College Life

Hello Reader! I'd like to share my overall experience with my 1st semester (which is soon coming to an end) of college here in the U.S. (I said "here in the U.S." because I have previously taken 1 year of college back home in the Philippines, but my experience with college here has been quite different. I won't go into comparing both experiences though.)

I have learned a lot from my 4 classes during these past months. The most challenging of which has been calculus. With calculus being a subject that requires higher level thinking (as my teacher says), I am proud of now being able to solve calculus problems. In a way, it makes me feel smart. Hehe... :-P No doubt, there are more complex subjects to come (including the more advanced calculus classes), but I am looking forward to acquiring more and more higher level knowledge. Also, I am glad to know that what I'm learning will help me with my career choice. 

College life has been stressful as well with all the schoolwork and deadlines.  With the many essay papers, online discussions, blogs (like this one :-P), etc., my English class in particular has been the most stressful of all my classes. The amount of schoolwork may be attributed to it being a hybrid class (being partly online and face-to-face/traditional). More so though, the required effort may be attributed to the fact that these requirements need more of an inventive thought process. So I continually have (soon to be "had") to come up with new material to put on paper (or document files). The added responsibility can be quite a pain especially when stacked up with other responsibilities like housework, (job) work, and even taking care of children. (It's a good thing I only have the first one to worry about, and maybe soon the second one.) I've sadly been behind with the latest technology articles and such. I know though that whatever skills and knowledge I'm acquiring by going through these trials--schoolwork--will pay off somehow, be it with my future career or in life.

Going to college has also made me feel more independent: having to manage my own enrollment, teachers leaving it up to me to be responsible for fulfilling my class requirements, pursuing knowledge by my own free will, etc.

I enjoy and even look forward to my classes, even if their requirements can be stressful. It's a good-outweighs-the-bad kind of thing.

Reader, if ever you're not part of my English 101 class, and you aren't currently and haven't previously been in college, I would recommend that you pursue a college education if it's within your means. There's much useful and interesting knowledge to be acquired, and there are jobs out there that require people with knowledge and skills that can be attained through a college education.

Well, that's all for this blog post. I hope you found this read to be a pleasant one (even if it was somewhat focused on me). Thank you for reading, and until next time... :-)

Truth Vs. Belief

Hello (again) Reader! With this blog post, I'll be talking about religion in general. Knowing how much of a sensitive topic it is, I will try to not come off as offensive to anyone, but I will share some food for thought.

To start, let me bring up the definition of the word religion. According to one of the definitions on Merriam-Webster.com, religion is "a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith." So basically, religion can be said to be a set of certain beliefs people uphold and accept to be true.

As you're probably aware of though, there are tons of different religions out there. Are they all based on the truth though? Are only some of them truthful? Is it only one out of all of them? Or are none of them even true at all? Those are just some thoughts and I personally cannot say which one of those thoughts may be objectively true.

If a person a certain religion were asked which religion is of the truth, he/she would probably say whatever his/her religion is. This is to be expected because why else would that person be of that religion if he/she didn't think it is true.

The question now is, why do people believe in certain religions but not others? Well, there are multiple reasons why someone may choose to adopt a religion. Some people may have just been raised by their parents with a certain religion.  Some may have been convinced/converted that a certain religion is of the truth. Some may have learned about a certain religion and have found its beliefs and practices to make sense (to them). There may be more reasons as to why people adopt certain religions.

All that just goes to show that people may believe in different religions, whether or not we know they're of the truth. Some may say that, I guess in a philosophical kind of way, believing in something makes it true (for whoever believes in it). If you are to be scientific  though, you would wonder which religion is of the objective truth, who is/are the real god(s), are all or none of them real, etc.?

Religion truly is a difficult topic to debate about. This is because different religions are based on different people's beliefs, which vary widely. Also, there is a lack of knowledge to totally prove or disprove different religions, and even if there were proof, some people may choose to not believe in it.

This is why I choose to be Agnostic--someone who doesn't stick to any particular belief (or disbelief). Though I have no definitive proof supporting the truth behind any religion, I also do not have any definitive proof to totally discredit any religion. I am not telling anyone to be Agnostic like me though. Faith can be considered an admirable trait, and, as I have come to learn, many religions uphold admirable values/principles; so I'm not against those religions either.

Many religions/philosophies carry many implication with them and greatly shape people's lives, so choose wisely.

