Last Day Of Trimester 1

So, today is the last day of trimester one and I actually feel that I have done some work. I got two proposals done, a lot of notes, some cool blogging done, a really interesting topic and that is just in this class. I really did something this year and I'm happy.

Graduation Project has to be continued on for the rest of the year and all of next year until we present. There is a lot resting on whether or not the library is going to accept my proposal or not. I really hope they do. If not I am in a lot of trouble right now. My project will have no where to go now.

But can't think like that. There is no reason for them not to accept. When I go to the library today after school I will probally hand it in.... Sounds right to do....

More Work

So, I finished my proposal and time line finally and I feel very accomplished; well for maybe a whole 2 seconds. Ms. Savido now has me working on a proposal for the library which is more confusing then the regular one. It has to be directed towards the library asking them to let me use their room and conduct this. I don't know really how to go about this so its really confusing I guess... *Sigh*

I just felt there weren't enough posts here so I decided to add one on my accomplishments so far... YAY me..

*Bing* Light Bulb

I believe that I want to go up to the Brookline Carnegie Library and have maybe an "Autostereogram Day" or something of that sort. I could get diffrent pictures, have diffrent books on the topic up there, create some fun games or an activity and try to figure out if these kids can see them or not. It woudln't really generate a data specifically or right away but it would be fun. They do have computres at the library and maybe have the kids log on and play the game; see what they can do. I don't know...

Blogg Addition

At the moment, I'm stuck with my proposal. I did get two paragraphs done on sources that I will need to use and or already am doing. I am still having trouble with the Time Line and I think I'll put that off till later.... Also, the interviews are having trouble getting started... I did look through some Yahoo Answer's today that Ms. Savido brought up to try and find maybe some other links I haven't been to... It's very difficult... A lot of the answers get to be the same after a while.. I believe I need to find more information actually to keep moving forward

Complaining is the best I can do right now

Right now, I am really ready for a mental breakdown because of the stress that this Graduation Project has put on me. I know it is stressful to everyone but right now I'm uber frustrated. I can't think straight with everything that is going on around me on simple yet very complicated things.

Like, I don't know where or who I can possibly interview or how I would conduct that. I more than likely will have to do it either via e-mail or via phone for the fact that it would be hard to get representatives from Massachusetts to Pittsburgh for a 11th grader's graduation project. That isn't something that I would ask or even think about asking for the fact it is not possible, not realistic.

Then, the end project, where or what do I want? As of right now, all I am going to get is collective data which is something I don't think I had planned for... I wanted something to actually grasp on to, something to show for. Yes, collective data is something very important but it's not what I wanted.

Oh, speaking of "want" I don't know that. I know what I don't want but that honestly doesn't help me understand what I do want. I want to pass I know that for sure and I want this to be something somewhat fun not this drag that it is turning into. But I think more so I had unrealistic ideas of what was going to happen that I don't know... I had unrealistic ideas and the truth is setting in.

So where does this all leave me... A bunch of whining and nothing actually done.

Did You Know..? (Now less "gross" and more "wow")

-- Two ways they can be viewed, cross-eyed and wall-eyed
-- 1838, British, Charles Wheatstone (stereogram)
-- 1850, Scottish, David Brewster (changed the mirrors to lenses)
-- 1959, Bela Julesz, McArthur Fellow (found autostereograms)
-- 1979, Chirstopher Tyler, (created the first autostereograms)
-- 141 years to actually create one
-- 12 % of people have problems with binocular vision

Did You Know..? (Now less "gross"

Stuck Like A Stick In The Mud

Well, yea I'm a lame, a looser, what ever you want to say for that phrase used as my title. However, it's true. I'm not really sure where to go. I know what I want to do but I'm not really sure at the same time. I know I want to do a study, but I don't believe that is all I want to do. That seems too little for me even though there is a big part of it. Like... I don't know...

