KAZOO

Yuki Shiozuka

This is a simple instrument which was invented by an
African American. It has been used ceremony such as
annual parties, celebrations, or traditional festivals. The
sound is like birdcalls. To play kazoo is not easy because
you must vibrate air from their lugs. If you require it, you
can play melodiously. Nowadays, kazoo becomes famous,
so you can buy it in gift shops. In terms of price, metallic kazoo is cheaper than wood one. Some
of musicians use it at their concert, and children play it as a toy. Kazoo is not only for traditional
ceremony.

RRJ #1

Playing 'Pong' With the Blink of an Eye
ScienceDaily (Mar. 26, 2010) — University students have developed a computer game that is operated by eye movements, which could allow people with severe physical disabilities to become 'gamers' for the first time.

Imperial student demonstrates how neurotechnology works. (Credit: Image courtesy of Imperial College London)
The students, from Imperial College London, have adapted an open source game called 'Pong', where a player moves a bat to hit a ball as it bounces around the screen. The adaptation enables the player to move the bat using their eye.
To play the game, the user wears special glasses containing an infrared light and a webcam that records the movement of one eye.
The webcam is linked to a laptop where a computer program syncs the player's eye movements to the game.
The prototype game is very simple but the students believe that the technology behind it could be adapted to create more sophisticated games and applications such as wheelchairs and computer cursors controlled by eye movements.
One of the major benefits of the new technology is that it is inexpensive, using off-the-shelf hardware and costing approximately £25 to make.
Eye movement systems that scientists currently use to study the brain and eye motion cost around £27,000, say the researchers.
Dr Aldo Faisal, the team's supervisor from the Department of Computing and the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London, says:
"Remarkably, our undergraduates have created this piece of neurotechnology using bits of kit that you can buy in a shop, such as webcams. The game that they've developed is quite simple, but we think it has enormous potential, particularly because it doesn't need lots of expensive equipment. We hope to eventually make the technology available online so anyone can have a go at creating new applications and games with it and we're optimistic about where this might lead. We hope it could ultimately provide entertainment options for people who have very little movement. In the future, people might be able to blink to turn pages in an electronic book, or switch on their favourite song, with the roll of an eye."
Mr Ian Beer, who is a third year undergraduate from the Department of Computing, adds: "This game is just an early prototype, but we're really excited that from our student project we've managed to come up with something that could ultimately help people who have really limited movement. It would be fantastic to see lots of people across the world creating new games and applications using our software."
Researchers in Dr Faisal's lab are now refining the technology so that it can monitor movements in both eyes. This would enable a user to carry out more complicated tasks such as plotting a journey on screen. This might ultimately allow them to use eye movements to steer a motorised wheelchair.
Student team includes: William Abbot, Department of Biomedical Engineering; Oliver Rogers, Department of Maths and Department of Computing; Tim Treglown, Department of Maths and Department of Computing; Aaron Berk, Department of Computing; Ian Beer, Department of Computing.
A video demonstrating how the computer game works can be downloaded and embedded from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gU8RqttXeo

Xinwu Chen
EAP1
Mar, 30, 2010
Computer engineering
Reference:
ScienceDaily (Mar. 26, 2010). Imperial College London, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100326101113.htm
Vocabulary:
Neurotechnology: n. one kind of technology of human’s anxiety
Bounces: v. jump
Infrared: n. red light, not by human beings
Prototype: n. example
Sophisticated: adj. not easy
Applications: n. be used
Approximately: adv. almost
Supervisor: n. the worker who is the manager of the other workers
Bioengineering: n. biology engineering
Enormous: adj. huge, large
Optimistic: adj. one kind of human behavior like happy life
Ultimately: adv. finally
Entertainment: n. public shows
Motorized: adj. auto things
Summary:
This article is written about a student group invent a new technology program in the U.K. It’s about a helpful hardware on a glass. You can control the computer with human’s eyes. The student in the group told us, this skill can be used in a lot of ways. On the other hand, this skill is cheaper than another same tech. Because it’s only cost £25, another skill from some sciences has cost £27,000. The students in the group are very happy to be a member, and the y will continue working with this program.
Reaction:
Did you feel very exciting? When I watch the video and the article, I feel good. This article is describe a very famous tech. Think about you can control your computer with your eyes, it’s very fantastic. If I go to the university, I can do the same thing as they did. It’s unbelievable, if you can control computer with your mind. But it’s really true. From this essay, we can see that we don’t have to do something with a lot of money. There is a massage “Just do it!” explained the action, that means do something by my own hands and trust myself can do it.

Dream catcher (Native American)

Naser Alajmi

In Ojibwa culture, a dreamcatcher (or dream catcher; Ojibwe asabikeshiinh, the inanimate form of the word for "spider" or bawaajige nagwaagan meaning "dream snare") is a handmade object based on a willow hoop, on which is woven a loose net or web. The dreamcatcher is then decorated with personal and sacred items such as feathers and beads.Traditionally, the Ojibwa construct dreamcatchers by tying sinew strands in a web around a small round or tear-shaped frame of willow. it is used as a charm to protect sleeping children from nightmares. The Ojibwa believe that a dreamcatcher changes a person's dreams.they say only good dreams would be allowed to filter through . . . Bad dreams would stay in the net, disappearing with the light of day. Also good dreams pass through the center hole to the sleeping person. The bad dreams are trapped in the web, where they perish in the light of dawn.

Arrowhead ( Native American )

YASER

Arrowhead

The Native Americans used the arrowheads for hunting animals for their food 5,000 years ago. They made the arrowheads from the stones, and made them sharp, and strong. There are many types of arrowheads, which represent the different Tribes, especially the points for their arrows; for example each tribe has a type of arrowhead. The Archaeologists have found several different types or arrowheads in one area; that explains that they used them as a weapon.

