#(( ...especially during times like these when notifications / activity / etc. are broken. ^^; ))

[geometragic]

(( Okay, I think I’ve gotten everyone’s threads into RPThreadTracker ! ^^ You can check Katsuie’s threads here and the multimuse blog’s threads here. If I’ve missed a thread, please let me know ! ))

[purplesurveys]

746

What are some of your favorite cities you've been to? Locally, I loved Sagada, Vigan, and Basco. Outside of the country, I really enjoyed Bali and Shanghai. Would you allow your children to date prior to 16? (assuming you want any) I wouldn’t stop them but I suppose I’d watch over them more and have more rules while they’re still under 16, like no overnights at their SO’s place or that they have to be home by a certain time. Did you ever go through a phase where you thought guys in bands were 'hot?' Hah yep. I grew up during the pop punk/alternative rock era man, where most prepubescent girls were gaga over people like Stephen Gomez from The Summer Set or Jack Barakat of All Time Low. What's something about adult life you were never warned of or prepared for? The extent of being independent, like the sheer amount of bills to pay, how to check if the gas in your kitchen is doing fine, etc. I panic ever so slightly more day by day because I still don’t know how to cook anything and that’s literally Basic Adult Life Skill #1. Did your parents teach you proper table manners when you were growing up? Yes. They both work in hospitality management so stuff like that has been taught to me from a very young age. I can still vividly remember my mom teaching me how to eat pasta and soup properly or when she told me what it means when a bunch of spoons and forks of different sizes are laid out in front of me.

What was the last thing you baked? Chocolate chip cookies, but that was nearly two years ago.  Do you live more than 5 hours away from the nearest international border? Yeah, if you swam all the way there lmao. Kidding but uhhh I don’t – at least I don’t think so. The countries nearest us are pretty...nearby and if you took a boat you’ll probably get there in a couple of hours. Does your town have a farmer's market? No. I think the ones in Cubao are the closest one. What's the westernmost point you've been to? I’m not so sure, I’ve only been around Southeast and East Asia. Strictly speaking I think it has to be Malaysia, but that’s nowhere near the west haha. What was the last restaurant you made a reservation at? Gab and I never really get to have dates as fancy as this. We tried to book a reservation at Barcino once for Valentine’s Day, but they told us no precisely because they weren’t taking reservations for that day. When did you last feel lonely? This afternoon. I always start feeling a tad bit lonely during the afternoons which a nap can often fix. Can you easily tell when others are masking their true emotions? Not always. Some people are good at masking. How often do you wash your car? I don’t. My mom is so particular about how every single item in the house must be cleaned a certain way, and no matter how hard I try to imitate her methods they’re almost always wrong in her eyes so I didn’t even try with my car anymore. I don’t think I wanna hear “you didn’t scrub right” “you missed a spot” “did you even clean the car?” especially after trying my best. When did you last lend money to a friend? It was years ago when I’d lend money to Gab so she can put gas in her car or book a Grab/Uber. Now it’s the other way around, hahaha. Which app on your phone do you tend to get the most notifications from? Facebook. Messenger is almost always active since it’s the most popular chat app where I live. Do you own a Dutch oven? If so, what was the last thing you cooked in it? We probably do but it’s most likely one of my mom’s prized kitchenware that’s always hidden away and never used unless we have important visitors lol. Do you find it easy to put yourself in somebody else's shoes? No, I don’t think you can truly understand what someone with difficulties is exactly going through. What I am prone to be though is feeling sensitive and when someone is having a tough time, I do usually feel sad for them. Sometimes I’ll simply cry thinking about what they’re going through. What is currently on your kitchen table? We have one main counter and on it are my parents’ coffee maker, the water dispenser, the rack for our plates and glasses, mug hanger, and utensil holder. What is your favorite time period in history to learn about? Ooooh I really like history though. I don’t think I’ve ever found myself bored reading about a certain era. How old were you when you met your current best friend? I was 7 when I met the first one, and 13 when I met the other. Have you ever kissed a smoker? Yep but I’ve never liked kissing her after smoking. What is the minimum age to obtain a driver's license in your state/country? 18. ^ Do you think this is an appropriate age, or should it be higher/lower? It’s appropriate. I got mine at 18 and it worked out fine, and the only reason I got into accidents early on is because I was always driving very carefully but was unfortunately surrounded by dumbass drivers who liked to bully my much smaller car around.   If you won the lottery, do you think any of your family members would ask you to give them some of your money? I honestly don’t think so but maybe I just don’t know their true colors just yet HAHAHA. What is the craziest thing you've seen happen at your workplace? Thankfully I didn’t see it happen in person as it would’ve broken me completely, but it was when the Shopping Center at campus burned down. That was the first place I went to after I officially enrolled in my school (I had lunch with my dad and bought a UP car sticker) and it was also the first place my block dropped by to hang out together when we all met each other for the first time, so a lot of memories were in that place and I’m sure this was the case for all students too. That was a really sad day and I almost didn’t want to go to class when I saw the videos of the fire. Do you own any home automation gadgets like wifi thermostats or wifi bulbs? My parents have a wifi bulb. What is something you gave up on after many failed attempts? Instagram. I’ve always tried hyping myself up to finally make an account but egh, it just screams fakeiness to me. How old were you when you started to seriously think about what career path you wanted to pursue? When I was 19 or 20 as that was the age when I started having friends who graduated college and went on to have Real Life Jobs. Have you ever disliked a book so much that you didn't finish it? Yeah I got a random book once when my mom let me pick out whatever book I felt like getting when I was like 11 or 12. I don’t even remember the title anymore hahah but it was such a bore. I don’t know if I threw it out or if it’s buried somewhere in my room. Would you rather read a book, or listen to the audiobook? Read the book. I’m bad at listening to accents and have always needed subtitles, but if I needed subtitles for an audiobook then I might as well have just picked the book hahaha. Do you think tomorrow will be a better day than today? I don’t know. All days are the same now.

