Apple Computer is my favorite.
Blogged with Flock
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Brains Don't Lie
Source: Gladek, Eva. Discover, 12 Sept 2006
Summary
This article describes new research being done at Temple University by researchers Scott Faro and Feroze Mohamed to develop a novel lie detection system. Instead of the current standard for lie detection, the polygraph machine, which measures changes in physical characteristics such as heart rate, body temperature and perspiration, Faro and Mohamed, "are going straight to the source," by detecting changes in brain activity while lying.
Their experiment consisted of having 6 out of 11 volunteers fire a gun and then asking them all to state that they did not fire the gun while having a functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine scan their brain activity. This would mean that five people were telling the truth while the other six were lying.
They noticed increased areas of brain activity in the liars and up to twice as much activity in general. They are not yet able to pinpoint a lie from the truth, but they do know that lying requires more brain activity than telling the truth because the brain has to supress its natural response to a question and create another one. They also know that it would be very difficult to cheat an fMRI lie detection system or for an fMRI lie detection system to generate false positives as polygraph tests do up to 25% of the time. They hope to continue their research and develop a far more sophisticated and accurate method of lie detection.
Summary
This article describes new research being done at Temple University by researchers Scott Faro and Feroze Mohamed to develop a novel lie detection system. Instead of the current standard for lie detection, the polygraph machine, which measures changes in physical characteristics such as heart rate, body temperature and perspiration, Faro and Mohamed, "are going straight to the source," by detecting changes in brain activity while lying.
Their experiment consisted of having 6 out of 11 volunteers fire a gun and then asking them all to state that they did not fire the gun while having a functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine scan their brain activity. This would mean that five people were telling the truth while the other six were lying.
They noticed increased areas of brain activity in the liars and up to twice as much activity in general. They are not yet able to pinpoint a lie from the truth, but they do know that lying requires more brain activity than telling the truth because the brain has to supress its natural response to a question and create another one. They also know that it would be very difficult to cheat an fMRI lie detection system or for an fMRI lie detection system to generate false positives as polygraph tests do up to 25% of the time. They hope to continue their research and develop a far more sophisticated and accurate method of lie detection.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Nintendo Wii
What a mad system. Games (new and old: you can download classic games from all previous Nintendo platforms), Internet, Photos, Video, The Wii Remote.
At $250 including Wii Sports, the remote, the nunchuck controller and the console, this system is quite a bargain.
I've found the most information from Engagdet: Live at Nintendo's NYC Wii press conference
Blogged with Flock
Monday, September 11, 2006
The trouble with YouTube; Internet video
Source: The Economist. London: Sep 2, 2006.Vol.380, Iss. 8493; pg. 61
Vocab
provenance - place of origin; derivation.
Summary
The business model of such video websites is still unknown. Some, like YouTube and Guba, have experimented with various advertising models to generate revenue. Guba is also selling and renting videos as well as showing free user-generated content. This type of business model sets online video sites, "on a collision course with DVD-rental outfits, such as Netflix, which are moving towards the delivery of films via the internet, rather than as discs sent through the post."
Lastly, the article mentions that the goal of many new online video websites is not to become independent companies and go public, but rather to garner enough interest from large media companies such as Sony and the News Corporation (both of which have made multi-million dollar deals with online video websites) and sell, sell, sell.
Vocab
provenance - place of origin; derivation.
Many firms will be cautious about letting an automatic system--such as, say, Google's AdSense--place their ads next to user-generated clips of unknown provenance and with potentially embarrassing contents.
Summary
It attracts lots of viewers, but can "user-generated" video make money?This is the opening line of the article and a succinct summary of the article itself. The article shares a critical analysis of the burgeoning business of video websites such as YouTube, Google Video, MySpace, Guba, Veoh and Metacafe.
The business model of such video websites is still unknown. Some, like YouTube and Guba, have experimented with various advertising models to generate revenue. Guba is also selling and renting videos as well as showing free user-generated content. This type of business model sets online video sites, "on a collision course with DVD-rental outfits, such as Netflix, which are moving towards the delivery of films via the internet, rather than as discs sent through the post."
