Evaluations

Hey everyone. I really enjoyed the presentations these past few weeks. Nice work. This is just a final reminder, and request, to please complete teacher evaluations. Tomorrow is the last day to do this. It's a fast and straightforward process. All you need to do is:

1. Login to UVLink using your UV ID and pin.
2. Go to the "Student" tab.
3. Go to the "Teacher/Course Evaluations" channel in the upper-left portion of the page.
4. Click on "Complete your Fall 2008 Teacher Evaluations."
5. Click on English 1010.
6. Click on the "Evaluate" link.
7. Answer the survey questions and make comments about the instructor and/or the course.
8. Make sure to click on "Submit Evaluation" at the bottom of the page.

I was in Europe when evaluations began, so we got a bit of a late start, but evaluations are important and helpful to me, and I appreciate your willingness to participate.

Have a fabulous holiday season, and thanks once again for a great semester.
-Daniel

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Aren't you glad the semester is over? I am. Now we can relax and enjoy the holidays. I love having large breaks, but as much as I am going to love this break, I would give the whole break up as long as I was able to celibrate Christmas.

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. It used to be because of the presents I would get on Christmas morning, but as I have gotten older I have realized how much better I feel when I give. I know this sounds like a cheesy little saying that children are taught, but is surely better to give than recieve. I've been so busy lately thinking about what to get people for Christmas, that I haven't had much of an oppurtunity to think about what I want. But I really do feel better thinking about others' wants rather than my own. It truely makes me happy.

No matter how generous and kind and loving you may have been in Christmases past, I hope that all of you will be a little bit kinder and more generous this Christmas! If you are I know that you will have one of the best Christmases ever, for being Christlike toward others is what Christmas is all about.

I sincerly hope all of you may have holliest jolliest Christmas ever! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! 

Why won't People Just Slow Down?

Back in October I read a post on the blog about most people's disregard for the law when it comes to speeding. I posted a comment on it and after I did, I started thinking quite a bit about it. I used to speed every time I drove somewhere. It was never more than about 5 over the limit, but after reading and commenting on this blog, I realized what I was doing was against what I believe, and what I believe is that we should always follow the law. When I really thought about it I realized that speeding as I did wasn't even getting me to my destination any faster. I always got stuck behind someone going slower than me and arrived almost no sooner than if i had just obeyed the law. I was breaking the law and putting myself and others in greater danger for a reason that wasn't even worth it.

Since then I have been trying my best to go only the speed limit or slower, and I still seem to be able to get to places just as quickly as if I were going a few more miles an hour faster. It is interesting now to see when I am driving a longer distance how many will pass me seemingly going much faster than I, but 20 miles down the road at the next town I often pull up right behind them at a stop light. I find this hilarious. It is incredible how many people will risk their life and others, and also risk being ticketed, for a measly one or two minutes of decreased travel time.

I suppose that if you had many hours of driving to do, then it might get you a substantial amount of time if you were speeding. But for the driving I think most of us do, we can easily drop our speed without any major setbacks. It just makes sense. You lessen your chance of harming yourself or others, and you eliminate the possibility of getting a speeding ticket at all. And above all speeding is AGAINST THE LAW no matter how you try to justify your reasoning for speeding.

For those of you who are already obeying the law, keep up the good work! For others, please slow down! It isn't going to hurt you any, unless you're on the freeway and trying not to get run over. If you want to go faster, you'll need to change the law.

Self-Reflection

For some reason, Blackboard isn't letting me upload content today, so I am posting here the information that is contained on the Self-Reflection handout:

Self-Reflective/Assessment Letter

This letter doesn’t have rigid design or content requirements. This is intentional as I want you to see the letter as your opportunity to say what may not be apparent in your Classical Argument and Genre Translation assignments. That is, I want you to feel comfortable discussing issues about your writing and your progress that you feel will help build the rhetorical appeal (logos, pathos, ethos) of your final project. It is, in the end, what the title indicates: a self assessment of your final assignments and, more generally, your progress in the course.

Again, there are no content requirements for this letter, but you might consider the following: What issues have you wrestled with in your writing? How did you work to clarify them through peer review, reading the text, class discussion/lectures and your own writing process? Would you now define “good” writing in the same way that you did at the beginning of the course? How have the writing assignments, peer reviews, and discussions of the text impacted your view of good writing? How has the concept of visual rhetoric impacted your research and/or your writing? How have you worked through the peer feedback you have received? Have you received contradictory advice? If so how did you handle it? How has research impacted the way you write? How have the ideas of others impacted how you have made your argument in your Classical Argument and your Genre Translation? What else do you want me (your reader and the person assigning you a grade) to know about you as a writer? You might think about this in terms of logos, ethos, and pathos; that is what do you want me to know in order to strengthen the logos, pathos, and ethos of your final project and your performance this semester? Note that merely asserting that you are a much better writer will NOT build your ethos or credibility or grade. I do NOT want a bunch of empty statements like “I’ve learned so much about writing this semester” and “I’ve really improved my writing” and “you are the best English teacher in the universe” (actually, this last one is okay :P). In all seriousness, though, as with the claims in your essays you will need to demonstrate/prove what you have learned. Also, note that it is not required that you have made massive improvements—one can write well for this class and engage with the process and text without necessarily making huge improvements as a writer.

