The only other thing that I found extremely irritating were the "puzzle crates." They were almost impossible to crack, and they would not allow the user to advance past that page in a mission until the crate had been broken. I did see puzzle crates used effectively once in a classmate's mission, but this was only due to the fact that they used a very specific and clear word as the answer.
Using PMOG was an interesting experience but one that I will not continue in the future.
The hours of the day are filled with constant motion as people go about their daily routines. Walking, driving, going to work, going to school, and participating in the world around us requires time and energy from each and every person. However, one of the most important and crucial parts of one’s daily routine may very well be the period of time in which an individual’s consciousness of the world around them is suspended. This natural cycle is referred to as sleep. In today’s society people are unable to see that sleep is a necessity and instead see it as a luxury granted only when there is a spare chunk of time. Sleep functions as a rejuvenating factor for not only the mind but also the body. The following document is designed to help the reader understand his or her sleep cycle and receive the most benefit from it.
When a person sleeps they travel through five different steps that make up the sleep cycle. In the first stage, also known as “light sleep,” people drift in and out of sleep very easily. This means they can be easily woken up. As the sleeper’s breathing slows, their muscle activity begins to slow down, and their eyes move slowly as well. Muscle contractions are often a sign that someone is experiencing the first stage of sleep. A slowing of brain waves and the cease of eye movement characterize the second stage of sleep. In this stage, the brain sends occasional, rapid bursts of brain waves. The third stage of sleep differentiates itself from the other stages due to the change in brain waves. The brain releases “delta” waves, which are extremely slow. These waves are interspersed with rapid brain waves that are much smaller. In stages three and four, the sleeper experiences deep sleep where all muscle and eye movement is non existent and it is very difficult to wake him or her up. The last and final stage is the REM period. This is where the brain waves increase to the level of those while awake. The sleeper may encounter rapid breathing and eye movement as well as limb paralysis. During the REM period people are able to remember their dreams.
Most people do not fully understand how sleep affects all aspects of their life. When it comes to a person’s daily routine, sleep has the ability to majorly affect one’s mood, memory and concentration. The affects of sleep deprivation and how it affects these three aspects is most commonly seen in students. Students have been known to sacrifice their sleep in order to stay up all night studying. What they may not realize is that the sleep they have lost can help organize the information they are memorizing while solidifying. Sleep also contributes greatly to one’s concentration levels. The REM period of sleep is also very important because actively dreaming helps contribute to an even mood. Sleeping also affects the body’s nervous system. By repairing neurons in the body, sleep allows signals from the nervous system to be carried to the rest of the body. These signals affect both voluntary and involuntary commands such as moving your arms and legs or breathing. In addition, sleep affects the immune system. A lack of sleep will almost definitely result in a cold because without sleep the immune system becomes weak and is unable to defend the body. Sleep also affects how your body releases hormones. Some of the hormones that are required for healthy growth are only released during deep sleep.
Most average people have a few daily habits that can get in the way of a healthy nights sleep. Although a cup of coffee in the morning or an energy drink may help some people get through the day, it can also get in the way of sleep. Caffeine can stay in the system for ten to twelve hours, so it is recommended that people do not consume large amounts of caffeine. Alcohol consumption also has the ability to greatly alter one’s sleep. Although it helps some people fall asleep, it keeps the sleeper in stage one of sleep or light sleep.
Making a regular schedule for yourself when it comes to sleep will greatly benefit a large number of aspects in your life. When your body finds its natural rhythm, your quality of sleep is likely to improve. Researchers recommend seven to nine hours of sleep, but it is important to make sure that these hours of sleep include deep sleep and the REM period. Another way to insure that your sleep is affective is to spend thirty to sixty minutes before bed winding down. By taking part in a relaxing activity that does not require very much “brain power” you are preparing yourself for a good night’s sleep. Lastly it is good to note that stressing over your sleep will often cause your sleep quality to go down.
Although naps are not suggested, they can hold some benefit. . When people get behind on sleep they tend to nap. Napping can make falling asleep at night very difficult, so instead of taking a nap, make a point to go to bed earlier. If you find yourself in a situation where you are so tired that you cannot function, it is suggested that you take a “power nap.” This means sleeping for thirty minutes or less. This allows you to sleep without going into deep sleep. By avoiding deep sleep you will wake up without feeling groggy and tired. Instead you will feel slightly more rested with improved alertness and concentration, as well as a better mood and enhanced coordination. Naps that are ninety minutes or more allow you to go into “deep sleep.” Although you may feel tired when you wake up, these naps will help improve creativity. Lastly make sure that you are lying down when you take a nap. If you are in an upright position it will take people up to fifty percent longer to fall asleep.
Most people view sleep as a treat or something that they can indulge upon, when in reality sleep is a necessity. Another misconception is that as long as your head is on the pillow you and are asleep that you are getting a good night’s sleep. However the stage of sleep and quality has a great affect on whether your sleep will benefit you. People may not understand just how beneficial sleep can be, but hopefully after reading this guide, the reader will have a clear vision of how to receive the most out of one’s sleep cycle. The time that one spends in sleep will help to rejuvenate and revive all aspects of one’s life.
