Inspired by theverymany 'APERIODIC VERTEBRAE' Experimenting Rhino + Paneling Tools onto simple loft surface . Grid points onto the black vertebrae are linked to Grasshopper as surfaces for future different possible options (presently spheres with diameter plugged to a slider)

Twisted 90 degrees about a horizontal axis.

Currently a plane is twisted  in Rhino prior to Grasshopper. I am looking into a way to twist the plane using grasshopper itself to get more control over the twist angles and length.

Does a bear's swipe have a directional limit?  Yes, from my testing it appears to be a 180 degree radius. This can cause it to miss targets behind the bear. To avoid this, retract the pet using follow and then set it to attack again. If you have glitchy mobs, you might want to retract the pet for a second, tell it to 'stay', and then once the mobs have settled, set it to attack again.

Does the Rhino's stampede knock mobs off cliffs?  Yes and no. It will knock a mob off a cliff, but most mobs can 'climb' extremely steep cliffs. I tried to knock a mob off of the edge of the world in zangarmarsh, but the 'cliff' side isn't steep enough for the mob to fall off. It just falls pretty far down and then comes back up. A player wouldn't survive it, but I had no one to test it on. I also knocked mobs off of the mushroom bridge in zangar and the bridges in netherstorm. They didnt fall, they just dissapeared through the floor of the bridge, got stuck in the bridge for a sec, then fell. I had wanted to try the bridge in Alterac Valley, but no one was queued up. One thing I did learn from knocking the mobs of the bridge... it will be tough to knock a player off, simply because you gotta line the pet up and get the angle right. It won't be overpowered due to this difficulty combined with the 1 min cooldown.

Does the Rhino have inferior stats? Yes. I compared a warp-stalker of the same level to my rhino, and although they both had the same talents, the rhino had 3.30% less average damage, and 3.31% less armor (values are rounded). All other stats that are reported in the stat window are identical. Hopefully these are the only values that are deficient, and hopefully they will be fixed before the expansion.

Let the Hunt begin!

A rhinoceros horn is made of compacted hair.

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

Shakespeare invented the word "assassination" and "bump."

The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar and England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.

If you keep a Goldfish in the dark room, it will eventually turn white. 

The name of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with.

TYPEWRITER, is the longest word that can be made using the letters on only one row of the keyboard. 

If the population of China walked past you in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction 

A Brit chick is the 1st to skydive over Mount Everest

Where can you find orphaned tame rhinos named Max? Only in Kenya...

Putin got a tiger cub for his 56th birthday. Hunh? Cuz he shot one? The tiger will be going to a zoo.

The Underpants Ironman happened again. Couldn't find a website that found this one newsworthy, so here's a video.

Neko-chan Tama is a stationmaster (thanks nadj!).

And let a restaurant monkey scald you.

--gnad

I blame my guildie. "Hey, did you see the new tree?! It's, leik, on WoW.com!" and I'm all, "OMG!"

Anyway, now that I feel much better about my class, things can continue like normal. Sorry!

One thing I am very excited about though is the rhino - if you haven't seen BRK's new video, click here. http://www.bigredkitty.net/2008/10/09/brk-rhino-bowling-movie/

Is that not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? I'm in love. And before you ask, yeah, I'll be leveling to 80 as BM most likely, if only for that one reason - multiple-mob tanking. <3 Leveling would go so quickly! Back in my noob days, I leveled all the way to 70 as a Marks hunter, and while it was fun, it was certainly quite a bit slower. My pet never kept aggro, and I would always pull aggro in instances (before FD). So hopefully this will make the leveling experience much quicker and more flexible. And the rhino is just so cute!

<3 Nass

Its capacities are:

• Automate the process of digital construction of building facades, roofs and other exterior building assemblies (design automation).
• Embed a number of excellent design components for readily use and provide mechanism for users to continuously build up such a component library (embedding knowledge and knowledge accumulation).
• Generate (parametric) design variations in a very short time frame (increased efficiency).
• Output 3D detail models for presentational purposes: 3D printings and renderings (design presentation).
• Output data for further analytical studies and future reuses in new projects (Excel sheets).

For example from Rhino code. Either sourceReader==null and sourceString!=null or the other way around. If both are null or both are not null then Kit.codeBug() throws exception.

[sourcecode language='java']
// One of sourceReader or sourceString has to be null
if (!(sourceReader == null ^ sourceString == null)) Kit.codeBug();
[/sourcecode]

I know I have written code where I could of used this to make code cleaner. Have you? :)

Jimmy Page must love putting out these things.