Thanks.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Ok, so to go with the blog just below this one I thought i could add some about some "self help" books. I took a class this semester called 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The textbook is a book written by Stephen R. Covey. The book goes through 7 habits that you should develop in your life in order to make your life easier and increase interdependence. I have been working all semester on a mission statement for my life. As weird as it sounds this class has been so helpful and my mission statement is actually something I am going to follow. I have it framed and sitting on my desk! I highly recommend this book and even this class. It has helped me in every aspect (academically, physically, and spiritually) in my life this semester!

The Golden Book

FIRST...CONGRATS to Dr. Westover. That's awesome! Now I can start... I wanted to tell everyone about this little seven page booklet I had to read for another class and I LOVE IT!. It's from Dale Carnegie (the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People) and it is amazing! I suggest everyone go to www.dalecarnegie.com and click on the top right button that says "success secrets". You can print out a free little booklet that tells us in a nut shell, how to be a successful human. I've been reading this book and I love it. It can apply to every situation of life because we all deal with people everyday. It helps deal with all those difficult people and situations. The booklet is kind of the summary of the book and its points and everyone should look at it. The book has sold over 50 million copies so you know it's the real deal. I hope you all can read it and learn how to better deal with yourselves and others. It's awesome!

Thursday and Friday

Hi everyone. This is just a reminder that I will be in my office all day on Thursday and Friday to meet with students and answer any questions you may have regarding the Classical Argument paper or the Genre Translation assignment. My flight from England was delayed, and I am just now getting home, so I will be coming in a bit later than I had anticipated tomorrow, but I will still be there all day. I will be in my office from 10:30 AM to 8 PM. (I may be there a little earlier, but I will be there by 10:30 for sure.) On Friday I will be there from 8AM to 8PM.

Oh, and my dissertation defense went really well. Thanks to those of you who wrote me about it.

-Dr. Westover (still sounds a bit weird, but I'll get used to it)

Black Friday!!!

I hope you guys aren't sick of hearing my stories running on the ambulance... But you gotta hear this!!!

So i was on shift for black friday (the day after thanksgiving.) Holy s**t, are the only words i can think of to describe the experience i had. So the pager goes off: "Springville Ambulance respond to Walmart on a  24 year old women who has passed out. Unconscious but breathing. Bystanders say she has been unresponsive for 4 minutes. Time of page 04:05 am."

Okay, so we pull up out front of walmart, get the stretcher, go inside. It was a mad house!!! There were thousands of people! Some people had 3 or 4 carts full of stuff, piled high. I am talking over their heads. So people saw us, and refused to get out of our way because they didn't want to lose their place in line. I am not kidding. I had a guy get in my face and yell "what makes you think you can cut in line?!" I said, "Happy Holidays to you too." Okay, so after shoving our way clear back to electronics, we get to our patient. You guessed it, she was having a panic attack because of all the people there! I thought I was going to pass out... I was getting clostraphobic because of all the people. So after she starts coming to, we released her on scene. (She decided to stay and shop!!!)

Then, walmart security come running up to us, and say there is a guy up front who has a broken arm. After, again, fighting our way to the front of the store, we find our second patient. He and a women had literally been fighting over a kitchen aid. During the struggle, he fell and dislocated his shoulder. After our beloved officers wrote him a ticket for disorderly conduct, we sent him to the hospital.

I might be mistaken, but I thought the Christmas season was supposed to be a time of love and charity. I guess I was wrong. These people get in this shopping frenzy mode and literally run over people (a walmart employee was trampled to death in Long Island, NY) to get a good deal. 

What has our society turned into? This was one crazy, unfortunate day. 

Absolute filth

First, read this link
CLICK HERE FOR STORY

This is disgusting, horrible, and absolutely uncalled for. I hope the family of the deceased sues Wal-Mart for millions, and I hope this is a start to more officers helping big retailers.

Working at Best Buy on Black Friday from 4 am to 3 pm, I only have nice things to say about Utahians. I worked two Black Fridays in VA, and people were horrible.

Sick and wrong.

Changing History

Why is it that people want to change history? There are all these things about changing national monuments and getting rid of any mention of God. People change quotes from past presidents and speakers because they used the word God. You may or may not believe in God, but they did and they used that word. So leave it alone. Don't be trying to change things from history or the past just because you don't like or believe in it. The founding fathers believed in God. You don't, fine, but don't go trying to change the fact that they did and that they said things like "In God We Trust." Don't go off and try and change monuments because they have God or religion in them. Don't go banning God related things like nativities. People talk about tolerance all the time. What they fail to realize is that it goes both ways.

