Author Archives: Blender Fox

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About Blender Fox

Recreational road-runner, blender/CG rookie, linux user (LE-1, LPIC-1, SUSE CLA 11, SUSE 11 Tech Spec), programmer, avid tinkerer (I'm always breaking things), self-confessed anime & manga otaku & japanophile

Nike+

I started to use Nike+ because I liked their use of routes and their concept of “Nikefuel”, then I found out that there is an option in Endomondo to link into it. Though it seems like it’s one way, based on the description (Nike+ –> Endomondo). I’ll give it a go this evening for my first Half Marathon training session. I have been running these past few days with Nike+, Zombies Run, and Endomondo all active, tracking my session, and this drains out about 80-85% of my battery in 30 minutes. If the Endomondo – Nike+ link works, I’ll be pretty damn pleased, though I doubt that will be the case

Nike+ integration with Endomondo – How does it work?

Endomondo | Community based on free GPS tracking of sports.

Identity

I was playing an online game (a game which I no longer play), and that game had in-game purchases. Up to a point, I was able to use a certain e-funds provider (not PayPal, but along those lines) to pay, then it suddenly reported that it was unable to complete the transaction. So I emailed them, and they said they needed me to provide them proof of identity. So I sent them a partially blanked copy of my Driving License and bank account. They came back saying they needed the unblanked version. My response was that no-one should be sending crucial identity documents such as these over an unsecure channel such as email without first masking important details, and I would find an alternative means of paying – basically telling them to shove it – I’m taking my business elsewhere.

They came back 5 minutes later with the typical legal text saying they would process it as part of the DPA, they were a member of this security body, etc.

Nope, still going to take my business elsewhere.

What Every Website Owner Should Know About Copyright Trolls

This is important if you publish your own work, including CG and renders. Be wary of companies like Apple who want to sue every Tom, Dick and Harry.

What Every Website Owner Should Know About Copyright Trolls.

I can’t figure out what this guy was thinking. Was he on the phone? Was he texting? Going too fast? All of these? Who knows. What I do know is that if this guy was travelling fast enough to knock down a traffic light, drag it 20 metres, and wreck his engine, then someone standing at the crossing (which is exactly where the van has come to rest), wouldn’t stand a chance….

P1010058

Frozen

For once, I’m not talking about the weather. I’m talking about the movie with Kirsten Bell and Idina Menzel. The movie had a lot of hype in America and you know something’s big when you get this released by the studio themselves. It’s the song “Let It Go”, sung by Elsa (Idina Menzel), with lines swapped out for other languages — everything from English, German, Swedish, to the lesser known languages — Catalan, Castillo and even the Eastern languages got a look in — Korean, Japanese, Cantonese Chinese and Mandarin Chinese.

I watched the film yesterday and, although it was sterotypical Disney — good guy, bad guy, love triumphs over everything, etc, etc. There were a few things in there that were not typical Disney. Prejudice over Elsa’s powers, exploitation of Anna’s love for Hanz, my jaw dropped when I saw the sequence for Let It Go, and how Elsa formed the Ice Palace.

The songs were really catchy — unlike some musical films, where the songs are sung too quick, I could hear what the actors and actresses were saying, and I have to say, I suffered last night with Frozen earworms, and “Let It Go” ringing in my head all night.

What I do like about watching professional CG-made films like this, is that they do give you inspirations for your own work.