Life Update

PaiNTbALLfReNzY wrote: I'll be leaving Naples next year to go back to the states, most likely to Pax River, Maryland.

Dude, if you do get x-fered to Pax NAS, let me know! Shorty and I go to the range near La Plata which is just up the road from there.

Also, I can't believe I missed my 10 year forum anniversary.

Naples eh? That place is insane and dirty, but pretty great at the same time. How did you end up in a place like that and not somewhere less.....theft and murder-y?

If you haven't yet you've got to go see the "secret" museum at the anthro museum there.

As for me? I now intern here, at frog as an Interaction Designer. Living in downtown Seattle as a result which isn't bad. It's nice being a 10 minute walk from my office/ most things I need.

choopie911 wrote: Naples eh? That place is insane and dirty, but pretty great at the same time. How did you end up in a place like that and not somewhere less.....theft and murder-y? If you haven't yet you've got to go see the "secret" museum at the anthro museum there. As for me? I now intern here, at frog as an Interaction Designer. Living in downtown Seattle as a result which isn't bad. It's nice being a 10 minute walk from my office/ most things I need.

Well I wanted to go somewhere in Europe, and Naples is a good launching point. There is an airport about 5 minutes from my base, so it's very convenient.

I know how being near everything you need feels and I definitely miss it. Glad to hear everything is working out for you man. What exactly does an interaction designer do?

PaiNTbALLfReNzY wrote: choopie911 wrote: Naples eh? That place is insane and dirty, but pretty great at the same time. How did you end up in a place like that and not somewhere less.....theft and murder-y? If you haven't yet you've got to go see the "secret" museum at the anthro museum there. As for me? I now intern here, at frog as an Interaction Designer. Living in downtown Seattle as a result which isn't bad. It's nice being a 10 minute walk from my office/ most things I need. Well I wanted to go somewhere in Europe, and Naples is a good launching point. There is an airport about 5 minutes from my base, so it's very convenient. I know how being near everything you need feels and I definitely miss it. Glad to hear everything is working out for you man. What exactly does an interaction designer do?

The best way I can describe it is like this:

If you want to build a house, you don't just buy some bricks and start piling them up. You need to plan it out, and take into consideration the intended/ desired uses of the house, how many people/ bedrooms, how many bathrooms, do they need a garage? Is it one or two cars?

Once that is done, the planner won't build it, they'll give it to the carpenters and plumbers and electricians etc to construct it.

So my job is on the planning/ idea side of things, in some cases literally an information architect (but not always), and the carpenters/ plumbers etc are our developers, visual/ graphic designers, etc. So we identify the problem, create solutions and propose them, develop a solution and every single aspect of the experience we are creating, then give it to our developers etc to make it exist. It's a cool job to have real influence in, because I can be one of the people behind the new phone that comes out next year, change what it's like to use a site like netflix for the better, change an in-store experience so its easier to get the information and things you want/ need. Everything man-made is designed, everything, and if it's something interactive/ you experience, someone with my job designed it, from digital touch screens, to standing in line for coffee.

choopie911 wrote: The best way I can describe it is like this: If you want to build a house, you don't just buy some bricks and start piling them up. You need to plan it out, and take into consideration the intended/ desired uses of the house, how many people/ bedrooms, how many bathrooms, do they need a garage? Is it one or two cars? Once that is done, the planner won't build it, they'll give it to the carpenters and plumbers and electricians etc to construct it. So my job is on the planning/ idea side of things, in some cases literally an information architect (but not always), and the carpenters/ plumbers etc are our developers, visual/ graphic designers, etc. So we identify the problem, create solutions and propose them, develop a solution and every single aspect of the experience we are creating, then give it to our developers etc to make it exist. It's a cool job to have real influence in, because I can be one of the people behind the new phone that comes out next year, change what it's like to use a site like netflix for the better, change an in-store experience so its easier to get the information and things you want/ need. Everything man-made is designed, everything, and if it's something interactive/ you experience, someone with my job designed it, from digital touch screens, to standing in line for coffee.

Wow that actually sounds really cool. So, for instance, if your company was producing a phone, you could point out that the phone itself feels weird in your hand and recommend a solution?

Mack wrote: Wow.  Before last year I had never heard of Sasebo and now I know of two people who have been there. ( My son is stationed there.)  What are the odds?

Really? Is he on a ship or on shore duty there?

PaiNTbALLfReNzY wrote: Mack wrote: Wow.  Before last year I had never heard of Sasebo and now I know of two people who have been there. ( My son is stationed there.)  What are the odds? Really? Is he on a ship or on shore duty there?

It's an odd position.  Technically it's shore duty but he spends a lot of time on the ships and has been out doing Navy stuff at sea as much as he has actually been at the base.