know prop makers. I know animators. I know camera-people (and I possess a halfway decent camera...and could probably borrow better if needed.) I'm a decent writer (though I say so myself) and I have a book-full of short stories that could easily be converted into short scripts... I've even been getting a hankering to direct.

So I reckon I could put together a halfway decent, 10 minute short and put it on Youtube.

Of course, this would be Andromeda Spaceways all over again... I start off by wanting to be a writer (or in this case, actor) and end up turning into a producer/editor/publisher.

Very tempted. See how I feel after I've slept on it and had a chance to come to my senses.

If I can get an animator on board for the right price (free) I'm very tempted to have a crack at "Dragon Omelette", one of my Johnny Werewolf short stories (and my first published, paid and printed short stories). I can even justify it because I have a Johnny Werewolf collection coming out. (Exact date still a bit uncertain...)

Casting will be interesting... Johnny's always been *me*... only thinner, fitter, younger, and a werewolf.

Anyone interested in being dragon fodder?

Riding...

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:27:29 GMT

An interesting riding day yesterday. I slept in a bit, but looking at the weather--nice and sunny--I decided to ride in anyway, even though I'd be later than originally planned.

As I stepped outside, loaded my bags onto the rack et al, it continued nice and sunny.

3 seconds after I actually hit the road, the sun went behind a cloud and an icy, gale-force headwind sprang up. The sun stayed behind the clouds, and the wind somehow managed to remain a headwind regardless of which direction I was actually going. So it was a hard, slow ride.

Still, I felt virtuous when I finally got there. AND I didn't spend the day half asleep, too...(unlike the previous day)... I felt quite energized.

Then, on a whim, at lunchtime I rode to the nearest shops (in Campbell), not being totally sure where they were. It turned out to be quite an straightforward ride, in spite of some steep hills. It turns out to be quite achievable to ride there for lunch.

Then, leaving about 6ish (because I'd arrived late) I got on my bike to ride home only to discover that my bike light was flat. I eventually managed to find my helmet light (I'd put it in the wrong bag) and decided to detour into Civic to pick up batteries. While there, I thought "I've done quite a bit of riding today, I might take the bus". Unlike previous occasions, the bus I wanted pulled up on time! And actually *had* a bike rack! And... there was already one bike on it, they only take two, and there was another cyclist already waiting. :-( Bum. The next bus was going to be half an hour, and it wasn't one that went where I wanted anyway, so I went "sod it" and rode home.

Actually, quite a pleasant ride... no real wind, cool without being freezing, and I didn't even get rained on (apart from some light sprinkling in the last five minutes), and I think I made good time.

So, about 2 1/2 hours riding time, covering an estimated 42km, incorporating quite a few notable hill climbs.

I feel virtuous.

Birthday

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:23:26 GMT

I got this from my Dad this morning. It's part of an email sent to his old classmates:
--------
I decided to send the other message separately, but this is a significant day for me. Not only was I at the gate of the Lismore Tip at 0800 this morning but this day 46 years ago my son Robbie was born.

[tip anecdote trimmed]

...as a treat I then had a breakfast deal at Subway. While munching my bacon and egg bun I was recalling events this day 46 years ago. Because of high BP Marie had been confined to hospital in a darkened room on a salt free diet for several weeks but the Doc had decided to perform a Caesarean at 1000 on the Monday. What was I going to be doing? Taking my class of course at Innisfail High. They did not want fathers cluttering up the place. I had a 9C class for algebra. Can you imagine facing a class of teen age girls for algebra of all things? I set them some work and threatened blue murder if any of them so much as blinked – and waited for news. Eventually the Principal himself came along the veranda and called me to the phone so that I could speak directly to the doctor. I was assured that all was OK and returned to class to resume my pose at the window. Not a sound till one girl spoke up and asked was it a boy or a girl. I was flabbergasted. I thought I had given them no hint as to cause of my unusual behaviour.

