Wiping the blood and grime off my helmet, I look towards the bridge. Kachirho's lights shine in the distance. As the smoke clears, and the deafening explosions stop, I can see the blurred forms of my brothers holding off the enemy, giving me cover fire so I can help our fallen brother. I hear Four-Oh's heavy breathing and soft groans under me. I realize I am standing on top of Delta-40, his white and green armor dented and splattered with blood - not his own. I get him up and send him to heal up at the near by bacta dispenser.

Delta-07 - Sev - snipes the onslaught of SBD's - their grey headless bodies seemingly immune to the plasma shots. Scorch - Delta-62, makes a joke, easing the pain as always. Advisor's voice echoes in my helmet - "Delta 38, we need to destroy that bridge now!"

The battle for the Wookies' freedom rests upon us - four lone commandos against an endless supply of Battle Droids, Super Battle Droids, and Trandoshan slavers. I remember a trooper's remarks - "Look! Commandos! If they're as good as I hear they are, they can win the war all by themselves." I hope that's true.

With Four-Oh - Fixer - at 100%, I move to take Six-Two's position. "Scorch, I need some radical restructuring." I can feel his eyes light up even behind his plasteel faceplate. "Roger that, Boss."

I lob a EM grenade hoping to slow down the SBDs. Damn. They're too tough. "Four-Oh, man that turret." Maybe he can take out a few more of them with some heavy fire power. "Turret. Got it, Delta Lead."

Delta-62 fixes a large explosive to the ammo crates lying on the bridge the Seperatists require for their occupation of Kashyyyk. "Boss, we better get off this bridge before we blow it up." But we're surrounded. There is no time to waste. The only way out is to destroy the Droid dispensers.

I relenquish my cover and order some cover fire. Dodging the twig-legged droids, knocking some out with my vibro-blade, I move in. I hear Sev taking some shrapnel. I set up an explosive on the dispenser, and start to set the timer. The large bay door opens. A spider droid. Fifteen tons of pure armor and firepower.

The bridge and dispensers primed for an explosive finish, we prepare for what we've been trained to do: die for the Republic.

"We'll make 'em remember the day they tried to blow up Delta Squad."

Never before have I seen such a perfect fusion of action, military tactics, breathtaking graphics, superb AI, and war chants that makes you want to die for your cause. STAR WARS: REPUBLIC COMMANDO is one of the BEST GAMES ever! It certainly knocked DOOM3 from first place on my list. Instead of the "lofty perspective of the Jedi", this games takes you into the trenches as you command 3 elite Clone Commandos - DELTA SQUAD - in 3 dangerous missions - Clone Wars: Zero Hour on Geonosis, repelling an invasion on the Republic Assault Ship PROSECUTOR in space, and a special mission on Kashyyyk that would end the Clone Wars. And while you play, whenever the going gets tough, the music keeps your spirits high. This is THE best game to come out from LucasArts (yes, they made this in-house - no outsourcing) EVER!

Baritone voices sing old Mandalorian war songs: (all songs are available for download at the site. I recommend VODE AN, RAGE OF THE SHADOW WARRIORS, and GRAT'UA CUUN, as well as the ambient tunes THE JUNGLE FLOOR, COMM INTERFERENCE, and KACHIRHO BY NIGHTVISION)

Kandosii sa ka'rta, Vode an.

(One indomitable heart, Brothers all.)

Coruscanta a'den mhi, Vode an.

(We, the wrath of Coruscant, Brothers all.)

Bal kote, darasuum kote, Jorso'ran kando a tome.

(And glory, eternal glory, We shall bear its weight together.)

Sa kyr'am Nau tracyn kad, Vode An.

(Forged like the saber in the fires of death, Brothers all.)

This music can literally set your blood on fire as you play the game and immerses you into the world of the Commando. It's the BEST soundtrack a game ever had. PERIOD!

You fight hand-to-hand as well as with your DC-17 modified blaster. Every close hit is rewarded with a generous splatter of sickly yellow geonosian blood on your face, which your helmet visor wipes with a laser wiper.

 Delta-38 "Boss" - Delta Leader

 Delta-07 "Sev" - Sniper / Weapons

 Delta-62 "Scorch" - Demolitions

 Delta-40 "Fixer" - Slicer (Hacker) / Tech

You issue commands to your 3 brothers - Delta 07, Delta 40, and Delta 62. Each has a distinct personality and voice (just coz you're clones don't mean you can't have a different accent - which are picked up from their respective instructors). You have the voice of Jango Fett - which was marvelously voiced by Temeura Morrison himself.

