And you know what that means!! (NSFW)
Play More Games!
Tomorrow is the first Annual Table Top Day!
And even though there are ZERO game shops located near enough to me to be considered “convenient” means I will not be getting any of the AWESOME SCHWAG participating stores will be handing out… I am still SUPER-PSYCHED because we will be spending the day playing THESE:
And more!!
At the end of the day, somebody is walking away with this:
It’s going to be EPIC!!!
Art by the Numbers
One of the perks of attending lots of fan conventions is the opportunity to meet and explore the work of new artists.
At this past ECCC I was lucky enough to stumble upon the artwork of Sienna Morris. She’s developed a style of art work she calls “Numberism”. Similar to how a pointillist will create an image by positioning hundreds of thousands of dots strategically on a page or canvas, Ms. Morris uses numbers relevant to the subject she is rendering.
The concept is difficult to explain with words alone, so I’ve included some images of her artwork (clicking on the images will take you directly to Sienna’s website)
This piece is titled “Fibonacci’s Snail” and was created using the Fibonacci Sequence of numbers, starting at the tightest point in the spiral and working its way out.
I know, right?! Simply incredible – not to mention gorgeous!
Each piece Ms. Morris creates requires time spent in advance researching and calculating the numbers (and occasional letters) she uses in the rendering process.
This next one is called “Locutus of Borg” and she ingeniously created the image of Locutus using Flocking Algorithms to represent the Borg Hive Mind as well as predator/prey calculations using Lanchester’s Laws formulae.
She also included many of the famous Borg catch-phrases.
Look, when it comes to higher level maths in general, I don’t know diddly-squat, but the fact that Ms. Morris has taken such pains to add even greater depth of meaning to her already impressive artistic skill is just… amazeballs.
The last one I’m sharing with you here is titled “A Cello” and when she explained how she settled on the numbers she used to create this impressive piece I swear my brain melted a little from all of the awesome.
To create the wood of the bow, she used the Pythagorean comma which is basically the difference between two pitches or tones (it’s used a lot in music theory). It’s essentially a quarter of a semi-tone. I’m not a mathematician and (even though I play the guitar) I never studied music theory, so I’m not going to attempt to dive into a deeper explanation. It’s just impressive.
But it gets even more impressive (and also a little bit insane). Check this out, peeps, the tuning pegs are drawn using the Twelfth Root of Two, an equation used in the calculation of pitch adjustment.
THEN, Ms. Morris went further and drew the strings using the HERTZ FREQUENCY OF THE NOTES. She actually sat down and calculated the rate of audible vibration for each note down the neck of the instrument for each string.
The coup de grace for me with this piece is the body of the cello itself. It is drawn with the numerical value for the speed at which sound travels parallel to the GRAIN of the WOOD. She represented three wood types, so that means three different rate of speed calculations.
I know… I know… MIND. BLOWN.
You can find out more about Sienna Morris and her artwork on her site FleetingStates.com.
Go there. Be impressed. Buy prints. Tell your friends.

























If Jane Austen Replied to a Customer Service Survey
May 24, 2013 · Filed under General Geekery, Just for Fun, Randomosity, Social Commentary
Yesterday I was on the phone with customer servicefor one of the businesses my company works with. It was a pleasant interaction and, following the end of the call, I received a “How Are We Doing” survey request from the agent who had assisted me.
Most of the survey was your typical “On a Scale of 1 to 5 Rate your Experience” series of check boxes; but at the end was a place where a person could leave a free form comment.
I was about to write something like, “Excellent service, keep up the good work”, when it suddenly occurred to me that this was a window of opportunity to answer the question, “What if Jane Austen were to reply to a contemporary customer service survey?”
So I wrote this (please note, names have been changed for privacy):
Dear Sir or Madam or, indeed, Monkey (as ‘twere the case, this being a Survey after all),
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a lighting rep in possession of a quality product must be in want of a reliable customer service agent.
Behold me going to write you as handsome a letter of praise as I can.
The day began with a dismaying cry of vexation as I was in the most piteous of states trying to discover the purpose and function of your device named simply “N80”.
I was in want of a sheet of specification that would in detail reveal the secrets of the device, thus imbuing me of the knowledge wherein I might present the piece confidently to those so in need.
Finding myself at a loss for such discovery I lept with eager haste to take in hand my telephonic communicator and, pressing the appropriate keys in sequence, found myself, as luck would have it, directly connected with your Mister Brzozowski. It is his name, though unpronounceable, of whom I sing the praises of this day.
Quick to the task, Mister Brzozowski eloquently answered my questions, of which there were many, and politely directed me to the location of the document I sought. My brain so full with new knowledge and my chest swollen with sighs of relief, I thanked Mister Brzozowski heartily for his time and learned counsel and returned to my work so much the better for it.
I endeavor here to remark how very grateful I was for his aide and thank you heartily for his employment as it benefits us all.
Yours very truly,
Jen “Austen” Tidwell
I think I shall respond to survey inquiries in this manner from now on.
And this week’s edition to the Testimonial Gallery is:
Natalia Tena aka Tonks!
Yes, there is a smudgey bit on the photo, she’d written my wife and I a personal message and I (badly) photoshopped it out to keep it personal. Hope ya’ll don’t mind
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