Politics in church (Proposition 8)

This made me so angry. I went to church (LDS) for the first time in about six months today. It was a testimony meeting and one lady stood up and talked about proposition 8 the entire time. She talked about how "great" it was that the church stood together on banning gay marriage. She talked about our "noble" cause in protecting marriage, and she said that it was great for the church because now other "moral" people know that we stand with them.
Hearing that pissed me off so much. First of all the church has no stand on proposition 8. the church says that it's members shouldn't be gay. The church has never said that it was the responsibility of it's members to make sure non members live by the churches standards. it's biggots like the woman in church today who feel like "my religion is right and everyone has to live by my standards." not only that but she made anyone in the room who was pro gay marriage, feel like they werent good members. I call that propoganda. Second she said that their cause was noble! I say that suppressing gays and saying that they don't deserve the rights that straight people have is about as noble as owning slaves. she thinks that people don't deserve rights becuase they are different than her.
I think that the churches stand on gay marriage would hurt it more than help it. sure other biggots will be more likely to join, but an open minded individual will look at it in disgust.
I'm not saying that the LDS church or any other church, teaches biggotry. I am saying that many members do. The last thing she said would have made me laugh if I wasn't so angry, she thanked all the members for putting up with all the hatred and threats they got for standing by proposition 8. IS SHE CRAZY! anyone who thinks that straight people get more hatred or threats than gay people do needs to get out more because that is a lie. I think that homophobia is way more common than racism.
I'm sorry if this blog offended anyone, I just needed to let off some steam, and I feel strongly about this issue and I don't see any good reasons why gays shouldn't have the rights straight people have. When I've brought this issue up to people most people say something like "well I just think it's gross" or "it's immoral." Well I think that many of the things you do are gross too, but who cares if it's behind closed doors. It's not like they will be having sex in public. and again, who are you to decide the morals someone else should live by. If you think being gay is wrong, DON'T BE GAY, and leave other people alone.
I've also heard that allowing gay people the tax benifits of being married will be to costly. People who believe that should be against marriage of all types. I can't imagine that 2% making a bigger difference than the 98% of people who are straight. (I just made up those stats by the way) If you are going to fight what's bound to happen eventually (gay marriage) at least don't stand up in church and pretend that you are doing what God wants you to do.

"Stirring the Pot"

I am really bugged. As we all know, there are people in this world who get all bent out of shape over the dumbest things. I want to know why. Why do people have get mad and cause problems where no problem should be? This is called "stirring the pot."

My brother-in-law is a Police officer. He often has to work the Sunday shift. Well, on this particular sunday, he wanted to stop by the church and sit through a meeting while he had a break. So he came to church in his uniform, sat in the back, and just minded his own business. Well after the meeting got out, the bishop came up to him and asked to speak with him in private. He pulled him into his office and said someone in that meeting complained that he/she felt uncomfortable with him there in his uniform... more specifically with his gun on him. HAHA. The irony about the whole thing is that police officers, in uniform or not, have a gun on them. It is called a concealed weapons permit. This person would freak if he/she knew how many people walking around have guns on them. The best part, they asked him not to come back in his uniform. I'll be surprised if he goes back at all. That is real christ-like, don't you think?

Anyway, why do people have to "stir the pot?" That was uncalled for. 

Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Well I wanted to post a little frustration I have with this holiday season. I love the holidays and like many others, CHRISTMAS is my FAVORITE! You can't beat having a long break from school to go home and spend time with your family while shopping for amazing gifts, having fancy dinners, getting Christmas Eve jamies...and the list goes on. It is by far my favorite holiday, but my frustration is that we have the whole HOLIDAY season starting from Halloween through New Years and every other holiday gets over looked. I want to celebrate Thanksgiving without the christmas lights up, the christmas trees decorated, or christmas music on the radio and in every store! People start celebrating Christmas in October and it drives me crazy. For me I like to celebrate every holiday to the fullest and then THE DAY AFTER Thanksgiving is when the Christmas celebration begins! I mean I am all about having the Christmas spirit the whole year through, but lets keep all the decorations down until we have finished with the other holidays. My birthday is the week before Thanksgiving and I love my birthday and Thanksgiving and I feel they get overshadowed with this Christmas stuff. :) Let's celebrate Thanksgiving, fall, our country, and everything we're thankful for this time of year before we hop into winter and Christmas. I am Thankful for Thanksgiving and that not only do we have amazing food, but we get to have a holiday weekend to celebrate what we're thankful for! THEN BRING ON CHRISTMAS!!

Revised Class/Assignment Schedule on Blackboard

Hi all.

Please be aware: WE ARE MEETING IN THE LIBRARY ON TUESDAY, ROOM 206.

There is now a revised schedule up on Blackboard. This new schedule takes us up through the end of the semester. There are a lot of changes, so you will want to take a look. We will be discussing this on Tuesday and signing up for small groups, so don't miss, and make sure to bring any questions with you. Have a nice rest of your weekend.
-D

People should know the issues before they vote!

