dawda

dwadawdwadaw

23.

1. Arana writes: "Isn't it time for the language to move on?" How do you feel about this? Why?

My favorite point in Arana's writing is when she talks about how originally in America when we segregated blacks we segregated them if they had one "drop" of black in them. Americans refer to Barack Obama as a black president because he has black in him. How is this different then before? We need to change the way we refer to race. Also Arana refers to how she had a half german half black student who spoke in german, was born in germany, and partial to german culture although if you were to look at her you would automatically think she is an african american. This upsets me. Although I am glad America has it's first multicultural president I wish the concept of race and the language it goes about would be different.

Thanksgiving yo!

Everytime November rolls around I am always excited for two things: My birthday...and eating a large mass of meat, potatoes, and gravy. I very scarcely reflect as to what I am truly thankful for. In fact whenever I hear people play the thankful card I roll my eyes. In retrospective I would say it is pretty awesome having two parents who care about me who are willing to support me and support the decisions I make. I would also say I am grateful for living in San Diego which is an incredibly place to live. I am thankful I have learned so much in the past year and I have definitely grown as a person. I feel by the end of this year I will definitely have some awesome resolutions I will probably not even keep anyways. Nonetheless for the time being it is rather nice reflecting and thinking about how privileged I am. At the same time it makes me feel bad for not trying as hard as I possibly could. Bittersweet much?

1. LA JOLLA PHOTOS (Most important right now)
2. More drafts on writing!
3. Getting critiques!

H20 Project

What are you discovering so far?:
Well I discovered a new interest for photographic arts which further cements my once previous interest in the digital arts. I did not know anything about "the rule of thirds" or "eyes, color, fill the frame." I also did not realize how some San Diego beaches can be quite contaminated several times of the year or the perpetually gross De Anza cove. Through fellow student Diana Barlow I realized that the children's pool in La Jolla cove was originally meant for children. I can only imagine seals and humans fighting for there place for the beach...Except not really.

What surprises you about this project?:
Well I think out of everything I discovered I am most surprised about the water quality of some of the beaches and how often some beaches are closed due to high bacteria levels within the water. In biology class I had to go and look at longest closed beaches in San Diego County and I was pretty surprised.

What are your next steps to have a cool product and a great piece of writing?
Well I plan on taking beautiful high resolution photographs and having great bits of writing to accompany each photo. Within the photo I will not only include my opinion of the matter but scientific facts about things such as the biology of Garibaldi, characteristics of kelp forests, and the surrounding water quality.

Product Ideas

"African Bushmeat Expedition"
Within the document that Randy handed me is a group of high quality pictures with finely polished writing directly under the pictures. The photo essay was done by High Tech High students from a trip to Africa which helps me realize what exactly I want to do with my photo essay. I want to have a group of about 10 high resolution SLR pictures with finely polished writing directly underneath. In the African Bushmeat Expedition writing the text talked about exactly what you saw in the photograph and also a background story about what the students did in that situation or a story they heard.

Underwater Dive Photos




Photos (such as above) are pictures I am looking for that I want to use in my art installation. I am not dive certified although I have a few friends that are. If we can get a water casing for a high resolution digital camera I am certain we can get some amazing pictures! Garibaldi flock to La Jolla cove and to get an up close shot of one would be great (such as the first photo I posted)

http://www.oceanphotos.com/framefea.htm

Blog #18

I am not at all surprised about the results of the election. I felt that Barack Obama had a definite advantage during the later weeks of the presidential election. I feel that he will be a good president to the United States although he does have a lot to live up to. I am still confused as to what "Change" is.

Timeline.
November 7th: My Birthday. Research important information.
November 8th-11th: Take pictures at La Jolla. Try to get sweet pictures of fish yo! I will be planning a dive with a friend that is certified to dive to get high resolution photos of Garibaldi fish.
November 12th-13th: Review high quality DSLR photos in photoshop and finalize pictures.
November 14th-16th: Create rough drafts of paragraphs.
November 17th-18thth: Insert final pictures into In Design spreadsheet and begin to make high quality photo essay.
November 19th-20th: Finalize paragraphs after critique
November 21st: Get product critiqued before break.
November 22nd-30th: Thanksgiving Break
December 1st-4th: Final Critiques
December 5th: Print

2 Research Questions

Question 1:Why do seals flock to La Jolla cove?

Among the many beaches of San Diego the wildlife differs. Garibaldi and sea lions seem to be only prescent La Jolla. I aim to figure out why and how wildlife differs between beaches by looking at the surrounding environment and quality of the water. Seals gather at the Childrens Pool beach in La Jolla cove which was previously meant to be a beach for the community. It is controvesial topic as to whether or not the beach should be for seals or humans but what I want to know is why the seals come to the childrens pool. While other students are writing about the social topic I would want to write about the science behind why the seals come.

