|
|
Is the Features forum really...
About Truespace Archives
These pages are a copy of the official truespace forums prior to their removal somewhere around 2011.
They are retained here for archive purposes only.
Is the Features forum really... // Rants and Raves
Post by ProfessorKhaos // Apr 4, 2006, 3:37am
|
ProfessorKhaos
Total Posts: 622
|
our money's not worth much but we got some DAMN fine scenery!
Lots of great movies from NZ! :) I'm sure the economy boost from tourism is making at least a few people very rich there. |
Post by Alien // Apr 4, 2006, 4:58am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
Glad you like the cobweb pic - the background is a photo I took looking up the river right over the road from my place - our money's not worth much but we got some DAMN fine scenery!
That you have. :) Speaking of the cobweb, how'd you go about putting the beads of dew on the web? I can think of a couple of possibilities, but I'm curious as to which approach you took. |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 5, 2006, 12:10am
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
Lots of great movies from NZ! :) I'm sure the economy boost from tourism is making at least a few people very rich there.
Hi Proff - tourism and movies do bring in lots of extra money. The movie industry gets a pretty good tax incentive to do so. Just last night there was a news article on tele about Walden Media Co (a division of Disney and the folk who made The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe). Apparently Walden are seriously thinking about moving their entire operation to NZ - partly because of the scenery, partly because of the tax breaks, partly because of the proximity to the guys at WETA, partly because of the exchange rate and so on.
They were talking about making the other 6 Narnia books into movies and filming them here (although Ireland is also being considered). The projected budget for Prince Caspian (the next Narnia story) is US$300 million!!
Walden are looking to build state-of-the-art sound stages and studios in Auckland and are currently filming 2 other projects here already.
Obviously a lot of the money goes straight back offshore but the boost to the local economy is pretty substantial. "The Bridge to Terabithea" is currently being shot here, using US actors and directors but 95% of the crew is Kiwi so that creates lots of jobs as you can imagine. Exciting stuff really. |
Post by Alien // Apr 5, 2006, 12:35am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
partly because of the exchange rate and so on.
:confused: Wouldn't that be a reason to not go there? :confused: |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 5, 2006, 12:49am
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
That you have. :) Speaking of the cobweb, how'd you go about putting the beads of dew on the web? I can think of a couple of possibilities, but I'm curious as to which approach you took.
I'm tempted to say I just left the cobweb outside over night but I won't!!:D :D
The web itself is a simple plane with alpha mapped transparency - the map was hand drawn in Ability Photopaint (sort of a poor mans photoshop if you aren't familiar with it - it has the all important Layers capability). I set the scene up using a vertical view (as opposed to a camera), set the plane horizontally and centred at X,Y,Z = 0. The dew drops are nurbs spheres and each one was positioned by hand (well by mouse - you know what I mean), one strand at a time - it took a LOT of tweak, render, tweak, render, tweak. Having the web plane centred meant I was only working in the horizontal which simplified things considerably.
This wasn't helped by the fact that the solid display mode did not pick up the fine detail of the web - to get around this I made a copy of the Web plane and used a much coarser version of the web image (with no alpha transparency) to act as a placement guide which worked well enough in solid display mode to allow me to place the drops in the right places. Finally it was just a matter of hiding the guide plane, positioning the branches and lights etc and it was done.
All in all it was quite the learning experience for me - and I was given a more than a few pointers and heaps of encouragement by the guys on the forum - this link will take you to the relevant conversation and you can see some of the development stages
http://forums.caligari.com/discus/messages/1583/20026.html?1133817104
:D
If you can think of an easier way to do it... well part of me doesn't want to know but the bigger part does:D - how would you have done it? |
Post by Alien // Apr 5, 2006, 3:16am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
If you can think of an easier way to do it... well part of me doesn't want to know but the bigger part does:D - how would you have done it?
.... TBH, I might have followed a similar development path to yours. The difference being I might have got away with doing it all polys on my system. I had another idea which involved using ClothMotion to acheive the sag in the threads, but as I've not even gotten round to installing CM, nevermind learning how to use it, I don't know how succesful that would have been. :o Frankly your solution was a lot simpler & more elegant than anything I might have come up with.
I do have 1 point to add about your method though. It could just be that you didn't think it worth mentioning, but I would have copied the rows of beads to strands that were almost parallel, then just tweaked the position of each bead to match the new strand, & added or subtracted beads as necessary if the strand was bigger/longer than the 1 you just copied beads from. Might have saved a bit of time [if you didn't already do it that way].
I do have 1 other idea, but it's kinda vague & nebulous. Something to do with paths. Not sure what though. :( |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 5, 2006, 3:53am
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
:D Great minds think alike...
I started with 1 dewdrop copied it 9 times, positioned them along 1 strand then grouped them and copied the group, moved the group so as to minimise the requirement to move each individual drop, then repeated the process over and over adding minor size variations and so on.
The cloth motion Idea might have worked - my earliest efforts were aimed at making the web with real geometry but with so many curves the poly-count went ballistic and it was too finicky trying to get the curves right.
I did wonder if the was some way to position them using paths and scripts but I'm very much a noob with scripting - tS 7 link editor may well make this sort of thing easier.
In the end I went with the KISS philosophy!
I'm just glad you didn't point out the 'Auto-dewdrop-positioning" icon!!:rolleyes: |
Post by Alien // Apr 5, 2006, 5:23am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
I started with 1 dewdrop copied it 9 times, positioned them along 1 strand then grouped them and copied the group, moved the group so as to minimise the requirement to move each individual drop, then repeated the process over and over adding minor size variations and so on.
Yeah, sounds how I might have ended up doing it. It's just the way you described it in that other thread... I had this image in my head of you doing each 1 individually. ;)
The cloth motion Idea might have worked - my earliest efforts were aimed at making the web with real geometry but with so many curves the poly-count went ballistic and it was too finicky trying to get the curves right.
Ah, well, that's what happens when you have less system memory than some recent graphics cards come with. ;) Any news on that upgrade?
I did wonder if the was some way to position them using paths and scripts but I'm very much a noob with scripting - tS 7 link editor may well make this sort of thing easier.
I'm even less than a noob where scripting's concerned, I wasn't even considering scripts. What I was thinking of... not really sure how to describe what I mean [especially as I'm not even sure I know what I mean! :o]. Something like getting the drops to move along the path like you would if you were animating them to move that way, but stop it when they're in position & then delete animation info before the correct position. Not sure if that makes any sense, but it was sort of what I was thinking. I agree the LE might make thing easier though.
In the end I went with the KISS philosophy!
Unfortunately I sometimes tend to make things more complicated than they need to be, then get carried away with it off in the wrong direction. :(
I'm just glad you didn't point out the 'Auto-dewdrop-positioning" icon!!:rolleyes:
ROFLMAO! [literally] :D
I must confess on reading that I found myself more than a little tempted to hold off replying to this thread until I'd had chance to try & talk Splinters into creating 1, but I'm not that evil. Well, almost, but not quite. :p ;) |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 5, 2006, 4:03pm
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
Hi Alien
I had this image in my head of you doing each 1 individuallyNah! I used to be a tradesman so I'm always looking for the easiest, most practical and most elegant solution. There's even a cunning reason for grouping the dewdrops in groups of 9!
Any news on that upgrade? Yeah but it's not good - my pet computer guy lives in the country and looks after his quadraplegic mum - he has a long way to go to get into town where I am and he recently not only lost his drivers licence but also had his car stolen! The good news is it's giving me more time to get my limited finances in order. My tS7 has yet to arrive too so I'm not that stressed about it.
Something like getting the drops to move along the path like you would if you were animating them to move that way, but stop it when they're in position & then delete animation info before the correct position
Hmm. You've got me wondering about doing it with particles confined to paths - that could be an interesting approach.
Unfortunately I sometimes tend to make things more complicated than they need to be, then get carried away with it off in the wrong direction. Chuckle - I know what you mean - I often go the other way and make it too simple :D
ROFLMAO! [literally]
I must confess on reading that I found myself more than a little tempted to hold off replying to this thread until I'd had chance to try & talk Splinters into creating 1, but I'm not that evil. Well, almost, but not quite. LOL - Evil is right! Clearly you are not the cutsey-pie ET type of Alien!
Um, what was this thread about? |
Post by Alien // Apr 6, 2006, 4:29am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
Nah! I used to be a tradesman so I'm always looking for the easiest, most practical and most elegant solution.
Tradesman - as in woodwork? I have a bit of an interest in woodwork, & plan to make most of my own furniture to replace old or temporary stuff I'm using now [probably from watching too much New Yankee Workshop :)]. Haven't really gotten round to doing much of it though, been procrastinating.
