Oh, the memory of a massive migraine caused by playing catch up on computer with my online college!

INFORMATION DISSEMINATION

Communication, transportation and information in the modern world are the three major areas that technological advances have changed the way we relate today. The technological advances all have contributed to the changing way humanity relates and interacts with each other, but has it improved our understanding and relationships? Or has it only added to the confusion?

Give me a ring, and not a diamond one! Miscommunication abounds in the modern world, interconnected as it is by the telephone. “In 1840, a man named Bell, invented a contraption we know so well…,” warbles Country Singer Reba MacIntyre, “…so why haven’t I, heard from you?” Missed communication and not just miscommunication, are the results of our busy, fast paced lives filled with conflicting appointments. Attempts to resolve the problems the solutions of modernity has caused only further exacerbates the situation with the endless game of playing phone tag via answering machines or dropped calls in cell phone dead zones, causing frustration in all but technophobes.

“Built Ford Tough!” Tout the TV ads for Ford Motor Corp., but Ford is jokingly referred to as an acronym known as; “fix or repair daily,” and also; “found on road dead.” Getting from point A to point B and back again, sometimes not, is the subject of the movie: “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” Milling about in machines with moving parts prone to mechanical failure and human error give rise to such quips as: I went to Jamaica, my clothes went to Bermuda, but I was headed for Hawaii! Airline jokes aside, even drivers can be steered wrong by a road diversion not updated in their latest GPS device.

The Age of Information has been revolutionized primarily by computers and the ability to store vast amounts of data. Knowledge is power, as every salesperson is taught. An old insulting retort: bite me, has become; byte me! And super gigabyte size that to go…on everyone’s Equifax credit report for all eternity due to the unforgiving memory of machines. Another example of technology’s two steps backward for every step forward is experienced in the irretrievable loss of email and other instant messaging sent into cyberspace via the blue screen of death of a computer crashing.

Thus it can be seen that the rise of technology itself has given rise to its own unique problems, while being the solution to old ones. Whether or not these solutions and newer problems actually benefit humanity and improve the quality of life is left up to each individual. The rapidity of information exchange has given new meaning to the phrase: I didn’t mean to say that! As in email being gone once “send” is clicked, spoken words ending with the click of the receiver hanging up, and driving away replaces riding off into the sunset.

In Memorium: Brother "Bob!"

Ernest Felix "Bob" Uliano.

1/30/1956 - 11/12/2007

I just got the word last night that my elder half brother died Monday in an auto accident in Bellingham. Shocked, I tried to attend my rehab class, but could only check in and quickly leave. I did not grieve when my father passed away, I didn't know him, only meeting him once when I was 30 and then not again. Grandma's passing relieved her pain from cancer, and Grandpa had lived beyond expectations after his triple by-pass. But Bob's passing comes as a shock. He was just beginning to turn his life around and things were getting better for him. He leaves us behind with the memory of his hard work and endless struggles to overcome all the difficulties and challenges that came his way in this life. I miss you Bob!

Country Music

Week 2 of my U of Phoenix online is almost over and I am doing well with studies. Having tried to return to college previously, I usually ended up finding myself uninspired and lacking interest. This Psychology program I have chosen to complete my previous 3 years of psych and printing studies at Western Washington University seems to be just the thing for me. As I told some of my classmates in my intro bio to them, I liked studying psych previously because it taught me how to learn and how to think instead of being taught: "what to think!" Maintaining my newfound sobriety helps immensely with devotion and dedication to my studying. I mention Country Music as the title to this blog as I like to listen to music when I post my test answers and essays, but not when I read and study, and I gained an appreciation for Country music when I worked with a Texan once in printing. He always said that: A printer who doesn't drink, simply doesn't understand the situation he's in! A friend of mine mentions that she once worked at a radio station and at that time, Country was considered the most popular music in America! Guess we're all a bunch of hicks and rednecks, or at least they outnumber us "civilized" beings up here in the North! I learned at AA meetings and in my recovery classes that recovery is like a Country song played backwards: you get your car back, you get your wife back, you get your kids back, you get your life back! And even the dog likes you again too! So for all you audiophiles out there in cyberspace, here is a link to the new sensation singer; Taylor Swift, singing her new hit: Our Song! I found it delivered to my Real Player news, but they wouldn't let me download it for you, so just follow the link to listen to this golden haired golden voice singing. If I had a girlfriend, I would make "Our Song" our song! Enjoy! http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1119532170&fr=my-vert-web-top

Daylight Savings Crime!

On your mark, get set...


...Stumble!

So the first week of study with the University of Phoenix online went well, better then I expected. A lot of old stuff I had forgotten got rehashed and refreshed in my memory. I learned the hard way that Arizona has a high disregard for Daylight Saving Time when I turned in one assignment at 11:40 PM and it was late because Phoenix time was 00:40 AM the next day! I got 10% of that assigment reduced in grade for being late. So now I turn in assignments in my morning study hours and do all my reading in my evening study time so that I can sleep on it, sort of digest the reading material by osmosis if you will. 15 of us classmates are divided into 3 study teams and we will prepare a final paper for the intro course via committee. My team has opted for the topic of the use of technology in cheating! Very apropo for an online class, wouldn't you agree?