Demo
Life is Fun
One of the first things I like to do when getting familiar with a new visual programming language is to make a version of John Conway's cellular automaton Game of Life. Mostly I do this as an indulgence, because it's really fun how a simple set of rules can assume an almost organic quality of motion.
This version of the Game of Life is programmed in Javascript using that HTML5 <canvas> element and I think it's one of the more satisfying versions I've made. If it runs slow try resizing the browser (the grid fits in the window) and reloading. Explorer support is provided by Explorer Canvas & Silverlight, but it's uh, slow.
If your interested in seeing how this works, check out the source files.
Sketchup 7 and PaperVision
SketchUp 7 is out. I love the interface so I was hoping for a few more export options. Unfortunately it only exports .kmz files. It is a free application after all so who can really complain? We're fortunate enough that getting at the exported DAE file is just a few steps.
- Export 3D model from Sketchup
- Change the extension from .kmz to .zip
- Open the Zip and grab your DAE from the models folder
Sources: Jacob Make's Blog and Papervision2
Spirograph
Fans of the original Spirograph or just lovers of hypotrochoid's in general might get a kick out of this hypotrochoid/spirograph toy Matthew made a while ago. Coincidently some of the techniques used in that toy found new life in later client work, but that is a story for later.
