Kalayaan School for Equity x jC Photography: Photo Workshops (June 25 & July 2, 2010)

Kalayaan School for Equity (KSE) presents a photography workshop by jC Photography and MotionScope Studies:

Part One:
Photography (June 25, 2010, 7-9:00pm)
- Composition
- Lighting
- “Intentional” Photography

Part Two:
Marketing (July 2m 2010, 7-9:00pm)
- Pro bono vs. bartering
- The “How to’s” on how to get out there
- Understanding “value” in photography

To register or get more info, email LKCvargas@gmail.com, leave a message at (650) 641-2891 x573, or visit KSE at kse.liwanag.org

Liwanag Kultural Center
222 Lausanne Lane, Daly City, CA 94014Kalayaan School for Equity (KSE) presents a photography workshop by jC Photography and MotionScope Studies.

7 Things to Stop Doing Now on Facebook

This really helped me catch things I didn’t think of. If you already knew all this, good for you. If you’ve already quit facebook, please invite me to the next internet social networking site. Thanks!

———————————————————————————————

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109538/7-things-to-stop-doing-now-on-facebook

by Consumer Reports Magazine
Wednesday, May 12, 2010

provided by

Using a Weak Password

Avoid simple names or words you can find in a dictionary, even with numbers tacked on the end. Instead, mix upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. A password should have at least eight characters. One good technique is to insert numbers or symbols in the middle of a word, such as this variant on the word “houses”: hO27usEs!

Leaving Your Full Birth Date in Your Profile

It’s an ideal target for identity thieves, who could use it to obtain more information about you and potentially gain access to your bank or credit card account. If you’ve already entered a birth date, go to your profile page and click on the Info tab, then on Edit Information. Under the Basic Information section, choose to show only the month and day or no birthday at all.

Overlooking Useful Privacy Controls

For almost everything in your Facebook profile, you can limit access to only your friends, friends of friends, or yourself. Restrict access to photos, birth date, religious views, and family information, among other things. You can give only certain people or groups access to items such as photos, or block particular people from seeing them. Consider leaving out contact info, such as phone number and address, since you probably don’t want anyone to have access to that information anyway.

BLACK FRIDAY! The one day Americans can buy three flat screen TVs and feel okay about it…

According to the world’s most accurate online source, wikipedia.org:

“Black Friday is a term for the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, which is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. The term dates back to at least 1966 and by 2009 it was being used on the local news on television. Because Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, Black Friday occurs between the 23rd and the 29th of November.”

“Thanksgiving” itself isn’t a “traditional” holiday for my family. Besides the fact that there’s no “Thanksgiving” in the Philippines, our bakery is open the entire week. I don’t recall my family ever being hella into the whole Black Friday thing (if I’m wrong, my sister or someone can correct me). I only started getting into it a few years ago through the enticement of my friend, Jon-Erik.

Some observations over the past few years of participation:

1) People actually spend the entire Thanksgiving day waiting in line outside of Best Buy
2) Overall, people have been getting in line earlier and earlier. I believe we got to Fry’s at 3 or 4 am and the line was already around the building
3) Folks leave with like two or three big screen TVs. Not that I’m one to judge, but I doubt they need that many for personal use. That’s where our good friend Ebay comes in.
4) If you’re looking to get the really good deals, especially on electronics, you have to be one of the first ones in line. If not, you can go to Fry’s, wait in line, and see what stuff people leave behind. We’ve gotten lucky the past couple years.

Usually, I don’t buy anything huge. I think the past couple years I’ve picked up cheap paper, a 6-plug, and a couple DVDs. But I just like witnessing the insanity. Plus, the bonding time with folks, and you’ll need good folks with you to keep you entertained.

Yes, I do see some problematic implications of Black Friday. A hyped up way to support capitalism. Taking advantage of the illusion of “good deals” to entice working people to spend their hard earned money on things they mostly don’t really need, all the while still collecting a profit from overpriced products. The greatest example of our consumerist society and dependence on exploitation in 3rd World/ developing nations. You can go on and on. By participating, am I supporting? Yes. But then that’s the overall contradiction of living in a 1st World/ industrialized nation isn’t it? Unless you don’t give money to the gov’t and you make all your products, you’re participating in capitalism and the current system. If I can find a way to give less money to the corporations, I’ll do that. In the world that I’m trying to fight for, Black Friday will be EVERYDAY.

