Ruminations on The Road To Ruin (RTR)

It been a rough 48 hours - who am I kidding? much longer than that. The usual grind is taking its toll - and not in the West Indian way either. Meetings, projects, proposals, plus ........add to those - working a 5 - 9 am shift, plus add to that, hosting a 8pm to 2am function.

What is that called? - The Road To Ruin - RTR

What exactly am I doing to myself? Well in a quest to understand the nature or rather the dangers of the workaholic beast, I turned to to Wikipedia - that bastion of UGC (user generated content), and archiver, explainer, and consequent counsellor.

Oh Wise Wiki, what sayest thou that I now inflict upon myself?

Sleep deprivation - a general lack of the necessary amount of sleep. This may occur as a result of sleep disorders, active choice or deliberate inducement such as in interrogation or for torture.[1]

Did you notice the TORTURE part?

So then this means - I am choosing to torture myself. That is quite Porturbing.

The Wise One also suggested things that could happen to me on the RTR. I picked a couple to present here.

Generally, lack of sleep may result in:

blurred vision; the eyelids struggling to stay up perhaps?
colorblindness;
depersonalization/derealization;
weakened immune system;
fainting; - body taking the sleep despite oneself
general confusion; - some of us have that even with sleep
hallucinations (visual and auditory) - see beds everywhere?
hernia; - how on earth?
hyperactivity; - explain that? with less sleep you get MORE active?
impatience; - to get to bed perhaps?
memory lapses or loss; - forgot what sleep was like?
nystagmus (rapid involuntary rhythmic eye movement); - just so we could learn a new word

The RTR is such a temptingly easy route to take though, what with all the elements in our lives today: Too much work and not enough pay, too much school and not enough day, whole bunch of kids and the attendant play, the list goes on and on.

But enough lamenting. Change it we must, since they say the surest sign of stupidity is to repeat an action in the same way and expect different results.

Time for a new route through life, a way to get to my various destinations while still healthy enough to enjoy them. Wish me luck.

:-)

This Jam World of ours

Jamworld Entertainment Complex is a massive expanse of land in Portmore - a huge dormitory community just next door to Jamaica's capital city Kingston. Venue for many a concert, including the infamous Boxing Day event "Sting" (dubbed the worlds biggest one-night reggae show), Jamworld was today, a public holiday, home to a Easter Monday Family Fun Day.

So - in a manner quite out of character, I put aside all things work (and school) related, and plunged headlong into a day of dalliance with my husband and children. We drove over just after noon, parked beside the 12 other cars there at that time, and made our way, pushing pram and all through the marl mud and murky pools left behind by a recent shower of rain. It was clear skies that watched over our progress through the day however, so skipping a mud pool or two (or twelve), was fine with us.

Jamworld is a massive complex to utilize and the space available is intimidating. The promoters made a valiant effort however, lining the main area with tents and rides, bordering the venue on three sides facing in to the fouth where the ten foot high stage held sway. Of course, from the rear end of the venue it was impossible to make out anything on the stage, but the sound carried clear, and the infectious voice, laugh and manner of the host - popular local radio disc jock Jenny Jenny, was enough to pull you forward at points.

There was food galore, from ketchup covered hot dogs to the sweet red and white coconut grater cake, spicy yellow curry, roti, dahl, and all sorts of other tongue tempting, pocket emptying opportunites. The children were in heaven - bounceabouts (3 of them), a ferris wheel, water slides (3 of those too), a pool, a rotating swing, a huge rock climbing inflatable, and a roving train-like-car, with approximately 6 separate seating attachments to the rear. There was even a go-cart attraction of sorts with pedals for the hands to push instead of the feet, and an extra seating area to the rear so the driver could carry a passenger behind.