----
Side note: My having watched a lot of NYM could be why I keep thinking of Caligari's Norm as the Norm Abram of trueSpace [that, & having the same 1st name :)]. Hmm... the New Canadian Rendershop, eh? :D
---
I too like to find the most practical, elegant way of doing things, I'm just not always that good at doing it! :o
There's even a cunning reason for grouping the dewdrops in groups of 9!
Oh? :confused:
Yeah but it's not good - my pet computer guy lives in the country and looks after his quadraplegic mum - he has a long way to go to get into town where I am and he recently not only lost his drivers licence but also had his car stolen! The good news is it's giving me more time to get my limited finances in order.
That sucks. I take it neither you or your other 1/2 have your own transport? Still, like you say it gives you more time to sort your money out.
My tS7 has yet to arrive too so I'm not that stressed about it.
Might be an idea to check with Caligari on the progress of the order. I forget who they use for shipping, but if whoever it is has a tracking service that might be useful.
Hmm. You've got me wondering about doing it with particles confined to paths - that could be an interesting approach.
Now you're headed into waters way out of my depth. :(
Chuckle - I know what you mean - I often go the other way and make it too simple :D
For some odd reason I often find it easier to simplify other people's ideas than my own.
LOL - Evil is right! Clearly you are not the cutsey-pie ET type of Alien!
Hehe - nah, I just have a mischeivous sense of humour.
Um, what was this thread about?
Beats me. :) |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 6, 2006, 10:23pm
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
Well, seeing as no one else seems to be using this thread....
Tradesman - as in woodwork? Not directly although I have dabbled quite extensively in the past (My younger brother is the carpenter/cabinet maker in my family). I left school and worked as a 'Telephone Guy' for many years. This was back in the days when phones had dials and the phone network belonged to the people using it rather than to some offshore multinational conglomerate! It involved a little bit of everything really - from laying and jointing underground cables to climbing poles, wiring up buildings and installing PABX's.
I've done enough woodwork to know the difference between an Mitre and an a tenon though and at one time I built myself a large mobile home on the back of an old Austin truck.
New Yankee Workshop is not something we have here so I'm afraid the references don't work for me :confused:
So I'm thinking that your interest in woodworking and in 3d modelling are possibly related?
Re groups of 9 for the dewdrops - I was using tS 5.1 and the excellent PiScene TSX to keep control of everything. PiScene automatically numbers objects without adding a 0 before the single digits which meant that 'object 10' would be at the top of the list ahead of 'object 1' - because I was hiding and unhiding a lot plus individually positioning these objects it was easier to limit each group to 9 objects. With tS6.6 layers I use the KFE a lot more but with tS 5.1 I developed a workflow using PiScene that I still miss sometimes - particularly as PiScene tells you at a glance which objects are hidden and which ones aren't
Re the country computer guy - yes I have my trusty Honda Civic (the best car I ever owned) plus we also have a Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4 that consumes enough gas to finance a small middle-eastern sheikdom - so we do have transport - it's just logistics at the end of the day. 30 bucks for half a tank of gas or 30 bucks for more RAM/new GFX card etc. As I'm hoping to get an entirely new computer eventually I'm also trying to avoid spending on upgrading any of the other three. I'm still undecided as to which way to go.
Re my copy of tS7 - I'll be chasing the Caligarians up if it doesn't get here soon.
Re the particles - I've not done much more than look at the tutorials that come with TrueParticles - I'm very much out of my depth there to but something you said made me think: If one can get a particle that looks like a dewdrop one could (I think) constrain the particles to a path that conforms to the web strands and use the animation controls to set up emitters that effectively string the droplets across the web.... or something like that.
For some odd reason I often find it easier to simplify other people's ideas than my own. Yeah I know how that goes - by bringing a fresh perspective to someone elses work it's often easy to see ways to improve / simplify what they've done. Of course it can be embarressing when the tables are turned and someone points out that 'auto-dewdrop-positioning' icon. Actually I just had a thought about the 'Array' tools - there's probably a way of using them as 'dewdrop-group-makers' at least.:D |
Post by spacekdet // Apr 7, 2006, 5:42am
|
spacekdet
Total Posts: 1360
|
New Yankee Workshop is not something we have here so I'm afraid the references don't work for me :confused:
Too bad, Norm Abrams (http://www.newyankee.com/index.shtml) is an icon here in the States. Go into any shop or garage and imitate his Boston accent (Pahk the Cah in Hahvahd Yahd) and people know who you're referencing. He's a master craftsman who in the space of half an hour can build a full set of kitchen cabinetry and then install them for you. He 'makes it look easy'- but a shop full of every tool imaginable and clever television editing probably doesn't hurt either. He's also the co-host of 'This Old House (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/)', another program that showcases the rehabilitaion of, you guessed, it, old houses.
Public Television occasionally produces a gem, and Norm is one of them. |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 11, 2006, 10:55pm
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
Too bad, Norm Abrams (http://www.newyankee.com/index.shtml) is an icon here in the States. Go into any shop or garage and imitate his Boston accent (Pahk the Cah in Hahvahd Yahd) and people know who you're referencing. He's a master craftsman who in the space of half an hour can build a full set of kitchen cabinetry and then install them for you. He 'makes it look easy'- but a shop full of every tool imaginable and clever television editing probably doesn't hurt either. He's also the co-host of 'This Old House (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/)', another program that showcases the rehabilitaion of, you guessed, it, old houses.
Public Television occasionally produces a gem, and Norm is one of them.
Thanks for the links Spacekadet - Your Norm Abrams sounds a bit like a real 'Tim The Toolman Taylor'! (No offence intended to Norm!). We have similar themed shows here of course which are often just extended adverts for the various large hardware chains |
Post by Alien // Apr 12, 2006, 12:16am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
So I'm thinking that your interest in woodworking and in 3d modelling are possibly related?
Not exactly, my interest in woodwork is a fairly recent thing. It came about mostly because I couldn't find ready-made stuff that was close enough to what I wanted.
As for a connection between the 2 interests, well that's a pretty obvious 1, as you've most likely guessed - if I do something in tS & I don't like the end result it hasn't cost me anything, whereas although [soft]wood isn't that expensive, it's still money down the drain. Plus, having to go & get more wood just because of a design error [or just a bad design] would be a pain in the arse. ;)
Re groups of 9 for the dewdrops - I was using tS 5.1 and the excellent PiScene TSX to keep control of everything. PiScene automatically numbers objects without adding a 0 before the single digits which meant that 'object 10' would be at the top of the list ahead of 'object 1' - because I was hiding and unhiding a lot plus individually positioning these objects it was easier to limit each group to 9 objects. With tS6.6 layers I use the KFE a lot more but with tS 5.1 I developed a workflow using PiScene that I still miss sometimes - particularly as PiScene tells you at a glance which objects are hidden and which ones aren't
I'm not sure about the numbering side of it, but that piScene does sound kinda useful, better than the current method of hiding stuff I think. Maybe Caligari & Primitive Itch could pool their resources. :)
Re the country computer guy - yes I have my trusty Honda Civic (the best car I ever owned) plus we also have a Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4 that consumes enough gas to finance a small middle-eastern sheikdom - so we do have transport - it's just logistics at the end of the day. 30 bucks for half a tank of gas or 30 bucks for more RAM/new GFX card etc. As I'm hoping to get an entirely new computer eventually I'm also trying to avoid spending on upgrading any of the other three. I'm still undecided as to which way to go.
It's a shame you're not more comfortable with installing stuff yourself, or you could get him to post it to you & you wouldn't have to choose between gas or better parts.
Re my copy of tS7 - I'll be chasing the Caligarians up if it doesn't get here soon.
When I 1st read that I couldn't help but rememeber the Benny Hill theme tune for some reason. :)
Yeah I know how that goes - by bringing a fresh perspective to someone elses work it's often easy to see ways to improve / simplify what they've done. Of course it can be embarressing when the tables are turned and someone points out that 'auto-dewdrop-positioning' icon.
Now who'd do a thing like that...?
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alien42/images_for_caligari_forum/ADP-tS.png
:D
Actually I just had a thought about the 'Array' tools - there's probably a way of using them as 'dewdrop-group-makers' at least.:D
Hmm.. I just looked in tS, & then in the manual - Spline Array :icon_Array_Spline: could well be what I was thinking of when I was going on about paths. |
Post by Alien // Apr 12, 2006, 12:25am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
Thanks for the links Spacekadet - Your Norm Abrams sounds a bit like a real 'Tim The Toolman Taylor'! (No offence intended to Norm!).
Actually, it's funny you should mention that, but who do you think Al [Borland] was based on? :) Then again, if you looked at the NYW website & saw a pic of Norm you've probably already realised that [the flannel shirts & beard].
