Searching for Ideas

                If you are anything like me, your mind starts to wonder when trying to put together a story, blog, or article. It seems that so many ideas go through my mind, but when it comes to putting my thoughts on paper, the stream of thoughts seem so far away. As I meander through the forest of meaningless ideas, my wastebasket fills with nothingness.

                A worthwhile thought will make its way to the forefront of the sorting process. I can focus on it for an instant before adding supplemental thought. It seems as if this subject can go somewhere. My mind has a tendency to roam from time to time, especially when finding details to support my idea. Sometimes, in the process of adding details to the original thought, the main idea either falls apart due to either not really being that worthwhile after all or because the supplemental ideas have blurred my recollection of where I was supposed to go with the idea. The additional information was focused on so much that the original thought becomes an afterthought. Sometimes people suffer from over-thinking ideas. Or it could be a scattered brain distracted by my own ideas. This brings to mind, for me at least, images of intrigued children amazed by what adults consider everyday concepts.

                Then you have other times where it doesn’t matter how hard you focus on putting something together, you draw a mental blank. Writers consider this a mental block. How does a writer deal with a blank mind? I would imagine that time away from the pen would be in order, but most people are on strict deadlines and time away from work or the paper in this instance would be lost time and opportunity. As time passes, more stress will build as the deadline draws nearer. I guess it is back to the paper, pen, a void mind, and the drawing board.

                I’ve learned that sometimes a good game plan is what is needed to get the creative juices flowing. There are so many people, myself included, that are visual learners. Using images is a very powerful learning style. Also using images can be a good tool to initiate creativity. When using this tactic, think about an image. It could be in a magazine, on the internet, or in your head. Ask yourself questions about the images. These could be closed ended or open ended questions. I think that closed-ended questions don’t engage the mind like open ended questions do. Open-ended questions allow for multiple correct answers while closed-ended questions are relatively straight-forward and have usually one right answer. Questioning yourself in this way will get the blood flowing to the brain by making it work.

                Another way of getting the creativity rolling is by going back to basics. A simple brainstorming bubble could be a great starting point. Usually if you can come up with a topic, there is a good chance that you have some kind of stance even before doing any research or taking any steps further. Use your predetermined stance as a catalyst for further analysis. Take what you feel as correct and disprove it or validate it. Find information to do this and then question the information found. Sometimes taking a step back and analyzing your approach could be all that your brain needs.

                Sometimes it is hard to get going on a writing assignment. I think this is common for everyone. There are things that can be done to avoid a writer’s block. Using visual aids to get your mind thinking could help get your brain engaged. Then using basic practices such as brainstorming and bubble drawing could be vital for a struggling author or student preparing a speech or article. If you’re anything like me and have ideas flowing at certain times and not some much at others, it is always a good idea to keep a pen and paper handy to avoid overthinking those and forgetting where you were going with that idea. I try to not allow my scatter-brain to take over, organization is one of the tools that I try utilizing to avoid full-on chaos.

Bigtop in Little Town

                If you’ve ever been to a parade, then you have seen the Shriners. They are the group that wears the little red hats with tassels. They ride little tiny cars that have their heads and shoulders poking out of the top. Doing their part, they have donated to numerous children’s hospitals across the country. When children are facing illnesses that put them in the hospital for extended amounts of time, the Shriners are there to lighten their mood and put a smile on their face. Today they were bringing joy to the Las Cruces area. They packed the Pan Am Center to witness the performer’s amazing displays of flexibility, strength, balance, acrobatics, and animal training.

                   

I have been to at least ten circuses and never have been disappointed. I have never experienced the circus in Las Cruces. I was born in the DFW metro area where the shows put on were always excellent. I consider Las Cruces to be somewhat of a small town, but I have traveled around quite a bit and have seen massive cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix, Miami, Houston, and Denver. Growing up in Dallas and surrounding areas gave me a predetermined idea of what a big city is. So being in Las Cruces I didn’t know what to expect.

As we get inside the arena, we found that we were able to sit where ever we liked. We found a spot about halfway up the lower section seats right around mid-court and settled in. Or so I thought. As we started getting situated, we noticed that some crowd members were going down the floor level where the performers were going to be putting on their show. They had animals that were also going to be part of the show giving rides to little children. For a small fee, your child would be able to ride one of the show animals. There was a handful of miniature ponies, a camel, and an elephant. Really? How many times in your life are you going to get the chance to ride on an elephant or camel? That’s an awesome deal. We bought some tickets to ride the ponies as elephants and camels can be a little intimidating to young children. As our receipt was being printed, an announcement was given on the loud speaker. “The show is set to begin in five minutes, can everyone clear the floor and find their seats.” 

