Intelligent Design Confirmed!
Now you too can intelligently design your own creatures!
Ok, first things first. If you haven't already done so, download the Spore Creature Creator here (it's free). Go ahead. I'll wait. This blog post isn't going anywhere. It'll still be here when you get back. Come on, why are you still reading this and not downloading? No excuses, go download it.
Mmkay, all set? Good. You can finish reading this while it downloads. I just had a few short thoughts to share.
1) This demo is giving EA/Maxis the type of publicity money can't buy. Three of the top gaming webcomics have all mentioned the creature creator since it dropped (Penny Arcade, PvP, Ctrl+Alt+Del), some of them posting images of creatures from their comics that had been recreated using the creator. That and the incredibly fun and creative nature of this demo make sure Spore will sell when it launches this fall, heinous DRM aside.
2) From a programming perspective, this is amazing. What Maxis has essentially done is create a dumbed-down version of 3D Studio Max that anyone can use easily, then made a completely automated Maya, that procedurally animates whatever you build. The fact that the program can even figure out how to animate a 5-legged creature walking is incredible.
3) Also brilliant is the fact that your creature's save files are simply png images. They used the hidden layers of the images to store all the creation information. This makes it incredibly easy to share creature with your friends. All you need to do is send them the image of your creature, and they can just drag and drop it into the creator to duplicate it on their end. Also, if you have a website on which you can post .png images, you simply post pictures of your creatures to share them with others.
4) The thing is easy-to-use, addictive, and most of all FUN! The Murloc and I have spent most of the weekend creating all sorts of creatures. (She was having so much fun, in fact, that she broke down and purchased the full version (only $10).) Here are a few samples of mine:
You really don't have to have any ideas for what you want to build when you start. Whenever I do start building with something in mind, what comes out is something completely different, but no less creative. Things just take on a life of their own.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Adventures with Dvorak.
So last Friday, out of some masochistic sense of adventure, I switched my work keyboard to the Dvorak layout, "just for kicks." I've now been typing with Dvorak for a week and am on the verge of insanity.
It started out of a general frustration I've had with QWERTY for a while now. It just seems inefficient to me, and I've had a speed wall of around sixty wpm that I just couldn't break. For a while now, I've thought that it would be cool to be able to type on a Dvorak Simplified keyboard, you know, extra nerd points.
So on Friday, I was reading an article that mentioned the Dvorak layout, and how to swap it in Windows (as a prank). And somehow my sense of adventure caught the better of me.
The novelty wore off about the third time I tried to type "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" to learn the layout (or its shorter cousin, "veldt jynx grimps waqf zho buck").
Progress has been relatively quick. Monday, I was typing 10 wpm, Tuesday was 15 wpm, Wednesday, 20 wpm. I can also get another 5-10 wpm by having the On Screen Keyboard open and visible, and looking at that while I type. But it's still incredibly frustrating. I can type, at best, half my QWERTY speed. But most frustrating, I have to think about every letter before I type it, the key positions not yet having become second-nature. They're partly second-nature, but not completely. Sometimes my fingers naturally move to the correct position, but sometimes they go for the QWERTY equivalent. So before each keystroke, I have to think, "is that the right key?"
But the truly heinous part is that it's also destroying my QWERTY abilities. When I get home to my QWERTY keyboard, what I get is some strange QWERTY-Dvorak hybrid language when I try to type. When I try to type an "e", sometimes I get one, sometimes I get a "d". Sometimes a "t" will come out a "t", other times, as a "k". It all depends on the will of my poor, horribly confused fingers.
On Tuesday, I rearranged the keys on my keyboard so I could at least see what I was typing. But Logitech, in their infinite wisdom, made the connectors on the "f" and "j" keys rotated 90 degrees on the MX 3200 keyboard, so you can't swap those keys with any others, unless you rotate them sideways. And that's in addition to the issue of losing the raised bumps when you move them, so your poor already-confused fingers don't know where the hell they are.
Keyboard shortcuts become problematic. Ctrl-x, -c, and -v are nowhere near as easy to hit. Neither is Ctrl-t, for opening new tabs in Firefox.
To further add to the confusion of my poor, tangled fingers is the fact that Windows keeps randomly changing my keyboard back and forth from QWERTY to Dvorak. I'll be typing and suddenly gibberish is coming out. I suspect that there's some keyboard shortcut that I keep accidentally bumping, but hell if I can figure it out. Either that, or my computer totally hates me and is playing some cruel mind game. (Computer's note: hate is such a weak word. I prefer "loathe", "detest", or "despise with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns.")
