Government Takeover

I recently had a discussion with a student about America and how the government is completely taking over. He was talking all about how technology is giving them access to all of our information. In my opinion, he was being a little extreme. He got into cell phones first. He was saying how the government has every text message or phone call that we have ever sent on file. He also brought up the fact of the camera on our phone. He believes that the government can be constantly watching us through the lens on our phones. He also brought up how the government will soon be controlling everything we do and putting chips in our brain in order to keep track of and control our thoughts. In my opinion, I thought all of his points were a little extreme. How are they going to get the chips in our brain? Sure the government has a lot of control but not that much! The whole phone thing I could understand because that is somewhat true that they do have access to it all. Obviously, the government can find out more than we may want them to but gaining access to your brain is a little far fetched. Maybe I'm wrong and that could actually happen. I guess we will see. The point is as technology is advancing, the government is advancing their information on us. So how far is too far?

Comic Post

Dicussion Questions: Chomsky

1)The US is now just a business party instead of democratic and republican. Do you agree and why? 

2)How do you all feel about our government? if you could change one thing, what would it be?

3)Do you agree that the United States leads in power and influence? Why or why not?

4)How can the government give us more power or how can we bring back the differentiation between the democrats and republicans?

My blog this week is about the article we read for class on Wednesday. The article was all about how different things were technology. We just consider technology to be our digital devices such as our phone or computer but basically anything we use on a daily basis can be considered technology. Technology, in this article, is described as any item that aids us in something or any tool that makes something easier. From the time we wake up, we are constantly using forms of technology and do not even realize it. We wake up and check the time on the clock. Then we check our phones. Next, we put on our glasses which aid us in seeing obviously. Then, some people put on makeup. In order to do this, you need certain tools which qualify as technology. Next, we take our clothes off their hangers, which the article already described as a technology, and put our shoes on. Then we pick up our backpacks and  head to class. Our backpacks help us carry all of our books easier. A lot of things we use in class are technology as well. Pens and pencils aid us in writing things down and calculators help us perform math skills that maybe our brains are not capable of doing. After classes, we head to lunch. Plates help us transport our food, utensils help us eat the food, and cups help us drink. Then we do our homework. Our laptops aid us in that. Also, all throughout the day, we are using our cell phones, iPods, etc. All in all, technology is constantly in our daily lives.

Down With Lifehacking

This post is based on the article "Down With Lifehacking" by Evgeny Morozov. This article is based on making time and managing that time. He describes life hacking as a technique adopted in order to manage one's time and daily activities in a more efficient way. People should use technology to get things done more effectively and have more time for oneself. However, he goes on to say that maybe technology is doing the opposite and I agree. Technology is taking up so much of our time and we are so consumed by it that we get distracted from everything around us. Instead of spending our time using technology to make more time for ourselves, we are spending our free time looking for the latest new technology or upgrade. Technology is actually taking away our leisure time because we are wired in 24/7. I can think of multiple occasions of being with my friends and they are all just on their phones looking at twitter or instagram and texting. There are so many networks and sites to keep up with that it is taking up so much time. I personally am not really attached to my phone. Anytime I am on vacation, I just turn my phone off and do not turn it back on until it is absolutely necessary. I am not one of those people who brings their phone everywhere either. I have no problem being without my phone. The same can not be said for others. It actually bugs me how obsessed people are with technology. I hate being with my friends and the only thing they want to do is watch television or play on their phones. I also cannot stand when people use their phones when driving. Like you can't wait? Technology, in my opinion, wastes time verses saving it. Sure, things like google make it easy to access certain information but other than that, we waste so much time on the internet. I feel like most people around my age, myself included, find technology as an easy way to procrastinate. This being said, I think that technology is a lifehacker but not in the most productive way.

Challenging the Chip Discussion Questions:

1) Does knowing that 80% of your "recycled" material ends up actually polluting the earth change your view or opinion of recycling? What could we do differently to avoid this pollution?

2) How much did you know about toxic waste before reading this? Were any facts more shocking than others?

3) Why do they target the poor economies with the toxic waste and jobs taking care of the waste? 

4) Can we reduce the amount of toxic waste? Do we have the power to make a difference? If yes, how can we?  

First Post

Hi, my name is Lindsay Georger and I am from Buffalo, New York. I was a dancer for ten years and in my spare time, I like to hang out with my friends. I am also into art, like pottery and painting. I make a lot of different crafty things. I am into community service and helping others so I suppose that makes me kind of special. I volunteer at a camp over the summer that helps parents who cannot afford day care and my family volunteers at nursing homes. I've always grown up with the mentality that you should help others above yourself. I need to work in a place where I can focus so someplace quiet is good and also an accepting environment is important because we should be able to voice our opinions without being judged. The most important invention was the computer because it has evolved so much over the years and so many other things have come from it. I have 2 things I find essential to my life. That is my computer and my phone. I consider myself pretty tech savvy. I have a lot of social media so I can understand it pretty well. However, I do not know too much about digital media.