To act or not to act

In hamlet's soliloquy (To be, or not to be) he informs the audience of his thoughts as he wonders if he should continue to exist or not to exist. This work of literature has withstood the test of time. Most  of the population has at the very least heard of the existence of this speech. The speech I mentioned in my Dear Steve post is very similar to this speech. However Steve is directly encouraging others to love what they do, Hamlet is speaking to himself upon a stage not directly speaking to anyone but himself. Both speeches are about decisions, a decision to act, or a decision not to act.

Dear Steve

We all know that Steve Jobs is the founder and CEO of the company known as Apple. His company revolutionized the industry with products such as the iPod, iPhone, and of course the original Mac. Generally that is where our knowledge of the man ends. In his speech 'You Have to Find What You Love,' he briefly tells three of his life stories to inspire others to work towards their dreams. In these stories he tells you the truth to his success. In his first story he explains that he dropped out of college when he realized that it was taking him nowhere, which in turn allowed him to take the drop in classes that he really found to be interesting; i.e. the calligraphy class. The true moral of the story is to reflecting upon your past and connecting the dots. The calligraphy class that I mentioned earlier, well because of that class Steve was able to create the decorative font used in the Macs. If not for the class he wouldn't have created the beautiful typography used within all apple products. With the second story he tells us that you have to do what you love. For those whom don't know He was actually fired from Apple at age 30. A few years later he was brought back , the experience showed him how much he truly cared for the work that he did. The last story was about pushing yourself, to live each day as if it were your last. That's what Steve Jobs did. As part of his thirs story he claims that everyday for 33 years he looked himself in the mirror and asked "what if this is the last day of my life?". All in all his advise boiled down to four things.(in his own words)
1 Connect the dots
2 The only way to work great is to love what you do
3 Your time is limited don't waist your time living someone else's life
4 Stay Hungary. Stay foolish.

The value of choice

What I would like to learn the most are the skills that will be valuable in the commercial environment in my lifetime. Considering I would ideally like to entertain people with my writings and stories maybe I could use the vocabulary to be more descriptive. Of course with the chance that I don't become some sort of storyteller it would be nice to have skills that could be used in many fields of business.

Netvibes my intro to a new home page

In class today we were asked to try a new home page from s sight called Netvibes. So I checked doubt the program and so far I an not amused. This program is great, it monitors blogs, social accounts; ex twitter and Facebook, and news searches. However I don't use twitter or Facebook, if I did or if I decide to this will be great for me because I wont have to constantly log in every time I use my computer. The simple fact is that I don't use these social centers. Despite my pessimistic view of the new program I did find one very interesting fact about it. I can set the system to monitor all appearances of specific items. I'll explore the browser more as the week progresses, but as of this moment my schema tells me to open the browser, hit the favorites icon, select blogger, and do my homework/research.

Vocabulary #6

adroit- having or showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness
Michael gives his speeches in an adroit manner.

amicable -characterized by  friendly goodwill
His amicable personality was difficult to ignore because he

averse -having an active feeling of repugnance or distaste
My friend buck has averse thoughts about large cities

belligerent -inclined to exhibiting assertiveness, hostility or combativeness
Buck becomes very belligerent when we talk about the Raiders and often begins to get angry.

benevolent- kind and generous
The benevolent man gave all that he had to the destitute man.

cursory-rapidly and superficially done
It was obvious that Harry had done his work in a cursory manner because he couldn't answer any questions on the subject.

duplicity-dishonest behavior intended to trick someone
The duplicity in his conversations with the guards allowed him to grab the keys and escape.

extol- to praise highly
The actors were extoled by the audience for their meritorious performance

feasible-capable of being completed
It is not feasible for one man to lift an object weighing 1000 pounds with his bare hands.

grimace-a facial expression of disgust or pain
The grimace on her face told me her true feelings when I suddenly entered the room

holocaust- a situation in which many people are killed and many things are destroyed
Diplomats work hard to prevent another global holocaust.

impervious-inability to be passed through
The Titanic was believed to be impervious, but now we all see the irony in that belief.

impetus- a force that causes something to move
The man claimed that the catastrophe actualy acted as a positive

jeopardy- exposure to immanence of death, loss, or injury
The founding fathers put their very lives in jeopardy when the signed the declaration of independence.

meticulous- marked by excessive care or treatment of details
His short stories were recognized for their meticulous detail

nostalgia-an excessively sentimental yearning to return to a period of the past
The way he talked about his past life in London suggested his memories were nostalgic.

quintessence- the essence of a thing in its purest and most simple form
The quintessence of liberty is the fair and equal treatment of all people.

retrogress- to move backward
The country began to retrogress once computers were banned from any sort of facility or industry.

scrutinize-to examine in a critical way
The man was scrutinized for his political and religious values while he lived in Soviet Russia.

tepid -not energetic or excited
Timothy was very tepid at his eleventh birthday party because his father was not there.

