Spoke Too Soon!

          For two weeks now, I have been sleeping sound all through the night.  Yesterday I posted about how cold it’s been and right now I am up because it’s too hot to sleep – even after turning on the A/C.  I ended up waking up instead of going back to sleep.  GRRR . . .

          Google says that the temperature is only 56 outside, but there is obviously no breeze.  No circulation.  Currently I have the fan on in the other room, and Roland is buried under the covers.  It’s quite sickening.  It did get up to 86 when I had checked less than ten hours ago.  

Too Late To Plant?

         It has been said that plants and seeds should be introduced to the ground before Mothers' Day ends . . . or perhaps it's just seeds?  Roland and I are both city bred, but have tried our hand at living in the country.  Our yard is an ugly mess right now.  We were late planting last year.  I think we may have missed opportunity this year . . . but then again, the weather has been crazy enough that we may be okay to purchase a tomato plant or two.  Our garden won't have as many plants as what we tried last year.

          We purchased some strawberry plants and something called "Hula Berries" which we have never heard of before, but thought we would try it.  Roland tugged at the buds as they came up saying our harvest would start this year rather than last.  It may be the only crop we have.  Trick is weeding it without pulling up the plants.  As an added challenge, we'll have to put netting around it in order to keep the deer out.  I don't understand why they would walk through other houses in the neighborhood to get to ours.  It's not like we're in a large or open area.

         

          Roland likes to do the yard work when the sun is blazing overhead.  I prefer not to do yard work at all.  But if I must be out there, I would prefer the sun was not - especially when it's directly over us.  I need some shade.  Last week seemed to be the best time as it's been rather cool - and even cold at times. Often, our last week of May this year, looked and felt like November.  The temperature reached 79 one time I think, but the winds have been blowing over 10 mph and so it has always felt cooler.

          It is said that if you don't like a particular area to stay there for five minutes, and the weather will change.  I suppose it's like that all over the nation.  We had that saying in Utah and I have heard it in Oregon.  Only Oregon was not supposed to be like that. The temperature was supposed to be consistent.  And without fires.  It's been cool enough to change that, I suppose. 

          Yesterday the sun was out, but it was still cold.  At 10:00 a.m. it was still only 56 degrees outside. Sun is up again right now.  I'm predicting it will be warmer than yesterday.

PowerPoint part 4: Death by PowerPoint

          I've been going over some notes, or suggestions rather, on how to make for an interesting PowerPoint: no more than 20 minutes for entire presentation and no more than 10 slides.  Hey, instructors, I guess this doesn't apply to you then, does it?  It should.

          I changed my slide show.  Kept half with clips and the others were boring but included the premises and conclusions . . . blah, blah, blah . . .

"What is Daylight Saving Time and why do we have it?  This country started practicing DST during Ward War I to conserve on energy. This helped to cut down the cost of coal for heating and candlelight (History, 2012).  But what has happened to us over a century later?  Many people have a problem with changing their sleep patterns. 

"Researchers have found several people complaining of headaches.  One study found a 10% increase in heart attacks on the Monday and Tuesday following the Sunday in which people “spring ahead”. There has also been an 8% increase in strokes (Strickland, 2018).  Productivity among employees seems to go down.  This is what many of us look and feel like when we are trying to adjust to the time differences (Top 3, 2018).

should have changed last premises to say: Adjusting the clock every six months

is not good for sleeping patterns

 but  kept for example in the 3rd slide

"We have 24 hours in each day.  Setting the clocks ahead seems like an attempt to cheat us out of an hour.  So that first Sunday feels like only  23 hours.  But when we set our clocks back in the fall, we have a Sunday with 25?  That extra hour does not make up for lack of sleep during daylight.  It doesn't make up for ailing health (Feltman, 2015).   If someone were to invent a way to take that extra hour of sunlight and apply it to the winter, then I would be impressed.  But the hours of daylight that we have in the summer do not carry over to the hours of darkness that we have in the winter.  The amount of daylight is always the same whether the clock reads 6:00 in the morning or if it reads 5:00.  We need to keep the hours of the clock consistent to what our bodies believe (Dunning, 2009).

"Why wouldn’t we want to keep DST?  One reason would be to promote safety. Children on their way to school can see be seen easier which cuts down on the number of pedestrian accidents which take place during darker hours (Holodny, 2015).  There are fewer traffic accidents as drivers are able to better notice one another (Top 3, 2018). And there is less crime. And why would crime rates be down? People driving home during daylight hours may discourage perpetrators as they will be easier to recognize.   More people outside accounts for more witnesses (Holodny, 2015). It is said that extra hour of sunshine promotes positive activity (Feltman, 2015).  Perhaps the criminals enjoy the light also and would rather be out enjoying the sunshine than committing crimes.  Just a thought.

