I’ve known the big screen adaptation of The Adventures of Tintin is coming.  They just announced recently it’s going to be done near Christmas 2011!  The title they chose was “The Secret of the Unicorn”.  It’s actually a combination of three of the Tintin comic book stories into one: The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, and Red Rackham’s Treasure.  I’m guessing they’ve chosen them because those stories contain the introduction of Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, and the memorable Marlinspike mansion.

When I was 8 years old, I had difficulty following the story lines.  Maybe it was due to the language translation.  Perhaps it was a cultural thing, as this is a European/Western – and I’m Asian.  Asian comics were mostly influenced by Japan with their manga comics.

But, I loved Tintin comics mainly for the mystery and the epic story lines.  The stories were also bold for kids.¹  Back in Indonesia, drugs were not a widespread problem, so reading about it in Golden Claw was “educational”.   Also, Captain Haddock’s excessive drinking problem was familiar, as a member of my family had the same issue.  Back then, kids were less spoiled and grew up faster.

Then there was the fantastic voyage under the sea in Red Rackham’s Treasure got me glued to the wonderful drawings by Hergé.  From a sample picture, I could see the details and they were not overwhelming.  I also remembered trying to draw the shark-shaped submarine.  I’m no artist, so it wasn’t even close to look like the one in the comic book.

Wikipedia and IMDB has an extensive info on the upcoming Tintin animated movie.  The movie’s voice talents are made up of mostly British talents like Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, and Jamie Bell.  Since this is a Peter Jackson movie, the incomparable Andy “Gollum” Serkis also stars.  Serkis is a veteran computer graphics actor, as well as an incredible voice actor.  So he’s a shoe-in for this movie.

It’s unclear who’s going to play Professor Calculus.  The professor is pivotal in the story line for Red Rackham’s Treasure.  I’ll be very surprised if they decided to leave him out, as he’s a major character in Tintin’s comic books.  I have to realize this is a Hollywood production, so they’ll definitely take “artistic” license, and modify the stories to fit into a 2-hour movie.  Either way, they need to clear up this confusion.

Meanwhile, the long wait continues…

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Tintin is Coming to the Big Screen in 2011

1. Target audience age 9-12

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After much work, the first two nodes of what would become the ARPANET were interconnected between UCLA’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and SRI International (SRI) in Menlo Park, California, on October 29, 1969. The ARPANET was one of the “eve” networks of today’s Internet.

I wrote about my first experience of being “online” using the Internet.  Specifically, I was using it as a talk box to chat¹ with someone in Italy.  Then I used it for email and reading USENET articles.

It’s the most important medium for my daily life.  My professional life is about maintaining Internet websites, serving e-Commerce and informational contents.  I also maintain personal blogs to document my life.  The Internet is also part of my social life, via Facebook and Twitter.  Finally, it’s obviously the source of information with innovators like Google and Wikipedia.

However, who would’ve thought, after all of these years, the Internet has become a legitimate addiction?  I admit that I have a mild addiction.²

It’s hard to separate myself from the Internet because it’s intertwined with my daily life.  I now watch TV online via Hulu or Netflix.  I listen to music online via Pandora or Blip.fm.  I shop online via Amazon or Newegg.  I play video games online via Steam or Facebook.  I do my banking online to pay my bills, make investments, etc.  Heck, I sometimes go to church online!

Fortunately, I’m happy to say not everything is Internet based.  I still need to go to the supermarket, as my fridge still can’t call a local market to deliver groceries to me.  I still need to go out with family or friends to a local restaurant (although arranging the meeting is being done online).

If there is one thing I like to do via the Internet (that I’m unable to do right now) is going to the office for work.  Working from home is still underrated in my company.  Unfortunately, it’s a political issue, so I’m stuck having to commute 30 minutes each way to/from work – when I can just turn on my laptop and be at work in 2 minutes.  I don’t know when that will change.  I can only hope the next generation of CEOs and managers will see the benefit and practicality.

So it’s been an amazing 40 years for the Internet.  Here’s looking at another 40 years of good times online!

Photo Credit: extremeyarx

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

The Internet is 40 Years Old!

1. Remembering Unix Talk, the new Internet thing to enhance that immensely is Google Wave.  I still don’t have a beta invite, yet, but I’m looking forward to try it.
2. Is there such a thing as a “mild addiction”?

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My experience with Microsoft Windows varied quite a bit.  I could recall the milestones in my life when I deal with the operating system. It started off with Windows 3.1.  I supported it professionally as a Toshiba laptop tech support person.  It was still based on MS-DOS and buggy as hell – it would often crash!  I wasn’t paid enough to support it.  However, it taught me patience and perseverance, not to mention the experience for a career move.

