As a longtime zoo afficionado, I was very excited to get to visit the San Diego Zoo last Sunday, reported by many to be one of the finest zoos in the country, if not the world. However I was a bit concerned about the crowds, since this is a primary destination for tourists visiting San…
Category: Travel
Video of “Switchcraft” LED Flower at Computational Textiles Workshop
Here's a quick video of the LED flower that my team created at the Computational Textiles workshop. This was the moment of truth where our team saw whether or not our "switchcraft" flower was created so that the conductive thread, foil, switch and LED all functioned properly. Seeing it light up was a huge thrill! This…
Digital Media & Learning Conference in San Diego: Hanging with my Peeps
Right now I'm blessed to be at a couple of gatherings in San Diego for the next few days. And it's not just the sunny weather and easy access to the Pacific that I'm happy about — although that certainly helps. No, it's being among hundreds of folks who are just as excited as I…
Rikomatic’s 2009 Year in Review
I'm not sure anything could encapsulate my entire year better than this one picture from the New York Times. For me it was a sublime, bittersweet moment — leading hundreds of people marching, dancing, clapping, making music, laughing and crying in celebration of the life of one humble man who touched us all. The year…
Conscience Unconference Session on Games and Human Rights Education
On Saturday, December 5, I had the pleasure of joining about 30-40 other participants at the "Conscience Unconference" in Washington DC, sponsored by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Center for History and New Media. Having experienced a few unconferences before, I knew coming in that the quality of the experience would lie largely…
Me talking about youth video at Conscience Unconference
I had a great time at the Conscience Unconference at the US Holocaust Museum in Washington DC today. Lots of amazing museum professionals, activists, nonprofits, academics and tech developers talking about how to leverage social media for human rights and civic engagement. A perfect event for me. Here's a semi-coherent video of me talking about…
RidetheCity.com: Google Maps meets crowdsourced biking data
I'm really digging the new RidetheCity.com website, a service that debuted in 2008 to help bike commuters find the best route from A to B in the city. Let's face it: it's a jungle out there for New York City bikers. We need all the help we can get. The new site integrates elevation data…
Conscience Unconference explores intersection of social media and human rights
This Saturday, December 5, I will be participating in the "Conscience Unconference" at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. This looks to be a very interesting gathering of museum professionals, activists, educators and academics to discuss "problems, practicalities, and opportunities of using social media to further the missions of 'institutions of conscience' —…
Finding balance with the Brooklyn Quakers at the Powell House Retreat Center
I just got back from the Powell House retreat center in upstate New York, joining 40-some Quakers from the Brooklyn Friends Meeting. It was a relaxing and spiritually recharging weekend among some very deep souls. I'm fairly new to Brooklyn Meeting, having only started attending a couple of years ago. So going on a weekend…
Quaking and Swinging: Teaching Quakers how to social dance
This weekend I am up in Old Chatham, New York at the Powell House retreat center for the annual retreat of my spiritual community, the Friends Meeting of Brooklyn. Tonight I taught a small group of Quakers the basics of social dance both as a fun activity and to deepen their understanding about the concept…