Super cruise

1. Topic:

• New Tech in cars could lead to driver-less cars

2. Article Title:

• Cadillac To Offer Hands-Off 'SuperCruise' Driving... Coming Very Soon.

4. Summary: Basically, Cadillac is now developing a car with ultimate cruise control abilities. It features lane centering technologies, and adaptive acceleration. Not only can it stay in the center of the lane, but it can notice a high concrete wall, on a highway for instance, and stay further away while still in the confines of your lane.

5. Reaction: I think this is revolutionary, and could seriously help the driving situation, as well as productivity, in America. Traffic jams would not be a place of stress, but a mobile office! Also, if it is optional, we could use it as a tool in drivers ed.


6. World Impact: This new technology could mean the world to... well... the world! If you are not paying attention your car could save you from a collision, or keep you in your lane! With the good there is bad though, for instance, knowing your car can auto-sense other cars and such, you may develop a bad habit of texting while driving and what if the tech fails? What do you do when it glitches and swerves to the right? And god forbid it ever run on Apple maps....

Weekly blog

This week in GECHS we reviewed phishing and scams. Not too much work today you know?


Here's some vocab!

Scam- An attempt to trick someone in order to get money or info.

Identity theft- A type of crime in which your private information is stolen and used for criminal activity.

Vulnerable- To be in a position that makes it easier for you to be harmed or attacked.

Phishing-When people send you false emails or texts, even real mail in an attempt to receive vital information.


Some ways to avoid being scammed are to never, ever, for-never ever, EVER, give out information like: name, Date of Birth, driver’s license, passports, social security numbers, and (obviously) credit card info. If someone gets a hold of your information then you could be in serious trouble! They could ruin your credit, buy stuff in your name, and even drain your accounts! A good method to see if a site is legit is to check to see if your data is being encrypted, and if it has been approved by a trusted outside source.


Overall my week has been good; I FINALLY finished my project for ACA118. I don’t think I took up all the time, but I still think I did good.

Weekly Review Blog

Tech current event

Hurricane Sandy

This week Hurricane Sandy hit, and...........*rumble*.......... WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA........................................................................................................................................................





THE END.

Tech current event

Topic: Solar panels, the cheap way

Title: Social project uses pop bottles to provide indoor lighting for the poor

Source: Gizmag, here

 Summary: Instead of fancy-shmancy solar panels, some students in Michigan decided to use an old camping trick to light homes without power. They install water filled pop bottles into rooftops so that the water refracts light all over the room. Here is an image from their site:

Reaction: I think this is awesome and I'm wondering why this isn't being used more often. We have plenty of soda, plenty of empty soda bottles, and poor people have a lack of electricity. Do the math.

World impact: Free light! Poor countries could get so much more light, and still have waterproof roofs.

Blog post (late)

Welcome to my blog! This week we, at the GECHS, have had an easy week. Watched a movie, had some "chill" time. Well..... Sorta.

New Vocab:

Represent: How you are presenting yourself online.

Persona: Image or personality you portray to others

Avatar: Image/graphic that represents you online

Anonymous: Hidden identity

Inhibit: Being careful/restrained about your actions or impulses

This week we also learned about a nifty little thing called Glogster it's basically an interactive poster. Kind of makes me think  of an "E-Billboard" of sorts. Some positives, it's a simple to use tool, (which all you iPhone users will love) and a huge following, so you followers don't have to worry about awkward looks. As for all you free spirits out there, expand to an all new audience. The wonders of the inter-webs awaits! Unfortunately, the good cannot exist without the bad. ERMAHGERD, If I have to wait for it to load this long on EVERYTHING, I will die. I mean, sure I'm not boasting massive data capabilities on my simple wi-fi setup, but c'mon? I can run Minecraft (copyright Mojang, don't sue me dude) but not Glogster?

We also learned about being real online. In order to be real online you have to BE YOURSELF. Now, don't go home and post all your vital information on Facebook, just don't go home and say you are the president of the world and you're dating models.

We watched a movie about bullying, like I said earlier, it was called Cyberbu//y. (yes, slashes for "L's") Starring Emily Osment, and it was about (not too surprisingly) cyber bullying! But alas, the poor girl was forced into suicide by her best friend. Luckily enough, she couldn't get the cap off, and her friend got off Scott-free.

Weekly review

Hey everyone, this is my blog post. I planned on speaking some weird foreign language but it didn’t work. Anyways, this week we learned about all sorts of neat stuff.

Here's some new vocabulary!
target: victim
offender: bully malicious intent.
bystander: witness that does nothing
up stander: witness that does something
escalate: intensifies-increase
de-escalate: decrease

Also this week we learned about a thing called WeVideo, a cool site where you can make videos for free. if you need a (terrible) example, here's mine!


