Chart the development of virtual reality from 1950 to 2050 Essay

Chart the development of virtual reality from 1950 to 2050 - Essay Example This implies that virtual reality translates to near reality. Nevertheless, technical phrases have a straightforward description since it describes virtual reality as a three-dimensional atmosphere created by the computer, which an individual can investigate and interrelate with. The individual who interrelates with this virtual sphere or gets enormous inside its setting is able to influence things or perform a sequence of deeds. This individual generally applies goggles, earphones, gloves among various devices, and in this manner, the computer manages in any case three of the five common senses. Prior to supplying sensory input to the client, these gadgets in addition supervise the client’s deeds. For example, the goggles supervise eye progress and react accordingly through forwarding new video input (Vince, 2004: 4). History background of virtual reality There existed abundant debates unto the connotation and appropriate name of what remains presently known as the virtual ar ts, even prior to the growth of these idea commenced. Therefore, describing and knowing virtual arts is a significant feature in providing a concise account of its growth. Its naming fluctuated due to the brandling of its occurrence since virtual reality bore three models namely synthetic reality, virtual atmospheres, and supplemented reality. Nevertheless, the ideal naming of virtual arts has gone through alterations as the virtual art idea advanced. However, the description coagulated to â€Å"virtual† during the 1960s when computers surfaced, giving it a tangible meaning owing to computer visuality. On the other hand, the idea of reality cropped up when theorists questioned if something else existed excluding the discernible and quantifiable reality of virtual manifestation, and the idea concludes as reality owing to the sensible positivity it showed. This implies that virtual reality turned to the common phrase that befitted the idea, and during 1989, Jaron Lanier changed it through definition that comes out by the application of the newest invention of goggles, gloves and associated technologies (Yu, 2010: 310). The account of virtual arts has been current and abrupt. This is because, whereas its constituents have grown for almost forty years, operational virtual systems simply emerged lately on the screen (Mclellan, 1992: 24). Development of Virtual Reality Nevertheless, the past of virtual arts dates back during the middle of 1950s when a futurist cinematographer known as Morton Heilig constructed a multi sensory simulator known as the Sensorama. The gadget contained a stereoscopic exhibit, dischargers moving chair and speakers. These traits enabled the client to watch television in three-dimensional modes since it pre-recorded movie in colour and stereo. More so, the simulator contained binaural sound, moving air, odour and vibration practices. Although the simulator had the total of these modified features, it was not as associative as expected (Steed, 2002: 3). Later on during 1961, another group of engineers known asPhilco Corporation developed the first HMD bearing the name headsight. The helmet contained a video screen band a tracking system that had linkage to a closed circuit camera system (Will, 2009: 4). During 1965, Ivan Sutherland, a famous computer scientist imagined a further advanced method known as the eventual system, which linked the

Presidential Election 2012 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Presidential Election 2012 - Term Paper Example At the moment, the polls are very close. In the end, in November 2012, Mitt Romney will be elected president, and Barack Obama will have an early retirement. Barack Obama is a good man, but voters will conclude he is over his head. Voter decision-making processes President Obama took office in 2008, promising to bring hope and change to Washington. Voters were tired and exhausted after eight years under George W. Bush. The Republicans had trouble drumming up support. Obama was like a breath of fresh air. But immediately, his presidency faced major challenges. He had to decide how to deal with the fallout from the financial crisis which was still unraveling. He had to deal with Iraq and the auto industry. These were major challenges. Although President Obama has tried hard on the economy, the results, nearly four years later are not good. Unemployment is still very high. Many political pundits believe that the elections will largely come down to who is a better economic manager. Mitt Romney has many useful credentials as a businessman. Voters, when making a decision, are going to look to Romney’s strong economic credentials and Obama’s weak ones. That is part of the reason they are likely to choose Romney when push comes to shove. They are tired of the way Washington has become. Voters still don’t know who to vote for, the evidence suggests. A recent poll reported in the Washington Post showed that the race was still too close to call. The story concluded as follows: Given recent trends, Obama can point to a gradually improving outlook and Romney can cite his experience as a business leader and appeal to those concerned about their own financial plight. Obama still enjoys a big gender-gap advantage. And the polls show both Romney and Obama are strongly supported by their respective partisans. In most polls, Romney fares well among independents, although not decisively so. Of course, a lot