September 26, 2008: Pictures of New Zealand

This is a map of New Zealand. It shows the North Island and the South Island, as well as the capital, Wellington.

This map is more detailed, it shows the different regions of the country.

This is the New Zealand flag. 

This is a few examples of New Zealand money. 

This picture shows the beautiful mountains of New Zealand, as well as the water.

This is Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located on the North Island. 

This picture shows all of the major volcanoes in New Zealand. All are located on the North Island.

This is the Parliament building, or the “Beehive.”   

The New Zealand Dairy products account for about 21% of the country’s total merchandise exports.

Fonterra the largest New Zealand dairy producer, is also controls one-third of the international dairy trade industry.

Christianity is the majority religion is New Zealand.

One of the main fruits produced in New Zealand is the Kiwi.

This is the silver fern, it is the cultural symbol of New Zealand, it is worn by the sports teams.

Wine is another of New Zealand’s exports.

The Kiwi is the New Zealand national bird.

The Kowhai is the national flower, the name means yellow.

The Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand.

Deforestation is a big problem in New Zealand.

September 24, 2008- Insert a Picture

This is my friend Kim Johnson. She is 24 years old and was born on April 19th, 1984. Right now she lives in New York City, but she was born in Buffalo, NY. Her parents are Kim and Russell Johnson. Her mother’s family is Asian, while her father was born in England. Her father is an Art History Professor at NYU and her mother stays at home and takes care of her younger brother, and writes her book about raising a child with down syndrome.

Kim is a very accomplished photographer. She has her own website telling where her pictures can be seen and how to purchase her photos. Right now however, she is still considered an amateur. Her goal is to get beyond this title very quickly. Her photography and her family rule her life however, and she doesn’t have much time for anything else besides her friends and her love of books.

Right now, Kim is living with a roommate in New York City, but visits her family frequently. She is one of the sweetest people I know, and very creative. She sees the beauty in everything and in everyone. If you are lucky enough to meet her, you will have a life long friend.

September 23, 2008- My New Client: New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia. It is made up of two main landmasses, the North Island and the South Island, and several smaller islands. The country is very isolated.  The climate is temperate, but has sharp regional contrasts. The geography is mountainous with several active volcanoes. Natural resources of New Zealand include natural gas, iron ore, sand coral, timber, hydropower, gold, wool, and limestone. Agriculture is the main export in New Zealand. Fonterra, a dairy cooperative, controls one-third of the international dairy trade. They also produce meat, wood, fruit, and fish, as well as having a thriving wine industry. The population of New Zealand is about 4.2 million people, most, 78%, identify with European ethnic groups. The adult literacy rate is 99% and 14.2% of the adult population have a bachelor’s degree or higher. 22.4% have no formal qualifications. The GDP in US dollars is $128.1 billion. The GDP per capita is $26,400 The country is strongly focused on tourism. Movies such as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy have been filmed here.

Monday, September 22: Data

1. 0 and 1.

2. A metal disk, usually aluminum,  coated with a metallic  powder that can be rearranged  with magnets.

3. An internet browser.

4. Large groups of bytes, or codes, that form instructions about how to preform calculations or processing of data. They tell the computer how to work to create the product you want.

5. Central Processing Unit

6. Random Access Memory. Holds data until computer or user chooses to process it.

7. Fancy programs that of a GUI that allows you to give instructions to the program.

8. Graphic User Interface.

9. No, the web is not always reliable. Some websites are created to mislead people.

10. A series of programs and applications that work together to operate the hardware in a computer.

11. It manages the use of memory that shuffles data through the processor to preform functions.

12. No, that would be impossible.

13. Any hardware connected to the computer that gives it information.

14. The World Wide Web.

15. Bandwidth.

16. DSL and Cable.

17. A complex network consisting of millions of computers that depends on agreements of both governmental and non-governmental organizations to share data.

