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Smart Patient Monitoring System Feature BIT UCSC UoM Student Projects S...

[muayythai]

Kicking Down Barriers in Muay Thai

Muay Thai Club UCSC (2023)

Rohan's View

Preparing for this interview based project, my group that consisted of Christian, Sammy, Omar and I, all decided to choose the Muay Thai Club here at UCSC as the student led organization that we wanted to spread awareness about and learn more of. We all decided that was a good move, and Christian, already being a member of the club made it easier for us to schedule interviews with other members. Lucky for me, my friend and roommate, Richie Nimnual, was a member of the club and he attended classes frequently. One morning, I asked him if I could record me asking him a few questions about his time at the club and he was up for it. It was around noon at this point and we had just woken up, but I grabbed my friend Lucy, who lived directly upstairs from us to record it. We stepped outside and on the stairwell of our building in Crown, where there is a spot with no roof, showing a decent view with direct sunlight. I had my questions prepared, Richie was by my side ready to answer, and Lucy stood ready to record. I told her to count me down, and it went 3..2...1,

Rohan - What’s up guys! I'm Rohan and today I'm actually here interviewing my friend and roommate who is a part of the Muay Thai Club here in Santa Cruz. So let’s begin! Please let our audience know your name, major, year, and where you are from.

Richie - Okay, Hi guys! I’m Richie. I’m from Los Angeles, I'm a first year student, and my major is computer science.

Rohan - Nice Richie! Okay care to tell us a little bit about yourself? Like what you enjoy doing in your spare time or any hobbies you have and stuff like that?

Richie - Umm lets see, I like to go to the gym in my spare time, I love listening to music, and I also like playing my video games. I like playing Fortnite, yeah that’s fine. 

Rohan - Nice! So Richie, you and I have actually known each other since middle school, we went to the same school, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about. I am are here to learn about your Muay Thai experience here at Santa Cruz. So let’s begin. How did you come up on and start doing Muay Thai here at the club?

Richie - Okay, so basically my gym buddy, his name is Erick, he’s Thai and he’s really into Muay Thai, and he was like “You should go here,  it’s fun, it’s really good cardio, and it’s good for your back and chest”. So I was like sure it can’t hurt, so that’s how I heard about it and I pretty much started going with him, and it has been cool so far.

Rohan - Cool! Do you have any past background in fighting or anything of that sort? 

Richie - No, not really at all. 

Rohan - Okay, so this is all relatively new for you? 

Richie - Yeah pretty much, I've never done anything like this before. No martial arts classes or anything. I just played soccer and volleyball in highschool. 

Rohan - Nice! Do you ever wanna compete in Muay Thai or anything like that?

Richie - I mean, right now i’m still figuring everything out. I’m just starting so I'm really a student learning the basics and stuff, but maybe if I get better, then I am open to it. It’d be fun to test my skills against others, and the thing I like about Muay Thai or fighting in general is that it is one on one, which is the ultimate level of skill and competitiveness. 

Rohan - Okay that’s fair. So on a scale of 1-10, how much has being a part of this club elevated your experience overall here at school? Do you enjoy it?

Richie - I mean this is the first ever club I joined here at school because i'm not in anything other than that, so yeah I think it’s elevated my experience here quite a bit. I am learning something new and it gives me something to do, which is a good thing because it’s making me happier and less bored. I also met some cool folks who also go to the club which is lit.

Rohan - Forsure, is this something you see yourself doing for the rest of your time here at school?

Richie - Umm, I am not too sure because I feel like I'm going to be really busy next quarter and there's always other stuff to do, but as long as my gym buddy keeps going, I probably will too. He doesn’t seem like he’ll stop, he is big into it, and he is pretty good. I also think learning self defense is important for everyone to know because the world is unpredictable and dangerous and we never know when we might need to defend ourselves.

Rohan - Okay, would you say it's like a hobby you're picking up? Or do you do it for cardio and exercise purposes only?

Richie - Right now, it’s just my go to cardio, but I think i’ll enjoy it more as I keep going. It sucks being one of the newer, less experienced people there, but with time and practice, ill hopefully improve. Rohan - Awesome good to hear that. Have you made connections being at the club? Is it a good social environment?

Richie - I think so. Everybody is kind and welcoming. Lucky for me, I went with my friend so it was a lot easier to meet other people. I thought it was a great place for social interaction, as any other sport is. 

Rohan - Yeah I agree. Do you like watching fighting? Like UFC or Boxing?

Richie - Not really, I haven’t gotten into that yet, but it sure looks entertaining, I just have to be more consistent and develop a stronger love for it. 

Rohan - That’s fair, I love UFC. Alright well I think we are done here richie, I appreciate you for doing this.

Richie - No problem bro

(Both proceed to dap up)

Christian's View

On Sunday, March 10, I decided to interview Aidan Chang, a 2nd year student who is one of the officers running the Muay Thai club here at UCSC. I sat down with him just outside of McHenry library for our interview. It was a beautiful afternoon with the sun shining through the trees. There was a nice breeze to keep us cool. Aidan was such a chill guy to talk to. Everytime I would ask him a question, he would give me such in-depth answers. He would apologize for talking so much, but I told him not to be sorry. I knew his answers were genuine and authentic. His answers came straight from his heart. Below, you will learn a little about Adidan Chang and the Muay Thai club. We hope you’ll enjoy the interview. 

So tell me a little about yourself. Was Santa Cruz your first college choice? 

No, not really. I come from Wanna Creek, California. It’s a small town. I went to a competitive school. A lot of smart people there. Many people were aiming for high UCs (Irvine, LA, Berkeley, etc). Santa Cruz was not my first choice. I looked out of state. I was trying to go pre-med but it was expensive. I just ended up going here. It is relaxing at UCSC. I can focus on Muay Thai and have peace of mind.

What do you see as a career in the future? 

I guess the obvious answer is a doctor. I want to be an ER physician. I don’t want to sit behind a desk. I want to help others. Job security-wise, it's good. It is a stable job. There are other passions of mine: Pro-fighting, mma, artist. A doctor is the only job I see right now.

If you didn’t have to worry about pay, what career would you really choose?

 I honestly do not know. I really like art, writing, and film. My brothers do that. I enjoy my writing. I like to write in my journal. Movies do sound cool. I want to create my own novel. I enjoy fiction. I enjoy martial arts and philosophy, so my books would be based on that. I want my books to be deep into life if that makes sense.

I was really intrigued by these last two answers. When I first asked him about his career, he surprised me with the fact that he wanted to do something with writing. I feel like there is a stigma at times where all martial artists want to do is either fight or practice fighting. Aidan shows the complete opposite. Martial artists can have interests and passions beyond the gym. Anyway, back to the interview.

When you got here to UCSC, how long did it take you to get into Muay Thai?

 I was introduced to it before college. I did a little bit of it before. I did wrestling before and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (for a bit). I wanted to learn another martial art and stay consistent with it. I love watching fights. I envision myself as a fighter. I want to have that strength and confidence. Coming to Santa Cruz, I knew there was a club. I went to an informal spar for the club. From there, I just started training Muay Thai.

What attracted you to the martial art? 

I first was attracted by strength and confidence. I was still trying to figure myself out in high school. Now, I wanna choose my own thing. Martial arts is an outlet for that. Discipline, calmness, controlling emotion. A lot of men need control over emotions. Emotional intelligence. People do not let anger out in a healthy way. Additionally, There is a lot of philosophy behind martial arts. Muay Thai draws a lot from Buddhism. Get rid of the past and your ego. Do not hold in anger, emotion, because it bursts out and becomes ugly. Martial arts allow you to see people from an outside perspective. You also need to love others. Men and Women need to love each other. Control is the basis of martial arts. Women can also feel empowered through martial arts.

How did you end up becoming an officer so quickly? What was that process like? 

The structure of the Muay Thai club is flexible/loose. I became an officer because all the previous officers were seniors. Running it is a big thing. We had Jorge, a professional fighter who went to Thailand. He had the most experience. Me, Milli, and TJ were the most into it. The previous officers saw that and gave it to us. All of us have traits to be leaders. I came from a wrestling team who had leaders. I saw how to organize, raise funds, and be the leader I always wanted to be. I do not see myself as a coach. I see myself as another kind of student. 