[mxnahxlisback]

Creative Critical Reflection

Q1: How do your products use or challenge conventions and how do they represent social groups or issues?

When producing any media text, conventions are followed and broken. Media texts with similar conventions fall under the same genre. There are general conventions in every medium, eg; establishing shots in films. To produce our music video, we had to follow and break many conventions of the electro-pop rock genre and conventions of music videos in general. Our music video has a proper start and an end, this is a common conventions of music video, this gives the video a realistic feel. The narrative represents a girl using a mobile phone using a dating app where she swipes left a lot of guys and then she swipes right and next she is sitting on her bed crying and depressed about her previous break-up. As she gets up she receives a notification where she gets the match. Here we broke one of the common music video convention, that women these days get cheated on most of the time and gets depressed about it. We broke this convention; in no way did we portray the character as an object or a prop but we created a character who develops throughout the narrative. She is being suppressed in the beginning, later she begins to stand up for herself, as she decides to move on and uses the dating app to find someone new which connotes a new beginning, and after she starts having fun conversations and is living her life now.

We picked up a few conventions from electro-pop music videos on how to represent the band, what shots to use, what the location should be like, how the mise-en- scene should be handled etc. As establishing shot is a very common convention in film and TV we broke another convention by starting our music video with a close-up of a hand using a mobile phone without it the video starts abruptly. As our genre was electro-pop most of the music videos which come under these are music clubs or house parties,  we used three different locations for this shoot like my friend’s house, a coffee shop and a ground (for performance base shoot)  the use of these types of locations in electro-pop  music videos is a common convention as houses and out-door locations fit perfectly.

The representation of the artist or band also follows conventions of electro-pop music videos. As in most bands only vocalists are present so we did the same we have shown different clothes in different places to give a cool electro vibe. He’s dressed as basic electro-pop genre artists. We’ve used mid close-ups mostly during narrative, so expressions are shown and when the lead singer looks into the camera he’s trying to connect with the audience. This is a common convention of music videos.

We used parallel cutting to show the band preforming and the narrative, this too is a convention of music videos. A common convention in music videos is that after going through a breakup the person is devastated in the narrative. He or she does are often seen using drugs or something negative but in our case we showed that she was free after the breakup she felt happy during the new date and as she gets catfished the cycle repeats from being depressed again, the process brought a moral lesson. We’ve represented social issues such as people making fake profiles and putting fake profile pictures to catfish as how online relationships starts and become toxic and lead to depression and suicide. Our main social groups are youngsters and millennials because these are the main groups who would be interested in relationships.

