I sometimes find I’m drifting
Through this life without effect;
I often wonder if I’m truly
Worth what I’ve been blessed.

I search through days that have been hard,
To try to understand,
The many trials that I have known,
The life that I have had.

You see me in my daily grind,
So confident and strong;
Yet when I am alone, I question
Just where I belong.

I often try too hard I find,
To analyze and guess,
To scrutinize, investigate
My life I will confess.

For somewhere deeper, there must be
Some meaning to this life,
Some way to make a difference,
Give a reason for this strife.

Is there some hidden meaning?
Some agenda to be found?
A greater purpose waiting
If I care to hang around?

It teases and it taunts me,
Always slightly out of sight;
A hazy vision out of reach,
Where darkness hides the light.

I struggle to bring clarity
To what awaits me there,
And yet this weak illusion
Always fades before my stare.

It seems the harder that I try,
To focus through the haze,
Just serves to add more questions,
Through my endless, tired gaze.

Perhaps I’m trying just too hard,
To understand it all,
For can we ever truly know
Just what we have in store?

Each incident, each moment passed,
Just adds upon the next,
But in the end, will I find truth …
Or will I be perplexed?

Perhaps I make it harder
Than it has to be sometimes,
But will my searching bring to me
My meaning over time?

Or will it leave me broken,
And confused as I feel now,
While questions bring no solitude,
To this, my wrinkled brow.

Let It Fall

One more anti-hero worship from the depths of some enigmatic fool that left the suburbs for the open fields of post modern flight from hell. No, not from the quakes or the rumblings of racism, that stench we all tend to want to get rid of, but the fact that there were just too many things wrong. So off I went to the last journey of my youth, through the pubs and alleys of Los Angeles that served many nights of reckless talk and the establishment be damned. There goes Happy House, Scream and all those open up at 10 pm party houses, where you paid 5 bucks to drink yourself to life, and walk out Saturday morning at 6 am like the kind demons we were. And dance the pain that we had kept for the week and wonder what 30 would be like and if the Virgin Prunes were right about “If I die I die”. But then, that love in your soul the one that makes you write and pour out those false indignities that caress your heart and mind for after all we’ve been through stars have their moments and then they die.

I cannot get to sleep tonight.
I toss and turn and flop.
I try to count some fluffy sheep
while o’er a fence they hop.
I try to think of pleasant dreams
of places really cool.
I don’t know why I cannot sleep—
I slept just fine at school.

 

It is possible to understand if a human characteristic can be used for biometrics in terms of the following parameters:

Universality – each person should have the characteristic.
Uniqueness – is how well the biometric separates individuals from another.
Permanence – measures how well a biometric resists aging and other variance over time.
Collectability – ease of acquisition for measurement.
Performance – accuracy, speed, and robustness of technology used.
Acceptability – degree of approval of a technology.
Circumvention – ease of use of a substitute.
A biometric system can operate in the following two modes:

Verification – A one to one comparison of a captured biometric with a stored template to verify that the individual is who he claims to be. Can be done in conjunction with a smart card, username or ID number.
Identification – A one to many comparison of the captured biometric against a biometric database in attempt to identify an unknown individual. The identification only succeeds in identifying the individual if the comparison of the biometric sample to a template in the database falls within a previously set threshold.
The first time an individual uses a biometric system is called an enrollment. During the enrollment, biometric information from an individual is stored. In subsequent uses, biometric information is detected and compared with the information stored at the time of enrollment. Note that it is crucial that storage and retrieval of such systems themselves be secure if the biometric system is to be robust. The first block (sensor) is the interface between the real world and the system; it has to acquire all the necessary data. Most of the times it is an image acquisition system, but it can change according to the characteristics desired. The second block performs all the necessary pre-processing: it has to remove artifacts from the sensor, to enhance the input (e.g. removing background noise), to use some kind of normalization, etc. In the third block features needed are extracted. This step is an important step as the correct features need to be extracted in the optimal way. A vector of numbers or an image with particular properties is used to create a template. A template is a synthesis of the relevant characteristics extracted from the source. Elements of the biometric measurement that are not used in the comparison algorithm are discarded in the template to reduce the filesize and to protect the identity of the enrollee.

If enrollment is being performed the template is simply stored somewhere (on a card or within a database or both). If a matching phase is being performed, the obtained template is passed to a matcher that compares it with other existing templates, estimating the distance between them using any algorithm (e.g. Hamming distance). The matching program will analyze the template with the input. This will then be output for any specified use or purpose (e.g. entrance in a restricted area).

  In information technology, in particular, biometrics is used as a form of identity access management and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance.

Biometric characteristics can be divided in two main classes:

Physiological are related to the shape of the body. Examples include, but are not limited to fingerprint, face recognition, DNA, hand and palm geometry, iris recognition, which has largely replaced retina, and odor/scent.

Behavioral are related to the behavior of a person. Examples include, but are not limited to typing rhythm, gait, and voice. Some researchers have coined the term behaviometrics for this class of biometrics. Strictly speaking, voice is also a physiological trait because every person has a different pitch, but voice recognition is mainly based on the study of the way a person speaks, commonly classified as behavioral.

Biometric is the most secure and convenient authentication tool. It can not be borrowed, stolen, or forgotten and forging one is practically impossible. Biometrics measure individual’s unique physical or behavioral characteristics to recognize or authenticate their identity. Common physical biometrics include fingerprints, hand or palm geometry, retina, iris, and facial characteristics. Behavioral characters characteristics include signature, voice, keystroke pattern, and gait. Of this class of biometrics, technologies for signature and voice are the most developed.

