According to a Popular Science RSS feed article, wolves have recently been taken off the endangered species list. And three states already have plans to put them back on the list, if not wipe them out completely. I realize that the wolves are eating farmers’ cattle, but it’s a fact of life. The wolves were here first so we have to make considerations for them. Oh, but wait, we’re humans: we don’t do that sort of thing.
Apr
07
A while back I posted about an article on Wired.com that discussed how one would go about killing a 500-foot monster that was invading Manhattan. It seems to me that a lot movies and such are stuck in the direction of where the ultimate badass is some enormous monster, spewing fire and crushing buildings with its pinky finger. (Now, when I say “badass” I don’t necessarily mean “bad guy;” more of a character that makes the viewer say “Wow. That guy is really badass!” So that means the badass can be a good guy) Then there are some where the ultimate badass is a single person or a group of people. Take Star Wars for example: In Episode I, you’ve got Darth Maul for the ultimate badass, then in Episode II you’ve got Mace Windu, and by the time the classic ones come around, Darth Vader takes the cake as the ultimate badass (but not when he’s still played by Hayden Christenson, because he’s a really shitty actor).
My issue with this, however, is that these are all fictional characters. Granted they’re played by real people, they aren’t real. So that brings me to my next point. The true ultimate badass is a real person. Right away, I guarantee there will be a good portion of people in whose mind “Chuck Norris” enters. But I no longer consider him the ultimate badass. Yes, he’s a great actor; yes, he’s a badass, but I wouldn’t use the qualifier “ultimate” when saying what a badass Chuck Norris is. Others would argue that Vin Diesel is the ultimate badass, and, in fact, there was a time when Vin Diesel was more popular that Chuck Norris; they even took some of the Chuck Norris-isms and changed them to include Vin Diesel.
But there’s one person who is completely overlooked in this whole picture: Samuel L. Jackson. Two of his more well-known roles include Shaft and Mace Windu. But he also played Jules in Quentin Tarrentino’s Pulp Fiction and Coach Carter in Coach Carter. Though, why do I consider Samuel L. Jackson to be the ultimate badass? Well, for one, he’s never referred to by anything other than “Samuel L. Jackson.” There’s no Sam Jackson, or Samuel Jackson, or Sam L. Jackson: everybody always refers to him as “Samuel L. Jackson.” That’s very rare, especially in an age where there are people who go only by a first name (Cher) or a one-word stage name (Adrock).
However, there is a lot more to Mr. Jackson than just a name. As a person alone, he’s badass. When asked to play the role of Mace Windu in Star Wars Episode I, II and III, he refused to do so unless he could have a purple lightsaber. So what color lightsaber does he have in the movies? That’s right: purple. As an actor (but not considering the roles he’s played), he’s badass. To be able to go from a character like Jules in Pulp Fiction, where he plays a hit man for a gangster to Coach Carter, a stern but fatherly basketball coach, takes a lot of skill. And to top that off, he even switches modes within the movie/character itself. Take Mace Windu for example: in one moment he’s a calm Jedi talking things over with young Anakin, and in the next moment he’s chopping people in half with his lightsaber. You don’t get that very often from actors.
Lastly, what makes Samuel L. Jackson the ultimate badass is the multitude of roles he plays in the movies. Probably the earliest role that I’m familiar with (i.e. I’ve seen the movie) is that of Jules in Pulp Fiction. Like I mentioned before, he plays a hit man for a gangster, paired up with John Travolta. Before killing someone, he recites a Ezekial 25-13 from the Bible: “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.” He says himself at the end of the movie that line is pretty badass. Add to that the fact that his wallet has “Bad Motherf%^&er” printed on it, and you’ve got a well-rounded badass character.
I’ve already explained how his role as Mace Windu is so badass. I, quite frankly, would rather have to fight Darth Maul than Mace Windu. So you can imagine that I was pretty peeved when Darth Sidious killed Mace Windu. You just can’t do that.
He’s played in a wide range of other roles as well, each one no less badass than the previous. This is why Samuel L. Jackson gets my vote for the title of: “Ultimate Badass.”
