We live in an era, where information is easily accessed by just pressing “Enter” on your keyboard. So, finding information about almost everything and anything is virtually easy as long as one has the internet. Yet with this much information available there always seems to be contradictions among various information sources on the internet, thus making one either true or false.
Although I use the internet 80% of the time to find information for my assignment, I still look for information in books, journals and other sources that would verify information I have doubts about. When I want to find information, I mostly get it from the internet by using search engines such as Google, Ask or Bing but to find basic information about most topics I use Wikipedia. I also use the library to find more detailed information about a topic/subject compared to the internet which mostly gives brief summaries about a topic/subject. I mostly prefer to use the internet because I can get information from different people’s points of view rather than from a single person’s point of view in books. But the sources used for my assignments mainly depends on the subject.
For instance, if I want to find Information about history or mathematics, I prefer the library because the information is less likely to change or not change at all in the case of history but when I am looking for information about current events, politics, demographics or topics that are updated regularly the internet is where I get most of these information.
Monday, November 8, 2010
The Stun Gun
On May 4, 1970, the National Guard killed four students and wounded nine others at Kent state university during a protest. The Kent state massacre sparked up huge debates and protests all over the United States about gun usage by the police forces. And through this event came the stun gun. The stun gun was also the topic my group had chosen for our case study relating to engineering in my first year experience class.
After this devastating event, Bob Mawhinney a mechanical engineering graduate from Auburn University realized that law enforcement had no weapons stronger than a punch but weaker than a gun. He took on the challenge of creating a weapon that would be able to subdue its target without causing injuries.
Before he started his experiments and calculations, he first researched various weapons and their degrees of injuries. Some of the weapons he researched on were bolas, Dogs, Barbed wire, Stenches, smoke, Chemicals, Electrified Devices, Baton, etc. Through this research he was able to find some vital characteristics that helped him create this specific type of weapon. These characteristics were: velocity, mass, diameter, impact area, kinetic energy and momentum. After establishing these characteristics he decided that this model weapon would have the power of a fast pitched ball and also be able to conform to the body’s shape on impact. That was how he came up with the bean bag type projectile weapon but today they are known as flexible baton rounds instead of stun guns.
The stun-gun was 1st tested on dummies, then tested on a live target. Although, there was some inaccuracy and a bruise, there was no permanent damage. The stun gun was a success and is still because it is by far the most common less lethal rounds used.
After this devastating event, Bob Mawhinney a mechanical engineering graduate from Auburn University realized that law enforcement had no weapons stronger than a punch but weaker than a gun. He took on the challenge of creating a weapon that would be able to subdue its target without causing injuries.
Before he started his experiments and calculations, he first researched various weapons and their degrees of injuries. Some of the weapons he researched on were bolas, Dogs, Barbed wire, Stenches, smoke, Chemicals, Electrified Devices, Baton, etc. Through this research he was able to find some vital characteristics that helped him create this specific type of weapon. These characteristics were: velocity, mass, diameter, impact area, kinetic energy and momentum. After establishing these characteristics he decided that this model weapon would have the power of a fast pitched ball and also be able to conform to the body’s shape on impact. That was how he came up with the bean bag type projectile weapon but today they are known as flexible baton rounds instead of stun guns.
The stun-gun was 1st tested on dummies, then tested on a live target. Although, there was some inaccuracy and a bruise, there was no permanent damage. The stun gun was a success and is still because it is by far the most common less lethal rounds used.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Ideas that never seem to stick
Before I started English 1101, I wrote down a list of different outcomes that I wanted to achieve by the end of the semester. I wrote mostly broad outcomes like to learn how to write properly and speak correct grammar. After a few awful and good essays, I realized that I could not convey my ideas and thoughts effectively when writing. It was frustrating when I had a brilliant idea but could not find a way to write it on paper.
For instance, we were told to write a memoir for our first English paper, the first idea that I thought about was my boarding house experience. It was the most vivid, remarkable and long lasting memory I had. I could think of a 1000 different things to write about my experience. The question was how was I going to write it in a way that the audience would clearly understand. That was the question that seemed to even prevent me from starting the essay.
I had read some autobiographies before. Although these autobiographies did not focus on a particular aspect of their life, yet these writers were able to convey their thoughts and experiences so vividly that you were actually think you were experiencing it yourself.