That's it from me for now. Thank you for reading and I hope you found this blog post generally enjoyable. I hope you come back again for more! Take care and till next time... :-)

Entry #5: Savoring Every Last Bit

Greetings (once again) Reader! Today, I will be sharing my thoughts and insights about a fairly recent controversial topic, "pink slime." More specifically, I'll be talking about a portion of an episode of a show called Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution concerning this topic. My views may not appear conventional or may even come off as appalling, but please do bear with me.

The particular segment of the show I am referring to has the host, Jamie Oliver, showing a group of people a (rough) demonstration of how pink slime is made. He described pink slime as processed meat trimmings that are unfit for human consumption--due to having harmful germs--and are/were initially (possibly when not processed the same way) meant to be made into animal food. The whole process supposedly involves meat trimmings first being put through a mechanical process where the fat is separated from the actual meat; then, they are treated with ammonia to kill off microorganisms; and then, the trimmings are turned into a form of ground meat. Based on the way he described and showed the process, it seemed to me like he had no intention of making pink slime look good or at least acceptable.

For me though, I think it's pretty great how this "pink slime" technology allows us to be less wasteful--than we already are. I really am one for avoiding waste, at least up to a point that is still reasonable. I remember hearing how Spam, the canned meat, comes from meat trimmings--at least partially--that otherwise may have been discarded (not necessarily due to them being unfit for human consumption). (Note: I'm not 100% sure about this information. If it's a cause for concern for you, you can do some research on it instead of avoiding Spam just like that.) Hearing how Spam actually contains meat that would otherwise have been wasted makes me happy to eat it. That's aside from the fact that I find it delicious--especially when it's fried--and not too expensive.

It should also be considered how the efficiency behind "pink slime" may lead us to having to slaughter less animals. It may also lead to having more affordable food.

There is that concern about how ammonia is used to make it. I am not really familiar with how exactly ammonia affects our bodies. If it can be used though in a way that ends up really being safe for human consumption, then I have no problems with it. I believe it would be ignorant to be prejudiced against it just because of the negative notion surrounding it. Like I learned in high school, when it comes to chemistry, things may not always be as they seem. For instance, water or H2O is made from hydrogen--which is a combustible gas--and oxygen--which is needed for a fire to burn. Ironically, they combine into something that can be used to douse fire. This just goes to show how we should look deeper into what chemicals are, how they're used, and how they really affect us in the end; instead of just having prejudiced views towards them. We have to make ourselves more knowledgeable on the matter if we don't trust others, like the government, to check for us if things are fit for us.

In the show, an issue was brought up about how the government doesn't require that companies indicate that ammonia is used for "pink slime" products. I find it to be debatable that consumers aren't informed about this. For one thing, of course one would like to know what he/she is eating. Another thing though is, what if "pink slime" is absolutely alright but people would still refuse it because of the thought surrounding ammonia? Wouldn't that result in a big waste of food that could've been avoided? This is why I find it debatable. I for one though would like to know everything about what I put in my mouth; though, I have no problem "stomaching" the thought of ammonia being used in my food, as long as it's absolutely safe.

About any other concerns surrounding "pink slime..." I'm not too concerned about the bacteria since getting rid of them is what the ammonia is supposedly for. I am also not concerned about what those meat trimmings were initially for since that thought alone doesn't really matter. A lot of things can be repurposed.

Admittedly, I'm not thoroughly informed about this topic, but those are my general insights about it. I really think that Jamie Oliver was making "pink slime" look bad. Whether he was right to do so, I can't really say without knowing if "pink slime" is absolutely safe or not. Otherwise, if it is really a safe, less wasteful way to make a delicious burger, then I'm for it!

This topic definitely deserves to be researched upon more. I encourage you to do so.

Well, that's it from me for now. Thank you for reading! I hope you come back for more soon. Till next time... :-)

Entry #4: Food for Thought

Hello again Reader! :-) I'm going to share some thoughts relating to a documentary I watched in my ENG 101 class. The documentary is called Food Inc. It reveals (supposed) truths about the U.S.'s food industry--from farms to grocery shelves.  It is a very interesting and potentially shocking documentary. I recommend that you watch it. (That is if you can handle the truth. :-P Seriously though, it may drastically change the way you look at your food.)

I won't cover every last bit of the whole documentary, but I will talk about some striking ideas it shares.

For one thing, the documentary talks about the U.S.'s corn production. If I remember correctly, an interviewee mentioned how farmers are pretty much given incentives to overproduce corn--more than enough for obviously corn-based foodstuffs--by way of government subsidies. This is because there is so much that can be done with corn. Different substances can be derived from it, like high-fructose corn syrup, corn oil, xanthan gum, and a whole lot more. It was surprising how many various products that contain corn one way or another were shown in the documentary. Some of them aren't even food products. Corn is such a big part of people's lives here in the U.S.