When it comes to voting, I think that it is a duty not a right.  By duty I do not mean that everyone should vote.  I say not everyone, because I think people should be knowledgeable on an issue before being allowed to vote on it.  This is not to say that people should have to become experts on every tiny political issue, but they should have a competent understanding of the basic concept of any issue or the main ideas of a politician.  Perhaps if there were a very simple short quiz or something like that, that everyone had to take before being allowed to vote on an issue.  I'll admit, this probably is not the best or most fair way to go, but we need to promote competency somehow.  I wish that people wouldn't have to be forced to be well-educated on such matters.  I wish that people would take it upon themselves as their duty to know the issues before they vote on them.  Our country is far important to me to let people choose our leaders based upon only physical characteristics, how well they talk, what surveys say, or they just picked one because that was the person running for their party.

Why Now?!

I have recently been wondering why in the world are ADD, ADHD, depression, and anxiety problems (among others) becoming such a popular thing? Have we become that advanced in medicine in the recent years that NOW we can diagnose lots of children with these "diseases". I frequently hear "My child has ADD", "My child has depression and we started her on medicine", "My child is too hyper for class so he needs calming medication". I understand that there are some children out there with some real problems, but I have noticed this so much that I am wondering why are all of these things becoming so common? Why does every child have to be prescribed a medication for an "ailment"? Why are children on medication SO YOUNG?! I know growing up there were a few kids in the class that had some problems and needed medication, but I hear it so often now. WHY NOW?! Why are children being diagnosed with so many things that they need special help for? I feel like if a kid has a little struggle with anything then its diagnosed with some ailment and is started on medication immediately. I have seen this in my own cousins and I wonder why they need so much medication. Is our society doing something wrong? Are we too structured for children making it impossible to focus their attention? Or the opposite- are we not structured enough that children don't know how to focus? Do parents want their children to be so perfect that they keep them as "normal" as possible? Why are there so many anxiety issues? Why so much depression? They're just kids!! Well, I obviously don't have all the answers, but I would like to know why it is becoming such a popular thing now? Any suggestions?

Teaching Students About Safe Sex

This is a paper i turned in for one of our first short assignments. I think it is a interresting subject. What are your thoughts?
We live in a State where teenage sex is not much talked about. It is one of those things that people push under the table and want to believe it is not happening. It is time to face the facts. Our teens are having sex and now more than ever teenage pregnancies are at a high. Safe sex should be taught in school.
We need to teach the importance of safe sex practices at home as well as in schools. Children spend at least 6 hours a day at school. As much as we do not want to believe it, this is where they learn most about sex. No the teachers aren’t teaching it, but the kids are talking about it and teenager are the most curious at this age. Why would we not want our children to know the facts? With sex come babies, diseases, and emotional changes. Teenagers should be made aware of these things, as well as how to prevent diseases and abortions. Many, or in fact all teens are truly not ready to have children of their own. So if a teenager does become pregnant, one simple way to resolve this problem is abortion. I am neither pro nor anti abortion but, if people were using safe sex practices more, the abortion levels would go down.
If teens were more aware of safe sex techniques and were not afraid or embarrassed to buy the products. I believe this would drop the insane levels of teen pregnancies and abortions. In whole people would be more prepared when deciding to actually have children, and our youth would be in better condition. That is another paper in itself.

What is "green"?

I hear about things being "green" or that are going "green" all of the time.  "This product is green", "this form of power is green", and "these are manufactured in a green plant", are part of daily conversation, or at least advertisement.  But what does "green" really mean?  It has many meanings and can be interpreted in many different ways.  Most of the time it is thought of as being good for the environment, but how good for the environment does something have to be to be considered "green"?  Does it just have to have just a few eco-friendly aspects or can it have absolutely no negative impact on the environment.  One could be so set in the definition as to say that nothing made by man is "green".  Everything that we make is at some point transported, shape, or influenced by things which negatively affect the environment.  One could also be very loose in the definition as to say that if any product has one element that decreases its impact on the environment it is "green". I think it is interesting that so many things are labeled "green", but there seem to be no guide lines for determining what is "green".  I think that there should be guide lines so that when you are buying, researching, or just hearing about things that are "green", we know what it means exactly.

can we justify our lawlessness?

I think, as a whole, our society is a somewhat united one when it comes to observing and obeying the laws of the land, at least when publicly adressing the subject. We agree that it is bad to steal things. It is inappropriate to kill someone. Even running red lights is generally frowned upon. And though people often do things they aren’t supposed to, they acknowledge, at least when asked, that breaking the law is a bad thing. So why is speeding so socially accepted? I’m not going to say that everyone does it, because those of us who do speed have, at least once or twice, have been stuck behind that guy going sixty four MPH while we're trying to make it on time to our one o’clock English class. This proves the existence of speed-limit obeying individuals. But this question is directed generally towards those of us who, like Sammy Hagar, “can’t drive fifty five." So why is it okay to speed? Is it morally justifiable? Aren’t we all just flaunting our lawlessness, considering when we speed there are plenty of other people around us to witness the crime (and it is a crime)? Or are we all in denial, a bunch of ignorant, transient sheep, following the traditions of a few long gone, Hagar-like renegades? Driving over the speed limit on any given road is against the law. There's no arguing that. So whats our justification as otherwise law-abiding citizens?

