Ian Gilman - Blog

Heaven & Earth Pocket

2010-02-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

I guess it's been out for over a year, but I've only now just discovered that Silverstreak Software has done an iPhone version of the Heaven & Earth card game (I did the original back in the early 90's), called Heaven & Earth Pocket.

It's a very faithful port, with the original graphics and sounds. It all feels a bit retro now, but there's a certain charm in that. Anyway, if you're a fan of the game or just curious, check it out!

Be sure to grab the instructions, as they're not in the game itself.

Do You Like It When I...?

2010-02-17T22:57:00.000-08:00

Caitlyn and I have a game we play sometimes. I don't know how we first invented it, but it was over a year ago. It's quite simple, we just take turns asking each other, "Do you like it when I," with something silly and usually unpleasant at the end. For instance, "Do you like it when I mix bananas and broccoli together and dump them on your head?" Or, "Do you like it when I fly away to the moon and never come back?"

Turns out it's endlessly amusing. I think it's good because it's a creativity exercise as well as teaching some empathy. I think Caitlyn likes it because it lets her talk about gross things and mean things without us getting mad at her. Everybody wins!

Viva la Revolución!

2010-02-13T22:34:00.000-08:00

Thinking about my next steps, and particularly in a recent discussion with fellow survivors of Live365 (whose tagline was "Radio Revolution!"), the word "revolution" keeps coming up.

Perhaps revolution isn't exactly the correct word for what I'm looking for, but it's closer than innovation. I'm looking to be part of something bigger than me, bigger than my company and my product. Something where there's a large-scale change for the better in the way people do things, see the world, etc. I don't need to be the leader or the one who starts things rolling, I just want to be one of the players as it unfolds.

Maybe the right words are activist and movement, but of course revolution has a nice drama to it.

This isn't new; it was bred into me from the start, and I would say I've been doing pretty well so far. In my eyes, MetaCreations was quite successful by this definition, not in the realm of digital imaging but in the realm of user interface. You see the results every day when you use MacOS X or Windows 7. Perhaps Live365 was not a key player in the music revolution, but we were part of it nonetheless, so again, I count that as success. More recently, Seadragon is part of the revolution towards resolution-independent displays, zooming interfaces, all that. Time will tell the impact on that, but it's been a satisfying movement to be a part of.

One inevitable question is how is this all good for business? Well, I have no idea. Changing the world is my goal, and money simply a means to the end, not the other way around. I recognize the importance of money, and I value team members who can make it flow our way, but I know that's not my strength.

As much as I sometimes think I can do everything, I'm happiest when I'm collaborating with brilliant, creative, radical people; in short, revolutionaries.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2010-02-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

The sun was out today, and it brought everyone out of the woodwork. We had our monthly neighborhood cleanup in the morning, which got things rolling. We chatted with old friends and met new ones. Caitlyn ran all over the park with a boy a little older than her who has recently moved into the neighborhood. Christina worked in the garden, as did a number of our neighbors (in their yards and gardens). My sister (who recently moved into the neighborhood) stopped by and invited Caitlyn out for a ride on the light rail.

I'm delighted to be living in a neighborhood with so much friendly, casual community. One more reason I'm glad not to be commuting across the water every day anymore.

Amazon/Seattle Public Library bookmarklet

2010-01-22T10:21:00.000-08:00

Amazon pages are a common way to pass around book suggestions, but what if you want to check the book out before you buy it? If you're in the Seattle area, you can use this handy bookmarklet to go straight from an Amazon book page to that book on the Seattle Public Library's site. Just drag this link:

AZ->SPL

... to the bookmark bar on your browser, then next time you're on an Amazon book page, hit the bookmark. It should take you straight to the library's version (if they have it).

Yes, I'm having a productive first week of freelancing... why do you ask?

The Threshold

2010-01-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

Friday was my last day at Microsoft, Monday is my first official day of freelancing, and today is a soft, quiet limbo with rain outside and cozy inside, where I get to recover from all the going-away festivities and prepare for the next thing.

