[SHOWOFF] real furniture hours

[Ignispark]

[ABBERANT_INCANDESCENCE]:
hello! do you like furniture? do you want to know about what i've cobbled together. wait no longer. well, actually a bit longer for some of them. we're starting things off with something that's actually complete. i think it'd be silly to start with things i haven't gotten done.

unfortunately i can't get a good picture of the thing at the moment, so, while we're waiting i can instead entertain you with the knowledge of what it is, what its made of, and some of the thought behind it.

what is it? you ask. well, i'm glad you asked! SIMULACRUM OF KINDLING IN DEDICATION OF DISTANCE AND REFLECTION ON THE PRESENT AND FUTURE WITH REGARDS TO THE ENDEAVORS OF THE PAST is a piece that takes heavily from a series of letters between me and my pen pal, who, if they've managed to get things through, will also leave a comment here, hopefully. Anyhow, SOKIDODAROTPAFWRGTTEOTP is at its most basic form, an electric fireplace. it's wired up to produce some nice warmth and glow.

like many fireplaces, it's made as a spot to sit in front of. now, instead of fire, one of the great features of this is a bit of modification of a pre-existing device, gutted, rewired set up in an alcove at the front, and paired to a remote controller. some better speakers and some lighting alongside the aforementioned heating, and bam. you have the essence of comfort and inspiration. or something of that nature. a combination of the modern device and the beating heart of a home.

now you might notice i once again have yet to tell you what the device is. you're going to have to hold onto your hat a little longer. i'm not there yet! anyhow, so i mocked up a little. computer diagram of some shapes that will get you some idea of the thing uh, note. the actual thing isn't actually opaque, and its missing some of the other details but this should give you an idea of the shape and i'll get to the rest later.

Show ContentLARGE IMAGE:

so anyhow

you have something meant to resemble and perform a function of a storied part of a home. and you have a modern recreation of it. that alone isn't quite enough though, so it gets better. the piece itself is composed of translucent bricks of plastic. with the opaque adhesive, it forms a sort of grid! the aforementioned additional lighting is inside of the casing, casting a vibrant form of warmth that contrasts that of a fire. the remote controller has a section for controlling the lighting, flickering, heat, and sound. also of course, as with any worthwhile electronic thing you can see into, the gutted and rewired form of the original device, as well as the speakers and heating elements are visible through the casing.

now, you may think to yourself. what device encapsulates the same sort of importance as a fireplace, but has a unique charm and something interesting to say.

well, a pet would be a pretty good answer. to many, they are a decently old tradition, they capture warmth and safety, and well, of course are very unique.

but that's not a device you may object, but you can put your hand down. and also put your other hand down. no creatures were harmed in the making of this. shh. im talking virtual pets. in the misc bits i got from the pawn shop there was one that had a really charming creature and aesthetic but the device was kinda just an opaque brick, naturally, i decided it must be reworked. and i had this idea for a fireplace thing already so bam. this was the right answer. slam them together.

it was kind of a pain getting the thing working again, and getting some remote controls to properly work instead of the keys, but it was worthwhile, i think.

and, the combination of two imitations in a related form is pretty interesting, i think.

i've got a bit more to say on the matter but i have some work to get done so i'll continue this in a reply in a bit. i think i covered most of the main ideas behind the bit as well as the major features. i'll try to slap in anything i forgot or left out that makes sense to add. might write a small note about the actual virtual pet device and what it actually is like. i figured it'd be best to stick to the bits i actually did for this introduction though, so that might also very well be relegated to some other place that makes more sense.

feel free to ask any questions or commebts or whatever you have if you're reading this. i'll get to those when i can.

[skinstealer]

[DIGITAL_HORROR]: 

how big is this thing? might have missed it in the post, but i'm curious

[Ignispark]

[ABBERANT_INCANDESCENCE]:
oh wasn't expecting that quick of a response i can fire this off pretty quickly. yeah the other thing of note about that one is that this is actually decently big. bigger than i usually work with but the part was already that big so if i needed help i decided that i might as well go ahead and go a bit further while i was at it. for scale, the alcove in it is five inches tall. i can stand in there with some head room. anyway having a large pair of helping hands (aka a complex coworker) for some steps is especially helpful when working on things this big. (you can make the brick bits in sections and have them attach those instead of having to clamber over the whole thing with a ladder, plus you dont have to take apart a large device yourself. you may or may not end up helping them get tiny parts to work on the inside of their weird projects but thats the cost of friendship sometimes.).

[skinstealer]

[DIGITAL_HORROR]: 

yeah, i figured from the whole fireplace thing...how do you interact with something so big as a virtual pet?

[Ignispark]

[ABBERANT_INCANDESCENCE]:
well, before it was taken apart, i could hypothetically climb onto the thing and press its pre-existing buttons with my feet while looking down at it. this technically worked. in the process of taking it apart i went ahead and took a look at what the buttons were sending as far as electrical signal to the computer in it, which were luckily pretty simple. and set up a little receiver wired up to be able to replicate those inputs. getting it to work reliably took a bit of trial and error, as i hadn't particularly worked with wireless communications too much before, so perhaps trying to get both a receiver and a remote made wasn't the best start. anyway, for interaction, as you might have guessed, the remote is smaller than the device, so i can hold it in my hands. and just. press the buttons. i can also just, bring a chair over and sit down, while looking at the screen sort of like a television. there's a slight delay in using the remote, but its really negligible given the device doesn't require split second reactions, luckily.

now the bigger problem of actually using the virtual pet part that arrives is really that you can't take it with you. so you basically either have to move your current work near the fireplace, or have it loud enough so that you can run all the way over and try to frantically fix the problem. the former is usually a better solution. there are ups and downs to trying to do something like work while something can beep at you and make you stop. but i think having to stop sometimes is a good thing.

as for more details on the actual device's little games and whatnot i think i'll hop threads and writeup a reply in the vpet general discussion as i think it'll be interesting to talk about there in the context of virtual pets that are a bit odd

[STATIONARY_FRICTION]:
You really were not kidding. That is quite large. Anyhow, of all the elements present, I do quite enjoy the less obvious aspects such as how you mentioned that while in use, you are better kept from futile efforts to work on something until it is done, to the point that it's less effective than taking a moment and perhaps giving something else some time before diving into the work. That sort of methodology tends to result in better overall time, even including the other activity or activities spliced into the midst of the schedule. The imitation simulation physically inside a different sort of imitation is also quite humorous.