Category Archives: General

Actions or Words?

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I read or heard somewhere that people remember you for how you made them feel, not for what you said. With the exception of some great speakers and novelists I imagine this is very true because memory can be a tricky thing, so words can get mixed up in the fog of time. But how a person made me feel, whether good or bad, I remember. This has been something I’ve been reflecting on quite a bit lately… how I’ve made others feel in the past and how I am making those feel that are in my life now. A lot of guilt is part and parcel of depression I’ve been told, so I’m learning to realize that I can’t go back and “fix” what I’ve done that hurt people in the past. I can however make sure I don’t make those mistakes again. I can also focus on here and now and be aware of how I am making others feel in the present.

I think of my wife, my sons, my parents, my sister and her family and others as well and try to think of ways to let them know that I am very thankful and grateful that I have them in my life. I contemplate on how I may have made them feel in the past and how I can take steps to make their life happier. And it’s not just them, how I treat the cashier at the store, the waiter or waitress or the people who live down the road… it makes a difference in their day as well.

I realized I am a very reactionary person. If someone was rude to me, I reacted immediately, without even thinking about it, just tear into the person for being rude. I also realized that very reaction not only just made my day worse but also theirs. Nobody likes to be treated rudely, but most of the time reacting the way that, unfortunately, was my habit didn’t help matters any. It didn’t make the person treat me nicer the next time I saw them. Sure, they may have been silent the next time but their dislike for me was noticeable. It was still an uncomfortable experience. I’m finding it’s much better to just walk away, at least most of the time. That way my anger doesn’t escalate by engaging the person in a verbal brawl and I can let the matter go far more easily and not carry it around with me all day. Of course that’s easier said than done, but I’m working on it.

The point of this short post is simply that I believe what I read or heard about people remembering you for how you made them feel instead of what you say is true. It doesn’t matter if one can walk around giving flowery speeches and flattering words if the person’s actions tell an entirely different story. So I’m trying to be more aware of how I am making people feel. The old saying that actions speak louder than words seems all the more true when I think about this. Who knows, maybe by being more aware of how my actions are affecting people, I might just become a better person along the way. That would be a good thing!

Skill Inequalities

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Although I rarely rant or complain, I feel like this is something worth writing about. There is a point though, and I hope that comes through.

It bothers me that I can barely put effort into something and get a decent (or even excellent) grade, yet someone who works much, much harder than I gets a much lower grade. Although this is a prime example of how the “work hard to get rich” philosophy is not true. Not only does it imply that if you aren’t rich (or at least well off) that you are not working hard enough, it does not remotely reflect reality in both the academic and labor aspects of the world. I should not be able to put a maximum of two semi-focused hours into studying and thought about an exam and end up with a 79/80 grade (one of, if not the, highest in the class), but my friend, who spends many more focused hours studying and takes much more detailed notes in class, gets a considerably lower grade (64/80). It is sad to see someone who deserved, wanted, and needed the grade I got more than me get something much lower; this is a great source of guilt that haunts me. Of course, this is a single example of something I have experienced time and time again.

Another example I could use would be the AP Government exam. I spent a maximum of thirty minutes studying and looking over some notes. In reality, saying I spent thirty minutes is probably overestimating. Even though I barely put any effort in it, I got a 5 on the test, the highest possible and the only one (as far as I am aware of) to do so in my grade. My teacher even told me that I was one of the only ones out of the last ten or so years.

One good response might be that I am a better test taker than others. I would reply with a two-fold answer, the first part being that this is not something that happens only in tests but on smaller assignments, too. This is not to mention that it happens to other people in everyday life, hence the wide income gap that is present (not to say that some of them did not work hard). It seems that if I put even a small amount of effort into these certain tasks, I have a great result. It may not be the same way in every subject field, for I do not possess the same prowess in math. This, though, gets me to my next reply: the fact that I am better in these certain things is exactly my point. It is not fair that someone should struggle in something that I do not even have to remotely try at.