We have similar themed shows here of course which are often just extended adverts for the various large hardware chains
Nah, NYW isn't like that. He does mention the names of places he looks at furniture for stuff to recreate, & occasionally mentions wood suppliers or whatever if it's something not too common or easy to come by, but that's about it. If you want to know what make/model tools he uses you usually have to go rummaging about on his website [or even NYW fansites] to find out what they are. |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 12, 2006, 1:07am
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
Sadly I am not physically capable of doing much in the way of carpentry these days - too many years of working off the top of a ladder on pole top hardware combined with too many years riding off road motor bikes combined with too many years playing guitars have left me with a chronic condition known as tenosinovitis - a build up of scar tissue on the tendons of my arms and wrists that causes inflamation of the surrounding tissues after prolonged use. Even a simple action like using a screwdriver can aggravate the condition and leave me in some discomfit for the next few days.
Fortunately using a mouse and keyboard is comparatively low impact though, otherwise I'd not be good for much more than staring out the window!!
I did manage to knock up a useful set of freestanding shelves out of some scraps of MDF a while ago so the knowledge is still there even if the body is weak:D
I understand the attraction of working with wood - most NZ houses are made of timber and I've done a lot of renovation type jobs - installing windows, removing unwanted walls etc. There is a certain tactile satisfaction from working with a nice piece of timber.....
that piScene does sound kinda useful, better than the current method of hiding stuff I think Yeah I agree - the layers thing has certain advantages (particularly because you can hide various light set-ups) but piScene seemed a little more straightforward. Swings and roundabouts really.
It's a shame you're not more comfortable with installing stuff yourself, Ah I could probably do it myself - and may well do so. I installed my own soundcard and a couple of other bits without any problems. I'm still accumulating funds and am really just waiting to see if my car will pass it's next vehicle examination - if so then I'll know how much money I have to play with...
Benny Hill? Oh my gawd! Fortunately I won't need to chase anyone as the Caligarians have sent me the links I need to download tS7 - at 36 kBps I guess it'll take all day to download. tS 6.6 took something like 15 hours IIRC. I'll go for it later in the week when I don't need to use the phone:rolleyes:
Re the dew drop positioning icon - LOL - thanks for that! Yeah the spline array tool could work and I've been dabbling a bit with trueParticles which can be propagated along a path and could also work. Fortunately I've already finished the cobweb project and can move on to other things but I do want to say that one of the things I truly love about 3d graphics in general and tS in particular is that there always seems to be more than one way to do anything - given sufficient lateral thinking!
Ah yes! Al "I don't think so Tim" Borland - what a great character. I love the way he could steal the scene from Tim Allen. It sounds like a shame we don't get Norm Abrams here - we get Oprah and Ellen and Martha and Dr Phil (he's one of my favourites) and Daaaaaavvviiiid Letterman and so on but we just don't have enough channels - although it's quite possible that he's on one of the satillite channels I suppose.
And speaking of TV - I don't watch much but I am addicted to House and Lost - and I'm off to watch Lost right now!!:o :o |
Post by Alien // Apr 12, 2006, 3:59am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
Sadly I am not physically capable of doing much in the way of carpentry these days - too many years of working off the top of a ladder on pole top hardware combined with too many years riding off road motor bikes combined with too many years playing guitars have left me with a chronic condition known as tenosinovitis - a build up of scar tissue on the tendons of my arms and wrists that causes inflamation of the surrounding tissues after prolonged use. Even a simple action like using a screwdriver can aggravate the condition and leave me in some discomfit for the next few days.
Yikes! Sorry to hear that. I'd never heard of that condition before, but sounds nasty.
Fortunately using a mouse and keyboard is comparatively low impact though, otherwise I'd not be good for much more than staring out the window!!
That is fortunate, the last thing we need is more philosophers! ;)
I did manage to knock up a useful set of freestanding shelves out of some scraps of MDF a while ago so the knowledge is still there even if the body is weak:D
I need to get round to doing the various things I have planned, including a DVD cabinet [amongst other things], but gotta wait till I get this damned tooth sorted [painkillers & power tools are not a healthy mix :)]
I understand the attraction of working with wood - most NZ houses are made of timber and I've done a lot of renovation type jobs - installing windows, removing unwanted walls etc. There is a certain tactile satisfaction from working with a nice piece of timber.....
I'm not sure I'd want to have to do it day-in, day-out, but you do have a point.
Yeah I agree - the layers thing has certain advantages (particularly because you can hide various light set-ups) but piScene seemed a little more straightforward. Swings and roundabouts really.
Or swimming pools....
:D
Ah I could probably do it myself - and may well do so. I installed my own soundcard and a couple of other bits without any problems. I'm still accumulating funds and am really just waiting to see if my car will pass it's next vehicle examination - if so then I'll know how much money I have to play with...
Funny you should mention soundcard, as the other day I found the [to me at least] holy grail of soundcards [not got it yet though]. As you may know, every man & his dog makes soundcards that have both digital out & seperate analogue outputs for a surround sound setup.
The problem with this is that although you can use the digital out for surround from movies, & in some cases music, depending on the format, & the software being used, until recently if you wanted surround sound from a game you had to use the analogue outs, which meant having umpteen wires going to your surround amp [if you have/use 1 with a PC]. Obviously this is a pain, so much so that I just haven't bothered, & although I'm not much of a gamer anyway it's meant I had even less interest in getting new games if I can't listen to them the way they were intended to be without a lot of farting around with cables.
But now there's something called Dolby Digital Live, or DDL for short. Basically, as well as having a Dolby Digital decoder, as most modern sound cards have, it also has an encoder as well, so you can get all your surround sound out via the 1 [digital] cable. :D
The soundcard in question (http://www.auzentech.com/products_xplosion.html) isn't cheap, but it's not insanely expensive either. It goes for the same price as Creative's latest card [just the card, not the 1 with the expansion bay/box wotsit as well]. They also do a cheaper [just over 1/2 the price of the dearer 1], but it doesn't have DTS capability.
Benny Hill? Oh my gawd! Fortunately I won't need to chase anyone as the Caligarians have sent me the links I need to download tS7 - at 36 kBps I guess it'll take all day to download. tS 6.6 took something like 15 hours IIRC. I'll go for it later in the week when I don't need to use the phone:rolleyes:
You could set it going just before you go to bed, at that slightly lower speed it ought to take just over 8 hours for both tS7 & manual. 36kbps? are the phone lines pretty bad over there then?
Re the dew drop positioning icon - LOL - thanks for that! Yeah the spline array tool could work and I've been dabbling a bit with trueParticles which can be propagated along a path and could also work. Fortunately I've already finished the cobweb project and can move on to other things but I do want to say that one of the things I truly love about 3d graphics in general and tS in particular is that there always seems to be more than one way to do anything - given sufficient lateral thinking!
Yeah, I like that too. That's actually 1 of the things I like about the idea of woodwork - thinking up alternate ways of doing things, eg making a jig for something so that you don't have to rely on doing something by eye.
we get Oprah and Ellen and Martha and Dr Phil (he's one of my favourites) and Daaaaaavvviiiid Letterman and so on but we just don't have enough channels
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alien42/images_to_link_to/20041010main.png
Can't remember where I found that, but it kinda sums up why I stopped watching Letterman. I think the only reason I ever watched it to begin with was because I had so few channels back then & didn't have internet [or even a PC] back then.
although it's quite possible that he's on one of the satillite channels I suppose.
Over here he's on Discovery Real Time [formally known as Discovery Home & Leisure, which sounded better to me], which is 1 of the satellite/cable channels. I could be wrong, but I think the reason NYW is so well known in the US is because it's on terrestrial/non-subscription TV.
And speaking of TV - I don't watch much but I am addicted to House and Lost - and I'm off to watch Lost right now!!:o :o
I don't watch quite as much as I used to. At the moment my must-see list consists of:
Smallville (http://www.tv.com/smallville/show/1718/summary.html)
Prison Break (http://www.tv.com/prison-break/show/31635/summary.html)
Battlestar Galactica (http://www.tv.com/battlestar-galactica-2003/show/23557/summary.html) [new 1]
Over There (http://www.tv.com/over-there/show/16443/summary.html) [last episode was last night, but not watched it yet]
Charmed (http://www.tv.com/charmed/show/106/summary.html)
ER (http://www.tv.com/er/show/111/summary.html)
Grey's Anatomy (http://www.tv.com/greys-anatomy/show/24440/summary.html)
Bones (http://www.tv.com/bones/show/33332/summary.html)
Cold Case (http://www.tv.com/cold-case/show/16989/summary.html)
Invasion (http://www.tv.com/invasion/show/32917/summary.html)
& a couple of ozzie soaps. :o
I almost forgot, I'm also a big fan of both Stargate shows, but I probably wasn't thinking of them as they finished their most recent series a couple of weeks ago. |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 12, 2006, 8:47pm
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
Yikes! Sorry to hear that. I'd never heard of that condition before, but sounds nasty. Yeah thanks - I'd not heard of it before either but the physiotherapist I was seeing said is was extremely common amongst musicians. It's a type of RSI/OOS thing. It was originally diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome but fortunately a second opinion prevaled before I forked out for expensive and totally pointless surgery - Whew!
