Jamie's Blog

Question
What is the difference between raster and vector graphics?

Answer
While raster graphics are based on pixels, vector graphics are based on mathematical forumlas. When you see a gif (jiff), jpeg (jay-peg), png (ping [i think]), or bmp (bitmap), you are seeing an image which is based on pixel-by-pixel information. The difference between these formats has to do with color-depth, compression, and lossiness.

There are however, formats which are based on mathematical formulas such as svg, eps, ps (postscript), and swf (flash). Instead of representing an image in terms of groups of pixels, these represent the image in terms of groups of shapes, such as ellipsoids, polygons, and bezier curves.

The advantage that vector has over raster is that images can be zoomed to any degree of precision, which is useful in print, where raster images can take up hundreds of megs of space.

To illustrate my point, here is the image from my previous entry, zoomed to different degrees. Notice how crisp each image remains.

Zooming closer to the boy…

Still closer…

Topic: Adobe Illustrator

Question
How did Jamie draw that picture in his previous entry?

Answer
The short answer is that I traced over another image using Adobe Illustrator (a vector-based graphical tool). It’s not as easy as it sounds though. Get ready for the long answer:

Here is the original image Precious Moments.

First, I added the image to an illustrator document and changed it’s parent layer to a “template” layer, which (to my best knowledge) is used for tracing. A template layer is locked and can be dimmed so that it doesn’t interfere with the drawing of other layers.

Illustrator features an “outline” mode that lets you draw unhindered by the other layers you’ve drawn. Here is an image of the outlines of the picture.

Each seperate shape you see is composed of an individual stroke style and fill style. Each shape, each fill style, each stroke style, is stored as some mathematical combination (as described above) allowing for magnification to any degree.

Each seperate shape is also a seperate layer. There are over 100 layers/shapes in this image.

The poem that follows the outline of the couple was created by merging the shapes of the other images into one shape, and then by expanding that by about 20-40 points (i cannot recall the exact number).

Here is one of the flowers the girl is holding magnifyed.

Even a simple flower takes six shapes, five circles and a weird curvy sort of shape for the stem.

As part of the prize for being the winning couple, SiLiVTguyQT & Petezmaru will be commemorated on my site with this picture [click to see it in full-size, it looks crappy at this width] and this poem:

Sit with me darling and stay awhile.
It’s just you and I, and our basket full of love.
We gathered it together through all the months and years and through all of the trials we’ve faced together;
just you and I, and our basket full of love.
Hold me now, while we’re here, together,
just you and I, and our basket full of love.
Tell me you love me and that you always will;
just you and I, and our basket full of love.

by jamie ly (of course)

At lunch, PhillyTrai was talking about how a few people I know, like HoLangJai, JadedStaccato, and Muujuujuu may be related to ancient Chinese royalty! That’s totally cool, but Prince William is related to Dracula (and that is uber-cool).

My Extravaganza! <1 Day Left>
(12.13.2003, 6PM, ???? Chestnut St.)

okay, so there is only one day left. i hope the couples playing in the games will have a good time with what i have planned. be at my apt by 8 o’clock. i also hope that those of you who are coming but not playing will not be so bored that you leave.

How to get to ???? Chestnut Street

From in front of Creese student center, walk 7 blocks up towards the higher numbered streets (towards upenn). my building is called ??? hall. call me.

that’s it. durh.

Couples who aren’t actually couples…

Yes, while it’s true that some of the couples aren’t actually couples (ie: team homoerotic), that doesn’t mean that its biased towards actual couples. As sunny said, actual couples are best friends anyway, so it shouldn’t really matter anyway. I’m not saying that Team Homoerotic won’t be a challenge to beat, but it’s definitely within your grasp Sunny, (and all those other couples that truly want to win). You may have been speaking more about the female couples, but they may have problems doing the dirty things. This is why you really have to watch out for Team Homoerotic, which will be willing to do anything (judging from past experiences). If you have further arguments against the same sex couples, please voice them and I will consider leveling a handicap against them.

Food

I expect most of you to come at six unless you have a previous engagement or you’re having dinner somewhere else. For those that will be there by six, I will order pizza at 6:15 for those who are at my apt, and for those who’ve told me they’re coming before 7:30. By 8 o’clock, we should begin playing.