Caitlyn is used to her mother working at home, but now she gets to get used to me working from home as well. Today we're all working on various projects, stopping from time to time to share things with each other or collaborate on something, but otherwise in full parallel play mode. It looks a lot like my childhood; both of my parents worked at home, so while they were there if I needed them, I was mostly on my own. I filled my days creating things, a habit that has continued ever since.

I still don't know who I'm working for next week. I've got maybe half a dozen likely clients, plus a couple dozen more vague possibilities. Many of the people I'm talking with want me full-time. It's great to be wanted, and I don't want to seem flighty, but I'm just not ready for that kind of commitment. I just came off five years of focusing on a single technology; I need to wander a bit.

Well, one way or another, here we go!

Caitlyn Plans Ahead

2010-01-11T21:25:00.000-08:00

This evening Christina wasn't feeling well, so I informed Caitlyn that I would likely be reading the bedtime stories tonight. Of course Caitlyn prefers Mama, so she insisted that she would ask her if she could do it, and if Mama said "no", then she would "kiss her and hug her and cry". I surely said something flippant about how it's nice to have plans...

Half an hour later, jammies on, teeth brushed, room clean, she went downstairs to where Mama was resting on the couch and asked her if she could read stories tonight. Mama said "no", and sure enough, Caitlyn first kissed her, then hugged her, then teared up. She told her mama to get better and that she loved her. She then turned around and headed upstairs for her stories with Papa, while I stood there marveling at her follow-through.

Creativity & Ownership

2010-01-09T23:24:00.000-08:00

It's a week until the start of my new adventure, and suddenly I'm feeling more creative than I have in many months! Perhaps it's just the impending change of scenery, but it's causing me to muse about one of the great creativity drains I found at Microsoft: the fact that they own all of your ideas.

Your employee agreement clearly states that the company owns everything you dream up on the job, but nowhere does it say that they have to do anything with it. It's like an idea black hole; you lose your ability to pursue the ideas, and in all likelihood the company won't bother. So you start to not share ideas you don't think have a good chance of making it, and eventually you stop having those ideas, until you just stop having ideas at all.

What if, instead, the company you worked for had "right of first refusal" to all of your ideas? If they utilize your idea, then it's all theirs. If they don't do anything with it within a certain time period, it's yours to pursue as you please. The company gets happier employees and the pick of the litter of a greater outpouring of ideas -- everybody wins!

Avatar

2010-01-03T16:07:00.000-08:00

I finally got a chance to see Avatar. Man, it's good to have James Cameron back!

I'm a bit dismayed by all of the "forget the story, watch it for the visuals" reviews the movie's been getting. The visuals certainly are great, as Cameron continues to push the technology of filmmaking forward, but it's also great storytelling. It's the story, in fact, that gives the visuals their resonance.

Of course maybe I just like the story because it's laced through with some of my favorite themes: the perils of corporate greed and military fear, the beauty and wonder of the natural world, standing up for what's right, etc. In fact, all of Cameron's films are filled with themes such as these; they're basically message films with mass-market appeal. As an activist myself, I love that combination. After all, it's easy to make a message film nobody wants to see, and plenty people make meaningless mass-market movies; it's hard to get both right in the same movie.

So go see Avatar, and enjoy the visuals, but don't forget the story!

Going Freelance

2010-01-01T11:26:00.000-08:00

It's a new decade, time to turn over a new leaf! After four and a half very rewarding years on the Seadragon team, I'm moving on. We've accomplished wonderful things, and I'm sure the team will continue to do so without me, but it's time for me to stretch my legs.

Starting January 16, I'll be going freelance, contributing my many and varied skills towards the creation of whatever interesting websites, applications, and even films that cross my path. I stand on the threshold of a new chapter; what awaits?

May the new year bring us all great joy and delightful adventure!