Even though it's been done before, Led Zep will get the Led out again with a full album set, The Definitive Collection Mini LP Replica CD Boxset, in celebration of their 40th anniversary (yea right, more like in celebration of making more money).

Here's a description by Rhino Records:

This Japanese import contains all 10 of the quartet's albums in mini-LP replicas with artwork from the original U.K. LP sleeves.

The sleeves included in the boxed set feature the original LP album artwork released in the U.K., including the original printing of the group's debut, which used turquoise ink on the cover for the band's name and the Atlantic Records logo. Later printings used orange ink, making the first a rare collector's item. The orange sleeve is included with the boxed set as a bonus.

Led Zeppelin III features the gatefold sleeve with the rotatable laminated card disc, while Physical Graffiti, which was nominated for a Grammy® Award for best album package, features the interchanging window illustrations from the original LP jacket that included four covers made up of two inners, a middle insert cover and an outer cover.

Additionally, the set includes all six covers released for In Through the Out Door, Led Zeppelin's final studio album. Nominated for a Grammy® Award for best album package, the In Through the Out Door covers feature different photos of the same bar scene taken from different perspectives.

It sounds pretty cool actually, but...

If you want to buy the box set for Christmas, here's the link. Don't be surprised if it rings Cha-Ching when you add to your cart.

This is the long time coming sequel to Natalie Cole's 1991 Grammy LP of the Year release "Unforgettable: With Love."  In that outing Cole sang songs that her father, Nat King Cole, had recorded during his illustrious career including the chart topping single "Unforgettable" Duet with Nat King Cole.

This follow-up is really nothing special and in no way matches the superior "Unforgettable" CD.  In fact I happen to prefer Miss Cole's previous 2006 release "Leavin'"over this new CD: it contained fabulous covers of recent pop classics and I highly recommend it as a purchase if you don't own it already.

As indicated by the track listing below, this CD contains songs from the GAS that have been recently covered by Rod Stewart, et.al, ad finitum. ''Coffee Time" is my favorite of the collection.

The required duet with Cole's dad is the first single release from the CD and is presented below in this R promotional video.

Track List:
1. Walkin' My Baby Back Home [Duet with Nat King Cole]

2. Come Rain Or Come Shine
3. Coffee Time
4. Somewhere Along The Way
5. You Go To My Head
6. Nice 'N' Easy
7. Why Don't You Do Right?
8. Here's That Rainy Day
9. But Beautiful
10. Lollipops And Roses
11. The Best Is Yet To Come
12. Something's Gotta Give
13. Until The Real Thing Comes Along
14. It's All Right With Me
15. Bonus Track: How Do You Keep The Music Playing?

Cole had to stop her own promotional tour after the CD was released last month to enter the hospital a few days for health issues and is now home on bed rest.

We wish Cole good health.

Compiling was easy. First I just executed main method for compiler but later I discovered following
[sourcecode language='java']
Object[] classFiles;
try {
classFiles = classCompiler.compileToClassFiles(FileUtils.readFileToString(scriptFileName), "", 1,
"ScriptClassFile");
Context ctx = Context.enter();
GeneratedClassLoader loader = ctx.createClassLoader(Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader());

Class myScript= (Class) loader.defineClass((String) classFiles[0],
(byte[]) classFiles[1]);
for (int i = 2; i < classFiles.length; i += 2) {
loader.defineClass((String) classFiles[i], (byte[]) classFiles[i + 1]);
}
Context.exit();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
[/sourcecode]

Now I got to executing:
[sourcecode language='java']
MyScriptInterface instance = myScript.newInstance();
String result = instance.myMethod();
[/sourcecode]

And hurray it works :) nooot too good :(
I can do this once or few times but lets say I want to execute this in web server and provide each session its own instance of MyScriptInterface. That means I'm going to need a lot of instances. Doesn't seem to be a big problem :) .