How has Muay Thai influenced your life? 

Daily life, I watch Muay Thai clips almost every day. I have a huge love for it. For me, it is not just a violent sport. There is beauty in the art. It is like a chess game. A lot of my friends come from the Muay Thai club. The sport can bring people together. Personally, I believe we have one of the most diverse clubs. We have some people who come to just box and show off. Those people get weeded out very quickly. You get a lot of people who are down to earth. They are not fake. They learn to be confident in the correct way. That’s not to say we do not have flaws. Me and the other officers are always trying to improve ourselves. We all have something to work on. We commit the same sins. It teaches us to work on our mistakes. You have to be humble and accept improvement. I feel like everything in social media is negative. We are trying to portray this image of perfection. We want people to see us in a certain way. At the end of the day, who you really are will be shown through sparring in a sense. You have to be real. That is my motto for life. I feel like everyone is trying to work on themselves. 

I relate to what Aidan is saying here. As someone who practices martial arts, I do believe anyone can practice them. It is not just a sport where you fight others for dominance. Martial arts can be a tool to bring all kinds of people together. Your race, ethnicity, height , or size does not matter. As long as you are willing to put in the effort, you will achieve success. Furthermore, Aidan continues on here at the end about social media, but I let him because what he is saying is quite true. Social media has had such a negative impact on the lives of others. Martial arts, if anything, is a positive in life.

If you were trying to convince someone to try the class, what would you say to them? 

Come try it out. To get someone to come, I could say all these things. Some people see the physical aspect as scary or harmful. I am a very idealistic person. I feel like everyone should do martial arts. There are different types of school and arts. It teaches you discipline, self control, and confidence. It is beyond punching someone in the face. People who take it leisurely, there is nothing wrong with that. As long as you are learning it the right way. You do not want to hurt others. Be humble with it. Learning the right things. Everyone is learning at their own pace. You can be casual with Muay Thai and still learn all the right things. I guess I would say, “Try it out.” I have had people come to me, men and women, and tell us that we are intimidating. Just come try it out. Be confident. Push through it. Eliminate self-doubt. We are scary but nice people. It is a choice to spar. You do not have to hurt each other. If you hurt your partner, you cannot train anymore. You love your partner. Practice isn’t evil.

Time for some rapid fire questions:

Favorite food? 

I do not know, But I would say…I am thinking a lot about this because I love food. I guess quesadillas. I would say sushi, but I love quesadillas. It is a comfort food. You can put different things in it.

Favorite song?

 I play this song in class a lot. La vida es un Carnaval. It is a happy song. Just sing and all your worries will go away. Just be happy. Life is what you make of it. If you are happy, your worries will go away. Do not stress about the little things.

Dogs or cats? 

I would say dogs. Dogs and cats are on an even playing field for me. Dogs are more social, cats are introverted. I like cats, but dogs are cool too. I want a dog right now. You feed off the energy your dog has. My dog at home is a chihuahua mix. She is a little diva.

Are hotdogs really sandwiches? 

I don’t know. In a way it could be a quesadilla. I do not know if a quesadilla is a sandwich. The loaves have to be separated. If they aren’t it isn’t a sandwich. It depends on what bread is laid on or used. 

I decided to end the conversation off with some light hearted questions. Aidan joked with me about how the last couple of questions were actually the most difficult to answer. At the end of our interview, we stayed for a little bit just to chat about life. I really got to know Aidan as a person, and I loved it. He showed me that martial artists are not special humans. At the end of the day, they are regular humans with struggles just like all of us. Hopefully, people will see this and take interest in Muay Thai and other martial arts. From what I have heard, there are only benefits to practicing martial arts.

Omar's View 

It was a crispy, cold morning by the McHenry Library. The air around you would be cold enough to where if you were to exhale deep enough you would see the cold air leaving your mouth, but at the same time the March sun was finally out again after it had rained for a couple days and you could feel the sun rays give you a warm bath of heat as you walked down the road. As I slowly approached the steps of the library I get the text from my Interviewee Kevin, a first year electrical engineering student,  that he was sitting outside the cold and empty benches right outside the cafe area, which was uncharacteristically quiet but understandably so it was a Sunday morning in which daylight savings had occurred so most of the campus I would imagine was still asleep. 

As I walked past the cafe into the leading bench areas, I saw my interviewee reading the text message I just sent him, telling him that I had just arrived. “What’s up man, Kevin, right?” I ask to see if this was the person that I was going to interview as I had never seen his face before. “Yeah, and you’re Omar?” he replies as he stands up to greet me. I will admit I was a little shocked when he stood up at first since he was noticeably taller than me. As he stood up to dap me up and greet me I noticed the very clean and stylish watch on his wrist, it looked like it would cost you a pretty penny. You could tell he cared about his appearance but not to the extent where he was going all out on every outfit, despite the fact that his outfit looked simple yet so clean. 

After greeting each other we decided to sit in the bench that was basked in sunlight since all the other benches were very cold and unwelcoming. 

“So, well just get straight into it here I won’t take up too much of your time.”

“It's alright I came here planning to study a bit anyways.”

“Alright sounds good”

“Now then, First things first, how was your morning?”

“It was alright, nothing too much, I did wake up a little late confused as to why my alarm went off so early then I remembered that it was daylight savings which made a lot of sense.”

“Ah yeah no that got me too I was confused as to why the sun was still down when I woke up as well”

“Yeah it kinda sucks that the hour was just taken away from us, I needed the rest too.”

“Yeah especially for athletes rest is crucial”

“Oh for sure.”

“We put a lot of strain into our bodies but we do it because we enjoy what we do, especially for those in the martial arts like yourself. Do you enjoy doing muay thai or why do you do it?

“Oh yeah no for sure I like muay thai a lot. It has certainly been growing on me especially in these past couple weeks, it's something that I find myself enjoying a lot. It's something that gets me out of my dorm and it's a great form of exercise that keeps me very well in shape, the conditioning especially is very exhausting and a lot of cardio involved.” “Yeah for sure, I could only imagine how exhausting it is as you use pretty much all of your body in Muay Thai right?”

“Yeah we use pretty much all of our limbs when training, it combines kickboxing with mma varieties of techniques which can make for a pretty exhausting combination of training.”

“Wow both kickboxing and MMA influenced styles huh, I can only imagine how rough the conditioning must be.”

“It can vary practice from practice really, it honestly just depends on how the coaches are feeling that, but in general the conditioning is pretty tough since the core of it is essentially just circuits so you get minimal time rest. Especially since we do actual fighting conditioning like punches to the gut blocking attacks and all that stuff. 

“Damn, that sounds pretty intense, do you guys have competitions that you train for or is it all just for fun?”“Yeah there are like these tournaments and competitions that some of the members go to, we call them PMT tournaments and they’re in San Jose and stuff. They train you with the idea that they’re preparing you for competition if you don’t decide to go, so the way that they do things is very methodical so you can have the best chance in actual matches. 

“Oh i see i see, do you plan to compete any time soon?“Maybe in the future for next year but as of now most likely not, I still want to grab my bearings here as a first year student in college, I want to make sure I know or have a good idea of what my time schedule will be, since being an engineering student and everything is very time consuming. 

“That’s true it's important especially for engineering students to have their time management down but, if you’re so busy most of the time why do you do muay thai? What are the benefits you see from doing this martial art?

“I do it because it's something I genuinely enjoy doing and it's a thing that gives me the opportunity to better myself. There are a lot of benefits doing martial arts in general like muay thai. I found myself to be more physically fit as well as an overall improvement of my mental health. I can say that Muay Thai has been one of the factors that led to the overall improvement in my confidence and how I carry myself as an individual”

“That’s always a huge plus, would you recommend the club to others?” 

