3 comments

Vacuum Coffee Maker - Brewing

Published on Monday, December 12, 2011 in ,

I made this video for fun.

1 comments

How the Internet is Both a Benifit and a Hindrance to Society

Published on Monday, December 5, 2011 in

"How does the internet effect society", is a question that is often often asked. The Internet is a tool that has revolutionary effects in how society is structured. The changed that it makes in society are both good and bad. The way that society is changed by the adaption of the internet is the power of the individual voice is stronger, the promotion of global societies, privacy is not as important, increase in accessibility of book publishing, and the distribution of illegal information.



The power of the individual to say exactly what is wanted to say without having to filter the message in anyway is not only possible, but a common place on the internet. An example that shows how much one person's voice made a difference and fueled a public protest is a recent event in the middle east. A blogger named Ahmad Abu Khair was arrested for his blog, it concluded that change in the Arab world was possible, but only with a revolution. This single voice among thousands that are both online and offline was picked up and spread to millions of people. The resulting arrest that came out of it is the reason why the public started to protest.



The globalization effect that the Internet has on society is both good and bad. An article from the Asia Times states globalization as a double edged sword. The increasing of communications and also cooperation is beneficial, but the increase in inequality between the classes and the reduction of benefits has shown to be a down side. The article states that, "The wealth of this group is greater than the total income of 41 percent of the world population." This shows that there is a concentration of wealth in the world. So by creating a world the is becoming increasingly global from the effects of the internet can only increase this income gap. The internet and globalization are elements that go hand and hand.

Me and my 542 bestest friends (on Facebo by tychay, on Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic License  by  tychay 


The individual's privacy on the Internet is something that can be be minimal. A story from CBS news about one teacher that had her job effected by images that were on her Facebook. The images on her Facebook involved alcohol and profanity. Something that seemed normal for someone her age to have on her Facebook resulted in a principle of the school asking her to "resign or be suspended." A situation like this could happen before the internet, but now the spread of such information is much more wide spread than ever before.

Amazon-New-Detail-Page by kokogiak, on Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License  by  kokogiak 


Book publishing is made much easier with a service offered by Amazon. A benefit program enables people to publish their book and also distribute it. Being able to self-publish means that writer can be more in charge of the publication of their books. Another aspect is the printing of the book and that can be done interdependently in a similar fashion though companies also available online.

freenet by MoDTiger, on Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License  by  MoDTiger 



A service called Freenet enables user to exchanged information
both anonymously and also at no additional change to the user. Being able to do something that is both illegal and can be done anonymously enables criminal activity to take place much more freely than has even been done before. Not having the right tool to locate and identify criminals is a downside to the internet. Giving up individual freedom to do so is a trade off that many are not willing to take.



The overall effect that the Internet has on society is a good thing, but in order to reduce the bad effect that is has on society we have to be aware of them. Not being aware of these bad effect can result in the way the society operates in a negative way. How the individual connects with each other has been changed forever by the internet. How much privacy we have is something that is much less then it was in past generations. Being mindful of how much information and also what information we share needs to be looked at by everyone.

3 comments

Malware And The Ways It Will Effect You

Published on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 in

Malware is something that was coded with a bad intent. So malware can effect you life in many different ways in today's world. Being able to identify and have the correct behavior in this day and age is the best way to combat and avoid malware. Malware can be on many different devices and networks in your daily life, including your phone, power plant near your house, game accessory, social network, windows computer, and mac computer.


A story recently published on infonet about a 15 year old creating a virus called "gawde" which uses Microsoft's Kinect game accessory to take pictures of the victim's surroundings. This software can even be triggered based on voice recognition trigger the camera capture. This is interesting in how it can be triggered.

Another story on the rise of viruses on smartphones is on the rise. It states that in the last four months viruses on smartphones has risen 800% in the last four months. One way that this virus is spread is by applications from the store. The appications insert malicious code in the application. When the virus is on the phone things like identity fraud can be done, SMS, browsing, and downloading content.

A virus called Stuxnet is something that was designed to gain control of systems made by the manufacturer Siemens and also other common control systems. There was speculation about the virus being directed toward Iran and it's nuclear facilities.