Biometric Technologies

There are many biometric technologies to suit different types of applications. To choose the right biometric to be highly fit for the particular situation, one has to navigate through some complex vendor products and keep an eye on future developments in technology and standards. Here comes a list of biometrics :

Fingerprints

A fingerprint looks at the patterns found on a fingertip. There are a variety of approaches to fingerprint verification, such as traditional police method, using pattern-matching devices, and things like moire fringe patterns and ultrasonics. This seems to be a very good choice for in-house systems.

Hand geometry

This involves analyzing and measuring the shape of the hand. It might be suitable where there are more users or where user access the system infrequently. Accuracy can be very high if desired, and flexible performance tuning and configuration can accommodate a wide range of applications. Organizations are using hand geometry readers in various scenarios, including time and attendance recording.

Retina

A retina-based biometric involves analyzing the layer of blood vessels situated at the back of the eye. This technique involves using a low intensity light source through an optical coupler to scan the unique patterns of the retina. Retinal scanning can be quite accurate but does require the user to look into a receptacle and focus on a given point.

Iris

An iris-based biometric involves analyzing features found in the colored ring of tissue that surrounds the pupil. This uses a fairly conventional camera element and requires no close contact between the user and the reader. Further, it has the potential for higher than average template-matching performance.

Face

Face recognition analyses facial characteristics. It requires a digital camera to develop a facial image of the user for authentication. Because facial scanning needs an extra peripheral things that are not included in basic PCs, it is more of a niche market for network authentication. However, the casino industry has capitalized on this technology to create a facial database of scam artists for quick detection by security personal

Signature

Signature verification analyses the way user signs his name. Signing features such as speed, velocity, and pressure are as important as the finished signature’s static shape. People are used to signatures as a means of transaction-related identity verification.

Voice

Voice authentication is based on voice-to-print authentication, where complex technology transforms voice into text. Voice biometrics requires a microphone, which is available with PCs nowadays. Voice biometrics is to replace the currently used methods, such as PINs, passwords, or account names. But voice will be a complementary technique for finger-scan technology as many people see finger scanning as a higher authentication form.

Teacher’s ABC

A is for the Abundance of questions and yearning
B is for the Beauty I
C in your learning
D is for Doing it over til it’s right
E is for the Effort you pour into learning each night
F is for watching how Far you can go
G is for watching you blossom and Grow
H is for reaching for that star so high
I is for Imagination, for the courage to try
J is for Joy in touching a child’s life in a meaningful way
K is for the Kindness children bring to each day
L is for the Love of teaching we see
M is for the “Me” you’re helping me to be
N is for Never being too weary to stay
O is for Overcoming the desire to stray
P is for the Positives you bring to each
Q is for showing the Quintessential way to teach
R is for the ability to power and Reason
S is for teaching to appreciate each Season
T is for Touching those that sit before you
U is for Understanding their fear of what’s new
V is for the Vitality you bring to every day
W is for every Wonderment you bring their way
X is for the Xtra Special Teacher that You’ve become
Z is not for the Zoo! – but the wonderful job that you’ve done.

To My Teacher

A substitute for working moms,
she comforts, pampers, soothes and calms.
With all the love she has to share,
She’s great to have when mom’s not there.

She loves to rock a fussy child,
corrects the one who gets too wild.
She hears her share of tearful pleas,
and comforts those with skinned up knees.

With little children she plays a peek,
for bigger ones it’s hide-and-seek.
She is an expert at each game,
but somehow loses just the same

She helps them learn the alphabet,
and gives them hugs when they’re upset.
She is a true and trusted friend,
who helps them learn and play pretend.

Although she’s paid, it’s plain to see,
She serves them with a love that’s free.
 On Being a Teacher

A careful teacher I want to be
A little girl follows me
I do not dare to go astray
For fear she’ll go the selfsame way

I cannot escape her eyes;
Whatever she sees me do, she tries;
Like me she says she’s going to be
The little girl who follows me.

She thinks that I am good and fine
Believes in every word of mine;
The base in me she must not see
The little girl who follow me.

I must remember as I go
Through summer’s sun and winter’s snow,
I am building, for the years that be,
For that little girl who follow me.

Whose Child Is This

“Whose child is this?” I asked one day
Seeing a little one out at play
“Mine”, said the parent with a tender smile
“Mine to keep a little while
To bathe his hands and comb his hair
To tell him what he is to wear
To prepare him that he may always be good
And each day do the things he should”

“Whose child is this?” I asked again
As the door opened and someone came in
“Mine”, said the teacher with the same tender smile
“Mine, to keep just for a little while
To teach him how to be gentle and kind
To train and direct his dear little mind
To help him live by every rule
And get the best he can from school”

“Whose child is this?” I ask once more
Just as the little one entered the door
“Ours” said the parent and the teacher as they smiled
And each took the hand of the little child
“Ours to love and train together
Ours this blessed task forever.”

Teachers come and go
but every so often one comes along
that you’ll always remember
one who makes learning an adventure…
and who can still remember
what it’s like to be young
and growing up…
the kind who can make you
want to be the very best you can be…
Someone you can really talk to,
who really cares
what happens to you…

 

That person is YOU!