From kennita at kennita.com Fri Oct 1 22:31:54 2004 From: kennita at kennita.com (Kennita Watson) Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2004 15:31:54 -0700 Subject: [Exi-bay-announce] Fwd: Stanford Quads intro nights Message-ID: Hi all -- It's that time of year again -- time for me to evangelize one of my favorite extropic activities. The Stanford Quads are hosting a series of intro nights on Sunday, October 10th, 17th, and 24th at 7 PM (logistical details below). So what's it all about? Stanford Quads is a Palo Alto square dance club. Before you tune out with "I don't dance" -- it's not like that. Come see. What are some of the ways it's not like that? 1) The caller/instructor, like many of the dancers, is hyperintelligent. John Sybalsky is a C4-level square dance caller, one of only a few dozen in the world. 2) There is always something new to learn. 3) There are never long choreographic sequences to learn -- the longest call takes 32 beats, and most are between 2 and 8. The fun is in putting them together, like a puzzle. 4) There is no motion required faster than a walking pace, and no quick turns. Actually, one description I've used is "walking in patterns". And if even walking is difficult, never fear -- you get handholds every few steps (they help define and transition between patterns), 5) John uses little or no standard square dance music (and if you have some of your own that's at the appropriate pace, he'll consider it). 6) Think of your group of 8 people as being like a Rubik's cube: you start out arranged, and the caller uses legal transforms to scramble it, then solves it again. A lot of use is made of symmetry -- the process is near-magical if you pay attention. 7) There are two parts, a "boy" part and a "girl" part, but you're welcome to choose either one, and even to switch back and forth once you've learned both (it's easiest to learn one part or the other before doing that). 8) If you turn your brain off and go on autopilot, you'll be sorry :-) . 9) It's a noncompetitive, participatory (i.e., non-spectator) team sport. 10) When you're done with John's class, you'll be one of the best square dancers around. There's probably more, but that's what comes to mind. Come on out and try it a few times, for free! What have you got to lose? Cheers, Kennita Here are those logistical details I promised: I hope to see you at Fairmeadow School, 500 East Meadow Drive at Cowper in Palo Alto from 7 to 9 PM on Sunday, October 10th and/or 17th and/or 24th. Continue if you like it, otherwise you can at least say you've tried it. Look for Kennita -- I'll be happy to see you there! Web site: http://www.mixed-up.com/quads Contact: Kennita Watson, kennita at kennita.com or (408) 749-0915. From kennita at kennita.com Thu Oct 7 10:38:30 2004 From: kennita at kennita.com (Kennita Watson) Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2004 03:38:30 -0700 Subject: [Exi-bay-announce] Stanford Quads intro nights Message-ID: <079EB6C0-184D-11D9-87EE-000A9573E7DA@kennita.com> It's that time of year again -- the time when I exhort all Bay Area Extropians and other intelligent folks to try out the Stanford Quads. Sundays, this year on October 10th and/or 17th and/or 24th. So what's it all about? Stanford Quads is a Palo Alto square dance club. Before you tune out with "I don't dance" -- it's not like that. Come see. What are some of the ways it's "not like that"? 1) The caller/instructor, like many of the dancers, is hyperintelligent. John Sybalsky is a C4-level square dance caller, one of only a few dozen in the world. 2) There is always something new to learn. Good for the brain, especially when combined with movement and music -- can you say "multi-modality"? 3) There are never long choreographic sequences to learn -- the longest call takes 32 beats, and most are between 2 and 8. The fun is in putting them together, like a puzzle. 4) There is no motion required faster than a walking pace, and no quick turns. Actually, one description I've used is "walking in patterns". And if even walking is difficult, never fear -- you get handholds every few steps (they help define and transition between patterns), 5) John uses little or no standard square dance music (and if you have music of your own that's at the appropriate pace, he'll consider it). 6) Think of your group of 8 people as being like a Rubik's cube: you start out arranged, and the caller uses legal transforms to scramble it, then solves it again. A lot of use is made of symmetry -- the process is near-magical if you pay attention. Think group theory. 7) There are two parts, a "boy" part and a "girl" part, but you're welcome to choose either one, and even to switch back and forth once you've learned both (it's easiest to learn one part or the other before doing that). 8) If you turn your brain off and go on autopilot, you'll be sorry :-) . 9) It's a noncompetitive, participatory (i.e., non-spectator) team sport. 10) When you're done with John's class, you'll be one of the best square dancers around, as befits an Extropian. There's probably more, but that's what comes to mind. Come on out and try it a few times, for free! What have you got to lose? I hope to see you at Fairmeadow School, 500 East Meadow Drive at Cowper in Palo Alto. from 7 to 9 PM on Sunday, October 10th and/or 17th and/or 24th. Continue if you like it, otherwise you can at least say you've tried it. Look for Kennita -- I'll be happy to see you there! Here's my original ad in the Mensa Intelligencer: Traumatized by hours of mindless do-si-do'ing to awful music back in school? It's different now. Come try Square Dancing For Smart People -- It's not "square" any more. See set theory in motion! Join the Stanford Quads at Fairmeadow School, 500 East Meadow Drive at Cowper in Palo Alto. You don't need a partner, special clothes, or any previous dance experience. Feel