What a treat! It's 8,000 hand-written cards with questions and answers about life! As a campus prank, some students who shall not be named and I hung them in one of the MIT lobbies, just for 3 hours.

We worked for four days preparing, hanging cards onto cubicle walls and long rolls of mural paper that could be installed and removed quickly. Everyone seemed to like it! Click any photo for a larger size.

Thanks and photo credits to Dawn Anderson, TJ Rivera, and Kelda Seeber. Thanks to Jack Florey and the other students for inviting me and helping set up.

See up close photos of the question & answer cards
See pics and videos of the project
About the project

See up close photos of the question & answer cards
See pics and videos of the project
About the project

The Wheel Questions project is over for 2009, and having self-funded the last two years, I definitely cannot self-fund it again 2010. However, I am hopeful that corporate sponsors or a grant will help me continue the project. Do me a favor and mention it in your blog or to friends. The more it's out there, the more likely I am to be able to show it's real and to get the fuel I need to keep going.

The Wheel Questions video blitz ended up taking 2 weeks, but I did amass a ton of questions and answers: 388 written on cards and 276 on video. So at 664 I didn't quite make the number of the beast, but trust me, it's plenty! Each video took about 20 minutes to greet passersby, record, record a reply, edit, and post. Each card about 3 minutes.

At the end of November, Wheel Questions finally got a sponsor. The marketing firm behind HP, Intel, and Best Buy paid for a two-week video blitz, where I tried to answer 1,000 questions in a single week, much of it by video.

Start here and go forwards for the full story of the Wheel Questions video blitz.

Start here and go forwards for the 2009 Wheel Questions project, or go backwards for 2008.

I'll continue to post a daily question and answer, mostly written but occasionally a video. I hope you find it uplifting. You can see the videos and all 12,000 questions at The Wheel Questions Complete Archive.

Photos from the Wheel Questions video blitz:

Yesterday was a flood of people at Edaville Railroad, despite temperatures around freezing. I got a bunch of people on camera despite everyone frantically hurrying from attraction to the warm indoor gallery back to attraction. And plenty of cards as well. My trick for the first 4 hours was hot apple cider. Hot anything, really. But I did leave early through sheer self-preservation.

Then I went to the annual Newbury Comics corporate party and danced! Those people know how to throw a party.

Back to work this morning! To rectify the artistic situation and to get some more footage at Edaville, I'm returning today to shoot answers to questions. What a great backdrop with the carousel and the Ferris Wheel and trains.

The HP Envy is continuing to be the workhorse of the project. I finally discovered a limitation in the powerful laptop: it wants to be warmer than freezing to work properly. I'm not sure how much of limitation that is, unless you're on a mountain climbing or Arctic exploration project. I will most definitely not be taking the Wheel Questions project mountain climbing.

So this morning, a little video editing, then recording some answers, and I hope to post them tonight!

I can't help it! I had so much fun at Edaville Railroad that I'm going back for a second day.

The Edaville Festival of Lights is a midsize amusement park with a carousel and Ferris wheel and a lot of kids rides. But the main attraction is a train ride that takes you in a big loop through the forest, with over 7 million holiday lights. It definitely makes you feel awed and happy like a child, enough that I went last year even though I don't have any kids of my own. I am my kid!

That being said, the idea is apparently unique. I didn't see anyone there without kids in tow on Friday. The weather was warm, 55 degrees at night, and they placed me right at the end of the queue for the train ride. Unfortunately, the people there are a little crazy about getting on that train, and all the stanchions and chains create a social barrier. So that's another reason why I'm going out. This time, I'll plop myself (with permission) right in the middle of all the action.

Like any holiday lights attraction, Edaville is open after dark this time of year. Shooting video at night creates its own challenge, even with all the lights, but I got some great video. I even took the camcorder on the train ride and shot the fireworks that capped the evening.

I also discovered some secrets about Edaville. It's a generic holiday attraction that doesn't feel too religious, but they don't avoid songs with Jesus on the loudspeakers. And I managed to find one creche scene, tucked waaaaaaay in the back on the train ride. A big statue of Santa and his elves contains a good book for all the good children. But also a bad book, which is equally filled with names. I thought Santa and Jesus were a bit of a pushover on the good/bad thing for children but apparently not.

Amongst the holiday lights is a diorama village, one-quarter size, that contains a masonic temple. (The Masons! They're behind everything!) And there's a semi-private place where mothers can nurse babies. I wish I were a baby again just for one night.

So I'm going back today, and I'll have a lot more to report (and a ton more questions) tomorrow. Meanwhile the HP Envy and I are still best friends. At night I was even able to run video constantly and show off the unit, and the battery lasted fine for over 3 hours of screen display.

