Delta will be offering internet service soon for it's flying passengers, making all that pesky sleep and readin time much more productive. I think it's great that technology is finally catching up to what we expect it to do.
On the other hand, what will happen when a passenger starts looking at websites that offend their fellow passenger, or airline employees? Will it be banned, blocked or censored by the airline, although a customer is paying for the right to access whatever content they desire on the internet? Although most people would find it embarrasing to access pornographic websites in public, at some point someone will do so if only to test the system.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Music
I am what's known as "musically illiterate", in that I am highly unfamiliar with bands, band members, song names, etc. I will sometimes remember (and definitely misremember) song lyrics, and I can generally tell if I like a song or not, but that’s about it.
In the interest of trying to enjoy music more, I’ve been looking out for new music that I like or might like. Since the mainstream stuff is repeated ad nauseum on the radio, I usually am looking for music that is off the beaten path. Don’t get me wrong, I like that Rockstar song and the Delilah song, but most of them just get annoying after the 100th time it’s played.
I am a fan of the “classic rock” genre, and the kids have me listening to the “kiddie pop” on Radio Disney, but I’m looking for something more recent. While that may not work out, exactly, I figure I’ll address music with at least one blog post.
He hasn’t released a full CD yet, but is working on it. For now, I listen to Freddy on the Kidd Kraddick morning show. His songs tell stories, and I like my songs to do that. He’s got a single out, but iTunes and Quicktime annoyed me last time I downloaded it, so I’m just gonna wait for now. You can hear Freddy's songs on his website, and I think he will only get better.
Kidd also had a guest band that was not generally known, but happened to be in Bermuda when they were doing the show there. After hearing the song they played, I looked them up. They’ve come a ways since then, but I’m still waiting for them to put out a regular type CD also. They are called I Nine and are based out of South Carolina. They have also released some songs to iTunes, but until the CD, you can listen to them here.
Also, as soon as I have the time and actually do it, I’m going to get the soundtrack from the movie Juno. While teenage pregnancy is not one of my favorite topics being a dad and all, I liked most of the songs when I watched the movie. You can download the album (together or song-by-song) from Amazon, which also has a 30 second preview of each one, or just buy the CD.
On the little more adult side, the music from the new(!) Harold & Kumar movie has some funny songs. Being a huge Weird Al Yankovic fan (finally saw him in concert last year, and yes, I bought the T-Shirt), I always appreciate funny songs. So while the material is not suitable for children, it’s on my list to get…eventually.
So, that’s my attempts to “update” my musical inclinations. I’ll post again when I find more.
In the interest of trying to enjoy music more, I’ve been looking out for new music that I like or might like. Since the mainstream stuff is repeated ad nauseum on the radio, I usually am looking for music that is off the beaten path. Don’t get me wrong, I like that Rockstar song and the Delilah song, but most of them just get annoying after the 100th time it’s played.
I am a fan of the “classic rock” genre, and the kids have me listening to the “kiddie pop” on Radio Disney, but I’m looking for something more recent. While that may not work out, exactly, I figure I’ll address music with at least one blog post.
He hasn’t released a full CD yet, but is working on it. For now, I listen to Freddy on the Kidd Kraddick morning show. His songs tell stories, and I like my songs to do that. He’s got a single out, but iTunes and Quicktime annoyed me last time I downloaded it, so I’m just gonna wait for now. You can hear Freddy's songs on his website, and I think he will only get better.
Kidd also had a guest band that was not generally known, but happened to be in Bermuda when they were doing the show there. After hearing the song they played, I looked them up. They’ve come a ways since then, but I’m still waiting for them to put out a regular type CD also. They are called I Nine and are based out of South Carolina. They have also released some songs to iTunes, but until the CD, you can listen to them here.
Also, as soon as I have the time and actually do it, I’m going to get the soundtrack from the movie Juno. While teenage pregnancy is not one of my favorite topics being a dad and all, I liked most of the songs when I watched the movie. You can download the album (together or song-by-song) from Amazon, which also has a 30 second preview of each one, or just buy the CD.
On the little more adult side, the music from the new(!) Harold & Kumar movie has some funny songs. Being a huge Weird Al Yankovic fan (finally saw him in concert last year, and yes, I bought the T-Shirt), I always appreciate funny songs. So while the material is not suitable for children, it’s on my list to get…eventually.
So, that’s my attempts to “update” my musical inclinations. I’ll post again when I find more.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Man Takes Over San Francisco Computer Network
Sounds like a movie waiting to happen. Apparently the network administrator for San Francisco's new wireless Wide-Area-Network has decided to lock out all of the other administrators. He refuses to give up the password, thereby making the entire network his own private domain.
