The Pollution Problem

They say a picture says a thousand words. But what is it saying? Sometimes a picture depicts its subject negatively and sometimes positively. This is exactly what advertising takes advantage of. Luckily, most of the time the advertising is positive, but there are some subjects (pollution, for example) that are shown in a negative light.
These pictures of smog and traffic polluting the air with exhaust makes me sick. It looks horrible, and I can't believe people would live somewhere where they are forced to breathe in that aweful pollution every day. I'm sure that the people living in smog-covered cities don't notice it (I didn't when I went to LA), but it probably affects them more than they know. The gases in the air are pollutants, so they are putting unwanted chemicals into the air we breathe. We breathe it in and then our lungs deal with the pollutants. It's like second-hand smoke!
Okay, so I'm sure that the pollutants aren't as toxic as cigarettes, but they definitely should be avoided and removed from our atmosphere. Pollution is a problem, and air and water pollution directly affect us because we need clean air and drinking water to survive. If we continue to pollute the atmosphere and water systems in one hundred years our grandchildren really won't have anything to live for. I hate to sound like Al Gore, but it's true. This is a problem, and I don't want to be responsible for wrecking the world.

The Hunger Strikes

I forget what I was doing when I heard this, or where I heard it from, or even why I was listening to this, but someone at some time was saying (I'm not even sure if it was to me anymore) that hunger in the world is due in part to the inability to spread the food around. This got me thinking: if it was possible to deliver food around the world, would countries do it? I think not.
There are too many political issues to just have any country give aid to any other country. Would we be willing to send starving North Koreans food now? ARE we willing to send starving North Koreans food? No. Or if we are willing, we will find some reason to send a minimal amount because we are on the fritz with Kim Jong Il at the moment. This is a perfect example of how we would put petty disagreements on political issues before saving the lives of millions of people starving in areas of the world unable to access fertile land.
I read all the time about starving babies in Africa and how they are so hungry that their stomachs are swollen due to some form of malnutrition. The pictures are horrible. I don't understand why we would not help these poor children! We are supposed to be a "Chirstian nation", and we are supposed to care about others, so why is it that we are only thinking of oureslves? Think about it: the only reason we don't send more aid is because the countries with starving peoples don't have anything to give us in return. Sure, there are some organizations that help regardless of what these people have to offer, such as the Salvation Army and the Red Cross, but why doesn't our government act? They should be leading us to bettering our world, yet they don't help those that obviously need help abroad.
I understand that we have our own problems with security and hunger in the United States, but it is insignificant when compared to the plight of so many others around the world. But if we have a surplus of food we should be willing to provide for others, even if the people are too poverty-stricken to give us anything but their thanks. That should be enough

Spring Break

Is it just me, or does it not feel like Spring Break? Vacations always have that feeling. You know what I'm talking about: a calm comes over you, and you feel relaxed and have no problems to deal with. But for me, that feeling never came. Well, actually, that feeling never really left.
It's hard to explain. It's hard for me to differentiate between weekdays and weekends, which isn't good, because I can't really enjoy my time away from school. I've been on Spring Break for two days already, and I feel relaxed, but with mixed anxiety that I have so much to do. I sleep in, I eat like crazy, I do nothing, and I watch my dose of television (GO GEORGETOWN!!) But I can't seem to get that feeling of "This is not break, you can't do this, GET BACK TO WORK!" out of my head. It feels just like any other weekend.
Help me appreciate my Spring Break oh Spring Break GODS!! HEAR MY CRY FOR HELP!! Before I know it, it will be time for school again, and I will have waisted a whole week of my life without enjoying my well-deserved recuperation time.

