It’s on YouTube in Russian. Probably will get pulled soon. Check it out!

Update: And it’s gone..

According to Dark Horizons, the trailer will premiere March 19th on television during the premiere episode of ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars”.

And here’s a whole new round of photos, which Disney will most likely force me to take down. Makes a lot of sense, don’t it? Would be the worst thing in the world to allow free promotion for the film!

The Disney Blog has the artwork!

Looks nice, I can’t help but think there will be more of them, though, with each character…

Well, for the past two weeks I’ve been living with my grandparents in Temecula, in order to shorten the distance every morning (and night) to visit my new job at Lewis Technology Inc. I only have to do this for another day, and then I get to start going to their new office, opening in Miramar (which is thankfully much much closer to where I live.)

For almost seven years, I worked at Taylor Guitars and loved it. I made it through a lot, including my supervisor leaving the company. But I decided, for many reasons, that it was time for me to move on. And I got lucky while stumbling across a Craigslist job posting for Lewis Tech. The ad even said all the soda you could drink… Sign me up!

It’s been a great two weeks so far, and I have very few complaints, if any. My new coworkers are diverse, interesting and funny. And my new boss seems just as “hip” as my old boss (no offense to my old boss!) These next six months are my “probation period” to see if I will fit into the company. Here’s hoping that I can demonstrate my skills as well as my professionalism.

All in all, I think this transition will be an excellent one in the long run. The past two months of my life have been crazy, with moving out of living with my mom, buying a condo, buying a new car, and getting a new job. The next few months probably won’t slow down either. There’s another big event around the corner. Hint: it involves a diamond and a metal band.

Anyways, I thought I’d share some random photos I took last weekend of the mission field banquet held at our church. Enjoy!

Nevaeh giving me the staredown.

Robin and Heather: BFF!

This is what happens when I try to be artsy with my camera. I think it’s kinda cool. Heather holding Nevaeh up.

Taken behind my new work— a train goes through the backyard every hour or so. Fun!

Is anyone really surprised about this news? I mentioned that some titles had been cracked in my last DRM rant, but now everything is wide open. At least the titles that are currently available.

They (the movie studios) could revoke this key, forcing the software/hardware players to have to push out a software/firmware upgrade, or if that’s not possible, replace people’s players. How stupid crazy is that?

Since it’s most likely a software player that was used to compromise the key, people will have to download a patch to the latest version. Is this patch going to be 100% free? What if the version is really out of date? What if this happens again, but two major revisions of the software later? Will the older version users automatically get upgraded to the latest, or will they have to pay to watch the latest titles?

Just, ugh. We as consumers need to grow a pair, and tell the studios off. But that’ll never happen. And meanwhile, the people who wanted it for free/to steal in the first place have it, without having to deal with patches or firmware updates or players that don’t play.

Check out this press release from Disney regarding their “Year of a Million Dreams” and some special photography that was done by Annie Leibovitz to celebrate. I think it’s amazing. Lookie here:

Scarlett Johansson plays Cinderella…

Olivier Platt as the Mad Matter, Lyle Lovett as the March Hare, and Beyoncé as Alice…

David Beckham playing Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty…

Here’s a strange bug I was pulling my hair out trying to diagnose. My Zune media player, as well as Windows Media Player, were taking forever to start playing tracks. I would see “media changing” in the lower left corner for almost 30 seconds or so, then the song would start. That really stinks when you want to jump around different tracks and listen to them.

You’ll never guess what’s causing this delay. It’s the audio enhancements I blogged about before. Poopie. If the “Disable all enhancements” checkbox is not checked, my media players will be slow in starting any song. Check that box, and bam, back to normal.

No idea if this affects iTunes’ playback… I’ll have to give it a try I suppose.

Gah. What the heck could the two have in common? Anyway, I’m blogging about it in the hopes that someone else running into the same problem can find out how to fix it.

Heather Lynn, I love you! I never thought I would be so blessed to have found someone who completes me in every way. You make me a better person and love me for who I am. Thank you for the amazing memories so far, and I look forward to what the future holds for both of us.

Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

— Song of Solomon 8:6

I read a lot of technical blogs, but one that usually stands out is Peter Bromberg’s UnBlog. He is very involved with the eggheadcafe.com website, which you might have heard of already, or stumbled across while searching Google for some technical help.

