4/28/15

Read THIS blog post by a teacher. I mean actually read it. Take it in. Think about it. And then, write about it. What do you think about it? What is the teacher trying to say? In your own words explain what "the main event" is.

I think that it is an interesting point of view to contend that the main event of learning is not actually the learning but rather the learning experiences that you have in the form of dealing with problems and figuring out how to live life from a young age. The teacher is saying that people put unneeded stress on themselves and also put unneeded emphasis on the math and reading aspects of school, rather the focus should be on the actual problem solving skills that you are gaining in the process. He states that kids need to start making decisions that are mature and that are bettering their lives, instead of skipping class and acting as though their education does not truly matter in the long run, which it certainly does. The main event, as stated by the author of this blog post, is dealing and overcoming adversity and being able to get over the obstacles that are inherent in a high school education.

4-14-15

3 day weekend... how was it? Give me a good story or something funny that happened this weekend. Go.

My weekend was quite enjoyable mainly because I just didn't do much the entire time. On Saturday I had solo and ensemble festival at Olathe South and I received a 1 on my solo which mans that I advance to state with it. Also on Saturday my friends and I took an adventure down to Olathe to visit a Mexican bakery and grocery store for our spanish project. I bought some pastries and a mexican soda and when I went to look for a bottle opener, a man behind me took my bottle and opened it by smashing it against the counter. It was literally the greatest thing I have ever seen. The rest of my weekend was filled with  watching TV and movies and reading.

4-9-15

Do you agree or disagree with this statement. Elaborate on why you agree of disagree.

If images are on the internet they should be "free game".


In my opinion if an image is on the internet, it is still the property of whoever owns the image because the internet is no more than an online marketplace that is accessible to the world. This means that others should not be able to sell images that do not belong to them; they should not be able to use the image to garner profit or sales such as in an advertisement. However I do believe that students or people who do not intend to make a profit with the use of images should be able to use images without worry or charge because it is strictly educational. By citing the image and following proper citations and sourcing, people should be able to use these images for free.

4-7-15

Reflection

I felt that my resume website was actually quite good other than the obvious shortcoming of the cobras on each page. I understand that this design was not super professional but I still did like the inclusion of it in my website because it added a nice creative and fun element to my page. Based on the other websites I saw, my functionality was above average but my design could have included some more color and excitement. Overall, I feel that my resume website served its purpose, conveying important information in an organized manner while still remaining accessible for the viewer. If I were to redo the website I would certainly rethink the design of the page as a whole, possibly using cleaner design elements and going for the professional feel that was intended.

As far as skills are concerned, I would like to branch out a little more because it feels as though we are working on the same skills over and over again with css and html code. Although we did use Photoshop this time, I would like to begin learning some newer skills that would contribute to creating a more professional cohesive website. Other than this request, I think that the skills we have learnt are well developed and I am now understanding the basics of website development.

3-24-15

Define 'User Experience'. What does it mean and how does it relate to web design? Explain yourself.

User experience, especially in the context of web design, relates to how a web site makes the visitor or user feel and how they react to the website as a whole. Specifically this user experience is achieved through pleasant color schemes, organized layouts, and easy to use controls on a website, all of which make the user more happy with his experience with the website. User experience is the single most important aspect of a website because in the end, a website is meant to please its user, thus user experience is key.

3-10-15

Who do you look up to in your life? Why do you look up to them? Tell me about them and some of their characteristics that you admire.

I look up to my father and mother as the utmost role models in my life. There are many reasons for this choice from their constantly taking care of me to their virtues, but beyond all else, I look up to my parents because they sacrificed everything by coming to America to give my brother and I the best opportunities. They are compassionate, brave, and disciplined, not tolerating mediocrity out of us o even themselves. To my parents, education is the most important asset in the world, therefore this value system passed on to me. My parents are great role models and I strive to be like them.

