Review of the Marta

For this weeks blog I read a review of the Metropolitan Atlanta rapid transit authority (MARTA) by a few of the people who make use of the MARTA. All the reviews have a common claim, which is that the MARTA is a convenient and economical form of transportation throughout Atlanta. People prefer to use the Marta to beat the traffic, especially during game nights, as one of the people had mentioned in their review, that one should take the Marta to a Braves or Falcons game to avoid road traffic. For a student like me the Marta is extremely useful as it is much more economical than taxis and also a quicker form of transportation mainly because a Marta station is just a few minutes away from the Georgia Tech campus.

GT ARCHIVES

As I was going through the images of undergraduate projects of the College of Architecture (CoA), I found an image of the Georgia Institute of Technology during 1934 and now if I compare it with a photograph of the university today there will a huge difference. The university today is far more advanced, with modern style architecture as compared in 1934. Today Georgia Tech is one of the most technologically advanced universities in the world all because of development, progress and priority being given to education. The South has a number of universities which rank among the best in the world all because of progress and priority being given to education.

TANGENTIAL STUFF

This weeks blog expected us to read through the ' Tangential Stuff ,' which the Professor had put up in his blog. One of the articles that interested me was the ' A Scientific Explanation for the Conspiracy Theories.' In this article NPR News talks about a publishing by a behavioural economist regarding the patterns and signs that people see in their daily lives, which in actuality do not exist.
An experiment was performed which proved that people that do not have total control over their lives do tend to see irregularities and patterns where non exist, in order to convince themselves that an external presence is the reason for their failure.
As I continued listen to this article, it made me realize how true it is, and how everytime something does go wrong or something unexpected happens we do take it as a sign and convince ourselves to believe it is not in our hands to do somthing about it. I can even place myself in this category to some extent, of being a little superstitious.
Also refering to the 'Confederates in the Attic,' we can place Walt in the category of believing in conspiracies against him, and blaming the government for the situation he is in. Walt blames the government for the situation he is in and feels that he has not been able to be successful because there were conspiracies against him.

PROGRESS IN THE SOUTH

I have come to Georgia Tech all the way from India, specifically Mumbai, if I come to think of what enabled me to come to a country 3000 miles away, the answer would be progress in science. Progress is necessary whether it is in science or in our economies or even in the techniques of farming because progress in anything means succession in that field for the better in my opinion. Coming from a developing country which is on the verge of becoming developed I can say that progress is for the good, since it enables people of all backgrounds to achieve something.
When I reached Atlanta I was amazed at the city’s development and if someone were to tell me that the south in general is not as progressive as the north I would have begged to differ. But after reading all about the south in different articles and novels about the south a few years ago, it is hard to believe the speed at which development has occurred. The south may not have been at par with the north, in terms of incomes, development and so on, and it still may not be to an extent but it is inevitable that the day will come when it will be as developed as the north.
The progress the south is making is not only in the economic sector, but also in the education sector, example being Georgia Tech one of the most highly rated engineering schools in the nation. Also there is progress in the agricultural field, making it easier for farmers to utilize their land to the fullest due to newer technologies and techniques.
Thus in my opinion progress is for the for the better, although it may have a few trade-offs such as unemployment in the long run as machines take over manual labor, loss of leisure time as work becomes essential in a highly competitive market. But on the whole the progress of the south has enabled the people of the south to live with ease and improved the standard of living.

TECHNOLOGICAL HELP

This is a photograph taken of me using the camera on my laptop. If I had technology, such as a camera, to aid me in my essay it would have been a great help to me as I would have been able to show the economic progress visually rather than just write about it. And also a part of my essay refers to the celebration of one of the festivals, and if I had pictures to show for it, then the colors, lights and spirit which defines this festival could be understood properly.

My experiences

This week I was asked to connect one of the arguments made by Horwitz or one of his subjects in the novel Confederates in the Attic to my personal experiences. My experience relates to June Wells argument claiming that 'the South is the better half of the world somehow.'
During my time here in Georgia Tech, I have never felt out of place since the people here are very friendly and are always courteous and helpful. From what I have heard about the North (not having a first hand experience),that the people there are indifferent and not as courteous as the people in the South, and in terms of hospitality the Southerners are much more hospitable than the people in the North. After hearing all this I too believe that the South is the better of the two.

CONFEDERATES IN THE ATTIC

WALT'S ARGUMENT: On page 81 of Confederates In The Attic Walt's argues by saying that, "I'm not an American, I'm a citizen of the Confederate States Of America, which has been under military occupation for the past hundred thirty years."

Although Walt is saying this to Tony Horwitz, he is making a claim essentially against the State, trying to make a point to the fact that he is a rebel and thus mainly intends to address the whole State, the whole nation as matter of fact.

He is claiming that the Confederates are being treated unfairly and are being oppressed by the nation and he supports it with the fact that the State had decided to remove the Confederate flag, their symbol of pride, from the Capitol Dome in South Carolina. Walt's argument that the Confederates were being controlled by the State or nation is a generalization based on his personal feelings or views as to how his life is. Based on his views he generalizes and claims that all the confederates are being oppressed and thus his argument is not extremely effective although it is an emotional appeal, it is not very convincing.

The Bombay Stock Exchange, located in my hometown, Mumbai. This building does not attract tourists nor can it be called a heritage site, but it signifies the essence of Mumbai, the financial capital of India. The Stock Exchange signifies the financial boom, which the nation, especially Mumbai has been going through in the last couple of years.
The BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) has been responsible for the economic condition Mumbai is in right now, and has enhanced the progress of industries over the years.
It is also the oldest Stock Exchange in Asia and the biggest in terms of companies listed.

12 Hour Communications Diary

Communication Activities

1) E-mail to friend (Electronic) - Sent a message to my friend in India via Facebook, asking her as to how things were going back in India.
08/21/2008
10:30 a.m.

2) Phone call to my Dad (Oral) - Called up my father in the afternoon,to ask him how his day was and also to inform him about a deposit that I had made from Wachovia.
08/21/2008
1:00 p.m.

3) Conversation with roommate (Verbal) - Was conversing with my roommate about all the coursework we have already within a few days of classes
08/21/08
7:15 p.m.

4) A goodbye wave (Non-verbal) - Was waving goodbye to my friend who had come from Florida to visit me for a few days at the Marta station, he was going to the airport via the Marta.
08/21/2008
11:30 a.m.