TONIGHT 5/17 - Closing of "Space-Time" photography-video exhibition

"Space-Time" features photography from Jason Robert Carroll and a video installation from Elena Harvey Collins.

"Jason Carroll and Elena Collins explore the complexities of space, both physically and conceptually, taking long looks at some of our most abandoned, mundane, and subliminal spaces."

Closing: Friday, May 17, 2012, 5-11 PM
Location: Survival Kit Gallery - 1305 W. 80th Suite 303, Third Floor (Located in the W.78th St. Studios Bldg.), Cleveland, Ohio 44102

Click here for the event page on Facebook.

Interesting conversations, through 4/28/13

Memorable thoughts & conversations on Twitter over the past couple weeks:

Non-sequitur:

• "Decided to start a campaign to eliminate the abomination-word 'webinar' from the lexicon. Anyone with me?" (@BeKind2Other @mrbabypants @Gary_R_Walker @allovus @tree_hug_r @ShivaChimp @CriminySTFU)
  


• "Putting cheese after most words will make said word sound unpleasant. Foot cheese, scalp cheese, tree cheese, mustache cheese." (@FalconPiss911 @Another_Wench @PerturbSecular @ObservantLynn)

Economics, etc.:

• "Hmmm… Inside India's 'No-Frills' Hospitals, Where Heart Surgery Costs Just $800" (@ledfist @MattTaylor)
  
• "The level of stupidity here is profound: Sustainable Development could be outlawed in Kansas" (@Uppity1 @De8or4h @treehuggeruk)
  
• "Could we consider weather tweets to act similarly to bads in that they artificially inflate GDP?" (@CavsFangelo)

Religion:

• "Read God's laws in Leviticus14. Explain how it differs to voodoo. - Voodoo has dancing." (@ratminer @dawkinsassange)

• "Heartbreaking new poll: a third of Americans want Christianity as the state religion" (@CriminySTFU @drcreek @mariarfin @kahrviacree)

Psychology:

• "I present as an extrovert, but I also have very high social control, strong empathy and I recharge alone." (@picklestfc @DEATHxBLACKHOLE @susancain)
• "What you say and what you do represents who you are. Your intent means nothing. Your effect is everything. Take responsibility." (@picklestfc @indieKari @MiekeInc)

Gun control: "We need to dismantle the #NRA, and apparently also this Congress. Let's dismantle both, then re-build a new Congress." (@JoeG4Freedom @th3v0t4ry @osPatriot @Zionistchuck @demsforprogress @yulianagarcia @forgottentq @usernamenuse @BridgetteJohns2 @unclemiseryguts @ledfist @CriminySTFU)

The Internet: "A little help: there was an article circulating a while back about how viral internet stuff isn't really viral." (@kayaoakes @ChurchSnobTEC @malawijay @adamgurri)

"Space-Time" photography-video installation featuring Jason Carroll & Elena Collins opens April 19, 2013

"Space-Time" features photography from Jason Robert Carroll and a video installation from Elena Harvey Collins.

"Jason Carroll and Elena Collins explore the complexities of space, both physically and conceptually, taking long looks at some of our most abandoned, mundane, and subliminal spaces."

Opening: Friday, April 19, 2012, 5-11 PM
Location: Survival Kit Gallery - 1305 W. 80th Suite 303, Third Floor (Located in the W.78th St. Studios Bldg.), Cleveland, Ohio 44102

Click here for the event page on Facebook.

"With their intent gaze visually manifested through multiple exposures, and exhaustive film shots, they implore us to think twice about our assumed surroundings, digging past their immediate appearance and assigning them heightened significance. We are forced to consider our personal relationships with these spaces, as well as the histories of others there before us."

Interesting conversations for the week ending 4/6/13

You'd think that 140 characters would limit one's ability to carry on interesting discussion. Apparently not…read on.

