What am I looking forward to most about coming home to North Carolina? Besides seeing friends/family/etc? That would be warm summer nights. I just love going outside my house (in NC) and just enjoying being outside as the sun sets. Here, it has been cold and cloudy. 60s during the day is nice, but when the sun goes down, I just don't want to go outside. But yeah, I can't wait for some good ole' Southern Weather.
Well, a lot of people know how big of a Google fan I am, so I thought I would let you guys in on the newest addition to the Google Docs & Spreadsheet applications. Yes, Google will soon be adding a presentations section which will be comparable to MS PowerPoint. That's about all the details I'm privy to. I figured this would be a good time to examine products designed for home productivity and compare/contrast some of the different solutions out there.
I would like to briefly mention the three main types of office software out there. One is Microsoft Office. The second is Open Office. The third is Google Docs & Spreadsheets.
Here's what you need to know. Google provides a good, free alternative to MS Office. While you will lose some functionality, you will gain mobility. Google also allows you to collaborate on documents more easily than Office. So here's the bottom line. Because Google Apps relies on internet access, I would recommend Google Apps for people who are always in range of a broadband connection and don't want to pay for Office software.
MS Office gives you tons of features than are necessarily essential but can be both convenient and time saving. For example, being able to publish blog posts from inside Word. How about being to use Word to automatically insert bibliographies and switch between bibliography formats like MLA, Chicago, etc and automatically update references throughout the paper. The features are cool and timesaving but not essential. If you have the money, Office 07 is certainly worth a try. The competition between Google and OpenOffice has certainly made MS step up its game.
OpenOffice certainly has its strong points as well. OpenOffice offers less functionality that MS Office. However, you don't need internet access to work on documents like with Google Applications. Here's my take on OpenOffice. If you only occasionally use Office type applications and have reliable internet access—stick with Google Apps. If you use Office applications extensively or have spotty internet access and can't fork out the cash for MS Office, OpenOffice is the direction you should take.
Yep, the blog has gone green. Green is probably my favorite color so I picked something that would reflect my amazingly cool sense of style. Anyway, I really like how it looks. If you have any suggestions, let me know. Oh yeah, check out the "Best of the Best" blog posts there to my right. There are some good blog tid-bits and fun memories for all.
And be sure to read my provocative opinions on Sociology and Race, located below.
Obviously, college is all about higher learning. Grade school is two parts common sense and one part busy work. While you learn a few interesting tid-bits, you are not mentally challenged in the same way that college does. I'm in a sociology class, which makes some interesting points and is all about observing and understanding social behavior. Don't get me wrong, this is a great science to study, but sometimes the "liberal" tint the book takes frustrates me. I think my general skepticism stems in part because my teacher wrote the textbook I use. In my case, sociology is just like dessert—one serving is good, but two servings of the same thing is just a little too much to digest.
Anyway, because I write on a blog that only my family reads, I can splash my opinion liberally wherever I desire. So I will. Here is a statistic from my book that I think is ludicrous.
Factor (relating to divorce %) | How much does this decrease the risk of Divorce? |
Some college (vs. High School dropout) | -13% |
Affiliated with a religion (vs. no religion) | -14% |
Parents not divorced | -14% |
Age 25+ at marriage (vs. < 18 marriage) | -24% |
Having a baby 7 months+ after marriage (vs. childbirth before marriage) | -24% |
Annual income of $50,000+ (vs. $25,000 or less) | -30% |
Totals: |
-119% |
Since I enjoy destroying credibility, I copied this table directly from my book (minus the "Totals" row). I saw this figure and thought something didn't add up. I added the percentages and found that by following the advice of this table, you can have more than a 100% guarantee of not being divorced.
So, if I marry a Mormon girl at age 25 who has not suffered through her parents' divorce and I work as a successful software engineer making $75,000 annually (of course no children until at least 9 months after marriage) then I have a 119% chance of staying married to her. I will hold my teacher/textbook to that promise.
Anyway, on the topic of race, I have been reading the chapter on race. Here are several concessions I have.
- Race is not biologically based, human DNA is more similar than different (with regards to social boundaries)
- Non-whites (in the US) have suffered tremendous injustices since the founding of the US and before.
- Racism still exists today on both a culturally conscious and subconscious level
Now, in my book/class, there is a plethora of statistics showing racial prejudice/discrimination in today's society. There are stats showing the average and infinitely higher (as the book says) quality of living among whites versus non-whites. The way the book makes it sound, blacks are cultural victims. Because of their race, they have been doomed to receive jacked-up mortgage rates versus whites and to live in higher average poverty than whites. The tone suggests that being white provides a social bonus, while being black/non-white is a large obstacle to any social/monetary success. Granted, I see the point, that racism is still a problem in today's society. But I realized that I am not going to get a better job because I'm white. I mean for crying out loud, if I could get some social bonus because of my race, why would I go to college and get a degree?
The book paints blacks as victims (keep in mind I speak to the majority who are not the rare victims of circumstance) and whites and instigators. Sure blacks and non-whites may have more obstacles to overcome than a white person, but they are not powerless victims (as the book depicts them). I believe each of us has power to control our lives. I could drop out of college right now and find a mediocre job and live a mediocre life. I could change majors, work harder, work less, get married, etc, etc, etc. My point is that we choose what we become. We each have obstacles in our lives. Some we place there. Other obstacles are placed there by others. Whatever the case, if we choose to be victims of circumstance, we are only victims of our own fear and laziness. It is infinitely easier to blame circumstance when the real challenge is choice. College is difficult. I have to constantly choose difficult tasks. I choose to write a paper due next week. I choose to wake up early (7:45am) to get to classes on time. I choose to study when it would be easier to say I have a hard 16 credit hour schedule plus working part time and can't study.
Instead of focusing of victimizations of certain ethnicities, we should focus on improvement. If someone is dissatisfied with their current position, try to change it. It may be harder for some than for others, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. There are a few people who truly are victims, but they still have choices and chances for self improvement. If we do nothing to change our own position yet complain about it, then we are much more to blame than ANY external factor.
If anyone has actually read to this point, I applaud you. I'm sure I ramble more than most. But for you, oh faithful reader, I have an overreaching point that connects my proverbial dots. I don't want to major in sociology. Whoops, sorry for the letdown. Anyway, before I wrap up, here is a link to an uplifting post from one of my fellow bloggers and friends from high school. He makes some valid points and shows an example of someone who believes in choice and changing your circumstance—not letting your circumstances change you.
So Phillip and I were eating lunch together when a girl asked to sit down at the table with us. Now Phillip told me that he knew of her but didn't really know her. Phillip and I continued our conversation about missions/missionary work, since he is leaving soon on his mission. I told him about my last roommate and how he lived in Virginia and was called to serve in North Carolina. I also said that my roommate's father told my roommate that he was "sorry" (direct quote from my roommate's father) for his mission call.
This incredibly PRICKISH girl chimes (picture with snobbish inflection) "Well, your on the Lord's errand and where you go shouldn't matter."
Totally true. Let's pause and reflect upon my story. Did I ever mention that I felt sorry for my roommate's call? No. The irony/humor of my story came from the fact that my roommate's father, the one person you would expect to be the most supporting of a mission call, expressed a very atypical reaction. The point is humor, not to mock the mission experience.
I tried to explain myself by in various ways by saying that being called to a mission where you live or very close to where you live would be difficult because of how close you would be to your "regular" life, making the temptation to leave/slack off much higher. No, this girl would hear none of it. Every mission is perfect, as is every missionary. My point was only that certain mission calls could have very different challenges.
This girl continued to make equally snide remarks as the first quote! What's up with that? I think I know the answer, but I want to emphasize that this next portion is my opinion.
Because I have been extremely sick over the past few days, I haven't shaved. I was still feeling under the weather and woke up late today, missing my first class. I had forgotten to shave and so I looked a little scruffy running out the door. I felt that the snobby girl (as I will refer to her from now on) judged me because of my scruffiness and then made comments based off this superficial observation accordingly. Not even that, she heard a snippet of the conversation and decided to call me to repentance, if by nothing else than a snappy tone and "holier than thou" comments.
What does this mean for me and the rest of humanity? Your accomplishments do not determine who you are. They certainly provide indicators, but they are not you. In the case of snobby girl, just because someone attends BYU, does not give them any higher spiritual qualifications over anyone else. In contrast, at BYU there are many opportunities to hear from general authorities and have a very spiritual experience. But just attending BYU does not make you perfect.
