Final Presentations

After watching four days of presentations, I have come to the conclusion of some of my favorites. I really liked the New York tour as well as the tour of Portland, however, I thought that this would have been a harder project to accomplish. How do you write a 4 page paper on the expanded definition of a night out in Portland?
It was also interesting to listen to the different class mates share their passions and interests. You were able to tell which people picked a topic that they were comfortable with and understood. The snowboarding and genealogy presentations were great examples of ones that were created with a previous love of the subject matter.
Overall, the last couple days of class were really entertaining.

The Tyranny Of Choice

The article The Tyranny of Choice, by Barry Schwartz, handed out in class is about the process of making decisions and the outcome off those decisions. Theoretically, people believe that more is better. However, psychologically thinking the opposite is most likely true.
Researchers have discovered that the increase in choice has actually influence a decrease in the well-being of people in the United States. The people within the resulting information were then split up into two different groups: the “maximizers” and the “satisficers.” A maximizer is someone who always aims to make the best possible choice, while a satisficer is ok with “good enough.”
A maximizer then becomes a person that goes into much detail and research to make the right decision for themselves. These people will spend much time and effort checking labels, reading consumer reports, and trying out new products. The downside of being a maximizer is the daunting feeling after making the decision, the “did I make the right choice” thought. As a result of further testing, maximizers experience less satisfaction with life and were less happy than others.

My Final Report

Putting together my final report was very enjoyable. I had a lot of fun creating and researching this project. I chose something that I was passionate about and this only added to my current yearn to play again. Softball is something that will always be a part of my life and this paper is just another addition to that legacy.
Giving the oral presentation was something of a different story. I really do not like giving presentations, they make me really nervous. Which is something that is really ironic coming from a head cheerleader!

Working on the Process Papers

So far, working on the papers has been actually enjoyable. As some one who still feels a little unsure about their writing, I feel that this project is actually helping to insure my confidence in my writing. With the subject that I chose, softball, I am able to use a lot of my own thoughts and really write from the heart. Softball was a huge part of my life, I have been playing over half of my life. It does help to have the feedback from the other students at the table, plus you get to learn something about what they have been writing about.

Free Write - Parents

Well, lets see, my mother at age 23 would be year 1975. It must have been cool to be old enough to really experience the seventies. Hearing the Beatles on the radio (not on the oldies station), being apart of one of the most interesting times in the history of the US. I believe at this time she was living in Colorado, going to Colorado State or just freshly graduated.
The differences between what I am doing today and what she would have been doing then are summed up by the process in which I am writing this blog. I doubt she is even aware of the concept of a blog today. I don't think personal computers were even that readily available in those days, let alone the Internet. She may have written in a diary or journal for class, which would be the only thing that would be comparable to blogging.
She would be wearing bell bottoms, re-sewn super tight. She said that you had to have help getting into your pants or have them sewn on. The hippie look was pretty much rocked by my mom and her two sisters (one of which would have been freshly back from Woodstock). I do remember her saying that she had to wear skirts to school, but I think that was more of a high school thing.

Ode to a Sandwich

In writing the peanut butter and jelly sandwich instructions it was pretty simple and straight forward. Our table group seemed to be very ambivalent about what part they wanted to write; I did the introduction, Janine did the step-by-step, Jake wrote the conclusion, and Preston was the copy editor. Writing the different parts were pretty easy, thank god for the Internet and email. The time frame was a little tight, we just barely had enough time to get everything done. The only problem that I felt we had was issue of what was the final product that we turned in. Some of the editing that was done I don't believe was necessary and many of the simple things were missed. There was too much focus on changing everything that was already written rather than checking for commas and other grammatical errors. Also, the attitude was not input friendly.

Crocodile Creek

Our group decided that Shelia was the innocent one of the group. She was just trying to make some money. Jim came next, he was the one getting cheated on. Followed by Mary, the cheater, and Ted who almost tie as the worst person in the story. Mary agreed to have sex with Ted for money, even though she was with Ted. And Ted was the sick pervert that wanted to pay for sex with Mary.
Persuasion can be a powerful thing. Especially for someone who is not very confident with making decisions or even with themselves. The ability to convince someone to do something that they do not want to do is manipulation. Where does the line form between manipulation and persuasion? I personally think that line is very blurred.