HectorParra.com

God Only Knows

2008-04-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I'll make you so sure about it
God only knows what I'd be without you

If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on, believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me?
God only knows what I'd be without you

God only knows what I'd be without you

If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on, believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me?

God only knows what I'd be without you...

Student Profile @ UC Irvine

2008-04-14T17:24:00.000-07:00

ICS Spotlight

Where did I go?

2008-04-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be wondering what happened to me. A select few already know. Within the next couple of weeks things should become more stable. Even then, I can't talk about 75% of what I'm doing with my life...

Why not?!

There are many judges and thieves out there.

I will live in Irvine throughout April. Depending on what happens next week I will probably stay here for a least another 6 months.

"Prince John: My trap is baited and set... and then revenge. Ah, revenge!

Sir Hiss: Shh! Not so loud, sire. Remember, only you and I know, and your secret is my secret.

Prince John: Stop! [ Laughs ] Stop hissing in my ear. Secret? What secret?"

- Disney's Robin Hood

Change

2008-03-24T01:46:00.000-07:00

I watched you change
Into a fly
I looked away
You were on fire
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now you feel so alive
I've watched you change

I took you home
Set you on the glass
I pulled off your wings
Then I laughed
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now you feel so alive
I've watched you change

It's like you never had wings...
ahh-ah-aaah (6x)

I look at the cross
Then I look away
Give you the gun
Blow me away

I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now you feel so alive
I've watched you change
And you feel alive
You feel alive (2x)
I've watched you change

It's like you never had wings...
ahh-ah-aaah (6x)
You change (3x)
...I'm over...

("Change" by Deftones)

I'm Not In Love

2008-03-22T02:54:00.000-07:00

I'm not in love
So don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because
I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..

I like to see you
But then again
That doesn't mean you mean that much to me
So if I call you
Don't make a fuss
Don't tell your friends about the two of us
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..

I keep your picture
Upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain that's lying there
So don't you ask me
To give it back
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..

Ooh you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh you'll wait a long time
Ooh you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh you'll wait a long time

I'm not in love
So don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love
I'm not in love

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

2008-03-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

I couldn't agree with Sir Ken Robinson more. I have always been a creative creature. I excel in theater arts. I'm good at visual arts and love to sing and dance. I love to think and create entire systems and infrastructures.

It is my desire to create that attracted me to computer science. It allowed me to be creative. I taught myself HTML when I was introduced to the internet at age 14. I taught myself the (horrific) table-based page formatting models. I learned to use Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Fireworks. I learned to use the Java applets that were popular in those days (1996). The result was my school's website. Nido de Aguilas finally got a professional to make a new one, but only after using modified versions of my original website for nearly 10 years!

Saddelback College introduced me OOP, C++ and UI programming using Java, AWT, and Swing, but I 'learned' C++ from The C++ Programming Language. I learned STL from Accelerated C++ and Generic Programming and the STL. I learned about C and make from A Book on C. I taught myself to install, configure and use Linux and FreeBSD. Ruby. Rails. CSS. XML. JavaScript. SQL. C#. XNA. wxWidgets. Excel VBA. Python. PHP. bash. I can go on and on ad nauseam.

The point is I learn by books, not schools. I learn on my own, on my own time, at my own speed. I learn by my creative digestion of the literature. I learn by actually doing something that applies to the real world, not two classes from now or a job from now, but RIGHT NOW. It's need-based learning and I've acquired a nice little library of books and URLs because of it.

I'm sure Sir Ken Robinson would agree that there is a lack of freedom in our schools today. I'm not a grade. I'm an artist. Give me some room. Give me some time. I will create beautiful systems that help people through my art, but because I've been so hampered by competing with your metrics, I have no art to show.

I'm afraid due to metrics that I will spend the next few years at an employer where I feel just as restricted. Artists usually starve, but I can practice my art on my own time...

M.I.K.E. vs. The Rest of My Life

2008-03-07T03:14:00.000-08:00

I will not lie, I really want to see M.I.K.E. on Saturday. "Strange World" under his Push guise was my favorite song back in 2000. It has this carefully suppressed energy that slowly feeds you. Let's not forget the little slice of breaks he throws in there. Some of the tunes he's been dishing out lately on Armind are sick.

Unfortunately, a few realities settle in. I may see delta9 later today. I don't have the time (not to mention the finances) to go out twice in a row. In fact, you can argue I don't have any time whatsoever. I graduate in 14 days! I can graduate in 12 days if I decide to take one of my finals early.

Let's say I have 12 days. I have to:

Do a direct feed of my video game from last year, Legend of Fiasco

Finish my ICS Ambassador Project. I have enough data. It is time to present it.