Some days I can go for several weeks without it being a problem but then I'll forget I have it and overextend my arm/s and set my self up for more aches and pains. The condition (combined with a dodgy thyroid gland - that's a whole other story:( ) is what prevents me from being able to commit to full time work which contributes to the limited financial reality that keeps me limited to a crappy dial-up connection and an aging computer!
Of course there is an upside to the whole thing - plenty of time for loitering around various fora (which is apparently the correct plural of forum) and of course plenty of time spent in trueSpace!!
the last thing we need is more philosophers!
Mmmn. Wasn't it Plato who said that? ;)
I need to get round to doing the various things I have planned, Chuckle - I know that feeling. Still "Procrastination is it's own reward" (Aristotle I believe :D )
gotta wait till I get this damned tooth sorted Ouch! Isn't it rather telling that given all the trillions of hours that computer experts put into building convincing virtual realities, not one single hour has been spent coding a virtual toothache? Viruses (actually virii), worms, memory loss and so on but no E-toothache!
Anyway my sympathies are with you.
Your comments about soundcards are interesting - I bought my computer originally for the express purpose of DSP - multi-track recording MIDI etc as I had a heap of songs I'd written that I wanted to record and burn to CD. Everything went fine until I found a copy of Terragen on a computer mag cover disc - I installed it and rendered my first 3d scene - the result? Instant 3D addiction - of course it's lead me on a slippery slope to the real hard stuff - trueSpace - (the astute reader will note the desparate attempt to at least try to to be tangentally On Topic!!;) ).
I've got the Creative Platinum soundcard with the I/O panel so I can plug my guitars and MIDI keyboard straight into the front of my computer. As we have a 36 inch TV (plus Playstation 2 and severl videos and DVD players) I never play games or watch movies on my computer - I'd much rather be modelling and theres plenty of time to watch movies/TV whilst things are rendering!!
The 36kBps is a result of my older modem - my original modem ticked along happily at around 48kBps on this same phone line but when we set up a 3rd computer as a server for the printer, scanner and internet we had to use a different modem which for some reason never gets faster than 42 kBps (a speed it will only acheive if I log on in the wee small hours).
Re TV - the reason I don't watch Letterman is that guy Paul Schaffer - I like most people but there is something creepy about him....
My TV watching otherwise is fairly strictly limited to Sci-Fi. If it's got spaceships in it I'm there - actually, we're there as my partner is a bigger Sci=Fi fan than I am. I watch:
House - great scripts, loved Hugh Laurie since Black Adder and those shows he did with Stephen Fry
Boston Legal: Clever scripts plus it's got Captain Kirk in it!
Lost: Evangeline Lilly.... say no more!
Invasion: Shows right after Lost and is getting better as it goes on.
Stargate Atlantis: the first series of this has just started showing on a local channel - I'm enjoying it so far.
They have yet to start showing the 2nd season of the new Battlestar Galactica - the first season was very popular so I imagine they're waiting to show it in the wintertime here.
I usually avoid the medical shows - ever since George Clooney left ER they've just not been the same (House is an obvious exception!).
We have an excellent and vibrant local music scene here and a free-to-air TV channel devoted to music (and the extreme shows like Southpark, Punk'd and Jackass) which gets watched a bit for the music.
Other than that we don't watch a lot of TV - my partner is also musical so we spend a bit of time jamming (when my arms are not too sore). It's my belief that the worst live performance is infinitely better than the best recorded performance so we try to encourage people to play or create art in our home as much as possible :D -
Interesting that I'd never heard of 'Over There' - I get all the Sci-Fi news and follow the entertainment goss to certain extent but I'd never heard of that one. I'm not particularly surprised that it's not shown in NZ though - there is a strong anti-war sentiment here that is deeply ingrained in the culture ever since so many young New Zealand boys were killed in Gallipoli and at the Battle of the Somme in WW2 the consensus is that war is not worth the human cost no matter the patriotic justification.
I notice you mention (in a very small font) that you watch a coupler of Aussie soaps! The Aussies actually make some really good TV from time to time and they have got a great ability to create interesting, quirky yet real characters. And let us not forget that one of the greatest Sci-Fi shows ever was made in Aussie - I'm referring to Farscape. |
Post by Alien // Apr 12, 2006, 10:35pm
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
It was originally diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome but fortunately a second opinion prevaled before I forked out for expensive and totally pointless surgery - Whew!
That was a lucky escape. No NHS over there then? My mum had carpal tunnel, but got it fixed thankfully.
The condition (combined with a dodgy thyroid gland - that's a whole other story:()
Thyroid? isn't that treatable?
Of course there is an upside to the whole thing - plenty of time for loitering around various fora (which is apparently the correct plural of forum) and of course plenty of time spent in trueSpace!!
Yeah, I know the feeling. :)
Anyway my sympathies are with you.
Thanks, I've got the initial appointment this morning, & then hopefully somewhere in the next couple of weeks I'll get another 1 to get it sorted.
Everything went fine until I found a copy of Terragen on a computer mag cover disc - I installed it and rendered my first 3d scene - the result? Instant 3D addiction - of course it's lead me on a slippery slope to the real hard stuff - trueSpace - (the astute reader will note the desparate attempt to at least try to to be tangentally On Topic!!;) ).
I think the 1st 3D prog I ever dabbled with was called 3DFX [no relation to the makers of the Voodoo range of graphics cards], then some time later I found tS2 on a cover disc [PC Answers, IIRC].
I've got the Creative Platinum soundcard with the I/O panel so I can plug my guitars and MIDI keyboard straight into the front of my computer.
I've just got the 1st version of the Audigy at the moment. There have been times when I considered either getting the live bay for it, or getting an Audigy 2 with the live bay, but in the end I couldn't really justify the extra expense, as I didn't really need it. It's also a good thing I didn't get it, as I'm not sure I'd have been able to get the door on my case (http://www.fortrex.com.tw/show_product.php?proSN=133) [which I'm rather fond of - I got the black 1] shut.
As we have a 36 inch TV (plus Playstation 2 and severl videos and DVD players) I never play games or watch movies on my computer - I'd much rather be modelling and theres plenty of time to watch movies/TV whilst things are rendering!!
Sadly I only have a 28" TV. :( I did want to replace it with an LCD TV, but I'm hoping the relevant companies will get their collective arses in gear & bring out OLED TVs, as they should be better & cheaper than LCDs. As for DVD players - I have 2, I bought the 1st 1 because it's [still to this day] 1 of the very few 5 disc multi-changer [or whatever you call it] DVD players I've seen anywhere, & I bought the 2nd 1 because the 1st 1 couldn't play DivX/Xvid, & at the time I had major probs with trying to watch DivX/Xvid via my PC's video out [would randomly lock-up/reboot]. Luckily that [& another related prob] are sorted now.
The only 2 games I've [b]ever played all the way through to the end are Max Payne (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Payne) & Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Payne_2:_The_Fall_of_Max_Payne).
The 36kBps is a result of my older modem - my original modem ticked along happily at around 48kBps on this same phone line but when we set up a 3rd computer as a server for the printer, scanner and internet we had to use a different modem which for some reason never gets faster than 42 kBps (a speed it will only acheive if I log on in the wee small hours).
Ahhh, that sounds like a "Winmodem". AFAIK, they don't do a lot more than privide a physical connection to the phone line, they make the CPU do all the work of compression/decompression, etc. 48's still a bit low, when I was on dial-up & had a hardware modem [1 that doesn't pass-the-buck, so to speak] I used to get a 53.3kbps connection all the time. Apparently the more stuff you have connected to the same phone line/circuit, the more it can reduce/degrade the signal strength or whatever, but as an ex phone engineer I'm sure you already know that. ;)
My TV watching otherwise is fairly strictly limited to Sci-Fi. If it's got spaceships in it I'm there - actually, we're there as my partner is a bigger Sci=Fi fan than I am. I watch:
House - great scripts, loved Hugh Laurie since Black Adder and those shows he did with Stephen Fry
Boston Legal: Clever scripts plus it's got Captain Kirk in it!
Kirk Shmirk, I originally watched it out of curiosity, & continued because it had Rhona Mitra, who is a Goddess!. <drool> I think it sucks that they're getting rid of her, which is probably why I wasn't in a hurry to watch the 3rd [or was it 2nd?] series.
Lost: Evangeline Lilly.... say no more!
LOL, yeah, there is that. It's not a bad show, but for whatever reason I missed a couple of eps, & haven't gotten round to downloading the rest to catch up. I'll get round to it eventually when I free up some HD space.
Stargate Atlantis: the first series of this has just started showing on a local channel - I'm enjoying it so far.
