Friday, April 29, 2016

A World We Dare to Imagine Part 3

Global Diversity Initiative


Our mission is to gradually educate all the youth in the world about how other people less privileged than them live in developing countries so that one day they can take action and start to create charitable organizations that strive to help unite the planet.

In my experience, I’ve seen that many people in developed countries have become much more self-centered and focused on their own personal success which has a negative overall effect on the world. With less and less people actually going out of their way to help those who are disadvantaged it makes it harder for those less privileged to become successful.

What my organization plans on doing is implementing one class for students in elementary school that show and teach them about other developing countries to have them become more aware of what other children go through. In addition to that, the classes would also take students out to help fund raise for charitable organizations dedicated to the betterment of the planet. But teaching children once and then hoping that they continue to help people and the planet is still a fool’s dream. After, having the interactive class as children, my organization also plans to implement modern history courses that teach students about the current events regarding many developing countries.


The whole mission would be to have students from a young age become a lot more understanding of the environment around them. Hopefully, they can understand their own privilege and use that to help each and every person they see in need. 

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

A World We Dare to Imagine P1

I've grown up with many things handed to me and have generally gone with the flow of everything around me. Which is why I've never really given a thought of how to improve upon current social and environmental issues. However, realizing that it is my attitude that has led me to become much more "self-focused" leads me to believe that changing the planet requires changing people first.

In my opinion, the first step to changing the world is first by changing the mindset of people. What I mean by changing a persons mindset is that there aren't too many people nowadays, myself included, that go out of their way to help people or the environment. I believe that most people live their lives apathetic to the changes in their environment and if they see someone that needs help they will more often than not just ignore that person. To add to that, lately, I've seen that people have become much more skeptical of those that need help. Instead of noticing someone in need they see someone that could potentially be posing as a homeless person just to get a few quick bucks. This skepticism hurts the people that truly need the most help and its all a matter of changing someones perspective of the world to change things for the better.

There are all kinds of issues that plague this planet and its tough to just zero in on one specific issue and correct it which is why I believe that teaching kids at a very young age to be charitable and respect the planet for future generations would be an immense help to better the planet overall. If the average person becomes more inclined to help those they see in need those people that have huge plans to change the world, like Jacqueline, would have access to so many more resources that the chances of succeeding would be much higher.

Monday, April 11, 2016

A Procrastinators Dream

I love to sleep and as a student there are times where I can't get a full nights rest because of a paper or upcoming midterm. That's when I start to rely on less sleep and more napping throughout the day. Funny enough, there is a time to this kind of sleeping and its known as Polyphasic sleeping. Most of us are accustomed to what is known as Monophasic sleep, aka sleeping once a day for an extending period of time. However, I recently stumbled upon different methods of sleeping through a Buzzfeed experiment that people have found to be useful in their own lives. The two methods are
  • Biphasic Sleep
  • Polyphasic Sleep
Biphasic Sleep
Biphasic sleep is when you separate your sleeping into two distinct slots. For example, a common Biphasic sleep routine would be to sleep at night for 4.5 hours and then have a 1.5 hour nap during the day. This routine saves you about 1.5 hours a day from a normal 8 hour Monophasic sleep cycle. The entire belief behind these systems is the thought that humans can sustain themselves with less sleep if they follow different patterns like these. 

Polyphasic Sleep
Polyphasic sleep takes Biphasic to the next level. This is when you segment your sleep even further but while using 20-minute naps instead of long naps. One crazy Polyphasic cycle is known as the Uberman. Using the Uberman cycle you reduce your total amount of sleep to just 2 hours a day with six 20-minute long naps! Doctors do not recommend these programs because they believe that this is in essence sleep deprivation and in the short and long term you will be doing yourself harm. However, some people who have gone on to using Polyphasic sleep cycles seem to function just fine within their everyday lives and only cite tiredness within the first week of adapting to this new way of sleeping. 


I thought that this was a real interesting subject to look into and there are tons of anecdotal evidence of people who have thrived while using this, but almost all doctors can agree that this is probably not the best thing for a person. They believe that humans are only meant to be monophasic sleepers. But as a student finding different ways to optimize sleep in order to gain more hours to be able to do homework does sound pretty appealing

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

An Interview with Charles Terry

Charles Terry's work with the Doors is admirable in that he was trying his best to help those who are much less fortunate than he is. It was interesting to hear him say that money could have ultimately changed him and his organization and that he was happy that they were always living on the edge. It made the mission seem much more organic, but he was still surprised that it was so difficult to raise money in such a wealthy state as New York is. When he started working for the Rockefeller Center, Charles started to feel the disconnect that comes with accruing wealth. As a man who deeply cared about helping it is refreshing to see him notice the changes around him. The interview also goes on to talk about his opinions on Philanthropy. Charles believes that its a lot more than just giving money, and he's right. If you're someone who is dedicated to helping others you are definitely putting others above your own well-being. He puts it as "giving your time and skills, and other non-monetary resources."

