EDC 664 - Learning Adventure #7 - 3N Mathematical Adventure

When I made an attempt to work on this learning adventure, I was thinking like this should be fun since I like Mathematics and it would seem only fair to leverage this type of "adventure" after reading Pappert talking about the "language called Mathematics" can shape the way we think about the world and life around us.

For the most part, I leveraged my cadremates to help come up with a way to track the numbering scheme.  This information was recorded by Nick in a spreadsheet over a matter of 2-3 days trying to count the "number."  The other thing that stuck out was trying to understand the formula on how to capture the number of times of seeing the "number" and documenting the output.  What made it fun was that we all had a bit of a challenge at first but, we all came together to talk about how each of us was trying to record and document this exercise.

After all the work that was applied, Cramer came up a C# program to tally it up.  The other way we could've possibly worked this out was by slowing the program down in MicroWorlds EX. (just a thought).  Nevertheless, it was a great opportunity to brainstorm and to come up with an approach to grasp the concept that was presented to us.

Later on, I found out that this was part of a long-time algorithm called "The Collatz conjecture" which is an unsolved conjecture in mathematics named after Lothar Collatz, who proposed this in 1937.  Again, thank you for this learning adventure.  It had us stumped for a little bit but, we survived it by thinking and working together.

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.

EDC 664 - Learning Adventure #6 - Comedian (Jerry Seinfield) & Google Wave

My Reflection about Google Wave: As many of my cadremates have stated earlier and I agree.  In Google Wave, it seemed like the thread that you were contributing to may or may not be on the "major" thread of discussion as it would appear to you as a user "riding the wave."  This tool will be great for an asynchronous session to use the threads as a transcript for later reading.  The vision behind the concept of using Google Wave is great. The implementation and learning process of using Google Wave can be a bit of a challenge. I'm going to go back and look at the "Google Wave" User Guide that my cadremate Nick sent out to see how I can navigate better with this tool. (smile)

My Reflection on Comedian: It was interesting to see the comparison/contrast of a new comic (Orny) and more seasoned comics (Seinfield) going through the process of learning their craft as well as their audiences even when "an audience is dead." It was great to see respect/"love" of other comedians from the likes of Chris Rock/Jay Leno/Bill Cosby just to name a few to just dialogue about what they have witnessed as great comedy and to complement the work that Seinfield and others hav done for this era of time on the comedy scene. Orny seemed like he was placing too much pressure on himself to be great in a "microwavable" way. Patience wasn't his virtue in his learning to be a comic in the business. Respect is earned and not given. He could've learned a thing or two from Pappert in his philosophy of understanding that patience and time can lead to excellence in an area that you are not too familar with.

The quote that helped me reflect upon for this course and our experience so far in MALT is: "To have fun" while doing what you like to do. In this documentary as well as our program, the CoP that the comedians are a part of allowed each person to give and take away best practices on how to "move the crowd." As students, we have to continue to have "fun" and "play" as we learn to be better in our craft, too. Each adventure/skit is a dress rehearsal for each of us to see if we can face the challenges head-on and apply the knowledge learned/shared from others to make each of our steps closer to fulfilling goals.

Overall, I enjoyed watching Comedian after getting past my own thoughts of watching the intial 20+ minutes of Orny ranting and being "full" of himself. ;-)

EDC 664 - Learning Adventure #5 - MicroWorlds EX

My initial thoughts about Learning Adventure #5: This learning adventure seemed like it was going to be one that I would be drawn to.  Programming wasn't something new to me but, I've never learned how to program in LOGO unless I programmed in this language without knowing I programmed in LOGO. (smile)  After reading the directions given from our professor, it seemed that this "adventure" couldn't be that hard of a task to create a 100 x 100 patch with a turtle.  So, I was willing to try this out and complete this task with "ease."  Again, I was optimistic about learning more about MicroWorlds EX and the introduction to LOGO using the turtle.  Thank you Seymour Papert for keeping us entertained while we learn.

What did I learn while using MicroWorlds EX: This software was fairly easy to use but, that's after reading the information and experimenting with several tries of coming up with a patch that would make some sense to me.  Talking with my other cadremates, I found out that some of us had programming experience and some of us did not.  For those of us who had the programming experience, it was like "a walk in the park."  For those of us who had little to no programming experience, it was a bit challenging.  To make a long story short, this adventure was a success through the help of Fabiola, Dillon, and Mike T.  The strength of knowledge shared among many can accomplish a multitude of challenges that we face daily.  Again, the hatching of the turtle and understanding the "lingo" in LOGO programming helped me to accomplish this task with ease.

