Review: Walking Dead - “Walk with Me”

Submitted by TheLostGod on 11/01/12 2:51pm

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Season 3, Episode 3 - Taking a break from Rick and the gang to check out the town of Woodbury

The newest episode of The Walking Dead steers the story away from Rick, his crew and their prison adventures to focus on the long-lost Andrea and her savior, the samurai sword-wielding Michonne. It also happens to be the series’ introduction to the town of Woodbury and the infamous character of The Governor. If you’ve read the comic then you know that both Michonne and The Governor will be around for some time (unless they mess with the story), so it’s nice to finally get a feel for each of them.

The episode starts out with Andrea still very ill and Michonne taking her out so they can look for someplace better for her to recover. Along the way they see a chopper go down and decide to check the wreckage out. They aren’t the only ones with the same idea, however, and before they can loot the helicopter for supplies The Governor and his entourage show up. The two ladies try to hide, but it’s no use and they are discovered and taken back to Woodbury, courtesy of an escort by the long-forgotten and reintroduced character of Merle (who now happens to have a sword-hand).

The pair are not mistreated or abused as might be the case if they were captured by bandits. In fact, for all intents and purposes The Governor is a nice and accommodating individual who offers them food, medicine and a permanent place to stay should they want to get off the road. He also tells them that they’re free to go whenever they want, but by the end of the episode you’re left to wonder if that’s actually the case.

As it turns out, The Governor is not the nice guy that he first appears to be. He hunts down people with equipment and kills them, stocking his own town’s supplies from the murder and looting of other human beings. His motivations are, however, not as simple as kill and take. He’s created something secure in the town of Woodbury and has chosen to use some rather harsh tactics in keeping it preserved. As we’ve seen in the last two episodes, Rick is not that far off from using the same sorts of methods.

It was nice to take a break from the continuous zombie-killing and the writers did it in such a way that I didn’t feel like I was being strung along on another pointless side-drama. We are given new characters, new insights and the set-up for the rest of the season is established.

In the coming weeks, we will no doubt see Rick and his group heading over to live in Woodbury (if you watch the trailers, it’s already been spoiled) so that Lori can have her baby with the help of a proper hospital. Where the inevitable confrontation between Rick and The Governor will eventually go, only time will tell. So far, so good, Walking Dead scribes. This season has already blown the last one out of the water and only looks to be getting better.

Web Design Trends: The Road to Good Web Design by Costin Gaman

Submitted by CateCarson on 11/01/12 2:28pm

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Soak up some beautiful web design.

If you’re like most people, you use the web every day, and you might not really notice how web design has evolved over the past few years. It is fun, though, to take a quick peek at past web design concepts, see what the state of web design is currently, and then speculate where it’s likely to go in the future.

The beautifully designed ebook, Web Design Trends: The Road to Good Web Design by Costin Gaman, offers a fun and informative look at the past couple of years. It reviews technologically driven changes such as the stunning increase in the use of mobile design, and the tight interlinking of social media to web sites.

The look-and-feel of web design has evolved also, as the aesthetic trend has been towards minimalism, and a shift towards using fewer, larger graphics.

One aspect that I most enjoyed about this book were the screenshots of some truly beautiful website designs. Like many people, I scour the web for information on various topics, yet rarely am I struck by a website’s appearance. I believe that the more we’re exposed to beautiful design, the more we’ll innately design more beautifully. In that case, it’s well worthwhile for web designers of any sort to immerse themselves in studying outstanding designs.

The book also presented a concept I hadn’t heard quite in these terms, and that is defensive web design. The name got my attention, yet the concept, to me at least, was more about usability around error handling.

If you’re a web designer, do you feel you take enough time to search out beautiful sites? Also, have you heard the term, “defensive web design,” and do you practice it?

Review: Going Postal (2010)

Submitted by TheLostGod on 11/01/12 2:20pm

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A fun and funny Terry Pratchett adaptation that takes a look at the postal system

Going Postal is one more chapter in the history and strange goings on that occur in Terry Pratchett’s mythical city of Ankh-Morpork. Though this one doesn’t feature Death as a character (my favorite by far), it does manage to tell a fun story that entertains. The movie shows up under the kids’ queue on Netflix, but it’s more complicated than being just another kids’ movie and at times it can even be quite dark.

It follows the tale of a con-artist by the name of Moist Von Lipwig. After living the majority of his life ripping people off and drinking most of his ill-gotten earnings away, the law finally catches up with him. He is sentenced to hang although a last minute reprieve gives him a chance to save his own life - by becoming the Postmaster General of the Ankh-Morpork Postal System. At this time, the post has gone under, replaced by a system called Clacks that uses lights to transmit messages, similar in theory to our own world’s telegraph. It’s up to Lipwig to get the post running again, but there is a curse associated with his position and most of his predecessors have met a grisly end.

Lipwig’s first line of defense is to simply run. Unfortunately for him, a “parole officer” golem by the name of Pump is assigned to make sure he goes nowhere. Luckily for him, the golem is also there to protect his life. So Lipwig attempts to do his job, all the while looking for a way to escape when the time comes.

As he performs his duties, he is assaulted in his dreams by the strange spirits that haunt the post office. These spirits give him visions that show the repercussions of all the bad things he’s done. The results of his swindling people have ended in many deaths and he now begins to realize all the pain he’s been responsible for. Slowly, Lipwig begins to change his ways.

The chief bad guy is Reacher Gilt, the owner of the Clacks system. Being a shrewd businessman with no morals, he attempts to undermine Lipwig’s struggle and leaves a trail of bodies along the way. Meanwhile, Lipwig finds an unlikely ally in Adora Dearheart, the daughter of the inventor of Clacks. To make things complicated, the elder Dearheart also happened to be a victim of one of Lipwig’s cons and the slowly reforming postmaster finds out that he is the cause of all the troubles that Adora has undergone.

Going Postal is a sort of classic good versus evil tale with a redemption theme. What makes it so entertaining is the many elements that Pratchett manages to slip into the film, such as Lipwig’s invention of stamps and his underling’s accidental invention of the perforations to make them easy to tear apart. There are clever little things all throughout the film, if you have a bit of knowledge of the real-life development of the postal system. Whether a kid or just a fan of Pratchett’s books, Going Postal is definitely worth a watch.

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber

Submitted by CateCarson on 11/01/12 1:42pm

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Is your next job your new business?

In Minneapolis, as is the case in much of the nation, the unemployment rate is higher than it should be. Job hunting can quickly become frustrating and demoralizing. You may wonder what’s the point, and you may be ready to give up.

You might also wonder if it’s time to take another approach. Instead of continuing as a job seeker, you might start considering becoming a job creator. If you have an idea that you are passionate about, and this idea could be built into a small business, becoming an entrepreneur might well be worth considering.

Naturally, you’ll want to explore your idea, and explore what it takes to launch and maintain a successful small business. A book Michael E. Gerber, titled The E-Myth Revisited, can help you in your exploration.

It’s easy to read, and will help you frame up your business idea so that your new venture can be successful and sustainable. It reviews developing simple systems that can be used by anyone. As an entrepreneur, you don’t want to be only one who can run your business the way you’d like it run; by simplifying and systematizing it, much of the day-to-day work can be done by employees. This allows you, as the owner, to spend time on larger strategy, and even take the occasional vacation.

Starting a business is not for everyone, of course. Some people lack life experience, and others may need the stability a traditional job offers. Other people, however, have what it takes. They just need to gain confidence, and find some guidance along the way. If you fall into this category, read The E-Myth Revisited, and decide whether starting a business might be right for you.