Sugar in a Glass

"Sugar in a Glass"

My head is aswim with dreams.
They swirl and swirl like sugar in a glass.
How they swirl around
Go up and down
Three dimensions, four, five,
And then the colors come alive!
How am I to speak?

My head is aswim with dreams.
I feel the need to speak, to sing
But never to move my lips.

Heavy eyes in silence.
Lacrimation held at bay.
Save them for another day.
Something else is in the way:

I cannot be alone.
One cannot recycle and evolve.
The twain shall never meet.
Three new faces: yours and mine,
And one we won’t admit to sharing.

The swirling cyclone calms.
Still I write this perfect psalm
Emerging from the dank morass.
Sweet like sugar in a glass.

©2009 David Dynes.

Paul Had a Possum

English class exercise. Sensory paragraph about an unusual pet. Got away with not having to read it in class (lol) but here it is:

"Paul Had a Possum"

Paul had a possum with a purulent pimple. It ate with the fervor so carnal and simple, devouring the pizza but forsaking the taste. The smell of the sausage was filling the place, and Paul became so hungry that he confiscated the pizza from the malnourished marsupial. Paul's possum let out a vociferous screech, and leapt out at Paul with a furious reach of his razor-sharp claws! This is so crucial because Paul contracted rabies, foamed at the mouth and bit both his babies and his beautiful wife, thus ending their lives. Paul's family now is deceased.

EN211 Exercise #1: Five Senses

Assignment: to write a paragraph describing my favourite and least favourite body part, incorporating all five senses.

The Elixir Savors of Salt and Sugar

The elixir savors of salt and sugar, as electricity tickles the tongue in time with the flicker of her irises. I behold her azure eyes, mesmerized by her shrewdest of gazes, as if she were an owl high in the boughs of the mightiest oak, observing in detail the snowy woodlands below: seeming not only to see the trees themselves, but seeing through the opacity of the bark, the xylem, the phloem, and the random smokescreen of distant twigs, debris and falling snow, sadistically watching the rabbits and deer ravage in fear of starvation! The famished doe bites at the bark of the birch, rank with the scent of her suitors, exposing the naked wooden flesh to the harshest of elements, incognizant of its lifeblood chilling to a crawl – lo, that perfect elixir of salt and sugar, streaming as a tear down her soft alabaster cheeks, their smooth surfaces disrupted by the texture of the frigid air. Through the steam of her breath we behold one another, our gazes suspended in time. As the mystical potion sublimates on my tongue, ions sparkle across my taste buds, and I finally comprehend that which I love most about her: the wonderful mind behind her eyes.

The Hue of Ham

I slouched on the couch a moment ago, my hands clasped tightly against my face. I hardly but notice the ache anymore, it seems; every time I eat, however, the dull aching drenches my mandible. Each joint in my bones crackles and creaks as would a wooden door whose hinges haven’t been oiled since Millard Filmore knew nothing. In a vain attempt to distract myself from my anguishing fangs and the deafening song of their sorrow, I bite at my flesh with the crags that remain of what once were my molars. Years of enduring this have taken their toll, and my pink fleshy jowls are littered with keloids: I try and I try, but they just won’t bleed! How I lust for the tang and the rust of the taste of that beautiful crimson charm! In defeat I close my eyes, donning the rose-colored shades of pain. The soulless white glow of the laptop is further reduced to the numbest of pinks, a color the hue of ham. The somatic sensations pulse to the rhythm of my palpitating heart: the lone standing drummer asserting himself in the cacophony splitting my ears. Life goes on so I open my eyes: though I am wont to forgo, I am forced to forget.

The things you do when you're bored and lonely.

Like listen to weird techno music: http://www.cardamar.com/mixes.html
Find anagrams: http://wordsmith.org/anagram
LOLcats: http://icanhascheezburger.com

Yup.

While I'm on a quiz kick...

...the Belief-O-Matic. It's about the 20th time I've taken this, and it's different every time, but the first two are almost always 100% and 96%ish.

