LukeWalker.org http://www.lukewalker.org/blog Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:48:16 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Interstates as a Subway Map http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2012/01/24/interstates-as-a-subway-map/ http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2012/01/24/interstates-as-a-subway-map/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:08:06 +0000 admin http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/?p=98 A really neat (and really enlightening) way to visualize the interstate system in the US. It makes the idea of driving across the continent much more appealing somehow, though I’m sure that I’m romanticizing it and really should never, ever let be self be stuck in a car for more than a few hours.

The Chicago are

By designer Cameron Booth, who seems to do a lot of similarly nerdy-neat projects. Credit where credit is due: found yesterday by Phil.

]]> http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2012/01/24/interstates-as-a-subway-map/feed/ 0 TunaCupcake: where the eff did it go? http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2011/12/12/tunacupcake-where-the-eff-did-it-go/ http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2011/12/12/tunacupcake-where-the-eff-did-it-go/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:38:52 +0000 admin http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/?p=95 Do you miss TunaCupcake? I know that I sure do. While I can’t guarantee I’ll ever write a new post, I CAN guarantee that the archives will be back online shortly–on my site, not on the old TunaCupcake domain. Stay tuned….

]]> http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2011/12/12/tunacupcake-where-the-eff-did-it-go/feed/ 0 Talking to people in languages you don’t speak http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2011/12/12/talking-to-people-in-languages-you-dont-speak/ http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2011/12/12/talking-to-people-in-languages-you-dont-speak/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:29:02 +0000 admin http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/?p=88 This makes me want an iPad, and there’s not much that makes me want an iPad. Not that I don’t love the apps or think they’re cool… I just happen to be a satisfied with iPad-less gadget ecosystem. But this is one thing that just wouldn’t work on a tiny iPhone screen: Converse, a language translator for conversations.

Neat interface, right? Granted, a lot depends on the quality of the translation. I remember one time I met a Spanish guy who was just learning English… Online translation tools made for pretty brutal online conversations, and forget about in-person conversations. This might have helped a bit, I’d like to think, at least.

Check it out in the iTunes App Store

]]> http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2011/12/12/talking-to-people-in-languages-you-dont-speak/feed/ 1 Gentrification: The Game is a hit! http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2010/07/22/gentrification-the-game-is-a-hit/ http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2010/07/22/gentrification-the-game-is-a-hit/#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:33:01 +0000 lukewalker http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/?p=77 My friends Kate, David, Alex and I (collectively known as Atmosphere Industries) have been working for the last number of months on our latest game, Gentrification: The Game, and it seems we have a hit on our hands! After a fun test-run in Toronto, we took the game to Come Out & Play in Brooklyn, where we took home two big awards: Best use of tech & Best in fest! We were subsequently invited to Hide and Seek in London, where Kate & David ran another very successful UK edition of the game.

This weekend, we’ll be bringing things back to Toronto. I’m a little late getting news up here, as we’re fully booked (we do have a handful of walk-up spots–if you’re really lucky, you might get one.) A bit of good press helped us out, from this great piece by Ryan Bigge in The Toronto Star a few weeks ago, to a Best Bet listing in EyeWeekly and a post on BlogTO (as well as event postings in Now Toronto, Metro’s print edition, and elsewhere), and a piece on ARGNet. Wow! We’re also hoping that there will be some post-game press… I’ll keep you “post”-ed on that (har har).

So hopefully we’ll see you on Sunday! And if you can’t make it out this time but are interested in participating in games and other events we come up with in the future, sign up for the Atmosphere Industries mailing list on our site!

July 23 edit: Added link to Atmosphere and BlogTO posts and mention of Metro.

]]> http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2010/07/22/gentrification-the-game-is-a-hit/feed/ 1 Whoa, it’s been a long time http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2010/07/13/whoa-its-been-a-long-time/ http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2010/07/13/whoa-its-been-a-long-time/#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:23:08 +0000 admin http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/?p=76 Apparently I need to write here more often. But fear not, good things to come your way tonight.

]]> http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2010/07/13/whoa-its-been-a-long-time/feed/ 0 The Boy Who Can’t Stop Running http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2009/12/02/the-boy-who-cant-stop-running/ http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2009/12/02/the-boy-who-cant-stop-running/#comments Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:43:51 +0000 admin http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/?p=74 Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. I suck. Oh well, get over it.

One of the various things that’s new with me since March is that, apparently, I quite enjoy running. Who knew? Not me. Anyway, I like it to the point that I’m even taping documentaries about running. This says a lot.

Yesterday, CBC’s The Passionate Eye aired a doc called “The Boy Who Can’t Stop Running”, about a four year-old boy in India who really, really likes to run, and is pushed to run quite a lot (in terms of frequency AND distance) by his adoptive parents, who have some pretty questionable training (namely forcing a 4-year old to run 70k without stopping, but it does’t stop there…)

It’s available online on the CBC site, and I definitely recommend watching it. I wish I could run like that kid, but I sure am glad my parents didn’t make me at that age…

]]> http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2009/12/02/the-boy-who-cant-stop-running/feed/ 0 SXSWi, here I come http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2009/03/13/sxswi-here-i-come/ http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2009/03/13/sxswi-here-i-come/#comments Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:44:25 +0000 lukewalker http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/?p=73 I’m spending the next 5 days at SXSWi in Austin, along with a few friends, getting my geek on and having some fun. Given that the REAL point of this trip is the food and drink, a whole lot of my blogging will be happening over on my other site, TunaCupcake.com, so check it out! And if you’re around, follow/dm me on Twitter so we can connect.

BBQ & tacos FTW!

]]> http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2009/03/13/sxswi-here-i-come/feed/ 0 The Crisis of Credit (great video) http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2009/02/27/the-crisis-of-credit-great-video/ http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2009/02/27/the-crisis-of-credit-great-video/#comments Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:45:31 +0000 lukewalker http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/?p=72
The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

]]> http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2009/02/27/the-crisis-of-credit-great-video/feed/ 0 John Hodgman’s brief diversion @ TED http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2008/11/17/john-hodgmans-brief-diversion-ted/ http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2008/11/17/john-hodgmans-brief-diversion-ted/#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 04:25:33 +0000 lukewalker http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/?p=71 If there are two things in this world that I love, they are TED talks and John Hodgman (the order is unimportant). I haven’t yet gotten around to picking up his new book, More Information than You Require, though I fully intend to as soon as my reading list dwindles a bit. In the meantime, here is a bit of a diversion for you all:

]]> http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2008/11/17/john-hodgmans-brief-diversion-ted/feed/ 0 White Castle: Adventures in Food Safety http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2008/11/13/white-castle-adventures-in-food-safety/ http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/2008/11/13/white-castle-adventures-in-food-safety/#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:52:32 +0000 lukewalker http://www.lukewalker.org/blog/?p=69
Every Canadian knows of a wonderful, magical place that can cure all your ills, and fill you in a way no other fast food restaurant can or wants to. It is a place worthy of an epic journey, a la Harold & Kumar.

“It” is White Castle.

Last month, I had the good fortune of spending a few days in beautiful Northern Kentucky, famously (mis)marketed as the South Side of Cincinnati (The mis-marketing is a topic for another time and place. Let’s leave it at: I’d never be happy living someplace that built its identity in relation to a bigger, better place. I know, I know, Canada… but here we are). It is also home to a vast array of liquor and tobacco shops, a “main strasse” (I don’t know why they pulled out the German there) and a White Castle. Read more

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