My wife has given birth to our first son, Michael James Wilcox. He came into the world weighing 8lbs 8oz.
He has my nose and his mommy's eyes.
I am so excited to have him in the family finally. The birth was fairly quick and Jennifer is recovering well. We were all able to come home after only 2 days in the maternity center. Michael is settling in well and our kitty Mouse still doesn't really know what to make of the new baby.
Check Michael's blog for the latest updates.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
I'm back...sort of
Many of you have probably noticed a distinct lack of posts here. This is because I am so popular and awesome and totally not a robot.
Actually, it's mainly because I have been spending most of my time on my other blog The Proficient Investor. This is where I repost news and articles about stocks I am either invested in or am researching to invest in. My goal is to make it a main source of income so I can ditch the cubicle I work in.
Don't get me wrong, I love my job...I just don't want to do it forever. So check out my investment blog. You might actually make some money from my ideas, who knows.
I'll be posting here more often, probably as my new life as a dad unfolds. My as of yet unborn son has his own blog too. http://michaeljameswilcox.blogspot.com
Check em out.
Actually, it's mainly because I have been spending most of my time on my other blog The Proficient Investor. This is where I repost news and articles about stocks I am either invested in or am researching to invest in. My goal is to make it a main source of income so I can ditch the cubicle I work in.
Don't get me wrong, I love my job...I just don't want to do it forever. So check out my investment blog. You might actually make some money from my ideas, who knows.
I'll be posting here more often, probably as my new life as a dad unfolds. My as of yet unborn son has his own blog too. http://michaeljameswilcox.blogspot.com
Check em out.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Lucas Empire
I was able to see the new movie a few days before it actually opened which was nice because I got to avoid a lot of the crowds. Normally I like to see movies like this in a big crowd and a huge theater, but with such a bad taste in my mouth from the last two disastrous outings...I was hesitant to say the least.
To my surprise, the film is fantastic. It actually ranks up there with Empire Strikes Back for me. I was glad to see actual acting in the film this time...even though the "love" scenes between Anakin and Padme just suck a horses dong. Lucas still can't write dialogue that means anything between two people and most of the time I thought the actors were going to crack up having to say such drivel. However, the film (actually its all digital so technically, its just a movie) is well paced, the action is great, the lightsaber battles are phenomenal and it LOOKS awesome.
Digital cinema is going to be taken seriously after this I think. Complain all you want about the death of film...it's all about lighting and mood anyway my friends. I am not a purist, I am a realist. Lets say I want to shoot my own movie. I have several choices. A) 35mm which costs and arm and a leg to develop...plus a small fortune...for example the movie Feast (Project Greenlight) was shot for around $5mil total. That's considered low budget in the industry. B) 16mm...another solid film choice. Primer was made for only $7k. Yeah, that's right it was made on a credit card size budget, and its awesome. C) digital.
Believe it or not, digital has an enormous amount of choices. The most expensive cameras can run into the hundereds of thousands of dollars...but you can get a decent 3 chip sony cam for around $2k. You can also add all kinds of effects in post to make it look however you want. Why does SW EP3 look so good? Why does it look like film? It's all in the lighting. Trust me, I have experience in it.
Anyway if you haven't seen the fil...er movie. Go see it, forget the critics and your friends and go with an open mind. Hell, go in with the idea that you are going to hate it and it's going to suck, you might be pleasantly surprised.
To my surprise, the film is fantastic. It actually ranks up there with Empire Strikes Back for me. I was glad to see actual acting in the film this time...even though the "love" scenes between Anakin and Padme just suck a horses dong. Lucas still can't write dialogue that means anything between two people and most of the time I thought the actors were going to crack up having to say such drivel. However, the film (actually its all digital so technically, its just a movie) is well paced, the action is great, the lightsaber battles are phenomenal and it LOOKS awesome.
Digital cinema is going to be taken seriously after this I think. Complain all you want about the death of film...it's all about lighting and mood anyway my friends. I am not a purist, I am a realist. Lets say I want to shoot my own movie. I have several choices. A) 35mm which costs and arm and a leg to develop...plus a small fortune...for example the movie Feast (Project Greenlight) was shot for around $5mil total. That's considered low budget in the industry. B) 16mm...another solid film choice. Primer was made for only $7k. Yeah, that's right it was made on a credit card size budget, and its awesome. C) digital.
Believe it or not, digital has an enormous amount of choices. The most expensive cameras can run into the hundereds of thousands of dollars...but you can get a decent 3 chip sony cam for around $2k. You can also add all kinds of effects in post to make it look however you want. Why does SW EP3 look so good? Why does it look like film? It's all in the lighting. Trust me, I have experience in it.
Anyway if you haven't seen the fil...er movie. Go see it, forget the critics and your friends and go with an open mind. Hell, go in with the idea that you are going to hate it and it's going to suck, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Are You A Robot?
That's right folks, I want you to rename this blog. I know very few people probably actually read this, and sometimes you may find incoherent ramblings posted here that seem to vanish as quickly as they appeared. Usually this is a case of a great idea found during a drunken stupor. Tuesdays and Fridays are usually the culprits.
