Oceanography

Oceanography is a branch of the science of geography - oceanography is a marine science. It covers marine organisms and oceanic ecosystems, the shifts in those ecosystems, plate tectonics, oceanic chemical fluctuation, dynamics of oceanic processes and the geology of the ocean floor, among other things. This sub-science of geology requires practitioners to be well versed in other sciences such as chemistry, biology, physics, cosmology, and of course, geology.

Oceanography has four tributary, sub-branches that are specifically tailored to certain fields:

Biological Oceanography: The study of oceanic organisms, plants, animals, and ecosystems.

Chemical Oceanography: The study of the chemical interaction of the ocean, land, and atmosphere, as well as the chemistry of the ocean itself.

Geological Oceanography: The study of plate tectonics, the ocean floor, under-ocean volcanoes, deep sea vents...etc, etc. Can work close with volcanology.

Marine Physics: Physical attributes of the ocean such as tides, currents, salinity, temperature, and the behavioral interaction of the ocean and sound, light, and other elements of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Oceanography is not a new science. Man has always been interested, as evident by writings of Aristotle, about the oceans and their inter-connectivity with man. In its early years, oceanography was confined to man studying only the ocean's surface or, if at all, only its very shallow depths. But oceanography has branched out, as seen from the above, to encompass a wide variety of studies to help man better understand the oceans and their importance to the overall ecosystem of the world.

The importance of oceanography should not be belittled. The study of the ocean aids in man's understanding of the fluctuations of temperature and weather, among other things, across the entire planet. The Gulf Stream, for example, is a major and influential player in the climates and weather systems that are found in and affect both the eastern United States and western Europe. Moreover, it is necessary to understand the ocean floor and the microorganisms found living in and around hydrothermal vents in order to, not only understand the tectonics on the ocean floor that affect the surface, but how the organisms live in such conditions, how life forms in such conditions and how, possibly, life formed on fledgling Earth.

There are many more reasons Oceanography is a valid and valued science such as the way NASA studies the ocean to learn about the atmosphere and its similarity, or disparity, to oceans found on other worlds in our solar system. But all of those reasons are far too many to fit on this blog page. This are simply facts to generate interest...so get out there and find out why the ocean is so important.

Budget Cuts in Education: GSU

 The University System of Georgia is proposing a $300 million budget cut to take effect next year, a cut that severely affects the quality of education within Georgia's institutions of higher learning.

At Georgia Southern University, the cuts are manifesting in faculty cuts and class reconfiguration. In fact, several majors have either been consolidated or dropped all together. Students that aren't considering transfer are having to wait longer to receive their degrees, possibly, as many upper division courses are being cut across the board in many colleges.

This can explain things a little more...

Stockmotion Lightsaber

 This is just great - the gravitas of this fight is so much greater than that of most of the movies....it's Lego stock motion. Genius.

Lucas should start paying attention to the fans more.

Constitutional Law: Son of Sam Laws

"It is often jokingly said of those accused of high-profile crimes that when they are captured they are more eager to contact an agent than a defense attorney," (Pember, 2008).

A Son of Sam Law is one that inhibits a criminal's ability to profit from a crime that they committed. The laws are meant to, if the criminal does receive a deal, to hold the monetary gains of that deal for 5 years, usually. During this 5 years, the money is then used to compensate the victim's family while the criminal is able to obtain the remainder after 5 years have passed.

The laws are named such after a New York serial killer who was given the name, "Son of Sam," by the press. He sold his story to newspapers in New York, but the New York legislature enacted the first law to hold the nickname, a "Son of Sam law," to keep him from receiving direct monetary compensation from the deal. 

In 1987, the publishing firm Simon & Schuster sued the state of New York regarding a Son of Sam law that would pend the publication of a book in which a mobster cooperated with the author. The book was titled, Wiseguy, and followed the life of mobster Henry Hill. The boo is also a major inspiration for the film, Goodfellas.

The court ruled against the publishing firm and upheld the law's constitutionality . "The second U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that...the purpose of the law was not to suppress speech, but to ensure that a criminal did not profit from the exploitation of his or her crime, and that the victims of the crime are compensated for their suffering. A compelling interest is served, and the fact that this imposes an incidental burden on the press is not sufficient to rule the law a violation of freedom of expression," (Pember, 2008).

In 1991 the court reversed its ruling and said the law was a content-based regulation and that the statute was over-broad and could relate to a number of literatures, films and other adaptations. And in 2004, a the Supreme Court of Nevada overruled a statute that allowed felons to recovery any monetary compensation from any future forms of expression regarding the crime.

Criminals should not be able to be compensated for the rights to their stories. After they have taken from individuals, whether it be life or possession, a compensation for the story of that act are almost a mockery to the victims. The criminals are almost hired to produce a product if they are allowed to be compensated for their actions, a set of actions denounced by a jury and court, a set of actions made illegal by our laws.

I understand criminals can change, can become remorseful and, after coming to grips with what they have done, want to tell the best story possible, the correct telling of events. Some don't and skew things. But whatever the case may be, there should be no compensation for that story. If anyone should be compensated, an echo from the Supreme Court, it should be the victims.


