Jeff's Homepage2010-03-20T04:28:40ZJeff WilsonCopyright 2010, Jeff WilsonSPHPBLOGTilt to LiveTilt to Live and it's available for iPhone on the App Store. It's a fast-paced arcade style game involving tilting of the phone to steer around avoiding baddies and collecting weapons/power-ups. It is lots of fun and very intuitive. Tilt to Live is only $2. IMO, definitely worth it. Buy it now and show your support for GT-educated game developers! And if you like it, be sure to tell all your friends.
Spicy filled pastry, champagne cocktail, or country/Girl Scout Cookie? I always have to think carefully to make sure I get these sorted out. :) You would think it's a good thing that these words don't regularly come up in conversation, but I think that's the source of the problem. "Could/Should/Would of/have"
I'm aware that "Could of/have" is a common grammatical mistake and will generally recognize it when I'm writing. Yet somehow I can never be 100% certain which is correct. So I hit up Google every single time. :-P I shouldn't even bother given all the grammatical mistakes I don't catch. Regardless/Irregardless
I at least can remember which is correct. That doesn't mean I won't say the wrong one before it's too late. (Hint: "Irrespective" is the source of the confusion.)
Words that I only read
More an embarrassment than a confusion, there are certain words that only seem to show up in what I read but are never spoken or heard...until that fateful day when it fits perfectly into a conversation and I mangle the pronunciation. When I was younger I have been burned by "genre" (I pronounced it "Gen-Air" ), "superfluous" ("SUPER-flu-us!" ), "timbre" (is not what a lumberjack says), "Euler Angle" (it should be spelled "Oiler" ), and "Bezier Curve". The last, I have heard botched worse than I have managed myself (e.g. "brassiere" ).
Tornado Warning / Tornado Watch
Is it a WARNING that conditions are ripe for tornadoes and we're currently WATCHing a live tornado or is it a WARNING that a tornado has touched down and we're WATCHING out for the possibility of them forming? I can never keep it straight. So if you find me wrapped around a tree branch, you'll know what happened.
Now I could make up some clever mnemonic to avoid confusion, but even those can cause trouble. :)
]]>http://www.speakeasy.org/~jeff.wilson/index.php?entry=entry100124-1137282010-01-24T00:00:00Z2010-01-24T00:00:00ZRunner's Shoe Tiphttp://www.speakeasy.org/~jeff.wilson/index.php?entry=entry100123-0802372010-01-23T00:00:00Z2010-01-23T00:00:00ZPrank #5: Mutton but Troublefew differentpranksbefore. Now here’s one where I was on the receiving end.
Once upon a time, I was an undergrad at Georgia Tech. For a few quarters (we didn’t have semesters at the time) I lived in a house in Home Park just off campus with 4 other students: 2 girls, 2 guys. The guys, Jeff and Cory, were the ones that pranked me.
One day, I was working on a class project and needed some files that were located back on a computer lab at campus. I shut down my computer and left the house for a bit, then came back once I had the stuff I needed. I hit the power switch on my computer and waited for Windows95 to boot. After a few seconds, I realized something was going horribly, horribly wrong. A pastel pink color was loading as the background color of the desktop. Then a sheep in fishnet stockings appeared in the middle of the screen. Finally, I was greeted with a start-up sound of a sheep saying, "Ba-a-a-a-a! I love you, Jeffrey! Ba-a-a-a-a!" After Windows finished loading, all I could see were different shades of pink all over the place including the Start Menu, window frames, etc. To make matters worse, any time I moved the mouse cursor over anything I heard "Ba-a-a-a-a!!!"
Turns out, Cory and Jeff had discovered a website (that still exists to this day) called Mutton Bone that sells inflatable sheep. As poor college students, they couldn’t afford to actually buy one for a prank (thank goodness) but they could swipe the website graphics and reuse them. Once they had come up with the idea for the prank they covertly prepared all the content and then spied on me to see when I left the house and finally infiltrate my room and desecrate my computer.
Jeff has the uncanny "stupid human trick" of being able to not just Ba-a-a-a, but actually talk like a sheep. So that skill worked great for making all the sound effects with a microphone. When they actually did the prank, Cory and Jeff modified all the system theme colors to appropriate shades of pink, added the sheep sounds for all the different GUI and system events, and replaced my background image with the "Love Ewe."
I quickly destroyed all digital evidence of the crime, but for your enjoyment I have recreated a visual of the prank as best I recall. If you want to hear the audio, be sure to ask Jeff to talk in his "sexy sheep voice" next time you see him. Oh, and I still owe those guys big time.
