Ok first before doing "The Final Blog" I will answer your question from the blog below. It is not that I am afraid that artificial intellegence will rise up and kill us all (in fact I think humans will eventually rise up and end up killing ourselves). I also think that robotic limbs are way cool too. I wasn't going down the path of artificial intellegence. I was going down the path of the military. See in the article it also stated that this program was getting most of its funding from the military and I just made me wonder why because even though it would be nice to give soldiers back limbs they lost I wouldn't have thought that to be a main priority of theirs that they would be willing to fork over that kind of cash. So that got me thinking about (way way way into the future obviously) the military runing these things and that they only really ever take an interest if there is a potential to use it to kill someone. Like integrating soldiers with robotic limbs that do various things etc...I don't know...or they wouldn't be so effected if they were shot (just what the world needs armies of soldiers that don't die...making longer wars and more civilian losses) or maybe they are working on something else entirely...it just made me wonder when they said the military was funding the organization...to me that spells yet another good thing that is turned into a potential "weapon in progress."
Well in any case enough about that. If I had to give future students advice I would say this: 1) Don't go to the writting center if you want help with a paper in this class. Go straight to Andrew because he is willing to help, is usually bored in his office hours and tells you exactly what he thinks. As he is the teacher that is a big help because if he says it's crap...well then it was good to know in advance wasn't it? 2) Don't be daunted by the first class (or week for that matter). It's seems like the class will be strange and out there and maybe you just won't get it because some of the ideas look a little over your head...they're not. Well once you get into the class it is such a creative and fun way of doing an English course. 3) Protest Blogs from the start...give as many resons for their demise...if that doesn't work then proceed to try knocking them down to once a week (as that would be much easier to keep up with your own and with other people's) BUT if that fails, then don't forget to keep up with them because it is very easy to forget that they are ACTUALLY PART OF YOUR GRADE. 4) Talk in class. Class is not fun unless everyone is throwing their opinion out there (no matter how off the wall it may be). Arguing with yourself is no fun, so ask people questions and really get into it. Sit towards the front so you are right there in the action.
I for one am glad that it was as out there and creative as it was and that it wasn't just another bog standard English class and when people really participate the classroom discussions can be really fun. Arguments are such a great way to go.
Ok Andrew that about sums it up from me. I really did enjoy the class and I hope the tips help in someone in some way...but they are all very obvious really. See you around. Jill
December 4, 2005 Monday Blog
I just read an article and I don't know if it was wonderful news or if it was disturbing. I am completely in the middle for this one. It was an article on robotic limbs. There are several companies in Europe and Asia that are working on this technology. They say that for people that have had limbs amputated (and they also specified war troops as the States give a lot of funding for that in particular) they can be replaced by these "biorobotic" limbs. They can, through surgery, attach nerves to electrodes and so on (which sort of makes sense considering that our bodies are in some was just machines, that our senses are actually electric impulses sent from the brain and back) so they can attach them to be like another arm. The person will actually have minimal feeling and will be able to control it like any other muscle only a bit slower (but I assume they are going to work on that too).
So my first thought was COOL and I thought about Star Wars and Luke's hand and figured how cool would it be to be able to do that. They are also proposing that they could introduce this technology to the public in the next two years. HOWEVER the other half of my opinion is else where because this is just the beginning. If people can do this they won't stop there. And indeed the article then said they were doing other robotic technologies that involved walking functioning humanoid type robots and I thought that could go two ways....one is cool to think about and the other could potentially be dangerous. I hate to go all space age paranoia, but then anything is possible right?
And why is that bad? Just because we have robots doesn't mean they are going to kill us. It's a common trope in Sci-Fi pop culture, but who's to say what will happen? Anyway, I think mechanical limbs are all the way cool. What sort of fears do you have about this technology? Why is it a problem? If you are worried about implanting things in the body, remember that we've been using vaccines to reprogram our immune systems for quite a while. If you are worried about artificial intelligences rising up and destorying humanity, I would offer a paraphrase of a quote from Rodney Brooks (who is one of the most brilliant people on Earth (his book Flesh and Machines is amazing)): "I don’t think robots are going to take over from us because there isn’t going to an an ‘us’." Whenever people talk about robots taking over, like Bill Joy, humans forget that notions of what it means to be "human" are rapidly breaking down: as we bring digital technology into closer and closer contact with our daily lives, we become less and less classically "human." So, anyway, I'd be interested in hearing what you're so worried about. - EschaTon
November 28, 2005 Monday Blog
An Introduction to Buddhism. Ed. C. George Boeree. 2000
2000 <http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/buddhaintro.html∞>
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/features/buddhism_in_britain/images/meditation.jpg∞
November 16,2005 Thursday Blog