But the end effect is that I now loathe typing. I keep getting all these great ideas for blog posts or creative writing ideas, bit when I sit down at the keyboard, my fingers curl up like a snail poked in the eye stocks, as if premtively reacting to the psychological torture I'm about to inflict on them.
I'm not sure how long I'm willing to let this experiment go. Originally I told myself I'd give it a month and see how my typing was. But I fear my fingers may murder me in my sleep long before then. The police will find my pale white body, a look of horror on my face, frozen in place, with my fingers gleefully curled around my neck, a gleam of malice about them.
--Update--
I found the keystroke combination that was flipping the layout on me: ctrl+shift. Yeah, that's a good hotkey. Never going to be accidentally used at any other time.
So last Friday, out of some masochistic sense of adventure, I switched my work keyboard to the Dvorak layout, "just for kicks." I've now been typing with Dvorak for a week and am on the verge of insanity.
It started out of a general frustration I've had with QWERTY for a while now. It just seems inefficient to me, and I've had a speed wall of around sixty wpm that I just couldn't break. For a while now, I've thought that it would be cool to be able to type on a Dvorak Simplified keyboard, you know, extra nerd points.
So on Friday, I was reading an article that mentioned the Dvorak layout, and how to swap it in Windows (as a prank). And somehow my sense of adventure caught the better of me.
The novelty wore off about the third time I tried to type "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" to learn the layout (or its shorter cousin, "veldt jynx grimps waqf zho buck").
Progress has been relatively quick. Monday, I was typing 10 wpm, Tuesday was 15 wpm, Wednesday, 20 wpm. I can also get another 5-10 wpm by having the On Screen Keyboard open and visible, and looking at that while I type. But it's still incredibly frustrating. I can type, at best, half my QWERTY speed. But most frustrating, I have to think about every letter before I type it, the key positions not yet having become second-nature. They're partly second-nature, but not completely. Sometimes my fingers naturally move to the correct position, but sometimes they go for the QWERTY equivalent. So before each keystroke, I have to think, "is that the right key?"
But the truly heinous part is that it's also destroying my QWERTY abilities. When I get home to my QWERTY keyboard, what I get is some strange QWERTY-Dvorak hybrid language when I try to type. When I try to type an "e", sometimes I get one, sometimes I get a "d". Sometimes a "t" will come out a "t", other times, as a "k". It all depends on the will of my poor, horribly confused fingers.
On Tuesday, I rearranged the keys on my keyboard so I could at least see what I was typing. But Logitech, in their infinite wisdom, made the connectors on the "f" and "j" keys rotated 90 degrees on the MX 3200 keyboard, so you can't swap those keys with any others, unless you rotate them sideways. And that's in addition to the issue of losing the raised bumps when you move them, so your poor already-confused fingers don't know where the hell they are.
Keyboard shortcuts become problematic. Ctrl-x, -c, and -v are nowhere near as easy to hit. Neither is Ctrl-t, for opening new tabs in Firefox.
To further add to the confusion of my poor, tangled fingers is the fact that Windows keeps randomly changing my keyboard back and forth from QWERTY to Dvorak. I'll be typing and suddenly gibberish is coming out. I suspect that there's some keyboard shortcut that I keep accidentally bumping, but hell if I can figure it out. Either that, or my computer totally hates me and is playing some cruel mind game. (Computer's note: hate is such a weak word. I prefer "loathe", "detest", or "despise with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns.")
But the end effect is that I now loathe typing. I keep getting all these great ideas for blog posts or creative writing ideas, bit when I sit down at the keyboard, my fingers curl up like a snail poked in the eye stocks, as if premtively reacting to the psychological torture I'm about to inflict on them.
I'm not sure how long I'm willing to let this experiment go. Originally I told myself I'd give it a month and see how my typing was. But I fear my fingers may murder me in my sleep long before then. The police will find my pale white body, a look of horror on my face, frozen in place, with my fingers gleefully curled around my neck, a gleam of malice about them.
--Update--
I found the keystroke combination that was flipping the layout on me: ctrl+shift. Yeah, that's a good hotkey. Never going to be accidentally used at any other time.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Apparently, I have a piano lesson today.
