so, day one of the stanley burroughs master cleanse has almost concluded, and we're surprised at how low morale is… hell, we haven't even started to seep yet…
jqln suffers with us—you can read her take on the cleanse here.
from Dan Saffer's Newest Essay: "Research Is a Method, Not a Methodology":
Here are some research guidelines that I use for my projects. Only use design research when:
1. You don't know the subject area well. I'm not an expert in investment banking, so if I had to design a product for investment bankers, I'd need to learn about what they do and why they do it.
2. The project is based in a culture different to your own. Chinese culture isn't the same thing as the culture of the United States. Or India. Or Western Europe. Cultural differences can cause differences in behavior and expectations for a product.
3. You don't know who the users are. This should be self-explanatory, but amazingly enough, many companies don't know who uses their products or why. If you find that your view of the users is different from the stakeholders', you might want to establish a consensus around that—the type of clarity that only research can provide.
are we greater or lesser standardistas? are you? we're not sure, but you can check it out and tell us…
two of jqln's obsessions combined in the perfect mashup. shoutouts to johnny-five and newton crosby!
[ welcome to the matrix, right? while the labs has yet to enter second life [hell, we struggle enough with the first one], did you know that reuters has opened a bureau in second life? ]
via GameSpot news:
At the end of March, Second Life had 165,000 "residents," and now it boasts more than 1 million. But just like in the real world, as the population grows, so do the crime statistics. There have been a series of phishing scams, last week a copybot threatened the intellectual property created for the game, and now a rapidly replicating worm has briefly closed the online world to visitors.
so gis day 2006 has come and gone, and, unfortunately, we have very little to report and no pictures from the event! we arrived in milwaukee on tuesday afternoon and were immediately shuttled to uw-milwaukee, where we started work on the waukesha trip planner application. at five pm, we lectured and did a workshop on mashups with prof. peng's grad students.
since the labs are less teachers than hacktivists, our presentation did not go as well as planned and we left campus pretty unhappy. luckily, the margaritas at beans and barley were able to slightly assuage our disappointment.
wow, this bunkum via the BBC:
Humanity may split into two sub-species in 100,000 years' time as predicted by HG Wells, an expert has said.
Evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics expects a genetic upper class and a dim-witted underclass to emerge.
The human race would peak in the year 3000, he said—before a decline due to dependence on technology.
People would become choosier about their sexual partners, causing humanity to divide into sub-species, he added.
The descendants of the genetic upper class would be tall, slim, healthy, attractive, intelligent, and creative and a far cry from the "underclass" humans who would have evolved into dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures.
…
[here's the best part though]: …men will exhibit symmetrical facial features, look athletic, and have squarer jaws, deeper voices and bigger penises. Women, on the other hand, will develop lighter, smooth, hairless skin, large clear eyes, pert breasts, glossy hair, and even features, he adds.
thanks, dan
moving to nyc via plane, so i have to sell my books. over 750 books, priced to move…
politics, history, graphic novels, literature, geography, urban planning, architecture, philosophy, cookbooks, etc.
approx one dollar for paperback, $2–10 trade paper, $5–10 hardcover, $10+ for some rare, special editions.
book sale
10 September 2006
12–4 pm
schiller labs
307 e schiller st
milwaukee, wi 53207
414.630.5883
Received the following rant via a mailinglist. I have no idea what the author is talking about, but whomever wrote it is henceforth an honorary scientist at the labs:
It has to be. It has to be utterly compelling. Anything less and it could not obscure the truth!
Now here is something you might not know: Appreciating the sunset is the spectacle!
It seems so natural sitting with friends on a yacht a mile offshore drinking beer and swaying with the ocean as a picturesque sunset decends in the west. "Oh look at the sun!" she says, and you all do, admiring nature.
I'm sure it's happened to all of you, and you probably felt quite good about it too, huh?. Welp, guess what! YOU'RE NOT A SITUATIONIST.
Indeed, to see anything, let alone to admire unique beauty, you must do so through the mediation of the spectacle. Anything less, and it wouldnt be "it" that you are admiring!
Our only question: Is the author of this manifesto old enough to drink beer on that yacht?
