James Wynn

My team of ninja monkey comic assassins have created the first of what is sure to be a long run of humoury goodness. It took a couple of hours to put this first comic together from start to finish, but I think it should come a lot easier after we get a few down.

I know. The monkeys see into the very depths of your soul. They own you.

I’m an avid fan of version control system such as subversion and cvs; the ability to have every change you make to your files automatically backed up is… addictive.

Most developers keep their source code and resources in a repository of some sort, but I hypothosized that this mechanism would work equally well with any other type of data. I figured that if it keeps my code safe, why can’t it keep all my other documents safe too? Instead of making weekly/monthly backups, I just automatically backup everytime something is changed. In addition this repository would allow me to easily access the most recent version of each of my documents from anywhere.

I decided to try it out for a couple months to see how it worked. I merged my documents from all 3 of the computers that I regularly work on into one repository. This was simple enough. Before I started working each day, I would just pull an update from the repo, and each time I updated a file or added a new resource I made a commit and kept on working. Some added benefits from this repo is that there is now never any fear of deleting files or making large changes.

The only downside to this system is its lack of integration. Perhaps with some customization of tortoiseSVN and some extra scripts I could further simplify the process. Whatever the necessary steps are though, I have decided this is a worthwhile investment. As far as I know there is no commercial product that provides this functionality. It would be appealling to see a product that allows you to manage your documents on an individual basis all across your system; integrated seemlessly into the desktop.

I urge anyone thats experienced with VCSs to try this and see how it works for them.

I’ve been spending all of my recent time on projects. I never understood why I had no free time, but I always just assumed it was school. Now its become apparent: 5 big projects + job = 0 free time. Then of course I stack classes on top of that…

At any rate, the projects I’m currently working on are pretty interesting:

Bion: Inspired by Wilhelm Reich III’s theory of Orgone energy, it merges art and technology. The display is made up of a cloud of small robots that communicate with each other and observers through flashes and beeps. There is also a software counterpart which will sit on your desk and provide similar interaction. I’m working on the desktop version.

EColi3D: The interworkings of a cell, even that of the simple Escherichia coli are so complex that it is difficult for students and researchers to visualize. The goal of this project is a tiered approach to creating an accurate modelling of not only the components that make up the E. coli cell, but the actual prcesses that they go through.

You might say thats only 4 projects, but much of my time is going into creating my new Blog www.saintonfire.com. Blogger has been holding me back too much and the call of the Tagged world has been pulling on me for some time.

日本語の練習をしなければならないよ。　僕の日本語方はまだ上手じゃないけど、もう勉強してる。　もし英語を習いたくたら、何かをよんでもいいよ。　FirstとSecondがめっちゃ正しい英語だ。　本当に。　笑！　授業があるから、またね～！

I’m not gonna give an English translation this time! Bwahahaha. You should still check the two links though, as they will provide enlightenment, education, and… and… Well just do it or your mother will love you less!