Hilltop.. of Tacoma

In My perspective On Service class we have had a few field trips and a variety of guest speakers. Yesterday we had a guest speaker named Jean and she talked about the change that resulted in her area. The area was was a drug selling place. There were 33 houses and 3 of them were drug houses that ruined the whole appeal of the neighborhood. A nice Victorian house whose value is half a million dollars was selling for 33,000. Now that is very very bad. The neighborhood was filled with shootings all the time... but no one actually got shot... LOL.. cause the gangsters didnt know how to shoot...

When she moved into that neighborhood for financial and housing reasons.. No one was standing up for the neighborhood.. to the druggies that meant that no one cared... Neighbors didn't know their neighbors... so how could they stand up... Some of the druggies lived with their parents and those either denied that their children were doing drugs or ignored it because of fear...

Jean coming from a small city in Montana decided to bake bread and get to know her neighbors... They probably thought she was wacky... but that's not the point.. LOl... The point is that she got to know her neighbors and they helped her and she helped them.

Getting rid of drug dealers is not easy...Especially the Crips.The Crips are one of the largest and most violent associations of street gangs in the United states. They believed that they have power because they had oozies- M16 or AK47. Calling the cops did not help much either cause at that time they had guns that were small and uneffective. There were 32 gangsters and 2 cops would show up.. not a fair fight.

The thing that causes neighboor hoods to be run over with drug users- in this case crack users, a different form of cockaine is that the neighborhood was run down and in some ways neglected. There were abondoned houses that the drug dealers could use.Hilltop was a center for lawlessness thanks in no small part to absentee landlords who had neglected their properties. But all that started to change.Business leaders, residents and the city organized and launched a project to buy property, renovate rundown homes and build new ones, selling them to low-income people interested in becoming first-time homeowners.

This created change that propelled more change and finally kicked out most of the druggies.
The reason why this was effective is kind of explained by the " broken window theory-if the first broken window in a building is not repaired, then people who like breaking windows will assume that no one cares about the building and more windows will be broken. Soon the building will have no windows...."

The moral of this story is take care of your neighborhood. When everything will be in its proper place drug addicts will have no place there. Community is also very important. Know your neighbors. Become a mentor to a child. =)

Did You Know? Bagels

The bagel is the only bread product that is boiled before it is baked. That's what gives the bagel its unique texture and the crust its characteristic shine.

Legend has it that in 1683 in Vienna, Austria, a local Jewish baker wanted to thank the king of Poland for protecting his countrymen from Turkish invaders. He made a special hard roll in the shape of a riding stirrup-Bugel in German - commemorating the king's favorite pastime and giving the bagel its distinct shape.

As bagels gained popularity in Poland, they were officially sanctioned as gifts for women in childbirth and mentioned in community registers. Mothers used them as nutritious teething rings that their infants could easily grasp - a practice still popular today.

Bagels eventually made their way to Russia, where they were called bubliki and were sold on strings. Like other ring-shaped objects, they were said to bring good luck and possess magical powers. It is even said that songs were sung about bagels! ( The Kitchen Project)

Commerce on the Net

The World that we live in is constantly evolving. In many ways it is better in some ways it is worse. Our generation has materialistic wealth, it has the opportunity for a better education, we live in a democratic country. Medicine has gotten way better ( Polio has been eradicated in many countries, malaria also) and we can treat many forms of cancer. It is worse because ice in the north pole is melting, HIV and AIDS are still spreading, more wars are being started everyday. Whatever you desire is yours for the getting... all you need is money.

When the internet began it was hard to get people to buy things online because of security issues. Not only that, there was very little available for sale online. Then encryption came along and people began buying. You can buy books, toys, candy, clothes, electronics and many other things. But the question for this blog is: what do you feel comfortable buying online? Yes, buying online is convenient in many ways but the system is not 100% error free.

What I feel comfortable buying online might not be what you will buy online. Being a student means I don't have lots of money to waste... it also means I have to buy books. That is one thing I love and it is something that I buy quite often. Used books save lots of money.. Books are something to be cherished and it seems cool to me to be able to read a book that someone read. To me books are vintage. I think that books are cooler when they have been read, written in by someone else... Not that I don't like freshly printed ones.. Lol... Those are awesome too... Because you can create your own vintage and then pass it on to someone else.. Buying books is something pretty simple and most of the time it comes like the way it says it would.

I don't feel comfortable buying clothes online. I like shopping for clothes in person. Every person has a different body shape and different things look different on different people. So that is why I don't buy clothes online. Shoes are different. Sometimes I will buy them online because they will not be available in a store. On the subject of Electronics I am not decided yet. I think that it is nice that electronics are available online ... and for a much less price then in stores but you have to know which seller is trustworthy.

