GOING HOME THIS WEEKEND:

I am hoping to go back home this weekend and am extremely excited! This last couple weeks have been extremely long and boring. I think this week will be especially tough because chemistry labs start today and that is my least favorite class.  They last for two hours and fifty minutes and that is much too long for one class especially if you don't really like it at all.  Hopefully, this week goes by fast and I get ahead in my classes so I can go home.  This weekend, I'm hoping to have a nice, relaxing weekend visiting my old high school friends who I haven't seen in a month or so, which is weird because I normally visit them everytime I'm home.  It seems even after an entire semester of college, I'm not quite used to being away from home.  After about two weeks, I'm ready to go back, which is probably because I'm a home-body or because I don't have a roommate, possibly a little of both.  People always say you should stay away for a while and go back home every once in a while. I don't understand why though.  I mean what is there really to do on weekends anyways.  Normally, I work on homework, watch TV, and hang out with friends but eventually you run out of things to do.  Therefore, I still get excited to go home; I can't wait! 

BY ROGER O'NEIL:

It is true, with technology, writing has gotten horrible.  It bugs me to see people writing in text form or using numbers for words.  It just seems lazy to have to exchange 4 and for.  I also hate to see bad grammar and that seems to appear more and more everyday.  I can't stand to see sentences that are written poorly.  I know that people make mistakes and I have made plenty in writing papers but at least I spell out the full word and try to use appropriate grammar.  Even in emails, people make simple mistakes that could be noticed if they reread the email before they sent it.  Like O'Neil states, "people who are used to using BlackBerries and instant messaging are transferring that way of writing into all forms of writing." I understand if you use this type of writing while texting but in any other form of writing, it is unacceptable, especially, if you are shortening words by removing every vowel.

LED LIGHTS FOR YOUR TEETH:

Technology has made amazing advancements.  From cell phones to computer systems, we've made drastic progress.  Now, in Japan, they have a new fashion; LED lights for your teeth.  The article is from New York Times and within the articles are videos with people walking around with LED lights in their mouth and it looks stupid.  Personally, I don't get it.  What's the purpose of having lights for your teeth.  You can only see them when your mouth is open so you pretty much have to walk around with your mouth open to show your new fashion.  I honestly think these lights are kind of a waste of money.  It looks kind of awful to see lights on somebody's face, it's just not a good idea.  I honestly think this is not a good advancement just because it doesn't make any sense. There is no point to it whatsoever. 

TRAVELLING...ISH:

After I get settled in my career and have paid off all of my debt, I would love to travel.  My dream vacation would be going to Egypt.  I would have dreamed of seeing the pyramids.  Ancient Egypt has always been fascinating to me because of their monuments, and the statues, etc.  It seems like a truly miraculuos place to visit.  I would also like to go out West.  I want to go see the national parks like Yellowstone or Yosemite.  Another dream vacation is, to most people, not a vacation.  I want to be a member of Doctors Without Borders.  This group is an "international medical humanitarian organization working in more than 60 countries to assist people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe."  I've been wanting to participate in this group since the ninth grade.  I want to be a part of something bigger.  I want to help those who are unable to help themselves.  It would be such an honor to be able to work for this group because it means so much to me.  There are people out there who are suffering and deserve better than what they are given.  Americans have so much and we take it all for granted.  I want to go to a third-world country and do what I can to make their lives just a little bit easier.

SHOULD YOU CHECK FACEBOOK BEFORE HIRING:

In the technology section of the Washington Post is an article called, Should You Check Facebook Before Hiring.  I figured this article is perfect since we are working on cover letters and the class is about science and technology writing.  This article is about two potential employees who are being considered for a job.  One man was involved in nonprofit work and won an award.  However, the employer googled both employees and found some inappropriate pictures on the man's friend's wall.  So the employer decided to hire the woman who, when googled, was shown to be a good project manager.  The issue is whether or not employers have the right to base their decisions on facebook pages. Although I understand how it is wrong because what people do on their own time is their business, I tend to believe it is reasonable to hire based on whatever information you have.  If you're looking for a job and know you are a potential employee, you should know enough to remove anything posted on your facebook page to disprove your abilities.  Facebook is a part of this new technology.  Like the article states, in the virtual world, our houses are made of glass.  Anybody can see what kind of person you are, it's a feature that comes with this new technology.  It is your job to be responsible about what is posted on your facebook.

