http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/ epic software Blog Feed en anthony@epicsoftware.com Copyright {gmt_date format="%Y"} {gmt_date format="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%i:%s%Q"} 60 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/choosing_an_insulation_system_for_the_creative_co-op_-_part_ii/ http://epicsoftware.com-396#When:12:35:15Z May 18, 2010 - When our architects first mentioned using cellulose as the primary insulation for the Creative Co-Op, I have to admit it was not even on my radar screen. I have a great deal of trust in their material choices, but the idea of using recycled newspaper for serious insulation alluded me. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY in a bungalow style house built in 1922.  When built, most of these homes had no insulation in the walls and attic whatsoever.  Cutting holes in the walls and pumping in cellulose was how many of these homes were later retrofitted to provide some degree of protection from the heat and cold.  It never seemed to do a very good job. I started my online research not on Google, but on You-Tube.  I wanted to "see" the latest in cellulose technology, not read about it.  After I looked at some videos, I then went go to Google to locate a source.  As I was doing my search, I heard a news report that it was YouTube's 5th Anniversary, and the narrator started spouting off statistics that were simply mind boggling (24 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute!).  This was music to my ears.  Since one of the key reasons we are building the Creative Co-Op is to handle the increase in business for sales and training videos our clients want for their corporate web sites. Container Building 2010-05-20T12:35:15+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/choosing_an_insulation_system_for_the_creative_co-op_-_part_i/ http://epicsoftware.com-395#When:01:36:46Z May 15, 2010 - The idea of being inside of a large metal box in the heat of a Houston, Texas summer is a bit scary.  The insulation decision is a big one because of its long-term impact on the comfort and success of the Creative Co-Op. The challenge is to get the building property insulated from the elements, keep the occupants comfortable, and do it in a cost-effective way. Part of the fun of building a non-conventional structure is doing the research to find out what others have done and their experience.  The internet is excellent for this kind of research.  Unfortunately, for cargo container insulation there is not one single source of great information, but I was able to glean some information from blogs, online forums, and web sites. Below I will share my findings with you, followed by my ideas for an insulation system and some comments from our architects. Container Building 2010-05-19T01:36:46+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/texas_am_university_distance_learning_photo_shoot/ http://epicsoftware.com-394#When:17:08:07Z May 6, 2010 - As the school with the third largest statistics department in the U.S., Texas A&M University has a history and tradition of graduate education in statistics that dates back to 1963. The school has produced over 700 Master's and Ph.D. graduates since it's inception, and now has a goal to aggressively promote the TAMU Distance Learning program. This department has a strong tradition of theoretical and interdisciplinary research with an internationally recognized faculty.  In addition to their on location courses, the statistics department  now offers an online distance learning program.  The online courses provide the same course materials and exams with the flexibility to fit a schedule that may not allow for in-class instruction.  Photography 2010-05-06T17:08:07+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/tea_party_tax_day_rally_-_sam_houston_park_-_april_15_2010/ http://epicsoftware.com-389#When:14:16:40Z After months of watching government spending that is out of control, followed by dropping off our 2009 taxes at the post office yesterday, I was in the mood to express my frustration with the way our federal government is being run.  And it looks like I had lots of company.  At the Tea Party Rally at Sam Houston Racetrack, thousands of people came out to show their support for the cause. Specifically the core values of the Tea Party Patriots include: Free Markets, Limited Government, Fiscal Responsibility and Upholding the Constitution.  The folks at the rally were wonderful, and the speakers did a great job of expressing the dissatisfaction felt by many in the crowd with our national politicians and the policies they've introduced.  We have a 12 trillion dollar deficit, spending that is out of control, and the economy is in a mess. General 2010-04-16T14:16:40+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/creative_co-op_shapespace_really_delivers_on_architectural_floor_plans/ http://epicsoftware.com-388#When:18:12:34Z March 1, 2010 – When we started planning the Creative Co-Op project, we knew we wanted a building that was unique in style yet structurally sound. Our plan has always been to use upcycled, recycled, and sustainable materials where possible. This made economic sense, but it also appealed to creative nature.  