It's hard to explain I guess what I want to do for the fact that I myself don't know what I want to do. I want to figure out why... why can't people see them (in lack of better word choice at the moment) but there isn't any scientific reasoning behind it. This isn't an eye sight problem such as catalysts where you can just remove them. No, there is no information that I can find that supports or denies problems when seeing autostereograms.

I could possibly try to find something becuase there is something on Photoshop that you can order but I don't know... Maybe I could generate my own autostereogram and show to others... Who knows...

Breaktrhough I think

Essential Questions

Why is it that autostereograms are only visible to a few?

Foundation Questions

1. Does gender play a role in visibility?
2. Is there a way to train someone to see autostereograms if not able to before?
3. What are the purposes of autostereograms?
4. Are there specific viewing techniques when attempting to see autostereograms?
5. Could not being able to view an autostereogram have to do with your opcipital lobe?


So yea that's about it for now. Any feedback?

Rawr, Rawr, and More Rawr

Yesterday I went to the library to pick up some books that I ordered and NONE of them helped one bit. I had my hopes pretty high up on those books and I guess some hwow I either ordered wrong or wasn't paying attention. So right now, I'm back to finding sources which wasn't that much.

I actually like that there isn't much on the project, it gives me an edge to say "No, it's not wrong it's new" kind of thing. On the other hand, it is hard to come up with foundation questions and evidence to suppot my findings if there is nothing on the topic.

I am still sticking with the idea of "Autostereograms" and the question of "Why can some people see while others can't?" because they seem to be where I am going with them.

To figure it out conduct a study I believe by printing out autostereograms and seeing what diffrences the people have in personality, lifestyle maybe... Is it a dietary thing? That would be intersting too... A lot of possiblities I can go into with this I just need to find first off more infomation I believe...

Stuck

I'm having troubles finding sources that are giving me the information I particularly want. A couple of the books I did want are now up for pick up but the library closes so early I probably wont be able to get there until Thursday at earliest. I know I"m not supposed to be complaining in these blogs but give me the credit that it is in proper English and everything is spelled correctly. I mean, I did find a couple of books, however I am hold 1 of like 20 or so, it might take a while to get there. I expected so but didn't truly want to wait that long for something.

Oh and Kristen.. Go to the Carnegie Library's home page and type in Color Stimuli as the subject, you'll find some cool things. All Stimuli means is the stimulation of one thing to cause a reaction to the other. Like, if I burn you you'll say ow. It's a stimulus (single).

Casey, I found a site for you and I don't know if you have been on it or not just try to look at it and see what you can get from it. I mean, there are diffrent things on the side that you can go to and I thought it looked cool anyway. If you click on the side it gives you bunch of books that you can find and just I don't know I hope that helps?

http://library.campbellhall.org/secondary%20pages/Looking%20for%20a%20Good%20Book/retoldfairytaleshome.htm

Questions

So as I'm sitting here frustrated because the stupid, stupid, stupid blog spot thing isn't working.. and it took a while for Mr. Christ to finally get it to work.. Anyhow.. I came up with some questions on autostereograms and what not so yea what does everyone think??

♥ Why can't everyone view autostereograms?
♥ What are some viewing techniques to see autostereograms?
♥ Is there a time limit on when to see an autostereogram?
♥ Is not being able to see a autostereogram a nerology problem?
♥ Is it important to be able to view an autosteregram?
♥ How many people know about autostereograms?

As you can see, I was bored.

PRETTY!!

Or at least I think so... I really like my photoshoped image and I think it looks nice. Also, I am now doing more research on the actual autostereogram as Alex reads off to me burial rituals... Ha ha. Anyway, I gave up reading the PDF file becuase it just wasn't worth it. Like, it took me until pg 263 until I got to refrences which was what I really needed. lol.

((Look at the bottom for picture))

Essential Question Hopefully

So for this list that Ms. Savido gave me, I have decided to try to fill some of these boxes in. The couple I came up with so far is "Which gender is better at viewing autosterograms", What are the best eye piece aids to help view autostereograms?" and "Why can't some people view autostereograms?". I think the first question kind of ties in with the second one so the essential question would be... *Drum roll please...*

"Why can't some people (everyone) view autostereograms?"