If I remember correctly I could not see Marie or the baby till after school and I am not sure whether that was before or after the baby’s head was well and truly wet. In those days I used drink half whisky and ginger ale. I vaguely remember hearing some of my colleagues ordering double whisky and ginger ale. I was not overly alarmed as maths was not my strong point particularly that afternoon. I do remember arriving at the hospital to be told that my son was in the humidi-crib. Ye gods! But I understood later that it was a new acquisition and the doc could not bear to see it unused. Rob was the first occupant but yielded possession when another baby really needed it. It had the advantage that he was not wrapped up and only wearing a nappy so that I could see him clearly even though I could not hold him.

The poor mite was only 6 lb and I was concerned till I happened to find my own baby clinic cards that very evening. I was moving a cupboard and found the envelope had fallen down the back. When I saw that I was something like 5-11 at birth, I ceased to be concerned. But they would not discharge him till he regained his birth weight. He went straight on to formula. As a result of her recent diet, Marie could not feed him. Our wedding anniversary was 12 Aug and I turned up at the hospital that day with a surprise gift for Marie. But I got the surprise. Marie was to be discharged but Robert was to be kept there. By this time we had decided on a name. It was to be Robert with no abbreviation - but the nurses soon put an end to that. Meanwhile Marie’s parents had arrived from Sydney. Marie was their sixth child and the first to leave the Big Smoke except for Pat the nun. It was quite unreal for a week or so. School holidays. We would be lazing in the shade of the trees at the edge of the beach and someone would remind us it was time to go and see our son.

Rob now dwarfs me and his son Nicholas towers over him but we are all built on the same lines. I must dig out a photo to show the three of us together.

Denis

Cool review

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:23:26 GMT

There's a review of The Role Model here:

http://www.australianstage.com.au/reviews/canberra/the-role-model--the-rude-mechanicals-1695.html

The important bit is:
But it was John Honey as TV journo Jack and the wordless Robbie Matthews as cameraman Dave who nearly stole the show with their spot-on portrayal of journalism at its commercial worst.

I had a Shoggoth

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:54:09 GMT

The Role Model

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:10:12 GMT

I'm in a play, starting next week.

Come, watch, enjoy!

The Role Model
Australians love their sport and with the Olympics just around the corner they are in for a feast. Australians also love sporting stars behaving badly; it’s a chance to take the moral high-ground, and to have a good laugh. So who will be the bad boys and girls of the Olympics?

Whoever they are, they’ve already been beaten to the punch by retired Olympic swimming champion Scott Martin. Scott’s just ruined his motivational speaking career by sleeping with his best mate’s wife. The media and public have turned on him, and all his speaking dates have been cancelled. How will he make a living now?

His manager has a plan: change Scott’s image by turning him into a good bloke again. How? Get him helping depressed kids so A Current Affair will do a story about it then everyone will love him again. Scott gets involved with an organisation which treats teenagers suffering from depression through exercise. But there’s one minor problem - the kid he’s assigned to help refuses to cheer up!

The Role Model by Bruce Hoogendoorn is being presented by The Rude Mechanicals at the Street Theatre from July 23 - August 2.

Prices $15-$25

More Doctor Horrible

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:00:47 GMT

Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:52:30 GMT

This is... way cool.

Cut and pasted from kingtheseus

Act One is up, and it's great.

http://www.drhorrible.com/

For anyone who doesn't know, this is Joss Whedon's on-line experiment, starring Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris and Felicia Day. For this week only one act will be released every two days, for free download. It will be out on DVD sometime too. If you enjoyed the Buffy musical episode, you'll also like this.

Doctor Who

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:19:46 GMT

Found filk... :D

If not exactly respectful of the subject matter, it's a least knowledgeable...

PHP vs Python

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:23:02 GMT

I've been spending a bit of time playing with Python, and comparing its main contender (IMHO) PHP.

