FREE: Never-ending Dreams

A Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

"A dream deferred stays there, like a dog patiently waiting for its master.  Although you might forget about it, it will never throw a fit.  It will not simply fade away, like a dandelion in a windy day.  Nor would it be suddenly gone, like the moon after dawn.  Even if its only small, like a tiny ball; it would still be there, like a  hungry bear.  Have you ever wondered how, like a polka-dotted cow?  I do too, like a zebra in a zoo.  Truth is, no one knows, like how water gets pushed through a hose.  But nevertheless it remains, like the water when it rains.  Maybe it's natural, like all warm blooded animals?  Or it just eerily exists, like the morning mist.  Either way, it's just gonna stay.  So you might as well say, "I'll see you again someday"."

I believe that dreams that are there, will never be gone, even if you try to remove them.  Somewhere, somehow, it will always be on the back of your mind.  Maybe there's an area of your brain where all your dreams are stored, who knows?  The fact that the dreams never dissolves tells you something.  It tells you that you can still follow and achieve your dreams even though you might be beyond that part.  It doesn't matterif your dream is impossible, like breathing underwater with no respiration equipment.  The future just might have pills you can take, so you can even breathe underwater.  Maybe they're even discovered by you, just because you're so dedicated to following your dreams.  Dreams are powerful objects, and can change everything, but only if you follow them.

FREE: First!

"For many years, it was thought that the Clovis people were the first humans to populate North America, about 13,000 years ago."

But all that has changed, due to the discovery of a mastodon rib with a bone point skewed in it.  The fossils were discovered in the late 1970s at the dig site, Manis, near Sequim, Washington.  Dr. Carl Gustafson, an archaeologist at Washington State University, theorized that the fossil was about 14,000 years old.  Although many scientists did not believe him then, but technology has advanced and he, along with other scientists, now uses mass spectrometry to pinpoint the date of of the bone.  They also used a CT to look inside then mastodon's bone, confirming that the bone lodged inside the mastodon was a hunting weapon.  The weapon was more than 10 inches long and sharpened.

Science is really advancing these days.  We came from sticks and stones, then to metals.  From the metals, we then mix them to form stronger metals, with enhanced qualities.  We can even make new metals and synthesize them with non-metals, giving the product a truly unique quality.  Now, we are beginning to dive in the realm of subatomic particles, who knows what we may do next.  The point that I'm trying to address is that everything will improve, even if it's for the worst. just look at the last century, in that time, scientific knowledge has tripled, maybe even quadrupled. One minute we're launching shuttles into space, and the next minute, we have men living in space.  History is being written right now, and once we've passed away, our future generations would look back and see us, making these discoveries.

RE: The Big Snapple

"Ever had Snapple before? Well, you should go try some if you haven’t already." -Raymond Chiu

I agree, to a certain extent.  I think Snapple is a great drink and also beneficial for the body.  As Raymond Chiu stated in his post, "Their drinks were all 100% made out of pure fruits and tea leaves until in 2009, when they started adding sugars to it.".  The part that I really don't get, is when they started to add sugar.  If their product was good before adding sugar, why add sugar?  It increases the chance of being obese and having diabetes, so if they didn't have sugar before, there would be no need to add it, but there is one.  Money.  Putting sugar into their products increases the audience of the drinks, so they can sell more and earn more profits.  However, the sugar in Snapple isn't really that much, compared to other sugary drinks.

Another generous deed Snapple did was "...begun their sponsorship with New York City school systems.", quoted from Raymond.  This is a great example of both sides winning.  The Snapple company builds up profit, and the school sells healthier drinks, even more so when Snapple gives back $8 million dollars per year.  Snapple also proves that it cares about education, by adding facts and other random bits of information on the bottom of the caps.  By adding those features, Snapple has helped the population get just a little smarter.

 Although Snapple has changed a lot, it changed for the better.  Helping America's education system and population is a really big step for them.  It gains the trust of consumers, so they will be able to purchase Snapple in the future.  Snapple is truly "Made from the Best Stuff on Earth".

CE: Green Energy

"One in every four solar energy jobs in America is held by a Californian, and growth in the clean-tech industry is burgeoning nationwide, a new study said."

In a recent study, the National Solar Jobs Census 2011, California is ranked numbered 1 by the number of solar industry jobs.  This report shows that the number of eco-friendly jobs are rising, and alternative energy is being more readily available to the public.  The employment in the industry also grew 6.8 percent, while the US job growth was 1 percent.  However, a solar panel manufacturer in Fremont, Solyndra, has shut down, right after they received a $535 million federal loan, due to bankruptcy.  If we look past that scandal, and take a look at the green technology being developed right now, it truly is remarkable.  That does not only include solar, but hydro, wind, and geothermal energies.

