2022
Why learn a (useless) martial art? - 2022-11-21
A couple months ago I started attending an Aikido class. It is a well known fact on the internet that Aikido is one of the most "useless" martial arts. It isn't good for taking down an opponent, it isn't good for self defense. So why a...
The Future of AI and Engineering - 2022-11-05
The future is big and it is awesome. For years now we've been using computers to "automate the boring stuff" and we just got a whole lot closer to automating a whole lot more boring stuff.
Spotify Bingo Display - 2022-09-17
Some of my friends are hosting a dance party where you have to listen out for words in the songs (bingo style - write down the song name). He wanted a projector to display what song was currently playing.
LED Bike lights - 2022-07-09
These days I bike 14km each way to work. This happens morning and evening when the sun is low and the light confusing. After a near miss, I decided to do something about it - to mount some really really bright lights on my bike.
Random art scraps - 2022-07-09
As per title
Diral-Seii - 2022-07-09
I was reading a webcomic the other day and it featured a very interesting item: it was a folding knife carved from bone on a string of hair. This fascinates me because string from hair w...
TImeless Intelligence - 2022-06-27
I've always thought of Intelligence as something that needs time and state storage. Without those two things, how could an intelligence learn? adapt? think? I had an interesting conversation today that has changed my perspective.
Music vs Art - 2022-05-21
This afternoon I was prepping to play music in our church band, and as I sit there practising some of our standard songs/hymns, I was thinking. Normally when I sit down at my keyboard it is to play the music from my head - I compose as...
Changing Domain Registrars - 2022-04-18
Quick note that this site is changing from using Moniker as a Registrar to using Porkbun as a Registrar. It may be down for a bit as this change takes place and as I fiddle with my DNS settings...
Boy Scouts - The Lost Troop - 2022-04-11
When I was a boy, I wanted to do boy scouts. I was probably 10 or so at the time, so when I went to the local scout group I was a "cub". I went to a single evening, was disillusioned, and never went back. When my mother asked why I ...
A hike in cloaks - 2022-03-21
A couple weeks ago I did a hike where we all (9 of us) wore cloaks. It was an absolutely epic time, and we had a bunch of fun.
Elvish Penannular Brooch - 2022-02-27
I'm planning for a hike with some friends in which we all wear cloaks. Because, well, why not! As such, I'm busy manufacturing penannular brooches for us to use.
Drill Bit Knife - 2022-02-06
The other day one of my friends was over to do some stuff in the workshop. Unfortunately he broke one of my 6mm drill bits when it caught in the metal he was drilling and pulled the cordless drill out of line (yes, a drill press is on m...
Metal Dragon - 2022-02-05
It's been a while since I've done any 3D/CGI art. It's funny how it goes. First you come up with the idea, then you build the model. Then you slap some textures on, followed by endless repetitions of tweaking shaders, adding dirt and t...
Beach Land-Sailing - 2022-01-31
Way back I saw an instructable of a guy who mounted a windsurfer sail onto a skateboard and rode it down the beach. At the time I didn't have the ability to purchase either a windsurfer or a mountain-board, so the project dissapeared t...
Chaotic Systems Shirt - 2022-01-15
A couple days ago I made this shirt. I put the shirt over my computer screen and drew out the design with a washable marker. Then I painted it by hand using normal spray paint (which I sprayed into a tub) and a paintbrush. It's already ...
The root of creativity - 2022-01-06
I was recently doing some spitpaints, and came to realize that the essense of all art, and even the engineering that I do stems from one core thing: imaginging something that doesn't exist.
2021
How to cheat at piano - 2021-12-04
Every so often I sit down at a piano-like-object and make some music. Sometimes this is a physical piano located in a mall, sometimes it is a synthesizer plugged into my computer. If I'm playing around someone who knows me, they'll oft...
One Step Outside - 2021-12-01
At school, there is normally onr circle of people who are the "outsiders." They aren't the cool group, they aren't even the normal not-cool group, they are the misfits who all hang out together because, for whatever reason, they don't ...
Things that work because you believe them to - 2021-11-18
There is a certain category of device that works solely because you believe it to. For example, a group that meets down at the local pub for drinks every thursday afternoon. What is that "group"? Nothing physical defines it, but it exis...
Scalable Editable Raster Graphics (SERG) - 2021-10-28
In the image processing world there seem to be two options: Raster and Vector Graphics. Raster graphics works with pixels, and you pick a single color for each pixel in a vast grid. Vector images are made from simple shapes - lines,...