Anyway, he recently had a post up regarding the web being stateless and how it relates to ASP.Net and AJAX development. I’ve been doing some job interviews lately, and quite a few of the interviewers have said that most .NET programmers don’t understand how HTTP works. They just know about dragging controls onto a design-mode interface and wiring them up. They can’t tell you about HTTP response codes, caching, or how ASP.Net really works. And that’s a shame. You should always start with the basics and build yourself up.

I suggest you all put Peter’s blog on your feed lists. He recently had a post up asking for people to review his blog, in exchange for a free link. So here goes. Write your own review, and maybe he’ll link to you as well.

Love that tattoo!

Enjoy.

TechDirt has an excellent write-up today named “Universal Music 'Settlement' With Bolt Makes A Mockery Of The Law; Common Sense”. If you’re not aware, Universal music’s CEO, Doug Morris has been suing video-sharing sites that make use of copyrighted Universal music. Keep in mind, these are usually humorous videos, video diaries, video game captures, etc.. that use music in a fair use manner and are totally legit. No one in their right mind is going to hear “Sexy Back” on a YouTube video and say.. boy, now I don’t have to buy the song!

They successfully got Google to pay out (conveniently after they bought YouTube) by way of equity shares in YouTube! Now, keep in mind that Google/YouTube has done nothing wrong. They’re not responsible for their user’s content. Nor have many of the users done anything wrong, seeing as the music is used in a fair use context, usually not a full song, and actually helps the artist instead of hurting them.

Then they went after MySpace; suing them and winning, again for the same reasons that don’t make sense.

And somehow they then convince Microsoft to pay a type of “Universal music” tax on every Zune unit sold, probably because it could potentially be holding pirated Universal music. What the ——? Check out this quote from the New York Times:

A recent study estimated that Apple has sold an average of 20 songs per iPod — a fraction of its capacity. The rest of consumers’ music files — 95 percent or more — come from ripped CDs, possibly including discs from their own collections, and illegal file-trading networks, the study said.

So what percentage of that 95% is legit files? I’m sure Universal and other record industry executives want to say 0% — but think about it. Most older teens/adults who have iPods aren’t going around and pirating music. Maybe they do the casual thing, and let friends borrow a CD, who rips it, and then gives it back. But ultimately, is that a bad thing? Maybe the next time the person sees an album from that artist, they will purchase it first-hand. Or perhaps they will feel led to purchase the album they ripped, to get the physical album and artwork? Why assume that all of your customers are filthy thieves trying to steal your profits?

So finally, Universal turned its sights on Bolt.com, a site that is probably one of the first social networking sites (that I knew of, at least.) And now they have to sell their company/site to another smaller company, just to make the legal bills work out.

Ugh, when will this just stop? Movie and record executives, listen to me:

People will always steal. No matter what. Even if you put up your best padlock, someone is going to crack it. Give it up, and offer non-DRM’d versions of albums/songs online, in multiple formats. Why do I end up paying 99 cents for a single track in 128kbps MPEG4 format? Why not offer it to me in lossless MP4? Or better yet, 320kbps MP3 or the lossless FLAC format?

Movie studios, just give up. Your Blu-Ray and HD-DVD copyright protection is cracked. Why do you purposefully slow-down modern computers in order to make them support your DRM? By the way, check out this excellent blog post on MSTechToday regarding Vista’s DRM, and how neither Bill Gates nor Steve Jobs likes it.

And this all begs the question: when you buy something, are you buying the RIGHTS to play the song/movie, or are you buying the actual item transacted, such as a file or disc? If it’s just the rights, then shouldn’t I legally be able to obtain that same song in a different format, for little or no cost? If I damage my disc, should I be able to just copy a friend’s and still be legally correct?

Just, ugh. You wonder why people pirate. Because it’s easier to deal with than all of this crap. DRM sucks.

http://movies.aol.com/movie/shrek-the-third/21802/main

It’s awesome. I had my doubts based on the teaser trailer, but this looks just like the other two, and that’s just what I like  Heather and I about died when the Immigrant Song part of the trailer came on. You’ll just have to watch and see what I mean.

You may think this is the dumbest thing in the world, but I think it’s great. I now present..