When we got back to our seats, a group of clowns made their appearances. They announced who they were and that they were members of the local Shiners Club. They did a few skits, juggling and goofing around with each other before they made their way off the floor. On their way out, they made the introduction for the first act. This circus brought out the big guns early, in the center ring were seven huge tigers. The tigers showed a great rapport with their trainer as he guided them through a series of tricks, randomly selecting one or two out of the group to perform. As they finished their portion of the routine, they happily returned to their perch atop a narrow metal stand. I was impressed with the relationship that the trainer showed with the animals.

The second set in the show was Luigi and his ‘ring of death’. This thing was insane. It was a ring that an adult human could stand up in. The ring led to a shaft that attached to the support frames. Past the support frames, it continued down to a weighted bottom. This gave the whole apparatus a counterweight for the human. As he started to walk within the ring, it would start to sway the direction he walked. As he builds pushes the pace, the whole ring gains speed and by this point is moving very quick circles. Inside the ring, Luigi is doing flips and laying down as if inside a tire rolling down a steep hill. He then slows it to a stop, then goes from the inside to the outside of the ring. He then proceeds to pull a jump-rope out of who knows where and starts to get the apparatus back up to speed, while jump-roping. He has a few close calls, but I’m not so sure that they aren’t part of the show. Adds some excitement to his already death-defying stunts.

The next big act was the acrobats. They came out and hung from dangling cloth while contorting their bodies into shapes not meant possible by medical standards. They showed incredible control over their body the whole routine. They had a portion where Luigi came back out and straddled a hanging bar. Then he did a handstand on that bar and balanced his body on it without using his arms or legs for any support. It was insane. They also had performers standing on platforms balancing on a board that was on a tube laying down. Using a surfing motion, they were able to stabilize themselves on the board and not fall. Then they upped the ante and built up a tower, put their tube on it then the board, now they are at least four foot higher than the platform they were standing on. I don’t see how they can balance on such a small round object.

The next act was a display of archery precision. A man equipped with a crossbow shot balloons, apples, flower stems, and balloon strings almost flawlessly. His assistant was even brave enough to face the man with an apple on her head, William Tell style. She was brave, but accidents have happened and she was smart enough to have a paddle to protect her face. He closed his routine with the firing of one bolt that sets a chain reaction off. That one bolt would trigger the firing of crossbows set to hit the plate attached to other crossbows. The hitting of the plate would trigger the next shot, until the last one, which was situated to hit a balloon situated above his assistant’s head.

The last portion of the show was the elephants. They rode around the center ring with acrobats on their backs. The elephants eagerly did as their trainer commanded as the acrobats seemed to hold on for life. The acrobats then jumped off and the elephants got the chance to do their solo portion of their routine. One laid down as the other crawled over top of him.  After regaining their footing, the acrobats mounted the elephants again. They closed their act by having the elephants stand on their hind legs, doing a handstand supported by its trunk, and both rolling over on their side as a lullaby played over the loudspeaker. The elephants pretended to go to sleep.

The Shriners did not disappoint. They put on a really good show. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. I forgot to mention, my girls did get to ride the ponies after all. They made time in the middle of the show to let the kids have another opportunity to ride and see the animals up close. They loved it. Well done, Shriners. You at least made two girls really happy today. The performers really did a great job. The fact that they were able to allow the kids to get up close and ride the show animals was awesome. They are doing amazing things. Of the show as a whole, Luigi really impressed me. His portion of the show was just crazy. He pushes the limits and that seems to draw the attention of many fans. He was a fan favorite.

Analyzing Viewpoint

Danah Boyd was very much correct in her writing. She explained the advancements of early social networks and microblogs into the age of social media. She describes how it influenced the change of programmers, big business, and the common man into a world of friend’s lists and sharing data. She explains that “social media has given rise to new business models and social technologies, as well as become a central part of contemporary life” (Boyd, 2015)

I think Boyd did a rather good job of conveying the message that social media gives users a new valuable way of transmitting data better that anyway before. This gives anyone the opportunity to share ideas and values as well as changing the ways that people communicate with each other. Not only did it change the ways people communicated, it changed the ways programmers communicated and changed the standard at which they wished to achieve. Those who were business oriented had new ways to reach out to people and had to find ways to cater their business to suit social media. Those that were heavily into computers were given new tools for gaining access to other people’s research allowing them to find new ways to further theirs as well as further advance technology.