18. Email, electronic mail, is a way of communicating which uses the resources of the web.

19. No, email messages are not secure.

20. No, the transmission of an email is not instantaneous, it can take days to be delivered in some cases.

21. Yes, the government can see your email.

22. They are programming languages.

23. A computer works by using input devices to give the computer data. This data is sent through  operating systems made up of programs and applications that use GUIs to make giving the computer information to your computer easier. The computer then gives you the information you are looking for.

September 19, 2008: History of Computers

1. ASCII White- American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Devoted to service of the country.

2. Charles Babbage- An English mathematician and mechanical engineer. He is considered the father of the computer. Originated the idea of the programmable computer.

3. Herman Hollerith- A former MIT instructor. who developed a mechanical tabulator based on punched cards in order to rapidly tabulate the census. He formed the company that was the basis of IBM.

4. Colossus- Electronic computing devices used by the British to decode German messages during World War 2. They used vacuum tubes to do their calculations.

5. Manchley and Eckert- They created the ENIAC, which was larger than Collosus. It wsa 30 tons, with a primitive memory.  They formed the company UNIVAC.

6. John Von Neuman- Was an advisor to Manchley and Eckert with a photographic memory. Wrote a paper describing how computers should be designed logically. It was a map for the future.

7. IBM- International Business Machines Corporation. The worlds largest computer company. Was the dominant vendor of the computer industry in the 1950s. Introduced the Personal Computer (PC) in 1981.

8. Kilby and Noyce- Invented the Integrated Circuit.

9. Ted Hoff- One of the inventors of the Microprocessor.

10. Douglas Engelbart- Conceptualized a simple to use computer. Created the computer mouse and helped create hypertext.

11. Xerox- Set out to design a simple to use computer. The Alto. The first to use the “desktop metaphor.” They were $18,000 a machine.

12. Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs- Steve Jobs was a college drop out. They were the creators of Apple. The Apple 1 was built in a garage. In 1977 they created the Apple 2, with the look of a PC.

13. Bill Gates- The creator of Microsoft.

Three cultural influences: The British during World War 2, The Space Race, weapons for war.

September 15, 2008: Create a Solution- Our Building

September 15, 2008: Create a Solution, Stage 2

1. Our foundation will be a multi-million dollar organization. Each center will probably need about half a million dollars start-up budget and then an estimated $250,000 for maintenance and upkeep.

2. The number of units needed to solve the problem will differ based on the level and range of the poverty in the area. A city like Los Angeles might need three, but a smaller town like Austin would probably only need one. Across the United States, an estimated 500 units should be sufficient to significantly improve the quality of life of millions of poor Americans.

3. The units will be produced by a team of engineers, architects and workers who will ideally renovate existing old buildings in disadvantaged areas of cities.

4. We intend to renovate old abandoned buildings, which are often found in poorer areas of cities. If there are none available in the needy area, we can buy space and build a center.

5. To ensure that the centers are constructed properly, we will hire experienced and trusted project supervisors who will be given a set of rules and dimensions governing the construction of the building. These rules will be essentially the same from center to center, with slight alterations for the specific needs of the area and modifications based on the location’s limitations. To make sure that the centers are run properly, we will be hiring experienced staff who will undergo a screening process after being hired and be given a set of ethical guidelines. They will also complete monthly evaluations of their work and the general functioning of the center. We hope to use a large number of volunteers to staff our centers in order to save funding. We will have professional doctors, therapists and management heads. We will also conduct monthly health and security checks in the center to ensure that our clients and the center itself are as safe and well off as possible.

6. During the start up period, we will have a weekly meeting with all of our investors to keep them updated on the progress of Progress America. Once we get started, hopefully meetings will be monthly. At this meeting they can ask any questions they have and we will do our best to answer them. For each division of the program, there will be a monthly budget and each division is responsible for keeping track of the money spent, any money left over will go into a sort of savings account for the overall program, and once a month we will discuss possibilities for the surplus. There will be a representative from each division at the meeting.