Urban planning: "In Cleveland, philanthropic foundations, for christ's sake, help fund highway projects…Unbelievable." (@schmangee @thestile1972 @CLEstreetcar @thisismycle @chezrebellion @theGreaterMarin @lynnphares @danmoulthrop)

Religion:

• "'Why do you have to go after religion? It gives people comfort; it doesn't hurt anything.' Oh, really?" (@jaglister @Bailey649 @SimonOkill @homesweetyeg) 

• "'You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.' - Anne Lamott" (@BevinsElizabeth @homesweetyeg) 

• "Can God create a future event of which he has no foreknowledge? If 'no', he's not omnipotent. If 'yes', he's not omniscient." (@jdvanlaningham @homesweetyeg @thestile1972) 

• "And this is why people keep laughing at Christians - Woman sees God in her goldfish cracker." (@homesweetyeg @JansensDickSays @Jessica_Effect)

Gun control:

• "Interesting idea - Democrats propose $10,000 fine for gun owners who don't have insurance" (@JoeG4Freedom @SarahSecord @ledfist @mariarfin) 

• "RIGHT. WING. NUT. JOB. - Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) links popular gun safety measure to bestiality" (@cheerbear34 @JoeG2001 @JoeG4Freedom)

Photography: "Dilemma…trying to decide if I should print one of my photos on aluminum for my upcoming show. 90% chance of awesome…10% chance of big waste." (@RudyHellzapop @cheerbear34 @thomasatmyporch)

Health: "Why has Obama approved a law giving immunity to the production and sale of genetically modified food in the US?" (@2008Cornish @Bailey649 @DemsChgTheTalk)

Drugs: "The war on #drugs is far more immoral than most drug use" (@Maddog_Squid @Bailey649)

This week's interesting conversations, ending 3/30/13

• Urban Planning: "…who wins the land use lottery in Cleveland? Not the people." (@schmangee @thestile1972)

• Religion: "What a horrible story Passover is…the killing of your enemy's first-born children by a 'just' God? Not telling my children this nightmare." (@G_times @Ibex67 @ShivaChimp @TeriInk @BombeRouge) - "What aspects of religion should atheists (respectfully) adopt?" (@G_times @mmdoty @alaindebotton)

• Social Media: "You scared avatar cartoon c---s. You egg c---s. Who are you f-----g Toons anyway?" (@FalconPiss911 @bustermante @Little___Sister @qx) - "Today I had a thought, and decided to keep that thought to myself. Because sometimes it's better that way." (@JoeG2001 @indieKari) - "Why must people always bicker on here. I mean really?!? Everyone just has to comment, just has to make a fuss! It's frustrating!" (@Skeptical_Lady @JenniferZenda) - "We are in the midst of a 'narcissism epidemic', enabled by the Internet. Enough selfies, people!" (@MiekeInc @mkhajdin)

• Politics: "PDX is considered one of the friendliest cities in the US and we need a politeness campaign? How could that backfire? Let’s count the ways." (@picklestfc) - "LOL: So-called 'small-government' conservatives in Idaho want to forbid any reference to premarital sex on television" (@JoeG2001 @JPHaukkavaara) - "Help me figure this one out (#GOPbubble): 'Fox News Calls Obama 'Enemy Of Israel' As Israel Gives Him Highest Award'" (@CriminySTFU @JohnWallace30 @JenniferKWarden)

• Economics: "'Trickle-down consumption' puts the middle-class in debt & leads to bankruptcies, divorce, longer commutes." (@ledfist @wcgirl1) - "Americans need only work 1/3 the time they did in 1975 to afford a common bundle of household goods." (@ledfist @thomasatmyporch)

• Futurism: "In 'Mining the Sky', planetary scientist John Lewis argues that our solar system can support 10 quadrillion people." (@ArtisanTheory)

• Non-sequitur: "Found in one of the dressers. [a small animal skeleton]" (@CriminySTFU @BombeRouge)

