Category: technology

These are posts that show LeMasney Consulting’s experiences with contemporary technology, services, innovations and computers of many kinds.

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The Story of the Maple Seeds at the 2015 Princeton Parklet

The Story of the 2015 Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds
The Story of the 2015 Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds

The Maple Seed sculptures at the Princeton Parklet. (60″x20″, birch plywood and glass with LEDs – Soderman, LeMasney, Brown, and Kuster)

Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds cc-by lemasney
Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds cc-by lemasney

The story of the maple seed hanging sculptures that are a part of the 2015 Princeton Parklet is a very interesting one, and I thought I’d share it as a way of thanking everyone involved in their creation. But first, some definitions.

belief is nothing but - david hume cc-by lemasney
belief is nothing but – david hume cc-by lemasney

What is a parklet?

“A parklet is a sidewalk extension that provides more space and amenities for people using the street. Usually parklets are installed on parking lanes and use several parking spaces. Parklets typically extend out from the sidewalk at the level of the sidewalk to the width of the adjacent parking space.”

– Parklet – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, https://goo.gl/jGppJJ

What is a CNC mill?

“Numerical control (NC) is the automation of machine tools that are operated by precisely programmed commands encoded on a storage medium, as opposed to controlled manually via hand wheels or levers, or mechanically automated via cams alone. Most NC today is computer (or computerized) numerical control (CNC),[1] in which computers play an integral part of the control.”

– Numerical control – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, https://goo.gl/tWyAOm

With that out-of-the-way, let’s talk about Peter.

How I met Peter Soderman.

I was teaching a class at Princeton Public Library on Branding, one of my favorite topics, and Peter happened to be in the audience. Afterwards, he came up and introduced himself, and promised he’d contact me about a project. I said that I’d love that and we ended up meeting for coffee to talk about the project, which happened to be the Princeton Parklet.

We walked around the city of Princeton and he showed me several of his pieces installed in restaurants and other places. He talked about the Quark Park project ), and I realized that I had followed his work for years, having visited and enjoyed that installation so much that we featured it on Technology and the Arts:

“This past fall, Princeton served as home for a venue called Quark Park that brought the idea of technology and art to life in an exciting way. Brought into existence by Kevin Wilkes, Alan Goodheart and Peter Soderman–and a host of corporate and civic donors who financed its construction, Quark Park opened in September 2006 and remained a free, public garden through the following November.”

– Why Technology & the Arts? | T&A: Technology and the Arts,

So when I put two and two together, I was in awe of who I was working with. I continue to be astounded that I have had the opportunity to work with this group of talented artists and craftsmen. So, after recovering from the realization, I agreed to work with Peter, and we met with the Arts Council to decide on our plan.

Working with Maria Evans and the Arts Council

Peter and I met with Maria Evans, who has a great story about the origins of the project:

“When the idea of a Parklet was first proposed, I had to search Google images to see what the word meant. I had a vague idea based on last fall’s ‘National Takeover a Parking Space Day’ that popped up in front of small world coffee on Witherspoon Street. Passersby were thrilled and seats were filled all day. But… it came down 12 hours later and like most public art, it left us all wanting more.”

– A Parklet? A Whatlet? | Arts Council of Princeton,

I had worked with Maria before to hang a show of 365Sketches at Princeton Public Library. This time we were working with Peter to make seeds, sculptures for the parklet. Peter produced a huge book of macro shots of seeds that we were flipping through, and we were closing in on the idea of using maple seeds, the helicopter wings that many people remember putting on their noses. The possibilities for design, the familiarity with the seeds, and the opportunity for visual linear activity made them perfect candidates. Special thanks to the township of Princeton and Mayor Liz Lempert for their dedication and support for the project. We agreed to move forward with the maple seeds. I made a few maquettes to work out the idea sculpturally.

maple seed models and maquettes cc-by lemasney
maple seed models and maquettes cc-by lemasney
maple seed models and maquettes cc-by lemasney
maple seed models and maquettes cc-by lemasney

Working in Inkscape for CNC cutting

My part in the project was the design and coördination of the pieces. Since I did not have access to a workshop or makerspace capable of these large pieces, we would need some help with cutting wood and working with other materials. But before that, we needed something to cut. So I jumped into Inkscape, grabbed a line art image of a maple seed, and traced it, then worked into it to make lines that would work with a CNC mill. This was the workspace of the design, then the final design for cutting:

maple seed heliciopter workspace cc-by lemasney
maple seed heliciopter workspace cc-by lemasney
maple seed heliciopter made in Inkscape cc-by lemasney
maple seed helicopter made in Inkscape cc-by lemasney

These were meant to be cut by Ned Brown, be about 5 feet tall, and have lights enclosed in a glass pocket blown by Robert Kuster, be finished and hung with the Princeton Parklet. So, this file went to Ned.