The missions are fast paced, dangerous, and set in breathtaking environments. And when you set NIGHT VISION on, it feels more real than a movie. The visuals look as if it is REAL. Just plain real. Mind boggling.

The game is based on the Unreal II engine (modified, of course). It shames the graphics of Unreal II. Then again, Unreal II was shameful in many ways. But the engine is, in fact, quite cool. Republic Commando shows its power very nicely.

The whole game often doesn't feel like a Star Wars game. The credits music is high-pitched rock music. The soundtrack is Mandalorian war chants. And the only time you see a lightsaber is when you see a deadbody of a Clone trooper who tried to use it. That's when your character says "An elegant weapon for a more civilized time. Well, guess what ... times have changed!"

I wish they would've added a mission from Episode III, where they escort Obi-Wan to Utapal. 3 missions seem a bit "small" once you've played it 6 times in 4 days. But it still rocks. Especially the one-liners. "Baby wookies? Nah, too cute." or "Boss, we gotta place a charge here, and I'm not saying this 'cause I like to blow stuff up."

The end is cool too. Very military-movie like. And you get a special appearance by General Greivous and Master Yoda. George Lucas took interest in the game too. It was his idea to give colored, personalized armor to each Commando - something he was thinking of doing in Episode III.

I recommend you go see the trailer on www.swcommando.com and then listen to the music and download the demo, and then order the game!!

It runs FANTASTIC on a GeForce FX / 128MB. Though a gig of RAM didn't hurt. :) And don't be afraid of this game if you're not so good with games like Rainbow-Six and all - this is more suitable for the Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 players. Just go download the damn, demo! NOW, soldier!

Delta Squad, move out!

KACHIRHO BY NIGHTVISION

There is also a book based on this game by Karen Traviss, called STAR WARS: Republic Commando - HARD CONTACT. Cool book. Worth reading.

Games | Geek Stuff | Graphics | My Insignificant Life | Philosophy | Star Wars | Toys

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In the last .NET ROCKS show on the PDC, the people from Microsoft hinted (and confirmed) my previous hunch that Acrylic will be used (in part or whole) as a designer for Avalon! You heard it here first!

See previous posts in the Avalon category for details.

.NET | Avalon | Graphics

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Sigh. Another year - gone. At the height of my depression, I wanted to write something like Rory Blyth but I've plagerized more than my share of things over the last year.

Someone told me that I had reached "quarter-life", but I insisted that it's mid-life for me. How? Well, aside from the mid-life crisis, I'm turning into a nihilistic, machinistic, pessimist. So, they say pessimistic people die young, so I'm at mid-life now.

But then again I'm too optimistic to be pessimistic. But even my most optimistic thoughts have pessimistic points. While I can also find the silver lining in the darkest of clouds. Any doubt I'm a Gemini? Sigh. This damned polarity can be annoying at times.

But right now, as I write this depressing note, I'm feeling quite happy. Why? Well, first it's my birthday and I'll be spending it with my family. Second, tomorrow morning I get The Sith Lords (KotoR2) and Republic Commando and will probably waste half the weekend on it. Third, no matter how old I get, I'll probably be the youngest out of everyone I know (excluding my niece).

At the end of the day, I guess I don't feel old. Just wiser.

My Insignificant Life | Philosophy

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Ghost in the Shell 1 spoiler warning. No GitS 2 spoilers tho.

Ghost in the Shell 2, titled "INNOCENCE" has got to be one of my most favorite films EVER. This stands side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder with Star Wars - and being the super Star Wars maniac that I am, that means a lot!

Ghost in the Shell is a manga (japanese comic) by Masamune Shirow, a mysterious writer who has never been seen or photographed. Shirow is a pseudonym and nobody knowns his real name. This man is a genius - in many aspects far greater than Lucas or Roddenberry.

I won't go into details about the GitS universe. Go see the first film and come back.

The audio was more than half the experience. The sounds and music were amazing. Kenji Kawai hits another home run with this soundtrack - the opening haunting vocals stay with you long after the movie is over. The reuse of this music throughout the film, especially in the third act / main combat sequence with the Japanese War drums was fantastic!! And it's no coincidence the music and audio was so cool - it was all done at Skywalker Sound.

