Video interview with stabguy
http://software.intel.com/en-us/videos/threading-challenge-winner-rick-l...
As many of you already know, I won the grand prize in Intel's multithreaded programming contest this year. In the above video Intel interviewed me about the contest (I'm the one with the long hair and Hawaiian shirt 
). The interview took place after the Honors Dinner at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Much to my surprise, they didn't ask a single question about Assassin's Creed.
that was pretty cool.
though you seemed a little uncomfortable at the beginning...i would have too
damn they hardly gave you talk time.... but cool and love the hair .. i had black lond hair when i was 2-3 years old but my grandmother got pissed when i cried during my mom trying to braid it so when my parents went out and sister was at school she cut my hair off since then i've had regular hair 
I still can't get over that golden love mane (if Stabgal doesn't call it that, I'd be surprised).
Nice going, Stab!
you seemed a little uncomfortable at the beginning
Not just at the beginning! The interview was shot in one take and unedited (except for the cuts to close up). I didn't even know what questions she was going to ask.
they hardly gave you talk time
Jeff Kataoka is a good guy. It was a pleasure to meet him in person. He just got a little carried away with his answer.
golden love mane (if Stabgal doesn't call it that, I'd be surprised).
I'll let you in on a secret. stabgal's hair is longer and blonder than mine. 
No way, Stabguy did the special effects for The Matrix! I expect to see his name in the credits. Also why isn't this frontpaged?
Yeah, why not frontpage it?
I thought if you were sitting on a bench between two people, that you would blend in and disappear! How come we can still see you?????
That was pretty darn fun, Stab. Did you also get a good dinner?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6zZ5dmmjOw
A local TV newsmagazine called Hawaiian Moving Company interviewed me about The Matrix a few years back. They kept showing my segment in reruns. People would come up to me and say, "Hey, I saw you on TV this weekend!"
Watch for a young Bruno Mars as Little Elvis at 0:15. There's a YouTube annotation but it's not working for me at the moment.
No way, Stabguy did the special effects for The Matrix!
Yeah. I thought you already knew that. Guess I failed to mention it on the About page... I worked on-site in Alameda, California, supporting the renderer I had written. This was for the original Matrix film. They really dorked up the effects work on the sequels.
Yeah, why not frontpage it?
Nah. This is only of interest to people who know me (or who care about multithreaded programming). The front page should appeal to casual visitors interested in Assassin's Creed.
Did you also get a good dinner?
Yes! This dinner was the highlight of the conference for me. There were only about 30 people there so I got to mingle with everyone. Intel's parallelism spokesman gave a technical presentation (after too many glasses of wine 
) that was superior to anything I saw at the convention center all week.
The Palace Hotel is also where Intel housed stabgal and me for our stay in San Francisco. It was an elegant and comfortable place. Good choice.
the matrix ... stabguy..... meh lord thats epic
That... was... awesome.
"... a company called Pixar - they're the Toy Story people..." Priceless!
And the Palace Hotel - swanky! Congratulations, Stab!
And to think I almost had the opportunity to hang out with the guy that practically revolutionized special effects hahaha
Do you have an Oscar with you somewhere in your boxes of stuff awaiting the move?
As promised, here are some photos from my vacation to California with stabgal.
Our first stop was Monterey for a long weekend. Down at Big Sur, I hiked up to Pfeiffer Falls. Along 17 mile drive in Pebble Beach, we spotted many sea lions on Bird Rock. When we arrived at the Carmel Mission, a wedding was in progress inside the Basilica. So we waited outside with the mariachi band and admired the spanish architecture.
We spent the work week at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco and attended Intel's Developer Conference. I didn't take any photos but you've already seen the video (top post above).
Then it was off to Yosemite National Park, the highlight of the trip. The above photo of me (full size) gives a good overview of Yosemite Valley. Over my right shoulder is El Capitan, the holy grail for serious rock climbers. On the horizon above my right ear is Half Dome, which looked magnificent in the alpineglow just after dusk. And that's Bridalveil Falls in the shadow over my left shoulder. That waterfall is so wispy that the wind gets a hold of it. Not visible from this location is Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfall in North America (and sixth highest in the world). It's usually dried up by September but we were lucky this year.
There are other things to see in Yosemite National Park outside of Yosemite Valley. We ventured up to Hetch Hetchy Valley and saw Wapama Falls. (In case it isn't obvious, I'm really into waterfalls!) Even cooler was taking a tour of the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias, where I encountered the Grizzly Giant.
Our last stop was Lake Tahoe. I don't really like gambling so we went out on the lake aboard the M.S. Dixie II paddle wheel. On the way back to the airport, we stopped at Sutter's Mill in Coloma. As you'll recall, this was one of the dots on the globe at the end of AC1. While other tourists were panning for gold, I slipped out and searched for a Piece of Eden.
Some great pictures, stabguy! Looks like you had a brilliant time in a beautiful part of the world. 