Over the course of this blog project, I have learned quite a bit.
Though I was slow getting into it, I enjoyed it after spring break, as I got the hang of it.
I especially enjoyed writing posts commenting on articles that I had found on Slashdot or Digg.com.
I'm very glad that this project was proposed to the students, because while I may never be a genious in internet marketing, its very valuable to at least know the things you can do with tools such as blogspot.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Final WIKI
The 4 Wikipedia articles that I chose to create and edit are all from my life previously in Massachusetts.
My elementary and middle school St. John's, my high school Bishop Feehan, my swim club the Bluefish, and my lifeguarding job at the Hockomock area YMCA made up a huge portion of my experiences previous to college.
Throughout the progression of my wiki articles, I tried to give a more peronal feel to these four organizations, letting people who would read them understand what each was about.
My elementary and middle school St. John's, my high school Bishop Feehan, my swim club the Bluefish, and my lifeguarding job at the Hockomock area YMCA made up a huge portion of my experiences previous to college.
Throughout the progression of my wiki articles, I tried to give a more peronal feel to these four organizations, letting people who would read them understand what each was about.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Dubai Puts a New Spin on Skyscrapers
In Dubai, a group of architects and designers have come up with a plan to build a 66 story skyscraper. Ok. Cool.
The interesting thing about this building is that each individual floor will be able to rotate independent of every other floor.
The building will be in constant motion, and the shape of the tower will be constantly changing, as 1 floor will be able to rotate 360 degrees in about 90 minutes.
This is all very cool, albiet somewhat unneeded. However, something else caught my eye about the artice. The building will generate all its electricity from wind, as there will be wind turbines in between each floor of the building. 1 wind turbine will be able to generate enough electricity for 10 stories.
If you're going to make a ridiculous building, high five for making it energy independant and efficient at least.
Check out the video that they have of the design on the articles page: Dubai Puts a New Spin on Skyscrapers
The interesting thing about this building is that each individual floor will be able to rotate independent of every other floor.
The building will be in constant motion, and the shape of the tower will be constantly changing, as 1 floor will be able to rotate 360 degrees in about 90 minutes.
This is all very cool, albiet somewhat unneeded. However, something else caught my eye about the artice. The building will generate all its electricity from wind, as there will be wind turbines in between each floor of the building. 1 wind turbine will be able to generate enough electricity for 10 stories.
If you're going to make a ridiculous building, high five for making it energy independant and efficient at least.
Check out the video that they have of the design on the articles page: Dubai Puts a New Spin on Skyscrapers
DIGG.com: Carter: Bush's presidency has been 'worst in history'
Former President Jimmy Carter recently launched some aggressive comments at the Bush Presidency, calling it the ' worst in history'.
While I tend to agree with everything Carter said about Bush's policies from Iraq, to the overall policies of preemptive war, the environmental stances Bush has demonstrated, the most telling of Carter's rebukes was of Bush's 'faith based initiatives'.
I have a sore spot for religion getting involved in politics and government, so for me, the extreme involvement and power that many religious organizations in this country (the 'religious right' some have called it) is to the detrement of every citizen in the US as well as to the people who live outside our borders.
The reason I found it very interesting for Carter to include this policy on his shortlist of Bush blunders is because he himself is a devout and committed Baptist.
Carter talks of the $2.15 Billion given out to various religious charities during the Bush Administration, many of which use this money only for their own specific constituency (i.e Evangelical groups using money only to help other Evangelicals). He believes in a seperation of Church and state, and that religion should not creep into political policies of fiscal grants.
It is VERY refreshing for me to hear a person who has been a leader in this country, who is also devout, talk with common sense, as it has been lacking in both the religious comunities and political fields on the topics of church and state for as long as the Bush Administration has been in power.
While I tend to agree with everything Carter said about Bush's policies from Iraq, to the overall policies of preemptive war, the environmental stances Bush has demonstrated, the most telling of Carter's rebukes was of Bush's 'faith based initiatives'.
I have a sore spot for religion getting involved in politics and government, so for me, the extreme involvement and power that many religious organizations in this country (the 'religious right' some have called it) is to the detrement of every citizen in the US as well as to the people who live outside our borders.
The reason I found it very interesting for Carter to include this policy on his shortlist of Bush blunders is because he himself is a devout and committed Baptist.
Carter talks of the $2.15 Billion given out to various religious charities during the Bush Administration, many of which use this money only for their own specific constituency (i.e Evangelical groups using money only to help other Evangelicals). He believes in a seperation of Church and state, and that religion should not creep into political policies of fiscal grants.
It is VERY refreshing for me to hear a person who has been a leader in this country, who is also devout, talk with common sense, as it has been lacking in both the religious comunities and political fields on the topics of church and state for as long as the Bush Administration has been in power.
Reflecting on DIGG.com
I chose to write this last blog entry about class articles today for two reasons.
The first, more humerous answer is that I'm finishing up the requirements for my blog and I need one more article.
The second reason though, is that I've been using Digg.com as a recourse for news lately, and have found it to be a great source of information outside of the repetetive "BIG 4" news sources such as CNN or NBC or Fox.
Digg.com is still somewhat of a fledling news association, having about 180,000 registered users ( "Digging Up the News" ) but given time, network effects will dramatically increase the sample of people using the site.
This will only improve the credibility of the articles being voted upon, as well as making the information most viewed more representitive of the mainstreem public.
Though Digg.com only will be getting better with every new user, it has already accomplished what it seems to have set out to become: a democratic source for news.
The first, more humerous answer is that I'm finishing up the requirements for my blog and I need one more article.
The second reason though, is that I've been using Digg.com as a recourse for news lately, and have found it to be a great source of information outside of the repetetive "BIG 4" news sources such as CNN or NBC or Fox.
Digg.com is still somewhat of a fledling news association, having about 180,000 registered users ( "Digging Up the News" ) but given time, network effects will dramatically increase the sample of people using the site.
This will only improve the credibility of the articles being voted upon, as well as making the information most viewed more representitive of the mainstreem public.
Though Digg.com only will be getting better with every new user, it has already accomplished what it seems to have set out to become: a democratic source for news.
The Church of Barbaro
Reading the article "The Church of Barbaro", not only was I given another glimpse into the world of my Professor Alex Brown, I was given a look into the world of horse racing, and those who worship the sport and its participants. Though not as plastered about the media and prime time television, these fans of horse racing are as passionate about the horses as football or basketball fans are about the athletes that step on the field.
Alex Brown is one of these fans, and unlike the mainstreem sports fans previously mentioned, these horse racing fans have a good cause to back up their love for the sport.
Many members of the FOB (Fans of Barbaro) participate one way or another in fund raising opportunities to benefit horses who might otherwise be put down because of old age, injury, or lack of usability on the racetrack.
While these members of the Church of Barbaro are passionate about a sport, they seem to go further than the average sporting fan. They are fighting for what they believe in.
Alex Brown is one of these fans, and unlike the mainstreem sports fans previously mentioned, these horse racing fans have a good cause to back up their love for the sport.
Many members of the FOB (Fans of Barbaro) participate one way or another in fund raising opportunities to benefit horses who might otherwise be put down because of old age, injury, or lack of usability on the racetrack.
While these members of the Church of Barbaro are passionate about a sport, they seem to go further than the average sporting fan. They are fighting for what they believe in.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
3rd Wiki: Hockomock YMCA
Today I touched up my Hock YMCA wiki, adding information about the hours of operation, the address, phone and fax numbers.
I also updated the format to make it read easier.
Wikipedia: Hockomock YMCA
I also updated the format to make it read easier.
Wikipedia: Hockomock YMCA
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