I guess... that's how far I got so yea..

Where I am in the PDF File: Page 30

Amazement...

I am still reading this PDF file I promise you for the fact that it is 302 pages long.. However, it is funny that this was one of the only actually documented cases of autostereograms.... And... It's in Hong Kong.. Funny right? I thought so... The fact that this is important in visual development and your able to actually help people with site problems by doing these tests.. but the US hasn't started testing..



More or less, they aren't used for entertainment purposes or graphic designs as originally thought, they are used in Psychology purposes and vision impairment.

Not really frustrated today.. Just long reading scheduals..

Tada!

Today I went through a lot of different sites and tried to find types of autostereograms. There were some interesting looking pictures to them. I have noticed that between Mike and Alex trying to help me, Mike can see them a lot better giving one score to the Males. Ms. Savido suggested looking for studies where gender was taken into account and I honestly haven't found anything. This doesn't mean there isn't anything, just that I obviously can not find it. This seems like a relatively newer topic even though it was discovered initially in the 1850.


I also found out that there are three different ways to look at an image, "Parallel" "Cross-eyed" and "Normal". "Normal" is our vision that we look in everyday life. The "Parallel" vision is when your eyes focus on the same image but on different views that are parallel to each other. Finally "Cross-eyed" is the left eye focus on the right and the right eye focuses on the left.




Autostereograms: (http://www-ai.ijs.si/sirds/sirds.html)

{PS This site says stereograms, however they hare autostereograms}

Headache...

So I've been staring at autostereograms and stereograms all day and now have a headache. I did find a cool site that lets you make word ones but I still can't see them. What if I were to do some kind of study on gender? Since when presenting the guys were able to find them quickly where as the girls were unable to in some situations? Sounds fun.. I'm going to have to look into this a little bit more. I reserved a couple books from the library for it so I'll be waiting for them to come in. Arg... Headache majorly...

(http://www.eyetricks.com/stereograms/onlinetools/stereocreator.htm)

Autosterograms?

I was thinking about maybe branching off of the sight topic into autosterograms. It still has to do with the human eyes but it is an optic illusion... They are really cool looking but once again there is no project in it..

Basically it is a illusion of seeing one thing but if able to focus again you can see another. They are kind of like tessellations but not really... However I get frustrated because I can't see them. lol.

Maybe a study on that. Kind of. Does age affect it? Gender?.. .That would be really interesting... I think I'll try to go with something like that... The only problem would be the fact I myself can't see autosterograms... lol.

Possibly Getting There

Well I did find a couple orginizations that deal with Sight and or the loss of. SightSavers is one and Unite For Sight is another. I was searching their websites and both have to deal with blindess but in diffrent parts of the world. For example, the SightSavers dealing with Africa and River Blindness...

I guess that is a start... I don't know.. I don't know what I am trying to find out or figure out or my questions.. I just don't know. I don't know and there is nothing else to explain what I'm trying to do.

Mas frustrado y ojos

So that means more frustration and eyes in Espanol becuase I'm just cool like that. Anyway, I tried to figure out what I'm doing and nothing is working. I just don't know. There is a lot of work here and its just not comming together at all. I mean, honestly I want to do something on the eyes dur becuase that is what I want. Sight is part of the eyes I mean, just arg..... I don't know... This whole project doesn't make sense to me.. It just doesn't. I dont really understand and its just so frustrating and I want to pull my hair out.

AHHHHHH Just rawr. I mean I have come up with some ideas as a project, as a result as have my other friends. However, what is the point? Besides graduating high school what is the point? None. Like, there is no point to get across except we don't nesacarilly NEED our eyes to get by in life. However, that is a report suposivly. I don't know...