Just go to a weekend crafts fair and you will be amazed how an artisan can take something destined for the junk yard and turn it into a work of art that is truly beautiful. So, before we got too deep into the project, I decided that we needed to have an architect involved from the conceptual stages through construction, completion and occupancy. Not having used the services of an architect before, I was not sure what to do. I turned to my friend Professor Tom Diehl in the School of Architecture at the University of Houston to ask his advice. Tom knew about epic because in 2006, he had one of his upper level classes visit our studio, walk the property, and create concepts for the best ideas for developing the land. The results from his students were nothing short of spectacular. We used one of the concepts from a student to buy a used cargo container and convert it into a retail store. Container Building 2010-03-02T18:12:34+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/lucas_wagner_-_epic_intern_-_fast_forward_17_years/ http://epicsoftware.com-387#When:02:35:38Z February 2, 2010 – Anyone who has spent any time at epic can tell you we take internships seriously. We have worked with student interns from the inception of the company. At times we have had as many as eight interns doing everything from programming to 2D and 3D animation, and video production. I expect a lot from an intern, and most rise to the occasion and deliver. I first learned about the internet from an intern (he was using an early version at A&M University), and interns usually introduce me to cool things well before they become mainstream. Sometimes when an internship is over, I wonder if the experience was a positive one, and if the student got anything out of it (besides course credit). So when an intern from the past sends me a note to let me know how they are doing, it really makes my day. Recently I got one such note from Lucas Wagner, who did his internship at epic in 1993! Luc was hardly a model intern. He had been transplanted from Ohio to Houston and uprooting a high school student can be tough on them (and all those around them). General 2010-02-03T02:35:38+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/topographic_survey_for_epic_studio_building_completed/ http://epicsoftware.com-386#When:15:50:06Z January 29, 2010 - In order for our engineer to properly design the foundation for our new studio building, he asked that we provide him with a topographic survey. A topographical (or topo) survey is the tool engineers use to design and manage drainage. Surveying is done by gathering information through observations, measurements in the field, and research on surveys on file from nearby properties. The topo survey measures the elevation of points of the land, and presents them as contour lines on a plot. The topo survey would also help us to accurately establish boundaries and the elevations of the property. Container Building 2010-01-30T15:50:06+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/the_unplanned_photo_shoot/ http://epicsoftware.com-385#When:04:06:24Z January 10, 2010 - Over the past two days, Houston has been experiencing a cold snap that has plunged temperatures into the low twenties. My blood must have thinned out over the years because twenty degrees here feels far colder than the same temperature up North. I learned to take the cold seriously after a pipe burst in our kitchen wall in 1999, causing several thousand dollars in damages. So, as we watched the cold front move Southward on the TV weather map, we insulated the pipes on the outside of the house and relocated some potted plants indoors. By Sunday afternoon I thought the worst was over. It wasn't. When I returned home at 3:00, I found water bubbling down the exterior wall of our home. I shut the water off and went inside, where I found the laundry room and my study flooded. Over the next two hours we moved everything outside to dry, and mopped up most of the water. A couple of small circulating fans did most of the drying. Photography 2010-01-12T04:06:24+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/a_photographers_photographer_ted_washington/ http://epicsoftware.com-384#When:14:31:35Z December 22, 2009 – Earlier this month we got a call from an international oil field services company asking us to bid on a virtual photographic tour of their new offshore workboat. This is no ordinary ship. It is the world’s largest coiled tubing vessel, and is truly spectacular in both the size and the technology it employs to service deepwater oil wells. The virtual tour sample they sent us showed a traditional 360 degree panoramic photography, best known as a “QuickTime VR Tour”. These panoramic tours have been typically used by real estate agents to provide prospective homeowners with a better understanding of a property. I have never been a big fan of this type of photography, because the quality of the images are usually poor, and it seems more of a gimmick than a truly immersive experience. Some tours may require a plug-in be downloaded, which can reduce the size of the viewing audience as many people just won't (or can't due to company policies) do it.  I decided to use this bid opportunity to see if anything new was happening with panoramic photography. I was blown away by what I found. Photography 2009-12-27T14:31:35+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/epic_breaks_ground_on_new_studio_building/ http://epicsoftware.com-382#When:19:22:21Z December 10, 2009 – At 1:35 this afternoon the truck from Geotech Engineering and Testing arrived at our property, and by 1:45pm the crew of two field operators had their rig set up and prepared to drill the first of two holes into the earth for our soil survey .  This blog entry will give you a little information about a soil survey.  Just about every structure requires an understanding of subsurface features unique to the area. The geotechnical consulting engineer determines the characteristics and behavior of subsurface soils, then interprets this data and makes recommendations on soils parameters which may be used for design or remedial purposes.To make our decision we called three soil survey companies.  Their bids consisted of the following: Geotechnical engineering services which included - A. Mobilization and demobilization, B. Field exploration, including Two (2) borings to a depth of 20 feet, C. Laboratory testing, and D. Engineering analysis and report. Drilled footing, strip footing and floating slab recommendations Container Building 2009-12-12T19:22:21+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/wouldnt_it_be_wonderful_if_life_came_with_a_personal_navigation_system/ http://epicsoftware.com-381#When:00:01:41Z December 08, 2009 – For most of us, the economy has been a real challenge over the past year, but for recently minted college grads, it has been particularly hard to transition from school to the world of full time work. I know this because it hits close to home.  