week 26-27: Blue pill or red pill?

"This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes." 

It's time to make a choice, a pretty big one to be fair because what i choose could possibly define where life takes me down the line, my job, the people i meet and just my life experiences as a whole. Luckily for me my mind is already made up, after 3 years of doing a mix between hardware and software it's become pretty clear cut to me that i enjoy the software side of things much much more than hardware and networks.

So in other words I've decided to go down the digital media route for my second year as i feel it suits me much much more than the other routes.

Week 24-25: Rawr!..i'm a panther?

After taking an 'Animal Personality test' i found through the solid science of two questions that i'm a panther with the following traits:
Strengths
Good at on-the-spot problem solving.
Can act and communicate quickly and decisively.
Can stand up for what they believe in even if others disagree.
Can adapt and change plans.

As a person
They enjoy freedom and adventure, which can result in clashes with authority.

As a partner
They’re usually good fun to be with. They’re full of energy and ideas. They can be determined and easily become bored – so variety and action keep them happy.

Your personality buzzwords
Flexible, enthusiastic and determined.

Preferred roles
Crafter, performer, promoter, engineer, explorer.

Fame Academy
FAMOUS EXAMPLES (PROBABLY):
Peter Pan, Jeremy Clarkson, Tigger, Zorro, Madonna, James Bond, Bart Simpson, Paul McKenna, Winston Churchill – all objective, determined and impulsive problem solvers

Suprisingly, i wouldn't describe the results as innacurate, but to me it's just the same as astrology, it's so vague as to encompass almost anyone that chooses this answer.  Either way it was abit of fun and made you think about yourself.

week 22-23: HARDware

The only thing i've done that was harder and more mundane than doing the practical work and writing this hardware report was digging a ditch on my nans farm, I am not a physical person. The assignment was the hardest thing i've done on this course, but i have something to thank it for, making my decision of which path i wish to take next year definitive, i was considering hardware and entworks until i realised how much i htae networks and how little i know about it.Thanks hardware and networks report, thank you for saving me from a terrible fate.

Week 20-21: Blogception

The idea of writing about a blog on a blog seems like some form of paradox and a worthless post but oh well, thats what i'm doing today. Soo, how great are blogs right guys? Oh wait no, im almost certain the only reason anyone on this course is doing a blog is because we get graded for it, none of us have anything interesting enough to say to warrant having a blog. I dont know about anyone else but as you can tell i just decided to use this as a platform to vent, to voice my opinions on the course, let's just hope that someone reading it cares.

Week 18-19: Gabe Newells Nutjob Brother

Soooooo Richard Stallman, i'm almost certain the only thing this guys missing is his tin foil hat, hes an absolute lunatic. He refuses to use CDs and DVDs due to the fact that they aren't completely unlocked and open, he believes that if software isn't completely 'free', and not in the sense of money, then it shouldn't exist at all. After having to debate on the side of free software during our class debate i can honestly say it made me realise just how off his rocker he really is, he makes hannibal lecter seem like a reasonible guy with sane beliefs.

Week 16-17: Computer Ethics

Computer misuse act 1988. This is the act that basically ruined all the fun people could have with computers, it stopped everyone from jsut doing what they wanted. The act, to cut a long story short, says you can't hack other peoples computers, and you cant use your knowledge of technology for 'evil'. Personally i was looking forward to creating skynet, but apparently i've been told i can't so i won't, i'm sure that's the mind set of every criminal right? 'The Government said that's bad so i won't do it', if the government really thinks that the act made any difference whatsoever then they are even more nieve than i thought.

week14-15:'Group' Work

So we've just started our group project for dynamic web and media, and while the planning so far has been in a group, as for the actual coding of the website, not so much. It turns out that out of a group of 5 i can write 100% of the code and get the same mark as everyone else, the joys of group work. To be fair, as annoyed as i was i didnt do any of the design work so i can't claim any of that, so perhaps some people deserved more marks than others, but still the principle is the same. 'Group' work should be done as a group.

Week 13: Christmas holiday? loljkenjoyyourassignmentstrololo

So the christmas holiday is upon us, and we're all full of christmas spirit, which im beginning to think our tutors must feed off of like some sort of life force as they sure seem to like draining it from us. What kind of monster would give us work to do over christmas? I barely manage to do any work usually, nevermind when alchohols flowing, great foods aplenty and theres presents to be unwrapped, what do you take me for? Some sort of savage?

Week 12: Now i know my ABCs

Earlier this week we were focused on learning how to write, i know what you're thinking, how did you get onto this course if you can't even write? sadfjkh ikjkbsdf   sdakfhskagbfj  kjsdhflksdfjg;fdstoikhjb fuiasedjyg4fjgha ahgjhajfh luikyfaoeghaj. How do i english???? All jokes aside we've been learning how to write reports properly, how to lay them out and how to citate them which has atually been incredibly usefel as in two years at college they never thought it might be handy to tell us that.

Week 11: What's an e-book?

I'm going to break the fourth wall here and come out with it, i know it's hard to believe that i, such an incredibley hard working model pupil didn't actually write these at the weeks i was supposed too, which is very relevant to this week as you'll see.

This week we had a visitor come in to talk to us about all the avalible online resources at the college, all the e-books and so on, which at the time i thought oh great, that's going to be so useful! Oh how wrong i was, the years about to be over and i can honestly say that those resources got about as much use as running shoes do, and if you couldn't already guess they're still in the box.

