This guy is Dr. Ken Lunde. He's the author of two groundbreaking books on the handling of ideographic languages (e.g., Japanese and Korean) in information processing, "Understanding Japanese Information Processing" (1993) and "CJKV Information Processing" (1999 and 2008 editions). [CJKV, by the way, stands for "Chinese Japanese Korean Vietnamese"] He works for Adobe and is kind of a big deal in the global infotech scene.
In addition to his landscape-altering work in that field, he's a notable collector and photographer of fine weapons. His photographic wallpaper of pistols is extremely popular, and his extensive collection of firearms and knives is the subject of endless slavering by gun buffs.
Dr. Lunde kindly granted us this one-of-a-kind email interview where we ask about everything from firearms to "Terminator : Salvation." This is an amazing window into one of the most intense minds on the planet -- check out Dr Lunde's Web site at http://LundeStudio.com for great photos and more info, and follow him on Twitter @Ken_Lunde . So read this interview and learn how to be far more awesome than you are now.
Here's the interview, presented in its entirety :
LW) For the benefit of our readers, what is CJKV information processing?
KL) In a nutshell, it is everything about how the languages that include ideographs (aka, Chinese characters) as part of their writing system are processed on computers or by digital means. Character sets and encodings are the fundamentals, because everything else depends on those two aspects.
LW) You're known as the authority on CJKV type and computer science. What first interested you in working on CJKV information processing?
KL) My interest began in the summer 1985, when I was deciding which non Indo-Eurpean language to study as part of the graduation requirements for a degree in linguistics. My choices boiled down to Japanese and Arabic. I spent time with both languages, and chose Japanese because I found it to be more challenging. Given the events that took place in subsequent years, combined with the fact that I was in the military at the time, I am glad that I chose Japanese over Arabic. Otherwise, I might still be taking sand out of my boots.
LW) Have you lived in East Asia for an extended period of time? If so, tell us about it.
KL) I have been in East Asia only for business trips, and only once or twice for a vacation. I have not lived there for any extended period. I have been to China once, South Korea twice, and Japan several times.
LW) This kind of work seems dauntingly difficult. Did you have to attain fluency in all four languages before starting this work?
KL) Of the languages in question, I have moderate fluency only in Japanese. I studied the simplified forms as used in China, and thus have rudimentary Chinese reading ability, but I cannot understand it when spoken, and cannot pronounce its words.
LW) What are the most significant challenges you face in your CJKV work?
KL) The most difficult challenge is keeping track of changes. Then again, if things stayed the same, that would be boring and stale. How we deal with challenges define us as a person. I see challenges as opportunities.
LW) Our rough understanding is that Chinese has thousands of characters. How is this handled with respect to input devices?
KL) Fundamentally, languages are spoken. The written form is simply a way to record spoken language. For this reason, the most intuitive way to input the thousands (actually, tens of thousands) of ideographs is by reading. Of course, many ideographs share the same reading, meaning that the user must often choose among several candidates. The longer the input string, meaning words that are composed of two or more ideographs, the lower the number of candidates. Modern input methods, such as those bundled with the OSes, handle this quite well.
LW) Is your work the first of its kind?
KL) Apparently it is. My first book, "Understanding Japanese Information Processing," was published in 1993. I have been told by many people that it changed the landscape, and enabled many companies to develop software for the East Asian markets. My next two books are best thought of as expanded and revised versions of that first work.
LW) On a scale of "pretty awesome" to "inexpressibly awesome," how would you rate your job at Adobe?
KL) I don't believe in such scales, but on a scale from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest, I would rate my job as a solid 9, and possibly a 10.
- on photography :
^^ One of Lunde's beautiful photos -- this of a customized Colt Delta Elite in 10mm
LW) Your photography is remarkable for its inviting atmosphere and warm light. How do you achieve these effects?
KL) Practice. I found that I am my best critic. I discovered several years ago that photography is all about capturing or recording light, and the better one controls the lighting, the better the results. All other factors are not nearly as critical.
LW) Were you formally trained as a photographer?
KL) No. I leaned through trial and error, and my earlier days had lots of the latter.
LW) What equipment do you use to get your results?