Working with Ned Brown and CadCode LLC.

I met Ned with Peter at Ned’s Country Cabinet Shop (aka CadCode, LLC) in Hillsboro. Outside of the shop is an amazing bus that he’s restoring, and I felt like I was in the right place. Given that he has a Weatherstation I figured that was an appropriate way to find out more about Ned’s Shop: http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KNJSKILL2

Ned Brown's Flxible bus cc-by lemasney
Ned Brown’s Flxible bus cc-by lemasney

Ned and I had a great introductory conversation about life, music, wood, and lots of other topics. We hit it off in a grand way. After Ned and I worked to change the SVG from Inkscape to be used in his CNC Mill with his CNC software used around the world called CadCode, we cut some tests, and with satisfaction, cut the rest. We used Birch plywood sheets, and the pieces are just under 5 feet tall.

Prototype maple seed for Princeton Parklet cc-by lemasney
Prototype maple seed for Princeton Parklet cc-by lemasney
Prototype maple seed for Princeton Parklet cc-by lemasney
Prototype maple seed for Princeton Parklet cc-by lemasney

After the seeds were cut, we brought them to Bob to discuss the glass elements.

Working with Robert Kuster

Robert Kuster is a phenomenon. He’s made a lot of the amazing glass installations you find in expensive lobbies and public spaces, and does work on par with Dale Chihuly, but here in New Jersey at Belle Mead Hot Glass along with some talented craftspeople. They make glass dance, as shown in this piece from their studio:

Belle Mead Hot Glass Hospitality Sconces (Copyright, Robert Kuster)
Belle Mead Hot Glass Hospitality Sconces (Copyright, Robert Kuster)

The fact that his work and my work are in the same piece still kind of amazes me. We talked about the concept, and I only asked that some red be added to the pocket in a drizzled fashion. His glass pockets, filled with LEDs, would fill the circle at the bottom of the seed, and when they were finished they looked like this:

Robert Kuster's blown glass for the maple seeds cc-by lemasney
Robert Kuster’s blown glass for the maple seeds cc-by lemasney

The pieces were then sanded and shellacked at Hot Glass Belle Mead, and Bob delivered and installed them shortly after. Bob appears in these shots.

  • Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds finishing and installation cc-by lemasney
  • Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds finishing and installation cc-by lemasney
  • Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds finishing and installation cc-by lemasney
  • Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds finishing and installation cc-by lemasney
  • Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds finishing and installation cc-by lemasney
  • Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds finishing and installation cc-by lemasney

Some shots of the finished, installed maple seeds at the Princeton Parklet are below. When we ask people what they are we get a variety of answers, but seldom maple seeds. We hear fish most often, followed by butterfly wings, and when they hear what they are, they see it and they get it with a gasp.

  • Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds cc-by lemasney
  • Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds cc-by lemasney
  • Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds cc-by lemasney
  • The Story of the 2015 Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds
  • Princeton Parklet Maple Seeds cc-by lemasney

What’s next for the seeds project?

First up is a metal version of the maple seed that is a floor lamp, and so far we have the first cut, pictured below. Stay tuned to http://instagram.com/lemasney for further images of that project. Also, there are other seeds coming up: A sweetgum seed and a pinecone! Images below. All of the images in this post are cc-by lemasney on Instagram, so feel free to use them, some rights reserved.

  • Sweetgum seed and pinecone cc-by lemasney
  • Sweetgum seed cc-by lemasney
  • Metal maple seed cc-by lemasney
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10 things to know about Google Drive

Google before you Tweet is the new Think before you speak - LeMasney Consulting
Google before you Tweet is the new Think before you speak - LeMasney Consulting

Google before you Tweet is the new Think before you speak - LeMasney Consulting
Google before you Tweet is the new Think before you speak – LeMasney Consulting

I talk about Google Drive a lot

So I recently gave a class at Princeton Public Library on Google Drive. I speak about it often to organizations and internal groups as well. It is a topic that is nearly as close to my heart as visual literacy, and one that strongly affects the way I learn, work, and live.  The accompanying presentation is at this link on Google Drive. And that, in effect, is part of the power of it. I can control who gets what kind of access to all of my documents going back to my first digital document, and can grant access or editing rights with a link.

