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Comment Oh no... (Score 1) 184

This is like the only magazine I would find interesting when browsing for something to read on a train trip.
I used to be a subscriber, but it got a bit expensive with shipping to Finland. I will dearly miss this magazine and will now go and encase my hard copies in lucite.

Comment Re:Seriously (Score 1) 313

"If I couldn't complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things,"

Sounds like typical raid leader behaviour to me...
Competition at the top is TOUGH!

Submission + - Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice (hubpages.com)

Fizzl writes: "Researchers at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada have cured cancer last week, yet there is a little ripple in the news or in TV. It is a simple technique using very basic drug. The method employs dichloroacetate, which is currently used to treat metabolic disorders. So, there is no concern of side effects or about their long term effects. Read more at HubPages."

Comment Re:I fail to see the point.. (Score 2) 221

I'm actually now designing software which calculates the parameters for the hardware that supports the power lines.
It's amazingly precise and complicated. Even at 200km/h tracks, the tolerances where the line should be in the sky are in millimeters. For example, there should be enough tension to hold the line almost straight, but not quite straight. You have to let it hang just enough so the that the weight of the line holds it firmly to the receiver on the train.
You have to account for tilted rails in turns. You have to move the line over the rails in a zig-zag so as not to stress the receiver from one point only. Then you have to account for turns, where the train goes on a nice radial track, but the line moves straight from pole to pole.
Etcetc... It is very interesting and perhaps the most math and physics hard project I have ever been involved in in my +10 year development career.

Anyway, it makes my mind boggle to even think how precise the electricity feed line has to be installed in some 500m/h tracks.

Comment Re:I'll believe it when I see it... (Score 2) 221

Well, I learned with 3d studio max (whatever version was new in -97).
It took around one year of self learning to get in grips with the features to actually produce something nice, but I made steady progress and it was always enjoyable to learn new things.
Since then, I have also learned some Maya and some NURBS specific package I forget now.

I have tried to learn blender several times. The starting curve is just too steep. It is not fun. I once waded through the newbie guide and managed to do some basic modeling and texturing, but it took a lot of effort. I tried to do something on my own and was completely lost again. I accidentally did something and was utterly lost of how to get back on track. The workflow was just weird to me. I could follow tutorials, but couldn't apply what I learned to what I wanted it to do. Finally I just gave up.

Immediately after seeing this post, I added the ubuntu PPA for latest blender and updated.
Yeah. "OMGZ IT'S FINALLY DOING WHAT I WANT!"-moment, just as someone described would not happen.

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