Halloween

So today is Halloween.
As you know, Google does some changes to there logo and to other things during holidays. So here is what they changed.





I expected them to change more, but they didn't.
If I notice something different later, I will post an update.

Also, at work today we had a costume contest. Here is what everyone dressed up as.

(from the right - Jake-Baby, Jr.-Slasher, Cory-Boy Scout, Josh-Grandma, Rich Captain Jake, Alyse-In and Out Burger Waitress, Ted-Nocho Lebro, Rachelle-Country Folk, Alejandro-Hippie, Matt-Rocker, Brad-Falling Stock Market, Me-Hunter, Alberto-I don't remember what he called it, and Mark-Santa)

Not pictured is Steven who dressed up as a Scottish Missionary wearing a kilt. He did it to tease me.

I thought the best one was Grandma, because that does not look like Josh at all.
But the person who won the contest was Jake as the Baby.

So that is it.

What did you do for Halloween, what did you dress up as?

Cars Toon

Yesterday Toon Disney Premiered a new series called Car Toons.
Although I do not have Toon Disney, I read about it in the Disney and More Blog.

To Start off with, here is the logo.

Basically they are little 3 minute shorts about cars. The ones that premiered yesterday were about Mater.





Here are the videos from youtube.








These shorts come from Pixar, and are directed by John Lasseter who you may recognize as the director of these movies.

* For the Birds (2000)
* Monsters, Inc. (2001)
* Finding Nemo (2003)
* The Incredibles (2004)
* One Man Band (2005)
* Mater and the Ghostlight (2006)
* Meet the Robinsons (2007)
* Ratatouille (2007)
* WALL-E (2008)

Last Weekend

Last weekend I went to St. George, and Los Vegas to help with a Marching Band Competitions. It was the Marching Bands Band Tour, and so they did a few fun things that I got to participate in.

So Friday, after a 3 hour drive, we got to St. George and went to this Fun Center to visit meet the band which had been there for a few hour before we got there. The Fun Center was okay; it had an Arcade, a go cart track, and a mini golf course. We played a game of mini golf, and I rode the go carts which were a little small to fit a big guy like me into. Being with the band, we were given 10 tokens to play games at the arcade. And if you win, you get a ticket to win a prize. Well I was not doing to good with the tokens, but my dad who was with us was using one of those games where you try to hit the dump switch on a dump truck. I know you have all seen them. Anyway, he hit the switch, and the truck had a bunch of coins in it. So we sat there for 10 minutes waiting for the machine to spit out 250 tickets. So we got our self’s some prizes. There are just cheep prizes that would be cheaper to buy at Wal-Mart then to try and win at the arcade.

After that we went over to the competition, at Dixie Collage. It was just like any other marching band competition. Not very well organized and very boring. At a marching band competition, the routine is Hurry up and Wait.
The band won the Best Drum Line Award.

After that the band when back to there hotel at St. George, and I went to Las Vegas to stay with my mothers aunt. So another 2.5 hours later we arrive there.

Saturday we got up at 7:00 AM Utah time to meat the band at the Competition at UNLV at 7:30 AM Los Vegas time. Another Hurry up and wait.
This time the band did not win anything.

Later that night we went to the Hard Rock Café for dinner with the band. Let me tell you, don’t waist $22.50 for the food, you can go to A&W and get a better burger and fries for $5.50.



Then we went to The Phantom of the Opera play on the Strip in Los Vegas. The play was in The Venetian Hotel. The hotel was nice, but just like anything in Los Vegas, the main focus is the Casino, which in my option should be made illegal in all 50 states.

However, the play was great. It was more then I thought it would be. The Theater was custom made for that play. There was a awesome Chandelier that hung right in the middle of the theater that fell just down toward the audience during the play. If you understand the plot of the play, you will understand why this happened. But the most amazing part was the Fireworks inside the theater, and all the things that came out of the stage. At one time there was this wall that was over 20 ft by 20 feet that came out of the stage.
And they had these smoke machines that layered the stage with a thick smoke that looked just like a fog covered lake. It was very well done. It was expensive to get in, but it was worth it.



Anyway, then Sunday we drove home for 6 hours.