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx

My results:

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Neo-Pagan (96%)
3. Secular Humanism (82%)
4. Liberal Quakers (81%)
5. Theravada Buddhism (78%)
6. New Age (75%)
7. Reform Judaism (64%)
8. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (64%)
9. Nontheist (63%)
10. Mahayana Buddhism (59%)
11. Baha'i Faith (46%)
12. Orthodox Judaism (46%)
13. New Thought (45%)
14. Taoism (41%)
15. Scientology (41%)
16. Sikhism (40%)
17. Jainism (39%)
18. Hinduism (37%)
19. Islam (36%)
20. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (29%)
21. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (27%)
22. Orthodox Quaker (26%)
23. Eastern Orthodox (25%)
24. Roman Catholic (25%)
25. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (24%)
26. Seventh Day Adventist (19%)
27. Jehovah's Witness (11%)

...there didn't use to be any ads between questions. That got annoying.

Where do you stand?

I took this test some time ago, and I was (-2&¢,-2&¢)...meaning minus two and change.

Now, I'm (0.00,0.46).

Quite interesting, that in six months I could become more conservative and less "libertarian", even though as time progresses I find myself feeling more libertarian (as opposed to liberal, that is).

Take the test and lemme know your results! Let's see how we all compare :)

The Political Compass

Economic Left/Right: 0.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 0.46

Blog #12

b*Have you met anyone new who is important to you? Have you rekindled any old friendships that have made you stronger?

I've known Chris for 4-5 years now, but never really got to know him until this year, seeing as I share 80% of my classes with him this term (except anatomy lab and sociology).

Other than that, I've had a really tough time making friends out of my UN100 cohorts - what friends I have made of my peers have been half-friendships, and I'm not socially skilled enough to maintain medium-depth friendships. You're either my best friend whom I pledge undying loyalty to, whom I invest lots of emotional stake, or you're someone I just smile and say hello to in the hallway. I'm really bad at small talk, and really bad at maintaining friendships in the middle, especially to 18-19 year old girls, especially when they're cool (or hot!) and I might end up liking them when I'm still crazy about Kasey (even after 4 years!). Especially when I'm a complete dork and they can't stand me anyway.

*Have you experienced any major changes academically or personally?

I found myself reprioritizing my study habits. To be honest, I really cared a lot at the beginning of the semester about everything, and as about week 5-6 rolled around I figured out which classes I needed to care about and cared more in these classes and less in others. I prioritized sociology a bit low around midterm time, bombed one test and learned my lesson.

I think the most important thing I learned this semester I learned in school but not in any of my classes, and that is: keep real life and school life separate. Real life has been pretty much hell for the last 4-5 months and it's been tough enough just to keep my head above water financially, and I've lost a lot of sleep for it. That said, I haven't slacked off too much and I've kept whipping myself into doing my homework. When I go to class, I leave my real life behind, and become an entirely different person.

I've also found that I behave differently in each class too:

• In Anatomy, I tune everyone out except Dr. Froiland. No matter how many asides Chris tries to sneak in there, I pretty much blow him off, not to be a douchebag but because I seriously need to copy down every word he says.
• In Chemistry, I try to pay attention. I really do. But I seriously learned this crap in 11th grade. On the last quiz (6) I was the only person to get 20/20 in my class. (Surprised me!) I'm not pulling 100% like I was for the first 6 weeks, I miss one here and there and my lab grades aren't perfect. This is the only class where I'm guilty of doing my blog, Facebook, games, etc. I just can't pay attention when it's crap I already know. Dr. Li's teaching it fine, it's just seriously stuff I already learned. She has in the past pulled me out of a game I was playing, had me come up to the board and I was like boom boom bang done. (Funny story. Once, I was actually paying attention, and she had me come up to the board and I made like four mistakes and had to go back to the board twice to the comic relief of the class, but I was a zombie that morning and didn't care, lol.)
• In Freshman Seminar, I actually feel like I can be myself. You have no idea how valuable that is, to have an environment where I can be comfortable in front of people that I didn't know until now and would never otherwise hang around with (mostly because I'm 26 and they're 18-19) and I've learned that cheerleaders are people too :) but they hate being studied sociologically!
• In Sociology, well, that's a whole other story. Love the class, and it's super easy, but the book is so difficult and unjoyous to read that I can't stay focused in it, and I can't study from it. So I consistently pull 82-88% on my exams (less one bomb).
  

