In-class activity: Online and Offline Public Spaces

Eric Lam, Carol Tu, Mariassa Teoh, Dylan Rimmer

All content on the web is persistent. Whether it be the websites, links or content they will remain. A food court operates in a similar manner. While the content of the food court may change, the location of it stays in one place. The people are what has it last and stay.

The online social network Facebook has been persistent since its creation. It is still on the internet, flocked with many users that return day after day. The popularity of Facebook rises from the quality of its design. With its creative features and applications users will enjoy Facebook and spread the word to others, who in turn will likely dedicate their time to using Facebook and encouraging others to join. More and more of us will become regular users of the site, keeping its existence persistent.

An aspect of the persistence we should all be aware of is the content. As Facebook users, most of us know that our profile page is an open space we can type anything about ourselves we wish to share. However, we are also cautious about what we display because we realize the words we type on the internet are persistent. Such persistence keeps internet content on the internet, even if we delete or edit our posts. The webpage will always have an archived record that never changes.

This is how persistence works in a public online space, but we have also been contemplating if the same circumstances apply to a public place offline.

The food court just like a website is persistent. While stores may relocate and close down the food court stays in the same place as it is part of a building. The food court can be compared to a search engine where stores are the links. The act of walking through the food court is the same was looking for links online. People have preferences on what they want to eat. The store that sells what they want is like the first five links on Google, they stand out and most likely are the most relevant. Good websites will good content have more hits. Similarly if a shop has good food then it will get more customers.

The food in a food court is also persistent. Due to cost constraints, shops in a food court can’t afford to make large, diverse menus. This usually results in specialized shops where they do one thing well and do it very well. If the food is good then people will keep coming back. Even if a shop closes down people will remember the food and some may even make their own or recreate it. Internet memes are a perfect example of this. Nowadays most memes have lose their humor appeal and have become repetitive and annoying fads used for pranks and dull entertainment. The infamous “Over 9000!” meme is remembered for its’ slightly over the top voice acting and yet the 15 sec clip has become a worldwide phenomena. An example of how a seemingly small and insignificant item can boom in popularity. The same can be applied to a food court. Franchised shops such as Starbucks and Roastry Jack’s show are examples of stores that well known enough to be established nationally. There are also food court shops that are on par with restaurants but are not franchised.They are well known within their customers.

Persistence means to be preserved or stay as is. Content on the internet follow this rule. Information, digital or physical stays in people’s minds and may be recreated or preserved. Food is the same, while the dish may be finished but the memory of the dish stays. The content of a food court makes it persistent. The stores may move, the food court may relocate but the content can’t be forgotten.

