You log on to the VectorialVancouver.net, and you see a three-dimensional representation of Vancouver. And then you can select individual searchlights and move them, orient them, point them in any direction you want, and create pyramids or meshes or zigzags over the skyline of Vancouver.

And then, once you're happy with your design, you basically sign it. You put your name, your location, maybe a dedication to somebody, and you submit it to Vancouver, where it is received. And every 12 to 15 seconds, a new design appears in the night sky, exactly as the participant had sent it from his or her computer.

And, then, finally, what happens is, the system photographs this design with four cameras that are placed in the site, and builds a Web page automatically for each participant.

A great example of getting people involved in a civic event. I don't expect to be lighting Washington's skies anytime soon, but I do have to find ways to make all my projects more participatory. Amazing how work/life can be active now.

Maybe there's a connection: How Social Engagement is Changing at Flowtown.

Those announcements have become as much a regular feature of theatergoing as ushers and Playbills. And how to ask patrons to turn off anything that beeps or glows is often the subject of serious consideration by directors, producers and sound designers, whether they choose a standard version (delivered by stage managers, recorded or live) or a humorous one, like Angela Lansbury’s exaggerated formal instructions before “Night Music.”

It's just a matter of time till I'm one of the offenders. Still, some pretty interesting strategies are discussed in the full post.

But to be honest, it's very difficult. Nobody want to be honest. Everybody want to be right, and this is the problem. Being honest, it means not to give up. Being honest, it means to being a human. And if you consider yourself as a judge, you have to be honest. And if you consider yourself as a democratic country, you have to be honest. And if you consider yourself as a human, you don't have just to feel sorry about that, but to understand what the other need to live as a human and to give them those needed by understanding their pain and by representing your pain as a human to allow them to understand you.

From an interview with Robi Damelin and Ali Abu Awwad on Speaking of Faith, a radio program that starts most of my Sundays off with conversations I'm probably not awake enough to appreciate fully. Damelin and Awwad are "part of a gathering network of Israelis and Palestinians who've lost loved ones in the crisis between their peoples" and are featured in the documentary Encounter Point. It's amazing to listen to people who have suffered and lost so much and who seem they should be trapped in a conflict between peoples come to an understanding, take responsibility, and begin to take constructive action that could lead to improvements in the condition of all people. Puts the importance we place on less significant problems into focus (if they can achieve that, we should be able to...).

Already looking forward to next Sunday's program, which will feature Einstein's God, Krista Tippet's new book. The promo promises an inspiring and stimulating discussions on the interplay between scientific and religious inquiry featuring some of today's greatest thinkers, including Freeman Dyson, Paul Davies, Mehmet Oz, Sherwin Nuland, and many others. A fascinating look at the intersection of our deepest questions about science and the human spirit. 

Neurologists have built an ultrasound device which uses focused sound waves to destroy stroke-causing blood clots in brains. The procedure is non-invasive—requiring no drugs or surgery—and is already being tested on patients.

The machine and procedure allows doctors to "surround the head with an array of transducers that can focus ultrasound beams on a single spot in the brain without damaging the skull." This means that diseased tissue could be destroyed without any collateral damage or risky surgery. [Technology Review via Pop Sci]

Seems like real progress; too bad the stroke I experienced was caused by bleeding, not clotting.