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SenseCam Records Daily Life

By Michael Hansberry/ Staff Writer | November 5

Those for whom MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr are not sufficient to divulge the minutiae of their lives to the world, there is now the Microsoft SenseCam.A device developed by the Microsoft lab in Cambridge, England, the SenseCam takes pictures documenting one's life throughout the day."You can in fact, recall your whole day," said Gordon Bell, principle researcher for Microsoft.

Auburn Students Consider 'Enjoyable' Classes

By Brian Desarro/ Staff Writer | November 5

For students looking to take a break from sitting through boring class after boring class, Auburn offers several courses that, gasp, may be considered fun.Classes such as vegetable production, bowling and self-defense have become popular electives that students take in order to have variety in their schedule."There's just so many classes that people are required to take that you have to sit through and suck it up," said Katie Britt, senior in history.

Gov. Bob Riley Cracks Down on Pork

By Emily Beckett/ Staff Writer | November 5

The effects of abused state funding hit close to home recently when Auburn University President Jay Gogue received a memorandum from Gov.

Netflix Begins Streaming on PS3

By Emily Beckett/ Staff Writer | November 5

Gamers will never need to leave their dens to go to the mailbox again now that Netflix and PlayStation 3 have partnered to allow Netflix to be streamed to TVs through the gaming system.As long as they are Netflix members, all owners of PlayStation 3 gaming systems will be able to instantly stream movies and TV episodes to their TVs and computers through their PS3s starting in November.Seth Paskert, freshman in computer and electrical engineering, and Trent Carroll, sophomore in aerospace engineering, said they both have friends who have used the new streaming capabilities of the PS3 systems."(My friend) said it worked well," Paskert said.

Local organizations take donations at Ninth Annual Trick-or-Treat Downtown event.

By Lindsey Grubbs/ Staff Writer | November 2

On one of Auburn's spookiest nights, an assortment of ghosts, goblins and princesses lined the streets of downtown Auburn with their moms and dads Thursday, Oct. 29, for the city's Ninth Annual Trick-or-Treat Downtown event.The Trick-or-Treat festivities were available for children ages 12 and younger and included entertainment form Auburn University's steel drum band who also dressed in their ghoulish fare.Parents and trick-or-treaters walked along the shops and restaurants in the downtown area as participating merchants handed out candy from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Syrup Sopping Day and the Lee County Historical Society Fair Stick to Visitors in Loachapoka

By Ellison Langford / News Editor | October 29

The smell of sausage biscuits smothered in sugarcane syrup and sweet and salty kettle corn exploding in a cauldron saturated the air at the Loachapoka Syrup Sopping Day Saturday.Scarlet candied apples contrasted the overcast morning as parents took their turns paying $2 for their youngsters to sit atop a mule as it plodded in a circle to power a sugarcane mill.

SGA Proposes Textbook Checkout

By Jordan Dailey/ Assistant Campus Editor | October 29

Textbooks may soon become more affordable for students.SGA and the Library Student Advisory Council are partnering to establish a textbook checkout program."The plan is to place the books on reserve so students can check a book out for a limited time," said Bonnie MacEwan, dean of Auburn University Libraries.

Auburn Area Ranks Top 20

By Brian Desarro/ Staff Writer | October 29

The Auburn-Opelika area is ranked No. 16 on cnnmoney.com's list of best small places to launch a business.The list, which included cities from across the country, cited the University and muted effects of the recession as key factors contributing to the area's high ranking."There are three key factors that we recognize every time," said Mayor Bill Ham.

Darkness, Silence Cause Hallucinations

By Adam Smith / STAFF WRITER | October 29

The results of a study conducted at University College London said when a group of people are placed in a dark, silent room, many start hallucinating after just a few minutes.The study, which was published in the "Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease," attempted to differentiate the subjective experience of different people undergoing sensory deprivation, depending on how predisposed they were to hallucinating.Celia Morgan, a research fellow at the university, described the process of the investigation.Morgan said participants were first given a questionnaire to determine psychotic personality expressions and other unusual perceptions.From the results of the questionnaire, researchers selected two groups, those who were more prone to hallucinations in daily life and those who were not.

Soot Problem for Birmingham

By Daniel Chesser/ Staff Writer | October 29

A study by the Southern Environmental Law Center reported Birmingham has the most soot-filled air in the South."Birmingham has been under the shroud of air pollution for far too long," said Kat McCue, senior communication manger for the SELC.