3-9-15

Tell me about your weekend.
My weekend was pretty eventful, largely due to relay for life on Friday and Saturday. Although i was really tired when I was done with the event, especially because I was running around trying to fix problems that arose throughout the night. After sleeping for eight hours until 3:00 PM I finally woke up and then went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. This weekend was a really great one: great weather, great relaxation, and a great cause.

 

3-6-15

If you were the Principal for a week at BVHS, what would that look like? What changes would you make? Why?

If I were principal for a week, I would just try to emulate the greatness that is Mr. Bacon. Honestly, Mr. Bacon is by far the best principal ever so being principal for a week would just be Bacon for a week. I would make a change to the bell schedule though and I would switch to an all-block schedule so that we would have less homework every day.

3-1-15

Tell me about your weekend.

I spent the weekend in Wichita for the All-State band performance. All in all it was a great weekend in which I spent day after day playing music and meeting interesting people. However, we had around 6 hours of rehearsal each day which became really tiresome mentally and physically. Our conductor was actually the composer of two of the pieces we played which was very exciting. Overall, a great weekend.

2-23-15

Tell me about your weekend. Give me a story, something funny that happened, an experiencing you had, the way you felt, etc. Include photos!

This weekend I went to a forensics tournament at Shawnee Mission South. The tournament was absolutely miserable because it was delayed close to two hours and only ended around 5:00 P.M. Additionally, being short on judges, the tournament was poorly run and really put a damper on my weekend. However, my Sunday was much more enjoyable because I watched Parks and Rec nonstop for almost three hours. Overall, a decent weekend for me.

2-20-15

In an ideal school situation, there would be no prerequisites to graduate, rather I would be able to focus solely on the classes and courses that I want to take.  Additionally, I would only take economics and international relations courses along with advanced math to solidify my economics abilities. During class, I would spend the whole hour listening to lectures and looking at case studies to get hands on experience.

2-19-15

Copy and paste these over to your blog and tell me a little about yourself. If you have a picture or two that might represent one of your answers make sure to include it.

My favorite food: Malai Kofta (Type of Indian food)
Foods I'd like to avoid: Eggplant, Squash, and Green Beans
My favorite things to learn: Economics and International Relations
My favorite color: Mint green
My best friends are: Funk, Gorthy, Hahn, Laverentz, Rajasingh
My favorite games to play: Halo, Fifa, and Tradewinds
My favorite books: Ender's Game,The Namesake, Life of Pi
My favorite movies or TV shows: Breaking Bad, Suits, The West Wing, Gran Torino, Fight Club, Good Will Hunting
My favorite holiday: Diwali
Things I do well: School
Things I need to practice more: Music
My favorite place to go: India
My favorite family activities: Playing board games, and eating dinner together
My favorite thing to do outside: Tennis
My favorite chore: Vacuuming
My least favorite chore: Dishes
What I want to be when I grow up: Lawyer or Investment banker
A place I want to visit: Morocco
My favorite part of the year: Winter break
My favorite part of each day: When I go to sleep

2-17-15

Color can convey a lot of emotion when it comes to designing anything from a product to a website to an advertisement to a logo and so much more. What do you think the importance of colors on a website are? What is a color scheme and why is it important to have when designing? Explain any thoughts you might have around color in design.

I think that color scheme is very important in a web site because it is the first impression that a viewer receives. Not only does color beautify a web site but it can also convey meaning and purpose of the page as a whole. For example, a chocolate or bakery website could convey their products through a neutral or earth toned websites. Color is what ensures that a website makes sense as a a cohesive page, creating a great final product for the viewer.

2-10-15

Think about the quote above. What does this mean to you? How could this apply to your life? How could this apply to your school work (especially Web Design!)?  I would love to give you less work in class if it meant you were going to focus harder on the work. Do you think you would get more out of it? Would that work for you? Why or why not?