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Genius Money Pt. 2 Chapter 5

Chapter 5 was a little bit difficult to understand.  The title of the chapter is an oxymoron: "real virtuality."  The author uses QQ coins as an example which are like bitcoins, which are an online virtual currency.  If you have played computer games or video games, they will give you options to purchase merchandise in order to help you beat the game.  This goes hand in hand with mercantilism but unlike in real life, the author describes it as "free market mercantilism at its best."  But if you think about the QQ situation is a bit complicated.  Essentially you are trading real money for fake online currency.  The value of currency in real life comes from the government setting a value for the currency and its trade value.  But with QQ coins, the user is essentially free from government control.  I thought it was a pretty interesting read because it reminded of bitcoins.  

John Bloom starts the chapter off by explaining to the reader that we normally associate things with what we are already familiar with. For example, in normal language we substitute the use of credit cards by saying we are using money which isn't true. The world doesn't really revolve the way we think it to revolve. Bloom then goes on to explain what QQ coins are, virtual coins for users in their messaging system. The QQ coin became relevant once other game sites began to accept the coins as well. The problem with the virtual currency was that it was difficult to regulate and people began to use it as regular money that couldn't be traced and could avoid being taxed. QQ coins served as a bridge between what is real and what is not. People used the coins in order to gain real money, but at the same time the coins were merely an "afterimage" of what real money is. Regardless of the fact that it is just a virtual currency, the coins needed to be taken care of by the Chinese government in order to protect their real currency. It is important to note that if virtual currencies are left unchecked it could lead to chaos and devaluation of real currencies.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Genius of Money Chapter 6 and 14

The chapter starts off by depicting a portrait by famous painter Quentin Metsys called "The Money Lender and His Wife." It is a painting of two people doing ordinary tasks, but Metsys threw in a lot of symbolism into the painting, mostly Christian symbolism. The painting seems very simple but Metsys' there is a lot of complexity within the painting. For example, there is an oval mirror near the bottom of the painting, and when you look closely, you can a reflection of a detailing window. The significance of this small part is that it is a way for the painter to insert himself into the painting and at the same time the window also references the crucifix.

The overall message the painting has is that people have gone away from religion and more towards trading and making money, mercantilism. Metsys most likely made the painting in order to get people to stray away from material devotion and move back towards spiritual devotion. He wants to show that people were very eager to make money and that money would bring happiness but overall is breeds corruption. Metsys goal is just to have people realize what should be most important in their life and that is Christianity.

In Chapter 14 "The Touchstone and the Labyrinth", John Bloom goes on to talk about how he recognizes money as a way of expression, social technology, and a way to combine value with material goods. Money is more than just an object at this point, it is a part of people. He talks about how money is a physical object that represents something entirely abstract, value. This leads into his discussion about the labyrinth and the touchstone. Both are symbols and metaphors of money - physical and experiential.

The Labyrinth represents the journey that man goes on throughout his life and also represents the journey of money - transactions. Bloom continues by saying that money has a horizontal, transactions between people, and vertical meaning, value derived by the money, He also relates spiritual with physical again here by talking about the journey through the Labyrinth. Lastly, what I found interesting was that he mentions that since we left the gold standard money has become "a fiction declared as fact." Money exists because the government decreed it and the value is always changing so its very hard to measure.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Chung King Road

When I showed up at Chung King Road I really wasn't sure what to expect. But as I got closer to the art galleries I could hear that there were a lot of people here. I half expected the place to be a little dead and have to awkwardly walk around and look at art, but there were so many strange people and so many different galleries to check out! 

Chung King Road

The first thing I noticed while there was a singer. She was singing much like Lana Del Rey and slurring her words together almost to the point where I couldn't understand what she was saying, but there was a very rhythmic and almost hypnotic vibe coming from the music and the way she was singing. She was singing to a video that kept repeating over and over and the meaning behind it all completely went over my head, so I didn't end up sticking around too long.

Singer's video

I decided to be a little bolder and actually went into an exhibit that didn't have very many people. I was standing there looking at one particular painting for quite a long time trying to discern its meaning. The painting was off a man getting a haircut. Only this man looked to be getting his brain cut and he was reading an interesting magazine while getting said "braincut." A few things I was able to catch were phrases like "depend on your TV." To me I understood this peace as a sort of commentary on the fact that we are being brainwashed by all the things around us like television. Being conditioned to think it certain ways which was why the man was getting his brain cut up instead of his hair. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a photo of the painting, but here is a photo of some little guys made out of masking tape and toothpaste!