The 1st series is ok, though can be a bit slow in parts. In some places, especially the 1st few & last 2 eps of season 1 they should be [ideally] watched straight after the corresponding ep of SG-1, as the stories tie-in/cross over. Luckily they showed SG:A season 1 straight after SG-1 season 8 over here.
They have yet to start showing the 2nd season of the new Battlestar Galactica - the first season was very popular so I imagine they're waiting to show it in the wintertime here.
Season 1 was...ok, I found the end of season 1 annoying. Season 2's quite a lot better though.
I usually avoid the medical shows - ever since George Clooney left ER they've just not been the same (House is an obvious exception!).
ER's the only medical show I've stuck with. Over here there's a couple of home-grown shows [Casualty, & its spin-off Holby City] that are pretty popular, but they just don't interest me for some reason.
We have an excellent and vibrant local music scene here and a free-to-air TV channel devoted to music (and the extreme shows like Southpark, Punk'd and Jackass) which gets watched a bit for the music.
Southpark I can agree with - "Cartman gets an Anal Probe (http://www.tv.com/south-park/cartman-gets-an-anal-probe/episode/1984/summary.html)" & also "Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants (http://www.tv.com/south-park/osama-bin-laden-has-farty-pants/episode/83715/summary.html)" are 2 of the funniest things I think I've ever seen.
Other than that we don't watch a lot of TV - my partner is also musical so we spend a bit of time jamming (when my arms are not too sore). It's my belief that the worst live performance is infinitely better than the best recorded performance so we try to encourage people to play or create art in our home as much as possible :D -
I've never been a fan of live music, especially not actually being there, & not even concerts on TV. The only 2 acts I can really stand to watch live on TV are Jean Michel Jarre & The Corrs.
Interesting that I'd never heard of 'Over There' - I get all the Sci-Fi news and follow the entertainment goss to certain extent but I'd never heard of that one. I'm not particularly surprised that it's not shown in NZ though - there is a strong anti-war sentiment here that is deeply ingrained in the culture ever since so many young New Zealand boys were killed in Gallipoli and at the Battle of the Somme in WW2 the consensus is that war is not worth the human cost no matter the patriotic justification.
It wasn't bad [still not watched the last ep yet]. I'm not usually a fan of contemporary or historical war stuff, but occasionally there are exceptions. Band of Brothers (http://www.tv.com/band-of-brothers/show/2604/summary.html?q=band%20of%20brothers) is a must-see, if you haven't already.
I notice you mention (in a very small font) that you watch a coupler of Aussie soaps! The Aussies actually make some really good TV from time to time and they have got a great ability to create interesting, quirky yet real characters. And let us not forget that one of the greatest Sci-Fi shows ever was made in Aussie - I'm referring to Farscape.
Yeah, the 2 soaps I watch are Neighbours, & Home and Away. There was some other Aussie thing I watched, that was kinda surreal, can't remember what it was called though. I will agree though that Farscape was very cool. I've yet to get it on DVD, as the prices for the boxed sets [which I prefer to get for any series I collect] are insane... whoah, I take that back, I just checked & they've actually been dropped to a more civilised price [£30 instead of £60+!]. |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 14, 2006, 2:08am
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
No NHS over there then?
Yeah we have a sort of NHS here but we also have excellent schools and lower pay rates so all the good medical staff go overseas to where the money is whilst back home the sick people have to go on the waiting list to get on the waiting list! Unless they can afford medical insurance of course!
Thyroid? isn't that treatable?
The thyroid itself is not treatable but the symptoms are - the trick is to balance the amount of artificial thyroid hormones which is ok if the natural hormone levels stay the same - and is a pain when they don't! It's not helped by the fact that I've had this complaint for at least 20 years and only had it correctly diagnosed last year!!
I've got the initial appointment this morning
Good luck with your dental treatment - hope it all goes well for you there.
the 1st 3D prog I ever dabbled with [briefly - it was crap] was called 3DFX
I've heard of 3DFX though I've not seen it. My first version of tS was tS3.2 so I'm guessing you've been in the 3d business longer than I have (heck that wouldn't be hard - I've learnt a lot in the last 5 years but prior to the start of 2000 I didn't even now how to turn a PC on (though I had some experience with computerised line testers and fault locators plus I had (well still have actually) a Roland digital multitracker (a truly beautiful piece of equipment IMHO).
I've just got the 1st version of the Audigy
My sound card is from immediately before the Audigy range came out - I had the option of waiting for an Audigy card but at the time there was virtually no software available to take advantage of the bit depth Audigy could use.
The live bay is something of a luxury and not strictly needed but it is EXTREMELY handy. I wouldn't want to be without it now I'm used to it.
bring out OLED TVs, as they should be better & cheaper than LCDs
Yeah - OLED TV's certainly sound like they have a big future - our TV is a sodding great big CRT that sadly is approaching the end of it's working life - it still works OK but it's hard to say how much longer it'll last.
The only 2 games I've ever played all the way through to the end are Max Payne & Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne.
Chuckle - I've seen the Max Payne games but never played 'em. The only two games I ever played right through was Star Trek Voyager Elite Force and Starwars Rogue Squadron.
it can reduce/degrade the signal strength or whatever, but as an ex phone engineer I'm sure you already know that
Re the low bit rate - Older suburbs in NZ tended toward large sections or plots, many of them were quarter acre areas. This means a comparatively low number of houses in a given area (Auckland for example is the biggest city in the world - per head of population). This means that a typical telephone exchange here with say 10,000 lines covers a much wider geographical region than would be normal in the UK for the same size exchange. This means it's relatively easy to be quite some distance from the local exchange here.
Paired copper conductors loose the higher frequencies as the lines get longer due to capacitance - each leg of the pair of wires acts like a plate in a capacitor - and this kills the upper freqs. It's also more susceptable to earth leakage and RF interference and other line conditions that limit bitrates. We're about 2.5 K's from the local exchange. Before moving to this house I was in a different suburb and closer to the nearest exchange and on a good night I was getting the sort of speeds you are talking about - around 52 kBps
Of course there is also a perfectly good co-axial/ fibre optic hybrid network offering broadband and cable TV which is wired right to my house - I just can't afford their monthly charges.:mad:
It's funny you mention Casualty - I used to love the theme music to that show but I never really took a shine to the lead character.
ER I watched a lot of in the early days but never got back into it after season 1 or 2.
When I was talking about 'Live' music I really meant the sort of music that my friends and I performed ourselves - I've been in a couple of bands and done quite a bit of solo performing in my earlier days. I'm not too bad with a guitar (as you'd expect given I've being playing them for (counts fingers, pulls off socks, counts toes, goes back to fingers, and back to toes again..) ahem:o - 36 years!
So although I know a few chords I'll never be a great singer - but I used to hang out a lot with the local 'Wine, Woman and Song' crowd (AKA the 'Drugs, Sex and Rock 'n' Roll' crowd) and when we partied (which was often) we would tend to perform our own music rather than listen to other people recordings.
I still enjoy good live music but my lifestyle is waaaayy cleaner now so I don't get out and mingle much these days. When I was younger it was a different story of course - I even went to the Glastonbury Festival in 1987 which was pretty wild.
'Neighbours'? When you said Aussie soaps you really did mean Aussie soaps! I never really watched it myself or 'Home and Away' but I loved Aussie series like 'Seachange' and more recently 'The Alice'.
Re Farscape: When you say 30 Quid are you talking about per season? If so that's outrageous - I got them here for NZ$50.00 per season (just under 18 pounds at current rates). Admittedly that was a special promotional price but even so - it's nice to know we do have some things cheaper here!!
BTW I'm currently downloading tS7.1 - I've got 16.9MB of 112MB and the estimated time left? 9 hours, 1 minute and 30 seconds (not including Manual or truePlay downloads) - yawn - I might go and watch some tele now!
See you next time;) |
Post by Alien // Apr 15, 2006, 9:54am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
Yeah we have a sort of NHS here but we also have excellent schools and lower pay rates so all the good medical staff go overseas to where the money is whilst back home the sick people have to go on the waiting list to get on the waiting list! Unless they can afford medical insurance of course!
Funny you should mention that - dentist I went to said their quota of NHS patients is full, but they put me on a waiting list, but if I want to pay for treatment I'd be welcome to. :rolleyes: Still, at least they said if I need any emergency work done in the mean time they'd still do that.
The thyroid itself is not treatable but the symptoms are - the trick is to balance the amount of artificial thyroid hormones which is ok if the natural hormone levels stay the same - and is a pain when they don't! It's not helped by the fact that I've had this complaint for at least 20 years and only had it correctly diagnosed last year!!
It's a shame there's not some sort of home test kit so you can modify the doseage as & when necessary, like there is for Diabetes.
Good luck with your dental treatment - hope it all goes well for you there.
