YesWheely

A while ago the postman delivered a package. What was unusual was his grin and the fact the parcel easily could have gone through the post box. There was no need for human interaction. Unnecessary people, all small talk, and people generally are annoying.

The package was for 'Steven Von Poopenstinker'.

Oh how he and my wife laughed.

What I did was: Did some cute graphics for a website promoting the no-nonsense corporate business software that von poopenstinker and Danielle have been developing.


Then  joked about how we can use them like merchandise. Like the insurance company that gives customers a meerkat toy. I thought that would be funny so I found someone on Etsy to make some toys...





I sent them to the office addressed to Danielle enclosed was a note: "Von sends his regards."

I love their expressions. They are pretty cute really.

We need to manufacture them in the thousands for our marketing campaign. Consumer focussed Asbestos and Fire Safety services.

It's been a while since the last post. I've mainly been working which is only an interesting topic to half of the regular readers of this blog.

Yesterday we took a train to London. Originally we were going to go to meet my brother at Oxford Street to see the Christmas decorations, shop window displays, and then join the Hanukkah celebrations at Trafalgar square. We ended up being a bit late so we just went to the square and then ate at Garfunkle's. Which was way touristy but really warm inside which was ideal for my frozen extremities as it is for the foreign workforce. Ahah sorry I went a bit UKIP there... We'll go back to worship the corporations next week.

I got given a donut and a Menorah. Donuts are definitely better than wafer thin bits of stale bread.
Judaism is definitely the religion with the best tasting food.

We were invited to a very close friend of mines wedding over the weekend. It was in Aylesbury. So the day before my wife and I travelled to High Wycombe -the nearest Premier Inn. (Who I must say are pretty good with wheelchair user guests especially in the one near the Empire in London (Shepherds Bush). -this wasn't a paid for advertisement) It was to be a weekend plagued with transport problems.

When we reached Waterloo things started to go wrong. The rail assistance guy was useless and felt he had to repeatedly say "You don't pay extra for rail assistance." Like that somehow made up for his inability to problem solve. I didn't bother to point out that in actuality rail assistance is subsidised by the cost of rail tickets. His idea of travel assistance was to lead us to Waterloo Tube Station where the guy at the entrance informed us that the destination or the surrounding stops had no step free access. He said "right then ok well make your own way." Or something. Luckily then someone from the underground came to offer more help. -eg took us to a bus stop and said wait for 489 or something.

This inconvenience wasn't much of a problem. The problem was I'd bought the tickets for the underground and when I booked the assistance I was told "If the underground is not accessible we'll arrange a taxi for you." Next time I travel to marylebone I won't buy underground tickets.

Artists impression.

So yeah we got to High Wycombe and the assistance was great there. They called a taxi for us and one of them waited with us. He was Ryan and he was really friendly and chatted with us while we waited. He paid for the taxi out of his own money which was pretty decent.

The next day I was travelling to the ceremony in Aylesbury. I was going alone and meeting up with my wife at the reception. Because of her pain condition. Bus 300 took  ~58mins to reach Aylesbury and I could, or so I thought, board at Morrisons. So I left the hotel just after 10am. I was supposed to be early to meet my Dad and Sister in the pub opposite.

I'm at the stop and the bus pulls in the doors pop open. "I'm taking a buggy [pram] there's no space." I reply "But wheelchairs have preference." Because that's the law of the land. "No you don't." Snarks the bus driver. "Take the train." So I ask. "What's your full name and employer?" Then the doors shut and he drove off.

These aren't the actual words. But that's how it seemed.

So I went to take the train. It wasn't a direct train and it only came every hour. So I was late. I arrived as they left! Oh and I was cold and wet because as soon as the bus driver refused to let me on it started to rain. Which was completely the bus company's fault!

Ok so why should the pram move? Because it's f...ing possible. You fold up the pram and hold the baby on your lap.

"But my pram doesn't fold." Well f...ing don't get on the bus till you have one that does, or relinquish the space voluntarily.

But what if the bus already had a wheelchair user on, you would still be upset?

"There are around 1.2 million wheelchair users in the UK, roughly 2 per cent of UK population"

"Less than 8 per cent of disabled people use wheelchairs."

(<8% of ~20% so < 2%)

Friday began with a trip to the Golden Arches to get a couple McMuffins. Which I brought home and we ate. I fell asleep with my head on the table. At lunchtime Sarah from the newspaper came around to take some photographs. http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/spooktacular-flat-is-transformed-into-a-halloween-haven-1-6392102 There was also a story here:
http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2014-10-31/terminally-ill-couple-decorate-whole-house-for-halloween/

In the evening we went out for a meal and to watch a movie. To celebrate Halloween and our 2nd wedding anniversary. Originally we were going to leave at around 5-6. However, there was someone who came trick or treating so we decided to wait until later to leave.