KL) I use a Lowel three-light set for lighting. My camera for the past 1.5 years has been a Nikon D300. My preferred lens is the Nikkor 60mm Micro lens, which I have had for over seven years, and which has transcended four digital SLR bodies. For post-processing the photos, I have been using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (aka, Adobe Lightroom) for about three years. I used Adobe Photoshop before that.
LW) What subjects apart from weapons do you most enjoy photographing?
KL) Nature, family, and friends.
[-on firearms, etc:]
LW) Your firearms collection is very well-curated. How did you first become interested in firearms?
KL) I was raised by my father to have a strong appreciate of and respect for firearms and other weapons. I see them as specialized tools, and nothing more. I appreciate the craftsmanship that is required to make functional weapons.
LW) Does living in California present special challenges for the firearms enthusiast?
KL) Definitely.
LW) You note on your site that 10mm is one of your favorite cartridges - it's one of ours as well. Why do you favor this cartridge, and what is your preferred loading?
KL) I favor the cartridge partly due to the Glock 20 being an excellent platform for this powerful cartridge. The Glock 20 is my hunting sidearm. I do not handload 10mm, but I do handload for all of the rifle cartridges that I use. There are plenty of quality 10mm loads available today.
LW) You have some wonderful Colt Delta Elites. Have you had any reliability or durability problems with that model?
KL) I have only one Colt Delta Elite, which has been highly customized. I have not had any issue with it. Although it is significantly heavier than the Glock 20, it has more felt recoil. As much as I appreciate the Colt Delta Elite, I prefer to use the Glock 20.
LW) Which weapon in your collection would be your preferred daily carry, and why?
KL) When I am out of state, generally for hunting, I tend to carry a Glock 20. I cannot carry in California. If I could carry in California, my EDC would be a Glock 33.
LW) What are some problems you see in firearms design and how would you improve them?
KL) I am a firm believer that there is no perfect firearm. But, there is an ideal firearm, and which one it is depends on the person who needs it. To be honest, I don't see any problems in firearm design, and most of the problems that arise tend to be the result of the nonsensical firearm laws that we have, either at the State or Federal level. The ten-round magazine capacity limit is a perfect example of this.
LW) Have you trained formally with firearms? If so, where?
KL) I have had very little training with firearms, and most of it has been while in the military. Starting at an early age, like studying a foreign language, has benefits in that you develop life-long skills. And, like any sport, it is all about practice, which includes mental preparation. Some people can mentally prepare themselves on their own, and some require formal training. Still, I would like to take more formal training, when I have more free time.
LW) Some of our readers find the trigger on the original Walther P99 to be impossible to get used to, that the pull is too long and insufficiently crisp. As someone who shoots both P99s and 1911s, how do you recommend that shooters new to the P99 get acclimated to that trigger?
KL) My best advice is to dry-fire the trigger to get accustomed to it. The AS (Anti-Stress) part of the trigger is what confuses most people. Becoming accustomed to the AS trigger overcomes this issue.
LW) What are some firearms you'd like to try or acquire in the coming year?
KL) At this point, I really have nothing on the immediate radar. The Kahr P380 intrigues me, as does the new Beretta Px4 Storm Compact. (The Beretta Px4 Storm Subcompact did nothing for me, and I never developed an interest in acquiring one.)
LW) What do you look for in a handgun? In a rifle?
KL) For a handgun, I look for quality and durability. For a rifle, I look for quality and accuracy. I didn't mention accuracy for a handgun, because most have comparable accuracy, and how it fits one's hand and how well one can control the trigger are greater influences in practical accuracy.
LW) Many people ask about firearms for home defense. Some experts say that a shotgun is the most appropriate home defense weapon, while others advocate for the handgun. What in your estimation is the most suitable firearm for home defense?
KL) A typical shotgun is a bit too large (long) for home defense. If you live in an NFA-friendly state, a shotgun-based AOW would be ideal for home defense. In the end, simply having an accessible weapon is half the battle in one's ability to defend their home from intruders.
LW) Some of your firearms have beautiful aftermarket finishes. Which among these finshes do you like best?
KL) Hard chrome. In fact, that's the only aftermarket finish on any of my firearms. Everything else is factory-applied.
LW) What is it about Del Fatti holsters that you like so well?
