Beats Being in the Gulag

Getting a little Red Alert 3 action going on for Xbox 360. This is Co-op Soviet Campaign with a buddy of mine, Justin H.


I couldn't help it; I had to post this picture. Our mission was to defend the Tech Center and not allow it to be captured by enemy engineers. We failed once and decided we didn't want to do the mission a third time - so we defended it well this time. :)


-Aaron Jones|ParasiteArtist-

Marathon Finished!

Epic Runners
Originally uploaded by parasiteartist

The Raleigh City of Oaks Full Marathon was Sunday. I was super pumped for this. It started at 7am and took me 4:11:57 to finish, but I finished! Not a bad time for a first marathon I think.

Four of us Epic folk started this marathon crazy talk over a year ago. It has been one long tough year, but we managed to stick to it and we all started and finished our first marathon. Thanks to everyone for their support!

Marathon = 26.2 mile run

Aaron Jones | ParasiteArtist

Last Day

Gears of War 2 - new trailer

"Last Day” features the hauntingly beautiful music track, “How it
Ends,” by indie rock band DeVotchKa, which can be found on Zune
Marketplace. The ad spot was created entirely within Unreal Engine 3,
the same graphics engine technology used in the “Gears of War”
franchise.

Microsoft and Epic Games partnered with ad agency T.A.G SF,
special effects house Digital Domain and director Joseph Kosinski, the
same collaborative team that created the award-winning “Mad World”
(2006) television commercial for the original “Gears of War” campaign.

Press Release Gamerscore Blog

Polar Bears Are Not Renewable

Urge Congress to Permanently Protect the Arctic Refuge!

Target: U.S. House of Representatives
Sponsored by: Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to caribou, snow fox and millions of migratory birds. It is also the most important onshore denning habitat for America's vanishing polar bears.


But this natural treasure is constantly under siege. Time and time
again, the oil industry and their allies in Congress have sought to
open this special place to harmful new drilling, threatening all of the
wildlife that depend on it for survival.

And now President Bush has called for drilling in the Arctic Refuge by 2010 in his new budget proposal!

We need to permanently protect the Arctic Refuge! Urge your
Representative to support the Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act
(H.R. 39) to permanently protect the coastal plain of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/567728305

The Legend of the Scarecrow

The Legend of the Scarecrow from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.


Screenplay & Direction: Marco Besas
Animation Director / Original Artwork: CARLOS LASCANO.
Editing & compositing: Carlos Lascano
Original Music, 3D model 3D animation: Fernando Cascales
Voice: Sancho Gracia

Marathon Training

We will be running almost the entire marathon path tomorrow - 23.04 miles. *Loads up on carbs*

ScribeFire

Downloaded this sweet little Firefox add-on called ScribeFire that lets you quickly post to your blog from any browser window by pressing F8; thought I would give it a try...  Sweet!

-Aaron Jones-

Crawling out of the Crunch-Hole (and into a brighter one!)

Crunch has ended for most (most not including me). Either way, I still have
some updates to throw down here, so here we go:

I have missed some run days due to working, but I am still mostly on schedule. I will still be participating in the Raleigh Marathon November 2nd! The runs got pretty big, with a long 20 mile run last Sunday. It seems it has pretty much peaked though, keeping the long runs withing 14-18 but upping the mid-week runs to 8-10 miles per day. Not bad.

In the midst of this work madness and this crazy run madness, I still found a little bit of time to start working on my level idea. I boxed it out, played with a few design ideas, reboxed, and finally settled on where I want to go with it. I just started it last month, but I only got maybe a few hours of actual work into the finalized version. So these images are a little dated, not showing some recent work.