Batou's darkness has increased since the Major merged with the Puppetmaster. And this time, Mamoru Oshii goes really deep into philosophy. Humanism, machinist theories, and nihilism. Quite a powerful blend!! GitS2 is also one of the inspirations behind "Sentience" - a small something I wrote a while back - BEFORE I saw Innocence. I'll post the full essay here in a few days.

The finalé is very much action packed like in GitS, and Oshii uses that trademark Japenese music-volume-louder-than-sound-effects-when-super-action-starts technique very nicely.

The end may seem a bit anti-climactic but it's not - not if you really understand the philosophy.

I recommend getting a original Japanese version DVD with subtitles rather than an English dub.

It's worth owning the DVD. Go order it.

Oh, and did I mention that Ghost in the Shell (The first one) was the main inspiration behind THE MATRIX trilogy? They even ripped off some of the Major's moves to give to Trinity and Neo. Even some of the settings are similar to GitS.

Art | My Insignificant Life | Philosophy

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We just had a power failure at 1:30am. It was damn hot, and I was sitting on the roof in my underwear (the neighbors didn't complain because of the darkness, and probably coz they were doing the same). As usual, I had my camera with me. I love star gazing. I was looking at the Milky Way - going from South to North in a straight arc. And I could swear I saw PINK in the milky clouds. Most photos of nebulae and galaxies are colored. Most are artifically colors - but in natural colors.

Anyways, so I push my S7000 to it's limits by setting the ISO/Sensitivity to max, and quality to 12 mega pixel. I put it on manual/B/Bulb setting and take hundreds of shots at a shutter speed of 15 seconds - open diaphragm. Here's the original - unenhanced photo.

As soon as the power came back, I switched on the PC, and transferred the pics. Using good ol' PhotoPaint I started enhancing the pictures. Here's a basic intensity-enhancment shot (2.8x intensity). You can see the pink colors in the clouds. I was psyched. I couldn't wait to blog it. But the proper enhancements would take time, so I just put this here at a 600 x something resolution. Hi-res later.

To show the average'd intensity of this area of the sky, here's a color-levels edited version.

This is the edge/other side of the frickin' place we *LIVE* in. OMG! The actual view was breathtaking.

More on this as I try to enhance the images properly.

All images are © 2005 Dax Pandhi. All rights reserved. Permission for usage in personal or commerical projects can be requested by e-mail.

My Insignificant Life | Photography

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Okay, so I got to try out Acrylic. Not really tempting to switch from Corel for this. But I guess that if my theory of Avalon-Designer is correct, then Microsoft is more after the actual vector-drawing technology core of Acrylic. Maybe it will kill two birds with one stone and put out Acrylic as a medium-level graphics design app to push their "Start something creative" tagline.

The Acrylic interface is a bit annoying. I've always loved the docking windows of Visual Studio and CorelDRAW Suite. And you appreciate these a LOT more when you're working on a Tablet PC. The UI is somewhat creative - I'll give you that - but it STILL is annoying.

I guess there's nothing left to do but uninstall Acrylic (why waste a hundred megs on this?) and wait until my theory is confirmed or denied.

.NET | Art | Avalon | Geek Stuff

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Last night, I read in Paul Thurrott's WinInfoUpdate Daily that Microsoft acquired a vector-based drawing tool (like CorelDRAW or Illustrator or Freehand) from Creature House called ACRYLIC. The first public beta is now available at: http://www.microsoft.com/products/expression

I think it's a bit too coincidental that Microsoft purchases a Vector-Design tool just around the time when a visual designer for Avalon is to be added in the WinFX SDK. The Avalon people have often said that the final release (or even Beta 1 or 2) will have a visual designer and that vector-import capabilities (like importing EMF, WMF, DXF, AI, or other such vector formats into XAML code) will be added either via plugins for popular apps like Illustrator, or by some other means.

I'm guessing either Acrylic will have a Developer Edition for creating XAML stuff, or portions of Acrylic will be ported into a Visual Studio 2005 designer. As I write this, I have about 20 minutes left in the download of Acrylic Beta. Let's see what it holds.

.NET | Avalon | Graphics

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I downloaded Beta 1 (RC1) of Avalon/Indigo/WinFX SDK a few days ago and have been playing with it.

I did not get the time to dive too deep into the March CTP, but with the Beta 1 RC1, things are smoother and more stable. And, of course, the VS2005 Beta 2 support is very helpful.

