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GASP at the obsession with Aikido and Swing Dancing, and marvel at lists of stuff!

Personal interests

Aikido

An Aikido dojo is one of the best places you can go to anywhere in the world. They are happy, peaceful places full of the most amazing range of people. One way of translating the term 'Aikido' is as the way (do) of harmonizing (ai) with energy (ki).

Doing Aikido is very much a matter of each individual Aikidoka taking the abstract principles of the art and finding out how they work (a) for them, specifically (since everyone's Aikido differs for their body type, temperament etc.) and (b) for them with a specific partner in a specific moment (since no two dyads have precisely the same physical dynamics). Given its goal and the way Aikido is done, it is a very difficult martial art to learn, usually taking practitioners ('Aikidoka') many years to reach even a basic competance. Training in Aikido, rather than 'using Aikido' is the primary mode of experience for most Aikidoka; mainstream Aikido has no competitions, most Aikidoka do not engage in street-fighting, and is not used on the modern battlefield. So the experience of Aikido is largely confined to training in a dojo (training hall) multiple times a week and going to larger training sessions called seminars.

I experience Aikido as a martial art characterized by graceful, flowing, circular movements that redirect an opponent’s energy into a controlled throw or pin to defuse a hostile situation. Unlike attack-focused striking martial arts, Aikido is a defensive art that must be learned collaboratively, that is, with at least one partner with whom one works as a dyad, because all movements are the result of interaction between bodies. The ultimate goal, at least in its physical form (for some it has a spiritual aspect), is to blend completely with an opponent and, using no strength, control the movements of both bodies with no harm coming to either person.

General Aikido websites

Aikido Journal: Stanley Pranin's excellent and comprehensive site. This is where you will find hundreds of articles on the history, current state, and people of Aikido. You'll also find pictures, video, the Encyclopedia of Aikido, and many excellent DVDs, videos, and books to buy.
Aikiweb
Aikido Online
Aikido Today Magazine
aikido.com
The Aikido FAQ
Aikido World Journal
Aikido Video Clips

Swing Dancing

I took this up in the middle of 2007 and I have found a lot of parallels to Aikido. Although the distinctions are in some ways artificial, I started with East Coast but have become fascinated by Lindy Hop.

This is clearly becoming an obsession, as I went to my first Lindy Hop dance camp--Swing Out New Hampshire (SONH)--at the end of summer 2008. As a Level 2A "bluebird" I received phenomenal instruction from the two main track intructor pairs: Greg Avakian & Laurie Zimmerman and Nathan Bugh & Emily Vanston. Bluebirds were also dropped in on by Bill Borgida & Laura Malloy, Steven Mitchell & Virginie, Skye Humphries & Frida Segerdahl, and Joel & Alison Plys (who choreographed the SONH 2008 Level 2A Bluebirds Routine to "Mess Around" by Ray Charles).

You can see all the Swing Out New Hampshire 2008 routines on YouTube.

Want to dance in Albany? You can find information on the Albany swing dancing scene at:

Within a couple of hours there is a lot of swing dancing. Find out more at:

And for more general information, check out:

Learning activities

I have an odd history of only doing physical activity that involves learning things at the same time, so indoor rock climbing, cardio-funk, aerobics, a little ballroom dancing, and karate (quite a few years ago now), even the odd spot of recreational skydiving have all been on the agenda in the past.

Technology

I do a lot of muckin' around on the IntarWeb and fiddling around with computer setups until they are just so. I'm not a programmer or an electrical engineer, but I can fiddle with HTML, CSS and basic scripts, and I can plug and unplug things inside and outside a computer without panicing.
I like to think about computers in terms of usability and human-computer interaction.

Travel

I am from Australia and study in the USA.
I love to experience other cultures, more the people than the architecture. I prefer to spend a long time in places than rapidly tick off a list of sights.
I have travelled to China, Sweden, Norway, England, Wales, Scotland, Mexico, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Zealand. See my bullet-point biography.

