Ingress has become something of an obsession to the folks over on Google+ in the last month. Like many, I waited more than a little impatiently to see if I’d be one of the lucky ones to get an invite to the currently closed beta of Ingress.
And a few weeks later, I did. Lucky me! Now I’d finally be able to see what all the buzz was about.
The initial experience of Ingress is slick and well thought out. You run through a set of tutorials that show you what to do, and you choose whether to become one of the Enlightened or join the Resistance. Easy enough.
Then you’re out in the world, with your smartphone and the Ingress app, getting engaged in the battle. That’s where I ran into trouble. I found a number of portals quite easily – there are four within a block of my home, and two more by my office. The only problem is, the battle has been advancing while I was waiting to play. As a lowly Level 1 newbie up against enemy portals several levels higher than me, I haven’t much of a chance to successfully attack them, and successful attacks are necessary to advance in level.
That creates a frustrating Catch-22, and I don’t know whether I’ll keep trying or not.
I’m disappointed, because I love the idea of Ingress. A game that requires real-world engagement instead of sitting home in front of your computer is a great idea. The mythology around Ingress is a lot of fun. But the barrier to entry, especially for places like the Bay Area with a lot of geeks, is a real issue.
This is one yummy pie! My friend Dawn Carey, a very talented and dedicated cook, went through 9 iterations on this recipe before coming up with this extremely tasty pumpkin pie. Even if you’ve never liked pumpkin pie before, this one will change your mind.
I made one humble addition to Dawn’s genius: the orange zest. If you have the time, try to use real pumpkin, it makes a difference. If you really want to be hard-core, make your own crust, although personally I went with one from Whole Foods. Avoid graham cracker crusts though.
Ingredients
15oz (by weight) cooked pie pumpkin
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Zest of 1 orange
3 large eggs
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
Prepping the pumpkin
If cooking the pumpkin from scratch, use a sugar pumpkin weighing about 1.5 pounds. Cut it into quarters and remove the seeds and stringy bits from the center of the pumpkin. Cook the pumpkin by covering the pieces with foil and baking at 400 degrees for about an hour. At 30 minutes turn the pieces to get the sides done evenly. Allow to cool, and then scoop the cooked meat out from the skin. Discard skins and any brown bits.
If you absolutely must use canned pumpkin, make sure you buy 100% pumpkin puree with no additional ingredients.
Making the pie
Put cooked pumpkin into a food processor, then add the heavy cream and honey. Blend thoroughly until the mixture is completely smooth. Add all the other ingredients, then blend thoroughly a second time. All that blending adds air, which will make the pie light and fluffy.
When done blending, run the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, then pour it into your pie shell. Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with whipped cream for that extra dose of awesome.
Four years ago, I did a little post with my best guess on what Election Day 2008 would bring. Happily, I underestimated the strength of Obama’s victory.
So here’s my best guess for 2012: Obama 281, Romney 257:
Finally, if you have not voted early, please, no matter who you choose to vote for, get out and vote!
Here’s hoping tonight goes the way I hope it will……
Ever since I started this blog, I have done a memorial post for 9/11. I had thought that maybe, after the 10th anniversary post, I might be done with them. But no. I’m not ready to let 9/11 be just another day. Today, I remember.
One of the projects I’ve had puttering on the back burner this summer has been what to do about my personal laptop. It’s a 13″ MacBook Pro that’s just finished its 3-year Applecare warranty. Although so far (knock wood!) it’s running just fine, being out of warranty means it’s time to do some thinking about what next.
Thanks to this year’s crop of hardware choices, what to do about replacing it has been a much harder decision than I expected. What I really want is a 15″ Macbook Air, but sadly that’s not an option. Hence my dilemma.
So over the weekend, Scott & I took a ride down to Palo Alto, where a Microsoft Store and an Apple Store sit side by side. We took a good hard look at the options. I came away more impressed than I thought I’d be by one of the Samsung ultrabooks (this one, if you’re curious). And then, like many confused people these days, I hit up my social networks for feedback. The results were interesting.
I posted essentially the same question on Facebook, Google+, and App.net. Both in terms of amount and quality of feedback, both Google+ and App.net smoked Facebook. At first that seemed surprising, but then it occurred to me that this was actually good validation of the “Strength of Weak Ties” theory.
The other interesting aspect was that I got very different answers on the different networks. The thread on Google+ leaned strongly towards the Samsung laptop, whereas App.net’s denizens were firm Apple advocates.
And then, when I was thinking about this, a related post hit my Twitter stream about being hooked on the familiar. Marco’s main focus is PHP, but the broader point is true for operating system changes as well. When the choice is a familiar OS on a form factor I don’t want, or a less familiar OS on a form factor I do want, the pull of the familiar makes the choice a lot harder than it should be.
One of the benefits to working where I do is getting to learn from some amazing people while on the job. Last week, I had the great pleasure of hearing the inimitable Russell Brown share his thoughts on making learning fun.
If you don’t know who that is, this is Russell:
Russell Brown @ AdobeMAX
And what Russell is know for more than anything is his brilliant, funny, and engaging teaching style. So getting to hear him talk about how to do what he does is a real privilege. True to form, Russell showed up for the class in full Abe Lincoln regalia and proceeded to talk for the next 50 minutes with just a stack of paper and a screen projector (plus a few prizes) to help him out.
Amidst the schtick and the fun, I came away with some great ideas. I’ve boiled it down to three key takeaways, all closely interrelated:
Technology is a Crutch
Russell gave his session assisted only by a screen projector, and he did it to make a point. As great as all of today’s tools are, they’re just tools. Relying on them too much gets in the way of a good presentation, because learning is about a lot more than just pretty pictures on a screen. Really effective communication engages all the senses.
There’s also the secondary benefit that if you’re not overly dependent on technology, if for some reason you run into a technology fail (no wifi, laptop crash, forgot your dongle, etc) you’ll still be able to do your thing.
Make It Fun
“Any presentation can be a success if you can get your audience to laugh three times” – Russell attributed this quote to our co-founder Chuck Geschke. It goes beyond just getting people to laugh, though. It’s about keeping them relaxed, engaged in the moment, and open to learning. There’s always the risk that you’ll take it too far and people will have so much fun they’ll forget to learn something, but since most of us are not Russell Brown, the risk is far higher that you’ll just bore everyone and lose them that way.
This is especially true today, when it takes just a few seconds to switch focus from a boring presentation to an unending stream of email, twitter, Facebook, news, and more. Make it fun and they’ll keep their phones in their pockets and their attention on the topic.
Get Interactive
Using interactive and analog components not only keeps people engaged, but it gives them a goal to aim for and increases how well they retain information. Russell talked a lot about how he brings in real-world components to his training classes, so that there’s a tangible result to their digital efforts at the end of the day.
This is where technology is not a crutch, but a great addition to learning. How much more engaging is it to not only create a design, but to imprint it onto an actual teapot that you can take home at the end of the day? Wouldn’t that inspire you to try harder in class?
Ultimately, all of this serves the goal of getting people to remember more of the lessons you just taught them.
The last takeaway Russell shared was to know your audience. Ninja cutouts hanging from the ceiling and a crazy costume might not go over so well if you’re presenting to a room full of lawyers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve your session. Just do it in a way that will work for your audience.
So how are you going to make YOUR next presentation more fun?
Ingress has become something of an obsession to the folks over on Google+ in the last month. Like many, I waited more than a little impatiently to see if I’d be one of the lucky ones to get an invite to the currently closed beta of Ingress.