This leads me into a more philosophical, if not practical, look at it. This ability is something that seems to come naturally to me. I never took a class on how to take tests or anything like that; I have received the same “training,” so to say, as everyone else. When we value certain natural-born skills over others (which is reflected in wages, prestige, benefits, etc.), this leads to a very unjust inequality. It simply is not true that if you work hard enough you will become rich, “succeed in life,” etc. I have no doubt that the people who built the buildings I learn in worked just as hard, if not harder, than the people who teach in it. Of course, the construction workers may not have worked for the same amount of time as the professors, but even when you compare it by hour the difference is highly noticeable. You can see this in almost every field. We value (and therefore respect and pay better as well) our doctors and lawyers more than we value our janitors and social workers. All of these jobs, I would argue, play a very important role in society.

Recently, one of my professors brought up an edition of the Daily Texan (Tuesday, October 12, 2010) in class. On the front page, the salaries of different jobs at the university are displayed in a graph, as well as another outline below with certain individuals. Neglecting the fact that women are payed between $4,000 and $14,000 (depending on their spot in the hierarchy), there are vast disparities in the jobs as well. I was shocked to see that a full-fledged professor at the university (supposing that person is a male) makes $134,597 a year on average. Associate professors make around $91,001, and the farther down the ladder the lower the pay with lecturers getting $50,157. Help desk specialists make $46,128 and library assistants make around $27,144. Although merit-based pay scales are understandable (as well as a topic I do not wish to tackle right now), these are huge gaps in the pay rolls for jobs that are all needed. The list does not include other jobs such as the construction workers who are working to add on and construct new buildings or janitors who clean up everything. Even if there is some twisted “fairness” in this, I do not think Mack Brown, the head football coach (of which there are rarely any women in football coaching), needs to make $5.1 million a year.

Not only are these large iniquities noticeable on the campus, they permeate the campus itself. A college campus is one of the safest, most affluent places in the world. When everyone pays for tuition, housing, and other college necessities (which in many cases is near the poverty line, a number that 1 out of 10 people live under) there is often money left over. There have been many revealing studies, as well as many cases that people experience themselves regularly, which show that the richer students go to college (and often the better colleges, at that). Across I-35 is what is called “East Austin,” the poorer part of the city which is glaringly poorer than the campus (as well as other parts of Austin). If I were to walk just a few miles, I could see the exact opposite of the affluence that I encounter daily. What is sad is that poverty in America is often “less harsh” than that of other countries. Nonetheless, we continue about our days usually not even thinking about the fact that millions of people live off of less than what it costs to buy something off of a dollar menu. Perhaps we think it is not our problem, that is, if we think about it at all.

While these injustices bother me rather often, when they are presented at the same time it can be overwhelming, which is, almost undoubtedly, the causation of this writing. Every night I go to bed worrying not about a test the next day or an assignment due, but about the situation of the world we live in and the guilt that I have of playing a part in it. As I lay down in my bed (which is, sadly, almost four feet off the ground) I think that there are many who would like to have a bed, or shelter for that matter, of any sort. I realize that people have no food and tens of thousands die of starvation daily. I realize that billions of people will not get the amount of money I pay for tuition in not only a year, but even decades or a lifetime. I have the access to medicines and sanitation that people in other places could not even imagine. Not only that, but the technology I encounter every day is something that some people will never see in their lifetime (which is also statistically lower than mine). I am able to throw away trash which is then relocated to landfills or incinerators that are placed conspicuously near poor neighborhoods. All of this runs through my head throughout the day and particularly as I try to sleep at night. Maybe it’s as the saying goes “the first step to solving a problem is realizing there is one.” Hopefully, one day we will have a solution to all of this, for everyone’s sake.

College Knowledge 4: Money (f)or Motivation?

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Today in business, we are often told that money is the motivating factor for workers. But what if this was wrong? What if there were other things that actually motivated people to perform better when working?

Actually, money is a motivator, but only for basic tasks such as mechanical skills. In other jobs, those that require any cognitive skill, money stops motivating people after a certain level. Sociologists have found that there are three things that improve performance in workers (as well as worker happiness): autonomy, mastery, and purpose. People do their jobs more efficiently when they can do it without being completely controlled by their bosses. But before I get too far into it, check out the video. It’s really good and we’ve even watched some of these videos in my college courses.



