All posts by Harry Underwood

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About Harry Underwood

Website designer, blogger. Columbus, GA. #LGBT #p2 #wordpress

Lo-fi for Dragons (Only) 🐲

Videos

I best take it easy around these parts, a wrong breath and it’ll all go up! 🔥

Please subscribe to my channel, this upload is completely ad-free to help you concentrate. Mid-roll ads help videos get picked up by the algorithm, but they completely ruin the chill vibes you came here for. Share this video and give it a thumbs up to help Homework Radio get noticed by our community instead. Let’s bring chilled music to everyone who needs it! 💜 Thank you so much and love to you all – HR

Lo-fi for Rabbits (Only) 🐰 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkeqjoOCAa4&t
Lo-fi for Raccoons (Only) 🦝 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vReYmZoqhN0
Lo-fi for Panthers (Only) 🐾 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOXmF_Krno8
Lo-fi for Wolves (Only) 🐺https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8NL8a_EZkM&t
Lo-fi for Foxes (Only) 🦊 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpytjSC9viM&t
Lo-fi for Tigers (Only) 🐯 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eyah3DjrQs&t
Lo-fi for Lions (Only) 🦁 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ozvk_ly0s&t
Lo-fi for Bears (Only) 🐻 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuL1kYFgB0w&t
Lo-fi for Turtles (Only) 🐢 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6zsS3i2a_4&t
Lo-fi for Sloths (Only) 🦥 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Zn7soytdY&t

💕Subscribe for more 💕 – It helps me keep things going.
Please be a 👑 and hit that like and bell button. Seeking more chilled music? Visit Homework Radio here: @HomeworkRadio

Tracks:
00:00 1. Odem Medo – Crimson
01:58 2. Odem Medo – Fuchsia
04:13 3. nz – The Places We’ll Go
06:59 4. Two Roses & J Fletch – Blazing
09:03 5. Odem Medo – Alabaster
11:48 6. Odem Medo – Chartreuse
14:58 7. nz – Endless Journey
17:41 8. Odem Medo – Sea Foam
20:05 9. Odem Medo – Tangerine
22:23 10. Odem Medo -Periwinkle
24:23 11. Odem Medo – Sepia
26:03 12. nz – Goodbyes
28:00 13. Odem Medo – Umber
30:09 14. Odem Medo – Indigo
32:14 15. nz – Lost

All music is released under the Homework Radio music label therefor is classed as original content. Artwork/animation is an original piece created in house by Homework Radio especially for this exclusive mix.

Homework Radio links:
Submit for label release: https://ift.tt/XW3kuv1
Spotify – https://ift.tt/Q5EqL1d
Twitter – https://twitter.com/HomeworkRadio
Instagram – https://ift.tt/b9QgOVq

Thank you for listening to “Lo-fi for Dragons (Only) 🐲” If you enjoy this content, don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for more. Also, hit the notification bell to be notified when we release new mixes. Thank you for listening and supporting the lofi community.

Artwork/animation is an original piece created for this exclusive mix. To my valued viewers, on occasion my YouTube channel will work with AI assisted artwork, I then animatethese myself. I continue to collaborate with and commission talented real artists, bringing their incredible work to the forefront, while also exploring the exciting world of AI-generated art. This combination allows me to support artists as well as keep the channel updated when its not possible to have custom works made. I hope to constantly offer you a visually captivating and positively unique experience all while bringing my visions to life.

#Lofi #Dragon #Chillhop #beat #beats #chill #music #study #hiphop #intrumentalbeats #forest #calmmusic #calmyourmind #dreamymusic #relaxation #calm #relaxation #goodvibes #calmmusic #calmyourmind #sleepy #minecraft #minecraftmusic #homework #homeworkmusic #Furry #Furries

via YouTube

Presentation | Telefest: Augmented Virtual Teleportation for Live Concerts

Videos

Dr. Jacob Young presented our paper at IMX: ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences in June 2022.

Telefest is a novel system for live-streaming mixed reality 360° videos to online streaming services. TeleFest allows a producer to control multiple cameras in real time, providing viewers with different locations for experiencing the concert, and an intermediate software stack allows virtual content to be overlaid with coherent illumination that matches the real-world footage.