• Tech Security: "So I've been shopping 4 dresses because I'm going 2 Vegas show Sat. Google noticed, now every site I go to is advertising dresses." (@chellegaylor24 @Da_Philosopher)

• The Weather: "Everyone in #CLE is complaining about the snow today…but it's absolutely beautiful. Thankful to see this one last time before it warms." (@cheerbear34 @forgottentq)

• Personal: "Nobody is ever really "too busy". If it's important to them, they'll make time." (@LadyGirlPerson) - "Trying to be cool is…a sickness. Being cool means being aloof. It means that you don't get excited about life…you don't get it." (@Stanmatthias @tinacapalbo) - "My subconsciousness has been actively rewiring the neural networks in my head. True story." (@JoblessJeri)

Turner

I don't think I'll ever tire of the beautiful drama in J. M. W. Turner's paintings. 

Interesting conversations, week-ending 3/23/13

• Politics: "'I'm a libertarian' invariably means 'I don't give shit about anybody but me and mine.'" (@SarahSecord, @QrysBinThynkn, @Jason89, @leight75, @qx, @picklestfc, @PeacefulConserv, @ledfist) 

• Economics: "Elizabeth Warren: Why isn’t #MinimumWage keeping up with productivity? It should be $22 per hour." (@MitchNutter) - "Copyright wasn't meant to be near-permanent. Culture should be recycled to make more culture." (@G_times, @beebearninja) - "Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France" (@Maddog_Squid, @DrLearnALot)

• Gun Control: "N.R.A. Can’t Believe How Well National Conversation About Guns Is Going" (@cheerbear34, @forgottentq, @FranchiseKing) - "A global arms trade treaty would keep weapons out of the hands of war criminals. Of course, the #NRA is objecting." (@BraveBrewer57)

• Science & Technology: "The concept of #QuantumComputing blows my mind. It BLOWS. MY. MIND." (@HovellingHermit, @allovus) - "Don't fool yourselves, all those 'white collar jobs' are just people emailing each other all day." (@joshwalsh, @mtheoryx) - "Why do #Mac users never seem to use their apps full-screen? Don't they have a 'maximize' button? They're always squinting. #tech" (@MiekeInc)

• Non sequitur: "Liquid lunch..." (@jlqiv, @badmouthblonde) - "One of my favorite hobbies is doing nothing." (@Guri02, @johnpocalypse, @fgsweetdog)

• Health: "He should have had the quadruple bypass burger, he would have survived!" (@MadameRamotswe, @RainerPerlitz) - "I'm envious of your target. But call that a calorie spike? When doing 4HB we hit 5000+ on cheat day ;)" (@qx, @thelittlepecan)

• Social: "I'm going to present at @TEDxCLE next year about the benefits of hosting @TEDxCLE at a venue that doesn't sell out in 10 minutes." (@JoeG2001, @lzone) 

Antidesign

Antidesign is an inquiry into 'that which is not designed'—recognizing that design can sometimes obstruct or detract from function and beauty. It examines human constructions (and sometimes natural occurrences) that have zero focus on aesthetics.

Interesting conversations, week ending 3/16/13

• Genetic modification, neo-feudalism & patents: "I got Monsanto to genetically modify me so that I produce my own caffeine." (link)

• Non sequitur: "Suburban moms are worse. Throw SUVs at them." (link) - "I just made a regression of my relationships. In chronological order vs. length of relationship and the results are very very depressing." (link)

• Racism, morality: "Albert Einstein called racism 'a disease of white people.'" (link) - "A liberal Muslim homosexual ACLU lawyer professor and abortion doctor was teaching a class on Karl Marx…" (link) - "If you lack empathy, then you are evil. It's just that simple." (link) - "properly implemented (ie no bias) eugenics is fully functional" (link)

• Economics: "Free markets are excellent at allocating resources in the short term. But they fail miserably at steering society in beneficial directions." (link) - "Perfect example of why capitalism doesn't always work: Male baldness research gets more funding than malaria." (link)

• Religion: "Francis totally needs to get laid // Preferably with an adult." (link) - "Right…Wing…Nut…Job…ALERT! - 'Society Never Gave Single People The Right To Engage In Sexual Intercourse'" (link)

Welcome, cats.

