The Martian: A Fantastic Novel and now a Matt Damon movie

The Martian: A Novel is a book written by Andy Weir that has been turned into a movie set to release this November. The book is about an astronaut in the near future who gets left behind on Mars. He must learn to survive Mars' harsh environment while waiting for a rescue that could take years. The format is in the form of a journal logged by a character who deals with high stress situations by using humor, that is quite entertaining.

I first heard about the book on Adam Savage's podcast Still Untitled, I read it in February, and now I'm giddy after watching the trailer today.

There's also this video, which I found yesterday, giving a small peak into some of the humor from the book that I expect to get translated into the movie:

The movie isn't without its suspense and drama as Whatney, Matt Damon, must solve complex problems to continue to survive. I highly recommend the book, if you haven't read it already. According to Savage, who has talked to NASA personnel about the book, the technology and math in the book are solid. It's easy to read and also very affordable at $6 - $16 depending on the version you want, Kindle to hardcover. If you enjoy reading this is a must read for the Summer.

 

Three books that changed my life

Bill Brenner had a post back in February that talked about a series Jennifer Minella was doing that asked security professionals to name three books that changed their life. Since then security pros like Dave Kennedy (I read reworked from his list, which was pretty good) and Jack Daniel, among others, have contributed to the series. It's a wonderful series that gives a small peak into the mind of each person that has contributed. I don't expect to be asked to contribute my short list of books anytime soon so I've decided to go ahead and post my list here.

1. The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell

This story of King Arthur is unlike anything you've ever read. It's a well researched, gritty, and realistic take on a story that often times gets overly romanticized. The book follows the story of Derfel, one of Arthur's warriors (yes, warrior not knight) who interacts with all the characters in the original story: King Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Guinevere, and many others you've heard of and not heard of. It's a fantastic story and the best part is, it's only the first of three books in The Warlord Chronicles. The book changed my perception of the world and showed me that stories can be overly romanticized and that there is probably more to the story.

2. Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose

Growing up I watched WWII movies The Longest Day and A bridge too far quite a few times, so naturally when I discovered Stephen E. Ambrose I became hooked. I've read just about every WWII book Ambrose wrote. Band of Brothers was the book that stuck with me the most and at one point I even explored the possibility of joining one of the Army's airborne units. The movies are just as good as the book, but the book has so much more than what could be shown in the 10-hour HBO series. Richard Winters, a main character, of the book is someone I've come to draw inspiration from in both my work ethic and effort to become a good leader.

3. Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers

This book changed my life completely. It taught me to recognize fear and embrace it. I was reading this book at the recommendation of a program that was teaching me how to talk to women. I got much more out of the book than just talking to women, though. I learned how to look at opportunities that made me nervous or fearful and embrace them, because it was an opportunity to grow as a person. Fear is something that we all deal with daily. How we handle and respond to it not only defines us as a person, but it can also shape us into a better person.


Pictures from Astros Spring Training and BSides Nashville

I am currently in cruise control for the final two weeks at the University of South Carolina. At the end of the two weeks I will have my bachelors degree in Media Arts. What that means for me is that I can now check the box, "Yes" for applications that ask the question, "Do you have a degree." It also means that I have more time to focus on media and technology related projects. 

One of those projects is updating my website. To kick off that initative, I've uploaded the pictures from my trips to Astros Spring Training, in March, and BSides Nashville, in April to the photography section of my website.

Media arts internship April 3 - 5, 2015

April 3

Started my podcast prep for this weekend. We’re planning on doing a longer show, so I put out a call for listener questions and topic ideas. I also began research on topic and question ideas. Our March Madness tournament bracket needed to be updated for the final matchup, so I did that as well.

April 4

Continued preparing for the 2015 season preview podcast by researching topics and gathering listener questions. Also update the Spring Training roster infographic for the final time.

April 5

Finalized the notes for the podcast recording, prepped the new show music, and recorded the podcast. Edited the last bit of audio I had from recording in Florida. Created the Spring Training roster infographic post.

http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2015/4/6/8350957/infographic-astros-roster-spring-to-opening-day

Media arts internship March 28 - April 2, 2015

Hasn't really been anything exciting to make a single post out of what I'm doing for my internship, but I am very close to the end. I should finish my hours this weekend, which is very exciting.

March 28, 2015

Prepared for the podcast by reading articles and researching topic ideas, while refining the notes for the show.

March 29, 2015

Researched several topic ideas and finalized the podcast notes. Recorded the podcast and then created a post for the updated Astros Spring Training Roster infographic.

March 30, 2015

Edited the podcast and began preparing for the new music we’ll be using in the show. Updated the Spring Training roster infographic and started working on the second soundscape I plan to release.

March 31, 2015

Updated the March Madness tournament bracket and created an impromptu post about one of the Astros prospects that we got the pleasure of seeing in Florida that featured a picture and some sound.

http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2015/4/1/8323797/prospect-brett-phillips-goes-to-astros-spring-training

I finished putting the soundscape together, now I just need to go back through and edit.

April 2, 2015

I finished the soundscape and created the post for it.

http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2015/4/3/8338163/astros-audio-spring-training-march-14-2015-at-atlanta-braves-facility