Here is a link to our paper: https://ift.tt/9Oh3doA

#CMIC #Teleportation #MixedReality #Immersive #VR #MR360 #Live #Event #NZ

via YouTube

nobonoko – Music For Animal Cafés [FULL]

Videos

nobonoko – Music For Animal Cafés

01. 00:00 We’re Opening
02. 00:15 It’s Time O’clock
03. 05:55 B-Meowsic I
04. 10:30 Chat au Chocolat
05. 15:13 Planarian Cut
06. 19:11 Birthday Dog
07. 20:17 Waterfront Booossa
08. 23:30 Sylvester the Cat
09. 28:06 Storm
10. 31:44 COFFEE MACHINE
11. 32:38 B-Meowsic II
12. 35:39 Peanut
13. 37:36 Music For Animal Cafés (Feliz Cumpleaños Ariana Grande) (ft. Devious)
14. 44:42 Three Tigers Ate Three Plates
15. 48:25 Thank You!
16. 49:06 Raccoons Broke In

Get the album: https://ift.tt/wkp7lqn

Album art by me

My most important album so far. It takes heavy influence from Picopop and Shibuya-kei, mainly on acts such as Capsule and COPTER4016882.

I was conceptualizing this idea as early as 2020 with my dear friend Luok, guy behind beepbox classic Dr. Worm (https://ift.tt/5Mr4d2f). Our idea was a café themed album where each hour corresponded to an hour of the day.

I started making songs for this in mid to late 2020, during my Shibuya-kei obsession peak, with its lounge inspired compositions and toy-like instrumentation. In 2021 Devious and I started working on a little jazz song. It eventually reached (nearly) 7 minutes in lenght and became my longest song (for a while, disconsidering the megalovania remix). This song became the album’s titular song. Most progress on this album was seen between 2021 and 2023.

Waterfront Booossa is a cover of .numa’s Waterfront Booost from 2019, originally started in 2020. https://ift.tt/fBkJZqS

Track 13 was made with Devious and is one of the best things we’ve ever made https://ift.tt/YEz0pw5

All songs were made on Jummbox (1-3, 5-16) and Ultrabox (4) between 2020 and 2023.

via YouTube

8th Circuit Decides to Gut Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act

Politics, ,

The 8th Circuit just ruled that there is no private right of action under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. 2-1, Bush and Trump appointees in the majority, Bush appointee dissenting. Affects litigation in the following states: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Almost the entire 8th Circuit is Republican appointed. Expect SCOTUS action.

This was in response to the Arkansas NAACP suing the state over racially-biased legislative maps. Between this and both Georgia and Louisiana outright claiming on appeal that Section 2 is unconstitutional, the VRA is under direct Southern-Appalachian right-wing assault.

These full-frontal attacks on the Voting Rights Act, in the majority, come from white Southern Republican state legislatures and federal judges. The VRA did the bare minimum of forcing an imperfect compromise between white Southern rural voters and their Black neighbors, and we’re now paying for its loopholes which are now being exploited.

Pics related.

Estimated White Vote in the 2020 Presidential Election by County. Source: SplitTicket
Party swing in the 2004-2008 presidential elections by county, with the most Republican counties being singled out. Source: @vanillaopinions/Twitter
American Nations, as defined by Colin Woodard.

Tourism and the future Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve

Politics, , , , ,

Georgia currently has the following federally-protected areas:

  • 1 National Forest (Chattahoochee-Oconee)
  • 6 national historic parks, historic sites and/or military parks (Andersonville, Jimmy Carter, MLK, Kennesaw Mountain, Chickamauga-Chattanooga, and Ocmulgee Mounds)
  • 2 national monuments (Fort Frederica and Fort Pulaski)
  • 10 national wildlife refuges
  • 5 national natural landmarks
  • 12 federal wilderness areas
  • 1 wild and scenic river
  • 2 national trails
  • 1 national recreation area
  • 1 national seashore
  • 1 national marine sanctuary
  • 1 national estuarine research reserve

But apparently Georgia does not have any “national parks”. Also, most of the national forests are located north of Macon and the Black Belt.

Last year, the National Park Service commenced a study to estimate the feasibility of expanding the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park as a full-on national park and preserve. This study also estimated the feasibility of expanding the protected area down the Ocmulgee River to south of Robins AFB. The study, which was completed and sent to Congress this week, ultimately estimated that both would be unfeasible due to cost and landowner opposition, but, in the interest of providing some form of protection for the river, recommended designating a smaller area as a National Heritage Area, a form of public-private partnership in which the NPS plays an advisory role while most of the work is carried out by a government or non-profit organization.

