Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Noel wants your kid to ride the RolliRider

Rollirider is a philosophy, not just a product. It's about toys that are handmade, and time spent hand-crafting wooden toys vs. mass-produced plastic junk. Rollirider reminds us that solid toys are fun, and good quality makes a durable toy. My friend Noel recommends you get one and spend some quality time. You should check out the video-- the kids are flying on them!

Lisa Yong Sees RED | Network

RED | Network is a network, involving Lisa Yong, who does trends research. Asia is the future, you should try to understand it and work it into your business model. :)

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Pia De Leon and William Chuang's Wedding

So, I finally sorted through my stack of letters to open Pia De Leon and William Chuang's Wedding invitation. yay! I am so excited for William, whom I've known for well over a decade! Ever since the days of -i dog. :) Another friend of mine, Duff, just got married as well. So I'm looking forward to saying hi to everyone. :)

Saturday, March 19, 2005

27 Dishes by Ferran Adria

Twenty-seven Small Courses of Ferran Adria

eGullet.org -> The Cabinet of Dr. Adria

eGullet.org -> The Cabinet of Dr. Adria: "
Marta then showed us a poster-size compilation of the many el Bulli pictograms that she has designed. We then returned to the first floor seating area where Luki showed us five of his notebooks that he uses to create cooking and tabletop implements. What we found most surprising, however, was to learn that Adria encourages Luki to come up with designs for innovative cooking devices; Adria then tries to find techniques and dishes to prepare with the new devices -- instead, as one would think, of the other way around.
"

Harvest Moon Wedding to Celia!

yesterday, I spent like, 8 hours or so (from 7Pm until 3AM) playing harvest moon, which I hadn't played in a while. It was fun, and I was addicted. I got married to Celia, who is the nice girl, Nami was just too much of a biaaaatch. And my kid is awesome. I really dig the characters, and I got the seedmaker from Daryl. I have impregnated my first cow, and got my first sheep. I'm running in the black, so things are going well, and having a wife and kids makes me proud. I can't wait to get Ruby's spice... I also met grant, but I didn't get a chance to celebrate with them. I bought my kid a ball and he's named TipitI, after the movie Pootie Tang, "Oh no the Tippie-tai's". :) :) :) I'm excited, I just got my first potato crop and I think things will be okay. I wish I could remember when my I bought my 2nd cow,so then I would know when it is producing milk. Haven't gotten a goat yet. I don't know whether I want one yet.
Still, life is good.

Ferran Adria joins my favorite chefs list

Ferran Adria is a artist in haute cuisine (thanks Halley for teaching me how to say that). My favorites are Alton Brown and Julia Childs. I also like that Ciao Italia lady. These guys/gals have spunk. :)

Thursday, March 17, 2005

�t h e � O r a n g e � l a b�

�t h e � O r a n g e � l a b�

Walkman Cell Phone Announced


Sony Ericsson on Mar 3 kick-started its entry into the mobile music market with the announcement of the W800 [.jpg image], the first Walkman-branded mobile phone. It will now be possible to listen to music, handle phone calls and take pictures and video -- all with one device and with, according to company claims, no compromise in quality. The Sony Ericsson W800 is the first device that combines a mobile phone, a high-quality digital music player (with up to 30 hours' battery life), and a 2-megapixel camera.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

TUI Laboratory and Ken Camarata's Hand Body Room space

Today Orit and Rob invited me to critique the first presentations for Tangible User Interface Laboratory. I had a terrific time hearing the innovative tangible ideas from the students in the class, and am looking forward to seeing their final presentations and demos soon! What is very impressive is the depth of the project scenarios the students presented, especially with the small amount of time the students will have to get to a working demo. I think they are doing things right, though, and I believe they'll all have something working soon.

Afterwards, I got to meet Ken Camarata and hear his research talk on Hand, Body and Room Space. It was a inspiring talk about rapid prototyping physical interfaces.
Tomorrow I am planning to attend the Cisco talk, and hear about the future of networking... :)

Thursday, March 10, 2005

Monday, March 07, 2005

Welcome to Wellmet Project, Inc.

