Panoramic Night Photography - CanonD90
Edited using Photoshop; combination of 6 images using Photomerge
Part of series: http://www.brianmezerski.com/2012/02/panorama-photography-careful-theres.html
Panorama - Watch out for spring!
Panoramic Night Photography - CanonD90
Edited using Photoshop; combination of 6 images using Photomerge
Part of series: http://www.brianmezerski.com/2012/02/panorama-photography-careful-theres.html
Neuroscientist sees how vision runs ‘under the hood’
Neuroscientist sees
how vision runs ‘under the hood’
By Brian Mezerski
Humans open
their eyes and see the world. Vision may
seem entirely uncomplicated, but there is something much deeper happening to
understand this “genuine phenomenon,” according to one neuroscientist.
David
Eagleman, who works at the Baylor College of Medicine, said in a lecture to
students at Elon University Monday night that most of what humans see, think
and believe is created deep within the unconscious brain. People are unaware that the process that makes
vision seem easy is happening, according to Eagleman.
 |
Neuroscientist David
Eagleman answers a question
about whether different humans see the same thing.
|
“The only
reason vision seems effortless to us is because of the massive amounts of
machinery that you have running under the hood,” Eagleman said.
Vision is
not like a camera that simply takes a picture.
Eagleman said vision is all about the internal activity in the brain,
the organ located under the human “hood,” or skull.
The brain
is a key component in human vision.
One-third of it is devoted to vision, Eagleman said. But he found, through his studies of human
color interpretations, that the brain may read an image that does not match up
to actual reality.
“It makes a
whole bunch of assumptions about what’s happening,” Eagleman said, “and it
serves up to you a story about what color it thinks things are.”
Eagleman
said there is a phenomenon that causes different people to see these different
realities. Synesthesia is the condition
in which a person’s sensory inputs are blended together, according to Eagleman. Humans with the most common form of
synesthesia see numbers, letters, days and months that trigger a color
experience.
“This is
automatic and involuntary and unconscious,” Eagleman said. “It’s not a hallucination. Internally, there’s this experience of different
colors that is self-evidently equivalent.”
It may be
difficult to distinguish those with synesthesia, a condition that affects about
4 percent of the population. So Eagleman
built an online consistency test that successfully determines who is a true
synesthete.
“We’ve been
able to really revolutionize what’s been happening with understanding the
behavior of synesthesia,” Eagleman said.
Eagleman
said he discovered more than 20,000 rigorously verified synesthetes through the
online test.
Participants were shown a text
character and then picked the best color that matches the letter or number
based on their personality. Participants
later were returned to the letter again and were asked to choose a color. Synesthetes are able to replicate their first
choice, choosing the nearly identical color that they originally associated with
the letter.
The study showed how vision has
transitioned into a neurological analysis.
“This used to be in the realm of
philosophical speculation,” Eagleman said.
“Now of days, we’ve been able to elevate this to a real scientific
problem.”
The synesthesia study serves as an
example of how the complexities of understanding vision can extend to the
entire world.
“Any form of cross-sensory blending
that you can imagine,” Eagleman said, “we have found somewhere, whether vision,
hearing, taste, touch, temperature or personality.”
Board meeting: debts, sidewalks & special guest
Board meeting: debts, sidewalks & special guest
Aldermen highlight new
police chief among talks of town water and sewer debt release and sidewalk
construction projects.
By Brian Mezerski
The Town of Elon Board of Aldermen
went about its normal routine Monday night during its agenda session meeting,
discussing town water and sewer debt and reviewing sidewalk construction
projects.
 |
Elon Town Mayor, Jerry Tolley, reviews notes before the
Board of Aldermen agenda session Monday night.
|
Cliff
Parker was sworn in earlier Monday as the Town of Elon’s new chief of police,
and several aldermen took time to congratulate him publically on his new role.
Parker retired from the State
Bureau of Investigation after 25 years to be a part of the Elon Police
Department.
For his part,
Parker said he is glad to be part of a community he’s already quite familiar
with.
“If there’s
anything I can do,” Parker said, “my office is always open.”
Elon Mayor
Jerry Tolley said he is pleased that Parker, who is an Elon University alumnus,
is part of the Elon Police Department and will serve nearby Elon University
well.
“Students
will like him,” said Tolley, who wants Parker to be the town’s special guest at
another public meeting in the future.