Blades

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I have a fascination with blades, especially swords. I have since I was a kid, but it really ramped up when I began studying martial arts in the 80s. Over the years I have been able to obtain and collect some really nice ones. Everything from some fairly small throwing knives, to bowies, tanto and when I was making good money before the economy fell in the gutter I was able to have some very nice swords shipped to me. Three of them. Two katana and one Chinese “oxtail”. I bought these very nice swords (and very expensive too, I had to space them out over a period of time) for my three sons, to pass to them so they could pass them to their children and so on. I’m glad I did while I could afford it. These swords are the “real deal” and can be passed from generation to generation. Somehow that’s important to me. I wanted to have something that could be passed down to generations like that.

The picture above is of some random blades, an oxtail (not high quality but still a cutter), three throwing knives, a sword that I refashioned the blade on and above that a wakizashi that I am working on (notice the black electrical tape holding things in place while I get the ‘furniture’ ready for it) and above that 3 hand knives and two short (but fast) swords.

In this picture above are some good quality blades. The katana pictured has been with me for almost 30 years. Above that is my son’s jian (sometimes called a Tai Chi sword) and at the bottom a very nice bowie that my wife gave me as a gift.

In this picture are the very nice and very high quality swords. These have hand forged blades made and tempered in the traditional style. These are the swords that I mentioned above that will be passed from generation to generation. Two katana and an oxtail. The katana in the middle is completely traditional down to the furniture and single mekugi (peg). The same (ray skin) is authentic as well.

A nice tanto that I have had for over 20 years.

All these blades mean a lot to me. But especially the three very nice ones that will become heirlooms.

Weapons and Laws

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My son (and co-blogger) goes to UT in Austin. If you read his post about the gunman on campus, you of course already know this. That incident was disturbing, frightening and had a profound effect on many. Families worried about their kids at school, glued to feeds coming via text, TV, Internet and so on. It didn’t last long, but a thing like that doesn’t have to last very long to have an impact. As for myself, I still wonder what was going through the young man’s mind. Although he certainly had the opportunity he did not hurt anyone, he shot himself. All that I have read about him seemed to say he was very intelligent, “meticulous” and also perhaps lonely. I’ll never know what he was thinking or what ultimately lead him to that course of events. But I can’t help but wonder. Depression? Loneliness? Financial problems? All of these things, whether alone or combined, have driven people to suicide.

My son says that there are now a lot of debates going on there about gun control. This is inevitable. Whenever something like this happens, gun control inevitably comes up. I used to have a FFL (federal firearms license). I had to have it in order to do gun-smithing. There are so many gun laws already in place (an enormous amount of them came in to play via the Clinton administration). So many in fact that one would be hard-pressed to know them all. But the simple fact is, it’s already against the law to kill someone. That’s just a simple, straightforward law that everyone is aware of. Does it stop murder from happening? Of course not. Do gun laws stop gangs, drug dealers and organized criminal groups from obtaining guns. No. It can be likened to drug laws. Do drug laws actually stop people from obtaining, using and selling illegal drugs? Of course not. Some things are very simple. And the simple fact is that law abiding citizens will obey laws, while criminals, by their very nature, will simply ignore and circumvent those laws. They will find a way to get the illegal item they want whether it be guns or drugs or both.

In the UK where guns are far more restricted and controlled, people are still shooting each other. Not on the scale of US shootings, but, they are certainly still killing one another at an astounding rate. Stabbings in the UK are so common that I read about at least one story a day and that’s just from a single source. Just in the last two weeks there have also been as many shootings, and again, just reading from a single source. People, unfortunately, are always going to find ways to kill other people. If somehow one could magically make every single firearm in the US just disappear, stabbings would skyrocket the way they have in the UK. Then what? Start regulating blades? The UK does that already too! So does Japan. Both still have people stabbed to death, though I will be the first to admit not in Japan anywhere near the rate that happens in the UK. Still, it does happen. A while back a man in Japan drove to a crowded center, got out of his vehicle and began stabbing and slashing people with a wakizashi (short sword). He was able to kill and seriously injure several people before he was stopped. Swords, of any type, are heavily regulated in Japan. Perhaps because they know the devastation a sword in skilled hands can wreak better than any other country. The UK also heavily regulates swords of any type, with katana being banned! Of course there are exceptions to the law regarding katana, such as regarding to martial arts and genuine, quality swords but for all intents and purposes they are illegal.