Q2 How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of branding?

Different elements of our production work include the music video, the digipak and the website. These three-cover film, print and online media. The three of the media texts serve a single purpose and that is to promote the music album and these three do that successfully. Digipak Music Video Website

An audience survey we conducted revealed that the majority of the audience watch music videos online on YouTube. Usually they are redirected to these sites from social networking websites such as Facebook twitter Instagram etc. Our band has pages on these websites and links to their pages on the websites. The digipack will be available in most music stores and the album will be available to buy online on iTunes the link of which is available on the website. All the elements are owned and produced by the record label which is RTM Records.

The house style concept helps make all our products look related. Such as some of the fonts used in the website is the same font used in the digipak. The images used are similar and so are the logos and the backgrounds. We created a color pallet and used the same color tones throughout our coursework.

 Q3 How do your products engage with the audience and how would they be distributed as real media products?

Our products engage with the audience in various ways, firstly we have a web page that is easily accessible. There our music video is embedded and when someone enters our web page they see all the stuff related to our band and by scrolling what they see is the music video as well as the digipak and the track list of the album easily accessible because we embedded the sound-cloud link as they have a separate page there too , which gives the viewer an idea that it is an important aspect of the web page itself.

Moreover, YouTube also recommends videos due to one's search history. This means that if a person seems to have a taste in music that is similar to the genre of our band, our music video is very likely to be recommended on his main YouTube page. The most important thing is to be very active on social media, and to have official pages on as many as possible social sites. That is why the band has a SoundCloud, Twitter, Facebook Instagram profile, so that they can reach as many people as possible, even if they are using just one social media Site. These profiles that they created can help promoting our music video by posting them on the above-mentioned sites. Furthermore, they can post images with the digipack and include a link to their website from which the digipack can be ordered. In addition, music video could be promoted on all band's media partner's websites due to their logos being printed on the digipack. Those websites could write special articles to present the release of the digipack and the music video.

Another way to engage with the audience is to actually have a performance artist on the stage with the band during the concert. This will make the audience more interested in the song, and might lead them to search the web. Obviously, we would promote the music video on TV, on channels such

as MTV and other music channels. We would do the same with radio stations, where they would also promote the digipack as a new album. It would also be distributed in the specialized music shops. The artist as we who actually created the digipack, music video and website can use their social media platforms and personal portfolio websites to promote the video and to tag the band. The web page link would be posted on each of their social media profiles, so audience can be informed that it exists. While the music video will be distributed digitally, as I mentioned before, on TV, YouTube, Facebook and many more.

Q4 How did you integrate technologies, - software, hardware and online - in this project?

 I had a little knowledge of professional camera usage. As I learned more about different cameras with different settings this time, I learned how to use a Canon EOS 80D with 18-135mm camera and also tripod. I learned how to set the Aperture, ISO and Shutter Speed in order to get a desired lights and colors. Moreover, I learned how to focus my camera on the wanted area.  I find this very important in order to have clear footage that can be edited with ease. After the camera work platforms, we used to edit our music video was Premier Pro and iMovie For a heads-up I learned how to use Premier pro  from YouTube by watching tutorials and learned all the basics of editing, trimming, cutting, correcting the and saturation, opacity. And for the Behind the Shoot footage we used iMovie.

 For the after effects we used Adobe After Effects because we used a green screen in order to create the pop-up texts on the video. In order to do this, we had to learn how to use Key light effect which removed the green screen.

 I learned that research and planning is essential in order to get a final piece that you are satisfied with. Each shot, camera angle, movement, has to be previously thought of and tried so that when the shooting day comes one will not encounter problems. Moreover, without the online help, especially YouTube tutorials I would find it very hard to work in After Effects because it is a very complex software. But I searched on YouTube and on After Effects official site information in order to get the desired image.

