My letter to the editor: http://www.thehawkeye.com/storync/Grant-Mead-051010
Good experiences
I'm a senior at Burlington High School graduating in a few weeks. There are lots of people I would love to thank — from my peers to administration people. My life has not come to an end with Burlington School District or school for that matter. It hasn't just begun either. It's just one of many life-changing experiences that I have taken.
One main person I would like to thank is my principal, Mr. Messenger. It's great that we have a principal who lets us students organize and engage in great activities here at the high school.
Thank you, sir, for all the hard work and long hours you put in every day.
Now some people might not know this, but being 19 I have had one of the greatest experiences my last year at the high school. I have had the opportunity to serve alongside the BCSD technology department. I have learned the ins and outs of taking care of one of the largest network operations in southeast Iowa.
Thank you Mr. Brackett and the BCSD tech department for this wonderful experience. I hope to be able to apply what I have learned to help others.
My sophomore year, I was introduced to speech and debate. Let me tell you that Mr. Kurth is a great coach for this and I have learned many speaking techniques that have helped me a lot. Thank you, sir, for all the long hours you took out of your time to teach me and take me to events.
Around my junior year, I got involved in drama club. Mr. Nelson is the director for this and he is a well-respected guy. I have had the opportunity to be in a few plays directed by him. I have made new friendships and learned a lot of history. My very last play ever for BHS was "Our Town," a slow play but with a lot of educational background to it.
When President Obama came to Iowa, he said we need young teachers to educate these young people in a whole new way. I'm glad to see that BHS is doing this by having young people: Mr. Hanson, a young outgoing guy, teaching English while coaching debate and tennis; Miss Birch and Miss Wilson, who teach in the Science Department engaging us in a fun way.
On my last note, it's great to see that we have a great library director, Mr. McKee, who is up to date on technology. He has been a great help by not only teaching students new websites or tools to help them on that paper but also helping out all the departments at the high school. Oh, before I forget, the man has an iPad. It's the newest device Apple has on the market. If you see Mr. McKee, he will have an iPhone, iPad or some type of Apple in his hands ready to help you.
Hope to see BHS and BCSD keep on growing.
GRANT MEAD
To Comment and rate it on the website Please visit
http://www.thehawkeye.com/storync/Grant-Mead-051010
Burlington
Monday, May 17, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Location Based Services
WOW! What a big storm that came through SE Iowa. Hope you’re all having good luck on cleaning up the mess and flooded basement. My parents’ house didn’t get spared either with a few inches of water destroying everything on the ground.
One of the things I talked about for the beginning of this year was location bases services. Foursquare the biggest one lets you check-in to places and let others know where you’re out. One of the things though is location based services have hit a small little bump in the road. Big companies like Facebook have had lots of privacy issues in the last month & your avg. person doesn’t have a smartphone that can run these services.
With sites such as robmeplese.com let people know where you’re out of your house. I really think it’s a funny but yet logical approach what the site is trying to bring to light.
I love location based services. For myself I can share were I’m @ then have people comment on it. It brings to light what I don’t like. Now the one thing I have noticed is that lots of places I check into I just too that check in. The store or whatever it be don’t engage with the audience so eventually I either stop going to that place or stop checking in.
A great place to keep up to date on all this info on social media news & for a in-depth look go to www.mashable.com
Below is a fun & interesting facts about facebook. So read away and know more then your friends
[Source: Online PhD Programs for MashableMashable
.com]
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Google & Verizon
Just got wind of some exciting news. Wall Street Journal is reporting that Verizon & Google are teaming up to produce a tablet. Now there are lots of questions that are still needed to be answer. Like well it run the OS Chrome S like Google was previous hinted @ making or well it run the best OS on the market right now android. Both are made by a great company and have had fare shares.
I can tell one thing thought I’m pretty excited. More excited than when the i-pad came out. WHY? Because I own a Google phone with Android on it and I LOVE IT. The phone keeps up with my everyday multitasking needs for work and play. Not only is it a great phone but it’s on a wonderful 3G network. There is always service and I’m always connected. Unlink the apple products were you pay a high price for a service that rarely never works.
Another thing to think about is Verizon & Google have been working pretty good with their android platform. If a tablet hit the market you bet I would get one. I would be able to afford it since google normally runs there items low cost. I would also have a great network that I know well work. I don’t have lots of money like apple fans to dump into devices. So im putting my money on Google & Verizon two companies that can change the way we use computers.
