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| Picture of a Sofa |
Saturday, 19 February 2011
Sunday, 14 November 2010
ArtRage - Revenge of the Felt Tip
So back to ArtRage after a while, and a slow start indeed:
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| A touch of green |
Sunday, 7 November 2010
25 minutes in 27 years!
Into week 7 of my training, I can now run continuously for 25 minutes (the most I would have ever done in 27 years of my life - this timing is doubly accurate as today is my birthday). Current progress - 58.52 Kms and counting!
During runs, I average a distance of 4 to 4.5 kilometers. Within the next few weeks, I hope I can up the ante to reach 5 kilometers in 30 minutes. The Couch to 5K training routine is good - but you need to keep to the schedule no matter what, and sometimes that can be tough indeed.
Winter is catching up, and with it falling temperatures. Tonight (I just finished a run) was really cold - even with my (decent?) layers of clothing. The secret to running in cold weather is, as they say, layering.
So on to my gear list:
Base layers - the innermost layer of clothing, ideally should feel like second skin. I have four, one from Adidas (with anti-microbial technology built in), one from Puma, two from Nike (I like Nike), one of which has compression technology. Not that I am all too technical into the details of running gear and fabric technology - there was a sale online and I just got lucky to gear up for real cheap. All the base layers have wicking built in, they let sweat transfer outwards of the clothing but traps heat.
Mid layers - When its cold, you need these. I have two (as an experiment) Nike Dri-Fit Thermal Mid Layers. These are designed to do two things, transfer sweat from your base layer outwards, and trap and maintain body heat. They have thumbholes that is well placed, and the overall fitting is great. These are really good, but pricey at 40 quid a piece. I should get more.
Outer layers - Just a humble jacket (Nike Dri-Fit Hoody). I wear it primarily for the hood, which helps in light showers. Also, the top half of it it a nice bright flourescent yellow - helps when you are running at 6PM and its pitch black outside.
Running tights - I feel like a girl wearing the Karrimor tights - but man do they help in providing mobility and keeping you protected in the cold. Plus points for simplicity and feel good factor wearing these - cost efficient and works.
Running socks - Ankle length Nike and Asics gear, designed for running. Most of these may purely be marketing hype, but hey, who cares right?
Shoes - A Nike (like I said, I like Nike) StoneShield Trail Shoes, which is pretty decent, and really nice for the canal side running. I need to buy another pair soon though.
Misc. - In cold weather, the body has a tendency to draw blood from its extremities to your inner core. This is why your hands hurt in the cold - your body is ready to sacrifice your fingers and toes in order for it to have more oxygenated blood circulating in your core body. And 40% of body heat is lost from one's head. Which means having a good pair of gloves and headgear is quintessetial, especially if you are running in the cold. So yes, you guessed it, Nike HeadCap (but I must get a balaclava) and Gloves.
Yup, that's about it. Good gear is essential in extreme conditions - and I don't mean sub zero temperatures when I say extreme conditions. For me, 3 degrees C without windchill at night is extreme :-). Until next time!
During runs, I average a distance of 4 to 4.5 kilometers. Within the next few weeks, I hope I can up the ante to reach 5 kilometers in 30 minutes. The Couch to 5K training routine is good - but you need to keep to the schedule no matter what, and sometimes that can be tough indeed.
Winter is catching up, and with it falling temperatures. Tonight (I just finished a run) was really cold - even with my (decent?) layers of clothing. The secret to running in cold weather is, as they say, layering.
So on to my gear list:
Base layers - the innermost layer of clothing, ideally should feel like second skin. I have four, one from Adidas (with anti-microbial technology built in), one from Puma, two from Nike (I like Nike), one of which has compression technology. Not that I am all too technical into the details of running gear and fabric technology - there was a sale online and I just got lucky to gear up for real cheap. All the base layers have wicking built in, they let sweat transfer outwards of the clothing but traps heat.
