Messages

How to find xy coordinates of C?

* C has to be exactly in the middle of points A and B
* A and B could be anywhere on a 2D plane
* distance between A and B is fixed

Sounds like REALLY simple school maths... is there easier way than
C(x) = (B(x)-A(x))/2 + A(x)
C(y) = (B(y)-A(y))/2 + A(y)
?

Especially when B and A could switch places?

Pity it has most anal way to get a trial, ever  

Edit: This program is absolutely awesome. thanks!

[More serious question!]

Ok, thanks. I guess it's quite useless as wikipedia article describes it's failure to become important and lack of support. I was actually just wondering, why don't we still have something that's 10+ years late.

More serious question!

Is there something that creates connected vectors with endpoints, and I can link vectors-points and assign images to them so I have something to create animations simply?

I mean something exactly like SSH's walkcycle generator, but with more options and power?
Flash... feels a bit too complicated for such little task.

[Question!]

huh?

http://email.about.com/od/outlooktips/qt/Back_Up_or_Copy_Outlook_Data.htm

Also, fresh installs of Outlook tend to delete mail from server whenever received. I had quite a trouble with this: Checking work mail at home, seeing that I'd been sent some design drawings - and next day at work, there's no mail, no drawings, so I had to go back home and retrieve drawings!

There's a check button to "keep messages in server" but it's buried under loads and loads of "settings" and "advanced" window trees.
Shame on microsoft making this so retarded.

Question!

I see GIF files. 256-color, animated, from 1987.

It's 2010 soon. Where's a modern animated image format -- with 24-bit color and alpha channel?
Is there one? I mean, something usable, readable by any browser, etc?

If not, why???...!

Just one quick thought on the base thing: 25 minutes + 40 minutes are... 1 hour and 5 minutes 

Bases different than 10 (or even something more complex, like day/hour/minute thing) are really just a matter of being used to.

Matter of being used to - yes
Comfortable - no

Ugh. This makes me dizzy.

But even while I don't see how using numbers that result in answer to a calculation instead of simple units (like hexadecimal F means base of something blah blah complex but decimal 10 means simply 10 apples or coins) useful in "real life", I think I understand how it's useful on paper (or rather - as digital data)... but, we don't use hexadecimal in everyday life anyway.

Still, I will die not fully understanding hexadecimal.

A question:

Why do people use hexadecimal? Especially when mentioning specifics about computer memory?
I understand the usage of binary, since it's the base of nature, but hex???

Does it have some crazy benefits or it's simply so because some nerd started to do so back in 70's?

Okay, a question:

Where is country border?

I know where it is on land, from sea level to plane-reachable area (airspace).
But further? Is it still same country 400km under ground? Or outside atmosphere, in space?

If it's same country under ground, inside earth, how do borders go? Do they follow sphere shape of earth and get narrow near the middle of earth where they end? Like a top of a cone? In which case, are all countries neighbors with border in the middle point (earth's center)?

And if borders extend into outer space (though I don't believe this)...  do they go for infinity? So, planets technically cross different countries all the time while passing earth? Also... so we technically own everything (except for space covered by extension of independent areas such as oceans)?

This is driving me crazy.

P.S. Objects actually happen to freeze water even as we speak: never noticed how the ice is usually found over car's windows, even when puddles aren't frozen?

I don't think it's car glass that froze water here: any water of same little size as vapor drops on glass would be frozen also. Freezing comes from the fact that water drops are small enough to quickly lose enough heat and freeze. At basic level, it's air that's cold, not glass or water. And air that cools things off.

Puddles simply are larger (deeper) and therefore warmer. If same temperature stays long enough, puddles freeze anyway. There's simply more water to cool so it takes more time.

It's like russian tradition - to pour tea from cup to a the little dish and drink it from dish -- it loses temperature alot faster thus isn't too hot to drink. Two reasons here -- liquid over larger area = more exposed to air which steals temperature, and less liquid at once - cools faster.

But sure, things cool water. A big cold spoon into a teacup makes it cool much quicker.

Few scientific ones I thought about while trying to sleep:

1) How does temperature (heat energy) act in vacuum? Let's say, we put a bowl of hot soup into airless room. Since there's no air to absorb heat, does soup suffer from any temperature loss at all (after giving some to the bowl)? I believe thermos uses vacuum somehow to keep liquid warm..?