Here is a picture of a woman meditating. She is a practicing Buddhist. The reason this picture is relevent to my project is because it is personal belief systems like Buddhism that I thought would be a good replacement for the religions of today. See buddhism is not a religion as such. Buddhism is a way of life, a philosophy, a psychology and a way of thinking. There is no God and there is no prayer or worship of anyone or anything. I am afraid that yesterday things went a bit pear shapped. My argument is not actually about "whether or not to ban relgion" what I was really trying to say for an argument was that the world may be better off without it. After all the State causes all of the bad things that religion causes. Religion asks for money (so does the State) religion can cause wars (so does the state) and so on...the question I was really posing was "Do we really need both things reaking certain aspects of havoc?" (because of course BOTH have their good points too). So I don't really think religion could ever be banned and I don't think people should EVER try. But when I was up there before I even really made my point (which is often difficult for me to do in front of large groups of people anyway) people just kept "wanting blood" or more specifically to know "well what are you going to do about religion" "how are you going to replace it" yada yada yada....so I just bolted out with "well ban it for all I care" LOL which was never part of my agenda, but then I had to go with it didn't I, even though it is not part of my project LOL. In any case that has nothing to do with my project. My real topic is not "To Ban or Not To Ban That is the Question" but is actually "Would the world be a better place if...?" To which my I will argue yes and this is why...blah blah blah..... So are we all on the same page?? GOOD
November 9, 2005 Wednesday Blog
What the hell lets make it two blogs tonight. It's a good subject and I have one more thing to add. I say slightly smarter cave men, but not smarter by much. How many of us out there know how do anything that doesn't require the help of technology. Let's say for a minute we blasted ourselve right back to the beginning but with few habbitable places and not a huge number of survivors. Who would know how to start a fire? You can't just rub ANY two sticks or strike ANY two rocks. We would have to learn to hunt and gather all over again. Yeah sounds easy but do you know which berries and mushrooms to eat without killing yourself? Also have you ever tried to kill a deer with a sharp stick (I would be willing to bet most people don't know how to make a bow and arrows...so I went with a spear), those sons of bitches run really fast!! Better yet how many of us can put up a really decent shelf? Even if you managed to kill the thing, would you know how to tan the hide for future use? I think that at the end of this future war when people take this production of WMD's too far we literally will be thrown back to the stone age.
November 9, 2005 Wednesday Blog
I can only wonder how many points come off for each blog you miss...I hope it's not too much. I can't believe how busy I have been. I decided to have a bit of fun and go out for a student film and join the theater club and stuff like that. So now I am in the process of making two films and a theatre production and this is going on all at the same time!! Well I can tell you what I won't be doing the theatre again...it is four hours of rehearsal five nights a week and that is a big chunk of time! Ok any way talking about the end of the world today in class. Well I will be honest I would love for something like Star Trek to happen (relative peace...as you will never have complete peace) but I actually will have to be a pesimist on this one. I don't really know if the Matrix or Terminator will happen that is a bit far fetched. However I think the future will probably end in disaster because we keep thinking up new, inovative and "entire population threatening" way to kill ourselves. So I think the future holds a gigantic war that will throw us back to the stone age only with slightly smarter cave men. LOL
November 1, 2005 Tuesday Blog
Well I don’t know about the rest of you, but I had a hell of a time with this particular argument topic. I just couldn’t think of anything to do it on and all of the ones I thought of were WAY to loaded and could be thirty pages long and the others were not loaded enough and could be explained in two paragraphs. So I was not a happy camper and to top it all off I’m not even sure I was completely understood what was being asked of me (typical of me I guess lol) so that didn’t help and only frustrated me further. So I came out with what I came out with and I’m not sure if I did the right argument. What can I say I’m slightly lost on this one (and the description sounded so easy too) and THAT SUCKS.
October 31, 2005 Monday Blog
Well today was ok…as you all know I dressed up as gold-i-locks or something like that. LOL In any case this evening I went to a call back audition for a film that I auditioned for last week. To my delight I got the part!! So that was cool. I was also offered something else too. Nothing to do with the film, but the same guys are filming an instructional video for a company and they asked if I would be that corny chick that’s in instructional videos. I get a little fee too which is always nice. Who knows I might be a film star yet :D
October 29, 2005 Friday Blog
I actually don’t remember seeing that particular Simpson’s Halloween Special and I have to say it was a bit gorier than usual LOL really it was though. In any case I know we are supposed to talk about the satire that was used. Well I always thought that satire was simply one thing making fun of another in a comical way to prove a point (sort of). I looked it up online and that is pretty much what I found. I would say it did a great job of teasing some films and making fun of them. I especially love the copyright comment by Willy. So there you go.
October 27, 2005 Thursday Blog
I know it has been a little while since I have blogged…with the wiki being down and then with just forgetting it was back up. So in any case I would just like it to be known that I hate almost all forms of really modern technology! Also in that group I don’t like unreliable people! You can tell I have had a wonderful day :)
October 18, 2005 Tuesday Blog
For my causal argument I chose to explain why there is conflict between Palestine and Israel. I thought it would be good to do because I didn’t actually know myself. I don’t know what I had always “assumed” was the reasoning for the conflict was, but it wasn’t what I expected. I had come to think of Israel as this teeny tiny country just “tryin’ to survive” amongst a lot of other countries that didn’t like them. Well I hate to be the one to say it but this was a real eye opener for me. No wonder the Arabs don’t like the Israelites, I mean you don’t just walk into someone’s country and commandeer their land to give to someone else and with no compensation. Every other country including our own is saying “can’t we all just get along and live in peace” great question really, but I didn’t see any other country willing to fork over large random bits of their own land for the sake of the Jewish State. However I obviously don't condone any of the violent actions that have taken place on behalf of this cause, but I am a bit more understanding of where they are coming from.