Gametoy Editor - 2021-10-19
For the past few months I've been working on and off developing an experimental game engine called "GameToy." Instead of normal rendering/logic, GameToy uses GLSL shaders run in a cyclic way to define behaviour.
GroundCrawler - 2021-10-18
A couple weeks back I decided to use some of the TPU filament I had and build another small RC tracked vehicle. The result was this little guy. I'm pretty happy with the design including the mechanics and aesthetics. For it's size it's ...
Days of Life - 2021-09-26
This weekend I went on a hike to Rocks Hut. It's a reasonably short hike (took me 4.5 hours, but it's nominially rated at 5.5), but the weather wasn't so great - strong winds and walking through the clouds/mist. Despite all of this, it ...
What is my typing speed? - 2021-08-26
I just did some typing speed tests just to see. The results are: Typing unordered random words: 71 WPM with 90% accuracy Typing proper English Sentences: 83 WPM with 97% accuracy.
Societal Progress and the Externalization of Information - 2021-08-22
Is societal progress defined by its ability to externalize information?
Uplifting a society of magpies - 2021-08-22
There was an interesting post on stackexchange about how advanced could a society of magpies get. I wrote a rather too long answer on the generic "how to uplift a society".
Gametoy: A shadertoy-alike for making games - 2021-07-23
Making games is fun. Well, it's fun when you aren't fighting asset loaders, wondering why Godot renders so slowly on Android and the million other problems that come with game engines. This is why I enjoy making games in shadertoy. It'...
Why Modern Embedded Development Sucks - 2021-07-16
I enjoy building embedded devices - finding a problem that a small chunk of technology can solve. Then it's a case of wiring it together and testing the electrical connections. Finally it ends up with ... writing firmware. And that suc...
The Return of Innovation - 2021-07-13
Today I was walking into town (about 6km), and on the way was thinking about the best way to seal a manta-ray-like underwater ROV, how to gear down an angle grinder to drive a scooter, realizing that lithium air batteries won't solve p...
The value of silence - 2021-07-12
Over the past few weeks I've come to realize how much I value silence when working. Silence both allows focus which is one of the reasons why I tend to stay up late coding rather than doing it during the day. If I do want to program du...
Storage based cryptocurrencies - 2021-07-08
Cryptocurrencies have had a negative affect on many things: CI services (eg gitlab CI, github actions, Travis) have scaled down or stopped their free services due to cryptomining abuse. The existence of malware and browser-based crypto...
A practical use for hotel infinity - 2021-07-06
You probably know of hotel infinity - a hotel with infinitely many rooms, but also with infinitely many guests. A new guest arrives, how do you fit them in? The solution is to move all the existing guests down by one, so room 0 is empt...
The Nature of Progress - 2021-06-25
In the industrial revolution when iron and steel machines were just being invented, people probably said: "these machines could change the wolrd - they will make it faster and stronger, but will take away our indivuduailty. They can be...
Don't eliminate low percentages - 2021-06-20
A company I've had some involvement with is planning to change it's vehicle fleet. Currently it operates both 2wd and (part time) 4wd pickups, and after some analysis has decided to ditch the 4wd's and only use 2wd's. Why? Turns out th...
Outside vs Inside - 2021-06-19
What is visible outside isn't necessarily what is going on inside. I've had periods over the past few years where I've been relatively depressed. Arguably, I still probably am. But there's something odd I've noticed: Sometimes when dep...
Humanity is a Virus - 2021-06-19
"Humanity is a virus." - almost Agent Smith Cultures are born, spread, wane and die. Virus' are the same. Cultures thereforce have some of the same properties as virus' For a culture to be successful, the number of people-groups ...
Science and Magic - 2021-06-13
I recently came across a worldbuilding stackexchange question asking for thoughts on a fundamental "theory of magic". As a result I decided to figure out what the difference between magic and science is. Turns out there is a single the...
Logistics games - 2021-06-07
There are many games like Factorio, Mindustry and The dyson sphere program where the player is tasked with logistics - managing resource distribution for exceedingly complex systems. Because it's a game, the system design and "construc...
Why is applying for jobs so hard? - 2021-06-06
For the past few months I've been in the shadow of my course finishing. I've known it is coming up and that it has been the time to work on preparing my CV, gettin in contact with potential workplaces and so on. But I've been putting i...