"There are statistics given on each side of the argument.  There are also fallacies which may seem illogical or unsound to one’s reasoning (Bearup, 2015)  Here, I have given two examples, and hopefully, I have attached the correct name to each.  The con premises refers to adjusting the clock.  Of course, the very notion of  “adjusting one’s clock” by itself does not make us unhealthy; rather the constant cycle of interrupting sleeping patterns is what would account for unhealthiness. 

referenced PRO fallacy, but used my own fallacy to explain the CON
I still don't know the accuracy of providing the correct name of fallacies

"For the pro, I chose the phrase about crime:   Since more crime is committed in the darkness, daylight savings will provide more light in which crime will not be committed.  The keywords here are “might” and “ probably”. Statistics have shown that more crime takes place in the summer than in the winter (Dahl, 2012).  I have noticed that both sides give similar reasons for why we should or shouldn’t have DST.  Is it a fallacy to say that each side is correct? Let me post another argument for you.

"From the time I was in elementary school I had always been told that DST was an agriculture thing.  Everybody in the entire world had to adjust their clocks so that farmers could get their work done - or so I believed.  It was not until I started doing research for this project that I learned that farmers were opposed to DST.  Just as with our bodies unable to adjust to the time difference, cows don't adjust their bodies according to the time on the clock. 

note each sentence, crossout, and clip were brought in one at a time

"They will milk when they are ready to produce.  That extra hour of sunlight isn't going to change that.  And because Bessie and friends won't produce at the given time, milk does not leave the farm until an hour later causing a chain reaction of one-hour delays for all other businesses involved (Feltman, 2015).  But not all farmers are dairy farmers.  What about the farmers that rely on crops? Crops can be picked right after the sun has dried the dew.  Moving and operating equipment seems like it would be easier to do in sunlight.  Again, safety reasons (Dunning, 2009)"

            I had noticed that I had given a reference that was not accurate.  I searched through my notes for the correct reference, but could not locate the article and so typed in some keywords and found even more references and statistics to prove why the crime rate was higher during daylight - again, no statistics found to back up the pro side.  In fact, the only statistic I could find attached to the pro was saving 2% - 4% on electric and/or gas, with the con side saying the spending had raised 2% - 4%.  Seriously?  The amount is NOT worth my LOSING sleep and RISKING health.  Come on!

            I did not look up what the ratio of accidents in the summer are compared to the "darkness" but had heard this Memorial Day Weekend that it was one of the deadliest times for traveling on the road.  Wow.  Memorial Day takes place during DST.  Did the "pro" seekers take that into account when they said daylight promotes safety?  I think most of the "pro" arguments are fallacies (but then again it's probably a fallacy on my part to write it that way.)

             One slide that I would have liked to do for fun - which was really not pertinent to the slide presentation, but an interesting fact about DST.  George Vernon Hudson was a scientist from New Zealand who had proposed the idea of DST so that he could study bugs.  His proposal was for a two hour set back.  Can you imagine?  The idea of two-hour change every six months beats William Willett's (a British builder) idea of having to adjust the clocks twenty minutes for each Sunday of a specific month.  That seems like a lot of work!  On the other hand, it might be easier for us to adjust our sleeping hours by twenty minutes as opposed to an hour or two.

            I would have brought in my slides and pictures one at a time concluding that all of our lives may be upset because some guy wanted to look at bugs.

            I incorporated my slide of Utah and Arizona  - though not in it's entirety.  The mapping of the standard/daylight/standard may not be accurate, but it still proved my point. Roland said I shouldn't have that many clips on one slide anyway.  But it was to illustrate the confusion.

"Daylight saving upsets the farmers, Amtrax, the airlines, sleeping patterns.  I mean take a look at this:  don’t forget to set your clocks one hour ahead at 2 a.m.  What???? I have to set my clock to remind me to set the clock and lose more sleep!  Is that confusing?  Is there too much activity going on for just one slide?  Your eyes don’t know where to focus?  Maybe you have a headache?  This is how I feel about daylight saving time.  And it’s not just me.  I know many people who feel the same way."

each of these clips would have been brought in one at a time before the entire screen was cluttered

good sources for daylight policy found here and here along with all my other references from all slides (gosh, aren't you thrilled?)

PowerPoint part 3: DST is so Annoying!

       As I was somewhat stressed by the midterm and final of my history class, I decided to get a jump start on the final for my philosophy class (which ended May 26 this year).  I ended up changing the PowerPoint three times however as I was supposed to work fallacies into the document - which I didn't foresee as a problem until I was told I'd have to provide the name for the fallacy.  Oh, Oh ... I thought that might be a problem. 

