I love distributed revision control systems (DRCS). Git, Mercurial, Bazaar... fantastic things. And I use DRCS's all the time for code. They have a lot of benefits over centralized models.

Unfortunately, they are not quite so nice for content creation. And there are two main reasons for this:

1. Media files are often large. A whole project of media files is typically huge. And a bunch of revisions of a project of media files is enormous. And that enormity takes a freakin' huge time to transfer over a network. All of the DRCS's that I am aware of force you to get a copy of the entire repo (excepting for Git, but the result of a partial clone is a repo that can't push/pull). This is pretty much a deal breaker.
2. Changes to media files cannot be merged. In a distributed system this is particularly problematic. Most RCS's that are used for media (e.g. Perforce) have locking systems to prevent more than one person from editing a file at the same time, which prevents conflicts. This is not possible with DRCS's due to their nature, which makes the ability to merge changes critical.

Project Durian is almost over. I'm coming back to the USA on the 20th of July (this month). Yay! :-D

I've been planning for a while to go freelance after Durian, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes. I've already been putting my feelers out looking for possible work. But I'd like to ask that anyone who reads this blog keep an ear out for work that might suit my abilities. This being my first time going freelance, it's a bit scary.

I'll be putting together an updated demo reel as soon as I return to the USA. But for now, here is my 2008 reel:

I am especially skilled in rigging and animation, but I am also well versed in modeling, lighting, and rendering. I am happy to do all kinds of work, from full-fledged character animation to visualization to logo animation. No job is too mighty nor too humble.

I've discovered a strange phenomenon here in Europe: people hate pigeons. They call them "rats with wings" (of course demonizing rats is also problematic), and I see people kicking at them and shoing them away. It was particularly distressing seeing a boy perhaps 8 years old trying to kick pigeons. (To be fair, most people ignore them rather than kick them, but still.)

Does this distain for pigeons also exist in the USA? I have not encountered it there.

This negativity towards pigeons has only distressed me more as I have gotten to know a few. I go out to the dock and feed several species of birds on a daily basis now, and it is easily the best part of my day. With the exception of the crows and herens, I've had at least one bird from each species eat directly from my hand at some point. It's really an amazing feeling.

But the pigeons have become particularly friendly, and a few of them will happily perch on me as I feed them. Two of them will even let me pet them, as long as I'm careful (their feathers are so soft!). One of them even perched on my head today for a brief moment. It's an extraordinary experience, having these birds trust you like that. Feeling their feet gripping on you, walking on you. The weight of their bodies.