The group which advocates for this expansion has a website. And the congressional cohort which supports this initiative – Sens. Ossoff (D) and Warnock (D), Reps. Bishop (D) and Scott (R) – are not accepting the NPS study and are seeking for approval of the park in Congress. And if that doesn’t work, there’s always presidential designation as a national monument via the Antiquities Act, which could overrule opposition from local landowners and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Political implications of national parks

Ever since first coming across research regarding how Democratic candidates for president (with the exception of Hillary Clinton in 2016) have done very well in rural counties whose economies depended on ecotourism, I have become deeply interested in how “new rural economies” which draw population have different economic outcomes and political interests than counties in “old rural economies” which depend on agriculture, livestock and/or mining. This held true for Joe Biden in 2020 as well, going so far as winning Teton County, Wyoming, the location of Grand Teton National Park and the most Democratic county in the deep-red state.

Granted, this doesn’t exactly seem to apply to ex-Confederate states, with several national parks and national forests in the Appalachians (i.e., Tennessee, North Carolina) not translating to rural gains for Democrats in presidential elections, or at least not drawing many transplants residents from outside of the region. But it somehow seems to work elsewhere in the United States.

National Heritage Area?

As stated, a National Heritage Area (NHA) affords fewer protections and restrictions on development, but can cover larger areas. An example is the new Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area, which spans 19 counties and their cities in Alabama’s Black Belt region, is one of two NHAs in Alabama and is administered by the University of West Alabama (based in Livingston).

The NHA system, compared to the national park system, is very new, with NHAs first being designated in the 80s under Reagan and the NHA system only being established in January this year through the National Heritage Area Act (which also established the Alabama Black Belt NHA).

  • What tourism can NHAs draw compared to national parks?
  • Why are there so many more NHAs located east of the Mississippi than west?
  • Conversely, why are these so few national parks east of the Mississippi compared to west?

At the very least, NHAs seem to be easier to establish in the eastern U.S. because they don’t seem to require strict preservation of historic or natural properties, which works just fine for a much more densely populated and farmed region like the eastern U.S. Apparently, NHAs can even overlap each other (odd).

We need a park and preserve

IMO, Georgia needs a park and preserve which extends south of Macon:

  • the Southern half of the state is absent of any national parks, national preserves or national forests;
  • Dependence on mass agriculture is a population loser;
  • Federal protection of land would be a massive method of economic diversification
  • the Black Belt, which also forms a concentration of African-American majority counties stretching from Louisiana to South Carolina, does not have enough natural preservation and ecotourism going on;
  • The colleges and universities in the Macon-Warner Robins area (Middle Georgia State, Mercer, Wesleyan, Fort Valley State) would benefit from this as well.

If an Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve extending to south of Warner Robins is the way to make this diversification happen, then so be it. A National Heritage Area can be secondarily added to the surrounding area, but the park and preserve should also become a reality.

Are Alabama’s Democrats Ready? Are the South’s Democrats Ready?

Politics, , , , , ,

I think about the following:

  • Out of the former Confederate states in the period between 1870 and 1901, only South Carolina sent at least two or more members to the U.S. House.
  • Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia all sent one member at a time.
  • Texas and Tennessee never sent any members in the (post-)Reconstruction era
  • and Arkansas has never sent any African Americans to Congress to the present day

Now, Alabama will likely send two Black members to the U.S. House for the first time. And Louisiana is within spitting distance of doing the same for the second time in their history; the first time such a thing happened was in 1993, when William Jefferson (D-LA02 and Cleo Fields (D-LA04) went to the 103rd Congress.

The big question which sticks out for me is whether the Alabama Democratic Party will be prepared for this moment.

They certainly weren’t when Doug Jones won the once-in-a-blue-moon Senate special election in December 2017. In fact, the Alabama Democratic Party, the statewide Black Democratic club ran by Joe Reed, actively fought Jones for influence over the party’s bylaws and structure. The fight continues to this day, years after Jones lost his Senate seat to some bigoted football coach. And it seems like the DNC will have to pry some control of the ADP from the Conference. The Conference also tried to intervene twice in the Allen v. Milligan case to advocate for a more Black-majority 2nd and 7th district (to no avail), which went against the strategy of the plaintiffs as well as Rep. Terri Sewell in favor of two opportunity districts.

Now, however, with Sewell likely to win again in the 7th, the question remains as to the impact of whoever wins the 2nd congressional district. It’s most likely that the winner may be Black, or that whoever wins will have the support of the Black voting-age population in the 2nd district. But will the winner have more of a role in the Alabama Democratic Party? Will the campaign to defend both the 7th and the new 2nd district arouse the party out its current shape?

