6000 Miles from home

Posted by on January 14, 2013 No comments

Trooper Adventures - It looks so tall!Howdy folks!  Live from Kuwait City It’s Satu…wait, no it’s Monday for me.  Well, I have landed and been on site for almost a week.  There is certainly a level of adjustment to living in a Middle East nation.  Things are a LOT more conservative here than back home, but for the most part, it’s not that different.  I am staying in a simple 2 Br apartment in the Fintas region.  We have Cable TV and the internet is not terrible.  Only now and then do I run across the “This Web Page is Blocked.”  The work here is good, it’s keeping me busy and most of what we are working on is done from our Apartments with the occasional trip into the Datacenter.

 

 

There are a few things I wanted to try and see/do during this trip.  Of course, one of them is to keep up with my Project 365, which I have done pretty well so far.  As an added challenge to my photography project, I managed to leave the charger for my DSLR battery at home!  Sarah mailed it to me but it can take up to a week to get anything.  I have been very sparing due to this.  You would think I could just buy a new charger out here, but I have hit, and I am not kidding, 12 different places and NONE of them carry the charger.  I did manage to buy a backup battery (because you can never have too many) so I should last until the charger arrives.  I still kept up on the pictures and I’ll add them at the end of the post.  Another is to scope out some cool places to see when Sarah comes out in March.  And the latest addition to the agenda is finding a Gaming culture.

In the Americas we have a rich gaming culture.  Be it video games, board games, card games, or dice games.  There is usually something for everyone.  Out here, it’s a little harder to find, but I think I just need to dig a little deeper.  (Not speaking arabic is a hurdle as well, but I have google translate to help me with that.)  One of the saddest things I have found here was in a park near the beach close to where I am staying.  It would appear that there is a “Fun Times” park that has an arcade, go-karts, and family fun area just across the street.  In a fenced off area near by I found this:
Arcade CabinetsYes, that is a bunch of arcade cabinets just sitting out in the elements.  I don’t know what games they are, but I can see the PCB’s and CRT’s still intact.  I cried a little.

Another thing I am working on is a project that I will detail in another post later this week, but it involves those little guys at the top of the page.

Now, for the catch up on Project 365.

Kuwait Towers (P365-13)

Kuwait Towers (P365-13)
I had been waiting for the chance to get out to the Kuwait towers, today was the day. Beautiful clear sky’s and a nice wide angle shot from below the towers.

Kuwaiti Sunrise (P365-12)

Kuwaiti Sunrise (P365-12)
The first time I have ever woke up early enough to get a sunrise picture. Normally I hate waking up early but I took advantage of the time change effect on my system.
Lesson learned from this shot, I really need to work on my landscape pictures.

Rough Ride (P365-11)

Rough Ride (P365-11)
While driving through the desert we came across this car that had been in an accident and abandoned. This is commonplace around here. You can see a bit of a dust storm off in the distance.

Reflection on conversions (P365-10)

Reflection on conversions (P365-10)
The weather today was incredibly bad. Lots of win and sand everywhere. This made any sort of outside shot despicable. So I fell back on some of my travel accessories.

Traveling Man (P365-9)

Traveling Man (P365-9)
We arrived a bit late for me to get out and see some of the local scenery so today’s picture is about the transition.

Ready for take off? (P365-8-2)

Ready for take off? (P365-8-2)
Bonus Pic! Quick shot on the plane. See you in 12 hours

Late Night Flight (P365-8)

Late Night Flight (P365-8)
in the airport looking for a good shot for today, saw the reflection in the window and thought I would play a little.

P365 Progress and Getting ready for travel.

Posted by on January 7, 2013 No comments

I told you I probably wouldn’t be posting the P365 pics here as I take them, but to catch everyone up I wanted to post what I have so far.

BUT FIRST.

A few notes about my trip.  I leave on Tuesday the 8th….yeah, tomorrow.  Flight leaves at 9:50pm and is a 12 hour jog over the Atlantic to land in Kuwait City at 5:50pm.  Kuwait is 8 hours ahead of EST so no one call me in the middle of my night!  Actually, you can’t call me since my phone number will be voice mail only.  You can call and leave me a voice mail, it will get sent to my e-mail and I will get it.  I will be available on IM, Skype, and through e-mail.  I should still have access to Facebook and Twitter, so for most folks it will appear as if I never left!