more ups — and downs — lie ahead. (AP) Most critics agree that the better the economy does in the next few months, the better Obama’s chances will be with ordinary voters concerned about pocketbook issues (Dorning). This is something Obama’s people must be very concerned about. Campaign spending Both Romney and Obama are excellent fundraisers. In 2008, Obama used innovative techniques to bring in small donations. He used the Internet. Now he has a new advantage: incumbency. It will be hard for Romney to match him, as these recent figures show: Obama reported a bank balance of $104.1 million after raising $35.1 million in March. That included $7.5 million transferred from a joint fundraising account with the Democratic National Committee. Romney finished March with $10.1 million to spend after raising $13.1 million during the month, his best in the campaign. Through March 31, Obama raised $196.6 million for his re- election, more than twice as much as the cumulative $88.7 million collected by Romney’s campaign. One thing is for sure. This will be the most expensive campaign in American history. Both campaigns will raise hundreds of millions of dollars. With the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Citizens United will also allow outside parties to spend money, in an unaffiliated manner. This probably means more negative ads and untraceable smears. In the end, voters will probably say that they have had enough of Obama. He was given an opportunity to fix the economy but he has been unable to work well with Congress to pass major economic reforms. All he has done is to create more barriers

The Adobe Systems Incorporated Computer Science Essay

The Adobe Systems Incorporated Computer Science Essay This paper examines the multinational company, Adobe Systems Incorporated, its innovations, value added for its products, and competencies. The paper then examines the companys structure culture, leadership and strategy for deploying its products. Adobe Systems Incorporated Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American multinational computer software corporation founded in 1982 by former Xerox employees John Warnock and Charles Geschke; the current CEO is Shantanu Narayen, who acquired the position in 2005. Adobe is headquartered in San Jose, CA and is traded under the NASDAQ symbol ADBE. Adobes operates in many major cities in the United States; its international operations include China, India, Switzerland, Romania, Canada, and Germany. As of the third quarter of 2012, Adobe has a total revenue of $1.081 billion and a market capitalization of 16.88 billion. Adobe offers software products and services to users of operating systems and technological devices and is best known for Photoshop, Acrobat, and Flash. The companys business can be broken down into three segments: digital media, digital marketing, and digital publishing (Yahoo! Finance, 2012, Reuters, 2012) One of Adobes first product was PostScript, which is a programming language developed by Warnock and Geschke in 1982; at this time, Apple, Inc. was Adobes direct competitor. Adobe created Adobe Illustrator for the Macintosh computer in 1986 which helped to popularize PostScript; a version of Illustrator was later made for Windows in 1989. The company went public in 1986. Adobe introduced Acrobat (the PDF) in 1993, which is now the most widely used viewer and reader. The company has acquired many other companies during the early to late nineties and 2000s. Some of the well-known acquisitions include: Macromedia, Photoshop, Aldus, Omniture, and Efficient Frontier. Adobe competes directly with Apple, Microsoft, and Google (Adobe, 2012 Wikipedia, 2012). Sources and Types of Innovation A company can have one or many sources of innovation which can range from the companys culture, policies, practices, and creativity. I think in Adobes case, its sources of innovation come from creative talent, consumer and business needs, and acquisitions. Adobe started off with PostScript in 1982 invented by its two founders and it became popular because of laser printer in the 1990s (Wikipedia, 2012). The PDF file format, which evolved from PostScript, was invented by Warnock in the early 1990s. Even though there were several competing firms offering the same technology, Adobe was able to make the PDF a market standard because it made the PDF file format usable on the internet where the other competitors could not. As the internet started to boom in the 1990s the PDF became more and more popular (prepressure, 2011). Postscript and the PDF were developed for the print industry. Adobe Photoshop is well known today; thought this software was not directly developed by Adobe, the company saw an opportunity to market it. Photoshop was first developed by Thomas and John Knoll in 1987. John was unhappy with the graphics on the Macintosh computer at this time and he began writing his own code to make the Mac work they way he wanted it to, while Thomas was working on imagining process for his thesis. Both of the brothers started a collaboration and named their software Display. Unfortunately, when the brothers presented their software, now called ImagePro (then later change to Photoshop) to companies in 1988, it was rejected because many these companies were working on similar software or they just did not like the software. When the brothers presented the software to Adobe, the company was impressed with the program. The product was licensed and distributed by Adobe and the Knolls received royalties for this. Adobe added new features