The Bournacle

Inspiration

In January 2011, Hugh Gallagher left for Thailand to write a book. Blazing trails through uncharted terrain, he faced the challenges of survival alone. In this perilous hour, Fate landed a paperback copy of The Bourne Supremacy in his hands. Reading was difficult. While wrestling with his problems, he had trouble focusing on Jason Bourne’s Hong Kong missions. But as Hugh grappled with demands, passages from the Bourne Supremacy leapt out at him, providing answers. Page after page, Robert Ludlum’s prose offered profound life guidance. Moral, realistic, unflinching, and eminently wise, The Bourne Supremacy Oracle, or “Bournacle”, lead the traveling writer through numerous shadowed valleys, always onto higher ground. Working together with programmer and designer Rob King, Hugh Gallagher shares now this experience with you. Open your mind, pose your problem, and let The Bournacle speak.

What it does

Calm yourself, concentrate on your problem, then humbly seek wisdom from The Bournacle. Refrain from repeatedly asking about a certain situation. Do not approach The Bournacle with “yes” or “no” questions. (“Should I key Dante’s car?”) Rather, ask for insight into a current state of affairs. (“What is the proper course of action concerning Dante?”) The Bournacle does not provide answers, only advice.

How I built it

Built with both HTML web interface, and voice interface using APL.

Challenges I ran into

Screen layout using APL - just learning something new

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

It seems to basically work.

What I learned

APL, Lamda functions

What's next for The Bournacle

Polish it up a bit

Built With

• alexa-apl