I started playing around with Nathan Dunlap's code samples and have been trying to create a sample application in XAML/VB. There is no functioality, just a slick UI. I'm trying to merge my game designer and web designer abilities to create this UI. Let's see what I can come up with. Will post it here.

Perhaps this app will be the base for the AVALONfiltered series. Part 1 is almost finished.

.NET | Avalon | Geek Stuff | Graphics

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I finally passed the 3000 line on my FujiFilm S7000 Camera. Of course, I might have deleted about 500 pics from the bunch, but still - I took 3000 pictures!! And this was in a matter of about 3 months. I'm averaging a thousand pics a month, and dual layer DVDs are not enough!!!

Well, I'll finally be able to post a big update on Pixelated Focus when I do a major revamp - new site opens on June 17th (my birthday, thank you).

My Insignificant Life | Photography

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Well, this week was emotional. Jessica Pletcher, who I worked SO hard to get back into the Nukeation team has left us - again - to pursue higher goals (and a more stable income, not to mention a more stable [mentally] boss). As we recover from this tragic, tragic, loss (see Jess, we did appreciate you even if we didn't show it) we need new cannon fodder.

Seriously speaking, we are hiring people with the following skills/qualities:

• Sharp, Creative, Graphics Designers - must be able to create unorthodox ideas and visualize them properly in either Corel PhotoPaint or Adobe PhotoShop
• Visual C# and Visual Basic (.NET 1.1 - .NET 2.0 not required, but is a plus) programmers - must have 2 years+ experience with .NET and should be able to solve problems on their own without relying on the lazy architects. Must be proficient in both Windows and/or Web (ASP.net) development. PHP'ers need not apply. This is a Microsoft-tech-centric company.
• Flash animators - must have EXCELLENT animation skills
• Avalon artists and programmers - contact for details

A good sense of humor is required.

We pay industry standard rates, provide a LOT of freedom and space to work in. You can work from your own home or office. All you need is MSN messenger to talk to the rest of the team. Lots of perks available as well.

Please note: We are looking for freelancers only, for the moment. Freelancers will get opportunities for employment in our network in the future.

Paid and unpaid internships available. Contact us for details.

Send us a resume with a sample of your work. Programmers can point to a website with samples of their work. Artists should include a link (no attachments please) of their graphics work or mail us a CD (e-mail us for our mailing address).

Send your resumes to hr [ no spam at ] nukeation [dot] com.

To find out more about our company, please visit http://www.nukeation.com

DO NOT POST REPLIES HERE

.NET | Avalon | Geek Stuff | Graphics

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After 10 days of unbearable pain of not being able to witness the end of the Saga as almost everyone else I knew already had, I finally saw Revenge of the Sith. I can now die without regret.

At the end of it all, it somehow felt "good". Even though the entire galaxy plummets towards total darkness, with every being fearing the shadow of the white armor, it still felt GOOD!

Here's a list of my fave things from RotS:

I just loved the intense 'Vapaad' style fight between Windu and Palpatine. You can see Windu edging into his natural anger caused of Vapaad.

The nostalgic command from the Wing Leader, "Lock S-Foils in attack position", and the wookie howl.

The drop Yoda makes near the end after his failure - so reminiscent of Luke's exit on the Cloud City on Bespin.

Palpatine's Force Lightning.

Both Jedi Heroes did good acting this time. I just LOVED Obi-Wan's more natural personality. Ewan McGregor did a heck of a job. Even Hayden Christensen's Vader-mode was cool. The anger in his voice was scary. Natalie Portman's acting abilities were also nicely explored. But the best acting had to be a tie with Yoda (animators/Frank Oz) and Palpy (Ian McDiarmid).

The whole film was like a full mirror of Return of the Jedi. The Apprentice vs Jedi fight with the Emperor watching in a grand seat. The immense space battle. The appendage chopping. Vader's creation as opposed to Vader's redemption.

Some things that were in the novelization were not included in the film, but SHOULD'VE BEEN:

Commander Cody (the clone commander who goes with Obi-Wan on the Greivous mission on Utupal) gives Obi-Wan his lightsaber back, and as Obi-Wan goes away he gets Order 66 from Palpy, and then after Palpy's holo vanishes, he says "you could've given the order BEFORE I gave him his lightsaber back!". And when Obi-Wan loses his lightsaber when chasing the droid general, he says "Anakin will never let live in peace if he finds out" - or something to that effect.

