My new Life in Blogging

"Blogging has definitely provided an opportunity for me to immerse myself into an online community that I had never known of before. Before this class, I had no clue had blogs and bloggers went about with expressing their ideas, but now I actually enjoy reading what people have to offer. It's definitely a great resource for getting your idea out in an efficient way. I wasn't entirely sure of what I was getting myself into when I was told I was going to a create a blog account. But, I had the mentality to carry this out as best as I could. I took it very seriously because I knew that it was a community that could teach me knew things. It was also something that allowed me to write in a way that I wasn't able to in my previous English classes, so that was quite new and enjoyable."-Previous Blog.

"It allowed me to see what other people had to elaborate about topics that I have never considered taking an interest, and I would have never found out about them otherwise. Like the technology topic, I wouldn't have considered whether it was good or evil if it wasn't for the assignment that was assigned. I found it entertaining to see what several other people had to say about a topic we all had to write about it and having multiple people giving me feed back on a post was always helpful."- Previous Blog.

Everything restated holds very true. It was still a similar process, but I always enjoy seeing what other people had to offer about certain topics I never would have found on my own. Their insights and sometimes silly comments are always refreshing to read. Now that I have had some experience in the blogging realm, I have even been convinced to create a Tumblr, another website to blog. But, I enjoy delving into Tumblr because I am now able to see what my favorite bands are up to and such. Also, I hope to start posting some of my poems on my Tumblr blog to get feedback and criticism to further my writing hobby. I also want to pursue the interest of blogging to follow some registered dietitian's blogs so that I can adventure in my nutritional realm. Blogging in general has led me to meet and talk to new people that are now some very reliable friends. 

Eight weeks later of doing this blogging process, and the system is still pretty flawless. I wouldn't want to advise any change to be done to it. I would encourage other students to make sure to comment on a different blog every single time to increase their diversity engagement in blogging, you never know you might meet. You might even have a similar interest with someone else, you just have to dive in and indulge yourself with this new experience. 

What media does around me #9

I simply do not care and don't watch the news in anyway shape or form, even if eye-grabbing thumbnails are desperately waiting to be clicked on in the sides of Facebook. But, I have actually watched a particular video that was very emotionally appealing to me that completely went against the stereotypical wants in fashion. There were so many factors that were to be analyzed and considered in this video, such as, how were people going to react to it(good or bad), is the purpose of the video to start a movement, will it change our view?

I personally would want such mannequins(that are in the shapes people with deformities, missing limbs,etc oddly spread about in high-end markets so that people could be more aware of the disabled community. This video makes me try to empathize with these people on a level the best I can because I never really gave much thought to mannequins and how "perfect" they are, and how most people disregard to the disabled community in most cases. I tend to focus on how media really affects other people instead of how it might affect me personally because I care more about how the "underdog" is portrayed. I wish we would do something like this in almost every mall.

Schlieren Optics... We all want it. #10

Schlieren Optics is a method that allows a person to see things that aren't able to see by the human eye. 

"Demonstration of an optical technique that allows us to see small changes in the index of refraction in air. A point source of light is reflected from a concave mirror and focused onto the edge of a razor blade, which is mounted in front of the camera. Light refracted near the mirror and intercepted by the blade gives the illusion of a shadow.

Seen here are the heated gases from a candle flame and a hair dryer, helium gas, and sulfur hexafluoride gas."

I really want this to be available in the form of eyeglasses, or giant cyber-looking goggles. Although, the process seems very complicated and impracticle for portable uses, but technology still finds a way.

Could you imagine what it would be like to see images of the air being distorted by heat and other substances? 

Diagnose yourself? #8

There is a device that is called an rHEALTH sensor X that is portable and will be made for consumers.

It's function is to moderate your vitamin levels and theoretically be able to diagnose your illnesses by only sampling a single drop of your blood, which 1000x less than the usual vampiric amount the doctors usually need when they run tests. This was created from "A unique collaboration between NASA’s Glenn Research Center and the DNA Medicine Institute (DMI)"-https://technology.grc.nasa.gov/SS-rHealth.shtm, The biggest and obvious message that they are trying to push is that since most of us aren't able to take care of ourselves (relying on doctors, nutritionist, etc..) this device will allow people to moderate their own health!

