A brief respite from grading.

A brief respite from grading. Similar:My adorable daughter (Easter 2021) AestheticsAnother random background control panel for a #blender3d #steampunk project. I wish all us…AestheticsSigma Tau Delta English Honors Society induction ceremony. Congratulations new members. #s…PersonalA Few Good Men at the Pittsburgh Public TheatreFantastic performances, powerful writing…CultureLetter of Recommendation: Fanny PacksWhat other accessory ensures the safety…

As Twinkle Twinkle is to Suzuki musicians, so is a wooden shipping crate to CGI modelers. #Blender3D #design #practice

I have certainly made more complex scenes, but this time, I modeled each board, getting the grain of the wood at least plausibly right on each face, and placing each nail realistically. Following the workflow for creating game assets, I converted the completely realistic 3D simulation with 3D boards and nails into flat images. The…

As Twinkle Twinkle is to Suzuki musicians, so is a wooden shipping crate to CGI modelers. #Blender3D #design #practice

I have certainly made more complex scenes, but this time, I modeled each board, getting the grain of the wood at least plausibly right on each face, and placing each nail realistically. Following the workflow for creating game assets, I converted the completely realistic 3D simulation with 3D boards and nails into flat images. The…

Snowfall at the White House (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour, Jan 7) Tweeted by WH on Jan 12

My social media feed was full of people mocking the White House yesterday for publishing a photo titled “First snow of the year!” on a day when Washington had clear skies and freakishly warm weather. What was the Trump administration trying to pull? Why would they publish such a blatant lie? It wasn’t a lie.…

Facebook paid Teen Vogue to run a fake article praising Facebook for “helping ensure the integrity of the 2020 election”

After FB crowed about this super-upbeat story, a notice appeared saying it was a paid editorial, and then the story disappeared. This looks very bad for Teen Vogue, and very bad for democracy. Read story on Boingboing. Similar:"The threat is no longer simply from government censorship."After using examples from Warsaw and Pra…CulturePicking a rubric in…

Feeling classy while I lose.

Feeling classy while I lose. Similar:Home Soil (TNG Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 17)The concept was good, and the production…PersonalAnd you thought your last teleconference was rough!PersonalOver the years I have leveled up my Blender3D skills.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNLArSlF…AestheticsMy son showed me Seven Samurai. I had never seen it before. Amazing!I’m going to have to watch this one agai…AestheticsI…

Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy.

Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy. Some basic concepts: What is Newsworthy? Recent events that are unusual, nearby, have widespread/significant impact, or involve celebrities are more newsworthy than events that are stale, distant, have limited/trivial impact, or happen to average people. (9 min audio.) Objectivity: Traditional journalism reports fairly…

Picking up books for another term

Similar:Oedipus Tyrannos (Oedipus Rex) — Brief IntroductionMy first lecture screencasts for my newl…AcademiaConflict Strategies for Nice PeopleNothing to do with Christmas… just thi…AcademiaWhy We Fall for Fake News and How to Bust ItMeasuring the impact of fake news spread…AcademiaInternet Explorer cheated its way to the top, and I won't miss itI started teaching myself HTML…

Volunteering at our local food bank

Similar:Facebook's director of media tries to appease news industryFacebook’s Patrick Walker assured a room…BusinessCarolyn as Cosette in the wedding scene in Les Miz. #feelsPersonalAnd so it begins.BooksThe girl has gotten progressively more dedicated over the past few days.When you’re a homeschool parent, you go …AestheticsCritical Thinking Rhetoric  The IdealistAcademiaLiz Fosslien's insightful comic on unhealthy conflict…

Emily Dickinson Fun Page #literature #amusing #dashes

Emily Dickinson Fun Page #literature #amusing #dashes Similar:Minneapolis protest cleanup: Did you share this meme without fact-checking it? (Don’t spre… A Facebook meme with 52k reactions a…CultureWhat Happens When Digital Cities Are Abandoned?“The great paradox about these digital c…CultureCoding Sucks: Why a Job in Programming Is Absolute HellI enjoyed the essay, but the truths it…

Hitting the weekend with just 6 ungraded papers. #partylikeaprof

Hitting the weekend with just 6 ungraded papers. #partylikeaprof Similar:Bird flight simulator. The boy goes for altitude and distance, the girl does stunts.In the bird-flight simulator at the Pitt…CybercultureDean Jones Dead: Disney Actor Was 84″The Love Bug” was one of the movies tha…Current_EventsEvery few years, I Google the name of the kid who saw "The…

#Blender3D rendition of the bridge of the æthership that featured in the musical #steampunk bedtime role-playing campaign I ran for my kids 2007-2012.

