I was on the way home the other day after a long day of meetings. And as soon as I step off the train I see cops, with their guys drawn, descend on a group of guys sitting in traffic. The street was totally blocked off so of course me and about 30 other people pull out our phones and start recording. I still have no idea what the hell happened. I was just pissed that it slowed me down from getting some stuff from the store.
Mavic Air: Second flight test
First flight with my new Mavic Air
The weather has been wet and rainy for the past week, so when the sun came out I went over to the park to test out the new Mavic Air. It flies like a dream. It was smaller and much more nimble than my Spark. The size and portability of the drone can’t be beat. And the automated quickshots are fantastic. The only thing I need to do next flight is to take my time and not rush with the camera settings. In my defense, I wanted to get the drone in the sky and burn through at least a battery or two before the field got crowded. Next time I am going to drive to a better location and use my new Polar Pro filters as well.
A few hours in Bergen (360 video)
Chilling Justice League Style – NY Comic Con (360)
Chilling with the whole Justice League at the 2016 NY Comic Con. #nycomiccon #theta360 – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA
This year I took my Ricoh Theta 360 camera to Comic Con in order to get something other than the traditional cosplay photos. I have to admit that this whole 360 immersive photo stuff is starting to grow on me.
Speedboating over the Lofoten Maelstrom (360 video)
The wife and kid took me out on the open water to explore the waters surrounding Lofoten, Norway. The speedboat (rip) that we traveled on was an interesting way to see the fish and wildlife in the area. Our guide Theresia said that the waters on this day were fairly calm and peaceful. If that is the case it must be crazy out here when the sea is rougher.
Testing the VR waters – Ricoh Theta S
The Williamsbridge Oval Park & Recreation Center in the Norwood section of the Bronx – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA
I decided to finally test out my 360 degree Ricoh Theta S camera in the park near my house. I have been looking for a camera to create VR content. I am still not sure if I should ditch the Ricoh and get the Samsung Gear 360. The Ricoh is one of the easiest VR cameras to use because of the simplicity of the design. However the video quality on the Ricoh, while pretty good when running locally on my computer or mobile phone/tablet, gets totally crushed when uploaded to Facebook or YouTube.
I hear that the Gear 360, while not as user friendly, is handled much better on social media sites like YouTube. The only reasons I didn’t snag the Gear 360 it hasn’t been officially released in the US as of yet and I wanted get started shooting during my summer break. Plus my older Galaxy S5 is not supported by the software app needed to run the camera. Call me cheap but I didn’t want to also have to upgrade my phone to the newest Samsung (approximately 600 -700 bucks) in order to get the full functionality. So now I am hoping that a firmware update to the Ricoh, or future change on Facebook and YouTube will improve the upload quality.
Online education might be the future, whether we like it or not
Let me just start by saying that for the past few years I have been hearing educators rage against the for-profit institutions and online instruction. And rightly so in many cases. There are many of these online for-profit schools that offer sub standard education for a cost that is comparable to the traditional brick and mortar schools of higher education.
The rising cost of higher education, the technical disruption of traditional methods of communication, the economic downturn, and the disproportionate promotion of majors without definitive career paths have created a perfect storm. For the first time that I can remember, large portions of society are questioning the value of a college education. The kids growing up today will adapt and start learning in different ways.The methods of learning that you and I look at as inefficient will not seem that way to them. But instead of adopting some of the positive aspect of online education and looking for ways to improve upon it, traditional academics basically dismissed it.
And the rise of MOOCs within the last few years or so has many within the academy worried. If just one of these organizations/schools/partnerships gets it right and is able to offer quality and accredited education at a reduced price, it will be over for the existing structure. It is already happening. Higher Ed, much like the music and the newspaper/magazine industries, was too slow in making needed changes. They thought that they would be immune to the technological and economic shifts. They were wrong. I suspect that in 10 years from now colleges will be very different.
I don’t think it will happen that quick only because the small private colleges that are moderately profitable will be the first to feel the pinch. The larger institutions that are city and state sponsored will do better, but only because they are backed by the government.
For starters, academic institutions could have tried to control the rising cost of education and promoted majors that point to definitive career paths. Especially when technical disruption of traditional methods of communication and the economic downturn have creative a perfect storm in which, for the first time that I can remember, large portions of society are questioning the value of a college education. People are looking towards majors that lead to long term sustainable professions. Those are just a few of the answers off the top of my head. I could go on for hours on this topic. I can have at least another good 15-20 to work within the current a academic system barring a substantial financial windfall. However, I doubt the current system will last that long. Thus I feel the need to hedge my bets and broaden my skill set toward possible future shifts.
link — http://zowchow.com/gadgets/online-education-is-replacing-physical-colleges-at-a-crazy-fast-pace/
link — http://www.mindingthecampus.com/originals/2012/11/does_online_education_actually.html
http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/293079/10-excellent-free-online-education-resources
http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses
http://www.openculture.com/freelanguagelessons
Old Apples don’t die, they multiply!
I am throwing out my Apple 9600 Power PC. I am amazed that it still boots up after 17 years. This machine got me through my graduate school digital media program. When I bought it the system had a “huge” 9GB SCSI hard drive and 1.5GB of ram. At the time is was a beast. Now before I tossed it I was able to back it up with a small 8GB Flash drive over a first generation Continue reading “Old Apples don’t die, they multiply!”
