Final Project - RSS

Here is my link to my final project for MM352 - my RSS. I focused on videogames, since that is a main part of my life (i will probably end up being a developer). The link below wont work until monday afternoon, because i don't have access to upload the file and related images until then. Its not like anyone will read this before then but i thought i'd mention it none the less. I'll post an edit once its up and working properly.


Video Game RSS Final

THIS IS......my blog about 300

On thursday night at midnight (or friday morning...whatever) I went to see 300. I had been eagerly awaiting this movie and was very excited to go see it. After seeing it i can say that it didn't dissapoint. The movie was beautifully made and the cinematography was wonderful. The action was intense and the story was, for the most part, very good. I thought the movie really captured the essence of what spartans were about. A complete society of warriors whose whole sole purpose in life is to serve sparta gracefully in battle, or die trying. It was a very good film. I plan on seeing it at least once more in the theatre. If you have time i sugest you go and watch it you probably won't be dissapointed.

Music industry gains victory against webcasters

On march 6th the copyright royality board voted to raise the rates that internet webcasters pay to record labels and artists. The standard rate used to be about 12% of revenue but the new changes charge on a per song basis. They changed the rate to .08 cents per song for every song played last year, .11 cents for every song played in 2007 and .19 cents for every song played in 2010. This rate doesn't take into account advertising fees that companies get, which will make it very hard for smaller startup companies who do have advertising on their sites to stay in business. There are roughly 50 sites that pay fees. Kurt Hansen owns one of these sites and testified infront of the copyright royality board that the fees would raise his royalty bill from 48,000 to around 600,000 per year.

rss in email

When i signed on to check my yahoo mail today there was a bulliton asking me if i wanted to get news everyday with my email. I enjoy news as much as the next person so I read into it a little further and found out that yahoo mail is now fully rss compatable. If you update your account you can utalize rss and email at the same time. It works almost like the favorites tab or history tab in explorer. On the left is a list of all your rss feeds. and if you select one its expands in the window on the right. It works pretty good so far and seems to be working nicely.

Angry moose pulls a leroy jenkins on a helicopter

I know it has absolutely no relivance to what we are about, but i couldn't stop wondering why a helicopter would stay within range of an angry moose, and that made me giggle.

Some wildlife experts were taging moose up in alaska and they went to tranqualize one. He got angry and charged the helicopter injuring its rotor and grounding it. None of the people in the helicopter were hurt, but the moose did run into the rotor and that messed him up pretty bad.

Angry moose!

snowmobiler "skimms" to stay alive

Surfing msn i found an interesting article about some smowmobilers who were out riding on a frozen lake when they noticed the ice was ending and open water was directly ahead of them. There were three riders and they all made the split second choice to get as much speed as they could and skim over the water. They decided that if they stoped they were already on thin ice and would have sunk. Two of the three riders sped up from 40mph to roughly 80mph and skimmed across the water. The third rider is missing and assumed to be dead. His snowmobile was found under 30 feet of water.

article

The police say that "skimming" has been illegal since 2003 but the riders made the right decision under the circimstances.


I have to wonder if this story is legit...I mean skimming sounds like something that would be pretty intense and if i had a snowmobile i would be out doing it (but not in a dumbass way, I'd use safe conditions). I wonder if these guys were out in a secluded location doing this so they wouldn't get caught...and one of them lost control and fell. Thoughts?

Post your web pages in your blog

I am not sure how many people actually search/read these blogs but I think it would be a good idea if we all posted links to our web pages in our blogs. That way everyone can read our blogs and ideas and relate our websites to them and leave any comments or thoughts in our blogs. PLUS its a free post! So if anyone reads this post your link. Here is mine.

My Web Page - Summation of FEAR

Al Gore to throw a global PARTY!

If you are ever on msn you've probably already heard about this, but i find it interesting so i am going to re post it here.

Al Gore has decided to take his fight against global warming to a higher level. He is organizing a series of concerts around the world to help inform people of global warming. The concert series could reach up to 2billion people through media coverage and actual concert attendies. Check out the article its interesting.

Article

Halo 3 beta

I just received an email from bungie studios and microsoft telling me that i have been invited to participate in the halo 3 beta testing. So thats pretty cool. Its supposed to start in spring, so if i get to check it out before class is over i'll blog about it and let everyone know how good (or bad) it is.

This is entertaining

I was surfing the net looking for a picture of the desert for a hypermedia site i am working on when i came across this article;

Aussie man survives 70+ days in desert!

Very interesting read, it doesn't relate to multimedia or technology in really any way but its still kind of crazy.

Bloody diamonds

I went and saw blood diamond last night. That movie was hardcore. I've never been into diamonds and thankfully neither has my girl, but after watching that movie i am pretty sure that i'll never by another diamond. So many messed up things in that movie. And leonardo decaprio is fairly badass in it. I never thought he could be, but he pulled it off very well. If you looking for something to do go and watch it...its one of the better movies i've seen in a long time.

Save the internet!

Randomly surfing the Internet has brought yet another topic into my view which i had no idea was even an issue.... Internet freedom. Apparently some BIG companies are spending millions each year to lobby congress to impose laws on the Internet. These laws, if put into place, would allow major companies like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast (and many others) to control what their paying customers can and can't access on the web. They want to decide which web sites load fast, slow, or won't load at all. With these laws in place the big companies could tax content providers. This would reinforce their own search engines and sites, while slowing down or completely blocking their competitors. The internet has always been about innovation and basic freedoms, but if these laws pass all this will come to an end. Please visit this site to learn how you can help protect network neutrality!

http://www.savetheinternet.com

"ninja-ish" insight

Have you ever found your self in a situation....any situation really.....and thought, "Hmmm, I wonder what a ninja would do right about now?" I know i have. Well here is your answer!

http://www.askaninja.com/

Whether you want to know how a ninja handles Christmas, or a ninjas review for Pirates of the Caribbean 2, or just have your own question... this is the place to find answers.

Amazing guitarist Andy Mckee

I love playing acoustic guitar (I've had an electric guitar for 8 months now and haven't played it once). I was roaming around on youtube trying to find something to spontaneously entertain me and i stumbled across a guy named Andy Mckee. He is a fantastic guitarist. He competed in the finger style world championships and placed third, which is a great feat considering he is in his mid 20's when most of the other competitors are far more practiced and are in their 40's or older. His style of play is somewhat new and refreshing. Often he plays the guitar like a piano more so then a guitar, using both hands to press the keys instead of having one of them strum. He also incorporates the base of the guitar into his music playing it as if it were a percussion instrument. The melodies he writes are highly emotional, and their tonal structures extraordinary. Be sure to watch is videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI1PfmDl8fo
This is the first video of his i watched. His style still amazes me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt1fB62cGbo
Here he covers the song "Africa". Be sure to watch the whole video because his transitions from standard playing to hammering/percussion is great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Igb5Yors4
This is my favorite. Full of soul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmE3QaGetn4
I hate to put this link last because its SO good, but one of em has to be last. Fantastic piece

He has many more posted and they are all just superb. Post replies to this and let me know what you thought of his music!

My first blog EVER!

So yeah...this is the first time i've ever done this. I'm not sure exactly what to do just talk about something i guess. Hmmm...I just got done playing Halo 2 online, which is pretty sweet. If you play you should add me and we'll play sometime:

Heavens7thCloud

If you don't play i advise you not to start. Its probably the reason I haven't done any blogging yet hahaha. Anyway...I just saw a wicked bad teaser video of the new halo 3. If you have a sec you should check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWkoWLQVpsk

Check back often. I'll have much more interesting things to say i promise.