But apparently it is a problem.
[sourcecode language='java']
jjava.lang.OutOfMemoryError: PermGen space
at java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass1(Native Method)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass(ClassLoader.java:620)
at org.mozilla.javascript.DefiningClassLoader.defineClass(DefiningClassLoader.java:62)
at org.mozilla.javascript.optimizer.Codegen.defineClass(Codegen.java:146)
at org.mozilla.javascript.optimizer.Codegen.createScriptObject(Codegen.java:101)
at org.mozilla.javascript.Context.compileImpl(Context.java:2393)
at org.mozilla.javascript.Context.compileString(Context.java:1343)
at org.mozilla.javascript.Context.compileString(Context.java:1332)
at org.mozilla.javascript.tools.shell.Main.loadScriptFromSource(Main.java:456)
at org.mozilla.javascript.tools.shell.Main.processFileSecure(Main.java:444)
at org.mozilla.javascript.tools.shell.Main.processFile(Main.java:413)
at org.mozilla.javascript.tools.shell.Global.load(Global.java:247)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
at org.mozilla.javascript.MemberBox.invoke(MemberBox.java:161)
at org.mozilla.javascript.FunctionObject.call(FunctionObject.java:415)
at org.mozilla.javascript.optimizer.OptRuntime.callName(OptRuntime.java:97)
at AppHtmlBuilder1._c0(htmlGen:11)
at AppHtmlBuilder1.call(htmlGen)
at org.mozilla.javascript.ContextFactory.doTopCall(ContextFactory.java:401)
at org.mozilla.javascript.ScriptRuntime.doTopCall(ScriptRuntime.java:3003)
at AppHtmlBuilder1.call(htmlGen)
at AppHtmlBuilder1.exec(htmlGen)
at org.mozilla.javascript.JavaAdapter$2.run(JavaAdapter.java:588)
at org.mozilla.javascript.Context.call(Context.java:499)
at org.mozilla.javascript.ContextFactory.call(ContextFactory.java:511)
at org.mozilla.javascript.JavaAdapter.runScript(JavaAdapter.java:583)
at AppHtmlBuilder.()
at sun.reflect.GeneratedConstructorAccessor11.newInstance(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.java:27)
[/sourcecode]

It appears that every time I call newInstance() new classes are created and loaded. (My interface is actually AppHtmlBuilder).

If I looked at loaded classes count with JConsole then it increased by ~4 every time newInstance was called. So I can compile js to java class but I can't use it like I would use java class. I also tried using javascript constructor, but unfortunately didn't have much luck with that eiter. Maybe I did it wrong I don't know but for me precompiling scripts is useless because it doesn't seem to scale. I would appreciate very much if someone who knows that works differently would educate me.

Esta canción esta incluida en una recopilación de cuatro CD's del año 2005, editado por Rhino Records bajo el título de Hijos de Nuggets 1977-1997. (Te acuerdas del programa especial que emitimos sobre la recopilación original de Nuggets, Javier?).

Bueno, pués estos artistas son ‘Los herederos' de estos grupos psicodélicos de los sesenta. La mayoría no llegaron a ser famosos - algunos editaron solamente un single ó un ep - pero todos son muy merecedores de su inclusión en este cofre de Rhino.

‘Unguarded Moment' fue el segundo single de los Australianos, The Church editado en marzo del año 1981. Llegó a tener cierto éxito entre el público ‘underground' de la época y creó un especie de ‘patrón' como canción de power-pop ó garaje. A partir de ese momento, The Church empezó a viajar por todo el mundo en giras interminables durante los ochentas (Yo les ví - gratis! - en la Sala Universal en el 1984).

Entre los grupos del Rock garaje, power pop y otros estilos ‘underground' incluidos en la recopilación ‘Children of Nuggets' de Rhino Records, se encuentran los suecos, los Sinners (pecadores) con su barbed-wire Heart del año 1990.

Tercer tema: ‘Barbed Wire Heart' de Sinners 4:00 minutos.

¿En quién pensamos cuando pensamos en grupos de Suecia, Javier? Pues no era Abba ... no ... eran los Sinners de Göterburg con su Corazón de Alambre de Espino ‘Barbed Wire Heart'. Merceció ser un hit enorme, verdad? Pero no lo fue...

Más grupos incluidos en esta recopilación de ‘Hijos de Nuggets' de Rhino Records,: Primal Scream, Julian Cope, Flamin' Groovies, Bangles, Chesterfield Kings y los ‘Spongetones' de Carolina del Norte con su canción ‘Maryanne' de 1984.

Cuarto tema: ‘Maryanne' de Spongetones 2:43 minutos.

Un grupo norte-americano que recordaba mucho al sonido inglés de los Sesenta - como por ejemplo, los Hollies ó los Searchers.

La verdad es que esta recopilación de ‘Children of Nuggets' que hemos escuchando hoy en Radicales Libres es muy ecléctica. Abarca todos los sonidos ‘alternativos' de la época desde el garaje hasta la neo-psicodelia, pero su corazón se encuentra siempre con el pop y power-pop, como en esta canción de los Nashville Ramblers, ‘Trains' del año 1986.