Update my Othello program to run in tournament mode. Once I get this working I may implement Negascout and some custom evaluation functions.

Study for my AI final. If I take it early I can get it out of the way and that leaves me with 4 full days to...

Finish the backend of the Nomatic*VS prototype

I also have to squeeze in some work there too. I will probably leave that for when I'm done with school.

Things will becoming extremely hectic once I finish school. I need a job!

Introduction to Google Data API using PHP

2008-03-06T01:25:00.000-08:00

Start here: Google's own Getting Started with the Google Data PHP Client Library. If you do not have the Zend Framework installed then do so, contrary to what the guide has you believe the GData Client Library actually depends on it. Your web hosting provider may already have it installed.

I wasn't able to find the location of the default php installation on Mac OS X (10.5) and the php.ini file in /etc doesn't specify a path to one, so I chose to leave the framework in my website root directory and use following code to add the framework library to php's path:

$path = 'ZendFramework-1.0.4/library/';
set_include_path(get_include_path() . PATH_SEPARATOR . $path);

You're ready to go. See Google data APIs Developer Guide and Zend's Gdata Documentation for more information.

Where will I be on my birthday?

2008-01-14T13:29:00.000-08:00

I'll probably be alone, doing homework, some yoga, sleep. The following weekend?

OR

But Tentation is on your birthday? and the Vanguard?

BT will be at Tentation on my birthday. Serge Devant that weekend. I'll hold off until next week, when BT and Cedric Gervais play. Giant has some juicy stuff coming up.

(1/9) Ridiculous DnB Party

2008-01-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

More Info

Rebel!

2007-12-27T19:29:00.000-08:00

Look at this mutt! Before and after my mom's horrible haircut.

Proton Radio

2007-12-26T16:02:00.001-08:00

Everything I've been hearing on this station is absolutely filthy. Disgusting, traumatizing minimal techno electro house. I just want to kick in a wall and jump out of my second story window.

http://www.protonradio.com/

Anthony Robbins on Charlie Rose (2000)

2007-12-26T15:00:00.000-08:00

Yup. Extremely unhappy. Not to mention sick, which prevents me from taking most forms of action. I'll probably crash and burn later today, but Red Bull gives you wings!

Feb. 2nd: Stevie Nicks

2007-12-25T18:42:00.000-08:00

Stevie Nicks, best known for Fleetwood Mac, will be at Cal State Fullerton's annual fundraiser. General Admission for students is $25. I'd pay that just to see her perform any version of the above song, 'Storms'. All else would be gravy, like the stuff below!

'Landslide'

'Stand Back' (Tracey Young Edit)

Lucky Break

2007-12-25T18:25:00.000-08:00

My cousin William "Billy" Alvarez directed this for one of his classes at UCI. My cousin Ivan (his brother) plays Spencer. What a dork! Alas, I'm more like him in real life than I care to admit.

Dec. 29th: Scot Project & Johan Gielen

2007-12-25T12:13:00.000-08:00

"Black" - Pearl Jam

2007-12-22T14:46:00.000-08:00

(I just want to say this version was awesome. First Night at Madison Square Garden, New York City, 2003. In most live versions he uses "star" instead of "sun" in the last verse. Perhaps this is to differentiate the line from the other sun metaphor throughout the song. Something he figured out later?)

Hey... oooh...
Sheets of empty canvas, untouched sheets of clay
Were laid spread out before me as her body once did.
All five horizons revolved around her soul
As the earth to the sun
Now the air I tasted and breathed has taken a turn

Ooh, and all I taught her was everything
Ooh, I know she gave me all that she wore
And now my bitter hands chafe beneath the clouds
Of what was everything.
Oh, the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...

I take a walk outside
I'm surrounded by some kids at play
I can feel their laughter, so why do I sear?
Oh, and twisted thoughts that spin round my head
I'm spinning, oh, I'm spinning
How quick the sun can drop away

And now my bitter hands cradle broken glass
Of what was everything?
All the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...

All the love gone bad turned my world to black
Tattooed all I see, all that I am, all I'll be... yeah...
Uh huh... uh huh... ooh...

I know someday you'll have a beautiful life,
I know you'll be a sun in somebody else's sky, but why
Why, why can't it be, why can't it be mine

Aah... uuh..

Too doo doo too, too doo doo

Dec. 24th: Astral Projection

2007-12-22T02:55:00.000-08:00

"I Ran" - A Flock Of Seagulls

2007-12-22T00:49:00.000-08:00

I walked along the avenue.
I never thought I'd meet a girl like you;
Meet a girl like you.
With auburn hair and tawny eyes;
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through;
Hypnotize me through.

And I ran, I ran so far away.
I just ran, I ran all night and day.
I couldn't get away.

