With the prototypes taking shape, it was time to give them names and share what they could do. This blog and casual conversations had been the main ways people knew about the project, but next up was to talk about it more and get some feedback for the next stage of development.
First, Luke—known for finding creative names for servers and computers—wanted to christen the prototypes. He threw around a few ideas and landed on character names from the X-Men comics. Two became Shadowcat and Pyro, and James chose Phoenix for the prototype he built. We will introduce you to the fourth, later.
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| Shadowcat |
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| Pyro |
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| Phoenix |
These super prototypes traveled to the Balihoo All Paws meeting to make their public debut. (Balihoo likes to use names too, and their former mascot and logo is a dog, Scout. They also have meeting rooms named for dogs. "All Paws" and "Pawsitive Projects" are their clever canine puns.)
Setting aside his dislike for public speaking, Luke gave a presentation as a way of reporting back to his employers and co-workers on a) how the team had put Balihoo's gracious grant money to use, and b) what the company could do to give input to the Styra Project. Pyro, Phoenix, and Shadowcat got to show their stuff and then stuck around for the day so that people could come by, try them out, and comment in accompanying note pads about the ease of use and any suggestions for what the devices should be able to do. All the comments are being taken into consideration for fine-tuning different keyboard functions.
At the meeting Luke also introduced Phill Thomas, James Hatmaker, Herb Ankrum, and Roy Kimball and thanked them for their contributions as part of the Styra Project.
Then it was back to the lab with kinks to flush out (also, more on that in the next post) and more ideas to fiddle with in planning for the next few months of the project. An Eastern Oregon journalist called Luke, wanting to do a story on the Styra Project for a small newspaper. He consented, always eager to talk about the project at least if he doesn't have to do an on-camera interview. A link to Brianna Walker's story in the Valley Herald follows. Here is a photo of the article.
Much more continues to generate in Luke's brain and in his lab, often keeping him awake at night and springing ideas on him in the shower. Be ready for an upcoming post.