On a social network like facebook, users can be lured into clicking on links in emails that have a Trojan in the link instead of accepting a friend request. People nto knowing how to identify what is an email from facebook and what is not needs to be known by the user.

How to protect against a computer virus on a windows machine is something that will hinder your experience and may result in your identity being stolen. Having the correct idea of how malware writers attack users and how to protect against that is a must. By keeping your computer updated and having a software that is known to have a good record of protecting the users is also a must.

On the Mac currently having good usage patterns is the only thing that you need to do right now. The anti-virus programs on the mac are not really ever updated. The reason being the mac is not used widely enough to be a target for someone to write a virus that will spread. If a mac becomes more widely used than maybe one day this will not be the case.

So in today's world you need to be able to have the correct behavior in order to prevent a successful attack. Not having the correct behavior mean that your computing experience will be diminished. This is how mal-ware can effect you in this day and age.


What is the most common type of mal-ware?







Answer: Trojan (see above graph)

2 comments

My Own Ringtone

Published on Sunday, November 20, 2011 in , , ,

I wanted to make a ringtone that I actually wanted to use. Looking though creative commons music I found one track that was interesting and also pleasant to have in everyday life. We don't really call much in Japan, but it still needed be to pleasant.

Tortue Super Sonic - "The Price 12" - Ringtone by user5811304
From Production Music from TSS Tortue Super Sonic

Having lost my phone recently this feel odd making a ringtone for something I no longer have, but I enjoyed it.

I created this with GarageBand on the mac.

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Screen Capture

Published on in , , ,

I know there is a better one for the mac, but I wanted a free one.

Use CamStudio, Fraps, or another screen capturing software to get footage of something you do on your computer. A few minutes of gameplay is a good example.

So I wanted to just show some of the things Lightroom can do briefly. I tried to stay with the things that were visually interesting and not the more technical aspects.


Excuse the ad in the on the video in the bottom left.

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Common Everyday Object

Published on Saturday, November 19, 2011 in , , ,

The assingment:

Take a picture of a common ever day object and manipulate the colors.

First to start off with an image I shot for the daily shoot of a mechanical pencil with an eraser:
The Daily Shoot - Mundane & Ordinary

Here is one I shot just a few minutes ago and edited in Lightroom:

Starbucks Mug from Seattle, WA

If anyone was curious about Lightroom here is a screenshot of me editing this image.

Lightroom editing

All of my images that I upload to Flickr go though Lightroom.

Here is what the original image looks like in Lightroom:

Original - Lightroom editing

3 comments

Triple Troll Attack - "Inventor of the internet"

Published on Thursday, November 10, 2011 in , , ,

The assignment that this is for is called "Triple Troll Attack, GO!" The purpose of the assignment is to confuse the viewer and possibly even to make them think it is true.

Here is the exact details of the assignment:

The assignment is to take a photo, a quote from a different character than the one in the picture, and a name from a third character different from the other two, place the quote in the picture, and "sign" it with the third person's name. The three characters are to be from three different, but similar in genre, series. It's known as "troll quoting". For an "official" definition, go here: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/troll-quotes



So my direction for this was to create the most misdirecting and deceiving "triple troll attack". I feel like I met that accomplishment as much as I could by using a rumor that many people still believe. So by doing this I catch people's attention and they want to know what the reason for what I used.

Quote Source: Rumor - Here is the interview that the idea came from.
Image: Al Gore
Attribution: Tim Berners-Lee - The most accurate claim to being the inventor of the WWW

3 comments

Response to Timmmmyboy's "We Are All Artists"

Published on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 in

In Timmmmyboy's post about "We are all artists" he goes into the idea that when you practice anything you get better. Therefore, if an environment is created to help you get surrounded by people and ideas that are creative will in turn help you become more creative. The idea comes from in sports when people practice there is a better outcome is achieved out of this activity. When you can make something complex into something simple an idea can become powerful. Inspiration is all around you, so take those ideas and make a new one.