*What is your one BEST or FAVORITE memory of this semester?

Outside of school: probably playing Rubber Fest in Escanaba on 10/14.
In school: playing Cigarette for my sociology class, all while wearing that Scream-Meets-Terminator mask I had.

*How will you live your life to the fullest?

I can't live my life to the fullest, because I have too much responsibility in me. If I were to live life to the fullest, I'd be a touring musician. Can't support yourself, let alone a family, on that, and you can't further your education while you're doing that either. So I grew up. *shrug* Hell, I get blown off by the other musicians in fucking Marquette!

Blogs 9-11: Holy Playing Catchup, Batman!

It's a personal observation of mine that the more time you spend living life, the less time you spend blogging it. The Blog King has fallen, but I seem to have gotten up again.

BLOG NINE

1) What are you most stressed-out with at the moment? Why? Is your body re-acting to this stress? Devise a plan to deal with it.

Right now, money or lack thereof. The residence headache is over with, and I'm all settled into the new place. Got Internet and cable hooked up today, and it's about effing time.

Anyway, my plan to deal with it is to find a new job. I really like the job I have right now, I really enjoy it, but it just plain flat out ain't paying the bills and I have to scrounge for a job that will. Those are hard to find in this economy.

2) FFN: Chapter 8 / This is a creative writing exercise! Read the following scenario and finish it based on your knowledge after reading Chapter 8.

You are "Raul" and have just immigrated to the American West illegally from Mexico. You brought your wife and two young children with you on a frightening and expensive 4-day journey in the back of a beat-up truck to arrive in Texas. You can't find work there and Border Patrol is cracking down, so you decide to migrate north a bit where you have relatives in Colorado. You are hired on the spot by ConAgra to work in one of their "beef processing" plants.

-Describe in sensory detail your place of employment. (What's it look like, what is going on, how do people act, what do you wear, what is your job? etc..)
-How much $$$ do you earn?
-How do your days go? What are your work hours and what do you do after work?
-Where do you live, what do you live in, how is your quality of life?

I'll save this one for when I have some time.

BLOG TEN

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."--Nelson Mandela

Chapter: 11 - please answer the following question on your Blog.

"Who are the people in your life that you tend to turn to for social support when you are experiencing stress or need personal encouragement?"

In times of duress I oftentimes shut myself off from society and, as was mentioned in class yesterday, I tend to keep relatively few social relationships. I tend to anyway, just because I have a really tough time dealing with superficial relationships - medium relationships are difficult for me to maintain. You're either one of my very close friends or you're an acquaintance that I keep at a distance, not due to anything other than the fact I really have no idea how to conduct a medium-level relationship. I put a lot of emotional stake into the relationships I forge and take things highly personally when it comes to friendships, and I have been burned in the past. The older I get, the more socially experienced I get, the easier it gets (sorry to use "get" so much) to conduct myself socially, but I have years and years of pariahdom to overcome and it's really difficult, especially with the latter half of my exile being of my own volition.

Right now, my complete trust lies only with Kasey (my gf), and the only other close relationships I'm really maintaining at the moment are with my mom, dad, brother, and Trent. Other than that I'm pretty much staying out of the social limelight due to how horrible of a month it's been.

BLOG ELEVEN

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” –Stephen Covey

1) Reflect upon what you read in Chapter 11 of Thriving in College. What does this quote mean to you or how can you apply it to your life?

I'll call from the Wiccan Rede: "Soft of eye and light of touch; speak ye little, listen much."