These levels are being made with UnrealEd (Unreal Engine 3) from the Gears of War PC version. The idea is, you start off in a shipment area - like a port where boats come down a small canal and load/unload things to different areas of the city (leaving the map name, so far, to be called "Shipment".) It is a single-player map. You start off in this area where you objective is to find Omega Squad; whos last transmission was broadcasted from this shipment area. You arrive in this area and you begin to explore the level. Well, I guess I could go into details as to what happens in the level, but that would spoil the surprise (the images are just a hint of what to expect). So you can check out these images for a rough idea of the level layout. On top of this level, I am also working on a UT3 (Unreal Tournament 3) level out of the UT3 UnrealEd. Unfortunetely, I do not have the latest version of the map saved on my drive here, so I cannot shot you images from that level. I will be sure to grab some screen from it as soon as I get a chance.

I think the UT3 map is much further along than my Gears level though. Hopefully crunch will wrap up soon so I can focus more attention to them so they get the love they need. I will be sure to keep you (if anyone even reads this) updated on my progress with this. I hope to finish them both within the next few months, but as work increases, time for self decreases. Meh, time is precious - patience is a virtue. :)

As crunch slows down, I am going to start to work on my portfolio again. First, I will start (continue) on this website so it will be a functioning site instead of just routing you to my bloggy blog. I have the sketches and the flow charts all down and ready to go, but my main problem is what I want to accomplish most likely needs to be done in Flash, which is something I have almost no experience in. So I will have to learn as I go, using the Flash free 30-day trial. I am sure there are other ways to accomplish what I want, but I am not sure of them. At the same time, I have a couple Maya projects I want to finish, and a couple that I want to start. I also have some more ideas I want to sketch out and paint. On top of all of that, I want to finish up my levels. So taking this semester off of college will give me the time I need to build up everything I have not had time to do and things I have been puting off . These next few months shall be interested.


-Aaron Jones|ParasiteArtist-

Marathon Training

It's been a lot of work so far. It takes a lot of dedication and time to train for such an event. My greatest mileage covered so far was 12 miles. As the mileage gets greater and greater, more things will get sacrificed such as time with friends, personal art projects, and personal work. Working minimum ten hour days is causing a strain on this as well. I can no longer go out after work and run a quick 20 minutes. It now takes at least an hour to complete our weekly runs. So if I get out of work at 18:00, start my run at 18:30, I will not finish until, at the current schedule, around 20:00. I will not get home until 20:30. That leaves me enough time to take a shower, eat dinner, and be in bed at 21:30 to get enough sleep to do it all again.

Running is not all that bad though. Even though I am losing time to myself, I enjoy running, and how I feel after running is great. I always feel great after running; like I can do anything. It will all be worth it when I cross the finish of the marathon this November.

Anyways, this week is a slow week with only four miles a day to run - easy. I will get more time to take care of some things this week. I will however, be setting a new mileage record for myself this Sunday with a 14 mile run. I am actually pretty excited about it. I will take my four milers pretty easy and prepare for this Sunday. This time I want to be fully prepared (I did not hydrate or eat correctly on the 12 miler). This should be fun, I think I will run Umstead again.

Gears of War 2: Rendezvous E3 2008 Trailer

New Gears 2 trailer. Wow!


Or perhaps you prefer YouTube?

New Gears of War 2 Multiplayer video!

Foreign Airlines are Sweet

So our trip to Thailand was a success. All of our flights worked out and everything was booked like it should have been. Everything was smooth. Anyways, on to some pictures.

The plane rides were rough. I found that after all of our traveling, China Airlines is by far the best airline around. Besides the fact that their Engrish is a little hard to understand, they were incredibly nice and they fed us pretty good.

Now let's move on too what really matters. Entertainment! During the flight, these stripper-poles came out of the floor and the flight attendants got half-naked and started pole dancing! Ok ok ok, maybe that didn't happen. But we had screens on the backs of each seat, and they gave us free headphones to use with it (something we had to pay $2.00 for on other flights). Also, we were able to watch all of the content on the small screens for free such as movies, music, games, and travel info (also something you had to pay for on our Delta flight). I watched Jumper, The Spiderwyck Chronicles, Rambo, and some other one I can't remember, as well as listened to soundtracks and learned a little Thai with some language games.

