When did you first use a computer? I remember sitting at the corner desk in my childhood bedroom playing Descent II. It was probably the first video game I had ever played. The keyboard controlled the yaw, roll, and pitch of a spacecraft as you navigated through a labyrinth of sci-fi tunnels and airlocks. You had to fend off flying robots with lasers and missiles.

A "Knowledge Base" is something that I've been seeing more and more on developer's sites and blogs. It's often as simple as a collection of frequently referenced resources in code. I decided to start my own personal wiki to hoard my digital resources and recollections.

In high school, there was no shop class. Sometimes I'd work on a project in the garage with my dad. Most of his tools are older, corded, and often uncooperative. I remember using saw-horses that wobbled— and a slightly rusted Skilsaw— to cut down ply for a Boy Scouts derby car. It had a hand-brake and a rope for steering. My dad seemed to stub his fingers and rake all the splinters into his hands anytime we worked with wood or tools. There was always a lot of cursing and frustration; and sometimes I hated being out there with him. Now, more or less, I look on those memories fondly...

Oddly, I don't remember when or how I got my hands on the Toshiba FlashAir card. These WiFi-enabled SD cards are made to transfer photos from a digital camera to a computer. Imaginging that someone would use a 4MBps wireless connection to transfer photos when the hardware transfer is closer to 70MBps seems ridiculous. However, it could come in handy if you're in a situation where you don't have access to an SD card reader, or want to easily preview photos on a phone or tablet.

Episode 1, The Thunderdome... Was hoping for live comments along with the NBC live stream— disabled on YouTube👎. Take part in the discussion below, or find the subscribe button to get an email invitation for l00sed.slack.com

The Boston Freedom Trail is a major tourist attraction for exploring many of the important monuments and sites of our nation's early history. My collaborators (Alicia Valencia, Hüma Şahin, Mallory Nezam) and I were tasked to address this historical pilgrimage— to observe and reflect on these sites in their past and present contexts. First, we purchased tickets and set off on the Trail. One of our immediate observations was a feeling of insincerity— the tour felt hokey. It also led us to question the role and meaning of Freedom in the context of the Trail, as well as in America. Tour guides, often in costume— posing as "ghosts" of 18th-century political figures, lead you through the Boston Common, Faneuil Hall, the house of Paul Revere, the Old North Church... all the way to Bunker Hill (where the trail ends).

You've probabaly seen the incredible kinetic artwork of Theo Jansen. In 2007, a TED video was released featuring the Dutch artist's Strandbeest— a skeletal-looking, beach crawler. Jansen's unique mechanical design allows the "beest" to walk across the sand, propelled by the wind.

Jansen is a brilliant mind in the science and art of applied physics. He invented the mechanical motion for what he calls the Legsystem in 1991. Since then, his curiousity for kinetic art has compelled him to breathe life into a long lineage of fantastical "beests".

Empathy... involves a lot of respect towards others... a tolerance to otherness without the projection of our feelings onto others, without stealing their voice and narrative. There is total acceptance of the difference in the other's [object's] feelings. Empathy is the way to understand another human being's spirit and mind, not only his feelings. In a confrontation with the other, and in respect for his experience, we can compare our lives and relfect on our morality and values. Empathy with another person helps us to know ourselves. Knowledge of another human being is therefore a way of self-reflection.