Final Presentation

Second Life

While in Second Life, I visited the virtual rendering of the William T. Young Library, a UK landmark. I found Second Life quite interesting. It's amazing to me all of the hard work and details people have put into this. Though I cannot imaging that I will spend much of my time there, I can understand how it enthralls users.

I also went to the St. Louis Arch while in Second Life. It's amazing how many landmarks and places there are to travel, or teleport.

Youtube Video- Hand Tied Bouquet Tutorial

Pinterest Screencast Tutorial

I couldn't download Screencast-O-Matic onto my computer, my PC considered it a virus and it was blocked. Luckily, I have made screencasts before using the Icecream Apps screen recording app. This tutorial focuses on use of the website, Pinterest. Specifically, how to save a "pin" on a Pinterest board. Enjoy!

My Voki

This is a cute pig.

Significant Places

Using Google Maps, it's quite easy to virtually travel the globe. using the embed feature, I've linked 3 of my fondest locations



238 East Maxwell is home to one of the most important aspects of my life; Kappa Kappa Gamma. Since joining this organization I have grown so much as a learner, leader, and friend. Though we are remodeling, and this old Civil War hospital might not look the same this time next year, I will always have dear memories of this beautiful home.




Castaway Cay is Disney's private island, and a destination for most Disney Cruises. You can even seem a ship at the dock! I love vacationing on the ocean (I've been on 13 cruises) and Castaway Cay has always been one of my family's favorite places. The beautiful beaches, the clear water, and the great company make this island one of my cherished places in the Caribbean.




I grew up roaming the hills that surround 200 Maness Lane. My Mamaw lived here during my childhood, and it has always been comforting to me. It really is the people who make the place. Whether we spent our time in the woods, on the lake behind, or huddled up with my Mamaw, this is one of my favorite places.

Photo Sharing

I'm not sure about you guys, but I'm a picture person. It may be because of my mom, who always has her camera out and is photo-sniping left and right, but nevertheless, photo sharing has always been something that I enjoy.

There are about a million ways to share photos now, via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Flickr, the options go on and on. I decided to stick with Google Photos, formerly known as Picassa. It's easy enough to upload and edit photos, and sharing is even simpler. Google Photos will give you a specialized link that can take your friends and family straight to your album.

Check out my album, dramatically entitled Life, here https://goo.gl/photos/x9sSyKcoTTM49cT17

Building a Website

I know it sounds difficult and ultra hip, but creating a website is much simpler than one would think. Simply find a site that hosts other urls, like Wix or Weebly. I chose to work with Wordpress, which had most of the site built, so that all I had to do was select a template and customize from there.

As we discussed in class, portfolio websites are becoming more and more popular for young professionals. It's a great way to express your creativity, personality, and accomplishments, as well as stay accessible to a number of potential employers

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It's that simple! You can check out my website at https://mmaness243.wordpress.com/

How to Wiki

This week in class we learned about Wikis. A wiki is a website that allows collaborative editing of its content and structure by its users. A wiki can be made for any topic, job, community, etc. For our course, the instructor created our own wiki page for us to work on, but there are already plenty out there. Do you have a favorite TV show or book series? if so, there is more than likely a wiki out there for it. I could spend days combing through the Marvel Wiki.

For our assignment we were to edit a page on Wikipedia, a enormous wiki that covers a variety of topics. Though you probably shouldn't cite Wikipedia as a source on a paper, it's a great way to gather background knowledge on a topic. I edited the Owingsville, Kentucky wiki, because that is where I went to high school. I added a bit about a community tradition there, the May Day Pageant. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owingsville,_Kentucky)

 It's fairly simple, after creating an account you can simply click "edit source" and then add or erase any information you want. But don't get too power hungry, there are people who monitor changes.

Overall, wikis seem to be easily accessible and effective. They contain a lot of information and allow users to edit and add content as they please.

RSS is cool

Are you ready to have your mind blown? No. Too bad. I recently learned about RSS, Really Simple Syndication. As my professor described it, RSS is like a magazine subscription for you web browser. You can subscribe to certain sites and media outlets and easily access the information and pages you would otherwise have to search for.

Naturally, after learning about this I went and poked around to find some things I would be interested in. Using the aggregator Feedly (www.feedly.com) I came across some really cool stuff. After following National Geographic, I read an article about a rare "virgin birth" from a shark in Australia. Then I learned that the popular Disney Cruise Line is combining two of my favorite things; vacation and superheroes! Yep, it turns out you can set sail with Iron Man.  But then, perhaps the best news of all the title for the new Star Wars film has been released. And even better, the font is in red! What does this mean for the galaxy? Guess I'll have to keep up to see!

I've included some of the RSS feeds I follow on the left. Check them out if you get the chance!

I find this to be a very interesting concept. The only issues I've run into is that not all sites have RSS feed available, or they are not up to date. But, as I said, RSS does a lot to limit the amount of time you spend searching for information as well as introduce you to new outlets that may pique your interest. Definitely give it a try!

New Year, New Me #yolo

I love reading other people's new years resolutions. I'm a sarcastic optimist, so I usually find these resolutions both inspiring and humorous. This year I've decided to make some honest resolutions for myself.

1. Try not to watch an entire Netflix series in one weekend- though it is fun, I don't think it's good for my brain (and yes, I am talking to you Marvel's Luke Cage)
   
2. Embrace dictionary.com's daily crossword puzzle- because it makes me feel smart, fuels my word obsession, and helps my vocabulary. (You can fuel your word obsession at http://www.dictionary.com/fun/crossword, btw the word of the day is jurisprudence, which is a body of systems or laws)
   
3. Do something new- I love trying new things, but I usually let my worrisome nature get the best of me. This year, I'm going to [try] to let myself take big risks and enjoy the big rewards. 

   

   *Disclaimer: I do not own any of the photos used in this post*

Introduction

 

 

 Mercedes Maness (n)- red head, Eastern Kentuckian, community and leadership development major, agricultural economics minor, Kappa Kappa Gamma; prospective extension agent; lover of all things superheroes, Star Wars, mystery novels, The Office, pizza, Sprite, Harry Potter, donuts, and alternative music.

The Most Interesting Thing That Happened to Me Last Week

Last week, I was cruising through the Caribbean on the Oasis of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship. We visited Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, and Haiti. As you can imagine, it was quite a shock when I returned to the U.S. and there was snow on the ground.

 Our first port of call was St. Kitts, located in the West Indies. This is a panorama of the east end of the island from the ship. The photo below is of Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. As you can see, she's not a ship to be messed with. There were over 8,000 people on the ship, more than the population of my hometown of Menifee County, KY.

The next stop was St. Maarten! We landed on the Dutch side of the island and took a water taxi over to the main part of town. The man who helped create Yoda lives on the island and runs a museum. Lucky for my dad and I, who are avid Star Wars fans.

 

From there we sailed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, one of the oldest established cities in the United States. Puerto Rico was my favorite destination, but unfortunately, we had to be back on the ship in just a few short hours. We stayed long enough to get a Pina Colada from the restaurant where they were created, as well as check out the favorite local dish, mofungo.

 

I had a great trip, and look forward to my next adventure!