little more than a placeholder

Slow geeks

2009-02-13T16:12:26Z

Kevin Kelly, of Wired Magazine and Long Now Foundation fame, has a lengthy piece on his blog exploring the Amish adoption of technology. It wasn’t until we watched the documentary Devil’s Playground a few years back that I was really aware of the Amish approach to selectively adopting new technologies only once they’ve explored their likely social impact and how they fit with their core values. I’m not sure I could convince myself to slow down that much, but it’s a fascinating idea:

The Amish are steadily adopting technology — at their pace. They are slow geeks. As one Amish man told Howard Rheingold, “We don’t want to stop progress, we just want to slow it down,” But their manner of slow adoption is instructive.

They are selective. They know how to say “no” and are not afraid to refuse new things. They ban more than they adopt.

They evaluate new things by experience instead of by theory. They let the early adopters get their jollies by pioneering new stuff under watchful eyes.

They have criteria by which to select choices: technologies must enhance family and community and distance themselves from the outside world.

The choices are not individual, but communal. The community shapes and enforces technological direction.

This method works for the Amish, but can it work for the rest of us? I don’t know. It has not really been tried yet. And if the Amish hackers and early adopters teach us anything, it’s that you have to try things first. Try first and relinquish later if need be. We are good at trying first; not good at relinquishing – except as individuals. To fulfill the Amish model we’d have to get better at relinquishing as a group. Social relinquishing. Not merely a large number (as in a movement) but a giving up that relies on mutual support. I have not seen any evidence of that happening, but it would be a telling sign if it did appear.

The whole piece is a good read. You can find it at kk.org.

(via Jason Kottke)

Professionally uncurious

2009-01-31T10:54:11Z

For a few years, the Oscars got quite a lot of my attention. It’s not that I often agreed with the Academy’s choice, but I did try and make sure I’d seen as many as possible of the nominated films, and was eager to engage in commentary about the rights and wrongs of the Academy’s choices.

This year, I’ve found myself almost entirely disinterested. But I did read Stephanie Zecharek’s overview—”Let’s Beat Up On The Oscars“—and enjoyed a couple of sections enough to want to share.

But the idea of being deserving or not is beside the point with the Oscars: Most of us watch the ceremony on TV as a way of matching up our own ragtag sets of likes and dislikes with those of the Hollywood professionals, who — ostensibly — know what they’re doing. That’s part of the fun, and even our frustration with the Academy is part of the fun. So why beat up on them?

Because beating up on them is also fun.

and

In his speech on Tuesday, President Obama cited a number of human traits that can help us get through hard times: Curiosity was one of them. The Academy Award nominations this year, as they do every year, offered a few surprises amid a gaggle of complete nonsurprises. The Academy — film professionals, all of them — appear, as a group, to be professionally uncurious. I’m certain civilian moviegoers are a much more adventurous group. In seeking out what’s truly imaginative, engaging or moving, we have to be our own pioneers.

For Sale: Canon Digital Rebel XTi/400D

2008-12-22T17:56:56Z

UPDATE: The item has now been sold

Having recently upgraded to the wonderful Canon EOS 50D I’m looking for a new home for my old 400D (actually the US version: the Digital Rebel XTi). I’ve taken about 15,000 photos with it and it was a great introduction to the world of digital SLRs. Despite all that use, it’s in really good shape and will come complete with a 2GB memory card, a spare (non-Canon, but perfectly fine) battery, strap, 18-55mm kit lens, and US and UK chargers, all in the original box.

I’m planning to list the camera on ebay on Monday or Tuesday next week, but wanted to throw the option out there if anyone wants to make me offers in the region of £275 including postage (within the UK). Email me at james@jystewart.net if you’re interested.

A quick announcement in lieu of a more complete update

2008-12-06T14:35:30Z

Elisabeth Soraya Clare Stewart, born 7.13pm on December 4th. Mother and baby (and father) all doing well.

Being in the hospital, witnessing the birth, and just living through the past few days have been wonderful and fascinating. Elisabeth permitting, I may just have to write a few notes on this neglected blog next week.

A week or so later

2008-11-13T19:10:56Z

In the name of closing a few tabs, here are a few of my favourite post-US-election links:

Ambridge Acoustic Revue – Dia de los Muertos

2008-11-03T22:40:34Z

The third in our series of Ambridge Acoustic Revues was another roaring success. Noting the date, Rob had suggested we adopt a Day of the Dead theme and decked the building out in fine style. And for a special treat Garry created a fabulous puppet to greet people on the door.