7. As it is an on going program, it is impossible to determine the exact cost. The monthly budget will be around $20,833, which will be divided between all of the divisions.

September 10, 2008: “Create a Solution”

1. The problem is poverty in the U.S.

2. There are multiple causes of poverty in the United States. For starters, there is the issue of low minimum wage combined with inflation. As prices of healthcare, utilities and food escalate, it becomes harder and harder for Americans who live in poverty to get by. The national economy is also an issue. Due to President Bush’s continuation of tax cuts for the rich and neglect of the middle class and below, the income gap between classes is increasing rapidly, and the middle class is quickly disappearing. Additionally, poverty itself is a cause of poverty, because people get stuck in “poverty traps,” or cyclical situations which make it very difficult to make progress or break the mold. An example of a poverty trap is the trap created by a lack of opportunity common to the poor. For instance, a child born into a low-income family might not be able to afford college, and therefore would be unable to acquire a high-paying job, and might get stuck working for minimum wage. It is not the child’s fault that he or she didn’t have money for college, but he or she is now trapped by a lack of opportunity caused by poverty. Those born into poverty often find it very difficult to escape these traps and consequentially add to the number people below the poverty line in the United States.

3. Poverty directly affects people. If a family cannot make enough money to pay mortgage on their house, than it may be foreclosed. Home foreclosure has been a growing issue in the United States lately, and will only get worse unless we act now. Families who do not have enough money are forced to choose between necessities such as electricity or health insurance. They are unable to provide adequate nutrition, shelter and education opportunities for their children.

4. Poverty directly affects the poor, but it also affects the rest of society. As more and more people lose their homes and are forced to make these difficult decisions, the rest of society slips farther into the realm of poverty. As previously mentioned, the American middle class is disappearing. This is because inflation and low income are continually forcing more and more people into poverty. The only people who are unaffected (at least financially) by poverty are the people who, despite the American economic crisis, are still comfortably rich (for an example, see John McCain). Poverty morally affects anyone with a conscience and a sense of empathy, but it is amazing how little we as a country have done about it so far.

5. Poverty, at least relatively, has been in existence since BCE, beginning with the foundation of cities and the specialization of jobs. As soon as people dropped the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and began to create permanent settlements, the need arose for different people to do different jobs. With this specialization came the creating of classes. Trade and expansion quickly strengthened class differences and made for a definite upper and lower class (the middle arguably did not emerge until the end of feudalism circa 1300 AD). As cities grew and classes became more defined, poverty came into existence. American poverty has existed since the founding of the country. By nature, a democracy with a market economy must leave room for poverty and class differences.

6. Humans and human nature essentially created the problem. Desire for self-advancement and survival instinct were the original causes. However, in a more modern sense, poverty, especially in developed countries like America, has been exacerbated by poor infrastructure and neglectful government.

7. The solutions that have been offered include raising minimum wage significantly (about $3/hr), expand tax credits for people with low incomes and children, forcing employers to recognize workers’ unions, promoting early education and aid for low-income families, and connecting disadvantaged youth with school and work.

8. While federal aid programs have helped communities in select places across America, our country’s poverty rate is still the highest out of any developed country in the world. In order for the federal aid programs to work, there has to be a very specific set of circumstances (a receptive community, real dedication on the part of both the program operatives and the community leaders, and a whole lot of luck). These circumstances rarely occur in impoverished areas, and so federal aid programs often do not succeed. The strategies which have been most successful so far are organizations that are either separate from the government (like Salvation Army) or are technically divisions of the government but realistically run on their own (American Red Cross).

