Surviving Chronic E-Mail Fatigue... why should I survive it I've had it since 1995 when I was one of 600 seniors in high school who had home internet access and a home PC. I have been addicted to e-mail a long time. Yes, it is incredibly addictive. I obsessively check 2-3 accounts about every 20 minutes during the day while working and only 1 is for work the other 2 are my personal accounts!
I will wholeheartedly agree that it is completely addictive. When I was without it from Sept 10, 2001 to March 1, 2002 I was a disaster. I was cranky and out of touch with a number of people I had become close to or spent hours communicating with including my family in another state and my best friends from high school. I will also state for the record that it is incredibly addictive as are things like instant messaging which gave me the skill of typing quickly with only one hand as I was busy holding and breast feeding my child with the other one. I learned to use shortcut keys that way as well.
I wholeheartedly now trust my spam filters on my Gmail accounts and my Outlook accounts to save me from the headaches and hassles of SPAM. I now lecture in the mornings on the evils of SPAM and how to protect your accounts as well.
I am, well, completely, totally, unabashedly addicted to e-mail. It is one of the best tools I have to "get 'er done"!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
8.1 National Identity
Now this has a special place for me as it encompasses several issues in one blow, which is why I chose the essay, "Why Fear National ID Cards" to comment on.
I fear the national ID card and RFID and ID chips implanted in the body because it is another way our civil liberties can be reduced and minimized. It is how we can be controlled especially financially and how we can be tracked globally with GPS systems. I object to it because I am in a national database that I can not control the security of the computer system. All it takes is one unethical hacking employee to start changing information in the database under someone else's user ID or to plainly back door exploit and hack the system in the first place, to really mess things up for someone.
I half way favor it because it can track dangerous things such as guns. I do feel that if you need a license to drive a car you should have to register your gun so that police and FBI investigators can track it easier to find killers or to find out if it was stolen and help locate it for the owner. I favor a national ID card for all immigrants as it will tell employers who is eligible to work in the country and who is not and help reduce the illegal status of our immigrants (which by the way is another tangent and rant for another day as I do not believe in using the term "Illegal" to refer to an immigrant after all we are all immigrants with the exception of the Native Americans).
I do not favor the ID Card because it takes away our anonymity and a right to privacy. Anyone who swipes your card can find out everything from your credit report to how many traffic tickets you have to if you're possibly cheating on your spouse... well maybe not that but if you have other things in your background that no one else really needs to know.
I can see it for a passport or for government buildings, but for the general public I like sticking with my simple, everyday State Driver's License... well mine is still a learner's permit but I won't go there.
I fear the national ID card and RFID and ID chips implanted in the body because it is another way our civil liberties can be reduced and minimized. It is how we can be controlled especially financially and how we can be tracked globally with GPS systems. I object to it because I am in a national database that I can not control the security of the computer system. All it takes is one unethical hacking employee to start changing information in the database under someone else's user ID or to plainly back door exploit and hack the system in the first place, to really mess things up for someone.
I half way favor it because it can track dangerous things such as guns. I do feel that if you need a license to drive a car you should have to register your gun so that police and FBI investigators can track it easier to find killers or to find out if it was stolen and help locate it for the owner. I favor a national ID card for all immigrants as it will tell employers who is eligible to work in the country and who is not and help reduce the illegal status of our immigrants (which by the way is another tangent and rant for another day as I do not believe in using the term "Illegal" to refer to an immigrant after all we are all immigrants with the exception of the Native Americans).
I do not favor the ID Card because it takes away our anonymity and a right to privacy. Anyone who swipes your card can find out everything from your credit report to how many traffic tickets you have to if you're possibly cheating on your spouse... well maybe not that but if you have other things in your background that no one else really needs to know.
I can see it for a passport or for government buildings, but for the general public I like sticking with my simple, everyday State Driver's License... well mine is still a learner's permit but I won't go there.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
7.2 Relationships
I chose to write a reflection on "The Good Enough Mother". My own mother was one who stayed home and is still home even with full grown 21+ year old children. She was always there with the limited exceptions where she attempted to go out into the workforce. The effort was only half hearted as by the time she felt she could go back to work her skills as a graphic artist were woefully outdated. She had played with a computer but had not kept her skills and contacts in the industry updated.
For myself I vowed to stay home only until kindergarten for my youngest which almost worked, however I had a bad relationship and chose to get out of it and bring my kids to the city so that I could have more opportunity to advance career wise.
I also chose to go back to school and seek a full bachelors degree in hopes that the classes and skills I would learn would help validate my knowledge to employers. I also chose community volunteerism as a spring board back into society as a working individual. This has worked incredibly well as I have discovered a wealth of skills and knowledge along with a new confidence in myself.
