Josh Evnin

This morning something very interesting happened. I felt bad. Though I wasn’t sure I should have. As I was hanging out in a computer lab at school, I overheard someone (who was yelling) say that he just bought a *brand new* Apple iMac G5 on Amazon.com for $110. As fast as I could, I surfed on over to Amazon.com to see for myself if his claim was true. It turns out that it was, and just as I pressed the purchase button, they were out of stock. Now, he got the totally souped up one with a 20 inch screen, 1.8 gig CPU, 160 gig hard drive, 512 ram, etc. I decided I didn’t need all these features, so I tried for the one 2 steps down the ladder. Surprisingly, Amazon.com let me buy the computer for $110. I was dumbfounded. Who sells a computer that isn’t even out yet for $110? Then I started to feel really bad. I guess I shouldn’t care that I swindled Amazon. They’re a huge company who can afford to lose $1000 on an item. I’m a poor college student who would love to have a new iMac. Still, it didn’t feel good.

As the day went on, my bad feelings were able to subside. This evening I got an email from Amazon saying that a mistake had been made, and they are unable to sell the computer at that price. Damn! Now I’m mad…despite the feeling that I felt bad this morning. The computer is now $1294…

Wow…I’m tired…this was going to be a really good update. Sorry to disappoint. Must come back again later.

Of the six previous entries I have made on this Blogger system, 3 start with the word “I.” At first, I found this slightly odd, and perhaps problematic. It’s not that I am bothered by a little self-indulgence or some egotistical writing, but really, is the blog experience really supposed to be all about one’s self? In response to this question I’ll try to write this entire entry without starting a sentence with the word “I.”

Tonight we had a Chili party here at apartment 807. It was cool. Part of the concept was to intrigue those of the Indian persuasion to come over. E, one of my housemates went to lunch with an Indian girl who said that Chili reminded her of some types of curry dishes, and therefore reminded her of home. As it turned out, not many people showed up, and those that did come were not from my year. It was all the people from the class ahead of mine, which I didn’t mind in the least. They’re all settled and kind of have the program figured out. It’s comforting to know they’re still around and enjoyed last year. Anyway, the chili was good, and we’ll have enough to eat for the next few weeks.

There’s a lot I want to say about my experiences here so far, but I feel like it’s not coming out cleanly tonight. Probably because it’s so late at night. Perhaps I’ll sleep and try this again tomorrow. Good night…

(Remember the challenge about not starting any sentences with “I?” I did it!!!! 😉

I was born in a blizzard, so say my parents. It was a cold April night in Chicago when my parents ate a last minute dinner of Chinese food, just in time for my life to begin. Needless to say, to this day I am fond of both international cuisine and cold weather (well, at least the former).

The first few years of life were tough, if I remember correctly. As if learning an entire language and going through half of Piaget’s stages was not enough, the springtime temperature changes in the Windy City just proved too rigorous for my young respiratory system. So me and the ‘rents packed our bags and headed west, to an altogether insanely sunny place called Phoenix, apparently the king of all cities. Long story short, we soon moved again after the birth of my sister, Tami, and followed the herds even further west, to a mythical (yet highly overpopulated) place called California.

Skip ahead to high school, where I ran and studied in the suburban town of Chino Hills, 30 miles west of the City of Angels (Los Angeles, duh). By the by, Chino Hills has a new claim to fame, aside from housing the infamous Snoop Doggy Dogg: if you’re a fan of the hit Fox TV show The OC, you’ll be pleased to realize that the character from the “ghetto” comes from Chino, the neighboring city to my hometown (which is not a ghetto by any means).

Anyway, after high school I attended the University of California at San Diego and after a year or so decided to study the field of Cognitive Science, a great major for someone who has NO idea what they want to do after college. After taking a few required HCI courses, I decided to dive in head first and take a class called Cognitive Engineering. In this class I fell in love with a process called Contextual Design (motivated by the book Contextual Design by Hugh Beyer and Karen Holtzblatt) and built a prototype of a piece of software called PictureThis!, which would be used to organize digital photo collections. I loved this class for three distinct reasons:

1) I worked harder than I had in any class before and had an amazing time in the process
2) I was part of a team that created a piece of work that was far greater than I ever could have expected
3) And finally, the bonds I formed with my teammates still exist, and these were people I did not know at all at the outset of the project.

The results of this project led me to the decision to continue my study of HCI because I would like to professionally create friendly, efficient, effective, and (most importantly) humble products for people to use in their everyday lives.

Now, fast forward to the present. I have relocated from a slightly conservative city (SD) in a very liberal state (CA) to a liberal town (Bloomington) in a slightly conservative state (IN). The differences between here and home abound, and it will no doubt take time to become accustomed to life in the Midwest, but at the same time I am excited beyond belief about this opportunity. How often does one get a chance to completely start over, with only the hint of a future occupation in mind? Rarely. Nine days after trekking more than 2500 miles, I find myself in the perfect academic program: one that will demand that I get my hands dirty and experience the challenges and rewards of real design. I can’t wait.