I spent most of my life trying to get the world to get me, and then I basically went "screw you guys" and became a recluse. Now, I've grown up a bit, and I've noticed that you've gotta try to see things from others' point of view before anyone will really give you the time of day, and when I see other people making the same mistake I want to tell them the answer - but I also know that when I was young and stupid (well, I'm still stupid) I wouldn't listen either, and I think I was even told this a few times. Some things you just gotta learn on your own.

2) (Refer to page 380 of the text):
Are you a “Crisis Tickler,” “Withholder,” “Irritator,” “Blamer,” or “Gunnysacker?” Explain.

Well, I think that withholders and gunnysackers are one and the same, and gunnysacker just sounds funnier. If I don't want to blow up at the person I'm pissed off at, I'll oftentimes just leave the room. I can't bring myself to blow up at people, and oftentimes I take it out on myself, most usually in the form of beating myself up emotionally until I lose sleep over it. I lose a lot of sleep, and end up sleeping through the morning. Happens a lot actually.

It also really bothers me when people keep grudges. I tend to forgive and forget rather quickly, and it perplexes me how people can harbour a grudge over the dumbest things.

How'd you guys like my awesome skating skillz? :)

Post #34...I mean #8 :)

1. Do you feel that this class has been helpful to you?

This class has been instrumental in keeping me in check; I actually missed this class when we didn't have it last week.

2. Will you use anything that you learned in this class after the class is done?

Well, I've been using my planner. I've also learned that a half-ass five-minute attempt at a PowerPoint can be the difference that turns a speech into a presentation :)

Oh, and I've also learned that you'd better be careful whom you're peoplewatching, because people really resent being watched.

...OMG life sucks right now.

Blog #7

1) Post your favorite lyrics, poem, or quote for this week.

Of the two songs I wrote this week, this is the more meaningful:

"The Meaning of Life"
Life is a series of inconsequential thrills
And not a tedium to be forgotten.
Life is more than the simple quest for dollar bills
To be wasted on material possessions.
Life has a meaning, that is, if you can find it.
Life is even kinda cool if you don't mind it,
And by that I mean the everyday nonstop shop-till-you-drop
Barrage of pointless bullshit that life'll throw at you, but
I'm alive and I got you, so I'm okay, yeah.
I'm alive and I got you, so I'm okay, yeah.
I'm alive and I got you, so I'm okay, yeah.
I'm alive and I got you, so I'm okay, yeah.

2) Develop two reflection questions that you would ask your students at this point in the course if you were a UN100 Professor.

1. Describe your eating and sleeping habits, and how these might affect your grades.
2. Describe your study habits and behaviour in class, and how these might affect your grades.
3. How about them Lions!?

3) What are you passionate about? Why?

I'll play you a song in explanation.

4) How are you going to finance your three years of the Radiology program? If you will be in debt from student loans at the end, calculate roughly how much you will owe upon graduation.

I am enrolled in a program through Michigan Works! called No Worker Left Behind. One of the seventeen occupations offered is the RAT program; if I pay for the first year and successfully get accepted into MGH's program, the state will pay for the last two. It's looking like I'll be about $6K in debt by the end of this year.

5) Have you changed your mind or do you have any new concerns about your program of study after our guest speakers today (Dr. Foley & Joanne)? Are you thinking of a different major or are you dead set on Radiology? What behavior(s) will you maybe have to change in order to keep up with and make the cut?

I know what I want to do with my life. All I have to do is not slack off and let the crap life's thrown at me the last two weeks affect my ability to study or do my homework.

6) FAST FOOD NATION (You should be reading through Chapter 7 at this point)

Reflect upon the opening lines of Chapter 7:

"You can smell Greeley, Colorado, long before you can see it. The smell is hard to forget but not easy to describe, a combination of live animals, manure, and dead animals being rendered into dog food."

Good imagery. What else is there to say? Drive towards Gary, IN and smell as you approach the ancient stankiferous beast that is the former industrial juggernaut turned urban plight.

-Have you ever read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair? If so, how does it relate to FFN?

No, I have not.

-How high is the employee turnover rate in the meat industry and why don't the packing plants see this as a problem?

I'm in the mood to eat some lard.