The same can be asked about Louisiana’s Democratic Party. It is heading to another era in the statewide wilderness with the terming-out of Governor John Bel Edwards and the likely election of a Republican governor. The party has been beaten down badly in other political aspects due to a massive decline in white rural support. Besides retaining Foster Campbell on the PSC in 2026 (he had his closest election in 2020), the other favorable political aspects above the state legislature have been:

  • the election of Davante Lewis to the PSC in 2022
  • the possible creation of a second opportunity congressional district around Baton Rouge for 2024

This is why I look forward to the impact of Allen v. Milligan on Southern elections. All of these issues can be challenged in federal court:

  • the potential second opportunity district in Louisiana
  • the reform of Mississippi’s State Supreme Court districts
  • Alabama’s Public Service Commission election method
  • Georgia’s Public Service Commission election method and maps
  • Texas’s Supreme Court election method
  • Texas’ State Board of Education maps
  • Texas’s Railroad Commission election method
  • Louisiana’s Supreme Court election method

Michigan Democrats at the halfway point

Politics

The Michigan Legislature adjourned sine die early this session because of the election of two Democratic House members to mayorships, which ended up splitting the House until replacements win their special elections.

Unfortunately, due to a combination of constitutional and statutory constraints, the special elections may not be held for months into 2024, and the next session will be significantly cut short.

I’m thinking about what bills didn’t make it to the finish line:

  • bills to end prison gerrymandering
  • bills to repeal sodomy laws on the books
  • a more comprehensive bill to repeal bans on abortion

Michigan voters of whatever persuasion still have time to place citizen initiatives on the 2024 ballot. A few examples from Ballotpedia:

    • National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Initiative
    • Legalization of Psilocybin Mushrooms and Other Plants and Fungi Initiative
    • Allow Prisoners to Earn Sentencing Credits Initiative
    • $15 Minimum Wage Initiative
    • Decertify 2020 Election Initiative
    • Prohibit Installation of Utility-Scale Solar Installations on Agricultural-Zoned Land Initiative
    • Provide that the Executive Branch and State Legislature are Subject to Public Information Requests Initiative
    • Prohibit Property Taxes Amendment

    Ohio’s Direct Democracy Survives and Thrives

    Uncategorized,

    Ohio defeated a proposed amendment meant to make ballot initiatives impossible, despite the state government using every possible trick to help it pass, including placing the question on the ballot for August.

    Apparently, the turnout exceeded most primary votes in the last several election cycles since 2016. The result also largely broke down by population density, with Democratic-heavy counties joined by voting No. The result largely bucked the trend of past presidential and statewide elections, with substantial crossover voting from Republicans who opposed the ballot question.

    Winners:

    • Both November 7 ballot initiatives:
      • Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative, on the ballot November 7 (passed)
      • Marijuana Legalization Initiative, on the ballot November 7 (passed)
    • At least 3 potential ballot initiatives working for the 2024 ballot:
      • Citizens Redistricting Commission Amendment
      • Minimum Wage Increase Initiative (for $15)
      • Constitutional and Legal Rights Relating to Public Safety, Including Prohibiting Qualified Immunity Initiative
    • former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, who is leading the effort for the Citizens Redistricting Commission Amendment and was infamously snubbed by the Ohio Republican-supermajority legislature

    Losers:

    • Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R)
    • Governor Mike DeWine (R)
    • Attorney General David Yost (R)
    • The Ohio Republican Legislative Supermajority
    • Ohio Chamber of Commerce
    • Anti-choice reactionaries

    Thoughts on Meta Quest 3

    Uncategorized, , , , ,

    VR devices like the Meta Quest 3 are out of my priority zone right now, but I remain fascinated in the advances made with augmented/mixed reality over the last decade.

    It took so much technology and so many price reductions, but now we’re so much closer to the Dennou Coil future. Some are now taking their Quest 3 headset outside and out of their homes, even to public places, risking being called “glassholes”, at least to test the limits of current mixed reality headsets.

    (At the very least, Meta backed off of making heavy references to work/enterprise when launching the Quest 3, so this is likely to be more successful a device than the ill-fated Quest Pro.)

    The Apple Vision Pro, when it comes out, will likely exceed the Quest 3 in polish and some technology features (I.e., the 12 cameras inside the Vision Pro). The one I look forward to the most is the “Spatial Video” format, or 3D semi-volumetric video which you can zoom in to see different angles and plays in a sort of foggy box at the edges. I’m seeing demos alleging comparative spatial video in Meta Quest 3, but it doesn’t exactly seem as apparent to me.

    I’m still wondering exactly who, or which demographic, will likely afford a laptop-on-the-face like the Vision Pro, compared to the game-console-on-the-face that is the Quest 3. I guess we’ll find out.