The Technological Development of the Microwave Through History

The microwave oven can be found in almost all North American households. It is praised for it’s function to heat food quickly and conveniently. The first microwave ovens were not available until 1947 (Gallawa, 2009). Before the microwave, there were convention ovens and even earlier are gas ranges. The oven, however dates back to 3200 BC (Wikipedia, 2008).
The very first ovens household ovens were created by the Indus Valley Civilization in 3200 BC, but many historians credit the Greeks, during 300 AD, with fully utilizing the oven. At the time ovens were made from mud and clay. The ovens were heated by placing coal or wood in the bottom of the oven and using racks to place food on top of the fire to bake. This design stood for sometime. The Romans during approximately 1000 BC used wood fired ovens (Wikipedia, 2008). These ovens were constructed out of bricks, clay or cast iron. While still fundamentally the same, wood fired ovens differed from the old Greek ovens in their heat source. A wood burning oven only uses woods for heat and the food is cooked beside the fire whereas Greek ovens had the heat coming from below. Using solely wood gave food a rustic wood flavour that no modern oven can produce (Al Frono, 2009). During the industrial age, the oven saw changes in its size and purpose. Due to mass production, all types of consumer goods were being produced in large quantities. The oven or rather kilns had a part in this by making products such as dinnerware and pottery. Thus the industrial sized oven was born. Smaller cast iron ovens were used for the household. The first microwaves were commercially available in 1947, created from World War II radar systems and an accident by Dr. Spencer (Gallawa, 2009). These microwave ovens were six feet tall, costed up to $3000 and required a plumbing system to prevent overheating. This limited use of the new ovens to factories and large kitchens. It wasn’t until 1967 when the first 100 volt countertop microwaves were released commercially that the microwave started to find its way into the common household (Gallawa, 2009).
A culture with the oven as the dominant cooking device usually meant bread was the staple food and the land grew and relied on wheat. The Greeks were the example of this. They are said to have “pioneered sweetbreads, fritters, puddings, cheesecakes, pastries, and even wedding cakes.” (Wikipedia, 2008). But all European cultures later on also used the oven to make foods made from dough. They did, however, incorporate meats into baking as well. During the industrial age the function and use of the oven didn’t deviate much, expect for large numbers of industrial ovens need to mass produce pottery and food. Still at the heart of every home in the city and country there was an oven to be used for heat and cooking.
The microwave oven, by far had the most impact on society. Due to sales of the microwave soaring, more people were experiencing the speed and convenience of microwave cooking. The food industry seemed to capitalize on the new oven the most. Mcdonalds perhaps being the most successful as they managed to make burgers that were faster, cheaper and better than anyone else in the fast food industry. Hospitals and airlines managed to keep food costs down largely due to the microwave. By 1986, the microwave oven seemed to have met it perfect companion, TV dinners in microwaveable trays (Wikipedia, 2009). TV dinners in the 70’s were highly popular due to their quick 20 min cooking time and the prospect that even dad could cook a turkey dinner. With the new microwaveable trays and portions, cooking time was reduced to under 7 minutes. Both products popularity soared and to present day one of the most consumed form of food, “[i]n 2003, the United Kingdom spent £5 million a day on ready meals, and was the largest consumer in Europe (Wikipedia, 2009). The variety of food also indicates the popularity of frozen meals; Fried chicken, tacos, Salisbury steak, pancakes and eggs, the list is endless and caters to almost every cuisine. These foods seemly fits into today’s modern fast paced society. The microwave also aids schedules that don’t allow for slow cooked meals.

The microwave is a new invention that has made a cook’s job easier by speeding up the cooking process. Its predecessor the oven, paved the way for the new zapping oven. The oven was a cultural icon shaping and forming the food of the cultures that used them. The Greeks perfected bread and cakes. Industrial ovens aided in mass production. The convection oven allowed dad to cook a turkey dinner and the microwave allows for quick meals for busy people.

Bibliography

Gallawa, Carlton. (1989-2009). The History of the Microwave.
Retrieved March 14, 2009 from,

http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/history.html

Forno Bravo Store. (2006-2007). Pompeii Oven: The History of Brick Ovens.
Retrieved March 14, 2009 from,

http://www.fornobravo.com/pompeii_oven/history.html

Al Forno. (N.D). The Wood Fired Oven.
Retrieved March 14, 2009 from,

http://www.alforno.com.au/the-wood-oven.php

Wikipedia. (2008). Oven – Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia.
Retrieved March 14, 2009 from,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oven

Wikipedia. (2009). TV dinner – Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia.
Retrieved March 14, 2009 from,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_dinner

Studio Lab 3

This project was an example of crowdsourcing. It utilized a large group of people to answer one broad essay question. It allowed for a paper to be written fairly quickly on what would have been otherwise a long and time consuming topic. Wetpaint allowed group members to check what others have written and give comments and suggestions in realtime. This advantage was further sweeten by the fact that everyone was in the same room. Being able to respond both on Wetpaint and in the classroom allowed for quick and convenient feedback when one of the mediums were unavailable. However, using Wetpaint also caused some problems. The main problem was consistency. Since many people were writing different parts of the paper, there was no fluidity to the writing. There was also the problem was opposing ideas, one might take on view on the subject, while the rest of the group took the other view. And perhaps the most troubling of all was the format of Wetpaint. It resembled a forum in some ways and in other operated like a blog. I had to learn how to use the site. I didn’t know where the group’s central post thread was, I didn’t know when I was creating a thread or posting a reply. And the first problem I immediately thought of was submission. How were we going to combine our group’s writings into one thread and then send it to the other groups? And still how was the entire paper going to be submitted? Nevertheless, it was an interesting take on writing a paper. Might not be the most consistent way but can be a very efficient method.