GROUP PROJECT.....

So I am somewhat nervous about this project, however, earlier this week the group got together and discussed our topic.  Even though I still get nervous while presenting, I am excited that we picked a topic that I am so interested in...Stem Cell Research.  I've seen a documentary about it recently and lately keep finding myself lost in thought of all the possibilities this could create.  I don't know much but I know that under certain conditions, stem cells can be trained to become other cells.  Say, for example, somebody has a heart defect.  We can train stem cells to become heart cells and replace the bad heart cells with good cells.  We could drastically decrease fatality rates.  Now, I know this is a very controversial subject, but that's why I am anxious to research this topic.  Why is it controversial?  What are the pros and cons that make it controversial. So far I don't understand it, but by the end of this project, I hope to know enough to determine, for me, whether it is right or wrong.

GROWING UP:

My dream career is to be a pediatric oncologist.  I want to be part of a medical breakthrough in the cancer field.  My biggest worry, however, is medical school.  I really don't have a backup plan.  What happens if I don't get into medical school or do poorly on the MCAT? And, if I do get into med school, how will I pay for it? Especially after four years at MSU.  Can I work while in medical school?  I already have all these worries and I'm only a freshman.  It seems to me, as excited as I am to actually be a student in medical school, that growing up is completely overrated.  How can there already be that many problems when I'm only 18 years old.  People always tell me, "Enjoy your college years, they're seriously the best years of your life." Well...that depressing.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I am loving college life but if I've got that many worries already, I will probably be a nervous wreck when I'm done with school.  It just seems like kids can't wait to be adults and adults want to go back to being kids again.  That's the problem with the human race, we're always wishing for things we don't have.

THIS ISN’T WHAT WE DID IN HIGH SCHOOL:

I was going through the readings for this week and I read through the entire portion called This Isn’t What We Did In High School.  I really hope our class is going to be just like this.  All throughout my high school career, teacher always gave us a question or statement to write about. However, they were looking for a particular answer.  Most of the papers we wrote were literary analysis and I hate those.  I think I mostly hated them because my teachers were always looking to see if what I thought the book meant was what they thought the book meant.  I always disliked that because every mind is different.  Pouring rain could mean one thing to someone and then mean a completely different thing to someone else.  It just never made any sense to me when the teacher said to analyze it based on your own thoughts and then they graded the paper based on theirs.  So I’m glad we are not analyzing and I really hope the class is laid back like the one described in this article.

COMPUTERS THAT SEE YOU AND KEEP WATCH OVER YOU:

I came across this article the other day and thought it was really quite interesting.  Technology is drastically advancing every single day.  This particular article is about a machine that can track and analyze your every move even your facial features.  It has opened a whole new world of technology and safety.  This machine is able to analyze facial expression at a prison and alert a corrections officer.  If the computer analyzes that a fight is about to start then it can send a warning and a location.  This new technology can also help in a hospital.  Cameras are placed at inconspicuous spots on the ceiling, watching every move in the room.  If a nurse doesn’t wash his/her hands enough, the computer will remind the nurse to wash his/her hands before leaving the room.  It can also detect when the patient is about to fall out of bed and it will warn the nearest nurse.  However, those are just little things.  This software can also detect signs of distress, heart rates, blood flow, and other vital signs. These machines, not only could save lives in a hospital setting, but they can even detect interest of viewers in a new movie.  They could have volunteers watch a scene from a movie while being recorded.  The computer would analyze their facial movements and detect whether the movie will be a hit.  I truly believe that technology has been making amazing advancements; for it to detect a possible fight, rate a movie, and save a life.