Outside Event 3

My last outside event was the reading by Molly Crosby. Molly Crosby read her book called Asleep. Her book was mainly about different cases of encephalitis lethargica. She did a really good job with the reading and was about to answer the majority of the questions that were asked. This proved that she was really involved in her work and put forth effort in finding out information. The book included many different cases of encephalitis lethargica. Encephalitis lethargica causes the patient to fall into a very deep "sleep" and sometimes the patient wakes up and sometimes they do not. Most of the time those that are fortunate enough to wake up are left with many side effects for falling in a deep sleep like that. Most patients suffer some mental disabilites and are never the same as before. The book covered a study about a doctor who found a temporary cure for encephalitis lethargica. The doctor prescribed L-Dopa to all of his patients. The drug cure the disease for a short amount of time until eventually all of the patients' bodies were getting use to the drug and the dosage had to be increased. L-Dopa was no a cheap drug at all. Crosby was a very good writer and reader. She did a very good job in her research and finding all the information that was needed to support her topic.

What if?

what if you could invent anything that you wanted, what would you invent? How would it be benefical? Would it cost a lot of money to purchase? If I could invent anything I would invent a remote and receiver type system for anything and everything that needed to be found such as a television remote, keys, or wallet. I would install a remote embedded in each couch, sofa, and recliner in the house that would send a signal to the receiver that is on the television remote. This way I would have no problem finding the remote when my favorite shows are on. I often lose my remote and it really frustrates me and my invention would benefit me and solve a lot of stress. This invention would not be that expensive but would require some installation in the couches, sofas, and recliners as well as the remote control. I think my invention would be very benefit to a lot of people and would save time searching for the remote control. The invention is not that complicated but I could not think of anything else because almost anything I could think of has already been invented. I have always wanted to be an inventer but I do not really think that that will ever happen because I am not the best at being very creative.

What if?

What if you could traveled back in time only once, what time in your life would you go back to? Why would you pick this time? Would you change anything you did? Would you change anything you said? If I could travel back in time, I would go back to when I was in probably the 5th grade. Why you ask? I would travel back to the 5th grade because at that time I was the oldest and the 5th graders were the kings and queens of the elementary school. One of the main reasons I would go back to being a 5th grader is because I did not have a single care in the world and everything was fun. I found fun in just about everything and I had nothing to worry about. I did not have to worry about having a job or making that good of grades because school was so easy then. I did not have to worry about making money and paying for gas and house rent. I wish I could go back because girls really did not matter and they did not effect me as much. It is very easy to get distracted by women nowadays. They are the devil in Earth form. haha. They can get you to do anything and everything and they know they can so they take advantage of it. In 5th grade none of that mattered. I wish I could go back to then I would probably change some other things.

What if?

What if you could go anywhere you wanted? Where would you? How long would you stay? Would you go somewhere you have been before or some place new. I have not really go to travel very much in the past couple of years because my family is always busy. When I have gotten to go on vacation it has for the most part been to the same places such as Destin, Florida, Gulf Shores, Mississippi, and Panama City Beach, Florida. I love going to the beach and eating great food in Florida because it is extremely relaxing and a good place to get away from everything. This summer my family has planned our "last" family vacation that we will all be together until I go off to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and my oldest brother goes to The University of Tennessee School of Medicine. We are taking a Carnival cruise ship to Cozemual. I am extremely excited because I have always heard of people talking about going on a cruise and finally I am getting my chance to experience it. Although going on a cruise is definitely one of my top 5 trips to go on, if I had the chance to go anywhere I would probably go to California or Rome, Italy, I cannot seem to decide which to pick. I want to go to California because I have seen pictures and the state is absolutely beautiful and the beaches are filled with pretty women. I want to go to Rome to see all of the structures and history.

What if?

