Tron 2 Trailer

I was browsing the internet, and I came across this trailer for Tron 2. This was, BTW, the first time I heard there was going to be a sequel. Apparently Jeff Bridges will be in it, reprising his role as Flynn (I that that was the guy's name) and it looks like it will be amazing. Due out in 2010.




TRON 2

And now for something completely different, Quantum Computing!

I was browsing the feeds in my Gmail account, and I found this link, and I'll quote what it says.

ScienceDaily (June 17, 2007) — Researchers at Delft University of Technology have succeeded in carrying out calculations with two quantum bits, the building blocks of a possible future quantum computer. The Delft researchers are publishing an article about this important step towards a workable quantum computer in this week's issue of Nature.

Quantum computers have superior qualities in comparison to the type of computers currently in use. If they are realised, then quantum computers will be able to carry out tasks that are beyond the abilities of all normal computers.

A quantum computer is based on the amazing properties of quantum systems. In these a quantum bit, also known as a qubit, exists in two states at the same time and the information from two qubits is entangled in a way that has no equivalent whatsoever in the normal world.

It is highly likely that workable quantum computers will need to be produced using existing manufacturing techniques from the chip industry. Working on this basis, scientists at Delft University of Technology are currently studying two types of qubits: one type makes use of tiny superconducting rings, and the other makes use of 'quantum dots'.

Now for the first time a 'controlled-NOT' calculation with two qubits has been realised with the superconducting rings. This is important because it allows any given quantum calculation to be realised.

The result was achieved by the PhD student Jelle Plantenberg in the team led by Kees Harmans and Hans Mooij. The research took place within the FOM (Dutch Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter) concentration group for Solid State Quantum Information Processing.

This is really amazing! Quantum computers are computers that instead of using the presence or lack thereof of an electron to calculate, they use electron spin and quantum interaction to calculate, thereby going beyond the familiar binary base to a more advanced and powerful computing language! This kind of calculation has been theorized for years, but here it is being put to use! This is cool, soon this technology can be harnessed, and then you will begin to see quantum computing start to show up in your everyday life. Mark this, people, this is a technological turning point!

Visit Wikipedia.org for more information.

Prime Time! #09: Knock em' Dead!

Prime Time! #08: Application Process

Here's a linart for the Transformers Alternity figure first displayed at the Tokyo Toy Show and I posted an article about here. This toy continues to impress me. The claw-looking devices that pop out of the arms look cool, and are a good way to make the bulk on the arm less like kibble, and more like weapon storage. The linart and the prototype aren't the same same. Let me post the prototype pic:


There's some difference in the feet and in where the hood goes, but it seems to stay fairly true. I'm so excited for this!

Readjustment time

I've been shirking on my blogging duties as of late. I recently got a job, so I'm adjusting my life to having a real schedule. Not always the easiest thing, and my blog has been taking a back seat as of late. Well, actually, a lot of things in my life have been taking a back seat.

The latest thing I've picked up has been Lightwave 3D. I have reaffirmed my decision to work at Pixar, and so I'm learning 3D programs now. I'm working on building a stunning portfolio, one skill at a time. As my skills progress, I'll post some of my work here on my blog.

BTW, I've been listening to the Wall-E soundtrack, it's completely awesome!

Prime Time! #07: After a fight, relaxation!

Prime Time! #06:What Really Happened

Figma Saber Review

Today I'm going to be offering my thoughts on the Figma Saber, by the Good Smile Company. This figure is the third release in the Figma line. I'm not sure how the Good Smile Company got their start, but it's obvious that they know what they're doing.


I saw the Fate/Stay Night series, and I fell in love with the Saber character. Kaiyodo came out with a Revoltech version of her, and then came out with a Dark Saber version, from the Heaven's Feel scenario of the original game. I bought both, then later decided to get this figure.

Saber comes with four sets of hands. Two fists, two relaxed hands, two grippping hands, and two option hands. The left option hand is a pointing finger, and the right option hand is a open hand. The left relaxed hand has a small hole in the middle of it, the right size for a sword handle. This helps for the classic pose where Saber rests her hands on the handle of her sword.

She also comes with two swords, the Caliburn and the Excalibur. Now, I know that Caliburn and Excalibur are two names for the same sword, but the mythos for this series is understandably different. For starters, King Arthur was a man. In the F/SN mythos, the Caliburn was the sword she pulled from the stone to become king of the Britons, and then later it broke or something, and she got Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake.

Both swords come with sheathes, and are very well detailed. From the gold inlay on the handle of the Caliburn, to the engraving on the blade of the Excalibur, everything is sharply painted, and intricately molded.


Saber also comes with three faces. A regular calm face, an angry face, and a yelling face. These are well molded and detailed, and convey emotion very well.


