http://cargocollective.com edwardgaug[dot]com Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:45:11 +0000 http://cargocollective.com en http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/Sustainability-and-Athletics http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/following/edwardgaug/Sustainability-and-Athletics Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:45:11 +0000 edwardgaug[dot]com 1652536 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652536/arute-field.jpeg" width="420" height="317" width_o="420" height_o="317" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652536/arute-field_o.jpeg" data-mid="8109894" border="0" align="left"/>When working with athletics , the concept of sustainability is a foreign idea to most people in the “green” movement. How can one judge how sustainable a sport can be to an area like a university? One way is to examine the space a team uses and how it is treated and maintained. The idea of freshly cut green grass and perfectly manicured dirt is a fading memory when it comes to professional and collegiate athletics. This is especially true at Central Connecticut State University, where two natural grass fields have just been changed over to FieldTurf. The Blue Devils baseball and softball teams will now be playing on a synthetic surface after two seasons of construction and constant road games. Central Connecticut State University is not new to the FieldTurf idea. CCSU installed the synthetic on its football field in September 200. As an early adopter of FieldTurf, the university learned of the surface’s advantages before most universities started adopting it. Along with the athletic upsides of FieldTurf, Central learned about the monetary benefits as well. The cost of maintenance for a grass field becomes astronomical in comparison on some synthetic surfaces. The main synthetic surface found today is called FieldTurf. FieldTurf combines the safety and look of real grass and cuts the cost of mowing, fertilizing and watering out of the budget. The average yearly maintenance cost for the upkeep of a natural grass field exceeds 50,000 dollars [PDF]. This is in comparison to the 5,000 dollars that is needed to maintain a synthetic surface. Over the expected life of a heavily used FieldTurf area (8-10 years according to the FieldTurf company), maintenance cost for natural grass could reach over a half of a million dollars. That half of a million dollars can cover the cost of the materials and labor needed to transform a natural grass complex over to FieldTurf. While many proponents of the field upgrades at CCSU cited large costs as a reason not to move forward, the athletic department was able to display similar numbers, showing less cost in the long term. “There was a good debate and good concern and I think the merits of it outweighed the lack of not doing it,” Athletic Director Dr. Paul Resetarits explains in a video interview. There are many more reasons CCSU moved off of the grass and in the direction of FieldTurf. One reason the natural grass was ditched, were the environmental issues that surround the constant necessary maintenance of grass. To maintain a college-caliber baseball field, the grass needs to be fertilized multiple times a year, mowed weekly and watered everyday. “In terms of the goodness for the environment, we are not pouring hundreds of fertilizers and nitrogen into the ground, that then goes into the run-off and finally into the underground river that runs through campus,” verifies Resetatits. In a 2007 assessment of the use of rubber-based athletic surfaces, the state of Connecticut Department of Public Health determined that there are no environmental and personal health risks corresponding with the use of FieldTurf after many residents feared that the surface would contain hazardous materials. The department found that “Sources of exposure unrelated to artificial turf fields are likely more important than the turf fields for many chemicals.” This means that the average person was exposed to more hazardous chemicals in everyday life situations than they are while utilizing at rubber-based synthetic field. On top of not finding any health or environmental risk in the materials used to create FieldTurf, the state believed that there were no reasons evident for the banning of FieldTurf surfaces. These results were also found by assessments in Norway, Sweden, New Jersey and California according to the report. While sustainability usually concentrates on the environment and the effect something has on it, in the case of FieldTurf and CCSU, there are very few drawbacks when looking at it through the scope of environment and sustainability. The surface requires less maintenance than its natural counterpart, including the lack of fertilizer and water needed during maintenance. FieldTurf also drains any rainwater and recycles it through the campus. Sustainability also has to do with the relative costs that come along with making a decision. The minimal yearly costs more than make up or the higher upfront costs to transform an area for installation. If the school looks at Arute Field as an example of how efficient a synthetic field can be, the assessment reports suggest officials will be thrilled with the results they get out of both the baseball and softball fields in the future. After nine years, Arute Field remains playable with no signs of wear and tear. On a field with half the use, it is possible to see a 15-18 year life instead of 8-10 as estimated with the school’s football facility. The only place CCSU feels it can go from here is forward with the third phase of the plan and move the schools soccer pitch to the FieldTurf surface as well, making the school’s athletic complex 100-percent grass free and completely eliminate the use of fertilizer, sprinkler systems and lawnmowers and use the extra maintenance fees towards beautifying the rest of campus. When working with athletics , the concept of sustainability is a foreign idea to most people in the “green” movement. How can one judge how sustainable a sport... http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/Mutual-Respect