Here's a screenshot of my patch for the quilt as demonstrated via Wink 2.0: 

My reflection: As I reflect my thoughts about this "adventure," I was thinking about my experiences as a child learning BASIC for the first time and how much easier it would've been to learn how to program if MicroWorlds EX was available in the early 80s.  The very 1st program that I wrote was about 50 to 100 lines just to make Mr. Bojangles dance left and right in one specific location.  This adventure made me think more like a child going through MicroWorlds EX as Pappert would've wanted us to do so.  Another programming software that comes to mind is Python (which seems to be another variation of MicroWorlds EX).  Again, my patch included the Pepperdine University colors of Royal Blue and Orange.  Renaming the turtle and adding the commands were very simple to do.  If all programming languages were like LOGO and  introduced to all of us at an early age, how much more advanced would our programming skills be to take on the challenges of C#.  The learning curve would be a lot less challenging and it would probably inspire more of us to pursue this skillset.  By taking my time with this exercise, it has inspired me to invest into learning my programming languages again to become proficient in this area.  This will help me share information and expose this type of technology to other students and future programmers.

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.

EDC 664 - Learning Adventure #4 - Inspiration with Webspiration

My initial thoughts about Learning Adventure #4: When asked to do this “adventure,” I was like why are we doing mind mapping? What does mind mapping has to do with learning? As always, I am willing to try a new tool to assist towards my learning. Furthermore, I cannot like using a tool without trying it. So, I am going to try it and see if this beta product (tool) will come handy beyond using it for this Learning Adventure.

What did I learn while using Webspiration: This tool was fairly simple to use without a huge learning curve. When reading Papert’s book, “The Children's Machine - Chapter 3: School: Change and Resistance to Change,” it allowed me to gather my thoughts about education from a new teacher’s point of view. I actually recorded the key points from this chapter and placed them first in Microsoft OneNote 2007 and then I pasted them into Webspiration via its Outline View. The Outline View allowed me to paste my outline in without any problems but, it still didn’t format my notes correctly when I switch over to Diagram View. In the Diagram View, it shows a “nifty” map of graphics from the highlights that I had listed in my outline. My cadremate Jamie showed us a tool he uses called Mead Map (aka Comapping) which is very similar which seems to have a bit more structure with its “Diagram View.” If I had to compare the two programs, Mead Map would be an ideal tool to use for this exercise than Webspiration. Again, Webspiration is free and its still in beta so, I didn’t expect too much from it other than allowing me to collaborate with others to compare “notes” on the assigned chapter.

http://www.mywebspiration.com/view/294150a778f is the URL location of the mindmap created in Webspiration.

My reflection: As I reflect back on this learning adventure, it reminds me of the times I would use Microsoft Visio to create flowcharts and diagrams to make textual thoughts more vivid through the use of graphics. I’ve used several different note taking software programs and one of my favorite would have to be Microsoft OneNote 2007 and a close second would be Evernote. I’ve used Adobe Connectnow, Elluminate, and Microsoft LiveMeeting to collaborate with other team members, colleagues, business partners, etc., online. The low light of them all is that most of them are not free of charge and they require a fairly high price tag to subscribe for use. Also, they require quite a bit of bandwidth over the network (Internet) to have real-time collaboration work effectively. The highlight of these software tools would be that you can use them anywhere without any restrictions other than not having an Internet connection. Over the time of using these software tools, the learning curve became minimal upon having more times to practice delivering my presentations and prepping for meetings. Practice makes perfect more so excellence. Webspiration is actually pretty good and I’m pretty sure that I will use it for future use to help me gather my thoughts for future presentations/projects. Lastly, this seems to be an easy to use, straightforward Web 2.0 application that will continue to be used for my learning.

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.

EDC 664 - Learning Adventure #3 - Celestia

Learning Adventure #3: Celestia
“To infinity...and beyond!” from Buzz Lightyear of Toy Story

My initial thoughts about Learning Adventure #3: When it comes to exploring space, I thought this would be a pretty cool exercise to do with Celestia. I was new to using this program and I never heard of it until we were asked to partake in this adventure. Out of curiosity, I wanted to see if there was a meaning behind the name of the program and I found out that the origin of the word is Latin which means “heavenly.” If you are going to have a program that involves space exploration and stars, this name fits very well.