to the software with Thomas cod ing them; Adobe mass-marketed Photoshop in 1990 and the rest is history (computerarts, 2005). With these examples, Adobe was able to capture the need of the consumer and market and tweak the technology to make it better. The PDF and Photoshop may have been slow to take off, but Adobe came out the winner because it saw an opportunity to be successful. Adobe has acquired many companies since its inception in 1982 and the products of the former companies have made Adobe profitable. The most famous acquisition was Macromedia, the company that developed Flash and Dreamweaver for the web. Flash, which was first known as FutureSplash Animator, was developed Jonathan Gay in 1995. When Gay decided he wanted to partner with a bigger company, he approached Adobe with his software. Unfortunately, Adobe was not impressed and passed on it. Macromedia bought the program in 1996; fast forward to nine years later and the program would become Adobes own (Beach, n.d.). Adobe has made massive improvements to Flash since Macromedias acquisition in 2005, thus making the company profitable with this software as it is very widely known and used. Value Added for Adobes Products Adobe has added value to all of the products it has introduced to the market. The PDF for example offers many benefits for users. The look of a document is preserved when it is viewed on screen. PDF files can be shared easily among users and is easy and convenient to use. Users can view PDF files on all their electronic gadgets including smartphones and tablets. Not only is Adobe Acrobat easy to use, but it is also free to download. This format is used by individuals, companies and the government. Business and government websites uses this file format because it is easy to use, convenient, fast, and it makes documents easy to print. All of these factors adds value to Acrobat and for these reasons is a market standard internationally. Adobe Photoshop is internationally famous. When people hear or say the term photoshopped they are obviously referring to images that has been modified using Adobes program. Photoshop is used by millions of professional people internationally including fashion designers, photographers, architectures, graphic designers, animators, publishers, film and video pros, and web designers (photoshop.com, 2012). This software allows people to be creative and have freedom and control with their work. For example, marketers can use Photoshop to create an amazing ad seen worldwide. By using Photoshop, people create something that is valuable to them to share with others. Photoshop may have started off small, but the enhancements and features Adobe has added over the years to this software have made it very valuable to people. Adobe Flash may not have been an original idea of the company but like with Photoshop, the company has enhanced it and made it better. Flash is used in the gaming industry, advertisements, animation, and in web applications. This software is used on desktops and mobile devices, is convenient to users, and free of charge. Many web sites, including YouTube uses the Flash as this software has a large user base and it is easy to program (Wikipedia, 2012). Flash makes the internet come alive for many people and the user experience is enhanced when this product is downloaded. The software enhances the look of a webpage making it attractive to users. Adobe flash is slowly declining at the moment and many web developers are favoring HTML5 video. This new type of technology does not rely upon a plugin the way Flash does. Apple has been very critical of Flash because of its security issues and sluggishness and Microsoft did not support Flash in Windows 8. As a result of all these factors, Adobe will no longer improve the flash player on mobile devices and is favoring the HTML5 video (website design and creation, 2012). Even though Flash is declining, it still has a strong presence in the market as many still use this software. Adobe helps retailers, publishers, and marketers with digital solutions. These businesses use Adobe services and products to enhance their users experience to make it meaningful, personalized, and interactive. Most of these businesses communicate with their target audience through the web or on mobile or tablet devices. They are able to build their brand, manage and customize content, and gather customer intelligence. For example, Vanity Fair, uses Adobes Digital Publishing Suite to create a rich and interactive experience for its monthly digital publication on the iPad. American Eagle Outfitters uses Adobes Digital Marketing Suite, which includes Abobe Analytics to see where their customer traffic is coming from, to help the retailer understand what products their customers are looking at, and how their customers are responding to their market initiatives. The company uses these analytics to its advantage to make a difference for their customers online shopping experience. David Fin cher, the director for the film The Social Network, used Adobe Creative Suite during post production of the film (Adobe, 2012). Adobes software solutions and services have helped businesses all across the globe to become more efficient, productive and profitable, hence adding value to what it provides. Core and Distinctive Competencies Adobes core competencies include its software and its services. The company is able to provide distinctive products, services and solutions to its customers worldwide for their various needs. The products that Adobe delivers makes