online classes

This was my first experience with an online class. I was surprised at the amount of interaction there is with other students. I don’t think online learning will ever completely replace classroom learning. I think you must be extremely disciplined to handle online learning. There are too many distractions for most students to stay focused on classes like this. Adults that go back to school can handle this better, I think. This option is great for students that suffer from disabilities who might struggle to get around a big campus. Just as there are students that need the classroom environment, there are also professors that need the structured classroom as well. It would be very difficult for me to survive school if all classes were online.

I think colleges will be forced to offer more and more classes online in order to hold down the costs of operating colleges. The use of computers and the internet hinders communication skills. I can see where students that don’t have great social skills would feel that online is a great option. Classroom settings help students develop these skills and prepare them for their future in the work place. I do not think online classes should be a requirement for all students to participate in. This should remain an individual choice.

Fast food resturants and the government

Should the government be able to regulate what fast food restaurants serve? No, because all fast food restaurants offer a variety of foods, from healthy choices to non healthy choices. Many of the restaurants have a pamphlet or look at their website and see the nutritional values. Subway always advertises that you can lose weight with their healthy choices, such as, whole wheat bread with turkey, cheese, and lettuce. Chik-Fil-A serves chicken and has salads, you can get fried or grilled chicken. The government has too much control over things that effect our personal life, they do not need to be any more in control of it, this would be one more step to becoming a socialist nation. People need to decide for themselves what is good for them you should be able to eat what you want to eat regardless.

Thanksgiving

My family has always celebrated Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. Thanksgiving day has always been known to our family as a day to give thanks to God for all he has blessed us with. It is always a time for the family to get together and converse over a great dinner. It is always held at my house with my mothers side of the family. Typically Thanksgiving night is the first night we turn on our Christmas lights too. That has always been a tradition, for everyone to finish up the decorations after dinner and turn them on. I love Thanksgiving day because everyone in the family will come together to spend time with one another. It is usually the only time we see some of the family members. Thanksgiving day is always a day that we look forward to.

"Community"

My definition of community is a group of people that live, work, and shop in a particular area together. We have many types of communities, we have neighborhood communities where people live together in a subdivision, retirement communities where the area is mostly catered to senior citizens, these are often gated and some have their own shopping centers. There are also work communities where it is mostly made up of business and retail places, these people work closely with one another, and there are cultural communities where people from a similar religion, ethnic backgrounds, or similar interests form together. These communities are bound together by the people who are a part of them, these communities can often overlap and helps them to keep growing.

Code of Honesty

I believe that dishonesty is a huge problem on college campuses. I think a lot of it is that this generation of kids do not really see a problem in it. They have heard all the sayings, "the only person you are cheating is yourself", but they simply do not care. Having honesty codes on college campuses is a great idea, but is it logical, I'm not sure. Many people if they are already dishonest then what is going to keep them from still cheating? They will just sign the code and keep doing what they have been doing. To some people, signing a code of honesty weighs heavy on their conscience and will prevent them from cheating. I do not think having a code of honesty would hurt, it could help, but I do not see it making a huge impact on the problem.

Reality Shows

Biggest Loser and Survivor are two shows that I watch regularly. I think that Biggest Loser is popular because it deals with one of the biggest health issues in the United States, obesity. People tend to watch it because it gives them some hope, and encouragement, to see people work through an issue and have positive results helps the people at home see that it is possible. I watch because I like to see people succeed, and improve their lives. This is a positive show that reaches out to so many people unlike Survivor.

Survivor, I feel is a ridiculous show that only brings out the worst in people. This show is all about competition, deceit, and lies. There is no trust between "teammates" for very long, if any at all. The only driving force behind this show is money, and all money does is bring out greed. Although money is involved in the Biggest Loser, everyone is a winner and they learn to trust and confide in each other to make it through one of the toughest times in their lives.

Pros and Cons of Wind Farms

Wind farms, I think are a very intelligent idea. Although, like most inventions, some people do not approve or like the idea. I think this is a great way to help the Earth. Some of the pros are, if we use more of these for electricity and energy it will help stop all the poluting. It will not cost as much to have electricity becuase all you need is wind, and wind is free. Wind can never run out like oil, and coal. An article I read did say that most of the repairs required for a wind turbine are caused by lightining. I can see where this could occur since these are very large and tall. But, the way I look at it, look how many trees are on this earth are they all struck by lightining? No, so I think this is a chance you have to take. Also, it is not always windy so many people suggest solar panels to help with electricity on non windy days or weeks. The use of wind energy itself would not cost that much money, but solar panels are pricey. A 224 watt panel cost around 1800 dollars. Some homes could use up to 40,000 watts a day. It is necessary to check your past electric bills to decide how much your house uses on average a day. Solar panels also have to be replaced over time, and if repair is needed it can be very expensive. So, yes I believe that wind energy can be very helpful. It could be costly at first getting started due to need for alternate energy sources when there is no wind, but I believe in the long run will save lots of money.


sources:
Perry, Z. "Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Power." HubPages. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. <http://hubpages.com/hub/advantages-disadvantages-wind>.
Solar Panels. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. .

left and right sides of obama and the nobel peace prize

Politics is not something I like to talk about. People are so opinionated about candidates and their stand on issues that it makes me uncomfortable. I avoid getting involved in political conversations. I am willing to listen and form my own opinion, but I do not want someone trying to force their opinion on me.

