Posts Tagged ‘impworks’

My apologies to anyone who was trying to download anything directly from impworks.  I managed to knock out the download handling so all the links were broken.  It’s up and running again now.

I’ve added pages for two of the Vue tutorials that were previously lost in my blog to my tutorial pages tonight:

• Cloud Layer Sculpting in Vue
• Punching Holes in the Sky

I’ve also changed the rather empty front page of my Vue section to include the latest post from the Vue News Blog and the latest 3 pages added or updated to the section.

The latest issues of Ragnarok (The Magazine of the Society of Fantasy and Science Fiction Wargaming) arrived by post today. An interesting mix of articles including Daleks, Zombies, SF Armoured warfare, Fantasy Naval and Luna Exploration alongside the regular rules and miniature reviews.

My article, The Panzerfauste Song Book, takes up more pages than I thought it would. If I’d realised how long it is I’d have split it in two!

The SFSFW’s been busy on the WWW today launching the SFSFW blog and SFSFW twitter to go along with the existing SFSFW web site and SFSFW Facebook page.

impworks Twitter Background

I decided to have a go at making a twitter background using Vue on Sunday night for my Twitter page. After making a series of quick test renders using preview mode to test in Twitter I settled on the layout above which echoes the skyscraper image on the impworks web site. The render at 1800 by 800 pixels took just over an hour to run with custom settings in Vue 7.5 Infinite. I did a little bit of colour correction in Photoshop Elements and then saved it out for the web.

I’d love to know what you think of it.

• DIY, cleaning and gardening done. Now for something less boring instead… #
• RT @guardiantech The clock cannot be turned back | Peter Thompson http://bit.ly/FbCBs #
• RT @CameronCollie How To Lose a Job Via Facebook http://bit.ly/ybe9y via @jearle and @markhughes3000 #
• @richeym Good to see the FA's Respect programme has really been taken to heart at footballs highest levels in reply to richeym #
• @jearle Do you need a rumour starting that tw3.it is under threat? I can start it for you if you want. My rates are reasonable. in reply to jearle #
• @jearle http://tw3.it to be bought by someotherurlshortneruvneverheardof.com. Will that do? I can get it out there for £1m (or nothing) in reply to jearle #
• RT @fieldusThe King, the Moor and the Sheriff. Amusing: http://tinyurl.com/kqqu34 #henrylouisgates #
• impworksRT @fieldus The King, the Moor and the Sheriff. Amusing: http://tinyurl.com/kqqu34 #henrylouisgates #
• Having a quick look at Juitter http://bit.ly/51xSk before heading home #
• RT @lbutlr: http://bit.ly/2bIxya NO BABBYS INZ SHREDDERS!!! via @jearle #
• RT @WeAreConnect Five things to know about Google Caffeine http://tinyurl.com/kpsku2 #
• Awful Library Books http://bit.ly/lm9lI (found via the guardian who didn't think we needed the URL) #
• 2 Sites updated to RT wordpressWordPress 2.8.4 #
• RT @jearle This Fox News report (YouTube) on NHS Terrorists is the single most disgusting piece of propaganda to date: http://tw3.it/MT #
• RT @KimKnox RT: @McKelvie: Graham Linehan's Channel 4 interview on #welovethenhs countering anti-NHS US Right rhetoric http://bit.ly/yBYvN #
• Rare eye complaint a few years ago: From GP to Nurses to Consultant and treated in less than 3 hours for free #welovethenhs #
• Wondering how many people can't claim their blog because #technorati normalise urls and doesn't cope with redirects? #