The plane food was surprisingly good. Although I couldn't bring myself to eat the duck egg, I was able to eat pretty much anything else that was offered. I would have to say the best thing I had

was on Thai air, and it was a chicken sandwich. I opened the nice little box of food to see *cue Zelda discovery music* a sweet chicken sandwich! The first thing that came to mind was, "Uh oh. To eat this I am going to need some ketchup. And not just any old ketchup, but I am going to need some Heinz." I unwrap the sandwich (hey, I'm hungry dammit, I'm still going to eat it; just not going to be happy about it) when I discover... Yes, you guessed it. Beautiful ketchup. And not just some generic ketchup, but my long lost mistress, back to make me happy as it always does - Heinz! I am not able to read Thai, but I know my Heinz when I see it. So I applied my fruitful bounty onto my deceased feathered friend and the rest, as they say, is

history. Except the fact that after Keith and I finished our meal, the flight attendant asked if we would like another one, which we took. Thailand is called The Land of Smiles.

Well that is enough for now.

-Aaron Jones-

Obama clinches Democratic Nomination

So I am back from Thailand with good news! Let me start off with this video of Obama's victory speech after winning the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States of America.



I will update again later with more info from my vacation in Thailand; with pictures!

-Aaron Jones-

Diving in Thailand pt.2

Ah, so the bookings are complete! My counterpart, Keith, and I have our flights booked. (Not a fun or cheap process btw)

Our hotel and dive shop have also been booked. We will be staying at the Baan Suay hotel at Karon beach in Phuket. Looks like a nice enough place. It was recommended by a dive master that lives in Thailand; the same dive master that did the Thailand bookings for us.

The dive shop we will be at is called Dive Asia. I am pretty excited about this place, as it comes highly recommended by a few people and on a bunch of diving forums I read.

We will be leaving here May 23rd and will be getting back June 2nd (and have to work that day). Be prepared for a flood of pictures next month.

-Aaron Jones-

Image courtesy of Whale-Shark.org

Gears of War 2 Footage Debut

Gears of War 2 gameplay footage was released last night! You can now check out the new Gears and grab a sneak peak of what is in store for you in November.



You can also check out GameTrailers break down of the video to show you things you might have missed. (below)



-Aaron Jones-

Video courtesy of GameTrailers

Crashing and Progress

Maya crashed on me again. Happens every now and then, but Maya usually autosaves what I am working on. Well this time it said "unable to save" or something like that. I save often but sometimes I get in 'the zone' and forget to save. Thankfully I didn't lose much work. I was working on the eye area around the head of the model. Just tedious work, really.

Just finished up the body. Started the head tonight when it crashed. Oh well; you can see the body in high poly. The head, what I have so far, is above as well (minus the eye sockets).

Overall it is coming along nicely. Can't wait to finish up the model so I can get on to the rigging and then the animation (who needs textures anyways). I figure it will take me about another month or two to finish it all up; with school and work taking most of my time.

-Aaron Jones-

SkirtChasers 5K: Conclusion

Well I finished 151st place out of, I think, 425. Not too shabby. My time was 24:49, also not too shabby. I wasn't in it to win, just for fun really. Plus I got a cool shirt!

I took a gander at the first place time; 15:something. Brutal. Heavy competitors; the ones that run multiple marathons and triathalons.

It was hot outside which mad it a little more difficult than usual. Then factor in the hot Raleigh streets, with the long uphills and you got yourself a tiring event. Not to mention the next day (yesterday) I had to run seven miles as part of the marathon training schedule.

Next up is the Raleigh Race for the Cure.

Rank First Last Bib Chaser Time Actual Time Pace/Mile Pace/Km

151 AARON J 155 00:27:49 00:24:49 07:59 04:57

154 STEPHEN S 301 00:27:51 00:24:51 07:59 04:58

256 PETE H 126 00:30:29 00:27:29 08:50 05:29

391 KEVIN L 176 00:38:16 00:35:16 11:21 07:03

286 CLAIRE L 175 00:31:57 00:31:57 10:17 06:23

Link to results

-Aaron Jones-

SkirtChasers 5K is this Sat!

