Google Scribe wrote my blog

Hello everyone! I was wondering what the hell is going on with google and i saw a new feature called google scribe. it is a nice addition to the blogger community and wrote nearly this entire article for me. I typed barely 10 letters in this whole thing. the only thing that would improve the system's performance would be if it refered back to the rest of the sentence for context clues.

Spray paint art

A blue planet, a farther red planet, a sun and a moon.

Hey i found this instructable just as i got an assignment to do a project about scale for my class. So i thought what better shows scale then a sun, two planets and a moon? Its all made using under 5$ of spray paints and about 12 minutes of my time. Read the instructable for more information its very good!
The instructable by Suzll

No news today

Because its my birthday! But tomorrow I'm going to write a review of Minecraft 1.8

Bitcoins

So I recently discovered BitCoins. A new type of anonymous currency that can be generated using your spare processing power. And man am i in love. True you cant use them for much yet but at the least i can put my computer to use while im sleeping, at class or simply not using it. For more information on how it works and how to generate them check out the BitCoin website. And if you have some spare bitcoins laying around my wallet is always open :P
19QtUeYpq5vWFhkJmySwD2hB21vGdCkZ8v

Portal 2 and Gamestop Power Rewards

So i finally decided to pick up portal two from Gamestop. Speaking of which have you checked out their new program? By doing nothing but my usual shopping ive already gotten a free used game and enough points to buy the halo shotglasses. If they hadnt taken them off the site that is... I was really looking forward to them too. Ah well we cant have everything right?
Back to Portal 2. It was almost a dissapointingly easy game in that I was finished in a couple of days of casual playing. (Not sure of exact hourage ill get back to you on that.) But the new items such as the light bridges, red and blue gel, and gravity...things, really added to the game. You had to think in several different dimensions at once and plan out how you were going to bounce here there and then make the gravity there. All while avoiding certain death.
And the storyline! Man was that a suprise! The whole time i was thinking no way so thats why!... Ill try and keep the spoilers down for anyone who hasnt played yet. I havnt had a chance to try out the 2 player mode because my roomate's too lame but there you go.
Overall I give it a 8/10 and the only reason its low is because i felt that the game wasnt long enough. It felt more like it should have stayed a steam game for 20$ or so rather than a full 60$ xbox 360 game(which is what i got it for). So yes buy it, yes enjoy it but for me at least theres not much of a replay value. I think it will soon turn into other games.
-Norbert
P.s. Flammable lemons sound like a great idea.

Funny Programming Story

Found this while stumbling and found it rather funny.
"Mutant Marsupials Take Up Arms Against Australian Air Force

The reuse of some object-oriented code has caused tactical headaches for Australia's armed forces. As virtual reality simulators assume larger roles in helicopter combat training, programmers have gone to great lengths to increase the realism of their scenarios, including detailed landscapes and in the case of the Northern Territory's Operation Phoenix herds of kangaroos (since disturbed animals might well give away a helicopter's position).

The head of the Defense Science & Technology Organization's Land Operations/Simulation division reportedly instructed developers to model the local marsupials' movements and reactions to helicopters. Being efficient programmers, they just re-appropriated some code originally used to model infantry detachment reactions under the same stimuli, changed the mapped icon from a soldier to a kangaroo, and increased the figures' speed of movement.

Eager to demonstrate their flying skills for some visiting American pilots, the hotshot Aussies "buzzed" the virtual kangaroos in low flight during a simulation. The kangaroos scattered, as predicted, and the visiting Americans nodded appreciatively... then did a double-take as the kangaroos reappeared from behind a hill and launched a barrage of Stinger missiles at the hapless helicopter. (Apparently the programmers had forgotten to remove that part of the infantry coding.)

The lesson?

Objects are defined with certain attributes, and any new object defined in terms of an old one inherits all the attributes. The embarrassed programmers had learned to be careful when reusing object-oriented code, and the Yanks left with a newfound respect for Australian wildlife. Simulator supervisors report that pilots from that point onward have strictly avoided kangaroos, just as they were meant to."

So please, remember to define parents and inheritance?

Irrlicht

So lately I have been working on learning how to make 3d video games in c++ as I spent the previous year supposedly becoming proficient in c++ at Clarkson. I was skeptical at first when I took the classes but now that im activly using c++ to try irrlicht(German for will o' the wisp or mad lights) I am surprised to discover how much I did learn these last few semesters. The last time I tried it I had no idea what all the * or -> were for and now I read it naturally and smoothly. As a result I feel confident enough to storyboard out a free to play FPS for Windows and Linux(hopefully). It wont look that stellar as I'm not that great with 3d modelers or animators, but with luck it will be a nice start to what I hope will be a large portfolio in 3 years. And I'll need that portfolio in order to get a good job once im in the "real world". Well no spoilers of the game for you yet; I want to make sure I have it all planned out before I actually start coding anything so that I dont just wing it as I write.
     As for the actual engine(irrlicht; remember?) I have found it pretty straight forward. There's the scene, the gui, etc. Level of Detail is built in, (just tell it how far away to clip and culling is done automatically in most render formats offered; I'm going with Direct3D) it supports any file format I could care to use or name and the methods are pretty obviously located. I'm quite pleased with the way it is set up and will likely use its companion(IrrKlang) for the audio engine. Well off to story boarding, ill give you an update soon.
     Heres a picture of a wall rendered with the Direct3D engine. The FPS is wicked high because its pretty much just a flat texture.