But the thing they REALLY should've added was Yoda talking with the ghostly image of Qui-Gon Jinn before Bail Organa interrupts his meditiation near the end. And this is the REAL conversation Yoda and Obi-Wan have in the end:

Yoda: In your solitude on Tatooine, training I have for you. I and my new Master."

Obi-Wan: Your new Master?

Yoda: Yes. (Smiles) And your old one...

The Swamp troops (the clones in green/silver on Kash'yyk) had the best armor.

Sigh ... I gotta go now ... I will keep writing my comments about RotS and its comparison to RotJ later (like you can stop me!).

My Insignificant Life | Star Wars

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Following the release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (which I haven't seen yet, thank you, and shut up) the Mondays gang whupped ass with a super funny Star Wars themed episode of Mondays. Your's truly had the honor of being part of it behind-the-scenes with a bunch of photoshopped (or rather PhotoPaint'd) images of ... well ... something of what Star Wars is like after the weekend. Go check out the show and find out more. Here's a sample: http://shrinkster.com/5ev

I was so busy with making these images and juggling projects (as well fencing comments about my not seeing Sith yet) that I even forgot to mention it here!!!! Check out the show here: http://mondays.pwop.com/default.aspx?showID=22 - and NO, I didn't make the Chewie & Leia image. Even *I* have some dignity. Although, I did find it on the net. :-P

Art | Geek Stuff | Graphics | Toys

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I've always been fascinated and frightened of death - any form of "end". Personal death - my own death - would be a fascinating thing - hell, it would be an adventure (uhm, that "hell" was an exclamation, because I don't believe in hell [or heaven]- mostly because if I did that is where I'd be going).

For the past couple of years everything started ending. The sitcoms I always watched started ending one by one, the eternal sagas come to an end. I left the house where I spent the majority of my life until 2003. Frodo had to leave the Shire and go into the West. Will Riker went onto his own command, Data died. Anakin became Vader, Padme died. In the EU, Chewbacca, Anakin Solo, Admiral Ackbar, Ganner Rhysode, Wurth Skidder, Elogos A'kla, even Nom Anor died. Tahiri, Danni and other went away into the Unknown Regions with Zonama Sekot. And good TV (whatever was left of it) is dying with the so-called reality shows.

One big fear of mine has been the underdog I've been supporting and fighting for is now nearing it's end. In the last few years, Corel Corporation (www.corel.com) has been taken over more times than the middle eastern governments. Since v1.0, I've been a die hard CorelDRAW fan. Later on when Corel PhotoPaint was brought on, it became the most used software on my computer(s). For over 14 years, this is one software I've been using.

Now, I hear that there WON'T be a version 13. PhotoPaint has (finally) fallen behind Photoshop. In it's youth, Corel PhotoPaint (CPT) was what Photoshop copied features from! Now, PhotoShop CS2 is coming up with amazing features. For the past 3 years, this fear has been hanging over me like a sword. But I kept on pushing, knowing Corel will bring in one more version with some rocking features that will crush PS. And for the past 3 years, Corel has been disappointing me. Sure, they've added some cool features, but not ENOUGH.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a fiercly loyal to my friends and allies. And now like Anakin Skywalker, I'm being seduced by the Palpatine analog called Corel Painter IX. I've started shifting my painting creation from CPT to PIX. And I'm beginning to become loyal to it. It's no biggie - it's a COREL product (tho not originally). And it does have cool functionality. It still doesn't support ALL the cool things PhotoPaint can do, but... oh well. I'm still going to use both mediums.

But the deeper fear is that if there is no new version Corel PhotoPaint, I will need to switch to Photoshop. Photoshop with its undocked windows, and missing tools (hey, CPT STILL has tools PS doesn't!). I still pray to the Force that Corel has enough sense to create a new version with killer features. But what if it doesn't. Despair! I despair. Even though I know that despair leads to fear, and fear leads to hatred, and hatred leads to anger, and anger leads to the Dark Side! Oh Force, are you with me still? Does the Light Side still hold sway?

I fear the day when I cannot get a new version of PhotoPaint, and I'll have to leave it's beautiful customizable VBA architecture and embrace the Yuuzhan Vong software called Photoshop. Padme will die, hundreds of Padawans will die, and I will be using Photoshop!