customer experiences fun and make their creative side thrive. The software that the company provides are some of the most used and recognized software in the world and cannot be imitated to work the same way or give users the same experience they would have when using Adobe software. Adobe has great talent as well including creative developers with their own core competencies and software engineers. The company is also very flexible as it dabbles in marketing, broadcasting, publishing, retail, financial services, and media and provides solutions and software for these trades. Adobes distinctive competency is its huge and impressive acquisition list, which is certainly a value-creation strategy for the firm. These acquisitions have helped Adobes businesses in publishing, marketing, and computing. As discussed before, Adobes acquisitions of Macromedia and Photoshop have made the company very profitable from the existing software of those two providers. Other examples include Omniture and Efficient Frontier Technology; both were acquired by Adobe in September 2009 and November 2011 (Wikipedia, 2012) respectively. Omniture is a web analytics company which helps clients measure users purchasing activities on the web (Hoovers, 2012). Adobe has incorporated Omnitures analytics software into its digital market business unit creating the Adobe Marketing Cloud (Adobe, 2012) Adobes marketing clients can use the software and solutions to help them track what their customers purchase or is viewing online in order to provide better services or have a better marketing c ampaign. Adobes acquisition of Efficient Frontier has also helped its digital marketing business by providing search engine marketing using the modern portfolio theory, and display and social media campaigns (crunchbase, 2012). Adobes clients can utilize the algorithms Efficient Frontier provides to increase their ad performance along with Adobe Dynamic Ad Targeting solution (adexchanger, 2011) to become more profitable. Adobes acquisitions is a smart move for the company because talent, resources, and capabilities are all pooled together making the company more valuable. With the existing software of the companies Adobe has acquired, costs are truncated because Adobe does not have to use its own resources to create these technologies; instead, the companies utilizes what it has acquired to make a better experience for its clients. These acquisitions have made the company evolve to make its brand name more valuable. Organizational Structure, Culture, and Leadership Fig 1.1 Adobes Organizational Chart Like many huge organizations in the business world, Adobe has a bureaucratic and centralized structure; it is a top down organization where the CEO is control and in charge of the companys strategic decisions. The levels of the organization and roles of the employees are clearly defined. According to Adobes website, employees are encouraged to be creative and to think outside the box. This would most likely be the slogan of any technology company because technology changes every day and becomes more complex as time passes; a person has to be creative when they work in this industry. Employees at this company often collaborate on huge projects, including the employees from Adobes acquisitions. The teams are inspiring and the individual talents are respected and recognized. Employees are encouraged to be ambitious where they can achieve their full potential. The growth within the company for an individual is endless. The company provides wellness and fitness program and good compensation and benefit plans. Adobe is committed to ethical and honest business practices and has a great deal of pride regarding corporate social responsibility and global corporate citizenship. Employees at Adobe participate in the local community and have a commitment to the environment. The c ompany value people as its greatest asset and the culture here is very open. Adobes CEO, Shantanu Narayen took his cue from Apple about leadership when he was employed by the company. He creates a common vision for the organization and challenges his employees by setting goals. He likes when employees use their creativity to come up with solutions to these goals. He believes that great work is motivating and leads to a great impact on the world. Narayen gives general managers at Adobe freedom to run their own business units the way they want. They are encouraged to grow and take risks and there is room for mistakes. The management team is encouraged to present ideas and discuss their insights into the business about what is working and what is not when there is the quarterly business is conducted; they are coached and guided by Narayen in the problem areas. The CEO thinks that managers being on top of the data is meaningless and wants to know more about what is keeping his managers up at night. Teams at Abobe are built by complementing peoples strengths by s urrounding them with people who can complement their areas of weakness. Narayen hires people who are highly intelligent, have a passion for what they do, and share the same values as Adobe as he believes these three qualities leads to success (Narayen, 2009). Strategy, Timing, and Deployment Since its inception in 1982, Adobe has always been where the action is. The desktop publishing era started at this time with laser printers, which used a program called InterPress developed by Xerox, however, this software was not very flexible. Warnock and Geschke developed PostScript at this time in a much simpler language and