We headed out. It could just be this area but 3-4 times on the way to where we were going we got some unnecessary attention. Pointing, laughing, and stuff.

It continued throughout the night. A was really upset by one encounter on the way from the restaurant to the cinema. (A short distance, some may say a stones throw away.) There was a group of people, Revellers even, one of them jumped in front of her - so she stopped. "Oh my god, isn't she just disgusting, look at her she makes me sick..." he was part of a group of about a dozen and no one thought to stop what was happening.

We went to see Horns which was an interesting film. It begins well and it hooks you. It has a good few comical moments. If you're a Daniel Radcliffe fan I'd say to check it out. It is a little sad but any emotional response is soon squashed when the film pushes too far into the fantastical. It's essentially a tragic tale. Gratuitous tits, superfluous comedy, even a scene of homosexuality, drug abuse, and debauchery. A classical bit of drama. This isn't much of a review really.


The plan was to open presents when we got in. The cats had a different plan. Somehow they had (again) clambered up the velvet covering our sideboard which had (again) caused everything on top to now not be. (Again!) This broke a spooky snowglobe A had found in TK Max. So there was glass, water, and bits all over the floor...

Thinking back to the scottish referendum... The voter turnout was pretty impressive. I thought surely that the UK was breaking up. For general elections (those popularity contests were identical puppets compete to allegedly represent peoples voices in a far away mystical tower of whiteness) the turnout is probably 65% which is infuriating. Are 65% of 18+ convinced by this illusion of choice? For the yes, no question 84.5% of Scottish people over 16 wasted their time voting.

I'm not saying it has always been a waste of time nor am I belittling the efforts of people who have campaigned about voter rights. I am saying today the political system is completely corrupt and not upto date. Why can't there be systems for immediate referendum and a more direct form of democracy. Like they have in Sweden but online. Then weird counting methods that look suspicious wouldn't happen.

Also Russell Brand did a book. It's pretty good. You can download it free* here: http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Biographies-Memoirs/Revolution-Audiobook/B00OKQJYG6
*as part of a free 30 day trial which is £7.99/month usually.

Oh and in other news, hoverboards soon.

In summer just passed while we were in London we met up with my brother and his girlfriend. We ate at 222 Veggie Vegan which seemed much less busy than it ought to be. Probably because we got their real early.
The food was excellent and eating vibrant food full of exciting flavours was really refreshing. It's definitely one of the best places I've eaten.
 It was a shame we didn't have the time to enjoy a three course meal. We had to get to the Empire immediately after we ate. I was quite disappointed I didn't get to try any of the deserts.
If you're ever around West Kensington, London head to 222 North End Road!

I've noticed that my most popular post was the one about sit-skiing but rather unannounced I had added a short animation featuring some rotoscoping I had done. So I don't know what's more interesting: the thought of me being dragged up a nylon slope face first or the animation.

Today I took off the animation and I'm going to write this entire feature that you have already started reading.

Rotoscoping

Firstly I'll show the animation then I'll explain the creative choices I made, the equipment I used, the sleepless nights, the technique, and some...
It boils. Boiling is a stylistic treatment. It simply means the lines jump around. It may seem like it's a rougher, quicker, and easier way of doing it. But it's not really because every line you want to boil needs to be re-drawn on every frame. To animate without boiling means you only need to draw the new bit.
Frames. To me frames are like something that doesn't need explaining. It's like oneness. A frame is an image. Motion pictures, tv, animation, games, etc all rely on the same premise. It's how the eye works. Further reading.
Line Drawing. This stylistic choice was made for two reasons 1. So I could meet deadlines. 2. Because drawing all the details would have made the animation quite cluttered.
Equipment. I was at uni at the time so I borrowed a camera and tripod to record the motion. Then I had a pen tablet attached to a pc which I did the drawing on. I used professionalI(student license) software back then but if I did it now I would use: Pencil (http://www.pencil-animation.org), avidemux (http://www.avidemux.org)
Planning. First you have to have storyboards or something so you can direct the motion capture part of the process. For me I like storyboards. I abhor stickman storyboards but I guess they do the same thing.
Filming. The first thing you'll do, well after the other first thing above, is to film the scenes to capture the motion. It doesn't matter if you shout cues while recording to micromanage people because you aren't even recording sound. You're the only one with the times, the storyboard, and the vision.
Drawing. Ok so all that now needs to be done is the time consuming and labor intensive task of drawing the frames. I hardly slept for 4 days fuelled by quadruple espressos and red bull.
Simply you take the video file, over each frame you draw the motion and then you remove the video from the view. I added a different background on a new layer that progressively drew afterwards. (That's right it wasn't filmed on location.)