Art | Geek Stuff | Graphics | My Insignificant Life

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Jedi Master C'arl Fran'klin has written an AMAZING blog post. You just HAVE to read it.

http://weblogs.asp.net/cfranklin/archive/2005/05/19.aspx 

Amazing. Simply amazing.

Geek Stuff | My Insignificant Life

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I was archiving some old files and found this picture of Dr. J. J. Rawal, a renowned astrophysicist, and the former Director of the Nehru Space Institute, current director of the Indian Planetary Society. He's also an advisor at the Indian analog of NASA.

This picture was taken sometime in 2004 at my father's office. Dr. Rawal is a friend of Dad's. I really enjoyed the brief chat I had with him. He was kind enough to invite me to participate in the new meteorological research center they are soon going to establish in my town.

My Insignificant Life

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I recently got hooked on to using Shrinkster.com a lot thanks to listening to .NET Rocks and Mondays

If you don't know what Shrinkster is, it's a website where you enter a large url (for example, a blog link, or a long search URL) and it shrinks it to something like http://shrinkster.com/4x9 - it's small, it's permanent, and it's free. No strings attached.

The thing is, sometimes I want to give a link to someone about something quickly and it is just a pain in the ass to open the browser, go to the site, and make the URL. So, I shrinksterized the process...

Behold... shrinksterNuke! This handy app creates a shrinkster URL from the shrinkster website automatically! You just enter the URL and boom - it's done. It even keeps history and has easy tracking built in.

You can download it at: http://shrinkster.com/5bl

It is a beta release. It has some bugs and tracking is not fully implemented. You can send feedback via the comments link here, or mail me directly. I'd love to hear what you think, and if you find it useful, share it with your friends.

A thanks to Karl Moore and his wonderful component WebZinc.net which handles the core functions for this app. Go buy his app! Now!

NOTE: ShrinksterNuke is built on Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0.50215. You will need the .NET Runtime (same version) installed. It is available at: http://shrinkster.com/5bn

.NET | Geek Stuff | Toys

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I desperately needed a vacation. I was on the verge of nervous breakdown. But there was just too much work that needed my attention. So, I decided to fill in the gaps in my Star Wars reading and read the entire New Jedi Order series from Book 1. Now, this is a series of 21 books, and my total count of Star Wars novels read has been about 75+.

So, I read 10 books in the last week. I intend to finish the rest this week or the next. I even read EPISODE III: Revenge of the Sith - the official novelization. Damn, I can't wait to see the movie. Go see it!

Some time back, I was on a similar Star Wars kick (I'm ALWAYS on a Star Wars kick, this one was a spike in the normal pattern) and I watched all 5 movies back-to-back. After watching the movie I got into a fight with a Penguin-lover (Linux user! This isn't beastiality!) about Microsoft being the Dark Side of the Force. Being a Microsoft-lover, I just couldn't help but kick his ass.

Later, I was inspired to do a vector-sketch. I wonder if Bill Gates' midi-chlorian count is higher than Anakin's. Hmmm.

This is my tribute to Genndy Tartakovsky's genius.

If you Penguin-lovers are thinking that Linux's fate shall be that of Luke Skywalker, yes, you may lose a hand (or wing) or whatever, but defeat the Dark Side, you shall not. Size does matter.

Geek Stuff | Graphics | My Insignificant Life

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Some time back, Carl Franklin and I started an animation project for Microsoft TechEd that would be shown during a keynote or something. The project's initial concept was provided by Rory Blyth - we take Microsofties and put them in a Mortal Kombat like environment, but with a geeky theme. So, we ended up creating KODER KOMBAT. Unfortunately, the project didn't take off as we expected, but we did end up with a cool idea that just might have a future still.

The stars of our animation were none other than Chris Sells and Don Box. Here are the original concept sketches:

Introducing CHRIS SHARP. This hash-powered fighting machine runs on Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 and was coded fully in C#. His powers included HyperInheritance (projecting multiple clones of self), and the legendary power called BURNING MAN (below).

This particular super power had a side-power. A strongly addictive polka-remixed song that stuck Chris Sharp's opponent between wanting to dance like an idiot and run away screaming - either would work in Chris Sharp's favor.

Introducing SILENT ANGLE BRACKET. This wild man was trained by Hulk Hogan in his early years, and then by Or'oku Saki (aka Shredder). His super powers include a silent, almost transparent changing of schemas in between fighting. He switches between a Ninjitsu warrior to a yelling wrestler within milliseconds.