New Chris Jordan Gallery

2009-11-14T20:51:00.000-08:00

Chris Jordan is a Seattle artist who creates giant photomontages with an environmental (anti-consumerist, really) message. We included a few of his pieces in Seadragon Mobile, but now you get to dive into them on the desktop with our new Chris Jordan "Running the Numbers" gallery. Enjoy!

In Praise of Halloween

2009-11-01T22:08:00.000-08:00

This was Caitlyn's first year to go trick-or-treating. Christina sewed a lovely tiger costume for her (by request), which she's been wearing at every chance, giddy with anticipation.

Ever since I was a kid, much has been made of the dangers of Halloween; don't trust candy from your neighbors! Trick-or-treat at the local shopping mall instead! It's almost as if there was a nationwide conspiracy to use fear to erode local community in favor of chain retail stores. Those stories have now been debunked, but their effects linger on.

Yet what we found this Halloween was how the night turned the whole neighborhood into a sort of giant block party for kids. Costumed groups wandering the streets and sidewalks, folks watching from their porches and doorways, everyone friendly and cheerful. Surely the candy was a good motivating factor, but Caitlyn obviously enjoyed the pleasure of interacting with her neighbors and showing off her fancy outfit.

So here's for Halloween, one of the few holidays where you're encouraged to introduce yourself to your neighbors!

Farewell to a Playhouse

2009-10-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

We dismantled Caitlyn's cardboard playhouse today. She doesn't really use it anymore, and we need the space to make way for more big-girl additions to her room. We'd gone over all of this with her, but naturally she was still quite distraught when the time came to do the actual deed. Once it was all in pieces, she asked to have a quiet moment alone with it. Afterwards she explained that she'd said goodbye, and that she'd told the playhouse that when it had moved on and it found itself in some strange new house with a strange new family, everything was going to be okay, because Caitlyn would still be dreaming of it.

Shoulder Update

2009-09-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

The surgery is complete, everything went smoothly (from my perspective, and from the doctor's perspective), I've had a somnambulant weekend on painkillers, and now it's more or less back to reality; that new reality being that I've got an arm in a sling for the next month, and daily physical therapy exercises for the next six months or so.

I am happy to report that I am in fact functionally ambidextrous, so eating, writing, shaving, etc. with my left hand is going smoothly (if a little slower) and improving. After all, what's the point of having the adventure if you can't enjoy these little challenges along the way?

Thank you everyone who wrote with well wishes! It was great going into the surgery knowing I was in your hearts and minds.

Shoulder Surgery

2009-09-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

Ever since Fourth of July last year (and some overexertions on my part) my right shoulder has been a bit out of whack. I've given it time to heal on its own, done physical therapy, but it hasn't gotten better. An MRI and further diagnosis has shown that it's a tear in the cartilage on the backside of the joint, so tomorrow morning I'll be getting arthroscopic surgery to repair it.

Maybe a decade ago I had a couple of wisdom teeth removed; other than that I've never had any surgery before. After that procedure I was surprised at how violated I felt; something that had been part of my body my whole life was now irrevocably gone. This time it's repair (though presumably there will be a scar), so I don't expect I'll have the same feelings, but at this point all I can do is go with the flow and see how it all turns out. Afterwards I'll be doing physical therapy to get it back in shape; I intend to use this as motivation to be more proactive about my health in general. Anyway, it feels like a milestone of some sort.

The Hidden Value of Being Public

2009-07-17T22:18:00.000-07:00

I've gotten so used to sharing my life and thoughts in public, on various blogs, Twitter, etc., I forget that that's not how everyone lives these days. For me, whatever situation I'm in, whatever I'm saying, I just assume it'll be available for all the world to see (should they choose to). Scary at first, perhaps, but the beauty is that thinking that way helps curb your bullshit (or at least keeps you to self-consistent bullshit). Imagine if the whole world did that!

Friend Seeking C++ Developers

2009-07-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

A project I worked on a while back is now nearing its initial public beta, and they're looking for a good developer or two to bring them down the home stretch. Here's the writeup:

We are developing a cross-platform multimedia player to showcase our new rich media packaging technology. We are looking for C++ contract professionals with Windows, Mac and Linux skills to become part of our team.