 

Critical Writing: A Different Look

When most people think of critical writing, it is most likely that they think of academia and the rigorous literature reviews and term papers and blog posts associated with classes at an institution of higher learning. Most of these, I would say from experience, are affiliated with bland, coarse subjects that bear any real interest to the author or, for that matter, any reader outside of the professor or teacher reading them. Sometimes, the subjects are bland to the professors as well.

But critical writing is not confined to the strict structure of the stereotyped academic institution (e.g. literature review papers, assigned blog posts about Constitutional law, etc, etc.). Critical writing branches out into many disciplines such as film (film reviews), food (reviews or opinions on restaurants, chefs, or marketplaces, etc), art (discussion of various works of art, spotlights on galleries, etc,), music (CD reviews, band spotlights) and gaming. The latter I will talk about at length - the same processes of writing apply to gaming writing as they do to other subject-writing, but there are some genre specific details to acknowledge.

First, writing about gaming is similar to other subject-writing in that it employs the same principles.

• Be concise
• Paint a Picture (be descriptive)
• Make writing accessible to genre newcomers, but know the audience (experienced gamers)
• Don't write in huge blocks of text -- break things up with multimedia elements
• Keep headlines concise and pertinent to the subject matter
• Don't give overbroad histories within the text - reference, but don't tell the entire backstory to every Zelda game.
• No cliches
• Use active voice
• Use complete hyperlinks and data tags for searches of your piece (if writing online at a blog or website).
• Punctuation is paramount

Second, critical writing in the gaming world, to most individuals, pertains to the game review. Yes, in recent years more attention has been paid to the societal, emotional and psychological aspects games have been presenting and thus creating critical writing prompts more akin to literary reviews essay term papers, but the classic critical writing prompt in gaming is the review, just as in film.

There are 5 sections essential to a game review:

• Presentation
• Fun factor
• Sound
• Graphics
• Replayability

The structure of the review can be linear, beginning with an introduction, the 5 sections and then a conclusion, or can intersperse the sections in any order, framed by the introduction and conclusion. Any history or anecdotal evidence is included in the introduction and a summation, reaction or any advice (such as if the game would be a good buy for a certain demographic of gamers or a rental for others) is included in the conclusion.

In more recent years, the game review has moved to include more multimedia than writing in certain circles (gametrailers.com - yet, writing is still used in the script. Check video at bottom of page), while in others rely almost solely on writing (gamepro.com/Kotaku), while other still use a relatively balanced combination of both (IGN.com).

Critical writing is not just writing, it's writing an opinion based on facts to inform others. Critical writing is meant to sway audiences into seeing the world through the eyes of the author, to expunge information in a tasteful, digestible way. Critical writing is examining an interest, seeing how it does or doesn't contain relevance, how it speaks to audiences, how it interacts with audiences or promotes or doesn't promote and idea. Sometime critical writing is simply why the author like/supports or doesn't like/support something.

Video game reviews show that critical writing doesn't have to be tedious or boring or even, should I say, all that nerdy. If given the right subject and practice, anyone can be a critical writer.

Video Games | Heavy Rain | Review HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

High for Health

In almost every country around the world, marijuana is illegal. Yet some countries, such as Canada, Austria, Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain, Portugal, Finland, and Italy discriminate its legality on medical lines. And in the United States, 14 states have laws allowing for the use of medical marijuana - Alaska, California, Clorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Virginia is currently attempting pass new marijuana legislation that would reduce punishment for carrying non-medical marijuana and allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana. The plan is being met laughably.

But what is the difference between "medical" marijuana and "street" marijuana? What benefits does medical marijuana have? Medical grade marijuana has two specific strains, Cannibis sativa and Cannibis indica, strains that have been found to be more potent than cannibis strains used in recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana also provides interaction between differing cannabonoids (THC, CBD, CBN) to allow for greater effects and benefits than could singular cannabonoids. Certain strains treat certain medical problems in certain ways making it beneficial to combine or mix strains.

Medical Marijuana is used to treat problems such as arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, fybromyalgia, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, and nausea brought on through conditions such as AIDS/HIV and cancer. Medical marijuana can be administered either through pill form or vaporization - the latter method (inhalation) has been proven to be the most effective course.

I'm mixed on the issue. I don't believe marijuana should be illegal at all. I'm not sure medical marijuana is that much different than "illegal" marijuana. They are both, for the most part, grown in similar matters, maybe under different conditions, but the under the same concept. And both produce a high through various strains. I'm not a scholar on this issue, so there may be facts differentiating the two that I have not come across, but if one is legal (medical), in some states, but the other (street/illegal) is illegal, doesn't that seem a little hypocritical? Yes, the individuals receiving medical marijuana are proven to have difficulties that could be alleviated through marijuana use, but individuals that cannot afford to buy medical marijuana may be turning to the streets for marijuana where it is unregulated and potentially dangerous.

Oh,. and legalizing marijuana would bring millions if not billions into the overall U.S. economy. That's a different story.