“Oh yeah for sure, despite the fact that it can be relatively dangerous at times since people forget to hold back or they have poor sparring etiquette or what have you I would still recommend the club since it is a great way to meet people and an amazing form of exercise. They even hold extra classes for beginners at the beginning of the week so that they can sharpen their fundamental skills and make sure that they feel like they are welcomed into the class. It is a very friendly and approachable environment so I encourage those who have the time to come and join. We accept people of all skill levels.

“Well that’s always nice to hear.”

My interviewee and I continue on the conversation for a bit and then ramble on to about how hard it is to be engineer not solely because of the content but because of the fact that we can hardly get into any our classes since they’re so full and lack availability when they’re the ones that are usually always highest in demand. But, all in all Kevin was an amazing person to interview and he seemed to have nothing but positive comments about the club so if you’re looking for something new to get into this year or just need a form of exercise then the Muay Thai club here at UCSC just might be a great fit for you. 

Samy's View 

On Sunday March 10th I had the opportunity to interview Diego Garza, a member of UCSC Muay Thai club. He is a first year student majoring in linguistics and is affiliated with Oakes college. I walked into McHenry Library looking for a good spot to conduct the interview. A place that is usually full of people studying was now empty with a few people scattered about. I ended up choosing a table on the first floor by the elevators so it would be easy to tell him where to meet up. I waited a couple minutes for Diego to show up and once he did we introduced ourselves. Then I started asking him the questions I prepared.  

Question: How long have you been participating in Muay Thai?

Answer: Diego stated that he had no previous experience in Muay Thai but used to participate in karate before he got here. He expressed that anyone could join and it did not matter if they had previous experience or not because this is a club in which the officers and members help to teach you. They hold 2 hour practices every Monday, Wednesday and Fridays but members are always welcome to stay longer in order to practice more or spar with other members of the USCS Muay Thai Club. This schedule does tend to change a bit or so every quarter because of classes. Every 3 or 4 months they attend a competition of sorts, but these competitions are completely optional and no member is ever forced to participate in them. Although members are encouraged to participate in these competitions because it is a good way to measure your own strength and progress. These are all decisions that you take for yourself and not as a team like a lot of clubs at UCSC. 

Question: How has your experience been participating in Muay Thai at UCSC (maybe differ from previous experience)

Answer: Diego found that it was really interesting to see that the Muay Thai Club actually had a lot more structure than he initially thought they would. He used to attend a karate studio, which he had to pay for, but the Muay Thai Club is student run so he does not have to pay to attend or be a part of the club. Having said that he thought that because it was a student run organization it would not be as structured as it actually is. He thought that it would not be taken seriously and people would goof around a lot, but that is also not the case. People are able to have fun while still taking it seriously and keeping things professional. 

Question: How has the addition of Muay Thai affected your ability to balance all of your other commitments?

Answer: Diego found that Muay Thai never got in his way of completing his other commitments or workload. He actually found that participating in the Muay Thai Club at UCSC is a great way of relieving stress. He gets to channel all his negative energy and emotions into training. This in turn makes his day better because he no longer has to carry all that negativity with him. Socially, joining the Muay Thai Club has been a bonding experience for Diego. He has been working closely with the same people all year and considers many of them his closest friends. 

Diego had his headphones rested around his neck as he held his head high listening to the questions that came out of my mouth. He took the information in and was thinking of an answer while maintaining eye contact. After every question that was asked he would take a couple seconds to think of an appropriate response. His face showed just how concentrated he really was. 

Question: Have you ever been in a situation where you have had to use Muay Thai to defend yourself?

Answer: Diego had been in situations where this might happen but he always de-escalated the situation. He stated that “The point of learning any martial art is to be honest, is not to use it. Unless you have absolutely no other choice.”

Question: What is your least favorite and favorite memory or aspect of Muay Thai?

Answer: Diego expressed that he was having issues last quarter with scheduling. This has been his only issue so far. Now for his favorite part, he said that his favorite part so far has been seeing his progress. When he was sparing against people he noticed that he could now hold his own compared to in the beginning when he was really struggling. 

Question: Why do you think people should join the UCSC Muay Thai Club?

Answer: Initially people join because they think that it would be cool to know how to fight, but once they actually participate they see firsthand how difficult it is they appreciate it a lot more. A big portion of these people will not stay because they find it too difficult. The people that stay are the ones humble enough to see that it is hard but determined to learn it and want to grow. There are also a lot of benefits. Some of the major ones being that you learn discipline both mentally and physically. You are holding yourself accountable in  both of these. 

Question: Any last thoughts?

Answer: Muay Thai or “The art of 8 limbs” is a very unique martial art. In most martial arts you use mostly just your fists and legs, but in Muay Thai you are also using your elbows and knees. 

Diego Garza is just one member of the UCSC Muay Thai Club, but many others have had similar experiences. Muay Thai is a way for them to expel any negative energy they have, which improves their mental and physical health. Not to mention that spending so much time with a group of people you are bound to make at least a few lifelong friends. Maybe you should give UCSC Muay Thai Club a try!

[forastic]

Open Studios interactive project

UCSC DANM grad school winter 2023 - week 9-10

The final prompt for my interactive art class involved a skill share. From one other student I learned how to use a RFID reader with a raspberry pi. From the other I learned how to do needle felting. We each created small figures out of felt and decided to put them in a space together, with different zones that they could interact with. Here’s the felt figure I created.

This was also the first time I ever sewed anything! I sewed the wings. 

Here’s the brainstorming board the three of us put together to create a weird version of a petting zoo:

We planned on showing it off at the art department’s open studio (despite the fact that we’re not part of the art department). While we were able to show stuff at the open studios, other projects ended up taking priority and this didn’t come to fruition the way that we had originally planned.

I wanted to make a reference to Nam June Paik’s TV buddhas, but I wanted to make it softer and kind of silly. I crafted a cute TV out of felt and replaced the dragon’s head. 

I intended on having the dragon (now a TV dragon) watch himself on a TV while it streamed to Twitch. I wanted to install COZYSPACE as well, near where this was. When you place the TV dragon in the right place, I wanted a little bit of music to play. This idea got a little out of hand, but I managed to set everything up that I planned, and it worked fine.

I began 3D printing the shapes in COZYSPACE at various sizes with the intention of hanging them near the TV and the dragon. 

I also wanted to have the controllers for COZYSPACE be closer to my original vision of regular Super Nintendo controllers, but wireless. I got a pair and began painting them to make them cuter.

I used regular spraypaint from the hardware store, using the splatter technique I learned from making stuff for BEARPAD. I chose a purple and teal color scheme with pastel accents, as COZYSPACE was originally intended to chill me out personally, and I like that early 90s party cup/taco bell aesthetic. The spray paint took a long time to cure - the controllers were still a little sticky for up to a week after I painted them.

I rigged a raspberry pi and RFID reader to activate when placing a chip on it, combining a couple tutorials online to get it to also play music using the pygame library. I have only minimal python coding experience and it took a bit longer than I anticipated. I was amused that people recommended playing .ogg files for audio, as I haven’t really heard of those being used in over 15 years. I wrote a piece of music really quickly to play when the TV dragon rests on the cozy spot. I made a synth sound, threw a bunch of effects on it, and improvised in g flat major pentatonic using my computer keyboard in ableton.

https://on.soundcloud.com/7ALpC

Patrick designed a new shape that would look good alongside the shapes in COZYSPACE, but was large enough to hold a raspberry pi and an RFID reader. We grabbed a raspberry pi case design from thingaverse and dropped it into Blender to make sure we had the size right, built a chamber for it, then he built a shape out around the chamber. Here’s some pics of it hanging in action. 

I tried it out streaming on twitch, but it immediately brought up concerns of privacy, so I ditched it and left it on the OBS screen, as though he was about to start streaming on twitch. I felted the RFID sensor inside of the bottom of his head so that his head would activate the sensor. I threaded a wire through him and attached an alligator clip to fishing line from above, so that people could attach it to that and have him rest on the cozy shape, watching himself on the TV. The sensor range was very small, however, making it a little finicky and not the experience I had hoped.