This just goes to show that no matter what laws are in place, no matter what is regulated, criminals will continue to be criminals. This is certainly not to say there should be no laws whatsoever. It is only to say that throwing yet more laws and regulations at weapons is simply “feel-good regulation”. It makes the law makers happy, the gun or sword “anti” groups happy, but it does little to nothing at all to stop criminals from getting them. Nor does it stop people from killing other people.

It is somewhat ironic that just as this happened at UT, there was to be a lecture, a speaker come and provide numbers and studies that showed that in places where citizens are allowed to carry weapons, crime rates went down. Significantly. Bad timing to say the least! Still there is the fact that if a criminal knows a person is armed, that person is less likely to become a victim. The criminal will obviously want an easier, “safer” target. In other words, a target that is not as likely to kill him. Of course there are exceptions to that as well since there are some that are just truly insane. But there is no denying the fact that an armed citizen poses much more of a risk and threat to a criminal than an unarmed one. I have seen the “experiments” where the show’s producers gave people “guns” and then had an “attacker” come in unexpectedly and begin firing their “gun” at people. Of course, the person the producers gave the gun to inevitably either could not get their gun out fast enough or, if they did, could not even “hit” the attacker. Biased and lopsided to say the least. Put that gun in the hands of a hunter or someone who knows how to shoot and the entire scene is different. But of course that would ruin the show’s agenda so they couldn’t show that.

I own guns. I also own more blades than I can count right off hand. I also own katana. I know how to use them all, guns or blades. I come from a family of hunters, I’ve been shooting since almost as long as I can remember. As for the blades and katana, I was trained to use those via traditional martail arts. A funny thing to me is that so many here in the US seem to completely underestimate a blade, even almost scoff at them. But the fact is many people survive gunshots. A person will not survive a cut with a katana if it was made by a person trained in kendo or iaido. I am not trying to be morbid, I am simply trying to point out that if the people who want to outlaw all guns had their way, and more, all guns just somehow disappeared, that people would turn to other means as they have in the UK.

The world, unfortunately, can be a very dangerous place. But I think instead of throwing yet more and more legislation at guns, perhaps we should start with simply enforcing the laws already in place. Because even if guns went away, then there would be blades, if you made all the blades go away then there would be clubs and baseball bats or even bows and arrows. The underlying problem, that of some people willing to kill other people, will not go away by throwing laws at objects.

UT Shooting – My Experience

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So, as you probably know, there was a gunman on the UT campus. This is scary on any college campus, but UT in particular knows what it is like to lose students to a situation like this. There are news reports all over the place, but what I want to do is give what was happening from my perspective. Things like this happen, and everyone has a different account, so here is mine.

On a normal Tuesday my first class starts at 9:30, but I like to get there around 9:00 so I can read over the assignment one more time before class starts. I woke up today (Tuesday, September 28th) around 8:20. Two weeks ago, I would have been up and almost ready at that time, but my class was moved from the UTC to Burdine for an unknown (to me) reason. For those who don’t know the UT campus well, the UTC is pretty much part of the Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) and I walk past it every day. I live at one of the northernmost points on campus, in Duren Hall. But today I had the luxury of sleeping in since my class had been moved.