9. I want to solve this problem because I truly dislike the fact that America projects an image of itself as the land of opportunity, where people can come to live a better life and escape oppression and poverty while really we have many of the same issues that other countries have. We are simply better at covering it up and turning the other cheek. The allure of democratic government and freedom still brings us immigrants hoping for a better life and an escape from poverty in their home countries. Before we can start boasting of our accomplishments, we need to pay attention to the serious problems that still plague our country. Before we start setting the standard for other countries, we need to focus on our own faults. On top of this American hypocrisy, there is a moral implication to poverty. Any decent human being can empathize with someone less fortunate, and pity a family struggling to get by. We need to move past sympathy and pity and take real action to end poverty.

September 9, 2008: Blog Review

1. My first blog was about what I knew about computers, and the experience I had had with them.

2. Autobloggreen, slashgear, and treehugger are all websites that introduce new technology. They are informative websites. You go there to find information about new technology. Autobloggreen is a website where they say they “obsessively cover the green scene.” They talk about new technology that is better for the environment. Slashgear talks about all kinds of new technology. Treehugger.com also talks about technology that is better for the environment.

3. A blog is a journal kept on the internet, updated frequently for people to share their thoughts with the world. They can be about absolutely anything the person writing the blog wants it to be about.

4. You don’t send an email when you are mad, wait until you calm down to send it.

5. You should never write in all CAPS or in colorful text. Writing in caps makes it seem like you are shouting, and colorful text can be annoying and difficult to read.

6. Spam.

7. Yes, you need a subject line for every email you send. If it is a reply email, you leave the subject the same.

8. Use tabs instead, it keeps you from having to go back and forth between pages.

9. Dogpile.com is a search engine, combined of all the best search engines out there.

10. Progress reports are due Friday, September 12th, 2008.

September 8, 2008: What is a Search Engine?

1) Google.com, yahoo.com, ask.com

2)

a) Google.com- www.teganandsara.com

b) yahoo.com- www.teganandsara.com

c) ask.com- http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:e9h9kebpaq7v~T0

The first two came up with the same link, but not the third.

3) I think Google is the best, it pulled up the main website for the band I searched, and had more results over all.

4) Barack Obama: Google.com- It gave the same website twice in a row, his campaign website. The next site                                                  was wikipedia, then CNN.

Yahoo.com-  The first links were more search options about Barack Obama. Then his                                                            official website. Then it gives a few websites mentioning John McCain.

Ask.com- The first link was his official website, and then DiversityInc.com and then it                                               offered a free Obama/Biden bumper sticker.

Sarah Palin: Google.com- It first offers related searches, then News Results, wikipedia, and youtube links.

Yahoo.com- First offered related searches, and then the sponsored link of Comedy Central.

Ask.com- The first was the official McCain/Palin website. Then Amazon.com, and images.

The Rolling Stones: Google.com- First a list of all the albums. Then the official fan club website.

Yahoo.com- The first was an offer for Yahoo Music. Then the official fan club site.

Ask.com- The first several sites were trying to sell me tickets, t-shirts, dvds, and the

like.  Then the official fan website.

Britney Spears: Google.com- The first link was for MTV. Then New Results, and then the official website.

Yahoo.com- The first was an offer for Yahoo Music.  Then a fansite, and Blackout Magazine.

Ask.com- The first site was MTV, xRank.live.com. Then it gives her biography, and images.

Jazmine Sullivan: Google.com- The first was Myspace.com, then a few youtube links.

Yahoo.com- First it gave related searches, then jazminesullivanmusic.com, then her

myspace page.

Ask.com- First jazminesullivanmusic.com, then her myspace page.

All the search engines basically gave me the same information, just in a different order. Yahoo.com tried to get me to subscribe to their music site whenever i searched a music subject.

5) Wikipedia- It is a free multilingual, open-content, encyclopedia. It was launched in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. Critics target its inconsistencies.

6 ) Google.com- the link google gives goes straight to the wikipedia homepage.

Yahoo.com- gives related searches and then goes to the wikipedia homepage.

Dogpile.com- first given was the wikipedia homepage, and then two offers for ring tones.

Google.com and Yahoo.com didn’t try to sell me ring tones, while Dogpile.com did.