join-the-dots http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots Wed, 28 Feb 2007 03:56:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 en crazy crochet http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2007/02/28/crazy-crochet/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2007/02/28/crazy-crochet/#comments Wed, 28 Feb 2007 03:56:38 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2007/02/28/crazy-crochet/ It’s a crocheted atari!
crocheted atari
And a crocheted television displaying Pitfall to go with it!
crocheted atari
Awesome.

(Via Wonderland.)

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2007/02/28/crazy-crochet/feed/ 5 things http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2007/01/03/5-things/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2007/01/03/5-things/#comments Wed, 03 Jan 2007 22:54:56 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2007/01/03/5-things/ Steve’s started a game of tag, so for my second post of 2007 here are five things that you probably don’t know about me:

  • I love cornichons.
  • Sometimes I wish I’d studied architecture or information visualisation.
  • My favourite colour is yellow.
  • Over a period of fourteen years, my sister and I have owned eleven rats.
  • My middle name is Megan.

I’m not going to tag any other people, but if you want to play along, feel free.

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2007/01/03/5-things/feed/ 2006 summary http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2007/01/01/2006-summary/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2007/01/01/2006-summary/#comments Mon, 01 Jan 2007 23:25:10 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2007/01/01/music-of-2006/ Or, more specifically, bands I started listening to in 2006:

  • Architecture in Helsinki
  • Beulah
  • Camera Obscura
  • Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
  • Christine Fellows
  • Go Sailor
  • Grandaddy
  • Jap Jap
  • Mirah
  • Neutral Milk Hotel
  • Reindeer Section
  • Schwervon!
  • The Mountain Goats
  • The Pipettes
  • The Polyphonic Spree
  • Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
  • Track Star
  • Tullycraft
]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2007/01/01/2006-summary/feed/ women in science and academia http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/12/24/women-in-science-and-academia/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/12/24/women-in-science-and-academia/#comments Sun, 24 Dec 2006 23:31:25 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/12/24/women-in-science-and-academia/ New York Times article on female scientists in academia. (Thanks for the link, Kathleen!) Also, the National Academy of Sciences recently published a report on barriers encountered by women in science and engineering in research universities. One thing I found particularly interesting was the observation that around 90 percent of married female science and engineering faculty have spouses that are employed full time, whereas the percentage for male faculty is less than 50 percent.

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/12/24/women-in-science-and-academia/feed/ platform studies http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/12/14/platform-studies/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/12/14/platform-studies/#comments Thu, 14 Dec 2006 21:06:46 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/12/14/platform-studies/ Nick and Ian have just announced a new MIT Press book series: Platform Studies. The series will investigate the relationships between the hardware and software design of computing systems and the creative works produced on those systems. The first book’s already under contract and will be about the Atari 2600 (sweet!) but Nick and Ian are currently seeking book proposals for the rest of the series. They’ve got a list of example platforms on the Platform Studies website (I’d personally be really keen to see something related to free software) so if you’re interested, why not check out the site and submit something!

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/12/14/platform-studies/feed/ song structure http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/11/28/song-structure/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/11/28/song-structure/#comments Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:32:20 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/11/28/song-structure/ yoshimi lyrics
Wow. Finite automata of song lyrics, drawn using Graphviz.

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/11/28/song-structure/feed/ graphing tomboy notes http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/11/09/graphing-tomboy-notes-2/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/11/09/graphing-tomboy-notes-2/#comments Thu, 09 Nov 2006 02:21:43 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/11/09/graphing-tomboy-notes-2/ A while ago, I blogged about wanting a mindmap-like graph interface for Tomboy showing me all my notes and the links between them. Stefano “Zack” Zacchiroli has just written a script that processes Tomboy and generates a Graphviz graph that is then rendered and shown on the fly. Sweet.

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/11/09/graphing-tomboy-notes-2/feed/ autostart http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/11/02/autostart/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/11/02/autostart/#comments Thu, 02 Nov 2006 23:39:16 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/11/02/autostart/ Last week’s AUTOSTART festival of digital literature was awesome—really interesting people, a fascinating discussion, a great reading, and, of course, Princess Fufu. If you missed it (which I imagine most of you did) then you can find out more by checking out the festival webpage, Mary’s write-up, and Jason’s photos.

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/11/02/autostart/feed/ stereotypes, causes, and math performance http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/21/stereotypes-causes-and-math-performance/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/21/stereotypes-causes-and-math-performance/#comments Sat, 21 Oct 2006 00:40:13 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/21/stereotypes-causes-and-math-performance/ Article in Science (abstract, full text) on how women’s math performance is affected by whether they are considering genetic or experiential accounts for the stereotype of women’s underachievement in math.

