Intentional Party Planner
Add a little intention to your next gathering
Simon Wisdom
Recent content on Simon Wisdom
Latest posts
Making a desk
The joy of making something for yourself
Room service
A great format for an interactive event
Training for a triathlon
I’m training for a triathlon. As a kid I was not a fan of swimming, and my hands are sensitive to cold water, so I mostly avoided it. For my whole adult life I’ve told myself “one day I’ll properly learn to swim”. I decided it was finally time to fulfill that promise I made. Knowing that deadlines and tracking metrics are incredibly motivating for me, I signed up for…
Drawing on the right side of the brain
Learning how to draw
Short story: Alpha's Echo
This is my first ever short story. I wrote it during BlueDot's Writing Intensive to explore positive AI futures.
26 Objects
Coming soon.
How many people are in my living room?
Using a Raspberry Pi + BLE scanner to track room occupancy.
Making a 'fast film'
My brother and I teamed up to make a short film for a competition in 72 hours using only AI generated content.
Fine-tuning a language model on my blog posts
I fine tuned GPT3.5-turbo on 45 blog posts from last year to see if it could emulate my style.
Logo design exploration
I created a bunch of new logos for a previous version of this website.
I'm motivated by scaffolding
Motivation works in many ways, and I think we all owe ourselves to figure out what makes us tick. For me having a deadline and making a commitment is the best way to get things done.
12M: Month 3 - Exploring New Frontiers
Exploring new frontiers and opportunities.
12M: Month 2 - The Wedding
Wedding planning and celebration.
12M: Month 2 Week 2
Month 2 Week 2 updates.
12M: Month 2 Week 1
Month 2 Week 1 updates.
Week 52 - The End
This week I wrapped up 52 weeks. Wow! Tools I used: My unconscious Context Well, here we are, last week of the year. At the start of 2023 I couldn’t have predicted how much I would enjoy this challenge and all of my projects. I feel very accomplished for sticking with it (I’ve seen many similar attempts fizzle out after a few weeks/months) and it’s taught me a lot.
12 Months
In 2024, I wanted to continue the creative momentum from my 52 Weeks project but with a more sustainable monthly cadence. I made it 3 months, a lot of which was spent preparing my wedding, after which I decided to take a break and focus on a few ‘New Frontiers’. Originally published on 12months.substack.com Here are the projects from my 12-month journey: Month 1: The Phoenix - Wedding…
12M: Month 1 - The Phoenix
Wedding rings project and neoBRUTO AI installation.
Week 51 - The projects that never were
This week I looked back at all the projects of the year and a big pile of half-finished projects. Tools I used: QSpace Pro - a Mac Finder replacement (that I like a lot) to browse through my files Context It’s the second last week of the year, and I notice a tension inside me, between the completionist (who says 52 Weeks won’t be done until I’ve posted 52 projects) and the ‘good enough’ realist…
Week 49 - Fancy Dinner Reservation Sniper
This week I built a scraper to get me the perfect dinner table reservation at a high end restaurant. Tool I used: Poking around the website A python script Email Patience (but not too much) Context It was recently P’s birthday, and I wanted to treat her to one of her favourite restaurants in Mexico City. The trouble is, this restaurant needed to be booked 1-2 months in advance, and, classic, I…
Week 48 - Visual Storyteller (Speech to Image Revisited)
This week I revisited Week 42 - Real Time Speech to Image and rebuilt it from scratch so it runs locally and much faster. Tools I used: Real Time Whisper - to run whisper locally and fast ComfyUI - a node based editor to control Stable Diffusion models locally Stable Diffusion XL Turbo 1.0 - a fast image model Redis - to pass text between the models Tkinter - to display fullscreen images using…
12M: Month 0 - The Beginning
Taking this month 'off' and planning projects for 2024.
