(f o g)(-1)

 I know what you're thinking, what the heck is my title all about? Simple answer, it's the composite function. The composition of f and g is defined as (f o g)(x) = f(g(x)), where x is in the domain of g and g(x) is in the domain of f. So how would we go about solving such an equation?


 Given that f(x) = 2x-5 and g(x) = x -3.


  Consider each function seperatly and read slowly (yet carefully).
   (f o g)(-1) = f(g(-1))
   f(g(-1)) = 2[(-1)-3]-5
   f(g(-1)) = 2[3]-5
   f(g(-1)) = 6-5
   f(g(-1)) = 1


 Simply put, you MUST take the time to read what's going on. Once the instructions are read on mixing a packet of Kool-Aid it's simply executed. Same with this mathmatical equation (even if it is part of a College Algebra math course). It is easily written out, but a bit harder to input into a graphing calculator.


 If you are in a College Algebra class at your college, take the time to see if it uses the aid of MyMathLab. It's a packet that is sold with the math book at your schools bookstore, and comes with access to CourseCompass. And be sure the use of a TI-83, a user friendly graphing calculator which is easily purchased at stores such as Walmart, or Kmart.


 Want to learn more about mathmatics? Check out the Georgia Northwestern Tech website! Our Rock Spring, GA campus offers crutial math classes, with excellent teachers. Scheduling is no problem, as morning, afternoon, evening, and online/hybrid courses are always offered! For more answers and information on everything about our school please feel free to visit our website.

Summertime Fun

Have a plan for this summer break's family time? While many people will plan to venture out into the world for a little while, and spend boat loads of money you don't have to! Chances are there are many adventures to be had right in your own neighborhood and town, you just have to do some digging. But many families won't be having any type of vacation for summer break, so for those who are lucky enough please spend your time well.

So for everyone who is planning to have a home vacation this year that lives within the Chattanooga, TN area, I have put together a list of at home activities to be had in the comfort of your own home land.


1. Have your own Xbox 360 home party (invite friends, family and neighbors). Play games like Trivial Pursuit, Uno, and Scene It?.

2. Go white water rafting on the Ocoee River with the family, or organize a whole group outing and/or weekend!

More will be added soon!

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Now playing: Take That - Greatest Day
via FoxyTunes

Mother's Day

Not sure what item to give Mom this year? I have come up with a small list of five must have items for Moms on the go! Below are my picks for Mother's Day 2009! Clicking the item's name will take you to the product info (from safe web sites, of course); clicking the picture will take you to an affordable place of purchase (through a trustworthy store/person). Thanks for checking out my list!

1. Acer Aspire Pink Mini Notebook

2. Apple iPhone 3G


(Pink iPhone 3G even found here!)


3. Nintendo DS Lite (Metallic Rose)

(Best deal here.)


4. Amazon Kindle DX




5. KitchenAid Stand Alone Mixer (RED)


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Now playing: Coldplay - Til Kingdom Come (Bonus Track)
via FoxyTunes

05-06-09

This is what I have been up to lately here at school (thanks to the wonderful online diagram software, Gliffy). My program design and development class has my class creating program flowcharts, psuedocode, and hierarchies. I enjoy creating the flowcharts though, and generally after I stop trying to over think things, I get the flowcharts done in a comfortable fashion. After I'm able to finish the flowcharts the psuedocode becomes rather easy for me to create, it's all in reading what you've created with your flowchart. Although I have to admit program design and development is my hardest class, it's kind of fun but very challenging.

~~~~~~~~~
Web design tools is another class I'm taking, which isn't going very well. The class required Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, when I had the newest Dreamweaver version, CS4. It has created so many problems too! Like one thing I have noticed so far (with differences anyway) is that the CS4 version doesn't have the option of Flash Text like CS3 has (or if it does, Adobe was rather good at hiding it). But it's funny, I can follow all the steps in the book to get to where it should be and only find all of the other Flash features besides the text thing. Thankfully though, I came up with a quick solution. I switched out rollover images with the Flash text using my Photoshop program, and completed the school assignment without further ado (although I stressed too much over the Flash crap).

