ZBlog

I was perusing the intertubes and came across this article.  It is simple amazing how far science has come today.  This story explains the magical powder (nicknamed pixie dust) that has the ability to GROW back a finger.  There is an incredible video on the page.  It has images from throughout the growth, which took only a few weeks.  Check it out!

As I posted earlier, I am working mostly with the literature review of our project. So what IS our project? My group is delving deep into the depths of the modern day technical issue, electronic medical record systems.

There are many arguments for EMR stating that it could greatly reduce health care costs, improve patient confidentiality, and save lives due to accuracy and ease of transfer. However, only a small portion of health care providers have been utilizing the technology in their establishments. One might wonder why the benefit of IT in other industries can't be utilized in the medical field as well.

There are undoubtedly confidentiality concerns, temporary loss of revenue or productivity as a system is installed, and other unforeseeable conflicts that could arise with the implementation of such a system. A few of the more well-known American providers are Allscripts, MedicWare, and Advanced Data Systems. They provide in-house as well as remote server hosting solutions.

With the usage of EMR, health care costs can be greatly reduced. A Rand survey estimated that $77 billion could be saved. If privacy can be guarenteed, productivity is increased, and records could be transferred quickly and easily, it is without question that an EMR could save more lives and provide quicker, more efficient treatment than exists today.

No links no nothing in this post...just straight z.

Part of the class's syllabus requirement this semester was to continually comment on each others' blogs. We were supposed to do four per week, totaling 48 all together. I've been a mediocre commenter at best, and was excited to hear in our last class that commenting would no longer be graded. With the way my finals week is looking, it was going to be quite a feat to pull off...ahem...30 comments?

So anyway, our commenting was dropped because of the fact that a large portion of the students in the class haven't even activated the commenting system yet. This, I was admittedly a little shocked at. I mean, I am glad I don't have to do it anymore, but it got me thinking why there wasn't enough commenting participation in a class of 40 students. Hell, why didn't I participate more?

I believe the problem stems from a poor design of the system which houses the Penn State blogs. I am not sure whether this is a Movable Type (which I have heard decent reviews about) issue, or Penn State gunking up another IT system. At the beginning of the semester, the class had many various problems setting up blogs. I am just going to list a few examples for organizations' sake:

• A classmate and I had to go through some permission setting alterations in our PASS space.

• Blog widgets were cumbersome and had to be spoon-fed to most of the class by our TA.

• The blogs that the system produced weren't very customizable:
• The blog backgrounds were about the only thing you could change, and the layout remained the same in all of them.
• Students still have blog widgets that remain abandoned and inactive (I am assuming because they don't know how to take them off.

• How the hell do you put code into your blog, and what is up with that shady “<a>” button HTML editor? I think I still haven't figured out how to center a Youtube video on here. Layout LAYOUT LAYOUT.

Wow I guess I had more to complain about than I thought. Hypothesis: a poor blog system leads to a poor commenting system:

• The commenting function wasn't enabled until a few weeks into semester, and even then you had to take the initiative to activate them.

• Students weren't commenting because it was often a pain to do so. Just going by 40 text names on the side of everyone's blog made it difficult to establish relationships between authors. I couldn't tell whose blog was whose, or keep track where I commented and what I commented on.

• I often had trouble posting comments, as movable type would give me errors now and again.

• You had to click a link to see comments on articles, which would redirect you to an entirely different page.

• Our professor never gave us an incentive to post comments on our own blog as a response to comments we received.

• It may have just come down to content. Not everyone is destined to be a great blogger or be able to create articles that generate interest. If it is a dull posting, I am not going to have much to say about it.

So...there you go in a nut shell. In my “expert” opinion, these are the reasons that commenting didn't work. I am sure at least one of my unsupported assumptions are true, but hey, its a blog, not a research article.

Too bad this posting won't get commented on....

