You're Kidding Me. Seriously??

Okay, does anyone actually believe that that is Oprah's body?? Anybody? Because I am not buying it. And you know what is really sad? That is a real body...just not Oprah's. It actually belongs to actress Ann-Margaret. And to top that off, it was used without permission. I chose this picture because, as you can tell, it has quite a bit of controversy surrounding it. Not only is it manipulated, but it blatantly puts Oprah's head on the body of another woman! It is bad enough to edit a picture to make someone look skinnier, but to use another person's body entirely?! Horrible and inexcusable. This was done in very poor taste. The original photo of Ann-Margaret was taken in 1979 and then used again ten years later in this Oprah cover on TV Guide. That means the cover editors must have really been desperate. I mean, to go back ten years just to find a picture of a different body? Wow. So I think I am clear when I say that this was manipulated to make Oprah look skinny, it was done by using the body of another woman, and it was definitely harmful because not only is it one big fat lie, but it used a picture of another woman without permission, thinking no one would notice (FYI: they noticed!). I just went back and read this entry, and it looks like I'm a little worked up about this. Wow. Never knew photo editing could get a girl mad. Looks like I'm going to need some chocolate to calm down. Oh darn. :-)

You're Not Going to Copy, Right??

I have always been an ethical person. Probably too ethical. I like to follow the rules and not break the law. What's so bad about that? Jason Hardin says that I am a great person...well, not in so many words, but that's what I got out of what he said today.
All joking aside, I actually learned a lot from Mr. Hardin today about the issue of copyright. I did not realize that this issue has been around since 1790! That's a long time...like over 200 years (I'm not a math major so I'm not going to waste the time doing the math...but I think it's like 219 years if we're going from 1790...I guess I couldn't leave the question unanswered!), which really amazed me. Here on campus, our university librarian is in charge of copyright, so if anyone violates copyright law, our librarian is obliged to give information to the copyright officer (who sends the librarian a take-down notice when this happens). I think that this would be a difficult situation to be in: to be the one obligated to tattletale?! I would find that challenging, especially if it was someone I knew who copyrighted property. Of course, I still believe that the librarian should turn everyone in who copyrights because it is, you know, illegal, but I am just saying that it would probably be a hard job (and that our librarian should be respected for it).
Another issue I was thinking about is one that is common to everyone: sharing music. And I was thinking more about sharing music by burning CDs (the old school way), rather than using filesharing software like Limewire. This is a major issue because it cannot be monitored as well over the internet. And yet, according to what I learned in Mr. Hardin's lecture, it is illegal because only one person has paid for the music that they have shared with all their friends. This means that Taylor Swift is not getting paid a fair amount for her new single on iTunes (no, she does not have a new single right now, but just go with me). And we would not want to hurt Taylor Swift, would we? She deserves to get paid for the music she makes, as do all other artists. So even though it can be an easy way to get that song you've been wanting, it is not a legal activity to burn someone else a copy of a CD you just bought.
There are so many other things I learned in this lecture, but I feel like I'm writing too much again...we were only supposed to discuss one issue, and I already discussed 2 so... ;-)

Network Diagram Time!

Joe Hatch Pays a Visit

Last class, Joe Hatch came to talk to us about the Trinity computer network. Ms. Belisle mentioned that he was the go-to guy when it came to computers here, so I wanted to pay particular attention to what he had to say. First of all, that annoying Clean Access thing actually helps us by scanning through our computer registry and looking for specific registry keys (doesn’t scan the whole computer), such as what operating system we are running. It also ensures that we have enough security applied to our operating system and it makes sure we have a specific Anti-Virus product. The most important thing I learned was that CCleaner is the best tool that ever existed for computers. It helps us to clean (no kidding!) out old files and cookies from our system so it can run faster. Joe showed us how to download it in case we didn't already have it, and then he ran it on Ms. Belisle's computer to show us just how many cookies it can collect. He suggested that we run it about twice a week on our computers. I ran it the other day, and I was amazed at how many GB of cookies that the CCleaner collected. I learned a lot about how a computer can run more effectively, and I owe it to Joe Hatch. Thank you ;-)!

I Know a Song that Gets on Everybody's Nerves

Hello everybody (everybody meaning the 8:30 Essential Computer Skills class at Trinity University on Tuesdays and Thursdays)! My name is Noelle Parsons, and I am from Austin, Texas. I do go by the name Noelle because I think it is a lovely name, if I do say so myself. I went to St. Michael's Catholic Academy for high school, where currently my mother is Head of the Science Department and my sisters, Anna and Kira, are juniors. So yes, you guessed it: St. Michael's was a very family-oriented place for me. I actually had my mom as my Biology teacher both freshman and senior years of high school, and I really enjoyed it. My dad, alas, does not work at St. Michael's, but he is an Ethics and Compliance Officer for Freescale. Whew. Long title.
If you haven't caught on already, I am very close with my family. It was difficult to leave home to come here, but I am glad that I did. I do talk to my family every night, and here's a word of warning: do not talk on the phone on your balcony for too long or else you will have so many mosquito bites on you that you continuously find new ones. Not fun.
The reason I titled this post with the most annoying song title ever is because I love music. No, I am not a prodigy who can play multiple instruments: I don't play any. And I do not want to become a music major or minor; I just love music. I am always singing or humming or thinking about a song I heard recently or not-so-recently. As a result of this, I am sometimes unware of when I am humming too much, so stop me if I get annoying (which I do get annoying). More things that I love and hope to continue while here at Trinity include drama, learning new things (sounds cheesy, but I legitly like school...), talking to anyone who wants to talk to me (I talk WAY TOO MUCH), checking the mail (I am always checking my mailbox here haha), watching funny movies, going to church and participating in youth group, and so on and so forth. I am so excited to be at a new school and to have the opportunity to take these unique electives.
So on the sticky note I decided to admit something slightly embarrassing about myself: I used to be afraid of the ending credits of movies. Nowadays I just get a little apprehensive when it comes to the movie ending and the credits playing with no exciting videos on the side to distract me, but when I was little, I remember running out of the room if someone didn't turn off the movie soon enough. The Little Mermaid 2 is pure evil. I'm just saying.
I am not a computer genius. In fact, I am surprised that I get by on what I know. My sister Anna is a genius at this stuff--I don't know where that came from, but I did not get that part of the gene pool. I have never taken a computer class, and I never formally learned how to touch type. I'm not too shabby though. I am really excited about this class. I'm not sure if I need to put my e-mail in this or not, but I will just in case: nparsons@trinity.edu. And thank you to everybody who managed to read this whole post because I know it is LONG. :)