A cloud appears above your head;
A beam of light comes shining down on you,
Shining down on you.
The cloud is moving nearer still.
Aurora borealis comes in view;
Aurora comes in view.

And I ran, I ran so far away.
I just ran, I ran all night and day.
I couldn't get away.

Reached out a hand to touch your face;
You're slowly disappearing from my view;
Disappearing from my view.
Reached out a hand to try again;
I'm floating in a beam of light with you;
A beam of light with you.

And I ran, I ran so far away.
I just ran, I ran all night and day.
I couldn't get away.

California Corporations

2007-12-20T17:13:00.000-08:00

LLCs, etc. I have to dissolve my old business, Hexahex LLC. A real pain in the ass if you ask me. It was my first business so I learned many things the hard way.

Most of the forms you will ever need are at the California Business Portal's Forms, Samples, and Fee website.

Do yourself a favor and list your parent's address as the Registered Agent. You'll thank me later.

Legend of Fiasco & Open Source Licensing

2007-12-19T00:30:00.000-08:00

So David Anderson and I are slightly modifying and publishing Team X's 5 man-month opus, Legend of Fiasco. Since we developed it using XNA Game Studio I figured it would make sense to host it on Microsoft's SourceForge-wannabe, CodePlex. It's actually pretty nice, but we ran into a snafu. A huge snafu: licensing.

So what types does Codeplex offer?

Apache License 2.0 by the Apache Foundation.

Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) by Sun Microsystems.

Eclipse Public License (EPL) by the Eclipse Foundation.

GNU General Public License (GPL) v2 by the FSF. Codeplex doesn't seem to offer v3.

GNU Library General Public License (LGPL) also by the FSF. They don't specify which version it is.

Microsoft Public License (Ms-PL) by Microsoft. I didn't know they had one!

Microsoft Reciprocal License (Ms-RL) also by Microsoft.

Mozilla Public License 1.1 (MPL) by the Mozilla Foundation.

New BSD License by the Regents of the University of California.

The MIT License by MIT, even though they're never mentioned.

So who knows about this stuff? The Open Source Initiative defines what it means to be Open Source and have definitions of the above licenses and many more. On Lamp has an article comparing the more popular ones.

Now that I've found my sources, it's time to read, and read, and read...

Rebel Courage the Dune Nozzle!

2007-12-18T18:57:00.000-08:00

* Nozzle, because that's my nickname for dogs, especially ones with long muzzles.
* Dune, because he's a dust color and there's that running joke about that movie (See: Dune Cat, Dune Llama).
* Rebel, because he won't stay still and jumped into our pool the first night we had him. This is his call name.
* Courage, because he seems adventurous and is daring enough to jump from high places, and because it's what he gives me.

I'm grateful that God put him in my life when he did. Timing could not have been better.

InPitch

2007-12-18T18:09:00.000-08:00

From the InPitch SourceForge website:

InPitch is a simple and easy-to-use program to aid in training your ear to recognize notes (i.e. to develop "perfect pitch" or "absolute pitch").

My friend Chris Gilbreth and I wrote this many years ago. He decided to put it on SourceForge last year. We haven't really worked on it since then, but the word is getting out. Someone recently blogged about it and provided our first piece of user feedback! Chris asked me today if I could start looking at it again. I think I'll wait 'til he comes back to the OC from Yale. ;)

Download it here.

Origin of "Sine"

2007-11-27T00:49:00.000-08:00

Copied from "Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (S)"

SINE. Aryabhata the Elder (476-550) used the word jya for sine in Aryabhatiya, which was finished in 499.

According to Cajori (1906), the Latin term sinus was introduced in a translation of the astronomy of Al Battani by Plato of Tivoli (or Plato Tiburtinus).

According to some sources, sinus first appears in Latin in a translation of the Algebra of al-Khowarizmi by Gherard of Cremona (1114-1187). For example, Eves (page 177) writes:

The origin of the word sine is curious. Aryabhata called in ardha-jya ("half-chord") and also jya-ardha ("chord-half"), and then abbreviated the term by simply using jya ("chord"). From jya the Arabs phonetically derived jiba, which, following Arabian practice of omitting vowels, was written as jb. Now jiba, aside from its technical significance, is a meaningless word in Arabic. Later writers, coming across jb as an abbreviation for the meaningless jiba, substituted jaib instead, which contains the same letters and is a good Arabic word meaning "cove" or "bay." Still later, Gherardo of Cremona (ca. 1150), when he made his translations from the Arabic, replaced the Arabian jaib by its Latin equivalent, sinus, whence came our present word sine.