To me the quote above is a very idealistic view on society, one hat will likely never be achieved. With the thousands of distractions appearing in the modern world, it is extremely difficult to focus completely on one task or idea for prolonged periods of time. Instead, our world has now morphed into a place in which people try to do more with less focus, a practice that is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, with focus becoming so difficult to attain, being able to get more things done with less focus is a skill that will become valuable in coming years. However, the disadvantages of this practice exist as well. For example, not having complete focus means that difficult tasks such as music and philosophy will become scarce. Personally, having more focus and doing less would not work for me because I prefer breadth over depth in my learning, especially in school. 

2-9-15

Tell me all about your weekend! I sure hope you have photos to share.

This weekend was filled with a lot of work, for school and in general. On Friday I had to go to the girls' basketball game in order to play for band, and the game was really exciting, coming down to the final seconds of the game. After the game I hung out with some friends and we tried watching Silver Linings Playbook, which got boring quickly. On Saturday and Sunday I did not do much aside from simply working on homework and scholarship applications, which thankfully are now complete.

2-6-15

What's the coolest thing you've learned in this class so far this year? Now that you have a little knowledge, what do you want to learn that you don't know how to do yet?

The coolest thing I have learned so far in this class is the CSS Stylesheet layouts and setup. By knowing how to do this I have been able to learn how to design a website and add interesting aspects to the website itself. Additionally. this has allowed me add to the existing frame that html code provides. One thing that I would like to learn about is how to create a website with a search ability and also how to create a website with fill-in-the-blank abilities.

2-2-15

Tell me all about your Sweetheart weekend (even if you sat at home on the couch!). Include photos!

My weekend was pretty uneventful aside from the super bowl. On Saturday I had to come in early to school to set up for sweetheart because of  student council, which was actually somewhat enjoyable because it turned out well. Then after spending time with some friends on Saturday night, I had to go clean up after the dance as well. On Sunday my friends and I got together to watch the super bowl which was one of the best games I have seen in a long time. We decided to get pizza and then realized that he streets were in bad shape so we almost crashed on the way, but it was worth it for the pizza we got. Overall, a pretty good weekend.

1-29-15

What is a website wireframe? Explain. If you don't know what it is, look it up. Find an image online to place on your blog that represents a website wireframe and how they work.

A website wireframe is analogous to the blueprint of a building. It provides the basic layout and structure of the website and acts as a reference for how the website will appear after it has been completed and filled out.  Often times wireframes are created by software developers or website developers to show their clients what the final product will look like. Additionally, wireframes can help maximize efficiency of websites by allowing creators to try various layouts and see which one is the most appealing and practical.

1-27-15

Finish this sentence "10 years from now I will be...."

A law school graduate settled in a top ten law firm in New York. I will be on my way home to a loft overlooking central park that I recently bought for way too much money. I will possibly also be married, but hopefully not to someone who is irritating.

1-26-15

Tell me about your weekend. Go.

I finally did not have anything to do on a Saturday this weekend so I was able to stay at home and catch up on sleep and homework. I had a recharging weekend and I really enjoyed being able to spend time with my family as well. On Sunday I had my Princeton college interview downtown at the Stinson law firm. The interview itself went really well and I hope that it helped my chances of admission to the university.

1-23-15

Kids these days have no respect for their elders, instead of cowering in fear at their parents' words these kids talk back. If I had talked back to my parents, they would have beat me sideways until I could not sit for weeks. Also, kids these days have a sense of entitlement, they think that they deserve everything they have and constantly want more, claiming that if they don't get it, it is "unfair." Get over yourselves. I used to mow lawns for months to save up so I could buy my Big Wheel. Kids these days just need to change because the future looks bleak.

1-22-15

What do you find the most confusing and frustrating part of web design and HTML code so far? What would make it easier? What don't you understand? What do you understand? Explain yourself.

In my opinion,the most frustrating aspect of coding is remembering the minute details of creating items such as links. After a while it becomes difficult to keep track of every step that we have learned thus far and therefore the coding takes a longer time. To make this easier we could have a table or reference page of various coding steps so that we could easily remember these items. Other than this I understand all of the material that we have covered so far in this class.

