This morning I caught the No.73 into the Tottenham Bus garage for an interview session in the caf. 4 hours, 5 interviews, pages of notes, a bbq lunch and a 35p mug of tea later and I am slowly unfolding the experience. It is one of those places where there is simultaneously nothing going on and too much happening. People flow in and out, on and off and inbetween shifts just like passengers on a bus. I spoke with three drivers and two conductors at different caf tables over the din of chatter, tv noise and clinking cutlery and the leftovers of late breakfasts, lunches and early afternoon teas - eggs and beans on toast, bacon sandwiches, chips, rice and meat dishes, I could smell fish cooking and of course countless mugs of tea. They were interviews about technology, mobility and sociality in a convivial space. I should have the results on the website soon.
-kat

Blogging folks may want to take a look at Steve Dietz's "Guest List" on Low-Fi (net-art locator). There are several good blog projects there.

Also on the subject of things we do with our phones, the Rx Gallery in San Francisco is curating a show of mobile phone photography. The show is called: MPPS: The Mobile Phone Photography Show. Here's a clip from the invite: "Rx Gallery invites you to participate in a curatorial experiment – a photography show composed entirely of images created with mobile phone cameras. Anyone, anywhere, can send in any image (made with a mobile phone camera), and we will display it."

-kris

I am writing this from Vancouver. I have a few extra days to play in this lovely city after the Technoculture event yesterday, which was a great day filled with interesting keynotes by Keith Hampton, Leigh Star and Nina and an eclectic interdisciplinary group of people - all in the beautiful setting of the UBC campus. The organisation and design of the event by Mary Bryson could not have been smoother and the way she orchestrated the working groups is something I am sure will inspire future workshops. She had no doubt spent hours behind the scenes specifically tailoring each group according to personal interests and research, and prepared all of us by sending out relevant weblinks and hard copies of papers. This meant that our group got off to a great start and could undertake the productive task of developing a special publication description and call for papers in our specific area of 'New Media Genres and Spaces'. Overall it was a really productive day, very informative, social and fun. There is a good overview on Richard Smith's Studies in Technology & Society website. He is a Professor in the School of Communications at Simon Fraser University and he mentions both Nina's presentation and my bus work.

Now I have a list of activities to get through before my Sunday flight such as walk around Stanley Park, do the Grouse Grind, visit the Chinatown markets, hire a windsurfer or kayak and discover many more veggie restaurants and cafes...oh the hard life of a researcher.
- kat