The Wellmet Project, Inc. is a worthy place. There should be more places like this where people who need just a little extra help can live and thrive in the real world, rather than isolated from others.

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Mommy Madness

Halley's Comment recently reviewed this article on Mommy Madness. What matters is not getting your kid into the right school, toys, etc.. it's giving your your kid the right values and tools to be a contributor and really understand the world he lives in. If you can afford to spend $20K or so for a preK education, why not save the money and spend it on making the public school your kid in much better? Sure, not every parent will pitch in, but the parents that do will serve as role models for all the kids (not just their own). The kids will learn how adults get things done in a real-world setting. What your kids get from you spending time changing the environment we all live in setting an example to teach them how to be better adults.

Just chucking your kid into expensive day care can breed snobbishness, and plays into the whole keeping up with the jones' attitude. After all, what will your children learn in a school that doesn't give grades, or has artificial social structures that are not represented in the real world. What are they learning from parents who push them to be the best but are not actively involved in their education? The kids won't be able to really understand the human dynamics of the non-disneyfied world they live in.
Almost every well adjusted adult I know had parents who actively cared about the quality of the school their kids went to. The parents were around on the school PTA, the school, in the school, and they supported the efforts of the school. Our high school band could boast many involved band parents for every outing, and our math club was able to raise money to go to national competitions because our parents and teachers worked together to collectively solve the problem. As a result, I learned that going to compete/vote/getting great jobs is not a fundamental right-- it was a privilege you earn by many hours of work and collaboration with others (networking). Just as the same as in the world today, you don't get promotions or become a leader without working hard toward it.
Parents need to stay involved, and stay visible in their children's lives. They need to show by example, and not expect other people to raise their kids for them. Sure, there is the opportunity cost of spending time vs. working-- but how much will you regret not being there for them if you had that opportunity?

Monday, February 28, 2005

Friday, February 25, 2005

How to make (almost) anything

How to make (almost) anything was a terrific class, simply because you got to have a crack at these expensive tools. I have to say though, that the class is not for everyone. I don't know if people in 3rd world countries really want to make solutions to their problems-- they would probably rather have solutions given to them (with some of their input), because they've got enough to worry about. It's like the idea of the human hyperlink. Why don't YOU, the designer/engineer, do what you can, and we, the consumer will do what we can. I am not sure if everyone wants to be an inventor... Still replicators are very Stephenson-esque, sci-fi-fantasy-esque.

New New Things-- Personal Fabrication

MSNBC - New New Things mentions that "the future" is being able to make stuff yourself. You should take a look at our kitchen/workshop. We've got tons of components strewn out and we're making stuff. Yay!

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Multi pressure strips from a capactive touchpad

I remember I ran into this young man with a terrific interface last time I was at CHI. I recently found him again at The Home Page of Gabor Blasko. This is quite innovative hardware design. This makes a lot of sense, given that the capacitive pad can be so flexible to different types of input.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Rob Jacob's TUI lab class: COMP 150-TUI

Prof. Rob Jacob's is teaching COMP 150-TUI on Tangible User Interfaces. Some of the students are making neat project mockups of TUIs.

Friday, February 11, 2005

Topcoder

Are you a TopCoder? Check out these bios!

Harvard yard web camera

Harvard yard web camera provides a gorgeous view of what the snow left us yesterday. I like the timelapssed movement of people across the yard. It's reminds me of a tears for fears video...

Thursday, February 10, 2005

USATODAY.com - Concept of $100 laptop for world's poor is a winner

USATODAY.com - Concept of $100 laptop for world's poor is a winner
a laptop Negroponte says could be sold for $100.

Sounds a little crazy, right? You can't buy a decent pair of ice skates for $100. A stripped-down, 512-megabyte iPod Shuffle with no screen or keyboard costs $100. How can a laptop cost $100?