A few positive things about this tool is that A: its FREE, B: its easy to use, C: there is no immediate limitations requiring you to pay. Then again, I just discovered it this week. On the negative, I have to say that its path editing/slide fading tool/stitching feature when editing really disappointed me. I mean come on, I had to space out my slides, choose between having SFX or music. And the transitions made me want to bang my head on the computer.

Overall my week has been pretty good, just watched a few videos about cyber-bullying, watched a movie in World History, and I have soccer finals this weekend.

Weekly current event

Topic: Overpriced wires

Article: Apparently this matters: $13,000 HDMI cables

Source: CNN news "apparently this matters" section

Summary: Diamond brand HDMI cables are made of silver, they are $13,000, and they are just as good as three dollar cables. They present the argument that silver is superior but i think its just plain overrated. I still use my free HDMI cable I got online, valued at $2. Same quality.

Reaction: I think this is the birth of Apples success. By that I mean one company gets rich off of saying their product is better than all the others' products, when in actuality it is just an overpriced piece o' hardware. I mean seriously, is my Android worse than an Ipod as far as battery, yeah, but is my map accurate, is my processor faster, and are my apps cheaper, if not FREE? So why go with overpriced cables with silver in them when you could have the same quality with plain wires?

World Impact: None. The only reason someone would buy these is to show off.

Weekly review!

Good evenin' folks, this is your friendly neighborhood spider-man bringing you the latest on life here at the good old G.E.C.H.S.-sketch, but man have I got a lot for you. First off, I would like to give a shout out to the kind gentlemen finishing our long awaited L.S.B. building, can't wait!

Also, I got few new words for you, like: self disclosure: giving out personal information, or delicate data. Another good one is reciprocate. Basically it means passing on/giving others stuff. Now you may ask, "Didn't you guys learn about privacy and safety a few weeks ago?" And we did, but this lesson isn't just about what websites are real or not, this is about "sexting." It generally means to send dirty pictures/videos through some form of technology.

In class we used this nifty little site, called MakeBeliefsComix, that lets you build your own comic within the web browser. Check it out when you have the time. Here's the ones I did about sexting:

This one is about a young man building a healthy relationship through the web.

This one is about sexting and the "NO." strategy. Simply put, its just saying "NO."



Some things I like about the site is its great user-friendly setup. A five year old could navigate the site successfully! Unfortunately, a limited "cast", few background options, and the inability to draw directly to the comic make it fall down on my scale. Overall I would give it a 3 out of 5. Because hey, its free!

In our D.D.L. we learned about more sexting and how a girl got so sick of being bullied she ended it herself. Is that really necessary? Someones child is gone because of people reciprocating "sexts". I for one am going to think about her next time I get on the web.

Well, this ends yet another great week down here at Gaston. Peace.

Mind Map :D

Create your own mind maps at MindMeister
Kohle Bello is a boss.

The Slendermen are coming! And they bring digital literacy!

Well, this week in GECHS we learned about a lot of stuff, for instance digital literacy, being courteous and respectful online, even how to edit photos! It was loads of fun, but what else do you expect from a place like GECHS?

New vocab:

Reputation: how the general public perceives you.

Persist: to continue, endure.

Context: different factors around the photo that help determine its meaning.

First off, digital literacy: it’s how we act online. We have all acted like someone we're not, whether online or in person. It just happens, whether it was a white lie about being busy, or a huge lie, as in taking credit for someone else's work. But think before you do, because you wouldn't want folks starting rumors or posting embarrassing photos of you, so why do it to others? For example, take this photo of some guy dressing up like a slender man, now look at the edited ones. See how a few words can change someone’s reputation or hurt others feelings?

 this photo is the "stock" photo, 2012

 the negative one, edited by me 9/21/2012

the positive one, edited by me 9/21/2012

In case you were wondering, the photos I used were obtained from Flickrcc, a cool open source photo site. The edited photos were edited using piZap, a cool site that lets you edit your photos in browser. Did I mention it’s free? You don’t even have to sign up! Check it out along with a few other sites here

We also went over this program called digital drivers license, which is pretty much a crash course guide to online safety. Personally, I think it was pretty easy, but then again we are only on middle school level lessons. But I need the points, so no arguing here!

I for one don’t do this often, seeing as I’m almost always offline. But I will admit to being a jerk to people at times, and ESPECIALLY commenting on stuff with a less than positive attitude. But after seeing that it hurts others and some people actually get really hung up over a few words I have decided not to be so negative.

This week I have learned a lot, from digital literacy, to how to edit photos. All in all it was a pretty good week, but I can’t wait to go home and try out some of those editing sites!

GAHHHHH. I KEEP GETTING LOST?!?!?!

Apparently I have no sense of time, because I thought it was like WEDNESDAY! But, I guess its cause time flies when you’re staring at a screen so long you forget you’re awake!