Let’s talk about the various things that I’d like you to know about using Google Drive:

Continue reading “10 things to know about Google Drive”
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My philosophy regarding the benefits of hacking

When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything. cc-by lemasney
When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything. cc-by lemasney

When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything. cc-by lemasney
When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything. cc-by lemasney

First, a personal definition of hacking:

Hacking is the art of working to understand something in a more complete way, to progress towards mastering it, for the sake of changing it to meet a need. Usually the result of hacking is innovations not introduced or intended in the original designs. Open source systems promote and benefit from hacking. Proprietary or closed systems make it harder to do that. Information, knowledge and recipes should be free, as in freedom. Hacking, without context, should not be used to indicate something akin to evil. It’s not.
Continue reading “My philosophy regarding the benefits of hacking”
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Tonight at Brookdale Computer Users Group: John LeMasney on Blender

20150521 - lemasney at BCUG on Blender
20150521 - lemasney at BCUG on Blender

20150521 - lemasney at BCUG on Blender
20150521 – lemasney at BCUG on Blender (Photo credit: Jo Grazide)

“Our guest speaker for the May 21st (this week Thursday eve) graphics workshop is one of our favorite speakers, John LeMasney. For our May meeting John will introduce us to “Blender”, a free graphics program with some amazing abilities. Blender allows you to create professional-grade animations and 3D models through a well-laid out interface equipped with a variety of tools. Whether you’re experienced in digital animation or want to develop your skills, you’ll find what you need in this comprehensive program.” – BCUG Graphics Workshop Meeting – Brookdale Computer Users Group (Red Bank, NJ) – Meetup, https://www.meetup.com/Brookdale-Computer-Users-Group/events/222436641/

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brand classes and presentations consulting curriculum vitae honors insights instructional technology libraries open source portfolio professional activities professional experience references teaching teaching experience technology workshops

27 questions on being a technology consultant: A high school class interviews John LeMasney

Losing Weight: John LeMasney after picture
John LeMasney after picture

Losing Weight: John LeMasney after picture
John LeMasney

What is this all about?

I volunteer to take part and present in classroom interactive sessions arranged by Nepris.com. It is mostly with grade and high schools who want to talk with experts on a particular topic. I’m honored to do the work. This morning, I had the opportunity to answer the following interview questions via video chat with Stephanie Edmiston’s class in BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL, BOSSIER PARISH via Nepris. Here’s the session description:

“Students enjoy learning about careers from people who are in the field. They like to understand how they can get on a career path and greatly appreciate practical insights and advice.” – View Session | Nepris – https://app.nepris.com/#!sessions/view/36551

Since I was going to answer these questions live, I decided to write out my answers beforehand to think about my logic, and so I’d be able to share the answers with you.

Also, Nepris was kind enough to share the video with me, so here is the video as well.

27 Interview questions for John LeMasney about being a technology consultant.

1. For an information technology/cyber security related career, what paths, opportunities, and/or strengths should the student identify or focus on?

JL: Mathematics, observational skills, and Linux. Also, try to understand every detail of knowledge contained in some thing. It can be anything: flowers, food, language. Be the most dedicated enthusiast of something, and know it through and through. Mine is Inkscape.

2. What is the job outlook in the information technology/cyber security field?

JL: Increasing exponentially. Internet of things, Cyber attacks nationally and internationally, Sony, etc.

3. How did you become interested in this field?

JL: I first caught the bug in a class in college where we were in a computer lab. I wanted desperately to be a computer lab tech for the classroom. I wanted to help people to know what I knew about computers and technology. It excited me, and I spent the rest of my life doing that.

4. Did you know you were going to do this job when you were a teenager?

JL: Not really, but I was an early enthusiast. I learned Basic on a TI99-4A at 12, basically at the urging and influence of my mother (sensing the increasing importance of technology), and I fell in love with technology in waves throughout my life.

5. What is your educational background?

JL: I have a Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Sculpture, and a Master’s in Organizational Leadership with a focus on Communications. I am a lifelong learner. People tend to find my Degrees odd, in that there are not technology degrees there. My knowledge about technology comes from my passion for it. My degrees helped with understanding creativity and organizations, and I use those skills every day in my technology work.