I’m not really sure what to think about it all. I speed. I normally never go less than four miles over the speed limit. But can I justify my actions without admitting to being a law-breaker, something I definitely don’t consider myself to be? It’s hard to say.

Who's More Aggressive? Male or Female?

Ok, to start out with, this topic is a little weird to me. So bear with me, it's just something I have noticed. It reminds me of the paper we discussed in class quite a few weeks ago. Daniel recalled the title to one of the papers he corrected as being something like: "Chivalry is Dead in the World Because Women Killed it". That title has been on my mind ever since. It made me really think about why, and if it is true or not? Because of this, I have become more observant, looking for signs of these occurances.
I have found that it is somewhat true. I went to an institute dance a few weeks ago. I was expecting to see more couples dancing during the "slow songs" than were actually dancing. I thought the guys would be more aggressive in asking a girl for "this dance". But they weren't!
There were a ton of guys just standing in a circle with their buddies, chillin, while girls stood around desperately waiting to be asked. Why is that? Is it really because guys think they'll be rejected? It's an institute dance. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be.
"Do you wanna come hang out tonight with me and some friends?" Has become the norm. It is the replacement for truly asking someone out on a date.
In my physiology class in high school, we were talking about hormones and what they do differently to both males and females. My teacher reported a statistic that proved that females have become more aggressive in the past few generations. It did not have a specific definition as to why. I think it's because they have had to. If the male won't do much, the female is going to have to right? Now I'm not saying that it is entirely the males job to do all of the work. That would never conclude with a successful relationship. It must be mutual. Females are also entitled to be bold at some point, although not all the time.

There is this guy in one of my classes who, lets face it, I am attracted to. From the way he teases me and slightly nudges my arm on occasion, I think he feels relatively the same way. In a conversation once, we found out that we had the same political science class at different hours with the same teacher. We had a mid-term coming up (ick) that would be helpful to study for. He said that we should study together and he got my number on a Thursday. He then said "I'll text you later." I was excited and knew that studying with someone would help me keep it in memory. The test was the very next Tuesday, so I was thinking he would want to study over the weekend sometime. Friday....Saturday....Sunday....Monday at noon, at 4:00, at 7:00, at 8:30. Nothing. Well I couldn't wait forever so I studied most of the day on Monday. At about 8:36 I couldn't stand it anymore, so I texted him something like, "Hey did you still want to study for that test?" At around 10:00 he texted back,"Oh man, I'm so sorry I totally forgot. I have had a busy weekend with work, volleyball and homework." I replied, "Oh, that's fine, I figured you were way busy. How about tomorrow after class?" He agreed, we studied, it helped.
While studying, we discovered that we had both taken 3 years of ASL in high school, so I invited him to come an activity planned by my Deaf ASL teacher. He told me to just text him about it. So I did. He ended up having to work instead, which was fine but a little frustrating. Is this how a guy feels after being told "no."?
It wasn't a big deal really. I just wonder if I have become a statistic in the aggression of females skyrocketing. I felt I was initiating everything.

What do you guys and girls think? Am I going crazy?! Are females truly becoming more aggressive with dating and such? Must they? Have guys become less aggressive due to rejection or the thought of it? Share your experiences. Tell me what you think or have observed, and if you could please try not to spread my story to the world, it would be much appreciated. :) Thanks.

Socialized Medicine

Socialized Medicine is a big issue right now. The question is, how much do you all know about it? Have you done any research? Do you know its past? Do you know what it has done to other countries like England, Germany, and Canada? If you have not, I would suggest that you do. Get the facts on the issue from BOTH sides not just one.

Disrespect in Kids!!

Are we raising a disrespectful generation?!?! I feel like today's generation of children are not taught respect. So many times my mom has said "In her day, you would never look at an adult and say Whatever, your pissing me off or when you are asked to do something they say I don't want to!" In her day, respect was demanded whether you were a parent, a teacher, or a peer you showed respect. Even being a young adult, whenever you hold a door for someone you never hear the words Thank you anymore. People just expect it!! I realized to show respected and respect people you get respected back!! Maybe our parents generation didn't have it all wrong!?!

Do Teens Take Too Many Risks?

