The Imaging Research Center at the UMBC  is partnering with the Maryland Historical Society to create an interactive 3-D representation of Baltimore as it was a few years after the War of 1812. It's called "BEARINGS of Baltimore, circa 1815."

WYPR host Sheilah Kast recently visited the Maryland Historical Society to check out the interactive map. She spoke with Kristin Schenning, Education Director at the historical society, and Dan Bailey, professor in UMBC’s Department of Visual Arts and Director of its Imaging Research Center.

Listen to the story by clicking this link.

Baltimore has an active technology community comprised of researchers and developers from companies, startups, consultancies and academe. There will be a Super Meetup event Baltimore Innovation Week 2014 that will draw on the more than 30 Baltimore area meetup groups focused on different technologies.

The Super Meetup will be held from 5:00pm to 8:00pm on Saturday, September 13, 2014 at Betamore (1111 Light Street, 4th Floor, Baltimore, MD map).

This is a good opportunity for students to network with Baltimore-area developers and find leads for internships and full-time jobs.

“Like last year, in the spirit of coming together to celebrate tech and innovation in this great community, we are hosting a Super Meetup of all the local tech-related Meetups.

Come have a beer, grab a snack and get to know one another at Betamore. Meetup organizers will each give a shout out about their respective groups.”

Join the Super Meetup and RSVP here.

Baltimore has an active technology community comprised of researchers and developers from companies, startups, consultancies and academe. There will be a Super Meetup event Baltimore Innovation Week 2014 that will draw on the more than 30 Baltimore area meetup groups focused on different technologies.

The Super Meetup will be held from 5:00pm to 8:00pm on Saturday, September 13, 2014 at Betamore (1111 Light Street, 4th Floor, Baltimore, MD map).

This is a good opportunity for students to network with Baltimore-area developers and find leads for internships and full-time jobs.

“Like last year, in the spirit of coming together to celebrate tech and innovation in this great community, we are hosting a Super Meetup of all the local tech-related Meetups.

Come have a beer, grab a snack and get to know one another at Betamore. Meetup organizers will each give a shout out about their respective groups.”

Join the Super Meetup and RSVP here.

By Lucy Ewing

Colleges have programs in place to welcome new students, but many first years will still experience homesickness. There are times of the day and family traditions that tug at a freshman’s heart. And there is the effort of making new friends, perhaps the biggest challenge of all. 

Check out the suggestions offered by students who have been there and made it through-share them with your freshmen.  Read the full article here!

Not-so-breaking news:  Americans are in sorry shape. 

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released their annual “The State of Obesity” for 2014 and no state has anything proud to say. Six states saw increases in obesity while every all state saw no improvement.

With a grim obesity outlook for the United States, many people wonder “what is the best way to lose weight?”

With numerous fad diets, and even more numerous opinions, getting a clear answer is difficult. Turn on TV and you will see Dr. Oz praising the effects of metabolism boosters, green coffee beans, and miracle weight loss pills. 

Dr. Mehmet Oz, (we weren’t joking)  who serves as a Professor of Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons is one such dubious dietitian. He has received harsh criticism and was even called in front of Congress for a hearing  on his deceptive information and false claims. 

To clarify- his products are not scientifically proven to significantly or effectively lose weight. They also  do not need to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. These miracle weight loss solutions don’t work. They don’t work. And for good measure? They don’t work.  

Okay, no pills or crazy fads for us. Healthy AND scientifically proven diet it is.  So let us actually turn to the top reports and see what is best!

Well… unfortunately, scientific reports and journals seem to be sending mix signals too.

On Monday morning, Annals of Internal Medicine released a report praising low-carb diets emphasizing their effectiveness over low-fat diets. Got it. No bread. No pasta. Let’s lose some weight!

Just as people were tossing their bread and pasta ready to seize their new diets, The Journal of the American Medical Association threw a curve ball Monday evening stating that bread may not be *that* bad for you. Their independent study revealed that “significant weight loss was observed with any low-carbohydrate or low-fat diet”. Okay, so now what? To bread or not to bread? 

The news on weight loss is plenty and there are many people, organizations, and agencies that claim to have the best method. However, every new pill or best diet practice must be taken with a grain of salt (Not sugar, that is apparently bad for weight too).

Different studies are run under different circumstances, and there are many variable factors that can prevent or promote weight loss.

Let us just get one thing straight- the best diet is one you can stick to and keeps you energized and satisfied.

We here at USDemocrazy do not know who believe. But we do know that bread is both devilishly and dangerously delicious. 

The 2015 Richard Tapia Conference (Feb. 2015 in Boston) brings together undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, researchers, and professionals in computing from all backgrounds and ethnicities to celebrate the diversity that exists in computing, connect with others with common backgrounds, obtain advice from and make contacts with computing leaders in academia and industry and be inspired by great presentations and conversations with leaders with common backgrounds. UMBC president Freeman Hrabowski and recent UMBC faculty member Shaun Kane will be plenary speakers this year.

The conference provides scholarships for students (undergraduate and graduate), post-docs and faculty that include conference registration, meals, hotel accommodations and a travel stipend. Tapia scholarships are generously funded by government and industry organizations.

The deadline to submit applications is Thursday, September 12. See here for more information and to apply for a conference scholarship.

The 2015 Richard Tapia Conference (Feb. 2015 in Boston) brings together undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, researchers, and professionals in computing from all backgrounds and ethnicities to celebrate the diversity that exists in computing, connect with others with common backgrounds, obtain advice from and make contacts with computing leaders in academia and industry and be inspired by great presentations and conversations with leaders with common backgrounds. UMBC president Freeman Hrabowski and recent UMBC faculty member Shaun Kane will be plenary speakers this year.

The conference provides scholarships for students (undergraduate and graduate), post-docs and faculty that include conference registration, meals, hotel accommodations and a travel stipend. Tapia scholarships are generously funded by government and industry organizations.

The deadline to submit applications is Thursday, September 12. See here for more information and to apply for a conference scholarship.