I have decided to use the Crooks and Liars from the Democratic side and Just One Minute from the Republic side. These blogs, just like political ads love to resort to name calling and finger pointing. Arrogance and sarcasm are also used to get their points across.

This past Friday, the winner of the Nobel Piece Prize was announced. For me, it was a shock when I heard that President Barrack Obama was the winner. What has he done to receive this award and the $1.4 million that goes along with it?

The left wants people to understand what it takes to be nominated and win this award. They defend the selection by trying to make people understand that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded sometimes for a person’s efforts to promote peace, not what they have accomplished.

The right feels that Obama had only been in office two weeks when the nominations had to be made. Therefore, he had done nothing to deserve the award. They feel this administration is all about him and not necessarily what is best for our country.

Personally, I don’t think he deserved the award. What did the nominating committee base their decision on – campaign promises? Maybe they thought by the time the winner was announced, some of those promises would be kept. Maybe they just thought by giving him this award, he would be forced to be the peacemaker he says he is. I think this award will probably have a negative impact on our country and his administration. Unfortunately, our service men and women may be the ones that suffer the most for it.

Today's Film Industry

I think that todays film industry is at its best. They have come up with such advanced technology and can truly make a movie an experience. Film, I feel, is definately still a viable art form. There are so many more film makers today than there has been in the past. You get so many original ideas and such a wide variety of movies. I like to watch movies a lot, however I do not have much time to watch them at this point in my life. The most recent film I have seen was Transformers II. I definately have to say that I loved that movie. It was amazing how real everything seemed, and so creative.
Although many people of today are so caught up in the internet and television, I think that the film industry will survive. I think that movies gives people something else to do besides sit at home on a rainy day, or a place to go for a date so that you don't have to do much talking and it be awkward. The only thing I can see that could cause the film industry to fall is the rising cost of tickets. With today's economy many people want to save their money and not spend it on unnecissary things. I think paying eighteen dollars for two people to get into the movies are to expensive. Who would want to take someone for dinner and a movie when it will cost them twenty dollars for dinner and twenty for a movie... wouldn't you rather stay home?

Images

The first image that comes to my mind is the cross. To so many people the cross means hope, hope for a better day. We believe that when we die we can live with God in heaven. It also means sacrifice. It represents the sacrifice that Jesus gave (His life) to save Christians from our sins.

The rainbow signifies two different things. One is the rainbow being God’s promise that He will never flood the earth again. Two is the meaning of sexual preference. The rainbow is what they live by and what represents them.

The third image I think about is a wedding ring. A wedding ring also symbolizes a promise to stand by your partner through all things. It is a promise to be faithful and to love that person.

reporters and the iraq war

Reporters always want to be the first to get the story. By actually being there in the middle of the action, they can get live interviews and pictures to the television stations. I think they did this because they felt the country wanted to see exactly what was happening. I don’t think they should be there. For every reporter that goes along, it takes the spot of a soldier that would be there. I think soldiers must feel like they have to protect these people differently because they do not have the training that soldiers have.

On April 6 2003, David Bloom, a reporter for NBC, died in the Iraq desert while he was reporting on the war. He was travelling in a cramped vehicle and suffered from a blood clot because of being in the same position for a long time. On January 29, 2006, Bob Woodruff, a reporter for ABC, and Doug Vogt, an ABC cameraman, were seriously injured by an explosive when they were travelling with the 4th Infantry Division along with the Iraqi Army. They were in an Iraqi vehicle with their upper body exposed. They had to be airlifted out and taken to an Army hospital in Germany.

I have not really seen any reports from the front lines with the Afghanistan war, but that doesn’t mean they are not there. I just don’t keep up with it.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/IraqCoverage/story?id=1553996&page=1

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/06/iraq/main547972.shtml

Week 1

I love to write outside, where I am away from all the disturbing noises of phones ringing, people talking, and cars going by. Before I start writing I always sketch out a bubble diagram of what I'm going to write about. Drawing a diagram helps me to really think about what I am going to write for each topic.

When I was younger, I had really bad anxiety and panic attacks. I felt like no one could understand how I felt,and my escape was writing. I would write long poems or just act like I was writing to someone who cared. I found myself through writing. I taught myself so many lessons, by writing things down I could picture things so much better. If I don't write my ideas for a paper or poem down first it never really seems to make since. By jotting ideas down, it helps me to visualize what I am really wanting to say, and also delete the things that don't exactly seem to fit.