marketed it in 1984. When Apple developed its laser printer in 1985, it adopted Postscript to work with it. (Wikipedia, 2012). Adobes strategy here was to license and market its technology to OEMs such as IBM, Texas Instruments, and Apple. The strategy paid off because Postscript had become the standard for laser printers into the 1990s and it made Adobe very profitable. Postscript became a big hit with the publishing industry because it was extremely useful for professionals who were in the creative field (fundinguniverse, n.d.). Adobe acquired one of its major competitors in the desktop publishing industry, Aldus Corporation, the creator of desktop publishi ng software, in 1994 and now had rights to Alduss products with this acquisition (Wikipedia, 2012). Adobe was now a market leader in the industry due to its successful strategies. Adobe began to focus on creating new software when the internet began to boom in the mid-nineties. The company acquired Cencena Communications, Inc. in 1995 to strengthen its position in the market. Cencena developed communication and management tools for the world wide web and Adobe saw an opportunity. With Adobes creation of the PDF at this time and the web management tools of Cencena, the companies combined technologies helped to produce new solutions for customers and acquire a broader range of customers. Adobe was now able to integrate its software with companies such as Microsoft, Netscape, and ATT (The Free Library, 1995). When Adobe wanted to expand more rapidly into digital media, it acquired Macromedia in 2005, one of Adobes biggest competitors. Macromedia developed cutting edge software, such as Flash; once again with Macromedias and Adobes technology, Adobe was able to make its software evolve and capture new markets. Adobes current strategy involves focusing on digital media and digital marketing. The company is investing resources into HTML5 video and has acquired Nitobi, an open source software company (Adobe, 2012). When businesses and individuals need new and better solutions, Adobe steps in with its software and acquires companies that can help it evolve in the industry. Strategic partnership has always been this companys strategy and this is something Adobe does very well. Conclusion Adobe has done well as a corporation for the past thirty years. The company has developed amazing products during the past years which have had an impact on millions of people internationally and has added value to their lives and work. Adobe is able to understand what it customers needs and wants are and has catered to them with its excellent solutions and easy to use products; this has made the company become successful over the years. Adobes culture is open and encouraging and its leadership is supporting and inspiring. These factors are indicative for creativity in the company. Successful acquisitions have made the Adobe evolve with combined technologies and talent, which has led to new technologies and products for its customers. Adobes impact on the software industry has made it a powerful and well established corporation.

Religion :: essays research papers

In 1886 the Catholic bishops of the United States published a pastoral letter entitled Economic Justice for All. There were two main reasons for this letter: first of all they wanted to illustrate an understanding of the nature and reason for economic activity from the view of the Catholic and theological thought; furthermore they also wanted to evaluate the workings of the American economy, both from a national and international point of view. As the letter states, â€Å"Every perspective on economic life that is human, moral, and Christian must be shaped be three questions: What does the economy do for people? What does the economy do to people? And how do people participate in it?† This pastoral letter symbolizes the most aspiring effort of the Catholic bishops of the United States. The bishops also put forth another aspiring effort to make the ideas and insights of people throughout the United States a reality. Even though the bishops of the United States were trying their best to make this a lasting and historical document, it unfortunately found a way to generate considerable controversy. There were critics who said that the bishops were going into an economic battlefield where they have little experience. However, this is a chance for the American people to help out and give their support to not only the bishops but the poor people too. The bishops were hoping that the Economic Justice for All will eventually have an impact, both on the political perspective and also the economic realities of the United States citizens. The Catholics in the United States hope that the social justice will set the stage for reflection and action for the future. Because of the many Catholics here in the United States the dioceses started to put forth their efforts in doing what was needed to get this program on its feet. This is what started the beginning of a new awareness of the relationship between the struggle for economic justice and the mission of th e church. Even though there were many people working hard the question still remains: When hard times start to arise will the American people create the opportunity for the poor to find a job in this economic and socialistically dominated world. If indeed the American economy is willing to accept, the pastoral can provide a powerful building block of the policies and programs which are necessary to create a society that will be for the justice for all.