This is still early on in the evaluation process, but so far:

Feature	Python	PHP	Preferred
Apache Integration	Haven't really done much with this so far.	Has html templating built in, integrates very nicely.	PHP
Structure	Uses indenting to show block levels... I don't like being told how to indent my code, but I'm coming to see how it could work.	Uses standard C braces like almost every other language out there. I'm used to it, I like it, reduces learning curve.	PHP
Libraries	Has a huge array of libraries to do all sorts of things	Has a huge array of libraries to do all sorts of things	About even
Debugging	Python comes with an integrated debugger, and an workable IDE of sorts	Doesn't have an IDE, (although has many, many 3rd party editors et al) and I've never got the debugger to work in windows	Python
Cross Platform	Works on pretty much any platform out there	Works on pretty much any platform out there	About even
Modules	Has a well integrated system of organising modules, and sensible use of namespaces	Has a flat namespace... thus all function names have to be unique. Classes take some of the sting out	Python
Error Checking	Not bad	Not bad, once you learn how to turn it on properly.	Python by a smidge, but then neither come close to Delphi
Documentation	Good, centralised online documentation	Good, centralised online documentation. PHP is better organized and has way more examples.	PHP
List Handling	Has lists and dictionaries, seems to have powerful manipulation functions	Arrays can be mapped or indexed, and have powerful list manipulation commands.	About even, but I think I prefer the PHP approach.
Speed	Reasonably fast for a scripted language.	Very fast to load, and pretty damn snappy to run.	PHP

In conclusion (so far) I think PHP is the better language for web pages, and Python is better for general purpose programming.
PHP has the fastest load time of any of the web app languages I've tried, by several orders of magnitude in some cases. This is important for web stuff.
Delphi whips them both for sheer productivity and ease of use, but is not cross platform (and commercial to boot, although there are free 'Personal' version out there)

Hancock

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:59:43 GMT

Good movie, but not what I was expecting.

The Nazgul Song

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:13:41 GMT

This turns out to have a really simple chord structure:

The Nazgul Song
Martin Pearson (ttto: Ghost Riders in the Sky)

A lone Nazgul went riding out one dark and windy day.
Upon a horse he rode, he met eight others on the way.
They were bruised to bits at Bruinen, their horses purified,
So Sauron gave them pterosaurs, now hear their lonely cry:
/Am C/Am C/Am - /F Am/

Wraiths on wings, wraiths on wings,
Ghost riders in the sky.
/Am C Am/F C Am/

They searched the marshes over, for the ring was what they craved.
They had once been mighty lords of men, but now they were depraved.
He gave them rings but kept The One and pulled off quite a scam.
Hey, it's a pyramid of vile control.
A bit like buying Amway.

Wraiths on wings, wraiths on wings,
Ghost riders in the sky.

They searched the wide world over and they hunted many lands.
But they couldn't find their zombie ass with their skeletal hands.
They couldn't find the hobbits, thought they tried most everything,
For Frodo pulled a cunning stunt, and switched on silent ring.

Wraiths on wings, wraiths on wings,
Ghost riders in the sky.

The old Witch King of Angmar, he led this evil band.
They said tht he could not be killed by any hand of man.
He began to think there might be loopholes in this prophecy
When he couldn't get insurance for shooting film three.

Wraiths on wings, wraiths on wings,
Ghost riders in the sky.

So Sauron paid good money for this military machine.
A useless as deck-chairs on a Collin's submarine.
For they're bound to ride forever on those things up in the sky,
Searching for their masters ring, now hear their lonesome cry:

(Whistle) Here Hobbit Hobbit Hobbit. Here Hobbit.
Nice apple. Nice apple Hobbit. Here Hobbit!

Wraiths on wings, wraiths on wings,
Ghost riders in the sky.

Wraiths on wings, wraiths on wings,
Ghost riders in the sky.

Agent 86

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:52:04 GMT

"Get Smart" was fun. A re-imagining rather than a perfect copy, there was plenty of nostalgia fodder in the way it was done.

I've enjoyed Steve Carell in everything I've seen him in, and Anne Hathaway and Alan Arkin were great. Even Dawyne "The Rock" Johnson turned in a respectable performance.

Not to mention "Hiro" (from Heroes) had a small but important role.

Not deep, just silly fun.