If you haven't ever had a root canal done, you don't know what you're missing out on. :rolleyes: :p
I've heard of 3DFX though I've not seen it. My first version of tS was tS3.2 so I'm guessing you've been in the 3d business longer than I have
"Been in the 3D business"??? moi? I have a long way to go before I'd even be comfortable calling myself a beginner, though I have been interested in 3D for quite some time. I've only started to get a little more serious about doing something about it fairly recently.
My sound card is from immediately before the Audigy range came out - I had the option of waiting for an Audigy card but at the time there was virtually no software available to take advantage of the bit depth Audigy could use.
Funny you should mention the Audigy's bit depth, I seem to remember reading about some sort of controversy about that, something along the lines of it not being quite what Creative said it was/could do.
The live bay is something of a luxury and not strictly needed but it is EXTREMELY handy. I wouldn't want to be without it now I'm used to it.
As I don't play any instruments, it would be a pointless gizmo just for the sake of having it if I got it.
Yeah - OLED TV's certainly sound like they have a big future - our TV is a sodding great big CRT that sadly is approaching the end of it's working life - it still works OK but it's hard to say how much longer it'll last.
Yeah, OLED's are cool, my little MP3 player (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alien42/images_to_link_to/Aigo_A205_Black.jpg) has an OLED display. My CRT TV has probs as well, I have a bunch of dark stripes [same as picture, just those stripes are darker than they should be] down the left hand side, but it's been like that for so long that I've gotten used to it & had to turn it on just now to see if they were still there! :D I would get it fixed, but I was told it could take up to 2 weeks, & there's no way I'm going without TV for 2 weeks!
Chuckle - I've seen the Max Payne games but never played 'em. The only two games I ever played right through was Star Trek Voyager Elite Force and Starwars Rogue Squadron.
They're worth trying if you see them in the bargain bin or whatever. MP1 should run on your system, though I think you'd have to sweet-talk your other 1/2 to use hers for MP2.
This means that a typical telephone exchange here with say 10,000 lines covers a much wider geographical region than would be normal in the UK for the same size exchange. This means it's relatively easy to be quite some distance from the local exchange here.
Sounds like 1 of the few downsides to having a smaller population.
Of course there is also a perfectly good co-axial/ fibre optic hybrid network offering broadband and cable TV which is wired right to my house - I just can't afford their monthly charges.:mad:
That's what I have. Still, maybe they'll bring the prices down to a more civilised level soon, eh? I can remember when I thought the idea of having ISDN would be cool but that it was too expensive, now it would be a serious downgrade! [plus it's probably not available anymore - no point]
I'm not too bad with a guitar (as you'd expect given I've being playing them for (counts fingers, pulls off socks, counts toes, goes back to fingers, and back to toes again..) ahem - 36 years!
You could have just said "before you were born". :p
'Neighbours'? When you said Aussie soaps you really did mean Aussie soaps! I never really watched it myself or 'Home and Away' but I loved Aussie series like 'Seachange' and more recently 'The Alice'.
Never seen either of those. All I remember about that other show was it had something to do with some rich, eccentric old guy, with a young attractive daughter & he was always manipulating situations & messing up peoples lives, just to suit his whims.
Re Farscape: When you say 30 Quid are you talking about per season? If so that's outrageous - I got them here for NZ$50.00 per season (just under 18 pounds at current rates). Admittedly that was a special promotional price but even so - it's nice to know we do have some things cheaper here!!
Yes, per season. £30 per season [of a 20-ish episode series] is what I'd call acceptable, though not great. I got Alias season 1 & 2 for £20 each, & all 3 seasons of Roswell for only £15 each, but those tend to be exceptions rather than the rule - typical price for a season of a show tends to be between £35 & £45 when it 1st comes out. That's why I still haven't got SG-1 season 8 yet. [IIRC, I got 1 & 2 for about £25-26, 3-6 for £23 each, & 7 for £30 I think]
BTW I'm currently downloading tS7.1 - I've got 16.9MB of 112MB and the estimated time left? 9 hours, 1 minute and 30 seconds (not including Manual or truePlay downloads) - yawn - I might go and watch some tele now!
I only found out just over an hour ago that 7.1 was released. My computer's been off since errr.. sometime Thursday evening. Extremely unusual for me, normally I have it on 24/7 - probably why I had trouble sleeping the last couple of nights. |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 16, 2006, 2:35am
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
Ah the wonders of the medical profession! Not only have we underpaid all our nursing staff so they've all moved overseas we also have a wealth of medically trained experts who have immigrated into NZ but end up driving taxi's because their qualifications are considered insufficient - personally I rather get treatment from an Indian Dr than from no Dr at all.
My partner has an ongoing complaint with her eyes but, because she could still see through them she could not get on the waiting list to see an eye specialist for over 2 years. The reason being that the current eye specialists would not allow eye specialists trained overseas to operate here - and they baldly stated the reason was the foriegn eye Drs would threaten the business' of the local eye Drs. I thought the Hippocratic Oath said something about "Do no harm"! I'm a little touchy about this subject so I'll stop before I get into a full blown rant!:D
It's a shame there's not some sort of home test kit so you can modify the doseage as & when necessary, like there is for Diabetes.
Yes it's a shame - of course if there was a home test kit they wouldn't be able to charge me for the blood tests I need every month! I've got to go for another test this coming week. It might be a different story if there were as many hyperthyroid sufferers out there as there is diabetes sufferers but at the end of the day it's all a numbers game where the mumbers equal dollars.
If you haven't ever had a root canal done, you don't know what you're missing out on. Ah mate! Extreme mega-sympathies!! I not only had a root canal done on a dodgy tooth I then had to have it redone - the base of the root had a kink in it and the first procedure didn't get past the kink to dig out the whole root so six months later I was back (spending more vast sums of money) for a second root canal operation on the same tooth - which split itself in half 3 years later and had to be extracted. Root canals? I can thoroughly recommend avoiding them if possible - definitely not good fun!
Funny you should mention the Audigy's bit depth, I seem to remember reading about some sort of controversy about that, something along the lines of it not being quite what Creative said it was/could do. Oh really? I did not know that. I do recall at the time I was working a night-shift job with nothing else to do but watch the BBC foreign news or surf the internet. This gave me ample opportunity to research sound cards and DSP at the time and even before Audigy was released the common consensus was that the human ear would not be able to discern any difference between sounds recorded on current (at the time) sound cards and sounds recorded at the Audigy sound cards reported bit rate. Either way I have been extremely pleased with my SoundBlaster Platinum card and I am also extremely pleased with the customer service and backup I've received from Creative. Creative Asia, based in Singapore happily sent me a CD with updated Drivers for XP at no cost whatsoever - I was highly impressed!
Broadband prices are steadily dropping here - thanks to government steps threatening to force the price down if the providers didn't lower them. There are now deals at around a dollar a day which is not too bad - still expensive by some international standards. There's a lot of change in the broadband/hi-speed market and it will be interesting to see how it all settles out.
You could have just said "before you were born".
Yeah - I was born at a very early age ;)
I only found out just over an hour ago that 7.1 was released.
Yep - I downloaded tS 7 which took about 9 hours and the very next day tS 7.1 is ready for download! I got the manual OK but 5 hours into tS7.1 download the server reset - Aaargh!:mad: . So I turned my computer off for two days and read a book about paleontology instead! So now I have a mountain of backed up email and I'm downloading a download manager so I can resume interrupted downloads in future. Serves me right - should have done it ages ago.
Anyway - I dunno if Aliens celebrate Easter or not but if so then I hope you have a good one! |
Post by Alien // Apr 16, 2006, 7:24am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
I thought the Hippocratic Oath said something about "Do no harm"! I'm a little touchy about this subject so I'll stop before I get into a full blown rant!:D
Well, this is the "rants & raves" corner of the forum, so... ;) But I don't blame you for being angry, it's a ridiculous situation.
Yes it's a shame - of course if there was a home test kit they wouldn't be able to charge me for the blood tests I need every month! I've got to go for another test this coming week. It might be a different story if there were as many hyperthyroid sufferers out there as there is diabetes sufferers but at the end of the day it's all a numbers game where the mumbers equal dollars.
Unfortunately that's true of far too many things these days. :(
Ah mate! Extreme mega-sympathies!! I not only had a root canal done on a dodgy tooth I then had to have it redone - the base of the root had a kink in it and the first procedure didn't get past the kink to dig out the whole root so six months later I was back (spending more vast sums of money) for a second root canal operation on the same tooth - which split itself in half 3 years later and had to be extracted. Root canals? I can thoroughly recommend avoiding them if possible - definitely not good fun!
I asked about taking the whole tooth [or as I like to call it, "oathing it" :)], & was told that as they couldn't take any more NHS patients at the moment [NHS has cut funding apparently, & they can only afford to take on X number of NHS patients], so I'd either have to pay for that or find someone else who had vacancies. Still, at least he said they'd still see me for any emergencies on the NHS, which I can live with until my name gets to the top of their waiting list [might take upto a year or more].
