Web Site Project Reflection

I am not and probably will not be a frequent web writer, but I kind of enjoyed this project. At the end, being able to look back and know that I created this, made me proud of myself. I am glad that we were able to choose our own topics. It made it more enjoyable and you were able to put your own extra personality into the project. Compared to the hypertext collage, this project had more freedom, and thus I wanted to do more with it. This project was meaningful for me in the sense that I was able to share what I think is interesting. I was able to pick my project based on what I liked and I did not have boundaries holding me back. The biggest problem I had while doing this project was when I was linking my pages. I forgot that I could not link it with the file name shown on my computer (because it was looking in my C drive) and it was frustrating to have to go back through all of the different links and correct it. I also enjoyed being able to work on this project in class. Being a brand new coder, writing a web page seems like a daunting task, it was helpful to be able to spend time in class working on it and have you as a resource if I had questions.

Retirement

I wish that one day I will become my parents. They are now both retired and in a financial state that allows them to travel the world. Currently they are in Australia. What fun. They enjoy a lot of vacations together and because of it are really living it up. They even host our family on a trip every year. This year over Christmas we are going to Hawaii. I feel lucky to be a part of a family that is able to spend so much time together and do so many memorable things together. I think I can actually say that I hope I grow into my parents.

Amazing Science

It is amazing to think what science can do these days. This girl was born in India two years ago, and now has been able to have surgery to remove her 4 extra limbs. In the past, if someone was born with such an anomaly, they probably would die and kill their mother during birth. Even if they did survive that, they would be permanently debilitated for the rest of their life. After her surgery, they reconstructed her hips so that soon she will be able to walk and lead a normal life. History is filled with stories of "circus freaks," but nowadays, they are instead seen as an opportunity for wonders of medicine to shine.

Thanksgiving

Over the summer I used to work in a nursing home. Most of the residents have basically been abandoned. They rarely had a family member come visit let alone even a phone call. Seeing the sorrow in some of their eyes makes me afraid to get old. My grandmother recently became ill with Shingles. The main part of the disease is over, but she now has debilitating pain that is preventing her from being able to take care of herself. Before any of us realized how bad the situation was, she had lost 15 pounds and her kidney function was deteriorating from the lack of nutrition in her body. 15 pounds doesn't seem like much, but to a 100 pound lady, that's quite a bit. Knowing that she needed help, we of course hired a nurse to come in daily to ensure that she is getting the care she needs. My family has also made a rotation of visits so that she knows she is not being abandoned during such a hard time for her. I am going out there during my fall break. I talked to her today to tell her my plans and she was so excited, but all i can think about is the thousands of grandparents in our world that are forgotten and do not have a family that is willing to make that extra effort to show their compassion. So this Thanksgiving, I am thankful to be a part of a family that stands by one another, and will always be there.

HONEYMOON!!!

So I'm getting married next summer, and amongst all of the planning, I did the most important part this weekend, I booked our honeymoon!!!!! We decided that we wanted to go on a cruise, so that we could try to avoid any possible stress that we may encounter having a honeymoon during hurricane season, and we finally picked one out. We decided to go with Carnival Cruise Lines. They seemed to have a lot of entertainment on board and they were reasonably priced. We read a lot of good reviews about them as well. We leave from Texas and go to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel! So far we decided to go swimming with sting rays in Grand Cayman and scuba diving in the reefs of Cozumel. I'm not sure what we will be doing in Jamaica, but I'm sure it will be awesome! We cant wait!

Peaches

I used to live in San Antonio, Texas about 10 years ago. I can still remember my mom's fresh peach cobbler. We lived in an area where we had all sorts of fruit trees and every year we would pick hundreds of peaches. My mom would freeze most of them, but with some, she would make peach cobbler with it. I remember it being such a treat, and I only have happy thoughts when I think about those afternoons when I would come home to a nice warm piece of heaven. To this day, I still make my mother's recipe, but it was that much better when she made it from peaches that we had grown.

Brains!!!!

So I am in a human gross anatomy course and today we were dissecting the brains. I always knew what brains were and what they were supposed to look like, but when you are holding what used to be the entire mind, personality, and being of a person, it is incredible to think what these little nerve fibers are actually capable of. This gray lump of goo can make decisions, feel pain, show emotions and compassion, and makes up what we consider to be "human." Even while you are reading this, your brain is doing so much to keep your body alive and to actually comprehend the words on this page. So how can all of this be controlled by mushy gray tissue? Amazing huh!

Readings

The series of readings highlight various tips for writing. From how to get started on what seems like an endless task, to developing your own style. Lammot talks about just letting yourself write; Not to worry about what you are doing yet, and instead to let the creative juices flow. She says to not be afraid to write a crappy draft and to not take on too much at a time. I think her advice can be utilized by writers in all stages of life. The authors seem to have good tips but personally, I think good writing is in the eyes of the beholder. I get the impression that the only "good" type of writing has to be out of the box. That may be true for many, but frankly coming from a scientific background I hold different standards to my writing and what I read. There is more than one type of writing and I don't think they should be compared to one another. Oranges and apples are both fruit, but who is to say one is better than the other? Writing should be judged upon how well it satisfies its purpose, no matter what it may be.