At 8:22, being barely awake and still in bed, I received a text from the university’s alert system saying “UT Alert: Armed subject reported last seen at Perry-Castañeda Library…details to follow.” I thought little of it, thinking maybe someone had a knife or something, or that it could be a test. I continued to get ready and was about to leave when at 8:43 I received a second message saying: “UT Alert: Armed subject reported last seen at Perry-Castañeda Library shelter in place stay where you are at more information to follow.” That got my attention, and prompted me to turn my computer on. My roommate, Alex, got the message about a minute later and turned on the TV. We started seeing news reports about what was going on. Around this time I decided to keep people on Facebook updated on the situation. Along with this, I called my mom and sent out some texts to let everyone know I was okay. At first they reported someone had been shot, and there were multiple departments here (at this time UTPD, Austin PD, Texas Rangers, and possibly SWAT) covering the area. I started reading a few blogposts about what was going on, and it became real very fast. We knew that multiple shots had been fired and the central focus was on the library and the McComb’s School of Business (on the opposite corner of the library). By this time we had noticed the alarm siren that was going off on campus.

Within a few minutes of having my computer up, the main desk at the dorm made an announcement over the intercom telling us not to leave, to lock our doors and stay in, and to turn lights off and stay away from windows. At 8:56 I received an email from the housing department with a similar message to that of the prvious text messages. The next thing we knew, the TV feed went off and all the channels went to an alert letting us know that there was a shooter and said the similar things to what had just come on the intercom. Around 9:00 or 9:10 Alex and I heard police sirens and were able to see vehicles pass by on the street next to our dorm. At first, two groups of police cars went by (about 4-5 in each), some APD and possibly some Highway Patrol escorting an armored SWAT van. Within a minute or two of that, a few more cruisers came by along with a vehicle pulling a tank-like vehicle with heavy armor.

Because we no longer had TV, we had to stream the news from the internet, which we did from Alex’s computer while I refreshed and searched for news articles and blogs. There were rumors that the gunman was down on the 6th floor of the library, but that there might have been a second shooter. There was also speculation that the shooter had changed clothes, due to confounding descriptions of witnesses. By this time there were also helicopters circling campus, and buses were being turned away and prevented from entering. Soon after, it was confirmed that the shooter was dead, but that there was a second one still missing and they weren’t even sure if it was a student.

A little after 9:30, I had gone to the UT emergency site, which said, “The university is closed. A suspected shooter in PCL library is dead. Law enforcement are searching for a second suspect. If you are off campus, STAY AWAY. If you are on campus, lock doors, do not leave your building.” There was more information becoming available, and reports of the gunman being dressed in a suit, 6’2″, student-aged, with an automatic weapon, and that he had been shooting randomly at the street and not at people. There were also reports of the shooter being in a white shirt with a tie, as well as a yellow shirt. Reports like these led police to believe that there was a possible second suspect. Reports of the number of shots varied from 2 all the way up to 25.

At 9:53, I received an email from UT President Bill Powers saying,
“In the interest of keeping you up to date on the current emergency, I want you to know that the campus remains locked down. All students, faculty, staff, and visitors should stay indoors and continue to follow instructions (from loudspeakers, email, text messages, and uniformed police officers). You will be notified when the situation becomes stable. The armed suspect is dead. No other injuries have been reported. All organized classes for today, September 28, are canceled. Please continue to monitor email and the UT home page for updates. Thank you for your cooperation. Bill Powers President”
Around 10:10 the news, as well as the UT site, was reporting that the campus was closed and all classes and organized events were canceled for the day as well, and at 10:19 I received a text saying a shortened version of what was in the email. Three minutes later I got an email from the hall coordinator, as well. At 10:28, I had a professor email me saying that even if things were resolved soon, there would be no class. Rumors of the assailant having an AK-47 were spreading, and the SWAT team had just entered the Calhoun building, which was a bit closer to my dorm but not close enough to really worry. They had two of the major roads near campus blocked off, as well as the campus roads, and no injuries other than a sprained ankle from someone running away and another minor injury were reported.

At 10:42 I received an email from my academic advisor saying, “Students, I know you have heard the news by now but please do not come to campus today. The 3rd floor of WAG has been sequestered by armed SWAT teams to a single classroom. I have borrowed someone’s laptop but do not have computer access. Please stay safe.” Waggener is the location of one of my classes, and around this time there were reports of Welch Hall being completely evacuated as students were asked to come out with their hands up. Welch is a large science hall about the size of a 3A high school. The SWAT teams then went through the entire building checking for a second gunman.

