Getting to Know Me

Season's Greetings

2005-12-06T16:47:00.000-08:00

December:
the snow on the ground, The anxiety of a new year to come, tHe fun, The ice cream break in front of the fire place, the kiss under a plant that no one recognizes, the friends that are forever, the smell of warm bread, The songs of cheer, thE feeling that another year has past, the only time for carols, the family that includes the aunt who squeezes your cheeks, the all- night talks with brothers, the drive home that takes forever because you can't wait to get there.
Some of the things that come with December

Conclusions about Blogging

2005-12-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

For the past few months, I have been posting to this website for my English class. I have discovered most recently that blogging has become a popular form of communication. The interesting thing is that it is not really an informational. Although it started that way, it has now become a forum for expressing different ideas and thoughts.

This may be very interesting for some people, but it is not really my thing. I don't really like to know what lots of random people are wrting about; that's what books that have been professionallly published are for. I also do not care for meeting people via Internet for relationships. I think that fine for people who can do that, but I'm just not a big fan. I have however given into this blog website to find old classmates. While it is interesting, it's really just a lazy form of keeping in touch. And I have to admit that I am a memeber, however, its funny because the people who I kept in touch with I will always know, and the others are just more names.

As far was using this medium for communication in the workplace; I think that it would make a great inter-office tool for project groups. They could use it to post ideas and things that need to be done. They could also use it as an interactive calendar to show to clients or partners.

The main disadvantages with using blogging as a form of communication are that there are so many dangers and hundreds or posts. The danger part refers to people posting information that they are not supposed to post. The disadvantage with so many blogs is that if you are trying to look for one in particualr with important imformation, it may take longer than expected.

Santa Already in the Malls

2005-11-20T20:58:00.000-08:00

The issue of Christmas music and Christams shopping came up in a recent conversation. I was discussing the Holidays with and friend and as we walked past Sears, we noticed that there was a line to take pictures with Santa. I couln't believe it. It's not even Thanksgiving yet and the was music and a line for Santa. I was always told that it was bad luck to play Christmas music before Thanksgiving. So, my question is; when are you supposed ot take pictures with Santa?

Catton Historian

2005-11-20T20:49:00.000-08:00

It's a spring day before Easter. The mood and spirit of the people are high. The weather is wonderful. And then, there is the spread of bad news. In this section, Catton paints the picture in Richmond, Virginia of the day the citizens hear the news of the fall of Petersburg.

Catton, Bruce. Never Call Retreat. Garden City New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. 1965.

Ethics With Foxnews

2005-11-13T21:54:00.000-08:00

Every news station has an opinion. There are many facts that they present and the reporters honestly try not to be too partial one way or the other. In this case, the right or left wing partisan issue comes from the way in which the website presents its facts.

These websites want the most amount of hits that they can get. In order to achieve this, they must provide stories with action and issues that can be debated. One of these stories is that of the interview of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. He claims that there was on order from the U.S. for his assassination and that it's the government's fault that the gas prices are so high. Because there are so many strong differing views on this subject, this makes for a good story and the code of ethics to provide facts to all viewers disappears.

Nothing

2005-11-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

I have been typing on my computer for about half an hour now and I realized that the paragraph I wanted to post was not really worth posting. It had no political or intellectual stimulation, and it was not funny or cute. So I decided not to post it but instead to leave you with this thought.

Is tolerance the highest result of education?

Global Business Case

2005-11-06T23:32:00.000-08:00

The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prohibits any sort of bribery. Bribery is not acceptable in the U.S. because it makes for unfair competition and bad business. And while I appreciate the best intentions of our government, we cannot always proceed with the same approach in every country as we do in our own.
This case in particular focuses on an oil company in a developing country. Developing countries around the world have very low economic standards and usually very high amounts of natural resources. We sometimes take advantage of this by offering deals and bribes that help us, the U.S., more than them. Even though these deals (wages, tax breaks, materials, deadlines, shipping documents, etc.) are to our favor; it usually benefits the other country as well. It improves wages and working conditions for workers. It also brings more money into the government that will hopefully spread to the economy. China is the best example of a business situation that was started by breaking the rules. [U.S. policy - no business with communist countries]
The manager in this situation has to make the choice by choosing the lesser of the two evils. The main factor that he should consider is which has a higher value: the company policies or the deadline for the dig. If I were in this situation, I would do a cost analysis and come to the conclusion that paying the local officals would be the best route to take.

