Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!mcnc!ece-csc!ncrcae!ncr-sd!hp-sdd!hplabs!well!ewhac From: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Killer Demo Contest Message-ID: <3555@well.UUCP> Date: Wed, 15-Jul-87 02:15:16 EDT Article-I.D.: well.3555 Posted: Wed Jul 15 02:15:16 1987 Date-Received: Fri, 17-Jul-87 06:10:23 EDT References: <385@rocky.STANFORD.EDU> <3472@well.UUCP> <1114@knopfler.munsell.UUCP> <878@hp-sdd.HP.COM> Reply-To: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) Organization: Hole Earth 'Lectronic Loss (or words to that effect) Lines: 82 Summary: What makes me tick? In article <878@hp-sdd.HP.COM> nick@hp-sdd.UUCP (Nick Flor) writes: >>In article <3472@well.UUCP> ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) writes: >> You realize, of course, that I consider this a personal challenge... >> >>Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape ihnp4!ptsfa -\ > >Hey man, like, what motivates you to do these cute little projects that have >no real utility. They're clever and interesting, but appear to be quite time >consuming. You're not getting paid, are you? > >What gives? > >Nick No real utility: They *are* useful. They make you giggle. They make you laugh. They make you reverse-snort tuna salad sandwiches. Clearly, such works will have a lasting social impact. Time consuming: Not really. The actual code writing never seems to take more than two or three days. Robotroff was an exception; that one took about ten days. The only real time consuming part is thinking up the idea and implementation, and for me, that's a background task that's always running no matter what I'm doing, although more ideas tend to flow when I'm listening to music. By the way, when VideoScape 3D becomes available, *watch out!* I have *TONS* of ideas for videos that I've accumulated over the years..... [ Note: #define day {coding session lasting from about 8 PM - 1 AM} ] Paid: Since I do these goodies during my free time, I still have plenty of time to go out and earn a living, which I've been doing of late with a *WONDERFUL* company called UmeCorp. My boss, Gary Koffler, used to help run both DataSoft and DataMost (at different time, of course). My other boss, Mike Miller, was president of Waveform, the people who brought C-64 owners MusiCalc and The ColorTone Keyboard. UmeCorp also brought you MusiCraft (now called Sonix). Gary has also informed me that there is now an unofficial company mandate to help me win the Killer Demo Contest. This, however, runs counter to my belief that it really ought to be individuals, not companies or large groups of people, expressing their love for the Amiga through demos. Notwithstanding, the fact that UmeCorp *is* willing to help me indicates that these hacks must have *some* practical value. I also write hacks as an educational process for myself; to see if a new idea for software technology will work. With Robotroff, it was to make use of the "fork this sucker into the background" routine in a transparent way. With Viacom, it was to utilize the blitter directly. With Oing, it was trying to figure out how to animate six identical sprites without having to keep 36 copies of sprites around. With Ing, it was tripping through the window list, and also seeing if I could double-buffer an Intuition screen neatly. I also do it for fun, and for the positive feedback I've received. It's also a form of electronic resume. Many have suggested that I go commercial. That day may be soon coming. However, few people would have known about my expertise if I hadn't started throwing my code around, and I wouldn't have the offers before me I do now. I have had several ideas for an entry into the BKDC. A lot of implementation details started popping into my head for one of them, so I guess that one will be the one I use. I'll probably only score 90 with it, though, since I'm very bad at using sound, and will probably use it minimally. I'm doing it because I want to, because I think it will be fun (and because I'll get flamed to a crisp if I don't :-) ). Gee, this got long-winded. Sorry 'bout dat. I'm not getting defensive, really. It just came out of my modem that way. I think my .signature says it all: "I'm just having fun." [ P.S: You realize, of course, that most of this is 'inews' filler in disguse.... :-) :-) :-) ] _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape ihnp4!ptsfa -\ \_ -_ Bike shrunk by popular demand, dual ---> !{well,unicom}!ewhac O----^o But it's still the only way to fly. hplabs / (pronounced "AE-wack") "Work FOR? I don't work FOR anybody! I'm just having fun." -- The Doctor