October 17, 2005 Monday Blog
Well silly as it sounds I haven’t got anything else to talk about right now accept that I am very upset about Ebay!! It sounds like a cool idea people putting their belongings on sale which is something they couldn’t normally do anywhere else all in one spot. Yeah well whatever, this whole bidding thing has got to go! Give me a price and see if I’ll pay it. I have to wait like two weeks to figure out if my bid will work or not and in the mean time someone may out bid me and all that jazz. What can I say I’m way too impatient for this kind of thing. LOL
October 16, 2005 Another Sunday Blog
I saw this film last night at the HUB and I just wanted to say how disturbed I was. You have your horror films with monsters and as spooky or scary as they might be they don’t quite hit me like this did. I saw “The Island” and I was horrified!! I walked out in disgust, not for the film the film was great, but sort of disgusted with the human race. The reason for that was because in my honest heart of hearts I just wouldn’t put it past the human race to do this sort of thing. I’m sure we would never have to because you could probably just clone individual organs, but if for some reason you couldn’t and we had to clone entire humans and then slaughter them and take their liver (or whatever) I actually think people would try it! Ahhh I couldn’t even sleep last night LOL
October 16, 2005 Sunday Blog
I read Eschaton’s blog about thinking critically. I can’t say this is directly related, but it’s somewhere along those lines. It’s about how annoying thinking critically can be (on some subjects). I am taking this world mythology class and unfortunately it doesn’t have a whole lot to do with mythology. Well ok it does, but not just casual reading, it’s the analysis of myths. That’s cool and all but when we are asked what we think the story is trying to say about certain issues unless we have the same opinion of the professor, we are wrong. Well that sucks because how do you know…you can’t ask the author, so how does the professor know that their analysis is correct? On my last test I got a few zeros on a few essay questions because my “opinion” about what something was trying to say or teach was incorrect. My only thought was “Well I’m sorry to question, but how the heck do you know?”
October 11, 2005 Tuesday Blog
WHOA! I just read the comments on my Analogy Argument. I already knew that I have a problem with clarity. I have a tendency to say something once, but feel I didn’t state it well enough and so I state it again. So I basically end up with five different ways to say the same thing :D which can only end in…confusing. The effort to fix it is there though; you should have seen how unclear it was to start with LOL. What I didn’t know is how much trouble I have with commas. I suppose I trust Microsoft Word too much, even though I know that mistakes can get by it. Live and learn better luck next time I guess.
October 10, 2005 Monday Blog
Well I would just like to start out by saying “wow” I had no idea about any of this stuff in Cambodia. Today’s conversation in class wasn’t just a little over my head. I actually felt really bad that I had no input. I read a few things online but I didn’t find a whole lot of detail (although don’t get me wrong I’m sure it was there somewhere). Not that I could ever do anything to help any of the things going on around the world, bad things are happening everywhere, but I do feel that I should at least try to keep informed about them. I think in the future I will certainly make more effort to do that.
Completely off that topic now, just thought I would mention a few highlights about my weekend. I watched a film called “Dungeons and Dragon’s II: Wrath of the Dragon God” and ok it was a bit better than the first, but that doesn’t say much. I actually watched it because someone who used to be in my family was actually staring it. She was Lux the Barbarian. So that was kind of neat because I don’t ever get to see anyone I know on TV. The other high point was that I went to the fire station on Beaver Ave and demanded a ride in the engine with one of the hats as an accessory, LOL. The obliged, so I got my ride and the hat (which was extremely heavy). The ride was bumpy, but really fun. I was going to post a picture, but I still haven’t figured that out yet. Luckily for the icon blog HimEros was able to help post mine because I’m an idiot.
October 7, 2005 Friday Blog
Well I was just reading on this site http://www.cambodiangenocide.org/genocide.htm∞ about the Cambodian Genocide. Some other sites I was reading about (this one as well) describe it as one of the worst attempts at genocide ever. I thought to myself, worse than Hitler? However 21% of their entire population was wiped out. And most of them were either starved to death or worked to death. There was also a camp that 14000 people went into and there were a record of 10 survivors. I don’t really know what to say about that. There is the obvious reaction of “that’s terrible” and then go about your day, but it really is terrible that things like this happen and continue to happen even today. Grow up people and get off your power trips. Although I guess that is easy for me to say since I have no power.
Then there is another thing that popped into my head during all of this. On the sites I was reading about Darfur there were requests about aid money. It’s tragic reading these things, but then I hate to give money because I think to myself “where is my money going?” The governments of any of these countries are evil and corrupt enough to hurt their own people to begin with so I wouldn’t put it past them to somehow end up pocketing the money. I hate to sound so (can’t think of the word), but really what is the world coming to!! More importantly is there any way to really help it or is this the sort of thing you have let work itself out? At what cost?
