Hi, Jackson: @unknownuser said: The layout of the guywires (horizontally radial) in the downloaded skp model appear to differ from those of the image on your website (lateral). @unknownuser said: See images of radial cables in the skp model below. I don't see how they differ from the images on our website. Except if you mean the image of the sample design which differs only because the wires are attached to the vertical beams (which in turn connect to the spars) instead of connecting directly to the spars. This is an acceptable minor alteration of the design and, while practical in some cases, doesn't change any properties of the platform. Regarding your further engineering inquiry, unfortunately I cannot pass on all questions to our engineering team. I ask you to carry on the discussion in our forums where quite a few users have engineering knowledge. hebrides: @unknownuser said: I want to modify the model (move the cables) to accomodate my structure but need a few hints to hobble up something that is feasible. I would like to know what percentage of the total weight of the truss system is supported by the wires. In general, we don't allow modifications of the base platform unless they are minor cosmetic alterations. How much is minor? Can't tell you exactly unless you tell me exactly what you want to change, but anything that requires calculations like you want to do is definitely too much. Lasse

i cant get away from this happy valentines [image: kissingflowers.jpg] [image: HoaLy.jpg]

Looks good Pete. Let us know when you start with a medium poly tree 3D libary.

The point I am trying to make is : after years of slumber Autodesk is actively developing it's application base, adopting many of the new methodologies first shown in Sketchup, Spaceclaim and the like. nobody knows what Google is doing...

I wouldnt be surpised, he's a shifty looking fellow.

I'll definitely support you, Pete...! That sure is a nice green collection and I hope that you'll sell many packages, cause users sure get value for the money...!!

Maybe TBD (Tavi) or Todd could cast some light on this for you? Both are Mac users and I imagine this task would be child's play for them.

..... and why not

Ross that is a very topical issue; there is no clear distinction between a freedom fighter and a terrorist. There is a very good documentary series currently showing on Al jazeera that questions what the difference is. By todays standards, the allied partisan resistance fighters in WW2 would have been classed as terrorists. http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/general/2009/02/20092565012929122.html There is no internationally agreed definition. @unknownuser said: Terrorism expert Walter Laqueur has counted over 100 definitions and concludes that the 'only general characteristic generally agreed upon is that terrorism involves violence and the threat of violence.' Yet terrorism is hardly the only enterprise involving violence and the threat of violence. So does war, coercive diplomacy, and barroom brawls." @unknownuser said: The Patriot Act defined “terrorist activity” so broadly that it encompasses virtually any deed, even if carried out under threat of death or against a brutal regime. The Patriot Act also liberalized the definition of “terrorist organizations”: In addition to the Tier I and Tier II lists of known and actual terrorist groups, a terrorist organization could now be any “group of two or more individuals, whether organized or not,” which engages in any form of “terrorist activity” thusly defined. source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_terrorism

Susan, I might be the same - the solution is not to make plans! Pete: the whole, meandering story looks like a simple excuse to watch porn...

That must be it! Maybe Stu could wise us up .... or should that be down?

Reminds me of that Monty Python sketch about the tallest man in the world.

Thank You..That is it. I thought it mentined Firewalls also but...

Look at what Equadorian did rather quickly along these lines using some free scripts available here on the forum. http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=16484 Its half way down that page. The general idea is he made a grid, then randomly subdivided some of it using Jim protrude script. Then randomly applied colors to it, replaced the colors with images. THen ran greeble on it. and voi-la! his city. Its pretty impressive, especially for free scripts. And yes, making a more in depth city generator is a dream of mine that I'm slowly working on. Chris

I just tried PPB and it comes up OK . 3:46 p.m. central standard time -(Chicago time).

Maybe his inbox is full.

You just described 1/2 of my working life. ( the part where I'm not doing the design work) Although I can successfully import full 3d models from AutoCad Architect, Vectorworks, and Softplan, I find that SketcUp doesn't like the geometry they bring, and aside from the problems caused by bad draftsmanship, they are still glitchy. I am going to try to get some of the culprits to use DoubleCAD XT, from idx http://www.doublecad.com, as from the sounds of it it may make the integration with SketchUp fairly simple,( and I like the integration between SketchUp and rendering software) while providing at least the AutoCad users with a familiar set of tools to use. I know it has been said before, but it is interesting how there seems to be boundaries that software designers don't cross. I know that some processes seem to be under patent (hence the SketchUp shadow bug), but I keep wondering why someone isn't working on an integrated solution.

second one is the better choice. thanks Dave and keep up your good work

It's a Piglet Squid, Helicocranchia pfefferi. See http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/01/friday_cephalopod_some_pig.php amongst others

@august said: @tomot said: ... Perhaps the fountain pen solution should have been adapted for the printer. An elegant idea. The Fisher company spent millions of dollars to develop a pen that would write in zero gravity for NASA. It got a closeup in Kubrick's "2001". The Russians used pencils. Not quite. Fisher spent about $1m of their own money to develop the pen and patent it. NASA bought about 400, apparently at around $6 each. The Soviet program bought a hundred or so to replace the grease pencils they had (like NASA) previously used. No one would use normal graphite pencils; at least not if they wanted to survive the mission. Care to imagine the electrical problems that might arise from graphite dust floating around a micro-gravity capsule? Dead astronauts are such an embarrassment.