lardbucket: blog

In under three weeks since it was launched, GraphSketch has now been used to create (over) 10,000 graphs. It also has had over 3,500 visitors, coming from every continent except Antarctica, though many visitors haven’t graphed anything (and many visitors have graphed far more than average). Work on new features (parametric and polar graphing, among others) will likely resume after school is over, as I still have three finals remaining, and am now off to continue studying for a math final.

At any rate, thanks to everyone who has promoted GraphSketch in one place or another for making it so successful.

Andy Schmitz

P.S. If you have any suggestions for GraphSketch itself, the original post on it is still probably the best place to leave them, as I’ll check back there for ideas when I’m working on it. Thanks!

So, I spent the last few days working on GraphSketch, a new, free, online grapher. It’s available at http://graphsketch.com/ . Go check it out for a minute. Try graphing something like “(x-3)(x+10)(x-14)/100” or “tan(pi*x/10)“. I’ll wait.

Done? That’s pretty much it: Enter an equation, choose some settings, and graph it. There are a number of functions you can use to plot, you can save the graphs to use later (in documents, worksheets, etc.), you can create a permanent link to them to share with others, and a few other nice little things (like getting a quick graph by going to an address like http://graphsketch.com/sqrt(x) ). Details on how below.

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Andy Schmitz

With a spoon, of course. Well, when that’s the only utensil you have, anyway.

I mean, why not? It works. (Don’t worry, we used the spoon end most of the time.) And yes, pumpkin seeds need salt. Or brownie mix, as the case may be. Take your pick. (No, really. It’s good. Try it.)

Other notes for the future: Check to make sure the oven doesn’t have food on the bottom that will potentially burn, and when it does, turn on the fan first, then open the door. People will stop by to ask, “Is something on fire?” anyway.

Andy Schmitz

Hey, new stuff!

(If you’re reading via RSS, you really need to head over here.)

So, it’s a new design. That only took, what, four years? The last month or so of delays was mostly because I couldn’t get the headers to be in the right font (DejaVu Sans) too easily. I ended up using sIFR 3 for it, but despite it being a completely free (in both senses) font, Linux is the only major operating system to include it by default. So, I ended up using sIFR. We’ll see how it works, and I’ll decide whether the fraction-of-a-second increase in page load times is worth it. I think so, but any comments would be appreciated.

The layout itself is a bit complicated, and I spent a week or so working on the CSS to get it to work in various browsers. Interestingly, it does appear to work (mostly) in most browsers (recent versions of Firefox, Safari, Opera, and (eek) Internet Explorer are all fine). The ground along the bottom rises up on short pages in Internet Explorer 6, but not 5.5 or 7. (Though, really, if you’re using Internet Explorer, you should at least upgrade to version 7, or preferably Firefox, or even Safari.)

The images for the layout were created using entirely free software, mostly the GIMP (on Ubuntu). Anything that looks hand-drawn actually is hand-drawn, using a Wacom Bamboo Fun (except the dirt and vine, as those had to be tiled, so those are Bezier curves).

So, if something in the layout seems out of place, or horribly wrong in general, please leave me a comment and let me know so I can investigate. Mention which browser you’re using, and which operating system, if possible. Thanks!

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*For this bit, anyway.

In the meantime, you may find pictures from last Friday’s beach visit interesting, or perhaps Tommy’s more verbose (and often embellished) post would suit you.

From glen to glen, and down the mountainside.
The summer’s gone, and all the roses falling.
[...]

And I, too, must go.
Andy

Well, this was written way back when it seemed like a good idea, and it’s finally polished enough to actually release. Yay, something I actually finished!

On the off chance you might have some recycling that needs to be taken out (and you should..), this random little tool will let you set up a weekly reminder (an SMS message, actually) to actually get it out to the curb. It’s been working for me (and a few others) for several months now, so I’m fairly sure it’s stable.

So, if you’re (partially) responsible for getting your recycling out, go head over and sign up right now at Recycling Reminder. You’ll need a standard cellphone of some sort. It’s completely free, though clicking the ads now and then gets me a few pennies, if you’d like.

Please email me or leave a comment (or something) if you happen to find it useful, have a problem, or anything else. Thanks!

Andy

What happened to the old, existing protocols for everything? Why did JSON and Web 2.0 replace lightweight protocols for chat, discussions, and communication?

It’s not that the new alternatives aren’t necessarily any good (though some of them are missing features or tend to be unavailable), but that their functions already existed, for the most part. Strange.

Andy

Edit: Added Chatterous. Also, okay, “Y’all these days.” As apparently many of y’all aren’t kids.

So, Tommy covered the other video, but there’s at least one more good video of Frisbie singing on the way to Scholastic Bowl. In this one, he does a rendition of Michael Bublé’s “Feeling Good,” along with Chris. I’m not sure if it quite qualifies as a duet, but we’ll go with it. I think there are a few other ones from that trip, but we’ll see what I can find that has any quality at all.

Anyway, I figured it’d been long enough since my last post, and I should probably get this one up.
Andy Schmitz

I was a little unnerved when nobody wanted to see my ID, but not entirely surprised. However, I knew it was bad when I went to a 4-H meeting and the 10 year-old next to me had the same sticker.

Andy Schmitz