follow-up on mosquito project

[WendyPetti@xxxx]

I am very intrigued by the mosquito hunter project. I especially like the 
way that the "mosquito" will tend to move toward its target but will also 
sometimes move away from it a little bit. I like the way you've set it up 
with the mosquito drawing its path so that we can see a record of the 
semi-random, semi-purposeful movements. I have been playing with the project 
and trying out some modifications to test my understanding of the procedures. 
I have a few questions:

1) I notice that the introduction says to click the setup button twice. 
Clicking it a second time turns the procedure off so that the "when" command 
is no longer running. This means that the "mosquito" is no longer checking 
to see when it might be touching the barrier, and it goes right past the 
barrier. Is it intended for the setup procedure to keep running as long as 
the mosquito is seeking its meal? 

2) Is there a reason for including a separate "setup" button, or could the 
setup procedure be included as a command within the "find" procedure?

3) Is there a particular reason for having the "moves" slider record 
alternate moves of the mosquito rather than every move?

4) I am curious as to why the mosquito stops when it reaches a distance of 10 
pixels from its target. Is it because the two turtles appear to be touching 
at that point? I am wondering why you use the command:

t1, when [(distance "t2) < 10] [stopall]

instead of, perhaps:

when [touching? "t1 "t2] [stopall]

The two commands seem to have approximately the same effect, so it doesn't 
really matter, but I was just wondering.

5) Okay, one last question! I was curious as to why you are using a black 
square and a red square in your simulation instead of semi-realistic shapes.

It is a very fun project, and I think it suggests a variety of possible 
adaptations. Thank you so much for sharing it, Gary! And thanks for your 
willingness to share it or a modified version on the MicroWorlds in Action 
site; it will be a welcome addition in the library of teaching/learning 
folders.

Wendy Petti