Something I have often thought about was reinforced this weekend on a call I went on. (I work on an Ambulance.) We were called out to a "17 year-old male. Motorcycle crash. Conscious and breathing. Bystanders stated he was not wearing a helmet." When I got on scene, I saw a young man, not much younger than me, laying on the side of the road bleeding profusly from his head. As a began assessing him, I noticed several lacerations on his head and face. His teeth had protruded through his upper lip. He had tar from the road stuck between his teeth. He had several "goose-eggs" on his forehead, and constricted pupils indicating a significant head injury. He wasn't too coherent as far as the accident was concerned. I continued on with my assessment and as I cut all his clothes off, I noticed road rash all over his extremities. He had what we call an "avulsion" of his toe. Meaning the skin and surrounding tissue had been completely ripped off and was just hanging there by a couple strands of flesh. He had road rash on the tops of his feet and toes as well. I asked him if he was wearing shoes and he told me no. The funny thing is that all of the injuries he had sustained were located on the body parts without protection. I really believe if he had worn shoes and a helmet, he would not have been in as bad shape as he was. Overall, he was extremely lucky, he could easily have been killed. He is what we call a dumb-a**. After the call, I was really upset. I, myself, would never ride a motorcycle without shoes or a helmet and I cannot fathom why anyone else would.  Is this a guy thing, or are teenagers to risky? I'd appreciate any feedback you may have on the matter! Thanks.

Role Models

I was watching MTV the other day when a message from the singer Pink came on. She was discussing our role models these days. She pointed out that in our society the dumb blonde with the sex tape out and who never works is the one who is being envied and publicized. These women have DUI's, drug problems, are always photographed out partying and yet these are the people we idolize? She continued on to say that she wonders why in our society do we not idolize the intelligent college graduate? Why is the single mother of 3 not idolized? These are the real heroes in our society. I was wondering what your take on this is. Why does our society love to follow these irresponsible women?

Subliminal Messages in Political Campaigns

I did some research on subliminal messages in political campaigns and i got a few web pages.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSAOQuLxSdY McCain
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H70Ikaso7A Obama

for some reason I've always been interested in subliminal messaging. I don't know what's true but i've heard that it's everywhere. Movie theaters use it to get us to buy popcorn. Soda companys have explicit pictures inside their ads to grab our attention. I don't know, some of its probably true, some of it isn't. One thing I noticed when looking up these videos, it seems like McCain uses it alot more than Obama. either that or Democrats are more likely to belive in the "conspiracy theories." What do you guys think about this?

Teaching OLD dogs NEW tricks...

Today I was having dinner with my grandparents who are in their seventies. We got to talking and started discussing the technology of computers, texting, and other advancements of "my generation". They seem to think that they cannot do these things and they will never learn them. I somewhat understand because they grew up watching all of these advancements take place and have yet to learn how to properly use them. This whole topic came up in discussion because in the past two weeks I have helped two of my aunts do simple things on their computers (using a word document and printing it). They were both very confused on how to make this happen and I have taken for granted this knowledge that comes with my generation. They are in their mid-thirties/early forties, but they still didn't grow up with the kind of technology that you and I did. I know in high school it was required to take a general computer course, because in this day you cannot function in any working world without general computer skills. We live in a world where my seven year old sister can text in T9, e-mail, surf the web, play any nintendo or computer game, use an ipod, or work our DVR, satellite, DVD players, Wii, and surround sound system. My parents don't even let her do these things very much and she still knows. I am not saying this is a bad thing. I am questioning my grandparents and my aunts and their ability to learn the new technology of "my generation". Can old dogs learn new tricks? I think they can, but I think that it has to be a decision made by them. The advancements made in technology can sometimes be too much for our lives, but I think that it has given us many opportunities that we need to take advantage of. We need to learn the technology and how to best use it to benefit our lives, and the lives of others.

Quality

This post is closely related to my previous post - but not quite the same.
I now want to talk on the notion of quality in artworks of all types. Quality is truly subjective. It is true "one mans trash is another mans treasure."
About a week ago now, one of the most prolific designers of aircraft addons for flight simulator posted his latest work. He has done between 50 and 75 original aircraft from the ground up, where most designers burn out after about 4. His planes are not bad, either! He is quite set in his ways. His name is Kazunori Ito, and he is Japanese.
This was posted as part of his most recent readme

*******************************************************************************

"ASS Hole. stupid, Jap !"
"Are you Insane?"

For sentences in the upper row is,
It's an answer when I cut it off to the demand of person who doesn't like my VC.
He wrote "I wants source file of your MDL file, send me it"
And, I wrote "I want to you....please make your model by yourself"

And for sentences in the the lower is,
It's a reaction when I don't bundle flight dynamic etc. to my work.

It was the first experience in my life.
I actually felt that the racial discrimination, the prejudice, and others still existed at this time.
I think.........One of the reasons why the war doesn't discontinue in the international society is here.
There are neither endurance nor a mind of the generosity.
Abuse and violence.......

I was making the models for me by myself as my hobby.
How should I respond with this?
Should I keep uploading it with the mind of the generosity?
I'm sorry for asking a trivial thing.
But, Though worlds of hobbies must be happy.................
I'm sad and frightened.