Accede- to express approval or consent
Gifford did not accede to the ruling of the grand council, instead he continued his attempt to rebut their decision.

Brandish- to shake or wave in a menacing manner
To frighten children during Halloween many brandish large weapons covered in fake blood.

Comprise- to be made up of, compose, constitute
This post is comprised of dictionary definitions and sentences using those words.

Deft- Characterized by facility and skill
His deft fingers were able to remove the cash from the lady's purse without her knowledge.

Destitute-  lacking something needed  or desired
The destitute man was in dire need of food and water.

Explicate- to give a detailed explanation of
In order to teach leadership, one must first explicate what it means to be a leader.

Extirpate- to destroy completely; to cut out using surgery
To help forget her previous boyfriend Tina extirpated all the things that he had given to her as gifts.

Inopportune- inconvenient
The addition of a physics lab to Jerry's homework list was inopportune for his normal schedule.

Ironic- incongruity between the  reality of an event and what is expected
The destruction of the Titanic was ironic because people believed it was impermeable

Musty- Impaired by mold; stale
The dungeon had a musty smell that made Keith's eyes water, and he had to struggle to keep hold of his last meal.

Officious- Kind obliging, dutiful: offering one's assistance when neither asked for or needed
Every week the officious old man

Ominous- being or exhibiting an omen
A chill was sent down his spine as the ominous red glow beneath the door grew brighter.

Pinnacle- the highest point of development or achievement
Apple was at the pinnacle of business when Steve Jobs was in charge of the company

Premeditated- considered beforehand
To be convicted of a first degree murder the crime must be proven to have been premeditated.

Rampant-marked by menacing wildness, extravagance, or absence of restraint.
His rampant anger often got him into trouble with the authorities.

Solace- to give comfort to in grief or misfortune
When I was going through a time of depression my friend Hunter offered my solace

Stately- marked by lofty or imposing dignity
The stately king wore his finest silks as he entered the throne room.

Freedom of choice

The freedom of choice is something most people find to be of great value. Imagine if someone dictated everything you did. Your spouse would be chosen for you, your meals planned for you, and there would be nothing exciting about your life. I my self cant stand the idea of someone controlling every movement that I make without my consent. With freedom we are free to peruse our own happiness and forge our own destiny. Some might find this freedom over whelming, they believe that they have no general direction for their lives. Others may just enjoy being followers, finding their happiness in helping someone else.

Vocabulary#5

adroit- having or showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness
amicable -characterized by  friendly goodwill
averse -having an active feeling of repugnance or distaste
belligerent -inclined to exhibiting assertiveness, hostility or combativeness
benevolent- kind and generous
cursory-rapidly and superficially done
duplicity-dishonest behavior intended to trick someone
extol- to praise highly
feasible-capable of being completed
grimace-a facial expression of disgust or pain
holocaust- a situation in which many people are killed and many things are destroyed
impervious-inability to be passed through
impetus- a force that causes something to move
jeopardy- exposure to immanence of death, loss, or injury
meticulous- marked by excessive care or treatment of details
nostalgia-an excessively sentimental yearning to return to a period of the past
quintessence- the essence of a thing in its purest and most simple form
retrogress- to move backward
scrutinize-t examine in a critical way
tepid -not energetic or excited

No child left untableted

I read the article No child left untableted in the New York Times magazine today. In a situation such as this I believe teachers should learn to utilize the new tools available to them in order to show students a different view of the world. on one hand this technology in combination with collaboration with peers and teachers could increase the education of our society. If educators can learn to utilize modern technology in their teaching it will expose students to the benefits of these tools earlier in their lives.

Declaration of learning independence

The idea of the open source learning is something I find to be very interesting. In most of my classes I am asked to simply open the textbook and memorize the information. In this class however I have been told that I am allowed to find my own resources. With this ability I will be able to focus on what I find to be most important to me and work hardest at improving skills around that area. I look forward to what lies ahead at the end of this course. Some collaborative working groups are even beginning to form, some around subjects such as health and fitness. In an attempt to increase my skills I will find a group that I'm interested.