Week 47 - 3D Printed Fidget Spinner
This week I made my first 3D print, a fidget spinner. Tools I used: Thingiverse - to browse models to print Rhino - 3D modeling software to tweak the model UltiMaker Cura - slicing software to prepare the model for 3D printing Anycubic Kobra Max - the printer
Week 46 - Exploring GPT builder
This week I experimented (like half the internet) with custom GPTs, a new feature OpenAI released. Tools I used: GPT Builder ChatGPT nodb Context Essentially this feature means anyone can generate and distribute a custom prompt wrapped in a ‘GPT’ (terrible name). At first I didn’t see the value, as this has been possible all year with ChatGPT. However, these GPTs can include Actions which call…
Week 44 - Ecobici bike rides
This week I visualized my Ecobici (city bike rental) bike rides over the last few months. Tool I used: Ecobici - Mexico City’s bike share system Python - to query graphQL, process data, and make a few charts Context Mexico City has a bike share system similar to many other cities I’ve been to; theirs is called Ecobici , launched in 2010 and now has over 700 stations around the city. I ride it…
Week 43 - CDMX House Flipping Model
This week I scraped and analyzed property listings in Mexico City to build a price prediction model. Tools I used: Scraping: A property listing website Scrapy - an open source web scraping Python package Selenium - automates a browser as part of a web scraper
Week 42 - Real Time Speech to Image
This week I created a real time speech to image generator. Note: This is my first prototype, there’s a 10-20 sec lag between voice and image, be patient! Tools I used: Touchdesigner - to connect the input/output nodes Whisper - speech to text Whisper plugin for Touchdesigner ChatGPT plugin for Touchdesigner Stable Diffusion in Touchdesigner All these tutorials were created by Torin Blanksmith -…
Week 41 - Speech to Flashcards
This week I created a workflow to transcribe new words from my Spanish conversation classes into flashcards. Tool I used: Baselang - for Spanish conversation class Backtrack - to record system audio Whisper.cpp - to transcribe audio locally ChatGPT - to iterate on python scripts to extract unique words from transcript
Week 40 - Tepozteco
This week I climbed Tepozteco and did some rope flow on top. Tools I used: Shoes Rope Context I’m starting to get a bit more busy with other interesting projects, so I have less time to devote to 52weeks. Rather than stopping entirely or skipping more weeks, I plan to scale down the scope and still get something out each week.
Week 39 - toasti - iOS connection app
This week I created toasti , a much improved (but for now still ugly looking) connection games app for iOS and Android . Tools I used: Flutterflow - a low-code app builder ChatGPT - to generate content StableDiffusionXL (via PlaygroundAI ) - to generate images The first version of the AR Games App that I made in Week 1
Week 35 - Murder on the Dancefloor
This week we hosted a disco themed murder mystery dinner party. Tools I used: Boogie Down Disaster - murder mystery kit with characters, goals, and instructions Disco ball, disco decorations, flowers, candles 3 course dinner by chef P Borrowed tables, chairs, and cutlery Our signature cacao potion
Week 34 - Volcano mapping
This week I made a custom contour map of the hike-able volcanoes around Mexico City. Hopefully I will get to climb them all soon! Popocatepetl is currently active and recently spewed ash over Mexico City Tools I used: Mapbox Studio - to add and edit map layers
Week 33 - High vibrational bread
This week P and I made a delicious loaf of ‘high vibrational’ bread. Tools I used: Many bowls to soak things overnight Mixing bowl + spoon A baking tray Oven Ingredients 1 cup sunflower seeds 1/4 cup flaxseeds 1/4 cup chia seeds 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
Week 32 - Face yoga
This week I filmed a face yoga video to do alongside a daily carrot chewing practice. Tools I used: iPhone 13 camera Final Cut Pro Soundraw - to generate royalty free music A carrot Context I recently saw an article about someone who chewed gum every day for a year and chiseled his jawline and face muscles. The story goes that these days we mostly chew soft, cooked, and processed foods, and we no…
Week 31 - Compromiso
This week we threw an engagement party with ritual, experience, live music, and food. Tools I used: Partiful - to invite guests Pens and paper The Shredder Candles Flowers Cacao Authentic relating games Live electronic music + improvised shakers Tacos de canasta (basket tacos)
Week 30 - Rope flow