Similar:Friend I hadn't seen for about 20 years delivers a vintage nerdy gift.During the original run of Star Trek: Th…MediaI'm marking them faster than they come in, which is a good thing. I won't be doi…PersonalThe Icarus Factor (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 14)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…PersonalI went down fighting.PersonalDaughter is in 2…

Siblings gotta sib.

Similar:Seeing A Wrinkle in Time. @prime_stagePersonalHow Not to Be a Jackass at Your Next Academic ConferenceOkay, I confess, I was once in the audie…AcademiaCarolyn's "waiter with wobbly stack of plates" bit from Hello DollyPersonalApparently I’m using boolean modifiers to carve out negative-space greebles for a texture …AestheticsFeeding a Neighbor's LambsA neighbor invited us over to…

Parent: “Why don’t you use one of your stress balls?” The girl: “They don’t like me.”

Similar:My kids are in a tree. How's your Friday?PersonalIt's not just you — we are all more forgetful during the pandemic, experts say. Here's ho… Pandemic living can make it much more …CultureThe geekling is 14 today.PersonalMidsummer opens tomorrow.PersonalStephen Coles’ The Anatomy of Type, reviewed.Talk nerdy to me. You’re my type. What …AestheticsCrabby 9yo Constructs…

Facebook exec erroneously cites The Lord of the Rings when comparing the social network to the One Ring

A Facebook executive, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, recently defended Facebook’s policies about political advertising, which critics say rewards politicians who spend a lot of money pushing lies to the slogan-chanting, meme-sharing masses (including the ones in red hats and the ones with the blue hats). Bosworth seems to suggest that for Facebook to tamper with its…

To my daughter for 2020: “You shall prevail.”

Similar:Many things in the world are awful, but my latest #Blender3D work on my #steampunk control…One of many steampunk control panels I’v…AestheticsOn the upside, no fake news is currently being shared on Facebook. Can't think of a do…PersonalThe Bremen Town Musicians (WAOB Audio Theatre) My daughter plays the narrator, my…HumanitiesThe last submissions of this o'er…

Wooden document holders. Pretty routine, but practice is practice. #Blender3D

Similar:Another very rough day. Students are cheerful and patient, obviously happy to be here.Another very rough day. Students are che…AcademiaAdded a pilot and cockpit details to my flyby of a #steampunk scout ship. Costume is a pr…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyvR90jm…AestheticsThe Fantasticks closes today at 2.Personal‘Broken Age’ ReviewThis will be my self-reward when I finis…CybercultureElsa at noon. College “Intro…

My son, volunteering at the local food bank.

Similar:Out & About: Stage Right holds its annual Heart of the Arts Gala Source: Out & About: Stage Right…CultureIt's probably safe to throw these out.PersonalBlender 2.8 Released. Please leave us alone together for a few days.I’ve been using the beta for months, but…CybercultureThis friendly gangster was parked at WalMart in Johnstown yesterday.This friendly gangster was…

Stack of wooden desk trays with metal supports. #Blender3D. Normal map, glossy map; mahogany, walnut and beech variations.

My goal in trying to do an object each day is to familiarize myself with the workflow, so that I don’t have to keep looking at a list of instructions.

My last few #blender3D experiments with wood objects went so well I thought I’d try an object with two materials. The reflective nature of metal means I had to add a “gloss” map — I should probably have stuck with a single diffuse material. Lots of trial and error.

I realized I have turn off the “glossiness” in order to make the diffuse color maps. With four different styles of wood, with two different types of metal, the normal map, and the gloss map, I had a lot of do-overs, but I managed.