~~~~~~~~~
I wouldn't be anywhere in school if I didn't have the use of the great programs I am using! For my program class, Gliffy has been a godsend thanks to it's great features and convenience. It's an online based diagram software that offers way more than most programs that just end up wasting space on your hard drive. With this online program you can save your files as you work to their server and only export it to the storage device you need when you choose! And the great thing is, it's free *smilies*. Anyone who is in need of this type of software should ditch the other programs and give this program a try.

~~~~~~~~~ Although I'm not always a huge fan of the big brands I must give it up to my Adobe software. Thankfully though I didn't have to pay full price for the entire CS4 suite. For anyone interested, the complete suite suite can be found at a sweet web site called Vio Software. Yet for those who are ready to purchase the Web Premium Edition can find it at this web site for only $750! Please don't waste time, you won't find a better deal. I have spent a countless amount of precious time searching the internet for an affordable price for this Adobe suite, and I promise there isn't another to be found at this great rate. Plus they offer free shipping (of course), and (not sure if they're still doing this) I was offered a free full version of McAfee Internet Security 2008 (WITH FREE SHIPPING)! This web site truly is a great place to find software, so please go ahead and take a look.

~~~~~~~~~ PLUS here's a little something I want to share with all of you out there (because I understand how you poor college students, and struggling web designers feel). But anyway Oprah Winfrey, and KFC are giving away a two piece grilled chicken meal, with two choice sides and a biscuit (at participating KFC's)!!! I know, amazing?! This woman gives away chicken too :D

Maybe there's a little connection there? After all, what woman doesn't love a white headed man with that cute little bit of facial hair?!!!

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Now playing: Shinedown - Second Chance
via FoxyTunes

Spring 2009 Quarter

   

T

he spring 2009 quarter has officially begun for all currently enrolled students at Northwestern. The campus is buzzing and the incoming newbies are busily trying to find their class rooms before class starts. Thankfully for this quarter I have become more comfortable with myself on campus than I have been before.

   

B

ut this is my third quarter of being an NTC web design student. My first quarter was the fall 2008, and I took it completely online. To put it nicely I hated it, having it completely online totally isolated me at home and I felt as though I was still that home schooled high school student that I thought I had just left behind. Of course my Mom didn't see anything wrong with doing it all online but I did! Being in college meant (to me at least) wondering into the world and creating your future; on your own. I want to be independent from my parents and staying home and having online college was certainly preventing me from detaching myself from the nest. But after that quarter was over my boyfriend moved into the are from his home in Ohio which calmed me down from my 'get away' attitude. While I still love coming to the campus I enjoy being with Dan not on campus as well.

   

W

inter 2009 was my second quarter, being completely on campus I was slightly nervous my first week. It was a shock factor I needed to outgrow, being around other people for many hours a day wasn't something I was accustomed to. Being home schooled I was only used to being around my brothers, sister, and parents all day (big deal, yeah right). So being in my first class of the quarter's first day was strange. But after a while I got became more comfortable and at ease being with a bunch of other people.

   

N

ow I'm in my third quarter, and I'm mostly taking all on campus. Originally I was completely registered to be on campus all day but my Design Methodology class was canceled due to lack of interest and student numbers. Web Tools is my online class about the program Dreamweaver. Thankfully though it doesn't bother me that I have to have that online, I'm just glad I get to be on campus again. And this quarter has been a totally different experience thus far. I actually know students I pass through the halls, who I sit by during class, and teachers who work busily to make schedules and class plans work for their students. It's nice having someone to talk to while I wait between classes, and to sit by in class. I'm no longer the scared newbie on campus who doesn't know a soul in the world.

03-09-09

Warmer weather is starting to pop up all over the south east area! Trees are in bloom, flowers are springing up, and baby goats have been born at a farm near my school. But is this all happening too soon? For all of those who were alive in the 90's you'll know that a last minute blizzard hit in the month of March, catching many of us off guard. And so I really hope, as many of us probably hope, there won't be any unexpected weather over us for the rest of the winter. Everyone is looking forward to spring and I'd hate to have all of my irises, cannas, and blueberry bushes killed back because of some bitter cold temperatures.

