Siggraph 1999

Anaheim Convention Center in California

While we were here at Siggraph for two days, apparently, I didn’t shoot anything yesterday. Siggraph is a computer graphics trade show that is most appealing to those in the film industry. Because we are in love with computer graphics for the sake of art, we decided to come over from Phoenix to check things out. The Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics holds its show yearly, not always in California. This was the second most attended conference held by the group; this year, over 42,000 people attended. Two years earlier almost 49,000 people were in attendance. During the conference, we had a peek into the future, with many of the displays focusing on cyberspace, while on the conference floor, over 300 vendors showed us everything from 3D graphics software to virtual reality gloves. The 21st century promises to lead humanity into the machine.

Computer graphic circa 1999 at Siggraph in Anaheim, California

With no recollection of exactly what this is we are looking at, I just remember that it was astonishing at the time I saw it. Computer graphics have been a large part of our lives for the past ten years, starting with a Commodore Amiga, Deluxe Paint, and TurboSilver, which became Imagine in 1990.

Disneyland

Robert Bell, Caroline Wise, and Grant Wiggins at Disneyland in Anaheim, California

Robert Bell, Caroline Wise, and Grant Wiggins at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. We arrived in California a day early as we were going to Siggraph at the Anaheim Convention Center the next day; why not play a minute at the Happiest Place on Earth first?

Robert Bell and Caroline Wise at Disneyland in Anaheim, California

There are other photos from this trip but the poor nature of the images are better left accumulating digital dust on some hard drive, but the memories elicited from photos of friends and family are worth sharing.

John Wise at Disneyland in Anaheim, California

I look huge in this image; it must be the low pixel resolution.

Grant Wiggins at Disneyland in Anaheim, California

Caroline Wise and Grant Wiggins. I met Grant the year before while he was working for the Scottsdale Airpark News; he interviewed me for an article about our work building computers and some of my thoughts regarding Linux and how it could be a platform for education (if I’m not mistaken).

Caroline Wise, John Wise, and Grant Wiggins in Space Mountain at Disneyland in Anaheim, California

Waiting to ride Space Mountain.

Caroline Wise and John Wise at Disneyland in Anaheim, California

Watching the parade at Disneyland back when we were young. Caroline was 32, and I was 36.

Going Nuclear

Caroline Wise with Robert Bell and Grant Wiggins in Arizona

I present you with the oldest digital photo we could find in our collection since we first started taking digital images. Caroline, Robert Bell, Grant Wiggins, and I were on our way to Los Angeles to visit Disneyland, Siggraph, and my father, though our friends wouldn’t be making that visit with us. There’s some ambiguity if this photo was taken on this particular day or the day before and I have no way of reconciling that. Still, one thing is certain: this is the first travel photo taken with said digital camera.

UFOs and Aliens

Little green men in Phoenix, Arizona

We just recently started a new company called Alienzoo. Its original name was supposed to be Alienzone, but somebody snagged it before I could, so we compromised. This new web entity was supposed to function as an all-things alien portal with an ultimate focus on an artificial intelligence-driven alien lifeform simulator that would one day migrate into a virtual reality world. Needless to say, we were far too ahead of what technology was able to deliver.

Jim Dilettoso at Alienzoo in Phoenix, Arizona

Along the way, we managed to attract some interesting talent, sponsor some raves, publish some books from Jim Marrs, and get featured on the popular radio program from Art Bell.