Question 2:
How does the surrounding environment and water quality affect the Garibaldi in La Jolla cove

Garibaldi live all across the pacific ocean from Monterey to Baja California. Garibaldi flock to La Jolla cove in San Diego California though. I am curious as to why you do not see Garibaldi in other local San Diego Beaches so I am looking for clues as to why Garibaldi flock to La Jolla cove and how the surrounding environment and water quality affects the gold state fish. There is also a social issue surrounding the Garibaldi fish. The Garibaldi is the California state fish and is protected against fishers. It is the only state fish to be protected by State Law.

CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 1. GENERAL
DIVISION 2. STATE SEAL, FLAG, AND EMBLEMS
CHAPTER 2. STATE FLAG AND EMBLEMS
SECTION 420-429.8

425.6. The garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus) is the official state marine fish.

Newspaper Reflection

1. Describe something specific that you contributed to the final product that you like?
-I was not here the Monday the project was assigned due to a dental appointment so when I came back Tuesday I was assigned in my group to do the layout. I feel our layout was well done and aesthetically pleasing. Jessica helped me with the layout as well and I also looked over the groups papers and tried to see where they would fit on the newspaper. When we needed a bit of space I pulled an old ad off the internet to use in our newspaper to give it an authentic appeal. I feel that I feel that even though the magazine got cropped when printed it looked pretty good.
2. One thing you can improve on.
As stated before when I came to school the day after the assignment was given my job was already picked for me. There were times during the project where I was the only one of my group there and since I was not in charge of an article I could not do much with the class. I also feel that I could have downloaded some fonts to make the title and headers look better as well.

C-C-C-Changes!

The Democratic Party has changed quite a bit since it was originally conceived. The party was actually originally thought up as the “Republican party” which is rather paradoxical to today’s standards. The party was split in 1824 and became the Democrats that we know of. The other stayed as the republicans. James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were the founders of the Democratic Party, which had the original purpose to oppose the Federalist Party. The Democratic Party was the “Party of the common man” which is ideal that still stands today. You can see this through liberals pushing higher taxes and wanting bigger government. The idea of a United States national health service is also a policy that is thought to be more liberal. The party has had a more capitalistic standpoint previously in the 1800’s, which now is something you will not find. Barack Obama seems to want to tax more to have more funding. After the great depression the policy for democrats and taxes changed. There was a program named ‘The New Deal” which regulated business more. The higher taxes played into the original idea of “the common man” and added ways to help the average American. Before this the party was also a belief of smaller government and had a more libertarian standpoint on things. I understand how an event like the great depression can change all of this though. I think the biggest change in the Democratic Party is the way they went from being fiscally conservative to the way they are now. I am sure if James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were to see the way it is know they would not vote for a liberal candidate. Also I recently learned that John Kennedy was in the white house when the Vietnam war started. It was a weird realization for me because I always viewed democrats as presidents that started or went into wars. I suppose that changed over the years as well when America realized that the Vietnam was just a big mistake.

Sources:

http://www.democrats.org/a/party/history.html
http://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrfirstfiresidechat.html

Blog Reflection

What are you most proud of on your blog? Why?
Friday's blogicon went very well for me. I presented my first blog entry on Pfizer and I was able to see everyone else in my group's blog's as well. The freshmen came and talked to us about our blogs as well and I had some very nice conversations with them and their blogging. After a long weekend I came back Tuesday to find that Randy had got the entire class muffins and doughnuts with a "Paper Plate Award." My award said "Best Public Health Service" which I felt made my blog unique. I like to blog about medical science and that award made the time I put into my blog almost worth it. But really it is nice to be commemorated on something of that nature because that was my original intent.

What will you improve during future blogs? Why? How?
I feel that I could improve on content and depth in my blogs. Also if I could find more articles that relate to the topic assigned. Better graphic design would help my blog as well because my blog is very plain. In future blogs I plan on inserting links and articles right into the writing and incorporating more pictures/videos on my blog while still keeping a nice amount of content to the entries. I believe there is a good balance between the writing and aesthetic look to the blog.

How can we better connect our blogs?
I feel that most of the class could probably improve on this topic. If we all connected our blogs better with a personal connection. If we could link our blogs to other blogs on the same topic or mention what other students have put in our blogs would be connected. We could also blog on opposing viewpoints as well. Or if we are comfortable with our writing and all the other aspects would could have an aesthetically pleasing looking blog that would somehow connect with everyone elses (Color schemes, layouts, etc.)

'Obama Nation' full of half truths and lies

This New York Times bestselling book by Jerome Corsi is a book with the sole purpose to slander senator Barack Obama. Although this would be acceptable if Corsi had received credible and legitimate evidence some of his cites range from opinion colomns to anonymous blogs. Some of Corsi's claims are that Obama could propose that he was a citizen of Kenya or that he has yet to anwser questions about his teenage drug use. Claims such as these and others are proven false with evidence from reliable sources.
The other day when I was with my friends I happened to run into this book. The title and headline actually made me laugh out loud. "The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality." I didn't think much of it as I walked past the book store while ingesting a 2 dollar bottle of green tea which was probably only worth fifty cents. I think if one is willing to try and argue they should at least get their facts straight. I can see the importance of checking credible sources and that using reliable evidence is the best way to get your point across.