6. What types of courses do you recommend for high school students?

JL: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. (STEAM)

7. Did you find any clubs or extra-curricular activities especially helpful?

JL: I find the rise in robotics teams and Makerspaces to be amazingly helpful. There are often computer enthusiast clubs, and lots of opportunities to learn about making and hacking. We are having a Princeton Hackathon to help solve civic problems like potholes with tools like Arduino. The entire community is welcome to learn to hack.

8. Is an advanced degree essential to career success in this field?

JL: No, though I find that pursuing higher levels of knowledge to be very common among hackers. Hackers are often lifelong learners.

9. What skills are the most important to acquire in this field?

JL: Learn and practice open source code. Learn everything you can about the ways that code works, which you can do with open source projects. Then, use it in unexpected ways. Figure out the essence of what makes code work, and you can be a stellar computer security specialist or technologist.

10. What professional organizations should students join to be successful in this field?

JL: Join Maker groups and find Makerspaces in your area, often in libraries. Look for Linux Users Groups (LUGs) and Computer Users Groups (CUGs), and find topics to present on.

11. Your consulting practice covers a wide range of services. What is your primary focus, and what are your major job responsibilities?

JL: My primary focus is Web Development, and my job responsibilities include Server Management (Apache, MySQL), Service Management (WordPress, Drupal), Graphic Design (Inkscape), Branding (a marketing imprint), and Customer Service (how can I help you?).

12. Do you work with other people, on a team, or by yourself?

JL: All of the above. I am an individual consultant, with my business. I work alone a lot, or in co-working spaces, like my library, because it often leads to new connections or re-connections with colleagues and clients. I often pair or team up with people for short-term or long-term projects. I just had dinner with the team for TEDxCarnegieLake, in which I was the technologist on staff. I also teach at several local libraries, schools, and universities, all of whom have people I have to work with to arrange times, space issues, technology infrastructure, etc. I recently worked with the technology staff of a local school district to migrate to Google Apps for Education, all of whom knew most of what I knew.

13. What is your typical day like?

JL: I start at about 9 am, and often go until 2 am. My life and work float in and out of each other, which keeps things interesting. If I have meetings that day, I usually arrange them in places near each other to keep travel down, and often between 10-12 or 2-4. I have some luxury with my meals, which is nice, because I love to cook and I’m a foodie. Also, I will often reward myself with a nice walk if I’m keeping up with projects. The work-life balance of a consultant can be very rewarding. I usually keep coding work for late at night, when it’s quiet, and I can focus. But it’s hard to describe a typical day, as I don’t often have two days alike.

14. What are the greatest challenges and rewards of your position?

JL: The greatest challenge, by far, is keeping a steady income and managing it. In the work that I did in Academia as an Instructional technologist, there was a check that came every month. Now, I get lots of checks, but all with relatively small amounts compared to a 9-5 job. There are a lot of $125 checks that have to come in to add up to a $40,000 salary.

The greatest reward by a mile, is flexibility. If I don’t want to work today, and can afford to take a break, I do. No demerits, no excuses, no concerns. If I want to go take a walk because it is an amazingly beautiful day, I do. It would take a hard, hard year to make me want the 9-5 schedule back.

15. Do you travel in your work?

JL: I travel a lot! I travel every week to NYC, Princeton. Philadelphia, Cherry Hill, Bucks County, Trenton, and other local areas for work. However, I visited (with gratis travel) to LA, San Francisco, Washington DC, Maryland, and Chicago since January. I really do not enjoy driving, but I do get to listen to my favorite podcasts, like All About Android, and This Week in Google.

16. Can you work from home some or part of the time?

JL: I work from home most of the time, unless I am meeting a client, or presenting. There are days where I work all day from home, and never leave.

17. Are there any health hazards in this profession?

JL: Generally speaking, not really. I encountered a lot more danger in my time as an artist with chemicals and solvents and tools. There is a lot of driving, and the issues that go with that. I guess inhaling solder fumes or getting electrocuted, maybe? There are a lot of amps in a power supply.

18. How would you describe the culture of your workplace?

JL: Casual, organized, comfortable, utilitarian, knowledge-oriented, natural, creativity-oriented, mindful, technological, healthy, sunlit, cat-friendly, human friendly, equal, warm, garden.

19. What is a common myth or misconception about your job?

JL: I am often surprised at how often truly brilliant people marvel at what I know about technology. I think that people think that it is a special kind of knowledge, but it’s only as special as 1000 other expertise areas, like cooking or gardening or fishing or selling, all of which have an amazing depth and breadth to explore. The myth is that technology is especially difficult to learn or know deeply comparative to any other expertise worth diving into. .