Introducing Hades (front) and Jiji, the newest members of our family.

Lin Yutang Quote #1

"The world I believe is far too serious, and being far too serious, is it has need of a wise and merry philosophy."

From The Importance of Living (1937)

Thoughts on RISK as one gets older

I just turned 40, and there is something I've been thinking a lot about recently: RISK. But perhaps not in the sense you might suspect. …

… I've been thinking about risk in the sense of 'opportunity cost'—one of the few useful philosophical constructs from business school. …

…At some point in one's life, it becomes more 'risky' NOT to take a risk, than to take a risk, start a business, pursue a passion, whatever…

… At some point, the opportunity cost of waiting around, forgoing your passion, overwhelms the potential risk from the venture itself.

Assembled from several of my posts to Twitter (1, 2, 3, 4)

Interesting Twitter conversation round-up, week ending 3/9/13

• Life: "… At some point, the opportunity cost of waiting around, forgoing your passion, overwhelms the potential risk from the venture itself." (link 1, link 2)

• The Beautify of the World: "'I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.' - Michelangelo Buonarroti" (link) — "I found the National Trust for Historic Preservation Barn Again.program. Texas has the most old barns!" (link) — "The…object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land. - G.K. Chesterton" (link)

• Religion: "Question for Christians: Does God deserve credit for creating HIV as punishment for homosexuality, or credit for the cure being developed?" (link) — "Why does God miraculously heal cancer sometimes, but never, ever, ever amputees?" (link) — "The Bible story of Job teaches us that God wants followers so mindless & utterly servile that they will praise him even as he tortures them." (link) — "Mental illness - 'Jesus is watching you vote!'" (link) — "Growing up Baptist, I can report that the parties hosted by preacher's kids were always the wildest." (link)

• Social Media: "Even though Twitter is public, people sometimes don't seem to like being challenged in their views. Seem to prefer the echo-chamber. Not me." (link)

• Economics: "I love this - 'Warren Buffett to American CEOs: Please Stop Complaining About Uncertainty'" (link) — "Wealth in an age of corporate personhood…why should it exist at all?" (link)

• Politics: "Racism: Israel introduces 'Palestinian only' bus lines, following complaints from Jewish settlers" (link) — "Most experts believe North Korea's latest rhetoric is just the usual propaganda engine cranked up to 11." (link)

• Gun Control: "Gun nuts talk about 'a second American revolution', call themselves 'patriots'…they're really just terrorists by a different name." (link) — "So stupid, it must be true: 'NRA Official Barred From Carrying Guns Because Of Domestic Violence'" (link)

Michelangelo's Unfinished Slaves

From the Accademia in Firenze:

Twitter roundup, week ending 3/2/13

So many (too many?) great conversations on Twitter this week:

• The best one was about, of all things…MILK! "Headed out to milk the cows, milk leaves my farm driveway in pure whole form." - @NYFarmer (link) 
• More on CATS: "OMG…and just like that we have cats…" (link) — "By the end of today, two black #cats will have taken up residence with us. We're almost as nervous about this as we were about having kids." (link)
• More on GUN CONTROL: "Owning a gun for anything other than hunting is a signal that you do not believe in our ability to maintain a civil society." (link) — "#Facepalm: Walmart Customer Shoots at Shoplifter to "Mark" Him for Police" (link) — "One year after fatal Chardon High School shooting, superintendent isn't interested in having teachers carry guns" (link) — "MIT campus on lockdown after reports of armed gunman wearing body armor" (link)
• On MEDIA: "Last night I watched the entire Oscars. I truly hope I never have to do that again." (link) — "Considering how intertwined 'real' life is with 'digital' life, I believe that all of existence is becoming a sort of #AugmentedReality." (link) — "My brain is starting to function in 140-character bursts. #SocialMedia" (link)
• On PHILOSOPHY: "'God sees murder and homosexuality as the same level of sin.' Sure He does, Sweetie!" (link) — "'I learn by going where I have to go.' - Theodore Roethke" (link) 
• On URBANISM: "I love being a tourist in my own town." (link) — "Rankning the happiness of cities by tweets: #CLE is 329/373 (bottom quartile). Buck up people!" (link) — "Well said - RT @schmangee: "'In NE Ohio, we treat land with the same respect we treat toilet paper.' And the reason is: Land is cheap here." (link) 

