Found an old memo tonight:
We will become increasing dependant on them, and at some point they will become dependant on us. (Or are they already, they can’t operate themselves…) As we become increasingly dependant on computers it follows that we will become increasingly reliant on the interface between us and them. The interface is almost always nerd in front of a PC. The nerds will inherit the earth.
God alone knows who wrote it, drop me a line if you do. It’s on the headed memo paper from ThInk so it must date from sometime last year when I was working for them. I don’t think it was Steve as he’s not the type of person to dwell on this sort of topic, let alone commit his thoughts coherently to paper.
Anyway it reminded me of an old nerdy saying:
In man-machine symbiosis, it is man who must adjust: The machines can’t.
And that’s tonights thinking point.
As part of my conquest of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) I have mastered JSON (Javascript Object Notation).
This makes me muchly happy as I can reduce data transfer by about 5% and reduce the javascript I use to parse it by 8 lines. It may not seem a lot, but it’ll really add up in a larger application, or when utilised in a massive way: eg being the primary method of content loading as in my test site.
TODO:
- Resolve layout issues in IE on windows.
- Add gz compression to reduce bandwidth and loading times
- Still need some way of manipulating the browsers history so as not to break the back button and to provide some sort of permalinks.
- Design can always use improvement.
I have, however, created a .htaccess file which allows for static entry into whatever ‘page’ is requested. A database entry with title ‘Home’ and key 1, for example, can be reached at Home.htm, 1.htm, ?page=1 or even ?page=Home.
I said I’d do it, and now I have. At least in part:
The Ajax Website
Right now it’s a very simple ajax based content loader that degrades into a regular ppp site.
TODO:
- Set events from JS
- Use .htaccess to truly conquer degrading and provide…
- Permalinks, discretely.
- Dolly up the design a bit.
Lemme know what you think.
Oh - my - god! Have you *seen* CtrlAltDel today?
*gasp*
(Sorry for extreme geekness, it seemed appropriate…)
I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind today. Tis an excellant film.
I’d been plauged for months knowing that the title was from a poem, but not which. During the film they give the quote; it was by A. Pope.
Of course! Eloisa To Abelard! Knew I’d read it somewhere!
Here’s an explanatory chunk…
How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resign’d;
Labour and rest, that equal periods keep;
“Obedient slumbers that can wake and weep;”
Desires compos’d, affections ever ev’n,
Tears that delight, and sighs that waft to Heav’n.
Grace shines around her with serenest beams,
And whisp’ring angels prompt her golden dreams.
The film troubled me. Something in it resonated with something in me, but I’m not sure what. Seems I’ve solved one mystery to find another.
So today I’ve been using pov-ray to model a bouncing ball and persuading my ajax to degrade gracefully.
The former involves some nifty physics and split time sequences and the latter involves rewriting for old-fashioned html.
Both were stimulating. 
Right now my PC is hooked up to the one downstairs as a cluster. They’re rendering the pretty animation that goes with the physics work. It’s finding it hard because each image is made of 120000 pixels (that’s 300 by 400), uses photorealism grade anti-alias and is lit by an area light 5×5 with an adaptive supersampling level of 3. That’s a lot of work.
>>Update: It’s done. The GIF is a whopping 9.0MB in size and almost killed my windows machine when I tried opening it…
Everyone was yelling about ajax, I thought I’d give it a bash…
May I present, my very first ajax offering: The ajax timestamp convertor!
Ok so I realise it could have been done in pure JS, but this is proof of concept. I could just have easily pulled something from a database or anything.
Before I did this I couldn’t see what the hype was about, now I know: It’s such a simple, elegant concept that will change the way people think about the internet.
I used prototype.js as a framework and loved it.
I’ve got a few idea’s for implementation too… Am going to build a small database driven site that uses ajax to give the usability of frames (always content on screen) and the style of non-frames (fluid design). I think this’ll kick ass.
All hail ajax, it works!
I’ve been doing maths homework, sort of.
Well I *have* been practicing my 3D vectors and translations.
