Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, New Edition
by Jared Diamond
Truly, it’s absolutely fascinating, and the most thorough case I’ve yet seen for the preeminence of environmental factors in determining the evolution of a given society. I’ll warn you: it’s not for the faint of heart (or the short of attention span!). It’s chock-full of answers to the questions you’ve always asked yourself about how society came to be as it is, in very practical, earth-bound terms. This is not a philosophical walk in the woods, this is a down-to-earth explanation of historical realities. Highly recommended!
04/29/2007The last release of this app was a huge step over the first, but this one is by far the best yet. As I get more advanced with Processing and Arduino (mostly the former), this thing’s gonna rock the house!
New in version 007:
Download the code:
I’ve got lots more ideas up my sleeve, but the wife is telling me that I have to actually do something productive with the rest of my day :( Laaaaaame.
Cheers!
Adam
03/10/2010So you’ve decided you want to create digital 3D models.
You might be an aspiring movie special effects guru, industrial designer, architect, or mechanical engineer. Maybe you’re wanting to create photo-realistic images of product design ideas, or maybe you want to use 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) to control a Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) milling machine to bring your ideas into physical reality. You might be hoping to play with rapid prototyping, mechanical simulation, or 3D animation for art, illustration, or demonstration.
Knowing the right 3D software package(s) will not make you a good designer, a competent engineer, or a film effects creative genius. It will simply be a tool in your belt, there when you need it, making it possible for you to communicate three-dimensional ideas quickly and accurately for virtually any purpose you can imagine.
But when you look for a specific program into which you’ll invest lots of time and money, the number of options can be daunting. How do you decide which 3D program is right for you?
There is no magic bullet in the 3D software world; every piece of software that exists on the market has a niche for a specific type of user with a specific combination of needs. In this set of posts, I’ll try to make the pros and cons of all sorts of common 3D applications easily understandable for the newbie, and hopefully even clear up a few things for the seasoned professional.
In this, the first post in our series, we’ll be looking at the broader landscape of 3D applications, and discussing the basic categories of 3D applications. more »
03/08/2010This is the second part in a series building up a Morris Minor in modo. To start at the beginning, start here. more »
03/07/2010