Tag: #writing (3 posts)
Tired of Cables in VR? We Are Too.
Originally posted on Medium under MistyWest.
Virtual reality pushes the envelope of bleeding edge technology, allowing us to explore and experience worlds beyond our mortal imaginations. It gives us immersion in another dimension, providing an unprecedented medium for communication and story telling. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then virtual reality must be worth millions. Except there’s one thing keeping it grounded to reality: cables.
Since the first virtual reality headset that was hacked together in 2011, immersive head-mounted displays have progressed far and quickly. Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PSVR are some of the main contenders of virtual reality hardware, and between them lie stark differences in performance and usability. However, cables are the common denominator in these high performance virtual reality headsets. They are tethered to a host computer to provide the computationally intensive processing power required for high-fidelity content. Although mobile solutions are available such as Microsoft’s HoloLens, Samsung VR, Google Daydream, and even Google Cardboard, wired headsets will continue to be the vanguard of high performance virtual reality.
Places To Be: Howe Sound Crest Trail
Originally posted on The Ubyssey.
Oh boy, some beginner trip this turned out to be.
As a new member of the VOC, it quickly became apparent to me how “beginner” can take on drastically different meanings. In retrospect, I should have read the wiki page on “The 5 Definitions of Beginner Friendly” before agreeing to this little excursion, but a bit of Type II fun (not fun during, but makes for a great story later) never killed anyone, right? To be fair, Mike, the trip organizer, did specify this was a “beginner plus” trip, but my willingness (or call it ignorance) got the better of me.
Men in Massage: Research Paper
Originally written as a research paper for ENG 112 at UBC. Republished here for archival purposes.
Research Proposal
According to Tom Delph-Janiurek, a “mis-performance of voice” may be necessary in order to gain authority in specific interactional spaces by creating a display of control and assertiveness (277). He proposes that the vocal performances in teaching spaces adapt to their social roles of authority by opposing the hegemonic heterosexuality in voices and perform vocal features of “drag” without giving up their gendered identities, contributing to and disrupting the “heterosexing of [teaching] space” (277). In spite of his conclusion regarding voice as “drag”, he fails to thoroughly assess the aspects outside of vocal performances that also relate to the projections of gendered bodies such as embodiment. A performed gender role relies on the physical aspects of body language and gesture in addition to voice in order to create a complete portrayal of a sexualized identity.