Interesting Links for 28-06-2023

[andrewducker]

1. Hybrid working has not hurt civil service productivity

(tags:work efficiency )

2. Just how big is 52 factorial?

(tags:mathematics video )

3. Thinking of yourself as being responsible for the animal (which is also you) can be a really powerful metaphor

(tags:advice happiness animals training )

4. Colour-cycling pixel art is gorgeous

(tags:animation colour art )

5. John Roberts has wrested back control of the US Supreme Court.

(tags:USA law )

Comments

[simont]

#4: what really strikes me about those colour-cycling pictures is that they're so much better than the ones I remember encountering on the Amiga in the early '90s. Colour-cycling was a common dodge on the Amiga, but it was generally looked down on as a cheap trick – connoisseurs of Amiga graphics trickery would spot it immediately and not be impressed.

Perhaps that's why nobody put much effort into finding the most artistic uses of the technique. Or perhaps it's just that you can't get effects that good without a 256-colour palette like VGA's, as opposed to the Amiga's 32.

Also, a weird piece of text from the page: one commenter writes "It’s mchecking bonkers". I have to assume a censor (whether software or wetware) decided to rewrite a swearword as "mcheck", but I wonder why! I could understand some computing terms having a negative enough connotation to use them as swearwords (I have a fond memory of a former colleague writing "how the msvc is that supposed to work?"), but that one baffles me.

[dewline]

You remind me of the years I spent studying animation at Algonquin College. Back then, the computer lab was an Amiga Lab - branded as such! - in the old E Block building. Amiga 2000 machines, loaded up with Deluxe Paint III, FrameGrabber, Caligari was just starting to get the ball rolling on 3D animation, and I am trying to remember what we used for scriptwriting. TrueType wasn't an option for managing printer output back then, so when you wanted to output scripts to printer, you had to use Courier to keep it legible for review and marking.

[andrewducker]

It looks like there were some cool things you could do with Amiga colour cycling:
https://amiga.lychesis.net/specials/ColorCycling.html

But you'd definitely have a ton more options with 256 colours!

My guess would be that it was supposed to be "It's hecking bonkers" and the user is such a massive nerd that it got autocorrected to mchecking!

[simont]

Ah – or perhaps it's not rewritten at all, and the "mc" is the same "mc" as in Boaty McBoatface, just added for extra emphasis? And it's just my pigheaded insistence on capitalisation that made me not spot it immediately.

[andrewducker]

Oh yes! You could be entirely right!

[mtbc]

(5) But it sure looks like a majority of the justices want us to know that they are backing away from the brink – or maybe they're just softening us up for some coming decisions on affirmative action, etc., while still trying to look balanced overall, I guess we'll see soon.

[calimac]

Roberts, at least, has clearly backed away from the brink before, as with the decision that saved Obamacare.

#5

[lsanderson]

It's a bit early for such pronouncements. I hope the publicity on their corruption backs them off from their fascist goals.

Mark Ferrari

[snippy]

4. Caveat - I know this guy. I've taken a class from him (at a convention). I was friends with his wife, Shannon, for a while. I own some of his art from before he did computer art. I also own his book - yes, he wrote a book, it's The Book of Joby. SF/F.

The print I own is of the Wild Hunt and it's marvelous.

Re: Mark Ferrari

[andrewducker]

Very cool!