The Last Post?

http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=2062

This is the link to the camera that Danny, Kelly, and I used for our presentation.  We borrowed it from my buddy, who told me that it is so portable and does such a great job, that reporters are carrying them around so they can be their own cameraman if they happen upon a breaking news story.  I really was easy to use - point and shoot.

The real magic happened during editing.  iMovie was really easy to use, and Danny, who had never done it  before, was able to master it enough to do some really creative things with it.  Probably spent around 10 hours editing it, but it did not seem that long.

I heard a rumour that we are done posting after today.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  The topic of technology has so many interesting facets, though I will be the first one to say that I usually took the rabbit trails as opposed to the main track of class themes.  I will say, that once I'm done on here, I probably will not blog anywhere.  I can't bring myself to presume that my thoughts are exceptionally worthy of attention, plus if I'm entertaining, I'd rather do that in more personable ways (to enjoy the moment.)

Good luck and God bless you A13.

(Hey!  Where's the comic sans font?)
PS: check out the "Colby Font" I used on January 19.

Various youtube things

This impressed me - think twice the next time you are suntanning in your back yard.
It's about 2:30 but you get the idea pretty quickly

And there are plenty of photos that are over 20 gigapixels.

Some of you may have also come across this video lately

   

I saw it from a link on facebook, probably the day after it was posted on youtube on February 2.  By Saturday, the 5th, the video had been seen over 10 million times.  Today as I write this, it has been seen over 16 million times.  Is there any way to communicate information to 10 million people in less than three days apart from the internet?  Do 10 million people anywhere even watch the same news program?  

Sometime later in the week I'll be talking about the T&T presentation project I did with Kelly and Danny, but I don't want to spoil anything right now.

The Age of 'Do It Yourself'

Well, I tried to use my podcast as my blog, but it just isn't going to work.  At least, I'm done spending any more time figuring it out.  So, here it is the old fashioned way.  Start off with this: (little over three minutes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjYSERaXEGI

Most of you probably already know that the Gregory Brothers have made living out of doing this.  It's a testament of what technology and a creative mind can do.  The thing is, this gear is out there for anyone to buy, and more and more, technology is becoming user friendly.

Marshall McLuhan said:  "As technology advances, it reverses the characteristics of every situation again and again.  The age of automation is going to be the age of 'do it yourself.'"

We see this all the time.  People are able to send out their own family portrait Christmas cards or calendars, The whole point of YouTube is to have a place where people can upload all kinds of clips and home made movies - not all of it is great, but some of it is pure genius.

I have several friends who are independent musicians.  Mostly due to financial constraints, but also for artistic liscence, they've often resorted to recording their CDs in basements and living rooms.  This is possible because of great gear that is inexpensive and easy to use.  Perhaps you've heard of Remy Shand?  Recorded his debut album in his parents' house - played all the instruments, engineered it, mixed it - when he signed with Motown records, they didn't change anything.  Record company quality in the living room of his house!

This is technology at its best, when it is used by ordinary people to do extra-ordinary things.

This link is a video log taken from a friend's trip around the world.  His computer, a video camera, and a song that he produced in his basement. (5 minutes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZMg1IUIIxI&feature=related

Crap

I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to get my podcast uploaded to here as my blog.  Really frustrating!  And who knows why it doesn't seem to be working.  That's part of the problem of living in this technological wonderland we're in.  We can do all sorts of things when we can figure it out, but when we can't, well, I think we've all seen this video:

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtTUsOKjWyQ

And forget about being able to fix something on your own.  I've never been a handy person, but I'm usually able to tell when something is broken and why.  But a computer?  Is it a bug in the program?  Is something wearing out in the guts?  Is it with the web-page?  Perhaps it was just bad timing with there being lots of web traffic or some other random thing?

One thing I really hate is the lack of compatibility between Macs and PCs; for all I know that could be my problem too.  I can understand it somewhat; I just don't like it.  I'm thinking of getting some cheap laptop to do assignments on that I have to share with people and to play a couple games that I miss.

