I’ve been bothered by an inguinal hernia for a couple years now, we finally decided now was the time to get it done.  The procedure went smoothly enough, but now I’m looking at 4+ weeks before resuming normal activities.  Fortunately I do expect to be back to playing ultimate, soccer, basketball, as well as hunting, yardwork, all that fun stuff when this is all done.

I’m moving slow but it’s going okay.  I decided the worst part is the narcotic pain-killers they put me on — been giving me crazy dreams and I haven’t slept well.  So no more of that.  Hopefully ibuprofin will keep me from here on out…

Here’s a video of the current state of CowPotato, a game for the Android platform that I’ve been working on with some partners.  We will be submitting this to the Android Developer Challenge at the end of August — there’s still a lot to get done.

But just for comparison sake, here’s the video of the game as of week and a half ago:

That’s the video I made for presenting at the Aug 18 BDNT meetup in Denver.  I’m presenting again at the Sept 1 BDNT meetup in Boulder as well.  Then I’ll be taking a break for a few days…

Short post, but here are a bunch of pictures from the last few months (yeah, it’s been that long since I wrote a real update).  Enjoy!

'alibaba' game project for Stanford cs148

I’m working on some OpenGL-based games for Android, so I pulled out code for a project I did for a class at Stanford in 2003 — my first and only game to date. It was fun to reminisce, and perhaps someone else might have some fun with the code (see below).

From the README, describing the basics of the game:

You control a flying magic carpet, pursuing Ali Baba and his 40
thieves across the desert. The object is to kill all of the thieves,
by lobbing exploding coconuts at them, before they make it to the
safety of their cave.

And of course this great memory, also from the README:

Just for humor: my two sons (5 & 3) were very fascinated with the
game, anxiously following the development. One night they were
sitting on my lap actually playing it, when the 5-yr-old puked up all
over my desk, keyboard, red book, laptop, etc (vertigo?) That was a
bit of a setback

The sacrifices we make to bring you great games…

I had to hack the source a bit to build with more recent versions of g++ etc. I’ve included two tarballs with the full source plus binaries for two platforms:

• WinXP - alibaba-cs148-winxp-cygwin.zip
• Ubuntu 9.04 - alibaba-cs148-ubuntu-904.tar.gz

Enjoy! You’re free to use the code however you want (except to claim it as your own and submit it for another school project)

BTW — Nothing there yet, but I’ll be putting the Android games over on CrazyheadGames.com

I designed a monkey-head logo for Caleb’s scout patrol, the “Knot Monkeys”.  The plan is to put it on an iron-on transfer to put it on the flag.  Fun stuff.

This was my first bit of ‘art’ done using Inkscape, an open-source vector-graphics editor.  Seems pretty capable, but I was only using a couple of tools (bezier curves and gradient fills).  I expect to be doing a bunch more art in the future as I work on some mobile gaming for Android.

The original svg is here if you care…  Inspiration from this great photo:

Principal’s Perspective
Florian Hild
21st Century Skills and Classical Education

One of the flavors du jour of the current education debate is “21st century skills.” Websites and bestsellers are devoted to it, our district creates one 21st century skills committee after another, and no conversation about education can take place without addressing the seemingly new and pressing needs of the “flat world” in the 21st century.

Should primary and secondary education in the 21st century really change because the world economy seems to have changed? Doesn’t the world economy always change? Does our century not need women as eloquent as Emily Dickinson and Jane Austen, men as resourceful and civic-minded as Aeneas and Benjamin Franklin, creative forces like Beethoven and DaVinci, men and women with the wisdom of a Jesus or Socrates? Has human nature itself undergone a change on Y2K? Are we suggesting that standing on the shoulders of a Newton or Darwin is not good enough for today’s young scientists? Would we reject a young person applying for a job or college today if he had the political acumen of James Madison, the integrity of Abraham Lincoln, the passion and commitment of Jane Goodall? I am certain that business owners and colleges would not turn down this applicant. I am equally certain that what we primarily need from our graduates in 2009 is the same that we always needed: intelligence and character.