2010: The Winter Olympics

To be frank, I haven't watched a single minute of the 2010 Winter Olympics from Vancouver, Canada. I've never much been one to watch the Olympics either - I never watched a whole Olympics, but only bits and piece. Mainly, I'm a winter X-Games kid of guy - it happens every year and, roughly, the same people are involved. I can connect with the athletes involved and feel like I know them. I don't really feel connected to the Olympics because I don't follow the athletes that participate in the Olympics.

But strangely enough, I feel a pride well up in me when I see the United States, as of now, leading the medal count with 8 overall medals and tied with Germany and France with 2 gold metals respectively. I suppose its some kind of hidden national pride. But I don't watch it. I'm more of a football guy - no baseball, no basketball, no golf or tennis. Football and soccer and rugby.

But I will comment on a situation that has arisen during this year's winter games - track speed and availability in regards to the death of Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. Kumaritashvili died Friday, Feb. 12, during a training run at Whistler Sliding Center at the Whistler Blackcomb  resort in British Columbia.

Critics and other athletes alike are voicing concern over the speed of the track. Topping out at speeds above 90 mph, Whistler's speeds are acknowledged by many as non-necessary speeds for luging. Luging speeds of 84 mph are, theoretically, attainable, but not common said Interantional Luge Federation President Josef Fendt (Cnn.com). Moreover, other sled-sport teams, such as Skeleton, Bobsled, and other Luge teams, were concerned before the start of the Olympics due to lack of training time on Whistler's tracks. Apparently, sled teams, except the Canadian teams, were allowed ample training on Whistler's notoriously fast course.

Critics also voice concern over the protection provided on the course. Many of the metal columns lining the track for support are un-padded and exposed - Kumaritashvili hit one of those un-padded girders. 

But others are not so fast to blame anyone or anything in particular. Dr. Kevin Plancher, a doctor for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team, said athletes, being competitive by nature, can sometimes push themselves too hard, inviting greater chances of injuries (Cnn.com). He continued, "We have to educate our athletes to what they should or should not be doing," (Cnn.com). And since the accident, many athletes have confessed that they do not see Luge as a dangerous sport.

"But luge athletes will be the first to tell you they are more driving technicians than adrenaline junkies, and when pressed about why they would participate in a sport that's so dangerous, several concede they don't consider the sport to be that risky," (Cnn.com, David Epstein).

But all concede that Whistler is faster than most tracks, if not the fastest track. And the question is raised: do sled sport, Luge, Skeleton, Bobsled, have to be so fast? Yes, teams are racing against each other, but only in time-trial. This is not Nascar where each sled team races alongside each other towards a fininsh line. If track speeds were decreased in order to promote the safety of athletes, the same priniciples of competitiveness would still survive and the racers would race the same ways, just at slower speeds.

Just a thought.

A little about fast-food

Every day, millions of people around the globe stand in line to order fast-food. They're on the go - late for work, late for class, taking the kids to soccer practice, watching the baseball game or just too tired to cook. It's got to be fast, it's got to be now, it's got to be instantaneous and rewarding and, most importantly, good.

But good doesn't always mean healthy. America, where fast-food is king, contains the highest percentage of overweight individuals at about 35 percent. Some 1 in 3 Americans are overweight, a ratio not seen in most European and almost no Asian countries. One of the culprits - fast food.

Americans eat fast-food, sometimes, for every meal in a day and for many meals throughout the week. And everyday, Americans are exposing themselves to certain dangers over and over again. Fast food contains high amounts of sodium, cholesterol, sugar, carbohydrates, and fats (saturated-fat, trans-fat and non-saturated-fat). A majority of food served at fast food joints contains, in one meal, more than, or equal to, the maximum daily allowance of calories - some meals contain more than 2,000 calories.

For example, occasionally I enjoy Dairy Queen's 1/2lb., Flamethrower Grillburger - it's a 1/2lb., of meat slapped between two Kaiser buns with jalapeno bacon, lettuce, tomato, and pepper-jack cheese. It tastes great, but here are the caloric facts that have kept me from eating one everyday:

Calories: 1010/ 108 percent of daily value
Calories from fat: 630/ 125 percent of daily value
Total Fat: 70g                                                                                    
Saturated Fat: 25g

Publish Post

Trans Fat: 1.5 g
Cholesterol: 185mg/ 62 percent of daily value
Sodium: 1540mg/ 64 percent of daily value                                                                              
Total Carbohydrates: 42g/ 14 percent of daily value
Dietary Fiber: 2g/ 8 percent of daily value
Sugars: 9g
Protein: 56g

(Most fast-food web sites have nutritional calculators that give an idea of caloric intake and the overall nutritional value of foods served at their restaurants).

It's not just McDonald's, or all fast-food for that matter, that's contributing to the obesity problem in America, the obesity problem that is, to some extent, spilling out into other countries. It's a combination of easy meals and sedentary lifestyles. But we won't get into that here as that's a whole other discussion.

But think about fast-food and what it means to you. Stay home and cook a meal every now and then, even if it is time consuming and gets in the way of things. It's healthier to cook at home...and it costs less money. Don't be a sizeable part of the over $100 billion a year Americans spend on fast-food. And don't get me wrong - I love fast-food...just not all the time.