If you were to flip a coin 10 times, and it comes up heads each time, you might think, “On the next flip, it’s SURE to come up tails – it’s due.” If you flip the coin 10 more times and again it comes up heads each time, you might think, “The next flip will surely be HEADS. Just look at the statistics.” Of course, we know that any flip has just as much chance as being heads as it does tails (assuming the coin is evenly weighted and symmetrical). So how many flips does it take to change our feeling about the next flip? Somewhere between 10 and 20 flips? (more…)
Archive for the ‘ZoomCreates.com’ Category
The Problem with Probability
Friday, January 22nd, 2010Resolution | Building A Better Coop
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010Fads. None of us are immune to them all the time, it’s just that some are easier to resist than others.
For instance, brown was never the “New Black” for me, it was just brown. Chickens, on the other hand, now those were a fad I just couldn’t pass up.
Fluffy Yellow Chicks? I’ll take 5 of those Silver Laced Wyandotte’s please! We’re allowed to have 3 hens, but I figured there might be some natural attrition. I also allowed for human error that 1 or 2 might turn out to be Roosters. We watched in awe as the chicks went from fluffy, to gawky to beautiful. Well, all but one of them. I would stand out by the run watching them, the sun glinting magically off their iridescent tail feathers and remark to my partner “Baby, they’re so pretty! Except that one, why is she so ugly?” And then, one day, we heard a tentative, garbled Rrrrr-rrrrr-rrrrr. The ugly one, it turned out was our only hen. (more…)
Getting Jollified
Friday, December 18th, 2009Hopefully everyone has had a chance to check out “Jollified” — Zoom’s Holiday AR application. I’ve had almost as much fun playing with it as I did working with the Zoomers to create it. This project truly was a collaborative effort and a learning experience for both Design and Development. We loved the idea of combining a new digital technology like Augmented Reality with something low tech and hands-on like letterpress printing. We took our inspiration for the design of the site from Letterpressed cards and incorporated the texture of the toothy paper, the scrolly flourishes, and the muted colors all used with that style of printing. We then had to figure out how to make something that we created digitally look like it had been printed by hand, one color at a time. We did some experimenting and learned a lot of techniques in Photoshop to replicate the effect that is achieved in Letterpress printing when the texture of the paper shows through the ink. With a letterpress printer you must print each color one at a time, this can result in a slight overlap when two colors are next to each other. So, we also figured out how to use Photoshop to create this look. But the real fun came when we started turning files over to the development team and began to collaborate with them to turn our old style look into a high tech application. If you haven’t already, definitely take minute to get Jollifed!
Get Jollified!
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009‘Twas the weeks before Christmas and all through The Zoom,
Zoomers were fighting off holiday gloom.
The projects were done, to the clients with care,
In hopes that AR would soon be there.
When out on the Internet arose such a clatter,
When asked, Zoomers said, “Why nothing’s the matter!”
Away to the laptops they flew in a flash,
Started the webcam and cleared all the cache.
Zoomers engaged in the holiday fun,
Added hats, beards and noses, each and everyone.
Twas a Jollified Christmas, brought straight from Zoom,
From there on out, no more holiday gloom.
From our stockings to yours, we are pleased to bring you Jollified, a festive holiday Augmented Reality flash application. Not unlike elves, we have been tinkering and fussing over Jollified for weeks, in the hopes of bringing you tidings of cheer and well wishes.
To get Jollified, please watch the video below and then visit the official Jollified website. Play around, snap a photo of your Jollified creations and share the merry with family and friends.
‘Tis the season to get Jollified!
Stopwatch for Cubers ver 2.0
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009What do you know? I did get around to updating my timer. Introducing Cube Clock 2.0 for Rubik’s Cubers (and other cubes) with fancy new graphics, sounds, and a settings screen. See Stopwatch for Cubers for the original version.
If you want to study your cube before the time starts, click the SETUP button to specify how many seconds you would like to study. The default is 0 which means the time starts as soon as you release the space bar (or click the START button). You can also toggle sounds on or off.
Let me know if you would like to see any features in the next version. And, of course, post your times in the comments.
What a tasty flash game…
Thursday, November 26th, 2009Here’s a game for all ya’ll just in time for the big turkey day. Feel free to download the .fla file and see how this game is built. Don’t forget to post your scores in the comments!
Here is the FLA file.
Showcase: OregonDairyPix.com
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Today I’d like to showcase another website that was recently launched.
OregonDairyPix.com is a photo blog that we set up for the Dairy Farmers of Oregon. You can upload pictures of dairy if you live in Oregon, and if your picture is chosen as the winner, then you get a prize.
We wrote some custom code for this site, where you can upload images (jpg only) and crop your image with jQuery. This makes for an easy way for us to recieve pictures that are already in the correct aspect ratio to be shown on the photo blog. So, the admins at oregondairypix.com have one less thing thing to do, cropping images and re-uploading them to the servers.
Stopwatch for Cubers
Thursday, November 12th, 2009A while ago I built a simple Flash app for people who can solve a Rubik’s Cube (or other cube brand). Other apps that I’ve seen require that you use the mouse to click the start and stop buttons. That can add a few extra seconds to your time. On my solution, the Cube Clock, the time starts when you pick up the cube from the keyboard, releasing the space bar. Then when you’re finished solving the cube, just tap the space bar again and the timer will stop.
Some timers have a feature that allow you to examine the cube for 15 seconds before the time starts. I might add that feature into the next version (if there is a next version). So, get your cube out and try out this timer. And be sure to post your time in the comments area.
Object Layer Options in InDesign
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009A few weeks ago, I was shown an InDesign feature (by a designer that shall remain nameless) that I never knew existed. It’s called Object Layer Options, and it lets you control which layers are visible when you place a layered Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign or Acrobat (pdf) document into InDesign. I don’t know how I ever got along without it, as I’ve used it on numerous occasions in just the past few weeks.
Say, for example, I have a Photoshop document containing multiple layers that I want to place into InDesign. To show its different layers, I no longer need to use Photoshop to turn off all the layers except the one I want visible and save a separate file for each layer. Now, I can just place this ONE file multiple times and choose which layer(s) I want showing in each instance.
You can either do this after you have placed the file or as you are placing the file. If you have already placed the file, select the picture box containing the file and click Object > Object Layer Options…
(Right clicking on the picture box also brings up the Object Layer Options…)
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Then choose which layer you want to show by clicking on or off the eyeball icon.
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You can also choose which layer you want showing when you initially place the image.
In the Place dialogue box in the bottom left corner, check Show Import Options.
When you select your file and click Open, another dialogue box will open in which you can choose which layer you would like showing.
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Hope this saves you some time in the future!
Happy Halloween from the Dev team.
Thursday, October 29th, 2009Here are a nice couple of pumpkin things we made in blender. Feel free to download the blend files and see how we made these happen!
