Class Evaluation

     I thought this class was very interesting and a great learning experience. I think writing our blogs on Blogspot was great. I don’t think I would have enjoyed the class if we were just posting in D2L, or submitting them just by email to you.

     The comments and tips on our blogs and our articles by classmates and yourself helped me and I am sure others a lot. At first I didn’t know what a blog was supposed to be, look like, or even how to write one. But by looking at other student blogs I was able to understand the concepts very well.

     I have taken many online classes and what this class lacked, especially in the D2L system, was a place in the discussion section where students could ask questions that you or any student could answer. In a ‘discussion section’ in D2L a student would be able to get feedback on their blog for example, instead of getting feedback after the blog is posted and past the due date.

     Other student’s have voiced that there was not enough information offered to us in the syllabus. I did not personally struggle from this issue, but I can see where other students felt like they were left in the dark on what was expected in our articles and blogs. I can only suggest that you add more specific guidelines for the articles and blogs.

      Compared to other online classes that I have taken, I don’t think the material offered (e-book, online learning websites) gave us information than mere introductions to writing articles and blogs. I would have liked to learn more advanced tips and tools to create better blogs, how to write an article more effectively/efficiently and etc..

        Overall, I thought the class was very fun. I think we all got to discover new people and new things by writing different blogs and writing our articles.

Avatar-New Era of Film

     I hope I am not the only one excited for the new James Cameron movie Avatar. Cameron has directed many cultural favorites such as: Titanic, the Terminator series, and Aliens. He has also directed, produced, and written many other works which I can’t delve into too deeply here.

    

     Cameron’s newest film creation called Avatar is an immense 3D animated film. Cameron thought of this film many years ago, but the technology was just not there to make his dream a reality. This film combines 3D animated characters, environments, and effects with live action shots. Of course, ‘real’ actors are apart of this film as well which makes this film rather unique.

     

     Just writing about this film gets my my imagination souring of what this movie has the potential to be.

     

     Based on the images, trailers, and clips that are currently available across the net, one can understand why many people are excited about this film—it truly is a step away from traditional film making. When I say traditional film making, I am referring to a simple movie setup: cameras, actors, sets, and “3,2,1, ACTION!”

    

     This film is quite different in that the actors are filmed on set while animators monitor and record their movements and facial expressions. These elements are than used within the animations of the characters to create realistic images made possible by computers. Star Wars revolutionized film by using a combination of models, animation, and live action to create an revolutionary step for film; the Lord of the Rings trilogy revolutionized films by developing computer technology to combine live action shots with animation as well; Avatar, in my opinion, is revolutionary as well.

    

     If you look at majority of the movies coming out into theaters (2012, for example), these films have an immense amount of computer generated elements and environments. This ‘new era’ of filmmaking is exciting, expensive, and another movement in the evolution of film. This new era of film is moving forward with the current generation who expect movies to be over-the-top, have immense action and animation, and have great acting of course.

    

      Cameron’s new film Avatar will set the stage for new technologies in film, animation, and 3D cinema that is now becoming more possible to achieve.

    

     Please follow the links I have provided and tell me what you think below!

    

     Avatar is set to release next month on December 18th. With the rumored cost of 500 MILLION DOLLARS, this movie has a lot of hype and expectations to satisfy. And even if this film becomes “The Worst Expensive Movie Ever Made”, I will still be on the edge of my sit for the entire ride!

New and improved wildlife refuge

     I live in Brownsville, Minnesota, and for the past four years this small town has been attracting bird watchers from around the area. Almost four years prior there has never been this much activity to stop and look at birds migrating south for the winter season.

 

What has happened in this relatively short period of time?

     

     After taking about a 5 minute drive down the road along the Mississippi River, I stopped at the Brownsville Overlook. This is a small area that the state has built an overlook over the river which is a designated wildlife refuge. In this refuge migrating Tundra Swans, Puddle and Diving Ducks stop here on their migration path.

    

     In 2006, the Unites States Fish & Wildlife Service began a project just outside of Brownsville called “Pool 8 Island Phase III Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project” at the Upper Mississippi River Refuge.

    

     This project began in 2006 and is schedules to finish around 2012 or sooner if possible. This specific project has focused efforts on ‘recreating’ a natural habitat for fish,vegetation, waterfowl, and other wildlife.

Last year I noticed that they had a dredging crew at the refuge creating and enlarging islands in the water for the variety of waterfowl. By the end of the project they will have completed: 22 islands, 3 breakwaters, and 1 offshore rock mound.

     

      This project has been a success because 100’s if not 1000’s more of these birds stop at this refuge each fall—the reason there are even more bird waters crowding the Overlook. I don’t think there has ever been this many migrating birds that have stopped in this area since I have lived here.

