After reading Terri'sLab Report, I have to agree with Michelle's comment that getting from Kailua to Downton in 15 minutes is pretty scary. It's hard to imagine how anyone can do it when the Pali is only two lanes wide. I mean I'm no perfect driver myself. I admit that over 90% of the time you can see me going over the speed limit. But when I used to live in Aiea, it would take me more than 15 minutes to get to town even on a good day. Luckily I live in Palolo now and so my commuting time is practically nothing. On top of that I am less stressed.
I think that I am in the minority with Todd when he comments in his lab report when he states that sometimes he thinks that Hawaii drivers are worse than those on the mainland. I agree; sometimes people here are overly cautious here and don't know how to merge onto the freeways. I drove for some time on the east coast and I thought that drivers there were a lot easier to tolerate. I tend to drive pretty fast and I enjoyed driving in the left lane, usually designated as the fast lane. Whenever I would approach someone who was going slower than I was, they would be courteous and move over to the right lane. Here, when you do that, they do the stupdiest thing and slow down even more. I have seen people go 45 mph in the fast lane!!!
After reading a section of Caroline Balatico's file, it seems like I'm not the only one who feels we've spent a lot of time discussing computers. Like her, when I first enrolled in this course, I expected to learn about traffic, not computers. Sure, I have found this experience useful (I don't think I would've taken the initiative to go an get a unix account if we didn't need it), but I have spent a lot of time outside of class as well trying to figure out the system. Over the weeks, it has become a little easier but I still get frustrated at times. This is not the only class that I have but it seems that I spend a lot of time for this course.
I really enjoyed Diane's description of what she calls the Schizophrenic Driver in her section on DSM Categories. I laughed because I have seen the things that she described all the time such as people who think they own the whole road and take up more than one space. I can't stand it, especially in the parking structure when people park right on the line. When are people with Buicks, Lexus' and Cadillacs going to realize that their cars are not compact so why try and squeeze into a small place. I can't stand it. Wake up and smell the coffee!
I have to agree with Shane that Todd is really on it. When I looked at Todd's report, I was amazed at how far ahead he is. I wish I was as diligent about my reports as he is. I guess it's because he commutes from Maui and the amount of time that he has to spend on a computer is limited (am I right Todd?). But I must say, his report is most impressive. Not only is it very detailed, he has very amusing titles (see Isa's Down for example when he refers to her as La Femme Super D'Internet) that sometimes can help when working on the report can get frustrating. All I can say is, Todd, a job well done.
I have to concur with Jae andTodd that Michelle is the pioneer of the internet system. I always look at Michelle's report when I have doubts. She is just so on it. It seems that she puts a lot of effort in to her reports and she seems to have grasped a good understanding of the system. If only we could be so good.
By the way Todd, I noticed that you made a comment in your section regarding Michelle, you said that you ask dumb questions all the time. As an education major, I have to disagree with you on that. To me there is no dumb question. Like they say, if there's any stupid questions, they're the ones that are not asked. I'm sure there are others who want to ask the same question, but everyone is waiting for someone else to ask it. So take heart, questions are not dumb if they're asked. (This is just a side comment and has nothing to do with traffic, but as an education major, I had to add in my two cents).
Speaking of the guru Michelle, she offered some good Advice. Of course, you shouldn't procrastinate, but sometimes it is easier said than done. I also have to agree with her about obtaining a modem if possible. Like her, I have a busy schedule and it's hard to cateraround the Keller computer lab times, so I invested in a modem. It has turned out to be a good investment. As a matter of fact, it is 1:15 in the morning. I couldn't do this if I didn't have the modem. Finally, I agree with asking questions because there's always a chance that some other person in the room is wondering the same thing, so it's good to ask questions.
I think I drive the same way if I've had a bad day like Week 8 Comments
Hard Head
Reading Ryan Fujii's section on My Hard-Headed Self kind of reminds me of myself. I don't like to ask questions. I like to try and figure out things for myself. Sometimes I feel like if I ask questions, then I'm stupid. Of course I've come to realize that this is basically nonsense because in the end all I end up hurting is myself. I agree with Ryan that when you work things out for yourself, you become more confident in your abilities. You get a real sense of accomplishment when you do something all on your own.
Grant discussion on his reasoning processes were similar to what I do when I log on to the computer to do my work. I have to make sure that I have a goal or an objective of getting on. In this case, it's to do my lab reports. If I don't set a goal early on when I get on the computer, I end up looking at and sending e-mail to everyone. Then I would look at the newsreader groups to look at the various topics. Of course another thing that could help is if I didn't procrastinate on doing my lab reports. Oh well, as the saying goes, old habits die hard
Grant also talked about how the skills gained in this course would be useful in the future. Like him, at first I was thinking "Why am I going through all this trouble?" I didn't think that I would have any use for the class after the course was over. But after getting through the initial frustration period (at one point I even thought about dropping the class) and once I started getting help by talking to others and looking at other people's lab reports, I was able to complete my reports relatively easily and now it doesn't take me as long as it used to to complete my tasks. Actually, I have found the internet quite interesting. By far, the most useful thing has been my e-mail enabling me to keep in touch with friends that I have on the mainland as well as people here that I don't see too often. I guess this class is helpful because the world is increasingly becoming more computerized.
I think that I share the same enthusiasm with Allison Asahina about e-mail. Having an e-mail account is another way to keep in touch with people and it's good to get some. It also lets me keep in touch with people on the mainland. I'm not very good at writing letters - to me it's a lot of humbug just mailing the letter. This way it's easier because all I have to do is push a few buttons and the message is sent. And it's faster than the USPS!!