Week 10: Make believe

This week we had to interview the prestigious owner of the Abraham heights hotel, well, some guy dressed up as him playing the part, which im not even sure is legal and if it isn't then it should be, for the good of everyones mental health. It was quite a surreal experience due to the fact that i thought i'd left behind my days of acting and theatre behind me but apparently not, i had to act as though i was interviewing the real manager. In all fairness the interview was actually very useful as it gave us the opportunity to ask questions we would have otherwise never got to find out, but a very obvious problem with that is that he might have told us something while improvising that the tutor marking our report would have no idea about.

Week 9: Textbox.txt

Let's talk about Programming concepts shall we? What an awful lesson, i came hoping to learn how to program and instead got what i could only compare to a non-lethal dose of Chloroform, it isn't enough to kill you but it will sure as hell put you to sleep. Towards the beginning of the year we started off doing useful things, working our way through the basics and on to more complicated things, which was great, but then we've reverted back to basics and have been stuck talking about the same crap every lesson 'how do you add a text box?'. A mentally handicapped monkey could add a text box in Visual Studio, though admittedly comparing my classmates to a mentally handicapped monkey may be abit unfair, the monkey did nothing to deserve that.

Week 8: Flipped learning

Since nothing interesting happened this week at all, I've decided now would be a good time to talk about flipped learning, or as i like to call it 'watch youtube because it's easier than me teaching'. Surprisingly i actually really enjoy this way of learning because all i do in my free time is watch youtube anyway, admittedly allot more interesting videos but the principal is still there. The key to flipped learning is self motivation, and the ability to do work in your own time, which is why it has been a complete failure because there has only been about 3 of us doing anything. You really do have to admire the levels of motivation, or lack there of, in this group.

Week 7: IS THIS NOT A DEMOCRACY?!?!

Fellow students, i am sorry to inform you that we are living in a society where oppression is just part of the daily routine it seems, and we are as much to blame for standing for it. This week we stood up to oppression, as a group we raised the foot of society that was keeping us down  off our heads and took a giant leap for democracy. We few, we brave few....have increased the amount of sausage rolls in the canteen.

Also some learning stuff happened i guess.

                                          

Week6: Personal Denial Plan

The reason i would call it a Personal Denial Plan as opposed to development is that i believe you must be in denial to believe you can plan that far ahead within your life, unfortunaely im not a palmn reading gypsy so i can't see into the future, you have no idea whats jsut around the corner, who knows, i might be hit by a bus tomorrow then all of this effort would have been for nothing. But because it's a aprt of the course i had to ramble on about things i didn't actually believe i had any control over, in hindsight i should have written about my dreams to become the first superhero in the world, to me thats just as predictable as anything else.

                         

Week 5: Wooooo, Groups!

Today we found out what kind of person we are in groups, according to these super accurate totally not psuedo science tests at least, I was a natural leader apparently, which i felt pretty good about until i remebered well hitler was a natural leader, and so was jim jones, and we all know how that ended so it doesnt really mean that much. In reality all it means is it's my job to make sure everyone is doing what they should be doing and heading in the right direction, so i get to sit around bossing people about, this sounds perfect.

week 4: Do i have a tardis?

So apparently i've stepped through some sort of time paradox and been reverted back to the age of a 7 year old today, two of my classmates were made to stand up behind there chairs all lesson for talking, actually made to stand up for a whole lesson. I know this blog is suppsoed to be to reflect on what i've learnt this week, but all i've learnt is that even at nearly 20 its fine to be treat like a kid. I personally found it hilarious, but thats because i wasnt stood up for an hour, scott and jasmine on the other hand, lets just say they werent too happy about it.

Week 3: Or should i say week 0011

As fun as i'm sure this week would have been, i've been unable to enjoy the wonders i would have experienced due to the fact that binary has been so exhilarating, my eyes have been opened to a world of zeros and ones, a world where 10 doesnt actually mean ten, because why would it? It's only going against everything we've ever known as the human race, developing from single celled organisms, dragging ourselves out of the sea, developing legs and eventually evolving all the way to what we have today, thousands upon thousands of years developing language and a number system, which now apparently isnt good enough for everyone.

Week 2: Once more into the breach

So the second week began and once more i set off to tapton all bright eyed and full of enthusiasm, which of course lasted about 5 minutes after i arrived and started Systems Analysis and Design, which is about as interesting as a depressed recluse giving a speech about how his fedora will influence modern society. After somehow making it through that without going into some sort of coma due to lack of brain function, it was time for maths, which suprisingly i was looking forward to since i usually enjoy it. Spoke too soon, binary drained all enjoyment out of maths for me, as though my love of maths was a lemon and binary was a juicer.Yeh i know that doesn't really make sense, but neither does binary, maybe this was all just a clever analogy? Or maybe im just trying to fill the page.
     The next day began and so did Hardware and Networks, where this week i learnt what a computer was, thank god, i didnt know what these magic boxes were up until this point. I feel like im learning such valuable lessons, ones which will help me to climb the ladder of life, well maybe not the ladder of life but maybe the bottom rung at least.

Week 1: Into the Depths we go

During the first week it was less about doing work and more about getting to know everyone on the course, mainly through 'fun' group work, we had to design posters around our knowledge of hardware, networks and operating systems, this was pretty funny due to the fact that certain people didn't seem to have even the most basic knowledge of any of the 3 subjects, why would they? They're only doing a foundation degree in Applied Computing. The first week was interesting due to the fact that the majority of the group seemed to have an allergy to social interaction, making it incredibly hard to get to know 90% of the class, but at least it wasn't a wasted week, there's one thing I definitely learnt, and that's the fact that module handbooks are this courses bible, the holy Quran of Tapton, or at least it seems like they must be since they are mentioned every 2 minutes. Other than that not much else really happened, i'm not sure i can reflect on nodding off after hour upon hour of presentations, though if i did, i would have but one thing to say, and that is that the desks aren't all too comfortable.