Also, corn can be used to feed cattle--possibly after some processing. About that, there's supposedly something problematic with it. As I recall from the documentary, as opposed to allowing cows to eat grass, "forcing" cattle to eat corn--for economical reasons--causes them to be more prone to harboring (a) dangerous kind(s) of E. coli. When infected cows are slaughtered and prepared for human consumption, people can then get infected, become ill, and possibly die. Thus feeding corn to cattle may have been a major, if not the biggest, contributor to the many past E. coli outbreaks in the U.S., as shown in the documentary. 

You have to wonder if it's worth it to the cattle companies considering all the expenses like product recalls, compensation to those affected, potential lawsuits, etc. Sadly though, these companies cannot bring back those who may have died as a result. Unless, there's a way to prevent outbreaks that is equal to or better than letting cattle eat grass, I don't think companies should be benefiting at the expense of the consumer by feeding corn to cattle.

There was also talk in the documentary about how hard it can be for farmers who work with the few big food companies. They, or at least some chicken farmers, supposedly don't get paid much, but they have huge loans to payoff. These loans resulted from purchasing things needed for farming such as (large) chicken coops. Also, these farmers must follow whatever their companies want or else they may risk losing their contracts and thus losing their income which can be made worse by the previously mentioned loans. You could say that this is Capitalism at work, but I think the government should step in (if it hasn't already) with laws to promote fairness, programs to help farmers financially--since they, or more specifically, food is vital to the country--, and/or any other way. The government already manages different parts of the economy for the country's well-being. It should do the same with this matter (again, if it hasn't yet).

Also shown generally in the documentary were the seemingly unpleasant living conditions of livestock. I have thought about the moral considerations that could be made about slaying animals for food. If you think about it, what right do we have to take the lives of animals? If it's due to our superiority in terms of overpowering them, or basically put, just because we can, then consider how the "weak" (people) are sometimes unjustly taken advantage of by the powerful. Consider if that is alright. I wouldn't say it is right at all. So why should we take advantage of animals like we do? One thought I had that could justify it is if we ensure the survival of these animals, which we do when we raise them as livestock. Though not only must we take care of them, but also provide pleasant or at least decent lives for them and not lives where they just suffer and finally die. With that in mind, I don't think food providers in general shouldn't just blindly go on in pursuit of efficiency, but they should also think about the quality of life of their livestock.

I thank you (once again) for reading my blog. I hope this stood as a pleasant read for you. Again, you may want to watch the documentary, Food Inc. If you do, I hope you enjoy as much or even more than I did. Until next time... :-)

More Than Enough (Tech)

Good to see you (back) Reader! In today's blog post, I'll be sharing my opinion on electronic devices otherwise known as computers, gadgets, tech devices, or just plain devices. More so, I'll be presenting how little some people may actually need certain devices, that is if they need them at all.

As I can remember, some of my views, which I'll be sharing in a moment, have come from either the opinions of tech article editors and fellow tech enthusiasts, just plain logical reasoning, or both. As I may have mentioned in my first blog post, I read a lot of tech articles, mostly from the site Tom's Hardware. There are also a lot of other tech sites that I occasionally visit like AnandTech, CNET, HEXUS.net, and more.

So, to start off... Have you ever seen a certain gadget, like maybe the latest iPad from Apple, and immediately felt like you must have it? If so, have you ever thought first (or after) if that device would be worth whatever use you may actually derive from it? I mean, yes, it may look very beatiful, fancy-looking, etc.; and it may seem very cool with all its features. But if you think about it, would you actually be able to use it in a meaningful way, and more so on a regular enough basis that you'd be getting your money's worth?

If you could honestly and rationally answer "yes" to these questions, then you could also consider other things as well. Do you already own another device that could already do whatever you would have that device you have your eyes on do? Is there another cheaper alternative that may not perform as good or have as many features, but would still satisfy whatever your needs are?

With all those questions, you've probably figured out already what I'm trying to get at. Though let me present further a more specific example of what I mean. I mentioned the (latest) iPad above, so I'll go ahead and use that further in this example scenario.

Imagine seeing the iPad for the first time. You could see its nice, compact, portable form; see beautiful images on its nice screen; see different games being played on it; see the various ways of communication it allows; and see a lot more things it's capable of. It's admittedly tempting and you'd probably want to have it or at least try it out. You might even think of shelling out the cash for it.

