This is actually a really old plugin, but it still has its uses. This plugin allows you to change the parent of a mesh or group by entering the name of the desired parent group in a dialog box. You can accomplish more-or-less the same thing via drag and drop in the hierarchy menu already, but it’s still handy when you have a really complex setup and don’t want to hunt through the list to find what you’re looking for.

Download the plugin. (Requires Windows XP, AC3D 6.2 or above.)

From time to time, people ask me how to “cut edges” in AC3D since the way AC3D handles edges is a bit different than other programs. Usually, I use the Divide Loop plug-in which is normally the fastest, easiest way to go. But, every now and then you get an edge that isn’t well suited for Divide Loop. In these cases, I use a combination of Insert Vertex and Slice Surface.

This video shows you how:

A QUICK SIDE NOTE: It is much faster to use the hotkeys (ctrl+shift+I and ctrl+shift+L) than it is to use the menus… the whole process can be completed in only a few seconds if you use the hotkeys. However, for the sake of clarity, I use the menus in the video so you can actually see what I’m doing. 🙂

My son to my daughter when she started a bandwidth-intensive game while he was web-surfing on a different computer:

“Quit hogging the Internet!”

It amazes me how far we’ve come in such a short time for the Internet and concepts like bandwidth to be so commonplace that kids could have an argument like this. 🙂

Looking to do some good while you earn your gamer points? According to Kotaku, RagingJellyBean of the Femmes Fatales needs a new kidney. The Femmes Fatales will be hosting a Halo 3 tournament on March 22, 2008 to help raise money towards the medical costs. The tournament will be 4 vs 4 and 1 vs 1 elimination. Entry fee is $10.

– Read more about it

– Sign up for the tournament at Gaming for Others

If you’re into reverse engineering biological systems–in my mind, one of the most fun parts about AI programming–this talk by Drew Endy is absolutely a blast. Also be sure to check out the BioBricks project at openwetware.org or download the actual “bricks” at the MIT Registry of Standard Biological Parts.

The BioBricks are sequences of DNA described in a standardized, open-source format where each sequence represents a single, interchangeable part or “device”. A data sheet is provided for each device that describes what it does and what its tolerances and parameters are, etc., similar to the data sheet for an electronics part. Like an electronic component, devices can be combined together to make more complicated structures. When you’re finished designing your device, the sequenced DNA can be inserted as a plasmid into a suitable host cell and used to make all kinds of cool stuff, like this biological film where the bacteria change color in response to light.

Hello World displayed by light-sensitive, color-changing eColi