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Serenity

Page history last edited by PBworks 17 years, 11 months ago

5/1/06

SerenityFinalPaper

 

4/30/06

Again I studied all day today. I took a few breaks to break up the studying. I am fairly confident that I know what I am doing for my test tomorrow. I can't wait to get it over with. I am very happy that I will gone by 11:00 tuesday. Not that I hate this place, it is just that I am ready to go home. I will be taking a math class this summer and working a full time job 3rd shift. I don't mind 3rd shift. I like being able to be home during the day, and nothing good is on tv during the day.

 

4/29/05

I studied a lot today. I got up at 11:30 and started to study. Every so often I took breaks and played games so I wouldn't get bored with it. I plan on doing the same until tomorrow. I only have 1 final this week which is nice. I get to leave on tuesday which is also nice. I really want to do well on my physics final so I can get a good gpa.

 

4/07/06

I plan on doing a problem solution type paper for my final project. The problem I will use is the problem of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gas emissions have become quite a big problem over the past 50 or so years. Greenhouse gases gather in the atmosphere allowing sunlight to pass through them but once the sunlight bounces off the ground the gases absorb the heat and cause temperatures to rise. This causes many problems from weird weather to the polar ice caps melting. There are many proposed methods of reducing greenhouse gas emissions but none have really been tried. I plan to show why switching to nuclear power for energy production is the best solution for this problem. I will also show that nuclear power is only a temporary solution that should be utilized only until better methods of power production are developed further.

 

I say that nuclear power is the best option temporary because the alternatives, namely wind, hydroelectric, and solar power have yet to prove themselves as being as efficient as nuclear, coal, and natural gas power. The alternatives are relatively new and still need to be researched in order to be more efficient. The efficiency of the alternatives is under 20%, while coal, natural gas, and nuclear power have efficiency rates above 30%. Another area that needs to be researched further is the land requirements for the alternatives. In order for the alternatives to produce the same amount of energy as coal, nuclear, and natural gas power vast amounts of land is required. Solar power requires open areas that receive direct sunlight; wind power needs miles of land to put up wind farms to produce the same amount of energy as current power plants; hydroelectric plants need rushing water and drops in elevation. I will go into more detail in the final paper but for now I will keep it short.

 

Of the three main sources of power nuclear power produces no greenhouse gases. Nuclear power also just happens to be one of the most controversial forms of power though. Many people are against nuclear power because of the radioactive waste that nuclear power plants produce. Another problem people have with nuclear power is the chance of an accident. Although I agree that these are problems and legitimate concerns I will answer these people’s problems with solutions that are already in use and soon to be in use in the nuclear power industry. The solution I will present for the problem of radioactive waste is reprocessing of the waste to be used again and the soon to be open national radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The national repository will store all levels of radioactive waste safely, responsibly, and permanently. As for the chance of an accident I will talk about the training nuclear power plant operators receive, the regulations that are in place, and the agency that enforces these regulations.

 

I will end by giving the future of energy production and restating the fact that nuclear power is only my temporary solution to the greenhouse gas problem.

 

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggccebro/chapter1.html

 

http://www.eas.asu.edu/~holbert/eee463/HYDRO.HTML

 

DOE’s Yucca Mountain Studies U.S. Department of energy

 

Department of Energy 1977-1994 A Summary History Fehner, Terrence R.

 

Closing the Circle on the Splitting of the Atom U.S. Department of Energy

 

http://www.nei.org/index.asp?catnum=1&catid=11

 

 

 

4/3/06

SerenityProposal

Here is my proposal paper

 

Although I think that his approach it ackward, I find very effective. His solution to the problem may offend most people, but it gets them thinking about the problem. Many people would just go about their days without even thinking about this problem. He got them thinking about if there is anything they could do to help.

 

4/1/06

I went to Olive Garden with some friends tonight. The food was great. I had the seafood alfedo. It was delicious. We left at 6:30. When we got there, there was an hour and 20 minute wait. So we decided to go to Outback. There was a 90 minute wait there. We then decided to to get water and waste some time. We went back to Olive Garden at 7:45 and were seated and 8:30. It was great meal so the wait was worth it.