Android all the way
Tweet
I can tell one thing thought I’m pretty excited. More excited than when the i-pad came out. WHY? Because I own a Google phone with Android on it and I LOVE IT. The phone keeps up with my everyday multitasking needs for work and play. Not only is it a great phone but it’s on a wonderful 3G network. There is always service and I’m always connected. Unlink the apple products were you pay a high price for a service that rarely never works.
Another thing to think about is Verizon & Google have been working pretty good with their android platform. If a tablet hit the market you bet I would get one. I would be able to afford it since google normally runs there items low cost. I would also have a great network that I know well work. I don’t have lots of money like apple fans to dump into devices. So im putting my money on Google & Verizon two companies that can change the way we use computers.
Android all the way
Tweet
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Ban Social Media
This blog was suppose to be up along time ago. Lately My one & only laptop that has less then 200GB has been full. So I have had to clean up stuff & find useful sites to move my files to. Hopefully I can get a mac computer again & get me some more hardrive space.
If you have been following my twitter or Facebook status you might have seen that I have had surgery. I wrote a blog post @ the hospital a few hrs after I was out of surgery but it didn't post:( I even saved it to a word document but it would not even let me send it as a e-mail attachment. Copy and past epic fail to!
Last week a NJ Middle school principal thought It would be a genius idea to get all of the students that attend his school off from sites like facebook,myspace twitter etc. he is wasn't just talking about at SCHOOL he was talking about for there FULL middle school yrs!
A e-mail was sent out to parents to take on a voluntarily ban to get the students off such sites. Read the full e-mail here http://wcbstv.com/technology/facebook.social.networking.2.1662565.html
"Please do the following: sit down with your child (and they are just children still) and tell them that they are not allowed to be a member of any social networking site. Today!
There is absolutely no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site! Let me repeat that – there is absolutely, positively no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site! None.
Wow! that is some pretty heavy stuff! I can explain several reasons why students would want to be on such sites like that.
What could possibly invoke such a response from a man who holds such a responsible position? His intentions seem to be pure, as he thinks social networking sites such as Facebook are making kids’ lives harder due to cyber-bullying. But is banning kids from these sites the way to fix the problem?
Surely a better solution would be to encourage children to be more respectful to each other, and punish bullying more severely in whatever form it manifests itself.
Not only does he have a problem with social networking sites. He wants parents to check there text messages which im all for but to take cell phones away from kids and check them whenever sounds like to me you have a trust issue with your kids. Right now I believe we should be focused on educating the students rather then pulling the plug.
Below is my take on the e-mail when I got it last week.
I get the bullying part the principal is trying to stop but baning it is the not the right answer.
If you have been following my twitter or Facebook status you might have seen that I have had surgery. I wrote a blog post @ the hospital a few hrs after I was out of surgery but it didn't post:( I even saved it to a word document but it would not even let me send it as a e-mail attachment. Copy and past epic fail to!
Last week a NJ Middle school principal thought It would be a genius idea to get all of the students that attend his school off from sites like facebook,myspace twitter etc. he is wasn't just talking about at SCHOOL he was talking about for there FULL middle school yrs!
A e-mail was sent out to parents to take on a voluntarily ban to get the students off such sites. Read the full e-mail here http://wcbstv.com/technology/facebook.social.networking.2.1662565.html
"Please do the following: sit down with your child (and they are just children still) and tell them that they are not allowed to be a member of any social networking site. Today!
There is absolutely no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site! Let me repeat that – there is absolutely, positively no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site! None.
Wow! that is some pretty heavy stuff! I can explain several reasons why students would want to be on such sites like that.
What could possibly invoke such a response from a man who holds such a responsible position? His intentions seem to be pure, as he thinks social networking sites such as Facebook are making kids’ lives harder due to cyber-bullying. But is banning kids from these sites the way to fix the problem?
Surely a better solution would be to encourage children to be more respectful to each other, and punish bullying more severely in whatever form it manifests itself.
Not only does he have a problem with social networking sites. He wants parents to check there text messages which im all for but to take cell phones away from kids and check them whenever sounds like to me you have a trust issue with your kids. Right now I believe we should be focused on educating the students rather then pulling the plug.