The Project 365 is going pretty well.  I haven’t hit any sort of wall about what to shoot.  I am approaching it with the idea of shooting what I am doing/working on for the day, that way it documents my year as well as practices the art.  Here is the catch up:

A Long Time Ago? let's test that! (P365-6-2)

A Long Time Ago? let’s test that! (P365-6-2)
Bonus Pic!
Since I caved and used Auto on the group shot earlier, I felt I should do another one. This may lead into a series of pics with these two guys as they take the Tardis to different locations. I wanted to grab this shot as a bonus pic since I am leaving the country soon and wasn’t sure if I would have the chance, and I already have the next two shots planned out.

 

RetroNick Radio (P365-6)

RetroNick Radio (P365-6)
Just a fun picture of the RetroNick Radio crew. I cheaped out and went auto for this shot because I just wanted a quick shot of the guys.

 

Days gone by (P365-5)

Days gone by (P365-5)
Today we went to a convention called Magfest. It’s mostly about games and gaming, kind of a “Pax-lite”. Still fun and they had a lot to see and do there. I wanted something that represented the time we spent there. Classic consoles are always a favorite.
No flash this time, all natural (well, indoor con based) light.

 

It was a Dark and Stormy Adventure (P365-4)

It was a Dark and Stormy Adventure (P365-4)
Friday is our game night. This was our first run together playing D&D, normally we stick to card/Board games.
The drink is called a Dark and Stormy, rum and ginger ale.
Simple shot, with an on camera speed light.

 

That time of year (P365-3)

That time of year (P365-3)
Yup, it’s time to toss the tree and tear down Christmas!
For this shot, since it was late in the evening, I used both of my strobe lights. One positioned down and to my left, the other I held at arms length above and to the right of my POV. Both were remotely triggered.
This was also post processed on the iPad using Snapseed. I like the iPad for some quick touch ups and adjustments.

 

Light Orb (P365-2)

Light Orb (P365-2)
Always wanted to try this trick with long exposure. A friend gave me a small blue LED light so I tied it to a string and went out for a twirl.
Nikon D5100, 35mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 103 second exposure.

 

Project 365, Day 1

Posted by on January 1, 2013 No comments

I actually took this shot last night shortly after midnight.  Sarah and I were up for NYE and she was making Marshmallows from scratch.

Tower Of Marshmallows (P365-1)

 

Shot with my Nikon D5100, 35mm f/1.8, ISO 200, SB600 Speed light pointed at the ceiling to bounce the flash.  Minor touch ups in Lightroom.

The new year, and new things. (P365)

Posted by on December 31, 2012 No comments

Mirror BallWelp, here we are at the end of the year!  Looking back at the roller coaster that was 2012 and I just don’t even know.  Some many ups and downs.  One thing that’s for sure, it would appear that 2013 is going to be quite the adventure.

I hinted at it before but I can say with about 90% certainty that the biggest adventure is that Sarah and I will be doing a lot of traveling.  My work is sending me off to Kuwait for a contract and it’s for an extended period.  We thought, the best way to not get lonely, would be to take Sarah with me!  My company needed a tech writer and she is more than qualified so they hired her up and we head out in the beginning of the year.  A good friend will be moving into our house and taking care of the cats while we are gone so it works out great for him too!  This means that for almost ALL of 2013, Sarah and I will be world travelers!

This leads me into my New Years Resolution.  I am making the pledge to do Project 365 for 2013.  Project 365 is  where you take one picture for each day of the year.  It can be anything, but should focus on technique and using your camera well.  I am teaming up with Louis from over on Gamut of Geek and we are both going t try and stick with it through the year.  Of course, the challenge level for me being that some of the countries I am visiting have stricter photography laws, but at the same time, they are new and interesting.

The rules we have set down for each other are simple.  Use our DSLR for as much of it as possible, but if we see something great and only have our cell phones, we take the shot.  Also, no repeats.  (I am sure no one wants 300 pictures of our pets)  Uploads are not always important for every day since there may be days when we can’t get to the internet, but a picture must be taken and the EXIF will show the date.  Uploaded when possible.

I’ll set up a Flickr set specifically for my P365 as well as a folder in my gallery.  I may not post every picture on my blog, but I will try and update with what pictures have been taken.

Sunset on the Dunes
2013 is going to be a fun year.  Stay tuned!

A month of travel.

Posted by on December 27, 2012 No comments

So i finished up a full month (maybe a tad over) of traveling for work.  Not just the typical “Go there, be gone for a month, come back”  Nope, I would fly out for a week, fly back for the weekend.  Destination: Sierra Vista AZ.  It was hard on the body but at least I got to spend my weekends with Sarah.