[rosevalntne-blog]

all of the questions!

thank you so much my love

bubble bath: do you have any routines before bedtime? like skin care, etc.? what are they? i’m trying to establish a solid skincare schedule but i’ve been so ill in the last year that i’ve been literally incapable of figuring out how bedtime works?? so it’s pretty much just clean the litterbox (wash my hands) and brush my teeth most nights

champagne: what topic could you talk about for hours? shakespeare and also food network

crushed velvet: have you ever used your charm to get something you want? i have no charm lol

diamonds: how do you feel about excessively spending money? fun but don’t probably

faux fur: describe your wardrobe lots of dark colors, flannels, lots of dresses and striped stockings, lots of dark leggings

glitter: describe someone special to you fnfnfndskjs i can’t pick just one and leave ppl out!!! so: gina has been my friend since we were in, like, sixth grade. we hit a rough patch once but other than that she’s seen me through everything. i try to be a good friend to her bc i love her so much and i really want to help her feel happy whenever i can.river is my platonic soulmate. i’ve never met anybody more relatable & they’re so supportive of me when i’m not well. they never ever ever call me terms i don’t like applied to me (e.g. “psychotic”) because they know that whatever i’m experiencing is real to me and that’s enough. they show me so much affection & i show it back and they make me feel so loved. cassie (you) is someone i wish i’d spoken to earlier. you followed me for a while before we became friends and i noticed you in my notifications but was always a little shy to reach out to you. i’m really, really glad you came off anon one day because you mean a lot to me. rae has helped me so much, especially as i learn which of my traits are bpd related and how to cope with them. i try to be supportive because i love them and even though i know sometimes i’m not the best friend i could be, i hope they know how much i love them because they really mean the world to me. i wish all the best for them and even if i’m scared to reach out because i easily think people don’t want to talk to me, i’m sending them good vibes every single day. spence is somebody i’ve really only become closer with recently but i want to be closer to him. not a day goes by that i don’t think of him and send him good vibes. i luv him and he’s really fun to bake with and i hope he’s having a good day. (if we’re pals and i didn’t mention you, it’s not bc you don’t mean a lot to me! i’m just rambling a lot so i need to cut it off here.) 

gold: describe what you would call the most perfect meal. hmmm i really like breakfast food and especially oatmeal but i like it kind of watered down? so i would say slightly watery oatmeal with raspberries, peanut butter & co. chocolate peanut butter, slivered almonds, and a little honey, and also a croissant and green tea! or also i make the fucking best vegan peanut butter cookies so like a whole batch of those probably.

jazz: name a song that resonates with you and your emotions: explain the reason why. there are so many but most of all, in this moment right now, i’m going to go with “the high road” by broken bells. i listened to it a lot in eighth grade when my depression first really set in (i.e. to a clinical level episode instead of a more slightly-below-cyclothymia situation that i had going on from ages eight to twelve), and i’ve been thinking a lot about then because i had the chance to get help then and i passed it up, and that makes me really sad because maybe my illness wouldn’t have progressed as much as it did if i had gotten help earlier. lyrics like “come on and get your overdose / collect it at the borderline” make me think of the “borderline” between reality/psychosis even though that probably wasn’t the original intention, and even though i’m not quite there yet, i feel like it might be coming, which is why i’m being so aggressive with med changes right now. and it just sounds echoey and surreal, which is how i feel. 

lace: what is something in your life completely different from last year? my manic depression has gotten significantly worse. i have full blown mania now, which changed my diagnosis from bipolar ii to bipolar i. i know diagnoses are only ways for clinicians to know how to treat you, but that feels like a big deal to me. unfortunately, i’ve definitely gotten worse. 

lingerie: do you consider yourself to be a promiscuous person? not at all. i am severely sex-repulsed. i slept with a girl once and had such a severe breakdown i almost killed myself, & still have flashbacks to this day. 

lipstick: do you enjoy talking to strangers? not in the least. 

pearls: what’s something about your personality that surprises others? i think most people are surprised to find how desperate i am for validation until they get to know me. i’m told i come off as rather mature and pulled-together, so i think people who don’t know me well don’t realize how dependent i am on the opinions and validation of others. 

penthouse: what do you consider your dream home? describe it. a little cottage in the woods just on the outskirts of a little town! it would be made of uneven stones with ivy crawling up the sides and a garden out front. there would be a river nearby with willow trees. inside, it would be quaint and often a little dusty, with mismatched furniture found at tag sales and filled bookshelves everywhere. the kitchen would be the biggest room because i spend so much time baking in there. 

perfume: if you could make your own signature fragrance, what would it smell like? roses, honey, and vanilla. 