So that was my weekend.

Google Sketch Up

Recently I was given the assignment here at work to make a bunch of Google Sketchup models of our products so that Landscape Architects can use them to design there jobs before they order.
So I went and downloaded the free version of Google Sketchup an started working with it. I had used Google Sketchup before, and did not like it, but I decided to try again.

Anyway, I started using it, and the things that I did not like where still there. But there are some cool features that I like to. The big thing that I didn't like was the way that dimensions work in Google Skechup. But I did like the ability to map textures on a object, and the ability to place the models in Google Earth. Anyway,
I modeled all of our different parts for are SimTek Fence. If you like to see these models, you can click here and look at them or download them.

I also started creating models of different installs which will be available in Google Earth. The first one I made is available here. It is the layout of our fence at our facility.




Anyway, if you would like, try out Google Sketchup, and try using some of my models. Let me know what you think.

-- I am still looking for a Halloween costume, so if you have any ideas, let me know.--

Halloween Costume

So Halloween is coming up. And even though it is not really something I would "get dressed up for", the company I work for, SimTek Fence, is having a "Lunch Party" for Halloween. As part of the party they are giving out prizes for costumes. So I may try to figure something out that I can do. I need some ideas though. I have been thinking about doing something relation to computers, but that is as deep as my thoughts have went.

Also, as the month goes on, I will be adding to the Picasa web album of Halloween pictures for different places around the glob. These pictures mainly come from blogs. This album is shown below.

Anyway, let me know if you have any ideas for a costume for me.

Imagine if you will

The following is a story from a bunch of thoughts that I have had floating around my mind lately.
It is based on 4 things. The first is the Book of Mormon, the second is a book – “The Tennis Shoes among the Nephietes – The Feathered Serpent” and the third is a LDS movie that I can not remember the name of, but it is centered around a boy and what he goes thought as Christ comes to the Americas. And forth is my own thoughts and testimony.

    It was the third day of the first month of the thirty third years since the sign had been given. I was among the few faithful Nephites that still awaited the saviors coming. We were traveling to the land bountiful with our leader Nephi the son of Nephi. The unfaithful people of Zarahemla had kicked us out of the lands that were rightly ours. Nephi had told us that the Savior would be coming soon and that we must be in Bountiful before he arrives.
    Travel was hard; the ground kept shaking under our feet. The sakes were like none I had ever felt before; some were long like the earth was shaking with pain, while others were short and soft. At one time the shakes where in a rhythm, almost like the earth was being hit with a hammer.
    Just as we arrived in bountiful and started setting up our tents, there came a wall of clouds from the west. I had never seen such a color of clouds; they were so dark that it made my hairs stand up in fear.
    Nephi yelled for every one to set up there tents quickly and get inside.
    We had just got all of the tents set up when suddenly a strong wind hit the walls of the tent. Then it went dark. The darkness was so think we could not make a fire or burn a candle for light. Off in the distance I could see flames as high as the moon shooting in the air from where the land of Zarahemla was located. As the storm beat down on the tent roof, we sat inside holding each other tight for safety and comfort. The wind and rain was so grate that I feared our tent would blow right into the rising river.
    After about three hours the storm stopped, and everything when quiet, all I could hear was the soft cries of lost soles off in the distance.
    A bit of time had passed when I heard a voice. My family had heard it to. The voice said that many of the cities had been destroyed. Even the great Zarahemla had been destroyed by fire.
    After the voice stopped, it was quiet again for many hours. Then slowly I started to hear the cries for lost loved ones killed in the storm.