If you want to enter to win the HP Envy laptop, subscribe to this blog and I'll choose a random winner on Wednesday. If you're still waiting for your answer, hang in there! I'm almost done.

It's been a completely crazy week, but the end is in sight. The last day will be tomorrow, Friday, at Edaville Railroad's Festival of Lights, the largest display of lights in New England. (I might switch it to Saturday if the rain forecast disappears.)

That will make the Wheel Questions Video Blitz over two weeks long: 7 days of collecting questions, and about 9 days of answering questions. So far I have 193 videos and a ton of written cards as well, all answered. Take a peek at Wheel Questions: Complete, and look for your question by date.

Getting up to speed was tough, and the weather interfered a bit, but by and large the project was a big success. Everyone seems to love the concept, and I'm really pleased by the volume and quality of entries. Thanks to everyone who dared to reveal their inner thoughts, especially on camera.

I'm setting next Wednesday, December 9th, as the official end point to give away the HP Envy laptop computer. Just subscribe to this blog to be entered for the random drawing. Do me a favor and mention the project in your blog or email to a mailing list! The more that Wheel Questions gets noticed, the more pleased my sponsors will be. :)

After spending 8 hours in Harvard Square yesterday gathering questions (which is Day 6), last night I went to the convenient classrooms of MIT to record some answers. MIT's layout is a giant corridor system where all the buildings are connected. The whole thing is lighted and heated year-round. I came across some jugglers who let me use them as a backdrop, and did some fun shoots with me fooling with vending machines and nearly getting run over by a janitor with a speedy trash cart.

I managed to get through three whole days of answering video questions (about 90) in 6 straight hours of shooting. That's just 4 minutes per question. Today I'm investing in editing and uploading the video. Monday is up already and you'll see Tuesday and Wednesday tonight. Take a look at Wheel Questions: Complete to see all the replies.

I've been able to take the HP Envy everywhere with no problem. Although I was originally put off by the unit's small screen size, there's no doubting that it's portable enough for me to be efficient, and the battery life stayed strong throughout, so I didn't have to plug it in as I recorded 90 different shots in about 75 different locations (I try to add variety!).

Probably tomorrow I'll know whether there's interest in additional of future Wheel Questions Video Blitz days. Officially I've only done 6 days of gathering questions and have about 220 video questions and over 500 written questions. So I'll be over 1,000 total if I go for another 1-3 days. If you're waiting for your answer, hang in there!

I'm just finishing up editing the video questions from Monday to Wednesday and hope to answer them all (that's 120 questions) tonight, because tomorrow, I reconnect with my sponsors to see about a 2nd week for the Wheel Questions Video Blitz. However, today is another day recording questions, both by video and in writing. This will be the 6th day of question collecting (or, 8 days since the project started), and since it's a weekend in Harvard Square, I expect a ton of traffic, enough to put me on track to collect 1,000 questions in 7 days. My friend Gabe is coming out to assist.

I've gone through some changes in how I approach reaching out to people. I started out leaving myself out of the questions entirely. But I realized that every question is asked in the context of meeting me, and leaving that context out feels weird. So I've been engaging everyone directly and including that interaction on the recording.

I have the patter down pretty well now. Unfortunately, in Harvard Square, I'm trying so hard to encourage people to raise their voices to compete with the bells, the cars, the honking, and chatter, that some vocal quality is lost. You know what I mean. When you have to shout, it's hard to make your voice sound poetic.

So I'm concerned now that I sound fakey or repetitive on the recordings, asking people for their name and question, or with an all-to-hearty Thank You at the end. Since I'm standing a lot closer to the camera, I sound loud no matter what i do. Today I'll make an attempt to both raise my voice (as an example to follow) but also sound more genuine.

I'm pleased to say that the HP Envy with Windows 7 is a stable platform. I have lugged the laptop all around Somerville and Cambridge, using the one-button "sleep" over 100 times in a single day, with no problems, and plenty of battery life. And I'm loving using the Canon FS200 camera, too. I've been turning it completely off between recordings to save power, and there's never been a time that I've lost a shot because I pressed "record" and the Canon needed 1-5 seconds to warm up.

That being said, Corel VideoStudio 12 has apparently decided to crash whenever I do a save. But the saves create complete and correct files, so I guess I can live with that.

OK, off to ask questions now and answer them tonight. Wish me luck! See the last entry and Wheel Questions: Complete for all the recent video I have put up.

This is exciting! I have learned a ton about processing video this week. Saturday was by far the most difficult day, because I had to push the learning curve the entire way. But having taken a holiday (Thursday), been rained out (Friday), and today winded out (30 miles an hour winds are just too much), I have caught up and produced some answers.

Take a peek at Wheel Questions: Complete, for the video from Saturday and Sunday, and you can also find the entire archive of over 11,000 cards.

