Zach Surfs the Interwebs

Another Round of Star Wars Revisions

2011-09-04T08:00:00.002-05:00

There are a lot of complaints about George Lucas's latest round of revisions to the Star Wars saga—this time for the Blu-Ray release. (See the videos in this ComingSoon.net article.) The changes do seem pretty silly—especially the clumsy "No! NOOOOO!" addition to Darth Vader's dialogue as the Emperor electrocutes Luke—but I guess I'm no longer surprised by Lucas's terrible choices.

Honestly, Lucas was never a master of subtlety, even when writing the original movies (you know, the first time). As the clip below illustrates, all the best Star Wars lines were written by John Williams [IMDb | Wikipedia].

Software Patents

2011-08-04T08:00:00.038-05:00

NPR's This American Life had a recent story on the sometimes ugly world of software patents:

It's well worth a listen. Some of the highlights include:

"For decades, the patent office considered software to be like language. A piece of software was more like a book or an article. You could copyright the code, but you couldn't patent the whole idea.

In the 1990s, the Federal courts stepped in and started chipping away at this interpretation. There was a couple big decisions, one in 1994 and another in 1998, which overturned the patent office completely.

A flood of software patents followed. A lot of people in Silicon valley wish that had never happened, including a very surprising group: computer programmers...

In polls, as many as 80 percent of software engineers say the patent system actually hinders innovation. It doesn't encourage them to come up with new ideas and create new products. It actually gets in their way.

Many patents are so broad, engineers say, that everyone's guilty of infringement. This causes huge problems for almost anyone trying to start or grow a business on the Internet...

All the big tech companies have started amassing troves of software patents — not to build anything, but to defend themselves. If a company's patent horde is big enough, it can essentially say to the world, "If you try to sue me with your patents, I'll sue you with mine."

It's mutually assured destruction. But instead of arsenals of nuclear weapons, it's arsenals of patents."

The story continues by investigating a particular company called Intellectual Ventures that's been labeled a patent troll—buying up patents and using shell companies to aggressively sue for infringement. Chris Sacca (a venture capitalist who sounds like an interesting fella) draws parallels to Al Capone:

"The pitch he heard was, basically, Intellectual Ventures helps defend against lawsuits. Intellectual Ventures has this horde of 35,000 patents — patents that, for a price, companies can use to defend themselves.

Technology companies pay Intellectual Ventures fees ranging 'from tens of thousands to the millions and millions of dollars ... to buy themselves insurance that protects them from being sued by any harmful, malevolent outsiders,' Sacca says.

There's an implication in IV's pitch, Sacca says: If you don't join us, who knows what'll happen?

He says it reminds him of 'a mafia-style shakedown...' "

My own experience with software patents (to date) is limited. I haven't seen anything so sinister as the Intellectual Ventures situation, but I have heard the "mutually assured desctruction" analogy before. And I do know that new patent submissions take somewhere between 18 months and 3 years to be processed by the appropriate office. Perhaps I'll have more to say in roughly that amount of time.

I'll be curious to see how (if?) the landscape is affected by the current patent reform debate.

Further Reading:

iPhone Developer

2011-08-01T08:00:00.009-05:00

Almost four months ago, I started a new job as a software developer at GrubHub—which "helps you find and order food wherever you are." We're in almost 20 cities now and growing like crazy. It's a great product and a fantastic place to work.

My team just finished up our first major project since my arrival: a new version of our iPhone app that supports pickup (in addition to the standard delivery option) and improves a little bit of everything. Download it free from the app store and try it out.

This was my first time doing iPhone development, and while there are plenty of quirks to Objective C—the primary programming language for Mac platforms—and (even more so) Xcode—Apple's software development tool suit—I really enjoyed working in the mobile space. Also, after years of developing user interfaces in Swing, it's nice to have things like animation supported out of the box.

Watch for more exciting iPhone features from me (and GrubHub) in the fall.

Oh, and if you've never tried GrubHub before, use this link to get $10 off your first online order!

Marvel Family Trees

2011-07-28T08:00:00.003-05:00

This is sweet:

It's created by a graphic designer named Joe Stone (and originally posted here). Check your knowledge against the key with character names.

He also created one for the Fantastic Four...

(Here's the original post
and the key with character names.)