It doesn't appear that users are locked out, so the city isn't shutting down or anything. But, it can't be accessed for admin purposes.
It's not taking over all the computers in the world ala Stormbreaker, but it's a start.
"This network is mine!!!"
It doesn't appear that users are locked out, so the city isn't shutting down or anything. But, it can't be accessed for admin purposes.
It's not taking over all the computers in the world ala Stormbreaker, but it's a start.
"This network is mine!!!"
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Electric Car Four in Four Years
Tesla is saying they will have an ell-electric car inside of 4 years, as battery technology improves and the costs of parts decrease. They are also talking of it costing under $30,000.
If you compare that to what's available now, it's either a motorcyle-type electric car that can barely go 20 miles, or some kind of sports car that tops in at over $100,000.
We'll see.
If you compare that to what's available now, it's either a motorcyle-type electric car that can barely go 20 miles, or some kind of sports car that tops in at over $100,000.
We'll see.
Future of Space Exploration
I'm a big fan of continued space exploration, and of the technological benefits that the industry brings to people. It looks like Popular Mechanics has published an article about the Future of Space.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
How Movies Affect the Brain
ScienceDaily (Jun. 9, 2008) — Using advanced functional imaging methods, New York University neuroscientists have found that certain motion pictures can exert considerable control over brain activity. Moreover, the impact of films varies according to movie content, editing, and directing style. Because the study, which appears in Projections: The Journal for Movies and Mind, offers a quantitative neuroscientific assessment of the impact of different styles of filmmaking on viewers' brains, it may serve as a valuable method for the film industry to better assess its products and offer a new method for exploring how the brain works.
The study's authors are: Uri Hasson, Barbara Knappmeyer, Nava Rubin, and David Heeger, who hold appointments in NYU's Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, as well as Ohad Landesman, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Cinema Studies at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and Ignacio Vallines, a research scientist at the University of Munich.
The researchers relied on two methodological tools in their study: functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and inter-subject correlation (ISC) analysis. fMRI utilizes a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner--like that routinely used for clinical evaluation of human anatomy. But it is reprogrammed to get a time-series of three-dimensional images of brain activity. In a typical fMRI experiment, a time-series of brain activity images is collected while a stimulus or cognitive task is varied. ISC analysis is employed to measure similarities in brain activity across viewers--in this case, it compared the response in each brain region from one viewer to the response in the same brain region from other viewers. Because all viewers were exposed to the same films, computing ISC on a region-by-region basis identified brain regions in which the responses were similar across viewers.
"In cinema, some films lead most viewers through a similar sequence of perceptual, emotional, and cognitive states," the researchers wrote. "Such a tight grip on viewers' minds will be reflected in the similarity of the brain activity--or high ISC--across most viewers. By contrast, other films exert--either intentionally or unintentionally--less control over viewers' responses during movie watching. In such cases we expect that there will be less control over viewers' brain activity, resulting in low ISC."
To stimulate subjects' brain activity, the researchers showed them three motion picture clips: thirty minutes of Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"; an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents "Bang! You're Dead"; and an episode of Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." To establish a baseline, subjects viewed a clip of unstructured reality: a 10-minute, unedited, one-shot video filmed during a concert in New York City's Washington Square Park.
The results showed that ISC of responses in subjects' neocortex--the portion of the brain responsible for perception and cognition--differed across the four movies:
The Hitchcock episode evoked similar responses across all viewers in over 65 percent of the neocortex, indicating a high level of control on viewers' minds;
High ISC was also extensive (45 percent) for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly";
Lower ISC was recorded for "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (18 percent) and for the Washington Square Park, or unstructured reality, clip (less than 5 percent)
"Our data suggest that achieving a tight control over viewers' brains during a movie requires, in most cases, intentional construction of the film's sequence through aesthetic means," the researchers wrote. "The fact that Hitchcock was able to orchestrate the responses of so many different brain regions, turning them on and off at the same time across all viewers, may provide neuroscientific evidence for his notoriously famous ability to master and manipulate viewers' minds. Hitchcock often liked to tell interviewers that for him 'creation is based on an exact science of audience reactions.' "
However, the researchers emphasized that low and high ISC does not necessarily imply that the viewers were not attentive to or not engaged with the events in those films.
"ISC measures only the ability of the filmmaker to evoke similar responses across all viewers," they wrote. "Similar brain activity across viewers, or high ISC, can be taken as an indication that all viewers process and perceive the movie in a similar manner. Variability in the brain activity across viewers--that is, low ISC--can be due to either a less engaged processing of the incoming information, which occurs when daydreaming, or due to an intensely engaged but variable processing of a movie sequence."
