A work of art.

(define (draw-mine-field x)
   (if (= x 0)
        '()
        (begin
            (draw-mine-line (- XX x) YY)
            (with-state
                (translate #(1 0 0))
                (draw-mine-field (- x 1))))
    ))

(define (draw-mine-line x y)
    (if (= y 0)
        '()
        (begin
             (draw-mine x (- YY y))
             (with-state
                (translate #(0 1 0))
                (draw-mine-line x (- y 1))))
    ))


(define (draw-mine x y)
    (with-state
        (let ((center-x (- (/ XX 2) 0.5))
              (center-y (- (/ YY 2) 0.5)))
            ; default size, colour
            (scale (vector 1 1 1.5))
            ;(colour (vector (gh 1) (gh 3) (gh 5)))
    
            ; scale up center mines
            (let* ((D     (* 1.3 (sqrt (+ (expt (- x center-x) 2)
                                          (expt (- y center-y) 2)))))
                   (factor (* (gh 1) (log (+ 1 (abs (/ (sin D) D)))))))
                (scale (vector 1 1 (+ 1 (* 3 factor))))
                (colour (vector (+ 0.1 factor) (- 0.8 factor) 0))
            )
    
            ; X-dependent jumping!
            (let ((factor (+ (* (gh 3) (/ 1 (+ 1 (* 0.01 XX x))))
                             (* (gh 5) (/ 1 (+ 1 (* 0.01 XX (- XX x)))))
                        ))) 
                (translate (vector 0 0 (+ 1 (* 3 factor)))))
    
            ; spread out!
            (let ((x-factor (* (gh 7) 0.5))
                  (y-factor (* (gh 6) 0.5)))
                (translate (vector (* x x-factor) (* (- y center-y) y-factor) 0)))

            ; the yy-curve!
            (let ((factor (* (gh 4) (expt (* (- y center-y) (/ 3 YY)) 3))))
                (translate (vector 0 0 factor)))
    
            (draw-cube))))

(define (show-things)
    (clear-colour (vector (* 0.15 (gh 7))
                          (* 0.15 (gh 8))
                          (* 0.30 (gh 6))))
    (draw-mine-field XX))


(start-audio "alsa_pcm:capture_1" 1024 44100)

(clear-colour #(0 0 0))

(show-fps 1)

(define XX 100) (define YY 25)

(every-frame (show-things)) 

... in a way.

hint: (fluxus).

Read more...

Coffee?

They want to take away our coffee machine! First they took our predecessors' sofa, and now this. This is outrageous. Waaaaiiiit… maybe I should start at the beginning. Maybe I should start by telling you who “we” are.

The final two years of Gymnasium in the classic, soon to have been replaced, Bavarian school system is the Kollegstufe. That's like sixth form, for all you English readers. “We” are the Kollegstufe at my school, and, some time in the previous semester, we were granted the luxury of being allowed to use a disused classroom for, on paper, studying, after having complained about not fitting into the corridors for years. Since then, we have turned it into quite a pleasant sitting room which has even managed to remain, for me at least, the best place in the building for actually studying, if only because we got hold of the most comfortable chairs far and wide.

In the region, it is traditional to have a gigantic party after the Abitur exams. An expensive party. So, as Kollegstufe, we organize legendary (for-profit) parties and whatever else we can think of that gets us money. Ergo, we have a budget. A budget that one could put to good use, one that could be used to finance a coffee machine. Best idea ever. What we bought is a Senseo-brand coffee pod machine—a system that works well and produces good coffee that costs less than 9 cents Eurocents, that is per cup, assuming you buy your pods from ALDI.

Naturally, there are quite a few students now that use the machine quite a lot, and drink quite a lot of coffee. It's great, we love it, and are probably addicted. There's always a great atmosphere in that room. Not surprisingly, there is a group of “regulars” that seem to always have a cup, or at least pod, of coffee on themselves. Interestingly, this group consists mostly of art students. And myself of course. Students of physics (sleepless geek zombies?), French (goes well with café) and, well, German, are also good candidates for coffee drinking. But—enough of that.

Read more...

Good morning, starshine

The earth says hello ! You twinkle above us, we twinkle below.

Hundreds of small bangs, firecrackers, agglomerated to a feast. Sound, light, darkness, bang, crack, thrill. Drunken neighbours trying to blow each other up, and looking for a fight. Flashes of light, twinkling up.

Retreat into a house, a long and good meal. Silly games and jokes. Fun.

Return to the night, the moon is slowly disappearing. Last planning before the spectacle.

12 o'clock, BANG ! Half an hour of lights in the sky, fireworks, rejoicing at the new year. Neighbours gathered around to watch, toasts and congratulations all over.

The crowd retreats, we begin to clear up the mess. Disappearing inside, jolly hours together, awake.

It starts to snow.

Happy new year.