Do you have your cyborg name? no? Then what are you waiting for?? http://www.cyborgname.com is a funny site where you can find out your cyborg name and choose an avatar that you like.
In other news, I somehow managed to restrain myself from buying Grand Tourismo 4 today. I guess I figured I should probably finish KOTOR II: Sith Lords and maybe Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas before plunking down cash for another game. Short attention span, what can I say...I also noticed it's beginning to stay lighter later in the evening now, which is good news for me. I currently weigh in at 228 lbs. Though I wear it well, I plan on losing at least 28 lbs this year. I would like to lose more, but I have to be honest...I don't exercise much and I love to eat and I love beer. With the later evenings I can at least get back on my mountain bike and start burning off this excess fat I have been carrying around for the past 10 years. Believe it or not, back then I was quite thin and probably weighed in around 180. Marriage, work, school and general laziness/busy-ness sure helped pack on the pounds. So I made a resolution that I would lose weight this year. So far I have lost about 2 lbs in the last month. I know it's not a lot and I could do better...my breakfast this past week has been a yogurt and fruit cup, a protein shake and an energy drink called XS (if you have never heard of it, it's because it's only sold through Quixtar...go ahead ask me about it). Lunch usually involves some form of carbs and protein and a salad. Dinner is harder but it's usually a sandwich or soup.
I will post my weekly progress on this blog so you can all track my weight loss with me, and maybe I will even inspire others to lose the weight with me.
I just realized you all might be coming from blogshares and may not have seen my web site. The address is http://portfolio.wilcox-studios.com . I have been doing 3D art for about 12 years now, and my site is a small collection of the many things I have done. There is also other art such as drawings and paintings there. Let me know what you think!
Ciao for now.
Do you have your cyborg name? no? Then what are you waiting for?? http://www.cyborgname.com is a funny site where you can find out your cyborg name and choose an avatar that you like.
In other news, I somehow managed to restrain myself from buying Grand Tourismo 4 today. I guess I figured I should probably finish KOTOR II: Sith Lords and maybe Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas before plunking down cash for another game. Short attention span, what can I say...I also noticed it's beginning to stay lighter later in the evening now, which is good news for me. I currently weigh in at 228 lbs. Though I wear it well, I plan on losing at least 28 lbs this year. I would like to lose more, but I have to be honest...I don't exercise much and I love to eat and I love beer. With the later evenings I can at least get back on my mountain bike and start burning off this excess fat I have been carrying around for the past 10 years. Believe it or not, back then I was quite thin and probably weighed in around 180. Marriage, work, school and general laziness/busy-ness sure helped pack on the pounds. So I made a resolution that I would lose weight this year. So far I have lost about 2 lbs in the last month. I know it's not a lot and I could do better...my breakfast this past week has been a yogurt and fruit cup, a protein shake and an energy drink called XS (if you have never heard of it, it's because it's only sold through Quixtar...go ahead ask me about it). Lunch usually involves some form of carbs and protein and a salad. Dinner is harder but it's usually a sandwich or soup.
I will post my weekly progress on this blog so you can all track my weight loss with me, and maybe I will even inspire others to lose the weight with me.
I just realized you all might be coming from blogshares and may not have seen my web site. The address is http://portfolio.wilcox-studios.com . I have been doing 3D art for about 12 years now, and my site is a small collection of the many things I have done. There is also other art such as drawings and paintings there. Let me know what you think!
Ciao for now.
Friday, January 28, 2005
The Mystery of Kryptos
I don't know how many of you are actually interested in cryptosystems and cryptography, but i think it's pretty fascinating. As an artist myself I feel a small connection to the sheer magnitude and tenacity Jim Sanborn has put into his work. Kryptos in particular is pretty amazing. For about 15 years it has stood in the courtyard of the headquarters of the CIA in Washington DC. As of yet, the final 97 characters have not been solved. The sculpture itself is a multi part sculpture that covers several areas at the headquarters. If you want to take a look for yourself, the best place to get information is at http://elonka.com/kryptos/. Once there you will find a wealth of information about not only the sculpture but about cryptography as well.
In the book Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson, a lot of cryptosystems are an integral part of the overall story which takes place in both WWII and modern day. Just so you have another place to look at the 97-98 characters that are unsolved, I have them posted here:
?OBKR
UOXOGHULBSOLIFBBWFLRVQQPRNGKSSO
TWTQSJQSSEKZZWATJKLUDIAWINFBNYP
VTTMZFPKWGDKZXTJCDIGKUHUAUEKCAR
In the book Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson, a lot of cryptosystems are an integral part of the overall story which takes place in both WWII and modern day. Just so you have another place to look at the 97-98 characters that are unsolved, I have them posted here:
?OBKR
UOXOGHULBSOLIFBBWFLRVQQPRNGKSSO
TWTQSJQSSEKZZWATJKLUDIAWINFBNYP
VTTMZFPKWGDKZXTJCDIGKUHUAUEKCAR
I have used the courier font on purpose for the above code so that the characters line up correctly. If you want to take a stab at this puzzle, you might try starting by reversing the sequence to begin with...I don't know much about cryptography, I just find it interesting.