Emotional Vampire - 2021-06-05
Today I was walking on a beach - it was drizzeling and there was low fog. The clouds out over the sea made interesting patterns of light, and you could see the waves rolling in. I spent a long time staring at the sea, thinking about on...
Another knife - 2021-06-01
The other days, one of my good friends asked me what made a good knife for hiking. I can't remember exactly what I said, but over the following weekend I made him a copy of the knife I use (both everyday and when hiking).
The Value of Work - 2021-05-27
Recently I wrote a post that a person is more valuable than the work that they do. But I have also wondered why it is that modern society values a person by the amount of work they can perform.
Jumping into a river vs getting washed off your feet - 2021-05-20
One of the first things we did on the course I'm doing was to learn how to cross rivers. We did this by a day or so of theory (where should you cross) and then an afternoon out actually crossing rivers.
You are more than the work you do - 2021-05-19
A couple of times now I've seen people get depressed when the thing they're working on doesn't work out the way they hoped. Or perhaps they're injured and are watching their "team" do work without them and feel bad for not being able t...
Control of Modular Spacecraft - 2021-05-18
For a game I'm working on I want players (and AI) to be able to control modular spacecraft. By this I mean that I need to go from a desired control input (move forward) to a set of thruster outputs.
French Pass - 2021-05-15
On Wednesday there suddenly arose the opportunity to got to French Pass and do some work out there. It was an absolutely amazing trip - some good work done, and lots and lots of eating!
Finding your passion - 2021-05-11
Everyone says you need to find your passion. I think having a passion is not universal. I enjoy many things - drawing, programming, building, thinking, making music, hiking, driving. But none of those is my passion. None of those do I ...
Life on an exponential curve - 2021-05-09
Recently I've been reading "Guns Germs and Steel" - a book that tries to explain human development while ignoring, well, human history. It's a fascinating approach that looks at differences of geography and so on. Early in the book ...
The Curse of Faux-Instant-Messaging - 2021-05-07
Every so often someone invites me to a discord server or a facebook group. It seems that because I enjoy helping others on forums or StackOverflow, people assume I'll enjoy chatting with others on discord about their problems. But it i...
Electricity Shield Shader - 2021-05-06
Last weekend I made a shader for a Godot shader/effects challenge. The theme was electricity, so I made an electric-shield effect. It's a pretty cool application of some noise combination techniques, so I thought I'd walk through ho...
Dancing vs going through the moves - 2021-05-06
For the past few months I've been doing social dancing fairly regularly. I recently have been thinking about what makes the difference between a great dance and an OK dance.
The Nature of Critique and Praise - 2021-05-05
Why is it that sometimes when someone says "you've done a great job", we internal go: "ahhh, nope"? What is it that determines if we accept criticism, or if we let it pass over us?
When the going gets tough - 2021-05-04
... the tough get going? Or so the saying goes. I think there are three things people do when the going gets tough: they try to change the situation, they try to change themselves, or they leave.
Iris Business Card - 2021-04-24
For a long time I've wanted to have a business card that was just a little bit different. I considered doing PCB/electronics, or 3d priting one, and then arrived at the idea of 3D printing one with moving mechanical components.
Then vs Now - The Result - 2021-04-21
In my post "Then vs Now" I mused over how I didn't used to care how things turned out, and as a result I just, well, did things. And at the end I said I'd head out to the workshop and build something. Well I did, but my opinion has ...
Then vs Now - 2021-04-20
I've started converting all my posts from facebook over to this website, because one day I will delete my facebook account, and I'd rather not lose that content. However, I've noticed how different my interaction with the internet is n...
Addressed pub/sub architecture - 2021-04-15
I've used the publisher-subscriber design architecture in a bunch of projects including robots and computer games. And while it works well, there are some limitations that I find annoying. So solve some of these problems, I've thought ...
Bluemine Island - 2021-03-21
Our class went to Bluemine Island - a predator free island in the Marlborough Sounds. I took my camera along and had some fun taking scenic photos.
Exercise is not adventure - 2021-03-15
A couple weeks ago I was with a group of young adults, and we were talking about how we could get more engagement with a group of teenage kids. One idea I put forward was "Well, we should have some adventures with them" to which the re...
A trip into the red hills - 2021-03-14
I'm currently doing a course to become a forest ranger, and have just returned from a trip to the "red hills" - a plateau near Porters Creek Hut. We were up there for five days and (on the three working days) pulled out approximately 1...