Arts

Music that I like: Lemon Jelly, Groove Armada, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Faithless, Gorillaz, Leftfield, Propellerheads, Deep Forest, Massive Attack, DJ Shadow, Kid Koala, Fat Boy Slim, Pet Shop Boys, Portishead, US3, Was (not Was), Fiona Apple, Ben Folds Five, Bjork, Ween, U2, Joss Stone, Stevie Wonder, anything on the Motown label, Otis Redding, Nina Simone, The Beatles, Mozart, Verdi, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, The Balanescu Quartet, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, The Whitlams, Ian Cooper, Jeff Lang, Regurgitator, Sonic Animation, Cat Stevens, Paul Simon, James Taylor, The Arrogant Worms, They Might be Giants, Weird Al Yankovic, Burt Bacharach, Harry Belafonte, Petula Clark, Spice Girls, George Gershwin, anything on the Blue Note label, Stanley Jordan, Bobby McFerrin, Harry Connick Jr., Royal Crown Revue, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Spearhead, Bo Kasper's Orkester, Schlagervinnarna. 70s, 80s, 90s, Dee-lite, Betty Boo. Movie Soundtracks. Oh, and musicals, musicals, musicals.
Films that I like: Star Wars (OT), Amelie, Harold and Maude, Benny and Joon, Equilibrium, Ong Bak, Show Me Love, My Life as a Dog, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Malcolm, Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Karate Kid, Waking Life, Bring It On, Run Lola Run, The Princess and the Warrior, Tampopo, Bend it like Beckham, Whale Rider Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle, The Princess Bride, Princess Mononoke, Meet the Feebles, The Matrix, The Spanish Prisoner, Annie Hall, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Love Serenade, Taboo, The Professional, The Castle, The Dish, The Muppet Movie, Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind, Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, Metropolis, The Man From Snowy River, Camp, South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut, Zatoichi, The Apple, Clash of the Titans, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Napolean Dynamite, Ice Age, Finding Nemo, Kill Bill 1 and 2, The Truman Show, The Mask, Punch Drunk Love, Rushmore, The Royal Tennenbaums, Shaun of the Dead, Supersize Me, Bowling for Columbine, Roger and Me, Fear of a Black Hat, Brain Dead (Dead Alive), Tank Girl, Yojimbo, The Producers, The Three Amigos, The Jerk, LA Story, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pirates of the Carribean, Adrenaline Drive, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, 28 Days Later, Lost in Translation, Broken Flowers, Cube, When Harry Met Sally, Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, The Shining, Barry Lyndon, Dr Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Batman Begins.
TV that I like: Don't watch it anymore, really, but I have seen The Office and Heroes. Here's a smattering: The Simpsons, Family Guy, 24, Profit, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Blackadder, Absolutely Fabulous, Red Dwarf, Yes Minister, Yes Prime Minister, The Games, Frontline, The Awful Truth, The IT Crowd, and, guiltily, Entourage, Beverly Hills 90210.

Reading

Many things, but I have a definite preference for speculative fiction and technology history nonfiction (especially of computing and the Internet, the open source software movement, web development, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology).
Books that I like: Anything by: Ian Banks (e.g. The Business), Ian M. Banks (E.g. Excession), John Birmingham (e.g. The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco), Cordwainer Smith (e.g. The Rediscovery of Man), Joe Haldeman (e.g. The Forever War), A.S. Byatt (e.g. Babel Tower), Philip K. Dick (E.g. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep), Stanislaw Lem (E.g. The Dyberiad), Roald Dahl (E.g. Danny The Champion of the World), Nick Earls (E.g. Zigzag St), Henry Petrowski, (E.g. The Evolution of Useful Things), Jeff Noon (E.g. Vurt), Will Self (E.g. The Quantity Theory of Insanity), Neal Stephenson (E.g. Snowcrash), Tom Wolfe (E.g. The Bonfire of the Vanities). Other individual books: Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The Secret History, Broadway Babies Say Goodnight, Fast Food Nation, Nano, Studies in Ethnomethodology, Harvey Sacks: Lectures on Conversation, Plans and Situated Actions, The Design of Everyday Things, Where the Action is, The Interpretation of Cultures, What Computers Still Can't Do, 1000 Years of Nonlinear History, The Soul of a New Machine, Iron and Silk, Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere, Dueling with O-sensei: Grappling with the Myth of the Warrior-Sage, Angry White Pyjamas.

Sustainable and ethical lifestyle

Along with what Aikido has to teach, I am interested in environmental ethics, I am a vegetarian (largely because of Peter Singer's book Animal Liberation), I try to be sensitive to issues of equality and difference, and I believe in 'sustainability' in general (e.g. developing and using sustainable non-polluting energy should be every country's top priority). I strongly believe in the value of education (and that governments should spend accordingly) but also believe that many Western educational systems need a bit of a shake-up. I believe that one should always be doing some sort of community/insitutional service.

