MIK

ronworkman: This is Water In 2005, author David Foster Wallace...

Wed, 08 May 2013 19:44:02 -0400

This is Water

In 2005, author David Foster Wallace was asked to give the commencement address to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College. However, the resulting speech didn’t become widely known until 3 years later, after his tragic death. It is, without a doubt, some of the best life advice we’ve ever come across, and perhaps the most simple and elegant explanation of the real value of education.

Jerry Seinfeld on How to Write a Joke

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:34:02 -0400

Jerry Seinfeld on How to Write a Joke

How Far is it To Mars?, An Interactive Site by David Paliwoda

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:42:41 -0400

How Far is it To Mars?, An Interactive Site by David Paliwoda

Animal Portraits by Yago Partal

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:37:57 -0400

Animal Portraits by Yago Partal

raphyc: How to Draw Mario by creator Shigeru Miyamoto....

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 10:43:43 -0500

raphyc:

How to Draw Mario by creator Shigeru Miyamoto. via maloneybaloney

Other than drawing Ninja Turtles and Astro Boy as a kid, I also taught myself to draw Super Mario.

Love this.

Dig.

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 10:40:19 -0500

Dig.

I love these text heavy magazine covers. There’s something...

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 10:40:00 -0500

I love these text heavy magazine covers. There’s something about the colour choice that makes this amazing!

banterpodcast: nullpandaexception: The Super...

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 10:17:26 -0500

banterpodcast:

nullpandaexception:

The Super Supercapacitor

Ric Kaner and co. have found a practical way to make graphene, using a graphene oxide coated plastic disc and a DVD burner, and have discovered a way to use them as supercapacitors, which have a much faster charge and discharge rate than batteries and traditional capacitors. The implications of rapid charging of electronic devices could be huge, as it would anything from handheld devices to electric cars to be recharged in seconds to minutes.

This is absolutely incredible and is going to change the world.

Tesla needs to buy these guys now.

thepixelatednerd: If you only have time to watch one thing...

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 00:04:45 -0500

thepixelatednerd:

If you only have time to watch one thing today, you need to watch this video. I know you have time to do so, it’s only 7 minutes or so and that’s if you skip the credits. Even if you watch it for the craft and all the animation in this thing, please just watch it and listen.

Just do it for me today

Please watch

Amazing animations on bullying.

it8bit: Retrogaming Created by Jelo Zapanza Official art...

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 00:16:22 -0500

it8bit:

Retrogaming

Created by Jelo Zapanza

Official art showcased at Graphika Manila 2013

Borderlands’ Randy Pitchford “Video Games Are...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:06:37 -0500

Borderlands’ Randy Pitchford “Video Games Are Magic” D.I.C.E 2013

Love this app #imadeface

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:54:17 -0500

Love this app #imadeface

Students learn Mandarin in 8 weeks with this...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:16:52 -0500

Students learn Mandarin in 8 weeks with this “Holodeck” experience.

“The Art of Inspiration” with Dead Space’s...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:02:51 -0500

“The Art of Inspiration” with Dead Space’s Glen Schofield - D.I.C.E. 2013

Great talk by Aaron James Draplin (by CreativeMornings)

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:42:49 -0500

Great talk by Aaron James Draplin (by CreativeMornings)

albotas: Pong is Reborn with 8-Person Multiplayer Art group...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:54:18 -0500

albotas:

Pong is Reborn with 8-Person Multiplayer

Art group SuperUber, which seeks to combine technology and art, rolled out a new exhibit which focuses on the simplicity of Pong matched with the joy and interaction of multiplayer.

Superpong gives each player a dial which controls a row of paddles. The ball then travels between the rows. This is fairly simple but would obviously get pretty competitive.

This raises an interesting question. With the resurgence of popular retro games and the growth of arcade-style bars, could we see a rebirth of the arcade scene based around simple game concepts that focus on interaction?

Watch the game in action:

SuperPong from Lucas Werthein on Vimeo.
Check It: More Gaming From Albotas
Buy It: Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter

Super Pong… I wanna play.

viktorbezic: Side Projects… DO THEM There are so many benefits...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 23:30:05 -0500

viktorbezic:

Side Projects… DO THEM

There are so many benefits to side projects that I feel anxious when I don’t have any in works. Yes, scheduling is tight enough with work and home you couldn’t possibly spare time to undertake a side project. Mary Choi in her Wired article “Overworked, Overwhelmed, Over scheduled? Work More” mentions some benefits. An obvious one is to break your current repetitive work habits to re-engage your mind and shake things up. You also can pursue your passion and have the freedom you typically don’t have during your day job. However, I think the importance of side projects goes deeper than this.

Not only will it make you a more interesting person but it can fundamentally change your relationship to your current work. You will have new found skills that can help you approach problems in a different way making you more productive. Especially if you’re in a creative industry. It becomes easier to combine different ideas based on the insights and skills gained from your side project you wouldn’t get otherwise.

The psychological benefits are also important, the sense of accomplishment and expressing yourself creatively on your own terms. Not acting on your ideas or creative inclinations might not seem like a big deal. However, after a period of time of neglecting them they wind up taking away your energy. Constantly thinking about doing something and not doing it can become liability versus an asset. I think this is why I love to have people on my project teams who have side projects. They tend to have more to bring to the table. They are also motivated and productive.

I also think it can be a contributor in what Cal Newport calls the “Adjacent Possible”. In his book “Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You” he flips the notion of finding work you love by focusing more so on the skills acquisition side of the equation. Derek Sivers does a great summary of the book. The adjacent possible is a space on beyond the cutting edge of our fields that contains the possible new combinations of ideas. The newly acquired skill set from your side project create the fertile soil for innovation in your current field of endeavor.

There are so many great examples in the book. Giles who had a day job as a Ruby on rails developer but cultivated his music interests on the side was able to create a popular open source music software program Archaeopteryx, Kirk’s mission was to popularize modern archaeology. With his skills gained in trying to produce video work for his classes Kirk decided to head straight into people’s homes and use archaeological techniques to help them uncover the significance (if any) of family treasures. This turned into a successful TV show.

As an employer I would do everything possible to encourage side projects including carving out a percentage of paid work time. Everyone’s heard the success stories at Google and 3M. 50% of Google’s products were developed in side project time or 20% time. At 3M Scotch tape and post-it notes came to fruition as a result of side projects.

I think I’m going to make side projects an interview question moving forward.

How Google fixed its design process and started making beautiful...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:14:22 -0500

How Google fixed its design process and started making beautiful apps (by TheVerge)

Photographer Knate Myers created this awesome time lapse video...

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 14:12:02 -0500

Photographer Knate Myers created this awesome time lapse video using images directly from NASA.

Oliver Jeffers (Story Teller & Author) - On inspiration.

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 13:14:02 -0500

Oliver Jeffers (Story Teller & Author) - On inspiration.