Author Archives: Anton

another problem with my clothoids

I wrote: each curve hits alternate dots: first exactly, then with offsets pushing it toward the other curve. I don’t think I’ve mentioned here how the offsets work.

Posted in curve-fitting | 3 Comments

clothoid weekend update

For context, see past posts in the curve-fitting category that I just created. To recap: The curves I’ve been drawing are the paths made by a point moving at constant speed at an angle which is a piecewise quadratic function … Continue reading

Posted in curve-fitting | 2 Comments

second-guessing by halves

Early strips of some webcomics carry the author’s much later comments. Christopher Baldwin (Bruno) and David Willis (Roomies!) are reposting old series that ended. David Morgan-Mar’s (Irregular Webcomic!) schedule these days is two new strips and five comments on old … Continue reading

Posted in cartoons | 4 Comments

un-meander

Here, each curve hits alternate dots: first exactly (above), then with offsets pushing it toward the other curve. Below is the result of eight iterations. With enough iterations, the top of ‘s’ eventually gets a more symmetrical arch, as the … Continue reading

Posted in curve-fitting | Leave a comment

meander

(Previously: 2014, 2011, 2010; also, less closely related, 2015) I tried to smoothen a stroke by shifting each dot toward the Euler spiral (aka clothoid, aka Cornu spiral) determined by its four nearest neighbors. That didn’t work so well: small … Continue reading

Posted in curve-fitting | 2 Comments

recruitment options

Mom mentioned a friend who once had two dogs, and when one died both she and the surviving dog took it hard; so now she keeps three dogs of staggered ages. My cats are brothers, now six years old. I … Continue reading

Posted in pets | 1 Comment

shibboleths?

In The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, there are two yes-men: Tony, who likes to say “Great!”, and David, who likes to say “Super!”. If I were writing it, their distinctive tics would instead be “in terms of ——” … Continue reading

Posted in language | 1 Comment