Pizza Angel!

Maybe there’s something wrong with my machine, but every now and then, after a reboot, one of my sidebar notes will just disappear.

I had some pretty important information in one, and now, it’s gone. Yay.

To be fair, I probably shouldn't be trusting a goofy sidebar gadget with my important data..

P.S. - No, this doesn't mean I hate Vista!

Oh yeah, by the way… I bought a condo yesterday

I’m now a proud homeowner. Well, technically, I will officially be in about two weeks when I get the keys and can move in.

Woooooooooohoooooooooo!

We’re just one day away from the consumer launch of Microsoft Windows Vista, and most mainstream hardware manufacturers don’t yet have final drivers for the operating system. I’m talking to you, Creative, nVidia and ATi. I don’t care how much you have to change your driver structure for Vista; it still stinks for consumers who go to install the operating system only to find their hardware is half-supported.

Right now, I’m experiencing a lot of joy with my ATi Radeon X1900 Pro video card and my Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic sound card in this respect. My ATi card seems to be okay in Direct3d, but runs quite slower than it did under XP, which I hope is just temporary, considering I dropped more than $500 for this video card. OpenGL doesn’t work at all under these beta drivers, so any games that use it (think Doom3, Quake, Far Cry, etc.) are a no-go right now.

Don’t even get me started about the beta Creative sound card drivers; they constantly “glitch up”, sending nasty noise through my speakers while I’m playing music. And sometimes they’ll forget they’re in 5.1 surround mode, and suddenly start playing the music out of just the rear channels. Huh?! And did I mention all EAX acceleration in games is going away? A feature that Creative has touted for years as giving them an advantage is now moot under Vista’s driver architecture, and Creative loves to whine about it. Supposedly they’re working on a wrapper to automagically wrap EAX calls to the newer OpenAL logic.. but I’ve yet to see anything work like that.

And in the end, Microsoft will be blamed for these driver problems, because no one wants to educate the public about the value in keeping your drivers up to date for all components of your system. The concept isn’t even in most people’s heads. And it probably shouldn’t be. It should “just work(tm)”, you know? Vista has advanced driver support under Windows Update, which looks promising at keeping everyone’s machine up to date with the latest drivers. And you have companies like Dell with support programs that run in your tray to check vendor-specific updates — Dell’s will even tell you when a BIOS update is available. That’s cool, but what about people without a Dell? etc…

Anyway. That’s my rant of the morning. Here’s hoping the Vista launch tomorrow comes with a minimum of problems. Are you planning on upgrading? Do your friends or businesses?

I did a fresh install when the final was released months ago, and I love it. I don’t miss XP in the slightest. I think after goofing with it for a day or so, you’ll feel the same.

Just got back from NAMM, and I’m so exhausted. I put up some photos online here, if you want to check them out:

http://picasaweb.google.com/iransofaraway/20070120NAMM

Hah. Apparently I’m 59% like Marky Mark? Rock on!

Click them to make them bigger..

So much to go over… hrm. Let’s see.

Well, I bought a new car, a 2007 Nissan Altima 3.5SL, fully loaded. It’s dark blue. Yep yep yep.

I love it so far, no complaints. And it gets great gas mileage.

Life is busy, but good. My review is any day now, so cross your fingers, pray, or do whatever it is you do to impart good wishes upon someone else, please!

I returned my Zune, but not for the reason(s) you think. I did so in order to help pay my down payment on my car. I’m also selling some other things.. debated selling my XBox360, but decided to keep it for now. I plan on buying the HD-DVD drive later on to enjoy movies on… and I’m sure by the time I get around to it, it will be cheaper than the current $200 price tag.

And now, for some completely random stuff that I think is way cool.