Party Updates:
1. Marky has declined the offer to participate, so that leaves an open position. Please notify me if you know of a good couple that deserves to play!
2. I am making final preparations for the competition, such as writing descriptions of the events, gathering prizes and such (they wont be as impressive as I had originally hoped).
3. If you would like to get me f*cked up tomorrow night, it has to be after the games.
4. The best gift you can give me is to come, enjoy yourself, particpate in the games, and do your damned best.
5. There will be real-time updates of the scores for each team, so if any of you xangans are bored that night, you might wanna check out the scores…in real time!

[flash swf?removed]

My Extravaganza! <2 Days Left>
(12.13.2003, 6PM, ???? Chestnut St.)

Party updates:

1. Peter and Tuan have teamed up to form Team Homoerotic.
2. Jenny and Ming were invited to take the open spot, but they have previous engagements they need to attend to.
3. Marky has been invited to take the spot. His acceptance is pending.

BenXiaoHai and I would like to wish all of you Xanga-goers a very merry christmas. Well, actually, he kind of resisted, but the spirit of the season eventually won him over.

You had to see it coming….Pete was right…

it’s a bit jerky, but wtf do you want me to do? spend all day on it?

the scary thing is that his breasts are actually pretty close to that size.

Vi’s head is bigger not only b/c he is bighead, but because i didn’t want to cut the other dude’s head off… it would’ve taken like 15 min extra…

Since Vi actually did link the fat kid site, i provided a box to hide his curves a bit.

Updates
1. James and his girl will not be participating in the games. I guess they’re afraid of losing!
2. Tony and Annie will be invited to take his place. Update: Tony and Annie have accepted the challenge.
3. Make sure you refresh my page when you come to check out the teams board. You should not be able to move the teams around. If so, you have an older version.
4. This is not a game. It is merely a scoreboard.

Anyone like videogames? Free subscription to EGM: http://www.slickdeals.net/#p3944

My Extravaganza! <2 Days Left>
(12.13.2003, 6PM, ???? Chestnut St.)

Ok, after several hours of mods, I got my flash thing to appear on xanga (for your pleasure). If I have your email address, you should’ve recieved a password. Using this, you can change your team’s name. If loading stalls, refresh the page.

[Flash Movie Removed]

Since Rob put a funny flash movie on his site, i will have to do the same. this one is funnier though: http://www.punkvoter.com/anim/anim-idiot.html

Fat Asian Kid.

When you go to someone’s birthday, there is sometimes aprehension about the birthday affection. If you’re not the hugging kind of person, here are some alternatives:

The butt pat.
The belly rub.
The eskimo kiss.
The crotch shake.

In case you’re wondering what to bring to the party, here is what not to bring:

Body odor.
A kid sister.
Your decrepit mother.
Vaginal fungus.

My Extravaganza! <5 Days Left>
(12.13.2003, 6PM, 3900 Chestnut St.)

The teams: http://www.angelforge.com/bd2003/gui.swf

Since Rob put a funny flash movie on his site, i will have to do the same. this one is funnier though: http://www.punkvoter.com/anim/anim-idiot.html

Don’t just read my Xanga, comment on it too, f*ckers. Tell me how f*cking funny I am!

As we approach the day of my extravaganza (thats right I’m giving extra Vaganza–what a deal), a celebration of that most blessed of days, my birth, I thought i’d make things easier on you with this next entry.

So…here are things both girls and boys can write in my birthday card (hey, offers are flattering. No, I’m not gay.)

Jamie, you stride the world like a colossus.

Jamie, will you marry me?

Jamie, you are the alpha and the omega.

Jamie, I want to start a cult in your honor. I shall call it Jamieism and we’ll sacrifice chicken heads to you on alters drenched with blood.

Jamie, the combined attributes of the depth of your heart and your raw hotness are only surpassed by the fiery bowels of the Earth.

Jamie, please seed my first child (I don’t know if this could work for a boy; I wouldn’t want to try.)

Jamie, remember that time we were playing Mario Bros, and I climbed that beanstalk? I wish I had been climbing you.