Other items
discussed at the meeting included:
·
The Board of Aldermen discussed the release of
delinquent water and sewer accounts from the town’s books. “It’s an auditing technique,” said Mike Dula,
Elon Town Manager, “so you don’t continuously accumulate bad debt.” Residents are billed on a 60-day period for
water and sewer charges. Water is cut
off to residences after 85-90 days of nonpayment, Dula said. The Town of Elon places a red tag on doors of
residences that are on the water cut-off list.
“There are certain people who won’t pay [debts] until the door tag is
on,” Dula said. There are still some
residents who are unable to be located because of temporary residency or their
home address is long-distance. Dula said
the Town of Elon would still collect debts from these residences as soon as the
homeowners are located.
·
Aldermen discussed sidewalks that are being
constructed along East Haggard Avenue, East Lebanon Avenue and East Trollinger
Avenue. A sidewalk is expected to run
from the Danieley Center to the Francis Center, housing Elon University’s
School of Health Sciences. Other
sidewalks will run from Trollinger and Lebanon Avenues to Oak Avenue. Elon University is funding most of the
construction for the $600,000 Trollinger and Lebanon projects, according to
Mayor Jerry Tolley. The board said the
Town of Elon will pay about 20 percent for the sidewalk.
The Board of Aldermen will meet March 13 for its regular
session.
Elon professor searches to understand Internet
Elon professor
searches to understand Internet
By Brian Mezerski
One professor
at Elon University uses her spare time to research and explore the digital
world.
Jana
Anderston, the director of Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center, has
been studying the past and, more importantly, the future of the Internet for
more than 10 years. The Center itself
has been providing historical analysis and predictive trends from technology
experts.
It started
with research into early 1990s predictions about the Internet – predictions that,
Anderson soon found, were spot on and accurate.
Most recently, the Center is providing information to help people
understand the effects of the evolving digital world.
“There are
different power structures that are being disrupted by the digital age,”
Anderson said.
Anderson
said the developing technology completely flips how certain processes, such as
personal privacy, are managed. And
predictions dating back 15 years or more addressed online privacy concerns. In addition to those prognostications, the
Center’s online database shares about 4,000 predictions, according to Anderson.
But
Anderson said she does not participate in one major aspect of the Center’s
goals.
“I don’t
make predictions,” Anderson said.
Instead,
she writes the reports and oversees the research. What she’s noticed are more experts’ concerns
about powerful forces and organizations trying to regulate the Internet in ways
that it should not be regulated.
“The
Internet may not ever be as good as it is right now,” Anderson said, “if the
controlling interests and regulating bodies decide to start passing rulings
based on what other governments want, rather than looking at the global good.”
The
Internet, therefore, should be focused on individual regulation, Anderson said.
The
Imagining the Internet Center will continue to study how individuals use
technology. But it doesn’t matter
whether experts prefer to extoll the benefits or drawbacks of being connected
online. In the end, logging on is a
personal choice.
“People
will use technology as they see fit,” Anderson said.
Speaker discusses experiences in Middle East
Speaker discusses
experiences in Middle East
By Brian Mezerski
People
living in the Middle East are ready for change.
Foreign affairs analyst and
international journalist Robin Wright detailed Thursday night at Elon
University the social and political changes in the region as the greatest wave
of empowerment in decades.
And, Wright
noted, revolution in the Islamic world does not happen through traditional
practices.
“The
overwhelming attempt to bring about change in the world’s most volatile region
is through peaceful, civil disobedience,” Wright said.
Wright said
interpretations of jihad in Islamic cultures goes beyond old-form customs.
“Jihad is
not about waging war against the United States or the west,” Wright said, “but
really about struggling whether it’s the issue of your identity, your career or
your gender.”
Wright
cited personal examples of people who live in the Middle East to explain how
the culture there is changing. One
woman, Egyptian Dalia Ziada, perhaps best demonstrated a reaction to “arguably
the most sensitive [topic] for many in the west,” Wright said.
Ziada began
her activism for women at an early age, her passion spurred after she had to
endure female genital mutilation when she was 5 years old.
After her
experience, Ziada pleased with her family members to end the practice, thus
sparing her siblings from the same ordeal.
Wright said that it took Ziada many attempts, but she eventually
persuaded her family.
Ziada
continued her activism after her first success.