 

3/31/06

Today was another great day. The weather was fantastic. I love being able to wear shorts because I really do not care for jeans. I decided that I want to bring my mountain bike up here. I love to ride my bike and on great days like today I should be out riding. When I go home next weekend I am going to grab it. It will also give something to do on my day off.

 

3/30/06

I did absolutely nothing today. I have no classes on Thursdays, so I get to sleep in and take it easy. I do not mind this but it does tend to get boring sometimes. I should have worked on my proposal paper a little, but I didn't. Next weekend I get to go home for my grandfather's wedding. I will just be glad to go home and get stuff ready for the summer.

 

3/27/06

Stigmergy is believed to be the way insects and possibly animals comunicate. Some scientists believe that insects have to communicate some how in order to get things done for the insect's society as a whole. It may look as if insects are working alone but they are actually working to better their society.

 

3/25/06

I saw V for Vendetta today. It is a great movie. Everything was good in it. The reviews about it were all wrong. It had just about everything you could want in a movie. I never read the comic but I think it would have done it justice. This is definitly one movie I will buy when it comes out on dvd. I have one problem with the movie writers of today though. Original movies are becoming very scarce. Almost all movies now are remakes or based off of comics or books.

 

3/24/06

Stargate has to be one of my favorite shows. I have 8 seasons on dvd. I decided this week to watch every episode in order. I watch one or two when I am doing homework and then another when I go to sleep. I hope to have them all watched by the end of the year but I don't know if I can do it. Season 9 recently ended two weeks ago and season 10 starts in July. The season finale was great and I can't wait until next season.

 

3/22/06

I will write my paper on the wide spread implementation of nuclear power plants across the United States. The purpose of this implementation is that nuclear power’s fuel, uranium, gives off no chemicals, toxins, or pollutants. Also nuclear power does not use fossil fuels that will eventually run out. Nuclear power does have a downside, but it is currently in the process of being taken care of.

 

The problems of our current primary means of power production are many. One of the problems of coal fired power plants is that they give off harmful pollutants. Another reason is that the coal we use will run out because it is a nonrenewable resource. A third reason that coal power is bad is that the mining of coal is done mainly by strip mining.

 

Critics of nuclear power are against it because the waste from the used fuel is very dangerous. The solution to this problem has been the works for over 30 years. Yucca Mountain in Nevada has been the subject of very heavy study for many different traits. Hopefully by 2010 Yucca Mountain will open for business and start accepting waste. The waste will be held there safely until such a time when it is deemed safe.

 

Within the next ten I propose building many nuclear reactors. The reactors will help produce the electricity that powers this great nation. Currently there are already about ten nuclear reactors in the process of getting permits to be built. These new reactors will be built next to already existing reactors to help minimize costs.

 

You're going in a promising direction, it seems. A few things to think about: first, who is your audience? There are quite a few possibilities: legislators, communities who would benefit from the plant (job opportunities). Second, Condoleeza Rice's editorial might be useful: if nuclear power is good for India, then it stands to reason it'd be good for the US! TheKemBlog

 

 

 

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/nuc_reactors/reactsum.html

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html

http://www.world-nuclear.org/

http://www.anlw.anl.gov/anlw_history/general_history/gen_hist.html

http://www.eia.doe.gov/

 

 

3/20/06

SerenityCausalPaper

 

3/20/06

I think the general principles of communism are very interesting. Pure communism could be a great thing, because everyone would be equal and their would be no discrimination. The only problem is that in a society of equals someone has to become a leader and take control. With communism and Joseph Stalin Russia was able to make great strides in industrialization within a generation. This would not be possible in a democratic society. Also look what China has been able to do.

 

 

3/19/06

I do not like to watch basketball that often, but the past couple of days that is all that I have watched. I think this is one of the best tournaments that I have seen. There have been a lot of great games and some good upsets. Other than that I really haven't done anything. I guess I did work on my paper.