Missing Big Jimmy

I got sad news from a friend a few days ago and cannot believe that Big Jimmy has passed away. He was a caring and terrific person to be around, and we all will miss him. Most importantly, students and faculty have set up a fund to help out people at East Campus. I remember Big Jimmy's ice cream feeds-- geniuses flocking to the kitchen and gobbling down ice cream while they talked algorithms. I know that Big Jimmy's spirit remains alive in all of us. Missing Big Jimmy
Big Jimmy MIT Spotlight

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Acoustics and Vibration Animations

Acoustics and Vibration Animations

grindhouse connection


Because its just down the street, there was no reason to skip theArt Interactive party, with sosoLimited folks eric gunther, justin manor and crew. Andrea and Maku were a hoot, especially the cucumber wrapped nori. It was nice to bump in to Dan (aka leinad) at the party, and we're all looking forward to Collision.

Monday, February 07, 2005

Sunday Sunday Sunday, the Pats win the Super Bowl.

Thanks to Rich Lester, I had a terrific time with old pals on Sunday, watching the Patriots win. One thing that struck me was how great some friends are. It's been about a year since I had seen Karen, and she's doing great! She's teaching math (that sounds way cool), and so is Rich, Yun, Mike. It was also great to see Jamie, Brad, Lisa Maria and Neil again. I think Lisa Maria and Neil will be at both Duff and William's wedding, so stay tuned!
That being said, it was also sad to see how lame the commercials were this year. No more viagra, but also, no more substance. The long awaited Razr commercial didn't air in my part of the US. I wonder if it did in others? let me know if you saw it during th superbowl. Most of the commercials were pretty tame and lame.... Too bad there were no Apple 1984 type commercials this year.

Friday, February 04, 2005

Visual Google newsmap

Today Tad tipped me off on a visual google news reader:: check out the newsmap here. Are you psyched? This one reminds me of the visual amazon shopper by Schneiderman and Hivegroup... Rock on to Ten By Ten. You guys pwn Viz, man!

gamermom

Halley's new blog gamermom about the XBOX. My favorite new word is pwn3d! When watching the Bourne Supremacy the other night, we were yelling, "you guys are so pwn3d!"

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Touching Your Own Future: Haptic Tools

Touching Your Own Future: Haptic Tools from the ACM Newsletter. This article is a survey of the current buzz generators in the haptics community. Looking forward to seeing these devices become more commonplace.

Monday, January 31, 2005

Cracking RFID is easy...

Top Technology News Sponsored by Audi | Reuters.com: "chips that make possible high-security car keys and swipe-by gasoline passes can be cracked using cheap technology, U.S. computer experts said on Saturday"

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Tasty Pho Republique

Tonight I got to try some tasty tuna wraps at Pho Republique, along my coworkers. Its been a long time since we've been out together, so it was nice to kick back. I also ventured to Back Bay station's environs for the very first time and we got to ride the silver line on the way back. Suffice it to say, I felt like an explorer. Next time I'll have to try some of these other restaurants. They all look very cozy and perfect for a date!!! :) Ofcourse, nothing beats home cooking...

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Snowflakes based on LIFE,by Jimbones


Jim's .Snowflake generator gives you the most beautiful samples. The drawing algorithm is based on the a simple set of rules of snowflake creation, akin to John Conway's Life

Monday, January 17, 2005

congratulations Ben & Kelly

Congratulations to the new couple Ben & Kelly! We had a very nice wedding reception dinner today at China Pavilion. We are very happy for you both.


Friends and family can download our images here.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

DDR Freakz

Was viewing Ian the DDR Master and wanted to check on whether other people had DDR videos. Found a bunch on
DDR Freak
Coolness!

Friday, January 07, 2005

Dsym Design - Product DNA

Dsym Design - Product DNA says The Digimood PED © acts as a communication enhancer, a device that senses the mood and feelings of the wearer and communicates this to another similar device using standard communication medias.
The feelings are then communicated in real-time to the other person via a mix of visual and tactile feedback (colored glowing light and soft vibrating pulse). The Digimood travels both ways while people are communicating and it helps for a more efficient mutual understanding

Slashdot | eGenesis to Develop New MMO with Orson Scott Card

Slashdot | eGenesis to Develop New MMO with Orson Scott Card

Saturday, January 01, 2005

Congratulations Craig and Sarah!