KL) The workmanship and attention to detail. I specifically like his ISP-SS holster with the Slotted Pad belt attachment. The holster is no bigger than it needs to be, and the Slotted Pad belt attachment protrudes very little.
LW) You also have many Busse knives. What attracts you to those items?
KL) I am attracted to Busse Combat knives due to their hard-use nature, and the fact that they hold an edge for a long time. Busse Combat also stands behind their knives. I also like other brands, such as Randall Made, Scott Cook, Chris Reeve, and others.
[- on hunting]
LW) What game do you enjoy hunting?
KL) I hunt prairie dogs with my dad, who is 74, in Spring or Summer, sometimes both. I hunt pronghorn antelope in Fall. I am interested in both because the shooting distances are generally long, usually 250 yards are further. Pronghorn antelope are also North America's fastest land mammal, so there is inherent challenge in hunting them.
LW) Where are some of your favorite locations to hunt?
KL) Wyoming and South Dakota.
LW) What arms and cartridges do you prefer to use while hunting?
KL) I favor .204 Ruger for prairie dogs, and have been using 6.5x55 SE for pronghorn antelope for the past four years. The rifles that I use are made by Cooper Arms, which is located in Montana.
[- on the arts]
LW) What music (genres / artists) do you like to listen to? What exactly is it about that music that resonates with you?
KL) I would have to say that my favorite artists are Tangerine Dream, Rush, and TCM.
LW) What visual art do you like?
KL) Photography.
LW) What are some of your favorite movies?
KL) I very much enjoyed "Avatar" and the new "Star Trek." Both resonated with me extraordinarily well.
LW) What foods do you enjoy? Do you prefer to cook at home or eat at restaurants?
KL) I like pastas, pizza, anything on the grill, and salads. We eat out very little, and do most of our cooking at home.
LW) What was the last book you read? Did you like it?
KL) I don't read much in terms of books or novels. Most of what I read tends to be reference manuals, where I read specific pages or chapters. I would say that I do more writing than reading. (In retrospect, I probably should have learned how to type.)
LW) Did you see "Terminator : Salvation?" Did you think it rocked?
KL) I enjoyed that movie, and while I thought it added to the "Terminator" story line, I felt that "Avatar" rocked much more.
[- Other topics :]
LW) What's your favorite comic strip?
KL) I really don't have any.
LW) What fiscal and monetary policies do you favor with regard to the USA?
KL) No comment.
LW) Do you believe that computer programming is an essential skill for all knowledge workers?
KL) Computer programming is skill for those who develop software. Most people wouldn't benefit from this, unless they need this skill, and can practice it. The ability to use a simpler scripting language can benefit a broader range of people.
LW) Do you have a garden /.grow your own food?
KL) Yes.
LW) What is the matter with kids these days?
KL) Of course, it depends on the kids. For those with issues, I am sure it is related to how their parents raised them. Instilling respect would go a long way to raising kids better.
LW) How should the balance between freedom and security be handled with respect to US domestic policy?
KL) No comment.
LW) What's the most effective pickup line?
KL) No comment.
LW) What do you think about the recent move to deep-six the NASA moon mission and greatly scale back public space exploration?
KL) Say, maybe it is NASA's way to acknowledge that we have been contacted by extraterrestrial life.
LW) In your opinion, does time exist as a fundamental feature of our universe, or is its apparently unstoppable arrow merely an artifact of consciousness? What is the nature of time?
KL) Time is clearly a constant and does not stop, but the nature of our existence makes its flow seem relative. And, our ability to preserve memories allows us to transcend the flow of time, relative to events that have already taken place.
LW) Do you believe reality is fundamentally deterministic or indeterminate / stochastic?
KL) Our reality is based on our perception of the universe, which is based on principles and rules. So, I would vote for the former.
LW) Do you play any musical instruments?
KL) I played percussion in high school. That's about it. I prefer to appreciate music, not create it.
LW) Do you think that the present educational system in the US is adequate?
KL) No educational system is adequate.
LW) Can folks contact you on Twitter? If so, what's your Twitter name?
KL) Of course. My Twitter name is ken_lunde. I am also on Facebook.
LW) Do you believe that humans will continue to exist after the Earth and our Sun are gone in a few billion years?