However, Boyer (page 278) places the first appearance of sinus in a translation of 1145. He writes:

It was Robert of Chester's translation from the Arabic that resulted in our word "sine." The Hindus had given the name jiva to the half chord in trigonometry, and the Arabs had taken this over as jiba. In the Arabic language there is also a word jaib meaning "bay" or "inlet." When Robert of Chester came to translate the technical word jiba, he seems to have confused this with the word jaib (perhaps because vowels were omitted); hence he used the word sinus, the Latin word for "bay" or "inlet." Sometimes the more specific phrase sinus rectus, or "vertical sine," was used; hence the phrase sinus versus, or our "versed sine," was applied to the "sagitta," or the "sine turned on its side."

Smith (vol. 1, page 202) writes that the Latin sinus "was probably first used in Robert of Chester's revision of the tables of al-Khowarizmi."

Fibonacci used the term sinus rectus arcus.

Regiomontanus (1436-1476) used sinus, sinus rectus, and sinus versus in De triangulis omnimodis (On triangles of all kinds; Nuremberg, 1533) [James A. Landau].

Copernicus and Rheticus did not use the term sine (DSB).

The earliest known use of sine in English is by Thomas Fale in 1593:

This Table of Sines may seem obscure and hard to those who are not acquainted with Sinicall computation.

The citation is above is from Horologiographia. The art of dialling: teaching an easie and perfect way to make all kinds of dials vpon any plaine plat howsoeuer placec: With the drawing of the twelue signes, and houres vnequall in them all... At London, Printed by Thomas Orwin, dwelling in Pater noster-Row ouer against the signe of the Checker, 1593, by Thomas Fale.

Hugh Laurie on 'Friends'

2007-11-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

Wow. Comments are not necessary!

2007-11-13T23:48:00.001-08:00

"MORONS! I'm surrounded by MORONS!"

2007-11-09T23:16:00.000-08:00

I had this frustrating moment today and I thought of Carface and how he felt at 7:14 of this clip.

Every scene in this clip alone is worth mentioning. They just don't make movies like this anymore. It's right up there with Disney's "Robin Hood" and the "Brave Little Toaster". Simply awesome.

Dune Llama!

2007-11-09T13:06:00.001-08:00

Teach English Abroad

2007-11-08T22:31:00.000-08:00

It's time to go.

"FREE Information Sessions
Meet our program staff and instructors, learn about the rewards of teaching English and why a TEFL certificate opens doors, and receive tips for landing a job.

Wednesday, November 14 (3:00-4:30pm)
Thursday, November 15 (3:00-4:30pm)
Thursday, November 29 (3:00-4:30pm)
Tuesday, December 4 (3:00-4:30pm)

Reserve your space at www.extension.uci.edu/events

For more information, contact:

Roger Dupuy
rdupuy@uci.edu
(949) 824-9951
www.extension.uci.edu/teachabroad"

2007-10-31T02:59:00.000-07:00

2007-10-31T00:32:00.000-07:00

Here she is, my old Bianchi Nyala. I don't know what size it is, but I have reason to believe it's either a woman's or children's bike. I will find out for sure when I measure the wheels tomorrow.

I cleaned off all the dust from these fires, inflated the tires, removed the seat post, cleaned it off, greased it up and finally took it for a spin. This is a NICE bike. It rides smoother than my Scattante. Unfortunately the seat post is too short. Stopped by Performance to get another one, but they did not have the appropriate dimensions. I did however, manage to get a real pedal wrench to replace the pathetic toy I got in this Spin Doctor essential tools set. BEHOLD!

2007-10-27T01:50:00.000-07:00

To this day, whenever I think of a stuck up jerk, some ass I just want to knock out, I think of this lamp.

2007-10-25T00:06:00.000-07:00

2007-10-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

A Rachael!

2007-10-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

Tektonic. A mash up of liquid, pop, and hip hop. Notice how everyone is exceptionally thin. When I try doing anything like this an ab (tire), oblique (love handle), or pectoral (boob) is completely out of sequence (giggling around uncontrollably)! But, you gotta play to win! You have to look bad to look good eventually!

2007-10-23T02:25:00.000-07:00

This Friday at the Echoplex: UNKLE! Followed by JPLS and Derek Plaslaiko on Saturday at Droid's 5th Anniversary party!

2007-10-23T00:22:00.000-07:00

TECHNO VIKING!

2007-10-22T17:52:00.000-07:00

Another night at Respect some time ago starring Tee Bee and Calyx! Check out the funny faces the Hector makes in his natural habitat!

2007-10-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

Digital at Respect this last Thursday. You can't see the Hector's face, but you can see him representing Programmed! The Chip is Coming!

2007-10-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

Microsoft XNA. So where do I start?