People are merely "cogs in the great packing machine", easily replaced and entirely disposable. You can teach someone who doesn't even speak the main language to take apart a cow and put it in a grinder, wrap it and put it in a box.

We discussed captive supplies of cattle versus regular farming. Reflect upon this quote from page 150:

"To supply the beef slaughterhouse, ConAgra operates a pair of enormous feedlots. Each of them can hold up to one hundred thousand head of cattle..During the three months before slaughter, they eat grain..The grain fattens the cattle quickly, aided by the anabolic steroids implanted in their ear."

I'm getting visions of the video for The Wall.

-Do you think that these animals' emotions (fears, stress, anger) affect the meat we eat derived from them? How?

Happy cows make happy meals. :)

The hormones that circulate through the body (dopamine, serotonin, melatonin, etc.) circulate not just through the brain but through all the muscles and such too. Since we eat the muscles of these animals, we ingest whatever concentrations of hormones are in their bodies as well. Happy cows will have high levels of dopamine and other happy hormones, which in turn will process in our bodies as happy hormones and translate into improved mood.

-How do you feel about eating steroids via consumption of "USDA Inspected" beef?

My arms are bigger, my penis is smaller and I'm even closer to cancer. Gotta love our government!

Viking Acrostic

SLTPHCTT

Scandinavian Vikings sail o'er
Luminated oceans
Trickster Loki toys with Erik's
Pissed off emotions.
Hands on deck, they long for Vinland's
Captivating eastern shores;
Trapped by Loki's deceiving ways, and
Trapped in the Norsemen's lustful mores.

Scaphoid, Lunate, Triquetrum, Pisiform
Hamate, Capitate, Trapezoid, Trapezium

Heh.

So apparently I have more studying to do. I just gave myself an Anatomy exam for the unit based off of my notes, and I got a 39/52. Here's my quiz: Feel free to erase my answers and take it yourself!

QUIZ

1. Seven qualities by which muscles are named:

Size (magnus)
Direction (rectus)
Relative to Axis
Shape (trapezius)
Function (adductor)
Location (brachii)
Origin
Number of origins (biceps)

2. Myofibers are _multinucleated_; they're positioned peripherally. Cardiac fibers are _uninucleated_; it's in the center.

3. Myofibers are composed of _thick_ and _thin_ myofibrils, which comprise _myosin_ and _actin_ respectively.

4. SR = sarcoplasmic reticulum
a. stores calcium

****5. Structure of the Sarcomere.
M line:
Z line:
H Zone:
I band: isotropic
A band: anisotropic

6. Actin comprises:
F Actin stands for: filament
G actin stands for: globular

7. Covers active sites: tropomyosin

8. Holds #7 in place: troponin

****9. 7 kinds of muscle movement:
abduction
adduction
rotation
flexion
extension
circular movement of arms

10. Shaped like golf club: myosin
Head: heavy chain
Tail: light chain

11. Two movements of wrist: supination and pronation
****12. Two movements of ankle:
****13. Two movements of foot: plantar flexion
14. Three movements of head: right rotation, left rotation, flexion

15. Smooth muscle fiber is not _striated_ and therefore is not organized into _sarcomeres_.

****16. Corresponds to Z lines in cardiac muscle:

17. Regulates calcium: calmodulin
****18. Activated by #17: enzymes, fuck!
Does what (P)?
****19. Undoes effect of #18:
Does what?

20. Corresponds to Z lines in smooth muscle: Dense bodies

21. Three components of CV system: arteries, veins, lymphatic

22. Four parts of heart: right atrium, left atrium, left ventricle, right ventricle

23. Heart is cone shaped, and the _apex_ points down and left, _base_ points up and right.

24.

The _right atrium_ receives O2 poor blood, which is pumped into the _lungs_ via the _right ventricle_. _Oxygenation_ occurs in the lungs. O2 rich blood is then pumped through the _left atrium_ into the _left ventricle_, which pumps the blood out to the body.