KL) Given our tendency toward self-destruction, probably not. Interestingly, I believe that humans and other life on this planet were engineered. In other words, something created us.
LW) Thanks very much for taking the time to answer some of our questions.
The pop-critic establishment is already busy disparaging th' new release from Massive Attack, the English group responsible for welding R+B, dub, and pure burning hopeless doom into a mesmeric sound that rips lives out of living humans. The previous release under the Massive Attack name, "100th Window" was a grody platter of hot sleep garbage, so my hopes weren't all that high for this record, th' geographically-named "Heligoland." However, after listening to this joint on repeat for the past week, I can say with confidence that the critics hating on it either haven't listened to it (I'm looking at you, Pitchfork) or have no idea what Massive Attack are supposed to be about (hey bloggers!). The raw fact is that this record is exactly what a Massive Attack record is supposed to be : adventurous, unpredictable, and capable of sending the listener into a melancholic reverie.
Pitchfork's review goon intones that Massive Attack fail to 'engage current music' with this release, rattling off a list of recent genres like 'dubstep' and 'UK funky' in an attempt to sound hip and asking why th' band doesn't do something in relation to those styles. This is silly. Massive Attack has never been interested in following or 'engaging' current music trends, they are in the business of creating fresh music styles. Suggesting that the band should have incorporated obvious dubstep references into this album is like saying that "Blue Lines" should have had acid house splashed all over it.
While it wouldn't be fair to say that this is a retro album, the 90s do creep up pretty big here. The vocal spots by Blur's Damon Albarn and Tricky's Martina Topley-Bird, th' recklessly unpolished beats, th' wild assemblage of genres. In fact, th' record that sounds most like "Heligoland" is Tricky's own "Nearly God," wherein th' mush-mouthed master of paranoia explored all kinds of new craggy musical forms in underproduced, rough, and totally enveloping tunes. That same kind of punchy excitement is here on "Heligoland" as well.
It kicks off with "Pray for Rain," a number sung by that guy from TV On The Radio. This tune is strongly reminiscent of "Remain in Light" era Talking Heads or classic Peter Gabriel. A vaguely witch-doctor midtempo loop prods Tunde Adebimpe along in his lyrics which evoke some kind of weird tribal ritual. The climax of this tune has a cache of lyrical gems like "Drops on rocks fall fast and fleeting… hidden laws unleash their meaning." The vibe is tense and anticipatory, rather than tense and paranoid. Some complain that this tune is overlong, but in fact, it's just right for sending you zoning into a harsh rude daydream.
Th' next cut, "Babel" is a little jarring with its fast straight drum-and-bass loop and more Talking Heads guitars, but then Topley-Bird's sly, streetworn voice floats in and recalls in tempo and knowing authority her performance of "Black Steel in The Hour of Chaos" from 1995. The skittering drums might be distracting for some (they're certainly quicker than anything else Massive Attack has done), but it's no cookie-cutter Metalheadz beat, and the twitchy speed creates an ill mood.
The sole vocal appearance by much-needed Daddy G follows, on posse mope "Splitting the Atom." This is a crypto-rocksteady tune that is just glum enough while also grooving steadily. Horace Andy thankfully reappears for the first time on this track.
No lead-in could prepare the listener for "Girl I Love You," a generically-titled song that is by any measure, the equal of any other Massive Attack tune. With Horace Andy's plaintive voice floating over an urgent-sounding rock bass and terrifying horn chart, this tune immediately ensnarls you like a barbed wire tumbleweed. Th' uncertianty and fear in Andy's voice is almost unbearable, and this tune has the kind of dynamics that are bound to blow an addled mind.
Next up is th' unfairly-maligned "Psyche," a tune so minimalist that it borders on Minimalism. Again, Topley-Bird mics it here, with good lyrics and her characteristic after-hours tone. Some folks find this jam overly simplistic or boring, but if you ask me, it's kind of fresh and has a deep structure that really sneaks up on you.
The "Flat of the Blade" is next, wherein some guy from a band called Elbow proceeds to maximally creep out over a very Bjorky percussion and drone track. I'm not a fan of this individual's singing, but the track gets gold (or is it grey?) stars for spooky atmosphere.
