amy_marie_84

06:14 pm: Maaaaaayyyyybe this time...
Ok, so I think I FINALLY got it figured out.  I had to resave and re-link everything into another folder.  Here it is!

http://www.resnet.trinity.edu/ablaha/finalsite/webfinal2.htm

03:42 am: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
I just spent 2 hours trying to get my images to show up.  They were working right the entire time right until the end...grrrrrrr.....I FINALLY got it right though!  Here is my site:
http://www.resnet.trinity.edu/ablaha/webfinal.htm

Ok, so this is an update now:  It finally shows up right through the link on my computer, but on the computer next to me it's still wrong!!  EVIL!!!!!  I guess I spoke too soon...

12:45 pm: Snow Crash Discussion in SecondLife
I really enjoyed our discussion in SecondLife. I felt that our conversation was quite interesting, but I didn't get much of a chance to say anything. It was so fast paced that I was too busy trying to keep up with everything that everyone said. I feel like the medium of SecondLife lends itself well to lectures or discussions such as this. I do believe that it gives a much more personal touch to online communication. You are allowed to creatively express yourself through gestures, chat, and the appearance of your avatar. It can very easily bring together a diverse group of people from all over the world. The atmosphere is definitely more professional and more appropriate for discussions than that of Everquest II. Although our lectures in the gaming class within Everquest were a blast, we often had MANY distractions from random players in the game who would make crazy comments or dance in the middle of our circle.

12:44 pm: My SecondLife Experience

My computer is completely dead, so I was not able to play SecondLife on my home computer.  However, I spent some time exploring the world on the computers in the comm lab.  This time, I had a lot more fun because I am finally getting used to the interface within the world.  I am able to move around much easier and talk to people much easier (although I'm still shy and explore alone much of the time)   I spent most of my time on Couture Isle looking at hair and clothing and trying to create interesting objects.  However, I still had a REALLY hard time learning to create art objects within the world.  I plan on looking up some tutorials and practicing much more with the tools and interface.  Since I will be doing my research on digital art and technology, I hope to learn to use the creation tools within SecondLife very well.  Although the creation of objects didn't go so well, I did buy a new dress and new hair.  I also filled out a survey in the Nyte-N-Day store that allowed me to get a free outfit.  I am really excited about exploring the world further.

11:38 am: Midterm Miniweb
Here is my midterm miniweb....and here is the photoshop mock-up design for my final project.

12:29 pm: I NEVER understood the purpose of paths before...in fact, I never even knew what they were.  However, upon doing a little research, paths are pretty simple, but can be an INVALUABLE tool when working with photoshop.  One site stated that "Aside from the fact that paths can be dragged back and forth from Photoshop to Illustrator, paths allow you to manipulate single strings around, through, over existing bitmap art, or as stand-alone graphic devices. They can be filled, stroked, selected, modified, broken, linked, joined, saved to a selection and even exported as independent files."  The pen is used to create and manipulate paths.  Here is a useful video that provides step-by-step animations as a narrator explains the process.  I also found the tutorials within photoshop VERY informative and helpful.  They provide a list of specific topics dealing with paths to make it very easy to learn exactly what you want to learn.

07:41 pm: Military-Industrial Complex
The Military-Industrial Complex (MIC) was coined by President Dwight Eisenhower in his 1961 farewell address to the nation.  The term refers to a very close relationship between a nation's armed forces, arms industry, and political interests.   Also known as the "Iron Triangle," the power of this influential trio is often discussed because of fears that very important decisions will be made more on a basis of profit than public interest.  The pentagon, congress, and the arms industries are all intrinsically tied to each other.  Each part of the triangle is greatly dependent on the others, and is thus greatly influenced and affected by them as well.  Eisenhower stressed the importance of keeping these very influential powers balanced and under control.  As he stated in his speech:

"We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together."

The decisions and motives of our current administration have recently been questioned in an article in the Christian Science Monitor in regard to this complex.  Many people worry about the incredible amount of money that is being thrown into this war and question the reasons behind it all.  I did find it very interesting to read that many former members of the Bush administration joined the Carlyle Group, which invests billions of dollars into military and aerospace assets. I'm still not quite sure what to think about our current situation, but I feel that it is healthy to question such spending, because as Eisenhower warned, "The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

 

07:05 pm: Virilio Mindmap
Hmmmmm...still not quite sure what to think about this article...