http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/following/edwardgaug/Mutual-Respect Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:41:44 +0000 edwardgaug[dot]com 1652530 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652530/stratford.jpeg" width="600" height="454" width_o="600" height_o="454" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652530/stratford_o.jpeg" data-mid="8109822" border="0" align="left"/>Without a significant amount of ties to the area, student residents in the Belvedere neighborhood – CCSU’s neighbors to the immediate west – may not have much motivation to forge friendly relationships with their neighbors and take care of the area. Most students will see their living situation with a handful of roommates in a house on Stratford Street, for example, as temporary and only that. While this is true, students should take a good look at their one- or two-year leases in this residential neighborhood and see it for the stepping stone it should be. For many, it is the first time they have lived away from home, or away from the dorms, and have to interact with neighbors who have their own leaves to rake and lawns to keep tidy. Their neighbors may have small children who need extra care and a safe place to play. Students must use the chance to shape themselves into the neighbors they’d like to be when they become homeowners themselves. Likewise, the New Britain residents who have chosen the Belvedere neighborhood as their permanent address should not overlook the most important fact about their area: that it is located next to a university. CCSU will undoubtedly remain a suitcase school, therefore Thursday will remain thirsty. While permanent residents will always see this as an inconvenience, it is an inconvenience that has been apart of college life at CCSU became a dry campus a few decades ago. This same issue plauges every college campus that isn’t self-inclosed into its own community. Even a school like the University of Connecticut that maintains a higher on-campus to off-campus student ratio, faces similar issues with off-campus students who live as far as 20 minutes away from Storrs. As much as the residents of the Belevedere neighborhood have the right to expect an orderly and upstanding place to call home, they should be expectant of noise and disturbance issues when purchasing a home in such small proximity to a public university. Many residents of Belevedere seem to have a very negative outlook on the semi-permanent neighbors, quickly dismissing college students as loud, beer-swilling, drug addicted teens with no sense of responsibility. While this outlook might fit a few, it doesn’t speak for the majority of CCSU students who managae to work near-full time to afford to pay their own way through a degree. These hard-working student-professionals are being given little to no chance to show why type of person they really are before being silently judge by their older counterparts across the street. Belevedere residents should use this indifference as a way to strengthen their neighborly relationships, rather than peering through the curtains anticipating something bad to happen. Reach out to your neighbor and voice any concerns you might have, this might lead to the neighborhood experience many are looking for without alienating these two drastically different groups. Without a significant amount of ties to the area, student residents in the Belvedere neighborhood – CCSU’s neighbors to the immediate west – may not have much... http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/Interview-with-Thursday http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/following/edwardgaug/Interview-with-Thursday Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:39:09 +0000 edwardgaug[dot]com 1652516 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652516/Thursday-Band-Group-Photo-P_1000.jpeg" width="1000" height="664" width_o="1200" height_o="797" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652516/Thursday-Band-Group-Photo-P_o.jpeg" data-mid="8109776" border="0" align="left"/>When I saw that the band Thursday was back out on the road and playing a show at the Webster Theater in Hartford, I knew I had to get in touch with them. Everyone has a bond with a band that will never separate throughout the years. Thursday is my band. They were the first band I ever photographed live, which led to my interest in photojournalism. Their pure emotion and energy on stage gave the perfect sense for what anyone could look for in a live performance and they did it so effortlessly. Six years later, Thursday continues to release records and is finally back on the road after a short hiatus. For Tucker Rule, Thursday’s drummer, playing music is all about having fun and doing it with your friends. Edward Gaug: Let’s start off with the album because that’s the biggest thing right now. You just released Common Existence and are beginning to tour with it. How has this experience been compared to your past albums? Tucker Rule: It’s been cool man, there’s not a whole lot of pressure on us right now. We wrote a record we really love and we really believe in, so it’s just more fun. We’re back on the road for the first time in a little while, so it’s nice to be back out here and supporting this record. EG: It comes through when you listen to the album that this is definitely something that you guys did for you. Not to make it sound selfish, but this is an album that you wanted to make rather than the record label wanting you to make. TR: Absolutely. Thankfully with our label, they didn’t put any pressure on us. They were just like, “We love you guys and whatever you are going to do is going to be cool.” EG: I got word from a friend of mine who got to see you in San Jose, Calif. this past weekend and he said that you guys haven’t missed a step, even though you haven’t toured in a couple years. Touring now, do you see a difference from when you put out Waiting or Full Collapse in your twenties and where you are now in your thirties? TR: Yeah definitely. It’s a lot different because everyone is getting older with us. We’re still seeing the same faces; everybody’s just a