Illustrate a song

I love this song, and it was so inspiring to me that I used it in a class project.
Click on image to see a larger version:

Sleep and Think

This layer over my heart is beginning to dissolve.
I am breaking down inside.
Not bad, not good, but great!
I am finally figuring out life.
What my purpose is.
My steps are in a forward motion.
And my patients will prevail in the end.
Walking a path of followers will end.
And the paving of the new one will begin.
One which will make me smile more than ever.
Let this dissolving continue.
For I want to live my life.

Euro

Guess what Europe? I am here. Went to Nou Camp yesterday for a tour which was unbelievably amazing. But, I am thinking that that will be topped today with my own futbol match, and watching the best soccer team in the world play, FC Barcelona, today!!!

More than just a winning record

Trinity's squash team has done something that most college and universities can only dream of, they have a winning streak of 13 years! Although that this is an astounding milestone, for as long I have been watching Sportscenter, I have never even heard of this team and their amazing streak. Why is this so? They have 244 consecutive wins, that is over 2.5 times the amount of wins that UConn women's basketball team could get (90 game win streak) and they received so much publicity. What is your stance on a lack of publicizing of small schools with large accomplishments?

Changing a variable can save us

What are some of the problems that we look for in the future? Is it California breaking apart from the homeland? Is it drastic change in the climate because of global warming? The United Nations has come to the conclusion that it will be way bigger than both of those incidences by 2050. In the Yahoo! article Planet could be 'unrecognizable' by 2050, experts say They believe that when this time comes around, there will be an estimated 9 billion people in the world, and most of them inhabiting under developed countries. With the mass amount of people that Earth will now hold, there needs to be a lot more producing of food to feed all of these people. I don't really see this happening to the United States because we are the worlds 3^rd fattest country and we produce more than enough food for everyone, but I believe that we need to help these underdeveloped countries try and produce enough food. With enough help from these well developed countries we can help those who are starving now, and try to avoid starvation in the future.

Monopoly's Makeover

I stumbled across this video that caught my attention of how classical board games are evolving with the culture around it.

This famous board game has got a makeover, but is it for the better or worse of the world. For so many years the game has been played with dice, moving pieces, cards, and physical money, but now that is all changing. A few years ago, Monopoly had changed the game a little bit more by adding a credit card system, bring it to handheld devises and video game systems, and now that idea is continuing with a talking game "that tells people what to do next, and imaginary dice.

I am not sure how you exactly played, but I always played in my own way aside from the rules. What made it even more enjoyable to play was that I could sneak money when I played banker which didn't happen much once they caught on that there was no celebrity behind them. With the old game style, I learned how to do math, read, and follow directions which all helped me in the future. Although this is continuing with the trends of the world and making everything easier for the player, I believe this is taking away some of the major learning experiences that the youth can gain from it.

Facebook and Egypt

I just wanted to share this story with everyone. Sorry that I was unable to give you a summary right now, but I will soon.

Social media plays role in Egypt

Kids and Technology

This is kind of a run off of my last post, but with a lot more explanation. Oh, and a point... well more of one.

This new generation of kids/teens that grew up with new media in their lifestyle, are so attached with this new form of exploring the world through a digital device. Parents are the ones that are allowing this to happen, and not the companies that produce these better living gadgets. One of the main ways that these kids get the idea to get this new gadget is by watching it on the television. They are attached to the television because they grew up watching it while the parents did other things around the house. I am not saying that this is a bad thing, but it would be a good idea to switch up how to keep your child occupied while you are busy doing tasks. If not, these kids see these advertisements of new products that are focused on that particular audience and before long you will here, "Can I get this?" With the parents not holding back their kids from television, these kids are exposed to new media before they learn about the old media.
As time goes on in these children's lives, they continue to grow on this new media and leave the old forms of communication in the dust. I was lucky enough to grow up in a time where I was exposed to both forms of media, and now I can work well with both and still be able to observe the effects on youth. Now that some of these kids want the latest form of media, which is expectable, but not at the age they are receiving it at. These youngsters are receiving gadgets that are, what I believe, beyond their maturity. They use devices that have access to the internet now in the palm of their hand, making it a lot harder for parents to track what their child is doing on the device. There is a solution to all of this, DON'T GIVE IN!
Parents should not feel the need to give in to their child's demands, all and all parents are the ones making the money. That means that these parents have the power to control most of their child's life from what they are able to do on their phones, and what gadgets they receive. Next time these parents see the puppy-dog eyes, or a pout just think of how embarrassing it will be when you get a call to go to the principles office to find out that your child has been caught doing something they learned online and you didn't know about it.