       So we were supposed to pick a topic and have premises and conclusions for the Pro as well as the Con . . . my original PowerPoint was very one-sided and so I had to redo to include the opposite.  I brought in a fallacy slide which didn't feel like it belonged.  I didn't think I'd receive full credit as it still felt one-sided.  It was hard!  The more research I did, the more biased I was about having to set clocks every six months.  So this was the very first slide that I created:

 

I brought each of these in one at a time as I would discuss them

            "With online universities, it doesn’t matter if the instructor lives in Florida and her students live in 16 other states, lectures at the university I attend happen to start on Mountain Time as they are based out of Utah. Two weeks ago a student signed on five minutes before the lecture ended. This student lives in Arizona and according to her clock, it was 5:00 Mountain Standard Time.  

           "Utah and Arizona are both on Mountain Time. But not all of Arizona observes daylight saving time.  Utah happens to be on daylight time.  This time confusion made her late for class. Though Utah and Arizona are in the same time zone, their clocks are in sync only six months of the year.  Except for certain parts of Arizona.  This pink area observes daylight except for the reservation in this red section. Except for this purple tribe which observes daylight saving time.  There are some places in Arizona which display two clocks as to display each time.  How confusing is that?"

         I have always found that adjusting our clocks every six months extremetly annoying.  Until I'd been given this assignment, I didn't realize how harmful that is as it disturbs our sleep patterns.  There are statistics and proof of studies in which disturbed sleeping pattern may lead to stroke, heart attack, headaches and so forth.  Forget DST being inconvenient (which it is) maintaining proper sleep patterns and thus better health is a great reason to do away with DST.

         The Pro side will also argue that the extra hour of sunlight is good for one's health as it helps with the adrenaline.  I could not find any statistics.

         My initial  PowerPoint included a slide to point out that DST upsets both farmers and travel industries. As with many others, I had grown up believing that DST was an agricultural thing.  Research shows that it farmers were just as opposed to DST as I am - although the only statics given was specifically for dairy farmers

              Have you ever heard that saying about trains always running late or never on time?  After my research, I think I have figured it out.  It's too much cost to change the schedule every six months. Especially when not all states or countries use DST.  Daylight Saving is harmful to airlines as well as the traveler.

           The pro side argues that daylight is better for business - certain businesses maybe.  Like those involved in retail or selling merchandise.  Malls use to be flooded with consumers.  But guess what?  Some malls are a thing of the past (see here).  Over 25 malls across the nation have shut down.  We have entered a new century where online shopping has become a hot item.  What difference does it make where the sun is in the sky when we're online shopping?

             If, with all the technology that has taken place throughout time, someone were to invent a way to actually take that extra hour of sunlight that is supposedly "saved" during DST and apply it to standard (so that children are standing in "daylight" waiting for bus ALL year round especially in the winter) I'd be impressed.  I remember waiting for the bus in the dark.  And you know, we're always going to have the same amount of hours of darkness in the winter and light in the summer regardless of whether those hours fall between 5:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. or 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. - so why not just go with one or the other and leave our clocks where they are and avoid adjusting them every six months?

PowerPoint part 2:my last class in 2016

          As with my instructors, I find I recycle the same design for my PowerPoints.

Though the majority of instructors have seemed to go for a darker design, I have always tried to go with a white background. 

But did try my hand at a dark background for one of my projects in History. The first was a midterm

In the assignment, I was to choose from four events or movements that had been discussed in the first two weeks (Immigration and Expansion) and two  (Business and Technology).

I chose immigration and transportation.

I started out by talking about immigrants who had come to the US in search of a better life and how many dreams were not met.  Many had taken jobs in the factories and textile mills just to help make ends meet

"It wasn't just the men who worked, but women and children would put in long hours as well, still dreaming of a better life.  Some had come to acquire land that they might grow crops or raise cattle. It hadn't been their dream to stay in New York to invest their lives in somebody else's dream.  They worked long hours in very primitive conditions.  They had no say.

"But the growth of the textile industry gave some an opportunity to migrate westward.   In 1807 Robert Fulton introduced this nation to the steamboat.  The steamboat could carry product as it made its way up and down the river.  This made it easier for delivering cotton to the Textile mills and distribute product which created more jobs.

That gives you a small taste of the PowerPoint I had created.

          I did not use animations or transitions. I was supposed to have 200 words per slide, but misunderstood and so did not receive full points, but the instructor let me know that she was impressed with the amount of research I had done.

          For my final, I took I quick tour of history throughout the centuries.

We were asked to make a timeline in the form of a PowerPoint.  The two groups I decided to focus on were slavery and the women's movement and their fight for equality over the centuries.

"By 1770, more than 2 million people lived and worked in Great Britain's 13 North American colonies (Col. America). Men and women were expected to fulfill certain roles.  A woman could not own property.  She was expected to stay home and provide for the family.  A man was expected to work, but there were no specific guidelines on how or if he would provide for his family.

