Introduction

To start out I thought it would be best to have a little introduction about me and my background. As I've noted in my profile, I consider myself a technologist. And I have the credentials, a PhD in Physics and 40 years working in varied computer applications. Some of my more interesting projects have been in the fields of environment, future forecasting, education, space industrialization, computer-human interface, and emergency response.


A few of my more recent projects are:

Global Environmental Network
C oncept: Solutions to global environmental problems will require the public and decision-makers to understand relevant science. GEN pulls together environmental research, and translates and disseminates it online.
Pe rsonal contribution: Design and programming of demonstration global environmental displays. Developed Flash 3D tiled rotating globe with zoom, pan and multiple levels for data. Integrated data from NOAA global weather simulations, NASA satellites and worldwide disaster reporting into easy-to-explore interface with popup briefs and multi-level windowed links. Worked with academic researchers, government agencies and NGOs to plan project and lead in authoring diverse team proposals.


EzOn Online Photo Album

C onc ept: A Web service for uploading and displaying photos had potential but poor esthetic experience. Flash Actionscript was evolving into a browser-based programming language for a far superior user interface.
Pe rsonal contribution: Mastered successive generations of Actionscript as it went from simple animation tool to full object-oriented language with rich event handling, dynamic messaging and client-server support. Designed, coded and tested multiple generations of interface prototypes and two commercial releases.

iLands
C oncept: Navigation on the Web is artificial; there are no “places” on the Web. Web sites could be mapped to buildings and similar sites clustered in themed “islands”. The revenue model would be based on real estate.
Personal contribution: Participated in startup and contributed to concept and design, business plan and presentations. Specifically, developed benefits of the virtual environment in terms of social interaction, archiving activities, identity development and inquiry, and mixing synchronous and asynchronous communications.

Most recently my interests have focused on the "Singularity" where accelerating technology becomes our dominant forcing function and virtual (reality) environments such as Second Life, Multiverse and Croquet. The later is a potential response to environmental, resource and economic limits to growth.

Where this blog will go shall unfold day by day. Some of the things I hope to have time for include insights, mine and others, in many of the above fields, such as virtual environments for business in general and emergency response in specific, an inexpensive immersive display system concept, and a possible economic solution for terrorism and emigration.