"My Dream Workspace"

If I had to create a workspace in which money was no object, I would definitely dedicate a big room for my space. I love a more modern feel, so the colors in the room would be black and white with a touch of baby pink. I don't like clutter because I tend to get distracted when there is a lot going on in one space, which is another reason why I would go with white walls and follow a modern feel.  I would have one wall dedicated to pictures of friends and family. I would want a big dark wood desk, with a lot of drawers so that I could fit all my things neatly. I also want a really bright desk lamp similar to the one in my dorm room for lighting. I would also put french doors in my room, with pretty linen curtains for natural light, because I feel like I work better with natural light in the room. There would be a remote in which I could control when I wanted the curtains open and when I wanted them close.  I would also put in numerous flood lights with dimmer to adjust the lighting in the room, and the remote could also control this. I would have a corner in which there would be a comfortable sofa, and a mini refrigerator and a table with a coffee maker since I am a big fan of coffee. This area would be my break area, where I would take breaks during my work, and even take a nap if I needed. In another corner I would insert big file cabinets, were I would put all my past work and have them filed neatly, so that if I ever needed anything from the past, I could go into that cabinet and find it. My work chair would be big and comfortable and adjustable. I hate working in chairs that are comfortable because I tend to get frustrated and my back starts to hurt. I love wall art in in the picture below I would do wall art similar to that. I think it is very chic. 

The Right to the City

The article, "The end of Public Space?" is mainly about the 1969 riots in San Francisco. They were generally started when a UC chancellor decided that they wanted to turn People's Park, by the University of Berkeley were many homeless resided, into a recreation center for students with volleyball courts and other things. In the end, the University won and now the park is a recreation center for the students at the University. Many were against the idea since they thought that turning the park into a recreation center would make the park loose its true meaning of a free and open park for everyone. In the article it mentioned that the university wanted it to, "to be park in which inappropriate persons-"the criminal element" were removed to make room for students and middle-class residents, who had been excluded because of this matter (120)." I feel that it really absurb that they wanted to kick out the homeless people and deny them another place where they could sleep. It is also upsetting how they mentioned "middle-class residents." I don't understand why you would have to be middle class resident to hang out at a park. Its a public place! A UC spokesperson also mentioned that, "We have no intention to kick out the homeless. They will still be here when the park changes, but without the criminal element that gravitates towards the park (122)." I disagree when they say they want the criminal element to change. Personally I believe that you cannot stop criminal element from gravitating anywhere. I don't think that making a place UC owned would stop "criminals" from coming there. If they want to continue the crime in that area they will. I think that it was just a nicer way and an excuse to scare the homeless people in that area away. Overall I thought that the article was really interesting. It amazes me what the government went through to take away a public place that is meant for everyone, seems like they want to take over everything these days and its even crazier now since they took it to an extreme and tried to take away our freedom on the internet!

Disney Response

1. What is remediation?
- remediation is fixing or reversing something that is bad.


2. In what ways is Disneyland a narrative space?
- Disneyland is like a fantasy land, they take scenes from Disney movies and reenact them and make them come to life.


3. In what ways is Disneyland designed to remind visitors of the media that surrounds them?
- The whole theme park in itself is design to remind us of the media. It allows us to have to live our wildest fantasy for the day.


4.  In what ways does Disney promise an "authentic and watching experience?
- It promises to let you have a full reality experience. It makes you experience scenes and you get to meet disney characters to make it seem real. and some of your favorite places from the movie are at the theme park.


5.  Why does Disneyland want to offer its partners a chance to enter into there films?

- It wants to give kids the full experience of being in the fantasy land .he whole theme park gives that field of being in a disney movie.

My Work Space

My workspace is my dorm. As you can see in the picture, I have a spacious desk were I can fit all my supplies and books. I have a really bright green lamp which is one of my favorite things because it is really bright and gives great light. The one thing I would say I don't like about my workspace is the chair. It is very uncomfortable and after a while, I end up going on my bed to finish my work. I keep post -its next to me because I tend to forget a lot of things. As you can see I have post-its on my wall with reminders of different things. One thing that I would like to change is to add more color. I love color and tend to be more happier and focused when there is more color around me. Also I want more picture frames in my room, and maybe add some photos of friends. my dorm is really boring and there is not much that reminds me of home except my teddy bear. I like my workspace because it is very quiet and organized, I know where everything is and I don't have to worry about anyone touching my things. I feel very focused her and try to get everything done before I go home on the weekends because I know that there are too many distractions at my home in Los Angeles. As you can also see on my desk, I have a green organizer, where I keep my jewelry and small school supplies for easy access. All in all my workspace satisfy's my needs and I am pretty happy with it.