What if all of our electronics suddenly stopped working? What would you do? How would your life change? Americans, as well as, the entire world has become extremely dependent on electronic technology. Almost everything nowadays is relied on computers and cell phones. Businesses use computers to do complicated work faster and more efficient in order to do the best job. The internet is the main source of information and if something happened to it everything would suddenly become chaotic. Nothing would happen "instantly" any more such as communication and obtaining information. Young people do not realize how new cell phones and computer are to our culture. The dependence on this new technology is not a good thing at all because what if this technology all the sudden stopped working? Nothing would be the same and people would have to completely change there lifestyles. I find myself sometimes getting mad whenever my computer is being slow or is not working to my satisfication. Those types of actions really made me realize how dependent I, and other individuals are with computers. Almost every single person in America have both a computer and a cell phone. Cell phones allow you to be mobile and still have communication almost anywhere. When we do not have signal, we become heated. There is a battle going on about which cell phone company has the most coverage. Technology is only going to keep increasing and people are going to keep becoming lazier. This could have a very negative result.

What if?

What if you were diagnosed with a deadly disease and only had a month to live? What would be your first action? Would you cry? Would you waste time sulking or would you get up and do the things you have dreamed of doing your whole entire life? Would you live it to the fullest? I would definitely be very upset if I found out that I only had one month to live. There is not even enough time in 70 years to be able to the do everything the average person wants to do in life. The first thing that I would do if I knew that I was dying is go sky driving. I promised myself that i would go skydiving before I died because it is something I have always wanted to do. I am not the biggest fan of heights but I find them fun. Sky diving would be a great rush that would put me back on my feet from the enemy of depression. I would go to Rome, Italy and check out the unbelieveable scenery. Rome is very interesting city and filled with history of the early civilizations. The next thing I would do is somehow organize a way to get NASA to let me travel to the moon or at least ride in a spaceship. I really just want to be so light that I can walk and jump like astronauts on the moon. I would definitely live my last month to the fullest with no regrets and get the most possible out of it.

What if?

What if there was such a thing as a time machine? Would anything change? How would everything change? Who would be effected? Would there be any kind of benefit? There has been plently of movies with time machines in them. One movie that used a time machine was The Butterfly Effect. Asthon Kucher was the main character in the movie. He had the ability to travel back in time by reading the journals he wrote throughout his life. The problem that he kept having was that no matter what he did something always went wrong. He would go back in time and try to fix something that happened in the past by altering the actions that were made. What he did not know was that nothing would be the same if he altered the past. It makes me wonder, what if there was such a thing as a time machine. I think a lot of people would try the same thing Asthon tried in the Butterfly Effect. Everyone would keep on changing the past and all of it would effect the future. The world would become a big ball of chaos because no matter what we did the future would be changed because the time machine would become an addiction. Everyone would try to fix things everytime they messed up. I hope a time machine is never created.

What if?

What if I succeeded in school and moved on to professional dental school. I would become a general dentist for a year or two and go to school when I am not at work. I would want to eventually become an orodontist that way I could make everyone have good teeth. I have always wanted to be a dentist. I think the reason I want to become a dentist is because the first thing I notice on people is their teeth especially if it is a girl. I have always been very OCD about my teeth. I cannot stand not to brush them twice a day. I have never had a cavity and I take pride it that.
If I become a dentist, the first thing I would do is buy a boat. I love the water and everything that has to do with it. I would buy a Malibu ski boat because I love water sports such as wakeboarding, skiing, kneeboarding, wakesurfing, etc,. The next purchase would be a lake house to complete my vacation home. I kind of grew up on the lake and I really want my kids to do that same. It is a great place to have fun, socialize, and most importantly relaxing.
The next thing I would do is buy either a Dodge Viper or a Porsche 911 Turbo for my first car. These two cars are extremely nice but are relatively inexpensive considering how nice they are. Now that a car is bought, I would buy myself a huge truck to cruise in.

What if?

What if I was a DEA agent. My best friend wants to be in a the DEA department agency and he got me interested in it. I do not actually want to be a DEA agent but I think it would be really cool. The DEA is a law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States. There is a television show on Spike TV called DEA. I watch DEA any chance I get. These agents risk there lives to get drugs off the street. I find it unreal how many people are actually involved in the drug organization. People will do anything to get these drugs and they do not care what it takes to get them. It is very sad how people act when it comes to drugs. People will kill others and not even think twice about it. Sometimes the people involved seemed like regular people on the streets. One espisode was about this smuggler that was set up for selling crack cocaine. He went as far as sticking the crack coccaine up his rectum in order to hide it for the DEA agent. I found that insane that someone would do that to themselves.