 

3/18/06

The Iowa Hawkeyes lost in the first round to a 14 seed team. I think that is awesome. Everyone from back home thought this might be the year for them to go far in the tournament. They lost with a 3 point shot in the last .5 seconds of the game. I would have like to see a bigger upset but this one will do.

 

3/17/06

I read an article in the Collegian about peolpe over 65 choosing to retire later in life. The artile said that over 3 million peolpe over 65 are in the workforce now. I can see good things and bad things from this. The good things is that they are staying in the workforce and not taking out the social security. The bad thing is that there will be fewwer jobs open for people just graduating from college.

 

3/05/06

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 20. I went out with my grandparents, mom, aunts and uncle. I didn't like the meal, but everyone else did.Today I got a digital camera for my birthday. My mom, grandparents, and I went out to dinner. My grandfather wanted to go to Hooters so we did. My mom had to say something about my birthday and I had to stand on a chair and sing "I'm a little teapot" in front of the whole place. I really hated it. I can't think of a more stupid thing to do for a birthday.

 

Happy (belated) birthday. TheKemBlog

 

3/03/06

The cause of the rolling blackouts in California, in 2000, is what I will write my paper about. In 2000 the country went though a severe energy shortage. California was hot the hardest with rolling blackouts happening at any moment. Many potential theories to why this happened were proposed. Many of the theories fit what happened and could have been the cause. It also could have been a combination of these theories.

 

One possible theory that was proposed was the deregulation of California’s utilities. Deregulation is the release of state control of the utilities into the private sector. This was a problem because now utilities could shop around for the cheapest power. This would put heavy strain on the cheap producers of energy causing the problems that California had.

 

Another theory was that the demand was simply too high for the supply. The summer of 2000, when this happened, was a very hot summer. This means that air conditioners were heavy used. This puts heavy strain on the energy grid and it just becomes too much to handle. This causes the blackouts that ensued.

 

A combination of these and other factors could have also been the cause of the energy shortage. High demand could have put very heavy strain on the deregulated utilities that were all buying energy from the cheapest producers.

 

Looks well thought out thus far. TheKemBlog

 

 

http://www.energy.ca.gov/electricity/utilities.html

 

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1554/is_n3_v21/ai_18008944

 

http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc0.asp?docid=1P1:87094564&refid=ink_tptd_mag_test3&skeyword=&teaser=

 

http://www.nwenergy.org/publications/00_all.html

 

http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/2000/US/12/15/west.coast.power/

 

http://www.mises.org/freemarket_detail.asp?control=347

 

 

3/01/06

I fit on the right side of the spectrum. I support many of the beliefs that right winged people support. One topic that I support is competition. Without competition our nation would not advance. Competition also drives down prices and makes companies come up with better things. Another topic that I also support is nationalism. I believe that our nation should help out our people first. We should take care of homeless and hungry in this country before spending money to help feed and shelter people of other nations.

 

2/28/06

The events in Rwanda are very tragic. The Beligians may look to be some of the cause of the problems, but these atrocities may have happened with out them. After the UN withdrew the nations of the world should have sent troops in to establish peace. The conflict in Sudan is another tragic event. People have to be brought to justice. The organizers of these events must be punished and events like these must be stopped. The UN and other peacekeeping forces need start putting an end to mass genocides like these.

 

2/27/06

SerenityEvaluation

Here is my Evaluation paper.

 

2/26/06

I was watching the closing ceremonies for the Olympics. There were some great stunts done. Three guys did tricks in a vertical wind tunnel. Then Canada did a show about Canada because they are hosting the next winter Olympics. Now I am watching a History Channel special about the final moments of the Titanic. They are talking about the lack of lifeboats and the women and children first policy. They are also talking about how a lot of the lifeboats were launched without being completely full. The average lifeboat had around 30 empty seats on it.

 

2/24/06

I really do not know what to write about today. I did not do a whole lot today and don't have anything planned for tonight. I will most likely watch John Doe, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis, and play some games. I might go to the store tomorrow. I need a few things and have nothing else to do.