Here's my mindmap!!

07:34 pm: Smart Mobs
I was quite impressed with the Rheingold article about Smart Mobs. My mindmap of the Smart Mobs article can be viewed at http://www.resnet.trinity.edu/ablaha/smartmobs.pdf

02:12 pm: My second mini-web looks at several aspects of SecondLife. It can be viewed at:
http://www.resnet.trinity.edu/ablaha/secondlife.htm

01:52 pm: How to make paper
I have always wanted to learn how to make handmade paper. It would be very interesting and useful for me to learn how to create paper in a variety of textures, sizes, and colors for my artwork and photography. When researching this topic on the internet, I found many very helpful sites and articles on the topic of papermaking. One very informative site gives a step by step outline on how to recycle and make paper at home. http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/paper/paper.htm It gives a history of the origins of paper and describes different kinds of paper. I never imagined the process would be so simple. This is definitely something I will try in the near future. It is amazing to me how easy it is to find information on any topic imaginable. We have the entire world at our fingertips...we just need the time to explore it!!!

07:35 am: Possible topics
When I first began to think about topics for my final project, I considered delving further into my research topic for the gaming class last semester. I found my topic extremely interesting and would love to be able to continue the research or maybe focus on one area of the topic. In my research, I examined the therapeutic possibilities of virtual worlds/online communities for people who suffer from psychological disorders such as depression, phobias, social anxieties, etc. I recently found an onnline world that was created to simulate the experience of schizophrenia. Projects such as this have the potential to change the ideas, misconceptions, and overall public awareness of mental illness. When doing my research last semester, I was amazed at the incredible possibilities that have been created for people who suffer from different forms of autism or social anxiety. I was thinking it could be very interesting to focus my research more in that direction. These online communities provide a place where such people can thrive and interact within a community in ways that they are unable to in real life.

When contemplating topics to research for my final project, I found myself returning again and again to the new possibilities in art that have been created through new media and emerging technological advances on the internet. I am very interested in digital art and the processes in which art is created. The internet and interactive worlds such as SecondLife have the potential of completely changing the way that art is connceived and developed. It is becoming a more interactive experiece that can be shared by and collaborated on by a large number of people. Being an art/art history major with a minor in new media, I am very interested in the way that art and creativity are developing in our age of tecnological/computer innovation. I found a few websites that provide interesting ideas about this topic. One of those discusses the making of a collaborative piece of global artwork in which anyone can participate.
I would really like to submit a piece for this project. Another site presents the opportunity for an art contest for work created within SecondLife. The winners will be shown at the International Society for Electronic Arts's 2006 Conference in San Jose, CA. This seems like an amazing opportunity to learn more about the creation of art within SecondLife. I hope to be able to participate and be able to provide more of an insider's view on the kind of art I will study. A third article talks about a lot design contest within SecondLife.  It ties SecondLife creations to real world careers and virtual economy/real estate.  I also found one article about the implementation of a 4 dimensional hypercube in SL's virtual environment.  It left me slightly confused, but apparently this is quite a feat...

I did my mini-website on human enhancement. Take a look.

02:06 pm: The world is flat
I knew before reading this article that more and more jobs were being outsourced to other countries. However, I don't think I quite realized the large number of jobs that were being outsourced. I was very surprised to learn that MANY accounting firms in the US have been outsourcing accounting work for the past few years. My opinion on the outsourcing of American jobs before reading this article was completely negative. However, after considering everything that Friedman discussed, I can see how it could be advantageous for all parties involved.

Like many of us have mentioned, I imagined these call centers to be like sweatshops where people were taken advantage of and worked long, hard days for almost no pay. However, it seems like these kind of jobs actually provide many opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach for these people. However, I also worry that these sorts of activities could affect our economy negatively in the long run.