Fires in France

2005-11-06T23:16:00.000-08:00

This past week, France has experienced several cases of rioting and disturbance throughout the country. These cases began on Oct 27 and have been linked to the high unemployment rate among the nation's poor immigrants that are youths. They seem to have no particular target, setting schools, shops, cars, churches, and houses afire.

Although this is very distressing news, the problme I have concerns the News and TV stations. This past weekend, more than 30 minutes was spent covering football highlights. While I realize that we are in Texas and football happens to be a big event here, I do not agree with the amount of air time it gets. Other news stations, such as the local Spanish station cover world and American events. Why does it seem as if the English news does not care? The night news is the most watched news and reaches the most people, so why does it seen to have such insignificant stories?

Misleading Articles!!!

2005-10-30T21:16:00.000-08:00

I was reading the San Antonio newspaper this morning and I saw the title of an article that said new Duncan birth. The first few sentences stated that the Duncan's didn't want the public to know about their newborn son and his birthday and weight. Then after getting through two full paragraphs I realized that they weren't talking at all about a newborn, they were talking about the aging Tim Duncan and the only way to beat the Spurs.

I realize that titles and headlines are supposed to be catchy and grab attention, but this one was so misleading that Duncan probably got calls from friends and family asking why they hadn't heard about his marriage or the newborn. They really could have come up with another title that might have been less confusing and more effective.

Chinese advertisements

2005-10-30T21:06:00.000-08:00

I think that some American companies such as McDonald's over step their boundaries in advertising. I'm sure that the sales dropped and that they are very sorry for any offensives that were taken. I don't think that we, as a different society, can say that advertising a certain way is right or wrong. I think that the audience to whom it is intended has to make its conclusion. In this case, they didn't agree, so the company had to apologize.

I think that as a smart business, McDonald's must do more research of their clientele and take surveys to see what the customers want. I also think that this was a very wrong step in the advertising direction, but companies learn the most when it hits them in their pockets and they have to eat the expenses.

Returning phone calls

2005-10-21T17:55:00.000-07:00

In our personal lives, returning phone calls is a judgment issue. The better you know someone, the more likely you are to call them later or earlier than outher individuals. Also, the more likely you are to text message them.

In business, when is it appropriate to call someone after hours? Are we required to tell them at work that we will call them later on that night? Is it proper to call a coworker late at night? And how late is too late; especially when you're trying to get to know them.

Warning Responsibilities

2005-10-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

One of the main objectives for any engineer is to keep the community safe. Safety is very important. So, when writing the technical manuals for such products that can be dangerous or harmful, the technical writers should include warnings. They have a responsibility to the public and to themselves as a professional engineer.
These responsibilities don't end once the job or writing is finished. The person or company should and does follow-ups on their product. They do these follow-ups to ensure that their products are being used correctly and to see how they can improve them.
The user has the responsibility to read the directions or the users manual. Most users do not do this making it very difficult for many manufacturers. This is where the responsibilities conflict. The users sometimes believe that the makers have made their products safe and fool-proof therefore leaving all responsibility to the makers. This takes us to the issue of the stupid warning signs. Writers, have to think of ways in which the users might harm themselves and write a warming about this because of the liability. As it so happens, many users believe that makers should be liable for everything including not making a fool-proof product. I believe that sometimes this is a very bad thing, but on the whole I would have it no other way. Can you imagine how many people would get injured without those silly "no smoking when pumping gas" signs.

Dress Code

2005-10-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

Is it fair that women get to wear skirts to work and guys don't get to wear shorts? Would it be acceptable for males to wear skirts in the workplace? I don't think that it would. This makes me wonder, why is it acceptable for women to wear skirts on the workplace. Is this something that has femininity written all over it? I am asking this because in a recent interview, I was advised to wear a skirt because it looked less intimidating and stiff. It just really made me wonder why someone would think that I am less intimidating just because I am in a skirt.

Accountability

2005-10-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

I think that this project and groups projects in general here at school are very different from work settings. First of all, this project has been misunderstood by many of the people in the class and needs much clarification. Secondly, everyone has a different schedule which makes it very difficult to meet at "normal business hours." Whereas, if we were working for a firm on a project, everyone would be one the same schedule and the routine would not vary drastically.

