Be Careful Of What You Post on Facebook

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is get online and check my email.  After seeing that there are no new messages my next click is to Facebook to see if I received any new notifications, friend requests or messages.  Facebook has been a big proponent in the way I do my morning routines.  But I have never thought that Facebook could be a roadblock to finding a job.  Because of the popularity of social networking, more than 400 million active users are on Facebook and potential employers use the website to track and see what their applicants are all about.

A recent survey commissioned by Microsoft found that 70 percent of recruiters and hiring managers in the United States have rejected an applicant based on information they found online.  But what kind of information?  “Inappropriate” comments by the candidate; “unsuitable” photos and videos; criticisms of previous employers, co-workers, or clients; and even inappropriate comments by friends and relatives, according to the survey report, titled “Online Reputation in a Connected World.”

So are we to delete our Facebook accounts and not have the risk of being “eliminated” in the eyes of the employer?

People are simply making their Facebook pages hidden from potential employers by changing their names on Facebook while looking for a job.  Students across the country are using an alias to keep their personal life from being looked at.  It is understanding that employers will look at someone’s Facebook page to try and paint a bigger picture of the person they might be hiring.  Some of the reasons that potential clients hid their pages is because of the content that might appear on their accounts.  For example, many of my friends take a lot of pictures and they normally “tag” the people in the pictures without telling them ahead of time.  These pictures could have you holding a plastic cup, that may not have any alcohol and may look as innocent as baby kittens.  But to the employer who might be interested in hiring, it says that you are a party animal who just wants to have fun and not take things seriously.

These days social media and job search go hand in hand.  Of course the age old knock on the door and “are you hiring?” scenario is still out there but many people favor job search via networking and making use of online job search sites.

Over the years networking platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn have become a must for job seekers.  If you aren’t on the web, at times it’s almost impossible to secure a job.  However, some people seem to keep forgetting that social media if not utilized properly can hurt your job search and can lead to job loss.

Of course, when you have a Facebook account it’s your personal account.  However, it depends how you are using it.  Are you using it to simply connect with your friends and family or are you using it to connect with professionals?  Before you go ahead and utilize the power of free speech on Facebook or any other social media platforms make sure you watch what you are saying.  Social media has given us tremendous amount of power in terms of job search but it has also made everything we do much more vulnerable.  The saying “choose your words carefully” might be true now than ever before.  Just make sure before you publish anything on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or anywhere else, you haven’t friended one of your colleagues or bosses before you make a rude remark about them.  And even if they are not your friends, there are still ways things can get out, so at times it’s best to keep it yourself. Just cause social media is about transparency doesn’t mean you have to be transparent in everything you do.  Transparency comes with a cost, in some case it’s you giving your own privacy and in some case losing a job.

AP Stylebook Changes “Web site” to “website”

Being a journalism major, the only book that I have really used is my AP Stylebook.  The Stylebook contains everything a journalist needs and then some.  With the announcement that the Associated Press has changed the spelling of “web site” to “website” may not seem like a big deal but writing a tech blog the term comes up more often than not.  Anyways I thought it was interesting to point out.  Maybe one day they will change more popular tech terms, such as changing “e-mail” to “email.”  *Fingers cross*

Mac or PC?

I have had my Dell laptop for the past 4 years and I am now in the process of upgrading to a newer computer.  My number one dilemma is whether I want to purchase a 13 inch Macbook Pro or another PC computer.

I used to hate Macs.  I could not look at a Mac without utter disgust because I thought that people were buying them for just the “brand” of Apple and not taking into consideration what other computers can do the same as a Mac but for cheaper.

It wasn’t until I started attending school at UH when I realized that Macs are not as bad as I thought.  They were in fact very useful and to say the least, fun to use.  I transferred to UH my sophomore year and being a communications major, I was constantly at the Comm Lab doing work.  The Comm Lab was renovated a couple of years ago and the entire lab was fitted with brand new Macs.  It was basically transformed into the Apple Store.