The Periodic Table Reflection

The Periodic Table was a rather good book but confusing. I like chemistry and all but he likes it a little too much. The Periodic Table was an autobiography on the life experiences of Primo Levi even though he went through the tragic events of the world famous concentration camp Auschwitz. He was a Jewish-Italian that was captured and sent to Auschwitz. The Periodic Table told the experiences of his life through each book being named after chemical elements. It was really cool how he tied the book titles into chemical elements because he was a chemist before he was captured. The book was rather hard to understand. Levi used many big words that I had to look up just have some clue what he was talking about. The first chapter was a blur because of the Hebrew language type writing. After the first chapter, things began to become easier to understand. Levi seemed to be good man because he was never ashamed of the mistakes he made as a chemist. He had good determination to do well and fix his mistakes. He was not afraid to communicate with his mentor when he experienced an explosion in the lab. If I would have gone through the things he went through, I would probably be very kept to my self and would not want to tell anyone anything about me or my life. Levi was not this way. He saw the good things in life such as his trips to Alps. He loved chemistry and really found a way to tie it in his stories.

Outside Event 2

I went to an outside event that included a speaker that talked on and on about arguements and how to break them down into small little bitty pieces. She was an expert on the subject and to demonstrate how regular people viewed arguements she formulated a test to see how people broke down arguement. I usually am not that bothered by these outside events but this one kind of pressed my buttons. Mainly because she was young and automatcially assumed we knew exactly what she was talking about and make us look stupid if we didnt. There was a weird crowd there so I tried to keep to myself in the very back while I enjoyed my mc double.

outside event 1

I went to burkes bookstore to listen to the readings Mrs. Wendy had offered us. I went to this one by myself so I ended up getting there a little late and of course there was no any parking. Stressed out and ready to get this over with, I parked in a no parking zone and ended up getting a ticket. Anyways, a man named Richard Bausch read a some from his book called “Something is out There.” He read a sotry from that book entitled “Immigration.” As you might have guessed it was a sotry about a couple trying to become an accepted citizen in the Untied States of America. Not only did the reader do a good job of reading, he really put himself in the story. He began to sum up accents for each one of the characters so that the listeners could visualize the setting. He was different from all of the other outside events that I have attended. He was actually kind of entertaining. However, I probably would not have attended if I was not threatened by a bad grade.

what if?

What if you realized that you were mentally delusional? DO NOT READ THIS BLOG IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN SHUTTER ISLAND BECAUSE I ABOUT TO EXPOSE THE MOVIE TO HELP DEMONSTRATE MY BLOG! I came up with this idea from the movie Shutter Island. It was a great movie about a former U.S. Marshall that killed his wife because she killed his three children. He never accepted what he did and he built a fantasy world in his head and lived by it for two years and thought that was his life never knowing it was fake. What if you found out you were living in a fantasy world? I would be so shocked because everything is controlled by your brain and whatever you brain believes is real is real to you. It is a scary thought because some people are really like that. They live fantasy lives that there minds make up and if someone tells them they are wrong there go crazy even though they already are. It is another reminder to be thankful for what you have. Those people cannot help the way they are. I would not want to go on living if I kept on making things up in my head. Some patients that are mentally delusional come to there senses and realize that they are making up fantasy worlds but sooner or later most of them "reset." It is a scary thought. You could be making up a fantasy world and never know that you are. The scariest thing, I think, is not knowing something. Shutter Island is a great movie and I persuade everyone to go see it! It would help to understand what my blog is trying to get across.

what if?