Below is my take on the e-mail when I got it last week.
I get the bullying part the principal is trying to stop but baning it is the not the right answer.
Friday, April 23, 2010
My take on f8
I thought this blog got posted along time ago. I ment for it to be up yesterday but I wrote it right online and didn't bother saving it onto word or anything.
I watched the f8 developers conference and was very pleases on what I saw. Just a few days later I have seen some people starting to say how facebook is taking over the web and knowing all of there personal info. If its personal why are you posting it were everybody can see it?? These same people are on and share special moments of there lives threw facebook. They feel that facebook should not have the right to that data to facebook advertise setin products to them. There has been this small group of people since the internet first came out that it would take over are lives (which in a sence it has) but that it would destroy human kind and there would be no jobs (considering were the job market is maybe there right>) though it has brought lots of new jobs with it.
5 or 8 yrs ago if I was in high-school I would never been able to text me parents and let them know what is going on. I would never be able to post pictures as fast I do to share them with my friends and relatives. and just a few yrs ago ads were just ads..now there engaged in my interest so there no longer ads there more of a source I look to when it gets my attetnion. Which is now pretty much all of the time.
I would love to write more and be able to edit but I just dont have the time @ the moment. Have to finish up this wondering research paper.
Below is my 5 min rant on the f8 conference.
I watched the f8 developers conference and was very pleases on what I saw. Just a few days later I have seen some people starting to say how facebook is taking over the web and knowing all of there personal info. If its personal why are you posting it were everybody can see it?? These same people are on and share special moments of there lives threw facebook. They feel that facebook should not have the right to that data to facebook advertise setin products to them. There has been this small group of people since the internet first came out that it would take over are lives (which in a sence it has) but that it would destroy human kind and there would be no jobs (considering were the job market is maybe there right>) though it has brought lots of new jobs with it.
5 or 8 yrs ago if I was in high-school I would never been able to text me parents and let them know what is going on. I would never be able to post pictures as fast I do to share them with my friends and relatives. and just a few yrs ago ads were just ads..now there engaged in my interest so there no longer ads there more of a source I look to when it gets my attetnion. Which is now pretty much all of the time.
I would love to write more and be able to edit but I just dont have the time @ the moment. Have to finish up this wondering research paper.
Below is my 5 min rant on the f8 conference.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Internet of Things
You know that a trend is ramping up when big companies begin to namecheck it. It's happening now with the Internet of Things, a term for when real-world objects connect to the Internet. The Internet of Things is the idea of a web of data provided by things like real-world devices and sensors. Senior executives from two major U.S. broadband and telecommunications companies - Verizon and AT&T - plus the CTO of the world's biggest network systems provider Cisco, have recently discussed the Internet of Things.
When that data is intimately tied to our real lives off-line, that's exciting. The Internet of Things offers a whole new world of opportunities for improved decision making, innovative services and (unfortunately) social surveillance. It's loaded with implications to consider.
Last week industry thought leader Tim O'Reilly, the man widely credited with popularizing the term Web 2.0, gave an opening keynote talk about the Internet of Things
Below is 5min Video explaining this. yes its 5mins but really you need a whole conference to understand it all. So take 5mins and watch this interesting and awesome video below.
Check out this artile on "Media consumption on the increase" by a UK survey.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/19/media-consumption-survey
When that data is intimately tied to our real lives off-line, that's exciting. The Internet of Things offers a whole new world of opportunities for improved decision making, innovative services and (unfortunately) social surveillance. It's loaded with implications to consider.
Last week industry thought leader Tim O'Reilly, the man widely credited with popularizing the term Web 2.0, gave an opening keynote talk about the Internet of Things
Below is 5min Video explaining this. yes its 5mins but really you need a whole conference to understand it all. So take 5mins and watch this interesting and awesome video below.
Check out this artile on "Media consumption on the increase" by a UK survey.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/19/media-consumption-survey
Friday, April 16, 2010
Day Of Silence
Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating
in the Day of Silence (DOS), a national youth movement bringing
attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which
is caused by anti-LGBT bullying, name-calling and harassment.
I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward building
awareness and making a commitment to address these
injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today.
Day of Silence morning so far 8am
Walking around today I noticed lots of people I knew and just had to node to them. Being a public speaker and very talkative it was very hard for me to be able to be silent for just the morning.