Silent Angle Bracket's secret weapon was an inflatable bathtub hidden in his utility belt (not shown in picture). When he would need to overcome his opponent, he would pull it out, and get in it and mesmerize his opponent (either with his nudity or his interesting talk on SOAP). This would lull his opponent into a false sense of serenity and then he would strike with his energy angle brackets and XML transforms.

Hopefully, this project will one day be restarted. (This is an actual project, NOT a joke!)

Geek Stuff | Graphics

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If you've visited my blog before (thank you!) you might notice the look has changed. Astute observation.

If you've known me for more than 48 hours, you would probably know that I'm a cipheractive (a hyperactive person who works in mysterious, cryptic ways) and I often end up revamping something or the other to exhaust the build up of excess creativity in my so-called brain.

And yes, that picture above is a painting I recently made on my tablet. And no, that's not me - I'm the sleepy-eyed idiot on the right.

Graphics | My Insignificant Life

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Ever get the feeling you don't want Monday to begin? Tired of dragging your sorry ass to work? Well, here's an audio show (aka podcast) that might make things a bit easier.

Mondays: What Sunday threw up - http://mondays.pwop.com

(The site was designed by yours truly, thank you )

This show is the brainchild of Carl Franklin and his gang of geeks. Want a sample? Take a look at Carl's recent blog entry. You can't afford to not listen to these clips.

Pass on this message and Carl will pay over $30,000,000 to the person who passes on this message to over 3000 people. What are you waiting for? Go! Spread the word.

Geek Stuff

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I just finished the processing of a cloud video (the first in a series of many) taken during a bright afternoon. This video was 'shrunk' from a whole 3:47 minute shot.

http://www.pixelatedfocus.com/cloud01-1.zip

Hopefully, I'll be shooting some really cool cloud shots and some lightning shots as well.

Photography

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I've decided to let go of AFTER-IMAGES.net. It has been a good ride, but some things must end. I've stopped painting for some time now, and I don't think I want an exclusive art exhibit online anymore. I'll probably fuse the existing collections at Pixelated Focus.

If anyone wants this domain, just mail me and I'll *give* it to you. Well, not free, but at a token price of US$12. That's what I paid for registration a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... :)

Graphics | My Insignificant Life

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I'm going to have to wait to complete my AVALONfiltered series of articles. According to some stuff I've heard and read from Microsoft, the June 30th Beta release of Longhorn and Avalon will have some rather significant changes since the March CTP. I've personally been trying to get Microsoft to add MERGE MODES / BLEND MODES. I hope they add that in Beta 1 or Beta 2 - or at least when they finally release Longhorn. Nate Dunlap (Designer, Avalon Team) has told me that he also wants merge modes put in the Avalon core, and Pablo Fernicola (Group Program Manager, Avalon Team) has also expressed interest in it. It's really cool that even such big wigs at Microsoft listen to the little people.

So, I'm holding off on writing the articles (although I have written at least 6 pages now) until June. Beta 1 will bring important changes and I really dont want to rewrite anything - nor do I want to be proven wrong if Microsoft decides to take something out!! I vehemently hope they don't pull anything out.

I'm still open to feedback and suggestions for the AVALONfiltered articles.

Update:

I forgot to mention, Microsoft has pulled out Longhorn 4074 (WinHEC 2004 Build) from the MSDN Subscriptions. This means that they might put up Build 5048 from the recent WinHEC (2005). Let's see what info I can get from the people at Microsoft.

.NET | Avalon | Graphics

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The new slogan Nukeation is going with is INNOVATING FORM™. The spinoff of that slogan will be carried over to our upcoming product - which is STILL untitled! That slogan will be "Innovating Form Creation".

We plan to put out a CTP soon It will require Visual Studio 2003 to work (2005 support is being added tho). It will help you create the visual portion of your app in about 1/18th of the time it usually takes a normal developer - maybe even less!

Here's a teaser wallpaper we're using internally.

wallpaperpregenerate.png (26.35 KB)

I invite you to register for the CTP at http://www.nukeation.com/ruid/ - and get a 30% discount on the software as soon as it's released in mid/late June. The CTP will be released some time in late May.

.NET | Geek Stuff

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Even though it is downplayed on our current website, Nukeation is heavily involved in Developer Graphic Services. That is, in addition to our usual b2b graphics, web, and multimedia services, we also provide graphics-oriented services to the Developer community. This includes everything from creating the toolbar and application icons to designing the UI to physical package design. We do it all.