2) Let's say there's no air on earth and I'm standing ontop of mount everest or tallest skyscraper. I throw a baseball. Can I make it orbit earth? Would lack of air friction make my throwing speed high enough to achieve needed speed? Also, since there's no air friction in space, why do astronauts in suits move so damn slow?

a. Why do cyclists' magazines claim that it is safer for a cyclist to go through a red light than to wait? If you're waiting alongside a juggernaut that's about to turn in front of you, then yes, you are in a dangerous spot, but getting hit side-on from traffic crossing your path is just as dangerous, surely?

Huh? By our traffic laws a driver does not have to stop car if bicyclist rides when it's red light. Also, no need to stop if bicyclist rides on a crossing without lights (such as single zebra). When he walks and the cycle is with him, car must stop. When he's on the bike, he's not considered pedestrian and must obey same traffic laws as cars.

It was quite strange when a bicyclist rode over crossing and my driving instructor told me not to slow down.

But I think that suggestion means that if you cross on bike, it's probably safer to maintain speed than stop and try to start gathering speed while on crossing. I've fallen badly off the bike in the center of intersection and stoplights for cars turned green... it was quite terrifying. Exactly because I could not achieve enough speed to balance bike and rode down a walkway curb, which made bike bump and me fall.

That's just a theory though.

[What is the difference between normal maps and bump maps?]

A question:

What is the difference between normal maps and bump maps?

I know that normalmap uses 3 channels color instead of grayscale (bump map).
But does it make difference visually? Is normalmapped brick wall better than bumpmapped? Is rendering faster?

Another one:

How do cubemaps work?

I know that cubemap entities should be placed near reflective (cubemap using) materials. But why? What does entity do? Does it "photograph" surroundings and project reflections onto material? Or what? (I know that this wide topic and methods may vary, but I mean "classical" cubemapping (entity + materials), like Source engine does)

Sorry if it's been here already, but--

THEORY: If we take worst song ever born on internet, add a crazy drummer and distorted guitars, we could get something that's actually good.

SUPPORTING FACT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKQgDY0pZ68&feature=channel_page

Make conclusions yourself.

Even though I wouldn't touch either music genres even with a mile long stick, somehow I find this remix incredibly... awesome. So I guess it fits the thread.

Oh, sorry about the link. But yes, that tool is incredibly expensive. There's still a trial, but I don't know, how feature limited it is...

Too bad, I'm just a php/javascript guy, so I can't recode that tool for free. Though it can't really be that hard to write such an application...

This tool is clearly overpriced. You can make your own protractor using something vector-based, thus accurate, such as Illustrator or CAD software or... hell, even drawing angled lines in PS and keeping it as template on separate layer.

Such template might not have all the features, but does the thing, I think.

Actually, it gave me an idea. I'm using ArtiosCAD for my work, how would it benefit in making a room outlines, and then exporting vectors to Photoshop?

Oh, the transmitter/receiver idea would make the concept of a voodoo doll possible

Man, think BIG! Think gaming!!!!

A wireless spinal impulse controller! Like play Crysis and actually feel tropical breeze on your face, taste salt water and smell gunpowder... whoah! And coming back to porn... eh

My unanswered mystery of all time:

Is nerve impulse physical? I mean, is it an electric, bioelectric, anything material we could capture or transfer?
If so, can we redirect nerve impulse into something else? Like a wire? Third string of nerves, like animal ones?
I know that if you lose a finger, it can be sewn back and nerves too. So, it's likely. Why havent anyone then thought about...

-- Is is possible to connect nerves of two people so if one gets hammered onto toe, another one yells?

Also, another big riddle is - where could I actually get answers to questions like this? I mean, apart from having physics/anatomy/whatever professor as a friend? Internet might have everything, but sometimes seems to lack very basic knowledge of scientific progress. Wikipedia/howstuffworks/etc well-known sites are brief and other sites are either well hidden or non-existing.

Kind of sad that the flagship of information age can satisfy any crazy request for porn, but not knowledge... 

Oh noes Petteri, what have you done to yourself?
You look so much older!

Happy birthday, Grundislav!

Now, back to work!

I guess it's quite cool. But aren't those games sold? I mean, you pay for the magazine, right? And get a DVD, which is included in the price?

Thanks! 
I hope that also