- cynical- Squad514
October 6, 2005 Thursday Blog
Well I can’t say a whole lot crossed my path today. I did a lot of homework type stuff and saw a man about a horse. The current thing going on right now with me is a place for this upcoming May and for next Fall. It’s really early, I know, except that all of the places I called said I don’t have much time to think about it because most of their decent value leases are signed by the end of Oct or beginning of Nov. If October flies by the way September did….LOL. In any case I found a great place right on the corner of Beaver and Atherton. Rent is decent and includes all utilities. It is an 8 room house (and it’s lovely) and there are only two more rooms left. That is just how quick good spots are going. However I just hate to choose a place and make it concrete because there is always the chance that over the year I might find something better, but can I really beat that location? Ok so it’s not an interesting blog entry, but it was what was on mind.
- You will love the Beaver Ave. and Atherton St. area. The best thing is Boots Dariette. I know Rob, his wife, parents and kid (His kids think I’m a climbing toy). They own the place and make killer sandwiches, wings, salads and other snacks. And for some unknown reason they feed me once and a while. I guess I’m Rob’s ginny pig for new foods except I don’t eat breads. - Squad514 "MMmm Good!!!!"
October 4, 2005 Tuesday Blog
I just finished making a comment on Eschaton’s blog about how stress stinks and also a comment on wonder drugs. So I thought that was a good topic. Let’s talk about wonder drugs. Is the world going insane? Who would take these things? If you have an ingrown toenail you can take a new drug called “Toenextra.” Well that is nice accept that in exchange for helping with your ingrown toenail there are some side affects you have to put up with. You have a chance of: runny nose, minor stomach pains, severe diarrhea, bloating, headaches, stomach ulcers, loss of several teeth, permanently strong body odor, liver disease, pancreatic cancer, brain hemorrhaging, loss of anal controlling muscles, spontaneous pregnancy, instant baldness, massive weight gain, blindness, small risk of insanity, loss of random limbs, loss of hearing in left ear, random appearance of rash all over body including places you can’t scratch in public, slight chance of overnight sex change, death, death of family pet, and may result in the loss of the foot with the ingrown toenail. I think I may just have to carry on with the ingrown toenail!!
October 3, 2005 Monday Blog
Well I would just like to say that of all the sports we talk about I am a fan of wrestling. I know! I know! I have heard it all about it being fake and rehearsed etc. Well fine ok, but in all honesty that is one of the things I like about it. I like that no one is supposed to get seriously injured. Unlike boxing which doesn’t appeal to me for that very reason. I like to think of it as a twisted kind of soap opera. I can’t say that I watch it religiously (although I used to) because I don’t have the time these days but I catch it whenever I can. I caught it today and I can’t believe that Hogan is still wrestling. Congrats to him for it and I hope I’m in as good a shape when I get to be his age. So any other wrestling fans out there or do I stand alone on this one?
September 30, 2005 Friday Blog
Well today I would just like to put forward that by law the pedestrian always has the right of way. Well that’s just great. So because you are a pedestrian it means that you can just randomly walk into the street at any point without looking and just expect people to stop. I have been a driver where people have done that and I just barely miss them and I have been a cyclist (as is the case at the moment) and also just barely miss people. What is wrong with pedestrians? I’m not trying to generalize because I know that not everyone does that. However how many times are you driving along and there is a group of people walking in the middle of the street? What the sidewalks here not big enough for you?! Also if you are going to cross, then cross. What is up with people making this huge diagonal type crossing so that they are in the middle of the street forever? I hate that “whatever, they’ll wait” attitude from people just before a near collision. Whenever I am a walker, I don’t act like that because I know how inconvenient and inconsiderate that is. Ok just had to get that off my chest. Has anyone else had these sorts of encounters?
September 27, 2005 Tuesday Blog
“How To” Deal With Truly Annoying Neighbors
Option One: The Obvious
• Don’t give time your contact information, however if you do this before you realize they are annoying there are other things you can do about it.
• Get Caller ID and pretend you are not home when they call
• Likewise you can also get an answering machine to screen your calls as well
Option Two: For the Visiting Hours
• If you see your neighbor approaching your place and they have not seen you yet simply turn off all electronics and quickly proceed to the nearest “big thing” and hide behind it. Don’t answer your phone if it rings during this time as it may be them at the door phoning from their mobile.
• If you do not see them approaching and hear “that knock” don’t panic. Instead completely freeze where you are and assess the situation. If you believe they have not seen you, again proceed with caution to the nearest big thing while putting your TV on mute. If you have been spotted then I’m afraid that you are caught which brings us to option three.
Option Three: The Excuse
• When you run into them either because they have caught you or you bump in public “The Excuse” is always the popular option. At your house you are cooking or the baby has just woken up so you can’t talk now. You can make up people that are coming over shortly. In public it is easier, you have to catch your bus or you want to beat traffic. Perhaps you have too many more errands to run so you can’t stop for lunch. With this option the world is your oyster.
Option Four: The Bold Approach
• Up until now all of the options have avoided being rude. This option is for those out there who are ok with the boldness that it can take to be deliberately rude. General ignoring is the first one here. Ignore everything they do or say.
• If you do end up stuck in conversation the next thing to do is put the “Isn’t it obvious how bored I am” look upon your face. Along with this look you can add head movement. Start to look around at other things and show them just how bored you really are!
• Then there is the boldest approach for those at their wits end, honesty. Simply look them in the eye, don’t make excuses and tell them “You know what? You are really annoying. I would appreciate if you just went away.”