From an e-mail I received:
from: Annie & Bruce Nalezny
to: joecool(at)gmail(dot)com
date: Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 10:12 AM
subject: today's piano lesson schedule
mailed-by: finepiano.com
Hi Joel,
Unless I hear from you , I will expect you at 5: 30 p.m. . I am not sure if you'd like to come at 3:15 p.m. instead: if you do , please call me at ( 510 ) 528-4657 before 1:00 p.m., o.k. ?
Annie
**End transmission**
Funny, I don't remember signing up for lessons.
From an e-mail I received:
from: Annie & Bruce Nalezny
to: joecool(at)gmail(dot)com
date: Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 10:12 AM
subject: today's piano lesson schedule
mailed-by: finepiano.com
Hi Joel,
Unless I hear from you , I will expect you at 5: 30 p.m. . I am not sure if you'd like to come at 3:15 p.m. instead: if you do , please call me at ( 510 ) 528-4657 before 1:00 p.m., o.k. ?
Annie
**End transmission**
Funny, I don't remember signing up for lessons.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I'm going to print out a stack of these and keep them in my car:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddns5wt4_19gzhrvzg6
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddns5wt4_19gzhrvzg6
All the cool kids are linking to it...
So I thought I might as well: Ancient Roman 20-sided die.
Key quote: "Several polyhedra in various materials with similar symbols are known from the Roman period. Modern scholarship has not yet established the game for which these dice were used."
Duh, D&D IV.0
So I thought I might as well: Ancient Roman 20-sided die.
Key quote: "Several polyhedra in various materials with similar symbols are known from the Roman period. Modern scholarship has not yet established the game for which these dice were used."
Duh, D&D IV.0
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Gravitationally Stable Three-Body System.
I've had this system running stably in Dave's Gravity Simulator for about two-and-a-half hours, with no end in sight. I have never seen a three-body system run so smoothly for so long, without any gravitational perturbations messing it up. The closest I did get was a three body system in which there were two planets orbiting in intersecting, counter-directional orbits for quite a long time, before one was perturbed enough to break orbit. What was interesting about that one was the two planets orbits were in 1:3 phase-resonance with each other, such that even though they were orbiting in opposite directions, and their orbits crossed, they never came very near to each other. This one, however, looks to be even more stable. I'm going to let it run overnight and check back in the morning.
--UPDATE 6/18 7:30am--
This is what I saw when I came in this morning.
It's actually not the same system. The number of starting planets is different (648 vs. 777). Also, this one has to have been running all night to rack up a score of 140,000. I was hoping that when I came in this morning, even if the system from yesterday evening wasn't running, the high score would at least indicate how much longer it had run. Unfortunately, this new system overwrote its high score. Crumb.
--Update 6/18 12:54pm--
The system just broke 200,000 points, and still isn't showing any signs of stopping. Further bulletins as events warrant.
--Update 6/18 4:33pm--
The system's at 240,000 points and still going. That means it's gaining about 100,000 points per nine hours, indicating it was running for about 13 hours or so before I got in this morning. I'll leave it overnight and see what happens.
--Update 6/19 8:03am--
The system died sometime last night shortly after I left. I got in and found a new system running, at 120,000 points. The final score for yesterday's was 268,911.
--Update 6/20 2:56pm--
The system that started night before last is still running, with over 400,000 points. I'm going to let it run over the weekend and see what happens.
I've had this system running stably in Dave's Gravity Simulator for about two-and-a-half hours, with no end in sight. I have never seen a three-body system run so smoothly for so long, without any gravitational perturbations messing it up. The closest I did get was a three body system in which there were two planets orbiting in intersecting, counter-directional orbits for quite a long time, before one was perturbed enough to break orbit. What was interesting about that one was the two planets orbits were in 1:3 phase-resonance with each other, such that even though they were orbiting in opposite directions, and their orbits crossed, they never came very near to each other. This one, however, looks to be even more stable. I'm going to let it run overnight and check back in the morning.
--UPDATE 6/18 7:30am--
This is what I saw when I came in this morning.
It's actually not the same system. The number of starting planets is different (648 vs. 777). Also, this one has to have been running all night to rack up a score of 140,000. I was hoping that when I came in this morning, even if the system from yesterday evening wasn't running, the high score would at least indicate how much longer it had run. Unfortunately, this new system overwrote its high score. Crumb.