Factcheck.org

Corsi's Dull Hatchet

September 15, 2008
Original Article

Government and the Stock Market

Recently there has a been a crisis in the stock market. Two banks declared bankruptcy the other day and now market is dipping and gyrating. During class we were given an assignment to say whether or not we think the government should step in or not. I believe that the stock market should be an open market. If the government gives money to one corporation then what is stopping others from asking for money. GM is now asking for money to help fund alternative fuel projects. America is a capitalist country and I believe that the market should remain open. The stock market has a tendency to fluctuate and I believe everything will work itself out in due time.

G.M. and Ford Officials Seeking U.S. Loans to Meet Fuel Goal New York Times

By BILL VLASIC

Published: September 16, 2008
Original Article

Doctor's receive bonus for administering antibiotics

A new program called "Pay for Performance" which rewards doctor's for administering antibiotic drugs in a timely manner may be unhealthy.

"But he did not appear to have pneumonia or any other infection. He had no fever. His white blood cell count was normal, and he wasn’t coughing up sputum. His chest X-ray did show a vague marking, but that was probably just fluid in the lungs from heart failure.

I ordered the antibiotic stopped — but not in time to prevent the patient from developing a severe diarrheal infection called C. difficile colitis, often caused by antibiotics. He became dehydrated. His temperature spiked to alarming levels. His white blood cell count almost tripled. In the end, with different antibiotics, the infection was brought under control, but not before the patient had spent almost two weeks in the hospital."

You can see here how administering antibiotics when they are not nessecary can be very harmful on patients. Doctor's get pay bonuses though and can administer these substances to those who it would have little to no effect on. It is unhealthy to take antibiotics unless an infection is present. Antibiotic use can also lead to other complications. I feel that everyone should be entitled to free medical free from the tyranny of hospital fees. Doctors are able to "Cherry-Pick" patients and cause their medical fee to go up. This reminds me of John Locke when he said that people should be born with certain rights. I feel everyone should have medical care. Also I believe that it is wrong for Doctor's to knowingly perscribe these substances to patients if they know their are no real positives. It almost goes against the hippocratic oath.

New York Times

"The Pitfalls of Linking Doctors’ Pay to Performance"

By SANDEEP JAUHAR, M.D

Published: September 8, 2008

Original Article

California legalizes gay marriage (Anti-Fed/Fed)

California has recently released the ban on same sex marriage. Same sex marriage is an issue that is very controversial and is one of the key topics in elections. John McCain believes that marriage between a man and women should be regulated by the state. This is viewed as an Anti-Federalist emotion. Anti-Federalists want laws and other things to be governed by the state where as Federalists want things to be governed by the country. California legalizing gay marriage is a perfect example of an anti federalist movement. Gay marriage is not legal in all states. I do think that if a same sex couple really does want to elope then they will travel to a country where it is legal to do so therefore defeating the purpose of governing marriage by state.

New York Times
"California Court Affirms Right To Gay Marriage"
By ADAM LIPTAK

Published: May 16, 2008

Original Article

Infidelity in Ukraine (Enlightenment)

In the 2004 Ukraine presidential election votes were stolen from candidate Viktor Yushchenko is order to put Viktor Yanukovich ahead of the polls. This eventually became known to the public and thousands gathered in 'Kiev' square to protest the atrocities. Votes were recounted despite several threats made to the supreme court and Yushchenko came out the clear winner. Now 4 years later "The president of Ukraine, Viktor A. Yushchenko, asserted that he was the victim of a “political and constitutional coup” carried out by his ally, Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko, and threatened to call for early parliamentary elections." One of the points of interest in Enlightenment was that the government would not hide things from it's people and tell them everything. Ukraine has been very sketchy in the sense of revealing/hiding information from it's people.

New York Times
Ukraine Government New Collapse

By CLIFFORD J. LEVY

Published: September 3, 2008

Original Article

Pfizer pays $725 Million for experimental drug (Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness)

Pfizer said that it was acquiring the rights to a new experimental substance aimed to help Alzheimer's disease. The substance (Pictured Above) is Dimebolin, a antihistamine that works on the AMPA/NMDA receptors. It has show positive results in Russia for Mild/Moderate stage patients of Alzheimer's disease by inhibiting brain cell death in preclinical studies of Alzheimer's. Pfizer has caught on to this new experimental pharmaceutical and is wishing to aquire a license on it. Pfizer will assume 60 percent of the development costs and take in 60 percent of the profits. I believe that Pfizer is more concerned with these experimental substances not to help those with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia but from a buisiness standpoint. As John Locke said everyone should have their own human rights. I think if a drug like this exists in the world then it should be readily available and something like "aquiring the rights" or finding out the percent of profit the company will make should be irrelevant.

New York Times

Pfizer Acquires Rights to Alzheimer's Drug
By REUTERS

Published: September 3, 2008

Original Article