I’ve been so discombobulated by my travels that I completely forgot about the beta release of Flock. It took a Norwegian grad student’s blog to remind me.
Just downloaded the beta. Will play around with it.
Technorati Tags: internet, social_software
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, Ph.D.
I study people, technology, and the worlds they make
Month: October 2005 (page 1 of 9)
I’ve got some work to do today (surprise), but have a few posts from the Denmark trip that I have yet to finish illustrating and published. Watch this space.
Of course, if I wrote about politics, this would be a pretty busy space.
On Thursday I went back to ITU to do some more work before leaving to return home.
[via flickr]
Technorati Tags: cooperation
I find the place very compelling architecturally, and intellectually. These cantilevered offices are especially neat. I’m sure the architect was pleased with the “out of the box” metaphor.
[via flickr]
Each of the meeting rooms is named after someone: Picasso (L), Baby (R).
[via flickr]
Overall, it’s a very cool space.
[via flickr]
And it looks like some condos are going up next door, the Karen Blixen Park.
[via flickr]
ITU at night, the evening before.
[via flickr]
When I got back from Copenhagen, this was waiting for me, courtesy of Jill’s Living Room: the pulsing wind-up brain.
via flickr
I took it to work today (after my wife said, more or less, that there was NO WAY the children were going to see it in the house), where the reaction was equal parts “Cool!”, “Amazing!”, and “Gross!” All are true. I have to highly recommend it.
After a long day on the plane and dealing with a 9 time-zone change, it’s good to have an extra brain.
Thanks a lot, Jill!
[To the tune of Pink Floyd, “Brain Damage,” from the album “Dark Side of the Moon”.]
Technorati Tags: bicycles, brain
I’m in CPH (the Copenhagen airport), plugged into my cool new Bang and Olufsen headphones, waiting for my flight to Seattle, thence to San Francisco.
I made the uncharacteristic decision to check my luggage; but the lady checking me in expressed a silent but palpable disapproval at the suggestion that I could, in fact, take both bags with me. So I caved.
I got pulled aside and my bags searched at check-in, though it sounded like they were more interested in whether I was carrying anything that anyone had given me, not what soccer jerseys I’d bought for the kids. (I suspect that anyone who has kids’ clothes in his bag looks a bit less like a security threat.) But I breezed through passport control.
Spent the morning at ITU, working through some ideas for collaboration between the Institute and the Innovation Lab. I hope some good things come of it. I think our respective institutions are both at a point where we can do some cool things.
Indeed, we spent so long talking I got to the airport about 45 minutes later than I’d meant to. However, that still left a lot of time to spare.
I know I’m a privileged guest when I come here, and that colors my impressions, but still: I really like Denmark. In some ways it’s like another world, but on the other hand there’s lots that’s familiar and admirable, both deep cultural things (e.g. the design tradition, the degree to which the place is open to visitors- well-educated, English-speaking ones, at least), and professional opportunities (working with the I-Lab, observing the really fascinating stuff happening at Katrinabjerg and ITU).
Plus, the headphones are excellent.
[To the tune of The Corrs, “Little Wing,” from the album “Talk On Corners (Special Edition)”.]
Technorati Tags: denmark, IFTF, work
Today was pretty long: we caught the 7:30 train from Aarhus to Copenhagen, I did some work at ITU for a couple hours, then I had a longer-than-expected (but quite good) meeting with a potential client. Still, after dinner I decided to take a little time to walk around the city and take some pictures.
Greetings from Copenhagen, via flickr
Since I’m staying in the same hotel I was in last year, it’s familiar territory, more or less.
The Palace Hotel
I walked out to the bridge, to see the National Library, which I’ve only seen at a distance, and keep meaning to go visit. Since it’s called the Black Diamond, you can imagine it’s not highly visible in the evening. Still, I managed to fiddle around with the camera settings, and came up with a half decent picture of it.
The National Library, via flickr
This is a tree in Tivoli, all wrapped up in lights.
A tree grows in Tivoli, via flickr
Time for bed. I’m falling asleep at the keyboard, and have meetings in the morning before I head to the airport.
This has been a very productive trip, given how short it’s been.
Technorati Tags: copenhagen, denmark, travel
I’m back in my favorite Copenhagen hotspot, the lobby of the Alexandra Hotel. Not up for much longer, but I wanted to add some pictures to my Flickr, and do a quick update.
The Hotel Alexandra, via flickr
Technorati Tags: copenhagen, denmark, travel
At the end of my talk on Tuesday, I got an unexpected gift: a pair of Bang and Olufsen earphones.
If you measure in terms of number of engineer-hours per gram, these are probably the most heavily-designed objects in the universe. They’re like Aeron chairs for your ears.
And they sound really good.
[To the tune of Kansas, “The Pinnacle,” from the album “The Best Of Kansas”.]
Technorati Tags: aarhus, denmark, music, travel
When I came back from dinner tonight I was hoping to spend some time online- my trips are turning into alternating periods of working, blogging, with a little eating and sleeping thrown in- but the hotel’s Internet connection has gone down. The Wifi still works, but the Net connection is broken.
Grrrr.
Amazing how cut off I feel. I can’t get flickr, I can’t get my e-mail, and I can’t IM my family. It’s a pain. And it’s even more frustrating when the wifi signal is good. It feels extra deceptive.
Last night we went out to a Danish pub/restaurant a few blocks away from the hotel, in the old city. It was small and smoky, but the food was delicious, and it was good to have some local guides to explain what various dishes were. It’s curious that a lot of the signage in public transit and public spaces have English translations, but it’s much rarer in restaurants. Go figure.
Technorati Tags: aarhus, denmark, travel
I’m now in Copenhagen, and back online. I’m spending most of the day at ITU, the Information Technology University, where the Innovation Lab now has a Copenhagen branch. A good neighborhood to be in.
I was offline almost all of yesterday, but will fill in details of the day.
[To the tune of Kim Hiorthøy, “Politiska Dikten Återvänder,” from the album “Hei”.]
Technorati Tags: copenhagen, denmark, itu, travel
Add REST: WHY YOU GET MORE DONE WHEN YOU WORK LESS to your Goodreads shelf
My books on Goodreads
The Distraction Addiction: Getting the Information You Need and the Communication You Want, Without Enraging Your Family, Annoying Your Colleagues, and Destroying Your Soul
reviews: 78
ratings: 316 (avg rating 3.53)
ratings: 316 (avg rating 3.53)