 

2/22/06

I agree with Henry about the politeness and informality that most Americans have. Most people respect their elders and show them kindness. I also agree thatAmericans tend to look to the future before looking to the past. About the religousness of America I personally do not see any problem with the separation of church and state. I think it is good that there is that line that separates the two. I thought that the conclusion was great. America does reflect on our good fortune on thanksgiving day and we should. It is good to give thanks and look to what the future can hold for us.

 

 

2/16/06

Proposal

 

I will evaluate the decision to invade Iraq. This topic has been a big controversy since the decision was made. Almost everyone has an opinion on the invasion. Not everyone has all the information needed to make this judgment though. I believe that the president’s decision to invade Iraq was the right thing to do. After reading the Declaration of Independence I feel that we have the responsibility to help anyone whose basic rights as a human are not being given. Just as our founding fathers overthrew the British government when they felt that their rights were not being given to them, the Iraqi people deserved to have these same rights. The only way that would happen was to overthrow Saddam Hussein and the rest of the government. Since the Iraqi people could not do this themselves, it is the responsibility of the strongest nations of the world to help them. Saddam was a dangerous leader, who in the past has committed some horrendous atrocities. He could have easy started a war on his own. We just went after him before he could o after anyone else. Given the chance anyone would have taken out Hitler before World War 2. (Remember the Jon Stewart clip? If you weren't there for class, you can find it on my blog. Be careful with the Hitler analogy.) No one took that chance and a war broke out that cost millions of lives and saw great atrocities against men and women. The war in Iraq is very small compared to other wars. What would have happened had Saddam not been overthrown and allowed to proceed with what he was doing. The world could have seen one of the worst wars in its history, or nothing could have happened. I personally think that had we done nothing the worst would have happened. (On what basis?)

 

It's clear that you'll be arguing that invading Iraq was the right course of action. I'm not sure that the Declaration of Independence is quite your document. You'd need a similar document written by the Iraqi people to justifiy the comparison! That's just an aside.

Give some thought as to what criteria there are for invading a country. Which one's did the administration employ prior to the invasion. Are they the same they've used after? If there's a difference, it may be a clue as to what criteria ultimately are compelling for the US populous--though there's still the question of whether those are right!

And, you'll need to give serious consideration to counter-argument. You might be able to find some in Congress, but those seem to have been mostly after the fact. (There are exceptions.) Perhaps the debate at the UN would be helpful for this. You might look at the Opposing Views Resource on the library page. TheKemBlog

 

Citations

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200211/fallows

 

http://www.law.indiana.edu/uslawdocs/declaration.html

 

http://www.fas.org/news/iraq/2000/09/iraq-000918.htm

 

http://www.sciri.btinternet.co.uk/English/Saddam_Crimes/saddam_crimes.html

 

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/irqindx.htm

 

http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Iraq/

 

 

2/14/06

The men that wrote the declaration of independence were great men. They knew what they wanted and they knew how to get their points across to the king and the rest of England. One thing that caught my attention was the words they used. No one uses words like that anymore. The words they used were very powerful and help get their point across even better. The writers believed that when people see injustices they have the right and responsiblity to do something about it. This can be seen even today with the war in Iraq. The president may have said that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and there may or may not have been. Now that we are in Iraq and have freed the Iraqi people from the oppressive dictator we have the responsiblity to help the Iraqi people until such a time when they can take care of themselves and not fear someone worse than their previous leader taking over their country when we leave.

2/13/06

SerenityDefinition

 

 

 

2/11/06

After studying for a couple hours I have decided to update my blog. I have beeen studying math because I have a test coming up. I plan to do a little more studying then do nothing else. I love to be able to sit back and have nothing to do or worry about. I think I might watch a movie and play some computer games. I also plan to order some chinese food.

