Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Christmas Eve, Eve.

Hello everybody!

I just got on Facebook. WOW! Now this is a sight that I can get with. It's so much better than myspace, and a lot less confusing.

Personally, I think facebook is geared towards folks like me: NOT a teenager and have an adult life. I only joined last night and have already found my old roll dog, some old high school friends, my cousin-in-law, and...my dad! What? My DAD is on facebook, dang!

I think I'm going to find my ETEC 424 teacher to tell her to have her classes get on facebook instead of myspace.

Later for now y'all!
Brotha J!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008






Well here we are. President-elect Barack Obama! The party is over, or has just begun. I'm not sure which. We now have a [half] black president.


On the one hand, this is the ultimate in historical moments. It has only been 54 years since desegregation! To see the images of that day versus the images of Obama's victory speech...wow! Now THAT is change I can believe in.


On the other hand, if Obama was considered to be white, he would NOT have even made it past the primaries. This is the absolute truth!


Mind you, I concede that Barack ran a brilliant campaign; one of the best in U.S. history. He made very few political mistakes. He energized his voters. He made great use of modern technology. But most of all, he exuded confidence like no other. This guy knew he was going to be president. All he did was to bring America on board with the plan.


In contrast, John McCain ran a miserable campaign; quite possible THE worst in U.S. history. He made numerous political mistakes. He showed the energy of a sloth. He ignored sound advice. It seemed as though he wasn't really even trying to win.


Still, forces outside of Obama's control pushed him to the starting block and cleared a path to the finish line. These forces are the media. Had Obama been just one of the boys (good ole boys that is) he would not have even been a blip on the political screen. His resume is paper thin. He was a Junior Senator when he hit the campaign trail. His political leaning are very far left. He sat in a controversial church for 20 years. The list goes on and on. Had Obama been white he would have been outright rejected by his own party, let alone the American people.


For these reasons, I still cannot be happy nor proud to have Barack Hussein Obama as the first [half] black president of the United States of America.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Chapter 6


Greetings Earthling! Welcome to WEB 2.0!


I compare WEB 2.0 to real life community in this way: we all have a home base, our home. We travel to different destinations outside of home base for various reasons. We buy groceries, shop for clothing and other goodies, seek entertainment, and go to work all within a certain perimeter. We can easily get to and from these points. They are our comfort zones. Anything that happens outside of our comfort zones might as well be happening on Mars.
Case in point: Last year we had planned to book our daughter's birthday at ASI Gymnastics in Rockwall, where we had recently moved. Unfortunately, the Rockwall location burned down shortly before her party. Fortunately, ASI is a franchise and therefore has at least one location in every major city on our area. No problem, we booked the party at ASI in Mesquite. ASI Mesquite is about 20 miles from ASI Rockwall.
We invited a few close friends and, of course, all of her classmates. All-in-all, about 20 kids.
Well guess how many of her classmates (all of them Rockwall residents) showed up? One. Yeah that's right, ONE SINGLE SOLITARY ROCKWALL RESIDENT!
We got "sorry we couln't be there" notes from them and some even still gave presents. For the life of us though, we couldn't figure out why no one came. Then a friend, who had been living here for a while, schooled us on why the turnout was dismal...the party was too far outside of Rockwall!
People do not like to travel outside of their zones! They will do it for special occasions or necessary business. But they get stray, do their business then get back to their comfort zones as soon as possible. They even breath easier when they reach their comfort zone boundaries.


The Internet is like that. Most of us know how to use the World Wide Web. We check our email, conduct business, go online shopping, and share "stuff", but all within certain zones. We've been taught how dangerous to our financial investment, our computer, traveling outside of known boundaries can be. Therefore, we stay away from the new and unfamiliar.