    

     When I was at the Overlook earlier today, it was like watching a scene from Planet Earth. The water was full of Tundra Swans, and the sky had countless birds flying in or flying out. There are so many birds, that at night you hear this constant “quacking” sound.

    

      After reading the signs, posters, and pamphlets they have available for visitors, I noticed this refuge isn’t just for birds. The islands that they are enlarging or creating will help reduce water flow into the area which will help sediment in the water settle.

As the water becomes ‘clearer’ this allows vegetation in the water to receive more sunlight. This gives the migrating fowl a more bountiful eating supply at the refuge. Of course, the increased vegetation and islands will be perfect for fish habitat as well.

    

     I am glad that both Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the U.S. Government has taken up this very expensive task to enhance habitat for these migrating animals.

Bluff Country: Brownsville, Minnesota

     After graduating from high school,  I moved from my hometown of Brownsville, Minnesota, up to the Twin Cities.  I    applied  at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, and began to work at Target in Forest Lake.  I lived with my  relatives in  Stacy, Minnesota  for the  entire year but recently moved back to my hometown. It is exciting to be back in this very small town (only 500 people; give or take a few), and I am enjoying the ‘small town’ vibe once again.

       After being away from the area that I grew up in and rarely ever left, it is exciting to be looking at my hometown in a different perceptive. Now that I have been given the task to go out into communities, especially ones that I am familiar with and talk with community leaders, I am thrilled to learn more about Brownsville and the leaders within the city. Because the town is pretty small, not a lot of huge issues occur. Most of the activity regarding the town happens during city council meetings or Houston County meetings. Brownsville's ‘political’ leaders are:

     * Tim Serres (Mayor)
     * Chris Dvorak, Joe Serres, Craig Steger, and Rick Voshart

       (city council members)

     *Michael J. Moriarty (City Clerk)

    

    Rick Voshart has been on the city council for many years, and has been one of the active members at Brownsville City Council Meetings. Of course, there are only a handful of people at these meetings each month. During these once a month meetings, they discuss city expenses (fixing city buildings, building or repairing the city’s water treatment facility, and so on). If you would be interested to read the City Council Minutes, it gives you an overview of last months meeting and subsequent months this year.

    

     Here is an example of how little or major decisions fluctuate each month for the City of Brownsville: Last month for example, topics ranged from the Lions Club idea to fix the baseball diamond’s bathrooms into a storage shed, maintenance repairs around town, and a follow up on the fire department’s tasks (checking the warning siren, for example). This may be of little concern to the everyday citizen in my hometown.

    

    But on the other hand, according to Rick Voshart (a city council member), big decisions have and still need to be discussed in upcoming meetings. I asked Voshart what the current issues are and he gave me some current issues being discussed within the town.
      

     The City Council is discussing whether or not to install walk in showers in the senior only apartments that the city owns. At the moment, all of the apartments have bath tubs, but can be very difficult for less mobile seniors to get in and out safely. The proposal would be very expensive—at least 600 dollars for each room. The people who live in the apartments are split on the issue; some may want a tub while others may want a shower. Obviously, this proposal would be a big expense for this small town that would either have to come from tax money or Houston County funds.   

     Even though this issue may not affect everyone in Brownsville, the families and tenants in these apartments find this proposal very important. Voshart also said that preparing for winter (getting the plow and sand truck ready) is of great importance at the moment as well. If the equipment is damaged or not working correctly, action will need to be taken soon.

    

     I was quite surprised how the simplest of expenses in the city (cleaning up brush around the Community Center, for example) has to be proposed and passed by the city council. Voshart, along with the rest of the city council, help insure that the issues the citizens of Brownsville are experiencing get taken care of or get acknowledged for future decisions.

Health Care or Health Scare

 

     Insurance companies, along with pharmaceutical companies, receive large profits each year by basically denying countless Americans coverage or cheaper health care options. Many Americans don’t have health insurance and choose not to go to the doctor because of the expense.

 

     During my childhood I can only think of one
time I had to go to the hospital. My mother
always told me, “Unless you are dying, I am not taking you to the doctor!”. This very rare trip to the hospital was for my tonsil removal surgery. My tonsils were so large that they protruded far into my throat causing me to choke on food. Obviously, this was affecting my daily life, so my mother decided to schedule the $3,000 to $4,000 surgery.

                         

     All of it was covered by my mother's health insurance at that time. You may be saying to yourself: “You had your whole surgery covered, what is the issue with health care/insurance?” Luckily, my mother was poor enough to be able to receive a Minnesota health insurance called UCare. UCare covered the. entire costs because we were unable to pay for such an expensive surgery.