In my analysis of this article, she did achieve her purpose to the fullest extent. She gave a very descriptive portrayal on the importance of social media. She conveyed the importance initially and in the future. She also conveyed the mindset of those trying to push technology further.  I think her work has a purpose. The purpose was to give her viewpoint on the value of social media. I could be somewhat trivial, but it is a part of computing history so pretty valuable nonetheless. I would say that it is well written but lacks supportive evidence. Some sources or figures would have gone a long way to reinforce her viewpoints.

I think the information that she presented was well organized, but it required me to slow down a little bit to decode and translate into something less grammatically challenging for myself. I agree her message. Social media did bring forth change in how business functioned, common people communicated, and how “geeks” would further technology. Much of what she brought forth in this article could be common knowledge, but she accentuated her viewpoint to make it fresh and her article relevant. One part of me thinks that I would enjoy going through the older versions of social media such as BBSes, AOL instant messenger, and Usenet, but then another part of me is questioning the point of going back and checking them out. They made way for what we have today.

In conclusion, I think she did a great job organizing her article and portraying the information in a sophisticated way that challenges readers, gets them thinking, and keeps the reader interested. Her article had quite a bit of information but could have used some supportive evidence to reinforce her viewpoint. Her main idea was rather easily grasped despite her vast vocabulary. All-in-all, I didn’t feel that this article was a waste of time. Well done Danah Boyd.

Parking Hustle

                I don’t know if any of you have had any issue with the parking here at DACC. I have been a full-time student for a little over a year now, but before that I took a GED prep test and a short class on campus. In that time since 2013, not one citation. I have seen some fubar parking jobs on campus. You have your classic double parkers. Your nearsighted parkers, hanging halfway into the aisle. Then you have your barely out of high school female drivers, taking up valuable sidewalk. Luckily I only have to deal with parking for two days a week. I don’t spend enough time here to justify buying a parking pass. I am perfectly fine with using one of the free lots. Always without issue, despite some hairy parking situations, until this past week.

 This past week, I found a yellow envelope tucked under my wiper. A citation for parking in front of a gate that has a posted sign, “No parking in front of gate, leave 9-foot clearance in case of emergency.” I left enough room for a car to easily park in between me and the gate. By my rudimentary calculations, I left enough for another car that is about 6 foot across and you need about two feet to open your doors, I’m guessing I left about 10 foot between myself and said gate. I figured it was too subjective to fight it. I was in front of the gate. Everyone that parked in the center area of that lot had a ticket on their window. I was right there with them so was going to get a citation either way, the labeling then becomes trivial.

The following day, this time a little more cautious on where I park. I find a spot right along the fence, away from the gate altogether. It has one of the parking spot bumpers and everything. Due to the spacing of the other vehicles on the row, half of the bumper was taken, leaving my car uneven with the fence by half the width of the car. I think nothing of it and head to class. Walking out and turning the corner I notice the yellow envelope reflecting sunlight. Another citation, this time for failing to park in a designated parking spot.

This is in the free parking lot just south of DACC main campus adjacent to the health building. There’s no designated spots. It’s an unmarked dirt lot surrounded by a rock wall. The only areas not designated to park are in front of the gate openings. At least there is no sign or indication of where to or not to park. In that scenario, proper use of common courtesy should set the standard. Don’t double park or block access in or out. Don’t park too close to other vehicles or at an angle. Keep the spacing constant. Stay more than nine feet from the gate is also thrown in there.

What’s even more disconcerting is that when I went up to the parking department office, she didn’t really have any answers. I had questions about what was going on. Tons of students were given citations for parking around campus. The only thing she could say is that they don’t want anyone parking in a big portion of the free lot. This was due to construction that was going on. Instead of sending out warnings through email, tickets were handed out. Tickets will be continued to be handed out for anyone not parked along the rock wall or in certain areas of the lot.

I understand that while construction is going on, the free parking lot becomes a construction parking lot as well as student parking. While I did get one of the citations reduced to a warning because it’s my first offense within two years, well or ever, I still feel it’s pretty shitty of the school to reduce the amount of parking spots they are allowing students to park in. Not only are they reducing the capacity of the lots, they are not allowing parking in a big portion of their free lots. This adds to the confusion. Instead of sending out a mass email or posting signs in the parking lot, they are handing out citations and having the clerks in the parking department explain what’s happening. It’s probably all a ploy to boost sales of parking passes. Even with one, there is still a good shot that you’re going to drive around in circles looking for a decent spot, but eventually end up walking a half mile anyway.