Baby cornsnake

Two weeks ago I bought a baby albino cornsnake from a breeder in Long Island and instantly fell in love with them. The first day I got them they were due for feeding (since they are fed every week), and I went to the local pet store in my neighborhood for pinkeys (baby mice). I remember the first day I handled them they were small week and fragile. They ate their first meal and I was amazed at the beauty of nature. My snake ate the baby mouse whole face first swallowing it at once. I started handling the snake more and it quickly grew stronger and bigger being able climb and lift its own body. I started throwing it in a bucket of water and it started swimming and grew smarter. Now my snake is a bit bigger but much stronger, smarter, and agile.

Today when I get home I see my snake turning pale and its time for shedding for him. This is my first time with snakes and was amazed how quickly it could change color because of its molting. These animals truly are extravagant and amazing.

Music

Music has been well known as a mood setter that can even effect emotion and feeling. This is often incorporated by the theater and cinema industries giving movies a more realistic feeling. Feelings ranging from fear to excitement are often set by different music soundtracks. Comedy movies often have upbeat carefree music that gives the audience a relaxed happed feeling. Action movies however have a more popular pop, rap, hip hop, rock influence and give the feeling of anticipation, and eagerness to see what happens next.

Music is also a mood setter in my own life. When I just sit and listen to my iPod I can really feel relaxed and calm. I often listen to it to get away from thinking about schoolwork it when I’m bored and it never fails to bring me up. In the gym I listen to it when trying to get pumped before an exercise and take away the boredom of being in the gym alone sometimes.

Star Wars

Star Wars was always a cool saga that I grew up watching. I was never a hard-core fan but I did have a favorite part that I always remembered. That scene was from Star Wars I where Darth Maul and Obey Wan Kenobi each had their final light saber duel. The battle between Obey Wan’s green saber and Darth Mall’s double sided red light saber was a long and hard fight. The cool thing about the saga is that all Jedi’s have to make their own sabers so Darth Mall’s saber definitely reflected his battle skills because he used a two sided weapon. When Darth Maul killed Obey Wan, Qui-Gon came with his blue saber and finished off Darth Maul. It was pretty epic. My favorite thing about star wars is that they melee with “swords”, but the “force” was a bit overrated. No offense.

HP

Being a harry potter fan I cannot wait till the last movie comes out, yet I dread the thought of its coming to an end. From reading all the books to watching all the movies, I have become completely fascinated with this series. Many stories and movies have come out that incorporate magic but very few have been as successful as this one. The story makes one wish they could be one of the “Hogwarts” students, with the chance to dorm with their friends, learn magic that they have never experienced before, fly on a broomstick, and choose whether to be good or evil. When I was younger, after staying up late to finish one of the books I would ask myself “What if there really is a school of witchcraft and wizardry, but I just wasn’t lucky enough to be one of those “muggles” with magic powers?” My imagination would run wild and I would imagine what it would be like, thanks to a great detailed book.

Finals Week

Finals finals finals

Where do i beging?

Finals week is one of the hardest and most annoying weeks duirng a students semester. Packed with exams and papers due, i barely have time for myself during finals. Its either sleep eat or study, and then as you get closer to finals sleep starts to get put on the side. Making sure to finish all my work and at least TRY to ace my tests i slowly begin to lose sleep. I mean theres not enough time to study AND have a life. So you give up one or the other. During finals week i decide that its ok to give up time for myself because I hwill always have time later to either go to the gym, movies, hang out, or see my girlfriend. I guess those are the things you have to give up when your trying to be a Pre-med student in stony brook.

THE ROBOTIC WORLD

IS technology really starting to look like that portrayed in the movies?
Theres new research that shows that robotic limbs can now be attached to an amputated arm, allong the host to move it with (not his limb as in older versions of robotic arms) but with his mind. Scientists have found a way to fuse robot and human together through the use of lectric terminals and nerve endings.
The craziest part is that it states that he can even feel sensations with this robotic arm

Whats next?

Photos at the Tank

I took these pictures with my cellphone camera so sorry about the bad resolution

Playstation Move

this is a video of what the ps3 move is capable and the applications that it can be used for. IT looks decent, but the kinect is so much "cooler" because of the Hands-free characteristic that allows u to play games with your whole body and hands, and it has even been integrated for computer (windows 7) use.

MOVE?

Sfter the reveal of the X-box Kinect, PS3 revealed their apporach to using movement and sensors to play and interact with a game. Although it is not as hands-free as the kinect (because it uses a "wand") it still focuses on movement in playing a game. The wand has no buttons but allows you to interact with the game throughthe reading of sensors on the wand. With the Kinect already being hacked multiple times, what will they have in store for the PS3 move? Can you use it for computer applications like the Kinect? These were some of the first things that i asked myself after heaing of the PS3 Move.

Traffic AHHHHHH!!!!!!

Traffic is one of the worst things EVER!!!!!!!!! Its so annoying when you really have to get somewhere in a rush. As im blogging right now on my cellphone, im in my friends car in the city and the traffic is rediculous. Bumper to Bumper traffic and im in a rush? Yea it sucks

Sitting in my friends car discussing new ways in which traffic will be a day in the past,I remember wathcing a documentary on the Discovery channel about the future and its cars. First they discussed the topic of flying cars. This is one of the many solutionsto the world problem because we have so much air-space. People could be driving in differnt levels of the "air-space" without much interference by other cars and traffic.