little older now. You definitely have to take care of yourself a little more on the road when you’re older. Those wounds don’t heal as quickly and bones are getting a little tired. EG: You must be having a lot of fun, because in an age where bands go through changes and you guys have been the same group of friends since 1999. There’s not a whole lot of movement in Thursday. TR: No, there’s no movement, no turmoil. We’re all on the same page and when you’re in a band for over 10 years, you have to be on the same page to stay that long and I feel like I’m with a bunch of dudes that understand me and we understand each other. It’s not about fads or fashion phases with us. It’s all about writing music and having a fun time. EG: One thought that came to mind when listening to the new album was that if you had released this album 10 years ago, do you think you could have put out an album like this and do you think people would have listened to it? TR: That’s a hard question. I don’t think we would have been able to put out an album like this, as far as our technical prowess at actually playing. This stuff is a little more intricate – it’s faster, so I don’t think that these songs would have translated back then either. I think having that whole movement start, it had to come from a more raw place. This album is a little more technically advanced for us. I think that comes with time and age. EG: You definitely see that progression from where you started with Waiting to where you are now. You start off the new album really strong and then you hit all the levels that you would want to hear in a Thursday album. You definitely hit everything that people look for. It has to be tough to put out albums and have people always look back to Full Collapse and have that as your judging point considering that was your second album. TR: It is tough and I noticed a lot on this tour that people are coming up and saying, “I can’t wait to hear you guys play, it will be like going back to my childhood.” It brings back a lot of good memories and that’s really cool. I feel like Thursday, especially around the Full Collapse era, had a time and a place. It had sort of an impact on the people who listened to our band. It’s kind of rad. EG: The same people who were getting through high school with Full Collapse are now graduating college and starting careers with Common Existence. Your fans are getting to that age now. I think the music is really evolving with your fans, as well as yourselves. TR: That’s what the hope was. This record is everything we ever did, in one record. It has the experimental shit from A City by the Light Divided, it has the energy of Waiting and Full Collapse and it also has the melodies from War All the Time. I think we smashed it all into one record and I think people who liked our band way back when, they’re still hear the nuances in our record and remember that. The experimental shit might seem toned down. They’ll see it’s a mix of everything. EG: As the band progresses and members are having kids, does this affect the way you guys are writing music and the way you’re going about the band? TR: For sure man, we have a dude in our band that has two kids now and it’s hard. Touring gets a lot harder because there are some tours that he might not be able to go on in the future because obviously he wants to spend time with his kids and help his wife, so it is difficult, but it’s the best thing for him and the best thing for the band. It gives us a human perspective on how to not kill ourselves on the road. We have the capacity to do eight or nine months out of the year, but when you take a step back and think we’re all getting older and have people at home that care about us. EG: To move the topic a little bit, you just came out with a split with Envy, this huge band out of Japan that maybe not all your fans knew about. So I guess the question is, what was it like doing a split with a band that people don’t automatically relate you guys to? TR: We always try to reach out to bands we like and there a bunch of dudes in our band that like Envy a lot and it was just really cool that we had the time and they had the time and there was a point in our career where we could do something together. For the past couple of years we have been trying to get a tour with them, maybe in Japan, or bring them over to the States, but it never logistically worked out, so this was the next best thing. Hopefully some of our fans will hear their stuff that say, “That band’s the shit,” because they really are a fucking powerful band. We’re stoked and couldn’t be happier with that split. EG: I think it got a lot of recognition in a time when people weren’t really on the look out for it and snuck up on them. I don’t think it surprised them, but it really worked out for you guys. TR: Definitely. We hadn’t put out anything since the DVD [Kill the House Lights] and we knew we were going to be touring again soon and writing a new record, but we had a few songs bouncing around and the opportunity just came up and we had to do it. It was good to be on a split with them and it was good for us to get a couple new songs out for people. Like you said, it might not be on people’s radar, but then it just shows up. When I saw that the band Thursday was back out on the road and playing a show at the Webster Theater in Hartford, I knew I had to get in touch with them. Everyone... http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/Video http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/following/edwardgaug/Video Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:35:27 +0000 edwardgaug[dot]com 1652469 Videos I have shot and edited for The Shin Guardian and The Recorder. Videos I have shot and edited for The Shin Guardian and The Recorder. http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/Web-Design http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/following/edwardgaug/Web-Design Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:23:56 +0000 edwardgaug[dot]com 1652197 A few websites I have designed or helped design in the past three years.