Finished Mockup

The coin it is sitting on is an American quarter for scale.

I have finished a really basic and sloppy mockup of the thing I was working on. It tuns out it is a kind of zip. Does anyone know how it works?

I will do a nice version in Modo at some point. Sketchup is not what I need for the surfacing I would like to achieve. However, the component methodology came in very handy when creating this.

More about New Stuff

Keep Guessing :-)

Here is another picture of what I am working on. I will still not tell you what it is but I will give you the hint that "Saddle" is in the name.

This thing is not that easy to model with the software I am using so I may switch back to a different package for some of the surfacing.

A new thing

I am working on modelling and finishing up a design I started a few years ago.

If you can guess what it is I will give you a prize.

Making Things and How They Work Together

I just watched this great TED talk by an interesting man named Saul Griffith. My interest here is in a few capacities.

First, Saul speaks about the level of assembly of a few objects, which I have previously discussed as technology density, and compares organic and artificial assembly systems and manufactured solutions. In doing so he considers the advantages of each and contexts in which each would be more suitable. This is of course quite interesting to me as I think there is a significant market for improving human decisions by relying on a wider frame of decision making systems, including naturally inspired ones, and ensuring appropriate use.

Second, Saul shows some example projects including crossover decision making systems. These, I think, are quite neat though obviously far from complete in this talk.

Lastly, in the beginning he mentions project, seemingly names, A Registry of Standard Biological Parts , which offers a good perspective into another notion I have been interested by, which is that of software for the design and development of biologically inclined systems. In my mind this can include things which utilise some or even just one of the key elements of biological systems. A software like this, from my perspective, would help organise the involved ideas and approaches in order to generate short cycle evolution at much higher rates than natural selection would offer. Such a software could also be used to deal with the issues of human perception when trying to solve for the physical parameters when creating objects.

All in all the talk has reinvigorated me to think about a few problems I haven't for some time. As is often the case I am also reminded that the release early release often approach is good in almost every way and I should adopt it more seriously.

The fall begins

Today Google announced the closure of some of there products. Most are of limited importance to me however I am a little impacted by one, Google Mashups Editor.

A early prototype for a personal website in Google Mashups Editor.

When Mashups Editor first came out I instantly applied to be a user and was quite impressed and interested by the things it allowed me to do. Sadly at the time my knowledge and understanding of web languages was minimal so I did not make as great tools as I could have, however, I did make a number of test sites and apps including a few which were early prototypes for a javascript website and portfolio I wanted to make. I never finished this project as my comprehension of the appropriate technologies was not good enough and I did not realise which these were until much later. However, now, I feel I could make some interesting sites with this product I have just been busy doing other things and not had a specific need yet to return to this tool. I am sad they are discontinuing it because I think it was a lot of fun and really easy to use on some levels and opened a door for me in creating webapps that I have not seen done by many other sites.

I know Google App Engine is more powerful but I have not yet had a chance to interact with it and I have yet to start to engage in the learning process. I may never have time to deal with this system. I hope something like Mashups Editor comes again.