 

2/10/06

An article in the paper today was talking about how out of state tution has gone up. It said that the tution for out of state students has gone up about 4000 dollars. Out of state tution goes up one and a half times the in state tution rate. The article stated that the reason for this is because out of state student's state tax do not help state funding for state universities. After reading the article I was glad that I took a year off and became a PA state resident.

 

I commented on AfterYou's proposal

 

2/05/06

Definition proposal

 

Sustainable technology is a relatively new term in our language. It has varied meanings depending on who is using it. Sustainable is defined, by Webster’s dictionary, as “capable of being sustained.” Technology is defined, by Webster’s dictionary, as “the application of scientific knowledge to practical purposes in a particular field.” Sustainable technology is commonly known as “technology that will not harm the planet for future generations.”(1) I will focus more on power production and transportation technology.

 

Many people use this term wrong. They use it to try to justify unsustainable technologies because they it there is not a clear definition of sustainable technologies. Gasoline and coal burning are two examples of unsustainable technologies as the burning of these fossil fuels gives off harmful pollution. Also these fuels have a finite supply that will more than likely run out in less than a century.(2) One example of a sustainable technology is solar power. Solar power gives off no pollution and no harm has been found to be caused from solar power. There are problems with this technology however. Solar power is not very efficient, solar power needs direct sunlight, and because it cannot produce power 24 hours a day, energy must be stored in huge amounts for these times.(3) Another sustainable technology is wind energy. Wind energy has many of the same benefits and problems of solar energy. Wind energy also has the problem of being dangerous to birds.(4,5) Wave energy production is another technology being looked into. Although not very practical it is another example of sustainable technologies. Wave power also has some of the same problems as wind and solar power.(6) Many other technologies exist that can be used as examples as either sustainable or unsustainable.

 

 

Citations

 

1. Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary, 11th ed. Springfield, Mass. Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2005.

 

2. "Alternatives to Oil Must Be Developed" by Walter Youngquist. What Energy Sources Should Be Pursued?. Stuart A. Kallen, Ed. At Issue Series. Greenhaven Press, 2005. Walter Youngquist

 

3. "America's Energy Security Depends on Developing Energy Alternatives" by Union of Concerned Scientists. What Energy Sources Should Be Pursued?. Stuart A. Kallen, Ed. At Issue Series

 

4. "The Use of Solar Power Should Be Increased" by Gerd Eisenbeiss. Global Resources. Charles P. Cozic, Ed. Opposing Viewpoints® Series. Greenhaven Press, 1998. From Gerd Eisenbeiss

 

5. "The Use of Wind Power Should Be Increased" by Christopher Flavin. Global Resources. Charles P. Cozic, Ed. Opposing Viewpoints® Series. Greenhaven Press, 1998. From Christopher Flavin

 

6. "Wave Energy Is a Promising Energy Source" by David Ross. Global Resources. Helen Cothran, Ed. Opposing Viewpoints® Series. Greenhaven Press, 2004

 

 

 

 

2/2/06

I was reading through some of the other blogs in our section and I came across heregoesnothing's blog. I would have to agree with them that firefly is a series that very good. It should have never been canceled. The movie is even better, and has a few surprises for fans of the show. Before watching the movie I suggest watching the series, as you will gain a little background information that makes the movie somewhat more enjoyable. The movie didn't make anywhere near what it cost to make. Had it earned more in the box office the actors had already said they would do two sequels.

2/1/06

I used an article out of USA Today. The article was about Ben Beranke taking over as the new Federal Reserve chief. Ben Bernake is filing the shoes of a very great man. Alan Grennspan, the former Fed Chief, worked wonders on this countries economy. He knew what to do and when to do it. He also stood by what he was doing. Greenspan was able to see the effects of every course of action and pick the right one to use. Ben Bernanke is taking over at a time of our expanding economy and should have only minor troubles in the months ahead. As Greenspan's last order of business he raised the federal funds rate for the 14th consecutive time. Greenspan will be remembered as one of the greatest federal reserve chiefs in our histroy.