I am in the middle of writing my part of my team's IST 431 project, so I figured I would take a break and share something that was particularly helpful to me.  I am working mostly with the "literature review" portion of the paper.  I am not really sure if I have ever written one before, so I looked up THIS SITE to see how to do it.  I just wanted to mention it to any of my classmates that will read this posting before the paper is due.  It really has some great ideas.  Back to work!

Well, after last week's weather, snowboard season is officially over on the east coast (damn you west coast). But hey, it's not all bad! That means longboard season is here. After a long hiatus of leaving my 30 inch Flexdex in the living room, I knew it was time to bust it out, and it couldn't get any better. I snagged my ride last Fall at the local Appalachian Outdoors. It was a straight up impulse buy, but it was worth it. I went for the shorter board this time, which although speed wobbles have caused me to case it now and again, is great for weaving around campus. The board is extremely responsive and is beginning to handle more like a snowboard now that it has been broken in. This deck allows you to carve so sharp that you'll have a hard time losing control, and you can release your wheels sideways downhill gradually to check your speed. Oh and don't forget about the lifetime warranty that comes with each of the Flexdex boards.  Can't beat that.  I can't wait to use it in California this summer.

Oh and great news about the downtown skateshops. Appalachian is now carrying Loaded boards, which I have heard nothing but great things about. Also, Christian, the
owner of SkatePenn on E. Calder Way (where Dragon Chasers used to be) is soon placing an order for LandYachts boards. LandYachts makes some of the highest quality downhill boards ever. Make sure you stop by

and say hi if you get a chance. The first video is some nasty downhill shredding courtesy of the Landyachts team, and the second is one I found on the Flexdex website. ENJOI.

...and HORSE RACES.  That's what Maryland does.  As I am anxiously awaiting the end of the semester, I can't keep one thing off my mind.  Mix all your friends, a mayhem-ish party scene, bright blue skies, the faint smell of horse manure and a couple topless girls - and you get one thing.  PREAKNESS.  Preakness is the second race of the Triple Crown, held after the Kentucky Derby and before the Belmont Stakes.  So why is this race so important?  Well, winning all three races is a great accomplishment in thoroughbred racing.  Only 11 horses have done it so far, and it has not been accomplished since 1978.  But enough of that technical jargon.

                                                                   What does it mean to a college student?

As a two-year Preakness vet, I can confidently say that this is the craziest party that I have ever been too.  I honestly don't know how they let it happen without making it illegal.  Penn State tailgates are one thing, but there is no comparison here.  There are thousands of people smashed (no pun intended) into a just-not-big-enough infield, not caring about what happens to them the rest of the day.  Whether there are people running along the tops of port-a-potties or giant mobs fighting and screaming using full beer cans as warfare, you will always have something to keep you on your toes.  The best way to get down there is to try to rent a bus for your friends.  It will take you right up to the gates, park close by, and keep the cases and cases of booze on the DL.  Preakness is 100% a can't miss                                                                       (as long as you are into that kind of thing).

Soooooooooooo a couple of weeks ago I opened the Daily Collegian, where I noticed an article covering Movin' On 2008.  Movin' On is a day-long concert on Penn State's very own HUB lawn.  The event features a variety of musical acts, including anyone from local bands to superstar artists.  Each year I await to hear the headliner to play at the end of the day, and usually feel mild disappointment after.  But not this year.  A few weeks ago, the Movin' On crew announced that SAY ANYTHING would be headlining for '08!!!  I tell you what, I couldn't be happier.  They will take the stage this Saturday, at 9:30 pm.  There's nothing like chilling outside with good friends, good music, good drinks, and (hopefully?) good weather...all for FREE.

 

 

 

 

Check out this video of one of their hit songs, Alive with the Glory of Love.  (Bonus points to whoever can guess what it is about).

 

 

Meanwhile, as I am bathing in the glory of this announcement, I hear from a friend that this Sunday night at Heritage Hall, fav band #2, The Fall of Troy will play a free concert as well.  You couldn't get much more fun at these prices.  The Fall of Troy will be playing with The Dear Hunter, Foxy Shazam, and Tera Melos.