So overall I buy tangible things online. Brands that I truly trust. I believe the internet is an issue of trust and its not something to be taken lightly because you are putting up your information out there. It is something that you are responsible for and it is something that people don't really care much about- unless its their own information. Besides the fact that commerce on the Net is a trust issue I think that people should not buy objects that they don't need that clutter up their house or garage. Just buy the objects that you truly need. When we do this we save the world. There will be less garbage in the dumpsters and landfills.There will be less resources wasted. It is our world... and it is our responsibility to keep it beautiful for future generations... not only does money run out many other things do too.

A comic that i think is funny =)

Apple computers

Apple has lowered the cost of its least expensive MacBook by $100.But despite the price drop Apple' s shares have dropped $6.18, or 5.6 percent, to close at $104.08. More at Seattle Times.com-Technology.

Authorities Shut Down Spam Ring

Continuing on our email theme authorities have shut down a major spam ring which used names like HerbalKings and Click Fusion...This network was made up of 35,000 computers and was capable of sending 10 billion e-mail messages a day.F.T.C. investigators also said they monitored the group’s finances closely and that it cleared $400,000 in Visa charges in one month alone.
More on Ny times at

Newspapers... The drama unfolds.

Continuing our conversation on newspapers, today in the NY Times there was a piece on newspapers loss of revenue from the web. NY Times revenue grew 12.3 percent due to traffic generated by the economic meltdown but many other newspapers had losses in advertising- online and in print.

To read the full story go to< _r="1&8dpc&oref=">

Vanity Search....

I like to know what is being said behind my back. You want to know what is being said behind your back… The question is who is saying all this stuff behind our backs that we don’t know about? The answer is the internet…

“You’re joking, right?”

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.”

“Well how do I find out what they are saying about me?”

“Vanity search…. Search yourself on the internet. Try Google and other search engines. Then you will find out what they are saying about you.”

“But what gives them the right?”

“Well they are search engines, they only find the information that is up on the internet about you, they don’t post stuff on the internet you or someone else does that.”

When I went searching for myself on Google I came up with only seven results. Not one of the results was the real me. On Yahoo there was only one listing of the real me and it was from my high school days when I was into public speaking. When I went to a website called Intelius, I only found one person with the same name who is located on the other side of the state. When I searched for myself on USA- People-Search I found the same thing as on Intelius. Even though I did not find many listings of myself what I

discovered by doing this assignment is that there are many people out there with my last name that I never knew existed, in other parts of the world- especially in Europe. It was pretty cool. I also was tempted to create an account to get to know them…. but I’m still debating that one. Some people might consider it weird that I want to get to know people who have my last name that I have never met. Besides what will happen if they are not the person who their profile makes them seem? That’s something to think about.

After researching myself I decided to research some close family members and didn’t find too much info about them either; so I’m glad that they are cautious internet users. Basically, I don’t have much to worry about but I believe that I will be more cautious of what I do on the internet that might give people info about me. I might go scare my friends into doing this search and see what they come up with. …

The Future of newspapers ...

There are many ways to get news in our world. You can read a newspaper, go online to your favorite news site, have it sent to your phone, listen to the radio, receive a podcast. In the 21st century it is fairly easy to know what is going on in the world. With the economic instability many people and business are worried. The world markets are affected by U.S. financial woes. Since the topic of choice is newspapers, the newspaper owners are worried also. They are worried about how to stay afloat in this crisis of technology because of the generational shift. Our grandfathers and grandmothers, parents and older siblings grew up reading newspapers. That was the best source of true and correct and quick information out there. Due to the technology boom and the fact that news is available everywhere and anytime newspapers don't know what they need to do to make a profit in these turbulent times. Now wait a minuet; i know what your thinking, why should i care? There are many reasons why you should care.

First and foremost newspapers employ people. Lots of people. They employ editors, journalists, print people and people to deliver the newspapers. Many adults, grandparents especially can recall the time they sold newspapers to make a living. Not only was that a way to make a living it was one of the least expensive ways to be informed, to develop ones mind. We take for granted the fact that there are so many different kinds of papers out there but these newspapers have changed history. Many journalists risked their lives to keep the American people informed. Freedom of the press is one of the most important constitutional freedom we have. If a countries press is censored, it means that all of the information is controlled by the government. Tell me how would people know what is truly going on?I know i am going off on a tangent here but we really need to think about the important stuff, which we rarly do. Socrates stated " is the unexamined life worth living?"Not only do newspapers provide news they provide advice, advertisements (they were here before Craigslist) and last but not least they provide awesome crossword puzzles and comics. Now who doesn't like their morning comics?

