Scott, Coby, Lisa, and I took a trip through back roads and along railroad tracks in eastern Travis and western Bastrop Counties. Notable plants we saw include Baptisia (blooming), large wild hyacinth colonies, sandyland bluebonnet, coral-berry, split-beard bluestem (maybe in Travis Co. which isn’t in TEX-LL, waiting for bloom), puccoon (blooming), calyophus berlandieri (large colonies), viburnum (blooming), Drummond’s phlox (blooming), and toothache tree.
2004/03/22
2004/03/21
Origin: The Final Goodbye
Richard Garriott hosted a final farewell party to Origin at his new place on Lake Austin last night. Many past and present Origin faces attended to say a final goodbye to the creator of worlds we all loved. A bonfire provided emotional release as we burnt many relics of Origin’ s past.
Fortunately, Ultima itself will live on with the dev teams and projects moving to California.
I took many photos, though some are blurry due to the nighttime darkness and a shaky hand on long exposures. You can find the photos here.
We created worlds. Goodbye, Origin.
2004/03/14
Lisa Won 1st Place in 3D Art in the Hero Arts Valentine’s Day Content
Lisa won 1st place in 3D Art in the Hero Arts 2004 Love and Hearts contest! See more pictures in the Valentines section of her Creations page.
As usual, she is very excited about the free Hero Arts stamps coming her way!
Origin Memories #1
Origin moving and people leaving has brought up some old memories that I thought others might enjoy.
I was working on player ships and player housing at one point during Ultima Online’s original development. I recall that the extent of the designs I received at the time were the words “player ships” and “player housing” from the schedule, so I had a lot of freedom in the design.
Before I had started implementing the player housing system, the feature was cut in a scheduling decision by the team management. I *knew* that player housing could be one of the killer features of UO, so I worked extra late and weekends to try and save it.
2004/03/09
The News
Watched the news lately? I tried but could not stand to watch for long. All of the big network, affiliate, and news channel programs seemed so overly dramatic, unbalanced, and/or shallow, or they pander to the emotions of their perceived audience rather than giving an in-depth balanced examination of the issues. Many blantantly give the viewer a conclusion rather than the information to make their own decision.
However, there is at least one exception: the News Hour on PBS. Jim Lehrer and team give a overall, balanced look at issues and stories, providing the viewer with the information to make their own opinions. I highly recommend the News Hour to those looking for a better news program.
2004/03/08
What’s Next for Work
I’ve received many questions from friends asking what I’m doing next after Origin moves to the EA Redwood City campus. I’m planning on working remotely for EA from home, which I hope works out for both parties. I’m looking forward to having more time to code when compared to the recent past.
2004/03/07
McKinney Falls State Park
Lisa went with the plant gang to McKinney Falls State Park today. I wanted to go but I could not sleep last night and was ill this morning. 🙁
They saw over a hundred turtles, a downy woodpecker, some terns, ruby-crowned kinglet, some warblers, a blue wing teal, a greater yellowlegs, mallards, chickadees, titmice, kingfishers, Bewick’s wren, cardinals, mockingbirds, and a red-tailed hawk.
Plants blooming included Mexican buckeye, Mexican plum, creek plum, red buckeye, redbud, agarita, golden groundsel, anenome, and greenthread. Other plants include spiderwart, rain lily, a huge bald cyprus (second largest in Travis County).
Afterward we all met for dinner, and I wrote this entry from the restaurant on the Treo 600 using Vagablog.
Treo 600
I’m typing this entry from my new Treo 600 smartphone, which combines a cell phone and a PalmOS PDA in a good form factor.
Highly recommended, BTW!
Though the keyboard is small, I would not sacrifice the great form factor of the phone since the keyboard is good enough (and I hate Grafitti). I think the keyboard works fine. I love having one small device that functions as a cell phone, PDA, mp3/ogg player, and backup digital camera.
My wish list for the next Treo: no antenna, higher res screen (320×320), Bluetooth, better vibration, voice recording, voice dialing, and PalmOS 6 with better multitasking. A second SD slot, better camera, and WiFi would be added bonuses.
It may be asking for the impossible, but I’d really like it if palmOne could increase the usable screen size and decrease the size of the phone without sacrificing features or keyboard usability. Perhaps they could shrink the 1.5cm area above the screen that contains the speaker, and the application button/rocker area below the screen.
And a stardard size headphone jack would be nice. I know, I know: “Anything else Jason? How about the kitchen sink and a toaster?” 🙂
What is a Wumple?
What is a Wumple? I’m not quite sure, but it could be:
- This computer.
- A young Wumpus (hunting not allowed, especially by colonists).
- A poor attempt at a rumple.