<img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2012-07-24 at 7.33.58 PM_1000.png" width="1000" height="982" width_o="1083" height_o="1064" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2012-07-24 at 7.33.58 PM_o.png" data-mid="19826379" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2012-05-22 at 9.50.36 PM_1000.png" width="1000" height="984" width_o="1061" height_o="1045" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2012-05-22 at 9.50.36 PM_o.png" data-mid="17812159" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2012-02-20 at 7.34.12 PM_1000.png" width="1000" height="1032" width_o="1036" height_o="1070" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2012-02-20 at 7.34.12 PM_o.png" data-mid="14481579" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2012-02-20 at 7.34.33 PM_1000.png" width="1000" height="1004" width_o="1026" height_o="1031" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2012-02-20 at 7.34.33 PM_o.png" data-mid="14481588" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2010-06-30 at 12.27.29 AM_1000.png" width="1000" height="689" width_o="1158" height_o="799" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2010-06-30 at 12.27.29 AM_o.png" data-mid="8107964" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2010-06-30 at 12.28.37 AM_1000.png" width="709" height="603" width_o="709" height_o="603" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2010-06-30 at 12.28.37 AM_o.png" data-mid="8107965" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2011-06-27 at 7.15.25 PM_1000.png" width="942" height="680" width_o="942" height_o="680" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652197/Screen shot 2011-06-27 at 7.15.25 PM_o.png" data-mid="8109329" border="0" align="left"/> A few websites I have designed or helped design in the past three years. http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/Print-Design http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/following/edwardgaug/Print-Design Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:51:05 +0000 edwardgaug[dot]com 1652109 Layouts created for The Recorder. <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/CoffeeFeature.png" width="585" height="634" width_o="585" height_o="634" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/CoffeeFeature_o.png" data-mid="8107486" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/ForbiddenCityBistroFeature.png" width="606" height="959" width_o="606" height_o="959" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/ForbiddenCityBistroFeature_o.png" data-mid="8107921" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/GiftGuide.png" width="453" height="938" width_o="453" height_o="938" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/GiftGuide_o.png" data-mid="8108012" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/KenHortonSpread.png" width="593" height="954" width_o="593" height_o="954" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/KenHortonSpread_o.png" data-mid="8107924" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/MalloryDoubleTruck_1000.png" width="1000" height="750" width_o="1260" height_o="945" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/MalloryDoubleTruck_o.png" data-mid="8107925" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/PlaymakerBackPage.png" width="601" height="952" width_o="601" height_o="952" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/PlaymakerBackPage_o.png" data-mid="8107927" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/RecorderInHouseAd.png" width="603" height="951" width_o="603" height_o="951" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/RecorderInHouseAd_o.png" data-mid="8107928" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/SportsBackPage.png" width="601" height="954" width_o="601" height_o="954" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1652109/SportsBackPage_o.png" data-mid="8107929" border="0" align="left"/> Layouts created for The Recorder. http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/Photojournalism http://cargocollective.com/edwardgaug/following/edwardgaug/Photojournalism Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:48:34 +0000 edwardgaug[dot]com 1651779 Photos shot during my time as Photo Editor for The Recorder. <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0049.NEF_1000.jpg" width="1000" height="1505" width_o="1424" height_o="2144" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0049.NEF_o.jpg" data-mid="8107823" border="0" align="left"/> <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0371.jpg" width="670" height="446" width_o="1491" height_o="994" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0371_o.jpg" data-mid="8106052" border="0" align="left"/> <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0213.jpg" width="670" height="1001" width_o="1300" height_o="1944" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0213_o.jpg" data-mid="8106042" border="0" align="left"/> <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0539.JPG.jpg" width="670" height="445" width_o="1504" height_o="1000" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0539.JPG_o.jpg" data-mid="8106055" border="0" align="left"/> <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0349.jpg" width="670" height="446" width_o="1271" height_o="847" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0349_o.jpg" data-mid="8106051" border="0" align="left"/> <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0434.jpg" width="670" height="446" width_o="1218" height_o="812" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0434_o.jpg" data-mid="8106054" border="0" align="left"/> <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0209.NEF.jpg" width="670" height="716" width_o="1086" height_o="1162" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0209.NEF_o.jpg" data-mid="8106040" border="0" align="left"/> <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0271.jpg" width="670" height="1058" width_o="1099" height_o="1737" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/3/126219/1651779/DSC_0271_o.jpg" data-mid="8106045" border="0" align="left"/> Photos shot during my time as Photo Editor for The Recorder.