Notion Theory’s Basketball Demo

By: Diana Eaton

Notion Theory held an amazing tech showcase event on March 23rd. Techies, entrepreneurs, developers, scientists, and innovators convened to explore some of Notion Theory’s latest virtual reality demos. The basketball VR demo was quite fun. The demo consisted of a headset and two joystick-like devices that served as hands. Of course there was a big screen for spectators to view as the user played. The demo was rather simple. All the user had to do was use the sticks (i.e the VR hands) to aim at the basket and shoot, similar to real-life basketball! The users seemed impressed! Check out Notion Theory’s YouTube link to see for yourself. The basketball demo starts at 2:05.

By pairing four controllers into SteamVR we were able to create a freestyle sports demo enabling users to have a full range of interaction with both their hands and feet.

23rd Annual Gala Awards

Jokingly coined, “The Asian Prom”, the 23rd annual APAICS (Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies) Gala Awards was held on the evening of Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at the elegant Washington Hilton. Guests arrived, dined, socialized, and enjoyed an array of award presentations. Until the 1990′s, the Asian Pacific Islander community lacked a caucus. In the last four years there has been a significant increase in representation and seats in congress. There are currently 50 representatives and Senators. The robust membership is rapidly expanding. Immigration reform and human trafficking are just a couple of societal focal points. Chanchanit Martorell won the Community Leader Award for her diligent work on over a half-dozen major human rights cases involving human trafficking. The keynote speaker, Senator Cory Booker, left us with a powerful quote from his father:

“Son, you can go through life as a thermometer, or as a thermostat.”

This quote implies that one can either simply measure the temperature of the atmosphere, or one can use the power to set the temperature of the atmosphere. The latter is the choice of an individual of power, influence, and change.

A special thanks to Google for allowing me to have a seat at their table during this event. It was so wonderful to see such a robust and diverse group of people convene with great purpose!

Web Series Review: Avalon Now

When hearing about a web series put out by an Australian real estate company, you might be skeptical at first about the quality of the show, but what we have is one of the funniest web series of last year. The series follows the lives of trendy and progressive people, living in the sunny Australian beach town of Avalon, where everyone wears striped shirts and drives a Prius. The concept has been done before, with shows like Portlandia, but this time it comes with a fresh Aussie take. Avalon Now details the struggles of a couple trying to plan a perfect party, and the chaos that ensues from their need to be picture perfect for their Facebook and Instagram feeds. The series is done very professionally, from the acting to the writing, the camera work, and everything in-between, every aspect is clean and polished. The show is made what it is by the quirky side characters and the problems they cause for the party planners, the wine shop owner being my absolute favorite. While you may dislike the main characters due to their over-the-top obsessiveness with what’s trendy, you still get to know them and their families very well within the first few episodes, and for some reason, they will win over your heart with their lovable humor and charm.

In a new eight-part series the true struggle of life on Sydney's northern beaches will be revealed.