Lastly, the article mentions that the goal of many new online video websites is not to become independent companies and go public, but rather to garner enough interest from large media companies such as Sony and the News Corporation (both of which have made multi-million dollar deals with online video websites) and sell, sell, sell.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
i++
Well... i++ probably won't be up by the end of this weekend. There are a few other things that I need to get straightened out before that can happen. One of those things is getting Ubuntu up and running on my machine. It's been somewhat of a challenge setting up the machine - Windows seems to be ruining the partition tables, making it difficult to get advanced partitioning going on - but, Ubuntu (Dapper Drake) will be happening soon.
Actually, it will be happening now.
[this computer will shut down in 5... 4...]
Actually, it will be happening now.
[this computer will shut down in 5... 4...]
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Action
Today, I met a guy by the name of, Action. He was all about action. I think in an earlier post... maybe from the beginning of this year or even earlier, I talked about a game called i++. Well, that game is going to happen. It will be on the Internet soon. Probably by the end of this coming weekend.
I will post my progress on the game here.
Be aware. (a.k.a. beware)
I will post my progress on the game here.
Be aware. (a.k.a. beware)
Starting something new
I'm going to start something new. I have the GRE coming up soon and I'd like to really get "in shape" for it.
What I am going to do is start going to sleep a bit earlier, waking up earlier and reading "high-quality" news and journal articles online each morning before work.
After reading these articles, I'll post a short reflection on what I've read here in this blog.
The sources of my reading will come from the links to the right (which will soon be updated). I am thinking of a science source, such as Discover or Scientific American; an economics/politics source, such as The Economist; and news: BBC.
I've already been reading these different sources, but only on occaision. I'd really like to stick with it for a serious amount of time to strengthen my vocabulary and increase my reading speed and comprehension. I'd also like to get more into reading and would really enjoy reading from the sources listed above.
Knowledge is power.
What I am going to do is start going to sleep a bit earlier, waking up earlier and reading "high-quality" news and journal articles online each morning before work.
After reading these articles, I'll post a short reflection on what I've read here in this blog.
The sources of my reading will come from the links to the right (which will soon be updated). I am thinking of a science source, such as Discover or Scientific American; an economics/politics source, such as The Economist; and news: BBC.
I've already been reading these different sources, but only on occaision. I'd really like to stick with it for a serious amount of time to strengthen my vocabulary and increase my reading speed and comprehension. I'd also like to get more into reading and would really enjoy reading from the sources listed above.
Knowledge is power.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Built a Computer
Last Friday night, Tushar and I built a computer. We'd been thinking about it all summer and were researching parts throughout. We ended up with the following components:
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
Motherboard: ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe
RAM: 1Gx2 CORSAIR Twinx2048-3200c2pt
Video: PNY GeForce 7600GT 256M GDDR3
Hard drive: 320GB Seagate 7200RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3Gb/s
Optical: NEC 16x DVD+/-RW, DL
Case: Antec Performance I P180 Silver
Power Supply: Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W
Display: ViewSonic LCD 20.1" Widescreen, 8ms, 800:1, 300 cd/m2
Wireless Adapter: LINKSYS WMP54G PCI Wireless-G
Putting together the machine was real cool. It was the first time I had really messed around with the insides of a computer other than loading some RAM and replacing a video card. I think I ended up learning a lot. The case was a little tough to work with, but is very quiet and keeps everything running cool. Pretty much a hit.
Here are some photos of the machine:
the A8N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard
everything assembled within the case
the final product (running Ubuntu)
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
Motherboard: ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe
RAM: 1Gx2 CORSAIR Twinx2048-3200c2pt
Video: PNY GeForce 7600GT 256M GDDR3
Hard drive: 320GB Seagate 7200RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3Gb/s
Optical: NEC 16x DVD+/-RW, DL
Case: Antec Performance I P180 Silver
Power Supply: Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W
Display: ViewSonic LCD 20.1" Widescreen, 8ms, 800:1, 300 cd/m2
Wireless Adapter: LINKSYS WMP54G PCI Wireless-G
Putting together the machine was real cool. It was the first time I had really messed around with the insides of a computer other than loading some RAM and replacing a video card. I think I ended up learning a lot. The case was a little tough to work with, but is very quiet and keeps everything running cool. Pretty much a hit.