Great conversations on Twitter, week ending 2/23/13

• Dear Twitter counsel: Our household is thinking of acquiring two 6-month old black #cats. Making a huge mistake? They are fixed, healthy. (link)
• Religion requires faith; you're never really sure if it's 'working'. Science can be checked, confirmed. (link)
• What is 'community' in the connected world of 2013? I'm thinking a lot about this lately. (link) 
• If you’re white, you can be oblivious, passively accepting the status quo, and reap the rewards. (link) 
• Is it of any utility at all for an atheist or agnostic to pray…perhaps in a meditative sense? Currently pondering this. (link)
• When I hear people home school their kids, my first reaction is why? Inside voice, of course. (link) 

Observations on the social media ecosystem

Physical reality: connection by proximity. Facebook: connection by propinquity. Twitter: connection by predilection and proclivity.

On The Condition of Being Highly Receptive to Stimuli

A consolidated post containing a series of thoughts I posted to Twitter in late 2012:

I believe that most people have pretty heavy filters through which they see the world. Some people perceive the world without these filters.


When certain people perceive the world without the protective filters that most have, these people are called 'sensitive'.


'Sensitive' people often have a very high-bandwidth pipeline of stimuli coming into their brains. This can be hard to handle at times.


People who are highly receptive to stimuli can often get distracted by the smallest things; their mood can change at the sight of a color.


Those who are sensitive, who are highly observant, can be hypnotized by emotionally resonant art, architecture. Literally stunned by it.


As a sensitive, highly observant person, it can be tough living in a world with so many stimuli. But it's also incredibly rewarding.


Highly sensitive people do not need drugs, alcohol to get high. These things can be dangerous to them. All they need is a walk in the woods.


With so much beauty in the world, those lucky enough to be highly sensitive have the ability to be 'high', so to speak, just by living.

Via @JasonRobertC (me) on Twitter.

I Love Specs—Upgrade Time!

We purchased our ‘main’ desktop computer on February 1, 2007, from a reputable local computer shop (AVA Direct). Since then, I’ve upgraded most of the PC’s major components, including, most recently, the motherboard and CPU (which basically makes it a new computer). It’s interesting to think that if you buy a good physical case (in this case, a Thermaltake Lanbox), you can basically upgrade forever within the same physical frame. If you’re interested, here’s the evolution chart:

