So, I got a semianonymous mail today via the site today from someone saying:

"way to rip off sheone for your header graphic. you're pathetic."

So, I googled a bit, and found Sheone. And, hey, the guy's really good, and I can see why someone could think he was an influence on the style of mediapathic, but frankly I'd never heard of him before today. athough now I wish I had. Also, from an artistic perspective, what he's doing is totally different from what I am (for one thing, he's doing with spray and brush what I have to use illustrator for - mad props for that), he's got a radically different sense of aesthetic. It's like saying that I rip off gutenberg just because we both use type. Yeah, there's some of the same elements (again, totally unconsciously), but we're doing completely different things with it. Like two people can't independantly arrive at the conclusion that linear spattered paint looks cool.

So, in conclusion, Sheone is awesome, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it is an asshat, and everything old is new again.

But hey, my first detractor! 

Seems like it's about time for my quasi-monthly update.

Right now I'm doing some work for a design group here in San Francisco who shall remain unnamed until it's actually official that I'm working for them -- I'm sort of on as a consultant for now with the great hopes (at least on my end) that this will turn into a full-time gig. The precise nature of what I'm doing for them must also remain somewhat hushhush for the moment, but suffice to say that I'm looking into techniques for building realtime 3d worlds in a somewhat more ...controlled manner than the ones I usually build. 

As a result, I'm looking into several new methodologies for doing 3d that I hadn't previously considered. For example, did you know that Director grew up while we were all paying attention to flash? It's all spiffy and high-powered in the 3d realm now. Funny thing, though, apparently no one cared about versions 5-10, so now all of a sudden on version 11 all of the tutorials I find are either written this year or in 1997. There's some significant power, here, though, so much so that I'm considering writing some vj tools in director, which could be nice because it outputs directly to an executable file.

Flash, however, is also keeping up nicely. Check out what these guys are doing with 3d in flash, check out that "99" demo, especially if you're into oldschool demoscene stuff, it's totally a stylistic nod there, and then remind yourself when you're seeing the scrolling ball text that you're watching a flash animation, not a pre-rendered video. And this, Away3d, is only one of three major 3D engines for flash that I've found. It's my feeling that flash is in the process of taking a huge motion towards... something. I think that it may be becoming a significant contributor to the ways in which we visualize information.

I know I'm excited enough that I'm trying to get over my somewhat ambivalent relationship with Actionscript3 (I'm fine with 2, but 3 is very different in some ways that I never liked) just to try to get in on this kind of visual processing power. Even if we wind up not using any of these products for the project I'm working on, I'm very interested to have a command of them for the future.

HOPE is over in physical space, but it's still going on, here in my mind.

That was an amazing conference. I met so many wonderful people from so many interesting countries (e.g. the German who for some reason put up with my caffeine/mate haze, if I gave you my card and you're reading this, I never got your email, write me). I got really involved in the hackerspaces community, this is some deeply inspiring stuff to me. I have a lot more to say on that subject, but later. The summation is: I always find cons inspirational, and this one did what DefCon always did for me in that regard, but there's another, deeper level of inspiration at work here, or perhaps more of a meta-level inspiration, involving on one hand the sociological implications of the creation of communities in a physical space that more accurately echo the ones we love so much in virtual space, and on the other with the increased focus, with microcontrollers and things like the Arduino becoming more ubiquitous, on actually creating physical artifacts of the hacker nature. I guess it's all about the manifestation in meatspace. If we're going to change the world, it probably helps to actually interact with it.

Anyway, I have two immediate other side-effects to report. One is that I woke up this afternoon (at the apartment where I'm supposedly staying for once as opposed to somewhere in the hacklab as it has been the last several days) in a panic, my mind groping to remember which talks I had missed from getting up so late. Then I realized that there were no talks to go to, and became sad.

The second is: This is your new god in beverage form. Add this to the list, already long after this weekend, to consider moving to Austria.

Last week was professionally very exciting. First I flew back to Albuquerque for a weekend to do the visuals for Tribal Pride, the (arguably) largest party of the Pride weekend there. Threw onto three large backprojection screens arrayed across the back of a huge outdoor stage, which looked pretty epic. I got to play director, as well, picking from two cameras (thanks to our cameraman and a friend who was filming a documentary and allowed us to tap off his feed), my content, and Brad's content, in constant time, for two days. Turns out, I need to make more content that works the edges of the frame, for things like crowd and DJ shots that need to focus on subject but get boring without addtions.

 Then, flew to Vegas somewhat randomly to do a repair/ relamp/ clean on the light system for Poetry (the club that used to be O-pm Vegas, for thoe of you who know that), plus rebuilding their rather convoluted video swtiching matrix into something that sort of made sense. So after three days of working constantly (a big issue for club rebuilds is that you have to get everything done in the time between when they wrap one weekend and they restart the next one, and 'weekend' frequently means 'wednesday through sunday') I got to try out the rebuilt system myself, for doing all the visuals for their hiphop night. Apparently, according do the light guy, "everybody loves your stuff", I have no idea if everyone includes people who will want to pay me in the future.

Now back in Mountain View, putting together some content for another local gig here which I will actually reveal if it officially goes through. 

New Yorkers have one thing in mind: they want their city to run efficiently. If you ask a New Yorker for directions, they don't mind answering, because it will help their city run better. If, however, you ask them for clarification afterwards, you are slowing them down, and the total efficiency of the system is compromised. Therefore, the way to ask directions in NYC is to ask one person, and nod politely but firmly at their answer, no matter how batshit insane it was, say thank you, and then move on to the next person, who hopefully will make more sense.

And Isis did approach the First Gate, and the Guardian of the First Gate did say to her: lo, thy bags are heavy and numerous, let me take them from you. And then did the Guardian of the First Gate mark her possessions with the sigils of LATE CHECKIN and did make them disappear. Thus were her bags taken from her.

Then did the guardian of the second gate appear, and said nothing, but caused her to drop and shatter her sunglasses. Thus was her helm taken from her.

Then the Demons of TSA, who guard the third Gate, did swoop upon her, saying, you must be empty of everything that may be used to harm another. Have you any blade that might taste blood? Have you any poison or elixir in excess of three ounces? Have you any tool that may be used in any way whatsoever? For the Demons of TSA are full of fear and cunning, and will take anything that their masters decide may be of harm. Thus was her blade taken from her. (but Isis knew the secret of assassins, which is to forget how many blades you carry, and thereby none other may know their number. Thus she passed the Guardians with one small tooth, but did not yet know it herself)

Then did Isis approach the Fourth Gate, where the Guardian thereof did merely observe her, for the Guardian knew that Isis had been stripped bare. And from thence did she take flight. Thus did Isis enter the Western Lands.