Apparently, the only consensus is that Professional XNA Game Programming is a miserable book. Some recommend Microsoft XNA Game Studio Creators Guide. Regardless, I'm popping over to the nearest Borders and using this coupon! Or you can just look at the support pages and code dumps of these books.

While you're searching for a book, you can still get started with XNA Game Studio Express and the XNA MSDN Library.

Here is an article by CoDe Magazine, "Introducing XNA Game Studio Express". Unfortunately, since it's not two months old yet, I can't read it but, George W. Clingerman, the article's author, has a excellent website, complete with simple tutorials.

Some nice tile engine tutorials at XNA Resource.

2007-10-13T22:09:00.000-07:00

This is Mr. Cheapstuff and he's in the know. Coupons. Freebies. Get them while they're hot!

Particularly smoking is this perpetual Borders Coupon. Even after it expires, it is replaced with a similar one. Far better than my corporate discount.

Speaking of Borders, all their O'Reilly books are 30% Off until October 15th!

2007-10-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

Man died doing what he loved most

View Larger Map

I pass by Sandy Julienne's memorial everyday riding back from school. I've experienced first-hand this quarter just how stupid motorists can be. Going northbound before the intersection of University and Culver between 5 and 6PM is NOT the place to be: congestion caused by tired droves anxious to get home. They forget to use signals. They forget to look twice. They forget that being in a solid-lined bike lane is actually illegal. I almost got clipped today by someone who wanted to shave a couple a seconds of their commute by zipping through.

Westbound at the intersection of Campus and University in the morning is just as bad.

I'd feel more agile on my road bike if I changed the pedals to some eggbeaters or platforms. The 5-second "make or break" clipping into some LOOKs isn't worth it, so I'm still cruisin' on this 80's steel cruiser.

Hopefully fixing up my Bianchi Nyala like this guy will provide me with the best of both worlds.

2007-10-04T03:02:00.001-07:00

Nocturnal "Festival" 2007. The last time I went was in 200-... hmm, the one next to Lake Havasu! Many moons ago! I didn't like massives then and I don't like them now, but hey, I still had a blast. You will never be able to find me in these pictures, but I'm there! Cedric Gervais and the master himself, Carl Cox!

2007-10-04T02:52:00.000-07:00

Another game of Find the Hector! He's there! Mauro Picotto (Sept. 1) was disgusting!

2007-10-04T02:40:00.000-07:00

This Friday, October 5th! Audio Asylum has Hardcore & Drum and Bass every first Friday of the month.

Fleetwood Mac

2007-10-04T01:38:00.000-07:00

I'm absolutely lovin' the Fleetwood Mac.

The back story is cute. I butchered a girl's name during an announcement and felt compelled to apologize afterwards. "It's Rhiannon, like the Fleetwood Mac song." Immediately the song whose name I never knew, but whose melody is completely memorized, began to loop in my mind. It became insanely repetitive. A few days later, I was forced to jack my parents' "The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac."

I did not know "Little Lies" was Fleetwood Mac. Hell, I didn't know a bunch of these were Fleetwood Mac. Then again, I can hear Stevie Nicks now. Thanks K-Earth!

And what about Stevie Nicks? I didn't know Prince wrote 'Stand Back'. The latest Morgan Page, Ralphi Rosario, and Tracey Young remixes are all hot. I'm surprised there wasn't a retro-electro mix that was closer to the original. Deep Dish tried to remix Dreams. but I fear it may have been too difficult for Sharam and Dubfire. Personally, I think there are better Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks songs to remix... >:D

And to think she was just here in August!

Underrated: 'Storms'. It's something I would write.

Untitled

2007-07-24T21:51:00.001-07:00

(There’s some weird bug that makes this show up as 15 miles, instead of 1.5)

I did it. 2 miles actually. Took it easy and concentrated on running on the balls of my feet instead of heel-toe.

I actually would have gone for 3 miles, but my right knee started feeling a little funny. It didn’t hurt, but it sure felt strange.

See more progress on: run 15 miles

Wow, I'm So Awesome

2007-06-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

Most of these pictures were taken towards the end of the party, so the dance floor was all mine. Nice flash!