Processor	1. Intel Core2 Duo (2-Core) E6600 2.4 GHz (original to system 2/1/07) 2. Intel Core2 Quad (4-Core) Q6600 2.4 GHz (upgrade 9/13/11) 3. AMD FX 8350 (8-Core; 2 logical x 4 physical) 4.0 GHz (upgrade 12/29/12)
Memory	1. 2 GB (2x 1 GB) OCZ Gold DDR2-800 SDRAM 2. 4 GB (4x 1 GB) OCZ Gold DDR2-800 SDRAM (upgrade 1/7/09) 3. 16 GB (2x 8 GB) Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1333 SDRAM (upgrade 12/29/12)
Graphics	1. Radeon X1950XT 256 MB  2. Sapphire Radeon HD 4830 512 MB (upgrade 12/26/08) 3. MSi Radeon HD 7870 2 GB (upgrade 3/31/13)
Hard Disk	1. 1.0 TB: 2x Maxtor 500 GB, 3.0 Gb/s, 7,200-RPM, 16 MB cache 2. 3.5 TB: Seagate Barracuda 2.0 TB + Hitachi Deskstar 1.5 TB, 6.0 Gb/s, 7,200 RPM, 64 MB Cache + 64 GB Samsung Solid State Boot Drive (upgrade 11/5/11)
Optical	1. Lite-On 20x DVD±RW Dual-Layer, LightScribe 2. LG 12x Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Burner, LightScribe (upgrade 10/12/11)
Motherboard	1. Asus P5B-VM Intel LGA775 2. Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 AMD AM3+ (upgrade 12/29/12)
Networking	802.11n + Ethernet
Display	1. 2x Sony SDM-S73 17" SXGA (1280x1024) 16 ms TN panel LCDs, 2.6 MP  2. 2x HP LP2465 24" WUXGA (1920x1200) 6 ms S-PVA panel LCDs, 4.6 MP (upgrade 01/13/10)
Case/PSU	1. Thermaltake Lanbox with 550W Rosewill PSU 2. Upgraded PSU to Thermaltake 850W (12/29/12)
OS	1. Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit  2. Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (upgrade 01/09/10) 3. Windows 8 Professional 64-bit (upgrade 12/29/12)
Input	1. Logitech wireless keyboard, mouse 2. Razer Black Widow Ultimate Keyboard, Razer Naga Epic Mouse (upgrade 1/3/11)

'Depth of Place' Photography Show, Closing Reception: December 14, 2012

Closing Reception: Friday, December 14, 2012, 6-10 PM, during the Tremont ArtWalk
Location: Mastroianni Arts, 2688 West 14th St., Cleveland, Ohio, 44113

More information on the photographs can be found in this prior post.

Thankful for Life 2.0

I’m thankful for my wife, the only person on earth who truly understands me. I’m thankful for the handful of true friends in my life, who always seem to give more than they take. I’m thankful for my parents, who brought me into this world and taught me to use my common sense. And I’m thankful for my children – Life 2.0 – who give me the gift of experiencing the wonder of the world a second time!

Depth of Place Photography Opening: November 9, 2012

Update: THANK YOU to everyone who attended, and a special thanks to everyone who bought a piece! If you missed it, you can join us for the closing on December 14.

Please come see an exhibition of my latest photographic work, Depth of Place. Twelve 30" x 20" photographs will be on display from the series, and prints will be available for purchase.

Opening: Friday, November 9, 2012, 6-10 PM, during the Tremont ArtWalk
Location: Mastroianni Arts, 2688 West 14th St., Cleveland, Ohio, 44113

“The moment after something happens,
the echo of the event is still there.
Staring at a wall or an object, our mind
begins to break down the surface.
Looking into a space, we project
what happened there.”

My intent in these images is to capture a frame of time, a before and an after; to attune the viewer to the unseen emotions echoed everywhere we go.  The images are a recognition that even in the most mundane places, it is likely that something meaningful happened there, somewhere along the line.

Even without people, places have depth, and they have emotional resonance. 

Max's "I AM" Poem

My son Max's "I Am" poem, written this year as he began fourth grade:

I am caring and demonstrate confidence
I wonder what I will be when I grow up
I hear a marker talk
I see the world's largest ice cream cone
I want to be an architect
I am caring and demonstrate confidence

I pretend to be a dragon
I feel muddy water running through my legs
I touch a rocket
I worry if a tornado will form here
I cry when my fish die
I am caring and demonstrate confidence

I understand that things die
I say, "Don't give up!"
I dream I live in a mansion
I try to play piano nicely
I hope to live a long time
I am caring and demonstrate confidence

A Good Show

"One can learn such a lot and enjoy such a lot in seventy years, and three generations is a long, long time to see human follies and acquire human wisdom. Anyone who is wise and has lived long enough to witness the changes of fashion and morals and politics through the rise and fall of three generations should be perfectly satisfied to rise from his seat and go away saying, 'It was a good show,' when the curtain falls." --Lin Yutang

Depth of Place (Update 2)

Here is another new image from my "Depth of Place" series of abstract photographs:

Depth of Place (Update 1)

Additional photos from the "Depth of Place" set posted earlier this year.

