Advice

I have once main piece of advice for people taking this class:

Do your work, and read the assignments carefully.

It really is that simple. If you do the homework and in-class assignments on time, then you will be adequately prepared for the quizzes and exams, and there's absolutely no reason you shouldn't get an A. 

Favorite Websites

As I was looking through people's websites, there were a few that I particularly liked.

1. Autumn's Website by Autumn. I liked the consistent, somewhat symmetrical layout of the pages, and the pictures arranged around the swirly text box thing are visually pleasing. I really like the navbar, especially since the Austin "Hi, How are you?" frog is right in the middle, and I'm from Austin too. The consistent background pattern was also nice since, as I've stated before, one of my pet peeves is rainbow throw up of patterns and color. The background is visually interesting, without being TOO visually interesting. All in all, I thought it was very well done.
2. Riley's Website. I like the clean and fairly simple layout with solid color pages. The page of your favorite websites was probably my favorite - I definitely spend way too much time on those websites! And kudos for playing on the men's lacrosse team, that sounds like a lot of fun (and yes, when it comes to sports, contact makes everything better...).
3. The Cupcake Baker's Heaven by Katie. I have one word. YUM. I will definitely be trying some of these recipes (which is a little scary, cause I can't cook to save my life...). The navbar is really appealing, and makes me want to click. I also like the background and color coordinated text boxes, it looks really nice and professional. Very nice job!

I HAS A WEBSITE

Please visit my website, cause I'm super surprised it actually works... www.cs.trinity.edu/~cafflerb

While occasionally frustrating, making and publishing this website was easier than I would have imagined. I started with KompoZer, but I ended up liking Expression Web better, so I continued with that. In a lot of ways, Expression Web reminds me of an older version of Word (before the fancy new interface), so I was relatively familiar with how things worked. I'm not gonna lie, tables were kind of a pain in the neck (or other body part), but once I got them arranged correctly I think they improve the overall composition of the webpage. My favorite page is the Photo Gallery - I gave all the pictures borders, and I think that makes them look neater. However, I'm probably gonna play around with the "Recent News" cell, because it's way too long. Design-wise, I wanted something that looked fairly professional, and like a site the Trinity might publish. But I'm not entirely happy with the design, I feel like it might be a little plain, and the navbar might be a little cheesy. So I might go back and play around with those this weekend.
I am hoping my site can evolve to be the official Trinity Equestrian Team site, because we currently don't have one. If this is the case, then it would be seen by prospective students and their families, so I want it to look nice. I will probably maintain this site, and maybe use these skills to edit other sites, but I don't know if I'll ever publish another site for a class.

FYI: file://sol.cs.trinity.edu/cafflerb/local/

Apparently Sarah was right all along...

My friend Sarah used to yell at me every time I set my computer on the carpet, telling me it would overheat and terrible things would happen such as fiery death and destruction and mayhem. I figured she was overreacting. I mean, maybe her laptop was just old or defective or something. But nope. Turns out she was right. Huh.
I have a habit of leaving my computer on my bed, which I never thought twice about, but apparently this actually can cause your computer to overheat, since the cooling mechanism relies on movement of air, which is being drawn in from vents on the bottom of the computer. So, when you leave it on soft surfaces like carpet or bedding, this air flow is slowed and the computer cannot cool itself. Knowing this, I'm trying to make an effort to be careful now... I like my computer, and would ideally like it to last at least 4 years. So thanks to Larry Hechler for telling me this, and hopefully I can avoid any catastrophic damage to my computer!

I can't believe they... oh wait, nevermind.

While I realize most of you (I hope) weren't actually fooled into believing that Ben and I would torture Jillian in such a manner, it isn't always this easy to detect and dismiss fake photos. However, this may not always be true. Alin Popescu and Hany Farid from Dartmouth University have recently developed a computer algorithm that aids in the detection of altered photos by looking for places in the image that have been distorted, resized, or rotated. Even when these changes are not detectable by the naked eye, this new computer algorithm can pick them out (Baker 2005). What this means for the future of photo fakery is hard to say, but I'm confident it won't stop photoshop amateurs like me from manipulating images for fun.
In choosing an image to manipulate, I thought it would be fun to make something to submit to our annual family calendar. I have two younger siblings, Ben and Jillian, so I was thinking about choosing some famous group of three to photoshop our heads onto. When I came across the three Stooges, I thought "Perfect!". I think this image basically describes my childhood - Ben and I teamed up to make likkle Jilly-kin's life as 'fun' as possible. I find this image particularly appropriate since Jillian (in the picture) has braces. To do this, I cut our heads out of other pictures with the lasso tool, and then used the eraser tool to clean up the image. I rotated, shrunk, and then changed the heads to black and white in order to make them fit. In order to make my 'hands' appear to be in front of Jillian's head I made her head partially see-through, and then erased where the hands were so they'd show through. I put the border on using Picnik. The background picture I got through an image search, the pictures of Ben and Jillian came off my camera, and the picture of me came off Facebook. I don't consider this image harmful, and my brother likes it, but I've yet to hear what Jillian thinks, so she may disagree.