With all that said, if you want to know what the deals are going to be this year, here are some nifty websites:

http://www.blackfriday.info/
http://www.blackfridaysales2009.us/
http://www.blackfridaysales.us/
http://www.theblackfriday.com/
http://www.onlineblackfridaysales.com/

So if you intend on blowing your paycheck(s) next Friday, good luck to you! Be financially responsible and don’t get yourself more in debt. Don’t buy a PS3 when you know you have to pay tuition next semester or you’re struggling to put food on the table. And you know, try to spend “Thanksgiving” with family and/or loved ones. Though “Thanksgiving” and Black Friday are both, at the foundation of it, problematic days, it doesn’t mean you have to isolate yourself from the rest of society. Use it to your (and everyone else’s) advantage. Better yet, buy something that will help your organizing! (keep a look out on deals for projectors)

Nerd Knowledge: Four essential tips for extending the battery life of your computer, cell phone, and every other gadget

Hope this helps folks out. Especially for all my fellow mac users. I didn’t most of this stuff prior to reading the article. I’m the type where I just charge my laptop whenever I get the chance. I just like to be safe because I never know the next time I’m going to be able to charge it. I always wondered how I could get a little bit more juice out of my electronics. Batteries cost too much to replace.

http://www.slate.com/id/2234009

Four essential tips for extending the battery life of your computer, cell phone, and every other gadget.

By Farhad ManjooPosted Friday, Oct. 30, 2009, at 5:31 PM ET

Whether they’re in our computers, cell phones, or cars, the only time we think about batteries is when they’re almost dead and we need to find some place to charge them—and then we’re not thinking nice things. Batteries are an old-school technology. We stuff them into gadgets that are always getting smaller, faster, and cheaper, but battery technology doesn’t yield to Moore’s Law. What we know about batteries today is pretty much what we knew about batteries back when ENIAC was invented. As a result, batteries remain a primary limiting factor in our machines; they’re the reason we don’t have better cars, why your smartphone won’t play a two-hour movie, and why your otherwise perfectly functional three-year-old laptop is useless on a plane trip.

Our daily struggle with batteries has spawned a cottage industry of advice about their proper care and feeding. Some argue that the way to get the most juice out of your gadget is to charge it as often as you can. Others caution about the sin of overcharging; this school holds that batteries are happiest when they’re run down to zero every once in a while. Dig deeper into this line of thinking and you find its proponents are most concerned about a battery-destroying phenomenon known as the “memory effect“—a worry that if you keep re-charging your battery before the juice goes down to zero, it will gradually lose capacity. A related annoyance is your gadget’s battery meter; the more often you charge and recharge your iPod or your cell phone, the more inaccurate its fuel gauge seems to become.

To clear up these annoyances and conflicting theories, I called up Isidor Buchmann, the CEO of Cadex Electronics, a Canadian company that makes battery-testing equipment. Buchman also runs Battery University, a very helpful Web site for battery enthusiasts and engineers. I asked Buchmann how we can make sure that our batteries last a long time. “There is not too much to discuss,” he began, and then launched into a conversation exploring the numerous frailties of batteries. The upshot is this happy factoid: No matter what you do, your battery will become a useless piece of junk—one day it will reach a point where it can no longer be charged, and then you’ll have to recycle it. It will die if you use it often. It will die if you hardly ever use it. It will die if you charge it too much. It will die if you charge it too little. You can pull the battery out of your camera, stuff it under your mattress, and come back for it in five years. Guess what? Your battery will be dead. And when I say dead, I mean dead—not that it’s run out of juice, but that it can no longer hold a charge.

That said, there are ways to prolong your batteries’ lives. Here are some of Buchmann’s tips:

Man plays Grand Theft Auto IV for 40 hours, breaks record

I’ve played video games for a few hours straight. I don’t know my record, but I do remember the sun being up, darkness, then sun rise. But for 40 hours…geez. Talk about getting caught up. And really, is this a record one should be proud about? Is it something to put on a resume? Would your parents brag about this to their friends?

I do think it’s funny that he did physical activity to train for something that requires you to sit for a long time. But based on outside appearance, he doesn’t seem out of shape.

Among the other reasons why I would never come close to this, I also get bored of things quick. I could probably play ten different games in 40 hours. That’s if I ever had the time to do that.

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/man-plays-grand-theft-auto-iv-for-40-hours-breaks-record/1365827

Man plays Grand Theft Auto IV for 40 hours, breaks record

by Mike Smith

// Buzz up!

We’ve had an all-night gaming session or three in our time, but this is ridiculous.

Some records are made to be broken. By the same guy.

 

Chirantan Patnaik, a resident of Mumbai, India, became an official Guinness Record holder last month when he clocked over 40 continuous hours playing Rockstar’s 2008 smash Grand Theft Auto IV, reports GameCulture. Patnaik trained for the marathon event by running, exercising, and yoga — which no doubt prepared him well for Grand Theft Auto’s themes of running, shooting, and stealing cars.

The previous record was held by a U.S. citizen and stood at a mere 28 hours and one minute. Patnaik, who has a day job as an equities trader, isn’t done, either: he plans to challenge his own record in an attempt to make it to 48 hours.

“I enjoyed the game very much. It’s fun playing long hours. It wasn’t that exhaustive for me, as one might feel,” Patnaik told long-running Indian news channel Zeenews. Under the rules laid down by Guinness, Patnaik could take a ten-minute break every hour, but he only took four over the course of his two-day session.

How did he keep his energy levels up? “Staying away from coffee and eating dates during my game helped me to stay alert and fit,” he told Zeenews.

Maybe it’s just us, but fiber-packed snacks like dates just don’t seem like a good snack choice for a marathon like this. Chirantan, we admire your commitment…not to mention your intestinal fortitude.