Apr
07
And quite frankly, Marsha, it sucks. I knew this was coming; the We-Town site I spoke of in other blog entries had the update, and I didn’t like that either. So now I’m stuck with this new look, which, to me, is less intuitive than the previous one. Plus, it doesn’t even look more flashy than the old, at least not by much. To be fair, one good thing was that WordPress redesigned the buttons at the top of the page to make them easier to use.
I think what they should do is what some forums do: let the user choose how they want the pages to look like. Sure, they offer that for the blog page itself, but not the behind-the-scenes view you get when writing a new blog or editing an old one.
Apr
02
As we progress through getting the We-Town site to work, we’ve realized that mad amounts of directions are needed in order for people to understand how to do even the most basic things. I think it mainly the fault of the software manufacturer for the confusion, but at least there’s a way around it: writing directions. However, Professor Webb decided to have us take a slightly different route: we’re going to create a sort of “movie” using a screen capture program that will guide users through utilizing different aspects of the site. But before we can do that, it’s necessary to determine what program is good. A Mac one would be preferable because we have four soundproof recording studios for interruption-free audio recording. But Dr. Webb only knows of good screen capture programs available for PC; in fact, the one the school already has is for PC.
So this week’s blog assignment is to download a screen capture program and make a sample with it. I was assigned Camtasia, a PC-based program, which works out well for me because I’ve got a really boss PC. You can download a free trial from their website. This works out well for us because we only need the program for a short period of time. However, if our experiment proves positive, then it’s possible the school will purchase one of the four programs we’re trying (key word is “possible”).
The program was really easy to use. After a short download, I loaded it and was informed that features have changed since the last version and that I should watch a video on how to use the new version (probably made with Camtasia). I opted not to watch the video; I wanted to see how hard it would be to figure it out on my own. And it was simple. After selecting the area I wanted to record, the small window relocated to the lower right corner, and then let me record. When it started recording, it told me how to pause and stop recording via a small balloon. In mere seconds, I had a screen capture of how to log into G-mail. I saved the video, and it gave me a new window with options for making the video sharable (I don’t care if that’s not a word; it is now). And with little more input from myself, I had a video in Flash format that I can now share on the web (the way I chose to save the video). However, before doing this, the video is in a proprietary format that can only be access through Camtasia software, but it’s easy to convert it into a multitude of different file formats.
The video couldn’t have lasted even thirty seconds; I didn’t intend to make it long. The resulting Flash file is less than one megabyte in size (678 kilobytes, to be precise), which is handy because it won’t take up a lot of hard drive space, nor will it take ages to download in order to view.
Audio is really easy to add in post-production. There are two help buttons right there to assist the confused user: one takes you to the software in-program help; the other takes you to a website with a video help file. But it’s quite easy to do without the help.
We should definitely use this program. It took me less than five minutes to figure out the program and put together a little screen capture. The audio is easy to do, but I somehow managed to not save my original file (my fault, not the program’s) so I couldn’t actually do it. In fact, I’m pretty sure you could even add audio while creating the video itself. The file sizes seem like they’ll be small (mine was less than a megabyte for a really short video), and the program includes a variety of file types to can produce the video in.
Mar
28
The Com department here at Etown has created a citizen journalism website called (get ready for this) We-Town. Great name, isn’t it? Anyway, our second blog assignment is to discuss usability issues with the site. My task is usability for uploading audio files.
For starters, I’ve created a little flowchart using Gliffy. This shows the steps needed to be taken to upload an audio file to a post on We-Town. As you can see, it’s not easy. The first problem I forsee is that people aren’t even going to know how to upload audio files without asking someone. We-Town is, if I’m understanding it correctly, supposed to be open to everyone in the community. Well, it’s likely that the vast majority of the non-student residents of Etown won’t have the slightest idea what a “podcast” is, mainly because only people with or familiar with iTunes could have a clue what they are. It’s my guess that most people in Etown aren’t in the technology loop that would allow them to know what a podcast is. So that’s problem one.
The next issue is actually choosing the audio file to be uploaded. There’s a box that says “Location,” but nothing else. Does this mean they have to have the file on their computer, or can it be one on the internet? No one knows, not even me. Plus, there’s not a “Browse” button that would let the user browse files on their computer for the one they want, which makes things easier for people who are less computer literate.
