[1]. Who is the man on the left on your avatar - with a short hair and DN
letters on him? Is it Alan or Todd Replogle?
[2]. How do you manage your workspace?
I mean, I noticed on the candid photo http://advsys.net/ken/kensoffs.jpg that there is almost no free space available. Everything is occupied by a keyboard, lamp, amplifier, synthesizer, papers, etc.
You wrote somewhere on your site "feel free to sleep through calculus".
What do you do if you need to do some calculus on paper?
What do you do if you need to read a book?
Do you do it in front of computer (then, how do you manage to find a place to put the keyboard away?) or do you have another desk?
I mean, I've got this problem, and when I need to do some calculus on paper
with a pen or (which is more often) a pencil or read a book, I sometimes even have to move to another room (living room or kitchen) or read on sofa or in the armchair, which is not so comfortable, as to do it at the desk.
How do you do it?
Thank you.
TX at
Funny, we just had this thread.. and in the section it belongs in, too!
Actually, my workspace in that photo is occluded by my body. I had some room in front of the laser printer. I used to use pencil & paper a lot when I was in study hall and had no access to a computer. Nowadays, when I need to work on math problems, I use my computer as scrap paper. I'll use notepad or kc, or qb or evaldraw if I want to verify the results. I have to replace all the weird math symbols with ASCII-compatible text. It's really not that difficult. For example, I replace the summation symbol with a "for" loop. I think better in code syntax than math syntax. It's a lot easier to erase things and change your mind on your computer : ) Paper is still faster for making graphs though.
You wrote somewhere on your site "feel free to sleep through calculus".
I was trying to be funny. What I meant there is: Calculus knowledge is not necessary to design a 3D engine. I've found it to be quite useful for other projects though.
What do you do if you need to read a book?
Hehe, I don't read books : ) Fiction is a total waste of time, and non-fiction books are usually out of date. If I need something, it's a lot more convenient to surf the web. On the rare occasion that I do use a book (usually a technical reference), I would put it in my lap. My pelvis is quite capable of supporting the weight. : )
KillerQ13 at
Awesoken said
Hehe, I don't read books : ) Fiction is a total waste of time, and non-fiction books are usually out of date. If I need something, it's a lot more convenient to surf the web.
Wow. You're the only other person that I know of that doesn't like fiction and out of date non-fiction. I thought I was the only one for a long time there. It just goes to show that writting code is just as good for learning the semantics of English.
Alexey at
Ken,
Awesoken said
Hehe, I don't read books : ) Fiction is a total waste of time, and non-fiction books are usually out of date. If I need something, it's a lot more convenient to surf the web.
And where from did you get the information and knowledge back in the old days -
in 1992 - 1996?
I mean, before the Internet "explosion"?
Alexey at
Really weird question:
Ken, do you, by any chance, know Andre LaMothe (aka Lord Necron) ?
Thank you.
Awesoken at
where from did you get the information and knowledge back in the old days - in 1992 - 1996?
Before the internet, there were BBS's... although the "BBS web" was small, so there weren't many tutorials back then - especially ones about game programming. Yes, I did learn a few things from books, such as "Computer Graphics" by van Dam & co., "Algorithms" by Sedgewick, and whatever else my parents had in their inventory. Still, most things I discovered on my own - either by thinking a lot or just trying lots of things.
Andre LaMothe wrote those game programming books for "gurus". They were all released after my time - when I already knew most things - so I never really used them. A few years ago, Andre offered me the opportunity to write a book for his company... but I declined. I decided it was a better use of my time to continue my research (aka writing cool apps when I feel like it).
cragtek at
Awesoken said
Fiction is a total waste of time...
Ouch, Ken! I couldn't help but disagree with you on that one. I'm sure Mr. Shakespeare would be on my side too.
I mean, you'd be hard pushed to find a genuine reason for important works like 'Brave New World' or '1984' to be dismissed as total wastes of time.
Anonymous at
Fiction is the driving force behind games, the reason people plays them... suspension of disbelief, new worlds, being another people in distant places... Without this driving forces a lot of developments of the last century would never have been made, I think
Awesoken at
I'm an engine programmer, not a game designer. I don't need fiction to write engines. Besides, I get plenty of it from movies & TV. I only said that I didn't READ fiction. BTW, Shakespeare's writing is a foreign language to me - I never understood a damn word of it! My apologies to Shakespeare fans, but I'm sure most people wouldn't appreciate my work if they looked at my code either.
maniac1701 at
yeah i hated the "updated" romeo and juliet because although it was in modern times and situations that made more since they were still using the original dialog. if i watch a shakespear movie i like it to be so well updated i can't tell it was ever shakespear
Awesoken said
I'm an engine programmer, not a game designer. I don't need fiction to write engines. Besides, I get plenty of it from movies & TV. I only said that I didn't READ fiction. BTW, Shakespeare's writing is a foreign language to me - I never understood a damn word of it! My apologies to Shakespeare fans, but I'm sure most people wouldn't appreciate my work if they looked at my code either.
Anonymous at
maniac1701 said
if i watch a shakespear movie i like it to be so well updated i can't tell it was ever shakespear