                                      







Sunday, February 28, 2016

Glassblowing

In your house right now, there probably is some sort of glass vase with an intricate design. Haven't you ever wondered how that vase was actually made? While browsing the internet, I stumbled upon the really cool technique known as glassblowing. Simply, glassblowing is when a person inflates molten glass using a blowpipe.

Image Courtesy of Bloomberg

Free-Blowing

Pretty cool stuff, huh? What's even cooler is that glassblowing has been around since the middle of the 1st Century BC. Back then they started blowing glass using a technique called free-blowing and is still used today in making some of the more artistic glass products. The picture above is an example of free-blowing. The process comes down to the fact that the blower at the start would blow very small and short breaths to create an elastic layer on the inside which allows for the blower to then blow as hard as he wants to create his ideal shape.  

Image Courtesy of Cincysavers

Mold-Blowing

Besides free-blowing, another popular method of creating nice works of art with molten glass is mold-blowing. This method is a lot more simpler than free-blowing and is definitely a lot less work. In order to mold-blow you just stick the molten piece of glass into a mold and then blow into the windpipe and have it fill up the mold. Simple, right? Mold-blowing is very useful if you're just trying to get a specific consistent shape each time, but free-blowing allows for a lot more creativity and more intricate designs.

Image Courtesy of Hi-Tech Club

Cool how we can stumble upon really interesting things like glassblowing. I had no idea until I started looking into this the hard work and precision that goes into making these glass objects. Some of the more complex designs truly are a work of art. The people that have mastered this craft are truly amazing to watch.











Monday, February 22, 2016

Growing a Farmer - Finale

My impressions of the book Growing a Farmer are a little mixed. At the start of the book I was enjoying it quite a lot because Kurt talked mostly about how he landed in the business of becoming a farmer. He had ambitions to have his own restaurant and from there wanted to make his own food which then led him to his current occupation. I really like reading about his successes and failures, but as the book went on and he began to talk about different sections of farming he oftentimes strayed off the original topic. 

In the chapters about milking, vegetables, and butchering Kurt starts off discussing each of them in great detail, but quickly begins to jump from topic to topic similar to how a persons mind can wander easily. I understood that was probably how he wanted to write his book, but at the same time when he started talking about milking Dinah, he quickly changed topics to raw milk and then an entire political discussion on why raw milk should or shouldn't be banned. I enjoyed his vegetable chapter a lot more because he had a genuine love for planting. He mentions that at times he just plants vegetables just for the sake of planting them because he loves the entire process from seed to actual vegetable and his amazement for potatoes reminds me of a young child discovering something new. I'm surprised Kurt continued on his path, he mentioned at one point that his farm wasn't making a lot of money, but his passion for farming fueled his desire to keep going. I found this very admirable and I feel that it's common among a lot of farmers. Why else put yourself through the pain of growing your own vegetables.

I enjoyed the close of the book. Kurt seems very satisfied with what he has been able to accomplish and feels very happy that he can live off the land and serve people food off said land. It provides a family vibe for Kurt and upon finishing the book I can also feel a little bit of his satisfaction. I can definitely say I learned a lot about perseverance from Kurt and that he loves to write/talk.





Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Holy Shrimp

An in Depth Look at the Peacock Mantis Shrimp

Sharks, snakes, crocodiles, bears, and lions are some of the most deadly creatures known to man. What makes them so deadly are the many different ways they can cause things harm. Sharks brutally bite through you, bears tear you to shreds, and snakes slowly take you down with poison. However, there is another creature, more unsuspectingly dangerous than all of the above. Weighing in at less than one pound and at a length of 10 centimeters, in the red corner we have the Peacock Mantis Shrimp! You do not want to get into the ring with this one. The Shrimp is best known for its knockout punch that hits you for a record four times in one go.


Image courtesy of TheOatmeal

The Peacock Mantis Shrimp, given its name based on its beautifully colored exterior, is in fact a creature you do not want to be around especially if you don't understand what it's capable of. It has the capability of striking its opponents with the speed/strength equal to shooting a .22 caliber bullet. A hit from one of these shrimp may not be in your best interest especially since they certainly have the ability to crack through glass aquariums. 

Introduction


The Peacock Mantis Shrimp can be found in many different places around the world. According to Animal Diversity, they are most commonly found in "the Indo-Pacific Ocean, south of Japan, north of Australia, and between eastern Africa and Guam (Animal Diversity)."  They prefer to stay in relatively warmer waters, ranging from temperatures of 22 to 28 degrees Celsius which is approximately 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. With water temperatures like that, you might find me swimming around these shrimp regardless of impending danger. In addition, they like to make homes in little U shaped burrows, often built near the bases of coral reefs. This makes them pretty difficult to spot out since they only grow to be 3 to 18 centimeters on average. Thankfully, they live pretty far under water - ranging from 3 to 40 meters down - so you'll be just fine as long as you don't go diving. 