They had a an amazing time, and my husband and I, several pockets poorer, sweaty, thirsty, and a little stressed after the 'bus head' (head cut), and 'scrape-up han' (scraped arm) of the ten year old, and the "likkle mos' bruk han" (almost broken arm) of the four year old, and umpteen mad dashes to catch the one year old and bring him back as he giggled with glee, and the.... wait no, the eight year old was fine (whew) where was I? - Oh yes, My husband and I were quite happy.

What Porturbed me about today? A couple of things.

1. We rely a little too much on luck, and not as much on safety as we should, with rides and games for children. Thankfully the worst for my family was a mild abrasion to the scalp. There were a couple of opportunities for accidents to happen however, and not enough supervision.
2. We still have a little way to go when it comes on to customer service, especially when handling excited and sometimes rude children. At one point an attendant was slapping at a child. Yes its the West Indian way in large part, but we need to explore other methods of kid compliance before swinging away.

Anyway, I carried my camera, so you too can see what I saw. Sorry about the food though - I had to eat that for you. :-)

Enjoy.

Getting A Head in line.... (get it? Headline? Oh come on)

The next two parts of my assignment in Journalism 2.0 are addressed in this post.

1. Sign up for breaking news alerts from 3 news outlets (CNN, MSNBC, etc., or local)
2. Find 5 great web headlines (on news stories or blog entries) and 5 headlines that don't work. Post to your blog, describing what makes the good ones work and why the others don't.

Well, the news alerts have been added to the blog, you can see them over to the right of the page. The web headlines that I think work are as follows;

Grammy-Winning Tejano Singer Navaira Hurt in Bus Crash

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340773,00.html

Who is hurt, whats their claim to fame, and what happened? All answered in the one line.

Mars Probe Finds Evidence of Salt, Supporting Water-Life Theory

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340468,00.html

what was found, where, and what are the implications - all answered.

Confessed killer: Hiker fought to the end

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-23-hikers-last-days_N.htm?csp=34

Whats in a killers mind - am I alone in being curious about this? Also this seems to be an interesting story - what happened to the hiker?

Haiti’s Poverty Stirs Nostalgia for Old Ghosts

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/world/americas/23haiti.html?_r=1&ex=1364011200&en=d396a5dc1051ac90&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

For me this headline stimulates interest and a desire to read further. What is meant by old ghosts? Curiosity alone had me clicking the link.

Virtual Sex Toys Real Florida Lawsuit

http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/scitech/~3/255725195/0,2933,340469,00.html

Controversial topic, but interesting use of the contrasts between Virtual and Real Life. I think there is something to be said for clever verbage. Some basic questions are also answered -what and where.

The bad ones are as follows:

Pope Prays for Peace on Easter Sunday

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/world/europe/24pope.html?ex=1364011200&en=4900383f7f92b605&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Can we get any more noneventful than this? Doesnt the Pope always pray for peace? Whats new about it this time?

Scoreboard: Sundays second round action

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/scores?refreshRate=30&conf=0

Ok - action in what sport exactly? and where?

NASA "Thrilled" Over Success of Tile Repair Putty Test

http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/scitech/~3/255711876/0,2933,340414,00.html

Who cares about a tile repair putty test by NASA? Plumbers on Mars? The content at first glance would seem to be quite trivial.

After breast cancer, a body resculpted

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23392207/

A little too straight forward. No attempt to "sell" the content.

Market is giving fund investors a chance to upgrade portfolios

http://www.marketwatch.com/enf/rss.asp?guid=%7B54283BB7-9384-4D03-9EE0-13DB4A28F651%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Which market? where? which fund? which portfolios?

Five bad and Five good - in my opinon. What do you think?

Blogged Down

Sigh,

The best laid plans of mice and men.....

I started my assignment at shortly after 7 this morning. It is now 6:27 pm local time - past deadline, and I am still not complete. Nevertheless we press on, as we must.

This week's (now last week's) assignment for Journalism 2.0 involves five main areas, two of which are addressed here.