The “Type” section on the uploader is the next confusing part because I highly doubt that a computer illiterate person is going to know how to determine the file type of their audio file.
Following this section are four more options: “Size,” “Included in,” “Disable player,” and “Disable preview player.” The latter two do provide somewhat of an explanation for what those two things mean, but it’s not very clear: The “Disable player” option explanation isn’t even a complete sentence/thought. It’s missing a key word to understand what it means. Also, the “Included in” option is also confusing because there is no explanation of it. The third option of “Feed only” has some semblance of making sense, but not everyone is going to know what the other two options are referring to. Size, however, is the only part that is actually clear: it’s asking for the file size, but if the user is unsure of it the site has an “auto detect” feature which will do it for the user.
The last section under the “Media File” heading is seemingly unnecessary. Well, in actuality I’m not entirely sure what it means, which leads me to believe that no one else where.
After that, it’s clear as to how to place the podcast player into the post. But what happens when you have multiple files? It makes it seem as though all files will be connected and played at once. It doesn’t seem like you can put two different players in so that multiple files can be played at different times.
Mar
28
It’s hard to believe it, but the time is fast approaching when I accept my college diploma. This is quite a scary thought. And it is even more so because I’ve got no job possibility in sight. I’ve had one interview for a sales job I don’t want because I’m not charismatic enough for sales, especially when I’ll be living on commission for a whole year. There have been some other prospectives, but not much else. I do, however, have an interview lined up with the CIA–the secretive one, not the cooking one–in May, though even if I get that job I’ve got to wait six to nine months until I can actually start while the agency does a background check. But why isn’t anyone else interested? My brother likes to think that it’s because I’m an English major and even played (for the second or third time) a song about how it sucks to be an English major that was part of the musical Avenue Q. However, I’m highly qualified: I’ve been published numerous times, I earn above average grades, and I’ve got a broader range of knowledge than most people competing for the same jobs.
I have, however, determined two big factors for why I–and my fellow classmates–are having trouble finding work. The first is a catch twenty-two: 95%+ of the jobs have experience requirements, but I can’t get experience if I can’t get a job, but I can’t get a job because I’m not experienced…and so on to infinity. I even came across one job listing that claimed to be an entry level job, but still required one to two years experience. So much for “entry level.”
The second factor is George Bush. Well, more specifically the recession he caused by ignorantly plunging our troops into Iraq and wasting our money on unnecessary military things. Sorry to those of you reading this who may be in the military, but it’s all bullshit. I especially love how the army wasted $200 billion and wants another $20 billion. And, of course, the budget is something like $450 billion+ a year. But no, Bush doens’t worry about our multi-trillion dollar debt that we have. Now, I honestly have no idea what it would take to end this recession, but surely the military doesn’t need all that money for reserach. Oh, yay, we’ve got a $20 millon F-22 Raptor fighter jet that’s stealthy; who the hell are we going to use it on? At this stage in the game, we have no enemy with comparable military forces; we’re fighting a bunch of bastards who just have themselves and some guns. They don’t have jets or tanks or ships; hell, they don’t even have satellites. So what the hell do we need to have a $20 million fighter jet for? So we can bomb them in such a way so they won’t see the jet on the radar that they don’t have? Real smart. Don’t get me wrong; I think the jet is awesome, just unnecessary.
I remember a year or so ago someone told me that I’d be graduating at the best time possible because the economy is so great, and I’ll have no problem getting a job. Yeah right.
Mar
27
“You learn something new every day.” That’s what the old adage says, and as far as I can tell, it’s true. However, how often do people really think about the concept of “learning?” In a roundabout way, perhaps teachers do because they need to make sure that their students are absorbing the information presented in class.
As you can plainly see, one of this week’s blog assignments is about learning. Part of the task is to link to two websites that discuss how people learn. The first is simply called “Learning,” but I can’t discern who or what organization created the site. It provides a flow chart that describes the learning process. The next site, from Hawaii, specifically describes how people learn; in fact, that’s exactly the search critera I used in Google to find it.
However, it would seem that the whole purpose of this assignment is for us to discuss how we learn and what we think about the topic, not what someone else does. So to facilitate this, Dr. Webb asked us to answer a few questions.