Option Five: The Absolute Extreme
• So they are not taking that hint? They are starting to reach that point where they could be considered stockers. The most extreme option is upon us. Move.
WARNING: This “How To” is only for the most annoying of neighbors. The kind that go through your hamper to see what sort of underwear you wore that week. The kind that own a pair of binoculars that they keep on a table near the window that is facing your house. The kind that you have considered a restraining order for. This is not for ordinary neighbors that get a little bit on your nerves. Make sure you only do these steps for someone that you wouldn’t ever want contact with or you may find yourself with a regular but now very angry neighbor who wants back the BBQ grill that you borrowed last summer.
September 26, 2005 Monday Blog
I am going to jump in on the conversation between HimEros and Eschaton. I don’t know too much about stem cell research so I suppose this is more of a comment to when people are people. I definitely think that a baby is a person long before it is born. I also think that abortions past a certain point in my eyes are murder. I am pro choice for women but only in the very earliest of stages. I think that once you let the baby start to form then you were idiotically slow with making your decision. In many States you are allowed to have an abortion up to four months into your pregnancy. By that time a baby is completely fully formed with its own blood supply, internal systems and complete with beating heart. It is just very small, yet not small enough to just be taken out. The baby at four months is large enough to have to be torn apart before removal. I think this is as bad as murdering any other child.
September 23, 2005 My Icon
I have chosen this picture as my icon because I think that it represents what has always been a huge part of me, traveling. The name of this painting is called “The Celtic Traveler.” In Celtic mythology a great many of the stories come from (or I guess you could say are narrated by) timeless travelers. These are people that were supposedly said to travel around and wander eternally without rest. These travelers never grew tired of embarking on long, uncertain voyages, in the pursuit of adventure and exploration of the unknown, no matter how nice or how perilous the journey was meant to be.
I think that we are all just wanderers of the world in our own way. I have been traveling around since I was a child because our family had a tendency to move a lot. I have always wanted to go a step further and I have. My life up to this point has been one long wandering journey from one place to the next never spending too much time in any one spot. Even now, I consider University to be just one more stop along my path that leads to “never know where.” Travelers never have a true concrete plan about where they are going or how they will get there, they just pick a direction. That seems to be what I do a lot and it seems to be what this guy is doing and probably neither one of us knows what is ahead. Although I doubt that either one of us really minds.
September 22, 2005 Thursday Blog
I just got done watching “The Sandlot” did anyone else grow up with that film? What about “A Bronx Tale?” In any case my entry today is really like reminiscing. I was just thinking about how when I was a kid I used to play in my own sandlot type place outside with a group of other neighborhood kids (many of which were my cousins). As I was watching the film I just remember thinking how nice it was when you were young enough not to worry about anything ever. That time in your childhood when school was a fun hobby and you looked forward to coming home so you could go outside and play. You hadn’t even hit the real world yet, at all. What you worried about was “is it going to rain” and how would any situation affect my play time. Silly, I know, but did anyone else have a “sandlot” too or is it just me?
September 21, 2005 Wednesday Blog
IslandGirl asked for a good roommate story. Well I will share one of mine. When I was in England the landlord had a foreign exchange student take up one of the rooms in our flat. I was really excited because I always like new people from different places. Oh my goodness this had to be one of the most annoying people ever. Once he almost burned down the flat. He used to leave food cooking on the stove ALL THE TIME (you would come home and something would be frying with no one in the room). The rest of us were usually good about catching it, but one night he got up at about 4am and decided he wanted hard boiled eggs.
Well he put the eggs to boil and the idiot, as usual, left the room. Needless to say the water eventually boiled away and eggs carbonized and the whole pot spontaneously combusted. Well this did not go down well with the wall which promptly caught fire. Of course the alarm went off but it was too late and the kitchen was already in flames. We got the fire extinguisher out (never thought you would ever use one huh, yeah me too) and the fire department came. We knew exactly who was to blame so when the danger was out we knocked on his door and got nothing. We knocked harder and a very agitated flat mate answered rubbing his eyes. He not only left the kitchen HE WENT BACK TO SLEEP!!
September 20, 2005 Tuesday Blog
You know what I don’t like? I hate that sometimes I think of really good things to write about and then when I get the chance to sit down and write, the ideas have magically flown from my head. Well the only thing that has just popped into my mind with the whole topic of music going on and all is that I would love to be in a band. I love to sing although I don’t play any instruments because I am “instrumentally crippled” due to lack of proper coordination that is needed. Although I do play a pretty mean Ocarina. So yeah how does one find and join a band? Is there some place where bands hang out and mingle with people? I mean putting up a flier seems like a strange idea “Hey need a singer who can’t play anything? My number is…”
If you really want to be in a band, one of the best things to do is just surround yourself with other musicians. A good place to hang out would be at a show or something of the like. And the fliering definitely isn't a strange idea (even though it may not work, but there's just as good of a chance that it will) because it will just get the idea out there. - MenosElOso
September 19, 2005 Monday Blog
Ok this may sound really silly. I was riding my bike today and came across a very relaxed squirrel. It moved out of my way at a very relaxed pace. So a thought occurred to me, wouldn’t it be nice to an animal of your choice. It would be nice to only have to worry about your own survival on the minimum aspect of it. To provide food, shelter and depending on where you lived, stores for winter. You could chose in a way that you would have no natural predators too. I read somewhere (great start to backing up this next part I know) that the average prehistoric man worked an average of four hours a day and that that consisted of hunting gathering and maintenance to living space. Wouldn’t that be nice? So given the choice would you ever have wanted to be any other animal instead of a human?