Bubble Boy vs. Racism

It's hard to imagine, but there must be someone in the world just like Jimmy Livingston in the movie "Bubble Boy". What is it like, I wonder, to spend over 17 years of your life in a bubble, and then realizing that there was no point to you spending your life in a bubble at all? This is kind of symbolic, I think, of being uneducated and stubborn. It's like saying to yourself for ten years that you will not eat any food that is purple, only to realize one day when you try grapes that not all purple food is bad, and you have been missing out all these years. I guess my point is, why limit yourself?
By telling yourself, no I don't like this, even though you haven't tried it yet, is dumb. You aren't giving yourself a chance to see if you actually do like it. This can be applied to more than food; it goes deeper. It covers racism as well. I don't see the big deal about different skin colors. It doesn't make sense to me. But there are some people out there that truly don't like people that don't have similar skin color to them. Many of them believe that they are different because their parents told them that people with different skin colors were different or worse, bad. But these children of racists weren't given a chance to try to see if they actually think people of different skin colors are bad, they were merely told this, and being young, believed their mentors.
Jimmy Livingston was brainwashed by his mother into thinking he needed protection from an evil and harsh world of people that don't understand him, only to discover the facade later in life. I can only hope that racists come to the same realization sooner or later.

Procrastination

It is painful to admit, but I have a problem. My problem: procrastination. I have been a procrastinator for the last two or three years. I can't really remember how I got started, but I do remember not thinking I was a procrastinator until very recently. I remember my friends telling me, "Katie, you have a problem, and we think you should get some help", but I wouldn't listen. I didn't think I needed help, I didn't think I needed anyone. I was enjoying my Saturdays not doing homework, and then getting it all done late Sunday night at the expense of my parents' electric bill and my sleeping patterns.
I can remember first entering high school and being a very studious young girl ready to take on anything. That was then. I remember that I had set a schedule for myself to get all of my work done before I got home. But there was one day in particular that I remember when I had a lot of homework assigned, most of it not even for the next day (you know the kind: a project due a week from now, a paper due in a couple days, and the like). I spent every single break I had that day vigorously working in the library to finish a lab report, an English paper, and my math homework, while still trying to find time to eat lunch and see my friends. This was early on in the school year, and I remember the huge amount of stress I had. It was too much. I gave in. I skipped lunch. This was the start of a downhill trend.
Ever since freshmen year, my studying habits have deteriorated into something resembling not doing work at all. Although giving up lunch that day back in freshmen year might not seem significant, take a look at my previous history. I never had a problem before this balancing time between the regular activities (eating, sleeping, exercising, hanging out, homework, and school), but that day changed everything. I could not finish everything I needed to in the time I had, a sad realization that soon came to fruit in my junior year of high school.
This past weekend, I think, was the worst case of procrastination I have ever had. Saturday was Junior Function at school, so I couldn't do any homework. Of course, that is just another excuse I tell myself so that I can deal with the fact that I procrastinate. Anyway, Sunday I ended up not being home until after dinner, so I started my homework then. But, of course, I needed some music, so I turned on iTunes and listened to a playlist I made. And then my foot fell asleep. And then Futurama was on, and then Family Guy, so I couldn't do my work then. I mean, who would not watch an episode of Family Guy, right?
To make a long story short, I went to bed at 3 in the morning not having finished my homework for the next day. I woke up at 6:30 to finish the unfinished lab report, and then came late to school because it took longer than I had expected. I then quickly scribbled answers to my math homework in my workbook and went to math, and luckily my math teacher didn't make us show work! This is not the way to do it. I am not supposed to be struggling to finish homework after having two days to do it! I am not supposed to be putting Family Guy before AP Biology homework. I am not supposed to be procrastinating on my work at all! I write to you as someone with a problem. I realize that now. I learned from my mistakes, and I want to change. I know it will be hard, but I want to change. I don't want to be a procrastinator any more.

Technology Takeover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jclX_HkMZao

That link leads to a funny spoof on the iMac commercials, where they make fun of PCs and compare them to the awesomeness of Macs. Just thought I'd share Leland's crazy video with others!

Basically, this got me thinking. At first I found this really funny (well, I still do, but I also thought of something else). This video got me thinking about how popular computers are becoming world wide.
So here is some background information I got off of Wikipedia: the first programmable mechanical computer wasd built in 1837, but it wasn't until the 1980's that computers became available and affordable for personal use (home computers).

