tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-101824022008-08-31T14:22:39.521-05:00"Intro. to Science, Technology, and Society," a course taught by <a href="http://www.smagula.net">Stefan Smagula</a>, University of Texas at AustinStefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-762321955287499572008-08-02T17:39:00.002-05:002008-08-02T17:43:34.743-05:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Olafur Eliasson Waterfall, originally uploaded by dietrich. For a limited time, four waterfalls are flowing into the East River in New York City. This public art was conceived by Olafur Eliasson, and is running until

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-79031086935630854842008-06-28T13:26:00.004-05:002008-06-28T13:48:48.967-05:00

I've been pretty busy over the last year—first a new job, then a 2000 mile move from Austin to New York City, finding a new home, and now for the biggest move of all: a new baby girl. She is about 6 weeks old now, and this slide show takes you from the first trimester to just a few days ago.

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-92018468532135633242008-03-29T10:44:00.003-05:002008-03-29T10:52:35.888-05:00

smag.muxtape.com A dead simple way to share music with people. Why didn't someone think of this sooner?On my muxtape, you'll find 8-bit Betty playing "This would be a lot easier if I didn't care" (check that out) and Os Poligonais, a Brazilian jazz/bossa nova outfit from the 60's, Of Montreal, Paul Weller, and the Pixies playing "UMASS" live in Minneapolis. Listen now

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-85524398262149279282008-02-25T23:58:00.005-06:002008-02-26T00:23:45.525-06:00

Today I proposed hosting a series of lectures, or Tech Talks as they're called at Google, titled "Design + Technology." My thinking is that design and engineering are really quite tightly intertwined. Two ends of a single spectrum, with a bunch of overlap in the middle. Design is generative and problem-setting, and engineering is analytical and problem-solving. One with out the other is like corn

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-55887357617188856012008-02-07T12:31:00.001-06:002008-02-07T13:20:01.622-06:00

I was working on a presentation that I'm going to deliver to my fellow user interface designers and researchers (titled 'The Making of ... ') about a project that just launched--but who can work on an empty stomach? So I went to lunch. Here's what I found:Lunch The Maine Seafood Pie was out of control. Lots of scallops, cod, maybe some crab? There was a semi-spicy component, something like a hot

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-87200345766977980322008-02-06T22:04:00.000-06:002008-02-06T22:30:52.476-06:00

I can't talk about the product I work on at Google, but I can talk about the food I eat. Those of us who work at Google in New York City are lucky to have great food prepared for us each day. Here is one day of food at Google:Breakfast I don't usually arrive early enough to make myself a waffle, or sample the oatmeal so today I had a bowl of raisin bran with organic milk, and made myself my usual

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-27865803926300608832007-11-19T19:25:00.001-06:002007-11-19T20:01:34.111-06:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Dumbo, originally uploaded by 8marchetti. These fiber optic stalks of grass are sprouting beneath the Manhattan Bridge in New York City. If you are in Brooklyn, you might want to go down to area between the Brooklyn and the

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-91056705655896220712007-08-20T22:27:00.000-05:002007-08-22T23:14:16.910-05:00

I recently proposed two panels at SXSW Interactive 2008. One of the panels is "Designing Information Visualizations that Augment Human Intelligence." The other panel is " Blueprinting Your Project: Put it on Paper or Just Start Coding?" and I hope you will visit the SXSW panel picker, and make your vote known.The second panel is one that I proposed with Tim Ziegler, my old comrade from Austin.

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-51818533333745565082007-05-26T17:53:00.000-05:002007-05-26T17:59:28.978-05:00

I too lived—Brooklyn, of ample hills, was mine; I too walk'd the streets of Manhattan Island, and bathed in the waters around it; I too felt the curious abrupt questionings stir within me, In the day, among crowds of people, sometimes they came upon me, In my walks home late at night, or as I lay in my bed, they came upon me. 86. Crossing Brooklyn Ferry. Whitman, Walt. 1900. Leaves of Grass

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-7243154013815632502007-05-25T12:45:00.000-05:002007-08-22T23:18:38.043-05:00

Biking from home in Dumbo, Brooklyn to my office in Chelsea (a route I created on bikely.com) Distance: 3.9 miles Time: 20 mins Knowing that Walt Whitman rode the ferry across these same waters: humbling

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-23524799279738489892007-03-23T00:55:00.000-05:002007-03-23T10:04:29.249-05:00

How about a teak desk, a dining or kitchen table? 2004 Kinney Ave. in Austin, Texas 78704 Saturday, 24 March 2007 8-11 AM For pictures and more info, see: South Austin Garage Sale

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-38931144799501985722007-02-15T12:49:00.000-06:002007-02-15T13:08:00.786-06:00

I am thrilled to say that I have accepted an offer to work at Google. The interview process was lengthy, rigorous, unorthodox, and fun. This marks the beginning of a new chapter in my career and in my life. My wife and I will be moving from Austin, Texas to New York City, where I'll be working in the Google New York office. in 2004 I read the Letter from the Founders of Google (pdf). The

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-10397786282491745722007-02-14T03:40:00.000-06:002007-02-21T03:46:54.879-06:00

After 10 wonderful years of driving, I find myself selling my Fiat Spider. Please help me find a good family for her. Fiat Spider for Sale