Over these past couple of years I have turned my disgust for Macs into a respect.  Macs are capable machines and they do their job.  The design graphics of a Mac are stunning and beautiful to look at and it is evident to see why so many people have purchased a Mac.  I have asked numerous people about how they feel about Macs and the majority of them have had positive things to say.  There are a few who won’t jump on the Mac bandwagon and are die-hard PC people.

With the release of Windows 7, personalization and customization has been at an all time high.  Microsoft founder Bill Gates suggested that this version of Windows would be more “user-centric”, in an interview with Newsweek.  Gates later said that Windows 7 would also focus on performance improvements.  Some of the new features included in Windows 7 are advancements in touch, speech, and handwriting recognition, support for virtual hard disks, support for additional file formats, improved performance on multi-core processors, improved boot performance, and kernel improvements.

With the release of the new 13.3” Macbook Pro, Apple has made the notebook playing field tilt in their favor.  One of the biggest drawbacks that Apple had was the fact that there was no SD card slot on their Macbooks.  This edition of the popular notebook has added the card slot and has a battery life that boasts up to 10 hours of continuous playback.  That is a major upgrade to the 2 hour battery life of my Dell laptop.  And another positive is that Apple has lowered the starting price to about $1100 for the basic model Macbook Pro.

The other computer that I have been eying is the Asus U30Jc-A1.  This is a 13.3” notebook that is compared to the Macbook Pro that runs Microsoft’s Win 7.  It supports all the functionality of a Macbook and offers about the same battery life.  The one major difference is price.  Asus has made its model notebook available at a price of $899.  One thing that the Mac allows is that it can run Windows 7 while a PC does not allow the user to run Mac’s OS (operating system).  Macs allow the user to use Windows 7 and performance is on par with that of a regular PC.

Now back to the question at hand, Mac or PC?  Basically it comes down to preference.  Both notebooks are worthy of purchase and both offer similar specifications.  Price is always an issue but it won’t be the deciding issue when it comes down to buying either products.  Maybe one day, there will be a super computer that will offer both aspects of a Mac and PC that will make this debate of Mac vs.  PC come to an ultimate rest.

OpenOffice vs. Microsoft Office

Why spend so much money for Microsoft Office when you can get the basic functions of Office in OpenOffice?

When buying a computer, the software that normally comes with the package is Microsoft Office.  But there are some computers that do not come with the software.  What are we to do when our computers don’t come with the latest version of Office?

OpenOffice is an open-source software application suite that is made available for a number of different computer operating systems.

The biggest pro of OpenOffice is the fact that it is, wait for it…FREE!  OpenOffice is distributed as free software and can be downloaded right onto your computer in a matter of minutes.

I have used Microsoft Office ever since I can remember and I always thought to myself that Office comes with every computer that you buy.  It was not until I entered college when I realized that Microsoft Office was not cheap.  It was really expensive.

During my sophomore year, I began taking a class which required the use of the newest version of Office 2007.  I was still using Office XP, which was released in conjunction with Windows XP.

Realizing how expensive the software was, I tried to get it illegally by downloading a copy of Microsoft Office 2007.  Being naive about the whole situation, my computer got a virus and my whole system crashed.

About a year ago I purchased a netbook that I could take to class instead of using my clunky and heavy laptop that I use at home.  The netbook came with a trial of Microsoft Office and after the trial ended it gave you the option to renew the product for a price.  Knowing the OpenOffice is readily available for free download, I ignored Microsoft’s product and went with OpenOffice.

All I needed for the use of school is Word and PowerPoint (to view lessons for certain classes) and OpenOffice allows me to use their product without making me spend a couple hundred of dollars.

Do I think OpenOffice is better than Microsoft’s Office?  Of course not.  It is just that the needs of both products may seem similar but are in fact different.  Using applications like Word and PowerPoint for my school needs are essential and I don’t need the access of Excel or Outlook.

If I am at work and needing a spreadsheet, I would definitely take Microsoft over OpenOffice because Microsoft offers more options for customization and detailed work.  OpenOffice grants you the same basic functions but does not allow you to explore the entire application of Microsoft Office.  It allows for the use of simple Word documents and PowerPoint slides.