Either way I have been extremely pleased with my SoundBlaster Platinum card and I am also extremely pleased with the customer service and backup I've received from Creative. Creative Asia, based in Singapore happily sent me a CD with updated Drivers for XP at no cost whatsoever - I was highly impressed!
Yeah, my Audigy's doing ok for now. The other 1 I mentioned would be nice, but it's not essential for now, so maybe I'll treat myself some time further down the road.
Broadband prices are steadily dropping here - thanks to government steps threatening to force the price down if the providers didn't lower them. There are now deals at around a dollar a day which is not too bad - still expensive by some international standards. There's a lot of change in the broadband/hi-speed market and it will be interesting to see how it all settles out.
If it makes you feel any better, there are a few countries that make our speeds & prices look like yours do compared to ours, so our prices aren't that great.
Yep - I downloaded tS 7 which took about 9 hours and the very next day tS 7.1 is ready for download! I got the manual OK but 5 hours into tS7.1 download the server reset - Aaargh!:mad: . So I turned my computer off for two days and read a book about paleontology instead! So now I have a mountain of backed up email and I'm downloading a download manager so I can resume interrupted downloads in future. Serves me right - should have done it ages ago.
You turned your computer off..voluntarily? :eek: The only reason mine was off for a couple of days is 'cos my CPU fan died Thursday evening. Not sure whether it was cos I have a better than average heatsink, or because of something in the BIOS called "thermal throttling" which sounds like that thing P4s have built into them [though mine's an Athlon XP, & this is a motherboard-based wotsit, whatever it is - neither the BIOS or manual offer an explanation].
I just downloaded 7.1, haven't installed it yet. I was gonna leave it until the smaller patch next week, so I wouldn't have to fiddle about with backing settings, layouts, etc up but I've come up against a really annoying issue, & I want to see if it's fixed in 7.1 before I waste my time going on about it in the tech or bugs forum.
Anyway - I dunno if Aliens celebrate Easter or not but if so then I hope you have a good one!
This 1 doesn't, being an atheist 'n all that, but I appreciate the thought anyway, & hope your weekend went well [is going well? time diff is confusing]. |
Post by xmanflash // Apr 16, 2006, 7:46am
|
xmanflash
Total Posts: 335
|
Root canals? I can thoroughly recommend avoiding them if possible - definitely not good fun!
http://www.atlantadentist.com/site_map_root_canals.html
and why you may not want one..
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0945196199/healingdailyc-20/002-7881997-7461620 |
Post by Alien // Apr 16, 2006, 7:53am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
http://www.atlantadentist.com/site_map_root_canals.html
and why you may not want one..
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0945196199/healingdailyc-20/002-7881997-7461620
Yeah, I read all about that stuff a few weeks ago. That's why as soon as I get to the top of the waiting list I'll most likely have the whole tooth out. The other option is I pay for it, but I don't know how much that'll be. They told me a complete checkup [including all the x-rays] will be £50 [which I'd have to have before having any non-emergency work], so that may have to wait for a little while. |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 19, 2006, 1:29am
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
http://www.atlantadentist.com/site_map_root_canals.html
and why you may not want one..
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0945196199/healingdailyc-20/002-7881997-7461620
As Agent Mulder would say "The tooth is out there!".
My original root canal cost (IIRC) around NZ$900.00 in 1993, 18 months later second root canal cost NZ$800.00. Less than 3 years later the tooth just shattered. Sometime after that I had the broken stump extracted - around NZ$75.00. I don't want to scare you Alien but unless you've got a really good reason (like a kinky liking for expensive pain) for keeping the tooth you may want to consider saying sayonara to it and saving yourself (potentially) a lot of grief - and cash!
If it makes you feel any better, there are a few countries that make our speeds & prices look like yours do compared to ours, so our prices aren't that great. Whilst I appreciate the sentiment the only thing that would really make me feel better would be a new hi-spec PC, dirt cheap broadband and free dental treatment to all mankind!:D
Seriously, I've heard that UK broadband costs are a bit steep compared to other places. Here the government is convinced that the cheaper the broadband the better the economy will work - understandably the broadband suppliers (and their stockholders) have issues with that idea! I guess it's much the same back in Mother England.
You turned your computer off..voluntarily? Chuckle! Sometimes I get myself so frustrated that I find I need a break from time to time. It's that old song so often heard in codependant relationships - "honey I just need some space...".
Not wanting to harp on about my health woes but I do need to be very conscious of how much I use my arms due to the tendon damage I mentioned earlier. Some days my arms ache so much that even sitting at the keyboard is too uncomfortable - I usually stay in bed and read a book or just sleep until my arms are better and I can get back to trueSpacing. If I'm away from the forum for a few days that's usually why.
I've actually not been doing much constructive tS stuff at all (apart from the Bucketwheel Digger image I made with geneg's ..er... Bucketwheel Digger! - which was a fun exercise). I have however gone through all my tS scene libraries and deleted the ones that will no longer open and the ones that I have multiple versions of in case the originals won't open and I've consolidated (most of) my character models and IK rigs ready for the next assault on my 'Big Project'.
my CPU fan died Bummer! It really sucks when your fan won't blow!;) -
I just downloaded 7.1, haven't installed it yet. I've downloaded the manual! I've not got around to the rest of it yet though I've downloaded and installed a download manager. Given that my PC is too underpowered for tS 7.1 it sort of robs me of the urgency I'd otherwise feel. I'm still researching options, GPU, extra RAM and so forth and saving my pennies. It won't happen overnight but it will happen.
I'm curious about the 'annoying issue' you refer to.
being an atheist 'n all that, What, you mean that Aliens don't all worship the Great Green Bug-eyed Monster in the sky? ;)
I confess I'm a bit like you in that regard - I have little patience toward Easter - a perfectly good pagan Spring fertility celebration stolen by a bunch of roman politicians in Nicea 325 years after the alleged occurences at Golgotha - and especially here in NZ as it's Autumn and Easter is a Spring thing. What others choose to believe or disbelieve is entirely up to them but I prefer to put my faith in observable and testable phenomena.
But I've often wondered one thing: If a person who does not believe in the existence of a god is called an atheist, what do you call some who does not believe in the existence of atheists? :confused: ;) |
Post by Alien // Apr 19, 2006, 3:16am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
As Agent Mulder would say "The tooth is out there!".
My original root canal cost (IIRC) around NZ$900.00 in 1993, 18 months later second root canal cost NZ$800.00. Less than 3 years later the tooth just shattered. Sometime after that I had the broken stump extracted - around NZ$75.00. I don't want to scare you Alien but unless you've got a really good reason (like a kinky liking for expensive pain) for keeping the tooth you may want to consider saying sayonara to it and saving yourself (potentially) a lot of grief - and cash!
Yeah, I am seriously considering getting it taken out. It's ok-ish ATM, but I do get the occasional twinge, though nothing a couple of lowest [non-prescription] strength co-codamol can't take care of.
Whilst I appreciate the sentiment the only thing that would really make me feel better would be a new hi-spec PC, dirt cheap broadband and free dental treatment to all mankind!:D
Sounds like a worthy set of goals to me. :)
Seriously, I've heard that UK broadband costs are a bit steep compared to other places. Here the government is convinced that the cheaper the broadband the better the economy will work - understandably the broadband suppliers (and their stockholders) have issues with that idea! I guess it's much the same back in Mother England.
Yeah, pretty much. IIRC, it started with BT offering the service, but refusing to allow other potential providers access to their network until Ofcom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofcom) [if Wikipedia's still down there's a cached version here (http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:sfJO5JkWRnAJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofcom+ofcom+site:wikipedia.org&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&lr=lang_en)] made them change their minds. [at least I think that's what happened] Then the various cable companies started offering broadband , and thus begun the price war.
Chuckle! Sometimes I get myself so frustrated that I find I need a break from time to time. It's that old song so often heard in codependant relationships - "honey I just need some space...".
"You're seeing another computer, aren't you?! That's what this all about, isn't it? I could find another user you know! & I bet they wouldn't want 'space'!" :D
Not wanting to harp on about my health woes but I do need to be very conscious of how much I use my arms due to the tendon damage I mentioned earlier. Some days my arms ache so much that even sitting at the keyboard is too uncomfortable - I usually stay in bed and read a book or just sleep until my arms are better and I can get back to trueSpacing. If I'm away from the forum for a few days that's usually why.
Wow, didn't realise it was that bad dude, my sympathies. :(
I've actually not been doing much constructive tS stuff at all (apart from the Bucketwheel Digger image I made with geneg's ..er... Bucketwheel Digger! - which was a fun exercise). I have however gone through all my tS scene libraries and deleted the ones that will no longer open and the ones that I have multiple versions of in case the originals won't open and I've consolidated (most of) my character models and IK rigs ready for the next assault on my 'Big Project'.
