Musings of a brown girl

During this class I was exposed to many new tools Kumu and Twine to name a few. Using W3 schools to code helped me get over my coding dislike. I took Python, Java and C+ in the past and did not enjoy it. Coding was a romantic notion to me, like a hacking movie until I took coding classes. I want to explore Twine more to craft my interactive story. I learned the term going upstream. Going upstream is something that i do when fact checking. I also enjoyed figuring out whichof the viral photos were fake. I have purchased a few domain , I am great with coming up with names however not so great at setting up my websites. I am happy that UMW provided me with a website that I can work on for a as long as I wish. I learned more about the labor that is involved in me having a phone. Labor that turns out to be slavery. I learned more about AI and would like to expand my knowledge. I examined my Raggedy Ann and Andy radio for my object lesson.

I chose to do the network module.  I decided to analyze the character in the Sci-fy show From. From is the story of a group of strangers that find themselves stuck in a town they cannot leave. There are people who have been there for years and new arrivals at varying intervals. The town sometimes will go years without any new arrivals and then at other time more than one in a week. They all come from varying background but the method of getting stuck is the same, a tree. When they are trying to get to different locations there is a tree that blocks the road. This alternate route is loop that takes them into a town they cannot leave. Every new arrival has the same reaction to varying degrees when they are told by a tenured resident, you can’t leave, there is no way to communicate with the outside world and oh by the way there are monsters that come out at night. These monsters look like regular people but don’t let that fool you, they are monsters that will kill you in the most horrific way possible. Some people take it stride, what are monsters, I am stuck in a supernatural town and other deny their eyes and believe that the people they have met are insane and there must be a reasonable explanation.  Some people cannot believe that there are monsters that look like humans until they get you outside or they get inside whichever terrifying prospect of the scenario an unfortunate person finds themselves in.

Does each episode of From bring us closer to answering how are they stuck in this town and who or what are the monsters?  Or is this another show that strings you along with no end in sight? Does the pursuit of answers lead to more problems? Also are there different community of monsters? 

From is in its second season. I feel that this season thus far has been a wonderful combination of more to come, and possible answers. The first season Jim figures out that the electricity that powers his home is not connected to anything. He pulls the wires out of the wall and discovers it is indeed connected to a breaker box in the wall.  Tabitha decides to investigate in the basement to follow where the wires go so, she continues the search for answers by dig up their basement. She makes horrify discovery that the wires are not connected to anything.  Meantime across town Jim is trying to make an antenna.   He gets a warning from an unknown voice on his walkie talkie warning him that Tabitha needs to stop digging. Then ground falls in leading to a tunnel followed by the house imploding. 

Boyd and Sara are in the woods. Boyd is hiding Sara because Father Khatri asked him to spare her life after she accidently killed her brother and Kenny’s father and attempting to kill young Ethan. The punishment for unforgivable being left in a horse trailer called the box without a totem to keep you safe , letting the monsters rip you to shreds. They go through magical trees that transport to a new location. Boyd ends up in a well, then a dungeon with a man that is chained to the wall. The man request that Boyd kill him before “they” come. Boyd refuses to kill him and insists on trying to save the man. Time runs out a music box appears and starts to play. The man grabs him cuts him and recites “my blood is now your blood” then he dies. Boyd then sees worms moving under his skin.

Thus ending season one. An answer and a problem. 

Season two starts off with a bus full of newcomers an collapsed house, a murder still alive and an arm full of worms. Following the answer and problem pattern we find out that there are different monsters because Boyd’s blood used with the words recited kills one of the monsters but the new problem is that people who were at the clinic at the event of the transfer are hallucinating the music box.

I used Kumu to create the following: https://minstar.kumu.io/from?token=ZUxyX3BUpAePRtYu

I also used W3schools to create the following website: https://fromthescifyshow.w3spaces.com

I do not enjoy coding however this site made it less painless and has changed my views on coding. I coded with Python and Java in the past and I did not enjoy it.

I feel that I put in a lot of effort for my work this week, I believe I deserve an B+.

I chose privacy because I want to learn more about protecting myself from unwanted access to my information. I hope to learn about VPNs so I can finally pick one. I want to learn about a password-protecting app for my phone because it is problematic having the same passcode to unlock my phone that is used to unlock my passwords. I don’t use any biometrics for my phone; however, they can if someone wants to find a workaround, they will. I want to address my digital security like my physical security, making it harder so they try elsewhere. So I hope to learn how to make them try harder.

I chose privacy as my topic. Privacy is important for everyone. I am concerned about privacy every day. I have wanted to get a VPN for some time, and after reading the module, I am convinced I need one. The problem is that there are too many choices, and I don’t know which one to pick. Our personal data has been monetized. I have camera covers for my phone and MacBook. I bought mic covers as well. I sign out of Google, disable my location on my phone, and decline all offers to customize my ads. Sadly I know that is not enough. I learned about CryptoParty. Let me explain if this is a new term to you, a CryptoParty. A CryptoParty is a movement to teach people how to manage their privacy in a digital space. They hold actual parties all over the world. We invite the invasion into our homes with indoor cameras with recording and audio capabilities. Alexa and all her knockoffs. The balance between privacy and convenience is a tricky one. Lastly, our over-dependence on our digital devices. The idea of a digital detox is great but could also be trauma-inducing.

I chose the statement AI will replace the jobs of telehealth counselors. Instead of a human, you can hold therapy sessions with an AI. There are pros to AI assistance in telehealth, for example, bringing therapy to more people and making it more affordable. Virtual therapy made counseling available to people who never had counseling. During the pandemic, it was a lifesaver for many people. However, we are not at the point where AI could replace humans. I believe that if we ever have the capacity, we should not. A Belgian man allegedly committed suicide after chatting with an AI chatbot. I referenced Psychology Today, the top mental health and behavioral science site.

Open AI interpretation of the search Hello Kitty telehealth.

My name is Sharmin. I enjoy being creative. I write poetry ,draw, paint and create my own recipes.