Yeah, it would be really cool to try out being an animal. No worries would be cool for a while, and since one would know what being human is like, you could truly appreciate the lack of worries. I would definately be a bird, more specifically an owl. I'm scared of height, but it would be cool to fly - CarpeDiem
September 18, 2005 Sunday Blog
Well I heard something interesting this morning. I was talking to my flat mate Lek, she is from Thailand. I know they don’t celebrate Xmas there and she was talking to me about Xmas, so I asked her what they do celebrate there. What is their big holiday? Well she proceeded to explain to me that they have a big event every year called “The Water Festival.” During this festival everyone dresses up in traditional style clothing and they get the kids together in their houses and the adults pour water on their hands and say things to them every time they pour for example “Wish you good fortune” and “Wish you to have a prosperous future family.”
Well that was nice but here is the cool part. After that they all take to the streets for the next few days just throwing water at each other. She says that friends will hide around corners with water and surprise people they know or even strangers that pass by. How cool would it be to have a holiday that justifies hiding and surprising people with water in the face (according to here that’s where you throw it). She also says that people don’t get mad because it is good luck and it is part of the festival and they are likely to have a bottle with them for times like that to retaliate. I just thought I would share how cool I thought that would be.
AIM Conversations
DarthBaber: Hello...just trying to get a conversation in to paste....so have you thought of anything to write a 12 page paper on :-)
SmileAlways15: haha not a clue, have you?
DarthBaber: well a few other girls were talking about reality tv
SmileAlways15: yeah i read that... it seems like a really good idea
DarthBaber: why people like it and why it's so fake sometimes and people still like it...that sort of thing
DarthBaber: general concensus says sports LOL
SmileAlways15: yeah i know exactly what you mean its a car crash you can't take your eyes off of
SmileAlways15: yeah thats what someone else is talking to me about
DarthBaber: HAHA i never thought of it like that but you are absolutely right...like a car crash
SmileAlways15: i dont know much about sports, not enough to write a 12 paper at lesat
DarthBaber: well i dont know much about sport so it wouldn't be a good one for me either
SmileAlways15: yeah like laguna beach... i HATE that show but i watch it every time im flipping through and its on.. and it sucks cause i hated high school drama while i was in high school
DarthBaber: but i like aliens and unknown stuff like that...but what would the argument be?
SmileAlways15: maybe if they exist?
DarthBaber: well yeah there is that LOL...but what else?? i'm not sure if i can stretch that to 12 pages
SmileAlways15: hmm.. maybe something really controversial
DarthBaber: actually on second thought...yes i could....talking about all different sightings and stuff...and about the credibility of certain witnesses
SmileAlways15: yeah thats true
DarthBaber: or something very controversial...but not too offensive...abortion is always a popular topic for that
DarthBaber: but i think i will steer completely clear of that one
SmileAlways15: yeah that might be TOO controversial
DarthBaber: well i still like the alien thing haha...leave it to me to immidiately think of ufo's
SmileAlways15: haha but its something that is creative
DarthBaber: but nobody has talked about it so far...so it's a very small group..of me
SmileAlways15: haha yeah well mine is nonexistent as of now
SmileAlways15: but at least we have a while to think about it
DarthBaber: yes...definately a good thing....
DarthBaber: well have a nice night, just thought i would ask a few people
SmileAlways15: yeah definately
DarthBaber: so do you know what we are supposed to be doing on this before tomorrow?
IsLaNdGrL765: i guess just kind of thinking of topics to use for our final project
DarthBaber: so...whatcha thinking? do they have to be an actual argument in favor of something?
IsLaNdGrL765: i am not sure...i was talking to someone about doing it on reality tv shows
DarthBaber: cool....i hate reality tv shows....that would be a great argument..."to keep" or "not to keep" them on tv :D
IsLaNdGrL765: yeah just like why people like to watch them and stuff like that
DarthBaber: coo topic
DarthBaber: cool
IsLaNdGrL765: i guess that is all we really have to do...it is not final yet...but i guess we just post this on our blogs now
DarthBaber: actually that is great topic...you could also in corporate not only why people watch them but why people want to be on them....why they go on tv and get plastic surgery or eat disgusting stuff
IsLaNdGrL765: yeah that is true
IsLaNdGrL765: i am sorry but what is your name?
DarthBaber: oh sorry....well i'm either SheElff or Jill which ever you prefer....in the third row with thick dark frame glasses...the girl in the middle of the 2nd group that yesterday whose group got a million questions
IsLaNdGrL765: oh i was in your group...i am nicole
DarthBaber: and you?? I don't actually know many people from their screen names
DarthBaber: OH ok
IsLaNdGrL765: well i have to go to class...so i will ttyl...