Our daughter Ali, graduated Louisiana State University (LSU) in August, and is one of those folks trying to kick start her career land her first meaningful job. She came home for Thanksgiving and we worked on her resume and cover letter and talked about moving from Baton Rouge to a city like Dallas where the job prospects would be better for someone with a BS in Psychology. I wanted to give her the best advice I could. I found no shortage of online resources including articles, podcasts, videos and other reference items offering tips and techniques for the job seeker. But I wanted to give her more than that – I wanted to help her realize her passion, figure out a strategy, and come up with a game plan to make it happen. That is something you can’t find on any web site I’ve ever been to. While it is natural for a parent to want to provide “all the answers”, the journey she is about to embark upon is personal, and everyone is different. What I was hoping to do was to provide her with some tools she could use to draw a road map that is uniquely her own. General 2009-12-08T00:01:41+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/2009_texas_renaissance_festival_-_photo_shoot/ http://epicsoftware.com-380#When:00:21:47Z November 28, 2009 – When the Nikon D5000 debuted last summer it looked like the perfect camera for me. It has the image processor of a D300, along with a 2.7” title/swivel LCD screen. The fact that video can be recorded at 720p, it allows for interchangeable lenses and can shoot at 4 frames per second were just icing on the cake. Since I like to shoot both down low and high over head, I have come to rely heavily on the tilt screen in my Panasonic FZ50. So I felt the D5000 (on paper anyway) should give me everything I needed for just about any shoot I would have to do. Besides, my Nikon D200 was starting to show its age, and a quick review of recent sales on eBay confirmed I could sell my D200 outfit (body, winder and a couple of accessories) for about the same price as a new D5000. I listed it, and seven days later sold it for $55 more than I needed for the new camera. Amazon was among the first online stores to have the new Nikon in stock, so I bought it just slightly under its list price (shipping was free). Over the next several months I had a chance to use the camera, but in each case, it was usually an important shoot and I didn't want to risk any problems.  I just did not feel confident enough with the D5000, so it came to each shoot as my backup camera, and typically saw only light duty. The Panasonic did all the heavy lifting. I have used the FZ50 so much over the past two years, I don’t even have to think about it – it has truly become an extension of my hand. What I really needed was a full day with the D5000 in a real world, non-critical shoot. Photography 2009-11-29T00:21:47+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/dallas_shooting_supplies_photo_shoot/ http://epicsoftware.com-379#When:04:36:02Z November 24, 2009 – Dallas Shooting Supplies is a relatively new web based shooting supply company. The company is owned by Morgan Richie and Vic Cherubini Jr. who both have a passion about rifles and weaponry. Vic was coming home for the holidays, so I asked him to bring some of his guns so we could do a photo shoot. I had not seriously photographed weapons before, so in preparation of the shoot, I spent a couple of hours scouring the web for ideas on composition, lighting, and tips on how to make guns look their best. The best sources turned out to be stock photography sites, all of which had hundreds of examples showing guns at their finest.  I collected my favorites and used these images during the shoot for guidance. Unlike most things we shoot in the studio, these objects have the capability to shoot back. I am quite comfortable handling guns, and respect their power. At age 11, I participated in the Brooklyn Boy Scout Marksmanship Program, and every Saturday for two years we took the LL train to the US Armory in Bedford Stuyvesant.  The first two weeks of the program were all about gun safety, and I can still see Mr. Prebble pointing to the NRA sign on the wall with the three basic rules we all memorized by heart: ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use. Photography 2009-11-25T04:36:02+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/texas_aggie_bonfire_10_year_commemoration/ http://epicsoftware.com-378#When:04:00:00Z November 21, 2009 – 28 years ago when I moved to Texas, I heard about the Texas Aggie Bonfire and watched it a number of times on TV. I always wanted to go to one, but never seemed to find the time. Then, ten years ago, a tragic accident claimed the lives of 12 students. Texas A&M University banned future bonfires, and with the ban, my hopes of ever experiencing one was over. That changed this past Saturday night when we attended (and participated in) a commemorative bonfire put on by an Aggie couple in Conroe, TX. How we came to be part of this special event is an interesting story as well. This past summer a number of very old, very large pine trees on epic property died. The drought made the trees susceptible to invasion by pine bark beetles. Some of these trees were 60-70 feet tall, and measured 36 inches in diameter at the base. One was close enough to our building that there was no doubt it needed to come down (in a very controlled way). I was not sure the best way to handle this, so I called the Montgomery County Extension Service to see if the trees could be harvested by a timber company, and to find out what to do with them after they were cut down. General 2009-11-23T04:00:00+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/bma_houston_2009_lantern_awards_gala_-_a_night_to_remember/ http://epicsoftware.com-377#When:16:29:37Z November 18, 2009 - Congratulations are in order to BMA Houston 2009 Lantern Awards Chair Stephanie Robertson and her volunteer committee for yet another successful event, and an evening to remember. Over 380 people attended the awards ceremony, and in the process, have helped kick off the funding for our 2010 student Internship and Scholarship programs. While most marketing budgets were severely cut this past year, you would not know it by the quality of the work displayed on the 43rd floor of the Petroleum Club. I always like to attend these events because I come away inspired by the work of those who are faced with communicating information about complex products and services to the business community. General 2009-11-18T16:29:37+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/shipping_container_to_fireworks_stand_conversion/ http://epicsoftware.com-376#When:21:05:37Z November 12, 2009 - The purpose of this blog entry is to take you through the process of converting a shipping container into a fireworks stand - from concept to creation.  