25. Homeostasis: equilibrium of fluid

26. Membrane surrounding the heart and its two halves: visceral (inner) and parietal (outer) pericardium.

Between two halves: pericardial cavity

27. Musculature of heart = myocardium

28. The atrial walls are known as: auricles

29. Deep groove separating...
the auricles: coronary sulcus
atrium and ventricle: atrioventricular (AV) sulcus
the ventricles: interventricular (IV) sulcus

30. Valves on:

Right side: tricuspid
Left side: bicuspid

31. Three vessels emptying into RA: coronary sinus, superior vena cava, inferior vena cava

32. Fibrous CT ring in heart is called: annulus fibrosis

33. Valve between RA and RV: tricuspid

****34. Valves are controlled by _________ _chordae_ and those are controlled by _papillary_ muscles.

****35. Fleshy columns that allow for contractions in all directions:

****36. Unique funnel to RV:

37. Semilunar valves lack: chordae and papillary muscles

38. Valve between LA and LV (two names): bicuspid, mitral

39. Generic name for valves #33,#38: atrioventricular (AV) valves

40. Three parts of the conducting system:
SA node:
aka: pacemaker
AV node: backs up the SA node
AV bundle of _His_

****41. Muscle fibers that look like nerve fibers, that come down from AV node to IV septum:
...does what?

42. Three components of blood vessels: Tunica interna (intima), tunica media, tunica externa (aventura)

****43. Circulatory system has its own circ system. The vessels are called: vaso vas...

44. Three types of arteries: axial arteries, medium arteries, arterioles

45. Three types of veins: large veins, medium sized veins, venules

46. Tunicae in arteries have this which veins lack: elastic membranes

47. Blood vessel expansion and constriction: vasoconstriction and vasodilation

48. Analyze 120/80 blood pressure:

****49. Openings in the capillaries: F

50. Capillaries are guarded by the _precapillary_ sphincter.
This is big enough for red blood cells to go through in: single file

51. When #50 closes, blood flows through a preferred channel: metarteriole

52. Bypass for blood if its not needed in capillary bed: arteriovenular anastomosis

So yeah. I have more studying to do, cuz that's a C. I can do better than that, and I will because I'll be studying my little Irish balls off tomorrow! Glad there's a study group tomorrow! Hope to see you all there!

And I'll still be cool and send you my notes if you hit me up for them. Shoot me an email.

Dave

A song of relevance.

I expect that Sol Brew will be covering this song at the Co-Op on Saturday morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0hTJF7xqV0

Death Cab for Cutie - Soul Meets Body

I want to live where soul meets body
And let the sun wrap its arms around me
And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing
And feel, feel what its like to be new

Cause in my head there’s a greyhound station
Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations
So they may have a chance of finding a place
where they’re far more suited than here

And I cannot guess what we'll discover
When we turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels
But I know our filthy hands can wash one another’s
And not one speck will remain

And I do believe it’s true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you’re the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

Where soul meets body
Where soul meets body
Where soul meets body

And I do believe it’s true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you’re the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

Another Observation of an Amateur Sociologist

On the topic of social norms and the behaviour of normal everyday college students.

I'm actually being very quiet, chilling in a chair in the corner of Starbucks, listening to my Ruckus and not making any sound other than the clickety clack of my laptop keyboard.

Not that anyone would hear it if I were singing. There's about 70 people in the commons right now, all trying to behave as normally as possible, trying to ignore the RIDICULOUSLY FREAKING LOUD JACKHAMMER NOISES where workers are working on the ventilation systems adjacent to the building. Of course, the wall is nothing but single-pane glass and forced air vents (both of which amplify ambient sound!) The jackhammering sounds (I'm assuming it's a drill or something) have to be at least 50dB, if not louder. There are people trying to study! This poor bastard across from me is slaving away trying to study his physiology, without the aid of earphones. His face looks like he's finally giving up. He's been here at least as long as I have, around 30-35 minutes.

People are carrying on as usual, and listening to the conversations it seems like everyone's acting casually and not talking about the elephant (sized sound) in the room. Starbucks' business ain't hurtin' none.

