Source: KGO
On Friday, October 24, eight months of planning culminates in a great Preview Party and weekend-long Open Studios. In March, I was invited to join four other artists in the colorful studio of sculptor Liz Mamorsky. Called "Lizland", the former industrial building is crammed to its sky-lighted ceiling with weird found objects and other sculptural supplies. I'll be unveiling a new piece exploring the well-known trigger effect of aroma on memory.
When the group learned I was a copywriter, I was immediately assigned to write our press release and the group's web site. And when they learned I had a small woodworking shop, I was immediately asked to make sidewalk sandwich boards. Yes kids, the glamorous life of an artist!
But with five of us together, the tasks divide up well, since one artist's husband is a vintner and will be supplying some actually decent wine for the reception.
All SF Organics (and any visiting Organics) plus friends are invited to come on by, see if the wine lives up to its press, and check out some thought-provoking art.
See show details and map at www.group5Lizland.com
--Paul Baker
--Mike Hudson
Well, a few weeks back, she caved and just bought an iPhone...here's a sampling of how it changed her life. From her "recentlyconsumed.com" blog...
Our New "Connected" Lives
The change in our lives was never so apparent as when Tom and I had dinner together yesterday. We were on the road and decided to take a detour by 6 mile to see if there were any new restaurants. We didn't see any, but when I pulled up my Urban Spoon application and found a highly rated restaurant hidden in the back of the strip.
We sat down, enjoyed some snacks, ordered our drinks, and then... the phones came back onto the tables. Off and on during the dinner the phones served as discussion points. Places to look up information, and places to even record information about the wines we were drinking. I wouldn't say there was ever a moment where my husband and I were distracted from each others company. It was almost like there was another presence at the table. Like we were not eating alone.
At the end of the meal, my husband told the waiter/sommelier how we had almost missed coming here. I toyed with the idea of showing him my phone, until the urge was just too strong. I had to pull it out and show him the Urbanspoon and how well rated the restaurant was. He had thought it was cool, but didn't really grasp what I was trying to show. Without being "always connected", my husband and I would not have even dined there tonight, we would have had a total different experience.
And so that is why I say that it is just that... Something happened this week that is going to change our daily lives. It's going to change vacations, it's going to change just sitting around our house in our pajamas. It's going to change the way we have dinners. It's going to change the way my husband and I connect to each other.
No, I'm not talking about Katie and Draupp (they are #78 and #79). Look behind them. Out the window. That's what I'm talking about: the explosion of color we enjoy this time every year in suburban Detroit. Not only is it visible from nearly anywhere in the office, it lines the streets as I commute to work. I love Fall.
Earlier today, I was in one of those moods, and I updated my facebook profile with lyrics from a very obscure Warren Zevon song. Some people might even think Warren Zevon is obscure but whatever. Much to my surprise, a colleague in our Detroit office noticed it and called me on it (accusing me of harboring a harmonica player somewhere)...thus creating a humorous, surprising connection between the two of us.
Now that several of my colleagues - not to mention random cousins and people I hadn't spoken to for ages -- are on facebook and twitter, in spite of my initial skepticism on the, well, social aspects of social networking, I find that I really am enjoying getting to know people better...People that I like, but never made time to connect with. Not that I have time now, mind you, but it is pretty efficient to write on someone's facebook wall or skim a page of twitter posts to see what folks are up to and stay in touch. Maybe it's kind of a half baked way to do it, but it's better than not being in touch at all, and imho is much less stressful than the whole vaguely uncomfortable "let's meet for a drink" thing that gets promised and never ever happens because let's face it, for most of us, our "friend cards" are full already. I mean, there are only so many hours in a day. I'm looking forward to a way to find more people on these tools so I can continue to connect with people and get to know some of them a little bit better. Hey, if it wasn't for facebook, I would not have ever known that I have a colleague in Detroit with an ear for folk music and a sarcastic sense of humor!
I also like our internal social networking tool, it works better than I had anticipated and definitely gets used (hey, if you want a phone number, you kind of have to get out there to find it!). Now, the only thing I am starting to wonder about on these tools is the number of "friends" I have...if I don't have very many, does that mean I'm not popular?! Wait, don't answer that!
--Tracy Cote -- Executive Director, Talent
Organic hosted a great networking event the other night for UXnet. As the Detroit Ambassador it was cool and a little strange to see my work life mixing with my UXnet life. 30+ User Experience types showed up and enjoyed food, a speed networking/dating session and a presentation from Keith Instone, IBM.com's lead Information Architect. Traci Armstrong talked briefly about the great work we do on brands like Jeep, and Sandy Marsh shared with everyone what it means to work in the user experience space here at Organic. One fortunate attendee, Kristen Troung from Johnson Controls, won an Ipod Nano. Organic truly shined, not only as a great place to work, but also as a place that knows how to throw a party.
--Anthony Viviano
Three years ago a group of designers in Toronto started to eat Roti at the office. More and more people wanted to join in the fun and we ended up with 20 - 30 people eating Roti together on Cold Canadian Thursday afternoons. Great way for the people to get to know each other and share stories.
We built the Roti Ordertron 3000 to automate ordering. People can simply log in to the site, order their Roti and the system calculates how many different orders there are for the different types of Roti. We haven't built-in payment yet, but that could come soon.
Orders to date: 854
Loonies (savvy?) Dropped to Date: $9,053
The available selection of Roti is large:
* Chicken
* Butter Chicken
* Lamb
* Spinach Chicken
* Saag
* Saag Paneer
* Chana
* Mutter Paneer
* Cauliflower Potato
* Eggplant Potato
* Mixed Vegetable
* Mixed Veg Korma
* Malai Kofta
* Saag Kofta
* Shrimp
I didn't think I did, until this weekend, when I took on a bogey at about 7000 feet and won (3 to 5).
Thanks to Air Combat USA, I was able to suit up, jump into the cockpit, fly out above Romeo, engage in head to head combat, get him in my sites, squeeze the trigger and watch smoke fly when my guns hit their target.
It wasn't a simulator or a computer game. It was real well mostly, the guns are laser, but everything else was very, very real. Including the parachute incase something unforeseen would have happened.
For me it was the thrill of a life time. I have never flown a plane before and I have only been on about 10 commercial flights.
The training was great, they teach you flight maneuvers, strategy on how to out fly your opponent, how to control the plane, and even how to bail out and deploy your chute. The instructors were very fun, they know you are there for one reason to have a GREAT time. Nails & Smudge our copilots made every aspect of it fun!
I give Air Combat USA an EE for taking bringing the fighter pilot experience to the Oakland Airport in Waterford and allowing people like me to see what it is like to be 7000 feet above ground and experience the adrenaline rush of air to air combat. It truly was an Exceptional Experience.
--Deena Chadwick