Your brain on...Computers

We talked about the commercial from the 90's that was an anti-drug public service announcement called, "Your Brain on Drugs." You can view the vintage PSA here:


On Friday, you were introduced to the NY Times article, "Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime." Although the message is not nearly as harsh as the anti-drug campaign, there is a correlation: Some people fear that we are subjecting our minds to too much technology and not allowing our brains to rest.

Blog Question: This question should be answered as a comment to this post. Your answer should be thorough with an explanation of whatever your opinion is.

Based on this article, has your perception of technology changed? Will you change the amount of time in which you'll spend using digital devices? Explain your response.

Where do you spend most of your time?

Watch the video introduction below. When you are finished watching, continue on reading about your homework assignment.

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My Space.
We all have our special places where we go to be ourselves. For some of us, it's in our bedroom with the music blaring. For others, it's being anywhere, as long as its with friends or family. And for a small few, your special place might even be at school.
When I was growing up, my place was walking along the train tracks that were near my house. I lived in a small town in the country, and when I needed to clear my head, or just get away for a little while, I would walk the tracks. Some of my best ideas came during these walks.
The assignment:
You are to go home and reflect on the place where you are the most comfortable. This might not necessarily be the place you spend the most time in. Most likely, this is the place where some of your best memories have been made. This might also be the place you go to when you are at your lowest.
Once you have figured out where is your place, you are to take pictures of the space. You need to take these photos and create a presentation that will display your special place. If you do not have a camera, you can draw your own pictures or cut pictures out of magazines that most resemble your place.
Writing:
Included with your presentation(collage or poster), you need to write a 3-4 paragraph explanation of why it is your space. You should be sure to cover the following questions:

1. Where is this place located?
2. Describe the space in details (i.e. messy room, posters of Justin Bieber, etc)
   
3. What is special about this particular space?
4. When do you find yourself going to this place? Why?

By completing this assignment, we will all begin to learn more about each other. This assignment is due on Friday, August 27.

All good things must...

Well, we are just a week away from another great PCMS year! This summer has been a great time for me to spend time with family and friends who live far, far away from Houston. After teaching summer school (which was a treat in and of itself), Kiera and I traveled to good ol' Fredonia, NY. There, we watched the Fourth of July fireworks over Lake Erie, consumed some of the Little's specialty Spaghetti, and attended the Taste of Buffalo.
The Taste of Buffalo is actually the largest two-day festival in the entire nation! There were tons of different foods to sample. Even the Travel Channel was there promoting their show, Man vs. Food!

After a great ten days in New York, we flew back to Houston, and eight hours later, we were on the road again traveling to Florida. On the way, we got to see some glimpses of the oil that has washed ashore in Alabama and Pensacola...very sad and disturbing.

Our final destination was Spring Hill, Fl where Kiera's family now lives. While in Florida, I had one of my most memorable summer-moments. I got to swim on a live manatee. Now, some of you are like, "What's a manatee?" Others of you are like, "Oh, cool, Mr. Little. Were you one of those cheesy volunteers at Sea World or something?"

Manatees are mammals similar to whales, but smaller. They are sometimes called "Sea Cows" and can get up to twelve feet long and 1,200 pounds in weight. They are extremely friendly.

So, as I was kayaking with my wife and her parents, we came upon a mother and a baby manatee. I quickly jumped in the water (a bit foolish of me, I admit) and swam with the mother and baby. I surfed on the mother for about a minute before she flicked her tail and sent me flying in the air.

In hindsight bias, I know I should not have just jumped into the water with the wild manatee. Afterwards, I heard stories of people who have actually been drowned by manatees. Apparently, the manatee can grab you and take you down into the water(it is most likely just playing, but it doesn't understand that we can't breathe under water) and people have been drowned. So, I guess I am pretty lucky nothing went wrong, besides the manatee flicking me off its back when it was done with me.