• @KimKnox SpaceFluffin aX da univers, On d Starship Enterprise under Capt Knox. SFin aX da univers, 1ly goin fwd cauz we cnt fnd reverse. in reply to KimKnox #
• @KimKnox lol It was in my head messing up my editing so I thought I’d share it in reply to KimKnox #
• Doubt they ment this for working out comparative value of money stolen at different famous robberies http://bit.ly/c8VC6 #
• A good days editing almost got a complete piece to send off. Now a little light relaxation before bed… #
• listening to “Johnny Clegg & Savuka – One (Hu)’ Man One Vote” ♫ http://blip.fm/~b1stj #
• listening to “Tasmin Archer – Lords of the New Church” ♫ http://blip.fm/~b1t4h #
• listening to “nik kershaw one world” ♫ http://blip.fm/~b1tkw #
• @guardiantech G-Force http://bit.ly/HyvGW but Bruckheimer’s got a short memory Cats&Dogs did spy pets 8 yrs ago in reply to guardiantech #
• listening to “Billy Bragg – Moving The Goalposts” ♫ http://blip.fm/~b2qox #
• listening to “Ofra Haza Im Nin Alu” ♫ http://blip.fm/~b2r4a #
• Haggis invented in England? http://bit.ly/1olEv5 Doesn’t really matter its Scottish now.
  Just glad I’m not in a meeting with the SAA today. #
• listening to “Sisters of Mercy – Temple of Love ‘92″ ♫ http://blip.fm/~b2uo7 #
• @jearle Looks like there might be something fishy going on http://bit.ly/4hyQyv in reply to jearle #
• listening to “Nickel Creek- Hanging by a thread” ♫ http://blip.fm/~b2wmr #
• RT @criticalhits criticalhitsTop 10 Comic Book Cities from Architects Journal http://is.gd/20FDx #
• 2 Sites updated without a hitch RT wordpressWordPress 2.8.3: http://bit.ly/Qf1Cx #
• Akismet 227 : Spammers 0 #
• @very_true_thing I’ve no fish knife hang up but I did buy ice cream spoons on Sat so I can get the last of the jam out of jars – go with age in reply to very_true_thing #
• @very_true_thing It gets worse they do long handled melon spoons too. Is there a market for CDGs (Collectable Dinnerservice Games)? in reply to very_true_thing #
• RT @DanDiplo Is this the best programming related song ever? http://bit.ly/InfF0 #
• @very_true_thing I’ve seen grapefruit knives but never tomato knives – does that mean those are an Ultra rare or just a Promo? in reply to very_true_thing #
• Will you click unfollow, Oh ethereal twit spammers, By autumn? #poem #
• Back from round trip to London to see client. Liverpool a lot warmer. #
• What fuels US sitcom writers? Sort of a RT of @KenLevine http://bit.ly/aqBxN #
• What (if anything) should we read into it if Clarkson is hit by a meteorite now? #
• RT @richeym: @DanDiplo @impworks He does have a way with lyrics. Probably has the best zombie-related song too: http://bit.ly/9j3Ih #
• Is this cartoon the best comment on Bingoo deal? http://bit.ly/H8CGY #
• Quantum physics announcement on the Tube yesterday “Please use all entrances to enter the station” Are passengers wavicles? #
• Is it me or does aquiavic’s comment on my blog make no sense or is it some new sort of weird spam? http://bit.ly/3Shlg #
• Just saw a picture listed on a stock photo site described as “London Sky line 1970s”. Just one thing – when was the Gerkin built? lol #
• For the spec that just went in the recycling bin ♫ http://blip.fm/~b8xmf #
• RT: mediaguardian Twitter’s Evan Williams grilled on Demi Moore in Newsnight interview: http://bit.ly/3NNDTz [The claws come out at the end] #
• RIP John Hughes http://bit.ly/tTBGs ♫ http://blip.fm/~ba1cq #
• @KimKnox You did but don’t worry – I just saw a twitterer who posted the same tweet every 5 minutes for a day… in reply to KimKnox #
• RT @jearle Dear Tony Carter, You don’t get it, you’re an idiot. KTHXBYE. http://bit.ly/1Acpxs #
• RT @guardianweekly American word introduced into the office – neatnik: a person overly obsessed with tidiness, particularly IN the office #
• @KimKnox Or you didn’t and I saw it on your RSS feed lol.Too many ways to keep up these days.Should just turn everything off once a week. #
• RT @guardiantech: Twist in the tale of questioning spam http://bit.ly/sR5mq #
• RT @guardiantech: Charlie’s Angles: Why can’t local government and open source be friends? http://bit.ly/KPOVY #

A render of Mars made using Vue 7.5 Infinite

Just a quick render of Mars made in Vue 7.5 Infinite using planetary settings and tweaked to remove the atmosphere.

