This is kinda awesome. Someone from Gurren Lagann is probably involved.
Animation Innovation Tokyo rustled this gem up sometime last year in the hope of raising funds to produce a fully fledged series. Probably won't see the light of day....
If you're not convinced on clicking play from my lack of description... it has a ROLLERBLADING DINOSAUR
Some guys are addicted to gambling, some to alcohol. The list of vices that plague our weak wills is probably endless. For me, its coffee. I can just about change my daily routine in any way - early starts, late lie-ins, sitting at a desk all day, walking about non stop - but I always always need a good cup of coffee. Just one! Here is the story of my relationship with the bitter stuff. Heed my words!
I like to blame my student days for my hideous coffee addiction. Notice that its not just a caffeine thing - Tea, coke (of the cola variety) and horrible energy drinks don't have the same effect on me. In my final year of studies I would arise at around 3-4pm and work straight through to 8am, before collapsing into bed and repeating the cycle. The labs were quieter then & being nocturnal suited me fine (it was handy for staying out all night).
The fuel that would keep me going for the better part of a year was this stuff:
Rather than having a standard 1 teaspoon mug, I would have 5 teaspoons of granuled goodness all at once. It would set my brain into overload for a good hour or two and quite frankly put me into the zone. There was never a "down", as with most drugs...after the 14 hours of so work in the labs, I'd just go home and sleep happily. No side effects! Rock! I could just do this for months then stop once I'd finished my projects.
Lol. How wrong was I. It's been over five years since I graduated and I am still physically dependant on coffee. Over the years I've tried to go "cold turkey" and have never lasted more than two weeks.
By day seven, I usually can't stay awake for more than eight hours - not particularly handy when you work. After that I actually feel faint and I don't bother trying to find out what happens next! Perhaps I'll get the shivers and eventually get through the tunnel and into the light of non-dependancy. Or I'll just spontaneously combust.
Working means I have some form of disposable income, so I get to drink nicer coffee. No more instant crap! A lot of people complain that Starbucks makes their coffee too strong....too abrasive. They've not tasted the stuff I brew! The best places in town to have coffee are without doubt Flat White and Milkbar. They aren't full of wifi sponges and the staff are usually Kiwis with amusing accents.
So do I like the actual taste of coffee? Or do I just drink it to keep my motor running? It's definitely the former, with the latter being a huge bonus. Ethically, caffeine is always going to be rotten. If you like tea, you're most likely to be supporting South Asian slave labour. If you like coffee it will be African or South American. Either way, some brown person suffers to make a living. I won't even mention Coca Cola! Besides, I always buy fairtrade to sooth my tortured conscience in the hope of shaving a few years off my hell sentence.
Coffee Tips -
Don't drink instant coffee. The exception is Malaysian Old Town 3-in-1 packet mix.
Buy a good cafetiere (sometimes called a French Press) - espresso machines you see in Argos are bollocks & won't provide the pressure or heat to get that coffee-shop flavour. You'll be wanting to spend in the region of £1000 if you really want a machine, instead of £10 on a press.
When using a cafetiere, put in more ground coffee than recommended. 1 dessert spoon per cup is for losers. I'd recommend an inch per mug.
Store your ground coffee in the fridge, in a sealed container.
Going cold turkey doesn't work. Just accept your coffee filled fate. So it goes.
Two Door Cinema Club are awesome. Don't let their quirky indiesque name fool you - they're a GOOD band from Ireland, making up for the sins that are Boyzone, Bewitched and Westlife. Oh and Bono. Whilst they sometimes sound a little poppy, I think their songs actually make you listen to the lyrics and don't fall into that chasm of mediocre; currently populated by the Kings of Leon and their ilk.
Oh and I started doing some 3d modelling work for the infamous NeoGAF game project, but I'm struggling a little with the polycount requirements... I've been given 800 as a ballpark figure, but I'm currently at about 2000 :)
Supposedly there's no code involved, which suits me! Its been quite uninspiring coding in C# with XNA.. I've worked through a couple of tutorials and whilst the logic behind most of the code makes sense, it all does seem rather longwinded :(
Edit - and here's a free music sequencing program, that looks quite good!
Of course the downside is that this stuff is not particularly geared toward retail! I suppose the main thing is that I'm able to get whatever my ideas are up and running quickly...
Also F' Yeah! Friday!
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
I have some spare instant mash mix...apparently this tastes good.. Gonna try it with some chicken at some point.
"Potato Crusted Baked Fish"
Mix together 1 pkg Idahoan Instant Potato with 1/4 cup Grated Parm/Romano Cheese, 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder, Salt & Pepper to taste. Cover fish with Mayo and Coat with Potato mixture. Spray pan with Pam, and heat Fish in 400degree oven 30-40 minutes depending on thickness of fish. Work best with Tilapia, Cod, Sole, Snapper or any Filet. Also works with Chicken Breast!
Well I certainly wasn't ready for 2010 and the fact that one lunar cycle has passed by (lets call it a "lunacy";do you see what I have done here?) without me even realising it certifies my unreadiness. The super-effective trinity of procrastination, moping around and ever-present sleepiness has severely dampened any productivity I might have hoped for this lunacy.
So, how will I rectify these problems? Well the moping around is definitely temporary. Changes have occured in my personal life. Ties have been severed, tough decisions made and I'm all for moving onward & upwards. The real challenge lies within the procrastination and sleeps. The internet is a horrible force of man-made nature (let's call it MaMa Nature - OMG I'm on some sort of cylindrical object here, maybe I'll call it a "roll"). It provides us with inspiration, knowledge and is a bounty of joy. On the flip side it also robs us of time and concentration. Time which we could be spending doing what we're supposed to be doing, or more importantly want to be doing.
I'm certainly not a workslave. In fact I despise the idea of "work". It is another farce of MaMa Nature, that is only present to keep the gears of our tax hungry clockwork government slick and greasy. We look forward to payday every lunacy and you'd be wise to know that they're rubbing their hands with just as much anticipation.
I've lost my train of thought. The internet has distracted me once more.. I'll finish this post one day! (This is due to part laziness, but then again it does prove my point about the internet being bad for you)
Some guys are addicted to gambling, some to alcohol. The list of vices that plague our weak wills is probably endless. For me, its coffee. I can just about change my daily routine in any way - early starts, late lie-ins, sitting at a desk all day, walking about non stop - but I always always need a good cup of coffee. Just one! Here is the story of my relationship with the bitter stuff. Heed my words!
Rather than having a standard 1 teaspoon mug, I would have 5 teaspoons of granuled goodness all at once. It would set my brain into overload for a good hour or two and quite frankly put me into the zone. There was never a "down", as with most drugs...after the 14 hours of so work in the labs, I'd just go home and sleep happily. No side effects! Rock! I could just do this for months then stop once I'd finished my projects.