Originally uploaded by Warm ‘n Fuzzy.

This robot doesn’t lie. I think he really is awesome. You can even visit the originating Blog and download the pattern so that you can make one of your very own.

If you are reading this message, then you could be reading it on a computer that is connected to the Internet; in which case there are several precautions that you should consider taking in order to protect yourself, your personal information, and your computer. Protecting your computer and your personal information is an ongoing activity. There will never be a time when you can say “Whew! Now I’m completely safe”. The topic of personal computer security is rather large, and the amount of stuff you need to learn on computer security can be a little intimidating, but the absolute basics start with education and software. The suggestions made below are the bare basics when it comes to computer security and online protection.
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Many years ago the minister at my church gave a sermon featuring the “10 Commandments for Leaders” as written by John Maxwell. As it is, I think this list is truthful and inspirational, but in context with his message that Sunday morning, this list had a strong impact upon me. Giving up on any one of these ten topics can damage your attempt to establish yourself as a leader and it can lead to a pessimistic view of your leadership role. The basic message of this list is to never, never, never give up (to borrow from Churchill). This list simply encourages perseverance, the act of doing what needs to be done despite the set-backs along the way and never allowing yourself to get discouraged by the failures you will certainly face. “Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.” -Marilyn vos Savant
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The information in the following article was first published December 05, 2004:
This image amazes me. What were they thinking when they created the recipe for this lovely treat? Look closely at the nutritional information in the image. How unhealthy does a product need to be before they decide they won’t make it? View a close-up of the package here

Tim Burton’s film “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” features an actor playing the grandpa of Charlie that bears an uncanny resemblance to Geri from the Pixar short, “Geri’s Game”. My cousin suggested that perhaps Geri was modeled after an actor, and that maybe this is the guy. So, I did a little digging (Google), and found an interview on the Pixar website with the writer and director of “Geri’s Game”, Jan Pinkava. In the interview Jan, who came to work for Pixar after obtaining his doctorate in theoretical robotics (what!?) answered the question, “Was Geri based on anyone in particular?” Jan replied, “He was loosely based on my grandfather. My grandfather had a very active mind and was a tenacious chess player. I remember my grandfather playing chess with himself, like playing solitaire. The games would go on for hours.” He goes on to give allusions to the design process being difficult due to the number of designers that worked on the look of Geri. I don’t get the idea that they had a human model, but that they worked on more of a stylized caricature of an old man instead. So, that makes it even more cool to have found a living, breathing counterpart to Geri. The actors name is David Kelly, and he’s had a rather successful career as an actor in Europe.

The information in the following article was first published January 23, 2006: When I was browsing Flickr several months ago I found an image someone had posted that was in severe need of a retouch. I did the work this weekend and posted the results to my server. You can see the magic I created with Photoshop at, http://www.choosechris.com/photo/. Click the buttons in the Flash movie to compare the before and after.

The information in the following article was first published June 10, 2006:
This took hours, but it was a labor of love. I created a digital version of one of my favorite record albums from my childhood. When I was little, I used to sit down on the carpet in front of the stereo and listen to my record albums. Spiderman, Superman, and Star Wars were the first ones I ever owned. The Star Wars Read Along Book and Record was one of my favorites. Click this link to view a digital version of that old recording. As a kid, I never noticed how different some of the characters sound. Vader is particularly noticeable.

Check out these amazing miniature baby sculptures.

Originally uploaded by bonniegrrl.

Wow. If I would have seen this when I was ten, it would have completely blown my mind. I still think this is really cool. You can read about the construction of it here.

Another video I found on starwars.com. This one features a stop-motion 12″ action figure of Boba Fett.

Sorry about the mess. from Spencer Brinkerhoff III on Vimeo.

Flickr is full of photos of ordinary people in homemade costumes. However, I’ve never seen a professional photographer tackle them as a subject. Below is a short excerpt from photographer Steve Schofield’s explanation of his photo series called, “Land of the Free”:

“My practice is concerned with exploring the fascination that the British public has with American popular culture and the sub-cultural world of fandom. In the images, I have shown people in their own homes and environments wearing costumes that they would be dressed in to attend events with other like-minded individuals.”

You can view the photo set here. Story via starwars.com.

I have a nasty head cold right now, and don’t feel much like typing anything, but I thought I’d jot down some quick thoughts on Batman: The Dark Knight. Kelly and I caught a showing of the latest Batman film last night, which didn’t feel anything like any other Batman film I’ve ever experienced. It’s much more like a combination of a sophisticated crime novel, a violent gangster film, and a moving personal drama all rolled into one. It’s an extremely intense experience. Seriously, don’t go into this film thinking it’s anything like any other super-hero film you’ve ever seen. (more…)

The information in the following article was first published June 09, 2007:
I’ve been working to create various Flash interfaces for work; a video player, an image viewer, and a document viewer. There are dozens of websites and utilities out there that offer the functionality that I’ve built in these interfaces, such as image hosting with a “slide show” feature and video hosting. But corporations don’t like having their images, video, or documents stored on other servers. Private company information can be leaked, revealing company secrets or violating non-disclosure agreements made with business partners. Another advantage to creating my own interfaces is that they can be designed to communicate with the proprietary LMS (Learning Management System) at work, which allows the access and usage of these interfaces to be tracked and scored for training purposes. And, on top of all of those real-world business reasons, I won’t learn anything if I don’t do it myself. So, I’ve been working like crazy to create my own stuff. I’ve created three different Flash applications for work: a video viewer, an image viewer, and a document viewer. Read more about each one after the jump … (more…)

These custom action figures are a wonderfully fantastic re-imagining of the Star Wars characters. Also, don’t miss the link labeled, “Star Wars: 1942″. Check out his website at www.sillof.com. Link via superpunch.

After ten years, the Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas is closing. I attended the experience during a business trip to Vegas in Spring of 2002, and I really enjoyed it. In addition to a recreation of the NCC-1701-D bridge, and a motion enhanced ride, they’ve also got a really nice Star Trek museum. You can view my photos that I took of the Star Trek exhibit in my Flickr account. I took the photos with my first digital camera, so the quality isn’t very good. The timing of the closing seems a little odd, considering there’s a reboot of the Trek franchise on the way in the form of a new film, but I suppose if attendance is too low to maintain the exhibit, something’s gotta give. If you’d like to see the exhibit, you’d better get to Vegas soon. The Star Trek Experience is closing in September. Via: trekmovie.com.

What if Mario was a real guy? What if Jessica Rabbit was a real woman? Well, if you’re interested, you can see a Photoshop realization of those characters and several others. Homer and Stewie are the creepiest. View the oddness at pixeloo.blogspot.com.

I hope everyone has a safe and meaningful, all-American celebration. I thank God for this country, the freedom we are permitted within its borders, and the men and women of the armed services that protect us and our way of life. By the way, how much do you know about this great nation? NBC posted a portion of the American citizenship test on their website. See how well you can do!

Do you need a website design? Well, I turn down a lot of freelance requests for website design, mostly because it’s just not profitable. I always thought about how much money I could make if I was only able to put together a collection of Flash templates and charge people for using them. Well, now someone’s done that, and the results are pretty nice. Check out www.templatemonster.com.

I absolutely love Google Docs. I’ve been using it now for several months and I’ve composed a number of personal and professional writing projects using the online application. In addition, I love the collaborative features and the fact that it’s all free! The video above describes the value of Google Docs in simple English.