...and one for the Avengers.

(Here's the original post.
He hasn't posted a key for this one yet.)

Astonishing X-Men

2011-07-27T08:00:00.098-05:00

Keeping with the X-theme of the last two posts, I'm turning my attention to the actual comics.

Astonishing X-Men (2004-2008) by Joss Whedon and John Cassiday
Goodreads | Wikipedia | ComicBookDB

X-Fans will love this book.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I've read a number of X-Men books, but nothing (so far) compares to Joss Whedon's 25-issue run on Astonishing X-Men. (Yes, that's Joss Whedon of Buffy fame--although I much preferred Firefly. He's also directing the upcoming Avengers movie. I'll have to blog about that sometime soon.)

This arc won the 2006 Eisner award for Best Continuing Series, and it's well deserved. The writing is tight, there's a great balance between action and character development, and a few moments are downright hilarious. Plus John Cassiday's art is exceptional.

I read the four trade paperback volumes (Gifted, Dangerous, Torn, and Unstoppable), and I couldn't put them down. They were action-packed, hilarious, poignant and larger than life—everything I could ask for in a team superhero comic book. I definitely recommend them.

X-Complaints: January Jones

2011-07-26T08:00:00.004-05:00

X-Men: First Class (2011)

My Recommendation: Great movie with a few glaring flaws

Yesterday, I registered my first complaint with a summary of the questionable racial politics.

Today we turn to the weakest link in the cast...

January Jones gives an abysmal performance as the villian Emma Frost. She delivers all of her lines in the same soulless tone, and brings zero presence to the character. I can only assume that she was cast exclusively on the basis of hair color and cup size. Damon Lindelof (Lost creator) may have said it best on Twitter:

"Emma Frost's THREE mutant powers: Telepathy, Transformation to Solid Diamond and last but not least, Sucking at Acting.

Full disclosure, though... For the first several episodes of Mad Men, I was convinced that January Jones was a brilliant actress. I thought she nailed the part of the picture-perfect-but-quietly-unhappy Betty Draper. Halfway through the first season, though, I realized it was the only expression her face can make.

X-Complaints: Race

2011-07-25T08:00:00.003-05:00

X-Men: First Class (2011)
IMDb | Wikipedia | Official Site

Directed by Matthew Vaughan
Written by Vaughan and 5 other people
Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender

My Recommendation: Great movie with a few glaring flaws

X-Men comics have a long history of exploring racism and prejudice, but the script for X-Men: First Class has a surprisingly simplistic understanding of racial politics.

The only black woman is a stripper who goes over to the bad guys at the first opportunity. The only black man is killed faster than a redshirt on Kirk's away team. For a film set in the civil rights heyday of 1962, this seems embarrassingly oblivious. New York Times columnist Ta-Nehisi Coates puts it this way:

"Here is a period piece for our postracial times — in the era of Ella Baker and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the most powerful adversaries of spectacular apartheid are a team of enlightened white dudes."

When race is invoked, there is absolutely no nuance. Comics Alliance blogger David Brothers points out the black character's other primary function:

"He was there so that when someone said 'slavery' when talking about mutant rights, the camera could focus on his face in one of the cheapest bits of direction I've ever seen. Yes, of course that would make the black guy mad. Congrats! You've got a rudimentary understanding of history, and I'm really happy for you. Way to hammer home the civil rights metaphor at the heart of the X-Men in the clumsiest way possible."

Perhaps I'm being overly critical of a comic book movie, but when you have scenes set against the Lincoln Memorial, when your characters say things like "Mutant... and proud," you're not shying away from the race allegory. But with such clumsy execution, you're not doing it justice either.

My (Unusable) Calendar

2011-07-22T08:00:00.003-05:00

Google has been revamping the design of their calendar interface among others. I know graphic designers love white space, but I'd like to be able to see my events:

An Unexpected Party

2011-04-14T21:11:00.000-05:00

Who's excited?

Answer: Me

IT

2011-01-05T08:00:00.003-06:00

(User's computer is continuously beeping.)

User: My computer is screaming at me! I've rebooted, unplugged it, checked all the cords, and I can't make it stop.

Me: Take that heavy folder off the spacebar.

(Beeping stops.)

