It was kind of inspired by big-head mode seen in videogames. I really wanted to get the faceted geosphere look with wireframe.

He’s been a character designer in the video game industry for nine years, so this is a case of life now mimicking his art, as his skills having now ‘absorbed’ his very being. Very spooky. Here’s how it happened:

A model was created from a blocky 370 polygons

Texture was added to match his appearance using PhotoShop

The ‘polygons’ are printed, cut & glued together

The finished result is the surreal creation you see prowling the streets in the below Flickr photoset. Hit fullscreen for best effect:

The change goes into effect on November 16, and domain names using characters from other alphabets are expected to be online shortly after.

ICANN chairman Peter Dengate Thrush states that:

“The coming introduction of non-Latin characters represents the biggest technical change to the Internet since it was created four decades ago. Right now Internet address endings are limited to Latin characters — A to Z. But the Fast Track Process is the first step in bringing the 100,000 characters of the languages of the world online for domain names.”

Currently, all URLS end with domains comprised of Latin characters such as .com, .org and .net, requiring everyone to use Latin characters in Web addresses even if their native language uses different characters. The change is expected to help make URLs easier to work with for people that don’t use the letters domain names are currently limited to.

ICANN President and CEO Rod Beckstrom says:

“The first countries that participate will not only be providing valuable information of the operation of IDNs in the domain name system, they are also going to help to bring the first of billions more people online — people who never use Roman characters in their daily lives.”

ICANN will be watching the domain name changes closely to see what impact it has on the rest of the Internet, which may result in a surge in domain squatting, foreign language spam and usage of the ‘Insert Character’ function.

A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.

A sensation felt in one part of the body as a result of stimulus applied to another, as in referred pain.

The description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another.

It is widely considered that synesthesia arises in brains where from a young age, neurological paths that service our sensory perception do not become entirely defined, resulting in cross-chatter between the senses.

Famous synesthetes reportedly include painter David Hockney, who perceives music as color, shape, and configuration; composer Wassily Kandinsky, who had a four senses combined: color, hearing, touch, and smell; and physicist Richard Feynman who percieves elements of equations as different colours.

What a cool way to see the world – a totally unique perception of reality. And how hard must it be to express this reality to others?! Synesthetes must feel in some part driven to demonstrate their unique perspective, perhaps driving them to create great cultural artefacts that we can all enjoy.

One filmmaker has produced their interpretation of a reality touched by synesthesia. I urge you to watch this great short film for a taste of the condition:

Synesthesia from Terri Timely on Vimeo.

Can anyone out there think of a way us non-synesthetes might be able to experience the world like this, via the medium of Augmented Reality?
Would love to explore some ideas.

• Eigenharp Alpha -
  A new kind of instrument for the future of expressive electronic music – research for an upcoming piece.
• Wearable Technology, the next User Experience Frontier | UXbyDesign -
  Some brilliant real-world applications of wearable computers, that could drive us further into the age of ubiquity.
• Tech Crunchies – Internet Statistics and Numbers -
  Meaningful snippets of statistics across a range of topics, including Mobile. US-centric though.
• 95 websites you should totally bookmark today | News | TechRadar UK -
  A bookmark of a page of great bookmarks. Lots of new stuff here, with interesting descriptions of them all.
• ScentAir: Scent Marketing, Fragrance Systems, Aroma Diffusion -
  A company I’d love to work with on an upcoming campaign, following a write-up in WIRED magazine.

Watch this in fullscreen for a truly ethereal, calming experience:

Kuroshio Sea – 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world – (song is Please don’t go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

Well I thought it was cool, anyway…!

Ray Kurzweil is a futurist and a proponent of academic thought on the subject of the technological singularity.

He states that there will come a point in human history where computer power matches our own thinking ability, therefore allowing us to interface with machines on a one-to-one basis without the need for a medium.

We’re talking simulations of your mind running on a machine, and the potential to upload information from computers into your mind.
Hot shit, right? Very Johnny Mnemonic.

Anyway, the news just in is that Ray has mapped out the future as follows:

So then:

Human Brain Functional Simulation – coming 2013.
Human Brain Neural Simulation for Uploading – coming 2025.

Nuff said.

• Things you didn’t know VLC media player can do – ElaKiri Community –
  My favourite media player has some secret special moves, and here's a list of them.
• How to Write a Facebook Application in 5 Minutes – Facebook Apps Tutorial for Non-Developers –
  Oooh – interesting! Might have a go at this.
• ignore the code –
  Some excellent learnings here into how users read & write comments. Lots of other usability findings. Numberlicious.
• Touch | Interaction with RFID and NFC –
  An amazing resource for those interested in this space.
• Let Me Google That For You –
  Neat little tool that creates videos of the search queries your lazy friends really should have done first before asking you.

I’m still hoping for an invite, so can’t yet share my feedback on the tool – just know that I am really excited!