Around 11:00 reports of the “Six Pack” buildings being cleared and students there being moved further north on campus, as well as SWAT in the nanotechnology building were coming in. The “Six Pack” is a group of six academic halls near the Tower, and the nanotechnology building was a few blocks from my dorm. A Facebook feed of one of Alex’s friends said that he had been “rushed by a sniper.” About ten minutes after this, it was confirmed by a press conference with the police chiefs and other officials that the weapon was an AK-47 and that the second suspect, whether armed or not, was still being searched for. The wording from them suggested that they might not actually think there was a second shooter. At that time they had K9 units sniffing for bombs and they also had a ram to take down any doors necessary.

Between 11:40 and 12:00, my dorm went out of lockdown and we were allowed to leave. At 12:07 I got an email from the UT President saying that dorms were starting to be opened up and that classes would resume tomorrow. 7 minutes later, I received a text from the alert system encouraging people to leave campus or return to their residence halls.Around that time, they had come over the intercom the third or fourth time, but this time we were told that it was okay to leave. The TV feed came back on and the news channels were calling it an “evacuation.” Some dorms opened up earlier than others, and eventually everything but the library was opened. At 12:25, a text saying “The incident is ALL CLEAR.” buzzed on my phone and the situation started to wind down. The possibility of a second gunman was soon ruled out, and people soon returned to the streets.

The university is providing counseling for those who want/need it and the police responded very well. Students also played a big role by directing the police to the gunman, who was later reported to be Colton Tooley, a sophomore math major (R.I.P.). It’s always sad when these things happen, but we are all very lucky that the situation went the way it did; it could have been much worse.

College Knowledge 3: Racism in America

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We all know, and have probably been either victim or perpetrator, of some form of racism. I’ve learned of some interesting facts/statistics and I thought that I might share some of them. Of course, this isn’t all there is on this subject – far from it. There are other things such as environmental racism (dangerous factories are closer to nonwhite neighborhoods),how a white man with a high school diploma makes more on average than a black woman with a B.A., and many other things. Things like this shouldn’t be happening, it’s sad and wrong. People may disagree on how it should be fixed, but I doubt anyone could deny that even today people still suffer because of their race.

Oh, by the way, there’s a funny Colbert clip at the bottom, which I hope everyone enjoys.

  • Black men with no criminal record are less likely to get a job than a white man convicted of a felony. Check it out here on the fourth page.
  • People with “white” names such as “Jane” or “Emily” are 50% more likely to be called for a job interview than people with names like “Jamal” or “Lakisha.” Here is the study.
  • Poorer neighborhoods in big cities inevitably have worse education than those in more affluent neighborhoods. Because over half of property taxes go to funding education, when housing values are low, the money flowing into the schools reflects that. This results in lower paid teachers, less resources such as textbooks and computers, and lower test scores. According to this study based off of the census, 35.4% of African American children live in poverty, 33.1% of Hispanic children, 13.3% of Asian children, and 11.9% of white children. This doesn’t even mention Native Americans, who often suffer some of the worst discrimination.
  • Crack cocaine, which is considered a “black drug,” is much more punished than powder cocaine, which is considered a “white drug.” Although they are both very hazardous and cost about the same, 5 grams of crack will get you the same amount of prison time as 500 grams of powder cocaine. Check the chart out here.
  • Places with the most immigrants actually have the lowest crime rates. There are many places where this is documented, look here, here, and here, for instance. The last one even notes how, as immigration goes up, homicide rates go down. “The first-generation immigrants (those born outside the United States) in our study were 45 percent less likely to commit violence than were third-generation Americans.”
  • 1 out of every 100 Americans is in jail, we have the highest rate of imprisonment in the world, both in numbers and percentages. 13 out of every 100 blacks are arrested each year, yet only 5 out of every 100 whites are arrested per year. Look at this study. Here’s a funny clip from Colbert parodying the current prison situation:
The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word – Americon Dream
www.colbertnation.com

Study on Health Benefits of Alcohol Flawed?