]]>http://www.speakeasy.org/~jeff.wilson/index.php?entry=entry100122-1448282010-01-22T00:00:00Z2010-01-22T00:00:00ZGibberish A few months ago, I happened across a Youtube video where a guy ponders what it might actually sound like to hear a non-English speaker talking in English gibberish. He challenges other Youtubers to provide a video example, and he also gives several examples of gibberish in different languages he has heard. Check it out here:
If you follow the “related links” to the video, you can find some responses. There are a couple decent ones mixed in with some garbage. However, a friend of mine just recently sent me this next video that is from an Italian musician that made a gibberish English rock song. It’s quite entertaining and the best example I think.
You can hear a few actual words that the musician likely had overheard from English songs. Honestly, I think I can understand the gibberish song better than some recent songs released in the states. :) ]]>http://www.speakeasy.org/~jeff.wilson/index.php?entry=entry100112-1831002010-01-13T00:00:00Z2010-01-13T00:00:00ZCooking in the 80's Fettuccine-a-1981
1/2 pound Fettuccine 1 stick butter 1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese 1 cup heavy cream Salt and ground white pepper to taste
(Simultaneously cook fettuccine and prepare sauce.)
Boil fettuccine in large pot of water until done.
In large pan, melt butter. Slowly add cream and stir slowly until hot. Carefully add 1/2 cup of the cheese while continuing to stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.
When fettuccine is done, drain and add noodles to sauce and carefully mix. Serve and sprinkle with remaining cheese as desired.
Garnish with medallions of Mamma Frateli’s Broiled Beef Tongue.
Serve with a glass of water.
Magnifico! <SMOOCH>
Mamma Fratelli’s Broiled Beef Tongue
1 Tongue
Marinade: 1 Cup red wine vinegar 1/2 Cup olive oil 2 tomatoes 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. pepper ½ tsp. ground mustard 1 tsp. sugar 2 Tbs. brown sugar
Use a double-edged switch blade to remove the skin and gristle from the tongue (a paring knife will do in a bind).
Grab your favorite blender and hit puree. Drop the two tomatoes in one at a time. Mix in the remaining marinade ingredients.
Place the skinned tongue in a glass baking dish, pour marinade over, and let sit covered in refrigerator overnight.
Wrap piano wire tightly around a baking dish to create a small grille. Make sure that it’s really tight so that when plucked you hear either an A Sharp (A#) or a B Flat (Bb).
Place the seasoned tongue on the piano wire. (Note that the piano wire may contain toxic heavy metals that could leech into the meat. Therefore, this recipe is best served as a last meal where long term health consequences are moot.)
Broil tongue in oven (on piano wire grille) at medium-hot setting for 20 minutes, or until fully cooked. Baste with remaining marinade at half-way point. Slice and serve.
Combine Oreos and butter in small mixing bowl. Press crust onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate. Freeze for 5 to 10 minutes.
Hold Baby Ruth (still in wrapper) chest high and drop onto hard floor. Do this several times. Remove battered and misshapen candy bars from wrapper and further crumble them up into small pieces.
Combine ice cream, masticated Baby Ruth, and marshmallows in large bowl. Pour into pie plate with crust. Freeze until firm. Drizzle with chocolate syrup before serving.
Thanks for checking out my Goonies inspired recipes!
Next week:Bullet Hole Matzo Balls and The Chocolate Truffle Shuffle Shake!
]]>http://www.speakeasy.org/~jeff.wilson/index.php?entry=entry091111-1851332009-11-12T00:00:00Z2009-11-12T00:00:00ZiPhone Doom Controller Mod John Carmack, lead programmer at id, tried some new control schemes to get Doom to work on the iPhone. One interesting approach he implemented is a virtual steering wheel to control the direction the character is facing. I tried it out and found that control mode to be very promising. It worked much better than the virtual joystick approach other iPhone FPSs have used. That is, it worked nicely when I was casually exploring a level. However when things got more hectic, I found it easy to accidentally turn the steering further than intended. This happens when your thumb inadvertently crosses over the axis of rotation and causes a large and disorienting jump in your facing angle.
An image of Doom with steering mode configured.
This problem might be able to be reduced by placing a "dead zone" in the middle of the steering wheel. (I suspect there is already a very small "dead zone" in place.) Along this train of thought, I came up with a little "mod" that sort of fixes the problem. I temporarily stuck one of those no-slip rubber feet that come with various electronics such as external hard drives right in the middle of the virtual steering wheel on my iPhone screen. This created the "dead zone" that I desired, but also gave me a tactile point of reference so that I always have a good idea what might current steering angle is. This significantly improved my performance in the game, but still nowhere close to as well as I can do with keyboard/mouse on a PC.
