Big Spaceship Adds to Staff

We like to have fun at Big Spaceship – both during and in between all of the work. We find that a creative atmosphere leads to better ideas. Foosball and Guitar Hero help, but for a while now we’ve been asking our fearless leader Michael for a ping pong table.



He had two (admittedly justifiable) concerns that prevented our wish from being granted:
1. Space. We have plenty of that in the green screen room, but we use it for projects.
2. Noise. Ping Pong players can get rather LOUD.

I approached this project as we do all others ...by thinking strategically. I crafted an implementation plan and job application written from the viewpoint of a one Mr. Ping Pong Ball.



He was qualified, intelligent and, yes, tactical. His proposal outlined his many benefits and detailed how he would overcome the barriers voiced by the boss.



Ping Pong Ball tackled the chief obstacles head-on, beginning with space.



As for noise, he recommended we build a noise meter to keep the shouts and cheers in check.



The letter of recommendation from Nolan Bushnell certainly didn’t harm his chances.



I’m happy to say that the proposal met with success. Ping Pong Ball will soon arrive at Big Spaceship, alongside his accoutrements (in the form of paddles and a 9x5’ table). As long as folks abide by the rules, we’ll get along just fine. I’m very much looking forward to this fellow joining our crew.

Telescopic Text

He made tea. This morning I stumbled upon a site known simply as Telescopic Text.

Being a tea drinker myself, I clicked on one of the three words that make up the only sentence on the site: I made tea. And then…more words appeared. A tale of tea brewing began to take shape. If a word was shaded in gray, clicking on it revealed more text (and more gray). But even without clicking on all of the shaded areas, the story still made sense – it was simply the condensed version. I. made. tea.


I like this technique and wonder if it would work for more complicated subject matter. In a way, it improves upon the standard formula of an abstract followed by a click-to for the full article. What if I only want to learn about the type of tea and what was served with it? What if I’m just interested in the process of steeping? It’s a simple format, but I see potential for this as a storytelling mechanism.