She later distributed a comic book translated into Arabic that listed
human right ideals in the back, which was sent to more than 2,000 bloggers from
Morocco to Yemen, according to Wright.
Wright said
Ziada, in her mid-20s, and her friends also organized a human rights film
festival. Through the festival, Ziada
generated much support and extended her cause for human rights to a larger
public.
“Dalia
generated not only a sense of what a human right is,” Wright said, “but also a
new culture.”
Wright said
Ziada’s efforts show how the people are developing a new mentality in the
Middle East. The practices and
motivation of the Arab world are evolving, she added.
Middle
Eastern people are beginning to embrace a new global set of values, which is
marking an important transition in that region and in the world, as a whole.
“These are
global influences now,” Wright said. “That’s
a function of globalization.”
Still,
Wright said there is some concern among citizens about what’s to come for the
region. Wright herself isn’t entirely
sure. But she did ask Ziada for her
thoughts about human rights violations.
“’I know I
now have power,’” Wright quoted Ziada as saying. “’I know if this happens again, where to go
to challenge it.’”
Hopper Painting Story - Version 1
The story is what matters. The storyline had to be the focus of this project. Here is version 1 of taking a Hopper Painting, creating a story about the painting and making a short video.
Photoshopping
I love when my friends help me sound smart.
Do you see this difference in the photos above? Although there is some negative opinions associated with the changes Photoshop can make on an image, I believe the majority of what the program Photoshop can do is positive. The world of photography has especially been impacted by the features of Photoshop. No matter the quality of the photograph, people should always make Photoshop enhancements.
The image on the left is the original photo shot with a Nikon D90 camera. The image on the right is the same photo only with Photoshop enhancements. The left image is good, but it's not stellar. A completely new image is created on the right by simply changing a few attributes of the image, cropping and making adjustments. Sometimes we may think a photo is ruined or isn't quality. Think of the power that Photoshop gives.
Repetition makes us learn. It's always helpful and essential to workshop things we've done, especially with photography.
Blog Headers
Everyone has to market and brand themselves. Logos drive marketing campaigns and advertising.
Here are some examples of logos that I created in Photoshop.
Here are some examples of logos that I created in Photoshop.
Professional
Fun
Messy
Modern
Dated
Colonnades residents concerned over plumbing
Colonnades residents concerned over plumbing
By Brian Mezerski
Students in the Colonnades residence halls have been concerned about inconsistent water temperature, the water pressure when toilets are flushed and odd pulsing of shower-heads.
Freshman Taylor Davis said she noticed at the beginning of the year that there was something unusual about the wall next to her bed.
“There was a banging sound anytime someone flushed the toiled,” Davis said. “It kind of sounded like a canon going off next to my head. It rattled my bed and it woke me up when I slept with earplugs. It was really loud and it echoed through my room.”
Davis and other residents of the Harper building in Colonnades filed out multiple work requests to Physical Plant throughout the year, prompting Physical Plant to perform water tests which meant shutting off the water supply to the building for short periods of time.
“There are, and were, no health risks involved with the new Colonnade’s facilities in regards to the water testing that the physical plant recently performed on Colonnade’s C, D & E [sic],” Curiazza said.
According to Physical Plant Plumbing Supervisor Jimmy Curiazza, Physical Plant performed two water tests, and after the second test, Curiazza said that there were erratic pressure fluctuations during times of multiple toilet flushes within the building.
Curiazza said that because of these fluctuations, the hot water valve would not stay locked, which explained the inconsistent hot water temperature and
pressure problems with shower heads. Because of this, Physical Plant installed a new water pressure tank, which solved the problems.
However, the banging pipes continued to be a problem for Davis.
“As the months went by, it got so aggravating,” Davis said. “I started hitting the wall back. This was affecting how stressed that I was when I was doing work and how much sleep I was getting. It was affecting my academic performance.”
But since the problem has been fixed, Davis does not have to hear any more banging pipes.
“It feels so good,” Davis said, “I’m so happy that it’s gone.”
Since Physical Plant did have to look into the issue, Curiazza said the water testing and research in Colonnades has proven invaluable for the consideration and design of future buildings.
And Director of Residence Life, Elaine Turner, said that Residence Life does not want any problems to be an annoyance. She said that students should submit work requests no matter what the problem is in their residence building in order to increase the quality of all current buildings on campus.
“Residence life would rather have multiple requests of the same thing than nothing at all,” Turner said.