For example, they add, an art film may demand an intense intellectual effort from viewers that differs from one viewer to the next, resulting in differences in neural activity.
Apart from the findings, the study points to a new method--inter-subject correlation (ISC) of brain activity--for measuring the effect of films on viewers' minds, which may pave the way to an innovative approach the researchers label "neurocinematic" studies. While they add that a cognitive science analysis of film is not new, functional imaging methods may be of use to both film theorists and the film industry by providing a quantitative, neuroscientific assessment of viewers' engagement with a film.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080606105432.htm
New York University (2008, June 9). Film Content, Editing, And Directing Style Affect Brain Activity, Neuroscientists Show. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 11, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/06/080606105432.htm
The study's authors are: Uri Hasson, Barbara Knappmeyer, Nava Rubin, and David Heeger, who hold appointments in NYU's Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, as well as Ohad Landesman, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Cinema Studies at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and Ignacio Vallines, a research scientist at the University of Munich.
The researchers relied on two methodological tools in their study: functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and inter-subject correlation (ISC) analysis. fMRI utilizes a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner--like that routinely used for clinical evaluation of human anatomy. But it is reprogrammed to get a time-series of three-dimensional images of brain activity. In a typical fMRI experiment, a time-series of brain activity images is collected while a stimulus or cognitive task is varied. ISC analysis is employed to measure similarities in brain activity across viewers--in this case, it compared the response in each brain region from one viewer to the response in the same brain region from other viewers. Because all viewers were exposed to the same films, computing ISC on a region-by-region basis identified brain regions in which the responses were similar across viewers.
"In cinema, some films lead most viewers through a similar sequence of perceptual, emotional, and cognitive states," the researchers wrote. "Such a tight grip on viewers' minds will be reflected in the similarity of the brain activity--or high ISC--across most viewers. By contrast, other films exert--either intentionally or unintentionally--less control over viewers' responses during movie watching. In such cases we expect that there will be less control over viewers' brain activity, resulting in low ISC."
To stimulate subjects' brain activity, the researchers showed them three motion picture clips: thirty minutes of Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"; an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents "Bang! You're Dead"; and an episode of Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." To establish a baseline, subjects viewed a clip of unstructured reality: a 10-minute, unedited, one-shot video filmed during a concert in New York City's Washington Square Park.
The results showed that ISC of responses in subjects' neocortex--the portion of the brain responsible for perception and cognition--differed across the four movies:
The Hitchcock episode evoked similar responses across all viewers in over 65 percent of the neocortex, indicating a high level of control on viewers' minds;
High ISC was also extensive (45 percent) for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly";
Lower ISC was recorded for "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (18 percent) and for the Washington Square Park, or unstructured reality, clip (less than 5 percent)
"Our data suggest that achieving a tight control over viewers' brains during a movie requires, in most cases, intentional construction of the film's sequence through aesthetic means," the researchers wrote. "The fact that Hitchcock was able to orchestrate the responses of so many different brain regions, turning them on and off at the same time across all viewers, may provide neuroscientific evidence for his notoriously famous ability to master and manipulate viewers' minds. Hitchcock often liked to tell interviewers that for him 'creation is based on an exact science of audience reactions.' "
However, the researchers emphasized that low and high ISC does not necessarily imply that the viewers were not attentive to or not engaged with the events in those films.
"ISC measures only the ability of the filmmaker to evoke similar responses across all viewers," they wrote. "Similar brain activity across viewers, or high ISC, can be taken as an indication that all viewers process and perceive the movie in a similar manner. Variability in the brain activity across viewers--that is, low ISC--can be due to either a less engaged processing of the incoming information, which occurs when daydreaming, or due to an intensely engaged but variable processing of a movie sequence."
For example, they add, an art film may demand an intense intellectual effort from viewers that differs from one viewer to the next, resulting in differences in neural activity.
Apart from the findings, the study points to a new method--inter-subject correlation (ISC) of brain activity--for measuring the effect of films on viewers' minds, which may pave the way to an innovative approach the researchers label "neurocinematic" studies. While they add that a cognitive science analysis of film is not new, functional imaging methods may be of use to both film theorists and the film industry by providing a quantitative, neuroscientific assessment of viewers' engagement with a film.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080606105432.htm
New York University (2008, June 9). Film Content, Editing, And Directing Style Affect Brain Activity, Neuroscientists Show. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 11, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/06/080606105432.htm
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)