Kyle and I have made a lot of progress since the install went up for SMALLab. To date, we have the beginnings of Render Engine Managers for Python, Processing, and Flash (via XMLSocket).

The Python version, PyREM, can create engines and pass properties based on responses from SCREM. I still need to get it to destroy engines, as well as accept and display media library files, but it's moving along pretty well.

The ASU folks put together a really nice and flexible system. I'm really encouraged by how quickly we've gotten up to speed now. I'll post pics once more interesting work gets rolling.

For the homework, you need to do the three things listed on the syllabus:

• Install processing at home or on your laptop (available at processing.org)
• Find an example you like from the processing site (look around the Learning section), run it in your copy of processing, and export it. Post the exported pages on your student website.
• The arm measuring problem:

  "If a patient is older than 18 and weighs less than 40, or if a patient is younger than 5 and weighs less than 15, print "Measure the arm". "

  Write a processing "sketch" that accomplishes the above problem by looking at an age and weight variable and printing out the correct result.

The following pages can help:

Integers and Floats
If
Else
Greater Than
Less Than
Println (print line)
Exporting

Processing. What it is and how to get it:

• Processing.org
• Processing Language Reference
• Processing Examples

Precedents:

• Joshua Davis
• French Automata
• Wooden Mirror
• Zach Lieberman "Drawn" (http://www.thesystemis.com)
• Evan Roth
  • "Grafitti Analysis" (http://a.parsons.edu/~roth/thesis/TEMP_graf_analysis/index.html)
  • GRL (http://graffitiresearchlab.com/?page_id=76)
• Cory Arcangel "Cloud" (http://www.beigerecords.com/cory/Things_I_Made_in_2003/)
• John F. Simon Jr. "Every Icon"(http://numeral.com/appletsoftware/eicon.html)
• Map of the Market (http://www.smartmoney.com/marketmap/)
• Jared Tarbell "SUBSTRATE"
  (http://complexification.net/gallery/machines/substrate/)
• Flight404
  (http://flight404.com/blog/)
• Casey Reas "GroupC"
  (http://groupc.net/)
• {Software} Sructures
  (http://artport.whitney.org/commissions/softwarestructures/)

Practice. What you need to know to start being a programmer:

• Wikipedia: Flowchart
• Wikipedia: Pseudocode
• Wikipedia: Hello World!

Blog This

On Saturday, Cameron Browning and I joined up with the boys from Mein Stiffi and had a projection party with Splnlss on his roof in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We were testing out a project I've dubbed "Steadman," which is a crazy looking drawing tool we created on a slow day in the lab this past August. The results remind me a lot of Ralph Steadman's work.

We've been sort of picking at it now and then. It has tablet support, so you can take your handy Wacom and use the pressure of the pen to adjust the madness of the line you're drawing. Next up... maybe some way of animating the output when it's done. Suggestions are welcome.

Nice view from up on Splnlss's roof. Lots of buildings and other hard points to project on to.