free to bring both left feet (or were those right feet)? Good light exercise for body and mind! Web site: http://www.mixed-up.com/quads Contact: Kennita Watson, kennita at kennita.com or (408) 749-0915. Live long and prosper, Kennita -- Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free our minds. -- Bob Marley, "Redemption Song" From kennita at kennita.com Sat Oct 23 18:02:51 2004 From: kennita at kennita.com (Kennita Watson) Date: Sat, 23 Oct 2004 11:02:51 -0700 Subject: [Exi-bay-announce] Final Stanford Quads Intro Night Sunday 7 PM Message-ID: This is a reminder that this Sunday is the last free Stanford Quads intro night. This class is only started once per year -- don't miss out! Date/Time: Sunday, October 24, 2004, 7-9 PM Location: Fairmeadow School, 500 East Meadow Drive (S of Cowper), Palo Alto Full announcement: http://www.kennita.com/2004_quads_class.html Footnotes: There's a break for water and conversation between 10-15 minute tips. If you like, stay after to watch club members dance the Plus program you'll be learning this year if you continue with the class, followed by one tip each of each level of Advanced and Challenge dancing. When all is done, you can join the die-hards for a snack at Board Walk (on El Camino south of San Antonio). From amara at amara.com Fri Oct 29 08:31:13 2004 From: amara at amara.com (Amara Graps) Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 09:31:13 +0100 Subject: [Exi-bay-announce] Talk: Accelerated Democracy: Scenarios from the future of technological voting Message-ID: This looks like an interesting talk.... Amara ************************************************************* Stanford Seminar on People, Computers, and Design (CS547) Home page: http://hci.stanford.edu/seminar This talk will be available as on-line video. Look under Computer Science 547 in http://scpd.stanford.edu/scpd/students/courseList.asp ************************************************************* Friday, Oct 29, 2004, 12:30-2:00pm PST (UT 20:30) Gates B01 (HP Classroom) and SITN Jason Tester , Institute for the Future j.tester at interaction-ivrea.it http://www.interaction-ivrea.it/en/people/j.tester/ TITLE: Accelerated Democracy: Scenarios from the future of technological voting ABSTRACT: How might campaigns and government change if voters received personalized electronic updates as soon as politicians fulfilled or violated campaign promises? What if there was software that watched what you did on your computer-such as the Web pages you surf and the emails you send & receive-and then recommended a political candidate, even automatically voting for you? The Accelerated Democracy project is a series of scenarios that illustrate how interactive technologies could impact political voting in 5-10 years time. Each scenario is rooted in quantifiable trends in voting and politics that are evident now and seem likely to continue into the future. The scenarios illustrate both the forms that new voting technologies & interfaces might take and, even more importantly, the potential impacts on society. In addition to the scenarios, the Accelerated Democracy project identified several big picture potential benefits and dangers of technology-changed voting. Several of these effects can already be seen in current applications of technology to voting, while others may become more pronounced if technology and voting further integrate. Also in this presentation will be a discussion of the new and growing role of design in long-term futures thinking. The Accelerated Democracy scenarios were created using everyday 'artifacts from the future' to help people comprehend and discuss potential futures without prior knowledge of the given field or skills in long-range analysis. ********************************************************** Jason Tester has pursued several paths within human-computer interaction but his underlying passion is researching and designing for the effects of technology on society. He graduated with a BS in Human-Computer Interaction Design from Stanford University, where he helped found the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab, the only research & design group focused on the new field of persuasive technologies. Jason was then in the first class of graduate students at the Interaction Design Institute in Ivrea, Italy, where he undertook the Accelerated Democracy project, a series of scenarios illustrating potential futures for technological voting. This project has been featured in international TV and print and formed the basis for his focus on innovating new methods for integrating design with long-term futures thinking. Jason is currently a researcher and artifact designer with the Institute for the Future, a Menlo Park, CA-based non-profit research organization. ************************************************************** NEXT WEEK - November 5, 2004 - Mark Newman, PARC http://guir.berkeley.edu/people/newman/ ************************************************************** The mailing list for these seminar announcements is pcd-seminar at lists.stanford.edu, which is managed by an automated server. For information on subscribing or unsubscribing, see http://hci.stanford.edu/lists.html For information about HCI at Stanford see http://hci.stanford.edu +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | This message was sent via the Stanford Computer Science Department | | colloquium mailing list. To be added to this list send an arbitrary | | message to colloq-subscribe at cs.stanford.edu. To be removed from this list,| | send a message to colloq-unsubscribe at cs.stanford.edu. For more information,| | send an arbitrary message to colloq-request at cs.stanford.edu. For directions| | to Stanford, check out http://www-forum.stanford.edu | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------xcl+ -- Amara