Angelos Assignment #3

http://www.osnews.com/story/24109/4chan_Hits_PayPal_MasterCard_Others_for_WikiLeaks_Snubs
There has been a lot of talk lately about Wikileaks, a website that obtains and posts information that would usually otherwise be unobtainable for the average person to get a hold of. The site made quite a stir recently when it began to release the first of thousands of leaked confidential documents that included communication between the U.S. State Department and embassies from around the world. The site’s spokesperson, Australian journalist Julian Assange, has received both praise and criticism ranging from awards to placement on wanted lists and even calls for his death. On some parts of the internet he is championed as a hero for free speech and the rights of the people. It was on one of these sites, 4chan, that a group called Anonymous originated.


In light of recent events, there have been a number of companies that cut WikiLeaks off from making use of their services. Anonymous didn’t take kindly to this and retaliated in a way only web users can. They launched several maneuvers known as DDOS (distributed denial of service) attacks, designed to flood the bandwidth of particular servers and force the offending sites offline. Among the websites affected were Visa.com and Paypal.


The purpose of this post, however, is not to discuss the ethics of Wikileaks or to explore whether or not the site should be shut down. Instead, it is merely a recent example of what a group of strangers from across the globe can do when they feel like they have been wronged. People who live thousands of miles apart and have never met join together against a common foe to drive home a point that they want to make.


This isn’t the first time that a group of internet users have pulled together to intervene in the events of the “real world.” While the attacks mentioned in the article above are obviously an inconvenience for many people, organized internet activities are sometimes helpful rather than harmful. One story of cyber do-gooders that made news around the country occurred in February of 2009, when members of 4chan tracked down the name and address of a boy who uploaded a video of himself torturing a cat (http://www.inquisitr.com/18170/4chan-b-goes-after-cat-abusers-wins/). The abuser was arrested and a new home was found for the feline victim.


This is the information age. Anyone can become a minor celebrity with a little bit of time and luck, though it sometimes happens without their approval or even their knowledge. It’s astounding what one person can do with access to the right tools and, quite frankly, that makes the internet both a scary place and an amazing place. It seems funny to me that the anonymity the web provides often has one of two effects on people: they either use it as a mask to act out without consequence, or they use it to perform genuine random acts of kindness. It is good to know, though, that users don’t only use their power for evil deeds. It’s encouraging to hear that, though anonymous, there are still some people who care about affecting the world in a positive way.

Angelos Assignment #2

“Indecision is the graveyard of good intentions.” Unfortunately, the author of this quote isn’t known. Even so, it does a great job of summing up one of the main problems with indecision. Going out to eat with a group of friends might be a great idea and an opportunity to make some fun memories, but if nobody has an opinion as to where they’d like to go, it’s off to the graveyard with that plan.

As I was trudging along the foggy path that winds through the tombstones of things like computers, books, pets, Disneyland, design, and video games, I suddenly (and unexpectedly) found myself at the exit of the cemetery and plunged onto the road. Instead of thinking about writing, why not write about thinking?

Thinking fascinates me. I find the power of the brain phenomenal and think that it’s amazing how we can recreate sights, sounds, and even smells within our mind. The phantoms of these senses can be made real on an invisible, personal level despite a blank or contrary atmosphere. Thoughts can make us physically ill or sublimely happy. They can allow us to escape our surroundings or zero in on the most trivial details. Our brain can, in mere seconds, tell a story that it would take our mouths several minutes to tell. The possibilities of the mind astound me and show how complex and intricately designed God’s creation can be. Whether we’re daydreaming or trying to solve a math problem, thinking is a constant process that, in a funny twist of fate, is seldom given the thought it deserves.

Included in the Minutes of Tonight's Meeting

While doing homework late at night
I hear a noise; I'm gripped with fright.
Could it be burglars, goblins, or crooks?
It's not. The cat just knocked over some books.

Angelos Assignment #1

It’s going to happen to you too, you know. That smack in the face called senior year. Love it or hate it, it means change. Granted, the changes aren’t the same for everyone; each person will have a different experience. An important thing to remember is that you can’t assume that you know how your life is going to be affected by it.

I think it’s safe to say that a fairly typical reaction to your final year is college is a feeling of excitement mixed with apprehension. It’s uncommon for someone to know exactly what is going to happen after they graduate, and that thought can be a rather daunting one. On the other hand, the wide range of possibilities and the chance to create a new life for yourself awakens a sense of adventure in the mind of someone who has been following the same general routine of college life for a few years prior, and the general routine of school life for years before that.

It’s also at this time that you are able to look back and evaluate how you’ve spent in your years as a college student. You notice the things you could have done differently and recognize the events that have molded and shaped you. The things that stand out at the end of it all might not be the things you’d think them to be. For me personally, this year is when I realized there were a lot of things I might miss out on if I didn’t get my act together and actively seek to get more involved on campus. This is one of the reasons I decided to work on Angelos this year – it provides some great opportunities to get connected. A few words of advice to the young’ns out there:

1.      Want to learn. That’s why you came to a university, isn’t it? This doesn’t mean you have to live in the library and have no social life, it just means that finding a balance is important. Try to retain what you learn from your classes and really strive to acquire the knowledge that’s out there waiting for you.

2.      Explore the campus. There are all sorts of nooks and crannies tucked away in the various areas of CBU. You might find a new spot you can escape to the next time your roommates get a little too crazy while you’re trying to study.

3.      Get to know your professors. They love it when students show a genuine interest in what they’re teaching, and if you establish a good relationship with them they can help you out with other classes once you’ve moved on.

4.      Keep in touch. I know you get busier as the year goes on, but it’s sad to see friends grow apart once they stop seeing you every other day in class or stop being your next-door neighbor.

5.      Enjoy it while it lasts. The food, the events, the perks, the discounts, the community, everything. Don’t take it for granted. Make the most of your time here and treasure the memories you make. College years are a unique time in your life and it’d be a shame to waste them.