 

 

Here are a few things that happened while I was gone.  (Both good and bad)

Just because I wanted another fun travel pic.

That should bring us all current with what’s going on.  Now we approach the new year and it looks like there will be much in the way of travel for the year 2013.  This time there is a good chance that Sarah and I will both be doing the traveling together.  More on that as it develops.  With any luck, you will see lots of posts about Photography and Gaming from overseas.  Will be interesting to see what the culture is like in other places.  (like we did in London!)

 

 

Speaking of gaming, Sarah and I wrapped up Borderlands 2 (although she is still playing to get all of the extra stuff), I picked up and finished Halo 4 (still working on Spartan Ops), and I am playing The Walking Dead from Telltale games on my iPad.  I still get out to play some Ingres, but I hit the level cap and am having a hard time finding more to do it.  I hope that will pick up soon.

Sorry things are not more upbeat.  I was hoping to have more to write about but the end of the year is just….well, the end of the year.

The Niantic Project

Posted by on November 28, 2012 No comments

As much as I am on the Internet and paying attention to trends and games, this one blew right past me. I only learned about Ingress while on one of these work trips and a work buddy started talking about his Android friends (the phone users, not actual androids) who were playing. I thought, “Hey, I am an Android user! I should be playing this!” So I set out to learn about The Niantic Project.

A few months ago Google came out with a fun app called Field Trip. This app runs in the background of your phone and alerts you when you are near something historical or interesting. I get a kick out of it sometimes when I am driving around and find out I am near the largest ball of twine, or the location where George Washington’s third horse is buried. Little did I know that it would lead to their new Augmented Reality game called Ingress.

Augmented reality apps have been around for a while now, but none of them actually held any value past a good “Yup, that’s a thing!” You use your phones camera or GPS to tell where you are and your phone displays something virtually where you are physically. For the most part it was only for just that, to view something. Google stepped it up a notch with Ingress. You aren’t just viewing things anymore, you are
interacting with them and everyone else around you. Under the guise of “The Niantic Project” which is the secret organization behind Ingress.

Two warring factions are fighting for the well being of mankind. A crack in the universe has caused something called Exotic Matter (XM) to leak into our plane of existence.  Much of it was concentrated around Portals. These portals can be hacked and linked up to other portals to create a field. This field is a protective barrier that covers those who live under it. Got all that? So using the software on my phone, I can go to a portal location, which is only visible on the software, and hack that portal for my given side. By
hacking it, I have the chance to gain some equipment:

  • Resonators – Attached to portals to extend their range and link to other portals.
  • Bursters – Weapons used to attack other resonators.
  • Shields – Protective devices that can attach to portals to prevent damage from attacking factions.
  • Portal Keys – A virtual link to a specific portal
  • Media – Documents and pictures pertaining to the origins of the portals and XM

Resonators come in various levels (1-8) and can only be used at the level you have reached. (if you are level 4, you can use any item L1 to L4). Each portal can hold 8 total resonators, and their combined level averaged is the level of the portal. An unclaimed portal has no level, while one with all level 5 resonators is a level 5. Depending on the total of the level of resonators, that portal may be able to link to another portal. There are plenty of charts out there to show the distances.  Resonators degrade 10% of their energy each day and need to be recharged if they are to stay active.

Bursters also come in levels and can only be used by their respective level user. It’s a simple 360 degree bomb that takes out enemy resonators. The higher the level, the more damage.

 

 

Shields can be attached to portals, like resonators, and can deflect some of the damage from Bursters. Up to 4 shields can be added to a portal, and as of now, I have only seen 3 types of shields.

 

 

Portal Keys are interesting. They give you a link to the specific portal you have hacked. This link can show you it’s status, allow you to remotely recharge the resonators, and they give you a way to link a portal over a great distance. If you are trying to link to a portal that is out of range of your local map, you need it’s key. From what I have been able to tell, hacking a portal may “Steal” it’s key from its owner, same with destroying all of the resonators.

Media objects are just some documents that lend to the over arching back story. I have managed to collect 4 if them.

 

 

Using these tools, you can add the “Mind Units” of a covered area to your factions totals. The factions are:

  • Enlightened – The group who feel that the portals are part of the greater good and look to use them to influence mankind to their way.
  • Resistance – Those who want to keep free will and mankind away from influence from outside sources.

Now, there is a larger story going on that hasn’t yet been released. The Website NianticProject.com has been leaking out documents and videos that tell us there is something much bigger coming. I guess we will have to wait and see what that is.