Jamie, when I think of how smart you are, it makes me want to drop you into a meat grinder and process you into sausage links. I could resell you at a huge markup and call my product, Intello-Links–guaranteed to increase one’s intelligence. Then, I’d start a software firm by the same name and get rich. I’d hang your portrait in the lobby.

Jamie, how about a threesome?

Jamie, at first I thought DaAznAngel was kind of a gay screenname–then, I started to get to know you and I was like, ‘Chyeah! He is the asian angel!’

Jamie, when I think of you, it makes me want to pee.

Jamie, when I think of you, I need to grab a fistful of tissues.

Jamie, I dreamt of you once as Captain of the Enterprise. Not the original, but Jean-Luc’s Galaxy class. Remeber the episode where he was assimilated by the borg? I wouldn’t want that to happen to you.

Jamie, I need a sample of your sperm. I already have Tony’s, and by recombinating the two specimens and fertilizing a donated egg, I can create a race of super-intelligent Asian women with huge breasts.

Jamie, you’re the true ubernerd. It’s like they amputated and harvested parts from lesser nerds to build you. You’re like Dr. Frankenerd’s Monster.

And the best thing someone can write….

Jamie, I love you.

My party goers, click here to see a list of couples who will be playing for title of “Best Couple.” http://dusers.drexel.edu/~asian/bd2003/gui.swf

This is version 1 of my party-competition interface. I tested the login on my laptop and it worked fine, but I believe the dusers server uses a older version of PHP, so my scripts may need to be modified.

CS/IS/Computer-Related FAQ

Topic: My Party Competition Interface

Question
What did you use to build the interface? How does it work?

Answer
Well, you should all have realized that the graphical user interface (GUI) is presented in Flash SWF format. A discussion on how flash works is beyond the scope of this lesson; suffice it to say that it is a wonderful medium for web-based multimedia.

Each person, along with their email address, full name, and password is stored in a database table called ‘People’. Each of these people has a unique numerical identifier.

Each team, along with the numerical identifier corresponding to the captain of the team and his/her partner, their team name, and score, is stored in a database table called ‘Teams’. Each of these teams has a unique numerical indentifier.

Using PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP), the database is queried, and class objects corresponding to each Person and each Team are created.

These objects are sent to an XML Renderer, where their attributes are parsed into XML. To see the Renderer in action click one of the following links: View All People | View All Teams.

Flash loads this dynamically generated XML and generates its own internal objects representing each person and each team.

A movieclip instance for each person is created within Flash, as well as for each team, and the results are displayed as what you see.

Okay, here is the reeaaaaaaaaaal lisa-bear!! boo boo ba beary bearkins!!

The Bear Song

La la la la la, La la la la la
Ohhhhh….bear bear bear, I wub you
bear bear bear, I doooo…
bear bear bear, I need you
bear bear bear, it’s truuuuuu!

Chorus

Bear bear bear, you’re purty
bear bear bear, you’re kind
bear bear bear, you’re nerdy,
bear bear bear, you’re fiiiiiiine!!

Chorus

Outtro
Boo bear, be bear, bay bear, box bear, buy bear, byn bear, bon bear, bye bear….

Chorus
Bear bear bear,
bear bear bear,
bear bear bear,
bear bear bear,
bear bear bear,
bear bear bear,
bear bear bearrrrrr!

Note: Yang, you are a panda bear, not a regular bear.

My Extravaganza! <24 Days Left>
(12.13.2003, 6PM, ???? Chestnut St.)

Every few days, I’ll have tips for you couples that will help you win the competition (only those invited to compete will be competing, sorry i don’t have room to let everybody play–getting invited is different than getting invited to compete)!

Tip 9: Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. Otherwise any crushed eggs will translate to crushed dreams.

To be the best pair you’ll need teamwork, determination, empathy, respect, and trust–can you keep your eggs from getting crushed?

My Extravaganza! <25 Days Left>
(12.13.2003, 6PM, ???? Chestnut St.)

Every few days, I’ll have tips for you couples that will help you win the competition (only those invited to compete will be competing, sorry i don’t have room to let everybody play)!

Tip 7: They’re not just for eating.

To be the best pair you’ll need teamwork, determination, empathy, respect, and trust–can you make full use of a banana?