What did I learn while using Celestia: The first thing that I noticed about this program was that there was a slew of keyboard/mouse commands to learn if you wanted to delve into the program. My first stake of learning was to just “jump in” and play around a bit to see if I could view the whole solar system beyond just the demo. As I “flew” around the program, I was noticing the flight path of Haley’s Comet, the orbital of the International Space Station, and the Earth and the Moon as our satellite in real-time. The coolest thing that I thought was a bonus was that you could download and explore science fictional worlds from the likes of Star Wars, Star Trek, and Babylon 5 (just to name a few). Growing up as kid, I was and still am a fan of Star Wars. The introduction of the light saber and how a Jedi would learn how to master its use was just phenomenal to see on the screen as a kid and the science behind the scenes for using this “tool” in the movies were very interesting to know from the documentary of STAR WARS™: THE LEGACY REVEALED which re-aired on the History Channel and from commentary from George Lucas himself in the 6-Disc DVD movie collection. The key lesson that I explored was the History of the Zodiac Constellations. As a kid, I knew a few of them based on reading from World Book Encyclopedias, taking a look into the sky at night, and by asking my science teacher to help me confirm what I thought I may have seen. The key constellations that I learned about as a kid were Ursa Major (Big Dipper), Ursa Minor (Little Dipper) - North Star (Polaris) and Orion (based on the 3 stars in the belt). The Zodiac Constellations were not part of the initial program so; I downloaded the script and installed it into the program. This script was developed by Marco Klunder and it was a 3 part lesson that was a bit interesting to understand about the Heliocentric theory (Galileo) and the concepts of understanding the origins of the characters based on Animals, Persons, and Mythical Objects.

Overall, I learned to just have fun with this program and explore what’s out there. Note: When I tried to install the add-ons for Star Wars, I was able to download them but, it wouldn’t run and that had me stumped for hours. I looked through a lot of forums and I didn’t seem to find a solution to just look at The Death Star or the X-Wing/Tie Fighters in Celestia. The culprit of the problem ended up being the way the add-on was authored and Celestia didn’t want to load them.

Hypothesis of my Celestia question: NASA and ESA, and Chris Laurel would validate/authorize what would be added and/or modified in the Celestia program.

My Celestia Question/Problem that I wanted to find an answer to: Who validates that the information provided in the Celestia program is accurate and how is this program updated to provide newer stars/galaxies/explorations?

Answer: Through my findings, it seems that Celestia is updated/validated by the general public of enthusiasts who provide the explorations/adventures/modifications based on copyrighted and information that is free of use. The users in the Celestia community forums provide the mast majority of updates on a monthly basis and final approvals are granted to include updates by Chris Laurel, other developers, and advisors of the Celestia program. This free program gives us a great example of having a virtual field trip on your computer in space without going to an actual planetarium or buying a telescope.

My reflection: As I was exploring with the Celestia program, I reflected back to the time when I was about 7 years of age. I was the type of kid who was had a knack for science and especially space exploration. I could tell you the planets of the solar system as well as their moons. Also, I could tell you the different constellations of the stars and could provide a comparison between a lunar and solar eclipse. I was into this space exploration thing so much that my father bought me a black and white Tasco telescope with the solar filter which allowed me to look at sun spots during the day and magnified images of Saturn. Saturn seemed to be so cool and unique to me because of its spectacular rings. Later on, I would find out that Neptune would have a fainted ring around it, as well. The other thing that I could remember is that they would stop the scheduled program you were watching to display the launch of one of the many missions. The Space Shuttle program was so interesting to me and to understand how fast the shuttles would launch into space was remarkable. After the launch was complete, the stations would resume back to the previous program. Thanks to cable and DTV everything is now shown on the NASA channel instead of public television. As an adult, I still get excited when I know that a space shuttle launch is about to happen and I am able to watch it as if I was there. It just seems that the interests of students to see launches are not too popular these days. As you may have guessed it by now, I was very interested in becoming an aeronautical or computer engineer. I haven’t travelled physically in space yet but, there’s no harm in dreaming and continuing to reach for the stars. My exploration so far has been via my telescope as child and now through Celestia as an adult. This program allowed my inner child to appear like I was watching Interplanet Janet in Schoolhouse Rock while having fun through Celestia. This adventure was right down my alley. Lastly, my inspirations growing up who paved the way for me and other children who dared to dream are: Benjamin Banneker, Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr., Guy Bluford, and Dr. Ronald McNair. Even though I didn’t mention Dr. Mae Jamison earlier, she is an inspiration of mine, too. I attended a NSBE conference where she was the keynote speaker and she “blew the roof off.” In other words, she was very impressive.