Article:

Baker, Monya. "Photoshop Sleuths." Technology Review 108.2 (2005): 82. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

PowerPoint Presentations

I did my presentation on James Herriot, pen name of James Alfred Wight, who is arguably one of the most famous veterinarians of all time. He worked as a vet in England during the 1940s, and then wrote a series of books known collectively as "All Creatures Great and Small" loosely based on the people he worked with. These were some of my favorite books when I was younger, and I still enjoy them even now. While they didn't make me want to be a vet, they were definitely very encouraging. Most people would read his descriptions of freezing half to death in some isolated, drafty barn while aiding in the birth of a calf and say "Who the heck would want to do that?!" But I had the exact opposite reaction - while it doesn't sound fun, it does sound... rewarding, exciting, and a whole lot more useful, important, and necessary than many other jobs out there. Maybe its just his writing style, but there was always something romantic about it, in a way. I think these books were rather influential in making me want to work with large animals, even though ironically he only worked with large animals because there weren't enough small animals at the time for a vet to make a living off of.

In making my PowerPoint, I tried to keep it relatively simple, because themes that are too busy make me a little crazy. I know many people will disagree, but in  most cases I actually prefer black and white (or some other conservative colors), which is why I left the slides mostly white, and stuck with black text and one font, except for the title. I do like the look of the nature scenes taking up about 1/3 of the slide, and I think it really fits well with my topic since as a country vet Herriot spends most of his time outdoors. Overall, I like the theme I ended up with, with the dominant colors being consistently black, white, and green. When it comes to animations I am usually of the opinion that less is more, so I tried to keep them consistent and subtle. I did learn something interesting about myself by doing this presentation - having notes doesn't help. I can't both read something and present it, and so when I try to look at notes, I tend to lose my place and train of thought. I'm better off just knowing what I'm presenting without having to rely on notes.

One of my favorite presentations was on the Blood-Brain Barrier. I really liked the graphics showing the neurons in action, and I thought she did a good job explaining in an understandable way. The graphics were particularly effective since she explained them so well. Another presentation I liked was about Chemistry. I really liked the video of the reaction, and think it was a very good way to get everyone's attention before going into more serious subject matter. Even though I choose those two, all the presentations were really good.

Chris Nolan - Searching with Google

Google can be a very useful tool for searching the Internet, as long as the user is careful to evaluate the results, and can distinguish good sources from bad. In his presentation, Chris Nolan gave us some good tips for finding results that have academic value. One that I found particularly useful and didn't already know about was the ability to limit results based on what kind of site they are. So, if your looking for academic results, you could try limiting the results to .edu sites or if you want government sites, limit to .gov. This is only an example of the things you can do with Google advanced search options, which can definitely improve your searches. Another thing to consider when looking for academic sources are blogs. While I would never have assumed a blog could be a legitimate academic sources, apparently it is becoming more and more common for researchers and experts in the field to blog about their findings, in which case the blog may actually have academic value. I was surprised by this, but I suppose it makes sense. However, I don't think I'll ever feel comfortable citing a blog as a source in a major paper...

Power corrupts. PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.

PowerPoint. Such a useful tool, but so often abused by what seems to be sugar-crazed sparkle-loving 6th graders. Yes, we all know how to make PowerPoints with cool sounds effects, fun pictures, moving text, and other forms of "bling" but that doesn't mean we do it on a regular basis. In general, my 5 PowerPoint pet peeves boil down to "Too much/many...

1. sounds. Especially annoying clapping/cheering sounds, or a different sound for each slide transition.
2. pictures and colors. I believe PowerPoints should have a theme. And that theme should not be "Rainbow Throw-up."
3. sparkly effects. It hurts my eyes, stop it.
4. moving sh--, stuff. If every single image or item of text comes crawling in a snail's pace while your audience tries not to fall asleep, this may indicate that your PowerPoint sucks (or your topic is really boring).
5. slide transitions. Yes, they were fun to play with in middle school. They're not so fun now.

Ok, so I'll give you an example. Also note the wonderful spelling:

However, PowerPoints don't have to be bad. In fact, most PowerPoints can actually be very useful tools for conveying information. I find them particularly helpful when trying to take notes in class - if I miss something the teacher says, I can always go back and look at the PowerPoint, which can help jog my memory. There are a couple simple rules (and suggestions) that can help make sure your PowerPoints aren't awful. First off, limit text to bullet point-style notes, and don't just read them when presenting. And please, check your spelling and grammar to avoid an unreasonable number of mistakes. My biggest tip to making professional looking PowerPoints is simple - use the pre-programmed themes and slide designs that PowerPoint already has. And if you are going to create your own theme, then be fairly conservative and simple. Anything too complicated can subtract from the information you are trying to share.