This week I had planned to make a short film, but life got in the way, so instead I cut together a short rope flow video. Tools I used: iPhone 13 mini camera - to record video Octorope - to flow with Capcut - to edit video on the phone
Week 29 - Ingredient investigation
This week I investigated the history, manufacture, and health implications of a 3 common food ingredients I saw in the US. Tools I used: Google Attempting to read scientific papers (poorly, it takes a lot of focus!) Context I was at a friend’s house and we were eating some snacks. Out of habit, I glanced at the food labels, and noticed that most packaged foods had canola oil in them. For example,…
Week 28 - Childhood reshoot
This week I was in NYC hanging out with a close friend. I had the opportunity to visit the small town nearby where I spent 5 years of my childhood, so I recreated a few childhood photos. I forgot to bring my trumpet so I didn’t recreate this one Tools I used: iPhone 13 mini camera
Week 26 - La cena de los objetos
This week P and I hosted a special dinner celebrating new friends and personal stories for 10 people. Tools I used: Canva - to design the menu Gold paper and a print shop - to print the menus (thank you Nelly!) My basic Spanish skills - to co-host the event
Week 25 - Photo Typologies
This week I created and recreated several photographic typologies of things around where I live. 52s in Mexico City Tools I used: iPhone 13 mini - to take the photos Google maps - to identify the 52s Eyes and feet - to get me to the 52s
Week 24 - 3 days of silent meditation
This week I spent 3 days in silent meditation at Dhamma Makaranda Vipassana center. Context To date I’ve completed two 10 day Vipassana courses, the first in 2018 in Myanmar, and the second in 2022 in Australia. Committing to 10 days is difficult, but I think there’s a lot of benefit in refreshing my practice every so often and meeting other meditators, so I applied and was accepted last minute to…
Week 23 - Light Exposure Tracking App
This week I created an iOS app called LighterUp that tracks your daily light exposure and gives you daily scores. Tools I used: Xcode, SwiftUI + ChatGPT - to code, test, and upload the app Charts - to plot the data Photone - to calibrate my light sensor reading
Week 22 - DIY Home Gym
This week I created three kinds of workout equipment to play and get stronger at home: a kettlebell, a balance beam, and a tire sled. Tools I used: Tire sled An old tire A piece of rope (3 metres, I should have got longer)
Week 21 - Worm Farm
This week I created a worm farm to break down our food scraps and generate fertilizer for our growing plant collection. Tools I used: A medium sized plastic bin Drill - to make holes in the bin Shredded paper and cardboard - the base layer of bedding
Week 18/19/20 - 3-course Oaxaca-inspired dinner
I spent the last two weeks eating great food in Oaxaca City, and to celebrate and commemorate I prepared a 3 course dinner for 4 people inspired by the cuisine. , where these are handmade Context In my last post, I committed to finishing the buildspace project(s) that I started in the previous few weeks, and to finish the 6 week program. Soon after the post, 3 close friends arrived and stayed with…
Week 11 - House Wallpaper Cards
I created a set of stylish cards based on wallpaper in our house to give out at parties to people we want to live with.
Week 17 - buildspace: attunitas
This week I evolved my buildspace idea from ‘communitas’ to ‘ attunitas ’, it’s now a platform to help you stay in touch with long-distance friends. Here it is - try it out! Welcome to attunitas You will first be asked to enter your email to authenticate without any explanation. Many of the pages are barebones for now, bear with me!
Week 16 - buildspace: launching communitas
This week I created a community feedback app called ‘communitas’ using Next.js, Prisma, Vercel, and the OpenAI API. Here’s the link! . I’ve joined the third cohort (‘Season 3’) of a 6 week program called buildspace nights and weekends . We’re now at the end of week 2, and we have to launch our thing and get users testing it. So my ask for you is… please try it out!
Week 15 - Trinket Photogrammetry + Animation
This week I created an interactive 3D scene of real objects and a real terrace using photogrammetry. - to capture objects and rooms in 3D Spline - to render and animate objects in a scene Luma.ai - to play around with NeRFs iPhone 13 mini camera - to take the photos Context P’s great uncle was a doctor, avid traveler, and meticulous collector of trinkets and curiosities. He left behind many small,…