Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics (or characteristics assumed to belong only to humans) to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts (wikipedia).
It is human to see human responses around us, and we have the ability for abstraction. So we apply human patterns to animals and objects. “An evil wind blows..” Continue reading “anthropomorphism – you are like me” »
If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you’re a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind.
Kurt Vonnegut
A carpenter was commissioned to build some boxes for a SPCA cat shelter. This is what he did. He did not even bother to pretend to do a half decent job. Continue reading “digital carpentry” »
so.. i got hacked. What irony. Fundamentally, it was a .htaccess hack, and every php file got a nasty cookie script. God, what a hassle. I am lucky to have a provider that does decent backups, and that I do not update the site much, so little was lost. But for a couple of hours, as I sifted through it all, it stress levels was uncomfortably high. Continue reading “black hack” »
2011
Technical writing, software testing, manual design.
“Imagine an electronic page for each species of organism on Earth...”
Encyclopedia of life is an amazing, insane undertaking. E. O. Wilson did a delightful, rambling TED-talk, and things actually happened. Continue reading “a ux look at (the encyclopedia of) Life” »
I went to a little talk today, held by Mano Mark, senior geo developer at Google, for whoever at the Smithsonian who wanted to come. I learned some interesting things… Continue reading “earth, wind, fire” »
“Webdesign” is often a thankless thing; the discussions and arguments runs heated in the forums these days. Because webdesign is structure, plan, architecture, planning for flexibility and future needs, usability, accessibility, indexing, storing. And yes. Colours and boxes too. Continue reading “the art of no” »
This has puzzled me for a long time:
We invest emotions into massive companies, because they produce our computing tools.
You have the Apple fans and the – until recently slightly guilty – Microsoft followers. The MS crowd seems to have gained some confidence back recently, and they yell as loud as the macApple clan. Continue reading “great expectations, the macApple clan & the MSboys” »
Keep It Simple, Stupid!
Websites. it is everything and nothing. Not everyone needs a website. But by god, how much shite is out there – it is baffling; it begs belief.
Continue reading “KISS websites – drowning in drivel” »
A while ago, I applied for a job as a 3D-assistant. I can do that, I figured. The description of the job and subsequent application went through a large site that deals with everything from selling houses to pencils. And job listings.
I was summoned to the interview, both by phone and an e-mail through finn.no’s system. Continue reading “the interview” »
Cleverly, the museum had a night for grown-ups. That likes to play, that likes to build with lego, drink wine, fiddle with physics, gawk at machinery, technology, history, brutal murder, musicians, stand-up’ers, bubbles and chemists. Delightful!
Continue reading “night at the (norwegian) museum (of science and technology)” »
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 laundromats? Hundreds, easily. I have moved a lot. And yet, every time I use one, I must take some time to figure out how it works. Continue reading “interfaces, their buttons and the village idiot” »
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. Continue reading “bachelor thesis: a walk in the rift valley, four million years ago” »
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. Continue reading “the bachelor years” »
Ignoring all the stupid meta-problems to solve before proper work can begin, the environment is inspiring. Continue reading “computers & bones” »
D.C. is a strange city; it feels like a bubble. It is a smallish, administrative city in a very very large and powerful country. It is rather anonymous. It seems, in this city of administration, power and museums, people live here for a few years, and it gives the city a neutral feel. I am sure the masses of security forces helps too. The city have some lovely, quirky neighbourhoods; places I could live. A little outside the centre, there is life. The city centre is over-dimensioned with bizarre architecture. A mish-mash of styles and taste. Sometimes it works, sometimes it is awful. A new nation cherry-picking world history. Continue reading “– au revoir, D.C.” »
We have this medium: it is free, it is flexible, it is far reaching. It is relatively new.
We should play with it. We should make things that are broken, we should break things that works. Continue reading “make, break and create” »