These two images show my "steering nub" mod
I think similar stick-on barriers could help with other aspects of FPS control too. Although, ultimately I think that certain game genres really need discrete tactile controls. ]]>http://www.speakeasy.org/~jeff.wilson/index.php?entry=entry091105-1753482009-11-06T00:00:00Z2009-11-06T00:00:00ZMy Lottery Winnings
As you can see, I keep my expenses very low and only play the games with a high expected outcome. While it's true that I haven't won any money recently, I am hopeful for another windfall in about 15 years. ]]>http://www.speakeasy.org/~jeff.wilson/index.php?entry=entry091104-1808512009-11-05T00:00:00Z2009-11-05T00:00:00ZCool Classic Toys There are many good classic toys and games that have survived through the years and it's likely that most folks are familiar with them (e.g. Frisbee, Slinky, hula-hoop, etc.). However, there are a few gems out there that are much more obscure, but still worth attention.
Here are some that I have happened upon that are pretty neat and might even appeal to adults.
Shoot the Moon
Shoot the Moon is a game that poses a seemingly impossible challenge. The toy has apparently been around since the 1920s. The game player must make a steel ball roll uphill along two rails that can only be adjusted left and right. If you can roll all the way to the top, you have "shot the moon" and gain the maximum points. It's quite a challenge, but very rewarding once you get good at it. Follow one of the links below to see a picture. The basic strategy is to open the two rails such that the ball almost falls through. When you do that the ball will roll towards you just slightly. Then you must squeeze the rails together to keep the ball from falling. You must continue this process in one smooth motion and the ball will accelerate up hill. If you do it perfectly you will be rewarded with the ball smacking the backstop. Shoot the Moon might make a good executive gift for keeping on a desk at work. I loved this one as a kid too (a hand-me-down from my Dad's childhood toys).
According to my Dad, this was the toy that every little boy had back in the 50's. Really, a peashooter is just a small blowgun designed to shoot dried peas. Back before Nerf was making all the exotic dart/missle launchers that you can buy today, kids sufficed with a cheap straw and a mouthful of peas.
Kids would fill their cheeks with dried peas like chipmunks, use their tongue to load the peashooter, and then blow to fire. With enough practice, one could shoot like a machine gun.
The Johnny Astro Moon Lander came out just before astronauts first landed on the moon. This is an ingenious toy that challenges the game player to navigate a moon lander through the air to a landing pad. The lander is actually a balloon with some landing gear and ballast attached, but it isn't lighter than air. Instead, the game player controls the balloon with a fan. The fan control relies on Bernoulli's Principle to contain the balloon within the column of moving air. One must adjust the angle of the fan as well as fan power to move the balloon and carefully land it. I've never gotten to try one of these and I cannot find anywhere that sells them, but it sounds like you can build your own without too much trouble.
The Water Weenie is about the simplest water gun one can imagine. It's just a length of surgical tubing or inner tube tied off on one end and a nozzle on the other. The Water Weenie relies on water pressure from an outdoor water faucet to fill the tube and stretch the rubber to store energy for shooting the water. I haven't owned this toy myself, but I like its simplicity (especially in contrast with water guns like the Super Soakers). I have seen someone accidentally create a Water Weenie in my high school chemistry class. The amount of water launched all over the classroom was quite impressive, but that's a story for another time. :)
]]>http://www.speakeasy.org/~jeff.wilson/index.php?entry=entry091031-0614232009-10-31T00:00:00Z2009-10-31T00:00:00ZRock Beats Hand Toni Iommi (Black Sabbath) - Lost the tips of two fingers in a sheet metal factory accident. Continued to play (quite well) with prosthetic finger tips.
Rick Allen (Def Leppard) - Lost his arm in a car wreck. He continued to play with a special drum kit.
Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) - Suffered severe nerve damage to his arm from having it draped awkwardly over the backrest of a chair while he was passed out. This left him without the use of his arm for an extended period. He fully recovered after intensive therapy.
Mike Patton (Faith No More) - Accidentally severed nerves and tendons in his right hand with a broken bottle while on stage. His hand is permanently numb, but he can now move his fingers (doctors told him the opposite would happen, but Mike is weird like that).
James Hetfield (Metallica) - Missed his cue during an onstage performance and accidentally stepped into the range of a flame generator that severely burned his face, hand, and arm of one side of his body. A studio musician had to fill in for a month until he fully recovered, but he continued the tour in bandages doing lead vocals.
Neal Young - Severely sliced his fret hand index finger while making a ham sandwich, damaging a tendon. He had to cancel a tour, but fully recovered. No word on whether he ate the sandwich.
Pete Townshend (The Who) - While doing a "windmill" with his pick hand, Pete managed to impale said hand on the whammy bar. Ouch! Presumably, fully recovered.
Al Green - Poor Al has the dubious honor of having actually lived the "hot grits" myth. The legend is that boiling hot grits is the napalm of jilted lovers seeking revenge. Al suffered third degree burns on his arms and torso when an angry girlfriend poured a pot of hot grits on him while he was in the shower. He continued performing after a painful healing process, but switched to gospel (and preaching) for a few years.
I'm sure there are others!]]>http://www.speakeasy.org/~jeff.wilson/index.php?entry=entry091028-1735102009-10-29T00:00:00Z2009-10-29T00:00:00Z