The Future of Journalism- Survey: Just five percent willing to pay for online news

As a journalism major, we get into many discussion about the future of the industry. Everyday, we see newspapers going out of business, laying off people, and raising paper prices. News has gone digital and free (like how I found this article on the Yahoo!’s front page). So for us inspiring journalists, we ask ourselves: is there a future for us?

There are a lot of ways to interpret the results of this poll. The way people look at the media, how information is valued nowadays, the effects of the economic crisis on our spending habits, general apathy within out society, etc.

One thing we know for sure is people don’t want to pay for mainstream news, especially if it’s easily accessible for free on other sites. What those of us who work/ will be working in the media have to ask ourselves is: do we blame society for willing to spend money on mainstream news or is it up to us to become more creative and improve the way we present the news?

There will always be a need for information as long as we have a society that wants to know what’s going on in the world. We just have to adapt that idea to our world. We also need to help each other finds ways to make this a living, since we live in a capitalistic world.

See what happens when every aspect of our lives is driven by economic exploitation and profit?

Ben Patterson: The Gadget Hound

• Blog
• Bio
• Emai

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/57240

Bad news for free online news sites thinking of charging for their content: according to a recent survey, the vast majority of readers would rather find another free site or simply scan the headlines rather than pony up for a paid subscription.

The harsh news comes from PaidContent:UK and Harris Interactive, which polled nearly 1,200 readers in the UK to see how they’d react to the idea of paying for online news that they’re used to accessing for free. The reaction? Not good.

According to the scientific survey, a mere five percent of users would consider paying for their “favorite” news site if it began charging for access, PaidContent:UK (which just so happens to be a free news site) reports.

Nearly 75 percent of the respondents said they’d turn tail and head for a competing free site, while eight percent would keep reading the free headlines. A final 12 percent was “not sure” what they’d do.

Does $53 million X 30 years = Keeping Comic Con in San Diego?

An artist's rendering of an expanded San Diego Convention Center on the bay side. (Tucker Sadler Architects)

Today is a comic book themed day. Just saw this on twitter from my good friend Liza. That’s a whole lot of money, especially considering the financial crisis we’re in. But there is the potential to recover the money spent from the revenue brought in from large conventions, tourism, etc. San Diego is already an attractive place because of the weather. Plus, I’m sort of biased because I want Comic-Con to stay at home. Since I’m not a current resident, it’s tough to say. Especially since I’m still trying to find classes to add in our severely underfunded CSU-system. What do you think? (VOTE IN THE POLL AT THE BOTTOM)

The $53 million question

The yearly price to expand San Diego’s convention center is revealed and has city and tourism officials asking . . .

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/16/1n16center002234-53-million-question/?metro&zIndex=117325

By Jeanette Steele

Union-Tribune Staff Writer

2:00 a.m. June 16, 2009

A San Diego Convention Center expansion being championed by Mayor Jerry Sanders and the tourism industry got a price tag yesterday – at least $52.5 million a year in new taxes or fees over three decades.

Options being discussed include a $1 to $2 surcharge on San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld San Diego admissions, a 1 percent to 3 percent tax on food and drink sales and an increase in the city’s hotel tax from 10.5 percent to as high as 15.5 percent.

Convention center officials want to add 400,000 square feet to the bayfront facility, saying they stand to lose large, lucrative trade shows to cities with bigger exhibit halls.

The poster child for flight risk is Comic-Con International, the San Diego-born pop-culture extravaganza.

New Theory Questions Why We Sleep

This is for those who wonder about sleep. Why we need it, what’s for, what happens when we avoid it? And like a lot of folks I know, I don’t get enough of it. I thought this article was interesting. But then again. I’m kinda weird.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090825/sc_livescience/newtheoryquestionswhywesleep

Charles Q. Choi
Special to LiveScience
LiveScience.com charles Q. Choi
special To Livescience
livescience.com – Tue Aug 25, 2:05 pm ET

The purpose of sleep remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in science. Although we spend roughly one-third of life asleep, researchers still do not know why.

While sleep is often thought to have evolved to play an unknown but vital role inside the body, a new theory now suggests it actually developed as a method to better deal with the outside world.

Sleep is often seen as bad for survival. Sleeping animals might be vulnerable to predators and cannot eat, mate, scout for prey, care for relatives or perform other behaviors key to getting by. As such “it’s been thought that sleep must serve some as-yet unidentified physiological or neural function that can’t be accomplished when animals are awake,” said sleep researcher Jerome Siegel at the University of California at Los Angeles.

However, Siegel noted that a number of species could make do without sleep for long spans of time.

For instance, newborn dolphins and killer whales and their mothers show an almost total lack of what might be called sleep in other animals – that is, extended periods of immobility – for several weeks after birth, when these animals normally migrate. Similar findings are seen in birds during migrations, “where birds can fly for days on end without stopping,” he explained.

“So you have to start thinking – if sleep has a vital universal function, how are they able to survive without it?” Siegel said.