Entry #6 I Need My Beauty Sleep

What is the worst noise you can think of? For me, it would probably be my alarm clock…if I even hear a noise that sounds similar to it I cringe and then hunt for its source to stop it as quickly as possible. Consequently, the snooze button has become my best friend. But I know I am not the only one. A recent survey found that over a third of American adults hit the snooze button at least three times each morning, yep that’s me (more like ten times though).

However, after watching this animated short called Alarm, I was forced to reflect on this behavior. The short is centered on a guy who is doing his best to catch a few extra minutes of sleep before having to get up for work. It would appear that he knew of this propensity of his and had attempted to ensure that he woke up by setting multiple alarm clocks and hiding them throughout his apartment. And even when he does finally get up out of bed, he finds even simple tasks to be difficult and remains groggy.

I won’t sum up the whole film (because I want you to watch it, c'mon it's only 9 minutes), but I guess what I took away from it was that the main character was really just delaying the inevitable. He had to get up for work, and he was just expending more energy trying to fight it. The extra couple of minutes he got of sleep could have been better spent waking up for the day.

But, what this guy does, albeit a bit exaggerated, is the exact same thing that I and a lot of people do in the morning. And as it turns out, we are only making things worse for ourselves when we try to get that extra minute or two of sleep. According to this article by Health.com, when we hit the snooze button and try for a few more minutes of sleep, we are only succeeding in making ourselves groggy. I don’t know, it seems like it makes sense when they explain it.

Ultimately, they suggest just setting your alarm clock for when you actually need to get up and to try to get more sleep (yeah right).

Entry #EC Capitalism or...

Capitalism and Socialism are often pitted against each other as people become down trodden and struggle to pay off their many debts while at the same time desperately working to keep themselves and their families fed; their eyes begin to search for a culprit and a solution. This is what has brought us to the current dilemma facing our world today.

After watching the documentary film Capitalism: A Love Story by Michael More, I was compelled to research the matter of capitalism further. I also looked into its counterpart, socialism. From what I was able to glean from this research capitalism can be summed up as an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. It also includes private property, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary exchange, a price system, and competitive markets. The decision making and investment is determined by the owners of the factors of production financial and capital markets, and prices and the distribution of goods are mainly determined by competition in the market. Basically it, at least in my opinion, gives opportunity to the individual to climb to the top and make something of themselves as well as affect how the markets are determined.

Now socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterized by social ownership and democratic control of the means of production, as well as the political ideologies, theories, and movements that aim at their establishment. While there were many varieties of socialism the most common element that is shared by all its forms is social ownership. Basically, at least in my understanding as I read of it, everything is owned and controlled by the government and spread out evenly amongst the people as they see fit. The word "socialism"finds its root in the Latin sociare, which means to combine or share.

While in his film Michael Moore does point the finger at capitalism being at fault for causing the poverty stricken individual, he mainly throws the blame at the banking industry which caused an economic meltdown and all political parties for caving in with the bailout. While none of these cases help matters the greatest provider toward our failing economy is, in the opinion of many, outrageous tax hikes in order waste our tax dollars on asinine subjects such as teaching lions to ride a treadmill. An endeavor that had about a million dollars of tax payer money thrown into its budget. However, there are several factions who buy into the blame capitalism thought and have been protesting for a more socialistic change to how our economy is run.

How about you? Do you feel that our failing economy is the fault of capitalism? Should we perhaps move on to socialism or a mix of the two? Or perhaps do you feel that it’s nothing more than the result of a greedy government and the greed of others in a higher place of power? I’d love to hear your opinions so feel free to leave a comment on the matter.

Entry #5 Sparky Just Tore 15 week Courses in Half!

They say patience is a virtue, but when it comes to schooling, my patience runs short. I say the sooner it’s over and I can start doing what I really want to the better…That’s why I was so excited to see this article by the Arizona Republic reporting that ASU had started offering 8 week courses.

That’s right, a student could now (in theory) complete their bachelor degree in 3 years instead of four. The article even claims that taking classes in this way could save a student money. The school says “Arizona residents who attend on campus do not pay additional tuition for any credit hours above seven during a 15-week period.” So any credits over seven are free! This means you could get a whole bunch of classes completed for cheap and quickly. Even better these courses allow both students and teachers more flexibility with their schedules.

Of course, there is a cost, students lose a week of winter break, though they will now get a few days off in the fall.

I really can’t think of any downfall here other than 8 week courses are really tough. I have taken several 8 week courses in my college career so far, and they are a little challenging. But, the advantages are many and I have to say I am very excited to know that ASU has adopted these 8 week courses. Though it is not surprising seeing as the school  named most innovative university  of 2015 by U.S. News & World Report. Go Sun Devils! 

