Books galore (and R.O.S.A.)!

Image result for cybernetic serendipity the computer and the arts

(A robot from a book, The Queen of France, see bottom of blog)

I started a "books that I had in my office" blog a while back.

That approach was a bit slow and I've unpacked some more today so I decided just to lay them all out on my deck and take a photo. So they are in no particular order or topic, and include computer science and a few philosophy and other random books (excluding novels and sci-fi as there are too many of them :-). The lighting was also a  bit odd (close to dusk).  There's 2 photos per row of books (with some duplication on the right/left edges).



Row 1 (just one photo)





 Row 2 (2 photos from here)






Row 3






Row 4



This row (1st photo, 3rd from the left at the top, open to colour graphics image) has an interesting old book, "Cybernetic Serendipity, the computer and the arts", Jasia Reichardt (Ed.), 1969. Yes, you read the date right, it's one of the oldest books on computer graphics and art that I've got.  It was actually based on an exhibition that was shown in both the UK and the USA.




 "Cybernetic Serendipity was the first large international exhibition of electronic, cybernetic, and computer art. It took place at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London, UK, from 2 August to 20 October 1968."

It included computer graphics (yes, in 1968! made by using an oscilloscope, filters and photograph), music, dance, interactive sculptures, poems and text, paintings, films, movies, art, architecture, mathematics surfaces, plotting, and even robots!  The caption from the book says:

Rosa Bosom (R.O.S.A. - Radio Operated Simulated Actress), 1965. 24 x 36 x 72  in. Designed as an actress to integrate with live performers in the Three Musketeers, where is played the Queen of France.

Image result for cybernetic serendipity the computer and the arts


And a lot more info.

And more.

A more recent photo with the inventor (Bruce Lacey), who says:



 I built her in 1965 and she’s inspired by the Harrier Jump Jet. She was Best Man at my second wedding. She gave me the ring, blew confetti and played the bridal march.”


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AWS Certification glossary quiz: IAM

Image
I also keep getting stuck on IAM and key related questions so here's a quiz on IAM. Qn1  One of two possible outcomes (the other is  deny ) when an  IAM  access  policy  is evaluated. When a user makes a request to AWS, AWS evaluates the request based on all permissions that apply to the user and then returns either deny or this one. alarm permit true allo w Qn2  A web service that enables  Amazon Web Services  (AWS)  customers to manage users and user permissions within AWS. AWS user service (AUS) AWS customer service (ACS) AWS access management (AAM) AWS Identity and Access Management  (IAM) Qn3:  An  IAM   managed policy  that is created and managed by AWS. AWS management AWS policy AWS IAM policy AWS managed policy Qn4:  A web service for requesting temporary, limited-privilege credentials for  AWS Identity and Access Management  (IAM)  users or for users that you authenticate ( federated users ). AWS credential service (AWS ACS) AWS token service
Read more

AWS SWF vs Lambda + step functions? Simple answer is use Lambda for all new applications.

Image
I do like my Lamb (daaaa)! What's the difference between SWF and Lambda + step functions? Well, for a start they can be used together. Benefits and Limitations of using Lambda Tasks There are a number of benefits of using Lambda tasks in place of a traditional Amazon SWF activity: Lambda tasks don’t need to be registered or versioned like Amazon SWF activity types. You can use any existing Lambda functions that you've already defined in your workflows. Lambda functions are called directly by Amazon SWF; there is no need for you to implement a worker program to execute them as you must do with traditional activities. Lambda provides you with metrics and logs for tracking and analyzing your function executions. There are also a number of limitations regarding Lambda tasks that you should be aware of: Lambda tasks can only be run in AWS regions that provide support for Lambda. See  Lambda Regions and Endpoints  in the  Amazon Web Services General
Read more

Chapter 11: AWS Directory Service, Cloud Directory

Image
"Name or Number please?" So the 1st telephones systems were point to point, and then hub and spoke. You rang the local exchange, asked to talk to Auntie Jill and the "operator" (think the Matrix) would ring Auntie Jill's phone and connect you (literally with a patch cord) once Auntie Jill had answered. If you wanted to talk to someone not on the local network the operator would call another operator (how did they know which one?) and ask to them to connect and you would eventually get patched through. This was even more fun if you wanted to ring someone overseas, as you would hear the patchwork of operators, some speaking foreign languages (what fun), the the sounds getting fainter and weirder (lots of clicks, "undersea" sound effects like talking down a tube, echos, etc) until finally you heard Auntie Jill's voice saying "hello?" and you could talk to them (which was expensive, and the operators would sometimes break in and say
Read more