robe: how do you prepare for an evening alone with a loved one/date? clean up my room, pop hamlet into my dvd player, and bake something? idk i’ve never dated anyone,,

roses: if it had to be winter, spring, summer, or autumn for the rest of your life, which would you choose? autumn! when the air smells like cinnamon and cloves, it’s the perfect time for chai tea and pumpkin spice lattes, the leaves are beautiful, and it’s neither too hot nor too cold. 

satin: what is your most favorite article of clothing? black and white striped stockings :^)

sheet mask: what is your favorite lazy activity? drinking lattes and watching food network!

silk: do you have more inner beauty or outer beauty? neither i’m a bad person and a goblin

silver: do you have any obscure hobbies? what are they? i used to collect the tags on tea bags but i lost them all lol

sparkling water: what are your top three songs for the summer? for an ideal summer? (1) “my girl,” the temptations; (2) “rosalita (come out tonight),” bruce springsteen; (3) “on my way,” phil collins. 

wine: what kind of drunk are you? i’ve only been drunk during severe episodes but when i’m in a mixed episode and drunk i get very poetic and write a lot and i’m very self-reflective and stuck in the void and when i’m manic i’m just very giggly and i shout a lot. 

[mrstevenbushus]

How to Choose a Smart Home Security System

The smart tech industry continues to grow, and now, like your lighting, heating and speakers, the burglar alarm has been given a modern update for the smartphone era.

Recent research has found that 71% of us do not feel our homes are secure enough and one in 50 British properties has suffered a break-in in the last 12 months.

Despite this, a full 85% of UK homeowners only install additional security features after their house has already been burgled.

It’s clear that it’s time to start thinking seriously about how we keep our abodes safe from intruders. Traditional CCTV setups can be expensive to run, and often feature grainy video quality, which makes it difficult to identify trespassers.

Fortunately, a wealth of smart tech options now exists to protect your property with just a few taps on a touchscreen. These devices give you the ability to lock your house remotely, receive real time updates on people leaving and entering and watch HD footage recorded from wherever you happen to be, at any time.

Most smart home hubs also provide integration with other tech you may already own, supercharging your setup with more helpful features.

The Loxone smartphone app offers precise control over your home’s security features

Fancy interacting with your home via Alexa? No problem. Want to set lighting and heating patterns in tandem with alarms and holiday modes? You’ve got it!

In theory, this should make it easier for you to find the best solution for your household – especially as these products are generally simple to customise.

But with so many different options out there, it’s worth weighing up your choice properly to maximise the effectiveness of your new setup. Here, I’ve broken down the primary considerations you should make in order to pick the right system.

What do you want to use it for?

Individual households will need different levels and methods of protection, depending on factors like the size and location of your home and how often you’ll be in the property.

Most burglars are opportunists, and if they see a visible security system, they’re likely to move on elsewhere.

If you’re just looking to cover the basics, your needs might be met by one of the starter kit options on the market.

These setups will generally include a combination of cameras, sirens, door locks, motion detectors and sensors that can spot when a door or a window has opened.

For instance, the Somfy starter pack includes a TaHoma Smart Home box, motion detector, opening sensor, siren and indoor camera that can be hooked up to a smartphone or tablet, so you can monitor your property and download recordings should an intruder be detected.

The Netatmo indoor camera sends an immediate alert to your phone when an intruder enters your home, complete with a picture of their face and a video recording. To avoid unnecessary alerts, you can train the device to identify loved ones with a single click during the initial setup

Nearly all brands will provide the chance to add on upgrades that are tailored to the bespoke needs of your household. For example, some companies offer baby monitoring facilities.

The Panasonic Smart Home system features a night vision camera with a two-way microphone and even comes with a selection of lullabies to soothe baby to sleep. And if you know only the kids are going to be in, Loxone’s setup is capable of disabling dangerous appliances, like the cooker, until you return.

For those who travel a lot, whole-house integrated systems, such as those available from Smarthomes, Moss Technical and Loxone, offer holiday modes that simulate occupancy.

Some can even learn last week’s activity and play it back – incorporating lights, curtains, TV use etc.

Moss Technical’s Niko Home Control systems can also trigger speakers to play a barking dog track and switch lights on when movement is detected outside.

If you have elderly relatives, opting for a solution with a motion sensor can alert you to any unusual activity – set your app to let you know if grandma has not entered the kitchen by 11:00AM, for instance.

