Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
An "unfortunate" incident
"Verizon reports that they had a hardware failure at their Cortland central switching site. Additionally they experienced a breakdown in their internal communications hierarchy, leading to an unfortunately long downtime."
Ironically, this e-mail was sent while many on campus did not have Internet access. I find the use of the word "unfortunately" especially interesting. Was it really so unfortunate? Although it's only the first week of classes, I'm sure that several Internet users were unable to find research or partake in online classes such as this one. For everyone else, it's more of an inconvenience. We cannot check our e-mail for the fifth time today. We expect that the Internet will always be functioning. If the page is slow to load, then we refresh it and try again.
A couple of years ago, Cortland's system went down for a day or two. I received at least two phone calls from friends concerned as to my whereabouts, or if I was purposely avoiding them. I'm the first to become frustrated when the Internet fails to load, even if the outtage is brief. The vast majority of the time, I don't really "need" to be using the Internet. Word serves most of my academic requirements just fine. But we've come to both take this technology for granted and find it essential.
Ironically, this e-mail was sent while many on campus did not have Internet access. I find the use of the word "unfortunately" especially interesting. Was it really so unfortunate? Although it's only the first week of classes, I'm sure that several Internet users were unable to find research or partake in online classes such as this one. For everyone else, it's more of an inconvenience. We cannot check our e-mail for the fifth time today. We expect that the Internet will always be functioning. If the page is slow to load, then we refresh it and try again.
A couple of years ago, Cortland's system went down for a day or two. I received at least two phone calls from friends concerned as to my whereabouts, or if I was purposely avoiding them. I'm the first to become frustrated when the Internet fails to load, even if the outtage is brief. The vast majority of the time, I don't really "need" to be using the Internet. Word serves most of my academic requirements just fine. But we've come to both take this technology for granted and find it essential.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
public and private speech
"We believe that talking on a mobile phone in a public place is in part a matter of conflict of social spaces in which people assume different faces. ... This changing act brings to the fore that faces are publicly assumed, which then gives rise to the feeling that the new face and perhaps even the old face are false" (28).
As we build our private, isolated space, our words become less personalized, emphasizing what should be said instead of, perhaps, what we want to say. We think of security issues as coming from a foreign hacker, but documents and conversations can be easily observed by our friends, as they forward e-mails or copy and paste text from one conversation box to another. My style changes dramatically if someone glances over my shoulder. I may cease to write at all until I am alone. I walk away to make a quick phone call, for quick it must be; nobody can be permitted to overhear my mundane, "So how was your day?"
Lizzi brings up the interesting issue of cowardice or courage when it comes to electronic messaging. Is it more noble of us to labor over our responses, or do we fear confrontation? (I know that I am of the latter category.) Our technologies through the ages, though meant to "bridge the gaps," have, to a degree, aided us in avoiding direct contact when necessary: letters, the telephone, answering machines, voicemail, e-mail, IM, text messaging. Yet paradoxically, our private space is accessible by nearly all we know. It appears that though we may postpone our responses, we may never say precisely what it is that we mean.
As we build our private, isolated space, our words become less personalized, emphasizing what should be said instead of, perhaps, what we want to say. We think of security issues as coming from a foreign hacker, but documents and conversations can be easily observed by our friends, as they forward e-mails or copy and paste text from one conversation box to another. My style changes dramatically if someone glances over my shoulder. I may cease to write at all until I am alone. I walk away to make a quick phone call, for quick it must be; nobody can be permitted to overhear my mundane, "So how was your day?"
Lizzi brings up the interesting issue of cowardice or courage when it comes to electronic messaging. Is it more noble of us to labor over our responses, or do we fear confrontation? (I know that I am of the latter category.) Our technologies through the ages, though meant to "bridge the gaps," have, to a degree, aided us in avoiding direct contact when necessary: letters, the telephone, answering machines, voicemail, e-mail, IM, text messaging. Yet paradoxically, our private space is accessible by nearly all we know. It appears that though we may postpone our responses, we may never say precisely what it is that we mean.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Te presento a...pues, mi.
For all this talk of wikis and podcasts, I felt that quality lines from movies such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail shall never fade away.
My name is Diana and I am a junior with a dual major in Professional Writing and Spanish. I have another blog, so I'm familiar with the blogging process, but sincerely felt that nobody would be interested in its contents. I'm a member of the gymnastics team, meaning that I enjoy hurtling myself into the air and doing other odd things to my body.
I would love to make a living through writing. I'd also like to get my Ph.D, travel in Europe, learn various languages, figure out how to relax, and manage to shower without tapping out the hot water. We shall see!
My name is Diana and I am a junior with a dual major in Professional Writing and Spanish. I have another blog, so I'm familiar with the blogging process, but sincerely felt that nobody would be interested in its contents. I'm a member of the gymnastics team, meaning that I enjoy hurtling myself into the air and doing other odd things to my body.
I would love to make a living through writing. I'd also like to get my Ph.D, travel in Europe, learn various languages, figure out how to relax, and manage to shower without tapping out the hot water. We shall see!
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