Now because this blog is suppost to be partially on my experiences through my major here at Northwestern I'm going to mention what I've been learning so far. My XHTML class has been a lot of fun, if I'm allowed to call it that... And everytime I learn something new I add the coding into my blog so I can experiment with it. Although it takes a little bit more time to add other coding, and to make it work properly, I get a feeling of pride as I've obviously executed something I've learned! (Don't think I'm snobby, please). Operating Systems isn't the best class I've had, yet I know my teacher Mr. Reed really tries to make it interesting, it's been very very boring the whole quarter. I don't understand why we're taking it, my major is Internet and Web Design so I don't know when I'll actually be using this course's information.

Below is a list of what I hope to get from my time spent here at Northwestern:

• A job! Yes I know, it may happen to be part of the school's slogan, but it's why I'm spending my time here!


• A sense of myself. Since I was homeschooled I feel like I don't know who I am. I need to spend the time around other people (who I may not normally associate myself with) to see how I react, what things I may like, who I am.


• A better relationship with my Dad. Since I've been going to school everyday, I'm not around him as much as I used to. Even though I live at home we're both busy with our own stuff. I've never had a good relationship with him but I've noticed we spend time together better than ever before.


• An understanding of web design. I've been interested in web design since I first signed up for Neopets. I was able to edit pretty much anything anyone else could see, but I had to learn html first. I've known html coding since I was 11 years old!

And since I've mentioned it I may as well introduce those who don't know what it is, to Neopets. It's an online gaming community where you create (or adopt) your own virtual pets. And while there are many virtual pet sites out there, Neopets was one of the first developed. Any fellow Neopians out there can find me under the username pigeonfancy so feel free to add me as your neofriend!. I am also looking around for a new guild, as I'm no longer happy with my own guild. If there is anyone who'd like to work together to develop something new and exciting related within the guild please contact me!

2-27-09

Thanks to my association with SocialVibe and the SocialVibe street team I am able to bring the opportunity above to you, my audience. Interested in being part of the cause? Visit the link below for more information, and visit socialvibe.com as well. Don't forget to let them know tennis sent you!

2-23-09

This afternoon I thought I'd take the time to let you all in on a little secret. Since last week was pre-registration at my school, I've been forced to think about the following question. How on earth am I going to pay for my textbooks?

Textbooks are expensive and rather inconvenient to purchase, especially if you are using Northwestern's bookstore as your textbook source. Along with being plain aggrevating, the campus bookstore is way overpriced, and can be quickly beat out online. BigWords is a search engine for finding textbooks (or anything for that matter). All you do is simply type in the desired book's ISBN number, and the search bot brings up all matching pages from across the internet. Generally the prices are way below retail pricing, wonderful! Not only do we save our money, if we purchase used books we are recycling and thus using less energy (and fewer trees) because we aren't buying new! Even if you aren't looking to buy used they usually have a large selection of new books.

Another idea for finding textbooks saves even more energy, and is so eco friendly I feel I must mention it. And while I am not one who tends to lean towards the most eco friendly ways, I am so excited about this idea I must share it with you. Northwestern's Assistant Dean of Business and Information Technology, Dr. Mathis, e-mailed the idea of purchasing eBooks as an alternative to paper textbooks.

eBook:

"An electronic book which saves paper and can be used on electronic devises such as a computer, iPod, or certain cell phones and compatable mp3 players."

Have a fantastic week, and enjoy all your academic, athletic, or work related activities within your roster!

~E~

2-20-09

Recently I changed my blog layout, from the light to the dark colors. I hope to create my own layout sometime, when I'm not so busy with school.

School wasn't so bad today, but I almost didn't go. I was extremely sick last night with the worst migraine I have ever had and a very high fever. I didn't wake up until 9:30 and didn't really get going until 9:50 this morning, thankfully fever and migraine free. I made it to class on time, and had even stopped to get something quick to eat and an iced coffee from McDonald's. During Math we spent our time going over last night's homework and didn't even go on to 10.4 and are now (once again) behind. Surprising? Not one bit. We are always behind in this class, but it's the most comfortable Math class I can imagine existing yet it makes me feel good that he gets onto the kids who consider his class talk and text time.

