I’ve come across online have sprawled out in my brain lately. The first speaks to my interest in people, well-being, and quality of life. It’s inspiring to realize that these broad and abstract ideas are being studied and refined. The second is entertaining just as watching stacked dominoes is entertaining, but more inportantly it implies to me that jobs/work can be pleasant and even fun.
Martin Seligman on positive psychology at TED
and
It was niiiice .
Over the last week, I’ve put my focus into these two individual projects, while hoping to contribute in an efficient way to my group project next week (clinq.tv).
HearMirror has been in true conception stage for some time. It started with wanting to dump my brain out for added insight and communication improvement. It evolved into a project about voice recording and analysis as a method for getting at the content and abstract qualities from stream of thought with minimal conscious intention. Macspeech Dictate is a piece of software which I may implement for content, but this is unlikely, since the abstract aim seems to be more interesting. For digging into the abstract, I’ve spent a lot of time looking for off-the-shelf software applications focused on voice analysis, tinkered with the Minim library in Processing, and perhaps will ultimately write a script to utilize Praat, “a free scientific computer software program for the analysis of speech in phonetics. It has been designed and continuously developed by Paul Boersma and David Weenink of the University of Amsterdam.” This tool is useful in that it can record input or analyze existing files. The output can be numeric and visual, and there are lots of functions that I don’t even understand at this point. I’ve spent lots of time today trying to better comprehend the physics of sound and the ties between it and happiness, which in tern has led me through a flow of reading, video watching, and self-test taking… I should set a rigid plan if I’m to get this thing accomplished, and I need to submit some ideas for my Thesis project and the Winter Show. Ahhh, breathe.
Bubble-UP is coming along, but implementing all the features I want, while paying attention to time-consuming aesthetic details, and getting any kind of useful gameplay right are a bit overwhelming. Time is beginning to get away, but thinking bigger picture about “later” as only we humans do according Daniel Gilbert’s book Stumbling on Happiness, which I just started, has taken over my mind recently, which might be good or bad, but yea… I don’t really know. Sleep.
A class-wide assignment for CraftingWithData is to build a quincunx. There have been several interesting approaches by different classmates (walking map, processing, monkey, play station, pyramid, plastic champagne glasses, garbonzo beans). You can view a plan, some photos, and a video of mine below. It’s not quite complete, but I’m not sure how much more effort will go this way.
I think I really spent a lot more time on this project than maybe I should have, but it was addictive to in the shop using my hands and away from the screen. Using the saws, drills, sanders, and other tools with the plexi and metal was pretty fun. Jason Krugman helped me out alot, first by providing marbles for me to use and second by suggesting materials and methods. He also recommended checking out a cool store called Metalliferous. Jason, thanks for your knowledge, usage of your bits, etc, etc.
These links are also worth a look: bean machine + this is sand.
For BUBBLE-UP, a game I’m developing for LiveWeb and FlashofFlash, I had been using backgroud music from the classic Nintendo game called Bubble Bobble. After all, this game from 1986 did play a large roll for my initial game idea. Anyway, I decided to get some original sound for the new version of my game, so talked to my good friend. With just a little initial guidance, he hit the target on the first try. Have a listen here.
Description and concept:
Bubble-Up aims to bring two users together through a playful game, using breath, virtual bubbles, prize(s), and live video. The original concept came from an effort to encourage regular breathing and eating for an individual, through a simple switch and visual stimuli. It has since developed into an experience with a broader yet still specific audience. With controllers resembling sip-n-puff, this game would fall into the assistive tech realm.
References:
– squirrel game
– character inspiration
– classic bubble bobble game for nes
– Eat’em up from class
– some flash tutorials
– assistive tech software
– more assistive tech software
– live web notes
– some existing flash games
Current progress:
prototype v.02 (nov 20)
There’s a belief that life in New York is a race, more so than in other parts of the country and the world. I sense that …yea for sure, but I’m actually more inclined to support the idea that belief is a matter of perspective, and perspective should be semi-controllable, hopefully to a healthy level. Last night, I stepped back and puffed on a nice cigar (old men do that at least once a year right) and reflected by watching my entire flickr photostream. Today, my perspective is loaded — honestly, it’s overloaded and fuzzy as hell. For me, moving forward is crucial, but keeping up a rapid pace seems increasingly difficult and decreasingly significant. As I begin the final lap at ITP and start to see how being 30 might look, anxiety is saying “hello there” … I wonder if I need to shift into turbo mode, focus on well-being and balance, or something completely different. I’m pretty sure I just need some air, a great meal, or a tough workout.
Anyway, on a practical note, I’ve generated some names for the projects I’m currently persuing.
For next semester, I’m thinking of thesis, another class, and an internship…(RGA? BAM? Frog? Schematic? IDEO?…hrmm)
The progress of our social, online-tv watching experience has come along really well in the last two weeks. We’ve received some great feedback from Richard, the class, and a guest critic from BlockBuster (Dari). At this point, the wireframes and initial designs of Clinq are mainly fleshed out. This week, we will fine tune our concepts and layouts, and then begin to build a prototype using Adobe Flash. Here’s a glimpse (pdf).
CISCO invited some ITP groups to their offices in midtown this week in order to experience a telepresence demo. They were interested in our ideas for applying the technology beyond the business mindset. It was pretty impressive, though the potential for surveillance/big-brother potential was a little unsettling.
This week, we read more chapters of The Lady Tasting Tea (3, 4, and 5), by David Salsburg. It was more science/stats history about Gosset, Fisher, and Pearson…
I also laid out a detailed plan for the quincunx and collected some marbles (thanks Jason). I scanned the basic sketches, and decided to build a mini-version with three pegs followed by a larger one with ten pegs. In class, we heard more about each others NYC study projects, and we went over binomials and
