My final blog

I was in group "BOC 11" along with Alex sharfner, and John Downy for a group presentation. During my 11 weeks of computer applications class, I have been fortunate enough to learn and understand all of the basics tools used to complete a very nice final presentation. But there is more than just the final presentation that stands out in this class. I have learned so much in this class; it has helped me prepare for what is to come. I think Mr. Pinto did an excellent job in teaching discipline to the class and teaching all of the programs. He has impeccable abilities that I would still like to learn from. I hope all students take this class seriously because these programs are very essential to a great career and if you don’t know how to use them you will not be successful in a new job you perform in. Knowing how to use Mac computers was the hardest part of the whole class. I had no knowledge of using one, let alone a brand new computer that was recently installed in the school. I have to admit though, I was very nervous about using these computers, I was not prepared on what we would learn but I am definitely happy with my performance even though there were some difficult times that had hit me during my first quarter.
In conclusion to this blog I have to say that my final grade should be a B+. The reason for that is because I worked hard in this class, but I also had some difficulties completing assignments, mainly it had to do with my personal struggles at home. I have been living under negative conditions, just coming to school was a struggle because of how emotionally tired I was when knowing that every day when you get home you will be met with someone calling you a loser. So I must admit, getting assignments in and making them look professional was definitely a struggle for me, but I never gave up and I was in class most of the time doing my very best with the tools I was given. When I came here I forgot about all my problems and did everything I could to excel in this class.

Final Project Arrangements

We have a group project, that needs to be done for next week. The objective is to create a powerpoint presentation with music and video to a crime themed presentation. I have a group put together that i feel is really going to be beneficial to our grade. I formed a group with Alex Sharfner and John Downey. John will be taking care of the soundtrack. I will be taking care of the information that needs to be researched. We have an article that can be used to help with that. Alex will be responsible for setting up the slides and finishing the powerpoint itself. For friday, we will be getting together and and shooting a video and taking pictures of the crime we decided to theme our presentation on. But, by friday i will have some information and research done for alex so that he can put some slides together.

My experiances with viruses

My experiences with viruses have been tremendous, I recently had an attack on my computer and I had no idea it had happened, I was on my computer one day and I saw a pop up for a virus that had been detected and it had to be stopped with a product called Virus Melt. I had no idea that it was even a fake program designed to get me to put up information about myself and my credit card information. Thinking that this software was a good thing to have I put in all of my credit card info and I noticed it did not work but that my computer was slowing down to the max. I had no idea what to do but I think I got lucky and I decided to look for information about how to get rid of virus melt completely. I had to take out some of all the files that it had self downloaded on my computer. I also downloaded the Norton Anti-virus software to take care of the virus. It did a great job of getting all of the junk off of my computer but I notice that my computer is still slow and has a hard time running because of the damage it caused.

Picassa

How do i feel about picassa? Well I think that picassa is an interesting tool for uploading and managing all photographs, It gives you most of the basic techniques to upload and put up some interesting pictures on your gmail profile. I think its wonderful to have this program for free so that people who dont have photo shop or any other program they can still get it done. I like how this program allows it self a perfect time to download.There is so much to cover with photos that you want photoshoped that this program can do for free. I like how you can do pretty much anything on this picassa, I havent reviewed everything yet but I do know there are tons of features that allow you much freedom to fool around with your photographs. I took some photos today in computer applications class and I have some terrible pictures of myself but the point was to post them to a blog as a slideshow for practice.

Twitter

I have no idea what twitter is because I don't use twitter to talk with people when I'm online, I am sure that twitter works just like Myspace if not better. These free social sites, makes things so much more interesting when you know who you wanna talk to and what you want to do with it. But I do like the fact that twitter, facebook, myspace, etc has so many interesting tools the other does not. For example, skype lets you find people all around the world and talk with them for free on the internet, if you have a microphone. Now Myspace is nice because not only can you instant message someone but you can also look at who your talking to and learn more about them. Im not sure what twitter does, or what features it has but I do know it is just another social site with some unique twists that myspace or skype do not have. Im sure it allows you to go online for free, post blogs, post a picture, and let people know your wanting to date, by putting showing your relationship status. Anyway, i will have to seriously check it out and see what twitter has to offer and who i could talk to on there.

What I would like to do!!

Over the course of time my class and I have covered some really interesting topics. From spreadsheets, to garage band, and even how to hyperlink photos to the internet! I have enjoyed learning and understanding how this is all done but we have been using MAC computers which isn't always that simple to figure out. So I thought I'd give my opinion on what we should focus on when we hit the windows labs. Since the majority of us have Windows PCs, I would have to say that I'd like to learn more about the tools for the internet and how to hyperlink more images. I would like to learn more about the excel spreadsheets as much as possible. And if there are any programs for Windows, that are different that maybe we could understand a little better. I would like to do some more fun projects that have us using musical tools or maybe even produce a simple powerpoint of our favorite music or movies and explain why we enjoy doing these things. I think that powerpoint is the hardest thing for me to understand as well as the excel spreadsheets. Sometimes I don't know what to put in for information. I would also like to learn how to auto sum on the Windows PC. Since we know how to do it on the MAC it would be beneficial to us that we learn it on a Windows. I would like to explore more projects that involve the class getting to know someone better using these features, I think the idea of putting together slide shows of what we like to do when not in school is the best idea. If possible i'd like to learn how to make a website or maybe we could touch on how to make designs on a myspace page or any social network page. I'd also like to see if there are any garage band programs on Windows for people who want to make music on a windows OC instead! Maybe we could work with adobe, that is another program i am sketchy about. Well I hope to use all of these tools, I'd like to learn the ins and outs of each program before i leave this class, that way there is a basic understanding of everything!!