Microsoft improved stability tremendously with Windows NT.  But it was bloated and support from vendors was dicey.  The drivers had to be tightly controlled to maintain a stable OS.  With NT, it gave me the chance to dabble into high end PC parts (that required certifications) and running Windows Server’s applications such as Exchange, MS-SQL, and IIS.

When Windows XP came out, it was popular because it ran well on smaller systems and drivers were widely available from all vendors.  It was the de-facto Windows setup for many.  I stayed with XP for the longest time since 2001.

To digress a little bit, I have to mention Vista. I heard horrible things about it, so I stayed away from it.  I finally played with it in 2008 when I build my latest PC. It has a pretty GUI that rivaled (copied?) Mac OS X.  But it was like the NT days: too bloated.  I had to bump up the RAM to 8GB for a more comfortable experience.  Installing games like Half Life and Crysis were a chore, sometimes with unpredictable results.

So now, with Windows 7, I’m back to that comfortable spot with a Microsoft operating system.  My current XP apps and games are working perfectly on it.  Already it’s the best selling pre-order and gaining install base.  Sites, like Lifehacker, dedicated posts on how to use it.  On the Enterprise level, companies are gearing up to convert from XP directly to Win7.

I’ve never been so excited about Windows before, until Windows 7 is here.  Start me up!

Oh, as a side note, there’s a reason why I skipped Windows 95:  It sucked!

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Start Me Up Again With Windows 7

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Here’s a sample video on how clumsy the user interface look:

This was done on a $1500 Tablet PC.

My 4-year old daughter used an iPhone, for the first time last week, at an Apple Store.  She immediately knew how to use  it with hardly any trouble.  Apple’s excellence in usability design is apparent.  I should take her  to test out the touch screen PC laptops, and see how much she likes (or dislikes) it.

Maybe the designers for touch screen PCs should take the cue from a toddler.  If it’s not user friendly enough for them, it’s not worth using.  And I’m definitely not getting one… yet.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Touch Screen Laptop

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(In alphabetical order)

For David Bradley¹:

An engineer, physicist, and mathematician are in different hotels. The engineer wakes up in the middle of the night smells smoke runs out in the hall and sees a fire. He calculates the amount of water needed to put out the fire, fills a bucket and dumps it on the fire and goes back to bed.

The physicist wakes up to a similar situation runs out to the hall, grabs the fire hose, calculates the precise angle to put out the fire, does so and goes back to sleep.

The mathematician wakes up, walks out and sees the fire, sees the hose, says aloud “Ah a solution exists” and goes back to sleep.

For Lin Buress²:

A Freudian slip: When you say one thing and mean your mother.

For Demian Farnworth³:

What did the dyslexic, agnostic, insomniac do when he couldn’t sleep?
Stayed up all night wondering if there was a Dog.

For Farzan⁴:

How many ears did Spock have?
3, the left, the right and the final front ear.

For Brett Legree⁵:

A helicopter pilot was flying near Seattle when a bank of fog rolled in. He wasn’t able to see and couldn’t tell where to go. Suddenly, an office building loomed out of the fog.

The pilot scribbled a sign and held it up to the people in the windows, asking: “Where am I?”

The office workers wrote a response: “You’re in a helicopter.”

The pilot then immediately changed course, flew away, and made a perfect landing at the nearest airport.

His passenger asked in shock, “How did you know where we were?”

The pilot explained: “Their answer, while technically correct, was also completely useless. So I knew we had to be at the technical support division at Microsoft headquarters.”

For Periapex⁶:

What’s a double entendre?
It’s a kind of car that you can park in a very tight space.

For David Rader⁷:

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand ternary, those that don’t, and those that thought this was a binary joke.

For Steve⁸:

Did you hear about the zombie string theorist that ran around yelling “Mmmmmbranes”?

For Reggy Sy⁹:

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Beware of Bloggers Bearing a Bunch (of Jokes)

1. David is a scientist.  Lots of useful technical info on his blog.
2. Lin runs an honest-to-goodness website.
3. Demian has a series of blog posts interviewing atheists, which I enjoyed reading.
4. Farzan reviews movies – including Star Trek.
5. Brett has a great motto: Fail Early, Fail Often.
6. Periapex just loves his double entendres.
7. David promotes world peace by attempting to understand people.
8. Steve writes about trade shows – and zombies too!
9. Reggy has a personal diary site.  I hope this relationship humor makes her smile

No related posts.

I’m also upset 47% of US Population will pay no federal income tax in 2009!  The numbers show most people who make less than $50k/year will not pay income tax.  Is it tax rebellion, loop-hole, or simply taking advantage of the country’s welfare system?  It’s just disturbing!

What’s also disturbing, America’s total income only came from top 1% of the population!  That’s right, only the rich support this country!  So, not only there are a lot of free-loaders in this country, the current administration intends to make the rich pay more!  So much for working hard to earn the American dream.