Image courtesy of HowToGeek

Mantis shrimp believe it or not are actually neither mantis nor shrimp! They are actually crustaceans and they closely resemble lobsters. But were named only for having some similar characteristics to both creatures. Peacock Mantis shrimp are very brightly colored "with a base body color of olive or green and their body coloration actually differs from male to female, with males being more brightly colored (Animal Diversity)." Sadly, these beautiful little creatures only live to be 4 to 6 years old on average.

Mechanics of the Punch 

 

One of the main reasons why I even decided to research this little crustacean was because of its incredibly quick and powerful attack. The Peacock Mantis shrimp uses a hammer-like appendage to smash open snail shells for food. They can attack at "max speeds of 12-23 m/s in the water", but what is also amazing is that during an attack you can see cavitation bubbles forming (ScienceDaily). 




Image Courtesy of Fish Share

The definition of cavitation simply is the formation of space within a body. In this case the body is the ocean. This means that when the Mantis shrimp attacks, water vaporizes when the limb strikes its prey. What makes this even more fascinating is that cavitation is a destructive phenomenon. According to the Patek Lab this means that "when these vapor bubbles collapse they essentially cause a small implosion in the water which produces heat, light, and sound (The Patek Lab)." But if you were to actually watch it attack, you'd just hear a little popping sound with each hit. A huge let down to the person watching, but very devastating to the poor sea creature getting annihilated.

Image Courtesy of Ecowater

Satellite Vision


The Peacock Mantis Shrimp is also very well known for another feature that it has - its Mantis like eyes. It has one of the most complex pair of eyes that humans have ever known. The Mantis shrimp has a compound eye made of thousands of small units that each detects light independently. Those within the center stripe in the photo are especially incredible – they allow the animal to see color.


Image courtesy of National Geographic

Most people have three types of light-detecting cells or photo-receptors which are sensitive to red, green, and blue light. But the Mantis shrimp has "anywhere from 12 to 16 different photo-receptors (National Geographic)." However, they don’t see color like we do. In fact we can see color more efficiently than them and its because the Mantis Shrimp’s eyes work more like a satellite. For example, "the rock mantis shrimp has 6 photo-receptors dedicated to looking at different UV wavelengths (National Geographic)." Rather than just looking at something and enjoying its beauty, the Peacock Mantis Shrimp looks for different UV rays like a satellite does for different objects.

The Peacock Mantis Shrimp is quite the unique specimen. This little guy goes unnoticed by a lot of people which just goes to show how big our small world is. There are so many other amazing creatures out there that we may have yet to even discover in the ocean and there is a lot that we can learn from them. I hope that this short blog has taught you something new and exciting. Now go out and show the world the power of the Peacock Mantis Shrimp.

Works Cited


“Odontodactylus Scyllarus.” Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Odontodactylus_scyllarus/


“Muscle powers spearing mantis shrimp attacks.” The Journal of Experimental Biology. Science Daily, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121122095431.htm


“Mechanics of Movement: Mantis Shrimp.” Mechanics of Movement: Mantis Shrimp. The Patek Lab, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
https://pateklab.biology.duke.edu/mechanics-movement-mantis-shrimp

"Nature's Most Amazing Eyes Just Got A Bit Weirder." National Geographic. National Geographic, 03 July 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.


Saturday, February 6, 2016

Surprise! You're a Farmer

I'll be honest when I say that I was a bit doubtful if I was going to enjoy this book, but I was already pulled in at the start of the book with how easy Kurt's writing style was and how well he explained his thought process when making all these decisions for his farm. It's very surprising that from the start of the book he went from having his own small pastry shop to making the impulse decision to buying this 4 acre plot of land where all he had in mind was making some sort of park. Never did he once think he was going to turn this plot of land into a farm, but somehow all his decisions sort of led him down that path almost naturally. As his restaurant business grew he started to want to learn more and more about farming in order to even be able to eat his own restaurants food. Hard to imagine someone owning a restaurant that they can't even eat at.

Kurt continues to surprise me by adding things to his farm that he just feels belong. He says earlier that he wants a tractor, but most small farms like his don't even use tractors because its just unnecessary and later on when he gets his first animals, the sheep, he really doesn't know how to take care of them either. He literally says "Surprisingly, the sheep lived." Kurt is pretty bold with his decision making and willingness to experiment. Had those sheep not survived he would have had to start all over, but luckily they survived long enough for him to fix up the yard for them.  What I also found very entertaining was his immense hate for goats. His description of how they just watch you plant and take care of your most prized possessions only to take away that love by eating all the plants was both insightful and hilarious. Very strong reasons to never start off with goats or even have goats on your farm.