My HDs need a sort-out in general, not just tS stuff. Also got another 1 to put in when I can be bothered. I've found TreeSize (http://www.jam-software.com/freeware/index.shtml) very useful for figuring out where all that space went to. :)
Bummer! It really sucks when your fan won't blow!;) -
I'll avoid the obvious misogynistic joke I could make from that... :D
Considering it's 1 that's loud enough [it's a Delta - they didn't get the nickname "screamer" for nothing] to hear from outside the room, even when the case is closed [then again, I do have better than average hearing] suddenly [b]not hearing that noise when you're supposed to is a rather chilling experience. [no pun intended]
I've downloaded the manual! I've not got around to the rest of it yet though I've downloaded and installed a download manager. Given that my PC is too underpowered for tS 7.1 it sort of robs me of the urgency I'd otherwise feel. I'm still researching options, GPU, extra RAM and so forth and saving my pennies. It won't happen overnight but it will happen.
Well, obviously I'm too far away to offer any in-person help, but any advice, tips, etc I can give you're welcome to.
I'm curious about the 'annoying issue' you refer to.
D'oh - meant to start a thread in the Tech forum about it, but got sidetracked. started playing around with a new free firewall I found - has lots of potential, but as far as configuring it goes, the root canal was less painful! I'll try & get round to doing that thread a bit later.
What, you mean that Aliens don't all worship the Great Green Bug-eyed Monster in the sky? ;)
Green bug eyed monster, no - hazel-eyed goddess (http://www.tv.com/kristin-kreuk/person/20543/summary.html&q=Kristin%20Kreuk), yes. <dreamy sigh>
I confess I'm a bit like you in that regard - I have little patience toward Easter - a perfectly good pagan Spring fertility celebration stolen by a bunch of roman politicians in Nicea 325 years after the alleged occurences at Golgotha - and especially here in NZ as it's Autumn and Easter is a Spring thing.
Yeah, same thing happened to the winter festival or whatever it used to be called.
What others choose to believe or disbelieve is entirely up to them but I prefer to put my faith in observable and testable phenomena.
Same here.
But I've often wondered one thing: If a person who does not believe in the existence of a god is called an atheist, what do you call some who does not believe in the existence of atheists? :confused: ;)
I'd answer that, but I'm not sure we're allowed to use language like that on this forum. :p |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 20, 2006, 3:40am
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
Yeah, I am seriously considering getting it taken out. It's ok-ish ATM, but I do get the occasional twinge, though nothing a couple of lowest [non-prescription] strength co-codamol can't take care of.At the risk of sounding like your mum I want to say to be very careful there - low grade background dental pain has been shown to cause depression and if there is infection present you become susceptible to tonsilitis and ear infections - make sure you wrap up tight when it's cold and use a good strong antiseptic mouthwash ;)
OK Mum moment over now lets move on...
"You're seeing another computer, aren't you?! That's what this all about, isn't it? I could find another user you know! & I bet they wouldn't want 'space'!" :D LOL - I'm not sure that an old dog of a computer like mime COULD find another user at this stage of it's life!!
Wow, didn't realise it was that bad dude, my sympathies Cheers mate - I have more good days than bad days fortunately but thanks for the kind words.
My HDs need a sort-out in general, not just tS stuff. Also got another 1 to put in when I can be bothered. I've found TreeSize very useful for figuring out where all that space went to. My hard drives are all pretty well organised but there are lots of double ups and files that I'm scared to erase incase they're linked up to something that I might want to reuse - the only thing more frustrating than a HD with too much info is a HD without that one vital piece of info!!
Well, obviously I'm too far away to offer any in-person help, but any advice, tips, etc I can give you're welcome to. Cool! Thanks for that kind offer - I will take you up on that when I get closer to sorting out my upgrades. You appear to have some idea of what is what with GPU's whereas I find myself a little overwhelmed by all the variables:( so your input on that will be most appreciated.
Green bug eyed monster, no - hazel-eyed goddess, yes. <dreamy sigh> Woah! I see what you mean - she IS a goddess! I never watched a single episode of Smallville as I never really took a liking to Superman - I never got why he needed to bother with the 'meek, mild-mannered Clark Kent' thing when he could have just ruled the world and sorted everything out. I mean if you are a 'super' why would you pretend to be unsuper? Always struck me as perverse and self-defeating.
I can see why you would watch Smallville though after having seen the site you linked to - Yummy!
Yeah, same thing happened to the winter festival or whatever it used to be called. Ex Mas? Don't get me started on that one - here in the southern Hemisphere they celebrate the midwinter festival with a BBQ at the beach - I still can't figure that out!! (shakes head ruefully).
I'm desperately trying to think of a way to include the word trueSpace into this post so we say we are still on topic but I can't figure out a way to include trueSpace:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :cool: |
Post by Alien // Apr 21, 2006, 3:16am
|
Alien
Total Posts: 1231
|
OK Mum moment over now lets move on...
LOL. I was gonna show here this post when I was round there yesterday but forgot on account of getting distracted...
Cheers mate - I have more good days than bad days fortunately but thanks for the kind words.
Knowing your predicament kinda makes me feel guilty about being irritated with my own hand which I hurt yesterday [doesn't ache anymore, but stings like a SOB]. Went round my mum's to check out a bike they'd been given by a friend whose health meant he couldn't use it. Thing is, he hadn't used it for 2 years, which meant the chain probably hadn't been oiled in that long either. Tried it out - 1 second I'm putting most of my weight on 1 foot, the next there's no resistance to said weight. Chain went snap, Alien went splat. My stepdad took me down to Halfords for a new chain, & ended up getting me a new bike (http://www.cyclex.co.uk/index.php/product/bike_sales_cycle_sales-cx/raleigh_bikes_cycles-cx/raleigh_mountan_bikes-cx/FR05GTS-cx.html?Cyclex=477bc7bee1cb915a3ce5ea7d56f6525e) instead. :D
...hence the distraction. :)
Coolest thing is it actually has brakes that can handle my... <cough> momentum. :o
My hard drives are all pretty well organised but there are lots of double ups and files that I'm scared to erase incase they're linked up to something that I might want to reuse - the only thing more frustrating than a HD with too much info is a HD without that one vital piece of info!!
Oooo, that's a good excuse, I'll have to remember that 1. ;)
Cool! Thanks for that kind offer - I will take you up on that when I get closer to sorting out my upgrades. You appear to have some idea of what is what with GPU's whereas I find myself a little overwhelmed by all the variables:( so your input on that will be most appreciated.
Hehe :o Plenty of time to read, & of course this (http://www.rojakpot.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=88&pgno=0) helps too. :)
Woah! I see what you mean - she IS a goddess! I never watched a single episode of Smallville as I never really took a liking to Superman - I never got why he needed to bother with the 'meek, mild-mannered Clark Kent' thing when he could have just ruled the world and sorted everything out. I mean if you are a 'super' why would you pretend to be unsuper? Always struck me as perverse and self-defeating.
I can see why you would watch Smallville though after having seen the site you linked to - Yummy!
TBH, Smallville is the only Superman-related film or series worth watching, IMO. I did watch that Lois & Clark thing a few years back, but that was mostly because it was before I had cable or internet.
I'm desperately trying to think of a way to include the word trueSpace into this post so we say we are still on topic but I can't figure out a way to include trueSpace:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :cool:
LOL, I think all hope of this thread staying on topic was lost long ago! |
Post by W!ZARD // Apr 22, 2006, 5:10am
|
W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
|
A new bike? WooHoo! I'm a bike fan from way back - I have a rather nice fully suspended mountain bike with all the bells and whistles - it was the last expensive thing I bought for myself back when I was still capable of working. Where I live we have a river opposite our house with a perfect cycling track alongside it and on a good day there is nothing I like better than a good ride. I tend to a fairly sedate pace these days and the full suspension protects my arms from major jarring so it's all good!
Oooo, that's a good excuse, I'll have to remember that 1. Chuckle!! Never underestimate the value of a good excuse!!
Thanks for the link to the GPU comparisons - I've been googling and found some good info as well. I've added your link to my Favs for future reference.
TBH, Smallville is the only Superman-related film or series worth watching, IMO. I did watch that Lois & Clark thing a few years back Christopher Reeve was the only Superman I liked - Lois and Clark just felt like a soapie and didn't really impress and I never watched Smallville for similar reasons - a bit judgemental on my part as I never saw the show and just assumed I wouldn't like it. :o
I guess when I was growing up it was easier to ignore TV cause there was so many baaaaad shows - but these days the TV makers are so much more sophisticated and better at making good drama that there really is no shortage of good TV - just a shortage of time to watch it all!!
LOL, I think all hope of this thread staying on topic was lost long ago! LOL :D Maybe we should rename it: Is the Features forum really... the title of this thread?;) |
|
