Today is a critique day, so there’s no lecture. But I do have a few announcements.

• Another “Looking Outwards” due Monday February 1, on the topic of Simulation & Generativity
• Please draft a one-line description, and prepare a 100×100 pixel image, of your Project 1

Subject: Google Android for Education – Mobile Coursework (apply for phones) – CMU
Google is excited to announce that we will be giving out Android phones to students for use in class for a hands-on coding and testing experience.

Successful applications will meet the following criteria:

• Generates new interest in mobile engineering.
• Requires a limited number of phones, but reaches a wide audience.  Can free resources (such as Android Emulator) increase your program’s impact?
• Is scalable and allows for future growth both within and without your university.
• Makes computer science tangible for students.

The deadline for applications is 11:59pm on Friday, February 12th.  Applicants will be notified of decisions by February 22nd and phones will be distributed shortly thereafter.  The sooner you can work this into your coursework, the better.  We will take this into consideration when approving phones.  Applications are reviewed by a steering committee comprised of Google’s senior engineering management.

(More information HERE)

• Trevor Paglen: Thursday 1/28, 5-6:30pm: Blank Spots on a Map
  Co-presented by the School of Art Lecture Series @ McConomy Auditorium, University Center, CMU
  Trevor Paglen has methodically amassed rich visual evidence for “nonexistent” military installations, secret prisons in Afghanistan, and a collection of even more obscure “black sites” startlingly close to home. Here, Paglen takes us on a road trip through the world of hidden budgets, state secrets, covert bases, and more, guiding us through a landscape that intelligence insiders call the “black world.” 
• Thursday 1/28, 8-10pm: Information Mapping: Dorkbot
  with Chris Harrison + Susanne Slavick. A special edition of the world-famous geek salon. @ Brillobox upstairs, 4104 Penn Ave at Main, Lawrenceville
• Lize Mogel, Friday 1/29, 5pm: The World as a World Map
  @ STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, College of Fine Arts, CMU
  As technology and commerce blur more and more geographic boundaries, the iconic world map can’t adequately describe the intricacies of globalization. In this lecture, Mogel presents ‘radical cartography’ projects that question and re-think familiar representations of the world.
  

• 12-2pm: Make a Video Microscope from a Hacked Webcam: Workshop. With Rich Pell, in connection with the UCLA BioOutlaws Conference. $20 admission includes a webcam. @ STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, CFA, CMU. Learn how to turn a cheap, off-the-shelf webcam into a video microscope that works with common video streaming programs like Skype and iChat. We will use them to explore the microbial lifeforms that are currently living around and on us and share the results on the web.
• 3-5pm: Basic Geographic Information Systems for Artists, Activists and Naturalists: Workshop. With Jessica McPherson. Ages 14 and up. $15 admission. @ Baker Hall #140F, CMU. Maps are political documents because they define the contents of our world. Many of the ones we use the most leave nature out of the picture. We’ll learn how to use GIS to re-envision traditional mapping and display vital information about the state of the natural world.