I don't know how anyone can study in these conditions though. Seriously, I have a hard time studying around my four housemates, let alone 50-150 people in a public place. And to have flagrantly distracting construction noises echoing in the room? Ha, I don't know how anyone can focus in here.

My observations are telling me that the norm right now is to ignore the construction to the best of your ability, and carry on as if Starbucks was its usual sanctuary for "free"-thinking hippies to consume their double shot espressos and mocha lattes and ...

Dude's packing up his physiology and laptop and heading for the door. He can't take it no more. The look on his face is one of a recently onset migraine (one's developing on my end too, lol).

...anyway, as if Starbucks were its usual sanctuary for "free"-thinking hippies to consume their ridiculously overpriced beverages and do their homework and talk about politics and environmentalism.

Needless to say, it's impractical to carry on a conversation with jackhammers going. People are talking very loudly about their particular nothings, and that even further exacerbates the situation.

*shakes head* But they're still here, pretending everything's fine.

...However, were I to start playing my harmonica in here, I'd get dirty looks and other negative social sanctions.

What does this say about society?

To me, it says that a majority of people are willing to tolerate large distractions - things that they feel they have no control over (such as adverse living conditions) - but they will take on each other one-on-one where people are par or better on the power scale.

...Conflict theory. ^_^

In the last two minutes, the jackhammering has increased in loudness by 15-20dB - it's now to the point where it's interfering with my headphones on maximum - and people are starting to clear the room. We're down to maybe 30 people in here.

Why couldn't they do this at night? Are they intentionally trying to make life abnormally difficult for college students? Is this a challenge that people are to overcome, to teach them a lesson not to rely on Starbucks for studying? Hmm.

2) Reflect upon one tactic we discussed in class this week concerning Procrastination, Study Habits, Retainment, or Test-Taking/Anxiety. (Choose something that you will probably try and discuss why).

I suppose I could try procrastination. ;)

The tactic I should try is proper sleeping. I tend to go to bed around 3-4AM when I'm not in school; going to sleep at 11pm is pretty much impossible for me. But I'm making a point of going to bed before midnight whenever possible (the nights I close I can't go to bed until at least 1-2AM as long as I take a hot tub to unwind) - it's starting to work. Because whenever I only get <4hr>6hr, I actually have the ability to work to the best of my ability.

Bad habits are hard to quit, and staying up late is one of them.

Blog 5

What do you feel this course (UN100) should focus on? What do you need help in, specifically?

I find it ironic that I have more homework in freshman seminar than I do in all my other classes combined! UN100 is meant to be a support structure, where you learn how to adapt to college life. In my previous stab at college and this attempt, I have learned that most classes do not have homework, they are exam-only unless it is English, math, graduate course or something else with a relatively small class size and intensive workload.

Between going to school full time and working full time, I find it difficult to manage my time properly (although not impossible); I not only have to study my ass off in biology (lab moreso than lecture!), the coloring book, studying in sociology, chem lab reports, and seminar homework, but I also have to split wood for the winter and other myriad things that comprise real life, including my girlfriend, friends and music.

I'm not whining about homework (well, some may see it that way), since I seem to be able to manage it this time around, but aside from my chemistry lab report and my anatomy coloring book, UN100 is the only class I have where I have any actual homework assignments in the high school format, and it is by far the class in which I have the most homework. If I lived in the dorms and didn't have to pull my own weight, I'd have much more time to dedicate to it, but having to pay rent, car payment, insurance, etc. requires I work full time to stay afloat.

I just flew in from Denver, and boy are my arms tired.

I'd like to end with a quote, from our own Heather Curry, referring to exams: "I feel like i walk in knowing it all and walk out knowing nothing." Amen, sister!

Amateur Sociological Observation

So I'm sitting in the 3rd floor atrium of the NSF waiting for my Chemistry lab.

There are 17 people here, including myself, about eight of which are in my Chem lecture and also came from an exam.

Six girls came in a group (funny how they do that). One heads for an empty chair, the other five sit in a circle in the center of hte floor (but not in the patterned square, they picked the exact center of the atrium).

