Asymptomatic

There must be intelligent life down here

Twitter Influence
July 29, 2010

Technically Philly recently cross-posted a piece to Philadelphia Magazine concerning the most influential Twitter users in Philadelphia. Twitter - along with general social bookmarking sites - have always intrigued me in terms of influence; how emerging topics in the social networks can indicate trends in the real world. This localized aspect of Twitter is also very interesting to me. I can think of a specific example from my recent vacation.

Around here at home, the kids have gone crazy for these things called “silly bandz”. They’re basically rubber bands molded to take a specific shape, like animals or cars or dinosaurs. There are different kinds. Some glow in the dark, some are tie-dyed, some are rare shapes. It’s not uncommon to see kids around here wrapped with armfuls of them. But on vacation in Williamsburg, Virginia, there was no sign of them.

Women in my Workplace
July 28, 2010

Although it’s not the topic of this post specifically, my workplace is currently all male. This is not by design. There have been occasions when we’ve attempted to hire competent people and they also happened to be female. The dearth of women in the software and web development industry is a sad fact that I believe is common worldwide.

Every so often the topic once again crosses my radar. This time, it comes in via an article unearthed by Chris Shiflett written by female developer, Nicole Sullivan. The article, “Women in Technology”, has been quoted by many on Twitter with the phrase “Why is computer science a sausage fest?” The article itself was spawned by a comment made on twitter about Google’s recent funding of a grant to allow female developers to attend JSConf on Google’s dime.

Levels of Camping
June 16, 2010

The whole family went with Abby’s Girl Scout troop to French Creek for an overnight camping trip. I’ve always suspected that Girl Scouts, at least at Abby’s level if not through the whole thing, was “camping light”, since every time that Abby and Berta had gone before, they had stayed in hotel-like cabins.

I remember some “luxurious” camping accommodations in my scouting days, like a cement-floor cabin with metal spring bunks (no, no mattress, just the springs) and a fireplace. But nothing with real furniture. Unlike the reports I’d gotten from Berta upon their return from Abby’s scout trips.

Next Big Idea: Backseat Video Game
June 13, 2010

I’ve had this idea forever, and at first it sounds like nothing new, but when you see how the pieces fit together you’ll recognize it as something a bit more original.

The idea has its origin in a Star Trek exhibit that the Franklin held many years ago. One of the more creatively inspiring things about the exhibit was the user of the LCARS interface elements on each exhibit display. If you’re only marginally familiar with Star Trek the Next Generation, you’ll know the look of these things on sight. They’re really a contrivance for the show, offering no real UX benefit at all, but some computer applications have taken the look of LCARS and used it to produce some interfaces for things, whether they’re Star Trek-related or not.

Voiceover Class
May 12, 2010

On Monday night I was at J.R. Fugett middle school in West Chester taking an introductory voiceover class via the Chester County Night School. The class was offered by Voice Coaches. I’ve been interested in doing voiceovers for a while, and have bought some self-training courses and books on the topic with the focused intent on learning to do voice work well. Mom noticed that this class was happening, and sent me a copy of the flyer, after which I immediately signed up.

The class was good. The instructor, John Gallogly, knew what he was talking about, and gave a good introduction to the field of voiceovers. About 17 people showed up for the class, of all different age ranges. Everyone introduced themselves in the beginning and talked about what they were hoping to gain from the class.

After the introductions were done, John talked about the voiceover profession. It seems logical that it wouldn’t be possible to individually train 17 people in one class session, so the overview made sense instead. He talked about many useful things: The good and bad aspects of choosing to be a professional voice actor. What happens when you do a recording session. The personalities and the people involved in the process. And, of course, the money.