Quilt Patterns

These are the quilt patterns I designed that my grandmother will make later this year.

Depth of Place

Just before, or just after, something happens, the echo of the event is there, sensed but not seen. Staring at a wall, or object, our mind begins to break down the surface and reveal the inside. Looking into a space, we project what has happened there, creating a story, forgotten when we walk away.

(Link to this set on Flickr.)

Merry Christmas!

Max's World at Age 7

This is my boy, of whom I am so proud, reading Harry Potter 4 on the couch last night.  He's a Lego builder, a log-walker, a piano player, a fledgling fencer, a super-math-kid, and just a little too good at video games.

Esmé Spelling

Esmé (now 4) is doing a great job spelling phonetically...look at all the words she sounded out and typed all by herself!  My favorite is 'cupcake'...

The End Of Our One-Car Era

After 10 years of using public transit (seven of light rail to my office, three of bus during graduate school), I am now officially a full-fledged car commuter. You see, my office relocated from the downtown core to one of those 'nice' suburban office parks. Unsurprisingly, it is not well-served by public transportation. Perhaps it was time anyway--the kids are getting older, and we're starting to see the beginnings of multiple, overlapping extracurricular schedules. It was a bit sad to break our 13-year run of being a single-car household, but there was at least one fringe benefit: We cleaned out the second car space in our garage, and threw away about six cubic yards of god-knows-why-we-were-keeping-it junk.

So the bad news is that we're now buying two tanks of gas per week. The good news is that the new mode of transportation has 300 horsepower and no less than six beautifully-proportioned, manually-selectable gear ratios.

Transient Places

Airport hotels are strange Petri dishes of humanity.

Daddy's Girl

Happy Big-7 Birthday Max!

Happy 4th Birthday Esmé!

Mentos & Coke

Just one of about 15 things we did to try to occupy the six 7-year olds at Max's birthday sleepover:

First time trying this, I'm glad it worked as well as it did. Of course, the novelty wore off quickly and we resorted to movies & video games to sedate the horde.

My First Paperweight

My briefcase is extra-heavy today with the beautiful painted paperweight (rock, that is) Esme made me in preschool. "Daddy, it's for the papers to not fly off your desk!" Thanks, special girl. (I'll wait until you're older to discuss heremetically-sealed high-rise office buildings...)

From Fish to Infinity

Steven Strogatz, a professor at Cornell University, just concluded a great series of articles in the NYT articulating math concepts (from simple to complex) in accessible language. I've really enjoyed reading these over the past several months...here's the first article, and a link to the entire series.

Wi-Fi in Amish Country

After arriving home from a road-trip to Amish country yesterday, I asked Max to tell me the most interesting thing he observed during the day. He said, "They don't use electricity, but there's Wi-Fi in the coffee shop."

Passport Update

Kids are required to update their passports every 5 years (rather than every 10 for adults)...for obvious reasons:

That whole growing-up thing happens pretty quickly.

Cleveland International Film Festival 2010

This year, the marketing team behind the Cleveland International Film Festival asked people to submit stories of how the festival has affected them. Authentic Films then produced several trailers for the festival, each featuring a series of these stories chained together, sharing a theme.

Since Rose and I met and went on our first date because of the film festival, we were asked to participate. So of course we brought the kids along for the filming, and as you'll see, Max steals the show. (Our trailer is called 'Family, Friends, Love'.)