My response to his position on that during this time "we are all artists" is that I agree with it. I think that this is true, since now everyone can afford to create 90% (if not much more, just a guess) of the art work out there. Also the money for the art is spread out far more than it was in the past. During the past in human civilization the time for creativity could only be afforded by the elite of society.

The time for creativity has since spread much more out to anyone that can sacrifice the time for it One of the classic examples of in history were the elite of society were defined by how good they were at art was the Heian period in japan. The art in this time is some of the best in the world. The art in japan after this did not innovate, but tried to mimic. The economy was not doing good enough to match this time. Even though the times after this there was many more artist, they were not original like they were during the Heian period.

Heian Temple by bradlby, on Flickr
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License  by  bradlby 

So my point is that everyone can do art if they push themselves, but the level of quality is really low. There is no benifit to being as good as the artist were during the Heian period, but the push is to be "good enough". During the Heian period there was a push to be "god like" top keep their elite status. People that were elite meant they were good at art and if you were not the top a master you were not an elite. So during this time we just have a lot of really low quality art in general.

3 comments

"Haiku it up" - Fall

Published on in , , ,

     The DS106 assignment called "haiku it up" struck my interest, since I have always enjoyed this type of poem. Also it was interesting to join my fellow classmates in making a haiku. Furthermore, I haven't made a haiku in a long time, so it was time that I put my hand at it.

Now to the assignment's instructions the author writes:
     For the writing assignment, take a random Dailyshoot photograph and create a haiku using that image. Let the image inspire you to create a poetic haiku. Don't know what a haiku is? The most common form for Haiku is three short lines. The first line usually contains five (5) syllables, the second line seven (7) syllables, and the third line contains five (5) syllables. Haiku doesn't rhyme.


"Fall Has Come"

The mud is seen less
Arriving after summer
Now fall is here




1 comments

Visual Story Telling

Published on Thursday, October 13, 2011 in

Visual storytelling has many categories within it.  The categories that a part of this are photographs, film, design and also painting. The way that people use visual storytelling can range from something to help explain an idea, convey an emotion, and telling a story. There is no right or wrong way to do this, but you can find tip on the subject from many people.

One way to use photographs to tell a story is by having a slideshow. If used correctly it can show a lot of emotions. One such example is shown below.



A lot of the before a movie is filmed it is first made into a storyboard to make sure the movie works well. The use of a storyboard is to work out how it works visually. So this is the step between the written story and capturing it on film. This is an interview of one such artist.



Iain McCaig is an illustrator that has been involved in movies such as Harry Potter and Star Wars.

Painting can be combined with audio to make a more interactive experience for the viewer. Using more than one medium means you can create emotion better and create a more dynamic effect on the audience.



"WORLDSPIRIT represents a radically new form of entertainment that brings together evolutionary spiritual teachings, visual art, music, live performance and advanced technology; speaking at once to body, mind and spirit." - Their YouTube page

Using visuals to express an idea better can help your audience understand things a a deeper level. Creating a deeper meaning in your viewer mean your message will be both remember more and have a greater effect. Not everyone is good with viusalzing in their head what is being said.

Photograph from VizThink NYC of visual notes

Visual storytelling can take place in many forms and combinations. The way that it is done is only limited to your imagination. All ways that you can tell a story can be powerful.

5 comments

How Can Social Media Help Photographers?

Published on Monday, October 3, 2011 in

Social Media is a tool to connected with people around the world with similar interests. This tool is something that changes the way we connect with people with people. So this tool is something that can help create an image and a voice to someone that might not have one before this tool existed. Many people in the photography field are lost as in the way that it can be used to their advantage. So the objective of this blog is to point out the strategies that the professionals use and have adapted.

The general ways that photographers use social media is the following aspects:

  1. Talking to anyone that will listen about themselves
  2. Listening to famous people talk
  3. Making relationships
  4. Building contacts that will be used for businesses 
Many of these uses are not a very efficient use of time for a business, so you can see there is a big room for improvement. For photographers there is very specific area as were the time should be spent.