Areas of interest include:
Media format knowledge
Portable player integration
sqLite3 embedding
GUI development
This project is well advanced, so new developers must be able to dive into existing code.

Ours is a small, highly skilled team. We expect all teams members to be self-starters. These contracts have long term potential for the right persons.

The team is distributed across the globe, so you can work the job from wherever you live. They are especially interested in someone with solid Mac skills to round out the team. Contact me if you're interested and I'll put you in touch.

The Coming-of-Age of the Living Room Computer

2009-03-08T15:58:00.000-07:00

The "entertainment center" in my living room is a Mac Mini hooked up to an LCD TV, with a couple of nice computer speakers. I don't have cable or even an antenna; I grew tired of regular television years ago. Everything I want to watch is either online or available through Netflix.

I certainly enjoy sitting back for a couple hours watching a good movie, but I'm also intrigued by the many other possibilities posed by a computer in the living room. This is part of the inspiration behind Gimme Shiny, and this is why I'm enjoying Boxee. These are just single points in a broad spectrum yet to be explored, strange new experiences that are part game, part TV, part screensaver, part web, but also new unto themselves. I'll continue playing in this area, and I'm looking forward to seeing what others come up with!

Caitlyn on Life

2009-02-10T15:15:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to write this up for, well, a year and a half now. An exchange I had with Caitlyn when she was two left an impression on me:

We were talking about her quilt, and how all of her relatives and friends of the family had made squares, and she asked where were the squares that Mama and Papa had made? I explained that we didn't make any squares in the quilt because we had been busy making her.

She said, "You made me?"

I said, "Yes, Mama and I made you together."

She thought about this for a moment and said, "Thank you."

Happy 2009!

2009-02-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we've done one of these year-end wrap-up things, but so much has been going on, I figure we're due (never mind that it's already February). So, let's see, where to begin?

The short version: I've been exploring and creating in the world of Web art and technology, Christina has been diving deeper into her role as techno-pagan urban homesteader, and Caitlyn is growing up fast! We are blessed to be part of a number of a thriving communities, from the many wonderful people in our local neighborhood to the international network of ideas we call the Web.

I'm managing a small team now (still in the Seadragon group in Microsoft Live Labs), and together we've released several projects: Seadragon Ajax gives you smooth zooming on the web in pure JavaScript. Seadragon Mobile for iPhone is able to seamlessly serve up hundreds of huge images over the air. Infinite Canvas allows you to create and view comics unconstrained by page boundaries. I also helped put together this year's Photosynth release, and of course we've got exciting things in store for 2009! You can keep up to date on my Seadragon adventures with the blog Dragonosticism.

I've been keeping myself busy outside of work as well, creating and releasing a JavaScript version of the Figure Ground puzzle game from Heaven & Earth, and Gimme Shiny, a dynamic slideshow of popular images on the web (also done in JavaScript). I'm still posting random bits to Thoughtsam, though no longer everyday.

Christina's year has mostly been about food. She's taken up regular bread making (nearly one loaf per week), yogurt making and the occasional cheese making, with ambitions of her own homemade cheddar in 2009. The garden gave us several quarts of peas and nearly 30 lbs of potatoes, and it taught us that corn and shelling beans are best gotten from the farmers' market. She also put up 70 lbs of tomatoes, 20 lbs of peaches, 18 lbs of raspberries, 11 pints of applesauce, and a dozen half-pints each of dried tomatoes and bell peppers.

Christina continues with her usual web design antics. New projects this year include intentional and recycled jewelry from PeaceLoveEarth, Peruvian inspired sweaters from Inca Textiles, poems and images from Veita Jo Hampton, and a promotional site for elder care mediator Marcia Haber, as well as all the usuals from previous years.