Thank you for allowing me to explore and express my thoughts.

EDC 664 - Learning Adventure #2: Music makes me loose control...Not when I'm learning it.

As I type this entry, I am reflecting on my experience in using Sibelius First (version 5) and Sibelius 6 Demo.

Reflection on music project:

I had trouble with Sibelius First (version 5) because it wouldn't load for me in Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit) no matter which shim I would use to trick it in thinking I was running Windows Vista, Windows XP, etc., So, I ended up using Sibelius 6 Demo which supported running Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit) and it would load with ease. One caveat was that after you compose your piece, you couldn't save it. I had to be creative for saving my work and to have evidence of using the software. The other caveat was I had to find another way to save the song and export it into an MP3. Thank goodness for Audacity. It's free and it works like a champ to convert your raw song data into MP3s.

Past Background with Music:

Music is something that I have truly enjoyed all throughout my life. I started to learn music theory early on in 7th grade (Middle School) when you had to learn how to play the recorder and "master" it. The first song that I learned to play on the Recorder was "Mary Had a Little Lamb." It seems so simple to me to play this children's song in my head over the years. After moving from the recorder, I chose the trumpet to see if I could be the next Dizzy G. or Wynton M. The trumpet is a magnificant instrument to play and it was a bit of a challenge for me to learn it as well. The key thing that I had challenges with was my embrosure when playing. Although, I would eventually learn how to play the trumpet, I would only be a 1st/2nd chair fighting for the top spot with another kid that was better than me at the time. Overall, we would challenge each other and switch back and forth every week (friendly competition). As the dust settled, I ended being the 2nd chair (the next highest seed in my section of 10) for trumpet but, it still allowed me to learn from others as well as try out other instruments in class. The bottom line: I played the trumpet from 7th grade to 9th grade (Junior High). In high school, I was in the marching band my sophomore year and I switched from trumpet to the Baritone as suggested by my Band director Mr. Pierce (Best Band Director in NC). He noticed that I could play the trumpet but, my embrosure was a problem more so now in high school than my earlier years in middle school and junior high. So, I switch and I even liked it more since the mouthpiece was more comfortable for me to play the Baritone. Again, I played the Baritone for the next two years in band class but, not on the field after my sophomore year. I wanted to play football my Jr and Sr years and I did.

Present environment:

I am using Audacity to help finalize some of my student's video projects so, it helped me alot to use this tool for this Learning Adventure. In the past, I just used the simple Sound Recorder which is very effective except it usually saves in wave format which can be very large files. Sibelius is not difficult to use. It's just hard to load after you install it. (smile) Thank goodness for from my past on knowning what 4/4 means and remembering music theory from my childhood.

What I learned:

Have fun and expect to have some challenges when you are working with new software/tools. Overall, you have to be tenacious in your efforts to accomplish tasks. Again, have fun while you're doing it.

Conclusion:

At first, I was just tinkering around adding different notes like a child would do and I had fun. Second, I later realized that I remembered two different songs that I could play on the keyboard interface to add to my composition: "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and the hook from "I Need Love" by LL Cool J to add a remix of sorts. Later on, I was exploring the different tools and I started to add "Ideas" to the composition which allowed me to get more structure with the beats and rhythms which concluded my piece. Again, this was a fun but challenging adventure working with Sibelius. Furthermore, it gave me an opportunity to demonstrate competence and critical thinking skills to solve problems I was having early on. It gave me an opportunity to understand what I was learning and a chance to reflect upon my experience with music as a child and as an adult. "Let the music play!"

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.

EDC 664 - It's Good To Be King article discussion

My initial thought about this was like, "Whoa!" This is a "grown man" playing make believe where it was a reality in his (Madison) eyes. His following was invited to join via word of mouth/technology later on and his mother died in the process where he couldn't think of any words to say for her but, could break down Taloosa's by-laws to keep "his world" ongoing. Unbelievable! I don't disagree about having an imagination. It's a bit sad to hear that family and friends separated themselves from him and others that followed this world of Talossa. While reading this story, it made me think about the challenges that many people are facing by being laid off from work and trying to find work these days to take care of their family or themselves. Some people just don't have the time to play and disgregard responsibility.

