I just thought these pics were too good to pass up. I got them off a Japanese site devoted to these ultra-cute kitties. Too bad I can’t read Japanese!

After reading this, click the thumbnail picture to embiggen to 640×480 goodness.

After endlessly practicing and finding ways to solve the Rubik’s 3×3, 4×4, and 5×5 cubes in less time and/or more efficiently, it’s good to look up, experiment with and practice some neat patterns. The regular 3×3 on the right is sporting a checkerboard pattern on all sides. That’s the easiest pattern. The 4×4 Revenge on the left is done up in a center-dot pattern, again on all sides. Slightly less easy. The 5×5 Professor cube in the center is lookin’ mindbogglin’ with a curious cube-in-cube-in-cube pattern. That one, of course took me the most time. I’m familiar with the algorithm to make that pattern on a regular Rubik’s Cube, but it took some experimentation and trial/error to modify the alg for what I did with the 5×5.

The pic may seem like showboating, but I was just extremely happy with the results of this kind of noodling around and I wanted to share with all. Cheers!

Update 12/14/07: I managed to create this little gem today… a cube-in-a-cube-in-a-cube-in-a-cube! (Say that really fast several times; it kinda has a groove to it!)

Just wanted to share one of my favorite parts in the 3rd season of Doctor Who. This is the beginning of the climax of the season-ending “Last Of The Time Lords”. In this, the good Doctor is confronting the Master… with the help of the entire human race!

I especially like the part where the Doctor says, “The one thing you can’t do… is stop them thinking!” Second favorite line: “Tell me the human race is degenerate now… when they can do this!”

Cheers!

Well, I hope the reviews were enjoyable for one and all. Someone this week did tell me that I should get a job writing reviews and be paid for it. I would just love to be paid for things like this, but I’m just not that good with deadlines. Never have been. I suppose, though, if I had enough incentive, then just maybe…

I will do a couple more sometime this month. I won’t restrict myself to any timeframe, but I will possibly pick some classics out of my music vault. Or maybe some album that I don’t really care about, just to make it interesting. I really enjoyed doing these reviews this past week. I think the one I enjoyed doing the most was Paradise Lost by Symphony X. It was really an enjoyable listen, and their music can be hard to write about, due to its complexity.

Other than that, nothing really new happened in my world. I got new tile stickers from Cubesmith.com for my 5×5x5 Rubik’s Professor cube. It was a PITA to peel all the old stickers off and put the new tiles on, but it was quite worth it. Work is still the same old thing, really. It’s getting more hectic of course, due to the holidays. However, in my line of work, I’ll be really busy just after the holidays, what with Christmas returns and all. And the home is still doing ok, but soon we’ll need to do some work around here.

Well, before I go, here’s a cool shot I took with my phone yesterday. We were giving the birds a bath, running the water in the tub in our bathroom. Thommen is on my shoulder, halfway sopping wet, but still eagerly anticipating more water sprayings. He was enjoying himself… so you should too!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past ten years, or had your ears continually plugged by all the BS that’s played on the radio, you’ve probably heard of Dream Theater. These guys are not only the ones who helped put Progressive Metal on the map, but are also responsible for challenging musicians everywhere to expand their practice repertoire. This band is just comprised of simply awesome musicians who are considered leaders in their chosen instruments. Not only that, but their songs range from radio-friendly to full-on-prog-shred-jam-mind-blowing-but-please-don’t-stop-fest. I won’t say any more. Let your ears be the judge:

In The Presence Of Enemies, Part 1: Dream Theater are masters of the “jam session” song. This track proves it. At around 5:03, I started air-guitaring without even thinking about it. Any song that can make me do that automatically gets five stars.

Forsaken: Just about the only song I could imagine getting any radio airplay. You’ll find yourself humming the chorus well after you’ve listened. Beautiful yet powerful lyrics and music.

Constant Motion: This is a ferocious thrill-a-minute ride, and it rocks like nobody’s business. It lightens up a bit during the middle, then blasts off with a Jordan Rudess nucking-futz edition keyboard solo. I was breathless after this one!

The Dark Eternal Night: Another prog jam. This is one that I couldn’t get into as much as I did with “Presence Part 1″, but it’s still enjoyable on its own merit.

Repentance: Actually I’m divided between 2-1/2 and 2 stars. Yes, it’s a slow song, but that’s not why I don’t like it. I have no problem with introspection, but this song just seems too introspective for my tastes. Your mileage may vary of course, as with all songs. This song is part of a series of songs spanning over now four albums that deal with the 12 steps of AA, of which the drummer (main lyricist) is a member. Most of these songs are great, but this song just seems to go nowhere.

The Prophets Of War: This song could have been so much more, but I loved the section with the chanting chorus. Very hummable! The rest of this made me wonder about some of their decisions in the song. Some people loved this song, so you may too…

The Ministry Of Lost Souls: This starts off slow, but just bear with it and it gets better. However, at over 14 minutes in length, you kinda have to wade through some ordinary to get to the extraordinary. Still, a better song that the last two that we just had to sit through.

In The Presence Of Enemies, Part 2: If you thought 14 minutes is long, how about nearly 17 minutes? The first third of this song is very melancholy, dark and brooding. then around 6:20 it seems to fight the darkness it created. There’s some cool spots in this track, but few things really new; it’s the band just doing the same thing we’ve come to expect for the last six albums or so. At around 11:20, the song really starts rocking out and we’re given some cool John Petrucci vs. Jordan Rudess moments. In the end, this track is certainly no showstopping “Octavarium” (the title and ending track from their last album), but it does have a shiny ending, complete with orchestral string ensemble.

In the end, with the exception of two songs, the album is worth the price tag most retailers are selling it for. Most bands seem to (loosely) follow the pattern of great album, then mediocre/bad album, then great album. Dream Theater seems to be no exception, as their last album before this one was the monumental Octavarium. The verdict: If you really want to experience Dream Theater and all that they’re capable of, get Octavarium (or Scenes From A Memory, if you want a good concept album!). Systematic Chaos is more for the die-hard fans than for new listeners, though “Forsaken” is a great sounding commercial track.

Below, I have located a cool promotional video on YouTube, detailing some of the history of the band and this latest album. The second half features clips of the band recording some of the songs. Enjoy!