You learn something new everyday...

Today in computer science, we had the opportunity to visit the unknown - the AT&T Center for Learning and Technology. I'd like to be able to say that I totally knew it was there, but had never visited, but this would be a lie. In fact, I'm not even sure I've ever heard of it before... or if I have, it obviously didn't leave a huge impression. However, having now visited and seen all the cool things that can be done there, I must say that I am sad I didn't know about it earlier. For one thing, the monitors are HUGE! While probably not useful for anything I'll be doing in the future, this still makes me feel high tech. More importantly, the chairs are really, really nice. Nice enough that I was seriously considering taking one of them on a "field trip" to see what it would look like in my room. On a slightly more serious note, CLT also has useful technology like scanners and audio recording devices, and fun software for photo and video editing. I'm a big fan of photography, so the photo editing capabilities are particularly exciting to me, especially since I don't have any of that software on my computer. And for all you Mac people, they have 14 macs available for use, unlike most computer labs on campus.
As part of our assignment, we were asked to draw a self portrait to scan and save in our groups folder. I now present "The Real Me" demonstrating ;P, a combination of :P and ;) which I mistakenly type all time,  affectionately called Seizure Face (because when I attempt to make this face in real life I look somewhat like I'm having a seizure) -

I used Picnik to adjust the exposure because it was too light, and add the border.

Pictures that Lie

This is a picture of a British soldier in Basra that appeared in the Los Angeles Times in April 2003, shortly after the invasion of Iraq. This photo is actually a composite of two photographs taken by a staff photographer, who put them together to "improve" the composition. He was fired when his editor found out. I choose this picture because I think that it represents a more politically significant "lie" than a picture manipulated to make someone skinnier, as it could actually act as propaganda (whether or not the photographer intended that, I can't say) and influence people's opinion of the war. Whether this manipulation is harmful or not is a matter of personal opinion. Some would say yes, that by portraying the British soldier in a protective role (that may not have actually happened) the news was influencing people into thinking the war was a good thing, which just leads to more death. Others could argue the opposite - that increasing public support for the war would help our soldiers, and help them help others. Regardless of your opinion of the war, the fact remains that the manipulation would have consequences, "harmful" or not.

Photo manipulation has other "harmful" side-affects - it is responsible for distorting our perceptions of reality, specifically beauty. As a society, we have been conditioned by constant photo alterations to have an unobtainable and ultimately false idea of what "beauty" is. As this video shows, even models with professional hair and makeup still are not good enough for a billboard without some computer alteration:

While I don't mean to advertise for Dove, I do think this video has an important message to share about recognizing true beauty, and not being fooled by what the media would like us to think.

Excel is fun, not scary

I know I am easily amused, but what I enjoyed most about working with Excel was getting to play with colors, themes, and images. I used to think, like most people do, that excel was for boring work-related spreadsheets that would make you want to tear your hair out. Now, I find myself making pretty colorful tables for anything at all - "Hey, I volunteered this weekend! I should put that on a spreadsheet! And make it green, and a pretty title!" (True story). It's also, I've found, a fantastic excuse to procrastinate. Now, whenever I need to make a chart or table for a class, I can spend an extra 10 minutes formatting it. And that's 10 minutes spent not working! Yay! On a more serious note, I can definitely see how being comfortable with formulas can be a major asset. I particularly liked the idea of using charts to keep track of finances, such as a running balance or using them to help you keep track of your budget. In fact, I should probably set up something like that for my debit card, so I don't just, OOPS, run out of money. Hmmm that could be more fun that doing my Chemistry lab report...

Disney rules the world...

Tuesday in class, we had an informative lecture about copyright laws, and while many interesting points were made, what stuck with me the most was a story about the Disney Corporation. Up until about 20 years ago, copyright law protected intellectual property, like Walt Disney's iconic characters, for the life of the author plus 50 years. When this deadline started approaching, the Disney Corporation lobbied to extend copyright protection so they could continue to enjoy the profit they made off of Walt Disney's characters. As a result, the protection was extended to 70 years after the author's death - a deadline that once again is approaching. So the question is, what is Disney going to do this time? Are they going to fight to save their revenue source, or are they going to suck it up and admit that they've leached off Walt Disney's genius for long enough?

 Now please don't misunderstand - I love Disney movies. This just happens to be one example of a much larger problem I have with society in general. People who have money have power, and often times use that power for their personal gain. I know it's just human nature to protect what one has, and I also know that there are exceptions. However, I have to say it irritates me a little when wealthy and influential people or companies use their power to pull strings in government and get laws passed in their favor. I know it's idealistic, but I do sometimes wish that people could see outside of their own personal bubble, and say "Hey you know what? I probably don't need that third yacht... I think I have enough stuff thanks." Now, the Disney Corporation owns the rights to characters beyond those they stand to lose if Walt Disney's copyright runs out. While obviously there would be some drop in revenue, I sincerely doubt it would be overly significant. In fact, at the rate they keep producing movies, there is certainly going to be a steady stream of income for quite a while yet. And a little bit of incentive to produce GOOD movies, and not crap, certainly couldn't hurt. Which is why I hope that copyright laws are not once again changed to accommodate the interests of one, admittedly powerful, corporation that is afraid to succeed or fail on their own merit.

My Trinity Network Diagram

Today in class, we got an extremely interesting tour of Trinity's server room by Jared Pack. To actually see something like a network, which to me was always such an abstract idea, was really neat, though kind of mind boggling. All those connections, and nearly identical black boxes with blinking lights - I think my head would explode if that was actually my job. So props to Jared and all the other computer guys, and thanks for doing the (seemingly) impossible and making it all work!
In designing this diagram, I tried to incorporate the wagon wheel image that Jared used to describe the network - that is, Ruth Taylor forms the core, and spokes (or fiber optic cables) connect out to all the other buildings on campus. This diagram shows how my laptop (located in Prassel, since that's where I live) connects to the internet through a wireless access port, the data closet, then to Ruth Taylor and wherever it needs to go, including the outside world.

Where am I?

I found this cute little waterfall thing as I was wandering around looking for someplace to photograph that was both artistic and original, but not cruelly hard to guess. However, in retrospect this might be a little challenging, especially for any first years. A hint to sophomores and upperclassmen - you've probably walked by (or over) it before, but the actual waterfall itself may just be a result of Hurricane Hermione (aka TS Hermine).
I was originally just going to add the fish (cause you know - fish in water, that's logical), but when I saw the bear, I thought, "Yeah, bears eat fish. That'll work!" So anyway, someone on campus is going to get a good dinner tonight. I also played around with the color effects for a while, and finally settled on this, though I forgot what it was called. I like how vibrant green it makes that bush growing out of the cliff, and the contrasting shadowy border is reminiscent of effects used in movies to show flashbacks, memories, or dreams. So, you could almost think of this as being the Bear's daydream, or possibly memory of a good time.

Best Tech Tip

During class on Tuesday, we were lucky to have Joe Hatch come and give us some useful tips about avoiding viruses, working with Trinity's network security systems, getting our computers to run faster, and protecting our identities. I found his suggestions for improving computer performance and speed to be especially interesting and helpful. As we browse the Internet, our computers automatically save pieces of information, like URL's and cookies, in temporary folders. Over time, this junk accumulates and uses up space in your computer's memory that could be used for other, more productive, things. Removing all this useless data can not only speed up your computer, but also may help protect you from viruses that are looking for sensitive information like usernames and passwords. Viruses can access the folders where past URL's are saved, and as a result know which online financial sites are accessed by the user. A program called CCleaner can be downloaded to empty these temporary folders. However, it may be necessary afterwards to defragment your computer. It's also nice to know that if have a problem with my computer, I can take it to the Student Computer Service Center in Winn 103 and they can probably help me.

Hey Guys!

Charlie the kitten, right after I brought
him home.

Welcome to my blog! My name is Claire Afflerbach, and I grew up in Austin, Texas with my parents and two younger siblings, Ben and Jillian. I am currently a sophomore at Trinity University in San Antonio, and this blog is an assignment for my computer science class. I am planning to major in Biology, and possibly minor in Biomathematics. After I graduate from Trinity in a couple years (hopefully!) I want to go to vet school. Over the summer, I worked at a small animal clinic in Pflugerville, Texas and ended up adopting a kitten, who we named Charlie. He's an awesome kitten, absolutely crazy, but still very sweet. I love horses and everything involved with them - just being out at the barn is aromatherapy for me, which is why I tend to live there when given the chance. As a result of this passion, or obsession, I want to specialize in equine veterinary medicine, and would love to continue riding with Trinity's Equestrian Club. I have also spent a large portion of my life playing soccer, and even though its been a couple of years, I truly miss it.

When it comes to computers, I have very little experience or natural talent. In fact, I'd consider myself technologically illiterate. I took a computer science class at Anderson High School in my junior year, but I don't feel particularly knowledgeable. Hopefully once this class is over I'll have practical skills, and I'm especially looking forward to getting more comfortable with Excel.
Contact me at cafflerb@trinity.edu!