Blog of Josh Hall

Awesome.

First off, as an action/super-hero movie, it has everything. It could have done a little more mutant fighting and special powers, but over all it was nice because it wasn’t over the top. Not much CGI (and the bits that exist are very well done) so it’s believable. No MAJOR plot holes, logic fails, etc and it was pretty engaging. There was a point that I thought it was getting a little long, but it cleaned it up nicely.

I have to admit though, this one is going to make the die hards a little upset. If you love the x-men franchise, meaning, know all the history from the comic books, be prepared to fork off your understanding of everything. Without giving too much of the movie away, it doesn’t stick to the historical context of the comics for magneto, charles (Professor Xavier), or a bunch of other characters.

The big realization that I had after the movie though was that the x-men franchise that I know and love is in danger! Professor X and Magneto are going to need to die here, and right quick. They’re old! The whole franchise is going to need a story arch and reinvent leadership. Maybe I’m just ignorant of the new comics, but since we’re given specific years, and the assumption that these certain mutants are also mortals, there needs to be a transition to new leadership, and eventually we need to run into the mutants and characters from the future, like sentinels (I LOVE SENTINELS!).

Anyway, it was nice not to see a movie blow it’s budget on big names and give a solid and entertaining story line.

5 feet out of 6.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270798/

Barcodes are ugly, but they don’t have to be.  A company called D-barcode makes functional barcodes that are aesthetically pleasing.  Design!

http://www.barcoderevolution.com/gallery/index.php?c=all

This is actually my second foray into the LEGO mosaic realm. The first one was a freehand design of the LEGO logo. A mosaic of Albert Einstein would require a little assistance though.

There are 2 methods for creating mosaics in LEGO bricks, this one is a studs out technique, where the studs face the viewer. It’s probably the easiest to do, because you can match up 1×1 bricks with a square pixel of an image. The other methods is the studs up technique, which involves stacking the plates or bricks vertically. With that method, you lose the ease in design, but you gain the opportunity for resolution since the profile of a plate is 2:5.

For this Albert Einstein design, I knew I wanted to keep it smaller scale. 32×48 studs looked like a nice portrait size and i had 3 16×32 base plates as a great canvas to begin. I took the image, cropped it down to the correct ratio, and then decreased the size down to something I could translate into block. If you just shrink it to 32×48 pixels…well, let’s just say it doesn’t resemble Albert Einstein anymore.

So, after 5 hours of adjusting blocks and trying to get it to resemble the picture, we have this:

I think I might have an easily producible art here, that I’m thinking of entertaining commissioned mosaics if I were to be approached.

Here’s the LEGO logo mosaic, if you were curious:

If someone sends you an email with a question, then respond to it.  Emails are conversations too.  Ignoring it is just like staring at them blankly in the face. for days.

Alright, now that we’re into the summer and for sale signs are posted, here’s a break down of all the houses that are for sale in the Hill District:

113 Erin Street – $143,900 : My neighbor’s house who passed away in February 2011 and now his son is selling it. If you’ve been to my house, it has the same exact floor plan, but has a deck. Listing & County Assessment

117 Erin Street – $63,319 : My neighbor’s house who declared bankruptcy in September 2010. If you’ve been to my house, it has the same exact floor plan, but has a deck.  She also put in expensive tile throughout this house.  You have to do some research on how to get a house on sheriff sale, but come June 6th, this thing will be sold to the highest bidder. Instant equity here. Listing & County Assessment

9 Davenport Street – $93,500 : This house is just across the parking lot from me. If you’ve been to my house, it has the same exact floor plan.  Listing & County Assessment

139, 147, 153 Erin & 129, 139 Davenport = $150, 000 : New constructions in 2010.  Garages and yards.  Listings & County Assessment

There are a bunch more, ranging from older/smaller/cheaper to new/larger/more expensive listed here.  All of these houses are about a mile to downtown and about half a mile from the new Shop n’ Save and YMCA going into the Hill District.

I’ve been away from the game long enough that some of you may not know my involvement in the free online role playing game, Legend of the Green Dragon.  This weekend, June 4th  (6/4), a bunch of players are getting back on as a sort of reunion, and I thought it might be a good time to share the link with you in preparation.

It’s a fun text based game, that is energized a lot by players interacting with one another and taking on the role of the character they set up.  As the creator of the site, I took on the role of the king.  You should join us this weekend if you’ve never played! Here’s the announcement from the site:

Hear ye, Hear ye
In the Sixth month and on the fourth day of this very year…

There shall be a gathering.. a reunion.. of those that once shared a fate,
A fate so epic that it has bound them,
One to the other, throughout all eternity.

They come one by one, from the depths of the sea,
From the heights of the mountains and treetop dwellings.
From castles and keeps, temples and catacombs
From the peaks of mount Olympus
And the hidden shadows of the underdark.

They gather from shore to shore..
To be united once again in the Land of Six.

Yes.. The KING Sixf00t4 has vowed he, himself, would be honored
To make an appearance at such a gathering
Of some of the finest warriors the gods have ever known…
Join us on June 4th!
For this too shall be an Epic Adventure!

When you sign up, enter one of the following codes to receive bonus gold or gems!

‘reuniongold‘ will net you 10k gold
‘reuniongems‘ will net you 10 gems.