Post 27- Wiki

I think the class wiki page serves its purpose. It keeps the class organized when it comes to our assessments, what we have to do for the week, and when we want to visit the blogs of others we can do it with ease (I think this is the greatest pro of the wiki page). Though, I really wish it had some more uplifting colors though, the grey is quite drab. I was told by a friend that the color yellow is good for studying because the brightness uplifts you.
All in all, this is my last post for this course, and I'd like to say farewell wiki, it was nice while it lasted.

Post 26- Blogging

Blogging is interesting. It's like a diary in a way. A lot of times it is very fun to post my ideas and read the ideas of others as well. It kind of gives you a freeing feeling, in some way it gives you a sense of acceptance and belonging knowing that there are other people who want to read your thoughts, as well as you wanting to read theres. I know there have been several interesting topics that I've read in my fellow students blogs, and there are even some that make me really LOL (laugh out loud)!!! 

Post 25- Google Drive

I like using Google Drive because it easily autosaves everything you do without you having to click on something like in Microsoft, so that eliminates any issues you may have if the power spontaneously goes out. It's also nice how we can share our documents with each other and we can comment on them easily. What I dislike about it is that the spellcheck is off a lot, I 'd have to transfer the information to Microsoft Word to see what was missed by the Google Drive spellcheck; and another thing was that it was very hard to find out how to hang my references if it got out of format, so I had to go to Microsoft to do that. Nothing's perfect, Google Drive is still a nice resource to have.

Post 24- Smell

Do you guys smell something familiar and sometimes can't remember where/when you smelled it? Well when this does happen it brings on great nostalgia. Our sense of smell is so interesting! It's so different from all our other forms of memory, like it has its only special pocket in our minds. I realized too that I only have these nostalgic moments with pretty scents, rather than malodorous ones... Like I said, very interesting.  

Post 23- Statistics

I think that statistics are great, they give you a number to visualize, which allows you to see something in more depth and clarity. Statistics can serve as our logos in a topic. We view statistics as fact because we know that their made through a wide range of observations, surveys, and research. Sometimes though, we cannot trust what a statistic has to say because: through research studies each category of study may not be presented equally and may have a theory’s results leading more to one side or generalizing/overgeneralizing a group, in summation the final result may not be as accurate as it should be. There may be a lot of ethnic gloss for example, whereas a group of people may be generally labeled instead of being labeled specifically according to who specifically replied. To clarify, ethnic gloss can be shown in a survey of different races, but instead of specifying the race it would be generalized to sum everyone together. But even though this occurs, statistics are great supporting material in our schoolwork as well as our jobs.

Post 22- Time Change

We brought our clocks back an hour last month and I find myself always reminded of it each and every night because the sun goes down sooner. If we left the clock forward then when class begins at 6:00 p.m. the sun would still be up and wouldn't go down until around 7:00 p.m.. I recall conversing with some family indoors and watching a movie last week and it felt like the time flew by because it got dark so fast. It felt like it was 9 or 10 p.m. when it was only 7:00 p.m.. The time change is messing with my mind, I won't mind moving my clock forward again at all. How about you guys?

Post 21- Exercise

I'm sure most of the class is either working up a sweat trying to burn off Thanksgiving dinner, just thinking about it, or working up a sweat about your grades and schoolwork. We all know how important exercise is, but why we don't do it is a lot of times out of busyness, tiredness, laziness, or we just don't want to or feel we need to. It doesn't have to be tough, just a walk for 20 to 30 minutes a day. Though I know I should be more active, I'll jump myself into the busy/tired boat, anyone else?

Post 20- Our Rights

Everyday we watch TV, whether its the news or some TV show, we see courtrooms, victims, officers, attorney's, and so on, and a lot of times we take away valuable information from these shows. Though, the thing about just watching TV shows is that it only shows you so much and doesn't always go into depth. It's important for us as people living in America to know the rights given to us by the government so that we are no taken advantage of by those in system. Today my daughter picked up a law handbook from the library and my first question to her was "Are you going to do criminal justice?" (she likes the medical field) and she replied "No, got to know your rights right mommy". It's not just important to know your rights for yourself, but also that we teach it to our kids so they know what's right from wrong in the eyes of the law and judicial system.

Post 19- Thanksgiving

Wow thanksgiving is going to break everyone's diets AGAIN this year. It's the feast of the year. The nest feast is coming up on December 25, and I can't wait for that one either. Hit the gym and enjoy your thanksgiving and family guys!!!!

Post 18- Logos

Logos is basically the meat of what is said. It is the evidence that backs up a theory; it's what proves your point... Logos is your facts and logic that you share with others. There's not really much else to say about it.

Post 17-Ethos

In speech class the teacher would require you to to state your credibility in your speech; this doesn't mean to state your references. You basically state what makes you a credible person to speak about the topic. That's basically what ethos is; providing credibility so that your audience will know that they can trust what your saying. Another example would be the news, everyone watches the news and they believe that all the stories are true because, well, its the news and it tells you what's going on, you trust their credibility from their reporters who go to the scenes and investigate and report back with the area right behind them; they have a lot of evidence displaying their credibility.

