Yesterday I was surprised to find AFNI message boards linking to my first blog post about AFNI. I felt as though the klieg lights had suddenly been turned on me, and that hordes of AFNI nerdlings would soon be funneled into this cramped corner of cyberspace. If you count yourself among their number, then welcome; I hope you enjoy this blog and find it useful.
However, there are a few disclaimers I should state up front:
However, there are a few disclaimers I should state up front:
- I do not work for AFNI; I am merely an enthusiastic amateur. If you post any questions either on this blog or on Youtube I will be more than willing to answer them. However, if it is something over my head that I can't answer, then I will suggest that you try the official AFNI message board - it is policed 24/7 by the AFNI overlords, and they will hunt down and answer your questions with terrifying quickness.
- I am by no means an AFNI or fMRI expert; as far as you're concerned, I could be an SPM saboteur attempting to lead you astray. When I write about something, you should do your own research and come to your own conclusions. That being said, when I do post about certain topics I try to stick to what I know and to come clean about what I don't know. I hope you can appreciate that, being a guy, this is difficult for me.
- This blog is not just about AFNI and fMRI; it is about my brain - it is about life itself. I reserve the right to post about running, music, Nutella, Nutella accessories (including Graham-cracker spoons), books, relationship advice, and other interests. If you have a request about a certain topic, then I will be happy to consider it; however, do not expect this blog to be constrained to any one topic. Like me, it is broad. It sprawls. If you come desiring one thing and one thing only, you will be sorely disappointed; then shall you be cast into outer darkness, and there will be a wailing and gnashing of teeth.
My goal is to identify, target, and remove needless obstacles to understanding. As I have said before, the tutorials are targeted at beginners - though eventually we may work our way up to more sophisticated topics - and I try to present the essential details as clearly as possible. As you may have noticed at some point during your career, there are an elite few who have never had any trouble understanding fMRI analysis; they are disgusting people and should be avoided. For the rest of us, we may require additional tools to help with the basics; and I hope that the tutorials can help with that.
Good luck!