The best parts of this figure, I feel, is the joints. Before I go any further, I need to say that I really love the Revoltech Sabers, and think that they are really awesome figures, but that being said, if the Revoltech Sabers are a ten, Figma Saber is a 12, at least. I mean, she's that good. The joints aren't click joints like the trademark Revoltech joints, so they have an endless amount of positions you can keep them in. This allows for a huge amount of character and nuance in the pose of the figure.


The sculpting is incredible. From head to toe, inside and out, everything is carefully molded and detailed. The people at the Good Smile Company are obviously people who love their jobs.


All Figma releases come with a stand, molded from clear plastic, with a peg that plugs into the back of the figure. This is much easier to work with than the base that plugs into the foot of the Revoltech Saber. Though actually, the only times I've needed the base is for jumping poses.


The Figma version is smaller in height than the Revoltech one, but it is still a good 7 inches tall.


Here's a cool detail. If you pull on the waist balljoint, it comes off, and you can remove the chest armor and there is the detail of her shirt underneath.

All in all, this figure is the best Saber figure I've seen, and it was well well worth my $30. Go get one!

Prime Time! #05:Battle Royale

Microsoft...

I was browsing the Fail Blog, and I saw this, and I had to post it. I dislike Microsoft already, but this just made me laugh so hard!


see more pwn and owned pictures

Nintendo at E3

E3 started yesterday, and today was Nintendo's press conference. E3, or Electronic Entertainment Expo, is a place for game companies to get together and show off all their new stuff. Though the past few years, E3 hasn't been as cool as it used to be. Nintendo did, however, bring some interesting new items to the show.

I'll sum up some of the more interesting things:

A new Animal Crossing game is coming to the Wii. It's going to be like the previous versions, but have sharper graphics and take advantage of the Wiimote interactivity.

The percentage of female DS users is increasing. Last year the percentage was 48%.

They're coming out with a version of Spore for the DS.

A new accessory called the MotionPlus for the Wiimote is shown. It has advanced attitude and g-force sensors, and allows for a more perfect recreation of your motions. It will come bundled with Wii Sports Resort.

Wii Sports Resort will take advantage of the MotionPlus, included will be frisbee throwing, sword fighting, jetskis, and more.


Yeah, not so amazing this year. I was hoping for news on the new DS in the works, but no dice.

Also, a Sony guy made this statement yesterday:

I’ve played a Nintendo Wii. I don’t see it as a competitor. It’s more of an expensive niche game device. We’re selling a lot of PlayStation 3s now and it’s still the best way to buy a Blu-ray player. - Sony boss Howard Stringer

Um, what? The dainty Wii is defined as expensive by one of the Sony guys? Perhaps he's forgotten the behemoth him company sells...

Prime Time! #04:A New Challanger Appears!

Short review of Rebuild of Evangelion #01 "You are (not) alone"

This movie was really really great! I was kind of bothered that there was very little original footage in the first half of the movie, but the last half more than made up for it. For instance, the battle with the 3rd Angel was almost entirely reused, and aside from new visual effects and recoloring, the first shot of new footage I noticed was when the Unit-01 regenerated it's left arm. The battle with the 4th Angel had a lot of new footage, since the Angel was redesigned and the Unit-01's loadout was changed.

There was significantly less of Shinji's day to day life, due to the shortened nature of the film, but not to the point where we don't feel what kind of character he is. Some parts of the story were changed and rearranged, since this is a reimagining of Evangelion after all. For example, Shinji ran away after the battle with the 4th Angel, and in that sequence he was wandering the streets of Tokyo-3, sleeping in a cardboard box, and basically trying to get away. He did not end up with his nerdy buddy from school, though NERV secret service did still pick him up.

The biggest change comes during the battle with the 5th Angel. It is completely different. Bigger, badder, and more action. When the Unit-01 first comes out to attack the Angel, the Angel physically reconfigures to fire at it, and they jettison an entire city block to retrieve Evangelion Unit-01. As we have seen from the merchandise, the key hardware in that battle have been completely redesigned, and it looks great.

My favorite scenes in this new movie are where Shinji (Unit-01) crawls back to the positron rifle after taking a hit, and the aftermath of that battle, where he cuts the Unit-00's entry plug out with a Progressive Dagger. The end has previews for the next movie, just as the show does, with the obligatory mention of fan service. Of note in that department: The appearance of Kaoru in the end of the movie, the mention of Unit-05 and a single shot of Unit-06, not a white EVA Series!!

Bottom line: I loved this movie, if you love Evangelion, you will too!

Prime Time! #03:Time for a Flashback

Why does Bandai do this to me?

