Strake
Design Eye for the Geek Guy
February 2010
the HYPE framework is Joshua Davis’ “creative coding framework” built on top of ActionScript 3. I’m not sure yet what the similarities and differences are between this and Processing, but I’ve got crazy respect for Joshua’s work so I’m sure this is great.
That said, I can’t justify spending any more time learning Flash-based technology. I’m totally onboard with the HTML5/open web standards movement and I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before amazing toolkits like this get ported to a Javascript and <canvas> implementations.
Update: here’s a video of Joshua giving a HYPE tutorial. If nothing else, it’s cool to see an amazing talent like him at work.
Plastic Surgery: Dissecting Barbie Packaging - with two kids, this stuff never ceases to amaze/frustrate/disgust/lacerate me.
Mounting point on the Space Shuttle’s 747 transporter.
I just noticed a nice new feature of the upcoming Youtube redesign. If you’ve enabled it, you’ll have a cleaner page layout and some much-needed UX improvements.
Here’s the one I just came across: if you’re watching a video and do a search, your current video will continue playing (though reduced in size) while your search results appear next to it. Nice touch, Youtubers.
I’ve developed this irrational habit lately where I open up a tab with an article that I’m really excited about and then I don’t read it. In fact, the more excited I am about it, the longer it takes me to get to it. I’m guessing it has to do with wanting to totally clear my head of all other distractions so that I can enjoy every nuance of the article.
Almost all of the Cocoia posts fall into this category and the latest iPad UI Roundup is no exception. If you love in-depth UI analysis, you’ll want to subscribe to their blog.
If you’re a runner, you’ve probably at least heard about Chi Running, Evolution Running, or any of the various barefoot/natural-based philosophies. Since reading “Born to Run” last year, I’ve rambled on and on to anyone even marginally interested in running about the Tarahumara Indians who run ultramarathon distances through the mountainous terrain in Mexico. In sandals. Just for fun. And never get injured.
The common thread here is the notion that runners no longer run how we’re biomechanically designed to. If you run barefoot, you aren’t going to heel-strike (that is, land with your heel first) because it’s painful. Instead you’ll land on the forefoot and release the impact force gradually across the entire foot. The problem with using overly-cushioned running shoes is that it encourages you to heel-strike because you can’t feel it. Over time, though, the impact will hurt your ankles, knees, hips, or back.
Anyhow, this video shows some of Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman’s research into this idea.
Oh, and you don’t need to actually run barefoot to learn to cure your heel-strike. The Nike Free mimics barefoot running to some degree and lots of people are using Vibram FiveFingers (though, I haven’t had a chance yet).