Parents and Smartphones

Parents are a huge influence on how their children grows up with the growing technology around them. Some parents are trading in the quality time with their children by giving them gadgets to keep their child occupied and happy. I believe that this is far from the correct path, and it needs to be changed fast.
I see my 14 year old cousin walking around at family gatherings on her phone the entire time, doing who knows what. It just makes me think if she knows how to interact with the outside world, and not the digital world. Here she is with relatives that she hasn't seen in 2 years, and she rather be doing who knows what on one of those smarty pants phone (smart phone).
Why does a 14 year old need the internet on their phone? I don't know what restrictions that these parents honestly put on their kid's phone, or if they even put any restrictions on to begin with, but do they really need the internet is the big question?
These kids are in school for 8 hours per day, so no need for internet there. They hangout at places where you drop them off, or is local, so no need for a map app. They don't have a car, so no need to know the weather because they walk everywhere, or get a ride. Playing games, or watching a youtube video just ticks the parents off even more because they don't listen to what you are saying. These habits are just not through the youth, but it is effecting them the most.
If you had/have kids, would you let them have access to the internet? What ticks you off the most when you hangout with your friends (other than texting)?

Internet vs Real World

Here is a perfect example of interactions online vs the real world. Click on the image to make it larger.

To maintain a relationship online could be very easily done because there isn't as much focus on the individual you are communicating with. If you are in a chat room, or instant messaging with a "friend", that friend will not know what the real situation is to why you got offline at a weird point in the conversation. You might sometimes hear the truth that maybe you lost connection to the Internet, or you really had to leave in a hurry for something. Other times you might not know why your "friend" got offline, maybe because they were sick of upholding a conversation and just want to explore online. Even text messaging is becoming this way as well. The phone might either be on silent or off, and the person that is sending the message doesn't really know why you are not responding. You and me both know that when someone doesn't return a text message in a matter of 10 minutes, it gets a little frustration. So, it is just too hard to tell if your "friend" is being honest or not, that's why we need to make a push for more face-to-face interaction.
In a world were technology is becoming more and more of a person's life, we need to not forget about the older ways of communication. We need to get off that couch, once Tosh.O is over, and go explore the world. Go out of your norms and do something that you always wanted to do, but never did. Get part of a student organization on campus, get an intramural team started, go to campus events (Quiet Drive is coming, get your tickets now at WAC), and explore the world and get to know the true friend that you have always been looking for.
I have heard the quote; "The difference between being good and being great is nothing" well I am going to change it up a bit because that quote doesn't make too much sense to begin with. I believe it should be; "The difference between being good friends and great friends is by doing something." Go out today, well maybe tomorrow, and meet someone that you always wanted to get to know better through a cup of hot chocolate, watch a movie, make a snow angel with depth, or do all of it.

W2D on a Snow Day

What better thing to do on a snow day then watch Home Alone clips on youtube in REVERSE!!! I am sharing my joy to you all. Enjoy!

Oh how the times have changed

It is unbelievable that 16 years ago, nobody knew what the internet was. Now, it is hard to find an individual who doesn't know what the internet even is.

Only if getting a job was this easy.

My friend told me about stumbleupon.com and I found this image. If you click the image, it will open in a new window making it a whole lot easier to read.

To respond to these questions, you will need to view the image. Anyways, if you could get a job as easy as this guy, what job would it be? While you're at it, answer at least one of the questions being asked with your own creative and/or realistic response. Looking forward to some crazy responses, but lets keep it PG-13.

I would be applying to work at a candy factory because who doesn't want to work there. I would answer the question: What is your greatest strength? So my response to that would be: Taking a long time to answer such difficult questions.

LambdaMOO

So today we visited LambdaMOO, a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) and it was actually a lot of fun. This world was basically a place were people can go without having their identity shown by a picture, or where more than necessary information could be viewed (ie. email address, name, etc.). It was a world solely of text, and I thought that this was the coolest thing. We had the chance to move to different destinations in this world and come in contact with frequent LambdaMOO visitors, guest, and communicate with other classmates.

What was your favorite part of LambdaMOO? What is your least favorite?