I've started to write down another set of sequences for a rotoscoping idea I have as it is basically motion capture in 2D.

So I refreshed my blog look a little. New me looking logos and typefaces. A few days later I fixed up a Halloween look which will stay for a while. Since Halloween is a big thing for us.

Hopefully my electric wheelchair will arrive soon! I'm also hopeful about finding a new place to live. I really need to have a workspace with space to get a proper computer set up. My laptop just isn't powerful enough.

Oh yeah, I got a house design finished quite a while ago. However, I think I have some better ideas anyway I think I need to prioritise being rich first. I'm sure the new business will do that! Especially my secret division (which I'll tell you about soon). Anyway lets look at the house:

top left: Ground Floor, top right: 2nd Floor (roof) bottom left to right: Basement, 1st Floor, Overview

Since making this image I have added double doors and a balcony to the main bedroom on the first floor. I realised otherwise it'd be pretty difficult to get furniture up there. The spiral staircase would probably be in marble wrapped around the central elevator.

I wish I was an architect the trouble is I'm enjoying my crucial work in the Asbestos/Environmental industry! Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.Well anyway I need to be making games. That's what I want to do.

The UK Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, declared Lord Freud's comments, revealed yesterday, about "disabled" people as "deeply distressing" and "offensive". The Welfare Reform Minister suggested that "disabled" people might not be worth the minimum wage.

Those being critical of Lord Freud are being unfair they've sort of labeled the very notion as disgusting when it does have merit. It's the type of idea that needs exploring. 

I'm by no measure a conservative nor am I a liberal. My political ideology is closer to the sort of bubbles Russell Brand chats about on The Trews...

Click for enlightenment

Labour leader, what's-his-face, also attacked the conservatives for thinking outside the box.

I don't speak for all "disabled" people. However, I've experienced how difficult it is to find employment as a someone who uses a wheelchair. I also recognise that being unemployed does make you feel sort of useless, there is time you can do other things but at the end of the day, week, month, year, you've made no contribution to society. Often it's not because it's desirable but because "disabled" people appear unemployable.

I don't know why there is such fuss about this idea. It's not the best way of doing it and taken out of context (of the discussion) it can come across as devaluing "disabled" people and being a little insulting. However, the premise I agree with. Maybe they could offer tax breaks to companies that employ x% of "disabled" people. Which would do the same thing.

EG: Incentivise employers to employ "disabled" people and reduce the welfare bills.
Paying less (Reducing minimum wage) and topping up incomes with welfare will do the same thing. Though as we now know that sort of move will just create headlines.

That was probably the plan.

So there has been some progress on the power chair front. The other week I went to try out the Alber Emotion, Twion and E-Fix options to see how they worked. I liked how the Emotion and Twions felt but it did take me a lot of concentration to move in a straight line. If you have good coordination they are probably good options but for me I could only move a little faster than I can without them. It's a lot easier to move about though I couldn't use all the power available since I couldn't control it.

Twions (click for site)

emotion (click for site)

For me the e-fix it's a good option. I'm not sure if it's suitable for my chair. If it is I'll get that. If it isn't I'll try to make something similar to it!


My wife got a Power Chair (the first one above) which was only possible because of the donations. So thanks again to people who donated.

... I found a website wheelchairdriver.com and having spent a while looking at powerchairs available on the market I came to the same conclusion. So I'm going to try to build two BM3 chairs somehow, someday.

Just look why I'm impressed BM3

So... If I had free time I know what I'd be doing with it (apart from this blog).

I've been neglecting this blog a bit lately. I'll work on not doing that.
My energy levels are finally getting back to 'pre thyroid destruction' levels. Thanks to the synthesized thyroxine. I'll be going for a followup on Wednesday so the real hard figures will be disclosed to me.

Policy U-turn
I have started to cut eggs out of my diet. Until I can find a source that ethically collects them. I've realised how meaningless the 'free range' label is.

Diet Ponderings
I didn't eat much dairy directly anyway. Except cheese, dairy milk chocolate, and ice cream. Dairy free ice cream tastes better anyway. So does chocolate. I'm sure there is a cheese alternative that's good too.

I had these and they are pretty good. They taste almost too convincingly like bacon. The good thing is they don't contain the annoying stringy fat that gets stuck in your teeth that actual bacon does.

