Free ebook from Packt Publishing

Hi All,

Packt Publishing is giving away a free book to anyone that signs up for an account this weekend. They have a great choice of programming and tech related books. It is only good until September 30th, so get in on it soon!  Check it out here:

http://www.packtpub.com/

Home Automation-Smart Everything?

I have been interested in home automation for years.  I have done a fair amount of research and I plan on implementing some different things in my house.  A Nest thermostat is going to be my first purchase.  I plan on adding motion detectors for lights in the house.  I am also going to put speakers throughout the house and on the covered front porch and the back deck.

There is a new device I just read about called Electric Imp that looks amazing.  Appliance makers can add a port for about $1 and the device itself is about the size of an SD card and should be available for about $25.  If they can sell some manufacturers and really get some market penetration, it could really move the era of connected home devices into the future.

Finished the Matching Engine

I finished the core matching engine last night.  You can match tiles and it drops the above tiles into place and generates new values for the top tiles.  I cleaned up the code and commented it.  I posted it on the Monkey code forums.  I have learned so much there.  I hope maybe the code will help someone that is new to Monkey learn a few things.

Now it is time to start on the gameplay and putting graphics into the engine.  I think I am going to use the Diddy framework for the game.  I am going to spend a couple of days going through it and seeing if I want to go that route.  I want to be able to release this for most of the platforms available on Monkey so I want to have autoscaling resolution in from the get go.

I have also been reading the Monkey book I posted about.  I am already 25% of the way through.  The book has good structure and I think it is good for someone that knows how to program and is just beginning with Monkey.

Link to Code

Monkey Game Development-Book Review Coming Soon

Packt Publishing was kind enough to supply a review copy of Michael Hartlef's new book on programming games with Monkey.  I am excited to get started reading this.  I will be providing a review in the next few weeks.  Here is a link to take a look and purchase if interested.

Monkey Game Development: Beginner's Guide

Coding a Game-With Monkey

One of my favorite games to play on my iPhone when I have a little downtime is Dungeon Raid. It is a lot of fun.  You match swords, shields & potions and they help you upgrade your equipment and killing monsters let you upgrade your hero.  The dragging motion to match is fun and satisfying.  I thought it would be fun to code something like this on a bigger scale where the game portion leads to more options, kind of a cross between Puzzle Quest and Dungeon Raid.

My initial thoughts are to have a turn that is comprised of phases.  Phase 1 would be matching to gain resources like wood, gold, stone & food.  Phase 2 would be using those resources to upgrade your kingdom. Phase 3 would be a research phase where you match to gain points for spell and technology research. Finally, Phase 4 would be a conquest phase where you have a world map and can expand your kingdom by conquering territories.

I have started the matching engine in Monkey.  It is in the preliminary stages, but the matching portion is functional.  I will start expanding out from there once I polish the matching engine a little more.  To be honest, finishing projects isn't my strong point, but I am going to work hard to make progress on this.

Nokia Lumia 900

I have been an iPhone user since the first one came out.  I have had each model since then.  There is a lot to like about the iPhone, but I have been following the new version of Windows Phone closely since its introduction.  My wife has the Samsung Focus and loves it.  The OS itself has generally gotten rave reviews. When Microsoft and Nokia announced that they were partnering I was very excited.  Nokia has a reputation for making some of the best phone hardware in the world.  The Lumia 900 was just released in the US on AT&T.  I have considered getting one.  Only $99 on contract for a flagship smartphone is pretty impressive.  Here is a review of the 900.

Amazing Device for Paraplegics

This device is incredible! It allows a paraplegic to do so many things that they couldn't accomplish with a wheelchair. It allows them to stand and move and leave their hands free so that they can do many normal activities.  There is a video here.  Very amazing!  I can see this improving the lives of so many.

Self Healing Plastic

Technology is incredible. A new plastic has been developed that turns red when it is damaged and repairs itself when placed in bright light, either sunlight or artificial.  There have been similar attempts but they can usually only repair themselves one time.  This one can do it repeatedly. The applications for this are virtually unlimited.  Every time that I see something like this I am amazed at what we are capable of developing.

Self Healing Plastic

BrowserQuest - Web Browser Based MMO

One of my interests is game development.  I have experimented with it as a hobby for years.  I have been a huge fan of the Blitz Research family of products for the last 10 years.  Their latest project is called Monkey.  It is a cross platform tool that allows you to code once and publish to many different platforms.  Some of them are: iOS, Androind, PC, Mac, XNA and HTML5.  HTML 5 is pretty exciting from a gaming perspective because it gives programmers a powerful tool to write web browser based games.  Here is a link on Ars Technica about a browser based MMO that was specifically written to show the power of the platform.

BrowserQuest

And here is a link to anyone interested in checking out Monkey.  There is a free demo available:

Monkey

Why The Blog?

Hi all and welcome to Eclectic Cogitations! I have a broad range of interests and there are so many fascinating things that I find myself wanting to share.  I normally send links to friends and post some things to Facebook, but I don't like to spam anyone so I thought I could post about interesting things here and anyone that is interested can check it out from time to time.