Autism and Social Skills Essay

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that ranges from mild to severe impairments in communication, social interaction, and repetitive pattern of interest. Children with autism need early social skills support to develop their social interactions and understanding. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and socialization among young children and adolescence is one of the major impairments, along with language individuals have. Social skills groups are prearranged groups with, a direct goal orientated to engage young children and adolescences with the appropriate support, in the development of social skills. Social skills groups for young children and adolescences can be a viable tool, in helping children with ASD to learn how to socialize appropriately. The Socialization of young children with a diagnosis of ASD has shown some positive results. This pilot study was conducted in response to the heightened awareness and the need for young children with ASD to learn social skills. The parents of autistic children, the children that have a diagnosis of ASD and the facilitators of the groups, will engage the children in social sessions, in hopes to build social relationships. The parents will fill out questionnaires as to the progress they see their children making. This pilot study sets out to answer the following two questions. Is participation in a social skills group beneficial for young children / adolescence with ASD from the child’s, Parents and the facilitator’s perspectives? The second question posed was, is there any improvement in the autistic child’s ability to communicate or interrelate socially. Methodology Based on a review of literature on Autism, a psychologist and a clinical psychologist planed a structured 5-week program, for one-hour sessions, one day a week. Only children with a diagnosis of ASD were invited. The children’s ages ranged from seven to 18. Using the qualitative method, the parental focus group was used to gather data and answer two research questions. Each parent received three questionnaires developed for the purpose of this evaluation. One was a pre- questionnaire, to be completed at the beginning of the groups, the post questionnaire, at the end of groups, and a review questionnaire, to be completed six months following the social skills groups. The questionnaires were used for the parents to rate their child’s current level of difficulties. Results and Discussions The high cost of one on one therapy for autistic children has become too high for caregivers and the need for alternative approaches was necessary. Evidence suggested that social skills groups for autistic children would be an alternative Dunlop, Knott and Mackay (2000). The information gathered from parent questionnaires and through observations from the facilitators and the higher functioning adolescents with ASD showed there was a need for social skills programs. Some parents felt their children benefitted and others seen no change. The feedback was very positive and most of the participants would like the social skills groups to continue. There were several areas identified within the program that needs fine-tuning such as, smaller groups, the level or severity of ASD the children have, longer duration of sessions without summer breaks and addressing how to manage the challenging behaviors some of the autistic children displayed, which prevented them from engaging socially within the groups. There was no time for one on one interaction, to encourage those children that did not socialize during the five-week program. The facilitators observed this and felt that it was an important issue to address along with the other recommendations above, when planning social skills programs. I choose this article because I am a parent of an autistic child and I am always looking for new treatment methods. I like to stay informed of all the new research on autism to share with my son. I think there is a need to socialize all persons with autism and the ideal of social skills groups cannot hurt; it can enhance the quality of life for the autistic child.

Deception Point Page 93

POTUS. She felt a sudden surge of hope. Something about POTUS struck Gabrielle as being a perfect Sexton password. Simple, positive, self-referential. She quickly typed in the letters. POTUS. Holding her breath, she hit â€Å"return.† The computer beeped. Invalid Password – Access Denied Slumping, Gabrielle gave up. She headed back toward the bathroom door to exit the way she had come. She was halfway across the room, when her cellphone rang. She was already on edge, and the sound startled her. Stopping short, she pulled out her phone and glanced up to check the time on Sexton's prized Jourdain grandfather clock. Almost 4:00 A.M. At this hour, Gabrielle knew the caller could only be Sexton. He was obviously wondering where the hell she was. Do I pick up or let it ring? If she answered, Gabrielle would have to lie. But if she didn't, Sexton would get suspicious. She took the call. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Gabrielle?† Sexton sounded impatient. â€Å"What's keeping you?† â€Å"The FDR Memorial,† Gabrielle said. â€Å"The taxi got hemmed in, and now we're-â€Å" â€Å"You don't sound like you're in a taxi.† â€Å"No,† she said, her blood pumping now. â€Å"I'm not. I decided to stop by my office and pick up some NASA documents that might be relevant to PODS. I'm having some trouble finding them.† â€Å"Well, hurry up. I want to schedule a press conference for the morning, and we need to talk specifics.† â€Å"I'm coming soon,† she said. There was a pause on the line. â€Å"You're in your office?† He sounded suddenly confused. â€Å"Yeah. Another ten minutes and I'll be on my way over.† Another pause. â€Å"Okay. I'll see you soon.