Turner said if students feel like they have a real issue with something in their residence building, they should fill out the online FixIt work request form atwww.elon.edu/fixit.
Freshman Taylor Davis said she noticed at the beginning of the year that there was something unusual about the wall next to her bed.
“There was a banging sound anytime someone flushed the toiled,” Davis said. “It kind of sounded like a canon going off next to my head. It rattled my bed and it woke me up when I slept with earplugs. It was really loud and it echoed through my room.”
Davis and other residents of the Harper building in Colonnades filed out multiple work requests to Physical Plant throughout the year, prompting Physical Plant to perform water tests which meant shutting off the water supply to the building for short periods of time.
“There are, and were, no health risks involved with the new Colonnade’s facilities in regards to the water testing that the physical plant recently performed on Colonnade’s C, D & E [sic],” Curiazza said.
According to Physical Plant Plumbing Supervisor Jimmy Curiazza, Physical Plant performed two water tests, and after the second test, Curiazza said that there were erratic pressure fluctuations during times of multiple toilet flushes within the building.
Curiazza said that because of these fluctuations, the hot water valve would not stay locked, which explained the inconsistent hot water temperature and
Students were warned by signs Tuesday and an email saying that water would be cut off in Colonnades Harber building.
However, the banging pipes continued to be a problem for Davis.
“As the months went by, it got so aggravating,” Davis said. “I started hitting the wall back. This was affecting how stressed that I was when I was doing work and how much sleep I was getting. It was affecting my academic performance.”
But since the problem has been fixed, Davis does not have to hear any more banging pipes.
“It feels so good,” Davis said, “I’m so happy that it’s gone.”
Since Physical Plant did have to look into the issue, Curiazza said the water testing and research in Colonnades has proven invaluable for the consideration and design of future buildings.
And Director of Residence Life, Elaine Turner, said that Residence Life does not want any problems to be an annoyance. She said that students should submit work requests no matter what the problem is in their residence building in order to increase the quality of all current buildings on campus.
“Residence life would rather have multiple requests of the same thing than nothing at all,” Turner said.
Turner said if students feel like they have a real issue with something in their residence building, they should fill out the online FixIt work request form atwww.elon.edu/fixit.
Street
Taking street photos was our third big photography project. The purpose of street photography is to capture moments of the human condition. I again loved the project; I’m still so interested in learning photography. I often found it a challenge to capture the perfect moment. But these photos are some of my favorite moments from this round:
Cover vs. Original
Innovation can also be modifying something we already know and putting a unique, creative twist on it. Let's look at Gotye's "Somebody that I Used to Know."
Walk off the Earth does something interesting, simple. Plus, it's a cool song.
But if we look at the Gotye official music video, we can see that the original is just as interesting as the cover.
Both use the same song, but do completely different things with the music.
Motivation through Failure
Everyone needs inspiration once in a while. When we try to innovate, failure is always a possibility. Failing most likely will happen. However, it's natural to fail, but using stopping at that point is not what makes great things. I try to examine what caused my failure when it happens and learn from it. It's another opportunity to grow.
Take a look at these great failures who became more than prominent people:
March 2012
It's March 1st. We're almost out of winter, going to be starting spring.
new methods new ideas new products
We're entering the time to leap forward. The warmer weather is usually motivation, we're in the groove of the new year, it's not quite time to take a rest for part of the summer. It's a great time to do something completely new or to greatly expand what we already do.
Take a look at this video - it's quite fascinating how technology evolved, will evolve, and some ideas for the future. Think: only a few years ago, the technology didn't even exist that would allow someone to use their fingers to pinch in and out on a screen to make images bigger or smaller. Tech is changing quickly.
Innovation is happening all around us. I want to take this month, March, to advance my ideas and use the time, somehow, to innovate.
new methods new ideas new products
We're entering the time to leap forward. The warmer weather is usually motivation, we're in the groove of the new year, it's not quite time to take a rest for part of the summer. It's a great time to do something completely new or to greatly expand what we already do.
Take a look at this video - it's quite fascinating how technology evolved, will evolve, and some ideas for the future. Think: only a few years ago, the technology didn't even exist that would allow someone to use their fingers to pinch in and out on a screen to make images bigger or smaller. Tech is changing quickly.
Innovation is happening all around us. I want to take this month, March, to advance my ideas and use the time, somehow, to innovate.