Many, many, many moons ago, back when we first graduated from an Amstrad WPC to our first ever PC, we invested in a handful of computer mags with free software sample CDs (back then it was fairly safe to do so, as computer viruses were barely known - the first, it seems, was the Brain back in 1986. It was joined by two others the next year, and by one more the year after, and so on until today, when my last Grisoft update - I have it set to check for updates every couple of hours - reported immunity from nearly 751 thousand threats. Virus is obviously a very good descriptor. Where was I? Oh yes...)
Amongst the freebies was a minimal evaluation copy of Bryce, the 3D imaging software, which I tried and thought was just super, but since at the time managing a word processing package was about my limit, I couldn't dream of owning it. It cost something ludicrous like $599 then (I may be misremembering), and I had no reason to spend so much on something I couldn't be sure I'd ever use. However, we tucked the name away for future reference...
Today I asked Ken if I could use Google SketchUp for landscapes for websites and Haadri - and remembered Bryce.
And went to look for it.
And found it's now available for $99.95. And that at the moment the exchange rate is a most excellent $1.99 to the pound Sterling.
"Buy it." said Ken.
So I did (it is now a legit business expense, which helps with any feelings of guilt.)
Watch Joules go starry-eyed...
It's fantastic. These little pics are just quick trial things using presets (next up, Verbank): it'll take me a while to learn to use everything properly, the user documentation alone is 45 megs. (The whole app is just under 700. The .exes just fit on a backup disc and no more...) Every single element is customisable, making the variations practically infinite (OK, for the pedants, obviously not infinite, but for my purposes it seems like it) - and if I ever run out of ideas, there are plugins galore. And it seems you can make your own as well. It's supposed to be compatible with PS too, so importing previously created images should work. I'll try it when I have more of a handle on the software.
It's going to make possible the most gorgeous background tiles as well...
We rented A Sound of Thunder DVD to watch tonight, despite the awful reviews on the IMDb, and actually it wasn't as bad as we expected. It's only very loosely based on the excellent Bradbury short story, but the story itself was OK, and it looked as though some fairly serious thought had been given to how the creatures might have evolved. We quite enjoyed it (though it's best to treat it as an original and try not to think of the story). Not wonderful, but we've seen much worse. Kai found it thought-provoking, which is always a good thing.
The cold is definitely on its way out - rather to my surprise as this sort normally lasts for at least a week and a half. Can't say I'm sorry though. I have my brain back, and I can taste and even smell a little today: it still feels as though someone's been kicking me in the ribs if I cough, sneeze or laugh, but that should ease soon too. Thanks for the good wishes folks - looks like they worked!
Erk. Kai has to take in a pot of plain yoghurt and some strawberries and raspberries tomorrow: better get them organised...