Solar energy is a really convenient energy, and can be used whenever there is a source of light, whether that be sunlight or a lamp.  The material used to make the main part of the solar panel, is silicon.  The silicon has a weak electron bond, therefore it does not have all of the electrons required to be stable.  The electron is combined with a different element, an element that combines with the silicon and produces one excess electron, which leaves a free electron carrying an electrical current.  The electricity that comes out is DC, so you would need a transformer to convert the energy to voltage and AC.


Hydro energy is simple, even dating back to hundreds of years ago.  Think of a watermill.  The water flows into the pedals, which turns the gears.  The gears then move the equipment, doing its job.  It's the same thing for modern technology.  The water flows through a mechanism, which turns a motor.  The motor then generates electricity, due to the movement created by the water.


Wind energy is similar to water, but instead, uses wind.  The wind turbine's blades are created with an angle that provides maximum turning power from the wind.  The turbine then generates electricity because the blades are turning the mechanism, which turns the motor built inside the turbine.  The motor is connected to a transformer, which connects to a power line.


Geothermal energy works in an efficient way.  First they have to find a place suitable to heat up the water underground.  When the water reaches at least 180C, the water, under high pressure, is released into a low pressure environment, causing a flash of steam occur, which drives a turbine.


With the environmental problems in our world today, we have been motivated to develop more efficient ways to harness the energy of the earth, without harming the environment.  I believe that the future holds many possibilities for new, clean energy, and maybe someday, we wouldn't have to worry about a reliable source of energy.

 

RE: Japanese Technology

"The United States has been looking forward and looking to using Japanese technology." -Andrew Fan

Kyoto

This quote reminds me of how Japan has the coolest technology known to human kind.  I don't even know where half of  their ideas come from.  Hating the pitching machine for hitting you too many times with baseballs?  Well, the Japanese has invented a machine in where the ball floats for you to hit it.  This technology is efficient because you can hit at a wide angle, which allows you to practice your technique.  It also moves the ball a little bit, so you have to actually concentrate to hit the ball.  The only downside of this technology is that you're not training your reflexes, as with a normal pitching machine.  However, the technology is mostly beneficial and makes a great practice for technique.



Another technology, which is not as practical, is a flying robot ball.  While you may think it's like one of those RC helicopters that you can get for $30, this thing actually costs about $1,000.   The reason for that, is that is can reach up to 40 miles per hour.  That's crazy!  Also, the controls and movement are very smooth (as seen in the video below).  The military created this technology, so that it can be used for urban reconnaissance and infiltration.  The machine has a single propeller and eight wings, and its spherical body reduces the effects of wind.  A surprising fact about the machine is that the parts are mostly from an electronics district in Akihabara, one of Japan's most famous electronics city.
Japan is one of today's most technologically advanced countries in the world.  Although their ideas seem a bit weird (I mean that in the nicest way possible), they actually improve the lives of many.  If I could choose an item from anywhere in the world, it'd probably be from Japan, just because of the huge variety and effectiveness of the technology there.

FREE: Global Warming?

"Severe seasonal melting has reduced ice floes, floating chunk of ice, in the Arctic Ocean to the thinnest on record, according to researchers."

First of all what are floes? Floes are floating ice, formed in a large sheet on the surface of a body of water. According to the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany, the old, thick sea ice has decreased immensely. They are now replaced with floes formed only a year ago, whose average thickness is now 90 centimeters. Now, the frozen sea ice melting can have a very damaging effect on the ecosystem. Algae, trapped in the ice, are released back into the sea, causing contamination. Also, the ice is freshwater, so as it melts, to disturbs the balance between salt and fresh water. The scientists believe that global is the main, in terms of the ice melting. The natural cycle that's supposed occur runs like this: The sun sends its rays to the Earth. From there, the white ice deflects most of the rays off its surface, reducing the temperature that it absorbs. However, as the water around it is dark, it is able to absorb more heat, therefore slowly melting the ice. With global warming in the factor, the sea absorbs more heat, which melts the ice at a faster rate, which reduces the surface area that can deflect back the suns ray, and the cycle keeps going on.


I am refuting the statement that the ice will all melt away, and the human race is doomed, unless we are doing something about it. First of all, nature and the earth have always achieved harmony. Who are we to disrupt the cycle of this Earth? Repeated cooling and melting have always been in effect. The Ice Age is when the Earth is cooling down, and the period we are in, is just warming up. Pretty soon, the weather is going to get cold and the ice will return, with even more force. As stated above, the Earth and nature will always be in harmony. An example of this is when the ice melts. After it melts, it is released to the atmosphere right? If it melts more, then there would be more water vapor in the atmosphere, which means more clouds. Then, the clouds also act as a deflector, reducing the amount of sun rays hitting the ice. The ice will recover and the cycle keeps repeating. With all these points, I'm not trying to say we shouldn't so anything about it. In fact, supporting the environment will make it a better place for all of us. I just want people informed, so they can make better decisions for themselves.