† Gabrielle hung up, too preoccupied to notice the loud and distinctive triple-tick of Sexton's prized Jourdain grandfather clock only a few feet away. 113 Michael Tolland did not realize Rachel was hurt until he saw the blood on her arm as he pulled her to cover behind the Triton. He sensed from the catatonic look on her face that she was not aware of any pain. Steadying her, Tolland wheeled to find Corky. The astrophysicist scrambled across the deck to join them, his eyes blank with terror. We've got to find cover, Tolland thought, the horror of what had just happened not yet fully registering. Instinctively, his eyes raced up the tiers of decks above them. The stairs leading up to the bridge were all in the open, and the bridge itself was a glass box-a transparent bull's-eye from the air. Going up was suicide, which left only one other direction to go. For a fleeting instant, Tolland turned a hopeful gaze to the Triton submersible, wondering perhaps if he could get everyone underwater, away from the bullets. Absurd. The Triton had room for one person, and the deployment winch took a good ten minutes to lower the sub through the trap door in the deck to the ocean thirty feet below. Besides, without properly charged batteries and compressors, the Triton would be dead in the water. â€Å"Here they come!† Corky shouted, his voice shrill with fear as he pointed into the sky. Tolland didn't even look up. He pointed to a nearby bulkhead, where an aluminum ramp descended belowdecks. Corky apparently needed no encouragement. Keeping his head low, Corky scurried toward the opening and disappeared down the incline. Tolland put a firm arm around Rachel's waist and followed. The two of them disappeared belowdecks just as the helicopter returned, spraying bullets overhead. Tolland helped Rachel down the grated ramp to the suspended platform at the bottom. As they arrived, Tolland could feel Rachel's body go suddenly rigid. He wheeled, fearing maybe she'd been hit by a ricocheting bullet. When he saw her face, he knew it was something else. Tolland followed her petrified gaze downward and immediately understood. Rachel stood motionless, her legs refusing to move. She was staring down at the bizarre world beneath her. Because of its SWATH design, the Goya had no hull but rather struts like a giant catamaran. They had just descended through the deck onto a grated catwalk that hung above an open chasm, thirty feet straight down to the raging sea. The noise was deafening here, reverberating off the underside of the deck. Adding to Rachel's terror was the fact that the ship's underwater spotlights were still illuminated, casting a greenish effulgence deep into the ocean directly beneath her. She found herself gazing down at six or seven ghostly silhouettes in the water. Enormous hammerhead sharks, their long shadows swimming in place against the current-rubbery bodies flexing back and forth. Tolland's voice was in her ear. â€Å"Rachel, you're okay. Eyes straight ahead. I'm right behind you.† His hands were reaching around from behind, gently trying to coax her clenched fists off the banister. It was then that Rachel saw the crimson droplet of blood roll off her arm and fall through the grating. Her eyes followed the drip as it plummeted toward the sea. Although she never saw it hit the water, she knew the instant it happened because all at once the hammerheads spun in unison, thrusting with their powerful tails, crashing together in a roiling frenzy of teeth and fins. Enhanced telencephalon olfactory lobes†¦ They smell blood a mile away. â€Å"Eyes straight ahead,† Tolland repeated, his voice strong and reassuring. â€Å"I'm right behind you.† Rachel felt his hands on her hips now, urging her forward. Blocking out the void beneath her, Rachel started down the catwalk. Somewhere above she could hear the rotors of the chopper again. Corky was already well out in front of them, reeling across the catwalk in a kind of drunken panic. Tolland called out to him. â€Å"All the way to the far strut, Corky! Down the stairs!† Rachel could now see where they were headed. Up ahead, a series of switchback ramps descended. At water level, a narrow, shelflike deck extended the length of the Goya. Jutting off this deck were several small, suspended docks, creating a kind of miniature marina stationed beneath the ship. A large sign read: DIVE AREA Swimmers May Surface without Warning – Boats Proceed with Caution- Rachel could only assume Michael did not intend for them to do any swimming. Her trepidation intensified when Tolland stopped at a bank of wire-mesh storage lockers flanking the catwalk. He pulled open the doors to reveal hanging wetsuits, snorkels, flippers, life jackets, and spearguns. Before she could protest, he reached in and grabbed a flare gun. â€Å"Let's go.† They were moving again. Up ahead, Corky had reached the switchback ramps and was already halfway down. â€Å"I see it!† he shouted, his voice sounding almost joyous over the raging water. See what? Rachel wondered as Corky ran along the narrow walkway. All she could see was a shark-infested ocean lapping dangerously close. Tolland urged her forward, and suddenly Rachel could see what Corky was so excited about. At the far end of the decking below, a small powerboat was moored. Corky ran toward it. Rachel stared. Outrun a helicopter in a motorboat? â€Å"It has a radio,† Tolland said. â€Å"And if we can get far enough away from the helicopter's jamming†¦ â€Å" Rachel did not hear another word he said. She had just spied something that made her blood run cold. â€Å"Too late,† she croaked, extending a trembling finger. We're finished†¦ When Tolland turned, he knew in an instant it was over. At the far end of the ship, like a dragon peering into the opening of a cave, the black helicopter had dropped down low and was facing them. For an instant, Tolland thought it was going to fly directly at them through the center of the boat. But the helicopter began to turn at an angle, taking aim. Tolland followed the direction of the gun barrels. No!