--------------------------------------------------

This is because he got an angry email from some troll...
First off, why does this guy thing his version of quality is valid enough to force on the designer?
Secondly, why on earth would anyone be so madly racist?
I simply cannot understand it.
If you want to communicate with Kazunori, his email address is: KazuIto0926@aol.com
If you want to discuss this, you can do so on the blog, but also on the flight-simulator forum I frequent. Here is a direct link to the topic: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?t=1600

Marketing

I am currently a beta-tester for an addon project for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
An immense amount of work has been expended over two years on the project - an F-86E/F Sabre jet-fighter with leading-edge slats on the wings - and to prevent plagiarism of the work, before the project is released as freeware, it is being marketed to increase enthusiasm for the work and increase awareness of the ownership of the Intellectual Property. So far, this has been achieved by press-releases to some of the major sites in the hobby (avsim.com, flightsim.com (which has not yet posted the press-release), simflight.com, others), through Work In Progress topics at important hobby discussion boards, and through the creation of a dedicated website to market the product.
First, I want you to look at the website - we desperately need input on how the website can be designed to increase effectivity in marketing. The website is http://www.sectionf8.com/
Second, I want to note that the Flight Simulator hobby has piracy in a manner unlike any other creative hobby I know of. Work for which a fee is charged - payware - is regularly stolen through bittorrent (not unusual), and it is regularly posted to third-party sites for free-download (also not unusual). What is unusual is the rampant plagiarism in the hobby. Payware and freeware are both regularly stolen and remarketed as the original work of another person - this is a daily problem. Rarely is payware resold, either. Mainly, the problem is a simple refusal to acknowledge that other people have rights to the IP that they themselves have created. A simple and painless acknowledgment that portions of a new addon are based on others work or the simple acknowledgment that the file has been reposted from some other place by some other person is often all it takes. Very rarely is an author of an addon for Flight Simulator so unreasonable as to disallow some limited or even in some cases very extensive modification to his or her work. Despite the simplicity and ease of obtaining permission and giving credit, free files are plagiarized and stolen daily. Further, there is another nice problem with this thievery - often when credit is given, the name of the reposter is not! Hundreds of sabotaged and destroyed files have been posted on the net, with the result that many generous and talented designers have retired after being deluged with help requests for an unauthorized and sabotaged model.
That is why this effort has been put forth for a freeware project. How truly sad it is when mean-spirited and thieving knaves destroy the work and lives of others! How truly sad it is that people are so selfish that even the little courtesies are ignored so rampantly!
Please remember others when you download stuff, write stuff, draw stuff - where there is credit due, PLEASE GIVE IT!!!

How we judge...

yesterday i was walking down the la hall on campus and i ran into my friend. She was talking to this military guy all dressed up, with the hat and everything. THe military guy was telling her that he can tell what people are like by looking at their hand writting. i was interested so i jumped into the conversation and asked what he thought about my handwriting. he said i was a mess and that i probably am indicisive and have a lot of posters up on my wall. i thought this was really random but he was right!! i have tons of posters up and pictures that clutter the walls. he said you he could tell by my writting because i was inconsistent and switched back and forth from cursive and regular. THis experience made me start thinking about how we judge other. DO we look at eachothers hand writing, car, clothes, shoes or hair style and judge them. Are we right in this judgment? in my case the military guy was right on.. but is this always the case? Will our first impressions and judgment help or hinder us? do any of you have experiences with misjudgments?

Are we anti-social?

My question to you guys is are we anti-social? I've noticed that when i enter class most the time it is dead quite until Daniel enters and even then it seems he has a hard time getting much out of us. Not only in English class is it always quite but even in my other classes nobody talks to anyone! I think it's the weirdest thing. I sit next to the same kid in history everyday and i think the most we have talked is when i asked him if we have class on Tuesday or do we just go to the testing center and he replied that he thinks we have class and the test is separate. Every single day we sit right next to each other and never talk. I've asked my friends if it is the same in their classes and they replied, "yeah we barely talk to each other." Often times i will sit in the hall and study before class with someone on each side and no one talks. Now i understand that yeah we may be studying but really i think half the time were just acting like were busy so that we won't have to talk. I find that i am even guilty of this i don't talk to others around me and i think most the time it's because i don't want them to think I'm weird,or hitting on them.(probably becuase this is Utah)
The whole reason i starting thinking about this was because the other day i was at the dentist when an elderly women came and sat by me in the waiting room and immediately complimented my shirt and started a conversation. We talked all the way until i was called to see the dentist and i just thought, "wow that never happens at school." Is it our generation? Do we not know how to talk to each other without a phone or laptop?

Free wireless internet in 4-10 years?

Here's a story I found on BoyGeniusReport.com. I think part of progressing as a society is the availability of information and knowledge. Where can one find more knowledge than the internet? If this comes to fruition, it will be a huge step in the right direction.