Graps, PhD, www.amara.com Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (IFSI) Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Adjunct Assistant Professor Astronomy, AUR, Roma, ITALIA Amara.Graps at ifsi.rm.cnr.it From natashavita at earthlink.net Fri Oct 29 12:28:06 2004 From: natashavita at earthlink.net (natashavita at earthlink.net) Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 08:28:06 -0400 Subject: [Exi-bay-announce] Talk: Accelerated Democracy: Scenarios from thefuture of technological voting Message-ID: <48640-22004105291228631@M2W077.mail2web.com> Thanks Amara. He is just what we are looking for. The next ExI conference will most likely be on "design", addressing the STEEP categories, and he fits into the political driving force/change domain. Many thanks, Natasha Original Message: ----------------- From: Amara Graps amara at amara.com Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 09:31:13 +0100 To: exi-bay-announce at lists.extropy.org Subject: [Exi-bay-announce] Talk: Accelerated Democracy: Scenarios from thefuture of technological voting This looks like an interesting talk.... Amara ************************************************************* Stanford Seminar on People, Computers, and Design (CS547) Home page: http://hci.stanford.edu/seminar This talk will be available as on-line video. Look under Computer Science 547 in http://scpd.stanford.edu/scpd/students/courseList.asp ************************************************************* Friday, Oct 29, 2004, 12:30-2:00pm PST (UT 20:30) Gates B01 (HP Classroom) and SITN Jason Tester , Institute for the Future j.tester at interaction-ivrea.it http://www.interaction-ivrea.it/en/people/j.tester/ TITLE: Accelerated Democracy: Scenarios from the future of technological voting ABSTRACT: How might campaigns and government change if voters received personalized electronic updates as soon as politicians fulfilled or violated campaign promises? What if there was software that watched what you did on your computer-such as the Web pages you surf and the emails you send & receive-and then recommended a political candidate, even automatically voting for you? The Accelerated Democracy project is a series of scenarios that illustrate how interactive technologies could impact political voting in 5-10 years time. Each scenario is rooted in quantifiable trends in voting and politics that are evident now and seem likely to continue into the future. The scenarios illustrate both the forms that new voting technologies & interfaces might take and, even more importantly, the potential impacts on society. In addition to the scenarios, the Accelerated Democracy project identified several big picture potential benefits and dangers of technology-changed voting. Several of these effects can already be seen in current applications of technology to voting, while others may become more pronounced if technology and voting further integrate. Also in this presentation will be a discussion of the new and growing role of design in long-term futures thinking. The Accelerated Democracy scenarios were created using everyday 'artifacts from the future' to help people comprehend and discuss potential futures without prior knowledge of the given field or skills in long-range analysis. ********************************************************** Jason Tester has pursued several paths within human-computer interaction but his underlying passion is researching and designing for the effects of technology on society. He graduated with a BS in Human-Computer Interaction Design from Stanford University, where he helped found the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab, the only research & design group focused on the new field of persuasive technologies. Jason was then in the first class of graduate students at the Interaction Design Institute in Ivrea, Italy, where he undertook the Accelerated Democracy project, a series of scenarios illustrating potential futures for technological voting. This project has been featured in international TV and print and formed the basis for his focus on innovating new methods for integrating design with long-term futures thinking. Jason is currently a researcher and artifact designer with the Institute for the Future, a Menlo Park, CA-based non-profit research organization. ************************************************************** NEXT WEEK - November 5, 2004 - Mark Newman, PARC http://guir.berkeley.edu/people/newman/ ************************************************************** The mailing list for these seminar announcements is pcd-seminar at lists.stanford.edu, which is managed by an automated server. For information on subscribing or unsubscribing, see http://hci.stanford.edu/lists.html For information about HCI at Stanford see http://hci.stanford.edu +--------------------------------------------------------------------------- -+ | This message was sent via the Stanford Computer Science Department | | colloquium mailing list. To be added to this list send an arbitrary | | message to colloq-subscribe at cs.stanford.edu. To be removed from this list,| | send a message to colloq-unsubscribe at cs.stanford.edu. For more information,| | send an arbitrary message to colloq-request at cs.stanford.edu. For directions| | to Stanford, check out http://www-forum.stanford.edu | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------xc l+ -- Amara Graps, PhD, www.amara.com Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (IFSI) Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Adjunct Assistant Professor Astronomy, AUR, Roma, ITALIA Amara.Graps at ifsi.rm.cnr.it _______________________________________________ exi-bay-announce mailing list exi-bay-announce at lists.extropy.org http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo/exi-bay-announce -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ .