Challenges in Computer Applications

I think the biggest challenge in Computer Applications, so far, was learning how to work in Microsoft Excel. Before this class, I had never even opened up Excel and had absolutely no idea of how to do anything in it. Although it might be useful to know how to operate programs such as Excel, I don’t think I will ever be using it in my line of work as a Sound Engineer. However, I can see how useful it can be to people involved in businesses, as it makes complicated or long equations, that would be very time consuming, be done with ease. Also, just the entirely new look of Microsoft Office made it a bit harder for me to find certain commands or formatting tools that I had known how to use before. In my opinion, the new look and style just over complicates things, making it especially difficult for anyone who has never worked with any type of word processing or spreadsheet program. Out of Word, Excel, and Power Point, I think that Power Point is still the easiest program to operate. So far, the most fun and enjoyable program I’ve worked with in this class is Apple Garage Band. Garage Band is extremely easy to operate for the average person who doesn’t know anything about music. It’s a shame that Apple hasn’t yet made Garage Band available for Windows users, because if they did, it would probably one of the most bought programs. I am lucky that I already had some computer knowledge before coming into this class because, if not, I would be completely lost now.

Music I Create

I enjoy listening to many different genres of music. The type of music that I like to create can be pretty much anything besides Country. One of my favorite types of music is Punk and I find that it is the most fun for me to play. Although, experimenting with new and different styles always keep things fresh and interesting. The instruments I can play are the guitar (my main instrument), bass, and drums. I don’t really have a preference between the electric or acoustic guitar but being able to have different effect pedals for electric guitars is always fun to play around with. My main influences when writing music are usually the type of music I’m listening to at the time and the mood I am in when creating the music. For the past couple years, Fugazi, Pearl Jam, The Pixies, At The Drive-In, and The Mars Volta have been my main musical influences. Most of the time when I am creating music, it involves someone else on a different instrument. In my opinion, it seems more difficult to write music by myself than with another person. Programs like Apple’s Garage Band make it extremely easy for a single musician to create an entire composition with multiple instruments through its extensive loops library. Another cool feature in Garage Band ’09 is the Magic Garage Band Jam, where you can “audition” different songs of styles of music to play along with, and you can also change the instruments being played. I also like the ability to connect a digital MIDI keyboard, enabling you to record an extensive list of different kinds of real instruments. I haven’t played around with Garage Band long enough to be able to compare it with Digidesign’s Pro Tools software, but I’m sure it is a viable alternative to other expensive digital audio recording programs.

View of My Flash Drive

This is a view of my flash drive.

3's About Me

Three Names I have been called: Andy, Andrew, Rigney

Three Jobs I have had in my life (include unpaid if you have to): IT Tech Lab Monitor at Nevada State College, Facilities Assistant at Nevada State College, Backroom Team Member at Target

Three Places I Have Lived: Vacaville, CA; Conchord, CA; Henderson, NV.

Three TV Shows that I watch: The Office, South Park, Anything on NFL Network

Three places I have been: Lake Tahoe, Valley of Fire, Mesa Verde

People that e-mail me regularly: My grandma, My Mom, Ian Mackaye

Three of my favorite foods: Tacos, Pizza, Rice Pilaf

Three cars I have driven: Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Altima, Dodge Ram

Three things I am looking forward to: Summer, Lake Tahoe, Mars Volta/Pearl Jam/Beastie Boys Concert

What Scares Me About The Internet

What scares me about the Internet? Not much, really. Having taken several computer classes over the years, I know what I’m doing when it comes to what websites I shouldn’t visit and not clicking on random pop-up ad’s or spam emails. My only real concern at the moment is for the security of my laptop, since it currently has no anti-virus or Internet security software; so for right now, I only visit the websites that I need to. I’ve had my fair share of viruses in the past, mainly from downloading music off of a peer-to-peer file-sharing program Limewire. For further security, I now exclusively use Opera Internet browser as the only browser on all of my computers. Aside from being somewhat faster, it has better encryption and a better pop-up blocker than most browsers. I am also planning on getting a new iMac because of the lack of viruses and the increased security of its operating system.



To solve the whole malicious software problem, people just need to be more aware of what they’re doing while surfing the Internet. If everyone could wake up and realize that ad’s advertising a free computer or free iPod would be too good to be true, none of these companies would have any way to make money. Also, I have come to find that most of the victims in the stories involving these fake ad’s or malicious programs are older people, usually above the age of thirty-five. Quite a few people in my family have fallen for these scams; every single one of them were forty years or older. If Internet providers or email clients could offer some sort of guide for people new to technology, I believe that Internet fraud would be less likely to occur. Until then, people will just have to learn from their mistakes.

A One-Man Operation

Ever since the first time I played a guitar, I knew that my future was in music. Growing up in Vacaville, California, I was always involved in something musical (whether it be the school jazz band, school marching band, or jamming in the garage together with my friends.) I moved to Henderson about three years ago. The past four years of my life would not have been the same if it wasn’t for my favorite band Fugazi, of Washington, D.C. They totally changed what I thought good music could be and also introduced me to the whole punk ethos, where I instantly found myself at home. East Bay Productions is a record label/recording studio that focuses specifically on the Punk and Indie music scenes of the California Bay Area. As a fellow musician, I can understand how important it is for artists to have access to high quality recording facilities at a reasonable low price. As for the record label aspect of East Bay, it will be modeled almost directly after the great Indie label Dischord Records, which is owned by punk legend Ian Mackaye (who happens to be one of the guitarists/singers of Fugazi.) Dischord Records has been one of the most prominent and successful record labels of the Punk/Indie scene, having been around for almost thirty years. Future prospective artists/bands for East Bay Productions include Lauren Lavin, Find Me Fighting Them, and possibly some of my own musical projects, involving various musicians from around the Bay Area.