Two of th' remaining tracks, "Rush Minute" and "Atlas Air" are showcases for Robert "3D" Del Naja, who as on "100th Window" abandons rapping for a strange kind of flat-toned singing. The difference between these tracks and the mess that is "100th Window" is that the actual music here has a lot more ideas to offer and is not pandering. Both of these cuts are heavy on synth elements and have a kind of weary New Wave feel. The fact is that 3D sounds better rapping after all and is kind of stiff and unswinging in his production, but the tunes are still worth listening to.
The other two tracks, "Paradise Circus" and "Saturday Come Slow" are stone brilliant. The former is a ghostly exercise in chills featuring Goth poster girl Hope Sandoval. This jam has the kind of shifting, spare, slow beat that really gets those mope juices flowing. "Saturday Come Slow" is a love dirge right at the cusp of bleak sentiment like "Dissolved Girl." Damon Albarn lets loose some of the most sorrowful wails he's done since "Tender" dropped; this limey is hurting! People tend to associate Albarn with puckish Britpop pogoing and general punkitude, but anyone who's seen him do "This is a Low" or "No Distance Left to Run" will know that he can really tear up that sad mic thing. His ragged voice telegraphs profound heartbreak better than nearly anyone else.
I think that the bitter mistake all these reviewers make is in trying to compare this joint to "Mezzanine." "Mezzanine" isn't an album, it's a giant shard of volcanic glass that plunges straight into the soul of anyone who dares to listen to it. It's monolithic, oppressive, and non-reproducible. Comparing anything to "Mezzanine" is like saying "Oh well this roadside ditch isn't as cool as th' Marianas Trench." Stupid. "Mezzanine" is an artifact of its time that could not be any other way or from another time; any attempt to recreate or follow it now would result in abject self-parody. People tend to forget now, but Massive Attack's other two classic albums -- "Blue Lines" from 1991 and "Protection" from 1994 -- were totally different from each other and from "Mezzanine," and took a lot of getting used to. i remember how people would talk smack about "Protection" when they bought it after having loved and crumbled to th' narcobludgeon of "Mezzanine," only to come back two months later and crow about how brilliant it was when they finally 'got' it. So, like those other two classic albums, give this one some time and repeat listens late at night, and I think then that all th' irrelevant comparisons will drop away and you'll be able to soak in this record properly. It's funny, just today I was rapping with my pal and CERN inhabitant monster -- he said "I've listened to 'Mezzanine' hundreds of times, but can't really name a favorite song." It's just not possible to cleave up that LP -- it's a complete and matchless monument of psychedelia.
"Heligoland" is something different but equally needed : a collection of diverse fresh tunes, fearlessly chosen and correctly sung. Massive Attack have refused to try to replicate the hazy druglike syrup of of 1998 and instead are exploring a quicker-stepping, more raw style that demonstrates how unsettling sounds don't always come at plodding molasses tempos. I strongly recommend that all freaks, goths, and sad pandas obtain a copy of this; it's adventuresome, worth your brainspace, and an antidote to the stale. Wait until 2 or 3am, sit back with spooky lights on, and devolve to th' destructive sounds of this joint. Now, if only it came with a reason to get out of bed th' next day.. (49,211)
[Bonus points for spotting a Latewirer in th' above photo by Joe Johnston aka @RealJoe !]
I'm so used to slouching in th' back of rooms, dissecting and criticizing what folks have to say, and scowling at presenters from behind my composition book that I'm generally unprepared to hear a talk from someone who is inarguably, scintillatingly awesome. This Wednesday, I was sulking around Gangplank as usual, prepping for another in a series of usually-pretty-darn-good lunch presentations on business, tech, and marketing. Somewhat bafflingly for me, on deck for that day's talk was Joe Johnston (real name!), an oldish guy that I'd heard of before, as the restauranteur behind Joe's Real BBQ, a place famous for giving away free BBQ sandwiches once every year. This guy, I knew, was also behind th' latest in-crowd hangout, Liberty Market.