Maybe this latter claim suggests the difference between classical and so-called 21st century education. I’d submit that we at Ridgeview are trying to prepare students for any century: we think that being intelligent and of good character is the best preparation for life, regardless of when and where we live. We don’t doubt that the challenges of today’s world are different than those of the 17th century. However, the erudition, eloquence, and integrity of a John Milton will still serve us well today. The ability to outmaneuver others on one’s Blackberry, though, will ultimately not provide a lasting competitive advantage, not to speak of a happy and good life. If we are afraid of the challenges of a new century, I’d say that the best way to prepare us for them is to face them standing on the shoulders of giants. Then even gigantic problems can be confronted and dealt with.

Sunday was also Trent’s 9th birthday.  Perfect timing to have some fun things to do during General Conference.  Trent loves computer games and video games.  He enjoys school and does well in all subjects.  He loves to laugh — he’s always had the heartiest belly-laugh that is contagious.  He’s great fun to have around.

Last Friday we also attended the re-scheduled Pinewood Derby for the Cub Scout Pack.  Caleb has graduated from Cub Scouts, and only Trent made a car this year.  Our cars are always middle-of-the-pack in speed, but the boys have a lot of fun designing and building them.  Trent won one of the Best In Show awards this time around, so he was thrilled.

The Derby was rescheduled due to a late-spring snowstorm the previous week — the boys finally had a snow day.

We got more snow on Saturday, which means the first two weeks of soccer games have also been snowed out.  Hopefully we get to play this coming Saturday.  One last snowstorm is currently on the forecast for Sunday, though… Hope I get one more chance to get bundled up and shovel the driveway!

]]> http://jkslade.net/blog/2009/04/07/2009-week-15/feed 2 http://jkslade.net/blog/2009/03/30/2009-week-14 http://jkslade.net/blog/2009/03/30/2009-week-14#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:00:24 +0000 jeremy http://jkslade.net/blog/?p=180 Just to illustrate how long it’s been since I posted a family update — here are pictures from Alec’s birthday party in January.  We did a ’science lab’ party, culminating with Diet Coke & Mento rockets / fountains in the driveway.  Fun for all

Caleb’s birthday was also in January, but we just had his birthday party a few weeks ago — I took him and a couple friends to play paintball, so we had to wait for nice enough weather on a weekend that was open.

Weekends were not open through most of January and February, due to Caleb and Trent playing basketball.  Kim was the coach for Trent’s team, and that was a fun experience for all involved.

Early in March, the older boys all played in a violin recital.  I played duets with Caleb and Trent, but Alec wasn’t happy with the way I played Twinkle Variations with him, so I was banned…

For Spring Break, the plan was to mostly relax around home, but we ended up scheduling a trip to Copper Mountain for some skiing at the last minute.  Last minute trips mean no relaxation whatsoever, but it was fun, we made lots of good memories.  Trent was just getting comfortable on the skis when he took a little tumble.  He was okay, but was just laying there, when another man came up to see how he was (turned out to be a doctor).  Trent said the man told him not to move, so he didn’t, even though he was fine.  He ended up getting a trip down the mountain in the ski patrol toboggan, while I waited at the botttom of the run wondering what had happened to him.  He thought it was great fun.

I was finally released as Ward Clerk last week.  It was a great experience to work with the bishopric and other leaders, and learn more of the administration of the Church.  With all of us essentially untrained volunteers, it is indeed a miracle that work of the Church carries on despite our best efforts   I was asked to serve next as a Scoutmaster for the 11-yr-old boys (which includes Caleb).  I’m looking forward to that, if not so much to sitting in primary each week.  It will be great to be with the boys each week, at least.

By and large, things are going well for us.  Kim’s busy as always managing the family, planning and prepping the garden, and keeping us all fed (very well, I might add).  We’re planning our summer projects, deciding on priorities.  The big projects competing for time and other resources will be sprinklers, a bay window, a patio in the front and redoing the front stoop / entryway.  Plenty to keep us all busy.

A bit more info on the story. And another story in which a student was called a “fascist bastard” by his teacher for a gay-marriage speech. I commend these people for speaking out and defending their beliefs. Many may disagree with those views, but we have to be able to have open discourse. Teachers should be the ones facilitating that.