Here’s my todo/sketch board I used for a lot of the install:

I added the LED strips late in the install. There are kits you can buy for ambient lighting that sits behind a flatscreen TV. You plug in your HDMI cable and it takes the video signal and translates some of the colors to the LED strips. I know there are ways to make them with raspberry pis or with arduinos, but i was running out of time and wanted the effect of the colors in the COZYSPACE also changing the color of the 3D printed shapes, so I bought the kit from amazon. It plugged in and worked well enough right away for my purposes. I draped the LEDs a little haphazardly around the install in a way that I thought looked good for my purposes.

Setting up took MUCH longer than I had anticipated. I spent about 2 and a half days of work just blacking out the space, setting everything up, and hanging the cozy shapes. 

I was a little worried I wouldn’t have enough time for everything to get done, but I ended up setting up everything I wanted. I left programming the controllers for last because I didn’t want to spend more time in Unity after not using it for so long. I found a way to address the joystick buttons directly in the code rather than using Unity’s input manager, which was a relief. 

I also made some tweaks to the sound of cozyspace. Each of the 4 channels is playing a sub bass frequency that is slightly out of sync with the others, giving the sensation of something moving around in space around people in the center of the installation. I made the frequencies closer, which made the movement feel much much slower. I also made the looping track twice as long, adding some slight movement to the tracks, and reset everything to G flat major.

The actual open studios was a very educational experience, hah. I learned that people need to be told when you can touch the art. I assumed (incorrectly) that bean bags and video game controllers would be enough, but I had to invite people to interact with it. In the future I’ll have signage with my name and info about the work, even for an open studios.

https://youtube.com/shorts/PYVX6z-7OGc

https://youtu.be/XffYEqUQ8qc

https://youtu.be/y0zdaRWFfSc

[sellmyhousefastforcashbiz]

California just took a major step to try to solve the housing crisis that's left students sleeping in their cars, parking lots, or classrooms' in college towns like Santa Cruz

Darrell Owens, 25, is learning to become a software engineer at the University of California, Santa Cruz; however, he claims the hardest part about living in Santa Cruz isn't his coursework but finding an affordable place to live. The computer science student said navigating the city's local housing market has been more challenging than any project he's had in class.

"A lot of people who are searching for housing in Santa Cruz, namely University of California students, are basically squared," Owens, who is also a policy analyst and activist with housing advocacy group ​​California YIMBY, told Insider. "They are sleeping in their cars, parking lots or classrooms because there's just no housing available. This is very common."

In an effort to solve California's housing crisis, a new law has been passed that will allow for home construction on non-residential lots previously zoned for retail, offices, and parking. This is a major step forward in addressing the state's high cost of living and homelessness rates.

"This is a moment on a journey to reconcile the original sin of the state of California, and that's the issue of housing and affordability," Governor Gavin Newsom said in a news conference prior to signing the bills into law in late September. "We need to all be a little bit more accountable to this crisis of affordability."

How Much Do Housing Cost?

Home prices in California have risen sharply due to intense competition among buyers, a limited supply of homes, and inflation. This has caused housing affordability to drop to a 15-year low. Price growth is now slowing down, but the median home price in California is still very high at $808,890 — making it one of the most expensive markets in the country.

DataShare, a national statistics site, found that in 2020 — the most recent year for which it has stats — 55% of Santa Cruz residents were spending 30% or more of their income on rent. Housing is considered unaffordable by experts when this figure reaches 30%. The percentage most likely increased during the nation's pandemic homebuying bonanza.

The university is aware of the situation and taking steps to fix it, a spokesperson for UCSC said.

"We are working to build more on-campus housing so students have more opportunities to live on campus while they pursue their higher education," the spokesperson said.

Although it is what many people want, building new homes has become more difficult due to recent lawsuits.

California makes major steps to find more land for housing

In order to help address California's housing crisis, two bills named SB 6 and AB 2011 were signed into law in September. These laws could potentially create millions of new homes for Californian homebuyers by allowing construction on non-residential commerical lots that were previously zoned for use.

Critics of the bill argue that it will damage local governments by reducing commercial property tax revenues, while supporters hope it will make California's expensive housing market more accessible to residents. AB 2011 permits the construction of mixed-income housing on commercially zoned land, as long as the projects meet specified affordability, labor and environmental criteria, according to advocacy group California YIMBY.

Owens wants to help UCSC students with the difficult process of finding affordable housing.

The California Housing Situation

"UCSC has the worst housing situation in the entire UC system," he said "They had to cut back enrollment for the first time this year as some dorms are overbooked."

According to UCSC's spokesperson, approximately 50% of undergraduates live in university-provided housing, making it higher than average when compared to other colleges in the UC system. They also mentioned that due to the pandemic, fall enrollment had to be reduced this year.

According to the university, UCSC only has 10,000 on-campus housing spots available for undergraduate and graduate students. With a student population of more than 18,000 attendees though, there are not nearly enough beds for everyone.

"We recognize that we need to do more," the spokesperson said. "Our long-term strategy is building more housing on our campus."

In the short term, "whenever we hear reports of students without a stable place to live, we reach out and connect them with Slug Support," the spokesperson said, referring to a program created "to promote early intervention" for students on the verge of crisis. The university also provides students with "renter workshops" to help them learn their rights and responsibilities as tenants, as well as a database of rental rooms and units in the city. Students can access this database online or through the housing office.

While some students are able to find housing, others are not as fortunate. Insider contacted UCSC police in order to discover how the university helps homeless students but did not immediately receive a response.

The median home price in Santa Cruz is $1.5 million, which makes it impossible for anyone earning the local median income or below to compete in the housing market. As a result, many people are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

This summer, Owens learned a painful lesson about the high cost of living off campus after vowing to move out of the dormitories. He found himself in a fierce bidding war for a "bungalow" that was 45 minutes away from campus and rent for each bedroom cost $1,700.

"A lot of the people who are bidding in Santa Cruz, don't have the income to match what landlords are asking," Owens said. "They are going to pull from family members. They are going to pick up second and third jobs. Everyone's so desperate to find housing."

Freeing up more land for housing

Santa Cruz is one of the most difficult places to buy a home in the U.S., with data from real estate brokerage Redfin showing that it has a competitive ranking score of 69 out 100. This means that homes sell quickly, buyers often need to make offers above listing price and many buyers pay more than asking.

Governor Newsom's housing initiative could help improve California's housing crisis.

"Using underutilized land to create new, affordable housing units will help address California's housing crisis, while protecting natural lands," Tim Grayson, the former mayor of Concord, California, said in a tweet.

For students like Owens, who was only able to find housing at the last minute, California's new bills offer hope that affordability may return to the state.

But it will be awhile before UCSC students see any real, lasting changes.

Given that the university is still fighting lawsuits and there's a strong chance locals will oppose the new legislation, it might take years for Owens and his peers to see any change. By then, he and his graduating class may have already moved on to something else.

[mmorellm]

