x-ray yes
styles no...
It was made by taking a simple component and rotating a number of copies. That was then made into another component and more copies were rotated creating a series of interlocking arcs. The basic component was painted with a transparent material and given coloured edges. A wide angle FOV was set, x-ray display mode turned on, and a jpg exported. In post processing the colours were shifted, the image was sharpened, and it was textured.
Regards, Ross
Inspired by Fred's recent thread on 'painting with SU' I decided to play around with an old model...
Regards, Ross
I was just amazed the web cam worked! If I could grab and hold on to any emotion I think the best would be wide-eyed amazement. Wouldn't it would be great to live life in a constant state of amazement? Might be awkward at times (like at funerals) but for the most part it would be pretty good.
Better than being bummed out 
Guys -- you did a great job. Don't let the 'too commercial' comments bum you out from doing another just the same. I'm sure the vast majority of readers appreciated your newsletter even if they haven't commented.
Regards, Ross
Eric - with regards to counting calories I didn't have any fixed cutoff number or target. Instead what I found myself doing was just looking at and taking into consideration the calories whenever I was making food choices. For instance if one brand of cracker had more calories than another I'd eat the lesser one. Looking at the calories in things has me avoiding things like juice because I can drink water with zero. It's amazing how many calories there are in some foods. Knowing the fewer calories I take in will result in greater weightloss has some motivating influence. Of course I still need to balance caloric intake against making reasonably healthy choices.
Regards Ross (at work)
Thanks for the encouragement Kris. The weight went on slow --- probably just 2.5 pounds per year for twenty years. Eventually I realized it wasn't going to get any better without some conscious effort.
Regards, Ross
Hi Eric
I've lost 40 pounds so far. For the last month the amount has only been about a pound per week. What's different is I decided to try and be less obsessive about calorie counting, started having the occasional beer or two and have been eating out more frequently. Yesterday was a big family gathering with big steaks, hamburgers, potato salad, cheesecake etc. It's hard to loose in such an environment.
What I've learned is the amount of food I'd have to eat to maintain a more even weight without putting more on. I've definitely been eating more than when I was loosing so I've reinforced in my mind exactly what I need to do to keep loosing.
I now weigh 215 pounds and am 6'- 0 1/2" tall. 200 pounds would probably be a good weight for me. At 190 I would likely look slim. With the 40 pounds lost to date, my old jeans can still be worn with a cinched up belt. If I took off the belt the formerly well-fitted jeans would, with little more than a wiggle, be in real danger of sliding down! One of these days I'm going to have to go buy some new clothes. I've been avoiding that thinking I should wait until I loose more weight.
Regards, Ross
Kris - My understanding is that Susan created that rendering using a model of the famous Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht, Netherlands. She suburbanized it and updated its original Mondrian-inspired colours. Seeing it reminded me of my visit to the actual Rietveld Schröder House. When my wife and I were students we bicycled around Holland. I loved Utrecht. When there we did the pilgrimage to the Rietveld Schröder House. I was surprised it had a relatively North-American style suburban setting. I remember there were a couple young Dutch teenagers sitting on the steps of the house next door. They were laughing at us. We imagined they frequently had silly students gawking at the 'weird' house next door.
Susan -- It would be nice to see more images (zoomed views) of that fine rendering.
Regards, Ross
Hi ilay7k
In the past it seems like the big AIA convention or MacWorld is where @Last/Google have made any big announcements about SketchUp. I don't think Siggraph has ever been a 'Major' for them. Perhaps I'm wrong but isn't Siggraph mostly a convention to showoff your savy to the rest of the software industry? It seems the SU developers have always been more interested in us who use the product than what the rest of their industry might think.
It used to be that there was a new version of SU every year. With version six that pace slowed down. I'd guess that v7 will be at least a year away. Really just a wild guess -- not based on anything I've heard or seen.
Regards, Ross
Fun story Jimmy! Give up on the resentment though. Very Happy
When I was a kid I too had lots of lego. Being immature for my age, I probably played with it until I was 15 or 16. When I went off to university my mother gave it away. Like you, my reaction when I heard was a desperate "how could you?" --- I truly felt the inhumanity of such a thing.
I don't resent the person she gave it to. I resent my mother as is the proper thing to do. I must go and see my therapist now...
Regards, Ross
Masta Squidge wrote:
someone in the profession of calculating stupid numbers...
Recently it was reported that some university professor here in Canada completed a massive seven or eight year long calculation using a supercomputer. He was able to absolutely prove that a game of checkers will always end in a draw provided neither player ever makes a mistake or cheats. It is only the mistakes and cheats that swing the outcome away from a draw.
Its great to see my tax dollars at work.
I can't understand why anyone would think 1/3 would ever end. The repeating character of the ratio seems easy enough to comprehend as unending. I hope that university professor doesn't decide to tackle the 1/3 number next.
Ross Macintosh
Granted, you have a very focused staring contest with your daughter. You stare at each other for 47 minutes 16 seconds until she cracks a smile. You Win! 
Unfortunately now you can't loose that focused intensity. You are locked in a stare... It is a curse! You are forced to wear dark glasses. 
They look cool but make it hard to drive at night.
I wish I could get paid for granting wishes...
Coen - by adding the 'rolling eyes' smile-guy you gave the impression that your words were intended to be sarcastic.
There's nothing to appologize for.
Regards, Ross
Coen -- of course your work is admired! You did some really good work at FormFonts and it is nice to see the content still available even if you aren't making any more. I see nothing wrong with FF publishing that subscriber's admiration. Your posting suggests maybe you feel otherwise hence John's suggestion to 'discuss it with them'.
Regards, Ross (affiliated with FF but writing here on my own; that is, not as a spokesperson)
Although you're no Elvis, the new pic looks charming Mike. I hope you passed the licencing!
Regards, Ross
Okay I'll ask what is on everyone's mind but most are too afraid to ask:
Were you working as an Elvis impersonator? 
Regards, Ross
I Stumbled upon this humour page that changed my usual frown into a tiny little smile: Couples who shouldn't hyphenate their names
I'm finding this thread quite interesting. It has me thinking about the vehicles in my life. Although I'm 46 I've only owned three cars. I remember my father telling me that he's owned something like 40+ different cars over the years! (I presume most were used junk that frequently needed replacement with another 'newer' used car). The vehicle I learned to drive on was a 69' Datsun pickup similar to the attached pic. I have many fond memories of it. My dad was in the military and he had a tour of duty with the UN at the Gaza Strip -- so the year he was away my mom let me drive his old beater pickup.
Once I was pulled over by a cop for speeding. I got the cop laughing about how it was damned near impossible to get the little shitbox truck moving anywhere near the speed limit. He let me off with a warning. 
You know I'd love to have that truck again. You guys can have your nice status cars -- I'd be happy putting along in that old shitbox with its 66hp 1000cc engine and rusty floorboards. 
Regards, Ross
Here's a pic making the email humour circuit. It is a barstool in a Scottish pub somewhere. Looks more comfortable than your average stool.
(I questioned posting this but then the women in my office all thought it was funny so I realized its unlikely to offend anyone).
Regards, Ross
