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[19 Jun 2009|01:41pm] |
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Today I sneezed while walking on the sidewalk, and a passing bicyclist shouted "Gesundheit" (complete with Doppler-effect).
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[13 Jun 2009|09:12pm] |
(bigger)
Art Party at Lothlorien, Spring 2008.
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| Where is my Happy Place today? |
[18 May 2009|10:19am] |
File under: Quantified Self, Self-Experimentation, BLDGBLOG
Some time ago, Seth Roberts discovered evidence of an internal rhythm similar to the usual light-sensitive Circadian rhythm, but controlled by the sight of human faces in the morning and evening. This face rhythm affects mood and sleep duration.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1315&context=postprints
He hypothesizes (pg 13) that depression results when your "face oscillation" gets out of phase with your light-sensitive oscillation. Moving from one time zone to another is a simple way to adjust the phase of your light-sensitive oscillations, and Seth quotes a person who moved from New York to Turkey and found that "in the perfect Turkish sunshine the depression evaporated."
So:
By measuring these rhythms, it should be possible to calculate the time zone in which you would have the best mood. Traveling there would maximize your happiness -- unless your phases weren't quite 24 hours long, in which case you should constantly and slowly circle the globe. Your computer could present you with a daily color-coded map showing the moving "happiness front", and book hotel rooms and train tickets for you.
"It's been good to see you, but I've got to stay at the top of my happiness potential field. See you in 4 months."
"Yes, I know I left your backpack in the hotel, but we can't go back into the Shadow. Chicago is in the Sad Lands now."
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| Are you... happy? |
[05 May 2009|04:42pm] |
I've been reading about the measurement of happiness as part of my self-tracking project (which I'll post about sooner or later).
Ever wonder what it would be like to be maximally happy? You'd answer "agree" to each statement below. This is the "Oxford Happiness Inventory", a test used by psychologists to measure happiness:
I am incredibly happy
I feel that the future is overflowing with hope and promise
I am completely satisfied about everything in my life
I feel that I am in total control of all aspects of my life
I feel that life is overflowing with rewards
I am delighted with the way I am
I always have a good influence on events
I love life
I am intensely interested in other people
I can make all decisions very easily
I feel able to take anything on
I always wake up feeling rested
I feel I have boundless energy
The whole world looks beautiful to me
I feel fully mentally alert
I feel on top of the world
I love everybody
All past events seem extremely happy
I am constantly in a state of joy and elation
I have done everything I ever wanted
I can fit in everything I want to do
I always have fun with other people
I always have a cheerful effect on others
My life is totally meaningful and purposive
I am always committed and involved
I think the world is an excellent place
I am always laughing
I think I look extremely attractive
I am amused by everything
(source)
Imagining somebody cheerfully shouting these sentences makes me crack up laughing.
Oh, and Song Contest: Write a song using these phrases and I'll draw something for you.
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| Hm. |
[05 May 2009|03:44pm] |
Note that this is a worldwide poll.
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| Drawings |
[17 Apr 2009|01:57am] |
I've been enjoying Colors, a drawing app for the iPhone.
The best part is watching a replay of my drawing in fast forward. (Not visible here because I only have the free version.) The worst part is my fat finger obscuring what I'm drawing.
Is there anything I can use as a stylus on an iPhone? Perhaps a broken sliver of bacon, since the screen only seems to respond to fleshy things.
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| Photo of the Day |
[24 Mar 2009|06:59am] |
And the wall bulged but we did not know why
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| Doodle Day of the Day |
[18 Mar 2009|05:09pm] |
Today, in an almost literal Death by Chocolate, I inhaled while eating a bite of tiramisu and filled my lungs with cocoa powder. Don't do this.
Me in my cube.
(192.168.1.1 is the IP address of your home network gateway.)
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| What I've been up to |
[26 Feb 2009|04:35pm] |
I've been doing freelance projects, so I decided I needed a more consolidated web identity. Hence: pixelbutter.com
Here's what I've been up to so far this year:
Just started working at Industrial Light & Magic, which instantly backburnered all of the below. I'm doing lighting for Transformers 2.
Made an animated promo for Campus InPower, a nonprofit which helps colleges set up green funds and the like. (20 mb quicktime)
Wrote & planned out an animated music video for Mathpanda. It's going to be awesome if I ever have time to make it.
Wrote a short film about time-machine bicycles called Bike to the Future. It's going to be awesome if I ever have time to make it. Let me know if you want to help me build a BTTF-DeLorean-style bike.
Worked on 3d graphics for an iPhone game.
Take that, bad economy! BIFF! POW!
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| Itinerary iterations |
[23 Dec 2008|01:55am] |
Tues - Wed: Los Angeles
Wed - Dec 29: San Diego
Dec 30: Berkeley
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| Mushrooms |
[07 Oct 2008|04:01pm] |
Here's some procedurally generated mushrooms kthx.
XSI again.
1. Generate random points on the ground.
2. If they're too close to each other, spread them out.
3. Grow them until they touch their closest neighbor.
4. Apply an upwards force, a slope-based force, and an avoid-neighbors force.
5. As the particles move, generate a mushroom stalk from their path.
6. Put the cap on top.
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| Aloe-ish |
[01 Oct 2008|01:46am] |
The leaves are arranged in a Fibonacci Phyllotaxis pattern: each leaf is rotated 137.5 degrees from the previous, which is equivalent to 360 degrees times the golden ratio.
Next step: more detailed leaves.
Made with Softimage XSI ICE, Mental Ray, and Shake.
More math details halfway down page.
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