Writing Partnership 11.29.11

My experience tonight at the Writing partnership was by far the best experience I have had at the Outreach Center.   Last week, Stephen and Pat started to tell me their stories that they were writing in their autobiographies.  However, this week, they read us their work and their stories of their lives were unbelievable.  Listening to both of them talk about their youth was so moving and heart-wrenching, knowing what i have today compared to what they went through at my age.  However, what was most moving about my experience tonight was listening to their optimism and their views of life, despite what they had gone through in their lives.  Pat, whose family life lead her down the wrong path as a child, had nothing bad to say about her family, and praised thm for doing all they could to improve her life.  Stephen, who struggled with alcohol, sex, and drugs, uses his experiences to teach others at AA meeting all around the country.  Both of them praised God and never hesitated to thank them, despite their misfortune and their life struggles.  It was almost as if they believed themselves to be fortunate for what they went through, because it taught them how to live life, and now they are able to share that with others so that they do not make the same mistakes.  Tonight was an eye-opening experience that really made me reflect on life in general, how fortunate we are, and how to look at our lives.

Free Write 11.29.11

Steve Jobs once said that the single most important class he ever took was a class in calligraphy. 

Steve Jobs might have said this because he knew that writing was the basis of all communication and understanding.  Without the ability to write, we would not be able to communicate with the people and the world around us.  By understanding calligraphy, and the different styles of writing, Steve Jobs was able to expand his horizon of understanding and knowledge.  Also, he was able to share his knowledge with the rest of the world.  Without the ability to read and write, we would not have a baseline for communication with others and our environment.  

Complex vs. Simple

• Simplicity - coffee cup, glasses, books
• simple in function? and not simple in construction?  - cell phone, birth control pill
• teapot problem - why is the water hot?
• complexity- highly developed
• simplicity - almost doesnt exist
• complexity - a system whee the components interact with eachother
• stacking - if you can make one or two things work you can build off of it
• stacking - taking simple structures and stacking them together vertically or horizontally.  can be literal physical stacking, or it could be figurative.  when stacked together, it becomes something complex.  this complexity turns into something simple
• ex.  the laptop is the final simple product
• binanary - the simplest way to show numbers

How Complexity Lead to Simplicity

• complex doesnt always mean complicated
• the more you step back to look a complexity, the better you will understand it simply
• simplicity often lies on the other side of complexity
• simple power of good visualization tools help you to 
• consider the entire system, then look at your focus (it will be more predictable)
• the more you can zoom out on complexity, the better you will be at zooming in on the details that matter the most
• fair transparent economic development and services.  took the complex system, recognized its complexity, and didnt make it complicated
• 
  

• inivative circuts allow for the production of cell phones
• simple idea lays on a serious of other simple levels that each have their own complexity
• simple is predictable - you know what it is going to do
• simple is cheap - is something is cheap enough people will find uses for them
• simple - high performance value or cost
• simple - high performance level - it is functional and reliable
• from a complex system emerges certain things

Free Write 11-17-11

What is complex about our class project is that there is so much planning that goes behind our work.  The main goal of the project is simple, because we merely want to deliver mattresses to those people in Albany who do not have then.  however, The process to completing this project is very complex because the simple goal is a result of a system, where all parts must be completed and worked together in order to succeed. 

When I think about my Mattress Project, I learned...

When I think about my Mattress Project, I learned a lot about the success of our project as well as what we could have done better.  This project forced me to analyze our progress with the project in relation to my case study and the different systems diagrams we discussed in class.  I realized that although we had some very great ideas, there were things that we could have done differently.  There were aspects of the Dragonfly Effect that we could have aid closer attention to, and we could have focused on our original planning of the project.  However, despite our flaws in planning, I believe that our project can flourish with time and hard work. 