Some offerings can even be programmed to ignore your pet’s movements so that they don’t set off the alarm. ADT can tailor its security setups to incorporate these features.

It’s also worth thinking about whether you can use the items included in your package creatively. For example, if you have set your lighting, heating and blinds to turn on automatically when you arrive home from work, perhaps through GPS proximity, you could have the system switch off the alarm.

If this level of integration appeals to you, opting for a solution that offers If This, Then That (IFTTT) compatibility could be a good option.

On the IFTTT website, you can search through thousands of automation recipes that can help make your tech work harder for you.

What’s your budget?

Some starter security packages might not be enough by themselves if you have a larger property. Shelling out for additional cameras and sensors can quickly add up, so make sure you’re considering the pay off when making your initial choice.

Remember that the cheapest all-in-one kit may not end up the most cost-effective solution if you need a lot of extras to ensure your home is fully secured.

A good budget option is the Samsung SmartThings Starter Kit, in which you get two multipurpose sensors, a motion detector, a hub and a power outlet for £200, with the option to feed in additional compatible items, ranging from security features through to voice assistants and even your washing machine.

Nest Cam Indoor has a built-in speaker and mic, so you can hear what’s happening at home and even speak to intruders (or the dog) over the microphone

At the top of the range, the likes of Loxone specialise in whole-house automation infrastructure. This can connect 150 different products to create a complete smart system, incorporating security, lighting, heating, blinds and multimedia functions.

It’s worth noting that if your setup includes cameras, many suppliers require you to pay a monthly subscription fee to keep the footage on their cloud-based storage.

While these generally aren’t too pricey, it adds another cost to your monthly outgoings. If this is a concern, look for a firm that will let you download your footage locally. Netatmo and Panasonic, for instance, do not charge a monthly fee.

How confident are you in installing a smart system yourself?

Many plug-and-play setups are solid on the basis of speed and ease of setup, with installation generally controlled directly from the smartphone app.

The Nuki smart lock, for example, can be fitted over your existing lock and securely installed within 90 seconds without the need for screws or drills. Similarly, the Ring smart doorbell comes with all you need to fit it on your own in just a few minutes.

But setting a system up yourself has its limitations.

For instance, if you aren’t familiar with a home’s typical weakest points, then you may not place your cameras or sensors in the most appropriate areas.

So, while you might want to save on costs, it is worth considering hiring a professional to carry out your installation.

This eliminates the risk that your system might be fitted inefficiently, which could mean the property still remains a viable target for thieves.

All the smart home offerings by Yale come with a free security survey of your abode, where a trained professional will assess the site’s vulnerabilities and inform you of any other weak points that could benefit from an upgrade.

You can then elect to have them carry out the fit for a £109.99 fee. Afterwards, the installer will test the new system and provide training on how to use it.

 Closer Look

The CCTV setup in this listed home consists of 43 cameras, which includes static, PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) and dome units. The owners can view recordings on their smartphone or tablet, even when they aren’t at the house.

Contact and vibration detectors are embedded in every accessible window and door and PIR motion detection is used throughout the property as both perimeter and trap protection.

Read more: Smart CCTV Security in a Listed Home

Most security-specific solutions run off your Wi-Fi, meaning they won’t work outside of a certain range.

If you set this up DIY, you might place cameras outside of the signal boundary, or where walls or furniture may block the signal and prevent it from working properly. If you’re worried about the efficiency of your Wi-Fi, then consider commissioning a professional wired installation, or look for a system with GPRS.

Honeywell offers several GPRS smart alarm options that will still send notifications via email and SMS, even if your property suffers a power failure.

How tech-savvy are you?

Good smart home products should make your life easier, not add complication.

If you have brand loyalty, and opt to use your preferred company’s tech, then you should be able to feed the new security capabilities into your existing system quite easily.

If you elect to use different suppliers for the various smart features within your home, you may end up with multiple apps to control each element – so consider if this is something you’re happy to deal with.

Regardless of which system you opt for, be sure to take the time to fully test it once installed, so you know it’s working as it should. Seven homes a minute are burgled in the UK, so it’s worth making sure yours isn’t next.

The post How to Choose a Smart Home Security System appeared first on Build It.

Article reference How to Choose a Smart Home Security System