Open Source Definitely Changed Storage Industry With Linux and other technologies and products, it impacts all areas. By Philippe Nicolas | February 16, 2021 at 2:23 pm It’s not a breaking news but the impact of open source in the storage industry was and is just huge and won’t be reduced just the opposite. For a simple reason, the developers community is the largest one and adoption is so wide. Some people see this as a threat and others consider the model as a democratic effort believing in another approach. Let’s dig a bit. First outside of storage, here is the list some open source software (OSS) projects that we use every day directly or indirectly: Linux and FreeBSD of course, Kubernetes, OpenStack, Git, KVM, Python, PHP, HTTP server, Hadoop, Spark, Lucene, Elasticsearch (dual license), MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Cassandra, Redis, MongoDB (under SSPL), TensorFlow, Zookeeper or some famous tools and products like Thunderbird, OpenOffice, LibreOffice or SugarCRM. The list is of course super long, very diverse and ubiquitous in our world. Some of these projects initiated some wave of companies creation as they anticipate market creation and potentially domination. Among them, there are Cloudera and Hortonworks, both came public, promoting Hadoop and they merged in 2019. MariaDB as a fork of MySQL and MySQL of course later acquired by Oracle. DataStax for Cassandra but it turns out that this is not always a safe destiny … Coldago Research estimated that the entire open source industry will represent $27+ billion in 2021 and will pass the barrier of $35 billion in 2024. Historically one of the roots came from the Unix – Linux transition. In fact, Unix was largely used and adopted but represented a certain price and the source code cost was significant, even prohibitive. Projects like Minix and Linux developed and studied at universities and research centers generated tons of users and adopters with many of them being contributors. Is it similar to a religion, probably not but for sure a philosophy. Red Hat, founded in 1993, has demonstrated that open source business could be big and ready for a long run, the company did its IPO in 1999 and had an annual run rate around $3 billion. The firm was acquired by IBM in 2019 for $34 billion, amazing right. Canonical, SUSE, Debian and a few others also show interesting development paths as companies or as communities. Before that shift, software developments were essentially applications as system software meant cost and high costs. Also a startup didn’t buy software with the VC money they raised as it could be seen as suicide outside of their mission. All these contribute to the open source wave in all directions. On the storage side, Linux invited students, research centers, communities and start-ups to develop system software and especially block storage approach and file system and others like object storage software. Thus we all know many storage software start-ups who leveraged Linux to offer such new storage models. We didn’t see lots of block storage as a whole but more open source operating system with block (SCSI based) storage included. This is bit different for file and object storage with plenty of offerings. On the file storage side, the list is significant with disk file systems and distributed ones, the latter having multiple sub-segments as well. Below is a pretty long list of OSS in the storage world. Block Storage Linux-LIO, Linux SCST & TGT, Open-iSCSI, Ceph RBD, OpenZFS, NexentaStor (Community Ed.), Openfiler, Chelsio iSCSI, Open vStorage, CoprHD, OpenStack Cinder File Storage Disk File Systems: XFS, OpenZFS, Reiser4 (ReiserFS), ext2/3/4 Distributed File Systems (including cluster, NAS and parallel to simplify the list): Lustre, BeeGFS, CephFS, LizardFS, MooseFS, RozoFS, XtreemFS, CohortFS, OrangeFS (PVFS2), Ganesha, Samba, Openfiler, HDFS, Quantcast, Sheepdog, GlusterFS, JuiceFS, ScoutFS, Red Hat GFS2, GekkoFS, OpenStack Manila Object Storage Ceph RADOS, MinIO, Seagate CORTX, OpenStack Swift, Intel DAOS Other data management and storage related projects TAR, rsync, OwnCloud, FileZilla, iRODS, Amanda, Bacula, Duplicati, KubeDR, Velero, Pydio, Grau Data OpenArchive The impact of open source is obvious both on commercial software but also on other emergent or small OSS footprint. By impact we mean disrupting established market positions with radical new approach. It is illustrated as well by commercial software embedding open source pieces or famous largely adopted open source product that prevent some initiatives to take off. Among all these scenario, we can list XFS, OpenZFS, Ceph and MinIO that shake commercial models and were even chosen by vendors that don’t need to develop themselves or sign any OEM deal with potential partners. Again as we said in the past many times, the Build, Buy or Partner model is also a reality in that world. To extend these examples, Ceph is recommended to be deployed with XFS disk file system for OSDs like OpenStack Swift. As these last few examples show, obviously open source projets leverage other open source ones, commercial software similarly but we never saw an open source project leveraging a commercial one. This is a bit antinomic. This acts as a trigger to start a development of an open source project offering same functions. OpenZFS is also used by Delphix, Oracle and in TrueNAS. MinIO is chosen by iXsystems embedded in TrueNAS, Datera, Humio, Robin.IO, McKesson, MapR (now HPE), Nutanix, Pavilion Data, Portworx (now Pure Storage), Qumulo, Splunk, Cisco, VMware or Ugloo to name a few. SoftIron leverages Ceph and build optimized tailored systems around it. The list is long … and we all have several examples in mind. Open source players promote their solutions essentially around a community and enterprise editions, the difference being the support fee, the patches policies, features differences and of course final subscription fees. As we know, innovations come often from small agile players with a real difficulties to approach large customers and with doubt about their longevity. Choosing the OSS path is a way to be embedded and selected by larger providers or users directly, it implies some key questions around business models. Another dimension of the impact on commercial software is related to the behaviors from universities or research centers. They prefer to increase budget to hardware and reduce software one by using open source. These entities have many skilled people, potentially time, to develop and extend open source project and contribute back to communities. They see, in that way to work, a positive and virtuous cycle, everyone feeding others. Thus they reach new levels of performance gaining capacity, computing power … finally a decision understandable under budget constraints and pressure. Ceph was started during Sage Weil thesis at UCSC sponsored by the Advanced Simulation and Computing Program (ASC), including Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). There is a lot of this, famous example is Lustre but also MarFS from LANL, GekkoFS from University of Mainz, Germany, associated with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center or BeeGFS, formerly FhGFS, developed by the Fraunhofer Center for High Performance Computing in Germany as well. Lustre was initiated by Peter Braam in 1999 at Carnegie Mellon University. Projects popped up everywhere. Collaboration software as an extension to storage see similar behaviors. OwnCloud, an open source file sharing and collaboration software, is used and chosen by many universities and large education sites. At the same time, choosing open source components or products as a wish of independence doesn’t provide any kind of life guarantee. Rremember examples such HDFS, GlusterFS, OpenIO, NexentaStor or Redcurrant. Some of them got acquired or disappeared and create issue for users but for sure opportunities for other players watching that space carefully. Some initiatives exist to secure software if some doubt about future appear on the table. The SDS wave, a bit like the LMAP (Linux, MySQL, Apache web server and PHP) had a serious impact of commercial software as well as several open source players or solutions jumped into that generating a significant pricing erosion. This initiative, good for users, continues to reduce also differentiators among players and it became tougher to notice differences. In addition, Internet giants played a major role in open source development. They have talent, large teams, time and money and can spend time developing software that fit perfectly their need. They also control communities acting in such way as they put seeds in many directions. The other reason is the difficulty to find commercial software that can scale to their need. In other words, a commercial software can scale to the large corporation needs but reaches some limits for a large internet player. Historically these organizations really redefined scalability objectives with new designs and approaches not found or possible with commercial software. We all have example in mind and in storage Google File System is a classic one or Haystack at Facebook. Also large vendors with internal projects that suddenly appear and donated as open source to boost community effort and try to trigger some market traction and partnerships, this is the case of Intel DAOS. Open source is immediately associated with various licenses models and this is the complex aspect about source code as it continues to create difficulties for some people and entities that impact projects future. One about ZFS or even Java were well covered in the press at that time. We invite readers to check their preferred page for that or at least visit the Wikipedia one or this one with the full table on the appendix page. Immediately associated with licenses are the communities, organizations or foundations and we can mention some of them here as the list is pretty long: Apache Software Foundation, Cloud Native Computing Foundation, Eclipse Foundation, Free Software Foundation, FreeBSD Foundation, Mozilla Foundation or Linux Foundation … and again Wikipedia represents a good source to start.

Open Source Definitely Changed Storage Industry - StorageNewsletter

[android-for-life]

"Web Creator Spotlight | Stuart Schuffman"

Stuart Schuffman, a.k.a. Broke-Ass Stuart, is a globetrotting superblogger who has built his brand around the idea that you don’t actually need tons of money to enjoy yourself. Since the early 2000s he’s made it his mission to uncover hidden gems in his hometown of San Francisco and in cities like New York, San Diego, Detroit, Austin, and all over Europe as a longtime stringer for the backpacker’s bible, “Lonely Planet.” 

Over the years Stuart has published a handful of top-selling urban adventure guides dedicated to “busboys, poets, social workers, students, artists, musicians, magicians, mathematicians, maniacs, yodelers, and everyone else out there who wants to enjoy life not as a rich person, but as a real person.”

But to call Stuart a travel writer is to sell him short. He’s a web creator—a TV show host, marketer, social media manager, editor, writer, and publisher all wrapped into one. 