I felt like I had be smacked upside the head with a thick book after reading Chapter 6. Wow! I have more in common with those Rockwall parents than I had realized. I was amazed at what useful tools and websites that are out there. I even learned that Wikipedia wasn't just some weird name that someone had made up for the site. "Wiki"is an actual term! Who knew?
This chapter, even though it is dated, as far as techno info is concerned, reminds me of just how diverse and complex the World Wide Web is. There is so much we can do. WEB 2.0 is the Internet of today; new and improved. I thought that I made good use of it. But this reading made me realize that I really don't.


I always viewed the Internet as a tool, which it is. However, I thought of it of a tool, like a crescent wrench or a spatula is a tool. Truth be told, is has become a tool, like a car is a tool. It is now an essential part of everyday life. Those that get by without using the Internet in some way are the same as those who get by without a car (or good public transportation). You can do it, but you are at a severe disadvantage.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008



O.K. this weeks class objectives:




1) Table 4.1 - This was easy enough. All of the websites seemed to do the same thing. Some were just more complicated than others.




2) Use your new search skills to find 10 educational websites- Don't tell anyone, but I am already good at this. So I completed this one, while watching tv. SSSHHHHH!




3) Website Evaluation- This one I had to pay attention. I only did a visual evaluation, and then not for all of them. I had already had experience with quite a few of the websites and already could vouch for their authenticity.


I hope I didn't misunderstand the assignment. If so, I hope our wonderful professor let's me have a Mulligan.




4) The Delicious Stuff!- This was a new experience for me. Ususally if I need to save a website for later, I just email it to myself. Seems to work for me just fine. So I was hesitant to register with Delicious. I don't know that I'll ever use it unless it is for this class.




5) Blog about today’s activities- I actually like blogging! I think once I can hammer out a regular time, I would like to blog once a week. This is a great way to stay in touch and/or up to date with all of your friends and aquaintances.




Peace, Love, & Chicken!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

I'm Feeling Much Better Now...

O.K.

So I was a little bit stressed this time last week. I'm nuch better now. I dropped my Psych class. Not very happy about it, they're not buying my books back. GRRR! So, I guess I'm stuck with $200 worth of books and software. YEAH!


Oh well. It's only money, right. My stress levels were beyond critical. I'll take losing a few bucks over high blood pressure any day. All is good now.


BTW, OMG! Have you heard the shocking news?!

Turns out the ultimate ladies man, Clay Aiken, is gay!
Wow, I bet NOBODY saw that one coming.


Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Week 4 Activities

I found this week to be especially difficult for me. This is my first Education class. A lot of this stuff goes way over my head. I had to drop another class so I could try to keep up a little better.

To make matters worse, my field (Physical Education) is not taught like the 3 R's. So finding articles and lesson plans and all that jazz has proven to be a task to say the least.

I'm not very optimistic about my grade for this class.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008










I really don't see what all the fuss is about.

You CAN put lipstick on a pig.
And, if I do say so myself, it will look fabulous!




Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Rainy, Sleepy, Tuesday

Hey all!

It's been raining off and on all day today.

Fantastic! We need the rain. Plus it makes for nice napping. YAWN...

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

It's 7:08p and my professor is late for class. Not that I mind, of course.

Shoot, I'm tired! I'd welcome the chance to go home.

We'll see if she comes within the next 10 minutes. If not...

CRAP!

Class doesn't start till 7:20. Man, I was early for NO reason!

Monday, September 1, 2008

Happy Labor Day!


Happy labor day everybody! Hope you all enjoy your day off. Me, I have to work (1:30p-9:30p). No biggie though. I'm getting time-and-a-half.


Mo' money! Mo' money! Mo' money!

Sunday, August 31, 2008

And So It Begins!

Hello all,

Well, I've finally gone and done it!

I've entered the blogasphere! I guess congradulations are in order...

...for you of course. How wonderful you must feel to actually get a glimpse into my world.

Really, the only reason why I created this blog is for a class that I'm taking. Sshh! Don't tell my professor. I might get a bad grade if she found out I'm half-arsing this assignment.

Can you be trusted?