Team Fortess 2 for Free!

My Favorite Class

So im sure many of you know TF2 is now free to download and play. I had been thinking about getting it for a while but now im glad i waited. Ive been playing for quite a bit and have decided that the Sniper is my favorite class, mostly because its gratifying to drop a heavy who's going bezerk. If anyone wants to play add me on steam at snakeman2058 and send me a message!

Biomass Fuel Cells

So lo and behold I sent another fruitless evening stumbling instead of working and found an interesting alternative energy source. A group of scientists (I cant recall where from but im sure they mention it in the video. Forgive me for not saying "after the jump") have developed a fuel cell that basically harnesses micro-bacteria to break down biomass and pulls the electrons out and into a circuit, thus powering a system. In the below video they demonstrate a clock and an admittedly slow moving robot. Well worth a few minutes and hopefully enough development that cars are measured in mile per steak.

Working full time sucks.

Alot. Also the next Doctor Who isnt for another 2 weeks. Things keep getting better and better...

Teetering on the...Brink

So...Brink. I feel like this is a classic case of too much hype. Yes, the game looks awesome. Yes, it sounds amazing and yes it is fun to play. But there are some drawbacks. First the crippling multiplayer lag. I know that most games have lag issue when they first come out but this is weird lag, like the code is wrong or something. It wouldn't be that much of a problem is the singleplayer was anywhere near challenging. The AI is dumb and scripted and there is no way to coordinate assaults. And the opponents are easier to gun down than a barn while your armed with an asteroid the size of the sun. As for the balance and game play that is also lacking. Unlocking everything is laughably easy and can be accomplished in a single sitting. The class system is treated too loosely and so you spend all this time customizing for a preferred class, and then suddenly have to switch in-order to complete an objective. Also one of the biggest downfalls in my mind is the sniper rifles. Let me set something down: I love sniping. BF:BC2 is one of my favorite games for this reason. And while I prefer games where a torso shot wounds but doesn't insta-kill, headshots should always make the person explode into a pink mist. I mean its their head. Its kind of essential. In tandem, the S.M.A.R.T. system is not as easy to use as the trailer made it out to be. There are a few set area where you leap, vault, slide etc. and the maps are definitely too linear to fully explore this system. Finally the lack of a split screen is another worry for me. I mostly play with friends and for that reason love halo. In my opinion, if the game exists it should have split screen. Guests are not necessary but enjoyed and you should definitely allow full accounts to play on the same console. Brink has this in common with BF:BC2 and it is the only thing i hate about that game. All in all, heres hoping that Bethesda learns from this and makes a sequel that is everything Brink is not.

Brink in 4 days

So I've been watching the updates on brink the past couple weeks and its starting to look pretty good. As it should considering launch day is 4 days away. Brink is the story of a Utopia torn by war as supplies dwindle and you get to pick a side. I'm really looking forward to the multiplayer singleplayer aspect and the S.M.A.R.T. system. So far as i understand it the multi-player single-player works with instead of AI you have actual players on your team who work with you to complete the campaign. I'm hoping it will play out like Assassins Creed: Brotherhood but with guns and explosives instead of crossbows and hidden blades, thus fulfilling my dream of sprinting across rooftops with a sniper rifle. And from an early video explaining the movement system it looks like my wish might be coming true. At the moment im torn between playing as a tank or an operative. Unless of course there's a class that specializes in using a sniper rifle. The tank because i usually go in for the big guns and massive firepower. The operative because i like the sneaking around and assassinating at the last second. I'm definitely going to join the resistance though. Down with Utopia! How about you guys?

Ocarina of Time...3D?!?

So I just got an email from Nintendo stating that Legend of Zelda:Ocarina of Time is coming out for the 3ds..Suddenly i have an urge to get one. Up until now I had been putting of in lieu of my DSLite. What does everyone think?

Minecraft server back up

Hey Just reset my minecraft server and people are starting to build. expect some pictures in the days to follow. in the meantime if you want to play post a comment below with your minecraft name and ill add you to the list. IP is mine.perihelionds.com

Python program

Ive spent that last couple of days (inbetween my exams) playing around with python and learning about what sort of stuff it could do. Turns out it has the ability to write to a .wav file. so what did i do? wrote out a song. First on the guess what it is wins!
Please note that this is written in Python 3.0
Code

Featured on the Vuzix twitter page!