Launched in 2009, his website Brokeassstuart.com has grown from a local’s guide to metropolitan hotspots into a cultural force with an editorial staff covering politics, news, music, arts, and culture in the Bay Area and beyond. Even more impressive is the fact that Stuart still serves as the “Editor In Cheap” of his website while simultaneously writing and producing comedy shorts, live shows, and independent series that follow up where his show “Young, Broke, and Beautiful,” which aired on IFC in the early 2010s, left off.

“Life is an art project for me,” he says. But it’s also a job. And that’s where things get interesting.

We talked with Stuart to hear how he learned to navigate the ever-evolving landscape web creators face today.

So tell us ... what makes a web creator? What does your average day look like, etc?

It’s anyone dumb enough to plug away, day in and day out, over something they love and that they want to share with other people. I say “dumb” because it’s a terrible way to make a living, but if that’s not your main concern, it’s incredibly fulfilling on pretty much all other levels. 

As for my average day: things have been really topsy-turvy since COVID hit. Over 50 percent of our income dried up overnight so lately it’s been a lot of trying to figure out creative ways to fund this thing. I mean, I guess that’s how I spent much of my time before but, now it’s even more dire. 

Otherwise though, a typical day sees me: editing and publishing other people’s work, writing articles, doing social media for the content we create, doing sales, marketing, and business development, and answering a titanic amount of email. The thing about running your own independent media company is that my partner and I have to do about 30 different jobs. But at least I don't have some jerk boss I gotta deal with so it’s mostly worth it. 

Can you tell us a bit about your schedule? How do you get into the flow? What inspires you on a day to day basis and gets your creative energy flowing?

I give myself like an hour or so in the morning to watch Netflix while I slowly wake up. That way I’m ready to work without feeling rushed when I get down to it. As for inspiration, I’m always floored and inspired by the awesome content being created by our writers and editors. They make me so proud that I get to publish their voices. In fact, that’s one of the things I like best about what I do, I get to amplify voices that don’t always get heard.

Otherwise though, I get most excited when I’m creating new things. Life is an art project for me. Just in the past five years or so, I created and hosted seven episodes of a live late night show, put out a web series, won “best local website” a couple times, put out a zine, and ran for Mayor of SF. I’m working on some cool new projects right now that are still under wraps.

You’re super prolific! Can you describe your journey a bit? 

I’ve been doing this whole Broke-Ass Stuart thing for like 16 years now, so it’s a LONG story. But I’ll give you the short-ish version. 

Shortly after I finished college at UCSC, I was working in a candy store in North Beach. One day a guy I knew from the neighborhood I grew up in in San Diego came in with the woman that’s now his wife. As they were walking out she gave me her card and it said she was a travel writer. I thought, “I wanna be a travel writer” so I decided to become one. 

I put out my first zine, Broke-Ass Stuart’s Guide to Living Cheaply in San Francisco that summer (it was 2004). That was popular so I did an expanded version the following year. That ended up winning me “Best of the Bay” and I got a little notoriety. I got the zine in the hands of someone at Lonely Planet, and they liked it, and I ended up getting to go to Ireland to write about it for them.

I wanted to keep doing Broke-Ass Stuart but I also wanted to step it up and I actually found a book deal on craigslist. So I ended up doing three books. A Broke-Ass Stuart in SF book, an NYC book, and a book that was applicable everywhere in the U.S. 

Then in 2011 I had a travel TV show on IFC called Young, Broke & Beautiful. It was amazing. All the while though I was building up the website to be an arts & culture destination, so as my popularity grew, so did the site. Then running for Mayor obviously helped as well.

At this point we’re one of the most influential sites in the Bay Area for arts, culture, nightlife, and activism. It’s been a hell of a ride.

What are the best/worst parts of your job?

Getting to amplify voices that don’t always get heard while informing and entertaining hundreds of thousands of people a month is the best part for sure.

And then the hardest part, as you can imagine, trying to keep this thing afloat. I started this whole thing to be an art dude, but somehow ended up being a business dude out of necessity. I’m much better at creating funny and beautiful things than I am at making money. But I end up having to spend more time being a business dude than getting to create stuff. I’m at my happiest when I’m creating.

At the end of the day what is the ultimate goal of your blog/website? 

I used to care more about being famous, but as I get older, it doesn’t matter that much. I just want to create things that hopefully make the world a better place. Activism is a huge part of what we do at BrokeAssStuart.com. Over the years we’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various charities and causes. We’ve turned out tens of thousands of people to protest the many injustices that plague our world. Our Voter guides sometimes get like 30k views. And we’ve also made a lot of fart jokes. Gotta keep things balanced.  

Any words of advice for someone just getting started?

It's important to ask yourself if you really want to make a living doing something that you love. I know your immediate response is "Duh! Of course!" but really think about it. You're taking something that gives you joy and release, and turning it into a job. There will be many days where it is simply a job and that's something you need to be ok with.  

Another quick piece of advice is: build your audience before you try to monetize it. Get people to love what you do and believe in you before you start asking them for money.   

I could talk about this all day long. I've actually given a talk about how to "turn your side hustle into your main hustle" a number of times including at General Assembly and at Patreon's yearly conference, so if anyone reading this is interested in me giving the talk to you and your friends/coworkers reach out and we can figure out a price. 

And finally a quick #PayItForward. Name five other websites doing awesome stuff in your field.

SF Funcheap

48Hills

TableHopper

The Hard Times

Berkeleyside

Follow Broke-Ass Stuart on social media: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Patreon

Source : The Official Google Blog via Source information

[jimhair]

I was assigned a list of people to photograph my sophomore year @ucsc and the most difficult and rewarding person was Norman O. Brown. At 20 I thought I knew quite a bit, but was initially brought very low when I met Professor Brown. I had made an appointment to meet with him and explained the outlines of our meeting, but was unprepared for his management of “My Project”. The first thing he said was “Put that thing away!” as I brought out a small cassette recorder. I explained that I conducted a brief interview with everyone I met, and would use the taped words to extend the understanding of the portrait we would make. In the form of a question (which was how the rest of our time together was spent) he asked: “Are you not aware of the Zen Priest who walks through the grass leaving no blade bent?” I was taken aback, but his attitude made me want to make his photograph even more. As difficult as the afternoon was, my memory of my walk with him, and the challenges he offered during our conversation have remained as one of my strongest learning experiences. I came away thinking that if I was able to make an acceptable portrait of such an intimidating person; I’ll be able to photograph anyone. Norman O. Brown, philosopher, Santa Cruz, image 7312014, Lost and Found Film #santacruz #america #documentary #philosopher #portrait #photography #archive #120 #rolleiflex #camera #schwarzweiss #blancoynegro #blancinegre #bnw #film #blancetnoir #黑白 #Hēiyǔbái #siyahbeyaz #shirokuro #blackandwhite #filmisnotdead #istillshootfilm #filmisalive #pdx #portland #nw #northwest #leftcoast #oregon https://www.instagram.com/p/B-nKXUmn2aW/?igshid=1h7kqk6riab22

[computercoursesincolombo-blog]

History Grade 6 English Medium Videos ol past papers notes questions and answers pdf

Videos

1 Defining History

1.1 What Is History?

1.2 How to Study History

1.3 Benefits of Learning History

1.4 How Does History Measure Time?

2 Ancient Man

2.1 The Environment Where Man's Origin Took Place

2.2 The Evolution of Ancient Man

2.3 The Cultural Evolution of Man

2.3 The Agriculture Civilization of Man

3.0 Ancient Civilizations in the World

3.1 Mesopotamian Civilization

3.2 Indus River Valley Civilization

3.3 Egyptian (Nile River Valley) Civilization

4.0 History Our Brave Kings

Notes

3.0 Ancient Civilizations in the World

3.1 Mesopotamian Civilization

3.2 Indus River Valley Civilization

3.3 Egyptian (Nile River Valley) Civilization

4.0 History Our Brave Kings

4.1 History Our Brave Kings

4.2 History Our Brave Kings

Practice Questions

Assignment

Term III

Term III

Q & A Part 1

Q & A Part 2

Q & A Part 3

Term 2

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[mundetiam]

I haven’t been able to remember a dream clearly since I got to UCSC, but last night was an absolute motherfucker.