Old Acquaintance

2010-12-31T21:03:00.000-06:00

(read more, including English translation at Wikipedia)

Original Scots verse by Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ? 
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and days of auld lang syne* ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp ! 
and surely I’ll be mine ! 
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes, 
and pu’d the gowans fine ; 
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
sin auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl’d i' the burn,
frae morning sun till dine ; 
But seas between us braid hae roar’d 
sin auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere ! 
and gie's a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught, 
for auld lang syne

Red Light

2010-12-31T08:00:00.000-06:00

R.I.P. Xbox 360
bought 9/25/2007
died 12/27/2010

The warranty expired November 29. Boo.

I've been playing fewer video games these days, but the console is also our Netflix device and DVD player. What's Isaac going to do without his Dora?

I think I may retire the Xbox and get a Blu-ray player instead. Any recommendations?

Last Year

2010-12-29T19:00:00.028-06:00

One year ago, we brought a 10-month-old Anders in for surgery.

Anders Pre-Op

That was a long day--and a rough week of recovery in the hospital, too. As I've written before, it kinda kicked my emotional and spiritual butt for a while.

Time marches on, and I'm happy to report that Anders does, too. Praise God for modern medicine, healthy kids, and people who walk with us through the valleys.

Star Trek Quote of the Day

2010-12-12T22:25:00.000-06:00

(from The Daily What)

Star Trek Quote of the Day

Grammar Tip

2010-11-20T08:00:00.001-06:00

Here's an incredibly helpful grammar site:

http://www.isthatpluralizedwithanapostrophe.com/

Y: The Last Man

2010-11-19T08:00:00.005-06:00

Y: The Last Man (2002-2008) by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
Goodreads | Wikipedia | ComicBookDB

Suggested for Mature Readers

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

What if all the males on the planet suddenly dropped dead? That's the premise of this award-winning comic book series from Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan and Canadian artist Pia Guerra.

The titular Y, Yorick Brown, is an amateur escape artist who suddenly and inexplicably becomes the last man on Earth after a global plague. Yorick quickly discovers it's a dangerous world for a boy all on his own.

This series is an excellent example of serialized storytelling. My feelings about Y are actually pretty similar to my feelings about Lost: The writing wanders a little in the third quarter of the story, but the overall arc is very well constructed. Vaughan describes his original idea:

"I pitched Y as a 60-issue series from the beginning. It was always planned as a 5-year journey of the last boy on Earth becoming the last man on Earth. I'd say that the first three years or so were planned out in very specific detail. After that, it was more the broad strokes involving where the characters were going to end up, both geographically and emotionally. I've always known what the last line of the book was going to be and what the last panel would be. That's always been true."

The conclusion and epilogue do leave some unresolved questions. I expect that this ambiguity will please some and enrage others, but (like Lost) this was never a story about the mechanics of the sci-fi (or mystical) elements, but rather a story about character interactions. There's grief, joy, loss, and hope--and actually a decent amount of humor, too.

The art is great, too. Pia Guerra displays considerable talent drawing both tense action sequences and emotional conversations. The color palette consistently sets the right tone, as well.

I'd recommend this wholeheartedly, even for those who don't regularly read comics. I will say that it's definitely not for kids. There's language, nudity, violence, death, and plenty of "adult situations." I don't think it's gratuitous, but that depends on your sensibilities. Just don't buy it for your ten-year-old.

If you've already read Y, check out this great interview with Brian K. Vaughan on IGN. Beware, there are spoilers from the first 59 (of 60) issues. Finally, there's been talk of a movie or a TV show, but nothing concrete yet. I'm in no rush. I've got Vaughan's Ex Machina series to read.

Poker Night at the Inventory

2010-11-10T20:37:00.000-06:00

This looks like a great idea.

From Telltale Games for only $4.95; supposedly coming out this month.

Ow, My Eyes! (Part 2)

2010-10-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

A quick follow-up to my previous post...

Still straining your eyes? If you're still using a CRT monitor, check the refresh rate. Some people are more sensitive (i.e. bigger babies) than others, but I quickly had a headache if I used a refresh rate below 75 Hz. The default is 60 Hz, but most monitors offer higher settings. Here are instructions for changing this in Windows XP.

If you're using an LCD monitor, it doesn't matter. Those newer monitors don't flicker in the first place, at least not at a speed that's detectable by the human eye.

