February 2006 Archives
I have been using loops a lot, and having to remove elements from within the loop. This can cause things to go wrong very quickly. I’d been trying to figure out the way to do this safely in python, and found this page about it. Basically, you make a temporary copy of the list and iterate through that:
for x in a[:]:
if x < 0: a.remove(x)
The a[:] bit is what makes the temporary copy. Nice.
I figured i’d give a bit of an overview about the this project that i’ve been working on.
It is based on the butterfly effect, which is, in short, that a butterfly flaps its wings on the other side of the world, and causes a tornado here.
My thought was to create an environment where people could come every day or two (casual), and they would have a butterfly as an avatar. They would be able to move their butterfly around the map (slowly), which would be quite large. Every once and a while a butterfly would flap its wings. These flaps would propagate across the map, like ripples in a pool. When two flaps touch or overlap, there would be some kind of interaction.
That’s about it. I don’t have the details of what the interactions are, how they work, or anything. Right now the project is looking more like a toy or a simulation then a game, which is ok. I’m just excited to have something working, which is multi-user!
Which leads me to this update. I’ve spent the past couple of nights working on the server code, cleaning it up and adding missing functionality. I figure i’ve got another nights worth of work on the server before i can get back to the client. Then i’ve got 2 or 3 nights on the client side. Then i can do the next test! I’m hoping sometime early next week.
Its exciting for me to finally have built something that, well, does something. Good stuff!
Ok, well, i don’t really know when it was easy days, but Conor is now getting out of his bed in the morning and coming into ours. Before, he would call us to come get him, but now he is doing it on his own.
So far, this hasn’t been a problem because he isn’t getting up any earlier then usual. It might become a problem if we have to take him back into his room if he is up too early.
Still, it is kinda cute when he come tromping in, crawls over us, and lays down between us for our morning “sleep in”. One of those “its great to have a family” moments.
Before all hell breaks loose, anyway. :)
No new work on any projects over the weekend. Was doing some IT support for a friend, full system re-install, HD reformat action. God’s, but that takes a long time. I also realized how much easier it is if you have a router that can connect to your ISP, rather then having to run software on your machine. This was made clear when we went to install Bell’s access manager software, but it told me i needed the latest service pack installed first. Well, how the heck am i going to get the darn thing if i’m not connected to the web? Anyway, we solved the problem by buying a cheap router, which also helps to improve the safety of the computer. While it was a bit arduous, i think things should go swimmingly from here on in for him.
The One Minute Film and Video Festival has a call out for all you closet film makers:
The One Minute Film & Video Festival is accepting submissions for its 2006 programme, growth. Interpret the word “growth” as you will, in whatever format you choose. There will be no restrictions. Don’t think too hard about it, just get out there and do it!
I like it! How hard can it be to make a 1 minute film?! (via OrKillMe).
ok, ok, i know, it can be really really hard. But i like the `tude “just get out there and do it!”.
Chris Bliss’ “Must see finale”. (via Ned)
I’ve never had to do this till today, but this page has all the details if you should ever need to do so yourself. It was remarkably easy, actually. I’ve now got the Roundup Issue Tracker running, as a service, here at work, so i’m hopeful that it will help keep things organized.
Well, i’ve finally done it. I upgraded my copy of movabletype to 3.2. I think i’ve got things working ok again, after a brief period of things not working ok.
So far so good.
All is quiet on the western front.
Ok, i’ve actually got a prototype up and running today, that you can check out. Get the client here. You can login, and the blue dot is “yours”. If you log back in later with the same name, you will have the same blue dot. You can click on the enclosed “map” area and the dot will move to that location.
Not very exciting, i know, but it works, and i felt like releasing something today. The server will be up for the rest of the day today, but i don’t know how much beyond that, so if you can’t get past the “connect” button, its probably because the server is down.
UPDATE The server is down, and the client has been removed. Thanks to those of you that tried it out.
This is really for the Googlebots.
I was looking to use the json data format for some flash socket communications stuff, so i downloaded the version available on the site, and was saddened to see that it didn’t compile with mtasc. Doing a couple of quick google searches did not turn up any “tweaked” versions, so i went ahead and updated the class myself. I then submitted it back to the json people, and, low and behold, its now my version that is available! So, if you are looking for a version of json, in actionscript, which is mtasc compatible, you can now use the “official” one. Nice.
I was ok while i thought the Nokia 770 was out of stock. Apparently it isn’t anymore, see here and here.
So, lets see, $379.00 US is about $440 CDN. That’s not bad.
And it runs python, with a port of wxWidgets on the way. Can pygame be far behind? Oops, never mind, its already there. With games already working on it. Crazy.
After a short conversation with Mr. Ippolito about Swocket, he made me realize that python and twisted make making servers so easy, that there is really no need for a generalized solution. Oh, i’m sure there will be modules and helper bits that i will recycle, but the need for a whole framework is overkill. This is good news for me because it gets my head out of the doing-stuff-other-then-the-actual-project minds state.
Or just really wierd?
http://www.epica-awards.org/assets/epica/2004/finalists/film/flv/22012-1.htm
http://www.epica-awards.org/assets/epica/2004/finalists/film/flv/22012-2.htm
http://www.epica-awards.org/assets/epica/2004/finalists/film/flv/22012-3.htm
http://www.epica-awards.org/assets/epica/2004/finalists/film/flv/22012-4.htm
Blixa from Einstrzende Neubauten reading for DIY home repair store commercials.
(via Bunny Babe via OrKillMe)
I’ve been working with the FibraNet bit of the Lightweight Games Toolkit. I’ve done some new examples, mostly so that i make sure i understand how the library works.
Its been most productive doing this coding and documenting, as i’ve come to understand iterators and generators in python much more clearly then i did before.
So far, i’ve been able to produce a proof-of-concept “server”, with a flash front-end (more on that later).
With this success comes the desire for bigger and better. This is always a sign of trouble, a going-off-the-rails kind of thing. However, i am going to indulge my inner inability-to-focus-on-one-project-at-a-time, and see where this might lead. The problem i’ve had with flash servers to date is that, well, they either are non-open source, or not programmed in a language i’m comfortable with. There was Swocket, but it seems to have died the death of a forgotten project. Interestingly, the main dev is Bob Ippolito, who i now know of as quite an accomplished flash and python guy. Did the mochibot flash tracker and mochikit javascript libraries. This kind of changes things, as i was going to “re-invent the wheel” to some extent, trying to follow best practices layed down by the Unity and Oregano server projects (both in Java).
Perhaps i’ll try to get in touch with Bob first, and see where he has gone wrt python/flash servers…
Yep, a web form peronality test-like thingie. I think its kind of cool actually, and if you want to help me out, you can check it out too. Go check my Johari Window. Here is the description:
By describing yourself from a fixed list of adjectives, then asking your friends and colleagues to describe you from the same list, a grid of overlap and difference can be built up.
Kinda cool. There is also a Nohari Window, which is used to describe your failings, but that’s a harder one - i don’t quite know if i’m ready to put one of those together yet… (via orkillme)
