The following is the beginning of a site survey, conducted from the veranda of the casino in Roger Williams Park, overlooking the gazeebo and duck pond. It is an exercise in seeing the world through the philosophical tradition of phenomenology. [View original journal entry].

I am sitting with my back to a red brick wall. Looking down at my hand, writing with a black pen in a medium-sized notebook. The notebook is set on a blue and white striped dress with buttons down the front, in the style of a men's shirt. The hands gripping the notebook come out of sleeves clad in gray heathered sweatshirt material. I am writing with my left hand.

I am surfing the web from Windows for the first time in two years. A Mac running Parallels running Windows running IE 7, to be more specific. It is a little surreal, and is part of day 1 of my Network Landscapes class within the Digital+Media* department.

What IS fun, however, is learning how to use a cool tool called mscapes. Its a visual editing tool that lets you build GPS-based interactive experiences. So I can create a little program for any GPS-enabled phone that will show an image when you get into a certain zone, or play sound when you get within a certain area.

For someone looking to explore a hybrid digital-physical experience, this is pretty darn cool.

* These guys are really serious about that plus sign. Even when spoken in a speech -- like, say, by the new Provost at convocation -- you are supposed to say "Digital Plus Media" with a completely straight face. Its like no one here learned anything from the dot com era.