Ochen K. | Doing the useless the hard way

Monle

Monle is a four track, non-linear audio editor for the iPhone and iPod touch. You can record new audio, import prerecorded audio, cut it up, rearrange it, add fades, set volumes, zoom in and out, mix everything down, share audio with other applications, and send the audio wherever you want.
Gingerbread House ‘09

As much as I enjoyed it last time, it’s taken me a few years to find another December night available to try again. But 2009 appears to be the year. This is the simple, understated (I hope), design I came up with this year. It was just tricky enough with the compound-pitch roof to make [...]
The Invisible Clock

So I made a clock. It’s a pendulum clock made of clear acrylic and nested brass tubes. The design of the gear train, escapement mechanism, and housing is original. As such, I’m sure it’s not as refined as it could be. It’s missing things like a ratchet system. There’s a weight, but it’s not in [...]
Nobody Likes A Mess

I draw a bit. It gets a little obsess’y sometimes. Here’s a gallery.
IKEA hack

I needed a laundry hamper. IKEA trip! But looking around, they only had crappy metal, bright plastic hampers, or ugly-ass rattan things. I did find a few things that were close, so I hacked ‘em together. Here’s how: So I got two items, a small VACKER shelving unit and a NATURLIG laundry basket. The VACKER had [...]
Gimme That Beat

I had a need for a probability drumbeat generator, but couldn’t find one, so I created one. What exactly is that? Well, if you know what a step sequencer is, it’s like that, except instead of toggling a hit on and off, you give it a probability of triggering. I don’t know if anyone else will find it useful, but I do. Hit me up if you get any use out of it.
My 2007 Annual Report

In 2007, I got a little OCD and started tracking things like bottles of water and candy bars consumed, phone conversations, meals, etc. At the end of it, I put together a little annual report of my year, printed up about 100 copies, and sent them out as my 2007 holiday card. Here are the [...]
La Ciel et la Terre

I worked for a while in France some years ago. I was in the north, in Rheims, and when I had a few days off, I went to visit friends in Montélimar, in the south. The change in landscape between northern and southern France is remarkable. I took a bunch of photos on the train [...]
Résumés for Designers

Quick! What’s a designer’s job? A few of you just out of art school just said, “To make things look cool.” That’s cute. The rest of you said something like, “To organize, synthesize, and present information in a clear and compelling way as appropriate to the client’s brand.” That’s the right answer. Gold star for you. So, [...]
Happy Halloween

I followed this guy’s tutorial to make this year’s pumpkin. Took about two hours. Anyone know how to preserve something like this? (Although part of me wants to put this guy out of his misery as soon as possible. Any cool ideas for how to send him off?)
Gingerbread is the Hiz-ouse

For years, I’ve had this fascination with contemporary folk arts. When we think of “folk art,” we think of spinning yarn and sewing quilts and stuff like that. We don’t really think of folk art as a contemporary thing. But of course, it is. Contemporary folk arts are things like jack-o-lantern carving and Easter egg [...]
Stained Glass

Well, everyone was trying it, so I had to see what all the excitement was about. I signed up for a stained glass class through community adult ed. (Man, is that a fabulous racket. It’s cheep, it’s broad, and it’s easy. Go Community Ed!) First, we all did little sun-catchers. Then small panels. Then we each [...]
I Wish I Had A River

Growing up in Los Angeles, I heard about the “great rivers of the world” with my only frame of reference being my understanding of the Pacific Ocean. No one talked about the “great Pacific,” so I always imagined the great rivers, while obviously not challenging the size of the Pacific, certainly challenging the grandeur. I was [...]
FairWaves

The Minnesota State Fair hired me to produce a podcast for them. Listen online or subscribe via iTunes.
I Voted for Gummi Bears

A show/lecture that I perform, looking at the voting rights of felons.
Pysanky

How I spend my Easter: (click on an image to enbiggen)