Mattress Contact Information

Barbara Quin

518 472 9091 

storing mattresses?
list of people who need them/ want them delivered

Free Write Response 11-10-11

My relationship is from open-mindedness to inspiration.  This is the strongest relationship because if you open your mind to something new, whether it is a new concept, a new idea, or a new possibility, you could end up changing your life or even the world.  Many people believe that they are not capable of making social change, however, if they open their mind they can be inspired in unimaginable ways.  Sometimes I catch myself feeling this way, thinking that I do not have time for something, or that I do not know how to do something.  However, if I keep an open-mind to new ideas, I will be inspired to try something new and to create a change.

Free Write 11-10-11

After Alana's presentation, I was very inspired by the research she found and the work that she put into it.  After involving myself in many service projects throughout high school, I have been struggling with what to do now that I am in college and thinking about a career.  This research inspired me to take something that I am interested in and to act upon it.  The idea of a non-profit organization is appealing, and with thought, research, and time, I would like to the possibilities of somehow changing life on campus, or around the world. 

College Students Enacting Social Change

• A college student has the ability to establish a non governmental organization and use it to enable social change
• social change - making a difference in how people interact with each other in society
• establish a non profit organization to change the system to which we live in
• if you see something that you want to change in the world you have to act upon that impulse
• five components to bring about social change through non profit organization
• one - characteristic attributes such as adaptibility and determination.  willingness to start, fail, and start over
• as college students, we might be more willing to start this as we are still exploring - take a risk
• two - utilizing resources in college- advise of professors and faculty.  allows the opportunity to work your interests into your program and your courses.  college is a receptive audience
• three - interconnectedness - we can experience things in a first hand way.  our generation allows us to participate in ways that other generations could not.  Google Alerts.  amplifies a students' audience and resources
• four - facebook effect - when people utilize the power of facebook properly it can make a difference.  it is our news outlet. 800 million people have facebooks.  1 in every 9 people are connected
• five - organizational skills
• college student needs legal guidance and support for a non profit organization
• start a club on campus, get funding and programming help, utilize the audience
• the plan of action - 1. the prupose or mission statement 2.  decide how it will be paid for 3.  projects the organization wants to accomplish  4. timeline of events
• organizational skills are very important
• two conclusions:
• one - social change is very important to live a life of meaning, knowing that you made a difference to someone in the world
• two - things do not happen overnight, but if they have the dedication and the motivational drive it is possible to start a movement of social change.  have a profound impact on a part of the world

Afterward Presentation

• Dan uses a hypothetical situation to get people to stray away from protesting against bankers
• creates campaign to delay people finding out about problems in banks
• asked himself, what is the singular goal? (Wing 1)
• he did a poll and found out his information
• Wing 2 - how will he grab attention?
• uses sounds and different pictures to create a you tube video
• wing 3 - engage, how do i make people care enough about what I am doing?
• set up forum so people can comment of the issue, get friends to pass the link, and get people to follow through with their duties
• Wing 4 - take action... how can people take this problem into their own?
• used twitter and youtube, taregeted people who used bags the most, awareness-binding petition
• he used the 4 wings to cause a public distraction.  
• do not let yourself be distracted from your goals by other peoples goals
• people can feel mislead if you are just asking for money
• Mattress Campaign - treat this campaign as we would treat a math test
• this is where our focus is

To distract people from the company's problems, I could get my company involved with some sort of charity work.  I would find out the singular goal of the charity, and I would make that my goal from now on.  If I was focused on that goal, the other people would be focused on it as well. 

Battlestar Galactica Episodes Bastille Day, Act of Contrition, and "You Can't Go Home Again"

After watching these episodes, what I enjoyed the most was the drama surrounding the different characters throughout the episodes.  The drama continued between Number Six and Dr. Baltar, as she continued to influence his decisions.  Dr. Baltar is an intelligent man who wants what is best for the human race, however, his attraction to Number Six always gets in the way of his ability to think.  Number Six convinces him to reveal a new technology to be able to tell the difference between humans and Cylons.  In addition to the drama surrounding Six and Baltar, I grew to like Kara in "Act of Contrition".  I felt sorry for her after she lost her fiance, especially since she put the blame on herself.  Also, while I felt sorry for the President in earlier episodes, I did not like the way that she talked to her pilots in the last episode.