It seems like it is taking forever for this 5K to get here. I am pretty excited about this one. I have only run one "official" 5K before, which was last years Race for the Cure. Training for a marathon, I do run more than 3 miles on a regular basis; so this SkirtChasers 5K should be a breeze.

SkirtChasers is a 5K race where the women, usually running in some type of sports skirt, will start running first in the "Catch Me" wave. Three minutes later, the men start in the "SkirtChaser" wave. The first one to cross the finish wins $500.

I don't intend to actually try to win, I am just excited to be running with a group of people. Not sure how many people from Epic will be running, but I know a few are. Overall it should be an exciting event. Can't wait.

Registration is still open for SkirtChasers. I would also recommend registering for this years Race for the Cure. See ya there!

-Aaron Jones-

UTIII finally arriving on Xbox 360

Already on PC and PS3, our beloved game, UTIII is finally making it's move to 360. From Kotaku:

"Epic Games' Unreal Tournament III is coming to the Xbox 360 at long last. The new release will have five exclusive new maps and two new characters. It will also contain all of the DLC that was created for the PS3 and PC versions. You will also be able two play in a two player split screen mode. So, if you have been patiently waiting for for UT III to arrive for your 360, Epic has answered your prayers."

Link to Kotaku

-Aaron Jones-

Back on my bike - Harris Lake

Read the sign
Originally uploaded by parasiteartist

Finally got back on my bike this weekend after crashing. Shoulder is all healed up!

Decided to head over to Harris Lake County Park. They seem to be the only park with a mountain bike trail that is actually a off road course, instead of the usual flat wide gravel trails @ Umstead.

I had a lot of fun there; decided to ride the Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Loops of the trails. Advanced definitely was the hardest one (obviously). It was much longer than the rest and had a lot of ups and downs. To compare, it took me 15 min to do the Beginner and Intermediate loops together, and about 45 min to finish the Advanced Loop. Couple times I thought I was a goner, but managed to pull my balance back and not slam into a tree. I stayed on the main course except the part with the wooden jump. I was going a little too slow to hit it, plus after my tire fell off, I still haven't worked up all of my confidence yet.

-Aaron Jones-

Website update

Redesign of parasiteartist.com is coming along. It's slow, but still working.

In the mean time I am redirecting parasiteartist.com to this blog, so it has some sense of life. Shouldn't be too much trouble. Once I get the site "fully operational" I guess I can keep this as a seperate page linked from the main page. We'll see.

-Aaron Jones-

Diving in Thailand pt.1

After much research on flight plans, I finally figured out the flight plan to get to Thailand and back. This would have been much easier if we didn't make like, five stops. Trying to coordinate the takeoff/landing times from one stop to another, without having to sit in the airport for ten hours was a quite the challenge.

The flights go something like this:

To Thailand
Fri RDU@6:40am -> LAX@10:53am
Fri LAX@3:15pm -> BKK@1:05am (+2 days)
Sun BKK@7:30am -> HKT@8:50am

To USA
Sun HKT@7:25am -> BKK@8:50am
Sun BKK@1:30pm -> LAX@8:05pm
Sun LAX@10:00pm -> RDU@9:05am (+1 day)

Our flight comes back Monday morning and we have to work that day. That should be fun. I think I save the most money this way. I also asked a couple travel agencies to price flights for us. Hopefully they come up with something cheaper.

-Aaron Jones-

Redesigning My Site

So I registered my website about a year and a half ago, ParasiteArtist. After having it for about a year I decided to do something with it.

I am completely redesigning what I had originally planned on doing. Hopefully this will go easy and painless (although that is not likely).

After I am done, I should have places about me, tutorials, portfolio, art, photos; as much as I can fit on there. Stay tuned!