Role Model

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:44:42 GMT

I'm in yet another play.

http://mithril.com.au/rudemech/rolemodel/

I play Dave, the Channel 7 cameraman... as described to me, a "non-speaking part, but full of character..." :P

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 04:01:42 GMT

Snurched from capnoblivious

This is a list of ign.com's top 100 games - not particularly authoritive, but, hey, it's a list. It's from 2005, but I'm a classicist and am fully prepared to believe that no good new games have come out in the last three years except Lego Star Wars, which I'm giving an honororay "5a" position.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have played
2) Underline the games you LOVE.
3) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who've played 6 and force games (and probably emulators) upon them

100 - River City Ransom
99 - Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
98 - BattleToads
97 - F-Zero
96 - Mafia
95 - Herzog Zwei
94 - Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
93 - Quake II
92 - Dragon Warrior
91 - Virtua Tennis
90 - Master of Orion
89 - Alone in the Dark
88 - Final Fantasy VII
87 - Thief II: The Metal Age
86 - Final Fantasy X
85 - Prince of Persia
84 - Ultima VII: The Black Gate
83 - Contra
82 - Gunstar Heroes
81 - Freedom Force
80 - Baseball Stars
79 - Shining Force II
78 - Star Wars (Arcade)
77 - Archon: The Light and The Dark
76 - Tetris Attack
75 - Crimson Skies
74 - Syndicate
73 - Return Fire
72 - Galaga
71 - Half-Life: Counter-Strike
70 - Pokemon Red/Blue
69 - Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs
68 - Starsiege: Tribes
67 - Rayman 2: The Great Escape
66 - Homeworld
65 - MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat
64 - Advance Wars
63 - Sonic the Hedgehog
62 - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
61 - Sam & Max Hit the Road
60 - Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle
59 - Bionic Commando
58 - Super Smash Bros. Melee
57 - Mike Tyson's Punchout!
56 - Final Fantasy III (VI)
55 - Fallout
54 - Panzer Dragoon Saga
53 - Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
52 - Metroid Prime
51 - Grand Theft Auto III
50 - Wing Comander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi
49 - Grim Fandango
48 - The Secret of Mana
47 - NHL 94
46 - Super Mario World
45 - Battlefield 1942
44 - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
43 - Soul Calibur
42 - Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
41 - System Shock 2
40 - Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution
39 - DOOM
38 - Madden NFL 2004
37 - Wave Race 64
36 - Command & Conquer: Red Alert
35 - Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty
34 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
33 - God of War
32 - Resident Evil 4
31 - SimCity 2000
30 - Halo
29 - GoldenEye 007
28 - Half-Life 2
27 - Burnout 3: Takedown
26 - Final Fantasy II (IV)
25 - Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
24 - Tecmo Super Bowl
23 - Super Mario Bros. 3
22 - Half-Life
21 - Deus Ex
20 - Ms. Pac Man
19 - Metal Gear Solid
18 - ICO
17 - Star Control 2
16 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
15 - Super Mario Kart
14 - Rome: Total War
13 - Chrono Trigger
12 - X-COM: UFO Defense (with extra love!! This was a terrific game)
11 - Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
10 - Super Metroid
9 - Star Wars: TIE Fighter Collector's CD-ROM
8 - Street Fighter II
7 - StarCraft
6 - Sid Meier's Pirates!
5 - Super Mario 64
5a - Lego Star Wars
4 - Sid Meier's Civilization II
3 - Tetris
2 - Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
1 - Super Mario Bros.

Memage

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:37:19 GMT

John Wayne? Not what I would have expected!

Your result for The Classic Leading Man Test...

John Wayne

You, my friend, are a man's man, the original true grit, one tough talking, swaggering son of a bitch. You're not a bad guy, on the contrary, you're the ultimate good guy, but you're one tough character, rough and tumble, ready for anything. You call the shots and go your own way, and if some screwy dame is willing to accept your terms, that's just fine by you. Otherwise, you'll just hit the open trail and stay true to yourself. You stand up for what you believe and can handle any situation, usually by rushing into the thick of the action. You're not polished and you're not overly warm, but you're a straight shooter and a real stand up guy. Co-stars include Lauren Bacall and Maureen O'Hara, tough broads who can take care of themselves.