Links

Work

Technology

Free Mac software that I use every day

Mozilla Firefox (Web browser) (Open Source)
Quicksilver (Launch program) (Open Source)
MPEG Streamclip (Video editor/convertor) (Free)
Skype (VOIP, videoconferencing) (Free)
Growl (Application notification consolidation) (Open Source)
GMail + Growl for Google Notifier (Gmail and GCalendar notifier with Growl notifications) (Free)
VideoLan (VLC) (Media player) (Open Source)
CyberDuck (Open Source)
Adium (Open Source)
TheDailyGrind Widget (Free)
Stewart Hector's Notepad Widget (Free)
Locker (Free)

Free PC software that I use every day

Mozilla Firefox (Web browser) (Open Source)
Mozilla Thunderbird (Email client) (Open Source)
Skype (VOIP, videoconferencing) (Free)
OpenOffice (Office suite) (Open Source)
PDFCreator (PDF Printer) (Open Source)
Pidgin (Multi-system Instant Messaging) (Open Source)
VideoLan (VLC) (Media player) (Open Source)
Audacity (Audio editor) (Open Source)
ZoneAlarm (Firewall) (Freeware version)
avast! Antivirus (Antivirus) (Freeware for personal use)
VirtualDub and VirtualDubMod (Video editors) (Open Source)
MPEG Streamclip (Video editor/convertor) (Free)
AutoIt (Scripting system) (Freeware)
SciTE (Script editor) (Open Source)
RegSeeker (Registry editor/cleaner/tweaker) (Freeware)
Spybot - Search and Destroy (Spyware remover) (Freeware)
Ad-Aware (Spyware remover) (Freeware)
AIM (Instant Messaging including videoconferencing) (Freeware)
Picasa (Image browser/editor) (Freeware)
iTunes (Freeware)
Adobe Reader (PDF Reader) (Freeware)
Real Player (Media player) (Freeware version)
DeepBurner (CD/DVD burner) (Freeware version)
Xplorer2 (File management) (Freeware version)
Stickies (Digital post-it-notes ) (Freeware)
NoteTab Lite (Notepad) (Freeware version)
Launchy (Keystroke launcher like Quicksilver for Mac) (Open Source)
ARBPM (BPM analyzer) (Freeware)

Free Software sources

Version Tracker
SourceForge (Open Source)
Freshmeat (Open Source)
Major Geeks

Mac Software worth paying for

ZapIt! (Uninstaller)
Xslimmer (Trim unused PPC material from universal binaries)
Quicktime Pro (Media player and editor)
Forklift

PC Software worth paying for

Adobe Premiere Pro 2 (Video editing)
Abobe Dreamweaver (Web development)
Quicktime Pro (Media player and editor)
Paint Shop Pro (Image creating and editing)
Rosetta Stone (Language learning)

Videoconferencing software that I have used

(I am considering enlarging this section to include reviews and opinions on setting up videoconferencing. Watch this space.)

My preferred application: Skype (Cross-platform).
PC/MAC multi-party cross-platform client: Session (PC and Mac (PPC), interoperable with many other videoconferencing clients) (Now free for one-one-one, subscription for multi-party)
Windows NetMeeting (PC, discontinued but still built in to all versions of Windows, and a very reasonable program, especially since it now can be called by XMeeting and WengoPhone)
XMeeting (MAC, interoperates with NetMeeting)
WengoPhone/OpenWengo (Cross-platform) (Open Source). There is also a very interesting Flash-based cross-platform free widget: WengoVisio.
Up and coming: SIP Communicator (Cross Platform) (Open Source)
iChatAV (Mac, interoperates somewhat with AIM) (Built into OS X)
Windows Live Messenger (PC) (Freeware)
SightSpeed (PC and Mac) (Some free, Subscription)
ooVoo (PC and Mac) (Free, optional extras)
iVisit (PC and Mac) (Some Free, Subscription)
PalTalk (PC) (Some Free, Subscription)
Stickam (Multi-platform) (Web application) (Freeware)
AIM (PC, interoperates with iChatAV) (Freeware)
iSpQ (PC and Mac) (Some Free, Subscription)
ineen (PC and Mac ) (Free) (note, ineen and yakforFREE both use the Counterpath eyeBeam SDK)
Festoon Skype and Gtalk plugin (PC) (Freeware)
yakforFREE (PC) (Freeware)
CamFrog (PC) (Some Free, Subscription)
VidSpeak (PC) (Some Free, Subscription)
Eyeball Chat (PC) (Some Free, Subscription)
CUSeeMe (PC) (Web application) (Some free, Subscription)
SquidCam (seems to be discontinued)

News, information, fun

Site history

I have been publishing my personal website since 1994. This version of workliveplay is the eighth incarnation. Since I began this vanity publishing and procrastination exercise, the site has yoyo-ed through significant variations.

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