"For over a century, African men, women, and children were being stolen away from their native land and brought to America.  They were chained and brought to the colonies in ships.  Upon their arrival, they were auctioned off and sold as slaves.  Meanwhile, the colonists were getting fed up with the misconduct between themselves and the British law.  It didn't seem fair that they were taxed at the expense of a king many miles across the ocean. They wanted rights.  They wanted freedom. They wanted equality."

 

"Many men failed to see that their woman and slaves also wanted a sense of freedom and equality(Colonial America (1492 - 1763). "

I brought each amendment in one at a time.  Words missing from

this slide "unless you were a woman" following "the right to vote"

I continued on with more statistics.  In this slide, I used animation and talked about each amendment one at a time.

"Fast Forward into the 20th century - almost 100 years after the Civil War. 

Though blacks were granted their freedom, they continued to fight for equality and equity, particularly in the south where the states have enforced segregation and treated the "coloreds" less than second class citizens. In many ways, it seems like it was worse to be black than in the times of slavery.

In 1957, nine black students were admitted to an all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas.

"On November 14, 1960, a first grader named Ruby Bridges was admitted to William Frantz Public School in New Orleans, Louisiana. She had to be escorted to the school by four state marshals - two would walk in front of her and two would walk behind.  They were there to protect her from the mobs who would bully her with their ugly words of hatred.  For a full year, it was just Ruby and her instructor, Mrs. Henry.    White parents had pulled their children out of the school thinking the policy would change back to an all-white school.  Thankfully, Ruby continued to be brave and assisted with earning more freedoms for others who wanted a better education

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman. Although she died in 1962, a report was made to improve fair hiring practices, pay for maternity leave, and affordable child care; an equity that women suffrage had been searching for over a century before."

"There have been several advocates acting in the name of Women's Rights, or Civil Rights - equity or equality.  Many groups have received the attention of the media.  Some attention has been less positive than others.  But all attention brought results. 

Obama was still in office of President during this class

"Starting January 20, 2009, our nation saw our first black president lead this country for the past eight years.  This year (2016) Hillary Clinton represented the Democrat Party in the Presidential Delegates.  She got a lot closer to becoming president than did Victoria Woodhull back in 1872.

I have just briefly mentioned two groups of people who have fought for freedoms and equality.  There are certainly many more that have existed throughout the centuries. Regardless of what group we may be in, we all continue to fight for freedoms and equality.  May we find the equity needed to truly make us free.  Thank you for your time. "

PowerPoint part 1: Computer Fundamentals

          I wish the instructors would provide entertaining power points as is expected of the students.  One of the first courses I took at the online university was in computer fundamentals.  I did not know much about
PowerPoint at that point.  In fact, my baby girl knew her way around it much better than I as she had not only used it before, but enjoyed doing it.

          I don't know if we (the students) had been introduced to the "speaker's notes" part of the PowerPoint at that time.  I know I didn't use them in that particular class.  Yet I still received full credit.  We were given certain requirements for completing these assignments:

Create a professional 6 to 8 slide presentation on the topic of our choice. 

Our  PowerPoint was to include all of the following: 

1.      Title slide with your name, course, date and title of the presentation

2.      A standard design theme for the entire presentation

3.      Clip Art

4.      Smart Art

5.      Word Art

6.      Transitions between each slide

7.      At least 1 animation

          Insructor PowerPoints are generally 20 - 40 slides long.  No animation, few use word art or smart art.  I have only seen one use transitions.  Several have used Clip art.  Very few (if any) PowerPoints have entertained.

          For my first power point assignment, I made the topic obviously simple.  I used animations for all of my slides.  I had Jenna help me with some of it.  These are three of the slides  I ended up with:

          For our other power point assignment, I was  required to find a celebrity who had gone into the same major as I and do a power point on that person.  I learned that both Bob Newhart and Kenny G both accountants.  Who knew?  I remember I did research for them both.  I don't know why I ended up doing Bob Newhart instead of Kenny G.   Kenny G. has been a major investor in Starbucks (here) I find that interesting.

 

          So my Bob Newhart videos featured only three slides about him personally.  One on his background: 

his accomplishments:

and where he is today.  The images for the slides had to be retrieved from Window insert provided by Bing.  I would have liked to use this picture for "Where he is today" but was not allowed as it did not come up in Windows by is protected by copyright (I have not always honored that as I hadn't considered that aspect - figuring if they came up on Google images, I could use them.  But I have learned that isn't so, and apologize to any I may have offended by using copyrighted pictrues on my earlier posts and will remove those who send a request for me to do so.

Each slide was numbered and had my name at one side.  The next powerpoint I did my first philosophy class (here)  I did not use a numbering system in that class.