Train man statue, downtown Carbondale

Rayan Bakhashwain

There is a man who is standing on a stage. he is wearing a uniform for the train company. One of his hands is higher than the other. He looks like a man who is giving a speech. He has a cap, and his clothes are beige color. He is wearing military boots. He looks like an important man, and he also looks like an elderly man. He looks like a CEO (manager for a train company). It means to continue work, and it shows the value of the workers.

Pinata

Pinata is a container filled with candy and toys,which is made of some colorful tissue paper or some carboard and it can be designed in any shape.It always in suspended from a heaght place;someone who blindfold uses a stick to beat the pinata until they break it open.


It usually as a welcomed game for children in a party when someone break the pinata ,all the children get to gather the goodies and they can share their goodies with others. It is an intersting game that people can have a fun time in a party.



Bona Zhang

indian corn

Bin
Indian corn was a very important crop for the people of the northeast woodlands. It was the main food and was eaten at every meal.Indian corn is the same as normal corn; the only difference is color. It has a lot of color different from other corn. Sometimes, one ear of corn just has one color, but sometimes one ear of corn has many colors, like purple, yellow, blue,white and re. Before you take off the leaves from the corn, you can see the yellow leaves cover the corn's body. In Indian,all parts of the corn plant were used. Nothing was thrown away. The husks were braided and woven to make masks, moccasins, sleeping mats, baskets, and cornhusk dolls. Corncobs were used for fuel, to make darts for a game, and were tied onto a stick to make a rattle for ceremonies. Indian corn was unknown to the Europeans before they met the Indians. Indians gave them the seeds and taught them how to grow it. Now in the U.S.A., more farm land is used to grow corn than any other grain.

Kilt (Scottish clothing)

shigemi
The kilt is a native dress of Scotland.
The kilt is cloth with a skirt pleat.
The kilt is tartan of the lattice.
The waist is bound with the belt.
The edge of the cloth is stopped with the kilt pin.
The kilt has the length to the knee.
The kilt has the pleat from side to the back.
One can put on the kilt as full dress of military forces.
The kilt also has the one that pochette of the skin called sporran.
The kilt is cloth that is rolled in the waist.

Teepee

Since many Native American Indians were nomads at one point, and many would travel and move with the buffalo that would serve as a food staple for them, they had to have housing that was easy and quick to move. That is a reason Native American Indians created teepees. The word “Teepee” comes from an ancient language which means houses human beings lived in. A teepee consists of a set of 10-20 poles, a cover usually made of bison skins, an optional inside canvas or skin lining; and a canvas or skin door. The construction of a teepee was from poles as triangle; they pegged the skins to the ground and covered triangles. Teepees are not only convenient to move quickly but also are comfortable for life. The opening at the top and the smoke flaps, which allow the dwellers to cook and heat themselves with an open fire, and the lining that is primarily used in the winter, which insulates while providing a source of fresh air for the fire and dwellers, are two crucial innovations of teepees. Most teepees would not be painted. But many of teepees were decorated with pendants and colored medallions.

"Here"sculpture (SIU campus)

Sunny

This sculpture is made by Nicholas Vergette who is professor in SIU. It's arranged shape of circle. There are more than 10 stone pillars. Each pillar's shape, color and pattern is different. For example, one of the pillar has scroll on the top. When i saw this sculpture, i thought that is looks like "Stonehenge". Stonehenge is
prehistoric monument. It is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. Some scientists propose that the stonehenge was part of a religious complex dedicated to the dead. I think that is inspired Nicholas so that he made "HERE". Most of "HERE"sculpture are bigger than me like "Stonehenge". All pillars have a line regularly. If you want check the HERE's charactheristic ,
plese click here-> http://blog.naver.com/dltlsaud/90084758194

Scarecrow

The scarecrow is made with straw. Alot of farmers use scarecrows to protect their crops. Farmers cannot protect their crops 24 hours a day. Therefore, they came up with an idea to make a scarecrow to protect their crops because scarecrow resembled humans. Birds are not smarter than human. Therefore, birds will think that the scarecrow is a human standing up on the farmland when farmland has the scarecrow. Thus, birds will not eat the crops if the farmland has a scarecrow present. The scarecrow is able to prevent birds from eating their crops, but you cannot use a scarecrow to protect your crops forever because some smarter birds will know that the scarecrow is not humans. Therefore birds can still eat your crops even if you have a scarecrow. However, the chance of crops eaten by birds is minimized.

"Saluki Symbol"

Abdul
- The name was official on March 19, 1951.
- Students by voting made the name official for the SIUC mascot.
- They are the oldest pure-bred dogs (going back to 3600 B.C)
- They are presently in Egypt, mostly.
- The salukis are Egyptian hunting dogs.
- The salukis are known for speed and hunting prowess.
- In Egypt salukis were accepted as the finest animals a family could possess.
- They are well-represented dogs (kind of dogs)
- 22 different saluki dog have graced the campus.
- Famous examples are Grace, Shabaka and Debbie.
- And the first and best known is king Tur, which came to SIU in 1953(He died and is buried in a premade grave)

Appalachian dulcimer

Sky
The Appalachian dulcimer is usually 75 to 90 cm long. The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted stringed instrument of the zither family, typically with three of four strings. The body extends the length of the fingerboard, and it fretting is generally diatonic. It s hourglass shaped and features a spruce top and Acaia Koard back and sides. There are four same size hearts on the dulcimer. There are 17 fingerboards on it. There is a belt for people to carry the instrument. The instrument is made of wood. It is painted in brown. The top is similar to fiddle.
This is a picture for Appalachian dulcimer
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Dulcimer_%28UP%29.jpg

"Here" sculpture, SIU campus

train man statue, Carbondale

Welcome back, CESL students!