And This Is Why Some MMOs Need to Be Considered a Controlled Substance

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Seriously. What. The. Hell?

Skeptical Thinking: A Primer

Long time readers will remember my tussles with Bigfoot believers a few years back. I made the mistake of using logic mixed with humor to point out that their central thesis -- that I, as a skeptic, had to disprove their claim -- didn't hold water.

Result? I got banned from their forums for three days.

(Interestingly, the moderator who banned me was from Britain. Somehow, I don't think that Bigfoot sightings are too plentiful in one of the most densely populated islands on the planet. Doesn't stop him from being a fervent believer.)

The video above should be mandatory viewing for anyone before they go into forums like that, or, say, watch and episode of "MonsterQuest". I can't help but believe that it would make people a lot less gullible while watching that nonsense.

Enjoy!

Daniel Broadway Does It Again

Visually interesting? Check.

Sensible explanation for building something as big as a ship on the ground? Check.

A much, much, much nicer looking ship than Ryan Church's redesign? Check.

Yeah. I pretty much liked that better than the latest Star Trek film. (And yes, I have a review I'll be posting shortly.)

Casual Friday -- A Cool Way to Paint High Resolution Textures on Low Poly Objects

I actually gave a presentation about this very topic to the Minnepolis .XNA Developer's Group last night. Alas, just when I got to the point where I'd actually paint the high res textures onto the low res object, the old Pentium 4 laptop and Blender decided to have a fight.

Regardless, this is a really nifty method to make nice looking game models, and it works like an absolute charm. Add in that it uses the increasingly-made-of-awesome Open Source 3D application Blender, and it's a real winning technique for anybody working with 3D.

This is Why Lucas Needs to Walk Away from "Star Wars"

...and hand the reins over to a new creative team.






I swear, those three minutes were better than every minute of the last three prequels combined.

The First Day of the Rest of Our Lives

On Monday, the twentieth of April, SpousalGoddess was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

We've had almost two months to adjust to this news. There has been fear, depression, anger, regret, and everything in between expressed in the home. We've shared our tears, and laughter in equal measure. Nevertheless, we're adjusting.

As shocking as this news is, there is plenty of reason to be upbeat and hopeful:

• Spousal responded incredibly well to the post attack treatment.
• Her attack was very, very mild.
  
• A diagnosis of MS does not mean to a patient what it did even twenty years ago. The meds and treatments available today mean that most people with the disease live perfectly normal lives.
• 2/3rds of MS patients never develop a serious handicap.
• Based on the lack of MS antibodies in her spinal fluid, we appear to have caught her MS very, very early.
• Her workplace has been amazing, and she's back to work again.
  

In short, even though the news is scary, there is every reason to be upbeat, hopeful, and forward-looking.

The news has led to some major changes, however:

• I'm not giving up on the pursuit of 3D as a career, but I've acknowledged that it's time to open myself up to other options.
• I've applied and interviewed for a metric buttload of IT positions. If I've learned anything in the past year, it's that I miss working as a sysadmin and team lead.
• I'm no longer making movies. We have to lower SpousalGoddess' stress level. Movies didn't do that. Thus, I'm done with that.

The diagnosis means our lives have changed. It's really not about just pursuing dreams. It's about caring for the ones I love, and making sure they're provided for. So that's what I'll do.

I held off on publishing this post for a long time (the date of this text is 13 June 2009) mostly to avoid mentioning the disease in a public forum. I didn't want potential employers to pass on me for that reason. After a series of go-nowhere interviews, and a good six weeks of 3D work, however, I decided it's time to get back on this horse as well.

Expect my blog to come back to life, folks. It's about time.