I guess I do have some straight gene in me… or maybe it is the influence of my straight roommate’s passion for all the motorcycle making shows on the Discovery Channel.. but I have to admit there is something really beautiful about the new design of …

I know what is it that I am missing in Tampa: seeing people in the streets! There is no one anywhere, everybody drives and lives in Wysteria Lane, Suburbia, FL. No people… I went to South Beach on Sunday, Lincoln Road, with my friend Vicente. What a …

You know how much I love my friend Diego… He’s such a great man… We had dinner, very casual, in Ft Lauderdale, good wine, good food, and then we went to the Ramrod to have a good time. My thanksgiving break was great…

Los Angelenos, Josh MCs at another LA Salon Series. This intimate open-mic event is always a joy you will wish you had not missed. Come witness the solving of algebraic equations in exhibitionist and otherwise flamboyant performative fashions with the purpose of keeping the audience happy between the actual, real art acts.

Los Angelenos, Josh MCs at another LA Salon Series. This intimate open-mic event is always a joy you will wish you had not missed. Come witness the solving of algebraic equations in exhibitionist and otherwise flamboyant performative fashions with the purpose of keeping the audience happy between the actual, real art acts.

at lowe library, october 25th - for the GSAPP 125th Anniversary Alumni Event

Most likely I say the same things over and over. and in fact I am actually rather concerned that my so called blog referring to my life is actually nothing more than a series of whines. Certainly I have experiences that are probably worth sharing, milestones even, but for the most part there really isn’t too much going on. I could easily go into the configuration problems I am experiencing with my RF transceivers and how I contacted TI to get a battery optimization IC but that type of language, for the most part gets lost in the translation of “So what is this for?” The truth is I don’t really know. I started the semester with hopes that I could build a hydrogen powered media player. After about three months of research and discovery the unit would cost close to $1000. and in the end one of the things you realize when it comes to technology is why would I build something like that if I could easy buy five nanos that would be more reliable, have a warranty and better functions. So the projects move ahead. This semester I am involved in a series of group projects because one it is the last semester I have to do this type of collaborative work. Next semester is Thesis and that usually is a solo project. I have been thinking about it and I am at a loss of what direction I should take. For my Network Effects class final I am going to design a centralized social software portal. This is an exciting platform because anyone that uses social software, seemingly the backbone of communication while in school and for nearly everyone in there twenties and early thirties in an urban environment. The availability of a platform where MySpace, Friendster, LinkedIn, Ryze, Tribe, Orcut, ASW and Facebook could all be accessed and mixed one one screen is very exciting. It also could be developed into a highly profitable model. So That is one thing which has started to simmer. Another is to take what I have learned this semester in terms of battery optimization and alternative fuels to create a sustainable watering station for my mom at the farm. If I were to build this for her though, I think I would like to build multiples and test them on other farms and in other environments. This also could open the door for grant funding which would also be nice. So there is another. The third is to actually work with the trainers we are building the bike generator for to create a sustainable gym. This would be a big project but could be a great way to use my time here in the city in a proactive manner. Finally I look back at my idea to create a school of robotic fish and the idea doesn’t sit as well as it once did. Mostly because the purpose is rather limited. And then I look back at when I started this program and how I wanted to explore methods through which I could make the narrative structure of story telling interactive. I have wanted to work in video nearly my whole life and I simply have just not had a chance to do so to date. So obviously I have to do some thinking on this. I don’t as of right now, have any real answers, just questions. So that is where I am at and I’m not really too sure where that is. One thing that I know will help will be for me to start looking at, and applying for jobs. This will get me out into the workspace, a foreboding next step that I have yet to take and it will make me evaluate what it is that I am after. On the personal front I have this cycle met a host of wonderful people. The problem beside the fact that I am working all the time, in school, and during this Holiday for Rugby, is that I really have little to no time to spare. It is because of that limitation that I have been trying to take it slow. Being patient and relaxing is hard because every other part of my day is so very intense that it at times feels a bit like a battle. At the very least I hope that I have just met a series of really good friends. If that is all that comes of this then that at least is better than where I started. There is also this internal battle that I feel my professional life is very much set to start-off at light speed and on auto-pilot. As much as I would like to stay a private consultant I wonder how far I could stretch that. So I feel that the one thing lacking in my life is someone to share the adventure with. The battle isn’t a difficult one, I realize, because each day that passes shows me the possibility, but still I wonder. I can not imagine what would ensure if my days were not so intricately planned. So this is why I remain a bit aloof to the prospects of romance. This is only a temporary distraction I am sure. For the most part though the biggest problem I face every day is what it is I am going to eat. This may seem like a rather shallow and ridicules compulsion, because it is, but that is my problem each day. The rest seems to all happen by it’s own accord. In the coming week I will get all the parts I have been waiting for. Buzzers and ultrasonic transducers for the transceiver project, an alternator for the bike generator and tertiary to all of this is the final project I have yet to mention and that is to design a device for the aged. Initially I wanted to create a euthanasia device so that people could opt-out if they desired. I researched explosives and found that a condensed square of CL-20 could easily vaporize a human. CL-20 is the successor to the more commonly known explosive known as C4. Of course this came about because I had a dream many years ago in which people were disappearing in mushroom clouds. I did research this as well and I decided that radiation was probably worse than body goo. It is far more affective however. The problem is that this doesn’t really help anyone and the obvious problem is what would happen if old people wandered around blowing themselves up. So I am stepping back a bit on this idea. what came out of it though was research into clothing that could protect and monitor people as their bodies grew less reliable. I found the Icon TiMax jacket which is made for motorcycles but could easily be re-appropriated as hip protective wear. Using a design that has a sense of retro-futuristic appeal I think it is possible to create safety wear that could be both desirable and allow for the bumps and bruises of old age. The TiMax jacket, which is obviously over the top uses titanium reenforced armor plating. At the beginning of the semester I found this product called () which is affectively armor plating that hardens upon impact making it a lightweight protective shield, They are already using the material in ski suits used in the giant slalom event. An lightweight armor that protects a skier from a fifty mile an hour spill into the barrier is something grand indeed. I see this developing into a sort of protective undergarment with vast potential. This again could easily become a thesis as it would probably take that long to implement a working prototype. So this is where I am at, in case you were wondering.