Now, see, I respect successful businesspersons. I also have a basic, reactionary, but often-justified snobby attitude about "latest in-crowd hangouts" and other signifiers of hipster culture. Never having been to Liberty Market, and having been to Joe's real BBQ only once (and I have to admit, I still prefer Honey Bear's), I didn't have a clear idea about what sort of insight this old sandwich-slinger would have to offer a room full of bad-attitude tech goons and myself. His topic was "Social Media and the Third Place," which sounded pretty bog standard except I wasn't sure what any of this had to do with baseball. And, gee, social media advice is like bad debt : a lot of people have it and would love to pass it on to you.
As it turns out, Joe Johnston is a real interesting cat who puts a lot of thought into what he does. He's got a wide range of knowledge, a compelling story and some pretty darned neat ideas about how to run a real live brick-n-mortar business. He showed up wearing a breezy Hawaiian-style shirt and a straw porkpie hat (indoors, which is bad manners if you ask me, but hey, he's the millionaire). Here's the brief :
Joe Johnston is an old-school Arizonan who grew up on a family farm in Gilbert in the 1960s. He studied electrical engineering at Stanford and practiced that lucrative trade for several years, until a backlog of pleasant memories from his college coffeehouse haunting days and Ray Oldenburg's now-classic book "The Great Good Place" drove him to become heavily interested in and soon professionally involved with what Oldenburg called "Third Places."
According to Oldenburg, the "First Place" is the insular place where we live with our families, sleep, and play 'Scrabble.'. The "Second Place" is the workplace, a much more structured environment where we might spend even more time than we spend at home. The "Third Place" is a highly unstructured environment away from home where conversation is the main activity, ideas are exchanged, and culture is created. Classic examples of "Third Places" are pubs in Britain, cafes in France, barbershops, and coffeehouses in the 1960s USA. Phoenix has often been derided as being bereft of an indigenous urban culture; Joe figured it was high time he did something about it.
His first attempt at creating a "third place" began in 1989 when he and his pal Tim Peelen realized that there weren't any coffeehouses in metro Phoenix and decided to give it a shot. They started by developing what they believed to be a superior product -- good-quality "gourmet coffee," buying various raw bean varieties and test-roasting them in Joe's popcorn popper. When a few winners were ready, they opened up a joint on Mill Avenue in Tempe, right near ASU, and called it Coffee Plantation. To hear Joe tell it, it was a pretty good "third place" and the first coffeehouse of its kind in Tempe.
[ That last bit is funny to me, because by the time I got to ASU (after Joe and Tim had sold it to some business swine), Coffee Plantation was boring, stifling, had mediocre product, and was mobbed with lame folks at all times. Goes to show maybe how one person's persona can anchor a whole enterprise, and the whole thing can spin off into the choppy seas of wackitude when that person leaves).
Johnston and Peelen offloaded Coffee Plantation because it got too big. This is interesting and gives a little insight into what these guys are about. Joe said that after opening up a few more locations and a separate roasting facility, totaling over 150 people on the payroll, it stopped being fun and conceptual and started to turn into a real operations drag. Idea-guys don't like dealing with stacks of HR paperwork and worker's comp claims filed by reefer-sick baristas who burned themselves with cappuccino foam while chatting up fellow Phish fans on the other side of th' counter.
So, Johnston took a year-long sabbatical to travel around th' country eating delicious food. [Tough life huh] Like all non-alien humans, he has a special love for barbecue. He got an idea to start a BBQ of his own, and spent a lot of time in Texas sampling the local variations and looking for the best site designs and delivery / service systems. In 1998, he opened Joe's Real BBQ, which as I mentioned is pretty good. I give him definite props for developing his own distinctive sauce, which is worth a try.
That highly informal restaurant was a raging, hoot-n-hollering success, so Johnston figured he was on a roll and opened up Joe's Farm Grill, which uses fresh produce from his urban farm (more on this later), and then Liberty Market, the most abstract sort-of-restaurant of them all. With Liberty Market, Johnston unplugged completely from the heavy operations chores to focus on design, menu, and conceptual guidance. He seemed pretty stoked about it.
