Random Question Thread.

**Fereydoon** · 2013-02-04 14:18

Originally Posted by zoobernut

Feyedoon if you are selling work or doing contract work then do not use a pirated version of Maya or Lightwave or XSI or Max or whatever you decide to learn. If you are worried about the costs and don't want to pay then use Blender. Blender is an open source free 3d modeling program.

No one cares how you made your portfolio they won't check to see if your software is legit for that. They only really go after you if you start making money off your models. But by that time you should either be able to invest in the program or have a job where they provide it to you.

Let me know if you have any other questions about Maya I might be able to help you out.

That was pretty much my intent, I'm not gonna start making money off of this, but you have to start somewhere. If I started thinking I could make money off it I'd use Blender until I had enough for Maya or Max or something.

Also will do! Any tips before I dive into this?

**zoobernut** · 2013-02-04 14:29

Originally Posted by Fereydoon

That was pretty much my intent, I'm not gonna start making money off of this, but you have to start somewhere. If I started thinking I could make money off it I'd use Blender until I had enough for Maya or Max or something.

Also will do! Any tips before I dive into this?

My main recommendations might sound like gibberish right now but for starters make sure you download models from other games and examine the topology of the edge loops. Make sure you never have a polygon with more than 4 edges. Try to minimize vertices with any more than 4 edges going into them. As soon as you start modeling turn backface culling on and make sure you don't have any reversed normals. Always eliminate non manifold geometry, like faces with zero area, floating points, internal geometry etc. Keep your triangle count as low as possible without sacrificing form. Keep in mind the things you can show with textures vs. things that you need to have model detail for. Make sure your polygon density makes sense to where the detail in your model is. Don't have a bunch of polygons in a large flat area if it isn't showing anything. Make sure you tailor your model to how it is going to be used, a real time model is very different from a model for a pre-rendered piece of art.

I think that is all I can think of right now for basic guidelines to follow when modeling.

**Cail** · 2013-02-04 16:48

+1 to shit skin is shit

**Guitarman** · 2013-02-05 02:09

So I fucked up accidentally called the current gf by my ex's name. Names are similar so it was a mistake. Luckily this was over text and i styled it out saying my phone just autocorrected the name. Anyone have experience with this and know how I can prevent fucking up again?

**SamanosukeShiva** · 2013-02-05 02:26

lobotomy pretty much. It happens, just don't think about it alot, it'll make you slip up more.

**Kerberoz** · 2013-02-05 02:38

Go into language settings and add a new auto-correct/word filter.

**Nemesio** · 2013-02-05 03:15

Originally Posted by Guitarman

So I fucked up accidentally called the current gf by my ex's name. Names are similar so it was a mistake. Luckily this was over text and i styled it out saying my phone just autocorrected the name. Anyone have experience with this and know how I can prevent fucking up again?

Stick with pet names. Not sure if thats how your relationship is, but mine, I just stick with 'Babe' and other names that we have come up for eachother, and I never screw up. Even if I end up calling her one of the pet names I had for my ex, its easy as hell to play off.

**brozy** · 2013-02-05 03:51

Omg so it is a new skin, thought my eyes had went all kinds of fucked up. As for the name slip business i'd go with the pet name much easier to play it off if you fuck up

**Oreth** · 2013-02-14 06:29

Originally Posted by Buffy

Most of the stuff you hear about Texas is due to the general political leanings of Texas (and the south-east part of the country) compared to the general political leanings of BG. I've spent some time in Texas although I don't live there now. In general, it's an amazing state with creative food, wide open spaces, and different industries (ranging from oil and natural gas production to food production) due to the mild climate as you move further south. You will find the political temperature closer to south carolina than NY from your list. I can't recommend it highly enough. My time in Costa Rica and Texas were some of the best periods of my life.

Also, make sure you try the barbecue and the pulled pork!

Originally Posted by BaneTheBrawler

As Buffy said, most of the shit-talking about Texas is just because of politics. And weather. People like to make fun of people from other climates as being wimps, because surely their own climate is hellish and no one else could handle it. Sports teams also play a role in some of the ribbing.

I don't have any personal experience with Texas, but tourism is a pretty big deal in any state, so generally the local government will go out of their way to make things friendly for visitors (particularly in the larger cities). Don't let our competitiveness discourage you.

Originally Posted by Shakki

To add to what others have said:

People: Compared to the other states I've lived in, people here are pretty nice in terms of their general treatment of strangers. Well, except on the freeways, where it feels like they're trying to murder you (not sure how true this is in Austin compared to where I live, but I'm quite serious when I say my daily commute has been the worst driving experience of my life).

Politics: As others have mentioned, Austin is one of the most liberal cities in Texas. In my experience, in the rest of the state, people from Austin have a reputation it's hard for me to quantify beyond giving an example of a conversation I had with my boss about some clients she found annoying, which was something to the effect of "What's their deal? Where are they from?" "Austin" "OHHHH". Like it explains something profound about who a person is.

Weather: In this part of the state, it doesn't get very cold in the winter, usually 30s or 40s at the coldest. Summer can be ungodly hot; this past summer we had a few consecutive weeks where the temperature hovered around 110. The humidity is always awful, regardless of what season it is.

Economy: I moved from where I was because I spent 6 months looking for a job after college and didn't get a single response, interview, etc. After starting my search here, I had a job in less than two weeks. Of course, that's terribly anecdotal.