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Recently, the University of Texas at Austin published a news story stating that there were health benefits to drinking “moderate amounts of alcohol.” The study claims that moderate drinking helps middle aged and older adults to live longer. Now, this often becomes a matter of personal belief: if you believe that drinking is fine then this is great news, but if you don’t approve of drinking as much then you probably won’t like these results. Of course, we must put our personal feelings aside when we want to think clearly and analyze things. Now, I’m sure that this post will make evident my opinion on alcohol, but that doesn’t mean I disapprove completely. I personally won’t drink though, and never have.

There have been similar studies that had results such this, but I have always questioned their accuracy. I’m not going to make this post about alcohol use, because I want to focus on this study. Here is a quote from the article:

“Findings show a substantial part of the survival effect for moderate drinking among older adults is explained by confounding factors associated with alcohol abstention. Compared to moderate drinkers, abstainers in the study sample included many former problem drinkers and individuals with more health problems and health risk factors (such as lower physical activity and more cigarette smoking) compared to moderate drinkers.”

I haven’t seen the full study, data, etc. but I think the problem is summed up in this paragraph alone. Once I saw this, I honestly wondered if it was a satire article. If you are going to study the health benefits of something, you can’t have one group start out healthier than the other. The abstainers in this test already had health problems, making them more likely to die earlier than someone with healthier pasts/habits. If I have a bad health history (such as lower physical activity and smoking), I’m more likely to have an earlier death whether I drink moderately or not. I think this should be obvious to anyone who looks at this study even briefly. If you are going to do a study on the health benefits, or lack thereof, of alcohol, then the abstainers (and those who drink as well) need to be similar in health history and habits. If this isn’t done, then the results won’t be accurate.

I think it was very misleading to put the title as “Moderate Drinking Helps Middle-Aged and Older People Live Longer, Research Shows.” All this is going to do is empower people to drink and give them more of a reason to do so. This isn’t the best thing to do on a college campus in any case. Not to mention that the results are skewed and most likely false, so I find it disappointing that this was on the home page of the university. My personal opinion aside, the ones who did the study should be more careful before publishing a study with confounding variables.

College Knowledge 2: The Sequel

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I hope everyone else enjoyed the last group of these that I posted, I know I had fun writing them, I like the idea of spreading what I learn (and think about) in college to other people. Now, I knew some of this stuff, and I wouldn’t be surprised if others did too, but they are fun to think about. I thought this would be a good way to sum up what I learned last week and get ready to start off a new week!

  • Francis Bellamy, the author of the US Pledge, was a socialist. He was a Christian Socialist to be exact, and a Baptist minister as well. The original salute to the flag was actually an outstretched arm directed at the flag, very similar to the Nazi salute. It was changed on December 22, 1942 to reduce controversy, but there were objections to the change that continued on for some time.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellamy_salute

  • There is pretty much no such thing as a “natural disaster.” Yes, there are natural events that are devastating and dangerous, and by no means am I trying to downplay the effects of these natural events, but in today’s world we have the ability to prevent the majority of damage that can be caused by such things. For example, the earthquake in Haiti was extremely devastating, killing between 92,000 – 230,000 people and was on a 7.0. It was the 6th deadliest earthquake recorded. The earthquake in Chili, however, was an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and “only” killed 521 and left 56 missing, and it took place less than two months after the Haitian earthquake. Why the huge difference? The main reason was socio-economically related. The people in Haiti were not as well equipped to withstand such an earthquake, they were poor and their buildings were testament to that. In Katrina, the reason many didn’t leave is because over 25% of the population didn’t own a vehicle, and they also had a tradition of riding out the storm. Others were living on a paycheck to paycheck basis, and since the storm came towards the end of the month, they had no money to get things ready to leave their houses. We can prevent many causalities from these events if our society would make a collective effort to do so, although it might take a drastic change in our lifestyles and politics to do so.