 

Check out one of The Fall of Troy's songs here

 

 

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After two years of burning, mauling, and using my ol' trusty Samsung phone as a bottle opener, it became time to renew my AT&T contract, and accept my phone upgrade.  After a couple nights of research, and making the decision of whether I wanted to be "that guy" carrying a Blackberry or not, I decided on taking a chance with the LG Shine.

My budget isn't huge, so I typically just pick up one of the free phones that come with a 2-yr contract, but the

states of Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania were good to me in my tax returns this year.  I began by kinda looking at what I typically use my phone for.  This included, well, texting and phone calls.  Period.  My bill is high enough already that I didn't need to bother with the extended media package, extended media plus, bonus internet extreme, or super bonus all-you-can-download packages.  Therefore, I figured I wouldn't even be able to use the pda/pocket pc sorts of phones to their full extent.  The reason I landed on the Shine is because a good friend of mine raved about the metal casing (indestructable is a huge plus in my book), the 2 MP camera (we'll see if I use it), and the mp3 player (after you buy a USB cable, memory card, and special ear phones...yea right).

So anyway, after using it a week, I have definitely noticed a few positives and negatives.  The first positive was the price.  This refurb phone ran me $30 (plus the new phone fee plus the contract renewal fee).  I didn't think that was too shabby considering what the price could have been.  Second, the slide phones are mad fun to slide open and closed (I won't get into this, but you'll see).  Third, there is a little "multitasking" button on the side.  If you are in the middle of a text and need to get a number, check something online, or change a setting, the push of that button will give you a whole new screen to work with (kind of like the multi-desktop feature offered with many operating systems).  Finally, the ability to get information on the internet has been helpful from time to time.  You can find the weather, sports scores, and email quickly and easily.  You can tell the phone isn't as suited for internet browsing as the iPhone, but it does a decent job.

Now for the downsides.  The navigation button thingy is a BITCH.  Its hard to get where you want to quickly, and I am constantly selecting items I don't want.  There's just not enough friction to get it to move where you want to. 

Second, the keypad is modeled after Motorola's Razr keypad, which if you have tried, can be reallllllly hard to tell what button you are on.  These things will take some time to get used to I suppose.  Also, the huge screen likes to collect dust, fingerprints, and everything else under the sun.  It has never been a huge deal, but I mean I like my screens perfectly clear.

All in all, I am liking the phone, but I will definitely need a few more weeks to play around with it (and to drop it on the floor).  A few of its rivals you might want to check out are the Samsung SGH-D807, and the LG Chocolate.

So...Google Maps is legit.  They give you directions with pinpoint accuracy and let you see almost anywhere you need to via satellite photography.  My personal favorite feature is the "Street View" (image simulated) function.  As an avid wanderer, I am always excited to check out a place before I go there.  Being on a street is nothing like looking at it from above, so the view definitely bridges the gap.  However, street view is often only available in high density areas, and the resolution can be questionable.

This leads me to the discussion of the website MapJack, which utterly boggles my mind.   MapJack is coming to be known as a better Google street view.  How did I come across MapJack?  I was perusing through a few blogs, and I found a posting for a self-guided photo-tour of the streets of San Francisco.  This interested me because I am going to be living very close to that area this summer for my internship.  This led me to exactly to the photo-tour I thought I would find.

Although MapJack covers only three cities; San Francisco, Sausalito, and Chiang Mai, the resolution and brightness of the pictures are stunning.  The MapJack team is on a mission to bring these high-quality images of cities to the internet, on a shoestring budget.  Clearly they value quantity, not quality.  The interface uses Google's simple and straight forward map function for positioning as well.  I'm not sure how they are doing it, but I am glad they are.  Take a look!

Ohhh the Japanese have done it again!  Just when you think your urinal cleaning methods couldn't get any cuter, an automated URINAL ELEPHANT is developed!  Thats right, it comes complete with a little yellow hat.  I personally am loving how even the most grueling chores now are personified in an animal form.  Check the photo or go here to watch the video.