Find out what kind of classic dame you'd make by taking the
Classic Dames Test.

Take The Classic Leading Man Test at HelloQuizzy

The Incredible Hulk

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:45:16 GMT

Turned out to be surprisingly good. I've heard mixed reviews, but IMHO it was solidly written, solidly acted, with more-or-less 3d characters.

Lots of interesting nods and cameos to the series and prior incarnations of the Hulk.

I enjoyed it. It stands up well to Iron Man (which rocked!) and even included a Tony Stark walkon... clearly setting up for an Avengers movie.

Pheno

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:50:26 GMT

Pheno 2008... rocked.

All sessions ran well, the organization was more-or-less seamless, I ended up running 8 sessions out of 11, which turns out enough that I feel loved and wanted, but not so much that my brains were dribbling out my ears.

Got to play one game, Psi III by kingtheseus, in which I proved that as a teacher and mentor I am a bad person... :D

Every session of The Disembodied Man was a hoot, thanks to everyone who played, you were all terrific.

capnoblivious and I presented the Inaugural Diptych (which is like the Tryptych, but for humorous rather than angsty games). Thanks to other collaborators in getting the Diptych together, especially ozbookworm who organised the trophy at the last minute after I'd completely forgotten about it.

People bought me drinks at the post-con drinkies, tresskitten had her first post-con drinkies (and I don't think she bought any drinks for herself all night) having been an excellent co-gm. Also, she bounced at people until they bought her drinks.

I did want to praise the organizers specifically... everything ran smoothly from my point of view, and at no time did I feel frustrated and unloved (as has happened at previous cons)

I think that having the banquet on-site worked well, with the caveat that the one-hour break between sessions into which it was squeezed didn't allow a lot of time for just chatting, which is (to my mind) what the banquet is for. Next time, I'd either start the late session a bit later officially, or encourage GMs to run a shorter session. Or something like that.

But it was a good con, the best I've had for ages.

Some cheezburger

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:09:56 GMT

Random post. I was tickled by this one:

more cat pictures

and this:

more cat pictures

and also this:

more cat

Recovery saga part many...

Mon, 19 May 2008 08:18:00 GMT

In the ongoing saga of recovering from a major injury to my arm...
I can now play the recorder again.
Not well, but I can do it.
I started attempting to again as part of my new 'try and use the hand as much as possible' regime, and on about the third attempt found I could put all my fingers in the right place and play simple tunes.
I'm pleased at this.

Playtest

Thu, 15 May 2008 12:25:54 GMT

At last, and reluctantly, the Disembodied Man is coming together. (This is the con game Steph and I are putting together for Pheno)

We'd like to do a playtest this weekend, from about 3.30pm Saturday, but we're short a few players... a lot of our usual playtesters are busy or planning to play at the con.

Anyone interested?
Preferably female, but not essential.

NB: We're planning a second playtest the following weekend, but that's the last weekend before Pheno, so really want to do one this weekend, and that's the only timeslot we've got.

The Work Proceeds...

Mon, 05 May 2008 01:56:34 GMT

Please be advised your ISBN for
"Johnny Phillips Werewolf Detective: The Collected Case Files" is as follows:

978-0-9757217-2-8

Still quite a few steps to go, but I feel pleased...

Hospital Part 2

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:35:24 GMT

tresskitten is out of surgery, awake, but still pretty groggy, and complaining about the pain.
The op was apparently successful, in that they found what they were looking for and dealt with it.

Hospital

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 03:20:24 GMT

tresskitten is currently sitting in bed, waiting to be wheeled into surgery (which is running late).
Watching Oprah, for some reason....

She wants visitors, flowers and chocolates, although since she should be out this afternoon if all goes according to plan, there won't be a lot of time for visitors...

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 11:30:02 GMT

Just saw the Spiderwick Chronicles. IMHO, very well done... reasonably intelligent fantasy. Haven't read the original book, so I have no basis for comparison, but I enjoyed it.
Freddy Highmore played twins, and it was done so well that I wasn't sure until the credits that it was the one actor.