If you're a night owl, you might also try out F.lux. It's a free app (for Windows, Mac, and Linux) that adjusts the brightness and tint of your screen to more closely match the artificial light in the room. During the day, it's bright (like normal), but at sunset it slowly dims to a warmer color tone that's easier on your tired eyes.

I installed it a few days ago on our iMac at home and I like it so far. F.lux is not ideal for editing pictures, or any other color-sensitive work, but it can be temporarily disabled when necessary. It's recommended on lifehacker and on Cult of Mac.

Ow, My Eyes!

2010-10-25T08:00:00.034-05:00

I had nearly run my work laptop into the ground, so I recently swapped it out for an identical model. After the expected hassle of reinstalling scads of programs, I realized things still didn't look quite right. Specifically, reading was painful, even with the same fonts at the same resolution.

After some digging, I found the solution: turn on ClearType font smoothing. Mouse over the text below to see the difference:

Update: Fixed the mouse-over behavior. If it doesn't seem to work, you can view the difference here:
Without ClearType | With ClearType

The difference is most apparent on flat panel LCDs. If you have Windows 7 (or a Mac made after 1976), this feature is on by default, but my company laptop still runs Windows XP.

Follow these instructions if you'd like to save your eyes, and you can read up on how subpixel rendering works if that sounds like fun to you.

And yes, that's Hurley's version of the Empire Strikes Back script. Aww, who else misses Hurley?

District 9 / Alive in Joburg

2010-10-22T08:00:00.078-05:00

District 9 (2009)
IMDb | Wikipedia | Trailer | Official Site

Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Written by Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
Starring Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope and David James

My Recommendation: Excellent. See it.

This film is worthy of all four of its Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. It's a sci-fi thriller about a group of aliens unexpectedly stranded on Earth. Sharlto Copley (Murdock from The A-Team) plays a bureaucrat assigned to relocate them from the isolated slum of District 9.

The film was shot on location in Johannesburg, South Africa, and there are obvious parallels to apartheid and the real-life forced removal of thousands from Cape Town's District Six. In fact, Wikipedia says that "the location that portrays District 9 was a real impoverished neighborhood from which people were being forcibly relocated to government-subsidised housing."

The director first explored this science fiction premise in a short (6 minute) film from 2005 called Alive in Joburg. It's interesting to see the inspiration for the feature film, especially since many of the interviews are not with actors. Blomkamp asked regular South Africans how they felt about Zimbabwean refugees and then used the footage for a storyline about extraterrestrials.

Pyongyang

2010-10-19T08:00:00.039-05:00

Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea (2003) by Guy Delisle
Goodreads | Wikipedia

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This graphic novel is the autobiographical story of Canadian Guy Delisle's visit to North Korea, where he worked for two months as a consultant for an animation company. It's a very interesting view into this famously closed country, even if his experience is carefully controlled by the regime.

Delisle approaches everything with a dry, sarcastic sense of humor. The narrative takes frequent side trips to offer historical context, commentary, and pictoral musings.

He can be funny, but he can also be racist, sexist, and selfish. There are statistics about the poverty-stricken population and examples of the oppressive atmosphere of propaganda and fear, but his interactions with the local citizens show contempt, not compassion. He's too busy wallowing in his own boredom to make genuine human contact.

In a way, this makes the story that much more authentic. The flawed, selfish capitalist visits the flawed, totalitarian state. Both entities are too interested in protecting their own interests to learn much from each other.

As a memoir in graphic novel form, comparisons to Maus are probably inevitable. It's not as good, but it shares the same authenticity that makes it hard to put down. I would recommend Pyongyang not because I loved it, but because it made me think.

Time On Your Hands?

2010-10-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Every so often, I check in on Johnny Chung Lee's Procrastineering blog. He's the guy who can turn your TV into a virtual reality display with a couple of Wiimotes. Check it out if you haven't seen it.

He also posts videos of other people doing crazy, inventive stuff. Here's a guy who can't play piano or drums, at least he can't until he starts editing the video.

Lee's post also shows a 9-track mix of one guy doing Legends of Zelda music and a remix of YouTube videos from something like twenty musicians from around the world.