I have included a number of photos to help others who may want to use a container to build a Fireworks Stand, Concession, Storage Unit or similar structure understand the process. You will hear people refer to these steel boxes as cargo containers, intermodal freight containers, but, when they are "upcycled" in this fashion, the proper name is an ISBU or Intermodal Steel Building Unit.  One EXCELLENT source of information on the subject is the ISBU Organization, University of Houston, College of Architecture faculity member Tom Diehl helped me to realize that a used cargo container could be turned into a very effective building structure. In 2005, Tom's 5th year architectural students visited our property and as part of a class project, they provided me with a number of very interesting concepts on how best to develop our four acres of land.  The front of our property is on Sawdust Road, a very heavily traveled street. It is the first southern entrance to The Woodlands, a 28,000 acre master planned community less than a half-mile away.  It is a perfect spot for a retail establishment, but our deed does not allow for any permanent structures to be built on that part of the property. Container Building 2009-11-12T21:05:37+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/use_an_advergame_to_build_your_brand_-_part_2_of_2/ http://epicsoftware.com-375#When:18:20:51Z November 12, 2009,   In the first part of this blog post I talked about the branding components of an Advergame.   In part 2, we will discuss what makes for a great Computer Game, and in turn a great Advergame.   Think back to time when you first discovered video games – the thrill and excitement of actually interacting with some element on the screen was enthralling. Now, stop and think about your favorite video game. What made it so special? Was it the graphics, the action, the story, the music, or a combination of things that simply immersed you in the experience? Why would you spend hour after hour in front of your computer screen being transformed into an altered state? You can almost hear your mom calling from the other room “Stop playing that stupid game and get back to doing your homework. No one is going to pay you to play video games!" Today you can indeed make a living playing computer games, and even though it is hard work, developing computer games can be very rewarding. Let’s take a look at some of the elements that go into great game design and answer the question – “What makes for a great computer game?” Web Sites and Applications 2009-11-11T18:20:51+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/use_an_advergame_to_build_-_part_1_of_2/ http://epicsoftware.com-374#When:17:06:04Z November 11, 2009 - If you are looking for a way to build your brand, and at the same time make your site more "sticky", you should consider developing an Advergame. What exactly is an Advergame? Simply put, "An Advergame uses interactive gaming technology to deliver embedded advertising messages to consumers". These games incorporate the company brand or product as a key element in the game. And, unlike a "product placement" in a movie (where you may only see the brand name for a brief moment), an Advergame is typically built around the brand, product or service, and is an integral part of the story. At epic, we try our best to find ways to incorporate Advergames into client sites. Over the years, we had developed a number of applications, and in 2004 when the publishing company Charles River Media asked us to write a book on the subject we accepted the challenge. Advergaming was coming of age. That year, computer game revenues passed those of box office receipts, and the internet was filled with excellent examples of awesome games - all available for free. I am writing this blog entry for those companies trying to decide if developing an Advergame is a good use of their precious marketing dollars. Since there are two parts key parts of an advergame, we will divide this post into Part I - Branding, and Part II - Game Development. Web Sites and Applications 2009-11-11T17:06:04+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/a_peek_at_the_creation_of_epics_new_logo/ http://epicsoftware.com-373#When:13:59:24Z October 29, 2009 - The new epic logo went through many revisions before we finally settled on what you see at the top of the site today. The goals of the logo were pretty straight forward. Create a logo using the epic “e” symbol without updating the symbol beyond the point of recognition. Use the company colors (White, Red, Grey) It must be readable at small sizes or from a distance. Animation and Graphics 2009-10-29T13:59:24+00:00 http://epicsoftware.com/index.php/blog/read/my_epic_journey/ http://epicsoftware.com-367#When:14:59:55Z September 25, 2009 - I came to epic in early June looking for an internship and haven't looked back.  Like most graduating students I was required to complete an internship in order to graduate.  Hearing about the stories and uninspiring experiences from fellow students about their internships I was a little skeptical.  However, shortly after my first week here I knew this was not your typical internship.   General 2009-09-25T14:59:55+00:00