Another attempt to 3D print an airsoft gun - 2021-02-12
At the start of 2020, I build a quadrupedal mech armed with an airsoft guns. Because I was aiming for a compact design I opted to design my own airsoft gun. The design I used back then had the muzzle velocity too low and the accuracy ...
A kitchen knife for a friend - 2021-02-10
A couple weeks back I mentioned to a friend of mine that I made knives as a hobby. Of course his question was "Can you make me one?" to which I answered "Yup". This is the result:
Swoop - 2021-01-20
For a while I've been wanting to know what happens underneath the hood of a game engine. I've also wanted to learn rust, make a program in WASM, and I had some concept art for a simple racing game. These things all came together to mak...
A Dynamometer - 2021-01-11
I quite enjoy making small RC tracked vehicles, and as an engineer I wanted to increase their capabilities - in speed. This means I need to know the torque-rpm-power graphs of the motors, which would allow me to size the motor to fit t...
2020
Sgian Dubh (and another small knife) - 2020-11-11
What on earth is a sgian dubh? It's a knife that the scottish used to wear in their socks. It was used for small food preparation tasks and general use. Well, I was living in a van for a couple months and was looking for something to d...
Jimnytrak - 2020-07-18
Jimnytrak is a remote controlled tracked vehicle based on the Suzuki Jimny 2019 - but modified to have tank tracks. This version is controlled over wifi, and it's great fun to crawl it around your living room.
A Wooden Chest - 2020-05-30
I was moving from from one city to another, and needed something to store all my stuff in. I've always wanted a wooden chest, so it was the perfect time to make it happen.
2018
Terrain in "To The Surface" - 2018-05-19
To The Surface is an exploration game, and as such it requires a large map to explore. In order to create the map within the two-week timeframe, I had to create a novel map editor and use several automated tools.
To The Surface - 2018-05-19
This is a pure exploration game. There is no combat, there are no puzzles. Significant effort went into the sound design and ambiance to try make it interesting but it is an experiment to see if a game where the only achievement is ...
2017
Don't use XOR's for Neural Networks - 2017-12-29
A little while back I had the idea to build a neural network that operated using only binary nodes, using XORs as the node's transfer function, and changing the neural layout rather than changing the weightings. Well, I tried it and it...
Snow in Switzerland - 2017-12-11
Well, it's my first winter in Switzerland, so of course I had to go for a walk at midnight just to see what it was about.
Learning Digital Drawing - 2017-05-21
As a kid I used to enjoy sketching with a pencil. As I went through school and university, I did less and less art, though I still did doodle dragons occasionally. As part of university, I bought a laptop with an active stylus so that ...
An Exploration in Quine's - 2017-05-08
A quine is a self-replicating program. When run, it produces it's own source code. If you want to know more, see the wikipedia page on them. In python, the most basic one is a "cheat" quine: read the file of the source code and p...
The High Country - 2017-04-10
Where is the high country? Head south a little, and cross some braided rivers. Head inland until the land curves up, and the grass flats start turning into scree slopes. If there isn't some bog and some spaniards, you're in the wrong p...
A Simple Python Game - 2017-03-17
I was helping out Quazipseudo with Geodesic Chess, and he's been learning to program. Very wisely, he said: "Since I learn from doing, trial and error, much more quickly than from reading, I'd like you to walk me through writing a s...
The Web - 2017-02-13
I was at a library today and happened across the Linux Magazine (Dec 2015) version. It's feature article is about the change from HTTP1.1 to HTTP2.
2016
The Swiss Alps - 2016-12-11
While the high country of New Zealand is spectacular, so are the alps in Switzerland. Sometimes I wish I had a proper camera - but then I look at the price tag. Maybe one day. These are photos from two separate trips.
My Car #2 - 2016-12-11
Well, When I moved to Switzerland, I had to get rid of my 1995 escudo. I ended up passing it on to one of my friends, but initially I planned to sell it. So of course I had to photoshop some images of it. So here we have the 1995 Suzuk...
My Car - 2016-11-26
A few weeks back I bought a car. It's a 1993 Suzuki Escudo, and it runs very well considering it's older than I am! This car is is a four wheel drive and thus capable of driving (and having fun) off road. Also, rather surprisingly it...
Teaching Software - 2016-11-03
Software is a cool field. You can program a computer to do lots of things, and I find it a very enjoyable activity. I learned to program a long time before I went through some university courses on the subject, and found that there was...
