Ricochet by Chrys Wu » One For Fun

A Christmas Present for You, Ricochet Readers

Chrys — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:08:51 +0000

I don’t know about you, but December’s been pretty crazy for me. Between trying to maintain a healthy work-life balance (yeah, right) and trying to learn new things, I was shocked to realize Christmas is next week.

Egad.

Nevertheless, I’ve a little treat for you: Do-it-yourself polka dotted Christmas wrap and digital wallpaper, made with Processing. A sample’s below.

Take your pick of default sizes: 960 x 600 pixels or 1280 x 800 pixels.

I learned a few things while making this project:

What they say about coding is true: You’re more apt to learn something if you’ve got a project in mind.
The initial bits of Processing are pretty easy to understand. But then there’s trying to grok random (not so bad) and shuffle (oy).
Coffee is good. Sleep is better.

To try Processing for yourself, copy my code from Github and paste it into the Processing.js Web IDE, or download Processing and tweak it locally.

The code is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Who’s Missing From This Food Map?

Chrys — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:58:25 +0000

Ever wonder what the most popular links are within your circle of friends and trusted sources?

Web Trend Map, a new interactive site, let’s you do that. Created by designer Craig Mod and information architect iA Inc., the website maps selected Twitter users and displays the trending links among those users off to the side.

The site was sorely lacking in food-related maps, so in the spirit of my most recent post, I made one.

Are there any food bloggers/makers/photographers you love who are on Twitter? Let me know and I’ll consider them for inclusion.

Craig and iA write more about the thinking behing Web Trend Map on their site. And if the words “web trend map” sound familiar, it’s ’cause iA Inc. is the company behind the popular Web trends infographic, now available as a poster.

How Many News Organizations Can Say This?

Chrys — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:06:05 +0000

The human side of work often gets lost in the race to be best, first and profitable.

A simple but compelling ad by Fairly Painless Advertising tells potential employees why design firm Herman Miller might be the right place for them to work.

Can the news outlet you work for say this?

Revenue 2.0: Ideas for Making Money on News Sites

Show Off Your Enterprise Reporting, Enter the Ricochet Giveaway

Chrys — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:43:37 +0000

The latest Ricochet news contest gives you the chance to show off enterprise reporting on a tight budget.

Show a story borne of the pursuit of an original idea and crafted for the Web and you’ll be entered in this round’s random drawing. The prize? We’ll donate $40 to the community-funded reporting project Spot.Us in your name.

The Rules:

One entry per person.
The entry must have been posted online in 2008.
The entry be an story that no one else in your market had (we’re holding you to the honor system).
The entry must have a thoughtful Web component (interactive graphic, video, audio, slideshow, map).
Winners of previous contests held on Ricochet in 2008 are ineligible.
Deadline: Dec. 23 at 9 p.m. ET.

To Enter: Post the link to your entry in comments. Include your contact info. Again, one entry per person, please.

To Win: Winner will be chosen by random drawing and announced here and on Twitter on Dec. 23 at 10 p.m. ET. The drawing result is final, as is the prize.

Let other reporters and bloggers know about this contest — it’s an opportunity to show others your good work on the Web. Good luck to all entrants!

Photo: Princess Valium/Flickr

One for Fun: It’s a Map, It’s a Wallpaper, It’s a Clock!

Chrys — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:46:50 +0000

Vlad Studio has created a free typography map wallpaper that also works as a clock.

Whether you need to know the time or need to know Morocco’s location, this handy, free download can help you out. Enjoy.

Typographic Map by Vlad Studio

Enter the Ricochet Giveaway – ‘The Wire’ Round

Chrys — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:45:28 +0000

Ricochet celebrates its first year in publication this month. To thank you for being a part of the community here, we’re doing a series of holiday giveaways.

For the first round, we’ve got one copy of “The Wire,” Season 4 on DVD up for grabs.

The overarching themes of the show (set in Baltimore) were the failures of the educational system and local law enforcement.

For the Ricochet Giveaway “Wire” round, we want to see examples of reporting about police and education programs that have worked or are showing clear signs of improvement in the community.

The Rules:

One entry per person.
The entry must be from a community blog, news blog or news outlet — mainstream or not.
The entry must be mostly original reporting. Links within the report are fine.
The entry should come from a community you have ties to. It doesn’t have to be your employer, it doesn’t have to be your own work, and it doesn’t have to be an all-text + photo piece. Video, slideshows and interactives are welcome.
Entries from smaller outlets would be very much appreciated.
Deadline: Dec. 15 at 9 p.m. ET.

To Enter: Post the link to your entry in comments. Include contact info. Again, one entry per person, please.

To Win: Winner will be chosen by random drawing and announced here and on Twitter on Dec. 15 at 10 p.m. ET. The drawing result is final, as is the prize, which we’ll send to you via Amazon.com.