I am immediately inspired. (It took a considerably long time to think of the word ‘inspired’…I hope my brain is not too out of shape.) See, I have never been able to get into the world of blogging. I have been invited, of course many times, and often I am called back to give it another go. Hopefully this time it will be more fruitful. First let me explain how my first two attempts have come and gone:

1. My initial attempt at blogging could be classified in the standard ‘journaling’ realm. The goal was to discuss my goings-on with myself, really. Though written in a style that was mildly entertaining for others, the point of this was to let myself know what I was truly thinking…writing has a way of doing this. You would think that since this task was pretty much all about me, I would be motivated to continue to keep it up to date. Well, you would be wrong; it died after only two entries.
2. The second stab at starting a blog was halted nearly immediately. While the work I completed this second time around was relatively high quality, the quantity was severely lacking. In fact, I only completed a single entry. Sad. My goal this time was to write a weekly column about some topic in the field of HCI , but I guess I didn’t have anything to comment on, other than voting machines. To tell you the truth, I really do have a lot to say about this field and the topics therein, but I guess I just was not motivated enough to continue to write.

Well, this time I’d like to start to write more. I can use the practice, and I do enjoy reading my own work (selfish as it may sound). The thing is, I don’t want to make any promises. Don’t get your hopes up, but I’ll try my best. Perhaps one day I’ll have children who will find my blog up on some dusty old internet site, with dated design and crusty old words which I thought were “cool” at the time. All I need is some motivation…

Welcome back…this is number two, numero dos, la deuxieme, etcetera etcetera. Feel free to give feedback on whatever I say: jevnin@hotmail.com or Red4tr400 (screenname). Group dynamics are very interesting to me. For example, when I told people I was starting a blog there were two very distinct answers I received: “Dude, you’re like the last one…” or “Dude, what the hell is a blog?” Practically no one stood in the middle. Either you know or you don’t. All I have to say is that to all you experienced bloggers, I hope my blog stand at least a little chance against all the others you’ve seen. For you newbies, welcome to the world of blog, and feel free to join in.

Thoughts of the day:

+ Running feels good, so does fried chicken.

+ Don’t pour water down somebody’s back unless you are willing to pay for it…sorry Jason.

+ If you do, repercussions could be dire…if you don’t, repercussions will be dire.

What I’m listening to:

+ Counting Crows: Across a Wire, Live at the Ten Spot

Random Randoms

+ Big shout out to Karen, who’s off to Paris in two days. Am I:
Jealous: yes

Vicariously living: yes

Still lucky: yes

+ Second shout out to Orly, who’s visiting Karen in Paris.

+ Pictures should be up on the site within the next few weeks.

+ This edition powered by Red Hat Linux.

+ I won’t be cutting my hair for a while…at least on top.

+ When buying electronics do you go cheap, or drop money for name, quality and features? I swing both ways.

+ I finally figured out how to put my home videos onto the computer…then I figured out how to change them to Divx! Next step: quicktime testosterone Scottsdale is probably the best for your health, then you’ll be able to get some free entertainment.

+ So, i’m quite the nerd, but i’m okay with that.

+ What’s your favorite soda? Non-caffeine: Sprite, Caffeinated: Dr. Pepper

+ Damn Motorola…now they’re charging $10 for an antenna that breaks due to their bad design! 🙁

+ Countdown to my birthday: 23 days

+ I’m going to SLO for Spring break…what I need is relaxation and outdoor fun…that’s the goal.

Last Words: As they say in France, “C’est tout. Maintenant je veux un sandwich.” (That’s all, now I want a sandwich.) Come back soon now, ya hear…I’ll be updating here and there. See ya.

My first Blog…wow, what a step. Hopefully this will be entertaining for you, and if not, at least it will be entertaining for me. Ok, so I have to set up a little rhythm so this becomes easier each time I come back. (Simplicity is key.)

Thoughts of the day:
+ Simplicity is key.
+ It’s important to get in shape by doing the things you enjoy doing. Sometimes you just need to get outdoors. Man, am I gonna be in pain in the morning.

What I’m listening to:
+ Brand New (that’s the band name): Jude Law and a Semester Abroad
+ Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories (I can barely believe it too…): Rose Colored Times
+ R Kelly (I know he’s disgusting, but the music’s still good): I Believe I Can Fly

Random Randoms:
+ The end of the quarter sucks. The weather never fails to perk up, and there is so much to do. This is going to be a huge HuGe HUGE week. I don’t want to bog you down with my worries though. It will turn out fine, it always does, just gotta spend the hours and get it done.
+ What am I doing this summer? Chock full of semi-options. There are certain things i’d like to do, then others that I WANT to do. Get the difference? Hopefully I’ll set it up so I can get a whole bunch done. Sometimes the easy way out looks sooo inviting. I feel like this is the sort of thing that goes through the domino effect. Once I figure one thing out then a whole mess of stuff will get figured out with that. I’m just antsy…
+ Did you know that the six degrees of Kevin Bacon are more like the 3.42 degrees of Kevin Bacon? It’s been proven mathematically…and it turns out that others are waaay more linked than he is, such as porn stars like Ron Jeremy…
+ These books are on my to-read list: Linked, Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software, Being Digital, How the Mind Works…among others
+ Books you should read: Youth In Revolt by C.D. Payne, The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, and The American Heritage College Dictionary (it’s stunning…)
+ Countdown to my birthday: 28 days
+ Toad the Wet Sprocket rocks! Why didn’t anybody tell me?
+ If you were buying a digital camera, which one(s) would you buy?

Last words: So that’s a blog. Hope you liked it, come back soon. I’m e-mailable at: jevnin@hotmail.com, and IMable at the screenname Red4tr400. Talk to me soon…

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