Woodpride is Online

   The end of the year is almost upon us and exams are creeping up. Luckily for me, most of my classes have final projects rather than exams. For my NMIX 4110 course, we have been given free reign to use any or all of the skills we have acquired this semester to do a final project of our choice.

   I have chosen to create a website for my dad's business Woodpride Inc. Woodpride has been located at the intersection of Piedmont Ave. and East Wesley Rd. for over 30 years. They specialize in hand stripping, refinishing, caning, and repairing antiques. The business is run today exactly almost exactly as when it first began: no computer, no credit cards, just the bare essentials. All the work orders are kept track of via business cards that are moved along a cork board. The effectiveness of the system cannot be rivaled by technology. They have never really need to advertise because competition in Atlanta is non-existent or weak. Woodpride's reputation for fine work has always brought in business.

   It's been over 30 years in the making, but Woodpride is finally going online. The main purposes of the website is to showcase photographs of the various services, and provide an interactive map and contact information. The website will have a flash intro and will incorporate such features as an imbedded API Google map, and slideshows from Google's photo service Picasa.  

  
The website is admittedly amateur, but it should look pretty good when it's all finished. The site will be on line within the week.
Woodpride.com.
Check it out.

Polygraph Goes Portable

   MSNBC has reported that the pentagon plans to pop the top an a huge can of worms this week.

   The United States defense department will be issuing hand held lie detectors to troops in Afghanistan. The PCASS, or Preliminary Credibility Assessment Screen System, is a portable device that straps to a person's wrist and measures a subject's anxiety level when asked a series of 20 or so questions. The company that produces the device does not promise perfection and is surprised that the defense department is putting the device into action so soon. Experts say that the device will be significantly less accurate than a standard polygraph.

   The National Academy of Sciences has issued many studies demonstrating the inaccuracy of regular polygraphs tests when administered by trained professionals. The PCASS will be used in hostile areas by regular military personal. Skeptics argue that the possibility of incorrect results puts troops in further harm.

   The defense department has ordered  94 of these devices, each costing $7,500. The total cost of the project at this moment is $2.5 million.

   I certainly understand the need for such a device in theory, but in my opinion, this device is not yet ready for deployment. What happens when a insurgent's rights are violated because the device says he is lying. Or worse, what happen when the device clears an enemy soldier and US troops are killed. $2.5 million is a just a speck in the overall defense budget, but even so, this project seems like a giant waste of money. If I had to guess, some politicians buddy is probably the CEO of the company producing these things and pressured the defense department into a contract in the interest of "saving American lives". I think the military needs to take this gadget back to the lab before they toss it to some GI in the desert.

Mama's Love in Second Life

   This past week I went into Second Life to see a live acoustic concert performed by Mama's Love's Patrick Atwater and Thomas Galloway. Mama's Love is a rock/jam band based out of Athens, GA. Recently they have been gaining a following across the southeast. If you have not heard them, you should check them out on itunes.

   The concert was a project for drummer Ben Torbert's Second Life New Media Class. Torbert is my roommate so I honestly went into Second Life just to mess with him. I got on the stage and played their drum kit while the concert was going on. I was, however, curious to see excactly how a 'concert' in second life would play out. My over all experience: Second Life is an awkward place to see a concert. Not necessarily bad, just awkward; it's new to me. I will admit though, I was impressed with the quality of Second Life's streaming audio. I don't know what kind of audio the UGA new media lab is using, but I could hear everything very clearly.

   I am pretty familiar with SL from my own New Media classes. Last semester, I did a semeste-long project in Second Life pertaining to politics, so I am pretty aware of the dynamics of the virtual world. In my opinion, Second Life has a long way to go in terms of user interaction before it can really be a success. Regardless, it cannot be denied that virtual worlds like second life are becoming a medium for social interaction, business, entertainment and now live entertainment.

   This may concert may have been hastily put together for a class project, but it was very well done. Other artists such as U2, Suzanne Vega, Satin, and Mercedes-Benz have been performing live in Second Life as well as recording machinima music videos that are being posted on YouTube. Keep your eyes and ears open because the next place you see your favorite band might be on Second Life.

Stuff White People Like

   This is the first blog I have found (other than blogs for school) that I have found worth adding to my aggregator: "Stuff White People Like". I think that is worth documenting.

This blog rose from obscurity to to over 20,000,000 hits in just a few months. The author has even been offered a book deal. The success of this blog is entirely due to word of mouth.