1. Make a post on your blog about 3 blogs you like the best (include screen grabs of other blogs)


2. Make a comment on another student's blog

My efforts to wade through the web of blogs available have taught me one thing - there does exist a state of information overload - TMI. Now, fraught with indecision and out of time, I have chosen to proceed as follows, in the hope that my efforts will still be accepted by the tutors.

Since I prefer to be comprehensive and there really is no way to make a choice of favourites with limited last minute exposure to the plethora of blogs that exist, I have chosen to list my favourites with screen shots, of the blogs of my fellow classmates. Two of which I have made comments on. Thus parts one and two of the assignment are taken care of.

The first blog I like is that of Sharmain Baboolal, a senior journalist from Trinidad and Tobago. Her layout is simple and attractive. It is therefore easy to read. While only having two posts, the feeds available are also interesting and relevant both regionally and internationally.

The second of my favourites is that of fellow Jamaican Claudine Housen. Claudine's blog is also straightforward in presentation without many distractions to add clutter. Her content is what makes it impressive, as she looks at some serious issues while relaxing enough to let her style flow through.
My comment on her site can be seen here https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=635105999645758368&postID=5960370154698061275&page=1

The final of my selections comes again from Trinidad, this time participant Skye Hernandez. Here again, Simplicity works. What impresses me from Skye's Blog was her entry on Good Friday. I could while reading, hear and see that of which she wrote. I suppose that speaks more to her writing skills than her internet savvy, but there were no restrictions as to the basis of our choices, so I will keep her blog as the third of my picks. My comment can be seen here http://skyehernandez.wordpress.com/2008/03/23/note-on-my-new-header/#comment-6

Class Assignment

So then,

I am part of a very interesting course - Journalism 2.0, being presented by the Knight Centre for Journalism in the Americas. Murphy happens to be taking this course with me, so just at the time of the course starting, my computer - all three in my house, develop hiccoughs, that prevent my uploading to the course site. ( I know what you're thinking - Yeah right).

No really though, all Windows Live based executions are also affected- Messenger, One touch Live, Hotmail Website, - and yet, I can still sign on to the MSN homepage - go figure.
Two weeks later, and umpteen checks by my service provider and virus scans of my system, I am still no closer to a resolution. So I "beg a bligh" in Jamaican parlance, (meaning -ask a favour), and log on elsewhere to make things happen. Thank goodness, I can use Blogger from home without problems.

Last weeks assignment was to set up a blog and subscribe to at least 5 RSS Feeds and 2 News Searches. So why is this particular assignment late? - well aam you see my schedule...., I er....

I did set up the RSS Feeds - as directed - using Outlook. I am still not sure how to post the link to the actual feed - if that is indeed possible, but the sites are listed below. I am also not fully clear on the difference between a News Search, and a RSS feed from a News Site, but nevertheless, I press on.


New York Times - Media and Advertising
New York Times - Americas
New York Times - Other Sports
All available here http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/index.html

MSNBC Top News Stories
MSNBC Weird News
available here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4429957/

Focus on The Family with Dr. James Dobson
available here http://www.arcamax.com/dobsonparenting/s-305157-643999?source=1930

Welcome To My World

Hello Web Explorer,

Welcome to my world. I hope what you find will provoke thought, provide insight, inspire action, or - if none of those, at least provide entertainment worthy of the precious seconds or minutes that you may spend with these words of mine.

I find that I do not write often, but there are two main occasions when words will spill forth whether or not a receptacle is provided for them.

First: Sometimes an eclectic - perhaps eccentric, mix of thoughts will run through my mind. Since the track they find there to follow may not always be well paved with directional signs, I write to provide clarity for my own self.

Second: Despite a loud, extroverted public persona, my passions in large part run deep and silent and often do not find an outlet for expression. Thats when I will seek succor in the written word.

So - my reasons are clear - not the quest for world peace, or any any other such altruistic endeavour, but simply the desire to express, and understand myself. Despite my selfish objectives however, I hope you will find it in your heart to remain - just a short while, to read.

PS. This is also a class assignment for my Journalism 2.0 course