Tron: Legacy Preview — Back on the Grid

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November 5, 2010
by Mariann

Last Thursday night (10/28), I was among the fans geeks at the Tron Night preview that Disney hosted at different theaters around the country. The night began with a ID check while standing in line. At this point I was told that turning off my phone would not be enough, so with my Tron Night wristband securely on my wrist I went back out to the car and hid my phone. This worked out perfectly since my guest for the night, my brother (and fellow geek), showed up as I was heading back from my car.

When we re-entered the IMAX section of the multi-plex, we where handed 3-D glasses and a Tron: Legacy poster. I joked with my brother about how many of the posters would end up on eBay tomorrow.

As the 20-some-odd minute preview started, a terminal prompt appeared on screen. Out typed a note from the director of the film thanking us for coming and introducing the clips that where about to be shown. The IMAX logo zoomed on to the screen and we entered the world of Tron.

I laughed when Flynn’s old desk displayed a Solaris Unix prompt. I’m pretty sure when I saw the original, I didn’t know what Unix was.

As Sam entered the grid, I watched in awe at the special effects and 3-D. I was sucked into the grid by the way the effects seemed to enhance the story. This was a man searching for the father he thought was lost. I am always a bit leery of special effects heavy movies because many of them forget to include a story. From what I saw at Tron Night, Tron: Legacy doesn’t look to be in that category.

Needless to say, my brother and I now have tickets for the midnight show on opening night. So thanks to the folks at Disney and  I promise my poster won’t get put on eBay (though it might end up in my one of my nephew’s rooms).

Disney has posted a couple of clips of what I saw that night at the Tron: Legacy website. I’ve also include the latest trailer just for fun.

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Magic Mountain Adding 3 Coasters

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October 20, 2010
by Mariann

As you can see from the title Six Flags Magic Mountain is adding three new coasters in 2011. Yep, this geek writer is also a coaster geek.

I’m not sure about the reverse of the Superman ride, but the Green Lantern ride looks wicked.

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Adding to my Geekyness — The Geek Writer learns C++

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October 14, 2010
by Mariann

About once a year or so someone sends around the “Geekyness” quiz. You know the one where you answers a number of questions about computers, technology, gaming, and Star Trek or Star Wars and it tells you how big of geek you are. To be honest I normally do pretty well.

I ace the pop culture and technology sections, but don’t do as well in the computer and gaming sections. I never learned how to program. I can hard code HTML and somewhat decipher XML, but C, C++, or  Java looks like hieroglyphics to me.

I am currently taking a basic C++ class. I promise I’m not giving up my career as a writer and training developer.  I’m just learning how to speak software developer.

I was nervous going into this class. I was intimidated by the hieroglyphic-like code I’m used to seeing. Part of me scream kept screaming “you couldn’t learn spanish and you didn’t like math, why do you think you’re going to be able to write code.” I know those things don’t seem to go together, but my logic is sometimes rather fuzzy.

I am happy to say after three weeks, the hieroglyphs are starting to make sense. If/else statements are starting to make sense and putting semicolons at the end of every line doesn’t make my editor brain scream No!!. (Just don’t ask me about vectors or for statements, I’m still working on those.  I was even able to write a small piece of code to test a training exercise for work.  I’ll let post more as the class goes on. Wish me luck!

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Its Out!!! New Deathly Hallows Part 1 Trailer

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September 23, 2010
by Mariann

Its out!!!

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There is a Method to the Madness

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August 26, 2010
by Mariann

I was flipping through channels last night and stumbled upon an interview with Brandon Mull (author of the Fablehaven series).  He was talking about different things, but my ears perked up when he started talking about his writing method. I love hearing from writers about their writing methods. I love little details like if they work on paper or if they outline chapters. I always look for something that I can grab and try.

It got me thinking about what methods I use. Since my writing does not normally fall in the creative genre, my methods are a little more procedural. Most of my writing begins with an assignment, not an idea. Normally my first step is always research. It is my second step that is the most important, determining the objectives of the training.

By determining the objectives early on, I determine what direction the training should go and verify/review that direction with the various reviewers. This helps me focus myself and the material. The objectives also allow me the freedom to hop to another section if I get stuck.

Most importantly, for me at least, it frees me to try different techniques and methods to teach the material. Because I know what needs to be taught, I can play with different techniques to find what gives the students the best experience and the best opportunity to learn.

Pencil writing

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