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Oh yeah, things just got real. Sharp has announced an industry first today, with its 720p-recordin' 3D camera module. Intended for mobile devices like smartphones and point-and-shoot digicams, this miniature wonder will be sampling in July and hitting mass production before the end of the year.

Read the full story & Press Release:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/12/sharp-busts-out-worlds-first-3d-hd-camera-for-mobile-devices/

Earlier this evening Jim Hoerricks, author of the book "Forensic Photoshop", announced the availability of a new online training course - "An Introduction to Forensic Photoshop". Jim's new online course is hosted and provided through the American Institute of Forensic Eduction, Inc..

So sleepy. My head won't stop. It's literally throbbing. Migraine. Perfect.

Sorry, I do that, ramble on about me & how I'm feeling a lot. I'm working on it, give me time. Anyway, you ready? Drum roll please...

Work both East coast & West coast hours, you silly goose. Bam! More hours in a day.

See, I am a mathematical genius, I think, based on some past experiences. Or maybe it's just my OCD. I can't say for sure, because nobody every told me why they came to me. Nobody explained any of the crazy sh** going on, and why me?

To this day, I have no answers. I know I'm good at math. I know I'm good at problem solving. I know technology things.

I also know I'm a much better team player these days, after 35 years of being a self-centered prick.

Let’s talk a little more about aspect ratio. Always a lively topic everywhere I go, and regularly misunderstood by industry leading CCTV equipment manufacturers, engineers, and other video professionals. Should we correct, when do we correct, how do we correct, and of course the why. I’ve done a few short posts on the topic in the past (here's one), but this will be in a little more detail. Still writing on the fly, just going to break it down into a few posts over time.

The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA) is participating in the development of a national standards document for police interview rooms. In support of this effort, standards facilitators are conducting a survey to determine the state of law enforcement interview rooms today. LEVA requests your agency's participation by completing a brief survey. The survey takes approximately five (5) minutes to complete. The survey can be found at:https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JDDZLFW

The survey results will be provided to survey participants at the completion of the project.

Please forward this survey announcement to the person in your agency who is responsible for the maintenance and control of your interview rooms.

Thank you for your assistance.

Blaine Davison, President
LEVA

I was out in Indianapolis last week to assist with the LEVA Level 1 training course. Another great week of forensic video and DME training provided by LEVA, and hosted by the University of Indianapolis.

It was an action packed week both in the classroom and out with students learning and practicing DME fundamentals, and the City bustling with NBA playoff and Indy 500 activities. Thank you to LEVA, their staff, my employer Ocean Systems, and the students for such an incredible opportunity.

Safe travels home everyone and have a great holiday weekend!

LEVA recently announced that the New York State Police will be hosting their Photographic/Video Comparison course in Albany, NY April 4th through the 8th.

Photographic/Video Comparisons focuses on the science of comparing known objects, vehicles, clothing and humans with CCTV images of questioned objects, vehicles, clothing and humans. The process of cataloguing class characteristics and unique characteristics found in questioned evidence is examined in detail. Using Adobe Photoshop and other generally accepted scientific tools for imaging comparison work,analysts/examiners develop a scientific workflow involving the hands-on analysis of video evidence, criminal-case report writing and courtroom presentation.

Complete details and application forms are available via the LEVA website.

If you're responsible for recovering video evidence from DCCTV systems, be sure to check out our new class "DVR Assessment & Video Recovery". We'll be in WA, MD, TX and NY in the coming months. Hope to see you in class!

Training Schedule

LEVA is proud to announce the Call For Entries for the 20th Annual Shield Video Awards competition, the only video competition designed exclusively for public safety professionals. Entries must be post-marked no later than Friday, July 3, 2009, and be received by July 10, 2009. Winners will be announced at the Shield Awards Banquet on November 20, 2009, during the 20th Annual LEVA Training and Development Conference in Ft. Worth, Texas. Visit www.leva.org for entry forms and further information.

I know, a little marketing, but this is important. I also get zero for sharing it, as always.

You should definitely read this.

Release date: September 9. 2025

Click the hyper-linked headline below to be taken to the book's official site, where you'll find more info about the book, about Tim, as well as convenient links to purchase on a multitude of platforms.

Happy reading. Cheers, my friends. 😎

Pre-order This Is For Everyone by Sir Tim Berners-Lee

On December 8, 2009 North Carolina State University (NCSU) held the 2nd NCSU Forensic Science Symposium.  If you weren't able to make the symposium NCSU has made many of the presentations available online, to include both the slides and a video recording of the event.

Be sure to check out "Image Processing of Forensic Evidence", presented by Dr. John Russ, Emeritus Professor: Material Science & Engineering, NCSU - click here to view the complete presentation.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year my friends!  Just a quick note to pass along season's greetings and give you a heads up regarding upcoming topics for my podcast, Nerds & Non/Sense™ .

In our January, 2020 episodes we'll be discussing The Illusion of Privacy.  Cambridge Analytica, "The Great Hack" documentary on Netflix, the Best Selling book "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" and chatting about how metadata about your daily activities is used to not only predict, but influence your behavior.  How you are the commodity, and most of you still don't even understand the extent to which you've facilitated this.

In our February, 2020 episodes we'll be discussing Work/Life Balance.  Mandatory professional therapy and mental health resources & evaluations for digital evidence practitioners, and how they should be mandated in ALL agency SOPs, IMHO.