[fun fact : I realized after I'd spent a long time typing the previous section that this story had probably been typed out before, considering that this guy is like super famous. Sure nuff, I could have just cut-and-pasted from the 'About' pages on the restaurant Web sites]
After hipping the crowd to this background, Johnston ripped into a discussion of Oldenburg's "8 characteristics" that define the Third Place and what they mean for business. He also passed around nice handout sheets, which is something that I've never seen before at Gangplank but that was much appreciated :
[Note : despite all th' talk about class, I'm no Marxist and I doubt that Joe is either]
1) Neutral ground : the third place has no formal leader, is not 'hosted,' has no time constraints [e.g., no waitresses rushing you out of your table after the dinner], and is designed for maximum comfort level -The key things here are the lack of hierarchical structure and lack of serious time constraints. Re : the latter : most places have to close sometime, but if you're only open 4 hours a day, that's not going to give people enough flexibility to get really comfortable)
2) Leveler : the experience is designed so that people from all walks of life feel comfortable; all socioeconomic classes are eligible to participate. This illustrates the idea of commonality and requires that the barriers to entry be reduced to the lowest levels possible. - Low barrier to entry is vital here. At Liberty Market, Johnston sets the barrier at $1.66 -- the price of an espresso. He says he'll even work out deals with homeless people who have no cash (what about Pee-Wee Herman?). Of near-equal importance is that what staff there are don;t behave in a snobby way that turns people from certain classes off. This leveling concept is necessary for the exchange of ideas between classes that sparks creativity and interesting convos.
3) Conversation : This is necessarily the main activity at the "third place." The convo must be "lively, with lots of discussion, and lots of buzz," says Johnston. The idea here is to foster communication. - Part of this is making sure that it's easy to converse in the space. This means tables put together to encourage groups to mix, and music that's not too loud. This last point is seriously overlooked by many establishments aspiring to be 'third places,' 78% of whom deem it essential to blast "Stir it Up" at 97 decibels while I'm trying to hear someone speak.
4) Accessibility -- this is related to #1 -- the place has to be accessible during a broad swath of time throughout the day. People need to be able to drift in and out according to their own natural schedules. - In Johnston's example, Liberty Market opens at 7am and closes after a late dinner. Again, it's crucial that people not feel rushed.
5) Regulars : Any establishment wishing to be a "third place" needs to take care that its regulars are looked-after and that the stage is set for their enjoyment. The regulars foster conversation, draw in new participants, and provide the cultural spark of the place. - The regulars set the cultural tone, so it's vital to recognize them and not tick them off.
6) Low-profile : The physical design of the space should be kind of plain (though inviting), utilitarian, and not over-wrought. it should just be a comfortable structure that allows focus to remain on the people and conversations. -Gangplank is a good example of this. Th' place looks like a classroom and is inside an industrial space, but that 'blank' atmosphere is ideal for free-ranging thought development and unconstrained talk.
7) Playful mood : The overall vibe must not be serious, boring, annoying or pretentious. -Instead, it should be upbeat, joking, and full of enjoyment. Overbearing atmosphere stifles conversation and culture, and will keep 'fresh' people far away.
8) Homelike : this means that the place should have an element of physical and psychological comfort that puts one at ease. -In practice, this means having couches and other homey touches around, reading material, etc
A lot of places recognize the value of being a "third place" and aspire to be one, but they're not. Restaurants want to bundle you out of there as soon as your check's paid; Starbucks charges for Web access, Burger King feels like an Orwellian nightmare, etc. Neglect of any of the principles above can prevent the third-place culture incubator from forming.
How 'social media' relates to the "Third Place" concept : -Twitter is kind of like a 'third place' online. Very low barrier to entry, all-inclusive, strictly conversation-based, etc. In practice, it's possible and advisable to 'leverage' this virtual 'third place' to promote the physical 'third place.' The place owner / organizer / idea person can use social media not only to generate word-of-mouth (and keep track of what the word is), but to directly keep in touch with customers. The latter is especially important when considering the vital nurturing of regulars that all 'third places' need to succeed. You can pass along special offers to them, get their invaluable feedback on potential changes and plans (from menu to construction ideas) and keep track of / thank them for their visits and reports. Social media helps you let the regulars know that they're relaly important. - In social media interactions as well as those in 'meatspace,' it's advisable to hew close to the old rules of conversation as possible : 1) Remain silent your share of the time -- don't hog th' airspace 2) Be attentive while others are talking 3) Say what you think, but be careful 4) Avoid topics not of general interest. You might really really want to talk about how your toothbrush tasted funny this morning, but others likely give no hoot. 5) Say little or nothing about yourself, talk about others and their adventures and achievements ( note : some have suggested an 'eight-to-one' rule : for every comment you make about yourself, spend eight talk segments on others ) 6) Speak in as low a voice as will allow others to hear.