Is there any point in being vegan?
Well yes because I get all the health benefits of eating food that isn't full of hormones, carcinogens, antibiotics, et al. However, until more people are vegan than aren't nothing is going to change. Even if that happened meat and dairy production will still continue and will be subsidised by the people avoiding it.

More soon.

Oh I read that dairy has a bigger link to cancer than smoking does. Someone needs to lobby for plain packaging and age restrictions.
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/12/7/597.full

Integrated Development Environment
I thought I'd try Android Studio, even if it's a preview version, rather than using eclipse to create android apps. I like it.


American pancakes and maple syrup are also essential to the IDE. As is the carcinogenic beverage.

Enough about that though.

Interesting fact: DartaGnan (hard G) loves maple syrup. Strange boy.

He loves to sleep on a wheelchair. I'm not sure why. The others prefer the sofa, their beds, the rug, our bed, on their tree, or on the cardboard sofa we got them.

I'll write more soon. I'll leave you with some original artwork:

it became this icon:

I've spent a lot of time waiting. For things to get better, for things to get worse, and for things. It's often wasted time. Time wasted isn't actually wasted. Or so the intellectual would argue.

They may bring indefinable metrics like enjoyment into it. Yeah I'm enjoying waiting around for 2 hours before my scheduled appointment, which obviously won't be on time, for the transport. It gives me time to write this. At least time to start this.

Bananafuckingrama that's the theme this year. A radioactive bull shit infused catastrophe. I'm not talking about MH370 again, am I? A scapegoat for the delivery of a large nuclear device to detonate over the USA. Not to bring destruction but so the EMP knocks out the power grid. To bring chaos.

No that's too convoluted NaSA could easily blaim the sun for that. It's funny how Russia 'illegally' annexed Crimea much to the irritation of international boobs. Chafing jokes aside. There were no sexed up dossiers. No suicides. Just a coincidental hijacking.

I'm making light of world affairs.
I must add a disclaimer. All views expressed are actually Daniel Mills' and not no one elses.

Scapegoated.

Right so I have been super busy recently because of my professional and personal life. The time I have available in a day to spend awake is hampered at the moment too... Yes my thyroid results came back. I had to wait to see the GP to see the actual results since obviously the patient has no business even attempting to understand what is happening with their health. Obliterated to smithereens most likely. My thyroid is MIA. So hormones must be ingested daily. Unfortunately my GP was a little cautious prescribing me with hormones so it's going to be a slow path to normalization.

The good news is my heart rate is now always slow. There are tons of negative things though, as this rather beautiful visual aid demonstrates.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothyroidism

I've noticed that it's been harder to get into the zone - where thinking outside the box is a meaningless bit of smalltalk (German for small talk). The zone is where ones head  must be to be able to program. It's a magic place. I've developed a technique - well adapted the technique all men use to avoid listening. To respond yes and yeah to everything. It lets me avoid having to leave the state where I am in the zone at full flow to enter the real world to consider the question. Yes the brain is a super fast computer but that switch takes a while and reaching flow again takes forever. There are some negatives to answering yes to everything but a lot less than swallowing a radioactive iodine pill...

The Zone is known as Flow

Distractions are bad especially when I'm finding I am easy to be distracted. So productivity is suffering. Somehow I'm still functioning and getting stuff done which is all that matters. Though it takes a toll and so on days like today I sleep way too much.

This video is amazing. I watch it often. I guess it's akin to reading a silly book of extraordinary examples of blatant witchcraft. But without then accusing many, many people of witchcraft during centuries of persecution...

Why is there religion? Why is there professional sport? Why is the distribution of wealth and resources so unfair? What sort of society punishes, stigmatises, and increases hardship on the most vulnerable? Why does flight MH370 matter so much? Why all the secrecy? The media has been misleading people. Why? Is it linked to 9/11? The trident. What does it mean? What's happening with Ukraine, Russia and Crimea. Why did China abstain?

How big are the biggest 'problems'? How insignificant we are. Really.

Further Reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)

Oh here is a contradiction. If you're in the UK please consider signing this.
motion-of-no-confidence-in-the-way-in-which-iain-duncan-smith-has-managed-the-department-for-work-and-pensions

Explain that.

Today Friday 28th February is Rare Disease day! The disease I have is pretty rare. 0.006^r% of the world wide population has it. That's 1 in 15,000.

Today has been a very nice day. Good news followed yet more praise. Professionally maybe everything will come together. The next few years will be critical. Exciting times ahead.

Also I decided to add a couple more commitments to improve my productivity. I'd like to get into politics (we shall say) someday but right now it's a distant dream... It'll start as a book "Dave's soo camp."

... I'll have to keep this short tonight.