• Weather = Yuch so just messin' around with Vue #
• @very_true_thing So did it work? in reply to very_true_thing #
• Comment spammers found my site yesterday and (so far) akismet has caught every single one of em #
• Sustained in my editing efforts by an excellent batch of Pork and Mushroom Curry http://bit.ly/AgZze #recipe #food #
• RT @AllenVarney William Shatner masterfully recites Sarah Palin's farewell speech (Conan O'Brien): http://bit.ly/RkVWx via @JamesWallis #
• RT: @jearle Big Cat sighting in Scotland. http://tw3.it/LI – it's a Puma, by the look of things, running wild. #
• RT: @KimKnox ooh this looks very cool. Trailer for Waters of Mars – Doctor Who http://bit.ly/AQtBJ #
• So I need to join Scribd to download a pdf copy of a document but not to print it? Stupid controlfreakery and bad for the environment too #
• And printing from Scribd in Firefox = completely broken too. 20 sheets of paper wasted. /rant #
• RT @jearle If you Google "Scottish Cuisine", my Munchy Box blog post is on the front page. http://bit.ly/e640w #
• @jearle Wish I'd photos of the Scottish Indian I had a business trip. Unlike any English Indian I've had. Clearly related to your Munchy Box in reply to jearle #
• @jearle I wish I could work that into my current project. I'm forcing myself to stick to just London so it wont get out of hand in reply to jearle #
• Can it really take an hour and a half to visit the Pencil Museum? http://bit.ly/6Rsuo Is it twinned with the Hotel California? #
• @KimKnox So how cheesy is Satin Spar's cover or is it classy like Dark Host? in reply to KimKnox #
• @KimKnox Good news – I'll look forward to seeing it then. Meanwhile contemplating if IsItCheese.com or CheeseOrNot.com is a better URL… in reply to KimKnox #
• @KimKnox Hmm. That ones barely work safe… in reply to KimKnox #
• Aarrgh. Basic maths failure. What was I thinking when I wrote a table for a 3d6 roll with the first entry being for a roll of 2? #
• Some really nice entries for the Vue 3D Environment Competition 2009 http://bit.ly/1b7BE9 glad I don't have to pick the winner #
• listening to "cacharpaya – incantation 1982" ♫ http://blip.fm/~at2mc #
• listening to "Capercaillie – Coisich A Rùin – video clip Gàidhlig Gaidhli" ♫ http://blip.fm/~atgp8 #
• listening to "MANDOLIN RAIN original video" ♫ http://blip.fm/~atp60 #
• RT @criticalhits Why can't we show these ads instead of Evony http://is.gd/1TeiZ #
• I always thought some perfumes should be banned under the Hague Conventions http://bit.ly/t2LBr #
• @jearle lol. We'll keep that off the banned list just for you. in reply to jearle #
• @KimKnox Let Blur distract you. That way the rest of Write Club don't feel so bad about our pitiful comparative word counts in reply to KimKnox #
• for @KimKnox your mission should you choose to accept it is to finish Space Fluff ♫ http://blip.fm/~autqy #
• RT @johnmcc: Probably the best explanation of the xhtml 2 announcement I've yet seen: http://bit.ly/2pSCJN via @jearle #
• Will economics defeat Moore's Law? http://bit.ly/ThLjm #
• @KimKnox Sounds like you need this instead of Mission Impossible ♫ http://blip.fm/~auw9u #
• Looking for the Johnny Clegg original I found this cover ♫ http://blip.fm/~av040 #
• listening to "Tanita Tikaram – Twist In My Sobriety" ♫ http://blip.fm/~av0pd #
• listening to "Pet Shop Boys – Suburbia (HD)" ♫ http://blip.fm/~av1gx #
• Hunting for the early 90s rock cover. This isn't it but hey… ♫ http://blip.fm/~av1×0 #
• And it definitly isn't this one either – I give up ♫ http://blip.fm/~av2gz #
• Thats a tough one RT @mediaguardian: Vote for your favourite TV show of the decade: http://bit.ly/4t5loz. #
• From the Guardian: 'Swine Flu readiness has become a competitive sport'. Will we be hosting the world cup? http://bit.ly/kHmjv #
• @richeym The Wires really caught up. When I voted The West Wing was ahead of it. in reply to richeym #
• RT @DanDiplo Why you shouldn't design birthday cakes using Microsoft Word…. http://bit.ly/m484u #fail #programming #webdevelopment #
• Sausage Brown Barm Red Sauce #famishedfriday #
• @JamesWallis Far too early to call the Ashes because of three little words: England Batting Collapse in reply to JamesWallis #
• RT @guardiantech: Volomedia claims podcast patent http://bit.ly/yNcsq #
• @very_true_thing #VisitLondon (http://ustre.am/4n0W) Tower bridge faster than twitter – Just closed when I got the page loaded #
• listening to "The Peanuts Theme" ♫ http://blip.fm/~az5p3 #

I’ve added automatic checking for broken links and redirects for outgoing links.  In the long term it should be a big time saver however now four days later all the broken links are fixed or removed and the 1000 odd redirects are mostly delt with except to the BBC who switch between two URLs with a redirection pretty much every time you go to a page from a link.  Who’d think that I’d end up with over 3000 outgoing links to over 2000 different sites automating checking was a real neccessity.

Other improvements include:

• Pulling all the images off blogger and uploaded them here.
• Added my latest tweet to the home page.
• Added caching of pages to improve performance.

It only seems like yesterday that Kim had a new story out but it was all of a couple of weeks ago (just enough time to read an Ian Rankin novel and a couple of history books). Her latest novella, Dark Host, was a Brava finalist and I’ve read a bit of it before so I’m looking forward to it. And as an added bonus I’ve no worries about including the cover on my blog because its very tasteful