That being said, I do feel that everyone in the group has a moral responsibility to the group and to the project. Communication is the key and the break down of it can be very detrimental to the group. Other things that cause resentment are unclear deadlines. If one person thinks the deadline is in a few weeks rather than a certain date, they will be tempted to postpone the project. Other things that the all members of the group are accountable for include all results and consequences, good or bad, of the project. If your name goes on it, then it's also your fault.

Distributing Confidential Surveys

2005-10-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

Many companies have their clients fill out surveys before opening an account. Most of these surveys have the boxes that ask you to mark them if you do not want them distributed. The problem with this is that some people are so anxious to open their account that they only fill out what is highlighted. This leads to the mass distribution of personal information. I would like to know how other people feel about this topic because I know that I do not like it when I get a letter or call about some item and the sales representative knows all my information.

Forwarding Pains

2005-10-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

In the past week I had over 20 emails that were forwarded to me. I have to say that, some of them were informative, and others, well, I asked to be taken off the list. In my opinion, forwarding can be a very useful tool and at the same time very painful. You have this great technology, in which you can send information to a lot of people, and at the same time, you have a technology that can be very harmful. Forwarding and replying to everyone is good when there is information that everyone should and needs to know. That's the extent to which I believe that forwarding can be used. It should not be used to take surveys, to respond to emails, to discuss business, or even to send chain letters. This type of communication should be used sparsely and with caution. Many forwards contain viruses, trojans, or even spyware. To respond to the specific cases of A and B, I will start by saying that both individuals were inconsiderate. The accountant should have informed her client about the sharing of information because that is sensitive material and he or she could really lose the trust that their business is based on. Also, someone else, to whom the information was not intended, could get the it and use it for their own interests. In the second case, I believe that it is completely inappropriate to talk about group partners behind their backs to other partners while working on a project. If there are any complaints, they should be taken to that person or written in the evaluation, but not during an important project in which that partners have to depend on each other. There should definitely be a code against forwarding personal information. Also, only a select few, such as managers, should have the power to mass email information. All other conversations should be kept between the individuals online or in person.

Sexual Harassment Still Going On

2005-10-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

I'm about to graduate and all I can think about is the working environment. I've always heard that it's tough for female engineers in the field because there are so few of us. So clients and coworkers don't really take us seriously. And they make offensive jokes but are not reprimanded. It didn't really hit me until this year when I entered my upper level classes and am the only girl in two of them. There's a lot of testosterone in the room and the whole atmosphere changes when I walk in; almost like I missed something. It's kind of intimidating, and I've got to admit, there are times when I feel as if I don't really belong.
Last week I saw an interview on Oprah about this woman who quit her job as a flight control agent. She said that the harassment became so horrible that she feared for her life and is no longer working there. I have heard other instances in which my female friends tell me that it's just not fair and that society makes it hard and sometimes impossible to get further in the field. I get very discouraged because, even though it is getting better, I don't believe that it will ever be the same. The amount of respect for a man and a woman in the work place will always be different.

Private vs. Job

2005-10-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

The amount of information that I can get on the Internet is frightening. I can get private addresses and phone numbers, pictures of neighborhoods, and tons or other very personal information. I know this and most of the other millions of Internet users know this too. That is why so many of us invest in Spyware and do not post personal information. So, when discussing the issue of blogging about the work place or about private life, we should remember that anything on the Internet is fair game as far as information is concerned. I don't think that it would be out of a company's jurisdiction to fire an employee for posting inappropriate comments about work or what they do outside of work. Some companies have a private policy that you cannot talk about the job. Other companies have a conduct policy that applies on and off the job. There are just certain things that employees and employers should not post to the public. The rule of thumb is that if there's a question, then it's not appropriate and if your dad can't read it, then it's out too.

Introduction

2005-09-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hi,
My name is Jasmin Zambrano. I'm a little frustrated right now because it has taken me forever to figure out this program. Ok, deep breaths.
I transferred to Texas A&M last spring from WPI in Massachusetts and it has been awesome so far! I'm from San Antonio, and I love Texas. I did study abroad in Germany over the summer and am convinced that it should be mandatory. Right now I am majoring in electrical engineering but am switching to biological systems engineering because that is closer to what I want to do. I am expecting to graduate in December of 2006! A A A Whoop! I look forward to meeting you guys.

Adios,
Jasmin