Ms. Savido talked to me today but it has made me even more frustrated. I mean, seriously. My ideas weren't bashed this time but it made things more complicated. I don't know where I'm going with this so called project and what not... lol. ARRR...

Rawr and What Not...

So I am still completly clueless on what I am doing.... My mom isn't much help... Neither is my dad since he isn't home. Yes I could call him on the phone but he is usually sleeping becuase he was up all night. So... this may not work.... Ms. Musto.. No where to start and no where to finish.. She is just there to answer questions that I dont understand not really to give advice on where to go with a project.... So this is all very frustrating and makes you go "rawr"....

Eyes are defintatly my topic but where I'm actually going with it, what I want to find out... are questions are just keep comming without answers... Stuck... I know there are a bunch of diffrent eye shapes, sizes, lenses, complexity, simplicity... I am learning all about that right now.. researching it.. I just dont know where to go with it....

I kind of answered my own question of what are they used for in more detail... They tell us dark from light... Not color or images. Those are the lenses on the actual eye that determin that. All diffrent things....

Kristen suggested about life without sight kind of topic (hey that rhymed).. anyway... I was thinking of that myself but it would be hard. I only say that because if I were to do a day without sight, then I would have to assumingly blindfold myself for a week. Woudln't be bad but I believe I would have to take off for certain things such as dance class... Alothough that would be interesting to do... lol.

I am just in a Rawr and what not mood.....

Frustration

I asked a simple question and people took it immaturely. I am frustrated because people don't think before they speak, they don't care who gets hurt. I asked "Why do we really need eyes?" It is a serious question. Everyone laughed and said simply to see. That is not what I meant. There are blind people, many blind people and they function just fine. They have jobs, they can speak, they can hear, they can even read because of Brail. So why is that such a stupid question? Why is the only answer that is given is "So they can see?" That is really dumb... Just really, really frustrated for no reason.

Still thinking about now senses or eyes in general. My mom suggested having an optic clinic of some sort but that is more of a action rather than a question or what I want answered.... I still like the idea of the purposes behind eyes rather than seeing.

I defintatly like this idea with eyes... What if I were to try to function while blindfolded for a week.... Maybe compare blind to being able to see. Talk to someone who lost their site at birth compared to someone who lost during childhood... It sounds worth doing and I would love to hear a seriuos opinion on this and what they think...

Another Accomplishment

So I did meet with Ms. Kretchman today and talked about my internship. More than likely, I am getting one 2ND trimester so that is a job well earned and accomplished for me. She said that she is going to look into science field for me which is also really cool because that is where I want to go. I have a feeling I will end up editing my graduation project midway through because of my internship. Oh well, such as life.


I did a little research on the Bodies Exhibit so that is something also I can cross off. Basically, they weren't really trying to prove anything they were just showing so that people could learn on their own. So that still leaves me up in the air of actually narrowing down my topic.... I am having difficulties really, really trying to figure this out... What is my goal? Who cares? Where can I go with this?


Ms. Musto issue is at the moment a big issue; kind of. She is at Teen Quest and is unable to talk to. Also, she doesn't seem to have ideas when I briefly talked to her Wednesday before they left. She believes at the moment she is more there to answer any questions I have which is completely understandable but is also very frustrating a little more. GRRRRRR!!!!!!


Maybe I will do something with the eyes and how they work. I really really love eyes. I don't know why but simply because of the saying that they are the windows the the soul. However, I think that is a good start. Maybe with their functions and what not... That I think will be something to research on. It is part of the human anatomy and it is a more specific topic that I can create a smaller project on.

Ups and Downs

Well, today I actually got something accomplished. I mean, not really but it is a start. Tomorrow (9/12/08) at 7:10 a.m I will be meeting with Ms. Kretchman about my internship. This doesn't seem big but it is. I am able to figure out how my internship will play into this project and even when I"m getting an internship. YAY!