So to recap, is it worth buying the latest version of Microsoft Office when I can get the basic functions of Office in OpenOffice?  It all depends on what your needs are for the products.  Students mainly need the basic functions of Word and PowerPoint.  People who hold down jobs may need the full product of Microsoft Office.  Either way both are excellent products that serve different needs for different people.

Clash of the Titans

What’s not to like about this movie?  The sight of Zeus upon Mount Olympus, the battle between the gods and humans, and who can forget about the Kraken – the worst thing ever seen by mankind.  I think the question should read is what is to like about this movie?

Director Louis Leterrier wants his movie to be a serious action-adventure, an epic with mythic resonance; if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have cribbed so much from “The Lord of the Rings” movies. But in striving for a combination of grit and grandeur, Leterrier misses a chance to make the kind of camp classic that could have endured for generations. Instead, it’s a muddled disappointment.

In Clash of the Titans, the humans declare war on the Greek gods by not worshiping them and the gods respond by releasing a gargantuan creature known as the Kraken.

The main character Perseus is a demigod (half god, half human) offspring of Zeus and the earthly queen Danaë.  Perseus is played by Avatar star Sam Worthington.  Like Sully, Perseus falls for a woman on the other side of the human/nonhuman divide: Instead of a Na’vi princess, his love object is the demi-goddess Io (Gemma Arterton). There’s even a moment in both movies when Worthington must leap from the back of one winged beast onto the back of another. Avatar has taken a lot of heat for being weak on story and overly reliant on visual effects, but compared with this witless, chaotic mess of a movie, James Cameron’s epic looks worthy of the ancient Greek authors—Herodotus, Hesiod, Homer—who first told Perseus’ tale.

As a newborn, Perseus is hurled into the sea by his father, Acrisius (Jason Flemyng), who disbelieves his wife’s claim that she was impregnated by Zeus. The baby is discovered by a kind fisherman played by Pete Postlethwaite, who packs a memorable performance into a tiny wedge of screen time. After a series of misfortunes, Perseus finds himself conscripted to save the city of Argos from an assault by the gods, who have been angered by the growing hubris of mortals.

It’s being released in 3-D but wasn’t conceived that way, and the result is a murky image that’s often far too dark for the action onscreen and which features little if any three-dimensional awesomeness one would expect from an “epic adventure” such as this.  Clash was predictable, slow-moving and uneventful.  The only reason I would watch this movie again is to hear Liam Neeson say the greatest three words of the movie…“Release the Kraken!”

District 9 Review

We have seen this before.  Aliens arrive on Earth and the interaction with them and humans takes its toll.  Humans grow tired and weary of their presence and eventually want nothing to do with them.  But this sci-fi flick is nothing but ordinary.  These alien beings, called “prawns” because of their resemblance to crustacean, arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa of all places and have been there for the past 20 or so years.  Upon their arrival they are very malnourished and the humans (with sympathetic hearts) take them in and place the prawns in an area called District 9.

But after the 20 or so years they have spent in Johannesburg, the humans grow tired of their presence and fear that the prawns will attack at any given moment.  The citizens want them out.  The man who heads up the operation to evict all the alien beings is a young, clueless bureaucrat named  Wikus van de Merwe, played by Sharlto Copley.  He, along with the rest of him team, go into District 9 and start the process of driving the prawns out of their homes.

These aliens have settled into our planet and it is time for them to leave.  Just by looking at these aliens, there is not much to like.  They are ugly, violent and have no business being here other than to annoy the hell out of us and scare us into thinking that they will attack if provoked.

District 9, directed by newcomer Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), takes the form of a mockumentary about van der Merwe’s relocation campaign, his infection by an alien virus, his own refuge in District 9 and his partnership with the only alien who behaves intelligently and reveals  human emotions.  This alien, named Christopher Johnson has a secret workspace where he prepares to return to the mothership and help his people.  What Neill Blomkamp somehow does is make Christopher Johnson and his son, Little CJ, sympathetic despite appearances. This is achieved by giving them, but no other aliens, human body language, and little CJ even gets big wet eyes, like E.T.