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-42900181169100708902007-02-13T22:43:00.000-06:002007-02-21T03:53:32.850-06:00

For more info. and photos see: Austin House for Rent: Beautiful 1930's Remodel near Zilker Park Available for Lease on 1 April 2007 * $2250 a month * 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 2134 square feet of 78704 goodness * Walking distance to award-winning Zilker Elementary School * Fabulous kitchen with dishwasher, bamboo floors * Unique master suite upstairs has office nook and

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-27909894050924526542007-01-11T02:36:00.000-06:002007-01-11T12:04:37.413-06:00

I gathered together a few links to articles and posts that were popular during 2006. Here's an article On Web Standards that Tim Ziegler and I put together for Wired Magazine's WebMonkey.com. According to Google Analytics (an excellent tool, by the way), during 2006 the most popular page on this blog was the February 2006 archive: "A Machine for Augmenting Human Intellect" and "The 'Shape of a

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-3919133832665216642006-12-21T21:22:00.000-06:002006-12-22T11:59:56.052-06:00

Etsy.com Upcycling Contest Etsy.com, in case you haven't seen it, is really something. I first ran into this site about a year or so ago, and back then I was blown away by the various design and development ingenuities, and by the basic concept. It's a marketplace specifically designed for handmade goods. It recently won an award from Business Week, for best new ecommerce site, and if you look

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-1165627259976802752006-12-08T18:52:00.000-06:002006-12-09T04:33:24.646-06:00

Stock Exchange of Visions Alan Cooper and others talk about design and software. Click on "Culture" then "Design" (when will Flash output 'scene' URL's on right-click?!) All software must be designed, most software today is not designed. --Alan Cooper Alan Cooper founded the user experience and software design consulting firm known as Cooper. He's also written a couple of books, The Inmates

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-1165293241998605152006-12-04T22:09:00.000-06:002006-12-27T23:05:14.202-06:00

Donald Norman's Keynote from Etech Conference, 2004 (Streaming MP3) "For years I did "making things usable" and I discovered that it was kind of peculiar because in my life I would go out and buy things that I knew didn't work--but they were so attractive I wanted them anyway." --Donald NormanIn this lecture delivered in 2004, Donald Norman tells us that he figured out why he kept resisting the

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-1164004034466090852006-11-20T00:23:00.000-06:002006-12-05T23:53:04.016-06:00

My mom is coming over for Thanksgiving. I started thinking of what to cook and what to clean, and began looking for recipes (browse by exposed faceted metadata there!) and then I came across this video from Google TechTalks on August 8, 2006. I realized that this video is the best thing I can do to prepare for Thanksgiving. You see, my mom is always talking to me about the neuroscience of

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-1160290234076626632006-10-08T01:50:00.000-05:002006-12-22T23:26:09.688-06:00

Since I first heard recordings of Glenn Gould playing Bach's Goldberg Variations when I was about 11 or 12 years old, I've been fascinated and inspired by him and by his music. Here's a guy who wore a black trenchcoat, and hummed tunes of his own invention while he played 3- and 4-part harmonies. He was kind of a 'tough-guy' classical musician, someone who was neither part of nor separate from

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-1159737153086981042006-10-01T16:05:00.000-05:002006-10-02T22:01:00.720-05:00

At the risk of jinxing everything, I think I have my first Drupal installation finally working. If you're considering content management systems (CMS's), or blogging engines for a small to medium size organization, you should check out Drupal. It's quite promising. Here's the little site I created last night: Nova Zembla. Nova Zembla is just practice for a site that Tim Ziegler of the Austin

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-1158290289424329452006-09-14T22:12:00.000-05:002006-09-14T22:59:45.323-05:00

Design as a Spectrum from Function to Emotion Originally uploaded by smag. This is a snapshot of a whiteboard that shows how function and emotion exist at either end of the spectrum of design tasks. To create this chart I wrote a list of tasks on post-its such as: "define stance of application", "place widgets" or "specify typography" and then the group of us Information Architects and

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-1148066600725946002006-05-19T14:21:00.000-05:002006-05-19T14:43:45.210-05:00

Last week Dale Thompson and Lou Rutigliano from AustinFree.net joined our class at a reception to celebrate the launch of three Web sites (see below) that student teams researched, conceived, and developed to serve the needs of public-access Internet users in Austin, Texas. Judging from the smiles I saw, Lou and Dale were impressed with the inventiveness and thoughtfulness of the students. Once

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-1146765858644848412006-05-04T12:50:00.000-05:002006-05-09T00:03:11.516-05:00

STS 321 Final Project Brief (pdf) "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." --Alan Kay Summary For the final project, your team's challenge is to conceive of, define, design, and develop a Web site for the users of AustinFree.net (AFN). AFN directors will be reviewing and commenting on your work, and may select one of your sites to use in all its AFN locations. In this sense, your

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10182402.post-1146085060487665342006-04-26T12:36:00.000-05:002006-04-26T15:57:40.580-05:00

A Proposed Visual Redesign of Craigslist and BBC unveils radical revamp of website According to Mark Sweney of the Guardian, yesterday the BBC outlined "a three-pronged approach to refocus all future BBC digital output and services around three concepts - "share", "find" and "play."" Apparently they plan to place their entire catalog of video on the Net, and to implement social networking

Stefan Smagulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07640695925794709569noreply@blogger.com