Awards Given at Photo XI Exhibition

By Samuel Solomon/ Associate News Editor | October 29

Local artists and photographers entered more than 100 photographs into the Auburn Arts Association's Photo XI photo exhibition at the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center."This is one of our most popular shows," said Margaret Gluhman, exhibition coordinator.The show features 38 works by 28 photographers, Gluhman said.Frank Uhlig, professor of mathematics at Auburn University, is one of the 28 photographers.Uhlig said he has been interested in photography since he was 10 and has entered in contests as far away as Delaware.Uhlig said he looks at the top 30 percent of works to see which trends are popular."I look for what startles me," Uhlig said.Christy Stanfield, who received a jurors award last year, had one entry, called "Swimmers," this year."I enjoy seeing how my work stacks up against others," Stanfield said.John B.

Robot Simulates Sight for Blind

By Samuel Solomon/ Associate News Editor | October 29

About 314 million people worldwide are visually impaired, and almost 45 million of those are blind, according to the World Health Organization Web site.But one little robot might be able to lend a hand in bestowing the gift of sight.Its name is Cyclops, and it is the brainchild of scientists at the California Institute of Technology.Designed as a test platform for artificial retinas, the retinal prosthesis allows the robot to have the visual experience of a person using a retinal implant."How do you approximate what the blind can see with the implant so you can figure out how to make it better?" is the question posed by Wolfgang Fink, a visiting associate professor in physics at Cal Tech.This is the question researchers hope Cyclops can answer."The idea is we use the Cyclops platform in lieu of the blind subject," Fink said.Few people worldwide have received retinal implants, keeping researchers limited."A sighted person's objectivity is impaired," Fink said in a press release.

ARM Lends a Hand to Families

By Helen Northcutt / INTRIGUE EDITOR | October 29

In honor of Make a Difference Day, Oct. 24, residents from Auburn and surrounding areas put together projects to help under-served families in the community."We have been working on seven projects today," said Carla Reddle, construction coordinator for Alabama Rural Ministry.

Firehouse founders visit locations in Auburn

By Michael Hansberry/ Staff Writer | October 26

Last Thursday, Robin, 41, and Chris, 49, Sorensen, the founders of Firehouse Subs visited Auburn as part of their Founders Tour, where the two brothers visited the franchises as a store promotion.They visited the store on South College Street, which opened in 2003, the store across from Lowder Business Building, which the brothers call War Eagle that opened in 2008 and the one in Columbus, Ga."We go to college towns all over the country and encourage the franchisees to get involved with the campus," Robin said.

Chinese Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong Visits Auburn

By Nick Van Der Linden / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | October 23

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Zhou Wenzhong honored Auburn University with his presence the past two days. The ambassador met with University President Dr. Jay Gogue and Alabama Governor Robert Riley to discuss economics and the importance of international relations along with a few environmental issues.

Ford and Auburn University Create GPS Feature

By Blake Hamilton / Associate Campus Editor | October 22

A car's GPS is primarily known for getting one from point "A" to point "B," but it may be able to make sure one gets there alive.Ford Motor Company is working with Auburn's Department of Mechanical Engineering to develop a system linking positioning satellites to a car's stability controls.

Asphalt May be Source of 'Green' Technology

By Samuel Solomon/ Associate News Editor | October 22

Researchers are looking into a major source of green energy found not in the air, but within roadways."There are big changes that are occurring right now in the paving industry that are all related to green technologies," said Raymond "Buzz" Powell, assistant director for the National Center for Asphalt Technology in Auburn.Asphalt is on pace to serve a dual purpose.One is to provide a medium of transportation and another as a secondary energy source."Asphalt has a lot of advantages as a solar collector," said Rajib Mallick, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering for Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in a press release.

Grant Provides Funds to Students with Disabilities

By Charley Gaines/ Staff Writer | October 22

Auburn and six other East Central Alabama colleges received $3 million from the National Science Foundation to support students with disabilities and are pursuing science, technology, engineering or mathematics degrees.The Department of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs combined its efforts with Alabama State University, Auburn University Montgomery, Tuskegee University, Central Alabama Community College, Southern Union State Community College and the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind."Our mission is to bring under-represented groups into the (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) programs," said Maria Zacharias, public affairs specialist for the NSF.The program's concentration within this amount of time is to increase the amount of students graduating with degrees in the STEM areas."There are a lot of intelligent, hard working students with disabilities," said Daniela Marghitu, a co-principal investigator for the program.