Great work Delineator! Looks like the kind of place that is usually busy

I expect it would be exceedingly difficult to populate the render with a convincing crowd. Another approach (easier) would be to have it communicate a story as to why it is empty of people. One idea that comes to mind, based on your description of the kind of place it is, would be to turn it into a crime scene. You could draw some chalk outlines on the ground where the bodies were found and put up some police tape barriers. Furthermore the cafe tables could be dressed to look like they were quickly abandoned with glassware & dishes, and maybe table cloths with one or two pulled askew. A chair could be flipped. And perhaps the blimp could have a flood light shining down...

Regards, Ross

This was likely posted before --- I just had to see it again...

Look at the expression on the guy behind the roller granny...

I hope this was just a baptism!

Eric - Very spooky!

I suddenly have a craving for Chicklets gum

It appears Broadcom Crystal HD isn't actually the video card but a hardware solution related only to the playback of HD video content. Sounds like it is intended to allow you to watch movies on the Slate with low power consumption. Here's what Broadcom's site says:

@unknownuser said:

By implementing Broadcom Crystal HD media PC (MPC) solutions, HP provides consumers with smooth, high quality playback of high definition (HD) video that yields very low system power consumption for longer battery life, low CPU utilization and integrates seamlessly into the Windows XP environment.

I saw on an older article about the HP Slate that the video card was expected to be a "Intel GMA 500". If that is what is used then it would have OpenGL v2.0 support. It looks like there'd be no reason to think SketchUp won't run on the tablet.

Regards, Ross

I too like the virtual "physical scale model" look of those first shots. It would be cool to see it rendered in a glass case in a setting.

Impressive modelling!

or perhaps Al Cohol?

Al Berta?

As a tax payer without a pension, I harbour some resentment at government employees who get generous pensions. I realize they pay into their pensions but typically the benefits received far exceed what they ever put into them.

I have an idea: End pensions for government employees. Make them fend for themselves like the rest of us. Those employees will see a increase in their take-home pay when their contributions stop being deducted. Like most people they won't save the "extra" but will spend it. Perhaps that spending will stimulate an economic recovery.

My 53 year-old sister has been disabled since she was 16 when an uninsured drunk driver collided with the Austin Mini she was driving. She is extremely intelligent but has classified as unemployable due to her disabilities. She isn't in a wheelchair -- but has coordination issues (jerky movements) and some short-term memory issues). Over the years she has been involved in a few government sponsored "job-skill" type programs aimed at helping the chronically unemployed get meaningful work.

A few years back she got involved in a program where "students" were placed in a psychiatric institution with the idea they'd get skills that might lead to employment in the institution. There were several students and there was the potential of two or three permanent jobs at the end. The burned out staff in the institution thought the idea of the program was stupid were not helpful in the least. They paired the students up with the "worst" patients. I'm sure they thought it would be funny having the students deal with violent patients the staff considered lost causes. The Doctors who led the program tasked the students to be creative and try and figure out how to help the patients. My sister was paired with a teenage girl who was severely retarded and had lived her whole life in the institution. Her only communication was grunts, screams, hitting, biting and crying. She had been sexualized (raped) by other patients (and probably staff too) and was starting to behave like she was "in heat". She was a real handful for staff to manage and the nurses treated her as hopeless. Anyways, my sister quickly noticed that the only thing that held this girl's attention for more than a minute was cartoons. My sister ended up writing and illustrating a personalized comic book to try and communicate ideas that she was becoming a woman now and how to behave. It worked in opening up a way to communicate with the girl. My sister went on to work with another patient and had a breakthrough with him too (She figured out he was deaf but nobody knew. They thought he was severely retarded - turned out he wasn't!). My sister received top marks in the program.

When it came time to fill the jobs they had available my sister was told they couldn't give it to her because she was herself disabled and people caring for the patients needed to be able-bodied. Talk about discrimination!

Sorry for the long story but I thought some might find it interesting.

Regards, Ross

Csaba - Common sense (if there is such a thing) might suggest the upper windows likely did not have that type of shutter protruding into the limited circulation space of balcony.

Would the exterior stair have been equipped with a pivot so it could be drawn up?

While the principle of the government not interfering with our lives might seem attractive - it doesn't work.

Let's say safety in mines was not regulated. A mine owner could run his mine as he sees fit. The arguement would be that if conditions were really dangerous then nobody would work for him. Of course in the real world people will even work in an unsafe mine if they have no other way to support their families.

@solo said:

...and everyone keeps their rights.

Everyone except the employees. When it worked the way Solo proposes practically every restaurant & bar allowed open smoking. Non-smoking premises were rare. Those working in that service industry had no choice but to work in the conditions, quit, or be fired if they complained.

When they banned 'smoking rooms' in bars & restaurants here it wasn't about majority rule. The main argument against was for the health of the employees "forced" to work in the establishments. Around here a person is lucky to have a job. Their aren't enough jobs to go around. In our society, we consider it unfair discrimination for an employer to hire/fire on the basis of a person's willingness to work in smokey environment. The reality was that businesses with smoking rooms had waiters & waitresses (both smokers & non-smokers) working in unhealthy conditions. All employers are expected to have as healthy a work environment for their staff as possible.

Now you need a comfortable chair for the operator and couches for the groupies!

That second watercolour looks great. Inspiring! I particularly like the splatter sky. Moving the background forward was very effective.

If you are considering further changes then the idea of using brick in lieu of the stone should definitely be tried. I'd also suggest modifying the tree that has the red trunk as the red is competing for focus and looks a little odd. I'd also eliminate the transparency aspect of the person - seeing through the person in this instance isn't working for me.

With regards to the model itself, I'm guessing from the form that the door under the porte-cochere is the formal front door and that side of the house is its 'front'. That suggests it should be more of a circular or ached driveway you can drive up to and drop someone off. Backing in the Oldsmobile would be a real drag. If the house was in a town there would likely be a sidewalk running out to the street too. I also notice there doesn't seem to be any connection between the driveway and the porch where the man is. If that is intended to be a more private space it would suggest some form of screening trellis (perhaps with a gate)at the end closest to the driveway.

Regards, Ross

Thanks! The expanded polystyrene foam texture is really cool. First time I've ever seen a beadboard texture.

My electric dream is to have one of these electric motorcycles. They have the best power-to-weight ratio of any electric vehicle. Zero-to-30 mph in under two seconds would be fun!

Dermot - when you played did you wear a helmet?