Years ago, I can remember a few of my co-workers not coming to work/sleeping at the desk and soon to get fired by taking the online game EverQuest to serious. EverQuest became an addiction that they couldn't shake off. It's unfortunate that it costs these co-workers their jobs but, they were negating their obligations in real life. Also, there has been one well-publicized suicide of an EverQuest user named Shawn Woolley that resulted in his mother, Liz, founding Online Gamers Anonymous.

Cramer - Thanks for bringing up D&D. The game and cartoon were fun to play and watch. I can remember all the kids wanting to be Merlin since he was one of the more popular characters. Every year in October thru November here, they have the Renaissance Festival (http://www.royalfaires.com/carolina/) to celebrate medieval times and perform several role plays. The participants really go all out for this event.

Mary, Mike T., and all: I have to agree that Fraternities and Sororities are valuable assets to each individual that joins them as well the sense of community that each brings on a global scale and daily basis. I can assure you that I joined my fraternity because I felt my "talents" could be an asset to the organization, as a whole. Most of these organizations were created to uphold a sense of community and scholarship. Although you may have not agreed with all members in your organization, you do establish friendships for a lifetime. The challenge that all these organizations need to be mindful of is how can we continue to be relevant and resourceful to "reach back" and uplift those in need.

Overall, this article reminded me that the world as we see it may not be the world we live in. Some people are living behind their online personas through technology and trying to make it the reality of this world beyond it really being virtual. We need to tell people to be mindful of their extra-activities by shuting down "Mafia Wars," for instance, before someone really feels that they are part of something bigger than what is actually happening in their real lives. "They are not of the world, as I am not of the world." - John 17:16

EDC 664 - Thoughts on Silverman Maze article discussion

My initial questions while reading this were, "Why are they cheating to get through a maze? and What are they going to gain for solving this?" My thoughts were "Just get through the maze, keep it moving, and be appreciative for completing the maze like everyone else." Ok, it took them about 1.5 hours to get through the maze the first time.

After 2 years of developing rules and utilizing their system/technology, they thought of different ways to complete the maze with a faster time for the 2nd and 3rd runs. I would think this to be the outcome after working this hard for a game and to finally overcome the challenge of completing the maze in record time (11 minues).

The other part of this story that I agree with is that they found an easier way to solve a problem by utilizing technology. It made me think back to our first experiences of solving the LEGOMAN problem at VirtCamp where we collectively had to develop 4 robots to carry the LEGOMAN from one robot to the next. As simple as playing with LEGOs was, we had to leverage each other to program the BLOCKS, build the robot, and synchronize our time.

Futhermore, their team placed alot of emphasis on getting the card stamped while going through to complete the maze, as well as, placing their name on the "Winner's List!" This made me think more about "bragging rights" rather than geniunely completing the maze like others may have. It was very clear to see that Silverman and his family were shocked to see the Winner's List removed after they completed the maze the 3rd time and to see that the one of the worker's accuse them of cheating. Again, we wouldn't know if they were cheating unless there were rules stating that you couldn't utilize technology to diagram the "maze." Overall, I see that Silverman was being very creative to solve a problem with technology

that could've been thought of before but, no one else may have cared to have this information/story documented on how to complete the maze for others. This was very interesting to read although I just knew I wouldn't agree with this story at first and after they were planning how they would accomplish the tasks for a quicker time through.

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.

EDC 664 - Steven Levy interview of Stephen Wolfram article discussion

My initial thoughts about reading the Wolfram interview:

1) Wolfram being so "intelligent" had lost touch with being a real with himself and his feelings towards others. He didn't seem to be appreciative of the "legacy of knowledge" that he came from being the son of a novelist and philosophy educator. He knew (moreso told) he was a genius and a whole lot smarter than others in the areas of physics and complex systems than those who would be in his prescence.

2) I truly admired his "confidence" which seemed to be arrogance from the writer (Levy) on how the universe was no more than 4-5 lines of code that could be calculated in Mathematica (a much smaller codebase) than that of Microsoft Windows (which had to be Windows 95 aka "codenamed Chicago") which contained ~ 30,000+ lines of code to discover how the cosmos work together. Those lines of code in Wolfram's mind had to be the abridged version on how he looked at the universe without telling Levy what he was really thinking.

