Author Archives: Nuraly Soltonbekov

Blog Post Week 15

The last week was a crunch, and I guess the goal of this class is to be not afraid of things that you have not done before. I would guess that the comfort zone of many students in this class was stretched to its limit. Some people prefer working alone, some are introverted, some are extroverted, some are good with technologies while others are good with writing, etc. The aggregate skill of the class is as varied as the backgrounds of its students, A diverse student group that is responsible for the project that is tangible and unique in a sense. It is a great feeling when the thing that you do think of works but it takes immense amount of tries to get it right, to feel that it is right, and create the working product that you are proud of even it is just for class. Sometimes things need to be trimmed and sometimes things need to be scoped up, and it is the journey that counts, and I would guess that many people would agree with me.

Blog Post

This week I was sick but I have managed to get some of the stuff done. Meanwhile I am working on a game Bingo for our final project as a side project in order to see If I can make the game in Python with all of its user interface ready to compete with the plugin already done and created for word press. The experience has taught me well the value of teamwork because some things can not be done by yourself and especially when it concerns the project as ambitious as these group projects, and each of them unique and with unique challenges. The importance of diversity of thought and unconventional solutions matter when this kind of projects are thrown into the fold. The importance of open communication and understanding of each other weaknesses and strength are also an important aspect when building a group and deciding on the challenges to take each week. Hopefully everything will turn out just fine in the end and we are satisfied with the end product.

Games for our WordPress site (Overbaked)

The concept for the site and the would be general look of website is done as discussed with our team. I have been researching and finding the best methods and games to incorporate in our website. There is a choice of creating the games from scratch using Python and its vast options of supporting Visual tools in creating those needed games, (later we can embed them in our website) or we can use the already tested and created games for wordpress. There are many and the choices and the preferences will be discussed with the group and we will choose the best plugins and/or use combination of Python coding in creating those games to better fit our agenda. We are definitely going to be creating a Bingo game, and I have already communicated the tools and the relevant resources with the wider group and  optionally we also want to create a trivia game, and it will in my opinion add to the fuller experience regarding our final product. There are many options going forwards and we will discuss that with our team.

On the side I am familiar with Python and I will try to create some alternatives for our games but so far we are gravitating towards proven products that already exist and are already tested. I will work  on my Python games to see if they hold up and/or can add to the experience of our website. There are many resources that will help us with that project and everything I do find I put it in our shared google document.

Bio about Nuraly Soltonbekov

Nuraly Soltonbekov is a Political Economist with a minor in Computer Science and a graduate of Kingsborough Community College, and Columbia University. He is also currently enrolled at NYU for masters in History. He is fond of research and the big questions that involve processes in historical narratives. He is also former service member of US armed forces, and does speak Russian, and Turkish dialects which helped a lot in his military career. He was part of HUMINT team, meaning human intelligence gathering at Fort. Carson, CO. His language skills were essential in research and gathering of information for the Department of Defense and helped to create manuals in disinformation. His coding skills are intermediate and he has not coded in a long time but it is still his passion as is history and economics. His most proud work of research had to deal with disinformation in Soviet Union and he will always talk about it when given a chance. He is an introvert, and that is why he chose his subject that are more conducive to introvert people.

 

Skills, and the group.

It has been a rocky start in my case into this class but so far pieces have been moving, and there is an understanding of our roles in this project. The roles have been defined. The project that I chose and I do believe it is a great fit for me is Maria’s proposal about Great British Baking Show as it is the closest to my skill set and to my understanding of a DH project. Looking forward to working on this piece going forwards, and I there is also understanding that extra pair of hands is always useful when taking on a mammoth work.

I am a researcher at heart and I do tend to use research using Open source tools and websites. I am particularly interested in meme culture, and a big proponent of Braudelian historical narratives. Of course there is also an understanding of not trusting everything that you read or hear on the internet but still it is an invaluable tool in the hands of a researcher. I tend to focus on system building aspect of society, history and technology. Digital Humanities project seem like a great endeavor and a team building aspect sometimes scare me but there is an understanding that solo work is rocky and the folly of it can hamper the horizon of the exercise. In this sense I am an introvert and sometimes things can take beyond my comfort zone. But in this class almost everyone is already known and the work can move more comfortably.