Comments on: Pixels and Pets

By: Max

Max — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 06:14:34 +0000

Shannon, the rheological property to which you are referring is called viscoelasticity. A viscoelastic product will exhibit viscous properties under low shear stress, and elastic properties under high shear stress.

Silly putty is another great example. When stretched slowly, it flows. When stretched rapidly, it reaches catastrophic failure and fractures between molecules. There are some great videos on youtube of people dropping large balls of silly putty from the tops of buildings, causing the mass to explode upon impact.

By: Uncle Flo

Uncle Flo — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 18:13:22 +0000

My wife and I loved How to Train Your Dragon. I was impressed that the dragons were not all cute and cuddly. I too have trouble with 3-D. With my vision I can not experience the 3-D effect at all and not because I wear glasses, this, I am told, is common in older people. One more reminder of my age! Keep buying “garbage” it keeps our minds working on new things.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 22:40:45 +0000

The oobleck stuff is totally different from the stiffy stuff — the stiffy stuff is a gelling agent, which permanently turns a liquid into a rubbery solid, whereas the oobleck has a special name that I can’t remember right now that refers to its dual quality as a liquid in its normal state, but into a solid when rapid force is applied.

On the oobleck by the way, there’s a body armor that uses that idea where they’re suspending metal fibers in a heavy oil, so if you are moving at a normal speed, it’s totally flexible, but if you hit it fast (as in with a bullet) it suddenly turns hard.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 22:37:07 +0000

Jared – Very cool, turned out nicely for a first try! Let me know when you’ve made some progress on the music video because I’d love to check it out.

By: Neko

Neko — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:37:09 +0000

The corn starch/water mixture is often called Oobleck, which is what I thought of when I read about the “stiffy stuff”. Look it up on youtube, there are so many awesome videos of it. It’s fun to watch it when it’s near vibrations, like near a subwoofer. I wonder if the stiffy stuff does the same thing?

By: Shannon

Shannon — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:27:56 +0000

Yeah it is sort of a pain to wear glasses over glasses!

By: peteD3

peteD3 — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:27:39 +0000

pS: i cant stand all these new 3-D movies and the push of 3-D TVs….

but that only because i wear glasses! LOL

By: peteD3

peteD3 — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:25:23 +0000

some folks (myself included) are still trying to get that “stiffy stuff” for use in the tattoo shop.
what a great way of dealing with dangerous fluids!

By: Jared

Jared — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:23:10 +0000

totally off topic, but your rotoscoping inspired me to start working on a music video with some friends. 2 seconds of animation using pencil:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06bFQ72U_WM

By: Danielle

Danielle — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:42:37 +0000

There really isn’t anything wrong with “garbage” for a child who needs to learn and play. If they gain enjoyment out of it, I see it not as trash but as an experience instead.

By: choice

choice — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 08:29:58 +0000

how to train your dragon is AMAZING. my boyfriend and i saw the 2d version and fell in love with it.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 02:56:57 +0000

Siobhan, I saw a video of some guys that filled a small pool with that stuff, and you can actually run across it because the impact of your feet makes it solid, but if you slow down, you sink into the liquid. It’s quite amazing.

By: Siobhan

Siobhan — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:10:17 +0000

When I was teaching Kindergarten in Taiwan, I made some stuff with corn starch and water. It was awesome. When you kept moving it in your hands, it would be a solid and then when you stopped, it would become a liquid again. The kids had a blast with it.

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:18:04 +0000

My dad was always bringing home that kind of “garbage”, and it made for a great childhood filled with learning experiences. Far better than typical toys that require almost no interaction..

By: Leanna

Leanna — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:33:00 +0000

Although how to train your dragon looks like a kids movie my boyfriend and I loved it! Cute story, and a bunch of really great one-liners. Hope you enjoy it! :)

By: Anna-Maria

Anna-Maria — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:07:25 +0000

Saw the movie last weekend in 3D with an 8-and an 11-year old. We were all amazed with the 3D (which btw works much better for fully animated flicks- as we were not impressed by those effects in “Alice”). I’m sure you’ll love it!

By: Zandelion

Zandelion — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:31:48 +0000

So I guess you cant eat it after the powder is added?

And I like that you included an animated intro. Is that level of animation relatively fast for you now?
And since I didn’t comment on you’re Corso/Bomb video: It was really excellent, and full of interesting references. You can always tell when art is created by someone fully conscious of their mortality.

By: DON

DON — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 10:07:55 +0000

I love the level of detail you include in your posts about Nefarious growing up, and all the things you and she both did together. I’m sure she’ll love being be able to look back on it years from now and treasure all the memories.

I remember very little of my early childhood, and even the handful of black-and-white photos which have survived don’t trigger anything more than a few odd isolated instances. It’s not until around the time I started secondary school that I start remembering things in any real clarity or detail.

By: nikk

nikk — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 07:47:17 +0000

so the name thing wasnt just me then. thats good to know.

By: Uraniumhobo

Uraniumhobo — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 04:43:31 +0000

its so great reading all this fun stuff you get to do with your daughter, i hope when i become a dad i can be as great as you