I’ve been making pretty 3D animations using Pov-ray, the persistance of vision raytracer.
I made an X11 logo that spins:
It’s only a shitty scaled down rendition, but it demonstrates the point.
My version is fully anti-aliased, much larger, and has a much higher framerate.
Yay!
#################################
# x11.pov #
#################################
// Copyright Tom Wright 2005
#default {
pigment {
colour rgb <1,0,0>
}
finish {
phong 0.7
metallic
ambient 0.3
}
}
light_source {
<10,0,10>
colour rgb <1,0,1>
}
light_source {
<10,0,-10>
colour rgb <1,1,0>
}
light_source {
<-10,0,-10>
colour rgb <1,0,1>
}
light_source {
<-10,0,10>
colour rgb <0,1,1>
}
light_source {
<0,3,0>
colour rgb <1,1,1>
}
light_source {
<0,-3,0>
colour rgb <1,1,1>
}
camera {
location <-7,0,0>
look_at <0,0,0>
rotate < 0,360*clock 0>
}
fog {
colour rgb <1,1,1>
distance 15
}
plane {
y, -2
texture {
tiles {
texture {
pigment {
marble
color_map {
[0.0 color rgb <1, 1, 1>]
[0.75 color rgb <0.75, 0.75, 0.75>]
[1.0 color rgb <0, 0, 0>]
}
turbulence 0.8
}
finish { phong 0.7 }
}
tile2
texture {
pigment {
marble
color_map {
[0.0 color rgb <0, 0, 0>]
[0.75 color rgb <0.25, 0.25, 0.25>]
[1.0 color rgb <1, 1, 1>]
}
turbulence 0.8
}
finish { phong 0.7 }
rotate <0, 0, 90>
}
}
}
}
intersection {
union {
cylinder {
<1,-3,-2>,<1,3,2>,0.5
}
cylinder {
<-1,-3,2>,<-1,3,-2>,0.5
}
}
box {
<-2.3,-2,-3>,<2.3,2,3>
}
}
#################################
# x11.ini #
#################################
Antialias=On
Antialias_Threshold=0.5
Antialias_Depth=3
Quality=9
Input_File_Name=x11.pov
Initial_Frame=0
Final_Frame=60
Initial_Clock=0
Final_Clock=1
Cyclic_Animation=on
Pause_when_Done=off
Fun ja?
Just thought I’d make a quick post to let y’all know I’m using a client today.
Tis called LogJam and is quite nifty. Downloaded, compiled and installed yesterday. Tinkered around for a while and was quite impressed. Manages most aspects of my LJ account, all in standard x11 windows.
Handy.
Thank you to the logjam devs!
For several weeks now I’ve been a participant in an unholy rural battle for the title of superior species between my horse and one of my bullocks.
Whenever in this time we (paddy and me) rode past him (bullock, the black and white one, no 01487) he followed us until we chased him away. After chasing him paddy would stride away victorious.
Today was different. Today he was waiting at the bottom gate, staring at us up the hill. I was fastening the top gate closed when, just like in a cartoon, he charged up the hill towards us. Paddy disliked this. Paddys ears went flat back and started fidgeting. By the time I get the gate closed paddy is furious and little bullock is 3/4 of the way up the hill.
At this point I let paddy go - and go he does.
Full gallop.
Down hill.
Oh shit.
That’s what little bullock must have thought too: When he saw us flying down the hill he tried to turn around. The following scene would have been comic if I’d not been hurtling along at 40mph…
In a desperate attempt to turn around and run away little bullock tied his legs in a knot (well almost…) and fell over. Little bullock is consequently engaged in a manic battle with itself - get off the ground at all costs.
Paddys still galloping despite my best efforts and approaching little bullock rather rapidly.
In fact we really are close now.
Bullock stands up. Bullock is facing us. The gap between pad and bullock runs out. Pad slams to an ungainly skidding stop. Pad looms over bullock and both short at each other.
Then, as if nothing had happened, bullock walks to the left and paddy to the right.
I wish I knew what went on inside their heads…