Food: The BBQ is average in my experience, but then I guess I'm not really a fan of Texas-style BBQ. There's some fantastic brisket to be had, though. There's also LOTS of Tex-Mex.

Sports: Hope you like the Cowboys!

Cheers for all the replies. Completely forgot i had posted and asked for opinions in here sorry about that.

I decided to head out before making the long term move so coming to Austin in April for two weeks. Gonna hit up San Antonio as well. Ill welcome and good suggestions of places to visit or see, eat etc.

**Caiyuo** · 2013-02-14 18:16

Anyone have a suggestion for absorbing moisture in closets? I live in FL and have the problem of clothes smelling horrible if they've been in there for too long. Most things are fine, but if anything sits forgotten for a few months I have to add vinegar to the wash to get rid of the smell. I've read about something called "Damp Rid" you can use, but wondered if there's anything better.

**zoobernut** · 2013-02-14 18:50

Originally Posted by Caiyuo

Anyone have a suggestion for absorbing moisture in closets? I live in FL and have the problem of clothes smelling horrible if they've been in there for too long. Most things are fine, but if anything sits forgotten for a few months I have to add vinegar to the wash to get rid of the smell. I've read about something called "Damp Rid" you can use, but wondered if there's anything better.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...ords=desiccant

You are looking for some kind of desiccant. I am not sure how much you need for a closet.

**BaneTheBrawler** · 2013-02-14 19:31

dehumidifier? not sure how much good it will do in florida, but we use them around here (MN) for damp basements and whatnot. Especially in spring. Fuck snowmelt.

**Shakki** · 2013-02-14 21:09

Originally Posted by Oreth

I decided to head out before making the long term move so coming to Austin in April for two weeks. Gonna hit up San Antonio as well. Ill welcome and good suggestions of places to visit or see, eat etc.

http://biglouspizzaonline.com/ - Favorites are the BBQ brisket pizza and garlic cheese bread.

http://www.chachos.com/ - Favorites are the shredded chicken soft tacos/burritos and monster kong nachos (if sharing with 3+ people).

**Caiyuo** · 2013-02-15 20:33

Originally Posted by zoobernut

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...ords=desiccant

You are looking for some kind of desiccant. I am not sure how much you need for a closet.

Originally Posted by BaneTheBrawler

dehumidifier? not sure how much good it will do in florida, but we use them around here (MN) for damp basements and whatnot. Especially in spring. Fuck snowmelt.

Thanks, guys, I was initially looking at dehumidifiers, and desiccants seem to serve the same purpose in a different form. I think Damp Rid is actually just a big bucket of the same desiccant packets that ship with some clothes and items. It looks like they make small area desiccant filter-type things to store in safes and such, so I'm looking through those, too.

**TheDangerousDave** · 2013-02-16 16:13

Websites for free/cheap as fuck business cards anyone? Ideally UK..

**Kerberoz** · 2013-02-16 20:51

Try the Chinese custom-printers on Ebay. Not sure if they do business cards, but they do everything else, so probably.

**Oreth** · 2013-02-21 08:02

Originally Posted by Shakki

http://biglouspizzaonline.com/ - Favorites are the BBQ brisket pizza and garlic cheese bread.

http://www.chachos.com/ - Favorites are the shredded chicken soft tacos/burritos and monster kong nachos (if sharing with 3+ people).

Is Big Lou's the one from Man vs Food... Seems familiar... Cheers for the recommendations will check them out!

**Kyte** · 2013-02-21 12:35

I have to write a python program for an intro comp sci class that finds simple interest, compound interest, and the future value of a simple annuity. This is easy- however I have to do it in way that is harder. Rather than just use the formula with exponents, I have to use a for loop to feed the value of each period back into itself.

For example, I did the compound interest part:

Code:

 elif x in ['C', 'c']:
            print("You have chosen compound interest.")
            I=eval(input("Please enter the interest rate per period. "))
            P=eval(input("Please enter the principal amount. "))
            N=eval(input("Please enter the number of compounding periods. "))
            for i in range (0, N):
                P=P*(1.0+ (I/100))
            print("The final amount is ", P)

I'm just not sure how to rearrange this:

Code:

elif x in ['A', 'a']:
            print("You have chosen simple annuity.")
            I=eval(input("Please enter the interest rate per period. "))
            N=eval(input("Please enter the number of periods. "))
            P=eval(input("Please enter the amount paid per period. "))
            Y=(P*((((1+(I/100))**N)-1)/(I/100)))
            print("The future value of the annuity is ", Y)

into a for loop. I was a Biology and Environmental Science major so this is all new to me =(

**Shakki** · 2013-02-21 20:22

Originally Posted by Oreth

Is Big Lou's the one from Man vs Food... Seems familiar... Cheers for the recommendations will check them out!

Yes it is! There's usually a bit of a wait if you go in the evening on weekends or during major sporting events, but it's still totally worth it.

**Anoat** · 2013-02-23 17:33

Speaking of Man vs. Food, do we have any competitive eaters here that could give some advice? A friend of mine is doing a challenge at a local BBQ place on Tuesday. He has to finish 5 pounds of pulled pork and 2 pounds of fries in 30 minutes or less. I think he could do it if he had an hour, but with only 30 minutes I am not so sure. Any general advice he should know?

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