Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Common People and complex gear
Black holes, Steven Hawkins told us they exist now scientists have figured out how to make them. Not sure what they may be used for since they are almost none existent. If you could make bill gates income for as long as they exist than you could buy a hamburger. I mean what’s the big deal, so we made a black hole, we can’t use it for anything. Its like a Furbie, it has no use.
Monday, November 14, 2005
The OC
The OC is one of my favorite television shows and one of the most popular shows among people my age. It is intriguing because of the various types of relationships and the tensions that always seem to occur. The OC portrays families living in Orange County, California. Orange County is a very rich city where people live in mansions, drive fancy cars and spend vacations on tiny islands in the Pacific. Within this wealthy lifestyle there are these two questions that arise: are people punished or rewarded for wrongdoings and does God have a role in their lives?”
Saturday, November 12, 2005
The Relationship between War and Diplomacy
In his article “Power and Persuasion” Frederick Kagan addresses the issue of how diplomacy and war are related. Many people in the world believe that military action is nothing less than the failure of diplomacy; however, Kagan points out in his article that diplomacy without force will not work. As an example of this Kagan uses the fact that North Korea has ignored all diplomatic attempts by the United States to prevent them from creating nuclear weapons because, the attempts have not been backed by military force. Without the threat of military force Kim Jong Il has no reason to comply with U.S. demands because there is no threat to him. Kagan, though, does warn that military action cannot be successful without diplomacy. He uses Napoleon as an example of this. Napoleon’s military succeeded in defeating almost every opponent that they encountered however, because Napoleon failed diplomatically the other European powers began to fear him and created coalitions that succeeded in completely defeating him. In Kagan’s opinion in order for diplomacy to be effective it must be backed by a demonstrated willingness to use force. In addition, when force is used in order for a lasting peace to be attained several conditions must be met. First, the military action must be decisive enough to deter the enemy from wishing to engage in another war. Second, the victorious power must be willing to give peace terms that are acceptable to both sides involved and to the rest of the world in general. Finally, the country that wins the war must also remain engaged with the country it defeated in order to repair and restore the country and in this way to win the respect and even support of the defeated peoples. A great example of such diplomacy is the rebuilding of Europe and Japan after World War Two when the victorious Americans set out peace terms, and provided economic support that were acceptable to Germany and Japan and caused them to forgo another war. Such support also helped to transform the former enemies into strong friends.
Friday, November 11, 2005
E.J. goes to Microsoft
Mucho congrats to our classmate E.J., who’s hanging out with Bill Gates at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash. E.J. is one of five nationwide winners in Microsoft’s Start Something Amazing contest. A story on E.J. is currently featured at www.calvin.edu; check it out. Here is the direct link. It includes a video clip on E.J.‘s award-winning project.
Friday, November 04, 2005
Deer Cameras
Apparently the blog world has heard about these deer cameras. Engadget, a blog I read often, has a story about them.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Autumn’s Splendor
“Fresh, vibrant June passes to a languid, slow July. Then comes a turning point, when summer suddenly feels utterly tiresome” (Springer 110). Autumn has come, and nature is gradually changing. The once warm and pleasant attitude of the forest slowly turns dull as the get ready for the harsh winter ahead of it. The tall, towering oak trees tower surround the forest like a castle wall; protecting everything within from the harsh elements to come. The brisk, ruthless wind blows at every inch of them trying to get them to budge, but they stand strong like a wall of soldiers ready to go to battle. Their enormous trunks are cemented into the ground like the support beams for the Sears Tower. The ground around them is scattered with layers of red and orange painted leaves, which continually sway to the ground one by one like skydivers jumping out of a plane. They provide a blanket for twisted roots below. Bark encompasses the entire base of the tree, sheltering the insides of the tree. Amber tree sap oozes out of every nook and cranny of the bark, and looks as though the bark were bleeding from many years of painful service. It has the marks of an aged warrior. Pieces of battered bark peel from the tree as they leave hundreds of years of memories behind. The branches of the tree, now almost completely naked, jostle around in the wind as to spook off intruders to its domain. A few lucky few leaves still remain attached to the branches. They desperately hang on as the wind loosens their grip, and will soon batter them off into the depths of the dark, silent, and gloomy forest. It is hard to imagine that these aging trees stood tall ages before our ancestors.
Letters as Pictures?
The statement that “letters began as pictures” sounds like a metaphor, but surprisingly it is not. This statement actually goes all the way back to the origins of the first known alphabet, which was created by the Phoenicians around 1000 B.C. The Phoenicians somewhat integrated hieroglyphics with now a day letters. The Phoenicians used letter shapes to describe a word. These letter shapes were not full pictures, but were shaped in a fashion as to signify its meaning appropriately. This system or alphabet made by the Phoenicians first consisted of 22 common noises. This system was then spread worldwide to many different trading partners of the Phoenicians; such as Greece. The Phoenician alphabet was then changed by the Greeks, and soon for Latin. After many centuries, the changed Phoenician alphabet was adapted for the English. This was a very long and intriguing process, and the Phoenician letters A and K are two great examples of how this change took place.
Waiting Isn’t Easy
Henri Nouwen’s quote about waiting is right on track with American society. American culture is very scary because it continually pressures Americans to do things. For teens, it commands that people go to college, get a job, and get married. Waiting just seems to be against what Americans should do, it almost seems evil. If people wait, they are useless and get nothing done. As Henri says, “waiting is not a popular attitude”.