Entry #4 Writer's er.....uh...

At the time I was not sure what was happening…I stared into my computer screen with the intention to write an assignment, but…nothing. No words came to mind even though I knew what I wanted to say. And it seemed that when I did manage to type but a simple sentence every key stroke came with great effort, and every word was the wrong word. No worries, I thought, I will just come back to this later. Time passed, but this “ailment” just seemed to hang around. Everywhere I went all I could think of was this terrible immovable “block” within the creative maze of my mind keeping me from writing. “Come on brain! Work!” I would plead to my creatively incapacitated thought box. It seemed so unfair, and the condition only grew worse as the deadline for my assignment approached.

After some time, perhaps much more time than it should have taken, I realized what was happening; I had a writer’s block.  I had no idea how this terrible cement block had found its way into my life, or just what its motives were anyway. All I knew was that I wanted it gone.

I fired up my old friend Google and began looking into ways to pass this pain in the brain as quickly as possible.

To defeat the enemy, you must know the enemy. As a result, I first had to learn what caused this terrible “block” to come about in the first place. And what I found was that, while there are many causes, the leading cause is stress.

When our brains are faced with stress, they tend to go into fight or flight mode, this leads to the brain shifting from the cerebral cortex (the creative portion of the brain) to the limbic system (the more reactive and instinctive portion of the brain). Of course, we usually don’t even notice this is happening, but soon find ourselves empty of any creative ideas due to the lack of input from the cerebral cortex. Unfortunately, this does not just stop at writing. When the brain switches over to the limbic system it can also make it almost impossible to learn and retain information.

So then, how do we make it stop doing that? Well here is what I found that helped to alleviate my writer’s block.

• Take a walk.
• Eliminate distractions
• Exercise
• Move somewhere else to write—even go outside if you can.
• Listen to music
• Spend time with a loved one
• Brainstorm ideas /Freewrite
• Read inspiring quotes
• Read a book
• Practice deep breathing and meditation

And then I also watched this video-----------^
I know they are kind of annoying, but it's really some very sound advice that they offered.


Well, after doing all of that, and as that video suggested, writing about writer's block, it seems that I have welcomed my cerebral cortex back into play, at least for now that is....

Entry #3 The Leaning Tower of Media

As I’m sure most of you do, at least once or twice in a day, check some source of news be it a written article or the local or cable news station for the issues of the day. No one wants to be kept in the dark, and everyone wants to have that sense of "knowing" and "understanding" of what is happening around them. I know that I’m often checking in and keeping apprised of the latest topics plaguing the world "today."

However, there is something to consider as we tune in and watch or read the news as spouted from the mouths and/or hands of the media. The term is Bias and there are several ways in which the media will enact this type of mind control on the unsuspecting populace. This tactical warfare on information control is handled by “omission of facts,"“selection of sources," “selection of stories that lean heavily to one side," “story placement," “labeling," and “spin.”

For instance, the news stations have been currently toting the idea of raising minimum wage, lighting a fire under the low end worker to consider nothing other than the injustice of low pay. Howbeit, they shed light to nothing more than the struggling family hoping to make ends meet and gave little heed to the consequences. In fact, it wasn’t until 3 months later after Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price enacted his policy of giving all of his workers the same wages that reporters began seriously speaking –albeit slightly- of the negative effects in this endeavor. Though, this did not stop CBS from promoting minimum wage increases at Mc Donald’s and once again displayed only the positive side of minimum wage hikes, but nothing negative. Giving air time only to those that would spew a positive outlook to ensnare the unsuspecting ear.

They failed to report that the government agency calculated that raising the wage to just $10.10-an-hour would decrease company’s profit per employee by 71 percent, and cost the economy 500,000 low-wage jobs. And mind you this is a government agency saying this and so could you even imagine the impact it would have on our economy as whole if it were raised five dollars more? I can understand in places of high living costs such as New York or California, etc. to raise the wages a bit to meet demand, but is it really necessary to raise them nationwide?

In short, you should keep an open mind about the things you hear and research fully before adopting them into belief. Now how about your thoughts? Do you feel the media is biased? Or perhaps you have some thoughts on the matter of the minimum wage increase? Don’t be shy, feel free to share.

Entry #2 I Think...I Don't Really Need Any of It

Yeah, that's gonna leave a mark...

Quick! There is a meteor heading for Earth that is big enough to take out a whole city, and it looks like it’s going to land right on your house…You don’t have much time; gather what you can. You can only take what will fit in your car; what/who do you take with you?