I'll keep trying to post my podcast - I'm not saying it's great, but there were some interesting things I had in it.  If I can't, then I'll use the topic for one of my future blogs.

Marshall McLuhan - one last time

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/john_underkoffler_drive_3d_data_with_a_gesture.html
(go to the 6:00 mark and compare this with the powerpoint some of us are just getting to know)

McLuhan - part 2

I was going to blog on Thursday just like almost everyone else, but the system wouldn’t let me sign in.  I think that will be the excuse for the next millenium: “I couldn’t do it because [put necessary tech here] wouldn’t let me.”  Everything is so new and so not understood that it’s hard to argue against it.  Anyways, not what’s been on my mind.

What’s been on my mind, was something that McLuhan said while debating with Mailor, namely,

“When you give people too much information, they instantly resort to pattern recognition, into structuring the experience.”

Someday in the future I’ll have enough free time to explore McLuhan beyond the trivia stage, reading a few of his books, and then a book or two explaining the books, but for now I have only my current structures to interpret what he might have meant.  I know from psychology that new information is either assimilated or accommodated.  In this respect, McLuhan does not seem to be saying anything new; assimilation is fitting the new information within old structures, and accommodation is when a new structure is made, or an old one adapted, to make the new information fit.

When I receive too much new information, however, I do neither.  Sure, there might be the odd snippet of something that catches my ear that can be assimilated easily and quickly (I shall call these things trivia) but the rest just gets lost.  In an information overload, I accommodate almost nothing.  Instead, I will sum up the information into an already preconceived way of looking at the world - I’ll make it fit the patterns I already have - and ignore the rest.  The result?  Sheep.  To be sure, there have always been ‘sheeple’ around, but it’s an increasing phenomenon.  Today’s whitenoise of information causes me to ignore everything.

Information, or new knowledge is like water flowing over ground.  It’s the water that gets a chance to soak in the changes the ground.  But a lot of water dumped all at once gets channeled into patterns which already exist, gullies as it were, formed to get rid of the water in the most efficient ways possible.

Marshall McLuhan: a man ahead of his time

I’ve been watching Marshall McLuhan videos for our Teacher and Technology class; well, not for the class as much as for insight into the man who is considered a prophet to those who study the impact of technology.  I’m in awe of this man.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-931331993788973594#


There are many good videos out there, but this one is the best that I’ve found so far.  In it, McLuhan is in a debate/discussion with Norman Mailer, someone considered a spokesman for his generation.  McLuhan says so many interesting and great things - I could spend the rest of the term ruminating on them (if Mailer doesn’t drive me nuts first.)

Also, in this video McLuhan makes some side comments about being called a scientist and an artist, which really resonated with me; I read a book by Sir Ken Robinson which commented on those same themes.  I have many friends who are artists who would find McLuhan as much of a prophet as any technophobe.

By the way...

I found this as I quickly glanced through the online version of the Free Press this AM.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/breakingnews/flurry-of-job-prospects-for-homeless-us-man-with-smooth-radio-voice-whos-become-online-star-112931039.html

A couple things struck me as I watched this story. 
      First, I hope that those who are thrusting this guy into a career will give him enough space to catch his breath.  The guy needs to be eased into a new life.  If they give him too much of a load too soon, the stress could overwhelm his ability to deal with it in positive ways.
     Second, his employers should give him enough grace to mess up more than just a few times.  He won't be able to go from street life to 9 - 5 overnight.  He's going to miss jobs.  He's going to come late.  He'll have habits that will make his colleagues look at him funny.  He'll take his one step back every once in a while.
      Third, being famous isn't always a good thing.  Fame has a way of messing people up, and I really don't want this guy to get messed up. 


I'm happy that the guy is getting a chance - I like stories of redemption.  I don't want him to be in worse shape a year from now.

We'll See

First blog, done to fulfill the requirements of a class, dragging my feet as I enter the 21st Century, appreciating things once I can look back on them - will I become a blogger?

We'll see.

To my colleagues in A13 - as I become more confident and adept, I hope to have things on here you will find more interesting, things from the other sides of my life that you may never get the chance to see.

Later.