interfaces, their buttons and the village idiot

I stared at my friend’s washing machine. It has a million buttons, a big wheel, a digital display and a pile of little red and orange lights, with the odd green thrown in. I consider myself not a complete idiot, but have little patience with domestic appliances. They are here to make our lives simpler.
So I started thinking: over the years, how many different washing machines have I used? How many laudromats? Hundreds, easily. I have moved alot. And yet, every time I use one, I must take some time to figure out how it works. Read the rest »

words on walls

Graffiti, street art, vandalism, drunken scribbles, guerrilla communication, culture jamming – call it whatever you want.

Graffiti pieces focus on form, colour, technique; it is art, it is shape and message. The scribbles or stencilwork uses words and rarely seems to bother with the finer parts of typography or texture. Read the rest »

travels with/out internet

I travelled in South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand back in the dark ages before the internet. I remember my brother told me before I left, that in the future, I could use any computer anywhere in the world to talk to him. Back then I thought, but why would I want to?

(self, at 21, on Fraser Island, Queensland, Oz)
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birds

Gulls are not the most popular birds. But they are beautiful, in their specialized and very able ways. The ducks don’t have a chance..

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master of none

Looking for a university in USA, preferably California,  that have a master programme that I like.. Bachelor in digital media. Specialising from that, you should think was pretty easy to find these days. Oh, what adventure!

I am thinking around information architecture, interaction design, human-computer interaction, infographics. You’d think that would be reasonably easy to find. Nah.

Some classify HCI under psychology, some see infographics as either arts or engineering. Some see it as information technology, but then from a programming perspective. Some see it as art, but then with crayons and brushes. Some see infographics as library studies or mathematics. Or “informatics”. In some cases, “information” is bundled with “education”, and on top of that is classes in pedagogy. With pictures of teachers and little children.. Read the rest »

the great flash in the sky

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white sails

I have always had a dream of sailing. A few years back I did some serious research, and was pretty close to go either across the Atlantic or across from Africa to India. I had a look at a few shorter, less dramatic alternatives too, but things go the way they go, and I ended up doing that bachelor thing instead. In addition, I am not entirely certain of my own seaworthiness either. I have been on large boats and ferries, where everyone had green faces and fed the fishes. I was bored. It was not entirely comfortable, but most of all I was bored; that there was no-one to hang around in the bar with, telling tall tales. I wove my limbs and sleepingbag through some bolted chairs, locked myself in and slept. Then a variety of ferries in Asia, with chickens, wired-in piglets, and locals throwing up. Read the rest »

bachelor thesis: a walk in the rift valley, four million years ago

So what was that bachelor thesis all about? I have had that question a few times, and now that I have room to breathe again, I will elaborate.

At the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C., they have a programme that’s been going on for a number of years; The Human Origins Program. This is to bring evolution and research out there, mainly via the exhibition Hall of Human Origins. In the US, this is considered politics. I venture to say that in Europe this is considered history. So as the americans need to do sensible research, they also to a certain extent need to step carefully. Interesting, bizarre and a wee bit disturbing to me; this tip-toeing.

Scientists argue. Scientists have specialities, and some are extremely specialised in very detailed, at times small and obscure fields. Sometimes they want to share, sometimes not. Sometimes they dislike other scientists definitions, sometimes the overlap of fields can be enriching or frustrating. They work on projects, and they create the tools they need. It seems that they, for all sorts of reasons, creates their own databases; gather their data and information in forms that suits them best there and then. Not necessarily very sustainable, but if you don’t want to share your findings, well, I suppose you could have it inscribed on scrolls under your bed. Read the rest »

the bachelor years

And so three years ended. Higher education. Just as I got good at playing the game, it is over. It was a mixed kettle; these three years. Most of the courses seemed exciting on paper, and a good handful of them turned out to be dreadful. Pointless. Insulting. Yes, digital media production is a new-ish branch, and my university college a small one, but dmPro is clearly the stepchild of the IT department. A good deal of the lecturers there would rather not have us meddling in their pure, proper information technology. The sign of small minds. Read the rest »

wildlife, geeklife

I haz nut.

Work work – no time to sightseeing or go arty photographing. Little snippets, though. Read the rest »

days

Warmer days in D.C.  (foto by Lars)

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relatives and ancestors

australopithecus africanus, approx. 2.5 million years old Read the rest »

computers & bones

Ignoring all the stupid meta-problems to solve before proper work can begin, the environment is inspiring. Read the rest »

lost in transition

This is the first time I’ve been properly stuck. Takeoff postponed for 7-8-9 hours. Good job we got up at five in the morning for this. Read the rest »

images of no-things

Photos are not always meant to show something. Sometimes they are only there to contain shapes and colours. Sometimes, it is not a magic moment, but a play of light and an interesting composition. Could it surprise you? Read the rest »