Now some of  us may think, the rich can certainly share some of their earnings because they have so much money.  But if it’s from your blood, sweat, and tears, would we be willing to give away your money to the government, just like that?  I rather give my money to the people that I know who need it.  I rather give my money to reputable charities that I know will help others.

I don’t need the government to tell me where to put my money.  I certainly don’t need them to take it from me, forcefully.

Why does the government wants our money?  Besides the obvious, they have a HUGE debt to pay: $2.7 TRILLION in total Federal spending – and it’s increasing!

No wonder people are protesting.  If people disagree that the government is out of control, they must be the free-loaders in this country.

What should this government do?  Here’s my opinion:

1. Make the “Public Option”, an option.  If I don’t use it, I don’t have to pay for it.
2. Similarly, Social Security and Medicare need to be optional.  it’s ridiculous that I have to have 401k and private health insurance to supplement the government’s “benefits”.  Why am I forced to pay those taxes if I’m not going to be able to rely on them?
3. How about using Social Security and Medicare to fund the Obamacare?  That’s assuming the government still has money in those programs to do it.
4. Charitable contributions and Tuition fees must count a lot more towards tax deductions.  If we’re going to be known as a smart and compassionate nation, the government needs to fully foster charities and education.
5. Realize that the US can’t play the world’s policeman, indefinitely.  The other nations, especially NATO, must step up.  This will reduce the US military spending.
6. Stop the “stimulus” or “pork” packages.  They’re just irresponsible spending.
7. More tax breaks for the working middle class.  I’m a middle class worker.  I diligently pay my taxes.  I put in my fair share to help this ailing economy.  I need to be taxed less, not more!

There.  I just solved the US Economic  problem.  I’m waiting for my Nobel Peace Prize.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Taxes and More Taxes!

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Now with the Buzz Lightyear Ride in Disneyland, and the new marketing of the movie, she’s beginning to like Toy Story now.

She’s revisited the movie on DVD.  She looked at the back of the packaging and asked me, “Who is Buzz Lightyear?”  I just had the simple answer, “He’s the other toys’ best friend.”

The more in-depth answer is in this short documentary with John Lasseter, Disney’s Director of Animation.

Turns out Buzz Lightyear was inspired by GI Joe action figures and Buzz Aldrin, the Astronaut.   Interesting tid bits about the colors, too.

I’m also so looking forward to Toy Story 3!

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Buzz Lightyear

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With that said, I like to shop at both Walmart and Target.  They have the best prices in town.  If it absolutely can’t wait, chances are I’ll go to one of these local stores.

Unless it’s electronics, which I’ll promptly visit Fry’s.  But that’s another story…

Anyway, I just found a site with both Walmart and Target growth maps, in America.  They’re animated too!  Interesting to see how both stores started from one-location humble beginnings, into hundreds.  The end result is pretty dramatic.  They’re now big corporations.  Isn’t capitalism great?

Click on the images below to see the animated maps.

Target:

Walmart:

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Shopping

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• Most of us ordered the Zuppa Toscana soup.  It was great.
• The all-you-can-eat bread, soup, and salad meant we can max out, and have the main course to-go for dinner.
• Going to wear a suit and tie to work tomorrow for my manager’s appreciation day.
• A good credit score can still get us a $600k loan these days?  Apparently, for a qualified person, it’s still easy to get a mortgage.
• Smart Car = Golf Cart.
• Home Theater versus Home Stereo.  Audiophiles like just the stereo – and an ideal room to listen in.
• Home Basements.  They’re more common in cold climate areas.  No basement in Las Vegas because it cost more to excavate and there’s plenty of space there.
• “You’ve Got a Bat in the Cave” – a code for “you’ve got a booger on your nose”.  Motioning a nose rubbing seemed like the polite way to tell the other person.
• Missed the movie “Better off Dead” from the 80’s.  Gotta watch it, one of these days.
• When do we stop counting by months for babies or toddlers? In general, after 2 years old.
• Facebook. Facebook Apps. Posting Facebook pictures via MMS.
• Who invented the wallet?
• One of our co-worker’s weekend workout (joke):
  Acrobat Loves His Dramatic Music – watch more funny videos

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Lunch Bits – Edition 36

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I like things to be predictable.

Some folks may attribute manhood as the need to be in control.   I don’t deny that opinion, but in the 21st century, where women have already asserted themselves in society, the generalization is easily disproved.

As a spiritual person, I do believe there are things I have zero control over, such as death, fate, and the weather.  However, what I can control is how I react.  I must have a high “adversity quotient“.  I must be able to handle the suffering and pain.

I must suffer well.

Life is unfair and I’m not always in control.  The sooner I realize that, the better I’ll become.

Photo Credit: Control Versus Kaos

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

In Control

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