I've also answered Sunday's questions and expect to have them up tonight.

So far the HP Envy is performing well. This week I did notice that the display is a perfect mirror. In any kind of sunlight it's impossible to read. But in terms of hefting around gigabytes of video data, I really am able to compose and clip videos swiftly. That being said, wanting to edit 30-50 videos a day remains an enormous challenge. This morning I felt "guilty" about sleeping in to 4:45am.

What a wonderful array of questions I've received. The videos are less poetic than the handwritten responses -- it's difficult to come across as pitch-perfect on video. However, a handwritten card will rarely make you laugh. And I think I have several videos that will make you laugh out loud. I've been asked everything from the terribly mundane ("Why is the sky blue?") to the terribly personal ("Why does love hate me?"). It's a real study in what people are really thinking as you pass them on the street and they appear to be just going about their day!

Although it's been one week since I began the project, I've collected questions for only 5 days and answered questions for only 3 days. I would guess I have 150 video questions and 450 written questions, so far, for a total of 600, and I've answered about 1/6th. I have "wasted" quite a bit of time trying to record my video answers in interesting locations. See if you can figure out where I'm recording from.

So... more to go! Tomorrow I go back out to gather more questions, and we'll see if my sponsors want me to continue the project next week! If so, I'll be off to Edaville Railroad for their festival of lights. Either way, I'll answer the questions I currently have collected. Hang in there if you're waiting for your response!

Finally, it's not too late to enter to win the HP Envy 13 laptop at the end of the project, which my sponsors, HP, Best Buy, and Intel, have asked me to give away. Just subscribe to the Wheel Questions blog.

I was up this morning at 5am and published my other blog, Johnny's List of Weird Boston Events, which is now the most popular blog in New England on events! Check it out for the scoop on holiday lights, Santa parades, and how to avoid Xmas altogether if you want to.

Right now, I'm just blogging to report that I just edited 33 question videos in 21 minutes with the HP Envy!! That's really all the review you need. The laptop is working out great for me. Now that I'm up to speed with the camera and software, I really think this project just might work! Of course, now I have to add the answers, which means more video editing. This week's been so intense, I sort of let that slip. Back to work, more later!

I'm thinking that I will post all the question-answer videos one-by-one, rather than in big blocks. That will make it easier to find the questions you really care about, and I'll string them together on YouTube so you can watch them in a series, too. Any advice or feedback on that strategy? A question is usually 5-20 seconds and my answers will be 30-60 seconds.

Last night I was forced to leave the Wheel in Harvard Square overnight. I just couldn't get anyone to help me load it onto the van I'm renting. I lost some sleep worrying that someone might steal it. This morning, walking in, I rounded the corner and... I didn't see it. Wheel Questions was gone.

At least, that's what I thought for half-a-second until I realized that a large advertising stand was blocking my view. As I got closer, holding my breath a bit, yes, it was there! So I set up and started to welcome everyone who stopped to view the installation. Typically, I explain the art work and ask them for a question, no doubt while they're simply trying to read some of the question and answer cards in peace. As usual, a ton said yes, especially when I mentioned the laptop giveaway. (You can sign up to win by subscribing to this blog.)

It was drizzling rain all day in Harvard Square, but I managed to get in 4 hours of standing there with the installation and a table through off and on wetness. I collected probably half of a day's questions, when I wanted to collect a full day's worth.

Now it's the eye of the storm. Before I make a major push Saturday (and possibly Sunday), Thanksgiving is a welcome relief. I don't have any plans, and everyone else is busy, so nobody's going to call to interrupt me. Friday might get rained out, so I might have that day "off", too. Let's see how many of the collected questions I can answer.

Despite a short day today, I met a bunch of great people in Harvard Square this week. I met two brothers who asked "Why can't we be naked?" and started to take off their clothes. Then a ton of high school students out early from school wanting to ask group questions while giggling. The Salvation Army guy came over and did a video question. He's been ringing a bell constantly all day near where I'm trying to record, but when I give him the sign he gives me a break. I do wonder how long you can ring a bell for, before you go slowly insane. I have learned that when you ask someone to record their question a second time, but louder, they often speak in the exact same level of volume. Oy. :)

Amongst the 3,000 people I've met this week, (about 600 of whom submitted a question so far), I even met someone I asked on a date who said yes! And generally people seem to love the project. This means a lot to me. A while back, someone asked me what my own question would be for the Wheel Questions project, and I wrote, "Will trying to change the world bring me love, or just frustration?" This week, at least, things seem to be going my way.

Someone very brave asked a personal question about love on camera. And someone submitted the handwritten question, "Will my children ever forgive me?"

Now let's see if I can fight the need for sleep and go go go with video editing and answers!