Last night was a special occasion for friends of Sarah and Craig. Ray, Dan and I went to the fabulous The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Miami to attend the wedding ceremony. Joyce was a bridesmaid, and we also saw Julie, 2/3 martinez and wives/girlfriends and Kathy, Bruno, Alfredo, Gail, George and his wife, and finally met Hanson. The festivities lasted well into the new year and I enjoyed saying "Happy New Year" mixed in with "Feliz Ano Nuevo". I hope all of you have a Happy and Prosperous New Year! :)

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Thoughts around a city...

greetings from Miami! Lovely weather,a bit chilly, but having a good time with my best friends Jackie and Barbie. Also hanging out with Joyce and Ray-- saw Signs, and Ocean'sTwelve, and Fat Albert. Struck out at Miami Strike! LOL!
Found a nice note from turbulence, passing time by making a story online:
Thoughts around a city

went to MotoFL and got to see a bunch of people and facilities. Good stuff!

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Smoke Inhalation and more evacuation

Smoke smoke smoke. Ringing bells, loud noise. Almost made it to the steps. Suddenly quiet. Going back to bed.

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Fire on Franklin street

After taking my cough, sore throat, and sleepy draught medications, I am resting when I smell SMOKE. Peep out the window to see the building across the street on Fire, and flames licking the night sky as burning embers erupt from the top of its roof. It was a 3-4 story building with an asphalt roof, and I hope all the people in it are safe. We were evacuated due to smoke, so we got to walk around fire engines from Somerville, Brookline, down the street in Centra Square. A 1/2 hour later, the cynosure flame is still going on 2 sides but luckily we were able to return home and rest. I can imagine how tough it must be for the families who lived there, and for the neighboring homes! Who would ever think a fire could be so big and erupt so quickly. We are very lucky it was not a blustery night! It's always something in Central Square...

Congratulations Duff!

Well, Thanksgiving seems to have been a great time for new beginnings. My friend Mike Duff got engaged and I was bowled over by his photo album! They got engaged in scenic Hawaii, and his fiancee, also named Kelly like my new-sister-in-law, was equally beautiful. Congratulations, and I look forward to saying hello in person sometime soon. WOW!

12 sided calendar

12 sided calendar

DallasNews.com | News for Dallas, Texas | Opinion: Balance of Opinion

DallasNews.com | News for Dallas, Texas | Opinion: Balance of Opinion Ellen Goodman writes:
" I remember the AT&T ads that encouraged people to "reach out and touch someone." Our generation learned to touch by touch tone. We were sold on the notion that a phone call is nearly as reassuring as a hand.
Now we hardly notice how the language of emotion and technology have been entwined. We 'keep in touch' via cellphones. We "connect" over the Internet. We 'see' each other over videophones. Technology has made it easier ­ and perhaps more likely ­ to live apart. So we create more and more technological fixes for the human fix we are in: distance from people we love."

It's an interesting article about the imporatance of real communication/presence over telecommunication and virtual presence. I would have to agree that there's no good substitute for the real thing. Yet, I would argue that having alternative ways of enhancing remote communication does not cheapen our experience, but rather, enhances remote communication. Remote communication is something that is not going to go away. The alternative to enhancing remote communication could be a far lesser experience "nothing, no contact".
Remote telepresence is really the key to allowing a person to share their presence with people they want to be there for, but cannot due to constraints of time and money... I think the concerns about cheapening the experience are misdirected, as at least an experience is better than no experience at all.

Friday, November 26, 2004

Congrats to Ben and Kelly!