Just wanted to say thanks to vuzix for retweeting my site's link to my review! If your interested on the best virtual reality glasses head over to their site!

The Tardis in full size

This month im hoping to build one. Anyone who donates 1$ or more gets their name on the sponsors plaque on the inside. Going to build it full size to scale to the 2005-present prop with accurate look and interior as well as the noise and flashing light.

Bought the Vuzix Wrap920

So a little while ago I finally bought those damned glasses. Dropped 400$ from my bank account and 2 days later there they were. Being the excitable person that i am i stood in the mail-room and tore off the packaging before rushing upstairs to try them out. And i was shocked at the quality. The focus dials are a little hard to get at first and the first few times using text may take a little bit to focus but now my eyes are fully trained and its like having a personal movie theater in my pocket. I don't know if I'm just seeing it weird but the screen looks a hell of a lot bigger than the advertised 60 inches. Currently i only have the iPod and composite connections but i cant wait for them to bring out the HDMI cable later this spring.
Pros:
-Awesome TV in my pocket
-Works with everything i own besides laptop(until i get the HDMI cable)
-Can now own people in reach while laying in bed
-Don't have to lay awkwardly in bed while watching TV; The screen rotates to fit you
Cons:
-Only thing i have it that it sticks out from my face more than the pictures make it appear. But not a big issue as i don't much care what i look like because the glasses are just that badass
Overall I'm going to give them a 9.7/10. If your even slightly interested in being cool id suggesting heading over to The Vuzix Website and checking out a pair of your own.

Python is fun!

Hey everyone (who's left that is) Sorry for the long long long delay in posting. Lately(and by lately i mean the past 2 hours) I've been teaching myself python. It started when i found Skulpt a nifty live, in-browser compiler for Python. Since then I've downloaded the IDE for windows and have been playing with it. So far I've written the beginnings of a Blackjack game but lost myself in how to equate the card names to values because i stored the cards in a map. Tomorrow i might start on a MTG program that would take your deck, shuffle it, draw a hand and keep track of mana etc. All command line based of course since Clarkson doesn't teach GUI applications (yet i hope). Anyways below is the code I have so far. Feel free to provide suggestions.
-----------------------------------
| Read no Further if you don't care |
-----------------------------------

import random



deck = {1 : 'Ace of Hearts', 2:'Ace of Clubs',   3:'Ace of Spades',   4:'Ace of Diamonds',

        5:'Two of Hearts',   6:'Two of Clubs',   7:'Two of Spades',   8:'Two of Diamonds',

        9:'Three of Hearts', 10:'Three of Clubs',11:'Three of Spades',12:'Three of Diamonds',

        13:'Four of Hearts', 14:'Four of Clubs', 15:'Four of Spades', 16:'Four of Diamonds',

        17:'Five of Hearts', 18:'Five of Clubs', 19:'Five of Spades', 20:'Five of Diamonds',

        21:'Six of Hearts',  22:'Six of Clubs',  23:'Six of Spades',  24:'Six of Diamonds',

        25:'Seven of Hearts',26:'Seven of Clubs',27:'Seven of Spades',28:'Seven of Diamonds',

        29:'Eight of Hearts',30:'Eight of Clubs',31:'Eight of Spades',32:'Eight of Diamonds',

        33:'Nine of Hearts', 34:'Nine of Clubs', 35:'Nine of Spades', 36:'Nine of Diamonds',

        37:'Ten of Hearts',  38:'Ten of Clubs',  39:'Ten of Spades',  40:'Ten of Diamonds',

        41:'Jack of Hearts', 42:'Jack of Clubs', 43:'Jack of Spades', 44:'Jack of Diamonds',

        45:'Queen of Hearts',46:'Queen of Clubs',47:'Queen of Spades',48:'Queen of Diamonds',

        49:'King of Hearts', 50:'King of Clubs', 51:'King of Spades', 52:'King of Diamonds'}



hand = []

total = 0



def start():

    m=random.randint(1,52)

    hand.append(deck[m])

total = 0

def checkHand():

    #To be implemented        

    

def dealing(answer):

    if answer == "HIT":

        m=random.randint(1,52)

        hand.append(deck[m])

        checkHand()

        print(hand, total)

        response = input("Would you like to hit or stay? (Please note the Dealer sticks at 16) HIT/STAY \n")

        dealing(response)

    if answer == "STAY":

        return

    else:

        print("Invalid Response...Quiting")

        return



print("Hello and welcome to BlackJack 2011. Here are your first two cards: " )

start()

start()

checkHand()

print(hand,total)

response = input("Would you like to hit or stay? (Please note the Dealer sticks at 16) HIT/STAY \n")

dealing(response)

print(hand,total)