Let other reporters and bloggers know about this contest too. There is bound to be a lot of good work on the Web in police and education reporting. And if you enter, good luck!

Photo: Brungrrl/Flickr

Who Won the McCain-Obama Debate?

Chrys — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:19:58 +0000

By most reported accounts, Barack Obama won Wednesday’s faceoff by not losing to John McCain.

The unfortunate thing about these televised events it that they sounded a lot like stump speeches and talking points, rather than any real discussion of plans and intentions.

Impressions are all the voting public is left with, so I thought I’d publish a poll:

Olympics Coverage Online Reaches for the Brass Ring

Chrys — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:00:03 +0000

NBC may have a death grip on the U.S. broadcast of the Summer Olympics, but that hasn’t stopped other outlets from coming up with different ways to cover the Beijing Games online. Here are a few medal-contending approaches you may have missed.

“Soaring Over the Bar” from the New York Times
American gymnast Justin Spring explains the mechanics of some of his tricks (moves) on the high bar in this combo news graphic-video-audio feature. The video’s a little grainy and the difficulty legend in the lower left-hand corner could do a better job (is A the hardest or the easiest?), but we give the news organization props for another great interactive. Go Team NYT.

“Now Diving: Sir Isaac Newton” from The Wall Street Journal
With the Journal’s reputation as the country’s dominant business news outlet and as the home of personal tech guru Walt Mossberg, it’s easy to forget they cover other subjects too.

This sparkling article by Barry Newman explains the evolution of the low-tech DiveCam in the high-tech Water Cube. It also includes an interactive graphic that demonstrates how the DiveCam works. Click to watch the diver plunge into the pool over … and over …. It’s geeky, but so much fun. Go Team WSJ.

“Off the Wall: Foot Massage” from the Associated Press
(Go to the “Interactives” box, scroll down and click the title)
Say what you want about the Associated Press’s business policies, their reporters are still top contenders in solid reporting and creative story ideas. This video by John Marshall is a gem of the latter category.

Marshall has been sampling Beijing’s culture outside the Olympic venues in a video series called “Off The Wall.” In this piece, he took his tired dogs to a local foot massage spa and got an experience much different than he expected. Listen to the nat sound and the narrative. It’ll make you smile. Go Team AP.

Fourth-Place Medal’s Investigative Unit from Yahoo Sports
A team of Yahoos has been writing a rip-roaring Olympics blog and doing what bloggers to best: acting on reader questions. They call the posts “Olympic mysteries.” So far they’ve answered:

Who was that mas linda Paraguan marching in the opening ceremony?
Where was swimmer Cullen Jones during the rowdy 4×100 men’s relay celebration that kept Michael Phelps’s gold medal record hopes alive and solidified Jason Lezak’s reputation as the team’s strongest closer?
Why do divers shower between each dive?
What’s that black stuff on beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh’s shoulder?
And from a question asked last night during Michael Phelps’s 200 meter IM race, what’s on the golden Olympian’s iPod playlist?

The off-the-cuff blog has an enthusiastic following, judging by reader comments. Expect live-blogging and reader reaction again tonight as Phelps whips through water in the 100 meter fly, and women take to the track in the 10,000 meter final. Go Team 4PM.

One for Fun: In Prase Of Copyeditors

Chrys — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:06:03 +0000

Pulitzer prize-winner Gene Weingarten wrote a funny ode to copy editors in his Sunday column for the Washington Post.

From start to finish, it’s an entertaining frolic that defends the craft. Editors and management should read it and think twice about slashing entire copy desks when layoff time comes around.

Weingarten won acclaim for his 2007 profile of classical violinist Joshua Bell busking in a Washington subway station. People called it innovative and unusual. There was a lot of ooohing and ahhing when the time-lapse video was posted to the Post’s website a few days later.

Turns out the seed for his story was planted long ago. But I’ll let Weingarten tell the tale.

One for Fun: Predict Who Wins the White House

Chrys — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:09:17 +0000

While election coverage may be on hiatus, speculation on who will be our next president is about to run wild.

Sean Connelley of the Los Angeles Times created an interactive, embeddable map that lets you test different electoral vote scenarios.

Think Wisconsin will go to McCain? Click and the state turns red. Believe the die-hard Democrats and progressives will come out in force? Click again and the state turns blue.

Assign a color based on which way you think each state will go, then click “share” and embed the map anywhere to trumpet your predictive prowess or just show what it will take for Obama or McCain to get into the Oval Office.

Politics may be serious business, but as the jockeying during primaries has proven, it’s also a bit of a game.

Ricochet by Chrys Wu » One For Fun

A Christmas Present for You, Ricochet Readers

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