I am currently on the side of the resistance. Time will tell how it ends up for us.

I love my new Razr Maxx HD

Posted by on November 27, 2012 No comments

You know what else I love? Living in the future. Right now I am about 30,000 feet above the US hurling through the air in defiance of whatever laws of religion/science you can imagine and doing it sitting comfortably while typing on my touch screen computer. A few more thousand feet up and we are talking Star Trek. But all that aside, I wanted
to do a post about the new phone I picked up and have been delayed due to more work
travels. On the plus side, this has given me the chance to really break in my phone.

A few years ago the 4G market for phones started to take off and I got excited about the
prospect of high speed mobile devices. I got myself the Verizon Thunderbolt and really
liked it. That is, for a few months. The biggest complaint about the TB was the battery
life and it lived up to that. Something about the combination of components just drained
the battery to the point that the power user (that would be me) could only get about 4-
5 hours out of it. I know laptops that have better battery life!! Add on to that the blatant
lack of support after only a few months. The TB stopped seeing any of the newer IS
updates and even the MOD community kind of gave up on it.

Soldiering through, I made it almost two years before I just couldn’t stand it any more. The rag tag ROMs I was able to find weren’t stable, I was getting lots of reboots, and was extremely jealous of my wife’s new Razr Maxx by Motorola. She is not a power user and had managed to go for about 3 days without charging at one point. That and it was a world phone. With my work travels and our potential vacation travels (like that trip
to London) I was going to need something better.

With my ear to the Ethernet I heard rumblings of a new Razr Maxx, the HD version. It was pricey, but the screen was amazing, it had NFC (Near Field Communication), and came standard with the ICS OS version. Best of all, one of my co-workers bought one first so I got to get some hands on with it. (Thou shalt not covet thy co-workers Cell Phone). Once we learned he was able to root it with ease, (OWN IT!) I made the decision to get one.

I am two months in now and I love this thing! It’s on par with size of the iPhone 5 (a
little wider and a tad thicker, but barely). The stock home screen was easy and quick
to adjust to so no need to add a new home launcher. I did keep some of my more
favorite apps, like the Magic Screen Unlocker, for a separate lock screen, and the Full
Screen Caller ID. Which is, of course, one of the reasons I love Android, if I don’t like a
functionality, there really is an app to switch it.

With the travel I have been doing, I have been on my phone a lot. Emails, Tweety pages and Facey spaces, etc. It’s almost weird to look down and see that I am at 40% battery life and not panic thinking I only have about 5 minutes left. Due to the ease of use, lately I have found myself using the phone instead of my iPad to check online. (Crazy, I know!).

I am sure that something will come out that is newer and fast and better than my Razr Maxx HD, but I really have a hard time believing that it won’t last me a good 2-3 years.

Now if you will excuse me, I told myself that if I got through this blog post I would read some more of the new Cold Days by Jim Butcher, while I stare out at the fluffy clouds.

Visiting Boston in the 1770′s

Posted by on November 8, 2012 No comments

You may have guessed by now that I am a huge Assassin’s creed fan.  So needless to say the new Assassin’s Creed III was on my “OMG I HAVE TO OWN THIS” list.  After a little prodding from a friend (ok, it didn’t take much prodding) I ordered the limited edition of the game.  The perks were just too much to pass up!

  • Along with a copy of the game, Assassins Creed III Limited Edition contains the essential items for gamers to ignite the American Revolution:
  • A stunning 9.44-Inch Assassin statue featuring Connor poised to strike with tomahawk and hidden blade
  • An embroidered 28-Inch x 48-Inch Assassins Creed-inspired colonial flag
  • A 3-Inch x 3.25-Inch sturdy metal belt buckle to proudly proclaim your allegiance to the Assassins
  • George Washington’s Notebook, a unique look into Washington’s life that also includes Assassins Creed III concept art

The flag is now hanging on the wall at my desk at work and the statue is right by the TV.  Of course, there was a small delay in getting this to me.  Some sort of storm or something.  UPS apparently has a hard time driving 2 hours when it’s a week after a huge storm.  (I don’t want to rant too much, but UPS sucks sometimes.) Needless to say, I was without the game for a week after release.  To alleviate my woes, I signed up for RedBox and rented the game to get me through the weekend.

All that aside, the game is beautiful.  It’s everything you could want from a colonial AC game.  I love touring around Boston and seeing sights that I have seen in modern day.  The story is great and really has me questioning the motives of the last few games (In a good way).  Sadly there are still quite a few bugs in the game.  Nothing gamebreaking but a few things here and there that really take me out of the experience and potentially have me cussing up a storm.  The usual “Stupid Ezio” moments of jumping to the wrong place or to my death are replaced with “Stupid Connor”.