Thesis

Because of various types of techological advances today with gaming systems, and other gadgets, there are many miscommunications between parents and their children causing them to loose the close connections and bonds of family and friends.

The Cold Case of the Killer Car

It is the year 2040, hardly anyone does anything by hand. It is a world were everything is sleek and slender. Everything is so modern and high tech and everything is done with a push of a button or just by speaking and telling a machine your command. No one really has time to visit each other. Everyone is in their own little world busy with their jobs and making sure that everything in their life is running smoothly. This world in this age and time is always on the run no matter what you are doing. Almost everyday there is a new invention in which people are excited to get their hands on if is something that can be of a convenience to them. The most fascinating and most upgraded piece of technology is cars.

The car industry is so big at this time, there are new inventions and new gadgets almost every month. Car shows are very popular and this is the one thing that everyone attends in person and not over a virtual camera. There are now solar paneled cars, and this is one the greatest finds for car, since people save a huge amount of money on gas while doing its justice for the Earth. Your car is more like your friend. You could speak to it and it would take you where ever you go, GPS systems in your car were three dimensional. It was basically a little floating cube that hovered on top of your dashboard, telling you ever step of the way if you wanted to take the time out and drive yourself to your destination. Hardly anyone ever got into accidents anymore since you car would warn you when to stop or if not it would stop itself, if it felt like you were in danger.

One day as Sam was on his way to work, he received a call from his best friend Eric. He was happy to hear from his best friend since they did not speak much, because of their busy lives. They were catching up and Sam was telling him about his latest success that would make him a millionaire. Sam told Eric that the first thing he would buy was a new car. He was so excited and wanted to purchase the new 2041 Ashton Martin, he was waiting for the end of the year so that it would debut. He thought they were so cool, though he did not want to trade in his current car.  It was a 2032 metallic black Mercedes Benz. This car had been his buddy for a long time, and they had struck a close bond. As the car heard this, it started to speed a little faster, as if it was enraged with the news  and Sam began to panic. “Slow down now.” He shouted and Sam decided to turn off the automatic mode and drive himself the rest of the way. His best friend asked him if everything was okay, and Sam told him he would call him later. 

As Sam drove the rest of the way he was a little worried and undeceive. He told his car that it was time for a change, it was a new year, and the replied, “but we are buddies, I’ve been at your service almost nine years now.” Sam replied, “ Yes I know, I’m not even sure yet, just take me to my destination.” “As you wish Sam” the car replied. The rest of the way Sam was caught up in his thoughts. Should he trade in his old car buddy for a new and improved one? He would feel sorry for his old buddy. Even though it was only a car, for eight years, that was his buddy. As Sam got to work, he locked his car and told him that he would be back later. 

As the day flew by Sam got tired and after a long day of virtual meetings and other conferences he decided to head home. As he got into the car, he felt weird. The car automatically locked and the seat belt flew across him. “I am not going to be traded in. You betrayed me!” The car was furious. Sam began to panic and ordered the car to turn to manual. It disregarded his order, and the car started and speed off. Sam begged and pleaded the car to turn off and asked it where it was taking him. It replied, “If I die, we die together that’s what its going to be!” Sam screamed for help as if anyone could hear him. The car got to a high cliff and drove off. Sam said a quick prayer as the car reached the edge. They tumbled to their death, and no one heard of them ever again. 

