In law there exist the principle of 'foreground' and 'background' IP. If I take a photograph of a bottle of Pepsi I hold the foreground IP relating to the photograph, but Pepsi holds the background rights - which may become a problem for I if you wish to use the image commercially without their consent. To assume that use of the background IP without an explicit agreement cannot be an issue because it benefits the holder of the background IP is a sure way to get into difficulty. This principle can be applied to other things for example where a software developer writes an application for a client based on the internal business procedures of that company. The developer may rightfully claim copyright of the application (foreground IP - if the client did not purchase it as part of the deal) but the client may restrict the distribution of the software based on the fact that it is built on their business logic (background IP). The same principles may apply to doing visualisation work. It is therefore important that both parties always resolve this duality as part of their agreements, as alater dispute can potentially lead to a situation where neither party can use the end product as there are mutual rights encapsulated in it. One should also be aware that creating models of weaponry and certain building and installations may raise other legal issues as it may be illegal in some countries to photograph or create representations of these for security reasons.

Chris, Some may be a little concerned about sending detailed personal information without any information about the company. A link to your website or alternatively detailed info about yourself and the company may represent a more realistic proposition.

Hi there maybe you can use this inexpensive script from smustard.. http://www.smustard.com/script/FlightPath2

I got the 8000 in the post a few days ago. It was via an ebay site delivered for around €20, really good value. What I like about this mouse is the very soft left and right click also same goes for the scroll wheel click. My old one is still working ok with the exception of the 1Gb flash memory which packed up for some reason. I will keep it around for emergencies, its served me well.

Seriously OT. The left is actually the ‘correct’ side of the road. It originally made perfect sense if you needed to defend yourself with a sword against an oncoming attacker (unless you’re a left-hander, like Jim, of course.) If driving a coach, you were also less likely to get the whip tangled in overhanging branches if your whip hand was in the middle of the road, rather than just feet away from the shrubbery at the side. This was actually formulated in a Papal edict around 1300 that advised all pilgrims to stick to the left. The reason that so many countries now drive on the right is thanks to the French and their revolution. Napoleon decided to be perverse…and as he conquered so many European nations, the habit spread. You Yanks have Lafayette to thank for driving on the wrong side…it was his recommendation. Phew! I need a beer after that explanation. That reminds me; those poor labourers that had to drink 4+ pints of beer a day were the same ones that used to complain they couldn’t get any decent food to eat. They had to survive on the ‘poor’ man’s diet of salmon and oysters.

@mike lucey said: Great picture Jim. Looks like you are left-handed? I wonder, out of curiosity how many design people are left-handed? Oh yes, quite left handed. As far as percentages, from my personal background in school and work , probably the same as the overall world average numbers - maybe 10% 15% but from what I read, the percentage is larger than normal in the arts. Maybe it is because we must be more clever to get around in the R.H. world Probably time for a poll??? Some famous lefties Leonardo Da Vinci; Bill Gates; US Presidents Hoover, Truman, Ford, Reagan(ambidextrous), HWBush, Clinton, and Obama. Prime Minister Churchill. Here is a link I found with a list of left handed artists. http://arthistory.about.com/library/artists/lists/blsouthpaws.htm And a link about famous left handers in general: http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/left.html I could go on----(T.M.I.)

@matteo said: Wow Tig! Quite perfect. I may be wrong, but I suspect that the triangular faces are part of an array of pyramids surrounding the upper part of the cup. Time for a lathe&array ruby plugin? CF's Component Stringer does the job already - easily added with a small pyramid component [make path in two parts as it can't handle loops] - then explode instances back into main geometry...[image: wAta_LathedVasePyramids.png]LathedVasePyramids.skp

@daniel said: Jim, Thanks, I need some luck. I have three tests left. One test I've failed a few times already - I've gone over it again and again, but cannot figure out what I've done wrong (of course, they don't tell you except "pass" or "fail"). Very frustrating. I'm not sure of the Tenn. regulations, but see if they will let you review the results at the license board in Nashville. A bit of a p.i.t.a. but might help you figure out the problem. follow this link to NCARB ARE page - http://www.ncarb.org/en/ARE/Taking-the-ARE/Receiving-Your-Score.aspx They should let you see a more detailed result. If they don't it might be time for the AIA to give the Registration Board a little push. http://www.aiatn.org/ If you're not a member you might consider it. Also - have you signed up for any refresher courses? Some universities have live courses, the state AIA might and there are some on line-correspondence types. Hope this helps. PM me if you would like to talk further. Jim Smith (AIA)

Also, let me apologize, (in advance, but definitely "tounge-in-cheek" ), for the PixPlant thread as well: [image: file.php?id=40268] I did not mean to imply that PixPlant can only be used with certain renderers. I suspect that the PixPlant images can be used with most modern renderers.

Having downloaded the Bricks and Concrete Textures, I'd say they are priced correctly.

Compressing a set of files that are already made pretty much as compacted as they can be, might reduce the total size buy only an insignificant amount: however, it does keep them all together and it let's you upload several files inside one zip file - e.g. for a PM where only one attachment is allowed You could also attach a password to a zip to make the contents more secure... So zipping them isn't useful just to make them smaller...

It's worth a google on the associated 'fata morgana' for some interesting 'city in the sky' images. [image: fata_morgana_04.jpg] [image: mirage506.jpg]

@tfdesign said: My wife has recently read "Das Capital" by Karl Marx. She said, although very complex, it was a brilliant read. When I've got some time (!), I too will have to pick this book up and read it. I haven't read Marx directly, but I understand that he makes the false assumption that history makes some kind of sense I agree that something new has to be invented. The current form of "venture" capitalism seems to me to be just some kind of giant pyramid scheme. "Owner valus" seems to lead to a "grab the cash and run" mentality instead of a strategy based on long-term viability. As for society, I cannot help that I always feel that what is good for the weakest and poorest should be the guiding principle. In the later times this seems to have been lost, and the western Antisocialism has been replaced with global Asocialism Anssi

They probably do not speak Hungarian.

@nuclearmoose said: I'm in the dog house, but hey, it could be worse...it could be -37°C outside! Oh, wait, it IS! Ah, who cares? I'm having fun and that's all that matters. Hope you got a nice dual xeon machine to keep your warm.

This videoed interview is also interesting http://www.badscience.net/how-to-use-this-website/audio-and-video/ Regards, Bob

Cool. Reminds me of Endorphin animations I used to play with. Downloading...

Yeah Tim, Ray Kurzweil, that's the guy! Mmmmm nuts eh Must follow those links

I read this too; http://www.9to5mac.com/Google-tablet-34959 Looks like there's gonna be a head to head fight (Apple's 'tablet' could be announced next month according to umpteen sources ). This is going to be an interesting year to come!

Yup, Vue is very powerful, there are many things one can achieve, like the above. Changing/morphing terrains are pretty simple really once you get to understand the function editor as well as your animation controls. The real action clips are indeed alpha based video inserted into animation either by importing the .avi into animation sequence as the above or by using a 3rd party app like after effects.