CE: There is no such thing as a good tax.

"California and other states could move ahead with making online retailers such as Amazon collect and remit sales taxes even if the companies don't have physical presences in those states, under a new bipartisan bill co-authored by a Bay Area House member."

 Okay...  Now the government is REALLY in for it.   Why change a system, if it works?  Seriously, the government has to stop effing around with the taxes and start doing something about the economic situation in the US of A.  There have been recent activities going on, including the Wall Street Protest, which are trying to get the government to straighten out their economy.  I don't blame them, when a service's quality degrades because of the government; they should be the only ones to be revolting against.  If we don't so something about it right now, pretty soon they'll be taxing the very air we're breathing in.  Amazon is a unique and great place for companies and customers.  They provide an easy, accessible website for people that just don't have the time or resources to go out and find them in stores.  Some of the items listed might not even be in the country that they live in.  Amazon isn't damaging the profits of companies; the government just wants a slice of the pie.

The government shouldn't be even able to tax Amazon, since their method of transaction isn't physical, but they're going to try anyways.  I imagine if they're going to pass the bill, there are going to be very upset customers and employees alike.  This has led me to believe that either the government is struggling with money issues, or that they're just plain greedy.  Both of those reasons might be true to a certain extent.  Also, weren't taxes made to help the government provide for the needs of society?  In today's world, and even in ancient times, there are many corruptions within the political aspect of the country.  It is within our power to rebel and claim our opinions within these matters.

BC: Death...

"When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." -Steve Jobs, in a 2005 speech

This advice, in my opinion, is completely and utterly useless.  Just think about it, if you lived like each day was your last, you'd only get so far.  Think of the expenses, the time you're taking up.  It's ridiculously inefficient.  I'll give you a scenario:  Everyday, I will just be staying at home.  I'll order all the things I want, a 52-inch TV, the best computer system, a new car.  Pretty soon, I will die, but only because of the events that occurred, due to thinking I was going to die.  If you know you're going to die this very day, you might as well do everything you can to minimize the impact of your death to the community.  It may sound cruel, but death happens, it's unavoidable.

I also disagree with Steve Job's speech.  First of all, remembering that you would be dead help you with big choices?  I don't think you should be thinking about death, when faced with big choices.  You should think on how the big chance would have a positive or negative effect on your life, and decide based on that.  Secondly, stripping of all external expectations leads to only one thing, failure.  Having no expectations, makes you feel like you don't have to do anything.  That can only end up in a negative impact.  If you throw away all fear of embarrassment, or failure, then you wouldn't be able to improve upon yourself.  Remembering that I am going to die is the best way I know to FALL in the trap of thinking I have something to lose.  I am literally losing my whole life; my achievements, my failures, and my joys.  I think what Steve is trying to say, is that if you're going to die, do it anyways, however there are situations where that logic does not apply.  What if you could harm someone with what you're doing?  What if it has a degrading effect on others around you?  In my experience, trying to forget that something bad is going to happen generally helps to alleviate the stress and therefore reduces your chances of making a mistake in the big choices in life.


 People are always trying to view death as an important event, but in reality, everything dies.  Nothing can live forever, not even the hardiest of diamonds or the brightest of stars.  Everything has a beginning, therefore an end.  I know things like funeral and burials are necessities, and I agree, but people shouldn't be thinking about death.  They should be think about what lies beyond death, like the future of their grandchildren, or the future of their company.  They should be glad that they have lived an enjoyable life, and if not, then it is only their own fault for not doing anything about it.  For the people born to die, I know it's hard accepting, but you have to get over the fact of death if you want to enjoy every lasting moment of your life.  It's really sad when people throw away all they have, just because they're going to die.  At the end of the day, it's better to just forget reality, and live on, in your dreams.

FREE: >:O

It does what it says.

Rage, a recent ID Software and Bethesda game, sucks.  Now, I don't mean the gameplay sucks, nor the graphics suck, or even the story sucks.  I mean the technical aspect of the game sucks.  Enough with the sucking, Rage is released with a SHIT-ton of graphical glitches, bugs, and poor optimization.  In fact, it's not even playable in the state it is right now.  Although it is using a new game engine, the id Tech 5, that's no excuse to release this game in an unplayable manner.  There have been many reports of problems with the game, but I'm only going to cover a portion of them.

Such detailed settings!