The Trains - The Nashville Ramblers

‘Trains' de los Californianos, Nashville Ramblers, una canción casi inédita hasta su inclusión en esta recopilación ‘Children of Nuggets' de Rhino Records en 2005.

Los escoceses ‘Teenage Fanclub' también están incluidos en esta recopilación. Favoritos del exPrimer Ministro británico, Tony Blair, era uno de los primeros grupos para fichar para Creation Records (antes de Oasis). En sus principios crearon un sonido indie-pop muy guitarerro como en este Metal Baby, de su LP Bandwagonesque del año 1991.

Sexto tema: ‘Metal Baby' de Teenage Fanclub 3.39 minutos.

‘Metal Baby' de Teenage Fanclub del año 1991. Este cofre de Rhino Records del año 2005, pretende recopilar todos los grupos que intentaron capturar el espíritu de los grupos psicodélicos de los sesenta, una influencia bastante evidente en nuestra próxima canción, ‘Ain't that a Man' de los ‘Neoyorquinos', the Optic Nerve' del año 1986.

Séptimo tema: ‘Ain't that a Man' de the Optic Nerve. 2.37 min

Pués si ...esta canción de the Optic Nerve tiene un sonido y una estética muy similares a muchos grupos sesenteros como por ejemplo, the Standells, 13th Floor Elevators ó los Shadows of Knight.

Terminamos nuestro recorrido por los grupos de indie-pop, garaje y neo-psicodélia incluidos en el cofre de Rhino Records, ‘Children of Nuggets' con este ‘I want You Back' de los Australianos, los Hoodoo Gurus del año 1984. Y recuerda ... como dice la canción ‘Quiero que vuelvas' ... a escucharnos por lo menos la semana que viene en Radicales libres con Mike Stanley y Javier Picos.

]]> http://halmasonberg.wordpress.com/?p=1275 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:19:04 +0000 halmasonberg http://halmasonberg.pl.wordpress.com/2008/10/05/rocking-the-cradle-egypt-in-a-box/ The Grateful Dead's newest release ROCKING THE CRADLE has been slowly arriving in mailboxes all week. I was one of the lucky ones, apparently, who got mine early and undamaged. There have been some quality control issues surrounding this set that I feel confident Rhino will address in a timely and professional manner. They're just starting to figure out the level of "commitment" Deadheads have to this music and the ravenous collection of such. And their previous releases since acquiring the Grateful Dead's vault of music have been tremendous. The WINTERLAND '73 BOX SET is an extraordinary collection, beautifully packaged and presented. A real treat for Dead fans. As was LIVE AT THE COW PALACE from 1976. Lovingly mixed and one of the best New Year's shows the Dead ever played (they were not always on the ball those nights). I have heard complaints about the recycled cardboard packaging on the ROAD TRIPS sets, but have not acquired those as I'm usually a "full show" snob and those sets are compilations. 

However, ROCKING THE CRADLE does not offer up all the music played at the Dead's historic 1978 trip to the Gizah Sound and Light Theatre in Cairo, Egypt, but what's there is certainly among the highlights and, quite possibly, all we'll ever get. The set includes 2 CDs of music, 1 "bonus" CD for those who ordered before September 30th, and 1 DVD of actual footage of the band playing, as well as behind the scenes super 8 home movies documenting the Dead "family" adventures through the cradle of civilization. 

Let's start with the CDs. The sound is mixed with perfection. I've heard these shows before, both in audience and soundboard, and I've never heard them sound this crisp. Every instrument is crystal clear and perfectly balanced. The same goes for the bonus disc. I'm not sure why this wasn't just included as part of the package as it really is an essential part of the collection. Apparently, the sound recording for the first of the three nights played was damaged and that is why September 14th is not represented here at all. It's a shame, but some things are unavoidable. 