Mid layers - When its cold, you need these. I have two (as an experiment) Nike Dri-Fit Thermal Mid Layers. These are designed to do two things, transfer sweat from your base layer outwards, and trap and maintain body heat. They have thumbholes that is well placed, and the overall fitting is great. These are really good, but pricey at 40 quid a piece. I should get more.
Outer layers - Just a humble jacket (Nike Dri-Fit Hoody). I wear it primarily for the hood, which helps in light showers. Also, the top half of it it a nice bright flourescent yellow - helps when you are running at 6PM and its pitch black outside.
Running tights - I feel like a girl wearing the Karrimor tights - but man do they help in providing mobility and keeping you protected in the cold. Plus points for simplicity and feel good factor wearing these - cost efficient and works.
Running socks - Ankle length Nike and Asics gear, designed for running. Most of these may purely be marketing hype, but hey, who cares right?
Shoes - A Nike (like I said, I like Nike) StoneShield Trail Shoes, which is pretty decent, and really nice for the canal side running. I need to buy another pair soon though.
Misc. - In cold weather, the body has a tendency to draw blood from its extremities to your inner core. This is why your hands hurt in the cold - your body is ready to sacrifice your fingers and toes in order for it to have more oxygenated blood circulating in your core body. And 40% of body heat is lost from one's head. Which means having a good pair of gloves and headgear is quintessetial, especially if you are running in the cold. So yes, you guessed it, Nike HeadCap (but I must get a balaclava) and Gloves.
Yup, that's about it. Good gear is essential in extreme conditions - and I don't mean sub zero temperatures when I say extreme conditions. For me, 3 degrees C without windchill at night is extreme :-). Until next time!
Sunday, 26 September 2010
On Running Again - A Prelude
Well, I am not too inclined to be the fitness-conscious type. Generally a lazy person, I despise any sort of activity that requires me to burn more calories than devouring the next cheesy meaty slice of a Domino's pizza. Which is exactly the reason I have decided to run.
Sure, I thought, that would be an easy ordeal. All you need to do is walk around, in fast motion. Do it for half an hour and be done with it. And that should make up for the guilt I have when I realize that I am 27 years old and as unfit as hell. So I took up running (again). Last time I started running was over an year ago, I don't remember why I started, but it culminated in me and some buddies (JD, Suttan) going on to participate in the Sun Feast 10K in Bangalore - which we managed to complete (in decent time) - yay guys! if you get to read this :-)
That, however, was a long time ago. And a yearful of pizzas later, I am afraid I am back to square one (round one by appearance). Hence this time-to-run-again moment. This time, though, I decided to be more serious about it. I decided to set clear and definite goals I needed to achieve. I wanted to track my runs and see what I was doing right (and wrong). And I wanted to do it differently. So with a new found determinism and enthusiasm that I normally reserve to code something, I charted out the goals:
Goal #1: Be able to run 5K in 25 minutes (which actually is ambitious considering my fitness level)
Goal #2: Participate in a charity event next summer
Goal #3: Raise at least 100 pounds for the run
I started running around three weeks ago, and so far, it has been good - I am sticking to the Couch to 5K training routine, and the tracking I get is awesome.
Motivation, on the other hand, is hard to come by, and every morning before a run day, making myself get out of bed is the hardest thing to do. But I have decided to stick to it. And I need to get fit. (And be able to eat more pizza's with no guilt along the way!). Well, let's see how Take 2 goes.
PS: BTW, I hope I keep blogging as well in the current pace.