This afternoon I 'adopted' a 1 year old guinea pig from a family who's elementary aged kids decided they wanted to trade him out for a fish. I got the piggy, the cage, and the accessories for $20. The lady contacted me after getting my name and number from the pet store I had left it with. I've been looking for a male guinea pig for a while, and the currently named Coco, fit the bill. Regardless of the name he has the crazy Peruvian coat (a longer haired breed of guinea pig with cow licks). And although he is chocolate brown (with gray spots) I don't really like his name, so I am rethinking, and have potentially picked the name Charlie instead.

2-17-09

It's the seventh week of the winter quarter, and early registration. Everyone is busy, and the school is full of students going to and from classes.

I am so glad I registered yesterday and printed my schedule in the registrars office. Currently I am enrolled in Math 98, Design and Methodology, and Program Design and Development for the spring quarter. My new classes mean I will need to adjust my schedule to waking up at 6 a.m. but it eliminates night classes, thankfully!!! And it also means there won't be a big amount of time to sit around in the computer labs, although I'm sure I will dedicate some time to visiting the lab in building 600 to say hi to good old Phil once in a while.

But I have class at 1 and homework to finish before so I will leave with a question: is it possible for a cdr to be used like a flash drive on the Vista operating system?

~E

Sent from my iPhone

01-21-09

I never really thought the operating system in a computer was as important as it really is. It manages everything that goes on in the computer, and I never really grasped that until my Operating System Fundamentals course here at Northwestern Tech. My teacher, Mr. Reed, explains things in a way that have really helped me understand what I need to know. And even though this is his first quarter teaching with our current textbook, you can tell he does know what he is teaching his students.

Some things I have been learning about Web Development is that you should always save your work! Luckily I didn't have to learn from any mistakes with anything important related to that subject. But it's something good to implement into your work with anything computer related. If you weren't in the habit of saving your work as you go your computer may (as an operating system would with finished work) deallocate what you've done. Losing something you've worked hard on due to forgetfulness is something rather disappointing; so it's always a good idea to try to remember and save your work to prevent information loss.

Deallocate:

To remove from the set of resources put aside for a particular user or purpose. (taken from wiktionary.com)

01-16-09

For the past few days I've been working on my XHTML and Operating Systems Fundamentals homework. Wednesday was the last day of the week I have Operating Systems, and the only day I have my XHTML class.

Last night I started to really focus on my work for XHTML, and began working the 'hands on' projects through Chapter 2 of our textbook.

So one of the things I just learned to do was create ordered, and unordered lists; another experience added to my journey into web development.

On another note, I thought I might add some of my favorite places on the Northwestern Tech campus:

Cafeteria

Free internet access, and food (and for the most part, real food!).




Open Computer Lab (600 BLDG)

A quiet place to study, and to be tutored if needed. There's also a printer available.




Lending Library

Although I've never needed to use the Lending Library's available resources I like the thought of knowing it's there. The most I've done there is donate my English book from the '08 Fall quarter. I love the idea of how that library is set up.

~E~

Got questions? Feel free to e-mail me here.

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Now playing: Lifehouse - All in All
via FoxyTunes

01-14-09

One of my first true experiences with web development was in the class room at Northwestern Technical College. About 14 or more students gathered into one room to attended Mr. Charles Estes' XHTML class.

The first project for this class was to create a blog, hence the existence of these words upon the web, and one of my first experiences with web development was born. And as the other projects for this class come and go, I am and will be gaining more experience and adding more knowledge than I had had before.

Chapter 1 in the XHTML Basics textbook told us we may use our blog space to include links to web sites we found interesting or helpful. Sites that we enjoy, which may contain compelling graphics and layouts may be web sites we should include within the links if we choose to provide any.

Through the time I have spent within the walls of the Northwestern Technical College I have learned that the school's bookstore is not the most loved place on campus. They aren't very courteous (which I have learned from experience), and are always rather expensive. I have bought several textbooks from the store, and have regretted every time I have had to put my foot in that door. After a few purchases I decided I would use the internet as my source for buying books (unless the books cannot be bought online). BigWords.com, a web site dedicated to searching the web for the cheapest prices on anything imaginable is one that's been made famous by it's mascot; a large yellow robot.

~E~

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Now playing: Maroon 5 - This Love
via FoxyTunes