Now the DVD. I want to thank the folks who put this together for allowing me to access this historic event in a way not possible before. I had seen some of the video footage shot by Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, but the sound quality on that was questionable at best and, though fascinating, never quite engaging. While the video here is shaky and unprofessional at times--even to the point of actually losing site of the band entirely and drifting off into darkness--at least there are several cameras running simultaneously and the sound is massive, especially the DTS 5.1 mix. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any information as to exactly what footage was available to the producers of this set and how the editing choices were made. For example, most of the songs "fade out" instead of continuing the jams into transitions. Most disappointing is the fade out during the final jam in FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, thus losing one of the evenings best moments and a great transition into IKO IKO, a song which is, thankfully, included here. It is altogether possible that the footage available for that portion of the show was simply unusable and that is why this decision was made. However, I would love to know about that. I recognize that it's perhaps not customary for fans to request so much knowledge about the making of a "product", but Deadheads have a rather "special" relationship to all things Dead, and many of us are completists and simply want as much as is available. Strange, I know, but there's nothing like sitting down and immersing oneself in an uninterrupted show, especially when captured on DVD. If the experience is available to be had, many of us would love to have it. I would also question why they chose to jumble many of the songs out of the order in which they were performed. The progression of songs, the unfolding of the setlist, is often as much a part of the show as the music itself. For those who don't know, the Dead never played the same show twice. And even if they HAD, they wouldn't have played it the same way. So what they play and in what order has been of fascination to fans since the Dead first started performing. It is truly part of the energy, uniqueness, and experience of each and every show. 

Now for the Bonus Material. "The Vacation Tapes", a rare and intimate portrait of the band and their close "family" of friends and lovers starting from their arrival in Cairo, through the shows themselves, culminating in a three day boat trip down the Nile. Here we are privy to moments rarely seen as we get to watch the Dead off-stage and in a very "normal" light. It is refreshing and fun and truly made me wish I had been a part of the whole adventure as it unfolded. 

The music itself. Part of the reputation of these shows is that the band didn't play very well. And they were the first to say so. Since the Dead were largely an improvisational band, the music and its energy was different from one night to the next. Some nights they were on, some nights they were off. And both ends of the spectrum could be rather dramatic! What's fascinating here is that there was some truly inspired and tight playing to be heard from the Dead's various tours throughout 1978. But what happens in Egypt these 3 nights is unlike anything the Dead had played before or since. And there are certainly a combination of factors that added to that. One is the possible pressure of being the first western band permitted to play Egypt. Another is the PA system which was loaned to the Dead by The Who (England is much closer). The setting itself: a beautiful outdoor theatre nestled beneath the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids of Gizah. Add to the third night a lunar eclipse and, well, the energy MUST have been interesting to say the least. Then there's the audience: hordes of Deadheads traveled from far and wide to be here and they danced side by side with Egyptians, many of whom had never heard this music before and slowly found the groove as the nights progressed. 

Then there are stories of Jerry's addiction and the fact that he had to take a hiatus from some "medicines" his body may have been quite used to at this point. But whatever the reasons, the Dead had moments of fascinating beauty up there, as well as moments when the rhythm just seemed to slip out from under them as they all scrambled to find their way back. Perhaps it had to do with drummer Bill Kreutzman having one hand in a cast. Or maybe not, I don't know. But it's interesting to watch Jerry trying to get everybody rhythmically in sync during LOOKS LIKE RAIN which, oddly enough, turns out to be a terrific rendition. Same goes for GOOD LOVIN', which really hits a wall and never quite recovers. But all this gives the evening an odd yet exciting tension that everything could collapse at any given moment. And when it doesn't, the music SOARS or, at worst, finds a shaky life that is quite thrilling. It is music and energy unique to this set of shows and this venue. It's a version of the Dead unlike any other. And while I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction to the band's live performances, I think it's a must for anyone already familiar and looking for new variations and new experiences from the Dead's treasure trove of musical journeys. Garcia's voice is in top form and he seems to be having a blast up there. It's odd that the Dead chose not to play any cuts from their acclaimed BLUES FOR ALLAH album (the best of the studio offerings, in my opinion) as it seemed an obvious choice and a rare opportunity. However, I'm sure they had their reasons and just getting to watch the Dead jam with percussionist Hamza El Din and the Nubian Youth Choir up on that stage, in that surreal and magical setting, is worth the price of admission. 

ROCKING THE CRADLE is incomplete, imperfect, and worth every penny. It does what most great things do; it leaves you wanting more. And if there is more out there, I hope it will find its way to release as well. I, for one, will look forward to buying it.

Here's a taste of the Grateful Dead playing a rockin' version of DEAL from the third night, September 16, 1978:

Another experiment with the new PanelingTools plugin for Rhino.

UPDATE: There are now some examples and short tutorials on the mcneel labs website for PanelingTools

Here is the result of the ptPanelSurface command on a nurbs surface (the surface is just some ellipses lofted together):

and this shows the object that I used to populate that surface, with annotations showing in which order you pick points with the ptOrientToGrid command: