Monthly Archives: November 2012

Faux Play: The What and The Why.mov
Author Futurist Brian David Johnson talks to Kelley Baker (The Angry Filmmaker) about his short film Faux Play. What does it all mean and why did he make it. Shot on location at Room 529 in the Hotel Modera in Portland, Oregon. Featuring Laura Faye-Smith and Jeff Pollard.From:theangryfilmmakerViews:0 0ratingsTime:05:20More inFilm Animation

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How to Paint Digitally: Livestream 007
nicholaskay.com **** IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE #39;LIKE #39; THIS VIDEO AND SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL**** Facebook page Please "like!" http://www.facebook.com Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com Blog: nicholaskay.blogspot.com Deviant Art: nicholaskay.deviantart.com Twitter: @nicholasmkay Online Store: http://www.mysoti.com ______________________________________________________________________ Some more livestreaming! This video is part 7 of my futurist Hussar. Please feel free to check out my other videos and my blog, nicholaskay.blogspot.com for more updates on my work. Thanks for watching! -Nick Credits: Artist: Nicholas Kay Programs Used: Adobe Photoshop CS4, Camtasia Studio, Windows 7 64bit Equipment Used: Wacom 21 UX Cintiq I have the world wide commercial distribution rights to this video. I created all the still images used for the introduction and credit sequences. I created these images myself using Adobe Photoshop on my personal computer. I created the digital painting featured in this video myself using Adobe Photoshop on my personal computer. I created the recording of my digital painting process (mentioned above) myself using Camtasia Studio on my personal computer. The voice actor in the video is me. There is no music in this video. There are no filmed performances. There are no movie or TV visuals present. There are no video game visuals. The software used was Adobe Photoshop and Camtasia Studio. These were both operated on my personal computer by me.From:Nicholas KayViews:0 15ratingsTime:01:43:21More inEducation

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How to Paint Digitally: Livestream 007 - Video

the astroboy - voight score (papercutz remix) - tiago morais morgado fan visual tribute
(eng) THE ASTROBOY is the moniker of portuguese musician Lui #769;s Fernandes. Drone, timbric exploration and contemplative soundscapes built from analog synthesis, digital manipulation and guitars are the elements we can find in "A derrota da engrenagem" (2007, test tube/lovers and lollypops), "090309" (2009, Cobra) and "The Chromium Fence" (2011, PAD). INFO ---------------------------------------------------------- http://www.facebook.com/iamtheastroboy http://www.myspace.com/iamtheastroboy http://www.soundcloud.com/theastroboy Within a musical framework echoing the long road between 2001 A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, passing through the light, density and abstraction of Tarkowsk #39;s Stalker or Solaris, The Astroboy (Lui #769;s Fernandes moniker) takes us on a sci-fi voyage through memories of an uncertain future, arid and ten- se, wandering through digital pulsars and synthesized depictions of interior landscapes. Back with a new release (this time on cassette, allied to the digital download format) after A Derrota da Engrenagem (2007) and 090309 (2009), The Chro- mium Fence inaugurates the recently-created artist collective PAD and gives body to a retro-futurist drift for the project, keeping its exploratory nature and synthesizer-based instrumentation, with guitars and digital-manipula- tion calling to mind the adventures of Klaus Schulze, Harmonia or Cluster. With the direct invocation of the Phillip K. Dick universe -- in the album title as well as in the name of some of the tracks -- we find ...From:Tiago Morais MorgadoViews:2 0ratingsTime:03:29More inMusic

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(Image: David C. Ellis/Getty)

Several projects are trying to reverse-engineer the brain. In How to Create a Mind, futurist Ray Kurzweil champions their cause

WHEN it comes to the human brain, many scientists believe that we are incapable of understanding how it works because we lack the tools and intelligence to measure its mind-blowing complexity. Others are starting to question that notion, and to subtly redefine the task. In How to Create a Mind, futurist Ray Kurzweil has ridden into battle for the challengers.

He starts by asking what it means to be complex. If you consider that a forest is made up of trees, each of whose branches is different, then you might conclude that the forest's complexity is impenetrable. But if you realise that the forest grows according to certain rules and contains repeating patterns, then the problem becomes tractable. You don't have to measure every last gnarly twig; you can make predictions instead. As Kurzweil says, you can reverse-engineer it.

All you need to get started are the rules, and an understanding of the basic neural building blocks whose configuration they guide. Neuroscientists noticed long ago that the structure of the brain's outer layer, the neocortex, is remarkably uniform, made up of repeating units, like transistors in a microchip. Estimates of what this basic unit might be vary - from a single neuron up to tens of thousands - but all are relevant as they are likely to fit into a hierarchy whose functions become increasingly complex and abstract as you move up it.

There are now a handful of efforts afoot to describe both the units and the rules, including the Human Brain Project at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, in which, in the interests of full disclosure, I should say my husband is involved. What they have in common is the idea that the brain is an integrated system, with properties that emerge only when its elements are combined.

This means that traditional neuroscientific research, which seeks to explain increasingly specialised aspects of brain function in isolation, may have limited scope. The reductionist approach has to be supplemented by a constructivist one - putting the pieces back together again to explain the whole. Modern tools, including supercomputers and the mathematics of complexity, make that possible.

You can see why, on learning about this new line of research, Kurzweil felt he had to write this book. For years he has been talking about what he calls the law of accelerating returns, according to which both biological and technological evolution are speeding up. In his 2005 book, The Singularity is Near, he argued that we are approaching a point where humans and machines will merge, producing a leap in intelligence. Reverse-engineering the human brain could open the door to all sorts of significant innovations, such as the design of a computer that thinks more like us. This could be the springboard from which to make that leap.

There is good evidence that neither biological nor technological evolution happens in the smoothly exponential way he says they do, and even that the blistering pace of technological progress of the last few centuries might be slowing. On the whole, though, this book is a breath of fresh air. Scientists tend to be cautious in their predictions - they certainly were about the Human Genome Project, which was completed in 15 years against all expectations - and Kurzweil makes an argument for optimism.

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Will we ever understand how our brains work?

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Globalcolocation solutionsprovider CyrusOne, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cincinnati Bell (CBB), announced today that VP/GM of Interconnection Josh Snowhorn is scheduled to speak at the CIO Summit in Dallas on November 8. Thornton May, futurist, educator, and author, is slated to co-present with Snowhorn.

Beginning at 10:40 a.m., the presentation, Moving Big Data Infrastructure Changes Over Time, is expected to address the existing issue of big data movement, and the one innovative solution that is enabling Texas organizations to evolve and grow in order to address critical issues of interconnectivity.

Managing big data is a multifaceted challenge, but one of the largest concerns is the ability to rapidly and cost-effectively transport large volumes of data, said Snowhorn. Todays CIOs must understand data migration of this magnitude requires a fundamental shift in current infrastructure strategy, and a lack of proper adaptation could mean a costly loss in competitiveness. These concerns have been a primary consideration during the design of CyrusOnes upcoming statewide interconnection service in Texas, which will enable the rapid transfer of big data for enhanced security, availability, and disaster recovery.

CyrusOne specializes in highly reliable enterprise data center colocation, engineering facilities with the highest power redundancy (2N architecture) and power-density infrastructure required to deliver excellent availability. The company operates colocation facilities across the United States, London, and Singapore, and is expected to launch the first statewide Internet exchange in the United States later this year in Texas, as part of itsSky for the Cloud peering and interconnection enablement platform.The exchange is going to connect Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio facilities.

Co-presenter Thornton May has built a reputation of expertise in researching and consulting on the role of C-level executives in creating value with IT. His work has earned him numerous honors, including spots in eWeeks Top 100 Most Influential People in IT and Fast Companys Top 50 Brains in Business.

May, who currently serves as executive director and dean at the IT Leadership Academy in Jacksonville, Fla., is also a futurist at the External Technology Advisory Board at the Olin College of Engineering and co-founder of the CIO Solutions Gallery at the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University.

CyrusOne is a sponsor of the CIO Summit. Attendees are encouraged to visit CyrusOne at booth 28 to share their data management questions and to learn how colocation and interconnection can be a viable solution for their current and future needs.

For more information about CyrusOne colocation solutions, call 1-866-CYRUSONE (1-866-297-7663) or visit http://www.cyrusone.com. Connect with us on Google Plus, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

About CyrusOne

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Global Colocation Solutions Provider CyrusOne VP/GM of Interconnection Josh Snowhorn to Speak at CIO Summit