tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:50:36 +0000http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Mark)Blogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-8953684064130143053Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:51:00 +00002010-02-20T17:12:09.234-08:00Being a student I have to study for finals. One of the ways I study is by having something in the background I can concentrate. I've found that if I'm left to my faculties while doing something like math, accounting, etc.. well, my brain goes off on tangents in the background and I can't concentrate.This time it was finals. So, the task I set myself on doing was basically 3 months worth of math http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/voi3Bj4DpXI/dice-2010.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/dice-2010.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-5996822773199517049Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:33:00 +00002010-02-03T22:27:14.572-08:00Over the past two weeks, I've been programming AI for the dynamic maze/board game you see above for my major (Computer Science). The objective is to collect 6 treasures that are given to you via those cards at the side with color indicators (so the blue card with the book is saying that the blue wizard (bottom left) needs to collect the book). Once 6 treasures are collected, the wizard (player) http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/6VGJQ_XYeOE/over-past-two-weeks-ive-been.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/over-past-two-weeks-ive-been.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-8781752333738698069Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:07:00 +00002009-12-13T14:32:36.944-08:00My first game-console was an SNES. I had three games that I played on it constantly: a collection of Mario Bros. games (all on one cartridge), a copy of Aladdin, and maybe one other game that I can't think of right now.. oh that's right, killer instinct.People tell me if I want to call myself a nerd I need to play Mario to hell and back. These are the same people, usually, that tell me that MS ishttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/MCO4BMqlcIg/zps-mario-bros-review-and-my-90s-look.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/zps-mario-bros-review-and-my-90s-look.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-297857279844166866Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:06:00 +00002009-12-11T13:33:48.049-08:00The people that know me well know that I am both an artist and a programmer.The interpretation of art can vary along with a persons lifelong experiences. Liking art is a huge part of it being accepted. Given talent and experience, whatever I produce will be judged based upon art theory principles.To the inexperienced, they are still judging by these principles, but for them it is a lot more http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/vOzitfMgQL4/candy-for-left-and-right-brains.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/candy-for-left-and-right-brains.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-4855285684179078582Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:43:00 +00002009-12-07T18:06:39.357-08:00Last holiday, turkey day for Americans, nothing for everybody else; except for Canada, but they already had their own *cough* copycat *cough* turkey day, my mom told me that I need to relax. That video games and staring at the computer do me no good day in and day out.She told me, "Read a book. It'll let you relax."I've found over the past couple of months that either I had extreme ADD or that I http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/EhxFZU-ZFy8/tv-is-healthy-for-me-books-arent.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/tv-is-healthy-for-me-books-arent.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-1307778136050276141Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:42:00 +00002009-12-04T21:49:56.227-08:00Most of the time, whenever somebody says, "Linux is better!" I feel that either they are academics looking for the performance quirks that Linux provides in clusters, open-source fans that want to use Linux as a way to combat Microsoft's influence, the guy that's in it for the shits and giggles, and then the guy that uses it for software development or a sys admin.Today I went to a lecture with http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/0pKD_BBT-II/my-thoughts-on-linux.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-thoughts-on-linux.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-5644007770590925606Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:38:00 +00002009-08-17T12:52:41.895-07:00Over the past two months I've been busy to say the least. When my part/full-time job isn't keeping me busy, my vacation has (strange how, when I'm supposed to relax, everybody keeps bugging me if I am relaxed).So, I've started contract work for a People Operating Technology, which is a company devoted to the purpose of making kickass iPhone apps. If you've got an iPhone or iTouch and use facebookhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/P93488ea8P8/busy-busy-busy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/busy-busy-busy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-1087986506572589516Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:02:00 +00002009-06-18T09:07:00.951-07:00Last night I was given a picture to, for a lack of a better word, make more awesome.It was in an illustrator file, and I had never touched illustrator. So, naturally, I was a bit apprehensive, but I sent an e-mail saying it would be done by today.It took me about an hour to get used to the controls, but, in that hour, I brute force taught myself illustrator.I printed out the picture at first and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/nFMpQkn8dWc/crash-course-in-illustrator.