Post 16- Pathos

I'm sure that no one will EVER forget the UNICEF commercials asking for donations to save the lives of children who are in need in other countries, pets as well. Seeing these commercials grab at your heart and make you want to pull out your wallet immediately, it's the cousin to the shopping channel. The effect that these commercials have on us demonstrates Pathos in all the emotion that we feel toward it. Someone who is apathetic cannot feel the same strong, heart-wrenching emotions that stream through us, thus the name Pathos makes sense to me (because sometimes words just don't make sense with their meaning esp. when there is a better name that better correlates).

Post 15- How Does it Know to Stop?

Do you ever notice that your fingernails never grow past a certain point? No matter how long you may give it, it just does not pass that very point. It's very annoying when you actually do want to grow your nails longer. Also there's your hair too, your leg hair, forearm hair, and just average skin hair, if you notice, if you don't shave these areas you'll see they don't grow past a point, sure I am grateful for this when it comes to body hair but I can't help but wonder why this happens.

Post 14- Cupcake vs. Muffin

For the last few days there was a pressing question in my mind. What is the difference between a muffin and a cupcake? This is very thought-provoking because they're made in the same way, they look almost the same, and they use the same cupcake cups when baking. Who's to say that if I bake a muffin in a little cupcake cup and put frosting on it that it's not a cupcake? At first I thought it was just that one has frosting and the other doesn't but then again, if i took the frosting off a cupcake is it now a muffin, or if i put frosting on a muffin is it now a cupcake? I asked one friend of mine and she said "One is for breakfast and the other is for dessert" but this is just a societal norm, as how society has deemed a doughnut a breakfast meal and desert.

I searched Google and found a bunch of technical answers about density and batter type, but finally I asked a friend of mine who is a chef and he told me squarely that the difference is just the frosting, and also apparently if I put frosting on my muffin it is now officially a cupcake!! My mind was blown!!! It's as simple as that.

Post 13- Doc 2

A lot of times when we're signed up in a course online, most teachers decide that they want to engage their students in the textbook to better help them learn, but sometimes other teachers don't. They'll give you a question and expect you to find the answer but when you look in the textbook you can't find a trace of the correct answer, so you then send yourself on a wild goose chase through Google to find an adequate explanation. Or after reading the chapter you discover that most of the quiz questions are foreign to you. This is complete and utter unpredictability and I for one am a victim of this act. This Doc will voice my concerns about this.

Post 12- Research papers

Who else thinks that research papers are the worst creations for students of all time? I know I do. I remember when I first began writing them I always got confused when it came to citations because I didn't understand how I could write a long paper on a topic that I know nothing about without citing everything that I read about the topic on scholarly websites... In conclusion, my first paper had probably somewhere around 20 in-text citations in it. Even though I got better that doesn't change the fact that it's one of the worst things in student history.

Post 11- Logical Fallacies

A lot of people find that they prefer a certain news station not because of how interesting the anchor is but how much information is given about the subject or something along those lines. Sometimes I may be in conversation with someone and they point out something about the topic that I never knew and I'm thinking "Wait, I saw this on the news, they didn't mention that part". This stands to point out that you must research for yourself so you can get all there is to know, yourself. There are a few logical fallacies used in politics they include ad hominem which is kind of like slander campaigns, argument from authority where celebrities or influential individuals endorse something, and the disregarded middle when the focus is placed only on big events rather than all the other smaller things that occurred (I think this one relates most to media).

Post 10- What Can I Say? First Impressions are Everything

Ways you may illogically think of other people? We are all judgmental in our own right and what I am about to write, I'm sure many of us can relate to it....
How many times have you come across a random stranger and just because of how they talk/dress/act, you begin to jump to conclusions about their backgrounds and history?
A lot of times we can chalk our views to stereotypes such as a blonde being not so intelligent or a black person and being ghetto (I know this one pertains to me and a lot of ghetto-looking/sounding individuals I've come into contact with).
Many times I've thought of strangers badly because of how they seem as I'm from the outside looking in, and then I get a big slap in the face (figuratively) when after some conversation/small talk I realize that my initial perception was completely wrong!!!!
I've learned and I know it is not my place to make assumptions about people without speaking to them at least a little and I hate when this happens because sometimes I JUST CAN'T TURN IT OFF!!!

Post 9- Finding a Thesis

A thesis isn't always easy to find, I'd say 50/50. Your thesis is usually just one sentence in your introductory paragraph that describes the main topic of what you will be speaking about in your essay,or basically the "why?" to your topic I suppose. It's like the main idea, but unlike the main idea you usually can't find it in the first sentence of the paragraph. Sometimes the thesis may list your speaking points for the article as well, like a small sneak peak. A lot of times when we are required to have a thesis in our papers for a grade the thesis is harder to write because you put a lot of focus and thought on it, but sometimes when you just write freely it just comes to you. When you know what to look for a thesis is easier to spot, but when you don't you will get lost.

