My Lyrical Profession of Self

The Ten Forces That Flattened the World

2005-10-02T19:58:00.000-05:00

Flattener #2
8/9/95
When Netscape Went Public

Can you remember what the world was like before you had the world at your fingertips because of the World Wide Web. Before 1995, most of the world was gradually moving towards the idea of interconnectablity through the usage of computers, but different types of computers caused compatablity issues. The World Wide Web had only been around for four years, after British computer scientist Time Berners-Lee created the first "Web site." The main problem was there was no one browser that allowed for connectablity to all Web sites and computers.

On August 8th, 1995 Netscape released its Internet browser to the world, "making the computer and its connectivity inherently more useful for millions of people." Netscape basically made the Internet accessable to anyone that wanted the Internet. It was released with three-month trials. "For big business and government it was allowing them to connect and unlock all information, and the point-and-click system that Marc Andreesseen invented allowed more mortals to use it, not just scientists."

Netscape going public flattened the world by help making the Internet truly interoperable to everyone who wanted to use the Internet. By the interconectivity of Netscape, millions of people gained access to any knowledge they chose to search for and the ability to talk to anyone through e-mail. "The PC-Windows flattening phase was about me interacting with my computer and me interacting with my own limited network inside my own company. Then came along this Internet-e-mail-browser phase, and it flattened the earth a little bit more. It was about me and my computer interacting with anyone anywhere on any machine, which is what e-mail is all about, and me and my computer interacting wiht anybody's Web site on the Internet, which is what browsing is all about."

The invention of Netscape caused the world to become a little less personnal.

Instant Messaging and Grammar

2005-09-27T14:34:00.000-05:00

Instant Messaging
Instant Messaging is an online system of conversation between two or more "buddies" around the world. Instant Messaging is most prevalent in teenagers. According to a Pew report from 2001, “74% of online teens use instant messaging” and “69% of teen instant message users use IM at least several times a week.” But what effect does Instant Messaging have on adolescence grammar?

Negative Effects of IM
In the article, Instant Messaging: Friend or Foe of Student Writing?, readers are warned of the potential negative effects of writing caused by Instant Messaging. One of the main concerns of Instant Messaging is the “bastardization” of language caused by the quick pace typing. Instant Messaging writing has evolved into a short term language of its own. Some examples include: u=you, lol=laugh out loud, rofl=roll on floor laughing. Along with the short term abbreviations of words, punctuaction has become obsolete, which results in a bunch of run-on-sentences. Carl Sharp's 15-year old son’s summer job application read "i want 2 b a counselor because i love 2 work with kids." English instructor Cindy Glover, who, while teaching undergraduate freshman composition in 2002, “spent a lot of time unteaching Internet-speak. ‘My students were trying to communicate fairly academic, scholarly thoughts, but some of them didn’t seem to know it’s “y-o-u,” not “u”’.”

Positive Effects of IM
"Other educators take IM usage as a more positive trend, and revel in how comfortable today’s kids are with writing, and how much easier it is for them to get words on a page (or, more often, screen.) Barbara Bass, director of the Maryland Writing Project, points out “For a while, people were not writing anything. Now, people are actually seeing words on paper. And that’s good” (Helderman, 2003.) In fact, according to another recent newspaper article, “Instant messaging and e-mail are creating a new generation of teenage writers, accustomed to translating their every thought and feeling into words. They write more than any generation has since the days when telephone calls were rare and the mailman rounded more than once a day” (Helderman, 2003)."

So What do we do?
Instant Messaging has both positive and negative effects on writing, but it's up to the writer to determine if he/she is going to fall into the pit of horrible grammar and spelling. I know for myself that i struggle with snapping out of "Instant Messaging Mode" and as a result have a hard time with spelling and grammar. When writing, or more accurately typing, I catch myself writng in short term abbreviations instead of taking the time, as i should, to type out a complete thought with meaning. " IM lingo is evidence of the evolution of language, and as Brown-Owens, Eason, and Lader (2003) point out, teachers need to realize that – for better or for worse – IM is widely used among many adolescents and is consequently a strong influence on student academic performance. For who knows? Given its roots in other languages, sometime soon we may even be teaching IM-speak as a legitimate form of language."

