Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

Programming, like many other jobs has specialists and generalists. If you specialize, you can be very valuable ($) as long as the demand exceeds the supply for that specialty.

The highest risk in programming is to specialize is some area that later becomes obsolete. Then no one wants to hire you, much less pay you the salary you were used to when your specialty was all the rage. Specialized skills are also pretty much useless unless you are part of a team, so you better have good interpersonal skills.

Most importantly, the knowledge required in the field of programming grows every year - with detris falling off and forming a wake behind (pun intended). "Adapt or die." Or as Dylan said: "He who is not busy being born, is busy dying." The net is extraordinary growth in the requisite knowledge base if you want to be all things to all people. To do so, you would spend all your time learning and have no time left for doing. Hence, inevitably there are going to be areas where you have to rely on specialists. They can do tasks in their field of specialty at least an order of magnitude faster then generalists. Think in terms of 2 rather boring hours versus 2 weeks of pain and suffering.

I chose to specialize in a few areas, mostly related to mathematical simulation models, artificial intelligence, and graphical user interface. That was feasible in 1980 but the fields have grown so much, I am far from being a specialist in any of them now.

The skill set that serves me best these days are my project management skills (MBA 1976) combined with my predisposition to puzzle solving (from birth apparently - "How do I get out of here? How can I get back in?"). Oh, and writing. Being able to express ideas clearly in the printed word is very valuable almost everywhere. Verbally too, of course. And the ever present need to get along with others.

But I am drifting, time to get back to air mission code.

ORIGINAL: abj9562

Steve,

Are these maps a reality or not? If they are - I am really interested in obtaining them. I have a suggestion on how to print these.  Perhaps seperate the map into approx six 5'x5.66' sections ( 3 north and 3 south of the equator). This way the maps can be prepared for magnetized wall mounting.

By the way here is the procedure for mounting without needing a sheetmetal worker or carpentry skills.

*Laminate the maps prior ro mounting.
Use adhsive flexible thin steel (RubberSteel TM) sheeting under the maps. This stuff is inceredibly thin.
**Use adhesive magnetic sheets on the wall the same size as the flex steel on the maps reverse side.
Place the maps on the magnetic sheets on the wall.
The maps are now laminated, magnetized, and hung on a wall.
Counters will be printed on 0.12mm inkjet printable magnetic vinyl sheets.
Print seperate front and reverse sides.
Use a notebook with paper printed copies to match front and rear counters when necessary.
*Laminate, cut and trim the counters and you are ready for play.

* Lamination is not necessary but it does keep the counters and maps reusable as it protects from skin oils, dust and debris.
** Larger and smaller areas may be used on the wall as desired. If you magnetize many games you might want to set the magnetic wall size to a larger area or use magnetized paint and you can hang your maps anywhere. If you use magnetized paint check the pull strength of the magnets and the flex steel to ensure they will hold. This type of paint can usually be found in most specialty paint stores. I never checked Home Depot or Lowe's.

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: abj9562

Steve,

Are these maps a reality or not? If they are - I am really interested in obtaining them. I have a suggestion on how to print these.  Perhaps seperate the map into approx six 5'x5.66' sections ( 3 north and 3 south of the equator). This way the maps can be prepared for magnetized wall mounting.

By the way here is the procedure for mounting without needing a sheetmetal worker or carpentry skills.

*Laminate the maps prior ro mounting.
Use adhsive flexible thin steel (RubberSteel TM) sheeting under the maps. This stuff is inceredibly thin.
**Use adhesive magnetic sheets on the wall the same size as the flex steel on the maps reverse side.
Place the maps on the magnetic sheets on the wall.
The maps are now laminated, magnetized, and hung on a wall.
Counters will be printed on 0.12mm inkjet printable magnetic vinyl sheets.
Print seperate front and reverse sides.
Use a notebook with paper printed copies to match front and rear counters when necessary.
*Laminate, cut and trim the counters and you are ready for play.

* Lamination is not necessary but it does keep the counters and maps reusable as it protects from skin oils, dust and debris.
** Larger and smaller areas may be used on the wall as desired. If you magnetize many games you might want to set the magnetic wall size to a larger area or use magnetized paint and you can hang your maps anywhere. If you use magnetized paint check the pull strength of the magnets and the flex steel to ensure they will hold. This type of paint can usually be found in most specialty paint stores. I never checked Home Depot or Lowe's.

Thanks.

I am still pursuing this but it has low priority for me. I am wondering if there is a material/media that might save the lamination step you describe. I always placed maps under glass to protect them from the elements and to keep them flat. But if we could identify a media that eliminated both the lamination and the glass, that would be a big plus I think.

Criteria I have so far for the media are:
1 - lie flat.
2 - be thin enough that magnetic counters can be used.
3 - display colors accurately.
4 - shown each pixel cleanly/clearly.

6 pieces sounds like a good idea, simply for shipping and storage purposes. Though we could go with uninterrupted strips 10 feet high and make them narrower. For your 6 pieces, where would you want the N-S breaks to occur?

ORIGINAL: mlees

Hmm. If you affixed these maps to a metal backing (for use with magnets), that's going to be heavy sucker.

(I was imagining the 7 foot tall metal cylinder mentioned in previous discussions. I bet it'll fall through my floor, and land in my neighbors lap. How heavy would such a cylinder be, if made out of a magnetic matriel? It can't be too thin, if it is to stand upright without sagging...)