In it, I got an invite to some kind of reunion party, but not for any school I’ve been to. When I got there, I was talking to a bunch of these people who I didn’’t know, but as we found out, we weren’t there because we knew each other, but we’d each been involved in some sort of film project as children. 

We’d all had bit parts in the works of some highly recognized director who was coming upon the end of his life, and all the people in the reunion had been involved in one of his films when we were no older than 5 or 6. I had forgotten all about this, and I called my parents who admitted that I’d been at this film set at an old mission decades ago.

Memories came back to me of a couple hot summer days spent on this set; it was such a very childhood type of memory, where you didn’t know or really care why you were at this place at this time. The memory was always there but without context. I found a copy of the movie I was in and found the scene that I was also in. It was very beautiful, a series of shots childhood me walking hand in hand with some other actress with looked like Elizabeth Moss in a nun's habit, with an overwhelming amount of sunset light shining in through the columns.

Something about seeing my own smiling face, forgotten until now, gave me such a feeling of grief that I cried myself awake.

[natalie-nyc]

Monday, July 24, 2017

Today I had a day off! Being the studious student that I am, and taking into account we have an exhibition during week 4 (our final week here), I mainly worked in the studio today. I’m not sure why, but lately the project that I’ve been working on has been coming along so, so slowly. Maybe it’s because I’ve been working on an 18x24 piece, which I consider medium small (but really more small). It’s been a bit difficult. At UCSC, I have been able to save so much money by creating my own painting supports of all sizes, (4′x4′, 4′x6′, 2′x3′, etc.), and here in NYAA during the summer, I have had to buy my own supports and man it’s so pricey here! Luckily there’s a wood shop at NYAA, but unluckily, it’s always closed due to summer hours! Yikes! How will I live as an artist outside of school? I know there’s those little saws they sell at hardware stores. Maybe I can just buy wood the size I need, the glue, staples, etc, and be my own handyman.

After a few paint strokes and long hours, my housemate and I went to the cute part of Chelsea where we saw a bakery to go and eat at! So cute and so, so good. We had small, but delicious waffles.

The Mitzvah Tank was so weird. Just walking by to go to the Academy, hearing spiritual music. No one was around either. Why is this a thing?

[forastic]

Jam session project

UCSC DANM grad school winter 2023 - week 6 (feb19 - feb25)

The prompt for this project was to create a gift for someone that you could not deliver. After deliberating about making something really sad or angsty, I decided to make a project I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while. 

I’ve had dreams where I can pick up a guitar and play it effortlessly - my every pluck and strum sounding beautiful. I’m not a guitar player. I decided to make this interactive project for myself when I’m dreaming - a gift I cannot give.

I was unable to get a guitar, unfortunately, so I settled on two keyboards and a microphone. I created an ableton live project with 3 instruments. One keyboard controlled a pad sound, mostly made of slightly detuned square waves with a slow attack and decay. The other keyboard controlled a lead sound, with a little bit of portamento and heavy delay effects. Both sounded a little sad and video gamey (they were influenced by disasterpeace’s work on Fez) and were made in KiloHearts Phase Plant soft synth. The microphone input had a series of compressors and EQ, as well as a little distortion and delay. It also had auto-tune on it, set to G major.

The keyboards both had midi effects on them that corrected every note press to the G major pentatonic scale.

I’ve been thinking a lot about fail states in games and player agency. Is a fail state necessary to feel like a player has agency in games? No, of course not. But how about music? Guitar hero is fun, but it’s basically advanced simon says. There’s very little room for improvisation in it - you’re doing it right or wrong. Picking up a musical instrument can be incredibly intimidating as the learning curve is steep. How much failure in music performance is necessary for a feeling of agency? I wanted to make it impossible to sound bad, but possible to sound better. I wanted the person interacting with the jam session to feel free to explore and improvise.

I set up the two keyboards and the microphone deliberately, so the participants would be required to look at each other. In jam sessions a lot of what is conveyed is through eye contact and subtle body motion. I wanted my amateur musicians to be able to intuit this just from deliberate positioning of instruments.

I also wrote on post-it notes near the two keyboards, encouraging people to play with the octave buttons built in. There were also instructions - the keyboard with the lead had a note saying “Play one note at a time! Play a cool melody!” (the instrument was set up to be monophonic). The pad keys said “Hold down 2-3 notes at a time!”

I had members of my class (and patrick) try it out. They played for a couple minutes, then switched stations.

I received some good feedback about what it felt like and how to improve. The vocals needed better monitoring - without hearing the autotune clearly the singers were still feeling as though they could fail. I really want to try this with an electric guitar, so I’m going to prioritize that next time.

Here are some videos I captured of the test:

https://youtu.be/oVpKE83XiQY

https://youtu.be/ECR9qt01Rv8

https://youtu.be/to_qYGYHo4E

[cmralphart]

As I continue my work on The Sphere project I’ve been researching things like massive live stage play special effects production and virtual set design. It is a fascinating field and to the uninitiated, mind blowing. Even though I studied and taught digital special effects for UCSC I still can’t get over how far this technology has come.

My biggest challenge with The Sphere is that, even though it is virtual, it is still a 3 dimensional space and I am trained in special effects for 2 dimensions – film and motion graphics.

Moving large holographic-like structures in and out of the space by programing switches to control the movement corresponding to music has been more tricky than I expected- a little bit daunting. I find myself working more on paper with a pencil than at the computer right now getting the math right. It takes a lot of focus and I find myself turning my unavailability on when I  am in-world and asking friends not to bother me when I am working.

Everything in 3D space has 3 positional coordinates  X,Y and Z.  You can place anything anywhere in your world with these 3 powerful numbers. Conversely, you can cause tremendous havoc and frustration by getting the numbers wrong. Also – to move things slowly in virtual space, timer events must be added to the programs so that things don’t just go flying around instantaneously.

Add to that – everything has it’s own channel which is very important. The trigger program that “calls” the object into motion has to be on the matching channel with the object it is controlling. According to the Linden Scripting Language Wiki there 4,294,967,294 possible channels.

Prior to this, the biggest moving thing I built was motorcycles, so working at this giant scale is a bit intimidating and takes some getting used to.

Above : cool alien avatar I picked-up

So the work goes slowly right now. I want to be meticulous and precise about it and document it so that once it is set-up and all the switches made I won’t have to go through it again.

Until next time …

Creating Illusions As I continue my work on The Sphere project I've been researching things like massive live stage play special effects production and virtual set design.

[ecopoeticsatchicago]

Week 5 Writing Response

Angelic Organics, Earth Day

1. Six square inches

Threateningly purple, the pigweeds cast their shadow over the clovers trying to push out of the soil. Grasses sprout like grins, blades welcoming the sun and the rain with open arms, unaware of the impending footprint. Or the plastic bag that flutters quietly beside them, the Target logo fading in the sun because it’s been out there for days. The craters in the soil swallow signs of life, spitting them back out, leafy. Synthetic bumps shoulders with organic and there is life here about to begin, and the weeds, excited, don’t notice the bag suffocating them, a fire ant-red target painted square on the earth.

2. Chicago’s 6th Ward

“Tucked in among the Rock Island Metra Line, the former Yale Elementary School, a residential neighborhood, and several houses of worship.”

A jagged grid spans 66th Pl. to 87th St., an elbow poking into the South Side.

Thirty (30) schools.

Nine (9) parks.

Two (2) fire stations, one (1) police station.

Fifty-two thousand (52,000) people and eighteen (18) grocery stores.

3. Six square miles

Greater Englewood is a six-square mile are in Chicago’s South Side –

vacant/ vacated

striving to re re reengage

health/ wealth

Part of 60621, Englewood has “achieved the levels of turnover” of white flight > ETHNIC CLEANSING IN THE BALKANS

six (6) six grocery stores.