This new confidence has inspired my children to do the best they can and frequently they join me during some of my activities. My daughter was on the front page of the newspaper right after Martin Luther King day this year. They were on the news as well helping with setup and clean up of the even at the Fairview Recreation Center. We also participated in Kids Day in April and the children had a blast. I took them with me when we volunteered on the 4th of July in Mountain View.
They are being taught that working can be combined with having children. I feel incredibly guilty leaving them some days at the daycare but I know that I am working towards self sufficiency and that they know my goal is to have a home where they can have their own rooms and a place to play that is their own.
These values of giving to the community in addition to seeing their mother balance and juggle working, raising them and school all at once shows that I am seeing to their welfare. Over the course of the last 18 or so months I've been repeatedly called a "Super Mom" and variations on a theme. I don't feel this is a good assessment as there are a great deal of things I am missing out on while away from them. First teeth being lost, scraped knees, butterflies caught, art projects, award ceremonies and various school activities which all sadden me but I know that as long as I spend time with them when ever possible their childhood will still be a good one.
I would have loved to be like my mother always home and there to help me with homework, art projects and to play with me but I know that I will still be involved with homework, art and I play with the kids no matter what. I may not get to play very often but when I do they remember it.
I am no "Super Mom" I am "good enough".
For myself I vowed to stay home only until kindergarten for my youngest which almost worked, however I had a bad relationship and chose to get out of it and bring my kids to the city so that I could have more opportunity to advance career wise.
I also chose to go back to school and seek a full bachelors degree in hopes that the classes and skills I would learn would help validate my knowledge to employers. I also chose community volunteerism as a spring board back into society as a working individual. This has worked incredibly well as I have discovered a wealth of skills and knowledge along with a new confidence in myself.
This new confidence has inspired my children to do the best they can and frequently they join me during some of my activities. My daughter was on the front page of the newspaper right after Martin Luther King day this year. They were on the news as well helping with setup and clean up of the even at the Fairview Recreation Center. We also participated in Kids Day in April and the children had a blast. I took them with me when we volunteered on the 4th of July in Mountain View.
They are being taught that working can be combined with having children. I feel incredibly guilty leaving them some days at the daycare but I know that I am working towards self sufficiency and that they know my goal is to have a home where they can have their own rooms and a place to play that is their own.
These values of giving to the community in addition to seeing their mother balance and juggle working, raising them and school all at once shows that I am seeing to their welfare. Over the course of the last 18 or so months I've been repeatedly called a "Super Mom" and variations on a theme. I don't feel this is a good assessment as there are a great deal of things I am missing out on while away from them. First teeth being lost, scraped knees, butterflies caught, art projects, award ceremonies and various school activities which all sadden me but I know that as long as I spend time with them when ever possible their childhood will still be a good one.
I would have loved to be like my mother always home and there to help me with homework, art projects and to play with me but I know that I will still be involved with homework, art and I play with the kids no matter what. I may not get to play very often but when I do they remember it.
I am no "Super Mom" I am "good enough".
7.1 Feedback on 6.2
Feedback was provided on my cover letter from various people including my co-worker Judy, a classmate and the instructor and all suggestions were implemented to produce the completed project which was turned in a week ago. If there are further suggestions to revise the final project I'll make those as well but frankly I was pretty convinced I had a Technical Writing job already as was my instructor.
If you want to be technical (no pun intended here) I have a job currently as a technical writer. Daily for over a year I wrote resumes, cover letters and currently write tutorials on various subjects for computer instruction. Most if not all of my work is very effective at what it was intended to get across to it's intended audience.
I previously, before that wrote 2 books on pattern making and nearly 100 patterns for sewing doll costumes. Within each of those was hours of research and testing in addition to a healthy of creativity.
I think I had a problem with "tooting my own horn" previously. I am not positive that is a problem for me anymore as I have an increased ability to praise my own and other's work to an almost excessive level. If I've learned anything with this class it's that I can write, write well and do it in a reasonable amount of time following guidelines and that I enjoy it immensely.
If you want to be technical (no pun intended here) I have a job currently as a technical writer. Daily for over a year I wrote resumes, cover letters and currently write tutorials on various subjects for computer instruction. Most if not all of my work is very effective at what it was intended to get across to it's intended audience.
I previously, before that wrote 2 books on pattern making and nearly 100 patterns for sewing doll costumes. Within each of those was hours of research and testing in addition to a healthy of creativity.
I think I had a problem with "tooting my own horn" previously. I am not positive that is a problem for me anymore as I have an increased ability to praise my own and other's work to an almost excessive level. If I've learned anything with this class it's that I can write, write well and do it in a reasonable amount of time following guidelines and that I enjoy it immensely.
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