So I asked myself what the problem was. I discovered I was not reading and writing enough. Although I may not be able to do enough leisure reading, but writing Blogs seemed to be effective in improving my writing skills and it is fun to do also
For instance, we were told to write a memoir for our first English paper, the first idea that I thought about was my boarding house experience. It was the most vivid, remarkable and long lasting memory I had. I could think of a 1000 different things to write about my experience. The question was how was I going to write it in a way that the audience would clearly understand. That was the question that seemed to even prevent me from starting the essay.
I had read some autobiographies before. Although these autobiographies did not focus on a particular aspect of their life, yet these writers were able to convey their thoughts and experiences so vividly that you were actually think you were experiencing it yourself.
So I asked myself what the problem was. I discovered I was not reading and writing enough. Although I may not be able to do enough leisure reading, but writing Blogs seemed to be effective in improving my writing skills and it is fun to do also
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The Art of Arguing
When we think of the word “arguing”, we think of a harsh conversation between two couples or a group of people that seems to always produce conflict. Instead, I view the concept of arguing as a court situation where the lawyers have to convince the jury and the judge, through evidence, to share their own views. These lawyers also have to develop techniques to argue every specific case. For example, a murder case where a lawyer is defending a victim. The lawyer will use emotion (compassion) to persuade the jury or judge to side in his favor.
Some good techniques that I would use to make an argument is by first laying down a concrete arguable claim and then using my audience reaction to emotion, reason and authority to build my argument.
Laying down concrete arguable claim is very important because if the argument is inane, it tends to lose our audience attention. For instance, I decide to argue that humans cannot live without air. In this type of argument, the audience knows that it is a proven fact and that the opposing team would not be able to make a reasonable argument. Also as humans we are reasonable, emotional and like to have a sense of authority, so using this to help our argument does not hurt.
Some good techniques that I would use to make an argument is by first laying down a concrete arguable claim and then using my audience reaction to emotion, reason and authority to build my argument.
Laying down concrete arguable claim is very important because if the argument is inane, it tends to lose our audience attention. For instance, I decide to argue that humans cannot live without air. In this type of argument, the audience knows that it is a proven fact and that the opposing team would not be able to make a reasonable argument. Also as humans we are reasonable, emotional and like to have a sense of authority, so using this to help our argument does not hurt.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Living without Modern Technology
In America now, we rely on modern technology for virtually everything. You wake up to a digital alarm, brush your teeth with an electric tooth brush, exercise on a treadmill, briefly check your email on your laptop before going to work, read the news on your iphone or even read a book on your new kindle. Technology keeps improving every day to make life easier. So the question is “have modern technologies such as computer and cellphones so totally taken over the American life that we cannot live without them?”
I decided to take on the challenge to see if we cannot really live without technology. I asked different people this question, from middle grade students to college students, and majority said they could live without modern technology. Although most said they could, they had time limits ranging from one to four months in which they could live without modern technology.
A particular response from a college student was very interesting. She said that human are superior beings because of their ability to adapt to any environment, so even if the need comes for us to live without technology, we can definitely do it. I asked another individual what he thought about that response. He agreed with it, but he said that this adaptation is not going to be immediate; instead it will be a gradual process. After about 25 different responses, I believe that we can actually live without modern technology. It may take a lot of patience and time, but it is definitely possible.
I decided to take on the challenge to see if we cannot really live without technology. I asked different people this question, from middle grade students to college students, and majority said they could live without modern technology. Although most said they could, they had time limits ranging from one to four months in which they could live without modern technology.
A particular response from a college student was very interesting. She said that human are superior beings because of their ability to adapt to any environment, so even if the need comes for us to live without technology, we can definitely do it. I asked another individual what he thought about that response. He agreed with it, but he said that this adaptation is not going to be immediate; instead it will be a gradual process. After about 25 different responses, I believe that we can actually live without modern technology. It may take a lot of patience and time, but it is definitely possible.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Evaluating Surulere
I had lived in Surulere, Nigeria since I was born and I thought that was the way it was going to remain. I had become so comfortable that I thought it was impossible to live anywhere else. As we know, nothing last forever. When I turned sixteen, my parents decided we should move to another country, the United States. Since we arrived I have moved three times, and now I am settled in college for four long years. In my English language class, I have to evaluate a place I have lived. I decided to choose Surulere.