                                                                     

The Experience Machine

The Experience Machine by Robert Nozick is mainly about a machine in which you could have kind of desired experience of your choice. You would be able to choose from a large library of experience and for two years you would reside in a tank with electrodes attached to your brain. Then after the two years, you would have some time to come out of the tank and pre-plan the next two years of your life to your liking. I found this so crazy and technology is just looking for more ways to zone us out even more from living life. I would personally not want to be plugged-in as the article points out, "plugging into an experience machine limits us to a man-made reality..."(p.90). I totally agree we would just be living by the experiences that we choose for ourselves, we would not be in touch with the world or the people in it. Another quote that I found really interesting was, "To be is to do, as some famous philosopher once said."(90). I think this quote just sums it all up.  he says that the machine doesn't do anything for us, and he is totally right.  Why would you just want to satisfy your needs? At the end of the day there is not point, and after all your needs are satisfied what comes next?

The Veldt

Whats funny is when I started reading the first line of the story I thought nursery? huh. This short passage from the book The Veldt, was really interesting and I enjoyed reading it. It is mainly about a wealthy family that purchases a house that does almost everything for them. The family is not required to lift a finger, and as George's wife Lydia in the book puts it, "the house is wife and mother and now nursemaid."(10). The house also has a room called the veldt for George's kids Peter and Wendy in which they are able to imagine a place and make it come alive in this one little room. As the chapter goes on George starts to realize that his kids are spoiled and their lives begin to become a sort of fantasy  making them loose touch with reality. He calls is psychologist and he advises him to shut the veldt off. When george shuts it off, he tells his kids that the family will be taking a vacation to get back to daily life.  His kids begin to throw a tantrum. His wife advises him to turn it on for a few minutes for the last time. As he does this, the kids lock their parents in the room and the parents are eaten by a hungry tiger. It is really crazy what these kids did to their parents because they decided to take away the veldt from them. It just goes to show how addicting a piece of technology can be. This can related us kids today. We don't have something so extravagant like the veldt, but our generation cannot live without the various social networks and pieces of technology including Facebook, Twitter, and our iPods. The children in the book grew to love this virtual machine more than their own parents. I feel like something like this would exist in the future, but even though the idea sounds cool, I don't think that it would benefit anyone. Like this poor family, we would begin to loose our purpose in life, and everything that we need to work for would be just handed to us and whats the fun in that? Life is all about going through hardships to come out as a winner and achieve whatever it is that we want. Technology is going a little too far, and this passage is a great example of the repercussions.

                                               

Questions About George Orwell's 1984

1. What is the significance of the posters that read: BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU? Who is Big Brother?
- The significance of the posters was to remind the people that they should not do anything against the rules and always be on their best behavior because they were being watched at all times. Big Brother is the leader of the party and he rules above all.

2. Where do we see evidence of panopticism in the novel?
- The posters of Big Brother are plastered everywhere with the words, "Big Brother is watching you." The citizens also know that there are things called telescreens, which are almost like video cameras in places that they cannot see. the police is always watching them and helicopters fly past everyone's apartment windows.They also had everyone paranoid with the idea that there was thought police in which all your thoughts were known by the party, so they could not think of anything that was against the party's rules.

3. What is the telescreen how is it used and what is its purpose?
- The telescreen was basically like a video-camera where the party was able to see and hear what you were doing in your own home.

4. What is the significance of the Party slogan: WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH?
- These words are basically propaganda. They are meant to confuse the people so that they won't try and think anything else. By saying war is peace, they won't think that anything is wrong with fighting and will accept the concept of a war. Freedom is slavery is saying that if your thoughts are not tamed then you are basically slaving yourself. And ignorance is strength is a big one i would think for the party because its telling people to be ignorant so that they don't venture off into learning new things, and instead just live the way they are told.

5. Who are the Thought Police and what do they do?
- The thought police are basically the people who keep track of what everyone is thinking. They make sure that no one thinks thoughts that go against the party's beliefs and such. It is a way of scaring the people and remind them that the party always knows what they are doing.

6. What is the Two Minutes Hate and what is its purpose?
- The two minutes of hate is where the party shows its citizens their enemies and it shows the citizens what the party does to the ones who betray them. It is a way to brainwash the people, and again show how strong the party is. It is also a way for the citizens to channel their anger so that they will not have any anger towards the party.

7. What does Winston begin writing in the diary?
- Winston begins writing what he really thinks in his book. He feels like if he writes all his bad thoughts about the party down, he won't think them so that he would not get caught by the party. He also finds that it is a way he remembers the past, when he writes things begin to make sense a little more to him.