09:40 am: Futurism
When searching for futuristic predictions, I found a site http://retrofuture.com/  that provides links to many different articles which discuss failed inventions and predictions from the past.  It was pretty funny to see some of the ridiculous inventions that were supposed to completely  change the world, but didn't quite make the impact they were predicted to make.

One of my favorite predictions proposed the idea that the work-week would be cut completely in half by the year 2000 due to our use of computers and robotics. http://retrofuture.com/leisure.html  As the New York Times assured, "By the year 2000, people will work no more than four days a week...in an annual working period of 147 days and 218 days off."   Hmmmm...sounds pretty nice...definitely NOT the case though.  They worried what we would do with all of our leisure time.  HA!  In our fast paced society, people seem to be working even more hours to simply keep up with the competition and stay on top of all the new technology.   However, technology IS providing more and more assistance in the work-place and requiring less human interaction, so the idea isn't too far fetched.  As Arthur C. Clarke(author of 2001: A Space Odyssey) wrote, "our descendants" in the real 2001 might be "faced with a future of utter boredom, where the main problem in life is deciding which of the several hundred TV channels to select."  Hmmm...although I wouldn't say we are at the extreme of facing "a future of utter boredom" this is starting to sound eerily familiar...

09:24 am: I find it quite interesting that the issues associated with this current technological revolution are being compared again and again to the debate over the testing and harnessing of nuclear power during the development of the atomic bomb. When reading the letters from Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt and considering the fears of the scientists as well as the public, it is easy to see many striking parallels between these monumental developments. Both could be very useful in certain situations, but extremely dangerous in the wrong hands or if used for the wrong reasons. However, it seems to me that the nuclear weapon debate is much more clear-cut than the debate over genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics(GNR).

Whereas the possibilities of atomic power lay mostly in defense and weaponry, the technologies being developed today have the potential of solving many of the problems man has struggled with since the dawn of humanity. Diseases could be eliminated, the effects of aging could be slowed, people with disabilities could be helped with the use of robotics. The list goes on and on. There are so many amazing things that could be made possible through further GNR developments. However, a line must be drawn somewhere to prevent this kind of technology from being abused and getting out of control. Because of all of the incredible benefits this kind of technology could create, it will be extremely difficult to decide where that line should be drawn.

Bill Joy poses the question, "We are being propelled into this new century with no plan, no control, no brakes. Have we already gone too far down the path to alter course?" I have hope that we still have time to carefully weigh our options and find a balanced compromise that will be the best long term decision for our society. We must look to the events in our past to make these decisions, but we must also realize that the possibilities of GNR research are FAR beyond anything we can even imagine. As Bill Joy writes, "Once such a race begins, it's very hard to end it." He points out that we are not driven by an enemy this time, but "instead by our habits, our desires, our economic system, and our competitive need to know." This kind of race will be exponentially harder to slow down or even regulate because it is driven by such deeply rooted utopian desires for the enhancement of humanity and society.

In ten years, I see the possibility to conquer and control many different types of disease and sickness. I see developments being made to help people with disabilities live a more normal life. I see the average lifespan begin to expand considerably. At this point the technology will be helpful and will mostly be used only for those who need it. However, I fear that it won't be long until such developments are abused and used by everyone. The development of "smart drugs" will increase and be more prevalent in our society. I feel like at some point it will be something that everyone will have to take to simply keep up with the rest of society(It seems like it is already becoming like this with drugs such as adderall.)

10:03 pm: Singularity
I found these articles very interesting. The possibility of such amazing technology emerging in the near future is quite exciting, but also very alarming. Of course it would be great to end disease and hunger, but the kind of world that could develop through such technological advances seems very frightening to me. What would our lives be like if we didn't have to worry about sickness or pain, if we no longer had to work for the knowlege and skills we gained, if anyone with money could afford to be enhanced? Would we know what happiness was, or would we be living in a world in which our troubles are gone but we have nothing left to live for?

03:24 pm: Intro
Hello, my name is Amy and I am starting my senior year here at Trinity. I am a Studio Art and Art History double-major with a minor in new media. I play softball for Trinity and am really interested in art and music. I don't have much experience with web design at all, so I am looking forward to taking this class.