More shrinky-dink earrings

Another pair of earrings for my friend today. This time using shrinkydinks. I know that she's a huge Zelda fan, so I figured I'd work with that. I also figured today would be a good day to experiment with using permanent markers on the shrinkydink plastic.

Before:


After:


The colors come out MUCH darker with permanent marker. Parts of Link are done only in colored pencil, and some parts are also a mixture of both media.

I also sealed the drawn side with clear nail polish. Without the nail polish, the rough side feels like painted wood, and I worry that if the piece gets wet, the colors might run (who the hell knows. It's permanent marker, but then, it's also been through the toaster oven).

I'm pretty certain my friend's gonna love these earrings.

Games and Fun: Magic Pen

When I first heard of "Crayon Physics" through Penny-Arcade's 1/11/09 comic strip, I was really interested in seeing it in action. Believe me, there's quite a few videos of it on YouTube. But this particular visual physics engine is as yet unavailable for people without a tablet pc or an iPhone. So I decided to seek out an online version. And lo and behold, there was "Magic Pen". Although this free online game only has 26 levels, it's plenty. You can keep playing to see the fewest number of shapes needed to finish each level.

For those unfamiliar with "Crayon Physics" or "Magic Pen", these are 2-d physics engines which allow the user to draw elements into the world which interact with existing fixed and moving parts. Your goal for each level is to get the red shape to any and all red flags on the level.

Quirky and fun, the user can create circles and polygons and use hinges and pins to create more complex machines and shapes (you can make a car by making two circles with hinges in the center of each and a box over the hinges). Remember to take gravity into account!

You want me to get the ball to a flag floating in SPACE?!??!

You make it look so easy.

You WILL, however find yourself cursing at flags which are obnoxiously higher than your shape's starting point, or confused by flags which appear to be floating serenely in space. It's a solid challenge that kept me entertained for a good 6 hours last night. I didn't even find the music obnoxious!

To check out Magic Pen by clicking here

Tetris for Winners

I have a lot of friends who LOVE Tetris. And even "love" is not quite expressive enough for how much they adore the game. As a member of the generation who were in their prime shape-identification years when Tetris came out (I still refer to certain phone numbers on keypad phones as tetris shapes), I have a certain love-affair with the game myself. I even made myself a rarely-seen Tetris choker out of shrinky-dinks (a post on shrinky-dink jewelry sometime in the future).

And who isn't always up for a great arm-wrestle? So when I saw this video on Youtube about arm-wrestling controlled Tetris, I thought this was just about the best thing ever.



Sweet!

April's Reading List and a love note to the library

April's been a great month for reading, what with my starting to take public transportation to work and the ample free time I have on my Mondays and Tuesdays off. I figured that in addition to my other geeky pursuits, I could share with you a list of what I've been reading and what I plan to read in upcoming months (which will be covered in my next post... I don't want to overwhelm you).

I have already created a "request" list at the Berkeley Public Library (note to self: get Oakland membership! You don't live in Berkeley anymore!) of all the books I saw at Barnes and Noble that enthralled me in one way or another. The best part of a library is that it's free (mostly. My taxes go there) and they're willing to provide nifty services like creating a waiting list for popular books and holding onto those you want until you get there.

A love note to the library:
Dear Library,

I know it's been a while since I visited you. When last I went, I took full advantage of your freeinternet (which I didn't have available at home because I'd just moved to California) and cheap printing and copying. You have an awesome selection of foreign films and world musiccds. Although your selection of science fiction books is lacking, you make up for it with enthusiasm. All my love,
Misti

Ok, also, get a look at the adorable branch library near me! It's a cottage. Sandwiched between 2 other cottages. It's tiny!


Reading List!

Iron Kissed - Patricia Briggs
An urban werewolf/vampire fantasy. The third in a series. I read it without putting it down and it was amazing. The book only gets better after you've met Ms. Briggs whose sweetness is tempered by an absolute excitement for everything she writes. Exciting and a good story!


Teach with Your Heart - Erin Gruwell
A memoir and dissection of the formative years of the Freedom Writers program started by Erin Gruwell. In many ways it's wonderful and heartbreaking and moving. It's also very disturbing to enter the lives of these inner city kids who have never heard of the holocaust but are living in their own sort of war-zone every day.


Everything Bad is Good for You - Steven Johnson
An essay (or maybe a thesis) on the expanding nature of pop culture and an interesting hypothesis of how Pop Culture is becoming increasingly complex and forcing us to think more; not less as so many critics have suggested. The book has some good arguments but some points seem to have weak support and portions seem more like a truncated college thesis.


The Kids are Alright: How the Gamer Generation is Changing the Workplace - John Beck & Mitchell Wade
Pretty much as described by the title, this book attempts to discern the way the gamer generation will interact with their peers and bosses when they enter the work-place. The authors use actual studies to back up their assertions. This book also has a keen window into the potential benefits of playing games. At least I don't feel as much that I'm wasting my time when I play games!


Intern: A Doctor's Initiation - Sandeep Jauhar
My work at the hospital has increased my interest in how doctors think and what sort of experiences change the way they view thier profession. In that vein, this book was the perfect descriptor of the formative years of a doctor as Sandeep Jauhar recounts his long and winding journey towards becoming a cardiologist. The book presents a lot of interesting anecdotes but also ends a bit too quickly for my taste.