Disney's Robin Hood's Alternate Ending

2007-06-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe there was an alternate ending to my favorite movie of all time. On another note, something reminded me of this scene:

[ Humming ]
Hey, lover boy. How's that grub comin'? Man, I'm starved.
[ Continues Humming ]
Rob? Robin?
Robert?
- Hey! - Hmm? What? What do you say?
Aw, forget it. Your mind's not on food.
You're thinkin' about somebody with long eyelashes,
and you're smellin' that sweet perfume.
[ Sniffing, Coughing ]
Hey, whoa! It's boiling over!
You're burnin' the chow!
Sorry, Johnny. Guess I was thinking about Maid Marian again.
I can't help it.
I love her, Johnny.
Look, why don't you stop moonin' and mopin' around?
- Just-- Just marry the girl. - Marry her?
You don't just walk up to a girl, hand her a bouquet and say,
"Hey, remember me? We were kids together. Will you marry me?"
[ Chuckling ] No. It just isn't done that way.
Aw, come on, Robbie. Climb the castle walls.
Sweep her off her feet. Carry her off in style.
[ Sighing ] It's no use, Johnny. I've thought it all out, and...
it just wouldn't work.
Besides, what have I got to offer her?
Well, for one thing, you can't cook.
I'm serious, Johnny. She's a highborn lady of quality.
So she's got class? So what?
I'm an outlaw, that's what.
That's no life for a lovely lady. Always on the run.
- What kind of a future is that? - Oh, for heaven's sake, son.
You're no outlaw.
Why, someday you'll be called a great hero.
A hero? Do you hear that, Johnny? We've just been pardoned.
[ Laughs ] That's a gas. We ain't even been arrested yet.
All right. Laugh, you two rogues.
But there's gonna be a big to-do in Nottingham.
[ Slurping, Coughing ]
Well done, ain't it?
Old Prince John’s havin' a championship archery tournament tomorrow.
Archery tournament? Ha!
Old Rob could win that standin' on his head, huh, Rob?
Thank you, Little John. But I'm sure we're not invited.
No, but there's somebody...
who'll be very disappointed if you don't come.
[ Chuckling ] Yeah, old bushel britches,
the Honorable Sheriff of Nottingham.
- No, Maid Marian. - Maid Marian?
Yeah. She-- She's gonna give a kiss to the winner.
- [ Laughing ] - Kiss to the winner!
Oo-de-lally! Come on, Johnny! What are we waiting for?
Wait a minute, Rob. Hold it. That place will be crawlin' with soldiers.
Aha! But, remember.
faint hearts never won fair ladies
fear not, my friends
this will be my greatest performance

New Music, Part 1

2007-06-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

So I started "getting active" in the "scene" around 2000. I have since "left", but with the horrible feeling that I never found out the name of any particular song! There are many songs that I am still searching for circa 2000-2002. I'm surprised I never knew the names of these, considering how popular they were. Luckily I found and now own them. Some newer stuff too. Hooray for Beatport.

"Don't Give Up" (Original Mix) by Chicane. Bryan Adams lends his pipes. I'm still a sucker for this song. It was an anthem for my life at the period, along with Chakra's "Love Shines Through." Hell, they still are, or should be at least.

"C Sharp" (Original Mix) by The Quest. The melody in this song still says "It's going to be OK. Just keep going."

"Universal Nation" (Original Edit) by Push
"Cloudwalking" (Astral Mix) by Pulser
"You Put Me In Heaven With Your Touch" (Alex Gold Remix) by Rhythm Of Life

It's nice to finally have these. I'm still looking for this disgusting hard trance version of Robert Miles' "Children." Only heard it once at PLWY's Digital Hut in 200... or dear - I can't remember.

I also bought some newer trance, a bunch of the sick techno-electro-house that everyone is spinning nowadays, and a little D'n'B for dessert. My poor car sounds pathetic attempting to bump it all. Particularly guilty is a most filthy track: "The Sky Was Pink" (Holden Remix) by Nathan Fake. My car sounds like it has the worst case of gas ever known. Luckily, it handles the frequencies out of "I Love Richie" (Original Mix) by Dusty Kid just fine. Do youself a favor and get that one. Yucky techno that drives my brother crazy.

Don't Give Up

2007-06-06T22:58:00.001-07:00

don't worry if the sun don't shine
you've seen it before you don't have to worry
everyday's an uphill climb - nothing has changed
believe me when i tell ya

don't give it up - don't give it up...

don't give up - ya know it's true
gotta do what you wanna do
don't give up - you don't have to
gotta do what you wanna do
don't give up - ya know it's true
gotta do what you wanna do

don't worry if the sun don't shine
you've seen it before you don't have to worry
everyday's an uphill climb - nothing has changed
believe me when i tell ya

don't give it up - don't give it up...

don't give up - ya know it's true
gotta do what you wanna do
don't give up - you don't have to
gotta do what you wanna do
don't give up - ya know it's true
gotta do what you wanna do

(Bryan Adams)

Crestfallen

2007-06-06T22:51:00.000-07:00

Who am I to need you when I'm down
Where are you when I need you around
Your life is not your own

And all I ask you
Is for another chance
Another way around you
To live by circumstance, once again

Who am I to need you now
To ask you why to tell you no
To deserve your love and sympathy
You were never meant to belong to me

And you may go, but I know you won't leave
Too many years built into memories
Your life is not your own

Who am I to need you now
To ask you why to tell you no
To deserve your love and sympathy
You were never meant to belong to me

Who am I to you?
Along the way
I lost my faith

And as you were, you'll be again
To mold like clay, to break like dirt
To tear me uo in your sympathy
You were never meant to belong to me
You were never meant to belong to me
You were never meant to belong to me

Who am I?