1-20-15

This weekend I went to Derby, Kansas for State Debate, After three days of hard word we took 2nd place in four speaker debate as team, which is a good accomplishment but is still disappointing because we won last year.  Aside from this I just tried to catch up on sleep for the rest of weekend.

1-16-15

I am very active in the Blue Valley community as far as activities and clubs are concerned. Specifically I am in Student Council, Debate, Forensics, Band, Kay Club, Tennis, and Relay for Life to name a few. As  a senior now, my favorite class is definitely AP Government with Mr. Mowry. More than anything, I am excited to graduate.

1/15/15

Always remember to look before you step
Beware of random hairs on your backpack
Call your parents when you are in college
Dominate every competition
Elephants are the best animals
Find your passion and follow it
Get it together
Hello can make someone's day
I can get irritated quickly
Jump over cracks in the sidewalk
Kites can make a Sunday a funday
Lollipops are the best part of going to the doctor's
Mother's day is important
Names are worth remembering
Overland Park is a great place to grow up
Prakash is going to be a famous name someday
Quitting is sometimes acceptable
Rainy days are meant for reading
Stop judging others
The easiest way to make enemies is by gossiping
Under thinking decisions is much worse than over-thinking
 V for vendetta is a great movie
Watermelon is a pleasing summertime snack
You are really not that important
Zoos are my favorite places to spend a weekend

1/13/15

What are your thoughts on this class so far? Easy? Hard? Informative? Frustrating? What have you learned so far? What do you want to learn? Explain yourself.

So far I have found this class to be decently informative, although many of the skills we are learning this far are things that I already knew how to do. However, learning how to perform basic coding has been an interesting experience that has opened my eyes to the world of computer science, giving an interest in learning actual code in the future. The basic tasks that we have performed have been pretty easy, but as we progress through code academy the lessons have gotten more and more challenging. By the end of this class, I hope to learn how to actually design a website, beyond the simple design of a blogger blog. Additionally, I hope to learn how to set up a personal domain, something that will be useful in the future. Web design has been an interesting experience and my only complaint is that simply working on code academy for prolonged periods can be tedious, but overall I am satisfied with the class.

1/12/15

Tell me about your weekend. What did you do? Upload a photo to your Google Drive and then insert the photo (or photos!) to your blog post to show me what all you did.

Unfortunately my weekend was pleasant because I had to wake up before dawn (4:15 A.M.) in order to get on a bus and drive to Salina, Kansas for All-State band auditions. After a three-hour drive I found myself in Salina, a city that is drastically different from Overland Park. Although my morning was not enjoyable, the rest of my day went smoothly with my audition going well and the Ravens losing in the playoffs. While I was going to lunch in Salina, I had an interesting experience. At Subway a man suddenly began talking to my friends and I asking us numerous questions about where we were from, how old we were, and then launching into a tangent about his favorite music. I was definitely confused by this man but in retrospect it added some excitement to my day. As a whole, my weekend was interesting and eventful.

 

1/9/15

Playing Settlers of Catan: A
Waiting on others: C-
Speaking in front of crowds: A
Growing constantly: A
Creating blogs: A
Paying attention in math class: C
Test taking: A
Remembering the date: F

1/8/15

Read this small newspaper clipping and then write a blog post about it. What are your thoughts? How does it make you feel? Do you agree? Disagree? Explain yourself.

Although the judge mentioned in the clipping presents a cohesive argument that is valid and is based on his personal experiences, the article itself presents too idealistic of an image of what a teenager should be. In my opinion teenagers should go out into the world and attempt to make a difference instead of simply waiting for others to help them achieve goals, however I also believe that as adolescents, teenagers should still receive help from others. Without the support and guidance of adults, teenagers' actions are often wrongheaded and lead to consequences. The judge presents an extreme ideology, one that I can partially agree with but also one that needs to be more grounded in reality.