The Big challenges

The biggest challenges of the computer Applications class, is understanding the material given out, there is so much to learn and usually I’m the kind of guy who takes his time making sure I understand everything. But I really can’t complain because I feel like I am getting it slowly and my professor is a great hands on kind of guy. Another challenge is actually getting the homework done even though its not very much at all, but I have a full time job that requires me to be there at night, sometimes until midnight depending on the circumstances. I sometimes have a hard time getting it done in a neat fashion but I get it done and to the best of my ability. Another big challenge is to figure out the differences between a Mac and a PC. There is so many tools and shortcuts that are very difficult to understand versus the windows PC, I keep having to look at the book to make sure what I am doing is right on my PC since I’m starting to get used to the Mac. I also have trouble getting to know new people except for the ones that sit next to me. But I’d like to branch out and get to know all the other students. I’d like to see our class not be assigned seating so that we can talk with other students. Making new friends is probably the biggest challenge of being here, you are the new guy and most of these students know one another from a previous classes or from high school, maybe I’m wrong but I’d still like to talk with more people. Another challenge is making sure that my PC at home doesn’t crash. I make sure that it’s defragged completely and that there is anti-virus software on it. But still it has a few problems.

Music I want to create.

Music is one of the greatest things mankind has ever produced and it never gets old. I'm not much of a musician but I have played an instrument before. I have always wanted to make a song that has funk, maybe even a pop tune. I have always been interested in putting in guitar solos, some piano melodies at the start to get the listener in the mood. I want to create songs that bring escapism and fun at the same time. Some examples include The Commodores, Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder type of music. It sounds like a challenge to create that caliber of music but I really want to give it a try. I think the garage band program will help set up some beats I want to experiment with. I'd like to make a song that starts out as heartfelt piano music and leads into a dance number. I think that would be an excellent combination and way to fool the listener into thinking its going to be a boring song but quickly gets it into a R&B dance groove. Another really interesting song I'd like to create would have to be kind of like a Journey rock song. Something that makes your hair stand up when you listen to it. I'd also like to try a soul kind of sound, something soft and makes you feel relaxed when you listen to it. Well I hope I can make something sound interesting, stay tuned for more updates...

Images

3 things

Three names I have been called: Emmanuelle, Manny, or Man Dog.
Three Jobs I have had in my life (include unpaid if you have to): Security, Bus Boy, and soldier.
Three places I have lived: Berkeley, California. Las Vegas, Nevada. Oakland, California.
Three TV shows that I watch: The Shield, Generation Kill, The Wire.
Three places I have been: Beijing, China. Guanjuato, Mexico. Louisville, Kentucky.
People that e-mail me regularly: Mom, Amanda (best friend) and Ana (girl I talk to from Brazil)
Three of my favorite foods: Mexican, Italian, Chinese.
Three cars I have driven: Dodge Truck, Chrysler cirrus, and M1 Abrams tank.
Three things I am looking forward to: completing school, getting out of the army, getting a career.

Scares of spyware!!

I had some recent activity on my computer concerning spy ware, (scare ware in some terms). I can tell you it is the most frustrating experience you will ever have. It's a scary thing to come up on a message telling you your computer is having a problem, at the time I did not have a proper anti-virus software to destroy any threats that may pop up. I almost lost all my work and photos that I had saved of my recent trip with my parents who were on vacation. Luckily I learned how to save my computer from further destruction. But I hear in the news that it is a threat that continues all over the globe which is an even scarier thing to think about. How on earth will the government contend with so many viruses and spy ware in this country alone? I see it as being a big problem and what really scares me the most about this is that somebody out in this world could be creating a bigger and better software to hack into virtually anything they please. They could get into our bank accounts, social security, and other personal information. Technology is a brilliant thing to have but it can also be the scariest thing. I would say the only thing we can do is to be prepared and keep the computer in shape with all the new anti-virus software that comes out.

The whole world's gone of the wall!!!

Manny’s Off The Wall Productions is a production company that specializes in film distribution and the making of exciting new movies that capture the imagination of the sci-fi world and thrilling new musicals that make you want to put that nine to five upon the shelf. It will pave the way for new ideas in digital filmmaking, music videos, and musical productions. I think there are many people who need to feel excited for movies, so that they can escape from reality, come back out, and feel satisfied. My goal is also to create new music video ideas that todays artists need to make their music more fun and understandable. I See so many singers that know what they want to do but don’t clearly put their music in sync with the video itself. Michael Jackson had the best example during the early 80’s with the “Thriller” and “Beat It” music videos. I want to help create the same aura for todays muscians. I love sci-fi action pictures and I would like to create a new and complete world of new characters and plots much like what George Lucas did for Star Wars. There is many possibilites and endless avenues to approach each new project. I have always been about innovation and making something completely new and fresh, with the Off The Wall Production company I am determined to make it happen!! Stay tuned for new developments as they come.