Here are some photos of the machine:
the A8N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard
everything assembled within the case
the final product (running Ubuntu)Wednesday, May 24, 2006
It's been yet another long time...
I know it's been a long time. I'll be back with some meaningful postings - a lot has been happening - but, for this post, let's just be crazy... maddux, if you will.
Saw this while examining output from the Muse Web2 Bridge that allows xml communications with SIRSI SingleSearch. I searched, "art".
Saw this while examining output from the Muse Web2 Bridge that allows xml communications with SIRSI SingleSearch. I searched, "art".
Boo yah, grandma, as they like to say.<TYPE-OF-RECORD>Two dimensional nonprojectable graphic</TYPE-OF-RECORD>
<TITLE-STATEMENT>1:30 A.M. Oh! How shocking!</TITLE-STATEMENT>
<PHYSICAL-DESCRIPTION-Other-details>stereograph.</PHYSICAL-DESCRIPTION-Other-details>
<SUMMARY>
Man in a nightgown pointing out time on clock to a couple.
</SUMMARY>
Friday, February 24, 2006
Wowzers.
Pretty much just got the offer of a lifetime - working at the University of Michigan Library bridging the brand new world of Sakai and course management systems with the world of information the library has access to.
Getting to live in Ann Arbor close to friends, family and whole bunch of cool places. Working with some really cool, smart people. Gaining experience in information and library sciences to be able to develop a vision for the future in graduate studies in information and library sciences.
What a deal.
Getting to live in Ann Arbor close to friends, family and whole bunch of cool places. Working with some really cool, smart people. Gaining experience in information and library sciences to be able to develop a vision for the future in graduate studies in information and library sciences.
What a deal.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
It's been a while.
Happy New Year... some other things.
I have been busy, but I'm not exactly sure with what. Been searching for jobs, working out some difficulties at work, eating pies, playing Warcraft III, playing Major's Mask, reading about postmodernism, playing chess (and losing), hanging out with some peoples, going places, breathing in and then breathing out.
I applied for this job that I think is pretty much the sweetest thing. It involves using the Sakai Framework (a community-source (pretty much open-source for a special community: higher education) tools and services aggregation framework for online collaboration and learning environments) to build Web Services for all major UM Library technology services such as citation linkers and so on. The position requires a Java programmer/analyst to build Web Services, integrate them with the Sakai Framework and build a face for the services. I hope I get the job.
In writing the cover letter for this job, I had a couple of things going through my head:
also:
I have been busy, but I'm not exactly sure with what. Been searching for jobs, working out some difficulties at work, eating pies, playing Warcraft III, playing Major's Mask, reading about postmodernism, playing chess (and losing), hanging out with some peoples, going places, breathing in and then breathing out.
I applied for this job that I think is pretty much the sweetest thing. It involves using the Sakai Framework (a community-source (pretty much open-source for a special community: higher education) tools and services aggregation framework for online collaboration and learning environments) to build Web Services for all major UM Library technology services such as citation linkers and so on. The position requires a Java programmer/analyst to build Web Services, integrate them with the Sakai Framework and build a face for the services. I hope I get the job.
In writing the cover letter for this job, I had a couple of things going through my head:
It's pretty much the coolest thing to get together with a seemingly infinite number of friends from all over the world to work on a project and then offer your work to absolutely anyone in the world for absolutely free.
also:
I am a person who cares about people, knowledge, learning and individuality (art and creativity). I realized the skills I have to incorporate these passions into my life are varied but center around gathering, processing and presenting information and connecting diverse individuals to that information, making it real for them.
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