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/crash-course-in-illustrator.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-4128771868379830643Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:23:00 +00002009-06-16T20:05:55.102-07:00I was there. Free food, free soda, and free beer... did I mention they also had about 30+ prominent people from the game industry in Boston?My journey started where I had parked my car right at MIT... I needed to find One Memorial drive and I was at about 150 :). So, after about a 10 minute walk, I get to the building. I had registered two days before the event, and I was worried that since I http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/SH397_pFeoc/games-interactive-entertainment-meet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/games-interactive-entertainment-meet.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-7388532554730725947Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:45:00 +00002009-06-13T06:52:00.681-07:00Fortunately, I can walk through my room without tripping. The bad news is, not only is my motherboard here and installed (wait, that's bad?), but I think my Wacom pen is lost somewhere in the nether-regions between my house and my old high school. Thankfully, while cleaning my room, I found 50 dollars worth of spare change. That coupled with my two tablets (Wacom Sapphire and Bamboo) have given http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/wihnfqEqrp0/i-did-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/i-did-2.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-5819692964033821255Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:30:00 +00002009-06-11T18:17:53.681-07:00My eVGA nVidia 680i motherboard kicked the bucket... rather, it is terminally ill with cancer.The above double pun was not actually intended, but is a good metaphor. My motherboard does not let me work on it for more than 20-30 minutes without the computer freezing, forcing me to reboot. These reboots wouldn't be so much of a pain in the ass if not for the fact that not always can I get the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/jMh7o-UUH0g/bucket-list.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/bucket-list.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-3311385997653675863Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:00:00 +00002009-06-11T13:04:24.300-07:00This was posted on Bungie.net:Posted by: Phoenix1330Posted by: MePosted by: Forge Fan92The Superintendent has gone rampant! All of these transmissions..... what does it mean? "Keep it clean" he says. Over and over and over again. He needs repair!Think of these super complex AI's computers as a huge RAID array. If you destroy a bit of it, it will still function with limited ability and duration.Ithttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/xKVOc-hBh8E/raid-arrays-and-ais.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/raid-arrays-and-ais.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-4916998543834092512Thu, 28 May 2009 17:52:00 +00002009-05-28T11:00:15.817-07:00Last night, I had started laying out coordinates in UVW space (think XYZ space only for textures [UVWXYZ; clever huh?])). This makes sure there are no seams between major areas like this:(taken from Planet Quake)Or skewing like this:Then I realized that the map wasn't done yet and if we compiled with any errors, well, I'd have to change the geometry and that would destroy any work I had done (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/kTWW6jzoWh8/doh.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/doh.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-2605991897608019676Thu, 14 May 2009 01:58:00 +00002009-05-13T19:00:38.047-07:00..I should be getting a site very soon. This site will include my latest programming project as well as content for Halo and Unreal. Stay tuned, I designed it in Dreamweaver (so don't expect much). It'll be ready this weekend.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/LrJ8ZU7bpUM/if-all-goes-well.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/if-all-goes-well.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-4202426224194895818Thu, 07 May 2009 14:20:00 +00002009-05-07T07:24:26.727-07:00I am currently developing a physics applet which I hope to complete the rudimentary code for before the summer.After this I will be developing my "Archaic GUI" for other purposes (it will be for server based program for launching other applets).Lastly, a friend and I will get a server soon which will serve my code, apps, releases, maps, and general content, etc.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/xB2KZu2s55k/foresight.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/foresight.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-3863797521985162984Thu, 09 Apr 2009 02:16:00 +00002009-04-08T19:17:30.531-07:00Apparently I'm:54% GeekClick the link to take the quiz. One or two of them are funny.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/Kzn8XlKFJOE/how-geek-are-you.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-geek-are-you.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-7892853915129816493Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:39:00 +00002009-04-06T19:50:51.606-07:00For the past 6 months, I've worked with a friend, Anton from the Modacity.net forums, on creating a map for Halo: CE. While most everything you see in the following pictures isn't final, they are representation of what you could call the alpha phase of development.Many of the textures need major reworking as well as most of the UVW mapping (texture coordinate mapping). Organic surface texturing/http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/geD9AcKQlJg/wip-bimyrrha.