(Billy Corgan)

Always Searching for Music

2007-06-05T01:33:00.000-07:00

One problem with hearing a DJ spin is the fact that we have no idea what song he or she is spinning.

Luckily some people offer track listings.

For example, the Global DJ Broadcast with Markus Schulz always gives out track listings. A State Of Trance with Armin Van Buuren does as well. At least this narrows the list. Take Blake Jarrell's set at GDJB on May 24th:

01. Marc Hellner - Asleep On The Wing (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix)
02. Moussa Clarke - Lovekey (Jody Wisternoff Remix)
03. Marcus Schössow - Some Little Tones For You
04. Marcus Schössow - Clicky (Joey Medina Remix)
05. Jose Amnesia Featuring Jennifer Rene - Wouldn't Change a Thing (Retrobyte's Bounce Back Mix)
06. Envotion - Down There
07. Gabriel & Dresden Featuring Molly Bancroft - Let Go (Blake Jarrell & Topher Jones Unfinished Remix)
08. Blake Jarrell & Nosmo - Dark Matter
09. CMJ - Down To You (Mohawk Dub)
10. Marscruiser - Not Alone Tonight (Blake Jarrell Alternate Remix)
11. Death Cab For Cutie - Marching Bands of Manhattan (Blake Jarrell's Pacha NYC Remix)

I fell in love with one of these songs. I'll eventually hit up Beatport and see which one it is.

UPDATE: I couldn't wait. It's the first song, "Asleep On The Wing" (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix) by Marc Hellner on Peacefrog. Drool. It's something about the timing and the cuts. I love moving to this stuff.

On the same token, I found the drum and bass version of "I Know You Got Soul." Remix of Trade Secrets cut by Acen. Check it. It's sickness.

Is It Real?

2007-06-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

Figurines that fall like leaves,
Then disappear,
Keep calling.
Is it real? Is it real?

Dark machines that wheeze and breathe,
And mark the air,
Appalling.
"What is real? What is real?"

This world can really be too much,
I can't take another day.
I guess that I've just had enough
My mind's slipping far away.
I'm falling in and out of touch,
Can someone please explain?

Set my mind for open sky
But couldn't fly,
And so sadly,
What am I? what am I?

Sullen eyes shed tear-drop lies,
then criticise,
Now loving.
"What is real? What is real?"

It's really all become too much,
I'm not sure what I should feel.
I guess I've finally had enough,
I don't know if this is real.
I'm crashing in and out of touch,
Can anyone explain?

(Yoko Kanno)

Crappy Monday

2007-05-21T23:49:00.001-07:00

I usually have yoga on Mondays, but this insomnia is killing me.

Later on in the day I did some bicep curls, tricep presses, side lateral raises, and afterwards I tried doing some push ups. That didn’t happen. Still have a funny click/pop noise from my left elbow when it hits 90 degrees.

The household scale says 215 pounds. Yuck. I’m not sure what I’m doing tomorrow but it will be something! My only day off exercise is Wednesday.

See more progress on: get in shape

Don't Give Up Now!

2007-05-21T19:31:00.001-07:00

I have a bad case of the depression and insomnia. I’m not exactly sure why, which is the problem. So far exercise has helped.

This quarter is almost done, here is what I have to do this week (#8):

Turn in that already late Computer Graphics project #3. It was due on Friday!
Finish Digital Logic Design project #5. Due tomorrow!
Start Computer Graphics homework #4. Not due until next Friday but there are questions that will probably be on midterm.
Study for Computer Graphics midterm. Wednesday!
Read Chapter 6 for Computer Architecture. Need it for homework.
Work on Computer Architecture homework. Due on Friday!
Acquire permission from School of ICS to enroll in more than 8 units for summer.
Work on last quarter’s Compiler Design Project. This was due last quarter! INCOMPLETE!

I’m going to work on the first four things today and tomorrow using 1 hour rotating blocks.

See more progress on: graduate from college

Al Gore is BALLA!

2007-05-21T19:03:00.001-07:00

D-a-m-n! Are those 23s?! 30s?!

His office is just like mine: a mess!

Who needs Superfeet?

