PhaseTable: testes

just posting this so I can test out rss feed gathering over at phasetable.com
my devious plan is to grab any post here (in my “creative pursuits” blog) and list it, if it has proper keyword. or tag. or category. or whatever. I have an email explaining it, from friend Ian.

FROM SPACE

Doctor Ian wrote (well, pasted into an email):
Syntax: http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Feeds
Example of usage:
http://vidhero.wordpress.com/?tag=movie&feed=rss2
http://vidhero.wordpress.com/tag/movie/feed

RSS consumption and display:
http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxfeeds/

IGNORE: Rotating ticker I use:
http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex17/rsstickerajax/

(really just posting these links here so I don’t have to fish out that old email again)

PhaseTable: Phase zero

Well, I’d been meaning to keep a proper diary of my progress crafting my own multitouch table. It’s important.
But I keep neglecting to post. Not sure when I began really. Several groups of photos from several tests burning a hole into my ANTICIPATION GLANDS. soon.

at this date, all I know for sure is that I had purchased the URL www.phasetable.com (and had probably posted just a simple sketch of the logo idea). (and logos/links for OptiTrack and NUI Group)

and I’d posted a hello over at the NUI group.
(and a question no one would ever answer)

game idea: Attack Die!

someone should make a 3rd person game with every in-game character tethered to a giant die. Like a big comical ball and chain, with physics.
annnnd: whatever face is currently up on the die controls the stats. (or maybe which ever face is getting the most light? so you could have three sided die? and puzzles where lighting changes?)

So you’d constantly be choosing whether you want to attack them, or their die.
(maybe have something where high numbers are good for defense, but low numbers are good for fast attacks).

maybe running makes die tumble around, but walking/tiptoeing keeps die stable. (so you could have stealth areas where you try to get a good roll, then drag it slowly through a deadly gauntlet. which would have to have minor bumps on floor for maximum white knuckles).
Like, the die could be contextual, reflecting how low your steps are (in this area).

hmm.
maybe you could “level up” by adding more die. maybe different kinds of die could represent different powers (d3 is tied to your leg if you use fire sword. or a d10 is tied to your leg if you equip to ice shield).
picture these barbarians running around with 10 different kinds of die dragging behind them.

for some reason i find this intensely exciting. 🙂

Jonah Hex: 2 blahs outta 5 wha?’s

I just got back from see Jonah Hex.
weird failure. lots of big stars. no discernable drama/pulse.
but still had some fun business (cowboys in weird west = hard to look away?)
but when the end came around, I felt like “wait, when’s this movie gonna start?”

Also: had weird shitty flash animation during the opening. WHAT:THE:FUCK.
to me, that’s something you do for story boards or DVD extras. it feels like “we ran out of money. so bob did this awkward animation. sorry, audience.”
weird. WEIRD.

blah.

it was probably the best straight-to-dvd movie i’ve seen this year. cept they released it in theatres.

p.s. weird to see the guy from american beauty being fat and boring (wes bently?) and the british guy from IngloriousBasterds being skinny and tattooed. not sure why they took the roles. to play off malkovich and brolin? I wonder if there was ever any time during production when any of these actors got a chance to spar with their skillz. hmmf.

Sayyy, web browsing friend, have you read this?

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/05/ff_nicholas_carr/

quote: “Research continues to show that people who read linear text comprehend more, remember more, and learn more than those who read text peppered with links.”

At first, this strikes me as just another dogmatic fear-of-change reaction. ‘we did it one way for hundreds of years, so this new thang must be inferior. or a throwback to primitive animal-brain crap that nobody really wants.’ .
…I guess they do mention that the hypertext distraction isn’t as pronounced as it once was, because people have learned to tune out hyperlinks. but. I don’t think they really believe it.

Continue reading “Sayyy, web browsing friend, have you read this?”

Apple vs. Adobe: My thoughts on the Jobs rant and rebuttals

my view:
Jobs is saying there is a difference between apps and the web.

I think the key is this:
“It is not Adobe’s goal to help developers write the best iPhone, iPod and iPad apps. It is their goal to help developers write cross platform apps.”

Some mention that apple could get involved in Adobe’s open screen project, but the whole point of that project is “o provide a consistent runtime environment.” How can you do this between a blackberry and an iPhone?

(degrading features gracefully? that sounds like something for the web, not for an app. !!!).

Continue reading “Apple vs. Adobe: My thoughts on the Jobs rant and rebuttals”

web tool idea : Crowd Sourced Criticisms and Summaries

Ok, i’m pretty excited about this idea.
was watching a “Copyright Essentials for Faculty” presentation in Adobe Connect this morning, and trying to think up game ideas. (that is: rinky dink games that would convey and reinforce some of the more complicated parts of the lengthy legislation).

rather than a game, I’ve been obsessing on a “web 2.0 tool” idea, which i’m calling Crowd Sourced Criticisms and Summaries (CS:CaS). (Alternately, maybe it could be called “verbosity squad” or “hyperbole cop”)(or “MMOMU CaSS)(or Summark)

basically, when i see some text like “Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not infringements of copyright” i often have to read it a few times to make sure I’m sorting out the bullshit language abuse properly.
I wish I could just click a button to read how some friend of mine has summarized it. Continue reading “web tool idea : Crowd Sourced Criticisms and Summaries”

Review: Fringe Tv Show: White Tulip

This was my favorite episode of Fringe. EVER. (so far).

It was probably good enough to make up for all the shitty episodes this season. Good enough that i’ll be buying the set, just so I can study this episode in more detail.

Spoilerific Summary:

Walter encounters a peer.

Walter is a crazed genius who can move between dimensions, but here we see him meet a mad scientist who is able to move through time. they trade notes, lament their similar family-loss sob stories (which drove them each to their mad science speciality), and in the end they argue over the nature of god/science.

And, arguably, they both turn out to be right.

You don’t have to know the history of Fringe to appreciate. It can be enjoyed stand-alone, and I’d recommend watching it right now. Just go here

Continue reading “Review: Fringe Tv Show: White Tulip”