Post 8- What If?

Sometimes you may be dazed and just ask yourself the most thought-provoking question that  you've had in a while. The question that spins through my head every now and again is "What if we never learned the color blue as blue, but instead we called it yellow?" This topic came up in my psychology class a while back I think and it's always stuck with me. What if in growing up we didn't know the color pink as pink, but instead we knew it as brown; or maybe a bear isn't named bear but something different. Something like this can change ones whole perspective. Think about those who are color blind and only see things in shades ranging from black and grey to white...

Post 7- What Are You Afraid Of?

What are you afraid of? So many things can be derived and assumed from answering just that one question. For example, if you say you are afraid of heights we can assume that you won't be going on the Drop Tower (a ride at the fair when it sends you rocketing into the sky and back down) anytime soon. There is a show on television that just began this fall, it's called Stalker in the previous episode a man began stalking different women and after watching their movements and planning his moves he finally decides to take action: Victim 1 (Afraid of the dark): came home at night in comfortable security until realizing that all her lights  would not turn on, all light bulbs had been taken out along with her flashlight batteries. Her stalker had done all of that including rearranging her furniture so it was harder for her to escape and he could continue his game with her and as he videotaped her horror through night vision for his sexual enjoyment...
It's a strange world we live in.

Post 6- Anaconda...

I'm sure many of you have heard the song "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj. This song irks me, and the video even more so. First of all, the song is a  slight spin-off of Sir Mix-A-Lot's original song "Baby Got Back" which is an all time favorite of many people who have heard it, including my own.
Secondly, the song is amazingly catchy due to the beat, both form the "Baby Got Back" lyrical parts and her own portions. Lastly, the video is amazingly revealing and only refers back to the Sir Mix-A-Lot lyrics in the booty aspect (as always in most of Nicki Minaj's video). I'm not sure of anyone else, but the first time I watched it I was stunned and slightly embarrassed like being a teenager watching a movie with sexual behavior around your parents. I will say that she has some nice lyrics in this song, and in this song I can actually understand why they are in the song, I can't do that with many of her songs. The fact that Sir Mix-A-Lot's song was taken into this revealing context, in my opinion, brings shame to his song and how great it is, even though the Nicki's song has been such a success and kind of shows the gist of his song- big butts. I watched a parody of her song and in it some of the lyrics Sir Mix-A-Lot asked Nicki to share her profits, but she said no and in the end he told his Anaconda (a real Anaconda snake) to eat her, and then it did, eating her whole. One great video to watch relating to this song is the one about how teenagers react to this song, it describes how they think and their views on this the video and its effects on society and what it says to the children of today.

Post 5 -Ebola?

Fear can be evoked in even the most stoic of people. Ebola's been to a big state and now a small but largely populated state, where will it go to next? Will Florida be next, the Sunshine State? If it is, what would you of all people do after discovering your loved one has been infected? Of course I am asking what you would do after that person or people have been put into isolation in a hospital. Many people would say that they'd pray their loved one(s) recover, but after doing so what would you do with yourself? Would you immediately get tested? Isolate yourself (even if you're without symptoms)? Or leave your current residence for another that is most likely not infected whatsoever? I would do some of these things, but there are still more questions to ask/more possible precautions that can be taken.

Post 4- Teaching My Son How to Read

My 5 year old son, who is in kindergarten got a head start in day care in the last two years, but that doesn't mean he can read a full book on his own. As a kindergarten student he learns math and reading. Each week he is supposed to read a book and write a summary about it, this week he chose "The Bears' Vacation." I decided that a good way to teach him is to have him read the words after me, repetitively, then write down the words he doesn't know and rewrite them on a sheet of paper so he can remember the words and also knows how to spell them. He looks forward to doing his homework every week.

Post 3 - Doc.1 Topic

During Wednesday's class I was so impressed on how intelligent my classmates all were. The topics presented are so interesting and I'm tempted to write on them all. I observed the passion and concerns that were brought forth and to my observation  we all can relate to them. Bookstore & textbook  issues, night and weekend tutoring, night scheduling are all topics that are relevant to our needs. Two thumbs up. Just blogging!!!

Post 2-Tardy

I was late for class today because I was at Pediatric Associates with my son he hasn't been feeling well for the past few days and having a fever of 101.8F. I tried keeping the fever down by alternating both Motrin and Tylenol, in which the fever did broke. I kept him home from school for two days in a row. He did attend school today but was still complaining abdominal pain along with bathroom frequency. So I decided to make a after hours appointment to get him evaluated. I had to leave him there with his dad so I can come to class, I did leave questions with his dad to ask the doctor, as a matter a fact, I wrote them. I'll hear all the details when I get home. Just blogging!!!

Post 1- More Tutoring times

Tutoring is a good way to enhance one's knowledge and to be test worthy, but the times set are not functional with my schedule, so it's a little fraustrated to be  unable to attend any of these sessions. So I would like for South University to put in consideration in adding more sessions that will entice myself and others to attend tutoring. And this will help us to increase our attendance and in better passing grades.