This was a busy Thanksgiving. I got to meet my new sister-in-law's family and attend their wedding! What a nice family and I am happy that my brother is so happy! Also, the new family-in-law is really cool! It was the first wedding I've seen up-close, and it went really well. I'll put up pictures this weekend. Congratulations, Ben and Kelly! Also, good to meet the Lees and Kims! :)

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Sensorial Communication

Tomorrow I'm giving a talk at Tufts University CS Department about Sensorial Communication, my research topic. Hopefully I will be in good shape (I've been recovering from a nasty cold).
Well, good thing I have a lot of old presentations to draw from. Fortunately, I have a video of comtouch that shows the project with talking in the background. Wish me good luck!

Sunday, November 07, 2004

cough on the keyboard

When you've got a cold and have to stay home, you get busy catching up on things you meant to do. Like putting up pictures from my visit with Ian way back in April.
Here's a picture of the animator at work:

Also, the beautiful walks I like to take around Paris.

Monday, November 01, 2004

Wireless Weather Forecaster

Wireless Weather Forecaster Using the same nationwide content-distribution network as the Ambient Orb,
the Wireless Weather Forecaster shows accuweather.com 5-day forecasts on a
dedicated 4" screen through cute icons and a glanceable bar graph for just $100 bucks.

Guages show me how:: Dundas Gauge for .NET Gallery

Dundas Gauge for .NET Gallery

Dundas Gauge includes a full assortment of gauge types including circular,
linear, angular, thermometer, and more to help developers add a new dimension
of visualization and analysis

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!!!!

'ello, me duck!: HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!!!!

ArtFutura 2004 . Augmented Reality

Rebecca Allen, from MLE, will be showing her work at ArtFutura 2004 . Augmented Reality Wish I was in Barcelona!

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

LANES Calendar - Storytelling

Recently, I attended a StoryTelling by Kevin Brooks and others in Medford. It was a wonderful event. Got to meet the legendary Brother Blue. I highly recommend going to futuer events. The next one is Nov. 1t6th in Hahvahd Square. See the LANES Calendar for details.

Protein Feed - LED Chandeliers

Protein Feed - LED Chandeliers

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

a true makeover story


So, some of you may have noticed I am sporting a new haircut and nail polish this week. What's the deal, you ask? Virginia won an Oprah O party, and I was lucky to get invited. Yay!
The first time I've ever spent almost a whole day getting pampered, and it was sure an experience. I have to admit that the pedicure and haircut were my favorite parts. It was fun, and here is my shout-out to Oprah and G-spa. Ofcourse, it wouldn't have been possible without Virginia! Girls, you sure look good today!

LED-Toilet-Seat Galactika

So, you all know how nuts I am for LEDs! TadT just sent me a link four the LED-Toilet-Seat Galactika. LED Lights now for the bathroom. The toilet seat lights up when you lift the toilet lid. *DUDE!* It'll go nicely with my IKEA Trybble! :)

Don Norman's jnd.org / essays

Just hopped to Don Norman's jnd.org / essays and found a large repository of tidbits that every product designer should read. I agree that Usability is not a luxury!

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Thanks for a wonderful Bday Dinner!

Thanks to everyone for coming to the Oasis Restaurant to help me celebrate my 29th! It was the best party ever, and I had a wonderful time! :) Thank you also for the thoughtful prezzies! :) How did you know so much about what I like? :)

And thanks to Ziondanch for putting up pix of the cake ceremony!

soso

soso is gonna mix-it-up at the Media Lab tomorrow. Hope you can come!

Monday, October 11, 2004

Sunday, September 12, 2004

Friday, September 10, 2004

Speckled Paint brush

Today Coltzan gave anjlala a Speckled Paint Brush. She hurried to the Rainbow Pool to dress in her new duds!

EMotional phone..>?

Siemens CX70 EMOTY

False Premises

Lisa forwarded me to this site: False Premises

I think the timeline is interesting, and so are the quotations. Giving facts is something the Moore movie didn't do to well, and it is also a good way to sell t-shirts.

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

BODYWORLDS-Home

So, besides the San Francisco Exploratorium, another reason to visit California is to see the BODYWORLDS-exhibit. Looks way cool!