To start: “How do you learn?” I learn best through the three general methods: audio, visual, and kinestetic (also called “tactile”). In order for me to learn something well and easily (a physical task), it has to be explained aurally to me, then it has to be shown to me, and lastly I have to perform the task. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been able to do things more on my own with less direction, but the aforementioned is still the best way I learn something.
“How do you learn to use a website that you encounter?” Most times it’s just intuitive. I use the internet so much that I can usually use knowledge I already have to use a new website. However, most sites I visit I’ve frequented many times previously, or I don’t “use” them per se. I think there’s a bit of a distinction between browsing a website and, say, writing a blog. In the latter sense, I consider it “using” a site. With this specific case (blogging), I learned that in class. But I’m sure I’d have managed to figure it out on my own had Dr. Webb not explained it to us, or had I decided to start blogging on my own, without having a class that necessetated it.
“Where do you go for information when you don’t know how to do something?” First and foremost, I ask people I know how to do that task, especially when someone else already knows how to do it. Like I mentioned before, I learn best through all three methods, and I find that a person is best at teaching in that manner. If that fails, I’ll read the manual if there is one. Though, I can’t think of something I didn’t know how to do that someone couldn’t explain to me or there wasn’t a manual through which I figured out what to do. So that means I’m not sure what I do in situations where the previous two methods fail. Curl up into a ball and sob quietly to myself? Probably not.
Mar
24
I haven’t owned a new brand-name computer since my Dell Inspiron 5150 (gag) that was given to me as a going-away-to-college gift in 2004, but I do remember all the crapware that was pre-installed on it. What’s crapware, you ask? Well, it’s all of the ads, trials, and programs on your computer that a company thinks you’ll be interested in but you really couldn’t care less about. Sony will now “remove” said crapware for you for $50 when you purchase your computer. What I really want to say is rated “R” so I’ll instead say, “Bite me.”
Why do I have such a negative response to this? Do I really want all that garbage on my brand new computer? Hell no! But at the same time I don’t feel I should pay for it to not be on there. The author of the article linked above said that the crapware is something we the consumers should put up with because computer companies are producing cheaper computers. That’s a load of bull. Someone has to load all that crap on the hard drive to begin with, and that person is getting paid to do so. If computer companies want some a little extra back for making cheap computers, then they should fire the assholes that they’ve stupidly hired to put crapware on the computers in the first place. Duh! I highly doubt that the miniscule amount of revenue that these companies make from crapware and ads is equivalent to what they’d save if they would get rid of the people who put the crapware on in the first place.
Mar
18
I got this idea from an article on the Tom’s Hardware RSS feed. I thought it was cool and wanted to share. I realize that my blog as a whole is supposed to revolve around media/new media/technology things for my class (and this is the second blog I know doesn’t really), but I should get props for citing an RSS feed: it proves I’m reading them.
I couldn’t survive without … my computer/the internet. I think the longest I’ve gone without using it (or any computer, for that matter) is about a week. Even when I was in England for six months, I had my laptop; and when I went on my 21-day spring break I went to internet cafes to use the internet
The best advice I ever got was … believe in yourself. This is really the only advice I actually remember getting, but it’s true. There are many things I wouldn’t have attempted if I didn’t believe that I could.
A person I admire is … David Cullen (my/the college’s guitar teacher). Not only is it amazing how good a guitarist he is, but he can play a song–well, I might add–ususally just from listening to it once.
If I could go anywhere, or do anything, I would … invent a way to travel through space at immense speeds. Star Trek and Star Wars (as well as some video games) make me (and I’m sure others) wonder what else is in our universe, and I’d like to find out.
A technology I have no use for is … an electronic pocket dictionary. It’s so much easier typing on a full-size keyboard.
The best idea I had was … Well, I don’t know off hand. But one of the best ideas I had was a new way to keep warm in the winter. I’m not going to share it, however, because I might try to patent it at some point.
Luxury is … not having to worry about whether or not I can afford something. That’s such a pain.
I wish I had invented … Windows. I’d be so rich =D
My tombstone should read … Here lies one of the greatest writers of the twenty-first century. (I hope)
A person/trend/technology to watch is … computers. They’re getting exponentially more powerful by the day. It’ll be interesting to see how powerful they are in a few years.