Most would probably say pets, photos, and loved ones of course and that would be my thoughts too. After all, these things/people are priceless. So then, why do we work our lives away accumulating posessions that we would be willing to chuck away in an instant?  We fill our houses with little knickknacks and doodads and pack our garages to the ceiling with junk until we eventually need a bigger home just to accommodate it all.

One of my co-workers has recently decided to live in a sort of “tiny house.” Basically, he has converted a commercial van into a solar powered RV that he plans to live out of—kind of strange, right? I had made a comment on how I would find it hard to live the minimalist lifestyle that would go along with such living arrangements. But it was what he said next that really made me think. He said that on the contrary, what he was doing was the “maximist” lifestyle. He doesn’t have to worry about a house payment or electric bills, nor does he have a house full of possesions that he doesn’t need to bog him down. He has more money in his pocket to experience the world and make memories with friends and family. And, if he wanted to, he could travel the country or move to a new state. He then challenged me to think about all of the things around my house that I have either not touched within the last year, or that I could otherwise do without. While I don’t think I will be moving into a van anytime soon, he had a great point.

Garima Verma writes in her article titled, “Bushfires a Lesson in Life's Priorities,” “We will be happy when we recognize that - beyond basic needs - money and its purchases do not bring true joy.” In fact, most of these material goods that we strive for serve to only distract us from what’s important and keep us from truly experiencing life. We work long hours and take extra shifts to buy more stuff that we can still barely afford. We then come home exhausted and can only manage to lounge in front of our big screen T.Vs while we rest for our next shift. Why do we have to wait for it all to go up in smoke to realize what’s truly important?

Entry #1 Some Thoughts On Blogging

When I was but a wee lad, I along with my younger brother and sister decided to make a newspaper that told of the events that took place around our house—it’s strange what boredom and childhood imagination can conjure up. We called our paper “The Daily News” and would force all of our other family members to buy it for a dollar. Stories ranged from the mundane to the made up and everything in-between. I remember one article was titled, “Mr. Bowflex Gets New Diggs,” it was a story about our pet hamster and how through his hard work and perseverance he was able to purchase a new home…Another was titled, “Mom’s Amazing Spaghetti, How Does She Do It?” We then interviewed my mom for the article. It was so much fun trying to come up with stories and engage our “audience.” We would write about whatever our imaginations could conjure up. I can’t quite recall when or why we stopped making it, probably got bored of it I guess. But I had never had as much fun writing as I did then, that is, until I started blogging.

In all honesty, while I enjoy reading blogs, I never thought I would enjoy writing one. It just seems like something that would take up a lot of time that could be spent on more enjoyable activities. But after starting my first blog, For the Widely Curious and Dabbling, I was reminded of just how free, relaxing and fun writing could be. In a blog you can write about whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want. It allows you to organize your thoughts, and to share what you know or think about a topic. And, if you so desire, it can be used as a tool to help develop your writing abilities.

Yes, blogging is all that and more. That’s why it has quickly become one of my favorite hobbies. So, if you have been thinking about starting a blog, I strongly encourage you to do so. While it might feel a little more difficult at first, like most worthwhile hobbies, eventually it will just come naturally. You will soon find yourself wanting to blog more and more.

But until then, maybe you need a little inspiration to get your creative thoughts flowing—I know I did. So how about we look at a few blogs (besides mine), that can maybe give an idea of what blogging is all about.

A lot of bloggers will simply blog about their favorite hobby. They will often tell stories about their hobby and give advice and tips to fellow hobbyists. One such blog that I have been enjoying lately is called 3D-PrintingBlog.com. Yeah, the name says it all, it’s a blog about 3D printing. I have recently gotten into 3D printing and have found this blog to be invaluable in my learning about this exciting, new technology. What’s great about this blog is that it is well organized and full of the author’s  hands-on experience presented in an understandable fashion. I also love that it’s searchable by keywords and categories.

3D PRINTING BLOG

WE ARE LEARNING 3D PRINTING THROUGH OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE…

And who doesn’t enjoy hearing other people’s opinions? Alright, so maybe you think everybody’s stinks but yours; however, I know I have been very grateful for the opinions that are given on TheMovieBlog.com. Their well thought out and supported opinions have helped me to avoid a number of cinematic disasters. They always delve deep into the movie and give pretty good analysis without getting too draggy.






Then there is the lame side of blogging. Sadly, the example I am about to give of one such blog is connected to my favorite webcomic. Poorlydrawnlines.com/blog is an example of a blog being used solely for advertising. Every post on their blog is about their books being on sale or listed for half price. Not only that, but there are just not very many posts. I just don’t find very much use in this blog and it’s more for selling things than anything else.

On that note, I would just like to say that no matter how you decide to work your blog, the choice is yours. Look around, see what inspires you, and just have fun with it.