The cool thing is we've recently been hiring people who are either designers turned developers, or developers turned designers. This discovery was an accident, but those of us who are like that have churned out more successes (for us AND for our clients) than the others.

In our upcoming re-vamp of Nukeation (the company as well as the site), I intend to highlight our new(?) focus on Developer Services. In the meantime, if you would like to know more, just drop us a line to be sent the free Developer Sample Kit. We are putting up a new Sample Kit made with .NET 2.0 this weekend. All of you who have asked for it will be emailed a link to it.

In the coming months as the Avalon/WinFX beta 1 will ship, we intend to provide Avalon design services to companies that want to get a headstart on the Longhorn wave. Despite the somewhat drab presentation at WinHEC, Avalon and WinFX will be a major boon to the developer world. For more information on Avalon services, feel free to drop me a line (click that little envelope icon at the bottom of the page).

.NET | Avalon | Graphics

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Skinning Metal

See also: PwopCatcher Skinning Video (new)

It all started when Carl Franklin, CEO of PWOP Productions Inc suddenly mailed me saying “I got a chance to change the world.” Carl was starting a software project that would change PodCasting forever (among other things). He wanted me to come up with a few concepts of what it should look like – it had to be skinned.

Carl had this abstract idea of something “warped”. After racking my brain for over 9 minutes, I sat down with my Tablet PC, and sketched out a quick metal skin with pencils and markers. Ripped out holes, embossed metal letters, and digital LCD screens found home on this metal object.

The idea got a solid ‘thumbs up’, and the work began.

Before I start blabbering about the whole process, I must point out that a good deal of ideas in the project were Carl’s or came from our discussions and my memory may elude me, so I may forget to mention, but that does not mean I forgot … umm, you know what I mean.

Metal Bashing

Now, there are some amazing tricks you can pull off in Corel PhotoPaint (or Photoshop, though PhotoPaint does have some tools that kick Photoshop’s ass) to achieve realism and create good looking metal and glass objects. But there are mixed methods that create even better effects – and that’s exactly what I opted for.

The first thing to do was create the base or body of the skin. It needed a solid, metallic feel – and what better to use than actual metal. I went down to a junk yard and got an old 3x3 aluminum plate. Aluminum is light, easy to manipulate and had the perfect bluish/galvanized tint. I marked out the rough outline of the body on the aluminum. Using an old rusted (purposefully) heavy pair of scissors, I took out the excess area from the sheet, leaving me with a rough shape of the body. The next step was to make careful incisions along key points of the body’s shape. The old, rusty scissors made jagged cuts. With some heavy duty gloves, I tore out the remaining excess metal with the help of the incisions. The remaining metal sheet was shaped like a ‘random’ shard of a space ship or something.

Now, the body needed depth. It’s a 0.5mm sheet. Very thin! So, I manually bent the edges. And made some noise with a hammer (along with some bumps and dents on the sheet). Now, the skin was looking closer to what I had in mind.

Point to be noted: There are limits to what you can do with a metal sheet to match the image in your head – these limits consist of mostly time, budget, and mainly your sanity. Scared of ruining this perfect shard of a spacecraft, I took pictures of it with my digital camera at 2848x2136+ - that’s very hi-res for an 800x600- skin. The brownish shine you see is my shirt. I tried to remove the coloring, but later on, it really helped me with some effects.

I decided to make the holes and other effects digitally. Taking samples from various regions of the body, and some hand-painted artwork on the Tablet PC, I ended up with a nice rectangular hole.

Depth was still lacking. This would need another round of photography. Taking my trusty camera, I headed off to the junkyard again and found the textures I wanted in an old hood of a car crash, a surgical lamp, and a failed metal sculpture project (I’m guessing it was that). The new photos were cleaned up and merged with some of my ‘proprietary blend effects’.

Pixel Bashing

I won’t go too much into the detail of the process here, as it involves some trade secrets of mine, and the rest is just plain boring. Pixels pushed here, pixels pushed there, and so on. So, let’s skip to the future a bit.

And here we have, finally, a metal shard of some space voyaging vehicle with cool shines, metal anomalies, LCD displays, and wires hanging underneath it.

The PWOPCATCHER title you see in the lower right is homage to the ‘used universe’ / X-Wing paint effect from Star Wars.