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Mods, I don't know yet what the final costs are going to be for the rental but I'd estimate that about 10 euros would cover you each way. 

I do have to be back in Milan on the 7th to pick up my g/f at about 6PM.

I think you're mistaken about the remastering of Shore Leave, ProgZ.  The shots you described were in the original version of that episode as it was shot on location.

I felt the remastering in general was not all that it could have been.  In general the Enterprise looks great and there are some wonderful new "matte" paintings but shots of the shuttle bay, and other spaceships are sometimes pretty phoney looking CGI. 

I've loved the original Star Trek my whole life so it was never about the special effects anyway.  The original versions always got the job done and so do the new ones. 

Meanwhile, are the other cars still happening? The one with Jess, Eric and Andail is out, I take it, and I see Chrille is looking into trains. What about the other ones? Quintaros, you still picking me up at Milano Bergamo (BGY)? (My plane lands at 17:45, so conservatively it might be until 19:00 before I'm done there. Then it's a four-to-five-hour drive to the villa... for a lovely worst-case midnight arrival. Assuming we don't get lost.)

Yeah, I'm still up for picking you up.  I was hoping some others would want in on the ride.

I can confirm that Nacho will not be there.

I'm still up in the air ... but it's a slim chance at this point x 2

This deal's getting worse all the time.

Obviously understanding theory of perspective is a great starting point for any piece of art that isn't purely abstract, but it's odd that we make such a big deal out of it compared to, say, color theory or classical rules of composition. Personally I find Loominous' posts on tonal range and color value way more enlightening (no pun intended) than the multitude of CL threads teaching perspective perfection.

For adventure game backgrounds, I’d suggest that some degree of perspective cheating is almost a necessity.  A great illustration with a really dynamic sense of depth will make a poor adventure game background because it will only serve to accentuate the fact that the characters themselves are not moving in proper perspective.  So it’s always a kind of balancing act between form and function to “get the job done”.  Understanding the rules behind proper perspective is important for knowing how to cheat the perspective in order to make it all work.

Most of the CL threads teaching perspective theory never get beyond the most basic element of a vanishing point.  Lately, I’ve been reading Andrew Loomis’ books on drawing technique and am astonished at what I didn’t know that I didn’t know about perspective.  I have a newfound appreciation for the science behind drafting and lament that no art teacher ever properly instilled it upon me earlier in life.

distance

x=1/2a*t^2+v0*t+ x0

where a=acceleration, -0.1 pixel/cycle^2 in your example
v0=initial velocity, 3 pixel/cycle in your example
x0= initial position
t=number of cycles

velocity is derivative of distance with respect to time,

v=dx/dt= a*t+ v0

solve for v=0

t= -v0/a

The average male has way too much surface pressure on both feet to be able to do this. Even on a non-Newtonian fluid, go slow enough and you'll sink.

Just saying "the average male"  implies that there are outliers who could perhaps achieve this. 

One of my engineering courses in university focused on surface tension and we calculated the ratio of an animal's foot area to its mass required to walk on water.  I don't remember the number but it was ridiculously large.   I think the Mythbuster's episode mentioned explored this and even with an appropriatedly sized pair of foot extensions they still couldn't achieve this because the foot would have to make contact with the water surface in a perfectly level manner.

The video posted is amusing though. Their pseudo-scientific explainations were delivered with an Owen Wilson-like deadpan that made me think they wanted to viewers to be in on the joke.

p.s.: snarky, it's not really a great idea to travel from rome to milan to get back to the villa. Can't you just take a train to arezzo and let them lift you from there to our destination?

Like I asked in my last post, would a 17:45 arrival at Milano BGY be OK (what with possible delays, and baggage and all, it might mean as late as 7 PM before I'd be ready to go) with the other car people? Seems a bit late to start a 4-hour drive...

It's not so late.  Maybe people should start posting their arrival information so that the car arrangements can be organized.

Well for those of us who can't get 2 weeks off (I went on a cruise last week using 1 of my 2 allowed vacation weeks) cramming as much into the week is a necessity!  I have managed to squeeze a few extra days out of them, but not another full week.

Yeah, I can appreciate that.  If the majority of people want day trips I will go with the flow but I think I prefer Cat's recommendation of keeping them in the Tuscany area.

Personally, I'm not up for a lot of road trips during Mittens.  I planned an extra week afterwards to take care of my desire to see Italy.  During Mittens I'd rather just relax and socialize in the vicinity of the villa. 

I'd be interested in going by car from Milan as well if there's space.

You can ride with me.  Any others?

Ah yes much needed info. Hopefully some car renters will be able to pick you up and bring you from Foiana, Arezzo or further if there's any major problems. It may be good to ascertain just how many people will be going to Milan first and then look into more car rentals.

I'm planning to rent a vehicle for the following week so I may as well get it for Mittens as well.  

I can take three or four from Milan (arriving at LIN-Linate at 9:30PM)

Where is Katla?

My girlfriend is currently stranded in Iran due to the eruption... wasting her remaining vacation time so that she may not be able to meet me in Italy after Mittens.

Now you're telling me that this volcano has a Round 2...

I also think I'll be arriving Friday but quite late around 11PM.

Hey Mark, have you heard from Quintaros? If not, might be worth sending him a PM or something. Or Facebook perhaps.

Sorry for being late to respond.   I just wanted to confirm with my girlfriend that she could get the following week off.  Now that that's settled, I'm in and will pay the deposit over the weekend.

Okay, add me to the list please.

When are the dates and location going to be finalized?  I'd like to see this happen sooner rather than later since getting travel Visas can be a slow process. 

Can we set the end of February as a deadline for people to add their input so that a decision can be made in early March?

I never posted in the other thread to express interest but I'm fairly definite.  If you need to collect deposits, I'll put my money where my mouth is.

Heck, even Hitler had his boundaries.  He didn't allow the use of chemical bombs after having experienced mustard gas as a soldier during WW1.

I've never heard this before, have you got a link where I could read more? Hitler fascinates me. He was such an evil guy (obviously), but then he seemed to have loads of randomly 'soft spots'... like being vegetarian because he loved animals...? He'd kill millions of Jews, but wouldn't use chemical bombs for ethical reasons? Makes me wonder whether, if he hadn't been so hideously misled, he could have had potential to be a great and worthy leader instead of just... Hitler.

Would love to be able to explore his mind, psychonauts style...

I'm glad you understood my intent. 

However, now I think the "fact" I presented might be a bit dubious.  While it is fact that he was exposed to gas in WW1 and they didn't use any in WW2, there isn't any documented evidence showing that it was his decision.  It may have been due to lack of resources to produce the gas at that time. 

Heck, even Hitler had his boundaries.  He didn't allow the use of chemical bombs after having experienced mustard gas as a soldier during WW1.

Yay, I'm finally home. 

It turns out that missing a flight is a bigger deal than I thought.  My extra days in Paris were kind of ho-hum where there wasn't anything new to see or do that I hadn't done the week before.  The highlight was having a French pot dealer approach me and pantomine getting high.  He was probably the friendliest Parisian I met the whole trip.  Then I got food poisoning from trying Steak Tartare and spent a day curled in the fetal position in my hotel room.

Anyway, Mittens this year was awesome, surpassing the previous years.  The chateau was great and the laughter shared with everyone was terrific.  I'm kind of in withdrawl right now and can't wait til Mittens '09. 

Mills, I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye at the airport.  I was kind of in a whirlwind at the moment and in retrospect I should have cut my losses and joined you guys for another day in Paris.