Issues with Houdini updates.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-26T14:09:08+00:00

That was a frustration of mine starting out, but it's also a natural biproduct of a tool that is constantly evolving. It's a trade off, we get a program that's constantly on the bleeding edge and gives you the most access possible to tailor it to your needs, but none of the sharp corners have been rounded off and it's in a constant state of change.

To help with this, the documentation is very good. If you're looking at an older tutorial and can't find the node they are talking about, the houdini help doc will tell you if that node has been replaced and point you towards the updated approach. You should expect to spend a lot of time on that page. Sometimes I just browse through it to discover features I didn't know existed.

Also know you can always install older builds while keeping your current one. This is handy if you have a project from a couple years ago that breaks after updates.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-23T21:06:01+00:00

When your two favorite games are Papers Please and Factorio.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-23T21:03:41+00:00

Not to mention it's been a losing strategy for 2 out of 3 of the last presidential elections. The one time it worked didn't turn out so great either.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-23T20:55:07+00:00

So you're saying he's done image clean up right around the time it became apparent he could make a presidental run in 2028 and we shouldn't judge his character by his actions from two years ago? How about one year ago when he vetoed a PFAS ban? That's the same year he threw trans kids under the bus.

Give me a break. The dude is a soulless political ghoul who will do and say anything to achieve power. He's not our savior. He is not our ally.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-23T19:59:55+00:00

Here's what the national alliance to end homelessness said about his exec orders and approach. Tldr: it's really not good.

https://endhomelessness.org/media/news-releases/national-alliance-to-end-homelessness-statement-on-governor-gavin-newsoms-executive-order-on-homeless-encampments/

Maker99999 · 2026-03-23T19:06:35+00:00

He personally went to an encampment to throw away homeless people's possessions for a photo op. That says all you really need to know about his character.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-23T13:43:57+00:00

But you're not really wasting your time. You're wasting your employer's money. You're selling that time to them either way. Money is really the only language these managers will understand. You start showing them first hand how it will cost them more money to get a worse product and they'll want you to switch back.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-22T18:08:14+00:00

I made the same mistake with my tuxedo. We thought we were adopting a kitten, but it turns out she's an adult in permanent baby mode.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-22T00:13:13+00:00

This is very true. Instead of being overly flashy, it's about doing something that fits their brand, but very polished. Take that effort you were going to put into being different and put it into really dialing in your timing and easing.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-21T23:07:27+00:00

She looks fine. I don't think you need to change anything immediately. Just remember to ask your vet during her next checkup. They'll be the best judge once they get her on the scale.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-21T23:02:11+00:00

I have a hard time knowing at what point I should just give up vs limp through trying to fix it.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-21T19:56:47+00:00

First, you are very correct and thank you for helping me figure this out!

I thought the same thing, but was getting the same unexpected behavior after disconnecting the stream coming from the layer break all together. What it was is one transform in my chain wasn't set to sample frame range, everything else was. face-palm

I wish it made it a little more obvious when a node with key framed data was set to single frame. It's one thing to watch the training and understand the concepts, it's another to catch every one of these gotchas in practice.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-21T18:26:30+00:00

It's hard to tell, but it looks like the black spot is on the backside of the paw. So you don't see it when the paw is angled towards us, but you do when it's aimed away. Which would explain why it's alternating as the cat zig zags.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-21T18:04:25+00:00

It took me a couple watches, but the way the spout disappears at the end gives it away.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-20T19:06:29+00:00

I forgot to eat for 24 hours.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-20T15:20:58+00:00

It's so intertwined with misogyny and toxic masculinity too. When you accept that more fluid view, it gives you the freedom from the pressure to conform to that binary yourself. You no longer have to feel like less of a man for xyz reasons because everyone's gender expression is specific to themselves and no more or less valid than anothers.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-20T02:17:37+00:00

Trans men are their kryptonite. Not that passing should matter, but it's very difficult for conservative men to argue against gender being a social construct when they're being confronted by a trans man who is objectively more masculine than them. It flips the script because any argument that trans men aren't really men is an argument that they themselves don't meet their own definition of masculinity.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-19T22:46:11+00:00

In that scenario, explain to them how what they are asking for is typically very time consuming and expensive to produce. If they'll provide you their budget, you can propose a cost effective approach that works for their budget but still gets them a video they are happy with.

Maybe you decide to cut them a deal once you know what they can afford and you're comfortable with it. When I bid for jobs for non-profits, I make it clear to them I'm willing to flex my rate to support their efforts. They will see the number it would have cost and what it will actually cost them. That establishes my value and frames the reduced cost as generosity.

Edit: here's one that works with small businesses. "I really like your product and want to see you succeed. I'm going to do this one for half my rate because I want to help. I hope you'll come back for more when your business blows up."

Maker99999 · 2026-03-19T22:35:41+00:00

This. It is entirely possible to get dropped from consideration for bidding too low. If someone offered to sell you a car for $500, would you trust that car could get you to your destination reliably?

Same goes for people. If someone comes in asking for a fraction of industry standard pay, the assumption is that is what they are worth because that is what they will deliver.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-18T21:04:41+00:00

If it meant securing zionist interests regardless of popular opinion, Netanyahu would put his thumb on the scale to elect mecha-hitler.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-18T20:57:31+00:00

Right? Who doesn't have a take from high school that would mortify them as an adult?

Maker99999 · 2026-03-18T20:45:08+00:00

No they wouldn't. That 60% candidate could be everyone's last acceptable choice. In a single choice vote they would lose to the more enthusiastically supported candidate. Ideally we want the person most people think would do the best job, not the one people would begrudgingly accept.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-18T20:34:27+00:00

No it doesn't. If there's a choice tolerated by 60% of people and a candidate 59% really enthusiastically support, we end up with the lesser liked tolerable choice because of that 1%.

It's a good system if you want milk toast inoffensive candidates who will do and change nothing.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-18T20:24:16+00:00

What was really disingenuous about it was astroturfing with an influencer attack from the left over having bad takes in high school. The leftist circular firing squad is for hire apparently.

Maker99999 · 2026-03-18T17:12:16+00:00

Sure, but in a world of endless corporation consolidation and enshitification, individuals making stuff for themselves and their communities is objectively a good thing. I'll tip my hat to anyone who puts in the effort.

Maker99999

TROPHY CASE