These guys, on the other hand, herd sheep to create moving pictures, video games, and a photographic mosaic of the Mona Lisa. For real.

Repentance

2010-10-12T12:30:00.069-05:00

There's an interesting discussion happening on my previous post about anti-gay bullying. (Here's the ultra-condensed version: "Don't do it.") One reader asked me to clarify my criticism of the repent-first stance that many Christians take toward the homosexual community. So I clarified:

Repentance has always been part of the Christian message, regardless of the person's sexual orientation or the issue of whether homosexuality is a sin. There is no special prayer of repentance for homosexuals.

Salvation does not require one to recall, understand, or admit to an exhaustive list of previous sins. It requires an understanding of one's general guilt as a sinner and belief in Jesus' redemptive death and resurrection.

Many churches put homosexuality in a special category, insisting that you can't come to Jesus until you've renounced your homosexuality. This is un-Biblical, regardless of your stance on homosexuality as sin. In his post, Josh quotes Brennan Manning, speaking about the woman who was caught in adultery and brought before Jesus:

"Jesus didn't ask her if she was sorry. He didn't demand a firm purpose of amendment. He didn't seem too concerned that she might dash back into the arms of her lover. She just stood there and Jesus gave her absolution before she asked for it."

From another standpoint, let's posit that homosexuality is a sin.

Which message is more important to communicate to the homosexual community? A) God loves homosexuals, or B) homosexuality is a sin. Which message should shape my actions? Which message do I want to make sure my children understand? Which message sounds like good news?

If anybody answered option B, then put your clanging cymbal down because you're dead wrong.

The homosexual community has heard that second message loud and clear. That's all they've heard because it's drowning out everything else. That's the message that drives Focus on the Family's fearful response. That's the message our kids remember when they bully the effeminate boy on the playground.

Who is going to step up and preach that first message about God's radical love for all of us?

One final thought: If, as Romans tells us, it's God's kindness that leads us to repentance, why don't I see more of that from the Church?

Jump into the ongoing discussion here or on the previous post.

It Gets Better

2010-10-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Recently, several tragic stories of teen suicide have inspired a campaign called It Gets Better where gay adults speak to gay young people who are struggling to find acceptance. This is a great idea, but I'm not gay, and neither are (most of) the bullies.

I propose a parallel campaign where straight adults speak to their younger counterparts. I'll go first. (With any luck, all five of my readers will pick up the idea and run with it.)

I wish I could say that I've always acted compassionately, but that's not the case. I laughed at cruel jokes and told some of my own. I have called people, behaviors, inanimate objects, or even abstract concepts "gay" as a derogatory term. I made fun of other kids. Other times I was just silently complicit. I didn't think it was a big deal.

Read the news. Kids are killing themselves because of the hateful environment we've created. Nobody worth impressing thinks homophobia is cool. If you participate in (or ignore) this kind of bullying, stop. Better yet, apologize. Let's say it together:

"I'm sorry. That was really dumb."

Somewhere along the way, I realized that my exclusivity was hurting me. I was missing out on relationships with interesting, funny, thoughtful people. These people are our classmates, teammates, co-workers, and family members. They have valuable contributions, and if we shut them out, we lose.

I believe that when it gets better for Them, it gets better for Us, too.

Let's not hide behind religion, either. I am an Evangelical Christian, and I'm anti-bullying. I don't care if your pastor told you it was a sin. Jesus spent his entire ministry reaching out to those marginalized by society. The modern Church, however, has withheld the good news of Christ's redemptive love--taking a repent-first stance toward homosexuality. This is backwards. We need to repent.

My brother writes with a healthy dose of righteous indignation about the primacy of Jesus' call to love. Groups like Focus on the Family--that undermine efforts to curb bullying based on sexual orientation--have got it all wrong. Christians should be leading the charge to show LGBT kids that they are loved and accepted.

So... younger-version-of-me, let's make it better now. Befriend your gay peers. Wear your compassion on your sleeve. And for Christ's sake, stop calling things "gay." You sound like an idiot!

Fun with Bad Words

2010-10-08T08:00:00.005-05:00

Okay, let's be grown-ups and admit that bad words and dirty jokes are funny. It's even better when the humor is accidental...

From Failblog

...or surprisingly tame...

From Calamities of Nature

...or ironically serious.

From xkcd