Surulere is a street located on the main land of lagos, Nigeria. It is about a mile and a half long with iron gates at each end of the street. The criteria I decided to evaluate surulere by are its appearance, neighbours and major events
• Appearance: the neighbourhood has a variety of house ranging from bungalows to two storey apartments(most people live in apartments) houses. This provides diverse choices for those who don’t mind heights and those who do. But there are mostly two storey building houses. Due to this, there have been a lot of problems with these building and small children. While I lived there, there had been two cases of children jumping over the railings of these buildings. Most buildings in Surulere are painted white and this requires a lot of maintenance, so they are painted almost every year.
• Neighbours: In Nigeria, we have three major ethnicities: Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa. In Surulere, Igbo and Yoruba mostly reside in the neighbourhood. Most people prefer to live in houses with landlords and occupants of the same ethnicity. This help prevent quarrels and fights .Despite preventing fights, it does prevent the children from interacting with other ethnicity. This does inadvertently cause some children to be one minded.
• Major events: In Nigeria, we celebrate a lot. These celebration are mostly festival of the different ethnicities. During most of these celebrations the whole neighbourhood is involved. This makes the neighbourhood more lively and brings everybody together
Living in surulere has been an experience I will never forget and I consider it a very good place to live.
Surulere is a street located on the main land of lagos, Nigeria. It is about a mile and a half long with iron gates at each end of the street. The criteria I decided to evaluate surulere by are its appearance, neighbours and major events
• Appearance: the neighbourhood has a variety of house ranging from bungalows to two storey apartments(most people live in apartments) houses. This provides diverse choices for those who don’t mind heights and those who do. But there are mostly two storey building houses. Due to this, there have been a lot of problems with these building and small children. While I lived there, there had been two cases of children jumping over the railings of these buildings. Most buildings in Surulere are painted white and this requires a lot of maintenance, so they are painted almost every year.
• Neighbours: In Nigeria, we have three major ethnicities: Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa. In Surulere, Igbo and Yoruba mostly reside in the neighbourhood. Most people prefer to live in houses with landlords and occupants of the same ethnicity. This help prevent quarrels and fights .Despite preventing fights, it does prevent the children from interacting with other ethnicity. This does inadvertently cause some children to be one minded.
• Major events: In Nigeria, we celebrate a lot. These celebration are mostly festival of the different ethnicities. During most of these celebrations the whole neighbourhood is involved. This makes the neighbourhood more lively and brings everybody together
Living in surulere has been an experience I will never forget and I consider it a very good place to live.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Elektra:a movie review
The morning after I watched the movie "Elektra," I laid quietly on my bed. The thought of doing my laundry or anything else seemed too tiring, I just decided to lay there and enjoy the morning sun rising through my window shutters. Out of the blue, I thought “what if I could weave between bullets, spin in the air like a forming tornado, see the future for a brief moment or fight off bad guys like Jet li”. These were the things that Elektra could do
The movie "Elektra" tells the story of a woman who had one more opportunity to live again. This time she does it right and takes control of her life. She learns ancient martial arts and becomes an assassin at the same time, losing all sense of compassion. On one of her assignments, she is told to kill a man and his daughter, and from this assignment we start to see her regain a sense of compassion and form new relationships.
The movie’s downfall is it leaves its viewers wondering in the end, who the main antagonist was and were they eliminated, but like most movies the bad guys never completely go away. The movie is also predictable but you just want to see what amazing feat Elektra will perform next.
This movie tells us, especially women, that we can be superheroes in our own way and even if compassionate, we should not be taken too lightly. The movie also highlights the internal locus of control, where we are in control of our own destiny. So if you are looking for all those things in a movie, Elektra is the one.
LIVE LIFE PONDERING.
The movie "Elektra" tells the story of a woman who had one more opportunity to live again. This time she does it right and takes control of her life. She learns ancient martial arts and becomes an assassin at the same time, losing all sense of compassion. On one of her assignments, she is told to kill a man and his daughter, and from this assignment we start to see her regain a sense of compassion and form new relationships.
The movie’s downfall is it leaves its viewers wondering in the end, who the main antagonist was and were they eliminated, but like most movies the bad guys never completely go away. The movie is also predictable but you just want to see what amazing feat Elektra will perform next.
This movie tells us, especially women, that we can be superheroes in our own way and even if compassionate, we should not be taken too lightly. The movie also highlights the internal locus of control, where we are in control of our own destiny. So if you are looking for all those things in a movie, Elektra is the one.
LIVE LIFE PONDERING.
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