Theory: Scan Data - The good, the bad, and the ugly...

Scanner makers have this idea that "precision" is the most important aspect of scan data PERIOD!!! nothing else matters.

At least in my experience working with frustrating data. Data with holes, spikes, blurps, and worse, BAD topology (like bad welded vertices). I'd like to suggest to them that a full and complete shell, at REALLY LOW accuracy is, at least sometimes, more important that only keeping PERFECT data.

When you photograph a portrait, you don't want all the pores, and pimples... a soft image is enough to get the picture, and is actually nicer.

When I'm scanning something, I sometimes just want a light-weight fast framework to model around. I want accurate-ish features to model around. But I build my models in pro/ENGINEER anyway, so it's all general... you build the features semantically correct, and then dial in the dimensions. That's the beauty of parametric feature based modelling. So why do I care if my data points are +/- 0.04617475455 <- yeah that says O POINT O A GNATS ASS - if yo don't see that - sorry, ponder it a second. :) anyway... point is, the dimensions could be off by huge amounts if all the features are there. I can always go back in later and tweak and dial the model in to match for precision.

So, another thing about more complete data... start off with a complete shell, and then TWEAK the model/data, as it gets better and better. like... as if you started with a blob roughly the shape and snapped all the points to the good data - marking the points that are better, and points that are worse, allowing the operator to use his/her processor(brain) to interpolate the data. Sometimes it take a half a day to get the scanner to see the data correctly, when I could smear it over in a mater of minutes (if I had a clean model to work with)

anyway ;) just a few thoughts on scan data... I'm sure there're reasons why they act like this about the data, but sometimes I wish they'd give me more control to visualize and manipulate the data myself.

So I've began reverse engineering the raw data from my scanner to see what exactly IS available... and honestly, it looks like they actually give me all the useable data when they give me the "good stuff"... as in, sheesh... anything that isn't good is looking HORRIBLY NOT GOOD!!! :) hah.

We'll hvve to see. I haven't got a white paper or anything on what the data is, or where it came from so I'm still piecing it together. -- will follow up when I've figured more out.

ntlthn cyal8r!

Programming: Quick Convert - Alpha is released on Source Forge!

OK, Quick Convert is up... it's really basic, and early, but it works.


Quick Convert on Source Forge dot Net


Here's what it looks like:



The purpose is simply to do QUICK conversions from one unit to another - if you do design/engineering and are switching between english and metric a lot, this could be useful.

Eventually I'll add other conversions, and area, and linear conversions, etc...

But for now, it's about getting somethin' done and out.

if you have suggestions/comments, please feel free to leave them here, or on the open discussion forum for "quickconvert" on source forge

update 6/7

kinda looks better now!

Complaint: Norton Renewal "Suggestion" as EMERGENT ERROR is a BAD move!

OK, first off, I'm sure there will be pleanty of folks that will suggest not using norton at all for internet security and a/v. But, whatever! Fine, sure there are lots of options out there, this happens to be one that has worked for me in the past, and I've never had problems before on machines running Norton...

That aside, this issue that I'm going to rant about has less to do with software functionality, than it does with underhanded tactics to ensure on-going income from customers.

Let me first establish a few assumptions I have about security software.

1) any warning from the system that shows in RED should ONLY mean that there is an error or situation that actually means that your security is, in fact, compromised. out of date virus definitions, ok, anti-virus turned off, ok... those are valid reasons to show RED on the task bar.

2) the task bar icon for system status should NEVER show subscription information, EVEN if it is completely expired and out of date. it is SO EASY to show an additional icon in the status area to indicate that your subscription is out of date - or coming due.

The fact that Symantec thinks it's ok to display a visibly similar status color for SUBSCRIPTiON immenent expiration, for the last 30 days of my subscription that I paid for, is ridiculous. in the past they allowed you to at least snooze the warning for 1 or 15 days. But the only solution to change the status is RENEW NOW! BLEEP YOU NORTON!!!

And with the fact that I have 30 days left, I'm not even confident that the process will honor the remaining 30 days - they don't assure me on the purchase page that they will. Not to mention, they offer "Subscription" renewal, which in the past meant sure, you're getting updates to the virus data base etc, but not an upgrade to the latest engines and etc that come with the new version... I digress.

So I open the status window and everything is secure, except the status button reads, what?
Security Status
Attention
"Fix Now"

so for the last 30 days I have to put up with a system that appears, psychologically, to be compromised... haha, that's sounds funnier than it did when I was originally writing this.

Now when I go to glance at my status, I'm at first met with what FEELS like - oh no, I'm compromised, oh, wait, no that's just norton being annoying - or is it???? wait, ok I'll open up the status window, everything looks ok and secure... sure but is it? the fact that virii out there can compromise the system and turn OFF virus software and hide the status icons means that I can't trust things to begin with, but when anything isn't all green, it means I have to spend time thinking about my security system all the time - or consequently, put it out of my mind and ignore it. Which is worse?

This is a horrible practice and I can't even fathom the idea that they aren't completely aware of what they've done. I'm sure it meant $M more in revenue from less technical folks that just want to believe that they're "safe".

Since they already lost a lawsuit where they'd STOLEN days from users who renewed before the end of an OEM subscription, I wouldn't put it past them to think this is a valid marketing technique.

Unfortuneately for them, there will be backlash from this behaviour. It undermined my faith and trust in them, and regardless of their ability to keep me relatively safe online, it makes me question if it's worth it if they are going to stoop so low.