Moral of the Story: Don't eavesdrop on conversations and then snidely interject. Offer an opinion, join the conversation before refuting the character of the people involved.
Google News
Number one on my list is Google News. This is an oldie (in Internet years). Google News has been around since about 2004. It has been out of beta for a little over a year. And it is one of the most useful sources for news-alcoholics. Google News compiles news articles from all the major news providers like CNN, MSNBC News, ABC News, Fox News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, etc, etc, etc, etc. Right now, Google News pulls news from 4,500 different sources. Instead of browsing through different news sites to find out what's happening, Google News sorts out current events by topic and lets you pick which news provider when you want to read the full article. Trust me, just go to http://news.google.com and browse around. It's pretty cool. The first time you visit Google News, you will see some default categories on the left like "World," "U.S.," "Health," "Entertainment," etc. You can browse through these popular headings or do a search (like Xbox 360 if you are me) to find news relevant to you. Now, here is THE cool part. While browsing Google News (you must be signed in with your Google account), Google will start to figure out what interests you. It will then automatically compile a "Recommended" section that contains articles that you would like to read. Now, when I go to Google News, I rarely leave the "Recommended" section. Google News also lets you create your own sections (like "Xbox 360") so you don't have to do a search. Also, you can create e-mail alerts that notify you when "big news" is happening to a topic of interest. That's about it for Google News. Check it out, love it, use it. I never go a day without checking it.
Google Reader
I do apologize for the "I'm in love with Google tone," but the services they provide are certainly unique and par above the rest. So, what is Google Reader? Google Reader is just as essential (in my opinion) as Google News. Google Reader is a web based RSS/Atom feed viewer. Some of you are quite familiar with RSS feeds on your Google homepage. For those that aren't here is a post explaining RSS/Atom feeds and how that relates to your Google Homepage. Anyway, Google Reader allows you to subscribe to all your feeds, place them in folders, e-mail them, share them, sort them, organize them, star them (like Gmail), add tags (similar to "labels" in Gmail), etc. Basically, Google Reader is the perfect (web based) way to view RSS/Atom feeds. In order to make this applicable, here is how one would use Google Reader to view multiple blogs. If I were Kristen and had 15 blogs that I visited everyday, I would get tired of hopping from blog to blog and sifting through annoying load times. Google Reader would eliminate that. It automatically downloads THE ENTIRE POST from blogs (including pictures) and sorts the downloaded posts by date. Basically, you can view entire posts for every blog you frequent from one place. I won't go into features too much, but go to http://reader.google.com and check it out. It's worth your time.
Google Notebook
Google Notebook is no longer part of Google Labs. What this means: Google Labs looks cooler, has more settings to tweak, and allows for more control of sharing. You can allow people to read a notebook only, read and edit, or publish the notebook for the world to see. It's cool. Head over to http://notebook.google.com and play around. Its cool.
Google Homepage
Google Homepage has gadgets for these Google services: Google chat, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google News, Google Reader, Google Notebook, Google MP3 search, Google Docs, and some others. If you've used it, there is a Google Homepage gadget for it. Click "Add Stuff" from your Google Homepage and then search for "Google." All of the aforementioned Google services will be available to add to your homepage. They are very useful and very cool.
April Fools
This is one I wish was true. Head to http://mail.google.com and read about the new paper archive feature. Unless I'm way off here, looks like an early April Fools joke. My favorite line is the "Photo attachments are printed on high-quality, glossy photo paper, and secured to your Gmail Paper with a paper clip." However, Gmail was launched on April Fools day, so keep your eyes open for new changes to Gmail....ones that are real. Also watch out for Google's TiSP April fool's joke. This one made me laugh. It advertises free broadband by flushing a optical cable (provided by Google) down your toilet.
So there you have it. Technology from around the web. Enjoy, use them, and let me know what you think. If you want more details on certain features, just comment me. Until then, sianara
Color Paper
About
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My name is Adam. I have been blogging sporadically since 2005 and have always enjoyed the connectedness of it. I'm preparing to serve a full time, 2 year mission for my Church. I work at a Real Estate company as a catch-all IT guy. I love watching movies, I don't read a ton of books but when I start one I can't put it down until I finish. More to come!
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Almost a Compliment9 years ago
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New Blog!10 years ago
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