Dragstarr website mockup January 30, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in blog, dragstarr games, preview, project utopia, website, zombie.add a comment
Here’s a sneak peak of the new Dragstarr games website. It should be live very soon, so watch this space!
Dragstarr animation January 26, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in after effects, animation, dragstarr games, logo, prototype, robot.3 comments
Here’s a prototype animation for the new Dragstarr games logo.
It was made out of bits of tape and cardboard, which were then composited in After Effects. I find it useful to make something physical rather than heading straight for the computer. Whether or not its the most productive way of doing things is another question, but at least it’s a lot of fun.
Innovation in the UK January 17, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in UK, fight the downturn, fund, innovations, nesta, report, spin off, university, vc.add a comment
Here’s an interesting report on the role of innovation in combatting the global recession. It was published by NESTA, the organisation reponsible for promoting innovation in the UK, so the report can be considered a useful indication of future policy.
There’s been rumours of a new fund, overseen by NESTA, to help cash starved university spin offs, and other key start ups, weather the storm of the global recession. Undoubtedly, these businesses will have an important role in the future prosperity of the UK, but the size of the proposed fund is mind boggling: £1 billion.
This might not seem much compared to the bank bail outs, but we’re talking about pre-revenue companies here, whose cost base it likely to be incredibly small. Even if 1000 start ups were deemed to be on the brink, that’s £1,000,000 each! Companies with greater funding requirements are likely to have already found it, not least because long term companies must plan at least 2 years ahead.
It remains to be seen whether such a fund will be created. But for small business owners who won’t be inline for such a hand out, it will be hard to palate.
Clim City: the coolest (or hottest) game ever? January 10, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in clim city, climate change, flash, gaming, god game.add a comment
The aim of Clim City is to avoid implending doom from climate change by taking decisions related to power plant builds, bio fuel developments and many other things, in a small (presumably French) town. It falls squarely in to the God Game genre, and is more than a little remiscient of Theme Park. But instead of getting your kicks from drowning unsuspecting guests, you get to save the world instead, and all from the confort of your web browser.
The only downside is it’s only available in French. Sacrebleu!
But as an example of what can be achieved with Flash, and a lot of ingenuity, in my opinion it is unsurpassed.
http://climcity.cap-sciences.net/#h
Internet woes January 10, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in domain, elephant collective, internet, rimple, rimple.org.1 comment so far
The internet is a crazy, crazy place; and never more so than when you’re trying to get a decent domain name! Squatters have made the problem even worse, as evidenced by browsing to a lot of taken domains, which stare back at you with ads and not a lot else. I hope someone intervenes some time soon, before I have to use some bizarre alpha numeric jumble like werh394834.com. In the end it wasn’t possible to get the .com domain, but I had to relent, otherwise I would’ve ended up with a really crappy name.
So after all that I ended up with rimple.org and rimple.co.uk.
Its a site to help entrepreneurs, designers and engineers meet other talented individuals who want to start a company, or get help in an existing venture.
As usual this is an elephant-collective project.
Peace out.
Fact of the day: Brazil January 10, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in Brazil, biofuel, bric, economy, ethanol, minerals.add a comment
Brazil hasn’t attracted as much attention as the others BRIC countries, especially India and China, but it’s just as remarkable. It’s already the 10th largest economy in the world, and at projected growth rates, it will soon be a world super power. It has the third largest civil aviation company in the world, after Boeing and Airbus. Its land mass is even greater than that of the States which gives it an extensive economic base from which to work on, with its large and diversified mineral reserves. And biodiesel and similar plant derived fuels already make up 40% of transportation fuel usage!
Gaza Conflict January 10, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in conflict, diplomacy, gaza, hyde park, israel, protest.add a comment
A mass rally took place in Hyde Park today in opposition to the continuing conflict between Israel and Palestine. Undoubtedly, the fighting has to stop, and a lot of people are calling for the US and UK to intervene, but sentiment before this conflict was very much against western powers meddling in the Middle East. Furthermore, there is very little that the US can do, because Israel was provoked by rocket attacks, and even though it has been heavy handed and overzealous in its retaliations, it did the same that any country would do in its position: it secured its borders, and its people, from further attack. There is talk that the US’s stance on the matter will result in an increased terrorist threat, but any retaliations against the US would have no plausible basis, for the reasons outlined above. The situation certainly calls for diplomacy, because it appears that neither side is willing to back down. But wholly anti Israel rhtetoric in this situation is wholly misplaced, as is pointing the finger at the US for not intervening. Wasn’t it only a few months ago that Russia stormed in to Georgia? The US and Nato did nothing then. We can only hope that the end to this conflict is equally swift, and no intervention is needed.
Note: these are my views, and my views only, based upon how the conflict has been portrayed in the British media.
Cultivate your peculiarities January 2, 2009
Posted by townsend51 in advice, career, cultivate your peculiarities.add a comment
This is the best advice that I can give anyone.