ROCKIES!!!!

I have never before been a baseball fan, but hey, if its working, roll with it! The Rockies used to be a nobody and now they are in the playoffs, how cool is that! It seems like one of those Cinderella stories where they came from nothing and now are ready to take all. I used to think that baseball was the least athletic sport out there and because of it I was never a supporter. I started watching the Rockies and I have to give those boys props. I could never hit something that was going 90 some miles per hour. They have some serious hand eye coordination. I never thought I would see the day when the Colorado was known for the Rockies, but hey, good job boys.

Fort Collins Drainage?

So is anyone else worried about the drain systems in our fair city? It seems like every time there is substantial rain the streets are flooded! I'm not talking a couple inches, there are streets where the water rises higher than the sidewalk along the street. The last major rainstorm a few weeks ago I actually saw people blow up rafts and set sail down plum! It looked fun, but really, after a history of flooding you would think the city would want a more efficient system.

Dateline "To Catch a Predator III"

I used the Dateline series as one of my main sources for my personal essay. Actually, it is quite entertaining to read or even watch if you caught the episode on TV. They add in the actual conversations of when these criminals are caught and what they say or how careless they are is humorous. Chris Hansen, who is the main correspondant for this story, has dedicated his time to catch these monsters and raise awareness for the community. Hats off to Dateline for their hard work!

To the south!

At this time of year, every year, I yearn to grow wings and join that mass procession of down and feathers to a warmer climate. You see, the cold and I do not agree. I am one who is infatuated with the warmth and color of summer months. The cold, its persistent needle sticking of frigidity is right around the corner. This weekend belayed its most obvious clues in the forms of leaves rustling and cool temps. I know many enjoy this time of year and for those people I ask how? How can you rejoice when you can barely operate your hands enough to lock your bicycle, much less remove your hands from the lock after locking it? How can you smile when the action leads your lips to their own cold rock hard cold frozen state? Please, if merry during cold weather accept the quick flutter of my eyes as acknowledgement of your greeting. I am not a Scrooge, I merely wish to keep my digits intact!

diploma dot com?

It came to my attention earlier this week that Cal Tech (yes the same Golden Bears who beat us earlier this year in football) have begun to offer videos of complete class lectures of some of its courses. Youtube is hosting the videos free of charge making them available to the international community at the click of a button. Upon further investigation, I found that Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, similarly posts professors notes to a significant amount of both undergraduate and graduate courses. Again, one of our nations and worlds leading intellectual bases is offering vasts amount of knowledge to anyone on the world wide web. I find it encouraging that these institutions have begun to offer this ability. Many may ask why? I, for one have no answer and also believe that the institutions themselves do not either. It is an interesting experiment, the results of which may lead to fascinating and innovate educational reform. I believe that humans have not the capacity currently to truly realize the potential of cheap and instant international communication. MIT and Cal Tech are attempting to exploit this fact and I believe that it will further our international knowledge through collaboration. I am proud and excited to be one of the generation that will attempt to utilize a great resource in order to further the society of man. Keep up the postings Cal Tech, MIT, and others, you are providing foothold for what may someday change the world!!!

Are we losing our minds?

I read the article from Wired Magazine, "Clive Thompson on Human Memory and the Outboard Brain." I feel he is making some claims without looking at the entire scenario. He claims that because of the Internet, we now longer are can remember as much as our elders. Some of his claims are I think have other correlations however that can account for the statistics which came up. Thompson says, "When Robertson asked his subjects to tell them a relative's birth date, 87 percent of respondents over age 50 could recite it, while less than 40 percent of those under 30 could do so." In our day, the popularity of online calenders and Palm Pilots have eradicated the need to put dates like this to memory. At the touch of a button, we can find out this information. I don't think that it is that we cant remember the facts, I just think that since we don't need to remember it, we don't put the time into trying. Thompson also says that, "And when he asked them their own phone number, fully one-third of the youngsters drew a blank." With the way cell phones are made, we no longer have to enter in the actual phone number of who we want to call, often times we have phone books within our cell phones which store the numbers for us. So unlike our elders who had to repetitively enter in phone numbers, we just don't have the repetition practice they did. I'm not saying that we aren't getting lazy, I'm just saying that we should look at the other factors involved before we make claims saying our memory is withering.

Dog Olympics

So I was walking my dogs today at the City Park off from Mulberry and I came across the Dog Olympics! Okay, so I was pretty excited. They had all these different events including speed, agility, and special trick competitions. We stopped to watch this competition to see which dog could stay the longest. Some of these pups were impressive, perhaps I am just biased because I have beagles and listening is not in their vocabulary. These dogs were able to stay with treats being waved in front of them, and the judges trying their best to distract them. I don't think my dogs would have lasted longer than about 2 seconds with the attention span that they have! It was a pretty cool event though, so if you have a well behaved dog, you should think about it next year, if nothing else, it was cool to watch all of the other dogs. Oh and here is a picture of Jake, I can't brag about one and not the other!

10 Criteria for a good website

1. Be sure to edit what you your website - Having grammatical and spelling errors is not only annoying to read but also loses the credibility of your website. It's not that hard to read over what you have written, and it makes a big difference to the readers.