Next week is Thanksgiving and I am scheduled to go up to Concord,Ma for the party. It should be a good one as my cousins are all flying in. I unfortunately have work scheduled for both Wednesday night at NYU and Friday at Rugby so I will be jetting up for just the day. Making it all happen will be amazing. I am thinking that I might not even bring a change of clothes. When I return i will officially have one month to wrap up everything that I have mentioned here. I have until the end of the week for Thesis.

So I didn’t sleep so well because writing this opened the door to me thinking about all the things mentioned here. The first, and why I got interested in the Bike Generator project was because I actually wanted to have a rowing machine attached to a generator. But at some point in the past six hours of my pseudo sleep I realized that without a good flywheel the energy would be transient, as after each pull there is a recoil. I also started thinking about what I would like to see in the Nature of Code, what I realized was that I really would like to see a place created where a notion of the super-computing possibilities are explored. Imagine if you could log into a site to become part of a simulated living organism. In the case of a single computer the L-system, and generative possibilities are exciting and engaging but what if there were a few hundred working simultaneously attached at the same root. It would seem that in this case a true organic life like structure could grow. A friend of mine is attempting to grow a grass sphere, I have been helping him. It has been interesting because apparently this is the first time he has ever planted seeds. It has also been interesting because I have learned quite a bit about the resiliency of the root structure. In our tests we actually have grown grass in a soil ball wrapped in pantyhose. As I thought about it in the dawn I think growing grass through cheesecloth might result in a sculpt-able medium. The idea of a living sculpture is very exciting. There is another complication that I haven’t mentioned when it comes to thesis and that is that very shortly we will have to pick our thesis advisors, all of whom have a specialty and an area of expertise that will determine their choice. As in whatever I choose finally will directly affect which advisor I will sign up for. Though this is in many ways secondary. It does however create a bit of a problem as I feel as though I will be setting out on an irreversible tangent.

Time has not really been on my side of late, in fact I have so little time it had been two weeks since I had talked to my Mom. Luckily, however I will be headed up to Concord next week.

At the beginning of last week I realized something very important, and it has happened before, but every time it does in fact happen, I am always extremely surprised when it happens. I realized that I really should not worry. I should not worry at all, in fact. Life goes on, as it always does, and I should really enjoy each and every second I see fluttering away on an hour hand that sweeps in seconds.

I realized while walking to school the other morning that I am almost done this extrememly extravigant lifestyle I have been living. Six months is no time at all. In fact six months ago I was, wait wasn’t that yesterday?

I like anyone feel worried about the future. I worry about economics almost too much, actually it is more like a constant din, that I can neither affect or control, so in many ways I am just giving in. Considering that my rent is more than the mortgage of most people I know, this is understandable. I also have accumulated a fair amount of accidentals that I REALLY hate to talk about. It just disappears. . . .

which this brings in something else that has happened in the past two weeks and that is that I may, very soon, be offered an apartment nearby for about half it’s market value. I say may, because it may not happen. But so far, the co-op board is very supportive, which is amazing. It certainly is nothing fancy, but the location is. Ironically the price would lead me into a mortgage pretty close to what I am paying now, which for those of you who know, a one bedroom in the west village usually runs for at least 600k. So the opportunity is a bit surreal. This is probably why I started freaking out about finances again.

Now the worry I really am leaving, of late, is the worry of being alone. While the truth is I meet people all the time, sometimes it leads somewhere, sometimes not at all. But in my schedule of no time, meeting new people is all that I can really do and focus upon. I have had a terrible trait of moving too fast in relationships and for the first time I think I can actually be patient and let it happen. I have decided also that the best thing for me to do it approach everything as just friends, this takes away the pressure, and also makes it so much easier. I don’t know why I got so heady, but I did.

it’s also been raining quite a bit and that could be part of it as well. I luckily have my umbrella with me always. . .

I blame it on my friends getting married, though I do realize that everyone’s friends do. I could blame it on many things, but the truth is the blame is all my own. I may be getting old, and I may be nothing special. But really no matter what I will be living with myself always, and if I mislead or hurt anyone then that simple fact makes me sad. And so as I take this next month in stride, which will very much be a full time work blurring of days and nights, I can say that all I move forward with is a pure heart, that is not sure at all what it is he wants. I’m not a player, so please don’t make me out to be one.

At least this is how I feel right now. . . .

As part of my internship this semester, I’ve been working with Shawn Van Every and Tom Igoe on establishing a connection between Asterisk (an open source telephone system) and networked objects. The basic goals were to make it so that you could control an object with a telephone and so that a telephone call could [...]

As a telephone artist presenting two 60 second audio tour segments in Peter Stuyvesant’s Ghost (PSG), Sound Art and Historical Environment Project, November 15-19, 2006 [http://cityinasoundwalk.org/psg/], I propose the following research for your criti…

Below is the specification for the MTV-like VODCAST TITLES that shall appear at the dead of the vodcast for 5 seconds and then fade out in each of the NN International Excercise Vodcasts. This might be of primary interest to the DIY teams.- format -”th…

For any team of the International Excercise that wants to make their own vodcast here is the VODCAST SPECIFICATION that I intend to follow with submitted student files. I am using Final Cut Pro HD 4.5 with file > export > Using Quick Time Conversion > …