Most of all I just love the sight seeing!

So if you were wondering where I was, Ill be in Boston, circa 1770’s, for a few more Days/Weeks.

Evochron Mercenary and other Space Sim’s

Posted by on October 30, 2012 No comments

20121030-113314.jpgAs you could probably tell from my earlier post, I have had a recent re-fascination with space sims. Like I mentioned, this had to do with the recent announcement of Star Citizen, the new game by Chris Roberts. (Which got totally funded and it looks amazing, BTW) Since we have at least 12 months before we are able to play anything in Star Citizen, I have been browsing around for a decent space sim to fill the void until then. This led me to quite a few titles like Freespace: The Moddening, Galaxy On Fire 2, and Evochron Mercenary.

Most of my friends told me to look at Freespace since there were a TON of mods for it and it could do all of what I saw looking for. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. I was looking for an up to date modern style space sim. Like if someone updated X-wing vs. Tie Fighter. Freespace looks like someone tried to put a coat of polish on Decent. It almost looks pretty, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark. The only interesting thing about it that looked cool was that you could mod the heck out if it and there are versions for every type of sci-fi genre you could want. There is even a Wing Commander mod that it really good, but not quite there. At least, it’s not what I was looking for.

20121030-113352.jpgFor my mobile needs I found Galaxy on Fire 2. For an iPad game, it’s pretty damn cool. I like the idea that I can take a good space sim with me when I am away from home. The graphics are good and the story is the right balance of campy and fun. It’s not a cockpit view, so that part makes me sad, but I guess that’s what you can do at the mobile level. It’s worth a check out if you have a mobile device. (it’s on iOS and Android). It reminds me a lot of the game Freespace, which I also reinstalled to give a second run.

20121030-113525.jpgWanting to go full blown sim on my PC, I started looking at what was out there and came across Evochron Mercenary. EM is a independent game created by ONE guy, who has been working on the engine for the last 13 years. The bones of the game are amazing. It’s absolutely stunning in how it looks and runs. The physics are spot on for how a ship would work in space. Unfortunately, it lacks polish. The learning curve is VERY steep and can be daunting at times. There are some of the campaign missions that make you re-think how you have to do a space dogfight just due to the realism of the physics. The other downside is the equipment management. I have yet to find anything that tells me that one item is better than another except its level or class. The standard gamer in me tells me that I want the highest class/level equipment. But that’s not always the case. I may not need a class 10 engine while I am running a mining quest.

Overall I am happy with the game. I have kind of reached a stand still on the campaign since its REALLY hard and could use a wingman. The Multiplayer side of the house is a little barren of folks playing so finding someone to help can be tough. Of the few times I have tried though, I did manage to find someone and it makes a HUGE difference.

In the meantime I will continue to wait and yearn for Star Citizen.

Resisting the urge to hibernate

Posted by on October 24, 2012 No comments

FALL!

It’s Fall!  As we inch closer to winter I am feeling that bearish urge to close myself indoors and be super lazy while I eat all the things and put on my winter weight.

MUST RESIST!!!!

 

I am looking for the motivation to get out and take pictures.  Fall is one of the best times of the year to take photos.  The colors are amazing, especially around this area.  There are a few upcoming events that should prove fruitful.

The Passport MINI Halloween contest!  For the past few years the dealership out in Alexandria has hosted a “Dress up your MINI” contest.  This year the POD will be going as……..Yeah, I’ll post pictures after, don’t want to spoil it.  Should be fun though!  After that it’s off to Fredericksburg for the annual Halloween party!

In the meantime, on the gadget front. I gots me a new phone!  The old Thunderbolt was starting to get very old.  Early on I had flashed the ROM and the Radio on it so it could be updated and it would appear all of the updates for it have stopped.  No one seems to be supporting it any more.  It’s sad because for a while it really was a great phone.  The major downside to it was the battery.  I had even bought the extended battery for it, and that might get me through a full day.

With that I upgraded to the brand new Razr MAXX HD.  Sarah has been using the original MAXX and it’s amazing!  The battery can last 2-3 days with average use.  The new HD version did not disappoint.  I have been using it for about 4 days now and I need to remind myself that I don’t have to plug it in.  Ok, I am going to stop here because I may try and do a full review of the phone later this week.

In the meantime, here are some apples. (hopefully Apple won’t sue me)