20. Contrast the role of an independent consultant with employment in a large company.

JL: I’ve done both. In a large company, you are a cog. I am not using the term negatively. You might be a very important cog that keeps the mill running, but at the end of the day, you are a small part of a large machine. As an independent consultant, you are the entire machine connecting to cogs of other machines.

21. What do you enjoy most about your job?

JL: It’s a toss-up between waking up when I want and the pride that I feel in my work.

22. Can you describe related jobs in your field of work which might also be of interest to the students?

JL: System Administrator, Emerging Technologist, App developer.

23. What type of student work or internship experience would employers look for in a job applicant?

JL: Library, volunteer, tutor, study abroad, web development intern. At least that’s what I would look for. In all honesty, the interview is most important, and it’s the answers you can give to problems they have more so than anything else. If you can describe how to solve a problem the employer didn’t know they were having, that’s impressive. Security expert applicants should find holes in the systems of their potential employers and demonstrate them in interview. I’d hire that person.

24. How did you locate the right people to help you along the path to a successful career?

JL: I have no earthly idea. My best explanation is that I made myself available, offered to volunteer, and put myself in contact with ‘hubs’, people who enjoy connecting people. The person who launched my independent consultant career asked me to speak at a library about technology, and that is when everything changed as far as considering technology as an independent consultant. She ended up creating hundreds of connections for me, including many other hubs, and I will be forever grateful. Her name is Janie Hermann, she is at the Princeton Public Library, and she is a force to be reckoned with. She and other members of the library recently won an award for programming at PPL from NJLA. #Libraries have become incredibly important to my work, mostly because of Janie.

25. What type of compensation range and benefits should students expect in this industry?

JL: As a technologist or manager at a university, expect between 50-90 unless you pursue administrative positions, which can be 120,000 or more. As an independent consultant, expect more like 40-60 for a few years. Develop a business plan if you want to be an independent consultant. Know your expenses through and through.

26. In this field, is it more common to be paid by a predetermined consultant fee, sales commission, or salary?

JL: I don’t know anyone in my industry who works on commission. We are often selling ourselves or selling an idea and executing it, but not for commission. 🙂 Technologists in organizations are often salaried. I work on a rate that varies according to the client. Here’s my Rate and Policy Doc:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1trir4rpKcTeK0xBWZcEPbE9cGcv6S5ycB18yEK36-5Y/pub?embedded=true

27. What is the most important piece of advice you would give to someone going into this career field?

JL: Treat people well. Treat people with kindness and dignity and truth. Learn everything you can and then give that knowledge away as freely as you can. Become a source of joy for the people you work with. Laugh every day.

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affiliations brand classes and presentations consulting curriculum vitae Illustration instructional technology libraries open source photography portfolio professional activities professional experience references research interests teaching teaching experience technology

Tonight at Princeton Public Library: Design for Non-Designers

A waveform of me saying the word 'open' by lemasney.
A waveform of me saying the word 'open' by lemasney.

delicate stained glass chandelier, photo by lemasney
A waveform of me saying the word ‘open’ by lemasney.
When in doubt, visit your library by lemasney
calligraphy by lemasney
Symphonic logo by lemasney
Do not covet your ideas by lemasney

Tonight, at 7 pm at Princeton Public Library, I’ll be introducing self-designated non-designers about the basics of graphic design for non-designers. It’s free to the public, no registration necessary, in the technology center.

In the talk, I introduce the key ideas of graphic design to those who may never have had the discussion before:

  • Fonts and typography
  • Layout and space
  • Color and palette
  • Defining and simplifying messages for casual viewers
  • Getting one’s attention and engagement in an over-engaged world
  • Visual branding

If you are like me, you went through 12 years of school learning about reading, writing, communication, arithmetic, history, and other important basic skills.

But I did not learn about video production, graphic design, data visualization or other contemporary communication skills while I was in school until I went to college. Not because it was too difficult to learn, as many kids are introduced to these topics in grade school now, but because the emphasis was different. So those of us who are asked to communicate in the new visual ways are often lost, not having even the vocabulary of visual communication. If this describes you, I think you would benefit greatly from the class. I hope to see you there!

Oh, you can’t make it? That’s too bad. Luckily, I have a phone (609 553 9498) and an email address (john@lemasney.com) where we can still talk about it! Talk to you soon.