If you think this is the place for you, here is how to log into LambdaMOO from your computer (it is a lot easier then what we did today) . I was so fascinated by this that I actually visited it when I got back to my room, just to learn a little more about it. Don't worry MT Blog visitors, this wont be a habit, and I certainly will not become a crossdresser :)

Poetry...Yikes

I am just following this thing that Interactive Me.dia started where you write a poem and could win a house. I am not really interested in winning a house quite yet, but maybe some salt that I could lay down on the sidewalks around campus. I am very foreign to the whole poem thing, but I always speak with wisdom. Here it goes...


Friend
Let us be friends,
In my world that continues to bend.
Twist and turn down this road,
That still hasn't found a place to go.
Enjoying laughter,
Made from lame inside jokes.
Exploring the adventures,
To fun for our elders.
Memories that are needed to grow,
Need to be started by a common goal.
A goal of interests,
To have hobbies and commonality.
Let us start this friendship,
With a "hi" "hey" or (name).
Let us be friends

More Than the Cereal

A North Central student was walking down the alley when he was approached by a male African American. The student took a blow to the face and was stripped of his box of cereal. Who would do such a  crime over a box of cereal? Was this man trying to be the kids from the Lucky Charms commercials, or wanted to be a true silly Trix rabbit, or even thought that they could possibly be his Pops ("Gotta have my Pops")?

To go to the extent of violence and stealing a box of cereal is completely unnecessary. There are a number of better options to get food. Some examples could be taking a cup of cookies or ice cream from Kaufman, or take food from your roommate and friends. These are much more expectable ways of getting food than punching a stranger in the face.

I show sympathy for the student that was assaulted and lost his food. I would be angry as well if this situation happened to me. If you know this student as well, I really feel bad for him because the people that I have heard talk about this situation cares more about a person stole his property than the actually assault. So if you know this person, show your respected because he is probably dealing with a lot right now.

Feel sorry?

Cathy Cruz is like any other American who txt messages while going through their everyday routine. We send txt messages while we are walking, eating, driving, siting, hanging with friends, and so on and it does effect us if we don't pay attention to our surrounds. That is why txting and driving is illegal because it is the cause of many car accidents in America. Cathy Cruz however did not pay attention to her surroundings and faced the consequences for it. 


I am not talking about paying any fines for what she did, but she is actually wanting money in return for her incident. Cathy Cruz was txt messaging a friend from her church while walking in the mall and took a tumble into the fountain. Her fall was nothing out of the ordinary, but a shock to being exposed to some room temperature water. She jumped out of the water in an instant, and complains that nobody came to her aid. Lady, it was a split second instance. It is not like you were going to drown from being in a three inches deep puddle. Okay, so maybe she is pressing charges against the mall because they posted the video of her falling in.


First off, the video did not go with any identity of the person. The video that was put on youtube was impossible to see a face and not even the security would be able to tell who it was from the monitors. Cathy brought this attention to herself, and now wants an apology for telling the world who the idiot who can't walk and txt is. Secondly,  this is just like some of those people who give America a bad reputation. These people will sue anyone for any reason that they can come up with. I hope that she knows that all this attention wont get her in any upcoming movie.


For as much as I feel bad for this mall that will be getting sued, I show no sympathy for Cathy. She deserved everything she received, and instead of crying about it, maybe next time learn a lesson. If I drink hot chocolate and burn my tongue, I will not sue McDonalds, instead I will know to wait till it cools down a bit. If you have kids, do what you teach them, that every lesson they learn will prevent it from happening in the future. 

And The Rivalry Continues…

This weekend solider field will host two teams that have been going at it many years, but now it will be more than just a regular season game. The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers will be going at it on the gridiron battling for the rights to say that they are the best in their conference (NFC). Even though the Bears have been holding the lead in the wins-to-losses at Solider Field for the past 6 years, this game will be a dogfight from the start of the game until the last play.

With the Bears holding the first win against the Packers this season, the Packers have a little bit more momentum going in to the game. Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, has been showing that he could withhold the weight that the later quarterback had left on Green Bay having a good quarterback. Erin has been able to pick out the open receiver over his usual go to receiver, and is wise enough to run when he knows he can pick up yards. With this strong quarterback on the field, it is hard for the man that will stand behind him most of the game.

Lining up behind Erin is James Starks, who has been putting up good yards against the Bears and the past few opponents. NFL.com analyst think otherwise on this because of Chicago’s incredible run defense that showed up to play last weekend against the Seattle Seahawks. The other side of Chicago, the offense, might have some trouble in one particular area.