What if you won the lottery? What would you do with that money? No, I would not drop out of college and try to depend on that money for the rest of my life. I like to work for what I get. Personally, the first thing I would do is drive down to either Pickwick or Heber Springs and purchase a nice lakefront house along with a Malibu boat and a jetski turbo-charged. When I was younger my family went to the lake almost every weekend it was warm enough. It is such a peaceful place to be and I want my kids to grow up on the lake because it is filled with good times along with responsibilites. I would not go out and buy a mansion because it would cost way to much and I would probably get bored with it one day and want another one. I would end up losing a lot of money if I decided to sell it. However, I would definately go out and buy an upper class car. I would not buy a Ferrari or Lambo. My dream car is a Dodge Viper. I would probaby get a Dodge Viper and a Porsche 911 turbo. Writing this blog is making me want to buy a lottery ticket. I would most certainly set aside a finite amount of money to pay off my undergraduate school and professional school I plan to attend. After all of those expenses, if I had any money left I would purchase some bonds that way my kids could have a good frame to lean on when they get out into the real world. It would be so awesome to win the lottery but I am not much of a gambler. I guess you could say that I am smart with my money. Winning the lottery, would be worth it though!

what if?

What if for one day you could be anyone you wanted to be? Who would you be? What would you want to be? What would you want to have? What would make you want to be them? What do they have that you do not? Well, if I was asked that question I would say Alex Rodriquez. I would choose him because he is a bad a** baseball player and he is rich. He is one of the most respected and talented baseball players in the history of the game. Yeah, he lost a lot of respect when he got caught using steroids when he was younger but honestly I think that almost every single successful professional sports player has tried some type of performance enhancing drug. Sports these days are so competitive that players feel that they have to "cheat" which in my opinion is ruining the game. Anyways, back to the topic. Alex Rodriquez is a member of the New York Yankees, which by the way I hate with a passion. I have actually seen with my own eyes his penthouse on the top floor of a huge building in New York. Who would not want to enjoy that luxury? He also has a luxurious pad in Miami. I have always wanted to go to Miami but less live there. That would be so awesome. There is no telling where else he has a house/penthouse/pad. All I am saying is that I would not mind being A-Rod for a day, week, or even a year. Ever since I was a little kid, I have always ranted to be Alex Rodriquez. He has been my role model for the most of my life. However, I really lost respect for him when I found out about the steroids he had taken in the past. He also has a hot wife!

what if?

What if the world ended in 2012? I know that the whole “the world is going to end in 2012" is a gigantic hoax because the Mayan calendar says so. What if the world ended in 2012, would you be ready to die. Do you think that you would have gotten the most out of life that you could? Do you think you would have gone the places you've always wanted to go? Do you think you would have done the things you wanted to do? I personally do not think that I would be able to get the most out of my life in two years. I am an adventurous guy and there are a lot of things that I want to do before I die. One example is sky diving, I have always wanted to sky dive and plan on doing it when I get out of college which will not be until 2013. Just like everyone else, I want to be able to start a family and raise my kids until they are old enough to live on there own. That is what life is all about, passing on what you have learned to your kids and family? In two years that would be impossible to obtain. Two years is just not long enough to do the things I want to do and see and accomplish. I do not believe that the world will end in 2012, I am just speaking hypothetically. What are your thoughts on what if the world ended in 2012, would you be ready? It is like being diagnosised with a deadly disease and only having 2 months to life. It is just not enough to live life to the fullest.

what if?

What if robots were introduced into the world as service providers? We are already extremely dependant on technology such as cell phones and computers. Our technology is only going to continue to advance and I do not see where it is going to stop. Robots would be beneficial only to those that are too lazy to do things themselves. I would say it is like comparing the situation to a momma's boy. A kid relies on his mom to do everything for him: clean his room, cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner, wash his clothes, etc. I am sure that things will be done faster and more efficiently with robots but it would in the end cause more problems. I know that this is a little far fetched but if you have ever seen the movie iRobot it shows a lot of problems that could be faced if robots were in our population. What if one was not programmed well enough and did everything wrong. What if one of the robots started to harm people, we could not exactly kill it because I am sure it would be much stronger and faster than a human. If one small mistake was made in the programming, chances are that it was in an assembly line that many were produced in. This means that not just one would be messed up but many could be dangerous. I obviously opposed the entire thought of robots in households. Many people would become lazy and not do anything themselves. People would lose the drive to better themselves. One other reason I oppose this idea is because robots could easily turn against humans, there is no way to know what they are thinking.