The man, the woman and the moon Professor Ramos Blog

The man, the woman and the moon Reading the short story â€Å"there was a man, there was a woman† I first initially thought the story centered around two people, a man, and woman, who were going through difficulties and drinking in hopes that they would have the courage to finally speak out on how they were feeling. However, when discussing it with my peers and professor, I came to realize it doesnt necessarily state what the man and woman were feeling or if at all they were going through the same thing. For example, the man could be drinking to finally open up about something hard going on in his life. And the woman could be drinking to finally open up that she has been doing really well lately, or vice versa. Considering the author, Sandra Cisneros, left out those details is all about interpretation, and made me really question, if she did that because she wanted us to see ourselves, whether we are going through a hard time, or a good time in our lives and how the characters reflect that on ourselves. It a lso seems very parallel with their lives, how they are going through the same thing, going to the bar every Friday but in different weeks on Fridays in hopes that the alcohol in their veins would spark and lead to them being brave enough to open up about their lives, but yet the alcohol never does its supposed job, but then why do they still come back is also a rising question of mine. Which goes back to the initial question of, what is it they want to open up about, and is the author trying to convey a message through her characters. I chose this story because of my interests of the characters, both the man and the woman, who are nameless, and only motioned with a direct way of calling them ‘the man’ or ‘the woman’. The theme is in all actuality a correlated pairing and opposite parallel multifunction. The opposites are that they are the opposite gender to each other and that they both come to the bar on different Fridays because of their paychecks. But they both come for the same reason, and on Fridays with friends. With that being said, I think it wouldnt be hard to guess that only one of hem was going through a hard time, and the other a good time. Or that both of them were going through a hard time. The reason for the estimated response to their behavior would be that whenever their paycheck came to be they would go to the bar, and drink until they thought they would open up, but never did. It seems like they drink a lot if they hope alcohol would be a way for them to open up but th ey never do, so it doesnt seem very impossible, it actually seems likely that they drink a lot. It says â€Å" The man drank and drank with his friends and believed if he drank and drank, the words for what he was feeling would slip out more readily, but usually he simply drank and said nothing.† and the same parallel statement with the woman. Backing that claim, whenever they got their paycheck they would head to the bar, as if the minute they could get alcohol, they would get it, without any thinking involved and head to the bar. It seems they might have a drinking problem and rely on drinks for their sense of trying to open up. I can interpret two outcomes of the ending of the story which I thought was quite fascinating. Throughout the story, every detail of the woman had a parallel to the mans and vice verse, except on the ending. It tells that the woman would come home, and cry herself to sleep where the man would contemplate and stare at the moon, and swallow his tears. This could mean, that society makes it hard for men to open up and not share their feelings with anyone, not even themselves, so they dont even cry when no one is around. Yet the woman cried when no one was around, because she might have felt safe and comfortable to do so. Or this could mean that the man, had something happy to say because he didnt cry and that the woman didnt. Which wouldnt be hard to believe because the whole short story is rotation is pinned at the barrels of these two individuals and the selected whereabouts of their lives. Or it could mean that because the woman had something happy to reveal she cried because of the feelings of happiness, and that the man didnt cry and instead wallowed up his tears because of the fact that it was hard to open up about. The moon also seems to bring a=out o symbolic message in this short story, one of realizing that it was another parallel where they both looked into it at night, where one cried, and the other swallowed. The woman only looked at the moon and cried, but the man looked at the moon, thought about â€Å"those who had worshipped or loved, or died before that same moon, mute and lovely. Now blue light streamed inside his window and tangled itself with the glow of the sheets. The moon, the same round O. The man looked and swallowed† It seems like the man got more indulgence in this, and the author didnt make it subtle either. The difference of the ending is a clear divide and it could be into societys view of gender roles, or different placement of where they were at in their lives at the very moment. The answer is unclear on what exactly wa s happening and why the different reactions. Why did the man contemplate and swallow? And why didnt the woman do the same? Is it because they are going through different things? Or maybe its because of who they were are people, or maybe there is something that happened in the past that made them who they are, a hidden detail, that reveals why and how they had different reactions and why everything was parallel to each but the very strange ending. There are many things we can take into consideration, it seems like the both of them are in looking for something but no finding it, and it seems like it each other that they long for. It doesnt even have to be in a romantic way, but maybe just a friend who will understand, but because they have a schedule that they both pay credit to, they never met. This lesson may be teaching us that what we are looking for is there, if we not only look hard enough, but try different things, and challenge yourself to be uncomfortable in needs to grow. It also teaches us that no matter what youre going through, you are not alone, and the moon symbol helps portray that. That it is someone in the world right now, saving their sorrows for the moon, their laughs for the moon, their hearts and souls to bare in front of the moon before them. And that you are never alone.