And then we hit a crashing end. I still don't know what I am doing specifically as a project. Also, in Ms. Musto's class, I just found out I am failing the class! ××FAILING!!!××So when my mom sees this class, she is going to flip! I'm stressing over one grade, over one test and it definitely doesn't need to be. However, this stress is going to hurt my ability to do other work because that is how I work. Oh God, help! *sigh*

So, asides from the stressing Ms. Musto's class, I think I'm good. Still haven't really narrowed it down from Human Structures and what not, so that is kind of disappointing. So, I think I'm good now. Yea... byz.

Today

Today I didn't really do much I would honeslty have to say. I played around on the Carnegie's site for Bodies and did include that in my link page. I was just so interested in what was happening.

I think I am going to go along the lines of some kind of exhibit of my own. Not as graphic as Carnegie's was but maybe something for high school kids. I have found out, however, from Mrs. Musto that we are the only High school that offeres this kind of program of Medical Science. Maybe I could do something with that, expand it. Is there anyway I could get this class taught in other schools?

My thinking process with this I guess is I don't really know where I'm going. I feel lost on the topic and I'm just not sure....

Not Like You Needed To Know...

You really don't need to know any of the following information but it does pertain to my graduation project. Therefore, I am writing it down here so I don't loose it. General "Did you Knows?"

§Your stomach produces a new lining every 3 days in order to avoid digesting itself in its own production of acid.

§ Both sexes have an equal number of ribs, 24 to be exact.

§ If you tried to eat something while standing on your head, your muscles in your throat would pull the food up

§ The nervous system transmits messages to the brain at speeds of 180 miles per hour!

§ The strongest muscle in your body is the gluteus maximus. Our buttocks is also the least sensitive part of our body. The tongue is considered to be second best.

§ Laughing and coughing put more pressure on the spine than walking or standing.

§ It is a fact that the heart, when taken out of the body, will continue to beat. Even when cut into parts, the muscles in the heart will continue to beat.

§ Over sixty percent of an adult's weight is water.

§ The average female's ovaries contain about two million eggs. Each egg contains the genetic code of countless generations of human beings.

§ The main difference between male and female skeletons is that a female hipbone is larger

Harder Than Should Be

So... this is turning out a lot harder than what it should be. Ms Musta is currently doing something with Teen Quest and we (the class) aren't sure when she is comming back. Arg... It will take a lot longer now to talk to her about this which delays things a tad more than what I was hoping for.

Also, Mrs. Kretchman is very busy with interns and signing them in and out so she doesn't have time at the moment to talk with. That is understandable but it is hard as well. I have sent her an e-mail asking for her time or her assistants time, but neither have responded as of today.

The one thing I did do off of my "to do list" is do some research... well start to anyway. I went to the Carnegie Library website and looked off of there for some infomation. Well, I tired to anyway. I clicked on the database and the correct links, however, each time I did so it said "Page Can Not Be Displayed". So I guess I gave up on that.

Alright I found this AMAZING website on human anatomy! YAY! Something to check off my to-do list.

Topic Choice

Topic Choice: Human Anatomy

So, I narrowed the topic down to Human Anatomy. I don't know exactly where I am going with this but it is something that involves forensics of some sort. I'm going to talk to Ms. Musta about some general ideas I can come up with and talk to Mrs. Kretchman about my internship. Possibly I am thinking more towards the brain because taht is currently holding my interst the most. However, I can see that changing. So, I think for now the general topic of Human Antomy sounds best.

Initial Ideas/ Problems

~~ Graduation Project Ideas ~~

• Forensic Science
• Crime Scenes
• Human Anatomy
• Music
• Photography

I haven't herd anything about graduation projects from City High or from any school in general. My parents, however, said that it would be a lot of hard work which honestly, I am not looking forward to. For example, a lot of researching and writing which are not my strong points and things I tend to procrastinate about.

Some things I am going to have to overcome are procrastination, horrible spelling, and my lack of presentation skills. I don't know how I am going to do this besides my best friend "Mr. Spellcheck" and my parents. I hope I can talk to some of the teachers aboout narrowing my ideas and general topics.