3) Wolfram's story reminds me of my former Distinguished Physics professor Dr. Peter Hall who was considered a prodigy finishing MIT at age 18 with degrees in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Physics. He would later have over 25+ patents with Bell Laboratories (now AT&T). The differences between Wolfram's story and the story of my former professor would seem to be that Wolfram isolated himself from the world whereas my professor would always have a limmerick to share that would get us started to learn Physics and how we can change the world.

4) It was interesting to see that Wolfram saw the computer being a primary research tool early on. It enlighted me to see that how his story as well as many others have been overshadowed by Gates, Jobs, and Edison to name a few. This story was actually interesting to read and to see how he didn't let Caltech deter him from developing and keeping his intellectual property per se. He just picked up and went elsewhere to maintain control and develop his own "empire" which made millions.

5) My last thought about this article was that it was interesting to see the reflection of the timeline when Levy met Wolfram back in the 80s where he seemed to be ambitious and a bit of a "hot head" and to see how he was 10 years later as the "family guy" with a appreciation of his lifelong, ongoing work captured in his book, "A New Kind of Science." Personally, I can relate to being a bit adventureous 10 years ago before being the family guy. I didn't play life for keeps but, I worked long hours to accomplish much and to be rewarded for it. Fast forward to the present and I now see each day as an opportunity to make a difference in this world for my family, community, and the world. Life is no longer a game of checkers as it was 10 years ago for me. I have to be a bit more strategic (i.e., like chess) and plan ahead a lot more for the future of the legacy that I will leave for generations to come. Again, I'm not agreeing that the universe is only 5 lines of code. It just makes me wonder about Wolfram's faith towards God since saying this because this would be a bit of a contridiction of what has been passed down about the creation of the earth, heavens, and life as we know it since the beginning of time.

This was an interesting read for us to be introduced to.

Again, thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.

EDC 664 - Learning Adventure #1b: "The Chicago 7 Were Martyrs"

The Chicago Seven were martyrs in their own rights as US Citizens.  They were opposing policy and they accused of using their right to speak on.  It's unfortunate how you are asked to be quiet or don't be a whistleblower when you have information to share with masses of people but, it has the potential to do more harm than good for the people that you are "fighting" for.

During this time, The Black Pathers were doing the same exact thing by opposing a problem in America that involved the "people."  To be accused of picketting/riotting for a cause is disrespectful to those who are standing in the gap for those who choose not to do anything about it.

To a degree, this group caused political conventions to "step up" their game for candidates to speak on issues and they might have opposed.  I could only imagine the impact behind the coverage of this headline story.  The downside of understanding the question whether they were martyrs or not.  Again, the Chicago Seven seem to be martyrs by their actions to communicate what needed to answered pertaining to the stigmas that developed from this occurance.

The only major question to ask is:  "Would the outcome be any diifferent if the Chicago 7 were of a different race (i.e., African-American, Native American, Hispanic, etc.,)?

Again, thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.

EDC 664 - Learning Adventure #1a: "Is Ned Kelly a Hero?"

"Is Ned Kelly a hero?"

After reading about Ned Kelly on the web and using my "wetware" (brain) to share some thoughts, I have come to the conclusion that Ned Kelly is not a hero. He was a person of influence and his leadership led him down a wrong path of committing crime and murder. Although his father was a convict, Ned had to make choices in life whether he was going to do right by abiding to the laws or wrong by following his father's lead to commit a crime.

I truly believe in doing what is best for your family or community although, it should not be done through an act of crime or murder. A hero understands that his decisions in life will dictate the possible outcomes of his family and community. The decisions made are to be done for establishing a legacy for the good of order (not of disfunction).

By Ned Kelly committing the act of murder of 3 policemen, it made him look like a criminal when he and his "gang" went into hiding away from the law. Another thought would be that this act made him look like a hero to his peers and people who may have wanted each of the policemen gone or they were hoping for a person to step up and take charge of the community. There's no telling what could have went on that day for Ned of being accused of taking a horse ride. (smile) Nevertheless, we all have to be responsible for our actions.

Why go into hiding if you consider yourself innocent? A hero does not run away from something they believe in or challenges ahead. They stand in the mist of things despite the circumstances and they walk with rightgeousness in their heart. A hero lives with honor and nobility which allow him to surpass standards and it exemplifies his qualities that can last a lifetime. Regardless of his actions, Ned's life was "on the line" for his family and community the wrong way. It just seems that his decisions went down an unfortunate path that I nor other people would chose to jeopardize the existence of their family legacy.

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.

JF