Final Blog Post

I had heard of blogging before this class, but I was not extremely familiar with it and had never read any blogs. I didn’t think I would enjoy blogging at all, but I was surprised to find that it was actually kind of fun. Although I don’t feel the need to continue adding to my blog after this class, I enjoyed adding pictures and choosing the way my blog would look. Although Facebook doesn’t allow me to express my lengthier thoughts as well as Blogger does, I miss the social-centered feel of Facebook when I am writing on Blogger. I also question my ability to write something other people would want to read, although I might find the topic interesting.

My favorite blog was the Advocacy project blog just because it had the most pictures in it. I enjoyed driving around and finding things to take pictures of for that project. I also enjoyed sharing my views on the appearance of a community, because studies show that the way a community looks affects the way people act and treat others within the community.

If I could rewrite or edit any blog entry, it would by my podcast script blog. I found the story about the train wreck in Chatsworth, CA very interesting and I enjoyed researching it, but I wish I had written my podcast script differently. I feel that I wasn’t as creative as I could’ve been. Had I the opportunity to revise it, I would be more creative in order to make the hypothetical podcast more interesting.

"Isms" Slideshow and Reflection

Egotheism: identification of oneself with God.

A. Atheism was the most difficult “ism” to find an image for because it is difficult to find an image to represent the lack of something, as opposed to representing an object or something that can be easily pictured.
B. I think the images for Egotheism, Siderism, and Holobaptism most effectively represent their definition. The man in the Egotheism slide looks powerful as if he were a god. The image for Siderism seems to give the stars different personalities as if they were influencing the people on earth. The two people in the Holobaptism slide show clearly a baptism in which the person is entirely submerged.
C. When deciding on specific images, I chose ones that I thought had the most relevance to the topic.

Podcast Script

Episode 1: Tragic train wreck in Chatsworth, CA
Intro music: What Would You Say - Dave Matthews Band (30 seconds then fade out)

Hello everyone, and thank you for tuning in! This is Kayleigh Lemon here to discuss a recent incident in Chatsworth, CA. Now as many of us know, it is foolish to talk on our cell phones while driving. Lately more light has been shed on the issue of texting while driving, which has also proven to be extremely foolish and irresponsible. However, we don’t hear much about texting while conducting a train. As ludicrous as it sounds, that’s exactly what happened on September 12th, 2008 and resulted in many deaths and injuries. Here’s the story:

(train wreck sound)

With the many modes of transportation used daily in the United States, it seems inevitable that there would be accidents and malfunctions. And while this is true, it didn’t keep many people from being shocked September 12th, 2008 when a Metrolink commuter train conductor continued along a track that a Union Pacific freight train was given the “right of way” to use and the two machines collided in Chatsworth, CA (Sky News). The tragic accident was responsible for taking twenty-five lives and injuring at least one hundred thirty people (Sky News). It is believed that the conductor of the Metrolink train, Robert Sanchez, missed the red light that was given to him because he was busy sending text messages (Sky News). While the severity of this incident could labeled it as a bizarre accident, it sheds light on some pressing issues concerning the safety of train travel, and text messaging as a common and sometimes deadly distraction.
Although trains are used throughout the United States, and for many people it is a common inconvenience to be stopped in traffic as a train rolls by, they still seem to be out dated. After hearing a story from a friend that the train she traveled on to California actually hit and killed a person on the way there, and having been on a train myself on which the conductor claimed to have “just nearly hit a pedestrian,” I am beginning to believe that trains are simply unsafe. Although train travel and safety has certainly improved over time, there are still more train fatalities than automobile fatalities per one hundred million vehicle miles traveled. According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 1.37 fatalities due to car accidents were reported per one hundred million vehicle miles traveled. This compares to the ninety eight fatalities reported from the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis per one hundred million miles traveled.
While I would hate to put all the blame on a single person for this tragic accident, it cannot be ignored that the Metrolink conductor is reported to have been sending and receiving text messages at the time of the accident (Sky News). According to Sky News, “Sending texts while driving a train is a violation of operator Metrolink's policy but not illegal.” Text messaging is almost ubiquitous in America, but people need to realized that in many cases it is a deadly or harmful distraction. According to Steve Vogel, “revealed that text-messaging while driving is becoming as dangerous as drinking and driving, in terms of inhibiting a teen’s driving abilities” (Vogel). And even though text messaging while driving is most prominent among teenage drivers, it is certainly equally a distraction for those adults who choose to text message also.
The train accident in Chatsworth has brought due attention to the rail system and the deadly distraction of text messaging when one should be paying attention to what they are doing. While the train industry may not be affected by the incident too heavily, as texting while conducting a train is not generally thought of as a common issue, this accident will most likely add to the effort to outlaw texting while driving. I believe the law would not be welcomed by many teens, but it would certainly be helpful in the promotion of safe driving. Laws like this would affect everyone on the road, because everyone driving is put in danger when someone near them is distracted by sending or reading a text message.

Music: How to Save a Life - The Fray (play seconds 0:46 to 1:00)

Conclusion:
Although many of us have been guilty of texting while driving, I am hoping accidents like the one at Chatsworth will encourage all of us to make wiser and safer decisions. Thank you again for tuning in, and have a great day!

Comp 106 personal blog

My senior year of high school I was having trouble figuring out where I wanted to go to school the next fall. Although I heard from everyone that it was normal for high school seniors to not know what they would like to continue studying, I still felt intense pressure to figure it out. I also felt like I was not as equipped as other high school students in exploring what I would like to study because I went to a very small school that didn’t offer a wide selection of classes.

So while never deciding what I would like to study, I chose to attend U of M Dearborn in the fall because I was offered a scholarship. However, after taking some classes I began to feel like I needed to find out what I would enjoy studying in order to avoid wasting time and money on classes that I didn’t enjoy and were unnecessary. I decided that it would be best for me to study what I enjoyed the most.

I feel like I see too many people choosing careers that give them the most money over careers that they will actually enjoy, and I would not like to be one of those people. I would rather not only live after five and on weekends. Sometimes I feel even my parents are working so hard that they don’t have any time to enjoy their money. I don’t want to live a life in which most of my time is spent somewhere I don’t want to be. Because of this, I decided to study something I love.

After some reflection, I realized that I would love to study anything that was either applied art or art-related. I’ve always loved sketching, painting, and visiting art museums. The only reason I didn’t think of going to an art school before was because I wasn’t sure I was good enough to get in, but I love it so much that I decided I would have to try anyway. Since deciding this, I’ve been visiting art schools, looking into art programs, and building my portfolio. Honestly, part of me is afraid to even try to pursue what I love because I might fail, but the rest of me is eager to try in order to escape being stuck on a career path I hate.

Moreover, after seeing and hearing about people working for a certain company for decades and then being stuck without a job when the company decides to close or relocate, I think it would probably be wise of me to have multiple flows of income. I occasionally mull through ideas in my head of how I could make money aside from working for someone else, but haven’t settled on anything yet. From what I’ve read, one of the best things to do is to start multiple businesses, but structure them so that after some time they require little effort from the owner. This sounds great in theory of course, but I’m assuming it’s very difficult and possibly to stressful for me to bother attempting. However, I still think that working for one corporation for the duration of one’s working life and then retiring with pension from that corporation is becoming a thing of the past.