Here's an article summarizing computer use around the world in 2004 (http://www.c-i-a.com/pr0305.htm)

PCs In-Use Surpassed 820M in 2004
PCs In-Use Will Top 1B in 2007

March 9 , 2005—The worldwide number of PCs in-use surpassed 820 million in 2004 and is projected to top 1 billion in 2007. PCs in-use growth is slowing as the industrialized world is approaching the top of the S-curve. Strong PC growth will continue in the developing countries for another decade. The U.S. has a large lead with over 220M PCs in-use—over 3X the number in Japan. The U.S. accounts for over 27% of all PCs in-use compared to 4.6% of worldwide population. PC usage is growing rapidly in China, which is expected to surpass Japan in 2007. PC usage is also growing strongly in many populous countries such as Brazil, India and Russia.
Top 15 Countries In PCs In-Use
Year-end 2004
PCs In-Use (#M)

Share %
1. U.S. 223.81 27.22
2. Japan 69.20 8.42
3. China 52.99 6.45
4. Germany 46.30 5.63
5. UK 35.89 4.37
6. France 29.41 3.58
7. South Korea 26.20 3.19
8. Italy 22.65 2.75
9. Canada 22.39 2.72
10. Brazil 19.35 2.35
11. Russia 19.01 2.31
12. Australia 13.72 1.67
13. India 13.03 1.58
14. Mexico 11.21 1.36
15. Netherlands 11.11 1.35
Top 15 Total 616.27 74.96
Worldwide Total 822.15 100.0



“Notebook PCs are growing rapidly and now account for 24% of total PCs in-use and nearly 27% in the U.S.”, says Dr. Egil Juliussen, the author of the report. PCs per capita in the U.S. have surpassed 76% and will remain higher than cell phones for a few more years.

These stats are crazy! The US accounts for more than one quarter of all computer use in 2004. Obviously this has a connection to internet access and use as well. I remember reading some other statistics saying that something like 70% of websites are based in America. I think that as time goes on and more countries become more developed, computers will become more prominent around the world. But for now, it seems to be that only developed countries are getting on the techno-train.
I wonder what it would be like to live in a country like Indonesia or Malaysia or another developing country and not have internet access at your fingertips? I've grown up in the computer generation, so I've become sort of nostalgic. I guess I don't appreciate computers and how much they do for me. I write my papers, listen to music, watch video feeds, read articles, look up words, and keep in contact with friends all over the world. Life without computers would be like living a day without my cell phone...wow, that's sad.
That makes me think, I've become WAY too attached to my gadgets. Seriously, I get anxious when I don't know where my phone is, or when I can't look at the time every five minutes. I guess this is the down side to living in a developed country: all of the technological breakthroughs become commonplace, and you don't appreciate them any more. I'm sure a family in Cambodia would be over-the-moon happy to have even an out-of-date PC, whereas having an old model of a cell phone in the US is an abomination. I guess this is a classic example of not appreciating something until you don't have it (except I DO have it, and i WON'T give it up).

What's Going On?!

Okay, I've been a little confused lately. I don't know if I was late the day we discussed what these posts are supposed to be about (haha, joke), but I really am lost. I believe that they are supposed to be helpful to us in some way, but what way are they supposed to be helpful? Are we supposed to know?
Mr. Watson keeps saying that we are supposed to be establishing our voice in our writing, but I don't know how to do that. You see, I consider myself pretty level-headed, and I like to know how to do something before I attempt actually doing it. But with this class, there is no check list or rubric, you're just supposed to keep writing until you "discover" your voice? It doesn't sit well with me.
Are we supposed to ask questions? Are we supposed to understand? Are we meant to be completely lost and not know what's going on until it finally clicks with us? I am sincerely in the dark! I would love to find my voice, but I first want to know how others have found their voice, or I want to know the steps to finding it. I don't like stabbing in the dark, looking for a specific idea that I don't know what it is. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
If we are meant to find our voice through different outlets, are we supposed to write about different topics every time? Are the topics supposed to be open-ended question discussions, or just journals? How are these posts helping us discover our voices? I guess that is the underlying question: how does this help?
This is how I learn: I read, I practice, I study, I ask. That basically covers it all. So how does this particular exercise help me learn? Am I supposed to be doing a little of everything? How do these help me (personally) discover what my voice is? How will I know it's MY voice? How do I know it's not someone else's voice that I have totally just ripped off? Maybe a better question is, what is a voice and how do I know it's mine?