Process Notes

I’ve been thinking a lot about my final project for this class and I’ve been having a little bit of difficulty in scaling it appropriately. I’m really interested in food justice on a global scale, and realized that given that we live right next to a food desert (I say next to because it’s difficult to argue that the University is really part of the South Side), I thought that it might be a good step to look at food security as a civil rights issue in Chicago. For the Earth Day of Service through the UCSC, I volunteered at a community garden that is part of Angelic Organics, a community-supported farm serving communities in Chicago. I learned a lot about food politics on the South Side by talking to the head people there, and was surprised to find out that in many areas, the nearest grocery store with fresh produce is two times as far (or farther) from any given household than a fast-food chain. I also found out that much of the CSA box distribution that they were doing was overtaken by home delivery services. This particular garden is located in Englewood, so for the writing assignment this week I was interested in seeing how that statistic held up in Englewood, and also how historical manifestations of defacto segregation and racism contributed to the absence of healthy food. I thought it was a really effective approach to start out really small scale and work my way up to a larger scale, to see how (like Juliana Spahr’s poem) everything linked into everything else. There’s often a lot of talk about making change from the really minute scale up to a societal level, and I am glad that I got to see how that played out, at least partially, in this context.

[petalsadrift-blog]

Update!

Hello friends,

It has been way too long since we’ve posted an update, but we feel like a late update is better than no update, so here we are! 

While we had hoped to release our game in June, we both got caught up in other projects. I was off working on Brosaurus Wrecks! VR and Jun was working on CtrlShift VR. The two projects took up most of our lives for the past few months, and so our progress on Petals Adrift has been a bit slow. 

We also just graduated with our Master’s degrees in Games & Playable Media from UCSC! Woo! We are both super happy to have made it through the year, however, that means that the fate of this game was up in the air. After discussing it, we decided that I would continue to develop the game, while Jun pursues other projects. 

I’ll be working on Petals Adrift part-time from now on, and I hope to have a small demo for you all soon! Until then, here’s a recent look at the game! 

Love, Iman

[relianceonscience]

Allergic to the Sun?: A Genetic Look into X-Linked Protoporphyria

Advancement in genetics have assisted doctors and scientists around the world in identifying the genetic causes behind some of the most puzzling disorders. These advancements have been most helpful with Mendelian disorders – those that are caused by a mutation in only one gene. While these disorders are rare, the results of a single mutation can be dramatic. I am going to focus on one in particular: X-Linked Protoporphyria (XLP). No, not the porphyria from which King George III allegedly suffered. This porphyria’s main symptom is photosensitivity, colloquially known as a sun allergy.

The name sun allergy is actually a misnomer. An allergy refers to an immune system response (ex. hay fever) while XLP is actually a chemically induced skin irritation (similar to a sun burn, pictured below) caused by an overabundance of a compound called a protoporphyrin. In XLP, this overabundance is caused by a single mutation in one gene. For those whose high school biology days are a bit too far away to remember, a mutation is an alteration in the DNA code. A gene is a portion of the DNA that gives the instructions for the creation of proteins. The protein affected by XLP is called ALAS2.

Acute photosensitivity reaction 

Another acute photosensitivity reaction 

Symptoms of XLP show at infancy but vary in severity between males and females. The symptoms include photosensitivity (a painful skin reaction to sunlight), anemia, and low iron levels in the blood. Uncommonly, those affected can have liver damage which can eventually lead to the need for a liver transplant. Unfortunately, the number of people affected with XLP is hard to determine since it is so rare and very similar to another porphyria, Erythropoietic Protoporphyria. So far, a dozen or so families have been identified and there seems to be no correlation to geographic location or ethnicity. It affects everyone equally.

Knowing that other porphyrias are related to a mutation in the DNA, doctors aimed to find the mutation that caused XLP. This relied on many past studies, the largest of which was the Human Genome Project. It amassed a huge amount of information on what many of our genes do and where they are located.

DNA in Human Cell

Human chromosomes, coloured by UCSC browser default colours

As you can see above, each human cell contains all 23 pairs of chromosomes within it’s nucleus. Each pair contains part of your DNA and it’s own unique genes. Which chromosome and gene would XLP be found in? Using previous studies, Whatley et al made an educated guess that is was in a gene called ALAS2 (5-aminolevulinic acid synthase), named after the protein it’s “blueprints” create. ALAS2 is located on the X chromosome, number 23. Females have two X chromosomes and males have one X and one Y, hence the name sex chromosomes. The fact that it is only on the X chromosome means that it is “linked” to that chromosome, so the mutation only shows up in offspring if the affected X chromosome is inherited. Daughters get one X chromosome from their father and one from their mother. Sons, however, get one Y chromosome from their father and one X chromosome from their mother. Depending upon which parent’s X chromosome is affected, and which one gets passed on, affects which children inherit the mutation.

X-Linked Dominant Inheritance

Since XLP doesn’t get passed to every child, the image above helps to show part of why XLP was difficult to identify. The first scientists to do so was a team lead by Sharon D. Whatley that published the find in 2008.

While everyone has an ALAS2 gene, as it is part of blood cell production, not everyone has the mutation. However, scientists know that the ALAS2 gene is found on chromosome X, so that’s where Whatley et al looked. Below is an X portion of chromosome 23 with the area containing the ALAS2 gene highlighted. It turns out that Whatley et al was right and further studies have identified other mutations within the ALAS2 gene that also cause XLP.

ALAS 2 Gene Location

After identifying the location of the mutation, scientists attempted to find why the mutation causes the multitude of symptoms. They started by looking at what the ALAS2 protein does. It had already been found that this protein is involved in your blood cell production, which is involved in creating protoporphyrins. It turns out that the ALAS2 mutations change the “blueprints” (DNA) enough to change the shape of the ALAS2 protein. Below is an example structure of non-mutated ALAS2 protein.

Crystal Structure of ALAS2 Protein from R. capsulatus

The change in shape, or conformation, causes the protein to do it’s work faster. Due to this, a chemical chain reaction occurs and eventually leads to too many protoporphyrins within a patient’s body. The main pathway involved is called the heme pathway, and as you may have guessed, it’s involved in blood cell production.

Since blood cell production and it’s related compounds are so important, there are many other diseases related to them, including the porphyria King George III was theorized to suffer from. Many of the other diseases and porphyrias have distinct symptoms, but one in particular, Erythropoietic Protoporphyria (EPP), is so similar to XLP that it is nearly impossible to tell them apart without a genetic test. In fact, many people diagnosed with EPP may have XLP but have never been tested. Currently, there are only 3 testing locations that can identify XLP through a genetic test: the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, NY, and Odense University Hospital in Odense, Denmark.

Locations of XLP Testing Locations (edited from original)

Even with the identification of XLP as the cause of symptoms, doctors have not found a cure for it or an FDA-approved treatment. However, doctors have figured out numerous ways to manage the symptoms. The main method is sunlight avoidance which prevents the chemical reaction with porphyrins in a patient’s skin from occurring. There are many UV-protective clothes now, but staying inside is key. Some drugs have been shown to improve tolerance to sunlight, such as Lumitene or Cysteine and another drug has been shown to absorb some porphyrins, Cholestyramine. A new medication, Afamelanotide, is in clinical trials and may provide another option for sunlight protection.

None of these treatments would have been possible if the underlying mutation and subsequent chemicals had not been identified. Since the 90s and the Human Genome Project, technology has advanced rapidly. Sequencing, the method of reading DNA, used to cost millions. Now, it costs hundreds to thousands depending upon how much of the DNA you want to read. This decrease led to the birth of genomics, a discipline that uses genetics and molecular biology to identify the structure, function, and evolution of entire genomes (all of the genes within one person or species). So many different diseases and disorders have been identified, and it was mainly possible due to what is called open-source software. Doctors and scientists worked together by posting their findings on the internet, which are freely available for anyone to view. In sharing this knowledge, they were able to build upon each other’s work. This is exactly how Whatley and her team were able to identify the XLP mutation.

Identifying the genetic components of diseases and disorders is the first step in treating and curing them. The birth of genomics was a direct result of advancement in computer technologies. Without the internet, increased computing capabilities, and larger data storing methods, the human genome may not have been mapped. The faster our technology advances, the faster we can understand the role our genes play in our lives. This leads to identifying cures not only for rare disorders like XLP, but for more common diseases/disorders, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s. 

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