  • The sentiment that we shouldn’t worry about other people’s health isn’t necessarily a good, or even safe, one. Of course, I could go into the morality of it, saying that it is bad to let others suffer (which I believe it is), but even on a practical level for ourselves, we should have an interest in other people’s health. Even if it were to cost us to make sure people have good health, and this goes back to a previous post I made mentioning preventative health care, those who would be sick would be walking around in public exposing others to their illness. That is when it becomes everyone’s problem, because it then has a chance to get around to us.

  • We never see the “dark side” of the moon, which actually isn’t any more or less dark than the side we see. The moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that it orbits the earth, and even when the moon is dark we are seeing the same side that has the man or rabbit in the moon. Both sides of the moon get equal amounts of light and the combination of the moon’s rotation and orbit along with the Earth’s rotation and orbit make it where we always see the same side at all times. What we call the “dark side” of the moon is actually just the side that we can’t see.

I haven’t decided whether or not I’m going to keep coming up with catchy cliche titles like this one, I guess it’ll we will see, though. I still have longer ideas waiting to be put into words, and hopefully I will have time to do so soon, but college involves a lot of reading and studying from what I’ve noticed. Until I do though I’ll be working them out and adding to the list, I hope everyone has a great week!

Acts of Kindness

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If we look around us it doesn’t take long to notice that there is someone in need of something just about everywhere. It may not be obvious, and they may not make it known, but there are things we can do that can really make a difference in someone’s day. Kindness can be something we overlook, but can be one of the most influential forces we have. Just one nice thing can turn someone’s day around, just as one mean thing can do the opposite. Every major world religion teaches kindness; it is a unifying force within all of them. Even many people who aren’t religious realize that it is important to lend a helping hand. I came up with a list of a few small things to make a change is someone’s day that everyone can do at sometime or another, hopefully each day. Of course, don’t feel constrained to this list, be creative and come up with your own ways to be kind. Doing even one of these a day will get a smile, if not more. But don’t do it for the reward though, kindness is a reward within itself, you just have to let it be. Trust me, it will be worth it!

  1. Open the door for someone who has their hands full, or even offer to help them carry it. Everyone knows what it feels like to be overburdened when you are carrying things, and opening the door can be extremely difficult, and it is always nice to have someone open it.
  2. If you see someone at a vending machine that is having trouble finding enough money, offer to help pay for what they were about to buy.
  3. Compliment friends and family on something randomly. Most people enjoy getting nice things said to them, and it is even more fun when it is unexpected. This also would work well with a cashier or employee somewhere, it would really brighten their day.
  4. When you leave a fast food restaurant, wipe off the salt or whatever is left on the table and seats to help the workers and the people who eat there next. They usually make rounds to clean all the tables, but many people turn down an otherwise good seat when there is just a little salt or pepper on the table. Don’t be afraid to pick up trash, even if it isn’t your own.
  5. Sit with someone who is sitting alone if you think they are lonely. Some people intentionally sit alone, but at places like a college campus, there are people who don’t have anyone to talk to at the time. People usually don’t go to a crowded place to be alone; if they wanted to be alone, why not just go home or to their dorm? Of course, use your best judgment in any such situation.
  6. Let someone go when you meet at a stop light or if they are crossing the street, even if you are in a hurry. We often get in a rush and it is times like that in which we often miss out on opportunities to be kind.
  7. Leave some money in the return slot on a vending machine. I know from experience how exciting it is to find money in there, and it has even helped pay for my snack once.
  8. Let a person merge into you lane on a crowded highway. Interstates can be very frustrating for everyone, so help someone’s trip be better by letting them get out of a slow lane or one that is about to end.
  9. If you are in a crowded room, classroom, or even on a bus or something, offer your seat to someone who needs it like the elderly, the pregnant, etc. They’ll really appreciate that you gave your comfort up so they could be accommodated.
  10. This may be the biggest on the list, but pay for the next person’s order in a drive-through or cafeteria. If you have some extra money, this “Starbucks” style idea can start a chain, and even if it didn’t it can really help another person out. On the same note, carry around an extra water bottle and give it to someone who looks like they need it, or even buy a crate and hand them out on the street.

Sometimes it may seem like a burden to be kind, but doing good is like a flower – sometimes it takes a while to bloom, but when it does you realize it was worth all the effort.