So, months ago, the Gundam 00 series comes out, and Bandai starts making models. I don't usually get 1/144 scale models, but the design of the Exia intrigues me, so when the 1/100 High Grade Exia comes out, I got it for my birthday. Good kit, btw. Anyhow, the one part of that kit that kinda bugged me was that these gray panels on the arms needed stickers instead of having a part molded in color. I mean, there was no reason for it not to be molded in color. Later the 1/60 Exia came out and it was the same, so I figured it just must be something about the design on the arm, right?

Wrong! I was looking at the Gundam Astrea Type F, and it has a part for fitting in that slot for making that part of the arm grey! Look!


Man, why do they do this? It's not like any technical leaps have been made in the past couple months that make this possible. It's just that Bandai was lazy or something when they were designing the Exia, and they decided to not be lazy for the Astrea releases. Bums.

Of course, that's not going to stop me from buying their kits, but still!

Prime Time! #02:You Call This Logic?

Okay, this is on a Friday because it's been so long since my last comic update, but I decided the other day, (and this can change without warning) that most comics update MWF, I should update TTS, to give everyone something to do on the off days!

Don't forget to click the Prime Time label to see all posts with that label!

Comics.....I suck

Hey, about the whole comic thing, I'm still working with it. For some reason, Blogger doesn't like the size of the comics the way they come off Photobucket, and so it is cutting off about a hundred or so pixels from the right side, and I'm losing blocking and dialogue. I'm still working bugs out of the system, and when I get it fixed, I'm going to start posting with a vengance.

EDIT: Well, using Blogger's image uploader seems to be the best choice, really. I was hoping to post them with less hassle and bigger resolution, but I suppose it can't be helped.

Mega Blocks Neo Shifters

Sorry about the absence, it's been a couple days since I posted. I've just had a busy weekend, is all. The 4th of July, or Kaboom Day as I call it, was fun. We went to a nearby stadium and sat so close to the fireworks that firework debris fell on us and around us.

Whatever the fireworks are that don't do a starburst or flares, but just do a really loud, really bright flashbang, I want some. A whole lot. I wanna wake up the neighbors for three miles! Actually, blowing up things is a pastime of mine, but that's not what I'm posting about today.

Today I'm going to impart some thoughts on a Mega Blocks toy, called a Neo Shifter. My first thought, being raised on Legos since a small child was Hisssss! The enemy!! but it's actually pretty nice. The Mega Blocks that are basically bootleg Legos are still evil though.


The basic idea of a Neo Shifter is that you have a robot, and it folds into a ball. Now, one of the things that I love in life is robots, especially transforming robots. Why Lego doesn't do transforming things, I don't know. But they should. (actually, Lego should license with Hasbro to do just that, but that's for another discussion.) My brother bought this, and he built it, and he took it home, and I started messing with it. My first thought was that it played more like a figure than a building toy. It's joints are kinda like the Lego Exo Force figures, but they don't click. Actually, I was suprised by how well the whole thing is put together.


Basically, the whole thing just crams itself into this little space of the ball. The ball is about the size of a bocci ball, but I think they come in a bigger size and a smaller size. When unfolded, it stands a good 11 inches tall or so. In some respects I think it could have done better with ball joints in some of it's joints, instead of the straight swivels (single axis). I especially would have loved some lateral movement in the elbows.


It's got this propeller launcher gimmick, that I didn't try out, but I like the way it looks. Like a big fusion cannon. I positioned it kinda reminiscent of Megatron.


The large hold in the chest holds, I dunno, a pilot, operator, something like that. A little ball, that turns into a little robot. It's molded all in black except for the face, which is reddish orange.


The little hunched over guy it turns into is actually pretty well articulated, since it's held together with ball joints. Also, he holds these little guns that came with the figure, and are attached to the big fusion cannon.


All in all, I think it's a pretty nice figure. I mean, for $20, and for being Mega Blocks, it's not bad at all. If you like transforming building toys and Lego doesn't cut it, go looking into one of these, they're pretty nice.

Blog overhaul!

Hey, I saw that too many images and such were wandering into the right column, so I changed my layout to fix it. The next thing that's gonna change is my banner. Look forward to it!

Prime Time! #01:A Chance Encounter

Introducing my comic!

So, I like to play with Transformers. And I like to take pictures. It's only a matter of time before I combine them into a single medium. A little after I got my THS-01 Galaxy Convoy, and I already had my THS-02 G1 Convoy, I took a picture of the two of them pointing at each other, as if to say, "YOU!" In that moment, a scene formed in my mind, one where they met by some chance, and argued over who would be the 'real' Optimus Prime. That idea was acted on, and matured, and became a comic in it's own right.

I will begin posting the comic here, on this blog. I will be making at least a couple posts a week, so keep your optics peeled and glued to this space!