Ok Go Again

You know this band, the treadmill guys:



And the warehouse-sized Rube-Goldberg machine:



What else is there to say but that  they've done it again, a creative new way realize their music. Here's the original song:



And here's how Ok Go turned it into another amazing experience:

Lorenz in Living Color - Part 1: The Lorenz System

I've been working on a technology art project (not as cool as this one) for over a decade now and by "working" I mean "mostly not working".

The project got a started during the jolting transition from no-free-time college days to evenings-and-weekends-free life as a working engineer.  In the meager discretionary time during my college years I had read "Chaos: Making a New Science" by James Gleick and was captivated by chaotic systems.  The seed had been planted in middle school by the book and movie "Jurassic Park" and was nurtured by my physics professor into something that I could begin to understand.

And the quintessential chaos-exhibiting system was the Lorenz system, boring when expressed as a system of seemingly simple differential equations...

but compelling when plotted in space...

Each one of those green dots is a unique value of x, y, and z that satisfies those three equations.  And given any set of x, y, and z coordinates, those equations will determine where the next dot will be in a second or minute or year.  All these dots, this collection that defines the solution that appears over time, the math people decided to call the shape of these types of solutions "attractors".  The solutions to these equations swirl and combine yet never settle down into regular, predictable patterns.  Looking at the attractor from another angle makes this clearer..

There are two foci to the attractor, two black holes that the solutions swirl around but this view of the attractor shows the solutions move back and forth between the two lobes. Sometimes the solutions loop repeatedly on one side and sometimes they will switch and start swirling around the other.  We never know when a switch is going to happen and the paths never cross or intersect.  Looking at an animation of the solutions over time shows this best...


I found this all very intriguing in many ways.  Here was a simple system that acted infinitely, a set of equations that produced values that never repeated themselves yet clearly had structure and was much more than just random noise. The regular-but-not-repeatable pulled me in and I began to think of ways that I could try to express this, to show others just how interesting I found it.

x, y, z.

red, green, blue.

Each point in space on the Lorenz attractor could be represented by a unique color, a combination of varying amounts of red, green, and blue.

This was the kernel of the idea that started the project all those years ago.

Catan: Explorers and Pirates

There's a new expansion for Catan: Explorers and Pirates.  Rather than a fundamental extension of the game like Cities and Knights or Seafarers (in a small way),  it appears to be more like Barabarians and Traders: mini-expansions and scenarios.  I am enough of a completist that I feel a pull to add this to the collection but for now I'm holding back because:

1. I haven't even played through all the Barbarian and Traders variants yet.
2. I haven't been overwhelmed with the added depth of play in said expansion.
3. I don't think I have room in my box for another Catan expansion.

(It may or may not surprise you to know the last reason is the most compelling to me.)

Extended Family Invasion

Sights from the recent trip my brother and his family made to Wichita to (ostensibly) see my wife and I.



My brother demonstrates an important technique when his kids take the picture: get in front of the camera.

Favorite activities for the boys:

- Playing on the motorcycle, helmet and keys included.

- Shredding paper

- Playing with the dogs.

The youngest of the three kids, the only girl, doing her little-girl-cute thing.

 




We made multiple trips to the premier kid's museum in Wichita, Exploration Place.  Much fun was had.

One of the halls of the museum focussed on flight and had numerous full-motion flight simulators.  At least they used to be full motion; none of them moved or even had full yoke and throttle control.  Makes me want to volunteer to try to get them all working again.

There was an agriculture/livestock display that both boys enjoyed.

The highlight for both boys was a multi-level castle that provided numerous "educational" activities such as dressing up as knights, harvest stuffed vegetables, and firing a catapult.

The most intriguing hall was the simplest: bins of building blocks (Keva Planks, to be specific) with tables to build on and demonstration pieces on display.  For such a simple item, the Planks were inspiring and I suspect will be a part of our toy collection soon.

Two story pendulum that swings its way around a circle as the day progresses, knocking over pegs as it precesses.

The other big museum we visited is the famous Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS.  Shortly after taking this picture, there was a trip and fall down a flight short of stairs, twenty seconds of crying, followed by the question, "Was that funny?"

I wasn't laughing until he asked the question.

Proposed

To complete the PhD program in the engineering department at Wichita State, the following steps must be completed:

1. Complete 60 hours of graduate course work.
2. Pass a qualifying exam.
3. Do large amounts of background research and preliminary testing.
4. Write a dissertation proposal.
5. Successfully present said proposal.
6. Actually do all the work outlined in said proposal.
7. Write the dissertation proper.
8. Successfully defend said document.

After five academic years here's how things stand for me today:

1. Complete 60 hours of graduate course work.
2. Pass a qualifying exam.
3. Do large amounts of background research and preliminary testing.
4. Write a dissertation proposal.
5. Successfully present said proposal.
6. Actually do all the work outlined in said proposal.
7. Write the dissertation proper.
8. Successfully defend said document.

We're getting there.

(And in case you're wondering, here's a not-quite-finished copy of the proposal.)

Apple Customer Service

Two weeks ago I was hours away from taking my iMac in for repair for the fifth time.  One failed hard drive, two failed optical drives, and the second screen failure which was about to be repaired.  This is not the reputation for quality and reliability that Apple has built its reputation on and I decided to give them a call to see what could be done.

Their response was to replace the computer outright; I mailed the old one in and they sent me the latest comparable model, all at no cost to me.  They even allowed me to pay for an upgrade when making the switch, allowing me to end up with the computer I would have purchased if I had been buying a new one. And this has been just like buying a new one: new computer, new warranty, new operating system, new experience.  The machine even has that new computer smell; the smell of the scratch-prevention clear plastic sheets covering every surface: screen, mouse, and keyboard. (I would bet that long-term persistent exposure to these fumes would not be good for your health but  I inhale deeply, knowing they will disperse quickly and the magic feeling will be gone.)

Almost every aspect of the transaction has been exactly what we all want customer service to be.  When I called and was passed between customer service agents there was always a hot-hand-off (no being put on hold and transferred).  The customer support people all had access to my information, used it, and I never had to repeat myself or re-tell my story.  The incident was not settled during the first call but follow-up calls and emails were quick, clear, and effective.  I've dealt with technical support for other products and none have offered an experience this great.

Furthermore, last night I was having trouble with the new version of the address book program and with no obvious solutions on the internet, I decided to give Apple another call.  Actually, I had them call me when a customer support person was ready; Apple's website starts the process by putting you in the call queue before a phone call is even made.  In less than five minutes the problem was solved. My mistake was embarrassingly simple and it was clear the guy on the other end was not reading a script, making me jump through silly hoops before actually trying to understand the problem and work on a solution. Best of all, he never spouted company propaganda in response to my statements. There is no better way to make me, the customer, feel like a demoralized cog in a technical support machine than to respond to my words with virtually automated replies.

This I firmly believe; you generally get what you pay for and when you buy an (arguably) overpriced computer one of the things you get is incredible technical support.