Ethics Assignment

I went to the session over the NSA and how it is ethically involved with the media. The major topic of conversation was over how the NSA has made is harder for journalists to trust any form of digital communication.        

A lot of what was discussed was applicable to bloggers because anything they put on the web can be seen and controlled by the NSA. They talked about how the NSA can manipulate phones and turn them into recorders so they can listen in to conversations without letting people know. If the NSA can do that to a phone then what can they do to a blog? They could skew your posts into portraying something out of context that you didn’t mean to post. In the basic form they are able to control the people right to freedom of speech. They’re able to restrict your ability to speak your mind so I think this has a major roll on bloggers.

I think the strongest part was how he talked about what loops journalists have to jump through now to avoid the NSA. I didn’t find a weak point in their discussion; it was all very valuable information.

I also went to “covering horror.” It was about how journalists have to cover horrific scenes of violence and trauma and how they deal with it. I don’t think this is applicable to bloggers because very few bloggers cover events first hand. I think that most bloggers if they are covering news relay the news given to them by other news sources or by the original journalists who covered it.

 I think its strongest point was show casing that being a journalist comes with a lot of challenges and it’s not always easy or fun. Its weakest point I think was that they didn’t articulate what benefits came from covering that story other than gathering news.         

Verbal Vomit

Today more then any other day I wish I had legs, mostly so I could have gotten up and walked away from the event that I am about to tell you.

So it's a normal Friday at the University of Central Oklahoma and Ryan and I are having a pretty good day nothing really out of the ordinary. Ryan and I walk into his second class of the day and sits down at his usual spot at the back of the room. Shortly after one of his female classmates walks in while covering her mouth with her hand. Ryan being the curious person that he is proceeds to ask her whats wrong.

The girl then moves her hand and reveals a small scab above her lip. She begins telling her story about how during the previous weekend she went to a concert and while she was walking in she tripped fell on her face and chipped a tooth. She tells Ryan that she didn't even get to go to the concert but instead had to go to the dentist to get a fake tooth put in. Ryan listens to the story, gives his condolences, and moves on to focusing on class.      

Later that class that same girl had to give a presentation. In the middle of her presentation she became shy and nervous and started to forget the speech she had prepared. She then completely lost her train of thought, and couldn't remember a specific word she wanted to use. She started filling the awkward pauses with filler noise like "um" and "uh". The professor trying to be light hearted and encouraging says "come on you got it," in which Ryan adds on "come on it's right on the tip of your tooth."

Ladies and gentlemen I have gone through hell and back with Ryan and I will always be there for him, but the looks Ryan received made me wish that Ryan's head had an ejection seat.

So with a tip of the hat I leave you with this...shut-up and be nice.    

Head Case

Why is it right when you check something off the to-do list something else pops up and requires your attention? The other day Ryan and I had just finished the lawn and decided to go for a swim at his uncles house, but as soon as we got in the car and turned it on the maintenance noticed popped up relaying the wonderful news that it was time to change the oil. So since this was the only day Ryan had to get some work done we (and by "we" I mean him) decided to spend another two glorious hours in the brisk 100 degree heat.

So Ryan gathers the necessary tools, gets the new oil, and jacks up his little hatch back car. Ryan then squeezes himself under the car and begins the routine maintenance. About half way through the automotive operation I see Ryan's dad come out from the houses and ask if Ryan needs any help, Ryan does not respond due to the fact that he has his headphones in and is blaring Led Zeppelin as loud as possible. Being the loving father that he is he finds this to be an opportune moment to scare the living crap out of his son. So while Ryan is working on his car I sat there idly by waiting for Ryan to scream about three octaves higher than any man should be able to produce. Ryan's dad slowly creeps around the side of the car, bends down and grabs Ryan's leg. Ryan, like I predicted, is scared crapless and scream like a three year old girl; what I didn't predict was that Ryan would jump and slam his head on the frame of the car knocking himself out for a solid ten minutes.

Wiping the tears from his eyes and holding his gut Ryan's dad walked back inside still laughing, not knowing that his son had just rendered himself unconscious. While Ryan took his little nap I had a rare moment to reflect on the life lessons that could be taken away from this jewel of an experience.

So with a tip of the hat I leave you with this, don't work on a car with headphones in, or if you do wear a helmet too.




     

The Greater Fool

While Ryan was having another riveting conversation with his grandmother, about his future, I sat on his head unable to avoid the next two hours which would inevitably end with her telling him that he could be the first doctor/ lawyer/ president in space if he wanted to. I have to admit I wasn't fully listening at first, but a brief phrase caught my attention. At first I thought nothing of it but while the conversation continued that key phrase began to peculate through the depths of my stitching.

That night while I hung from the nightstand next to Ryan's bed I still thought about what his grandmother had said, "never fear to be the greater fool."

"The greater fool?" what I thought was initially a witty remark by a caustic grandmother was originally an economic term, but after some research I soon found out that it was quite the helpful hint when applied in the right context.
 
 The greater fool is someone who is so dogmatic in their beliefs that they risk to lose the ability to be called sane. Someone who presses on past the accepted reality so that they have an opportunity to fulfill their dream. Someone who disregards reason for a chance of change.

So with a tip of a hat I leave you with this "never fear to be the greater fool."

A Tip of the Hat

Ten blogs I tip my hat to.

1. http://hanksters.wordpress.com/
2. http://www.milblogging.com/
3. http://popsci.typepad.com/
4. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/
5. http://collegefootballresource.com/
6. http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/
7. http://failblog.cheezburger.com/ugliesttattoos
8. http://www.lamebook.com/page/2/
9. http://www.sorryimissedyourparty.com/
10. http://myhusbandisannoying.com/

Out of all these there is one that stands out. Lamebook.com is a great blog, it's not complicated, easy to get lost, or over the top word. It's simply funny in every meaning of the word. Lamebook.com embraces the idiocy of some of the users found on Facebook and publicizes it for all to see.

1. Lamebook is incredibly addictive. I found myself hooked immediately after reading just a few posts. I was engulfed by the humor this blog brings to my everyday life. Its strength is that i has plenty of posts and that they're all funny.

2. Something that I really got from Lamebook was that i could use more pictures in my blog. The saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" really does come into play when talking about a blog sight, people like to be able to picture what your talking about.

3.The weakness of Lamebook is also it's greatest strength. Lamebook is all about stupid posts people have put on Facebook but, at the same time it's just about stupid posts people have put on Facebook so it can get repetitive and redundant at  times. I was try and add some depth to the blog. Like adding some stories of things that have happened on Facebook book instead of just quick one liners.

But on the other hand they have some pretty good one liners.
For a good laugh Click Here!