IM will b around 4 many years 2 come! : )

Fanboys

2005-09-27T14:25:00.000-05:00

For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So
___________________________
_____________________, (fanboy)
____________________________
____________________ (endmark)

(Must be composed of two complete sentences and thoughts)

What is Leukemia?

2005-09-18T14:44:00.000-05:00

Leukemia is a malignant disease (cancer) of the bone marrow and blood. Approximately 34,810 people in the United States will be diagnosed with leukemia in 2005. Of all those diagnosed, leukemia is most prevalent in adults, but a child is diagnosed with leukemia in about every 1 in 10 cases. The major forms of leukemia are divided into four categories: acute and chronic myelogenous leukemia and acute and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Acute leukemia is a quickly progressing disease that affects unformed or primitive cells that cannot carry out their normal functions. Chronic leukemia is a slower progressing disease which permits the growth of a greater number of developed cells which means these more mature cells can carry out some of their functions

Possible Causes of Leukemia

Exposure to high doses of irradiation, as carefully studied in the Japanese survivors of atomic bomb detonations
Exposure to the chemical benzene, usually in the work place
Exposure to chemotherapy used to treat cancers such as breast cancer, cancer of the ovary or the lymphomas. Alkylating agents and topoisosomerase inhibitors are most frequently associated with higher risk
Therapeutic radiation, depending on the dose and setting

Approach to Diagnosis

Medical history and physical examination
Complete blood counts
Bone marrow examination
Cytogenetic studies
Immunophenotyping

Immunophenotyping

This is a laboratory test that enable the physician to determine the type of disease that is present in the patient. It uses the antigens (proteins) on the cell surface and the antibodies produced by the body that match the antigen.

Cytogenetic examination

Cytogenetic examination of tissue is the procedure of analyzing the quantity and figure of the chromosomes of cells. In addition to identifying chromosome variations, the definite genes affected can be recognized in some cases. These findings are very helpful in diagnosing specific types of leukemia, in determining treatment approaches and in following the response to treatment.

Information from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The World Wide Ecosystem

2005-09-12T09:32:00.000-05:00

Before the Internet, only journalists, newsman, and other forms of media men had the capability of publishing the news, which often caused the information to be one sided. Today, writing on the Internet has allowed everyday people to publish their point of view. Writing through blogs and Wikis allow ordinary people to publish info to an audience of one-to-one or by many-to-many about public issues. News can now be uploaded almost instantly from everyone’s point of view. Instead of Journalism’s one sided standpoint, the public gains the capability to express their opinions and knowledge to everyone else.

Blogroles and originally mailing lists allow the personal, professional, public and academic worlds of writing to instantly gain access to new information, may it be the latest honor role list or a new scientific discovery be sent to all employees of a particular company. Another way to quickly contact another individual with news is through SMS. This technology is used by the public to quickly transmit SMALL messages to friends or other colleagues at work. A businessman can use his/her PDA to contact another co-worker or group of co-workers quickly and efficiently.

One of the most popular new forms of posting media is through Peer to Peer networks and Bit Torrent clients. With the invention of Napster, millions of teenagers across the country learned that they could quickly transfer media, especially music, quickly and with no cost to them. With the growth of “illegal” file sharing, numerous court cases have been filed as the music industry tries to fight to maintain its copyright laws.

Giving Back Hope

2005-09-07T09:51:00.000-05:00

After hurricane Katrina devistated New Orleans, Indiana has taken steps to reach back and help those in need. About 800 evacuees are being transported to various locations in Indiana to survive while there home is and life is being rebuilt. Both the American Redcross and individual citizens who want to help those in need have collaborated in helping the hurricane victims. It is good to see that the United States is coming together to help all those in need even if it means more than just helping out your neighbor. When i am able to go home, I plan on helping out at the local Red Cross. It will be very pleasing to be able to help those in need and it really puts a good perspective on how well off I really have it and to make the best of my opportunities in life.

Unbreaking the Habits of High School

2005-09-01T00:08:00.000-05:00

I come from a high school where academics is a number one priority, but self expression and individual thinking is the last. Teachers cared more about hearing themselves in a paper written by the student then they did about the students own ideas. This caused me to get into the habit of not writting a paper true to myself, but rather for the teacher's appeal, which was needed to get an A.

