Blog 23; Expanding on one topic in Sleep Dealer

In Sleep Dealer, people become cyborgs by buying implants called “nodes” that allow to connect them to cyberspace.

a) Make a list of how nodes are used by the main characters: Memo, Luz, and Rudy. What uses seem perfectly normal to you? What uses seem perverse? Are there any uses that should be illegal? What uses are very similar to interactions on the internet?
b) In Sleep Dealer, Luz makes a living by uploading and selling her memories in cyberspace. Is this ethical? How does selling actual memories compare to writing a “tell all” autobiography, for example? How does it compare to participating in a reality television show?

      In "Sleep Dreamer" the nodes are used to perform different types of work in different countries and states. Memo uses the nodes to work. He works at a technology factory. Working long days 12 hours a day and sends whatever money he makes to his family to support them. Luz uses the nodes to remember everything, she then sells her memories. Rudy uses the nobes to control the drone. Luz uses seem normal to me. She uses her nodes to remember information. She keeps a log of everything she sees/does. It seems like she is just "keeping a log". Luz makes her living by selling her memories in cyberspace. I think this is ethical. Whats the difference between creating a book and selling it and creating memories and selling them? Nothing.  An autobiography is different from her selling memories because in the autobiography its all about you just like a reality show. We get to know you. not the people you interact with daily. with her selling her memories they could be about anyone, its not personal.

Blog 22; Watching and Responding to The Story Of Stuff

Define "planned obsolescence" and "perceived obsolescence" in your words.  
Who/What is responsible for these marketing strategies? 

Who/What benefits from them? 

Who/What suffers because of them? Are these strategies necessary? Are they right? 

Provide evidence from your own experience or from what you have read and discussed in class.

           Planned obsolescence is deliberately planning or designing a product with limited life. Companies make products so they last a certain amount of time and then you the consumer has to go out and buy a new one and spend more money.  convinces us to throw away products that still work great. If you have an old IPod and a new one came out and you got rid of your old IPod and bought the new one that would be considered Perceived obsolescence. Large companies benefit from Perceived obsolescence & .Perceived obsolescence. I think the government and companies are responsible for these marketing strategies. The main people that suffer from this are the consumers. We have to work hand day & night just to go out and shop and spend our hand earned money. The environment also suffers. There is currently only 4% of the forest in the united states left. One-third of the planet natural resources are gone. If we continue to abuse our environment in this way there are going to be a lot of drastic changes ahead.

Blog 20; Reflection on Food Unit

     I some what enjoyed the classes on the food unit. In class we watched "The meatix" and some parts of "Super Size Me". Although i don't know why we had a food unit? I'm thinking so we have stuff to "relate" to when we are writing our CATS. We also read an article on http://www.sustainabletable.org/ which was a requirement for blog 15. We also did Cat #3. Out of all the CATS we have done in this class i think this one i was comfortable with the most. Although i didn't pass this one either I got a 54 compared to my 45. 
    The point of the media unit we previously studied in class i think was to open our eyes to new things and develop our ideas. We have to start reading labels that are placed on the products we buy, visit farmers markets and not just shop in supermarkets because it seems more convenient, since they do sell everything we might be looking for, and most of all we should stay away from fast food restaurants.
    Although this unit was better than the other ones, i feel as if i haven't made much of an improvement in my writing skills.  

Blog 19; In Defense of Food.

• What items in Pollan's advice make sense to you? 
• Which could you implement right away? 
• Which seem hard to do or farfetched?
• Which you wish you could do, but your present lifestyle does not make possible?

In Michael Pollan's book "In Defense to food" he gives us tips on how to eat better. One thing he monitions is not to eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize. Many food today is processed or it contains "fake" ingredients. He also suggests not to eat any food with ingredients that you don't recognize. According to Pollan we should plant more plants instead of going to the supermarket to purchase them. I also agree with Pollan on his last tip, to sit down together and eat. I think if you sit down and have a meal with family/friends you would more likely than not eat a healthy meal.

The only thing that makes sense to me is to cook at home and eat meals together as a family rather than alone. The only thing i could implement right away would be to avoid food products that seem unfamiliar or that i have never heard of before. The "pay more eat less" tip seems a little far fetched for me. Not everything has the luxury of buying products based on there makeup rather than their price. many people buy items based on their price.Planting a garden is something i wish i could do, but due to me living in an apartment that seems a little impossible. I'm sure everyone would like to follow Pollan's tips for eating better but due to financial issues and living issues many people have to choice but to eat the "garbage" they have in the supermarkets.

Blog 18;Summarizing and Responding to "Where the Whale be At?"

Maybe i should apologize first for being white.

I'm sorry.

P.S I will not be doing this blog.