Organizations
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April 9 2013
Bracketless in Stumptown
March was a little less mad for me this year. I declined the opportunity to fill out a March Madness bracket this year. Not that I ever really know what’s going on in college basketball, but I really don’t know what’s going on this year. I did hear something on the school playground about a “bone sticking all the way out.” I find the institution of office bracket pools an interesting case study. When else is illegal activity so universally accepted in the workplace? Imagine this water cooler chatter: “Hey, gang, anybody…
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February 26 2013
Conferences…as an attendee!?!
I had the pleasure of attending two conferences this past month that I wasn’t a speaker at. I got to attend them purely as a member of the audience. Those of you who are speakers know that this small shift in category of attendance really affects how you approach the conference; in this case I could chill, just listen, only participate in a conversation if I felt there may be a longer-term goal in there to pursue. But for the most part –I could be pretty dang anonymous and take…
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October 23 2012
Teens Talk Tech
This weekend, I participated in the iUrban Teen Tech Summit. The iUrban Teen Tech Summit brings together underserved, underrepresented and unengaged teens in an all-day, technology event held on various university campuses. This one happened to be in Vancouver, WA at Washington State. I was a little nervous about talking to a bunch of 13-17 year olds about digital animation. What do they already know? How techy are they? Do they even want to hear about this stuff? My fear was alleviated somewhat when I arrived early to…
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October 11 2012
You are the Button: Notes from a Visit by Amber Case, Cyborg Anthropologist
Amber Case is an interesting person. She’s driven and quirky and geeky, and not afraid to make a fuss about something that she believes in. And she’s got some really interesting ideas about how we interact with technology, and what a future filled with mobile smart devices could look like. And she thinks that the future of interaction is all about where you are. Or to put it another way, “Location, location, location!” She came to visit as a guest speaker at a joint CHIFOO (Computer-Human Interaction Forum of Oregon) and…
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September 19 2012
Digging the New Digs–Part Deux
One of the exciting opportunities associated with a company move is the ability to throw sh–um, stuff–out! The inclination to retain things you don’t know what to do with can create quite a mound of uselessness after five or six years. But there are some items that cause you to succumb to that overriding tug of nostalgia. And technology detritus gets quaint fast. ADi, remarkably, has been in business making 3D CG for 16 years. As a bit of perspective, Toy Story, the first full-length, 3D feature film was still in…
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