    After the space of about three days I woke up to the light of twinkling stars in the sky. As the sun rose above the horizon to the east everything was different. Highways where torn up, mountains where in places that there use to be valleys, even the rivers had changed there roughs. As I looked around, the company of Nephites I had been with seamed to be camped on one of the few unchanged places in the land.
    As soon as we checked to make sure everyone was okay, we immediately got to work rebuilding the damaged temple. As we worked on the temple we talked about what had happened. We talked about what we had felt and seen while the storm was upon us. One had seen a great ball of fire shoot from the top of a volcano, while another had seen a massive twister tearing up the ground near the city of Moronihah.
    We also talked about the savior. We had heard he would be coming to visit us, but we didn’t know when. As we where talking about the Savior I heard something. Well it wasn’t really that I heard something, but more that I felt something. I looked around to see if any one else had felt it to. Every one around me had felt the same things.
I felt it again, but this time I also heard something. I was not sure what it was. I did not hear it clearly. I turned my eyes towards the source of the sound. Everyone around me did the same. Then I heard it again. This time I understood. The voice said “Behold, My Beloved son in whom I am well pleased. In whom I have glorified my name. Hear ye him”.
    As I listened to the voice, an angle appeared and descended upon the steps of the temple. I did not know what to do. I did not know what to say. Every one around me started to kneel, so I did the same.
    The Angle spoke unto us saying: “I am Jesus the Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come unto the world. And behold I am the light and the life of the world and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the father hath given me. And have glorified the father in taking upon me the sins of the world. In the which I have suffered the will of the father.”
    This was the savior. He had come. I knew he would.
  He then said:” Arise and come unto me and feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet and thrust thy hand into my side that you may know that I am he of who the prophets spoke.”
    I arose and got in line to go unto him. I was so excited to meat him.
    As I stood in line to meat him, it hit me, this was the savior of the world. He has lived and died for me. He knew me. He loved me. He has suffered for me. Because of him I can return unto the father some day.
  Suddenly it was my turn to meet this man. But as I approached him my knees fell limp and I fell to my knees at his feet. All I could do was bath his feet with my tears. I could not stand; I could not look into his eyes. He was so perfect, and I was not. As I knelt there I felt his hand against my arm and he helps me stand. I felt as though I was floating. I did not feel my legs under me but I was standing. As I stood there looking into his eyes the fear left me. I loved this man. I knew he loved me. I could see it in his eyes. As I felt the prints in his hands and in his feet, I felt a small understanding of what he had gone through for me.
    As I turned to allow the next person in line to meet the Savior, I made a promise to my self to do my best to keep the saviors love in my life.


I wrote this down a few times, but I have never shared it with any one before.
I can not guarantee that every word is correct in this as far as a realistic account. It is just how I imagine it.
I tried to put thing in there from the Book of Mormon, but it is not all from the Book of Mormon, so do not consider it a true account, but think of it as an idea that you can think about and study about and get your own feeling for. I love the Savior and I know that he has died for me. I know that through the savior’s atonement I can return to my Father in Heaven Some Day.

Now I would like to know what you think. Do you have any thoughts or a different point of view on this story that you would like to share. If you could of lived in this time, how would you of felt? What would you of done?

Light

I am one who likes to think about things until I ether figure them out, or find something else to think about.
Anyway, lately I have been thinking about a idea I have had about projection things in 3d.
Now I know that this is not a original idea of mine, I have seen it in some Future - SIFI movies, but as of yet, it does not really exist.

So the way we project things right now is to take a LCD Projector and project something directly on a surface. This is a great concept, and we have done a lot with this.
But what if we could project Light on Light.

Is projecting light on light possible. I don't think so. Light does not have any physical characteristics. It can not inhabit a space. It can travel though space, but it also can travel through itself. For instance if you take a flash light and shine it, you will see a dot on a wall where the light hits. But if you keep that flash light shining on the wall, and take another flash light and shine it towards another wall causing the light paths to cross, you will still see the light spots on the walls. They will look just as clear as if we were not going thought light. Now I imagine that this is important because if it was not this way, we would have weird things showing up, or not showing up in the sky.
Light is important to us as it is because we can see things with it. Everything we see is created by light. If there was no light, there would be no color, there would be no heat, and there would be no food.

But if we could change the way light reacts to itself in order to form a 3d model of something wouldn't it be cool. Think of the possibilities, 3d movies, 3d plays, 3d interactive video games.....

Anyway, I don't have a answer to the way to make that work. I think that the only way to do it is to set up a lot of projectors from a bunch of different points then create a smoke machine that can be shaped to any object, or something like that. You can project on smoke. If not smoke, something else may be the answer, I don't know. But it is something to think about anyway.