Jon and Phil, our usual house band, were off on tour with Beth Rowley, giving the evening a slightly different feel. Jez kindly stepped in on drums, and Foy Vance joined a couple of the others to lend some bass to their tunes. Hayley, Jon, Foy, and of course Iain played well, and all in all it was immensely enjoyable. We hope to have another one ready to announce in the next couple of days.

In the meantime, the rest of my photos are on flickr.

Burn After Reading

2008-10-27T13:08:10Z

I’d listened to a few reviews and didn’t go into this latest Coen Brothers film with high expectations but having enjoyed every one of their previous films (except, perhaps, their Ladykillers remake) and considering myself a committed fan I’d hoped to see something the reviewers had missed. Or at least enjoy a riotous, if inconsequential, romp along the lines of Intolerable Cruelty.

But no.

Forty minutes in I was pulling out my phone wondering how much longer there was to go. Most of the time I just watched in disbelief as lines came and went that were clearly intended to be jokes but just fell flat. There was another hour or so before we could leave. It was quite a comedown after No Country For Old Men and I left with my faith in the Coens deeply shaken.

Design Cities

2008-10-27T13:00:37Z

The Design Cities exhibition–running at the Design Museum until early January–has been on our list for quite a while and we finally made it along yesterday. The exhibition focussed on seven cities that the curators argued had in turn dominated world design over the past 160 years, and laid out a number of iconic items from each. It seems like almost every exhibition we’ve visited in the past couple of years has been dominated by chairs and this was no exception, but there were also a range of other devices from tableware to consumer electronics.

I had been expecting more exploration of cities themselves rather than a focus purely on the items produced within them. There was a sketch of a proposal (not accepted) for the Chicago Tribune building (interestingly given that Chicago wasn’t one of the featured cities), the obligatory photograph of the Bauhaus, and a quick look at one of the new Olympic facilities being built in East London. But other than that the built environment was ignored and that was a shame. It would have been interesting to have had more depth and an exploration of whether there’s any connection between city planning, architecture and the aspirational consumer goods that actually dominated.

The exhibition started and ended with London, arguing that London is currently the focal point of contemporary design but then leaving a dangling question of whether design has such a focus in our globalised world. It felt like that final section was rather confused as it raised the question but didn’t really grapple with it.

The place of communications was another area that wasn’t really serviced as it could be. The time spent exploring each city’s products in turn was a good introduction, but there wasn’t enough space for looking at the wider ecosystem in which each city enjoyed its moment of glory, how the trends moved on, and so on. Presenting that might have left the visitor better able to assess the questions about whether we have or need a focal point for global design today.

Overall it all felt like the introduction to a great exhibition and a little incomplete, but worth a visit if you’re in the neighbourhood.

Snowshow

2008-10-13T08:08:10Z

I don’t think I ever got round to blogging about it, but I really enjoyed Katie Chastain’s debut album when it came out a few months back, particularly for Nathan Johnson’s production work. Nathan’s been busy working with some big names but it’s good to see that he and Katie have had time to put together a video to go with her song ‘Snowshow’. It’s a lovely example of what’s possible with some home-made props and a single-camera shoot.

Katie Chastain – ‘Snowshow’ from Nathan Johnson on Vimeo.

News Blow

2008-10-12T16:08:32Z

Reading Chuck Klosterman’s Brief History of the 21st Century (via kottke) I was left wondering (as so often with future-fiction) how much of it is really about the modern day:

A report from the American Medical Association expresses fear over the proliferation of news blow. “It appears,” the report concludes, “that prolonged consumption of news blow renders the user incapable of relating to any person not engaged with an identical strain of the substance.” Society is no longer separated by geography, culture, or language; humans now group themselves solely through the shared use of specific info drugs. A divide emerges between Americans on the West Coast (who primarily smoke news blow synthesized in rural California) and people living in the East (who snort a more potent strain developed in Baltimore). Over time, people in New York and Los Angeles find themselves unable to communicate about anything — they now understand the most basic building blocks of information in totally different ways.

Of course it’s tricky to believe that the US would break into halves along east/west lines (I’d expect a more patchwork effect), and really, the whole piece is rather US-centric. But it’s an entertaining and quick read.

News blow continues to splinter society. Though technically still a union, the U.S. splits into two autonomous halves that have no relationship with each other. The same thing happens in Europe (now divided into seven vague provinces), Russia (which fractures into five regions), and Africa (which becomes five superstates, plus Madagascar). Select diplomats attempt to bridge the gaps by consuming multiple strains of news blow simultaneously, but these attempts lead to depression and catatonia.