Going back though to those different questions I mentioned above... Have you thought about what you're going to do with it once you have it? Will it be something that you will really enjoy for the long run and that will make your everyday life (a lot) easier, will it be something that will make you a lot more productive at work, or will it just be a trifle play thing that amuses you for a while but then gets old and would just lay in a corner for prolonged periods of time, OR will it be just something that you want to have since "everyone" else has it? In other words, would it be a worthy investment?

If it is, then think about these... Is there something else like another tablet or maybe a rickety, old laptop or desktop that you already own that can (still) do the job--that that new iPad would do? Are you just being drawn in by how nice it seems but in truth, already have all you need with you? If not, must you have the absolutely latest iPad, or would older, cheaper versions suit your needs fine? Would a different, less expensive brand of tablet or maybe even a different thing altogether like a laptop do it for you? Have you bothered doing your research and shopping around more?

Thinking about all those things might've changed your mind about the (latest) iPad now...or not. It's not really a bad thing if you buy premium products just as long as you're being responsible with your finances. The point is being wise about things--putting more thought into decisions like this. Think before you leap!

This lesson I'm pointing to just doesn't apply to purchasing electronics, truth be told. It doesn't even just apply to purchasing decisions. It applies to life!

BTW, I would personally say that Apple's iPad is a pretty good product. It's a premium tablet for a reason, at least to some extent. Just because I used it as an example in this blog post doesn't mean I'm bad mouthing you, Apple! :-P

Thanks for going through this blogpost. Hopefully it has been helpful in someway for you. I'm off now, but I'll be back soon. Till then... :-)

Worrywart

Welcome (back) Reader! In this blog post, I'm going to talk about a certain quirk of mine. So as result of reading this, you will get to know me a little bit (more).

I was raised to be morally upright, just like how a lot of people are raised to be so by their parents. I grew up as such, at least for the most part. For one thing, I remember that I would say some swear words, but refused to do so with any holy names or such, since I was Catholic back then. I even remember telling off a classmate once not to do so since it was blasphemy or not right. I also was aware that stealing was bad, and at least for the most part (I think :-P) abstained from partaking in that act.

So this behavior--caring about what's right and wrong--followed me throughout the years. At one, point, I even battled with myself about the moral implications of software piracy--something that's considered to be "okay" by a lot of people. It's something that a lot of people are accustomed to back home in the Philippines since it's way cheaper than buying legit. (I'm not happy about this fact.) I eventually realized that it is wrong even if "everybody does it," and I still stick with that realization today, as a lot of my friends may know.

Software piracy may be considered by a lot to be a "victimless crime," and there is some reasoning to that; though analyzing further, one can see that it really isn't a "victimless crime" and that there are some real implications to the act. Some may still think, "So what?! Those companies are way too rich anyway." I for one still refuse to utilize something--software in this instance--which I really should be paying for, no matter how wealthy the seller is. It's just wrong not to, and I shouldn't wrong anyone.

Anyway, this just shows how I prioritize/consider moral values more than a usual person may. I don't mean to brag. In fact, a lot of people may consider my behavior to be really weird--not normal--which it is. I honestly even feel embarrassed sometimes to let others know. If a friend for example wants me to listen to a certain song, I would sometimes ask first if it's a legit copy, and if it's not, I (kindly) refuse the person. Doing that just feels weird for me, thus I feel embarrassed about it.

That example also shows how much I worry about being morally upright, or just not committing wrong onto others. I worry about a lot of other things as well. A lot of them, if not most, may seem funny.

• I worry about having any droplets of my saliva fling off somewhere when I speak, which happens occasionally with some, if not all, people. I avoid doing so because it's disgusting for one thing, but I also don't want to risk getting other people sick if ever I have something, even if I don't know (yet) if I do. It's also very difficult to tell someone that you've spat on their food or whatever. (Haha!)
• I worry about getting things like seats "dirty," especially with seats found in public like bus seats. This is because I don't want to cause whoever will sit on whichever seat to track dirt or whatever, or at least I don't want to add to whatever dirt that's already there. I've avoided putting my bag on whatever seat was next to me because I knew that my bag also gets put on floors--not that I put my bag on particularly dirty floors. I have put my bag on bus seats still though, after some consideration, but still dusted the bottom of my bag before doing so. (See how weird I am... :-P)
• I worry about not breaking, or even scratching, things that aren't mine--including public property. I thus get cautious around other people's cars, for one thing. I don't even want to get too near them, due to the fear that I may slip up somehow and end up making a scratch. I have nicked someone else's car before by opening the door of the car I was in too wide and hitting that adjacent car. I was told by my friend, who I was riding with, that it was alright and that it happens, and we left it at that; but the thought of what I had done still lingered in my head for that day and way further. In fact, I still occasionally contemplate about it up to now. I felt, and still do feel, bad about how I didn't catch the driver of the other car and at least apologize.