DarthBaber: ok talk to you later
IsLaNdGrL765: bye
September 15, 2005 Thursday Blog
Well I just finished watching a DVD that I borrowed from my neighbors and it was great, so I just thought that I would tell everyone. It was called “Dodge Ball” and I’m sure that you have all seen it already, but it must not have made it to my area of England when it came out last year. So I have just watched it and laughed myself silly I absolutely love Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn films. “Nobody makes me bleed my own blood.”
September 14, 2005 Wednesday Blog
I just read Chapter One of “Understanding Comics” and I just wanted to say that I actually really enjoyed it. I wasn’t so sure about the book when I first saw it in the book store and then again when I quickly flipped through it. So I just wanted to say that I thought it was very cool and I must admit I had never really thought about comics much or about where they came from and how far back they really go. So I think that it will be a very interesting read.
September 13, 2005 Tuesday Blog
Well this is a slightly pointless piece of information that I am going to put out there because I just thought it would be slightly interesting. I have in my possession two praying mantis. I caught them two weeks ago this Friday they are quite big and a bit freaky looking. I wouldn’t have caught them accept that I get extra credit for them in my entomology class. The only problem with that is that the professor is going to tell me when to bring them in and so far it hasn’t happened yet. So I still have them and am now taking care of them. I would never have thought taking care of “bugs” could be so difficult, the slightest think kills them. So now I go out every night around midnight to catch crickets for them to eat and those are getting scarce (or just smarter). So I thought you should all know about my annoyance with that. They are absolutely lovely, I don’t want them to die, and I just wish I could set them free, but the professor has decreed that they will now be part of my final project for the class. So their stay at the moment is indefinite.
September 12, 2005 Monday Blog
We were talking about the different translations in religion today in class and which copies we can trust as truth, if any at all. Well I just had a comment about that. In all honesty I actually don’t think that it ever mattered. I don’t think that at any point in time the details were ever as picked at as they are now (by our scientific generation). I have never considered any “organized religion” more than a really ingenious idea by the people before us to keep a large population of people in some semblance of order. Think about it, if the law can’t see you, then you can commit any crime that you want as long as no one is watching. So I think that people throughout the ages have used religion as a control factor “Maybe I can’t see you, but GOD will always be watching and if you aren’t good you will regret it in the end” or as the point was brought up today people have used religion to justify things.
I’m not an atheist at all. I believe in some sort of after life, but I don’t think that it “belongs” to any one religion. I think of it more as just another plane of existence. After all it would be silly to say that nothing exists beyond us in the here and now because there are too many unexplained things going on in the Universe, everything from ghosts to the Crystal Skulls.
September 9, 2005 Friday Blog
Well it’s Friday and my entry is a bit short today. I just thought I would tell you about an awkwardly funny moment today. I went to the gym a few days ago and the said it would be best for me to schedule and appointment. The appointment was not only to get shown how to use everything but also for them to make a workout routine for me. Well I won’t pretend to know everything about all the equipment so I made an appointment. Well one of the things they said I should do was to bench press. Well ok, try anything once I figure. So they showed me how to do that. I was taken through the bottom floor of the gym with all these huge guys that must have been at least three times my size and they were looking at my “stick figure” self probably thinking “right ok...so what are you going to lift?”
To make matters worse once we got to where we were going the guy started to show me how to bench press. So he is lifting masses of weight showing me proper form and all that jazz. So it comes time for me to do it and he doesn’t want me to hurt myself, which was nice of him, so he takes off all of the weight and I’m just there bench pressing the bar. I know that it was the right thing to do and I wouldn’t have wanted to put any weight on it any way until I knew what I was doing, but it was still slightly embarrassing lifting the bar by itself. Just a little tid bit from my day.
September 8, 2005 Thursday Blog
I am just responding to a couple of entries by CarpeDiem and Eschaton about people stealing during disasters or just times of hardship. I completely agree with CarpeDiem that the need for survival supercedes the written law when it comes to taking things from a grocery store (or any other store for that matter) after it has been abandoned because of some natural disaster. I am also in complete agreement that it is disgusting to steal from the abandoned houses for personal gain. So with that we are in agreement. However, is it really ok to just steal during times of personal hardship, for example in a starving country?
The question was posed “Is it morally right not to give a man food just because he can’t afford it? I don’t want to be the bad guy, but where do you “draw the line” with that? If I live in a poor country and have an apple tree and try to sell my basket of apples, but throughout the day people keep stealing them, well where does that leave me? No apples and no money, are we all to be poverty stricken together? It is all very well for someone in our positions to say we would give food to someone who knocked on our door, but it is not us that get the knocking. The people that have their things stolen in these countries are probably not the rich people, but are other people who are just trying to get by. So what about my small orchard and my basket of apples?
OK no one take that the wrong way! I just thought it to be a little unfair to make the generalization of “so why is it ok for us to steal from an abandoned grocery store here, but starving people get punished when they steal there?” I was simply saying that the morality of it may have more to do with where and especially who you are stealing it from.