Another solution that waws formulated waws allowing the cars to drive themselve with computer boards that talk to other cars. This way the cars know exactly how far away the other cars are and how fast to travel. It will give a more efficient use of space and road.

Tuition Increase ridiculous?

Every year that i have been attending Stony Brook, tuition had slowly risen bit by bit. Last year however with the tuition increases and budget/class cuts was going too far. How much can the university raise prices and at the same time give us less classes? I even get messages on solar "warning" me that i may have to look for summer classes if i want to graduate on time. Funny thing is that i don't need these summer courses to graduate on time.

Is this just another way for the system to get more money from the pockets of its students?

Here's a link to Stony Brook budget scenarios

http://www.stonybrook.edu/budgetoffice/notes.shtml

RUR reading

The reading at the tank of the robot story was very interesting. It reminded me of the movie irobot. What i found funny from the story is that how did they not see it coming? If the robots were so life like and had their own feelings and thoughts... they should gave known they felt like slaves and naturally, they would not allow this kind of treatment just like it has happend so many times in history. The way the readers told the story was very good. I had an easy time picturing the story and imagining their actions and movements. Their vocals were projected nice and loud making it easier to follow and understand teh story and plot of the play.

But heres the question, will the world ever get to the point in which robots will fight back?

Internet a problem?

The internet is the enemy when one has to do a homework on the computer. As concentrated as i may be to do the homework, the temptation of the internet is no match. Within minutes i find myself browsing the internet, having completely forgotten of ny original task. Hence all of the videos i keep finding on youtube, and once i start watching one video i just cant stop wathcing some more.

I know i am not the only one with this problem because many of my friends have the same complaints. In a world with so much technology and being forced to use it... how can we stay focused on our task when there is so many other things that are much more interesting than the homework?

On top of that, in the 21st century, people are putting to much emphasis on technology and the internet. I mean what if you leave researching your paper to the last minute and then the web browser no longer works? i guess your screwed right?

Hamlet Rap

After hearing the Hamlet rap performance of the tank, I decided to look on youtube to find some more funny Hamlet songs and came accross this one. Its pretty funny. Enjoy!

Patience

Parents and children never get along. Many times simple discussions become blown out arguments that both sides dread. Throughout my teenage years, arguing with my mother has been a routine that happened nearly every day. Many times the arguments would be over simple issues that escalated because both of us lacked patience. So many parents try to have good communication with their kids and a good relationship but very few succeed. A few times i have attempted to approach my mother in a very calm and peaceful manner to see if we can resolve our differences. But in the end we argue... it feels like it is inevitable.

Why are relationships between paerents and children so hard to make work? Is it impossible to have a good relationship? If so how can that be achieved? I have yet to find out.

"Hamlet"

One of my favorite parts of our stay at the Tank was the Hamlet scene that was acted out by my classmates. The character of Hamlet was played by my classmate Chris and was very believable. He made it seem as if Hamlet was indeed going crazy with the use of emotion, tone, and body language. I felt the "scrambledness" of Hamlets brain and thoughts and felt the craze begin to take over the character.

There were some new elements that were added to Hamlet that made me pay more attention to the play. The use of the modern handgun gave the audience the illusion that this play can be more "realistic" to our time than we thought. Additionally, the twist in the end in which Gertrude kills Claudius with a knife was something i was not expecting and was a ncie surprise.

I believe that all the actors/actresses did a good job capturing the audience attention

"The Tank"

The Tank, an off-off broadway venue was a nice and cozy location that allowed for us to present our final projects for THR104.
This was my first time attending such an event and it was a nice experience. There was a flute player that controlled pictures through the pitch of his instrument, actors performing scenes from Hamlet, and a reading of RUR. Although there were multiple things going on at once, it was very entertaining. There was even a new droid app that we integrated to use as an audience remote. It allowed the audience to interact with the actors/entertainment. This app allowed for the audience to blend colors and images of two different videos playing at the same time.
Color opacity and texture were some of the things that we were able to control with our own phones.

New kinect advances

in class we spoke about new technologies that are emerging and came across a hack on the popular kinect that allowed it to read and portray 3d images. Well some geniouses recently came out with another hack that allows the user to control windows 7 and the web browser through the kinect. You can go back/forward, up/down and even chose links and review your history. Its pretty cool.

Is the technological world becoming more human?

R.U.R

I remember seeing this video over two years ago and after watching the reading of R.U.R at the Tank i was reminded of it. This car can change its facial expressions and open its hood using a seemless and bolt-less outer skin. Today is looking more and more like the future presented in movies like iRobot staring Will Smith

Oresteia

Last week i went to city college with my friend to watch a performance done by that school. "The Oresteia" was a play about the death of Agamemnon after his return from his victory of the Trojan War.

This play changed my view on how a play can be scened. The first half of the play was staged during the Vietnam war, with all war heroes dressed in military uniforms of the era.

The second half was a modern re-enactment of the play which included cell phones, guns and cars. There was even a pimp with his dancers.

Watching this play was really enlightening and i had a lot of fun. It was an experience that i would like t0 experience again some day.