Works Cited
Riggs, R. (4 March 2009.) 7 Simple Rules For How To Take a Nap. Retrieved from http://www.bspcn.com/2008/06/22/7-simpl
(4 March 2009.) Rest Assured You’re Making The Most of Bedtime. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/article
(4 March 2009.) Stages of Sleep. Retrieved from http://www.sleepdex.org/stages.htm
(March 5 2009.) Sleeping Well; What You Need To Know. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleep
Once you download PMOG a tool bar will appear in your browser. This allows you to play the game as you search the web. There are different missions that a player can select and choose to participate in. Once you've accepted a mission, you are lead through a series of related web-pages based on a specific topic. These missions can help users use their internet time wisely and aids in gathering information in an entertaining way. As you complete missions you earn DP's or data points which allow you to purchase different tools such as armor, watchdogs, mines, and portals to aid you in your missions. Eventually you can also use DP's to influence your character type.
After completing missions you can also earn different types of badges. I think you can also earn these badges based on how you use your tools. It's not clear to me yet what these badges are used for, but I'll continue to explore. There are different character types which are put into two categories: chaos or order. I believe you have to earn a certain amount of DP's before you can edit your character but I'm not positive.
As far as missions go, after you select a mission a box pops up in your browser giving you little bits of information about the web-page. After you've read it and looked over the page you simply hit "next" which takes you to the next web-page. I participated in one mission that asked different questions and you had to search out the answers on the web-site The only problem was that there was no place to enter the answer, and I could simply hit "next" to go to the next page even if I hadn't found the answer. If there was some way to have participants enter an answer in order to advance to the next web-page, then this game would be a great way to incorporate information from our seminar class into a game.
Another way that PMOG could be very useful for our seminar is if the course reading could be incorporated into a mission. Perhaps after reading information on one page students could answer a series of question to make sure they fully understood the material. By answering correctly the student would then advance to the next part of the reading assignment. In fact, several classmates and I created a mission on PMOG called Doomsday. PMOG could also be used by students for a project. If they had some sort of research project, say the "hacker profile" our class just completed, they could lead their viewer through web-pages that displayed information about their hacker. This could almost act in place of a bibliography.
As a child Spears’ life was fairly conventional but she quickly became someone very extraordinary. She was born on December 2, 1981 in the small town of Kentwood, Louisiana near the Mississippi border. During her childhood years Spears was a talented gymnast, enjoyed dance, and performed in her church’s choir. She attended New York City’s Professional Performing Arts School for several years and later she made appearances in several Broadway related musical productions. After successfully being a part of the television show “Star Search” Spears found her first big break at age eleven with Disney Channel’s “The New Mickey Mouse Show.” She briefly attended high school and afterwards Spears made her debut by releasing her first single “…Baby One More Time” in October of 1998. One biography mentions Spears’ revival effort in the music industry saying, “More than any other single artist, Britney Spears was the driving force behind the return of teen pop in the late '90s” (Billboard). Just three short months later Spears soared to new heights when her single topped the charts of the Billboard Top 100. One biography provided by VH1 says, “Spears didn't just become a star -- she was a bona fide pop phenomenon” (Britney Spears). Her fame and success continued to grow at an astounding rate and that December she won Female Artist of the Year and three other awards at the 1999 Billboard Music Awards. Blossoming into a major artist at the young age of eighteen, Spears released another album in 2000 titled “Oops!... I Did It Again.” This album was a huge success selling over ten million copies in the United States alone. She also performed in New York at the 2000 MTV Music Video Awards as a part of her first worldwide tour. Rolling Stone calls Spears “shockingly beautiful — clear skin, ruby lips, a perfectly proportioned twenty-six-year-old porcelain doll” (Grigoriadis). Up to this point Spears had been all over the media and had even been nicknamed the “Pop Princess” only further confirming her accomplishments. Also Forbes even recognized her as “the World’s most powerful celebrity” in 2002 making her spot in pop history permanent. After her second tour was cut short due to weather related problems, Spears decided to take a six-month break from the music industry. Her four-year relationship with then boyfriend Timberlake also ended but her career continued to grow. Although there were mixed reviews, Spears released a fourth album only to be greeted with success and a number one spot on the charts.
This point in Spears’ life is seen as one of the turning points in not only her career but also her personal life. On a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada in January of 2004 Spears married her old friend. A slew of media attacks followed and the marriage was annulled two days later. Ten months later Spears entered into a troubled marriage with Kevin Federline. She gave birth to her first child Sean Preston Federline a year after marrying Federline and had her second child Jayden James Federline in September of 2007. In the summer of that year Spears and Federline finalized their divorce and parted ways. With Spears’ family life and support system giving way from under her, she continued to spiral out of control and was admitted herself to a treatment center in Southern California. She also began a custody battle following her divorce for her children. After losing custody of her children in 2007 Spears was again hospitalized again due to a mental breakdown. Vanessa Grigoriadis from Rolling Stone comments on Spears’ downfall saying, “More than any other star today, Britney epitomizes the crucible of fame for the famous: loving it, hating it and never quite being able to stop it from destroying you” (Grigoriadis). Spears’ life was a chaotic mess and her career simply could not support her any longer and gave way.