 

     This scenario is a superb example of how great of a service health insurance companies can offer to the American people. But insurance companies are much more of a 'business' than a service. In my opinion, if one is paying a monthly bill to cover health care costs, the company should not be able to deny payment for any reason. A tactic for insurance companies to gain more revenue and decrease costumer coverage is provided by the Verden Report (2007):

 

Insurance Companies Decrease Their Medical Cost Ratio:

 

     Medical Cost Ratio (MCR) is the percentage of costumer insurance premiums that are spent for health services. According to this report, UnitedHealth Group in 2007 had received $16,984,000,000 in three quarters. In their first quarter for 2007 they had a 82.7% MCR. They spent almost 83% of their premiums on health services received by their costumers. But this is when things get interesting—they only spent 79.5% of their total premiums during their 3rd quarter. This 3.2% percentage change may not seem like a lot, but it saved the company more than a half billion dollars! This money could have been spent to pay for life saving operations, medications, and other services.

      The Verden Report has many more elements regarding the “Cost versus Profit” of health insurance companies. I highly suggest you check it out; it is a very eye-opening read!

 

What I Think Must Change
 

     In my opinion, the biggest things that need to change to make our health system more convenient, affordable, and run by ethics is:

Provide a health care plan for people who can't afford insurance company premiums (the government health care plan, for example). Insurance companies have to provide a service to the American people, and operate more as a non-profit company than a mega-money-maker.

 

     In retrospect, my family was lucky to be poor enough for a government provided health care plan where we had to pay very little out of pocket for our health services. On the other hand, wealthier Americans have to purchase high priced insurance and hope that some of their medical bills will be covered.

 

     Should we really be paying top dollar for a service that we hope will help us when we need them the most?

freedigitalphotos.net

Drunken Civility

Walking into the Stacy Bar & Grill, I awkwardly grab a table nearest the bar and position myself closest to the nearest costumers. This bar is not dark and dingy, but rather hip and clean. It is only a couple of years old, so it is a fun place to hang out and have a good time. The Bar & Grill has a couple of wide screen TV’s, a gambling booth where costumers can buy scratch offs and raffle numbers, and a kitchen to order food. The people are your average bar flies, 9-5 workers, and locals. It felt like any small town bar with a fun, safe atmosphere.

 

In all fairness, I do not usually find myself wandering into bars at the age of 19, grab a table—all for myself—and ask for a glass of water. Thankfully many of the bars patrons did not consider me peculiar or out of place. I somehow managed to fit into their ‘place of enjoyment’ where one tends to catch up with friends, discuss current issues, and have fun. And by fun I mean get intoxicated! In all seriousness, I was rather surprised by the conversations the people sitting beyond me were discussing .

 

One of the conversation that stood out the most to me, and one that struck the nerve of what this article was to be about was: The traffic jam during rush hour. I myself have experienced this very same issue everyday I come home from work: Cars at the 4-way intersection line up and wait their turn everyday of the week, mornings and late afternoons. Just within the last 2 or 3 weeks, they have set up a police officer to keep the congestion at a minimum. This has greatly increased the efficiency of travel during rush hour and I am sure everyone is thrilled they do not have to wait countless minutes just to make a turn.

 

Unfortunately, this is the only conversation that I heard regarding the community. Stacy is a quiet town that does not experience a lot of change. I think a lot of my neighbors, and the rest of the community are optimistic. No one really talked about the troubles in their lives, at their work, or with their families. I think a lot of people are content and happy to be a part of this small town community.

Life in a Small Town—Stacy, Minnesota

The People—What do they hold valuable?
Stacy is definitely a working class town. Many people work outside of the city either in Forest Lake, North Branch, the Twin Cities or elsewhere. The people of Stacy have a strong opinion on work and family life. Stacy is rather small compared to the other towns in the area, and the people focus their attention on their families and career. The people of Stacey also have a value for a happy community or neighborhood. When you walk down a road, children from different households are playing with each other, and neighbors are conversing with each other often.

 

Civic Places—Where do people get together and talk?

The surprising thing about Stacy is that there is only a few places where people can get together and talk. There is no true restaurant where people can go and have breakfast, lunch, or dinner. There are two bars that serve food, but that is far from being a civic place for the whole family. Despite this fact, people can go the children’s playground where the bike trail intersects through town. On a nice summer day, people traveling on the trail, and families playing at the park have a nice civic place to get together and relax.

 

Place—How is the community developing?

In my opinion, the community is not developing too rapidly, but it is thriving. Many homes are for sale, but majority of them are homes that were built within the past 2 years. Because of the economic situation, not a lot of people are willing to buy homes, or even build homes in Stacy, Minnesota. And, I am sure this is true for countless small and large towns. Even though homes are being sold, majority of the people are thriving in Stacy. They are happy to live in this small town, and don’t want to leave anytime soon.

freedigitalphotos.net