• Chris Pirillo’s wedding reception music. I like the list, and it’s sometimes hard to find a well-thought out selection. I’m keeping it for ideas on my own wedding..
• Vanishing Point, an online challenge/game by Microsoft, for a buttload of prizes. Microsoft started it off in Las Vegas, taking over the Bellagio’s fountains to give away clues to solving the first “box” of puzzles. Check out the video from that event! Crazy. I love how they synchronized everything.. the lights, the water, the projections.. heh.
• BauerCount.com, a website that aims to list every person that Jack Bauer kills while saving our country’s butt. The details are amazing, listing the weapon and method used, as well as including video and pictures. Almost a bit too fanatic, hrm? But awesome.
• Disneyland now has a special “night-time” mode for the Space Mountain and California Screamin’ coasters. Who doesn’t want to rock out to the Red Hot Chili Peppers while riding a coaster? “Higher Ground” is supposedly on Space Mountain, and California Screamin’ plays “Around The World”, kind of like the Disneyland commercials are now…
• Speaking of Disneyland, I found a site detailing Club 33 in its entirety. It’s that door next to the Blue Bayou, with the “33” plaque next to it. Maybe you never noticed it?
• Bruce Campbell smells good, thanks to Old Spice. If you have it, you don’t need it. If you need it, you don’t have it. If you have it, you need more of it. If you have more of it, you don’t need less of it. You need it, to get it. And you certaintly need it to get more of it. Just watch. Bruce is awesome.
• Season 3 Battlestar Galactica bloopers! (PG-13 rated) I don’t get the random Bush stuff thrown in there, but whatever. Pretty funny if you’re a fan of the show.
• If you’re making minimum payments on your loans/credit cards, you’re dumb. Use this online calculator to see just how much money you’re throwing away. Really opened my eyes a bit. Even paying just $10 more a month will help lots in the long run.
• JkDefrag — one of the best freeware defragmentation programs for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista that I’ve ever come across. It’s now replaced Microsoft’s defragmenter on all of my machines. Why buy a product like Diskeeper (which helps fund Scientology, by the way) when you can get something better for free?

My 4Runner just got back from the shop, and I’ve been informed that my engine is… not so well. It looks like the previous owner didn’t really take care of it, and an oil change is showing just how “dirty” the inside is. Bummer. So I’m looking for a new (yes, brand new) car.

I’m crazy, I know. My mission is to find something I like, but don’t end up paying more than $600/month for. And I’m $5000 upside-down on my current loan…

So yeah, fun times! Hopefully Jeff can help me out, since he works for Nissan, and maybe get me a deal on one of those new Altimas. They are looking pretty spiffy right now. My boss just got an Infiniti G35S (Infiniti = Nissan’s luxury line) and it is the cat’s meow of features. The new Altimas have most of them, and cost $20k less. Sign me up for some of that!

I just quickly priced out two Altimas… one for $28,965 and another for $32,175. The more expensive one has bluetooth phone capability as well as MP3 playback, etc. which would be nice, but is it worth $4k?

Does anyone have any advice for car shopping? What not to fall for, etc.? I’ve learned a little bit, having bought two cars in my lifetime from dealerships, but I still end up walking away feeling like a sucker.

I’m having a dispute right now with someone on eBay about a knock-off Zune cable I bought. When I had my iPod, I had bought similiar “third-party” connectors for it and had no problems. This particular cable though is not wide enough on the connector end. The pins are correct, so if you line it up centered exactly and force it in, it will connect. But then of course it’s not locked in, because the side locks don’t reach where they’re supposed to. Anyway, I e-mailed the seller, and he got pretty defensive, saying that the supplier tested it with a Zune and assured him it worked, and that he’s had many others buy this cable without complaints. I don’t see how that’s even remotely possible. I’ve sent him the pic to the right (which I snapped this morning and colored in to show the differences) and we’ll see what he comes back with next.

Just, ugh. Next time I’ll spring the $20 or whatever and get an official cable instead.

http://inquisitivesensitive.blogspot.com/

Be sure to send her some love. She’s just starting out in the blogging world.

Otherwise, she’ll give you the evil eye. See evidence to the right.

The special effects in Pirates of the Caribbean 2 really blew me away in theatres. When I looked into how the Davy Jones effects were pulled off, I was amazed to find that Davy Jones is actually a fully digital actor. We’ve come a long way from the day of Jar Jar Binks, eh? ILM used Bill Nighy’s performance, dressed up in a silly suit made up of dots, to do a sort of “realtime” motion capture on the set, without needing a crazy set up of multiple cameras. Pretty cool stuff. They put together a web-site to show off the things they did for the movie. To the right is a thumbnail of their “experience” section, which allows you to roll-over the film footage to show the raw footage. Pretty nifty.