September 7, 2005 Wednesday Blog
For today’s blog I just have a short response to one of the blog entries on Eschaton’s page. I agree that it is very convenient to keep everything out of your head and on a various assortment of electronic devices, but is that really wise. For example, keeping all phone numbers on your mobile phone is very convenient, but what happens if you forget to charge the battery and it goes dead. You could make your calls from anywhere else, office, pay phone (which is a dying breed), or even another person’s mobile but what number will you dial do you think you can remember. I actually agree with your first comment that because of all the small machines that keep our appointments, addresses, phone numbers and pretty much anything else, it is taking away from our ability to memorize things. It has happened to me more than once that I have needed to make a call and only had a useless dead phone to look at.
September 6, 2005 Tuesday Blog
Well this is a short entry about a small something that I discovered recently. I have been here at Penn State as long as all the other freshmen and I am wondering if anyone else has noticed this. To join a lot (not all) of the clubs you already have to be good at what you are doing. For example Soccer, to stand a chance at getting into the soccer club you already have to know how to play. Well what about those of us who have just come here and are looking to “learn” something new that we have never even tried before? I have gone to a few things already to try and join, but it seems that I never stand a chance because I find myself in a large group of people who already know what they are doing. So where do people like me go to learn things for the first time, soccer for example? Is anyone else having this problem or is it just me? Probably just me.
September 5, 2005 Monday Blog
Well it’s been an interesting weekend, but one thing that I feel worth mentioning is that yesterday evening I went to a club meeting for the PSU Improv Group. I have never done improv in my life, but it looks like a lot of fun so why not give it a try while I am here. I was expecting an informational session, but no not these guys. We jumped straight into playing the improv stage games and it was like being on Whose Line Is It Anyway? Only not knowing what you are doing. Well try anything once I say.
So I got up on stage and basically made a fool of myself, which in itself was kind of fun. I couldn’t think of things to say and just stood there laughing (with my face getting more and more red of course) because the people in the actual group were hilarious. So I just played the part of Silent Bob. Will I go back for more? Yes of course, if they will have me that is. There is something liberating about making a complete fool of yourself in front of very nice strangers.
September 3, 2005 Self Narrative: Facets of Personality
So there I was running down the Yangtze River bank in central China watching my boat sail away down the river out of my life forever and leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere. Let’s take a step back and see how my adventurous self got there in the first place. I decided to move to China shortly after I left Ireland because I decided that I wanted a completely different travel experience. So I moved there. I loved it, had a great time and was thrilled that everything was so crazy all the time.
I had decided that I would try and see everything that I could while I was there. One thing on my list was a trip down the Yangtze River while it was still a river because in the near future the Chinese will flood it and turn it into a gigantic lake for hydroelectricity. So I booked a bed on a small boat that was taking a five day trip down it stopping at several places along the way. During these stops you could get off the boat and wander around. Here is where most trouble occurred because my Chinese was limited and I didn’t always completely understand when I was supposed to be back. So at one stop I got there just in time to watch my boat leave. My first thought was to try and catch it, so I did the only thing I could think of and that was to run and shout down the river bank.
Well that proved to be a useless idea and my first thought was that I should probably panic. However the laid back part of me said “nothing you can do, roll with the punches and something always comes up” so instead I went back up the river a bit to where I was originally, bought lunch and tried to socialize with people near me and I would think of something to do after lunch.
Well it turned out that after waiting a while the boat came back and as I found out later the Captain had an errand to run further up the river and had always intended to come back. What made matters worse was that when the captain saw me he started to laugh and tell the story of the foreign girl that he saw running down the river like a maniac. We all had a good laugh about it.
Well it turned out that after waiting a while the boat came back and as I found out later the Captain had an errand to run further up the river and had always intended to come back. What made matters worse was that when the captain saw me he started to laugh and tell the story of the foreign girl that he saw running down the river like a maniac. We all had a good laugh about it.
September 1, 2005 What License and Why
On choosing a license I decided not to allow commercial use of my work without my permission. I decided this for obvious reasons. It wouldn’t be fair for other people to use my work commercially and get the benefits of it without my permission and without giving me credit. I also chose for people to be able to change or add to my work as long as they were willing to allow me to do the same to theirs or at least that is the idea that I got from the “share and share” alike option. I’m not sure if I was mistaken in the meaning and I only chose it because I think we were told that we had to. Given the option I would have chosen the “No” option. I figure that anything that I write is like that because I want it to be. With the exception of grammar, spelling and small issues of that nature I wouldn’t want anyone to be able to have the power to change what I have done. For example if someone didn’t agree with what I had said or my opinion on something they could come along and change it or perhaps completely erase it. I ask you, how beneficial is that to me? However, like I said I may have got the wrong idea about that option.
August 31, 2005 Short Introduction
Well I guess we are supposed to tell a little bit about ourselves. I am 23 and am here at Penn State in my first year as a returning adult student. My major is Animal Bioscience and I hope to be a vet one day. I actually would like to specialize in Aviary Medicine. My goal after finishing here is to go to vet school in England at either Bristol University or Cambridge University (but we will have to wait and see about that 2nd one :) I like active things like aerobics, dancing and all types of outdoorsy things like camping etc. However I am not very good at team sports but bless me I try. I would say my biggest love is traveling. I love to be in different places and to experience new things. I have lived in Ireland, China and England and have spent time in other countries too. Well I guess that should be enough to begin the "blog" with.
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