The first is the video settings menu.  Look at it.  What do you see?  Like, 4 options?  Seriously, I know id is trying to implement a system where the game automatically sets the setting for you, for optimum frame rates, but give the users a choice.  If we can't even fix our problems in the setting menu, how can we fix it outside of it?

Madness!

Is this how the game is supposed to look like?  For people telling me to install new video drivers, yes I did.  I also installed the hotfix released from AMD, my video card manufacturer, and it still did not help at all, let alone fix my problem.  This jumbled up world is all I got from it.

Whoa, I can see!

Another prominent problem in the game, that has been pestering everyone that has been playing, is the new "megatexture" implementation.  Supposedly, Rage has very big texture sizes.  If you were to keep them loaded in the game, it would require tremendous graphical and computing power.  That's why, whenever you are not looking at the world, the game de-texturizes any unseen textures.  The problem with that, is it results in the screenshot above.  The computer cannot instantaneously load and de-texturize fast enough, producing a blurry world.  Why would they implement this? No idea, though this is the first game to utilize the id Teach 5 engine.

I, for one, am not saying this game is bad, in terms of gameplay.  I'm "raging" on the fact that the company should've produced a game that can actually play smoothly and with minor errors.  Why should consumers pay for the game, then be left with an unplayable game?  Hopefully there will be a patch to resolve all these errors, but until then, do not get this game.

RE: Technically...

"When I was little, I used to believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and other things parents tell 

 their children." -Andrew Fan 

I guess I'm a little bit different then.  Since I was old enough to comprehend words, I never believed in the stories of Tooth Fairies or Santa Claus.  I actually thought about the stories and how they would work out.  For example, in the story of Santa Claus, he's supposed to deliver presents to every child in the world, in one night.  Assuming a night means 12 hours, he would never make it around the earth because they earth's circumference is about 26,000 miles.  The record time set for a non-stop around the world flight was in a military B-52 in 1980 at 42 hours 23 minutes.  It would take him at least the speed of 2166 miles per hour to make it around the world, excluding the time it takes for him to actually get the presents under the Christmas Tree without being noticed.  Note that this is the Earth's circumference, as it is in a linear line.  To factor in traveling to every country, state, and city, makes it nearly impossible.


The Easter Bunny, however, may be possible in the near future.  Today's technology allows us to peek in the world that shapes all living things.  What I'm talking about is DNA, and it's no gimmick.  We can already change the colors of a living animal, clone them, and even biologically engineer them to be resistant to disease.  With further improvements in modifying DNA, we could possibly take the egg of a bunny.  Then, we could extract its DNA, code for it to produce multi-colored eggs, and then reinsert them.  It may be ethically incorrect in the eyes of animal lovers, but in reality, money is power, and if they decide to engineer one, they will. 


I think being a realist attributes to the disbelief in stories.  I'm always looking for any errors that might not make sense in the real world.  This can be both beneficial or hindering.  It makes for writing a realistic-fiction book easier, but writing fantasy novels more difficult.  In this case, I believe, although the stories are not real, you should continue to enjoy the spirit and culture passed down for many generations.  Happy (Pre)Columbus Day!

CE: AHHH THE END OF THE WORLD!

Breaking news today, Thailand has been hit by the worst monsoon in 50 years!  More than 2 million people have been affected in what is known as the worst monsoon season in Thailand.  Everyone has been evacuated from the vincinity, especially the people near rivers and dykes.  Now, there has been many natural disasters occuring this year, including Hurricane Irene, typhoons, earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan, and dead fish appearing in all parts around the world.

This leads me to believe that something is definitely going on.  There has been many natural disasters before, but somehow, I feel this year is different.  First, the earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan were enormous, with a 8.9 magnitude earthquake.  This disaster caused the shutdown of nuclear power plants, as well as some manufacturing factories as well.  It is pretty like for earthquakes to occur in Japan though, since it's located  near three tectonic plates. Secondly, Hurricane Irene devasted the East coast, causing the shutdown of the New York subway and many other areas.  There have been many reports on the appearance of dead fish as well.  At King Harbor in Redondo Beach, millions of dead fish, including anchovies, sardines and mackerel were floating lifeless.

 

Another phenomenon is the occurrence of birds falling out of the sky, although National Geographic has explained it already.  It says that the loud noises and human-built structures interfere with the birds ability to fly correctly.  The loud noises scare the birds and disorients them, while the human structures block their flight path, and creates a possible hazard for them.

The many events happening this year troubles me.  I don't believe in the "2012-end-of-the-world" thing, but I do believe in science, and so far, it's been saying that the world is starting to change dramatically.  For better, or for worse.

But mostly for the worst.