Oh well. Dumb behaviour on their part may hurt them in the end, but I doubt it. Probably they have enough people who just don't know any better and will just renew that any of us that pay attention and are upset by this, just simply don't impact their bottom line.

Should we make a stand?

Music: What I've been listening to lately...

Rhapsody Playlist Link:
Cut the Herb Scruffy, my Shadow is your Chemist in Brazil:

1. Amores Bongo - Herbaliser
2. More Tea, More Beer - Herbaliser
3. Serge - Herbaliser
4. Verbal Anime - Herbaliser
5. Get a move on - Mr. Scruff
6. Music Takes Me Up - Mr. Scruff
7. Donkey Ride - Mr. Scruff
8. Snakeskin Bib - Fila Brazillia
9. Mashin' On The Motorway - DJ Shadow
10. Spat - Cut Chemist
11. What's The Altitude [Featuring Hymnal] - Cut Chemist
12. Spoon - Cut Chemist
13. A Peak In Time - Cut Chemist
14. Imagine - Psykosonik
15. Underwater Rhymes - DJ Cam
16. Toujours L'Amore - Dimitri from Paris
17. Anjos Lramaos (Trio Remix) - Miyazawa
18. Toujours L'Amore - Dimitri from Paris

Programming: Inches to mm, sure, it's simple.

Another idea for a program, that I know, it's already been done a bunch. However, I wanted to do it MY way.

90% of the time, the reason I use the calculator program is to convert inches to mm, and most of the time now days I don't even need to, certain conversions are just burned into my brain.

But, in CAD it's nice to have round numbers. Not just because they look pretty but because whoever is reading your CAD file will be more comfortable knowing it wasn't some mistake.

Deliberate dimensions shouldn't usually go beyond the digits of tollerance.

What does this have to do with, um... anything?

Well if you convert from inches to mm or vice versa, there's a bit of extra, irrelavent stuff going on, as I mentioned before, that's outside of tollerance/relavence. So if we have a program that goes to a decent number of tollerance digits, we can then see the implications of our numbers in either units.

Or another way of looking at it is if you understand mm or inches in terms of spacial relationships and tollerances, but not the other way around (e.g. you know what 0.005" difference in diameter is, but what is that in mm.... 0.2mm )

Say you're designing a snap feature, 0.002" can make a difference, but you're doing this in mm because that's what the client wants. OK, so now you have to convert your numbers or something.

Sure you could work in inches to begin with, but what's the fun in that. :) LEARN and ADAPT - or die a painful death!

ok... so What is it I want, I want pair of inputs (mm and inches) in relative proximity to each other, with a clear labelling. I want no extra blech around them, and a simple way to close this. I want it to be positionable on top of the title-bar or something like that, but could be placed anywhere. Whenever I press enter it switches between fields allowing me to start with one measurement, then adjust the other units to a round number and see what that effect is. It should accept a single key to copy one unit or the other to the clipboard.

Would be kinda cool if you could stick it to a particular working window. If that window would close the position would revert relatively to the same spot on the users screen as it was in that active window.

I'll see what I can do =- until then, any other suggestions, I'll take into account:

BTW, a friend also suggested it could run in the startup section of the start menu (easy enough) and then of course, save it's position between uses (also, easy enough)

:)

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Continuing:

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I'm thinking it would be a more useful tool for more people, other than me, if there was a general conversion, instead of a fixed conversion (obviously, duh).

I had intially thought it would be better if it was just simple and worked for only this one task, the one I needed it for, but why not have it be a super fast push-pull generalized calculator. That is, the function is set by a drop-down list, in between two fields. The two fields each take values, and the one not recieving input updates in real time.

Since I'm doing this in C#, I can use delegate functions for the math,,whereby the function is held in a variable, and is selected by the user from a sneaky drop-down list box.. However, the value fields remain simple. either can be used for input, and the other updates in real time. Instead of using a fixed equation however, they are acted upon by the currently delegated function.

BTW, I've started an open source project over at sourceforge.net. if you're interested in taking a look, I'll post a link once I've got the program SVN'ed and uploaded.

for now it's just a fixed mm to inches. The aformentioned will be added once the interface is working the way i want it: FAST and SIMPLE

:)

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Continuing:

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OK, so as a continuation of the idea of a generalized conversion tool. Rather than having a delegate function in between the two fields, it'd be better to have each units settable independently. and the stored value is in some raw, or base unit. This foregoes a lot of the complexity of the program in general. Essentially the two boxes are input / display windows onto the same piece of data. VERY simple.

Here's a snapshot of version 0.0.0.1 ;) Still with only the single conversion, but using the just-described methodology.



it's designed to sit in the upper right corner of other windows.... to have it automated would be kinda great.... grab the handle of the top-most window (active) and stick to the titlebar and even insert itself as a tab-stop would be useful.

So, how could I maintain the simplicity and use this for modelling simple volumes and areas? maybe that becomes outside the scope of the project, and a new project in and of itself?

Programming: Convert a Keystroke into a Mouse Button.

I have an old laptop. I'd like to be able to have middle-mouse button functionality, but the darned thing only has two buttons and no function to get a middle button click.

So, I thought I'd go find a program to convert one of the never-at least not by me-used windows keys to the middle mouse button. Seemed reasonable enough, but I couldn't find one that looked like it would work. Lots of stuff out there going the other way; keystroke by way of mouse button... yippee, but doesn't fix me.

So, I'm going to write a bit of code to see if I can learn how to do this. Should be fun. Will post again as I progress.

BTW, if anyone knows a good - free - program that can do just this ( on win xp ) let me know... especially if it's open source :)