The Packers have been all over Bears quarterback Jay Cutler in the last few meetings combining to a total of 9 sacks. Since the two teams last meeting, Cutler has been completing more of his passes, being quicker with the ball in his hands, and has been very careful not to turn the ball over as much as he did during the season. To add to these improvements, he has been coming in clutch by picking up the final several yards on third down conversions to keep the Bear’s drive alive. The Packers just do not have to worry about one person, but two other Chicago players.

Chicago’s running back, Matt Forte, has been on fire not just during the season, but also last weekends game when he averaged 6.0 yards per carry and 60 yards in receiving. If those numbers continue for Sunday’s game, it will be one heck of a game. Lining up on the outside Greg Olsen has been a real big factor in Chicago’s drives. His last game spread out the offense and gave Forte some breathing room, we will just have to wait and see if it continues this weekend.

This third game faceoff between the Bears and the Packers will truly decide a victor in who won the 2010-2011 season. It will truly be a game to remember in the windy city, where fans will all be dressed in either blue and orange, or green and yellow with no in between. This is where the true fans will be, and have the time of their lives.

Google has nothing on me

I have been watching the Google phenomenon over the past very years. They have been growing at such a high rate that it seems like there is nothing stopping them because why should there be. They have perfected what every human wants, a search engine that is lighting fast, a website that is user friendly, and a worldwide appearance.

Do I take it for granted? Possibly, but a better question to ask would be, who does not take it for granted. There are too many websites out in there, and we could not possibly know they exist without the help of a search engine. The other side to that is that we could send a message to our friends every time we are looking for something online. Google has created a way that we can be both dependent and independent. They are the friend that gives us these ideas to sites that help fills our needs.

These needs for me however are found, and bookmarked for easy access in the future. To return to the Google homepage with arms wide open does not come more than a 10 times a day. I have found the sites that I need to be social, find credible sources, and entertainment. I am happy with the sites that I found and do not need to add more to that list without forgetting about the ones that I enjoy now. There is not enough time in my day, without being tired, to surf the web to find new things that will take away from a busy life that we all have. Adding another website to our bookmarks will just cause a little more chaos, another hobby, and another reason to stay online longer than enjoying the outside wonders.

Google is the fulfillment for many people in the world because it is that friend that you can always get that piggy back ride from when you need help. They must be doing something right in their company to become very successful in being a huge impact in people’s lives. They are like another company out there, they want to fight for the top spot in their field of business, and they have done quite well with it. Let us congratulate Google on being at the top of the list, but you are also on the top of the food chain for that spot. Also, you have nothing on me.

Let us consider blogging a job

I have recently stepped inside of Jason Kottke’s mind by reading an interview of him by Rebecca Blood called Bloggers on Blogging. He has obtained a BA in Physics, dropped his job in order to blog, and attractive micropatrons so that he could survive in the world doing what he enjoys.

Jason spends over half his day online finding the next thing to write about in his blog. He started off writing journal entries, and then soon switched to talking more about media. This transfer from diaries to media brought him into this new era of spreading news. He might not be making equal earnings as actual columnist, or might not be at the same level as their writing, but he seems to grab a crowd.

Jason finds an interesting article, or a topic that he finds interesting and just writes about it. Many of his followers enjoy reading what he writes and the topic that he tends to choose. These topics do not always come out of thin air, or by searching online, he also gets some help by reading other blogs that people post to inspire him in blogging for his own site. He sits in front of his computer for a minimum of 8 hours a day, with quick revisiting outside of those hours, and he makes money doing so.

To sit in front of a computer blogging about what you like and do not like, you seem to wonder how he makes a living off of this. It is not just all from receiving job offers, speaking to groups of people, it is mainly through advertisement. He is getting paid to show people who are interested in his work an advertisement from an outside company that he works for. The traffic of people that he brings to his site puts money in his pocket and a roof over his head.

I think that it is fair enough to say that Jason Kottke has a job. He is an entrepreneur by taking this risk in a career field and benefiting from it, a marketer in the sense that he knows how to attract a certain group of people to his site so that he can make a living, and an all around person that lives the dream that everyone who has a stressful has. Jason, you deserve a round of applause for your success in turning what looked like nothing into something.

First Isn't The Worst

This is my first time blogging to the world, so don't be to harsh on the lameness of my posts. I am crossing my fingers and hoping that this first blog isn't a complete FAIL!