The ways that social media should be used is the following general aspects:
  1. Feedback from the consumers
  2. Getting ideas from others
  3. Building the brand for your product
  4. Maintaining the connection that is had with your clients
  5. Becoming visible to search engines
  6. Sales!
Tools in Social Media for Photographers:

Blogging is a social tool that helps connect to very specific people, but also gives general information to get new contacts. This is also a tool that helps show more of your style. 



Linkedin is a formal way that you can establish credibility and find connections. By becoming recommended by people that you have worked with you can make possible businesses connections become more visible in photography.



Facebook is a simple way that photographers can create a community around their identity and products. By creating this community you create a strong relationship between you and your customers. By forming this relationship you increase the possible business opportunities that you will have.


Twitter the idea of twitter is instead of having a full blog post you have a micro-blog. As far as the relationship this can have in your use for photography is keeping an eye on what others are doing in the industry. Having an information feed on equipment manufacturers. Keeping an edge on people technically can lead to standing out from the crowd. Another use of the space is drawing people to your blog or other information that you need to promote.


The key part that photographers have to realize in relation to their business is that it is a really low cost way to advertise yourself. In many way social media is better than advertising, since it can be done at really cheaply and directly to your consumer. Creating a public image that can be used to connect to people on a personal level is something that is indispensable.

2 comments

Pop Culture Definition & Example of Social Media Usage

Published on Tuesday, September 20, 2011 in

Pop culture is the popularization of a group, idea, feeling or look in mass media. When something is mainstream it is often has features that a wider audience would enjoy. For an idea to join the mainstream it often has to become a trendsetter by being very popular. Such pop culture is often used by companies to sell products unrelated to why it become popular.

One such game that is both in popular culture and also mainly used for an advance form of social media is Second Life. Having only tried to for a short time I can only guess at what people do in it, but it seems like a lot of the fun would be the social aspect of it.

12 comments

The Changes Social Media Has Had On Society

Published on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 in

Over the past few years since a much wider audience has adopted social media many different people have said the opinion that it is damaging society.  This viewpoint has been written about in prominent newspapers like the New York Times. One such article named "The Twitter Trap" can be summarized in one such quote that was given, “The generation that had information, but no context. Butter, but no bread. Craving, but no longing.” It is perfectly logical for a person to not be readily accepting of something that is new that can effect their life.

Just like the article that was mentioned previously mentioned some people have a tendency to form an opinion about something and feel strongly about that viewpoint without needing evidence to support it. Finding and looking into the positive and negative sides of the use of these tools is the objective of this blog post.

A recent report that was published by Eurostat, which correlated the online activity of an individual and the education level showed an interesting data pattern. The study clearly showed that the education level increased when there was more online activity. This study doesn't really prove that increased activity is the cause of the higher levels of education, but it is interesting that more intelligent people had more activity online.

A graph from the study below:

Moving on to the political side of things a report that was release in 2009 by PEW showed that social networks getting younger people more involved with politics. Seeing recent revolutions in the Middle East it is hard to believe that those events would have happened with out the organizational power that social media provided. The Middle East being an area with a much younger population than most other places in the world.

An image showing the new tools of a revolution:

Egypt's Protest Network, Mapped With Google Pagerank - The link has a bigger view of the below image





So the conclusion that looking into changes that have happened to society since the introduction of social media is seemingly entirely positive. Being more connected and social with your friends and acquaintances can only be a good thing. Sure people do need to be careful as to how they use the tools just like everything, but the current benefits far outweigh the cost.

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Ted Nelson and Doug Engelbart

Published on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 in

The following is a link to an interview with Doug Engelbart and Ted Nelson. One of the good points that was made is when Ted says, "this technology is modelled on how the mind works." I have never thought about this before, but this makes sense.
http://alex.tsd.net.au/2009/11/19/doug-engelbart-ted-nelson-interviews/

This is a video called "Douglas Engelbart : The Mother of All Demos", which talks about a live demostration to the public.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfIgzSoTMOs

3 comments

First "Real" Post

Published on Saturday, September 10, 2011 in

Hello! Welcome to my blog!

I look forward to sharing things with this tool.

Once I figure out something interesting to share and a good way to execute the story, I will post it here.

Cheers!

Followers