8. How would you feel if you lived in this world?
- I don't think I would never feel comfortable because I would know that ever move I make is being watched. In a world like that it is impossible to be yourself because you are pretty much told who you have to be. You don't have your own opinion about anything and you are blinded by what is really going on in the real world.

9. In what ways in our world like this world?
- We are also constantly being watched. There are video camera's in malls and stores to make sure that we are following all the laws and are on our best behavior. In schools we are watched by teacher and high authority. We are also pretty much watched by our parents that make sure that we are doing the right things to benefit our future.We are also watched every time that we are on the world wide web.

10. Do you think it's possible that our world could become like this one in the future? In what ways?
- I think it is possible that our world would become like this. I feel that even now it is becoming like this little by little but we just don't really notice the changes. There a things now that the government doesn't tell us, they choose which things they want us to know and which they want to keep in the dark.
                                                   

                                                         


Bonus: What is Orwell's purpose in writing this novel?
Bonus 2: What is Totalitarianism?

Panopticon

The Half Plan of the Panopticon where prisoners were always on their best behavior because they were constantly being watched

Artificial Intelligence Questions

1. Is it possible to create a human robot? In what ways?
- You can make a robot look like a human from the outside but the inside can never compare and cannot be mimicked.

2. What does it mean to be human? What sets us apart from machines?
- emotions such as fear, love, and anger. We also have the ability to reproduce as to where a robot has to be built. We humans also have the ability to grow up.

3. What can machines do better than humans and why?
- They are far more intelligent than humans. They are pretty much invincible, they have endless life.

4. Can a robot love?
- I don't think a robot can love. I think it can be taught to have a high amount of respect for someone, but they can't experience love like we can.

5. If a robot could love, could a human love it?
- I don't think we could love a robot, it would not be an unconditional love like a parent and their child.

Panopticon

The article Panopticon is mainly about us being "watched" at all times. it talks about how we are being surveillanced and all out information is being recorded at all times. On the web nothing ever gets erased, thats why we are told to be careful as to what we decide to post on the web. One bad step and it could cost you a new job that we are trying to apply for. Now a days we hear about job interviewers searching their applicants on the web even before they get to meet them in person, because they could basically get inside on them to see who they really are from what they post on their Facebooks or other social network. Because of silly mistakes, even celebrities have gotten in trouble with the web and have things on the internet that will never be forgotten. For example Kim Kardashian sex tape, or the inappropriate photos Miley Cyrus took of herself. It is very hard to keep things private these days on the internet because as this article reinforces everything is being recorded into a database.

"15 Life Changing Inventions Made by Mistake."

http://www.businessinsider.com/these-10-inventions-were-made-by-mistake-2010-11

Living in a world of perfect robots, there would be little to no errors/mistakes. Though I found this website that shares 15 life changing inventions made by mistake. Why would we want to live in a perfect world when many of our favorite things were invented by mistake!

The articles about virtual selves and artificial minds were very interesting. I found it crazy that there was thought about making an artificial "pain-maker" that can detect pain. I don't really understand how it would work, how can a machine learn how to detect pain? I don't think that artificial minds are a good idea. What we call "life" would not be life. Having a virtual life is not a real life, it would be more like a dream where you would always get your way. I don't see why anyone would want to live in a perfect world. That would be a little boring after a while. What would be the point? In this world we learn from our mistakes, and that is what make us better human beings. There would be no sense of accomplishment with anything because you don't have to work for anything.  Some of the greatest inventions were made by mistake. Take the chocolate cookie for example. Ruth Wakefield ran out of baker's chocolate one day while mixing cookie dough, so for a substitute she broke in little chocolate pieces. She thought it would melt but it turns out they stuck! How cool it that! I'm glad she ran out of baker's chocolate because I don't know what this world would be without a chocolate chip cookie! Anyways, back to artificial minds and such, I don't think that any kind of robot can compare to a human. We have our six senses in which a robot can never have. We are filled with emotions and feeling and flaws which is what makes us all different. Humans are the inventors of computer so I don't see why we would make then to run our lives or live lives. Computers are just meant to assist us and make life a little bit more convenient but for them to have a life of their own is a bit extreme.