2. Add pictures and figures in moderation- Graphics make websites more entertaining and often can add to the general message of what you are writing, but when you are making a website, you have to take into consideration how long it will take the average computer to download the image. If a reader has to wait too long, they won't stick around to read what you have to say.

3. Know your audience- It is difficult to read an article or about a subject when the vocabulary is over your head. It is also not credible to be reading about an academic subject and see incidences of slang throughout the text. When creating a website, be sure to cater the voice and vocabulary of the writing to the audience.

4. Make it user friendly- If a reader can easily jump from page to page and read about what they are interested in, they are more likely to explore the website. The use of links and proper organization encourages readers to further explore and keep them from getting bored.

5. Use appropriate text- Crazy fonts are great for getting the reader's attention, but if you are writing a 10 page essay, in order for a reader to get through it, the text needs to be easy on the eyes. An understanding of the purpose of the webpage will aid in the selection of text to best suit the reader.

6. Keep it short!- Readers tend to like to skim through long pages of text. If you want your point to get across, you need to keep your writing short and to the point. Another strategy is to bullet your text. This allows the reader to be able to pick out the most important points.

7. Extra Links- It is important to give your readers the ability to learn more about the subject. By providing a list of extra references, you not only increase your credibilty but you are also more likely to keep your readers happy.

8. Use attractive colors- If it is hard to look at, it will probably be hard to read from. Be sure to use colors that go well together and do not strain the eyes to look at. You also may want to consider what you want the mood of the webpage to be. This will decide whether you want brighter colors, or a more toned down scheme.

9. Be sure to have a focus to your site- It is important to have a reason for making the website. whether it is for research purposes or just for fun, being able to portray the purpose of the site is important. It is also important to stick to that subject so that you don't lose the interest of your readers.

10. Let your readers know who the author is- I am not saying to give out your personal information, but if an author takes credit for his/her work, the reader is more likely to believe that what is being said is credible.

Examples:
Good Website- Yahoo.com : This website is easy to navigate and gives links to various subjects. There are pictures to entice the readers and all of the articles are credited to an author.
Bad Website- http://www.angelfire.com/super/badwebs/ : This website basically shows you how mistakes can go wrong. It is hard to read, the graphics are distracting, and they use motion that makes it hard to focus.

My Boys

I have 2 pups! They are named Charlie and Jake. This is Charlie when he was a 2 pound puppy. I think getting my dogs was the best thing I have done for my college career. People may think that having a pet merely weighs you down and that you will not be able to concentrate on school, but I think it is the contrary. They are like me two little best friends. When I come home they are so excited to see me, it makes me forget about my day whether or not it was a good one. They don't care what's going on in the outside world, they just want to be pet and sit on my lap all night. Even when I have to stay up studying, they won't leave my side until I am finished. They are able to relieve all of my stresses and frankly I think they are the only reason why I have been able to stay sane throughout my college years. They even have a role in keeping me active. They love to go on hikes and be outside playing. Perhaps the best part of them is that they are a great distraction. Not necessarily to the point where I am unsuccessful with my classes, but more to keep me happy and not always thinking about school. I guess I am trying to say that I love my pups, and wouldn't change anything about them.

Free Write for Personal Essay

I think it is interesting the way that crime has changed shape with the use of the internet. I think I already wrote all I had to say at this time. One of the most interesting topics to me is how people can be manipulated into thinking someone is who they aren’t. they can pretend to be a friend or even change their gender or age to match what they think would be able to trick their victim. Then they can convince them to go and meet them somewhere or even just decide to stalk them at that point once they have enough personal information about them. I have actually read a couple of books where online crime is the main event. Someone is kidnapped and then the book centers around trying to recover that person. I would look through old news articles and other specific examples to use and some of my sources. I also think it would be good to include ways that our society is trying to combat these criminals.

5 Things

1. Be sure your font choice fits the purpose of the paper or web page. It would be unprofessional to use funky characters in a research paper, and would make it difficult to read.
2. Don't plagiarize, its not cool, and not to mention illegal.
3. Make sure to edit your pages. Seeing typos and misspellings drastically lowers the credibility of the page and may take away from the focus.
4. Use colors that are not only easy on the eyes, but fit in the mood of what you are trying to portray. If somebody can't see the words because of the color choices, they are going to have a hard time enjoying what you had to say, and they may not even read it in the first place.
5. Images can be used as great accents to web pages. It is boring to look only at text. Just keep in mind not to overdo it and take away from the focus of the page.

My Rant For The Day

Okay, so when I take my dogs on hikes, I am expected to pick up whatever they may leave behind and cart it with me to the end of the trail, which sometimes doesn't even have a trash can. But what have I noticed on the trails lately? Horse poop. What's up with that. My 20 pound dog, which I can be fined for not cleaning up after, makes far less of a mess than a horse. I have never seen a horseback rider clean up after themselves and frankly I am sick of it. One pile can take over the entire width of the trail and I'm sorry but stepping in it is not pleasant. So if your going to ride your horse on a public trail, please clean up after yourself.