The film’s South African setting brings up inescapable parallels with its now-defunct apartheid system of racial segregation.  Many of them are obvious, such as the action to move a race out of the city and to a remote location.  District 9 does a lot of things right, including giving us “aliens” to remind us not everyone who comes in a spaceship need be angelic, octopod or stainless steel.  They are certainly alien, all right.  It is also a seamless merger of the mockumentary and special effects (the aliens are CGI [computer graphics image]).  And there’s a harsh parable here about the alienation and treatment of refugees.

This film brought out all the guns and it flowed well from beginning to end.  Blomkamp’s vision of making the aliens seem more “human” than the actual humans was brilliant.  Though the themes are universal, the director’s childhood in South Africa clearly informs the film’s sensibility, in this case greatly adding to its distinctive look and feel.  It’s an impressive first feature for the 29-year-old Blomkamp.

Cougars Back in the Dance

The University of Houston Cougars are going back to the NCAA Tournament after an 18 year absence. The Cougars won the Conference USA Tournament, knocking off #1 seed UTEP in the Final. UH, being the #7 seed, won 4 games in 4 days to punch their ticket to the big dance. Aubrey Coleman, the nation’s leading scorer, did not have the performance that he wanted but the Cougars led by Kelvin Lewis dominated the last minutes of the game to pull away. 1992 was the last time UH was in the field of 65 and they will face ACC powerhouse Maryland in the first round.

Campuses Not as Safe as You Think

Sexual assault on campuses are happening more often and not much is done about it.

According to the FBI, one out of four women and one in 12 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.  One of three women will face a threatened assault.

Acquaintance rape constitutes 60 percent of sexual assault for the general population and 84 percent for college students.  This means that the victim knows the person who is sexually assaulting him/her.  You would think that these crimes would go reported.

But the scary aspect of these crimes are that fewer than 10 percent are actually reported.

According the Clery Report, UH had 10 reported sexual assault offenses in 2008.  These offenses occurred either on campus or in residential facilities.

In a report done by the National Institute of Justice, sexual assault is widely considered to be the most under-reported violent crime in America.

“Just under 3 percent of all college women become victims of rape (either completed or attempted) in a given 9 month academic year. On first glance, the risk seems low, but the percentage translates into the disturbing figure of 35 such crimes for every 1,000 women students. For a campus with 10,000 women students, the number could reach 350. If the percentage is projected to a full calendar year, the proportion rises to nearly 5 percent of college women. When projected over a now typical 5 year college career, one in five young women experiences rape during college.”

The NIJ also reported that the vast majority of these crimes – between 80 and 90 percent – the victim and assailant know each other.

“The more intimate the relationship, the more likely it is for a rape to be completed rather than attempted.  Half of all student victims do not label the incident “rape.”  This is particularly true when no weapon was used, no sign of physical injury is evident, and alcohol was involved – factors commonly associated with campus acquaintance rape.  Given the extent of non-stranger rape on campus, it is no surprise that the majority of victimized women do not define their experience as a rape.”

This is one of the reasons why campus sexual assault is not well reported.  Victims do not realize that they have been raped and it is not brought to the attention of campus authorities and/or law enforcement.

How can we combat the fact that our campuses are not as safe as we think?

The Clery report was put into effect when Jeanne Clery was brutally raped and murdered in 1986 at Leigh University.  The Clery Act requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to keep their and disclose information about crime on and near their respective campuses.  This is one way we can help with the safety of students on campuses.

But sexual assaults are still going to happen and that is just the reality of the situation.  We can have all the correct preparations and plans but nothing will ever combat the crime of sexual assault.  It’s frightening to think that our campuses are not as safe as we think.

Snuggie World Record

Fans attending the Cleveland Cavaliers game not only got to see LeBron drop 40 on the Pistons but also got to be part of history.  The fans of Cleveland set a Guinness Book of World Record for the largest gathering of people wearing fleece blankets.  

Missing Family Member Found via Twitter

This is a great example of how social media can help in disaster related situations.  A woman was able to track down a missing family member who was in Chile during the time of the massive earthquake that rattled the area.  Since the power and phone lines were down, the woman logged onto Twitter and used hashtags to make a connection with people in Santiago where her family member lived.  Many people responded by retweeting the mission person link, created by Google’s Chile Earthquake Person Finder.  You can read the rest of the story here.