Tenth Anniversary

On February 18, Rose and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. I love her today more than ever. When we were first married, we got a lot of advice on having a successful relationship--some useful, some not so useful. Couples are as different as people, so it's tough to find blanket advice that applies to everyone. One important thing we have learned: To be happy as a couple, you must be happy as individuals. Being strong as a stand-alone person makes being together as a couple, in love, all that more meaningful.

Another secret to a good marriage: I roll the toothpaste tube neatly from the end, and she grabs and squeezes the hell out of it right from the middle.*

*That is, we have vastly different, but complementary, approaches to a shared outlook on life.

Biologically Inspired Design

This is the kind of thing that really excites me: fundamental connections among biology, design, and human behavior. A group of Japanese scientists has shown that "the slime mold Physarum polycephalum forms networks with comparable efficiency, fault tolerance, and cost to those of real-world infrastructure networks--in this case, the Tokyo rail system."
Comparing an organism's behavior to a designed human system, then learning from that organism's 'reinterpretation' of the system in order to develop better models of design...amazing.
Link to summary article and full report ("Rules for Biologically Inspired Adaptive Network Design").

Max's Robo-Gator

Maxie-boy built and programmed this Lego Mindstorms Robo-Gator all by himself from the instructions. All I did was install the programming software on our PC, and help him connect the robot's CPU via USB to download the behavior program. I am very proud that he could handle such a complex project on his own at age 6.

Mindstorms uses simple icon-based "if-then" type programs to tell the the motors what to do when certain feedback is received from various sensors. In Robo-Gator's Case, when the eye-sensors "see" something within 60cm, the legs move and make the gator lunge forward. When something is within 30cm of the eye sensors, the jaw motor makes him bite repeatedly. After attacking, Robo-Gator retreats and waits for his next victim.

Christmas Questions

Last week Maxie asked: "If Jesus came to make the world a better place, then why do people still litter?"

Keep asking, Max...keep asking.

The Winning Project

It's a sustainable, transit-oriented development with lots of green space, integrated bicycle access to campus, high-end residential & retail, and a 23.4% return on equity. Good job students, I am proud.

(This project was my jury's choice for 'best concept, best feasibility, best fit' for my 2009 Real Estate Development class at Kent Architecture.)

Don't Turn It Off--Kill It

All of our homes are full of electronic devices that use power when off. Estimates of so-called 'standby' or 'vampire' power use range from 10-15% of a household's total annual consumption. These devices sit there, waiting to be used, waiting for the remote control to activate them, telling us the time (do we need that many clocks?), their little red/orange standby lights glowing, waiting to jump into action.

I decided that I didn't like all those lights and clocks staring at me anymore, so I installed a 'kill-switch' on our family's living room entertainment center. Actually, what initially prompted me to do this was the surprising amount of heat I noticed when opening the doors of the armoire that contained all of our (supposedly 'off') devices: LCD TV, PS3, PS2, Wii, A/V Receiver, DVR. To accomplish the task, I simply mounted a surge protector on the back of the armoire, hidden from view but in an easily-adult/kid-accessible location, and plugged all the devices into it. Switching the surge protector off puts the devices into a true zero power consumption state--no glowing lights. (Detail: I did not connect the DVR to the kill-switch--otherwise it wouldn't be able to grab the shows it was programmed to auto-record.)

I've tracked our power consumption since installing the kill-switch in mid-September. Compared to the same 3-month (Oct-Dec) period last year, we're using 27% less electricity. That's amazing. Certainly a large portion (but not all) of this savings is attributable to the kill-switch. The remainder of the savings, I believe, simply comes from the fact that we're all paying more attention to our power use in general--turning off lights more quickly, etc. This behavior of course is a direct result of the installation of the kill-switch. It reinforces something I've learned over the years: The mere act of paying attention to something often leads to improvement of that thing.

Previously: Generating less trash.

Strange Hybrid Creatures

I love Esmé's cute (but slightly disturbing) Bunny-Bug.

Thankful for my beautiful wife and children, thankful for health, thankful to want for nothing, thankful to be alive in 2009--best year for the human race so far...