Literary Analisis #1

        For the class reading I selected a book based on American politics. This book, Common Sense written by Glen Beck, was inspired by Thomas Paine whom also wrote his version of the book in 1776. As told to us in our history books, Thomas Paine wrote his pamphlet in objection to the current British rule over the American colonies. As such, this short book is comprised of questions and arguments.
     What astonished me and kept me from simply setting the book aside as another political rant, was when he claimed to stand against both political parties. Of course this alone didn't buy my time. Anyone can claim he is neutral and then continue to only tell only part of the story, however he commonly refers to the original document which is also located in its entirety in the back of the book. His brazen rebut of current government policies involving the U.S. tax code; the rising federal debt make it clear that he wants his audience to pay closer attention to national politics. I look at this book as an important tool to understanding the current state of our government, and to ideally creating a more suitable world for both ourselves and those who live after us.
        I could only describe Glen's apparent attitude as didactic and cynical. You may go as far to say he is a little morose. Though he never directly states that the country is doomed, it seems that he truly believes that if something, anything, is not done to permanently alter the way our politicians act, we will go the "way of Rome" and die out. He views many politicians as gross liars whom want nothing more than power and are willing to lie and cheat their way to do as such.
       His Militant  analysis of current events surrounding large political issues such as the ever increasing debt of the federal government, in current time measuring $16 trillion(Treasury direct), assumes that the political leaders of our nation are simply not doing what is needed to fix the issues we are facing. He even quotes George W. Bush's statement "abandon(ing) free-market principles to save the free-market system" as absolute hypocrisy. He continues to avoid circumlocution by offering an alternative, the reduction of government spending. The clear motif in this book ,think for yourself, can be clearly found in his repetitious allusion to the incompetence to our political leaders leaving little room for ambiguity.
       All of this, however well conceived, would be a mere lip service if not for the vast amounts of references covering four pages in his works sited section. These sources combined with the full Common Sense by Thomas Paine shows that Glen is well educated and is willing to share facts without telling the audience where his facts were drawn from.
      In the long term I expect to remember the apparent hypocrisy within both political parties. Instead of holding a dogged alignment to a political party and blindly granting them my servitude, it will be paramount for me to research political movements before jumping upon the wagon with those whom act purely upon emotional responses.

Vocab#4

Accede- to express approval or consent
Brandish- to shake or wave in a menacing manner
Comprise- to be made up of, compose, constitute
Deft- Characterized by facility and skill
Destitute-  lacking something needed  or desired
Explicate- to give a detailed explanation of
Extirpate- to destroy completely; to cut out using surgery
Inopportune- inconvenient
Ironic- incongruity between the  reality of an event and what is expected
Musty- Impaired by mold; stale
Officious- Kind obliging, dutiful: offering one's assistance when neither asked for or needed
Ominous- being or exhibiting an omen
Pinnacle- the highest point of development or achievement
Premeditated- considered beforehand
Rampant-marked by menacing wildness, extravagance, or absence of restraint.
Solace- to give comfort to in grief or misfortune
Stately- marked by lofty or imposing dignity

Will study for food

In order to pursue my dream of working in the gaming industry I have decided that college would be the most reasonable step for me to take following high school. I have not currently come to a final decision on which college would be the moist helpful to me I chose to research a scholarship in hopes of finding something suitable. I learned that Cogswell College possesses a scholarship in which professionals from animation, Entrepreneurship , and even game design select students who show potential in their field of study. This scholarship grants up to $6,000 annually. In order to qualify the student must submit a portfolio that demonstrates their level of proficiency. With this glimmer of hope I need to redouble my efforts in learning to write code.

Vocab 3

 accomplice- An assistant
 annihilate- obliterate
 arbitrary-  seemingly random
 brazen- a passionate boldness
 catalyst- something that accelerates a reaction
 exodus-  a massive departure
 facilitate- to make easier
 incorrigible- not manageable
 latent- present and capable of emerging  but not now obvious or active
 militant- aggressively active
 morose-having a sullen and gloomy disposition
 opaque- Unclear or foggy
 paramount- to be of great importance
 prattle- to babble
 rebut- to repel
 reprimand- a stern formal correction
 servitude- a condition in which one lacks all liberties
 slapdash-Hastily done with little effort
 stagnant-Unmoving, unchanging or unmotivated
 succumb - to be overtaken by a superior force