The device is even able to test for diseased you might have in the future, and even cancer! This all happens within the millionth of a second with instant results. It takes your single drop of your blood (haha! Sucks for you, Vampires!!) and it is scanned with lasers to read it's biosignature (Measurable attributes of life).
Seriously..... Going to get my blood drawn and waiting days-weeks for results is agonizing, but with this, I just may be able to learn a lot more about my health just by sampling a single drop of blood in the name of science.
(link opens new browser window) 

Are All Men That Dumb? #7

 http://www.dumbmen.com/

The content and format of the blog website is so underdeveloped it makes me want to vomit profusely in the most violent way possible. Okay, maybe it's not that bad, but there's so many things that led me astray. I wasn't sure if this was a website that was trying to bring all the stereotypes to light, or to continue the cause of bashing on the male gender. The reason that this was is because they have no introduction, no bio, nothing to explain why the website was created. I kinda found out from reading the small 1-2 sentences that goes with each video, but it's at least a nice relay resource to find all these videos/commercials. To my preference, I would at least want some explanation of what they're striving for. 

In this video men are directly portrayed as incompetent, not safe to leave by themselves, and not independent. The organization behind is called Fidelity, a business that prepares for your retirement. Their general message is that if you're so incompetent, rely on us to do all your thinking for you. At the very end was very subtle of how sexist it was. Throughout the entire thing until the end was just men making a complete fool of themselves, but yet at the very end was a woman being praised for being "her own boss," "genius," "C.E.O." and generally making her THE perfect human being with ultimate success. Their appeal to humor was great, but they should have done it on equal gender terms.

Capitalism

Capitalism- A Love Story (Trailer)

This movie actually informed a lot of things that I never really knew about (well, I guess for the most part so didn't many Americans, hence Michael Moore's adventure). There was a family that Mr. Moore picked for an interview that really tugged at my heart strings and their story almost compelled me to cry (I completely forgot what that family's story was about, but I will tell you tears were almost spilled). There was one woman whose husband that passed away was insured by their bank so that the bank would solely receive the benefits of him dying. And how they refer to this man (and many others) was with such a demeaning term, "Dead Peasants", which infuriated the wife because the bank had hoped the man would die, and now they insult him.

I think that it's pretty essential for Mr. Moore to be doing such acts so that many people have the chance to learn about it. I do find him quite annoying at some times, but he's still a valuable resource that puts in the effort for me to dig up information that isn't made aware to the masses.

Fun singing Facts #6

Singing has been known to relieve stress and anxiety issues by releasing endorphin and oxytocin, two hormones that directly impact your level of happiness. So, there's seriously no shame in singing no matter where you are, be it the shower, at home, in public sometimes. There are places where one should definitely not sing for the fact of being considerate of others, like a funeral (unless it was planned), during a moment of silence, and not near a snowy mountain that is very sensitive to loud noises that would result in an unfortunate avalanche. But, making oneself happy is very essential, and singing is absolutely free and accessible to anybody.

Cool fact, is that when two or more people begin to harmonize with each other, their heart beats become in sync.

Their heart's rhythm is actually guided by the song, in terms of when to breathe, how quick the song is, and what the volume of the song is. All these factors determine a group's rhythm of heart beating. So, it's a pretty cool thought that if you ever sang in a choir, that the conductor of the group was actually controlling the speed of multiple hearts.

Overall, singing can be very therapeutic whether it be alone, in groups, or even controlled by someone with a wand in their hand.

Shorter Classes #5

I think the thought is a fantastic idea. This sort of integrating an alternative route for those who just want to get through the "mandatory" classes that do not quite benefit their career choice is the much more ideal route. As Jason Reynolds said,"I think it's good they are offering it," he said of the shorter courses. "Everyone is different." I believe this is essentially true for those who are more comfortable with speeding along. 

But, it's not necessarily a bad thing either, it's simply just another choice that is not forced upon anybody. In concern to the faculty members who don't feel like much input was gathered, that they believe accelerated classes don't offer students the best education, well, they might be absolutely right.

 Some people are comfortable and right at home with their 7 1/2 week course, but for others, the ones who just do it to get it over with quicker and don't care to retain the information, it's still perfect for them as well since the course to them simply might just be an obstacle to obtain what they really want.

A personal example in my case.

Bionic Eye For The Blind #4

In  previous science fiction tales of cyborgs with enhanced cybernetic eyes that allow them to surpass human limitations, has almost become a reality. There was a man who was chosen to be the seventh candidate for a trial of testing the new "Argus II Retinal Prosthesis Device." This device allows the wearer to be able to see flashes of lights that stimulate images to be seen, in other words, "Using wireless technology, a sensor is implanted in the eye to pick up light signals sent from a camera mounted on special eyeglasses." 

Here is an image of the technology after it is surgically implanted in the eyeball. 

And here is the seventh candidate, Larry Hester who has been blind for the past thirty years, wearing the device.

After putting them on for the first time, he was exclaiming how he can see for the first time in a while. His wife immediately started crying with tears of joy. 