Sure, I thought, that would be an easy ordeal. All you need to do is walk around, in fast motion. Do it for half an hour and be done with it. And that should make up for the guilt I have when I realize that I am 27 years old and as unfit as hell. So I took up running (again). Last time I started running was over an year ago, I don't remember why I started, but it culminated in me and some buddies (JD, Suttan) going on to participate in the Sun Feast 10K in Bangalore - which we managed to complete (in decent time) - yay guys! if you get to read this :-)
That, however, was a long time ago. And a yearful of pizzas later, I am afraid I am back to square one (round one by appearance). Hence this time-to-run-again moment. This time, though, I decided to be more serious about it. I decided to set clear and definite goals I needed to achieve. I wanted to track my runs and see what I was doing right (and wrong). And I wanted to do it differently. So with a new found determinism and enthusiasm that I normally reserve to code something, I charted out the goals:
Goal #1: Be able to run 5K in 25 minutes (which actually is ambitious considering my fitness level)
Goal #2: Participate in a charity event next summer
Goal #3: Raise at least 100 pounds for the run
I started running around three weeks ago, and so far, it has been good - I am sticking to the Couch to 5K training routine, and the tracking I get is awesome.
Motivation, on the other hand, is hard to come by, and every morning before a run day, making myself get out of bed is the hardest thing to do. But I have decided to stick to it. And I need to get fit. (And be able to eat more pizza's with no guilt along the way!). Well, let's see how Take 2 goes.
PS: BTW, I hope I keep blogging as well in the current pace.
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Trends in Google Trends
Google Trends is an interesting service. Especially if you know what to search for. I just got some simple cyclic trends of human searching behaviour on the net.
EDIT Dec 30 2009: More than 2 years later I realize these images are realtime. And year after year, nothing changes :)
Tax trend:
Summer trend:
Valentine's Day
EDIT Dec 30 2009: More than 2 years later I realize these images are realtime. And year after year, nothing changes :)
Thursday, 4 October 2007
What I have been up to... and what lies ahead - Liero2
It's been a while since my last post. I've been kinda busy lately, all because of a chance revival of an old favourite of mine - a neat game called Liero.
For those who haven't heard of it or played the game, all I can say is BIG MISS! Leiro is like Worms, but you get to play it in realtime. Sort of a cross between Quake and Worms would be more like. It's a simple yet smart 2D game that doesn't go short on gameplay, and is one of my personal favourites.
Liero was written way back in the days of DOS, and due to the closed nature of it source, the author lost the code in a hard disk crash. (sob). While the EXE for the game floated about, no further develpoment of the original happened and led to the spawning of various Liero clones. Even with the multitude of clones out there, none have really quite matched the gameplay of the original. With the release of Windows XP, the old DOS game wasn't able to run with any sounds; this eventually meant the death of the classic and proliferation of the clones targeted to the new Windows versions. In Vista you can't even run the EXE. That was how matters rested, until I found about DOSBox.
DOSBox is an emulator for DOS. Good old DOS. Using DOSBox, I was able to get the original game up and running (with sound) in my Vista laptop. However, the woes of emulation meant that the game suffered with respect to speed. Even on the dual core 2GHz machine, I was not able to get the results I expected (although the game is very much playable and all). Ah... Liero Liero Liero. With all the clones out there, why don't I go ahead and write one too?
Ahem. Writing a clone of a game is no easy task, let alone writing a game. [Especially when the best games you have written were in C for DOS more than 8 years ago ;)] That's not going to deter me in any way though. The game development scene has drastically changed over the past few years, with major advances in graphics technologies, AI, hardware and development environments. Every major title released todays pushes the hardware limits up, and every new major GPU that comes out ridicules the games that were up to then the best out there; this visicious cycle may ever cease. Game development environments today are rich with tools and utilities and frameworks. But more importantly, with the proliferation of the Internet, it is the accessibility and availability of these environments that has gained the most.
That is how I came across XNA, Microsoft's game development studio (thanks to StumbleUpon).
Well now that I have all the resources I need with me, all I need is to get started off.
First thing I did was write a list of stuff I need to learn about before even venturing into the dark realms of game pogramming, which I intend to call Liero2 for now, for lack of a better name.
The following list is not final, but just a taste of the whirlwind journey in front of me. So here goes:
For those who haven't heard of it or played the game, all I can say is BIG MISS! Leiro is like Worms, but you get to play it in realtime. Sort of a cross between Quake and Worms would be more like. It's a simple yet smart 2D game that doesn't go short on gameplay, and is one of my personal favourites.