Stereotype threat is when exposure to a self-relevant stereotype (e.g., regarding something like gender or race) causes someone to behave in such a way that perpetuates the stereotype. The authors of this article wanted to determine whether the causes given for women’s underachievement in math (namely, genetics or experience) affected women’s math performance, i.e., whether stereotype threat was affected by the causes given for that stereotype. (Note that the study was NOT intended to address the question of whether there are innate sex differences in math performance.) To test this, women were given a math test, then an essay to read, and then another math test. The essay either claimed that math-related sex-differences are genetic, experiential, or don’t exist. The women who were given essays stating that math-related sex-differences don’t exist or are due to experience significantly outperformed women who were given essays that claimed genetic causes. Interesting, huh?

(Thanks to Julia for pointing out the article.)

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/21/stereotypes-causes-and-math-performance/feed/ solve for x http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/18/solve-for-x/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/18/solve-for-x/#comments Wed, 18 Oct 2006 23:22:41 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/18/solve-for-x/ I feel like this is kinda representative of my life:
solve for x

(From the Wooster Collective.)

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/18/solve-for-x/feed/ mirror neurons and autism http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/17/mirror-neurons-and-autism/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/17/mirror-neurons-and-autism/#comments Tue, 17 Oct 2006 20:54:26 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/17/mirror-neurons-and-autism/ Awesome. Two articles on mirror neurons and autism:

(Thanks to Steve for pointing out the Sci. Am. article.)

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/17/mirror-neurons-and-autism/feed/ dasher slides http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/17/dasher-slides/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/17/dasher-slides/#comments Tue, 17 Oct 2006 04:04:46 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/17/dasher-slides/ Slides from my talk on Dasher, given at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing earlier this month.

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/10/17/dasher-slides/feed/ more mind mapping http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/07/08/more-mind-mapping/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/07/08/more-mind-mapping/#comments Sat, 08 Jul 2006 22:12:07 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/07/08/more-mind-mapping/ Kathy Sierra on the importance of using mind maps (as opposed to a linear format) and drawings when taking notes and why this is hard to do using a (non-tablet) computer. (Thanks for the link, Daf!)

I’ve said it before—we need a mind mapping program in GNOME. If people like Kathy are considering buying a tablet PC and running Windows just so they can use MindManager and include sketches in their mind maps, we’ve got to think about how we can make this experience possible under GNOME.

(A side note: I’d love to be able to write equations on a tablet PC and have them automatically converted into LaTeX. That, as part of a mind mapping program with an “export to LaTeX” facility, would totally transform the way I work.)

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/07/08/more-mind-mapping/feed/ women’s summer outreach program http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/06/14/womens-summer-outreach-program/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/06/14/womens-summer-outreach-program/#comments Wed, 14 Jun 2006 21:23:45 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/06/14/gnome-womens-summer-outreach-program/ Over the past few weeks, Chris Ball and I have been working with the GNOME Foundation on a program to promote the participation of women in GNOME-related development. We’ve just launched today and we’re really excited—check out the press release and the website!

More specifically, the GNOME Foundation is offering USD$9000 to female students in order to promote the participation of women in GNOME-related development. The money originates from GNOME’s participation in the Google “Summer of Code” program, for which GNOME developers will mentor 20 students working throughout the northern summer on GNOME-related projects. This year GNOME received 181 applications to Google’s program, yet none were from women. The GNOME Foundation has therefore chosen to reinvest Google’s contribution into a new program designed to increase the participation of women in GNOME.

If you’re interested and eligible, visit the program website and fill out the application form! If you don’t want to apply (or aren’t eligible) but would like to help out, the best way to do this is to tell others about the program and/or put up our poster, designed by the ever-awesome Mairin Duffy.

C’mon people, spread the word and let’s make this program ROCK!

Update: There are articles up on NewsForge, LWN, Slashdot, and LinuxFR.

]]> http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/06/14/womens-summer-outreach-program/feed/ belle and sebastian http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/03/14/belle-and-sebastian/ http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/03/14/belle-and-sebastian/#comments Tue, 14 Mar 2006 03:11:52 +0000 hmw26 http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/join-the-dots/2006/03/14/belle-and-sebastian/ I missed Belle and Sebastian when they came to Philly the weekend before last. However, NPR has a recording of their D.C. concert online here. It’s very, very good. (Thanks to Fernando and Steve for pointing it out.)

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