 

1/30/06

After reading these defintions I am confused on what terrorism is. None of the defintions agreed with each other. Some of them had the same basic theme, but none of them gave a definite definition. I beleive that terrorism is all of the things that were listed in the article, but I couldn't pick out just one that was right. I would pick the UN's definition as the definition that defines terrorism the best, but others have good points in them as well. Some of the better defintions should be combined to give a narrower definition of terrorism.

 

01/27/06

After reading Bush's speech I feel that Mr. Bush knew the right things to say to a nation that needed him. He was able to convey his message effectively and still sound like he had the resolve to follow through with what he said. He knew who his audience was and what to say to them to help them start the healing process. He gave many points and supported them with the evidence needed to make us want to follow him. This speech was very powerful and made many Americans want to do what the president said.

 

01/25/06

The universal declaration of human rights was a powerfull statement that I agree with. I think that every point made in this document still holds true today. I believe that the writers of this piece really knew what they were talking about and how to convey their points across effectively. All the rights listed really should be basic human rights for everyone no matter what race, religion, or nationality. The writers used many emotional appeals to get people to agree on what was written down on the paper.

 

01/23/06

After reading FDR's speech I feel that FDR knew what he was saying amd knew what had to be done about it. He was really appealing to people's emotions and using his character as a great man to convince congress and the American public of what had to be done. FDR effectively argued his points and was able to get the crowd to respond the way he wanted them to. He was sure to point out that not only the United States was at risk but also our allies and other peacefull nations now at war with countries who only want to gain power over those peacefull nations. FDR provided a lot of evidence that supported his claims and also other supporting information about what was being done and what had to be done.

 

01/20/06

I chose a snapshot that showed, percentage wise, what people do to avoid other people on airplanes. A high percentage of people will read to avoid talking. I have done all of the things listed in the chart to avoid the person sitting next to me on a plane.

1. A little over a quarter of the people interviewed would rather sit in their seat with their eyes closed than have a conversation with the person next to them.

 

2. Almost 50% of people enjoy reading on planes.

 

3. A fifth of the population would be rude and get up instead of having to endure a boring conversation with another person.

 

01/17/06

Personal narrative taken from Ralph

When I got this assignment I found it difficult to think of things to say because I hate to have to talk about myself. I guess if I had to describe myself to people who don't know me I would have to begin by saying that at first I am close to extremely shy, but don't confuse that with the thought that I'm being cold. I tend to have the feeling that I am bothering people if I start talking, but if someone starts talking to me I will gladly talk to them. I enjoy meeting new people and I think I don’t really have much to say. As far as interests and hobbies go, I'm very into sports and love baseball in particular. I look forward to getting to know everyone in this class.

 

1-16-06

Reading this letter has shown me more of what African Americans had to go through to get the respect and rights that they deserve. Martin Luther King Jr. was a very respectable man who was doing what anyone should do if they are not being treated like equals. This still holds true today, when people see an injustice most will want to do something about it. One instance is in college scholarships. As a junior in high school a class project of ours was to find college scholarships that we could apply for. Being a class made up mostly of middleclass white males we had a real tough time finding any scholarships for ourselves. There are a lot of scholarships out there for minorities and poorer people, but hardly any for us. I do not believe in discrimanation or anything like that, I would just like to see the same opportunities that all other people in this nation have. I don’t think that anything that the white people did to the African Americans prior to and during the civil rights movement was correct, but I also think that not giving everyone the same opportunities is wrong. Until this nation can treat everyone like equals, there will always be Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers out there.

 

1-12-06

My name is Richard Thiel. I was born and grew up in Iowa. For 18 years I lived in a town with around 1200 people in it. My school was also small, as I only had 90 classmates. I played baseball, football, and ran track all through middle and high school. In 2004 I moved to Harrisburg and worked at a distrubution center for Square D. Working there was a great experience for me. About six years ago I really got interested in nuclear power and I am planning to major in nuclear engineering here. I truly enjoy movies. I have a good size collection of DVDs and like to watch atleast one a day. My favorites are almost any war movie, Serenity, and Rudy.

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