Those examples just go to show further how I worry about things that may seem to some people like non-issues or things not even worth mentioning or thinking about--that is when they aren't on the receiving end. I know that it's only right to be considerate of other people, but it has come to feel stressful and thus unhealthy for me to worry so much about things like those I've mentioned. With that in mind, I don't have any plans to stop being like this. I think I'll eventually cope with the strees like how I've been doing so far. After all, if everyone lets go of their values and morals, imagine how much crappier the world would be.

That's it from me...for now. I hope you've found this post entertaining, humorous, insightful, and such. Until next time! :-)

Entry #3: Technology and Troubles

Hello once again Reader! With today's blog post, I'll be sharing some ideas about a certain scene from the Disney movie, WALL-E. This movie revolves around a robot of the same name and takes place in the distant future where people have advanced robots that can do most, if not all, the things people need done. As a result, people pretty much don't have to "get up" and do anything anymore. Now, there's more to this movie, but I'm going to be focusing on this aspect of it.


In one part of the scene I'm referring to, there is a man with a drink in his hand, sitting in a hi-tech floating chair which was carrying him around, just like everyone else in that area. When he was done with his drink, he wanted WALL-E, who happened to be there, to get rid of the cup for him, but in the process of reaching it to WALL-E, the man falls off the chair and he couldn't (or wouldn't) get back on. He then starts calling out for robots to put him back up into the chair.

What that instance tells me is how that person has grown totally reliant on technology that even such a simple task as getting up into a chair seemed like such an impossible task for him. An analogy could be made between that man and a lot of us today. A lot of people today have grown so reliant on technology (not necessarily as much as with the man in the example though).

If you consider for instance how devastating extended periods of power loss is to some communities, you'd see how our ways of life have been shaped by the availability of such conveniences afforded by different technologiess. A lot of us might not be able to prepare meals for ourselves if microwaves were suddenly made unavailable to us. That would indeed be devastating since we wouldn't be able to properly satisfy one fundamental requirement for life. (I know that it's a pretty shallow example, but I hope I was able to properly convey the point I was getting at.) That's only one of many problems that could result from our growing reliance on technology.


Another part of the scene has a woman sitting on one of those chairs as well. She had her face "stuck" to a hi-tech hologram (?) of a screen positioned in front of her, and she was video chatting with another person. WALL-E then tries to grab her attention and in the process disables the screen. With the screen out of the way, the woman notices the view of the city in front of her and appears awestruck, maybe as if she hasn't ever noticed how the city looked like before.

This instance goes to show how we can get so absorbed with certain technologies. For instance, since certain electronic devices can allows us to communicate with others so easily, we can sometimes just stay wherever and use these devices constantly. We aren't as compelled to go out and leave our houses, and sometimes even our rooms, anymore because it's not as necessary anymore in order to socialize with others.

As a result, we can lose sight of our surroundings. I can relate to this as I tend to frequently use different technological devices like computers and TV's. I remember a time after one Winter. A tree right outside my house previously shed it's leaves for Winter. I still thought it had no leaves at all yet. One time though, I went out of the house which I didn't do too often during that time, and I was surprised to see that the treed had a full head of green leaves. It takes sometime for a tree to grow back that many leaves. If I had gone out more often to walk or play sports maybe, I probably would've noticed it growing leaves gradually. That just goes to show how unaware I was of things around me due to me not being compelled to go out much since I had "all I needed" (technology) in my own home.

Another probably more important thing is that a lot of us don't get as much exercise anymore. This is a troubling issue since it's one that affects our physical well-beings. Different illnesses and conditions can arise from the lack of exercise. For one thing, obesity has been a big problem for many children. One major reason for this is probably the availability of different technologies they have available at home. Kids could just watch TV and/or play video games at home instead of playing games involving a lot more physical activity.


Another observation that could be made from the two instances I gave from the movie is that though there were a lot of people on the streets where they were being carried by their hi-tech chairs, most of them, if any at all, weren't paying any attention at all to those around them. Technological devices can be so attention-grabbing that we can end up just paying attention to them most of the times instead of people around us, be those family members, friends, etc. Though technology may allows us to connect with a lot of people whom we otherwise might not be able to communicate with, having it can also cause us to "lose connection" or grow indifferent with those around us, who, sometimes, should matter more to us.


Well, that's it for this blog post. As always, thank you for reading through it and I hope you liked it! Till next time... :-)