2007-05-21T18:12:00.001-07:00

I use orthotics, but they’re too big for road bike shoes. I tried using Superfeet when I purchased my Shimano bike shoes, but it’s obvious they cater to people with normal feet. Yesterday I tweaked the cleat on my right shoe, replaced the stock inner soles with the ones that came with my Vasque hiking boots and went on a fairly hilly 15 mile bike ride. They were a perfect fit! Much better support around the heel and arch. The “but my feet feel weird and wiggle” excuse has been eliminated.

Keep pedaling! No whining!

See more progress on: get in shape

Take Advantage of Getting Sick

2007-05-21T00:29:00.001-07:00

I started smoking when I was 12. I’m 25 now, so I’ve quit smoking a few times. :) This last time was in December 2006 a week before finals. Both times I took advantage of the fact that I was sick. I used the illness to jump start the cold turkey. If you can make it through that first week you’ll be in good shape. Oh, and buy gum – LOTS of gum.

After a week I started to smell the flowers on the way to class. I realized by smoking I lost my ability to smell the World.

See more progress on: Quit Smoking

My Scatante

2007-05-19T00:24:00.000-07:00

... is wonderful! I took it for a spin yesterday on an easier version of my regular course. An overview:

I can really feel the road. Every bump. Especially the two manhole covers on the long hill down El Toro. Ouch.

The cleat on my right shoe was off. Wiggle here, twist there. It never felt right, unlike my left leg, which felt like it was part of the bike - flawless. When I finished I noticed that the right cleat was angled in the same direction as the left one, not the mirror image of it. Whoops.

What do you mean this is the easiest gear!? No one told me road bikes have different gear ratios! I'm going to have to wait a few more rides before I attempt Vista del Infierno.

Being a fat chunk in full spandex in front of a group of high school girls is a little embarressing. Coincidently, it was the only time I actually had to stop at a light.

I'm totally digging this. Today I'm hitting the gym and working on upper body. Tomorrow I will go on another ride.

Deletion of Social Network Accounts

2007-05-18T02:30:00.000-07:00

Friendster: Their cancel request resulted in an infinite reload of the proceeding page. I did confirm, however, that the account has been deleted.

MySpace: Who would ever leave MySpace? Well, I tried and I believe I was successful. They ask you two times before they send you a confirmation email that leads you to another 2 times: "Are you SURE?!?!?!" Seriously. They stated that it takes 48 hours to complete but at least it will be an account deletion, unlike...

Facebook: They won't let you leave. You can only "deactivate" your account which is "reactivated" the second you try to log back in. This smells like scandal or a pretty piece of software with some nasty bugs once you try to delete records.

I'm still on Last.fm.

Well, there you have it. AIM, MSN are next.

Why am I doing this? Well, if you really care you'll send me an email and ask. My email is my first name at this domain.

What is interpolation anyway?

2007-05-14T23:42:00.000-07:00

You'd be surprised how many computer graphics textbooks refuse to define interpolation. The funny thing is that you probably already know given you have taken high school algebra.

How about XYZ color space while you're at it?

BuzzKillers and Serge Devanot + Farshot

2007-05-13T04:18:00.000-07:00

We didn't go because Rachael is a space cadet! >:O

In other news I have decided to pick up this baby thanks to ol' pops. Since it already comes with clips I'm going to have to convince him to let me get the shoes too. I can feel the fat burning now...

Serge Devant + Faarsheed and StarKillers

2007-05-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

That's tomorrow night. Hooray for dancing!

James Zabiela + Nic Fanciulli

2007-05-08T00:25:00.000-07:00

The only picture where you can see both me and Rachael and Rachael's sister talking to the hot Aussie. Check out the night's image gallery. It was a lot of fun except for the creepy and the horny. I'm surprised some guys think they're hot enough to start grinding against some random chick. I was also surprised to hear John Dolmayan say System of a Down has broken up. He looked and sounded pretty pissed off about nothing, then again, alcohol has a way with people. Dude, be grateful for the opportunity you got. Anyway, I scored two complimentary tickets to next Saturday's Starkillers and Serge Devant + Faarsheed gig. Anyone down for electro?

Across The Universe

2007-02-22T22:49:00.000-08:00

Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass they slip away
across the universe

Pools of sorrow, waves of joy
are drifting through my opened mind
Possessing and caressing me

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes,
They call me on and on
across the universe

Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
they Tumble blindly as they make their way
Across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Sounds of laughter, shades of earth
are ringing Through my open ears
inciting and inviting me

Limitless undying love which shines around me
like a million suns and calls me on and on
Across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Jai guru deva

(John Lennon)

The New HectorParra.com

2007-02-19T16:33:00.000-08:00

Welcome! Hopefully this will be an interesting experiment in extensive API usage. Enjoy.