After some fun experimentation I created a couple simple frameworks for musical instruments that would be quick loading, a versatile learning tool, and possibly even interactive (that’s the next step in my master plan), not to mention a good alternative to using flash.  And here they are:

Raphaël Guitar

The first is Raphaël Guitar.  This is a very simple drawing of the fretboard of a guitar.  Believe it or not, I used some of the guitar building knowledge I gained while working in Shanghai to put this puppy together.  Mainly the fret spacing going up the neck; the formula I used is same formula luthiers use to space the frets properly in order to achieve the correct pitch on any given fret.  In other words, it’s just like the real thing.

GitHub repository

Raphaël Keyboard

The other instrument I drew is a simple piano keyboard.  It’s scalable (no pun intended) in the sense that you can make it as many octaves as you like and alter the size to your liking by just changing a few variables which are pretty easy to see right at the top of the file (the guitar is the same way).  I’ve highlighted a few keys just to give an example of how it could be used. Like Raphaël Guitar this is pretty bare bones but could have many uses down the road.

GitHub repository

Please let me know if you have any ideas or questions regarding these drawings.  If you would like to contribute to these projects feel free to fork them in GitHub.  If you use them on your own site I just ask that you send some credit my way by mentioning my name, Garrett Grimm, and a link to my site, www.grimmdude.com. 

Once I code in some more features and stuff I’ll write a post about the usage of these puppies. In the meantime if you have any questions on how to use them post a comment and I’ll help you out. Big ups!

Chinese newspaper Southern Weekly sent 20-year-old reporter Liu Zhi Yi undercover in Foxconn’s factory in Shenzhen, China. For 28 days, he experienced dreadful conditions that the factory’s 400,000 employees endure, churning out iPods, iPads, and iPhones for Apple nonstop.

Make a <div class=”double_column_list”> and put a <ul> in it with some list items.   Set the <li> class to display at 50% width and float it to the left.

CSS

.double_column_list li {float: left; width: 50%;}

HTML

<div class="double_column_list">
<ul>
<li>Awesome Stuff</li>
<li>Awesome Stuff</li>
<li>Awesome Stuff</li>
<li>Awesome Stuff</li>
</ul>
</div>

Result

Boosh, 2 column unordered lists.

boosh3d.com

Can anyone else get on them? Every comp I’ve tried has been blocked out. Oppressive government win!

Elena’s reaction to the outage: http://www.anamericangirlinchina.com/2009/07/08/they-did-it/

Ah, no wonder…riots in Xinjiang: http://shanghaiist.com/2009/07/07/xinjiang_riots_act_2.php