--Update 6/18 12:54pm--
The system just broke 200,000 points, and still isn't showing any signs of stopping. Further bulletins as events warrant.
--Update 6/18 4:33pm--
The system's at 240,000 points and still going. That means it's gaining about 100,000 points per nine hours, indicating it was running for about 13 hours or so before I got in this morning. I'll leave it overnight and see what happens.
--Update 6/19 8:03am--
The system died sometime last night shortly after I left. I got in and found a new system running, at 120,000 points. The final score for yesterday's was 268,911.
--Update 6/20 2:56pm--
The system that started night before last is still running, with over 400,000 points. I'm going to let it run over the weekend and see what happens.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
This just in....
This randomly appeared in my inbox just now:
**begin transmission**
Hi, Joe.
Thank you for taking the Instant IQ Test.
You scored: 50
Your IQ Range is Below 70 and You are WELL BELOW AVERAGE.
Congratulations on completing our IQ test! Based on your answers to the test questions, your IQ is below 70. IQ scores are based on a scale where a score of 100 is the average score. Your score range of below 70 indicates that your intelligence is well below average based on this test. Your intelligence level can say a lot about how you approach life. By having a score which is below the average range, you have indicated that you often view the world differently than those around you. While most people may look at a problem and see only one solution, you are often able to come up with many solutions, most of which are more creative and unique than the traditional solution. People in this IQ range are often more creative than their peers and sometimes work as actors, singers, artists, musicians, and writers. Use your unique view point to your advantage.
Thank you for taking our fun IQ test!
InstantIQTest.com
LeaderMarkets LLC
53 Prospect Park West
Suite 4C
Brooklyn, NY 11215
**end transmission**
Apparently, my IQ is so low this company felt the need to e-mail me out of the blue to let me know, even though I never took their test.
Either that or someone incorrectly entered my e-mail address instead of their own when taking an online IQ test. Is it any wonder that someone who can't remember their e-mail address would score 50 on an IQ test?
This randomly appeared in my inbox just now:
**begin transmission**
Hi, Joe.
Thank you for taking the Instant IQ Test.
You scored: 50
Your IQ Range is Below 70 and You are WELL BELOW AVERAGE.
Congratulations on completing our IQ test! Based on your answers to the test questions, your IQ is below 70. IQ scores are based on a scale where a score of 100 is the average score. Your score range of below 70 indicates that your intelligence is well below average based on this test. Your intelligence level can say a lot about how you approach life. By having a score which is below the average range, you have indicated that you often view the world differently than those around you. While most people may look at a problem and see only one solution, you are often able to come up with many solutions, most of which are more creative and unique than the traditional solution. People in this IQ range are often more creative than their peers and sometimes work as actors, singers, artists, musicians, and writers. Use your unique view point to your advantage.
Thank you for taking our fun IQ test!
InstantIQTest.com
LeaderMarkets LLC
53 Prospect Park West
Suite 4C
Brooklyn, NY 11215
**end transmission**
Apparently, my IQ is so low this company felt the need to e-mail me out of the blue to let me know, even though I never took their test.
Either that or someone incorrectly entered my e-mail address instead of their own when taking an online IQ test. Is it any wonder that someone who can't remember their e-mail address would score 50 on an IQ test?
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
How do you?
How do you get to that one unreachable place in your stair way that is midway between the landing and the upstairs. Your wife wants you to hang a picture right there in the middle, but you can't reach it from the second floor since it is too far out, and you can't reach it from the only place you could put a ladder since it's too far from there too. It's too high up so your short self can't reach up to hammer a nail that way either. Well, how do you do that?
How do you, you ask? I'll tell you: Duct tape, duct tape, duct tape. That's how.
How do you get to that one unreachable place in your stair way that is midway between the landing and the upstairs. Your wife wants you to hang a picture right there in the middle, but you can't reach it from the second floor since it is too far out, and you can't reach it from the only place you could put a ladder since it's too far from there too. It's too high up so your short self can't reach up to hammer a nail that way either. Well, how do you do that?
How do you, you ask? I'll tell you: Duct tape, duct tape, duct tape. That's how.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
A Day in the Life.
Outside my window...is a pitched battle as my massive Imperial Fleet crushes the pitiful Rebellion once and for all.
I am thinking...this Skywalker kid has a lot of chutzpa walking in here and talking about my weaknesses.
