Dorkbot:78 Dorkbot Seattle 0x4E Obsolecence, Steampunk Art & Visualizations -- oh my!

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Shelly is back and she has put together an amazing sounding evening of dorkbot.
Join us back in our usual location at Jigsaw for the 78th dorkbot Seattle.
As always we encourage you to support our generous hosts at Jigsaw Renaissance!

Resurrecting the Obsolete, by Simon Winder

I am fascinated by the progress of technology and the movement into obsolescence, and the arc of life and death in both living and artificial mechanisms. Technology is conceived and created and used and reaches a peak and then becomes old and eventually turns to waste, becoming anachronistic against the ongoing wave of progress. I enjoy documenting the process of decay and I like to learn about and utilize obsolete or pre-war technology and repurpose it to make something which carries out modern functions or can be freshly appreciated for its forgotten aesthetic.
About Simon: Originally from the UK, Simon began work in the electronics industry, but eventually migrated to neuroscience, focusing on visual perception. After completing his PhD, Simon moved to Seattle and eventually joined Microsoft Research where he spent many years developing new software for image recognition and applying it to consumer video and photography. Check out his art is at: http://simonwinderart.com

Steampunk Art: Current Artists, Recent Trends, by Angelina Mae

Come learn about how steampunk has developed in the past five years, who are the relevant artists working within and advancing the genre, and why Steampunk is important.

About Angelina: Angelina Mae became involved with Steampunk in 2007, and shortly thereafter with Steamcon in 2008 when she was invited to be the convention's Art Show Coordinator. Managing the curation and coordinating the exhibition for Steamcon's first two years she continues now in an advisory capacity. Always eager to engage new and exciting artwork, she finds ways to incorporate relevant work wherever possible. Angelina on linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/angela-mae-wapner/1/316/204

Shortcuts to Successful Visualizations, by Noah Iliinsky

A few key choices can determine whether a visualization turns out terrific or terrible. I'll discuss some fundamental considerations around goals and visual encoding to guide you towards success.

About Noah: Noah has been thinking, writing, and speaking about visualization best practices since 2004. His most recent work, "Designing Data Visualizations" was published by O'Reilly in 2011. He also works in user experience design, and helps people get on the right bike.

Learn more about Noah at:
http://ComplexDiagrams.com
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/4419
http://twitter.com/noahi