The Hot Zone Reflection

The Hot Zone Reflection

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston is a true story about two diseases Ebola and Marburg that are on a killing rampage and to make matters worse they were incurable. Both of the viruses originated in monkeys. Initially, the scientists did not think the viruses could jump species until they did right in front of them. The Hot Zone was surprisingly a good book and that takes a lot for me to say because I am not very fond of reading. The author often compare to some of these diseases to AIDS and how it is a problem in our world because scientific research has no supplied a cure merely treatments. The first victim in the book was Charles Monet. He had been exposed to Marburg and it began to control his entire body. Preston brought to my attention the horrifying effects of this virus. Charles’ face was almost as if it was absent, he showed zero personality. Preston even brought me into the book through my sense of hearing when he talked about Monet’s random sounds of struggle as he attempted to form words and communicate. I found that The Hot Zone really has a reality check type affect on the reader. The book reminds the reader exactly how powerful just a little tiny virus can be and how easily one can be spread throughout a population. I came across a scary thought that many other readers of this book probably did and that is what if this happened, what if I was infected, etc. Anyone in their right mind would be terrified of a level four biological agent being released to any host the agent wanted. The scenes in the level four labs kept me on my toes when I read them. The guts it must have taken to only have three layers separating someone from a ruthless killing machine.
One reason I liked the book was because there was a lot of suspension through out the book. The author would make it seem that someone was going to die again from the disease but they would not. This type of method kept me guessing. I liked that because I do not like to know what is going to happen next. If I had any one to compare Preston to it would be a type of writer that writes thrillers and/or scary stories such as Stephen King. Another reason I would compare Preston to King is because they are different writers. They are not the typical writers that have a “happy ending” and the reader never knows what is coming next. Preston used a lot of imagery in this book which really added to it effects. Some of the images put in my head were rather gory but had to be so that I could realize exact how destructive these diseases are. Naturally as a human, I began to have emotions toward the people that were being tortured and dying from Marburg. The author erratic word choice tossed images in my head and put me next to Major Jaax as she operated on the sick monkeys after they had bled out. When Nancy Jaax first asked if she could participate in the level four researches, they told her “This work is not for a married female. You are either going to neglect your work or neglect your family.”(60) Nancy was stubborn enough not to consider her boss’s precautions and she went ahead and did it. I began to be bombarded with thoughts of “oh she is going to die” and “what is going to happen to her kids and husband.” Once again the author had me guessing that the hole in her glove was going to be her doom, I was wrong. The glove had held but in the process of reading that part of the book I could tell she was freaking out and I could feel the bullets of sweat running down her face as she removed each glove. The author really tied in how unbelievably determined people are to help others, risking their own lives. The true facts from The Hot Zone struck as a shocker to me and a reality check and I am sure it had that same effect on other readers. The Hot Zone really opened my eyes to how people often over look important things and push them to back of their minds only to be forgotten.

what if

For many years, there has been a debate on the issue whether or not the drinking age should be changed to eighteen years old. What if the drinking age was changed to eighteen years old? Do you think much would change? In my opinion, I do not think much would change because almost every eighteen year old that I know has had a drink at least once, some more than others. Then, the concern arises that more alcohol related wrecks may occur. It is said that our it is in our nature to be rebellious. Do you think that less people eighteen years or older would drink if they were actually allowed to? It all boils down to chioces. Many people, despite the law, drink if they are not of age. If someone between the age of eighteen and twenty do not drink then they are less likely to all the sudden start drinking often the day they turn twenty-one, but they may have a drink on a special occasion. Personally, I know many people that went through a drinking stage during their college days but slowly faded when they turned twenty-one. I remember asking one of them why he did not drink as often. He commented that it was not as fun as it use to be when he was younger. Overall, I do not think much will change if the drinking age were to change because if someone is going to drink they are going to drink when they become eighteen but hopefully not any younger than that. Much has been argued that if someone is old enough to walk around with high power rifles and operate machinery of destruction overseas fighting for their country then they are old enough to drink alcohol. I agree with this opinion.