I am thankful for...planet-destroying Super-lasers and the ability to shoot lightning out of my fingertips. That just never gets old. Fire at will, Commander!
From the kitchen...I can smell the fried Mon Calamari with a side of Bantha wafting up from the bottomless pit. Who's idea was it to put that thing there anyways, with minimal guard rails? I'm going to have to have a talk with the chief architect. The thing's an accident waiting to happen.
I am creating...aside from the Death Star itself, a feeling of hatred and anger in Young Skywalker. Soon his journey towards the Dark Side will be complete!
I am going...to crush this insignificant Rebellion like an insect! Then I'll turn Skywalker to the Dark Side, let him and his dad, Mr. Whiney-pants, duke it out and take the victor as my apprentice.
I am wearing...a dark black robe. Damn, I look badass in this thing. I mean, I normally look badass, but when I pull on the hood? REALLY badass.
I am reading...The Evil Overlord's list. Great advice for today's ubervillain.
I am hoping...we can finish up this whole battle before 4. I don't want to miss my tee time on the Endor greens. They give you a complementary Ewok with each club membership.
I am hearing...Vader taunt this Skywalker kid. Vader sure does have a sexy taunting voice. But can he cackle like yours truly? Hell, no.
Around the house...I think my Royal Guard are using the downtime to practice Rock Band for the All Death Star Rock Band competition. As if their puny band can defeat The Siths. I mean, Vader can five-star "Green Grass and High Tides" on expert, playing both Guitar and Bass at the same time. And when you throw in my awesome singing voice and epic drum skills, those guys don't stand a chance. Not like winning would do them any good anyways, because Vader would just freak out and Force-strangle them anyways.
One of my favorite things...aside from killing Ewoks, is to crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and hearing the lamentation of their women.
A few plans for the rest of the week...Well, once I finish the Death Star and crush the Rebellion, there won't be much left to do except fly around in this awesome thing terrorizing the galaxy. That and doing glitterstim lines off the belly of some hot Twi'lek chicks.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing for you...
It never gets old.
(With apologies to Mrs. Pickles. ;-p)
Outside my window...is a pitched battle as my massive Imperial Fleet crushes the pitiful Rebellion once and for all.
I am thinking...this Skywalker kid has a lot of chutzpa walking in here and talking about my weaknesses.
I am thankful for...planet-destroying Super-lasers and the ability to shoot lightning out of my fingertips. That just never gets old. Fire at will, Commander!
From the kitchen...I can smell the fried Mon Calamari with a side of Bantha wafting up from the bottomless pit. Who's idea was it to put that thing there anyways, with minimal guard rails? I'm going to have to have a talk with the chief architect. The thing's an accident waiting to happen.
I am creating...aside from the Death Star itself, a feeling of hatred and anger in Young Skywalker. Soon his journey towards the Dark Side will be complete!
I am going...to crush this insignificant Rebellion like an insect! Then I'll turn Skywalker to the Dark Side, let him and his dad, Mr. Whiney-pants, duke it out and take the victor as my apprentice.
I am wearing...a dark black robe. Damn, I look badass in this thing. I mean, I normally look badass, but when I pull on the hood? REALLY badass.
I am reading...The Evil Overlord's list. Great advice for today's ubervillain.
I am hoping...we can finish up this whole battle before 4. I don't want to miss my tee time on the Endor greens. They give you a complementary Ewok with each club membership.
I am hearing...Vader taunt this Skywalker kid. Vader sure does have a sexy taunting voice. But can he cackle like yours truly? Hell, no.
Around the house...I think my Royal Guard are using the downtime to practice Rock Band for the All Death Star Rock Band competition. As if their puny band can defeat The Siths. I mean, Vader can five-star "Green Grass and High Tides" on expert, playing both Guitar and Bass at the same time. And when you throw in my awesome singing voice and epic drum skills, those guys don't stand a chance. Not like winning would do them any good anyways, because Vader would just freak out and Force-strangle them anyways.
One of my favorite things...aside from killing Ewoks, is to crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and hearing the lamentation of their women.
A few plans for the rest of the week...Well, once I finish the Death Star and crush the Rebellion, there won't be much left to do except fly around in this awesome thing terrorizing the galaxy. That and doing glitterstim lines off the belly of some hot Twi'lek chicks.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing for you...
It never gets old.
(With apologies to Mrs. Pickles. ;-p)
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