Here is a four minute video showing the reaction of Larry Hester, his wife, and the doctors discussing about what he is able to see exactly. 
The doctor was able to clear up some misconceptions about device,"Hahn cautioned that the device will not restore normal eyesight , but instead provide a visual aid that could help Hester distinguish a door from a wall, or a crosswalk painted in a roadway. Hester describes seeing flashes of light that are more intense when he aims the camera at lights or light-colored objects." With future testing and teaching Larry Hester what the flashes of lights are able to discern, he will become more comfortable and skilled with this new ability. He plans to continue helping further the research so that more people who have retinal diseases might be able to see for the first time.

#2 What Scoville Units Measure

There are quite a few peppers that are known to be the hottest peppers in the world. These of which are always trumped by the newest things due to personal challenges and odd wants. The first hot pepper that was introduced to me was called a habanero.

 Granted I didn't know what these were until my mother said, "Here, try one of these. You might like it." I didn't mind trying something new and popped one in my mouth, which was when she said,"SPIT IT OUT!!!!" By then, I had already swallowed a mini volcano. The habanero measures at 400,000 in scoville, a measurement of spicy heat, units.

Here we can see that the ghost pepper used to be the hottest pepper in the world until someone decided to crossbreed a red naga pepper and a Red Savina pepper to create something that can potentially kill someone depending on how their body reacts to it. I mean, the thing even looks unholy...

Here are some links to some very peculiar reactions to two very fantastic people eating these on their morning show. The first is a ghost pepper.

And this one is where they eat the devil's toenail (Carolina Reaper)

Entry #1 How awesome Blogs are

I think blogs are fantastic ways to express your own opinions on interesting, controversial, or new topics. Blogs are so intricate in the way one can network their information to share on such an efficient template and it's user friendly to follow favorite sources. Blogs are open to such diverse tone and style that allows for introducing very professional and personal info, why not both? Well anyone can, which grabs my interest because I enjoy the vast diversity of style of tones. I particularly enjoy when very critical information is being presented in such a comical way. It helps me retain information better if done so in such a way.


My one and only favorite blogger/comic artist/author, The Oatmeal. The most delightful blog I have ever come across that opened an array of information and joy for me. I have learned about what are now my heroes, such as Nicola Tesla, and Bartolome. He has casted a light on what were thought to be our American heroes that have discovered America, but in reality were some of the worse tyrants to ever step foot on this land. Such a person was Christopher Columbus. The way he provides such info is done through over dramatic, silly, and sometimes really serious and personal ways.  Please do read this comic if you ever get the chance. http://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2014/10/drb-pic-of-day-majesty-of-orion-nebula.html
This blog provides a vast amount of interesting subjects that are often with no correlation to one another. It could be absolutely random and delightful, or boring. But this particular blog post definitely caught my eye since I am absolutely fascinated with images of the galaxies. There was a sufficient amount of information provided with each picture, which was where they cited the source, and what the name of the nebulas were. I found this blog to be entertaining and a little insightful. The tone wasn't really stimulating or enticing, but the things shared are much appreciated.

http://en.ilovecoffee.jp/posts/index/facts This blog provides cute little pictures of interesting art that can be done with coffee as well as very peculiar facts about coffee that I have never taken the time to investigate. Also, some artwork is composed by my favorite comic author The Oatmeal, so this is indeed very biased and I never would have found out about this blog if it wasn't for him. The rhetoric of the writing is very engaging and even appears that the author has consumed quite a bit of coffee.

Introduction

My name is Stephan Luna. This is my first year at GCC and I must say it is so much better than high school. People who attend college just seem to be so much nicer and willing to engage in conversation whereas it seemed in high school people were in very reserved social groups.College life is definitely the life for me.

My goals for attending GCC are to ideally pursue studies in nutrition so that I may become a Registered Dietitian. I am taking an online introduction to nutrition class, but it's not as helpful as I wanted it to be, but it still has provided key information as to how to began the dietetic life and all its requirements. GCC so far has allowed many other opportunities for me such as taking a class that helps me critique my abilities in job interviews. My goodness does that class break your shell. I have to participate in simulations of interviewing my classmates and vice versa, it is definitely hard. I love that class because it definitely challenges me to change and adapt. 

Crash course on what Stephan likes: I love talking to random people who care to share adventurous stories and such. I have begun taking the initiative to talk to people; it is something I have been working on this year and it has been pretty successful. I have met some pretty fantastic people that I wouldn't have ever met other wise.  I find great comfort in writing poetry and analyzing any matter of art; such as, music, poetry, TV shows, anime etc. Singing, napping (this is so very important), being active, watching well put together shows are things that occur everyday in my life. The most recent event in my life was the inspiration to start running which derived from one of my heroes, The Oatmeal, who writes hilarious/insightful comics.
 From his comic:

This comic has inspired me to start running and generally make running a part of my life. I attended one of his book-signings and this man was hilarious and provided well put together stories to inspire people to start running and consider why you should start running in the first place.