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/wip-bimyrrha.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-3140657577619805578Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:28:00 +00002009-03-26T14:35:11.149-07:00My laptop's LCD case broke at the hinge when it fell from my desk at school and broke the plastic and metal. I got home thinking I could do something about it (you know, jury rig it so I don't have to spend money), but, alas, not the case. The metal hinge had been broken in two, and so I went on eBay searching for the part (in this case the component that holds the LCD in place). I found a http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/aWEQGstoM-o/more-laptop-troubles.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-laptop-troubles.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-5905507448979595336Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:43:00 +00002009-03-22T07:50:49.069-07:00I haven't had much luck with power supplies lately. My laptop power supply was replaced, but then a couple of days later, my OCZ GameXStream 750W PSU blew an internal fuse.I went to Microcenter with a friend. I was getting a Corsair 750W. Check it out on newegg they have one that is getting really great reviews. In any case, they said online they had 8 in stock; when I got there they had one on http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/eRWJ9wKSppE/milling-around-making-bread.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/milling-around-making-bread.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-7220283152291000727Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:18:00 +00002009-03-07T14:31:24.439-08:00"No, no no!!!"*swoosh**bang**bang* *bang* .... *BANG*That was my Dell XPS power-supply. At the time, I thought it was no big deal, but when I came home and plugged it in, I got nothing. I'll open it tonight and see if its recoverable; otherwise, there is a 40 buck replacement on eBay.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/Vor0CDZh_jQ/power-bricked.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/power-bricked.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-6031030425156368431Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:03:00 +00002009-03-05T19:04:17.999-08:00 These are some pictures of the puzzle game I recently finished. You could consider it v0.8. Collision still has many glitches/loopholes, but the class is moving on and I needed to get this done. I might work on it later.Thehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/TW3g49zvPlk/puzzle-game.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/puzzle-game.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-976807508906675417Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:41:00 +00002009-03-01T10:00:56.487-08:00So, yesterday, Don and myself spent a good 5 hours trying to interface with an ELISA reader for a job we've been recruited for.The ELISA reader has a 25 pin RS-232-C Port.At first, we ran into a wall when we tried just simply using a serial -> USB adapter (which proved faulty). Then we tried to use one of Don's older machines with a serial port and tried just spitting out whatever the reader http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/afwo1LLm1Qg/elisa-reader-interfacing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/elisa-reader-interfacing.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-373982701701914727Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:07:00 +00002009-02-26T19:34:31.286-08:00That Window there reads "Java Paint & Archaic GUI by (2009)"This is my futile attempt at a GUI. Still much improvement to be made. The GUI contains a core Windows class and an extension of that class called a Dialog. I'm planning on programming an additional extension which will be an explorer (combination file explorer, and save dialog).. a save dialog "for what??" you ask, thinking that the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/z_uE22AWbhg/gui-sauce.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/gui-sauce.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-4222982056548502615Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:12:00 +00002009-02-24T14:59:08.865-08:00I don't know when this happened, and to be honest I don't know how it happened either. But it seems that I have reached a point in the 7-9 years that I've owned XP where two things have happened:- I don't have to restart almost every day- I don't have to reformat the hard drive every monthIt is a strange feeling to have indeed when I know every geek/programmer that is my friend is a rabid linux http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/RnRsVJ3qCss/broken-in-like-fine-leather.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/broken-in-like-fine-leather.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2366373653364476843.post-5874404269286899150Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:51:00 +00002009-02-10T08:59:55.846-08:00Editor's Note:Firstly, Don, if you are reading this, either look away if you want to figure this out on your own, or look on if you want a hint./end*Ahem* OK, so, dragging a button in a Java Applet. Should be simple, I say to myself. Well, like many things, it was, but I thought about it...WAAAAAYYYY too much.Procedure:1) At mousePress, find mouse point2) When dragged, find new mouse point3) Findhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/OmYp/~3/KiTDu_MiN_Y/click-and-drag.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mark)http://mark-gblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/click-and-drag.html