Spears refused to accept the reality of the music industry that teen stars just could not make it past a certain point. She was not ready to accept the fact that scandal and controversy could cast you out of the top charts. Instead she fought to win her position as “Pop Princess” back and to correct the errors in the music industry as a system. In October of 2007 Spears released one more album titled “Blackout” which was a new provocative sound unlike anything Spears had ever done. This album acted as her personal hacker manifesto because in the lyrics she expresses her intent in coming back into the industry as herself and stronger than ever. It was immediately a hit boosting not only her confidence but also her career. With this new revival, she was ready to jump headfirst back into the music industry and all it had to offer. She released her most recent album named “Circus” in December of 2008. Spears has proved that the formula the music industry has created as a system can be broken and improved upon. Like a hacker Spears looked for a loophole or a problem in the system and tried to improve upon it. And along with many other people she realized that the music industry very rarely allowed for stars to make it past their years of teen fame. She improved upon this problem by diversifying herself and creating a new sound for herself. In doing this not only did she reinvent herself but also she found her way back into her former stardom where she currently has a very substantial career. She was able to incorporate herself back into the music industry.
Works Cited
A&E. (2008). Biography of Britney Spears. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from http://www.biography.com/search/article.d
Bryant, J. (2005, December). Biography of Britney Spears. Retrieved February 8, 2009, from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005453/bio
Grigoriadis, V. (2008, February). Article about Britney Spears. Retrieved February 9, 2009, from http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/1
Huey, S. (2007). Biography of Britney Spears. Retrieved February 9, 2009, from http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.j
VH1. (2007). Biography of Britney Spears. Retrieved February 8, 2009, from http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/spears_bri
Britney Spears Biographical article. Retrieved February 9, 2009, from http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/b
List of awards won by Britney Spears. Retrieved February 9, 2009, from http://www.the-alist.org/BritneySpears/a
The Free Speech Movement was sparked on college campuses namely University of California, Berkley. Students protested against restrictions on campus political activities and they wanted the administration to recognize their rights to freedom of speech. The concept of the New Left also had its roots on college campuses. Students' protest associated with the New Left were concerning race, gender, and sexuality. With new coverage of Vietnam available to the public and countless young people being drafted, college students also began anti-war protests and activism.
With advances in technology also taking place during this time and the introduction of the internet people began finding more and more outlets to discuss their beliefs. Young people using psychedelic drugs known as hippies were looking for ways to expand their minds. In the end the youth wanted to limit the government's power so that they could be free to express themselves and live their lives.
Levy also talks about the idea that all information should be free. Lightman reflects this through his character when he is sent tot eh principle's office. He is able to find the password to the school's computer system and later changes his failing grade in chemistry to B. By doing this the school's information is free and available to him. David also takes advantage of free information when he attempts to gain access to a new computer game that hasn't come out yet. By doing this he accidentally hacks into the military system which is where his troubles begins.
The next point that Levy brings up in his "Hacker Ethic" is that hackers should be judged on their talent not on their credentials. In the movie when David is arrested for hacking into the military system the authorities automatically assume that he must be working with a very powerful group. They judge him based on the idea that because he is young he shouldn't be able to hack into their system, and because he did he must be working with the Russians. Hackers should be evaluated without taking into consider other variables (such as age or training) other than what they can do.
Next Levy mentions the concept that you can create art and beauty using a computer. This movie in general contradicted this point because the military was using the computer to find efficient ways to bring destruction on the enemies of the United States. The one thing that the computer couldn't understand was the fact that violence is not always the best solution.
The last point that Levy makes is that computers can change your life for the better. This is illustrated through David's character to some extent. He is able to hack into the school's computer and change his grades. This helps him because not only are his parents happy with him but he avoids taking the class over in summer school.
I can think of numerous times when merely walking into the Apple store has made me feel less than worthy of obtaining the knowledge of technology. For instance when I was shopping for laptops, I didn't even want to ask a question in fear that it would be too obvious or would take me to an even lower level than "the stupid customer." I can't remember exactly what exchange took place on that occasion (because I have tried to blot it from my memory) but I know it was less than pleasant.
I think technology in general dominates our society. Because of this we cannot let ourselves become slaves to technology; instead, we must empower ourselves by understanding technology. People should not allow themselves to rely on the "technocrats" to be the middle man between society and technology. By understanding, people will enable themselves to use technology to its fullest extent.
Something that most people don't know about me is that I competed on a nationally ranked synchronized swimming team for over 4 years. In 2001 Age Group National Championship my team and I took 3rd place. Along with synchro I competed on my high school's swim team for four years.I also enjoy art, other water sports and spending time with my friends and family.
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