Remove Lighting From Photos - 2016-11-02
In a computer game, the lighting is computed in real-time by the game engine. In the real world, where we take photos to use as a basis for textures, lighting comes as part of the photo. The first step is to make sure that your photos ...
Gallery #1 - 2016-10-26
This is a collection of many things I have done, drawn, programmed and rendered since I started taking photos and making screenshots. Hover your mouse over an image to find out more, or click on it to get it at a higher resolution.
Etched Keytag - 2016-07-23
I've been wanting to make myself a science-fiction looking keytag for a while now, and finally got around to actually doing it.
Being a Librarian - 2016-07-23
In year 11 (2010) at school I became the 'Student Library Shelver' which meant I was in charge of shelving the returned today books at the end of each day, stamped and barcoded new books, helped with textbook distribution and a few oth...
Lessons from CaveX16 - 2016-07-16
CaveX16 was a game I worked on for BGMC16, for more details, have a look at the page for it. Some things I did while working on this game were a great idea, and other things I would do differen...
Hacksapod - 2016-07-16
A walking robot!. After a discussion with a friend about walking robots, the challenge was laid down to build a walking robot as simply as possible. So I made the hacks-a-pod. Made from sheet aluminium, it uses three servo's to walk. D...
CaveX16 - 2016-07-15
This game was made for a game making competetion where the theme was "Underground." It was made in a week. Pretty much the aim is to mine all the crystal in the map. You can use the crystal and ore to buy more/better mining vehicles.
5cm Robot - 2016-05-02
For a bit of a challenge I decided to make a small robot using off-the-shelf parts. The robot was intented to be able to locate and move small objects (such as marbles and dice), and to return with the objects to the starting positi...
Simple Six - 2016-02-27
My favourite computer game is Descent, made in 1995. It's still played competitively and I have a lot of fun. I want to share this fun, so I've started working on a Descent-like game, but one that's designed to run in a web-browser.
Pendant - 2016-02-20
Recenty it was my mothers birthday, and I decided to go for some hand-made jewellery. I quite enjoy the change of pace from engineering. Instead of building something functional for low cost and low effort, instead, you build something...
Infinite Map Generation - 2016-02-14
Procedural map generation is amazing. It allows a person to generate an infinite number of maps that are similar, but without requiring much manual work beyond tweaking the algorithm.
2015
Quad Robot - 2015-10-20
I always wanted a walking robot. So I built one! It's made from a bucket load of 9-gram servo's. Good thing they are so cheap. Even though each servo only draws ~150mA, by the time you have 12 of them all together you have a huge 1.8Am...
CaveFly - 2015-10-17
I'm a fan of spaceships and caves, even if it's 2D. Partly inspired by a game called luola, a split-screen multiplayer game, and partly inspired by a game I developed for a 5x7 dot matrix d...
2014
Age and the Internet - 2014-03-16
In the physical world age dictates how people act towards you. People look at you, and decide if you're "old enough" to be "sensible enough" to do something. At school, we're divided up based on age, and only later in life does this 'a...
What Makes a Hero - 2014-01-04
Is a hero someone who helps people when they need it? Or is it a person who does the right thing in the difficult times?
2013
Sustainablilty? - 2013-11-23
These days everything is about sustainibility. In politics they talk
about it a lot, but never ever acomplish anything.
Let's try to look at this from a scientific point of view. What is
sustainability? Pretty much it's using only...
Distro or Window Manager - 2013-11-18
Because there are millions to choose from, each slightly different. How do you pick? Does it make a difference?
The Perception of Time - 2013-11-06
Time seems to bend and shift. When you're doing something you enjoy, time passes at a frantic rate. But when you are doing something you don't enjoy, it seems to take forever.
Teaching, Learning and Motivation - 2013-09-25
Most people in the western world go through some sort of schooling at some stage, be it at a public school, homeschooling or a few other methods. I finished school last year, and was trying to think about what could be improved with ho...
Sky Pilot - 2013-05-02
Sky Pilot is a lunar-lander type game, but in 3D. You have to land gently on the plaftorm before running out of fuel. Nice and simple. This game was originally made for the Blender Game Making Contest number 7. It led the votin...
Neon Ball - 2013-05-02
Neon ball is a game made by sdfgeoff over a weekend. The concept came on a Friday evening, and the mechanics was done by the end of the weekend. I then spent a week trying to make levels before giving up and declaring it done.