Adjusting Mouse Position After SVG Scale

After applying a css scale transformation to an SVG element, mouse positions within it were no longer accurate. The further they got from center the greater the inaccuracy became.

Mouse events are recorded from the top left, but zooms are based on a center point origin with negative values to the left and bottom. To scale the mouse position, they have to first be converted to a center point origin and translated back to a (top,left) origin .

Here is a process for converting mouse positions to positions within a zoomed SVG world.

Absolute Value: The value relative to the top left corner
Relative Value: The value relative to the center point used for zooming

Step 1: Find absolute value of mouse coordinates
Step 2: Convert mouse coordinates to their relative value at zoom(1.0)
Step 3: Find the inverse scale, the fraction to reverse the scale on zoomed SVG
Step 4: Scale relative values to screen values using inverse scale
Step 5: Convert inverted coordinates to absolute values

Nature Machine

With curves a sports car would be jealous of, this organic machine amazed me. Sharp grabbing teeth fit in front, pronged molars in the back, each fit snuggly into bony sockets. The lower jaws arched as if drawn by a draftsman.  The rounded skull, probably of a raccoon, was at once dangerous, beautiful and kind of cute.

When cleaning, I noticed the edge of a tin tray on top of my kitchen cabinet. I drew back in disgust when I saw the contents.  A dirty animal skull with bits of hair still stuck to it. An internet search turned up the Alaska Department of Fish & Game instructions for cleaning a skull. After boiling it, the leftover dirt and hair scrubbed off with a toothbrush.

Cartilage that held the skull together disintegrated in the pot. While reassembling it, I admired the complexity and efficiency of the construction. Nothing wasted. Each notch and groove had a purpose. The elegance born of function made an inspiring drawing subject. Getting to know each ridge and valley, put me in touch with the hungers and satisfaction of the creature.

Work in Progress

Cleaning Laser Etched Necklaces

A happy accident, leaving some laser etched wooden necklaces in the washing machine cleaned away all the discoloration left from burning. I’m going to keep that in mind for my future projects.

Making Tsa Tsas at Karmê Chöling

A burial structure similar to a stupa at Karmê Chöling.

Painted with saffron water and clothed in satin, we prepared printed mantras. After tightly rolling them around a stem of incense, they were wrapped in electrical tape to protect the text from water. We tested the snugness of the sandalwood after it had time to relax. The result bound up paper, fabric, and plastic with the good intentions, a little bead of meditation. At her house, Julia, the coordinator, opened a cardboard file box brimming to the top with these little black rolls. Forty thousand of them filled four boxes.

After spending a year in the city, the landscape of Karmê Chöling, cradled in the mountains of Barnet, VT, felt like a different world.  Crossing a bridge over a shallow stream brought back memories from my time in Burlington. My chest opened, free from the constraint of manicured shrubbery and angry traffic.  The expansiveness of the stupa concept is immersive and intense.

The stupa will house 108,000 Tsa Tsas, little stupas, cast in plaster. While in the mold, a practitioner seeds each Tsa Tsa with a scroll. Red and gold paint emblazons the dry models. We were instructed to chant to ourselves, “Ki Ki So So!” , during the process. The energy of the words accompanies the meaning of a fearless joy.  In the end, this effort will be sealed inside the completed structure.

Throughout the weekend, I simultaneously wanted to move in and leave immediately. Being up close with myself and other’s spiritual views takes a lot of processing. I will return again in the future.

Roger Williams Natural History Museum

The jaws right whale greet visitors to the Roger Williams Natural History Museum. The realization that a creature that large swims off our shores startles the imagination. The curious collection of taxidermy and anthropological specimens was inspiring while slightly creepy. Speckels, dots and stripes, stuffed birds and mammals, inspired me to snap some iPad photos.

A fierce grizzly bear and mounted deer head.

Time for a cigar in the study..

Found only in Cumberland, Cumberlandite is Rhode Island’s state rock.