Book Review #16

American Bar Association: Legal Guide to Game Development
Ross Dannenberg (Editor)

I have always wanted to have my own video game development company. I just don't know how. All the books out there is simply a guide on how to build a generic business. That's not true. I found a book on how to run your own Food Truck. Somebody actually recommended a good book on video game company development. That book is out of print. This book is my substitute.

Unfortunately, it makes for a boring reading. I suppose lawyers are boring creatures. I understand the need for precise wording, but it's like, they have no imagination whatsoever. Oh, well. All the pertinent info are there. At least I think so, since I'm not a lawyer. The book does details the game development process from idea to implementation to execution. Of course, all the pertinent regulations are highlighted. The book does an admirable job explaining the laws as they affect the gaming development.

It has enough examples and exposition to make the issues clear to me. Well. It's just so boring, though. Of course, the value of this book isn't entertainment. It's legal advice, as close as you can get without actually consulting a lawyer. On that, the book succeeds. Give it a try. You may be surprised as just how many of those laws apply to a simple game development process.

Cooking Journal #16

Cooking Sushi

Probably not the best title. You're probably wondering: It's Sushi! What is there to cook? Actually, sushi refers to the vinegared rice or sumeshi. There are all kinds. Rolled sushi, finger sushi, scattered sushi, and pressed sushi.

The one I like to make is actually scattered sushi, which is vinegared rice in a bowl with ingredient scattered on top.

Finger sushi is the one you find in a good sushi restaurant. It takes skill to press sushi and meat just right.

Rolled sushi is the one you find in a supermarket. It's relatively easy to make, and makes a nice presentation. Better than the scattered sushi type.

I've never seen pressed sushi. I imagine it's a cheap industrialized kind.

The traditional way to cook sushi rice is with wooden bowl. Once the rice is cooked, dump it into a wooden bowl. Sprinkle vinegar+sugar mixture, while fanning vigorously. The rice will then have the proper texture and consistency while having illustrious sheen on the surface.

Does it matter? Having done it that way, I'd say yes. It makes for a better sushi rice. Of course, my motto is "cheap, fast, and easy" and so I don't usually bother doing any of that.

I also just cook my regular long-grain rice, instead of special sushi rice.

As soon as the rice is done, I fluff the rice using bamboo spatula while sprinkling vinegar a little bit. As you can see, I use it straight from the bottle. I don't bother mixing a special solution for it. And no, I don't use wooden bowl to do it.

The result is less than ideal, but close enough to the real thing, that I don't mind at all. Of course, you may have a different opinion about it.

Then I simply put the rice into a bowl and top it off with some meat I have on hand. That usually means hot-dog.

What? You expect maybe some special sashimi for it? ;)

Nintendo Journal #16

2 Bird Houses

Just a little something I pick up from Thrift stores. I'm using these as inpirations for craft projects. I had in mind using cardboard for the craft projects, but unfortunately, it petered out. Didn't work.

Oh, well. I'll think of something else. In the meantime, the left open birdhouse is used as pen holder. The right one is perched on top of my bookshelf.

Petit Computer Journal #16

Petit Computer Coral Maze

SmileBoom entry for Coral Maze

I wrote the Amazing Maze a while back, and bluerobin2 decided to make a game out of it. One thing led to another and before we know it, we have a full-fledge game on our hand.

SmileBoom was having a competition, and I entered this one. I was going to enter another game, but polishing this game, as simple as it is, took a long time, and I didn't finish my other game.

Still, I thought the fact that it was a spontaneous teamwork who never met in person would be interesting. It's a great feeling to be nominated! Kindly, SmileBoom has this to say about it:

"I've seen you everyone working together and making enjoying. It is one of the ideal way of PetitCom."

An obvious machine translation, but kind words, nevertheless.

There will be an entry in petit computer wiki, and I'll update the link when it happens.

http://petitcomputer.wikia.com/wiki/Maze_Generator

Raspberry Pi Journal #16

Installing Abiword

Leafpad is fine, if what you're doing is some light word-processor, without any fancy things. If you want to have graphics, though, you need something better. There's open office or Libre office. There's also Abiword and Gnumeric. Let's do the easy way first. Install Abiword!

The first thing I check is to see whether or not Abiword is installed:

which abiword

Not installed. Okay, so let's download the package

sudo apt-get install abiword

It'll go through the installation process, and will put a link on the desktop under Office. I decided to type something and add some graphic to it.

As you can see, AbiWord has multiple fonts, and the ability to add graphic. That's not all. It also has various capabilities, such as HTML markings, and epub export. I have book making ambition, remember? So, this capability is a big deal to me.

I don't have a scanner attached to my Raspberry Pi, yet, and there's no instruction on it. So, I don't plan to add some anytime, soon. I'm happy with my current set up of taking pictures with my 3DS and transfer it via SD card. I do batch transfer, though, so it's not like it's an everyday occurrence.

The printer setup is quite flexible. I'm not sure whether to credit AbiWord for it, or maybe CUPS printer driver. There is an option to print 2 or even 4 pages on one page, and it looks to be quite robust, with various options. I'm pretty happy with it.

And there it is, the double page print. It's quite charming to have, and I like it very much! I think AbiWord should be in everyone's toolbox, assuming you're not running it headless. If you install GUI for work, then you should definitely get AbiWord.

By the way, I eventually did installed Open Office, also known as Libre Office.

which libreoffice

Installing it:

1. sudo apt-get install openoffice.org
2. sudo apt-get install libreoffice

I always know it by the openoffice moniker, so imagine my surprise when it installed libre office! Ah, the constant march of progress!