h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The company I work for is close to achieving 90% virtual sets- with remote operation, in HD.

http://www.fullmentaljacket.com/projects/global-local/

This doesn't really affect me much since I'm not part of news, news gathering or news broadcast but it has had an interesting side line for me. In order for the set to have *windows*, HD footage of local urban views have to be recorded. Sooo... I have to go out and lock off shots that are not too long or too short and that don't have a potentially repetitive action in them (the cycle of the shot is about 5 to 10 minutes and can't for instance a bus that goes through it since that will be repeated every 5 to 10 minutes).

Sounds simple, doesn't it? Try a dozen or so views framed roughly the same at dawn, mid day, evening and night. Now add weather variations.

I expect to be busy since I will be out standing in my field (or park).

...*have* a bus...

Or a pigeon for that matter.

I think the choice of names for the project is a little ill-considered:

Full Mental Jacket? That's like one of these http://imagineannie.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/straight-jacket1.jpg right?

What are you, mental??

I think they were trying for this:

http://www.ammoman.com/images/45230TMJ/MVC-012F.JPG

...or this:

http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/pics/9/3150/13606/how-to-draw-full-metal-jacket-helmet-step-6.jpg

I recognized the pun, but it just doesn't strike me as a very good association for the project. I mean, they're creating a virtual studio, not a bullet.

Surely, the term full metal jacket only has positive connotations for psychopaths and Kubrick fans, wouldn't you think?

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I find the derivation of the XP of Windows XP interesting in its convoluted obscurity:

apparently there was an early Microsoft operating system under development code-named 'Cairo'. That code-name at some point came to be shortened to the two Greek letters chi and rho and some elements of Cairo ended up in later versions of Windows. When the newest system needed a name, somebody decided to revive the chi-rho version of the name, but, likely realizing that this would be mistaken for a common Christian symbol, they changed it to the Roman letters which most closely resembled chi and rho --XP.

You just got modded.

B U G G E R

I'm pretty sure it wasn't pulled because Ellison worked for the CIA when he made Oracle.

anhaga, I asked the head of FMJ about the name and he replied *Who still refers to people with psychological problems as mental?*

Well, I read it on the internet, so it must be true.