I’m wondering what others well think and what they might say about us ..me. I do care. SO please let me know what u think because everybody has an option and that does not mean we should hate one another for it.
So on this day I’m gong way out of my way to just to go silent for the whole day. This is a day that I think everybody well look at wonder and ask lots of questions. Is Grant Mead Gay? Why does Grant support this?
I support this because after hearing all the stories about teens who kill and hurt them selves about not telling others who they are or what they feel. I’m Not Gay!( and that word I don’t care for being how it gets used) I’m straight and sticking up for my fellow peers.
Yea this day of silence thing is super hard for me. You should try it! Get some duck tape and put it across your mouth. Lots of people well talk just because of the silence SO BE SILENT AND BE HEARD
Lunch:
Wow seeing all of the kids walk around and talk. I really want to join in on the converstions. I’m tweeting so maby they should get on that way. It is making a huge impact on what the kids are thinking. I have gotten a lot of kids asking me what this is all about.
I had a great meal quietly while listing to what others had to say around me. I wish I could blog more but I think my twitter and facebook profile tell a lot. I never ment to use my website like this. I well creat a page for my blogging life.
Looks like lunch is wrapping up for me. Time to get back into class
End of the day
I was super disappointed on how the majority of my peers were poking fun at me. Later on into the evening I find out somone starts spreading around that Im gay and Im going on a date with a guy tonight. Please people dont believe that stuff. I stuck up for something that I thought was a good thing. I now have a super compassion on others around me who dont come out of the closet because nonobdy would want to be treated liked that. I really believe we need to love one another nobody who they are. yes we might not agree with it but that dosent mean we need to poke fun & make there lives horrible does it?
So please stop and ponder this moment this day. What did you do. Did you go silent for some of the day. Did you poke fun @ somone who was going silent. Did you see what was happing to the ones who were silent and getting picked on but decided not to do anything about it.
I ask you people please be yourself and SPEAK UP if your NOT SILENT!
in the Day of Silence (DOS), a national youth movement bringing
attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which
is caused by anti-LGBT bullying, name-calling and harassment.
I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward building
awareness and making a commitment to address these
injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today.
Day of Silence morning so far 8am
Walking around today I noticed lots of people I knew and just had to node to them. Being a public speaker and very talkative it was very hard for me to be able to be silent for just the morning.
I’m wondering what others well think and what they might say about us ..me. I do care. SO please let me know what u think because everybody has an option and that does not mean we should hate one another for it.
So on this day I’m gong way out of my way to just to go silent for the whole day. This is a day that I think everybody well look at wonder and ask lots of questions. Is Grant Mead Gay? Why does Grant support this?
I support this because after hearing all the stories about teens who kill and hurt them selves about not telling others who they are or what they feel. I’m Not Gay!( and that word I don’t care for being how it gets used) I’m straight and sticking up for my fellow peers.
Yea this day of silence thing is super hard for me. You should try it! Get some duck tape and put it across your mouth. Lots of people well talk just because of the silence SO BE SILENT AND BE HEARD
Lunch:
Wow seeing all of the kids walk around and talk. I really want to join in on the converstions. I’m tweeting so maby they should get on that way. It is making a huge impact on what the kids are thinking. I have gotten a lot of kids asking me what this is all about.
I had a great meal quietly while listing to what others had to say around me. I wish I could blog more but I think my twitter and facebook profile tell a lot. I never ment to use my website like this. I well creat a page for my blogging life.
Looks like lunch is wrapping up for me. Time to get back into class
End of the day
I was super disappointed on how the majority of my peers were poking fun at me. Later on into the evening I find out somone starts spreading around that Im gay and Im going on a date with a guy tonight. Please people dont believe that stuff. I stuck up for something that I thought was a good thing. I now have a super compassion on others around me who dont come out of the closet because nonobdy would want to be treated liked that. I really believe we need to love one another nobody who they are. yes we might not agree with it but that dosent mean we need to poke fun & make there lives horrible does it?
So please stop and ponder this moment this day. What did you do. Did you go silent for some of the day. Did you poke fun @ somone who was going silent. Did you see what was happing to the ones who were silent and getting picked on but decided not to do anything about it.
I ask you people please be yourself and SPEAK UP if your NOT SILENT!
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