Curious - Design as a Profession

I’ve been pondering this question for awhile and I’d just like to put it out there …

Is design a profession? 

I’d be anxious to read responses …

Climbing excursion experience

Here’s an experience for you: sit back, close your eyes (but not really because then you won’t be able to read the post. Unless you ask that person sitting next to you to read the rest aloud for you), think of Italy-the delectable food, the canals of Venice, the Alps.

Now you’re stretching your arms and legs, jumping up and down in place to get your heart pumping, almost ready to ascend that giant pink bunny knitted by some grannies to look as if plummeted from so high in the sky to its quite nasty demise that its internal organs have exploded and lay beside it.

Yes, this seemingly delusional fantasy can indeed be a very real experience. Those of you going to CHI may want to factor in a few extra days to see this man-made anomaly.

Sustainable Guitar Hero

While everyone loves Guitar Hero, it is reasonable to consider the environmental implications of all those cheesy plastic guitars. A company showed off an elegant solution at CES 2008: Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker. Let’s face it: it’s not the guitar that makes you a rock god(dess); it’s the slick moves and stylin’ hair. See for yourself (the video alone is worth its weight in pixels):

Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker

Props to HCID alum Tiffanie Shakespeare for the link!

An Odd Experiment in Culture

World-renowned violinist (and IU alumnus and professor) Joshua Bell agreed to a Washington Post stunt to offer a 40 minute solo concert in a DC-area subway station, to see if any of the DC commuters noticed the greatness around them. The Post did a long and thoughtful write-up, after filming the whole thing, and they even posted video online. You can see the article + video for yourself (you may need to register to access the site, but it is free–and totally worth it). Awesome.

Props to DC-area resident and Sister of Moi, Kathy Thomas, for sending me this!

confirmation

… that Sadie cannot be trusted to be free during the day when I am working on campus

thanks for eating my pillow, dog

Facebook turned evil, or were they all along?

Facebook gets your data whether you opt out or not, yikes! http://tinyurl.com/23urxn Block them with http://tinyurl.com/2g5gth

Wish I had time to post more about it, but the bottom line is that FB is receiving data about what you do online all the time even when it’s not published on your feed if you have a cookie from them in your history.  Talk about juicy data that can be seriously misused!

WOW Mr. T commercial

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/downloads/movies.html

i pity the fool who doesn’t play WOW.

=t

the 21st century breakup phenomenon

This article posted today to CNN speaks to the impact of technology on culture in a big way.  When I was a teenager, many moons ago, you were considered rude or “chicken” to break up with a girlfriend over the telephone.   You had to “face the music” as they say. But now things are much, much different…. I smell a good paper here somewhere.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/11/16/im.poll.ap/index.html

More than four in 10 teens, or 43 percent, who instant message use it for things they wouldn’t say in person, according to an Associated Press-AOL poll released Thursday. Twenty-two percent use IMs to ask people out on dates or accept them, and 13 percent use them to break up.

Overall, nearly half of teens age 13 to 18 said they use instant messaging, those staccato, Internet-borne strings of real-time chatter often coupled with enough frenzied multitasking to fry the typical adult brain. Only about one in five adults said they use IMs — though usually with less technological aplomb or hormone-driven social drama.

DNA Differences

Some research is finding that people of different continental origins have different DNA. The article does give examples of products/designs that are already operating under that assumption (the heart disease drug for African Americans). Concern about “support” for racism is mentioned (if people really are genetically different, then…) and talk of this research leading to a tie between race and I.Q. I mean, there are all kinds of implications, I suppose, so let me ask what about the design implications (operating on the assumption that this research is valid and that folks from different continental origins do have different DNA)? And in a case where the role of environment and DNA were to be diametrically opposed, then what would take precedence?

Global Incident Map

A map of “Terrorism Events and Other Suspicious Activity”. One can click on the event icons and get details and links related to the incident. Note also at the bottom of the page that other maps coming soon are:

• Gang Activity
• Outbreaks/Bird Flu
• USA School Incidents

I’d love to make a comment about this, but honestly am still processing it. WTF?! What are your thoughts? Is there a “Humanitarian Events and Other Heart-Warming Activity” map somewhere out there?