The full transcript can be found at http://elonka.com/kryptos/transcript.html. As stated by the author, the entire text can be decrypted by transcript alone, but the final meaning has something to do with events that took place during the construction of the piece. My brother has an interesting take on what the final subject may be. You can see his summary at http://www.strangerthanfiction.org .
Anyway I just thought you might want to take a look, it's all very fascinating.
-J
Monday, January 24, 2005
The Force is strong in me
So as you all know, I am an avid Star Wars Galaxies player. I have been playing the game for over 2 years now, which is pretty incredible when you consider the sheer lack of deep content this game has. However, I have finally managed to become "force sensitive". For those that don't know what this means...simply put, I can now work on becomming a jedi. It's a pain and a half but it can be done.
You will also notice I have placed google ads on my site. What I want to do is give any revenue to the host of this server. I have had this account for the last 12 years and I am grateful for it. Any revenue gained through the google ads is going straight to the owner of the server. It helps me by having a personal space on the web, and it will help the owner offset bandwidth costs.
In other news, I just saw Brian Regan last night at Cobb's Comedy Club in San Francisco and it was amazing. His opener was Clinton Jackson who was really very funny, and you could tell he really loved being up on stage. I have to say the MC (as usual for comedy clubs) was sub-par...self referenced as either "the Greatest American Hero" or "Shaggy" from Scooby Doo...he was loud, annoying and pretty unfunny. He started the night by insulting the town I live in (and then not really giving any reasons for it...even funny ones). And he continued to be self-deprecating and obnoxious throughout his act...I will just say he has a lot to learn if he is going to be a comic for a living.
Brian Regan was top notch as usual, with his quirky, funny observations about people and places. He also gave a really nice touching homage to Johnny Carson who passed away this weekend. Johnny gave Brian his first television appearance and the story he related to us was funny and endearing. I hope you all have a chance to see his show in person, his CD is amazing, but his manerisms just don't come across...it's a performance not to be missed.
This weekend I am going to my first Supercross race ever. It's going to be a redneck fest and I am going to love every minute of it. I'll tell you all about it after next weekend. Hope you are all doing well, ciao.
-J
You will also notice I have placed google ads on my site. What I want to do is give any revenue to the host of this server. I have had this account for the last 12 years and I am grateful for it. Any revenue gained through the google ads is going straight to the owner of the server. It helps me by having a personal space on the web, and it will help the owner offset bandwidth costs.
In other news, I just saw Brian Regan last night at Cobb's Comedy Club in San Francisco and it was amazing. His opener was Clinton Jackson who was really very funny, and you could tell he really loved being up on stage. I have to say the MC (as usual for comedy clubs) was sub-par...self referenced as either "the Greatest American Hero" or "Shaggy" from Scooby Doo...he was loud, annoying and pretty unfunny. He started the night by insulting the town I live in (and then not really giving any reasons for it...even funny ones). And he continued to be self-deprecating and obnoxious throughout his act...I will just say he has a lot to learn if he is going to be a comic for a living.
Brian Regan was top notch as usual, with his quirky, funny observations about people and places. He also gave a really nice touching homage to Johnny Carson who passed away this weekend. Johnny gave Brian his first television appearance and the story he related to us was funny and endearing. I hope you all have a chance to see his show in person, his CD is amazing, but his manerisms just don't come across...it's a performance not to be missed.
This weekend I am going to my first Supercross race ever. It's going to be a redneck fest and I am going to love every minute of it. I'll tell you all about it after next weekend. Hope you are all doing well, ciao.
-J
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Middle of January update
Well, it's the middle of January and believe it or not, it's sunny and warm today. I bowled in the local BVL roll off tournament today and unfortunately it kind of sucked. I bought a new ball a couple weeks ago and just recently had it drilled...then used it for the first time yesterday. It's a really nice ball but it's going to take some time to learn and get used to.
In the tournament today I bowled a 496 series...not too great, but my first game was a 185 so at least I know my problems this season aren't completly me...the new ball is going to help a lot.
I am still playing Star Wars Galaxies a lot, I have decided to try doing Swordsman and so far it's a lot of fun. The funny thing is now, after two years of playing there are a ton of Jedi running around out in the open. It's become the game the developers didn't want it to be, but they didn't realize when they started that Jedi should have been a playable class...it's what everyone wants to play anyway.
Anyhow, I am off to a birthday party for a friend's son.
later.
In the tournament today I bowled a 496 series...not too great, but my first game was a 185 so at least I know my problems this season aren't completly me...the new ball is going to help a lot.
I am still playing Star Wars Galaxies a lot, I have decided to try doing Swordsman and so far it's a lot of fun. The funny thing is now, after two years of playing there are a ton of Jedi running around out in the open. It's become the game the developers didn't want it to be, but they didn't realize when they started that Jedi should have been a playable class...it's what everyone wants to play anyway.
Anyhow, I am off to a birthday party for a friend's son.
later.
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