Now in college i have to unbreak the habit of not thinking for myself. High school made writing "easy" by causing the students to write a paper as a math equation. 3-5 pages + have a strong thesis (that the teacher practically gave you) + have 3-5 main ideas that you cover in your paragraphs + a strong conclusion=A.

I need to learn to express my ideas on paper. English is not like Math or Science where the answer is always true, you either got it right or wrong, but rather there is really no wrong answer, its a matter how well you portray your idea determines how right you are.

Love is a struggle!

2005-08-31T23:56:00.000-05:00

Sara, I understand what you mean in your repl y to my post about true love being so hard to find, but at the same time that’s what makes it so great once you finally find it. Society and sin do control the world we live in and it is a challenge to overcome these negative aspects of live. I know in my walk, it has been easier to turn the other way when it comes to drugs, alcohol, etc. then it has been to care for a person just because they are alive. It is much harder to deal with people who are different than you and who society portrays as being unequal to yourself. But, the greatest thing is when you learn to let down your own pride and just accept a person for who they are even if you don't get the same attitude in response. I have found that when you find that person in life who you can be completely transparent with, it makes being more open to everyone else a lot easier because you have found the person who accepts you competely for who your are.

Constitutional Rights

2005-08-28T13:25:00.000-05:00

Amendment I - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The United States government established America as a nation where no one would be criticized or demoralized because of their religion or expression of an idea. But, even with this constitutional amendment, we are a nation that is racist and condemn others that are unalike ourselves. It took a civil war for blacks to not have to deal with slavery, but they still didn't gain status until many years later. Hate groups such as the KKK arose to detest in outrage of black's new freedoms, because they were "unequal to white men." Women's suffrage was not barred until 1920 and all this by a nation founded in 1774. But where are we today?

Today people can say anything and everything they want with no repercussion at all. There are tabloids such as national enquirer that makes up false stories about celebrities so that we can relate to them on a better level. We have organizations for any and every possible occupation, race, or religion. The world has evolved into a less critical of others world and more critical of us. We have the freedom to express anything that we want, but what we want most now a day is money. Life has become a struggle of greed.

As a Christian I have struggle with the concept of greed. Why would someone lust for something so greatly that they would walk over anyone that stood in there way. Isn't greed the basis of all inequalities? African Americans were not criticized because their skin was black; they were criticized because there skin was black and white men where greedy and didn't want to share their political and social status. Even in the church, the place where everything is suppose to be set around the concept of unconditional love, we have those who look down upon those because they are not the same religion or as far along in their walks as themselves.

I believe that we should have the freedom to express ourselves in any way possible, but I believe that with this gift we should not denounce others for the sheer pleasure of lifting ourselves. I also believe in freedom in religion, which is something hard for others to understand. Why would a Christian want others to be able to have the choice in what they believe? Why would he want someone to experiment with a different religion? I believe that god created every one of us with the choice to love him or not to love him. If everyone is forced upon the same religion, there is no choice, but rather they love him because they have to.

Love as a Christian

2005-08-22T17:33:00.000-05:00

Life is a struggle between who we are and what we dream. To truly know a person, or better yet ourself, we must not concentrate on the physical attributes or social status that society is demonstating as the "true character" of a person. We must instead focus on the inward struggles of life, that through triumph define a person's authentic emotions.

Love is the only emotion which is blind to all flaws and imperfections of mankind. It does not get caught up on the negative aspects of a person but rather their achievements. For failure is not the definitive of a person, but instead our reactions to failure is the test of ones true accomplishment. We all have and will continue to fail at some aspect of life for the rest of our lives, but hopefully not the same aspect repetatively. Our struggles are meant to teach us and to give us a true appreciation of where we have come from and where life will lead us next. And through these roads to self enlightenment true love will be there as our support and anchor.

In life we all have a purpose, but to each purpose there are many paths. In your path you will meet many people who are both alike and unlike yourself. Do not condone someone for being different, but instead love someone for that same reason. Who are you to pass judgement on someone for being different, when infact we are all different in our own respective ways? Approach every situation in life with love as the greeter.

To love is to LIVE!

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away...And now these things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
- 1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13

My name is Christopher James Roberts and I am a Christian!