Sorry for not keeping things too frequently updated, but it’s been hard to stay indoors with all the sun finally pouring down on Montana. We’ve had steady rain and cold temps for the past month, so now that the sun is out, I’ve been trying to avoid the pale glow of my laptop as much as possible.

But while I’ve been avoiding online activities, I’ve been sweating bullets over a speech I need to give this fall to all of the incoming Freshman at Montana State University. See, Double Take was selected as required summer reading for all of the new students arriving at MSU this year, and to cap off the assignment, I need to deliver the big convocation address at the beginning of the semester. Normally, I’m not too afraid of getting up onstage to talk, but this time it’s different. Not only will I be standing in front of thousands of students reasonably close to my age, but I’ll be doing it with all of the pomp-and-circumstance that goes along with a college event of that size. So, in a tidy list – here are my worries*:

1.) The Wisdom – While I have had some pretty incredible experiences in the past few years, I’m not sure if I’ve reached the point of being totally sure of my ability to actually impart wisdom. I’ve only been out of college for two years, which has been just long enough to realize how little I actually know about Adultland.  So while I may be able to talk about traveling the world or skateboarding the Great Wall of China, I’m still reduced to confused child when it comes to doing my taxes, looking at property, or any other of the myriad Adult-ish things that seem to hit you in the face post-college.

2.) The Pomp – Having seen these events before, I’m fairly certain that I’m going to need to wear one of those fancy black robes. I’ve never been a fan of clothes longer than my own torso, but a 5-foot-long robe could really cause some logistical difficulties on stage. I’ve asked the director of the event about possibly tailoring my robe into a cape (which, let’s face it, would be much cooler), but thusfar have yet to receive an answer…

3.) The Circumstance – When the time finally comes to be standing onstage in front of all these people, there is going to be somewhat of a juggling act. Behind me will be the main powers of MSU – from the president to the provost and all sorts in between. In front of me will be a gym full of kids that have yet to even experience college. There is probably something less cliche’d than using “a rock and a hard place”, but it does feel fairly apt in terms of having to try and keep both groups on point.

So – to those reading – is there anything I need to be worried about? For those freshman who may be looking at this blog – is there anything you would like to hear? Also – if anyone out there has the power to make this happen – I totally want a cape.

*Carmen, Greg, or anyone else reading this blog who is also helping to set up the event – don’t let this post get you sweating too much. It’s more tongue-in-cheek than you think. Or is it….

So in the few weeks since my NPR interview aired with Scott Simon, I’ve received quite a few requests to post it online. So if you missed the interview, or just need to let my dulcet tones soothe your afternoon – you’re in luck!

Howdy everybody – hope that the summer has been going well!

So tomorrow, June 26th, I’m going to be featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition with Scott Simon! I’m a huge NPR nerd, so the opportunity to be featured on one of my favorite programs was a real treat. I’m not certain how long the segment is going to be, exactly, but I know that I spoke with Scott for well over forty-minutes. Most of the interview surrounded my experiences working on Double Take as well as some of my more recent endeavors.

Most of local airing times are between 7AM and 9AM, but check your local listings to be sure. If you want to stream the show, or even check out some older programs, you can find it all right here.

Some good stories are on the way, though! Seducing stray dogs, getting assaulted in a Turkish bath, and getting heavily pet by a couple of gypsies! Right now I’m having to deal with community computers and very limited access, so I’ll just leave a few photos to wet the pallette. Back soon!

So we’re a couple weeks out from the official release of the paperback version of Double Take, and my publishers have given me the go-ahead to throw a preview up on my blog. I received my first copy on Friday, and I gotta say – it looks pretty cool. Very, very surreal seeing myself on the cover, though. What do you think of the new design?

Hit the jump for the full spread.

Sorry for being so scarce lately, but between some nasty sickness and tax week, I didn’t spend much time keeping up with the site. However, judging by the activity in my inbox last week, it seems like that was the case for many…

Anyway – it looks like we have a landslide victory! While B.L.T.’s made an admirable effort, it looks like Connolegs is the clear winner.  The only bummer in all of this is I’m STILL waiting on extra Poweriser parts… However, the second I get the remaining set, I’ll post a messy youtube of the whole thing in action.

EDIT:

I know - I need to crank out another render...

So in no particular order, here are the final five to vote on.

1. Connolegs
2. B.L.T.  (short for Bouncing Leg Things)
3. RoboLegs
4. The Centaur
5. Cheetah Legs (or Arms – specify in your vote, please)

This is going to be the final tally. So if your name was not included on the list, my apologies. Please, cast your vote either on here, or my facebook page using one of the five options listed above. Remember the person who came up with the name that won will receive a free, signed copy of Double Take!

As a quick recap, the actual springs will be based off of Powerisers , and have already shown to work right out of the box. Unfortunately, Poweriser is holding up my order of two more sets of the “Youth” model, so it looks like ambitions for a pre-May prototype might have to be scaled back a bit. However, things are moving over at Open Prosthetics, and even my old prostheticist (the guy who built my original legs and butt shoe) is jumping into the mix.

So last Friday, I made it onto one of my favorite tech/science blogs with an essay about open source prosthetics! I’ve already received a ton of traffic and comments from the article, and if you’ve been following things on here – it’s most certainly worth a read. Let me know what you think, and who knows – I might just show up on the site again sometime in the future…

You can find the full article here.

The actual show begins at 7:00 PM and runs until 8:30. I’ll be presenting a photo slide show and talking about some of the themes and ideas behind both The Rolling Exhibition and Double Take. Don’t worry – it’s not nearly as dry as it sounds. Dwarf battles and Nigerian muggings abound! My presentation is part of the University of Wisconsin speaker series, and will be held in Reeve Ballroom 227.  Here’s a direct link to the event page on their site: http://www.uwosh.edu/speakers/events/kevin-connolly

Oh, and as a quick update about the naming of these jumping…things, I plan to pare the selection down to five potential names that we’ll vote on sometime next week. I want to leave this open for the time being, so I can hopefully get some input from University of Wisconsin students as well. Stay tuned…