In addition to these ideas and his business history, Johnston spoke briefly about his 'mid-century Modern' housing development, Agritopia, which also contains the sustainable, no-pesticide-or-herbicide farm he uses to supply his restaurants. This idea of a self-supporting urban agriculture community is radical and, while I wouldn't live there personally as a matter of lot size and loathing of HOAs, this idea probably represents a good model for future community development.
Johnston's focus on design, "third place" ideas, and self-reliance are seriously invigorating. Judging from the audience reaction, he inspired quite a few other folks to take a big-picture view with an eye for vital details and invest some energy into doing something right -- or as he says, "from the heart." (47,832)
Having the wrong idea can lead to pleasant surprises. This isn't always the case, of course -- for example, being under the impression that one is going to school and later finding out that one is indentured in a spirit-extinguishing mill of bleak negation straight out of a Brueghel the Elder panel is actually a pretty nasty shock. But sometimes, misunderstanding can lead to a fun serendipity.
My experience at this month's IxDA (Interaction Design Association) Phoenix event was such a delightful mix-up. I'd understood that this event was going to be about "rapid prototyping." When I hear the phrase "rapid prototyping," I'm thinking about supercool "3D Printers" and the like, such as the RepRap, an amazing self-replicating prototying / microfacturing robot. This kind of rapid prototyping is so cool that it makes th' first Guns 'n' Roses record look like Candlebox' B-side collection, and I'm really into it. I was expecting, say, a presentation from a prototyping professional or tech guy and hopefully a demonstration of one of th' amazing machines. Seriously, these things are cool -- look them up! Your university probably has one.
As it turned out, the sort of rapid prototyping on deck at IxDA Phoenix that day was th' sort where a bunch of designers sit around a table with cardboard and kindergarten-style craft materials with the intention of developing a profound improvement on a common household item and building a model of the improved concept.
This turned out to be big fun and more awesome than watching a robot build pieces of itself. Th' industrial-design posse split into two teams. Our team, Team 1, chose to reimagine the domestic laundry setup, while our esteemed competition Team 2 opted for the toaster oven.
One of Team 1's main ideas was a way to integrate "line-dry" or "drip-dry" clothing items into the normal wash / dry regimen without the need for liability-fraught clotheslines or brassieres hanging in the shower.
This was accomplished by creating a slot-based, cartridge-fed air-drying section on the side of our laundry assembly. The design created a rapid-air-dry system by recycling the heat exhaust from the dryer unit through a piping system (cooling the air slightly) and then circulating it amongst the air-dry clothing. The air-dry items are placed in V-fold flat cartridges mad eof perforated non-corrosive screen to maximize air flow. Any water that is captured from the air-dry process is recycled to the washer mechanism. Each load / cylinder can be programmed to stop and make a sound at the end of the washing stage to aler the user to the presence of air-dry items within the load.
The other main idea of Team 1 was to eliminate the hassle of manually changing clothing loads from washer to dryer. This was accomplished by the use of a rotating "magazine" of three laundry cylinders, each of which can be loaded and programmed differently. The cylinders rotate on a central carriage device and are individually and automatically engaged and disengaged from the main rotation motors in the washer and dryer sections of the machine. The cylinders are constructed and ported in such a way that they can function either as washer or dryer vessels.
The washer section of the unit is on top, the dryer is on bottom. The "third" cylinder is idle and out of view until rotated into the washer or dryer position.
With this system, the user can load up to three loads of laundry at once including air-dry-only items, and expect the air-dry items to be done at roughly the same time as the normal machine-dry items.
The entire system takes up approximately the same footprint as a conventional washer-dryer pair (but is slightly taller) and can use the same hookups. In sum, this system is more convenient, more variable, and more eco-friendly than current standard laundry setups.
Team 2 designed a below-cabinet toaster oven, the GuttenTost, that looks like a Star Wars vehicle and serves up tasty toast without the space-hogging hassle of a big-footprint kitchen appliance. Watch the video -- it even makes great toast out of cardboard bread! (42,503)
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