As you know, a Bézier curve (here meaning specifically a cubic Bézier) is often used for drawing all kinds of things in vector graphics. It has the nice property that the endpoints and control points form a bounding box, and deCasteljau’s algorithm is a nice numerically stable way of evaluating…
Sneak preview
This is a sneak peek at my current personal project. A bit of computerised heraldry. (“Sable a [ordinary] ermine.” Left to right, top to bottom: chief, fess, pale, cross, bend, bend sinister, chevron, saltire. Yeah, I know; charges on a bend should be bendwise. It’s a work in progress.)
Book sale time again
Last night I got an email from the library mailing list about another book sale this morning. We snagged a lot of books, including many SF paperbacks. Mini-Elbeno also got a ton of new titles. Not many computer titles this time around, but I got a book on python and…
Life defined by Lunch
I am a creature of habit and habitual comforts. Never more so than at lunchtime. I’m also a big fan of breakfast, it’s true, and I couldn’t really care less about dinner most of the time. But lunch is where the routine kicks in. I could happily eat the same…
Participatory Culture
My photo of Sydney’s Fort Denison was included in the Schmap Sydney guide.
Arc’s debut
(Seems like this is just about what’s happened) Paul Graham: Behold, Arc! (disclaimer: blah blah blah) Rest of the Lisp-speaking world: Dude, weren’t you working for like 5 years on this? Now you give us a wrapper on Scheme? PG: Look, I know it’s a bit pre-alpha, but give it…
Super Luigi Galaxy
So I got 120 stars (the last level to fall was the Toy Time Galaxy Purple Coins). Now I’m not sure if I can be bothered to get another 120.
“Smart and Gets Things Done”?
I work for a big games company as a senior programmer, and I’m a regular on the interview loop. While I’d love to hire candidates who are smart and get things done, the reality of the situation is that more often than not I also have to hire candidates with…
Recent Readings
Making Money by Terry Pratchett. (I seem to have missed Thud!) Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. Heinlein-esque SF that I first heard about at last year’s LA Times Festival of Books. Both quick reads – I finished each one in less than 2 days.