This week we learned about digital citizenship, and how just because you think a Facebook post is harmless, it could hurt someone’s feelings.  So next time someone is making you really mad and you want to just purge your feelings on Facebook, think.  How would that make you feel?

We also looked at Animoto, this cool website that lets you make an amazing little video presentation, just add pictures and text! It’s got a neat and polished interface that allows complete dinguses (or is it dingi?) to use.  A simple browse feature lets you find your photos with ease, click and drag functionality is always helpful, and the quick load time always helps. Check it out here.

Need a place to get easy, open licensed photos? Try Flickrcc! It’s like normal Flickr, except ALL open source and free-to-share stuff. It really makes presentations easy and fun when paired with Animoto! Some of the photos are even of professional quality! Not at all what I thought they would be. As far as the content they have HUGE range from silly Star Wars stuff, to moving photos of child hunger. I suggest you give it a look, here is the link.

We also went over online privacy, and how you should never share information with anyone you don’t personally know. And especially never share information about your personal info with anyone. Never share your address, name, and ESPECIALLY not social security information. You never know what sort of creeper is on the other side of the wire, it’s like sticking your arm down a huge black hole filled with spiders! Just stupid!

RUN AND TELL THAT HOMEBOY.

Google Glasses.

Topic: Google Glasses.

Title: This Entire Video Was Shot with Google Glasses

Source: Gizmodo 

Summary: So Google has come out with a little add-on to glasses that pretty much makes sci-fi seem real. They are often associated with "holo-glasses", or "HUD's" (Heads Up Displays), but in non-geek terms, it is a device that can take first person video, and supposedly, operate like a portable, wearable, 

computer!

Reaction: I. AM. AMAZED. Augmented reality goggles have been around for years, but now Google has made a sleeker, lighter, and all around more chic design. In my personal opinion I think it will help us run day to day task, apps, and read, all in one device. This brings me to the fact that, unexpectedly, the video came out crystal clear! On the page I linked above, its got some blur, but also, think about how much less there is on the Google glasses than there is on your smart phone.

World impact: This will make the world stop. It will either help or hinder, think about how many wrecks are caused by texting? Yeah its a hands free device, but it also takes your vision too. But on the flip-side, think about how many hours you'll save by doing everything you would usually have to do on a monitor, doing it EVERYWHERE. Oh, the wonders of technology.

Mmmmmmm.........burrit- I, I mean Payseurs blog post...... yeah.

This past week we have gone over a lot of stuff! (Either that or I just don’t get it.) Anyways, we discussed RSS (really simple syndication) which lets you keep up to date with current events by auto updating links with the latest info. 

 We also learned about email etiquette and all the requirements for not looking like a neophyte on the internet. (Neophyte means “noob” to all those who were not paying attention.)

 A huge positive about RSS is now instead of having to go back and forth, back and forth, between all these blogs daily, I can have one page to rule them all! (LOTR ref.) But what shall this glorious page be called you may ask? Why, elementary Watson, Google Reader, one of Google’s neat little add-ons that make life bearable, seeing as it checks, refreshes, and alerts you of new activity on blogs or sites you have followed! How cool is that!

 On a more personal note, school has been an overall good experience, aside from the mass sobbing in our auditorium Friday evening. Rachel's challenge, is this touching, soul wrenching, presentation that made almost our entire school cry. I will admit, it made my cry, but unfortunately, I have to say our "fun friday" was a bit more depressing that time around.

 So I think this is done, so I wish you a happy belated Friday, and all that other cheesy stuff on cliche blogs. Later hombres.

ERMAHGAWD.

1. Topic:

using the power of your mind to blow up melons.

2. Article Title:

Exploding watermelons with your mind.

3. Article Source:

[source]

4. Summary:

 So there was a game called Star Wars Force Trainer, where if you concentrated on something hard enough it would turn a fan on and blow a ball into the air. Well someone took that idea and made the much more exciting prospect of.... well, smashin' melons!

 

5. Reaction:

  I think this is really cool! Every kid likes explosions, and video games, and every adult wants their kids to focus! so they found a happy medium with "mind over melon." I think that this could be the beginning of a new era of mind powered games, with the addition of maybe even a musical side. think about a tune you always wanted to play but never could get just right except in your head, Voila! Maybe in the future, but for now I think we are all content with explosive produce.

6. World Impact:  As I said above, this extends way beyond just gaming, with potential of being a universal device, but, with that splendor comes a darker side, what happens when this is utilized for war. the devastation a missile that can detonate, steer, and halt at a masters will. Well, we have some weapons similar, but nothing as fast as a human thought. On the brighter side, imagine playing Skyrim with your OWN hands.

i like tacos

FIRST POST! WOOOOOO!