Liero was written way back in the days of DOS, and due to the closed nature of it source, the author lost the code in a hard disk crash. (sob). While the EXE for the game floated about, no further develpoment of the original happened and led to the spawning of various Liero clones. Even with the multitude of clones out there, none have really quite matched the gameplay of the original. With the release of Windows XP, the old DOS game wasn't able to run with any sounds; this eventually meant the death of the classic and proliferation of the clones targeted to the new Windows versions. In Vista you can't even run the EXE. That was how matters rested, until I found about DOSBox.
DOSBox is an emulator for DOS. Good old DOS. Using DOSBox, I was able to get the original game up and running (with sound) in my Vista laptop. However, the woes of emulation meant that the game suffered with respect to speed. Even on the dual core 2GHz machine, I was not able to get the results I expected (although the game is very much playable and all). Ah... Liero Liero Liero. With all the clones out there, why don't I go ahead and write one too?
Ahem. Writing a clone of a game is no easy task, let alone writing a game. [Especially when the best games you have written were in C for DOS more than 8 years ago ;)] That's not going to deter me in any way though. The game development scene has drastically changed over the past few years, with major advances in graphics technologies, AI, hardware and development environments. Every major title released todays pushes the hardware limits up, and every new major GPU that comes out ridicules the games that were up to then the best out there; this visicious cycle may ever cease. Game development environments today are rich with tools and utilities and frameworks. But more importantly, with the proliferation of the Internet, it is the accessibility and availability of these environments that has gained the most.
That is how I came across XNA, Microsoft's game development studio (thanks to StumbleUpon).
Well now that I have all the resources I need with me, all I need is to get started off.
First thing I did was write a list of stuff I need to learn about before even venturing into the dark realms of game pogramming, which I intend to call Liero2 for now, for lack of a better name.
The following list is not final, but just a taste of the whirlwind journey in front of me. So here goes:
- Rigid body physics and dynamics. I do have some exposure to this. I did write a small physics engine and math library during my C games era. But I need to start off from scratch, re-learn stuff with a new perspective, and probably find a good physics engine to use. Better yet, write one from scratch, so that's a bit learned too. Of interest to me for the game would be spring, rope and pendulum dynamics. This part is going to take a bit of effort and time.
- Graphics. Simply put, that one word conveys a lot. That's probably a huge area which I have to definitely start of ground up. My immediate plans being getting the primitives to work with XNA, and build on from that. I do advocate code re-use to the maximum in all scenarios, but then there are some things that you always get the joy of writing from scratch on your own. Ah... this too is definitely going to take some time.
- Writing a game. Or more precisely, how to do it. What are the methodologies to adopt? How to organize your project? Which tools to use? What are the design patterns and techniques involved? What is the lifecycle of a game? AI. Gameplay. Level design. UI and interfaces. And so on. The longest part of the ordeal, in fact the reason of the ordeal itself.
- Networking. Learn about multiplayer games, and how multiplayer options should be considered for earlier on during design. Does it have any impact? P2P. Internet. LAN.
- Artwork and Music. Very important. I am thinking of a simple cartoony look-and-feel for the game at the moment. Being bit of a cartoonist myself, this part should be relatively simple, only limited by my imagination. Music is another step, but one that I may not have to bother about much due to the vast amount of open stuff out there on the Net. Just finding the right thing would be tricky.
That's pretty much all of the major blocks I intend to cover for the next couple of months. I haven't started out yet, but I do know what all needs to be looked into. And that's a start for sure.
I plan to update the blog now and then with updates on the status of this, plus about all the neat stuff I will learn along the way. So until the next post, adios.
Enjoy.
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
Business objects that support state management
I wrote a small article that describes a technique to develop business layer logical entities that have in-built state management capabilities. It focuses on how to re-use components to make development of new business logic and data modelling layers easier.
That said, read the article at CodeProject and let me know what you think.
That said, read the article at CodeProject and let me know what you think.
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