Valley Life

The Valley is known for it's vast variety of bird species, including this unknown bird and it's young that chose to settle at BETA's pond. 

Students walk home while being charmed by a valley sunset.

Flowers seem to bloom with ease in our plant-perfect summer-autumn climate.

Students at Mission High School await their bus to BETA High School.

A Valley Sunset pleases the Edinburg population with a show of golds and reds.

Senior Keovar Simmons stands, waiting for me to catch up as we walk through Palms Crossing, the plaza outside McAllen Convention Center. 

People really like morning tacos here. They take their breakfast very seriously. :)

Highest in the state for DWI, the valley maintains it's reputation as the region that drinks and drives the most. This picture looks blurry, the way that drunkenness is portrayed in movies. I think it illustrates this characteristic of the place we live in. (Cynical, I know. Haha)

UTPA's library holds hundreds of thousands  of books, and actually has moving book shelves to help save space.

A child, just having thrown a tantrum, gives in and holds her hand out for her mother's help. 

iPhone Questions

1. Are you or people you know less likely to buy any of the products listed as a result of the development of smart phones?


2. In general, do you think it is an advantage or a disadvantage to have so many of your technological functions in a single device?
Disadvantage: Maybe, if one depends completely on that one single device, for obvious reasons. If that one device breaks, all functions and conveniences are simultaneously gone.

3. How have smart phones improved our lives?
Smart phones have combined many modern day conveniences and delivered them in a small handheld package.



4. What do you think has been the most important invention of your lifetime? How do your answers compare with the most important inventions of your parents’, grandparents or great-grandparents’ lifetimes?
In terms of technology, I think Wi-Fi/mobile internet has proved to be pretty helpful. People now have the freedom to access information from wherever they are. For my parents and grandparents, I would say a series of medical advancements from the 40's and on. 



5. “There are plenty of studies which insist that smart phones will begin to replace the PC as the common vehicle for accessing the Internet.” Do you agree? If so, does this mean PCs are on their way out? Would you ever stop using them?
I agree only with the condition that a person is understood to spend more time outside their house than inside. Usage of smart phones to access the internet has become ubiquitous because of the convenient service that it offers regardless of activity and location. PCs will still be necessary for other computer applications.

6. Do you have any need for TVs, radios, and other devices, rather than just using your computer for everything? Would you ever want to use your phone as a TV or radio? What are the barriers to either of these things happening? 
TVs aren't being replaced  by smartphones yet. The thing with watching your shows on a device like a smartphone is that you have to know what you want before you watch it. The freedom of a t.v is that you don't have to, and aren't wasting precious time waiting for a new video to load as you're surfing channels.