FCC approves the use of the white space spectrum for nationwide, free wireless internet
Posted by Kelly Hodgkins on Oct 14, 2008 8:08 am 8 comments
Filed in Networks, News, Wireless

Score one for Google and company as the FCC has cleared the way for the use of the white space spectrum for free, nationwide wireless internet service. Calling the reports of interference by the opposition as being “overblown”, recent tests conducted by FCC engineers in Seattle showed that the white space could be used for wireless internet service without a significant risk of harmful interference. Bad news for T-Mobile who has vehemently opposed the plan as their recently launched 3G network, which they purchased for $4 billion a few years ago by the way, borders this white space spectrum. D’oh! The FCC is expected to finalize the rules for the usage and allocation of the spectrum in preparation for an auction sometime in early to mid-2009. Free wireless Internet access that will reach 50% of the U.S. population in four years and 95% within a decade? Bring it on!

There's a company that was selling laptops, and they run a promotion. When you buy a laptop, they send the same type of laptop to a 3rd world country. This gives people access and information, something that will raise them out of poverty, because knowledge becomes power.

RU 4 Online Dating?

I have been contemplating the way(s) that our increasing devotion to technology has affected the ways we communicate with each other and develop realationships. One obvious part of this discussion is the issue of Internet dating. I am really curious to hear your opinions on this topic. There are, of course, convincing arguments for dating online (you can find who/what you are looking for a lot easier; it gives you access to a larger "dating pool"; you can communicate and find out if there is any real compatability beyond physical attraction), but there are also a lot of reasons not to do it (first and foremost, there are a lot of freaks in the world, and many of them spend a lot of time online; the people you meet often live too far away for a real relationship; you can't know if you have chemistry with someone until you meet that person face to face; people are fake online, putting forth a false, or idealized, version of themselves). These are all arguments I have heard, not necessarily my own arguments. I'm sure you have heard these arguments, or similar ones.

So my question to you is this: Is online dating a good thing? Is it improving or hindering the way we meet and fall in love? Is it speeding up an outdated process or taking all of the fun and tradition out of what my grandparents would call "courting"? Feel free to share personal experiences. Do you meet people online? Do you have success stories? Horror stories? I am really interested in hearing your views on this topic, as well as your own diverse experiences.
~D

Are You Sold on Sex?

Today we had a really great discussion about visual rhetoric, and one topic that generated a lot of conversation was sexuality in advertising. "Sex sells" is a truism that we hear from time to time, but we went a little deeper than that today. We discussed what ads that appeal to human sexuality say about us. Do they reveal how far we've come, to a point where we can openly celebrate the human body and our sexual nature, or are they gratuitous appeals to base impulses that exploit and objectify the body? Do they promote unrealistic ideals to consumers, especially young consumers? Or do such images depict common fantasies and impulses that we no longer, in 2008, have to keep hidden? And, from a rhetorical point of view, do these ads work for you? Does this image at all persuade you to buy these jeans? I would love for any of you to sound off on this.

Conspiracy Theories

With the recent memorial of 9/11 I thought I would share something that was discussed in my class. I was in my Public Speaking class and my teacher was talking about different speeches she'd heard recently and the day before 9/11 UVU had a man come and speak about it. This man was apparently one of the scientists that had worked on the 9/11 case and shared some conspiracy theories of "what really happened." I've heard all different kinds of junk about this topic but this was new information that they had just found. Apparently when cleaning up the after math of that horrible day scientists found big chunks of the building with red paint on it. They have recently found that this paint is a type of explosive agent. The reason this is so interesting is because scientists say that the rate the buildings dropped is impossible. They said that where the plane hit would have started a huge explosive fire and knocked out a few floors. The rest of the floors would have to be completely burned through before the building started collapsing and each floor would have taken about 2 hrs. to burn through. The buildings collapsed within 6 seconds and from the ground up. They are saying now that this red explosive paint played a part in the explosion, and they are looking for the answers to where the paint came from. I don't think his theories involved the US Government, but it does leave some questions. I know these are just theories but I would love to hear what others think of what this scientist had to say. I personally think that our government had NOTHING to do with it. Tell me what you think....

I found another article on Palin - this one is more comical about her being a "hockey-mom". I did not know that so much could be read into one statement, but did Palin when she decided to use that term? Read the article and let me know what you think. http://www.slate.com/id/2199361/

Sarah Palin Continued

Based on our class discussion yesterday, I thought I might point you toward two editorials I read this morning. The first is by Jack Shafer, and he writes about the media and the "appropriateness" issue we discussed in class. The URL for his piece is http://www.slate.com/id/2199121/. The second editorial is by Bonnie Fuller, who argues that Palin is exploiting her daughter's pregnancy and is forcing her to have a shotgun wedding. The URL for that piece is http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bonnie-fuller/sarah-palin-she-has-chose_b_123282.html. Please feel free to respond to either, or both, of these editorials on the blog. See you tomorrow.










Sarah Palin as runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant (left) and as Governor of Alaska (right)

Welcome

Welcome to our class blog. It was great to meet you all today and to talk about our goals for the semester. I want you to be able to post to the blog right away, so if you haven't done so already, please create a Gmail account and send me the address. I will send you an invitation. Thanks, and I will see you on Tuesday.