If you want a taco just ask

Define filtering for me, please?

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, filtering is "to remove by means of a filter". Ok... I guess that can be helpful. I couldn't figure that out myself and never mind that all they did was use the root of the word in its definition... It takes skill and true word craft to be one of the leaders in dictionary publication, am i right? Fine.

Dictionary.com says that a filter is "any substance, as cloth, paper, porous porcelain, or a layer of charcoal or sand, through which liquid or gas is passed to remove suspended impurities or to recover solids." since I don't believe this can truly apply, I'll take it that they more likely meant "to act as a filter for; to slow or partially obstruct the passage of".

Finally there is the urban dictionary, with their own definition of "drinking an alcoholic beverage through a prostitute's used (and still warm) underwear." Ok. Fine.

...At least that one was specific.

So CIPA wants to filter in schools. I believe that regardless of which definition of 'filtering' we should follow, we should look at the idea with caution. The last thing we want our young and impressionable students doing is drinking alcohol or getting too friendly with prostitutes. The last thing we'd want our government to do is to start 'filtering' content.

One has to ask, where does filtering end and censorship begin? I'm sure that the censorship in China is also being done just to protect the overly curious minds in that country. Filtering, as we may call it, has power. If i shield something from someone, they do not know its relevance and therefore they do not develop interest and they do not ever inquire. Isn't it possible then for our future children to be restrained in the questions they ask based on what they have or have not been allowed to be exposed to. We can protect them from content such as prostitutes and pornos. But anything else, including facebook which in today's new media fronteir is almost a hub of information itself, is just... well... dirty.


Filter.

Bookface

I'm not trying to be overly clever with the title; not that I could. You see, the fact of the matter is that facebook is a major part of the lives of countless college students.  Countless? Well, maybe not. I'm sure Mark Zuckerberg has and often rejoices as he counts the numbers but that is beyond my point. Facebook was created around the college student demographic. It started off on a college campus and from there it grew to what it is today. Walk into just about any dorm, or dare I say classroom, today and you're sure to find someone either updating their status or checking words with friends. 

Is it surprising that we, college students have taken so much pleasure in a service that puts an entire network at our hands? That encourages it? That makes being more social as easy as a click here or there? And what about friendships? Facebook reminds me of everyone's birthday, and all i have to do is like their posts to still be considered a friend, right? If we don't have to worry about socializing, we can focus on more important things... Bookfacing. I'm not talking about hitting the books (with our face) like any studious student should be, though.... I'm talking about memes.

A minor inconvenience

Parking... few things are quite as frustrating as finding a convenient and dependable space for parking. Our daily lives can be plagued with the chore, and despite being such a very small detail, it seems that its pertinent to our functioning. Think about how not being able to find a park can affect us; it can cause us to be late, it could be the cause of an expensive ticket (which would never seem nearly as worthwhile in retrospect), or even long and uncomfortable walks to your destination.

The instance where this has become a major issue for me has been concerning campus parking here at North Central College. We have a massive number of commuter students, plus a great number of resident students who must also drive. Unfortunately, however, there just doesn't seem to be enough parking during the week. It seems that as a result, the school has come up with the device called the remote lot. Which on paper doesn't sound bad. for first- year students it is a necessary evil where they have no choice in the manner. For upperclassmen, they have the option of parking on campus given only the decision to dish out an extra three hundred dollars. At the beginning of the school year after paying for tuition, books, and other tertiary fees, it can seem like a smart place to cut corners.

It's not.

No, really. The long term effect is subtle, and the costs of using the remote lot turn out to be more than those of the initial parking costs. The school boasts it's shuttle service which travels to the remote lot twice an hour to the car. This can be misleading; the shuttle leaves campus only at the top of the hour, the second time around the shuttle is coming from the Naperville shopping areas. (which by the way, you'll almost never use the second). But then you'll have those days where everyone needs to use the van or when they downsize to a mini sized van. What happens then? They're out of room... And you'll have to wait an hour before trying again. Have a doctors appointment you need to make? Sorry... You'll have to reschedule. And in some cases, such as trying to make it to an appointment you had to pY for, you'll immediately pay the price. Furthermore, consider how you'd maintain your car in the winter or haw you'd watch for prperty vandalism when your car is a mile away...

I digress; the point is that it is the responsiblity of a business or institution to ensure it has enough parking to service those they service... Question, how much would it cost to build a parking garage at gulags? What types of solutions could allow us to be more functional.?

A minor inconvenience, a massive headache, and a pain... in the blog.

You have my permission to blog.

I read the interview of Trine-Maria Kristensen as delivered by Rebecca Blood and I've drawn from it a new perspective on blogging. For one, it isn't just what teens do when they want to rant about their ex significant others over the internet for all others to see and agree with. This small change alone was significant to me, but Trine-Maria's uses and feelings toward blog are enlightening as to how I may have taken to blogging. She was confused and quite unsure of herself, but it ended up being rewarding for her and I think that I could benefit from that.


One, it wasn't easy and she tried and failed to blog once and only on the second try did she manage. The linking of blogs to get her voice out was sensible but not something that I would have immediately thought of. Also, she isn't a writer; she was intimidated by the task but even as a non-writer she managed to have a large weekly following. 


The most important thing I drew from Trine- Maria's perspective on blogging is that she would rather have "15 loyal followers." opposed to "15,000 that didn't care about [her] or [her] blog.


Blogging is creative, challenging, and also connects people from all around the world, very smart people, in one network to share ideas. If ideas are what our society is structured upon then in conclusion, you have my permission to blog.

Insert Title Name here.

Ohhh yeah! I have a new blog, troll me now. :)