She's also doing more sewing this year, exploring sewing clothes (shirts, dresses, hats, shoes (!)) as well as non-disposable sandwich and lunch bags, a self-designed laptop sleeve, and the usual assortment of quilts. Sadly, the pictures of these items have yet to be taken in most cases; maybe she'll get to that sometime this year.

In the Major Life Events department, we saw the passing of Christina's father this fall. His decline over the last 17 years due to fronto-temporal dementia has been brutally slow and painful for Christina's family, so the closure of this chapter is a time of both grief and relief. Christina occasionally blogs about her grieving process (as well as many other topics) on her website.

Caitlyn is 3.5 and is enthusiastic about her first year in preschool. She's learning to write (she's pretty reliable about writing "mama" and "papa") and can tell you the letters in her name, even if she wants prompting when it comes to writing them. She's also attending a circus class where she's learning to walk on a tightwire, balance on a globe, climb a rope, and do "seat drops" on the trampoline. Caitlyn loves her books and her various projects (folding, cutting, gluing, glitter, painting, writing, coloring), as well as animals, storytelling, yoga, helping around the house, Legos, the "little computer", and going on "adventureders".

You can see photos of her (that we don't seem to update very often) on her site. I've also started collecting her quotes on my Twitter stream (as has Christina); hopefully we'll add that to her site one of these days.

We have, of course, continued to explore the wonderful world of music. This year's best are collected in our Tunes 08 playlist.

So that's us, how about you? What have you been up to?

Best wishes for the new year!

What about failure?

2009-01-21T21:24:00.000-08:00

Failures and mistakes are part of life. The question is, what are you going to do about it? You either try to avoid failure, or you learn how to recover from it. The difference is that avoidance paralyzes you into an action, whereas failure recovery keeps you moving, ever more nimble with each new experience.

Infinite Canvas

2009-01-17T19:01:00.000-08:00

Inspired by the "Infinite Canvas" chapter in Scott McCloud's book Reinventing Comics, and building on some of my earlier work that led to Seadragon Ajax, I used our recent Out of the Box Week to create a new comic layout and viewing web app, Infinite Canvas. Scott himself was kind enough to contribute one of his pieces, Brad's Somber Mood, and Jouni Koponen has provided The Day the Saucers Came, a collaboration with Neil Gaiman. This is just the beginning though... What can you create, on a canvas with no limits?

Remember the customer?

2009-01-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

I've been hearing a lot of talk lately about what's good for business or bad for business. As far as I'm concerned, the only question you need to ask yourself is, "What's best for the customer?" If the answer to that question doesn't align with your business plan, you're in the wrong business. If you're not serving your customer's needs, someone else will -- it's only a matter of time.

Government Coming Alive

2008-12-21T22:20:00.000-08:00

I'm terribly excited about all the stuff going on at change.gov. He's so engaged, it feels like he's our president already -- even more so than our previous presidents, who felt distant even when they were in office. Much has been said about the democratic nature of the Web; it's great to see it being applied to our government.

Here in Seattle, in the midst of a week of snowstorms, I've discovered some of that great government Web energy at the local level: the Washington State Department of Transportation has a blog, a Twitter feed, and a Flickr stream. The blog is remarkably friendly, the twitter feed is highly engaged (filled with responses to other people's questions and comments), and all of the Flickr photos are Creative Commons. Pretty amazing, and wonderful to see... it's got a lot of people talking, excited about government for the first time in, well, a mighty long time.

Photosynth Silverlight viewer

2008-12-18T21:19:00.001-08:00

For those of you who have been waiting for Photosynth on the Mac, well, it's still not here. That is, you still can't create synths on the Mac. You can, however, finally view them, with the new Photosynth Silverlight viewer! It's still experimental, so it's not integrated into the site, but with a little copy and paste you can view any synth, including all the great ones collected on Synthopticon.

It doesn't support point clouds yet, and of course you need to have Silveright installed, which means you need to be on an Intel Mac, but besides all that it's pretty darn cool! Go check it out and then leave a comment on the Photosynth support site telling them how excited you are for the next version...