Newspapers have been around for a long time so they have developed a type of monopoly but that is changing. I believe we should help find a solution to save newspapers. Newspapers are print. When something exists in physical it really exists and its harder to manipulate and change. What would happen when and if all of our news will be published online? t is something the tecnological generation needs to think about. Our parents and granparents will only live to a certain age. Then we will become parents and granparents. We are making the choices that will make our world tomorrow. First and foremost is the fact that the story will be easily manipulated and changed. Second, what will happen if a virus gets into a system and wipes out all the news? Wipes out all the archives? People will be able to rewrite history in a blink. Is that what your waiting for? That catostrophic day? Today is too early to get prepaired? I dont think so. Everything that our generation has- someone paid the price for it. Those sleepless nights, the back pains that never end, lives lost in war and battle. Everthing has its price. What is the future of newspapers? Is it worth fighting for? I believe it is... If you have a solution, let it be known... Make a difference. =) If you wont then who will?

An interesting proposal would be a little newspapers tax.. Like say five cents- maybe a cent more or maybe less. If everyone in WA state payed it we would be able to save the day.lol I mean the newspaper.

Post Office Mail & Email

Postal mail has been around for many centuries in different forms. Up until the invention of the telegram, the telephone, mail was the best way to communicate. The only two options that were avaliable were either write letters or go see that person in person. It was not always possible and convenient to go across continents financially, to have a simple conversation. The telephone and electricity were great inventions that changed communication and lead up to the internet.
Postal offices required a few things to do business. First they needed honest, good people who would help deliver and receive mail. These Postal Offices were for profit because they had to cover their costs and the cost of sending mail, building/buying an office and employees. They also needed to create other Post Offices that would receive and sort and deliver the mail further. All this was done by human beings and delivered by horses until the development of train and then way later the car/ truck. For many years the postal office was the center of town gossip and news.
The Post Office has evolved from its humble beginnings. The US Postal office is much more developed and a bit different. In our time there are many differences. We don’t use horses or trains. We use trucks, airplanes, the little postal cars. USPS covers most of its expenses by selling stamps and some other stuff. There are many things that need to be done before the mail is sent out. First and foremost the mail is sorted by machines. They are very fast but sometimes they chop/cut up letters (very annoying). Then the mail is sent out into the directions where it’s going. Then the postal office in your area re-sorts the mail again and gives it to the mailmen who deliver it. The Post Office not only sends out mail it also sends and receives packages. A person also has a choice of priority mail, express mail and other types that help speed up the sending and receiving of your mail to its intended destination. Sometimes to send something you have to wait in line.To receive ones mail a person needs to have a valid address, mailbox and a key. Now days a person can receive greeting cards, DVD’s and many other items. You can receive your internet bought books, shoes, clothes.
About Email. Email is set up to mimic the Postal Office but there are a few differences. Email stands for electronic mail which is sent via the internet. The Internet was developed as a byproduct. The US military created ARPAnet- (Advanced Research Projects Agency Networks) to distribute information between computers which are dispersed around the country*. ARPAnet developed the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) communications standard which established the underlying protocol of the Internet*. Preston Gralla * states that email messages are sent in the same way as most Internet data. The TCP protocol breaks the messages into packets, the IP protocol delivers the packets to the proper location, and the TCP reassembles the message on the receiving mail server so it can be read.
Email is made of a few different parts also. First foremost a person needs to create an email account with a provider that they prefer. Then they can send and receive emails. To check emails a person must log onto their email account and that requires a password. The password and mail account are similar to a mail box, address, and a key. When someone is sent an email message the message isn’t delivered straight to a personal computer instead it gets sent to a mail server. Then when a person is logs in, the mail server checks whether there is new mail. There are many types of mail that can be received- letters, attachments of pictures or other media (videos, DVD’s). A person might also sigh up for email list and notices of sales/ advertisements from companies that they like. Sometimes a person might get junk mail- they can delete those, now days email automatically list unknown addresses as junk mail.
So to make sure we are clear on the difference of mail and email I will list them. One of the first obvious differences is the speed of email vs. the speed of mail. If a person has a decent provider- or goes somewhere where there is fast internet connection email wins by a bunch. Another obvious difference is cost. That is most email that is provided is cost free (besides getting email/internet on a blackberry or a phone). Next difference is that email does not rely on humans to sort them into mailboxes,etc. Lastly a person can’t get packages in their email that is in physical form.
Life in the 21st century is amazing in many ways. We the people have the world at our fingertips. Email and the Postal Service are beneficial to humans. There is no reason why we should have to choose one over the other.


Sources:
1.)
2.)Gralla,P. How the Internet Works. 8th edition, 2007.