The one sitting donw in the chair looks back at the other five and goes "Losers!", and the others give her a dirty look, negatively socially sanctioning her for her smart-aleck comment. She mutters "just kidding, you guys" under her breath, obviously feeling bad for giving them shit for abandoning her. She's now lost in Facebook, trying not to care.

The five in the center are excluding the girl sitting in the chair; four or them are rushing through last week's lab assignment due in 10 miunutes, the other is playing a computer game.

Peoplewatching fascinates me; I never cease to get a kick out of the way people behave, especially in groups. Wow, teenage girls are vicious. :P

Sometimes I hate this country.

I won't feel this way in about an hour or so, but it's days like this I just want to move to Canada.

I love doing Fast Food Nation homework at McDonald's.

ATTENTION CLASS: GOOGLE BOOKS HAS A FREE COPY OF FAST FOOD NATION AVAILABLE ONLINE. CLICKY CLICKY CLICKY

Ø What is your plan to get involved on campus? What are your interests? Will you or have you joined any student organizations? Which two events besides UNITED & Career Major Fair do you plan on attending?

I really don't have the time. I'd love to DJ at Radio X, but the time slots still available are in direct conflict with my class and work schedule :(, unless I want to DJ at 3-6AM on Tuesday morning before I have class from 8a-1p and work from 4p-11p. Yyyyyyyeeeeaaaahhhh.

I will be attending at least one NMU hockey game this winter, and we'll see what else I can attend. I am very surprised how few people were at United when I went (Tuesday afternoon).

Ø Fast Food Nation - Chapter 6:

Ø What are some of the problems facing cattle ranchers?

This question should be last, after all the other ones. I saved it for last, in fact.
The rancher endures not only the general economic turmoil the whole country is in, and not only what’s said below, but also the fact that the value of the beef is unknown – constantly in a state of flux, and dictated by the major corporations. Ofttimes the retail value of their product is so low that they can’t break even! Hence why so many go under.
Even worse, they can’t even sell their ranches to the big guns, because their ranches are all-in-one ranches/warehouses/slaughterhouses on huge complexes, staffed with illegal immigrants they don’t even have to pay!
There’s mention in the book of the beef industry being restructured, patterned after the chicken industry (in which those with the demand (McDonald’s, et al.) have the suppliers completely under their thumbs).
Ø What are “captive supplies” of cattle? (“The four major meatpacking companies now control about 20 percent of the live cattle in the U.S. through ‘captive supplies’” (138). (See also p. 142).

Large herds of cattle are kept in pens their entire lives, trodding on their own feces. To keep them from getting sick from stepping in poo and to encourage fattening, they're routinely given large quantities of antibiotics and hormones. Unfortunately for us, injecting these antibiotics by proxy (through our food) gives our body only partial immunity to numerous pathogens. Currently, I eat a decent amount of fast food, and I've been semi-sick for two months straight. There is a direct correlation.

Ø What was the impact of the Chicken McNugget on the poultry industry?

Anecdote: I can’t believe it took six months to research the freakin’ McNugget.
Tyson Foods was drafted in the late 70s to produce the McNugget, and actually created a special breed of chicken specifically for the production of McNuggets. OMG wow!
The advent of the McNugget inadvertently changed the entire poultry industry. Chickens were almost entirely sold whole prior to the 80s; now they are sold mostly in parts. In ’92 chicken surpassed beef as the most highly consumed food, and Tyson is now the largest producer of poultry in the world – but they don’t raise the chickens, they enlist “independent contractors” … meaning poor rural American farmers.

Ø How does the nutritional value of a McNugget compare to a hamburger?

(Source: http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/bagamcmeal/nutrition_facts.html )
Hamburger (3.5oz):
• 250 calories
o 80 from fat
• 9g fat
o 3.5g saturated fat
o 0.5g trans fat
• 25mg cholesterol
• 520mg sodium
• 31g carbohydrates
o 2g dietary fiber
o 6g sugars
• 12g protein
• 0% Vitamin A
• 2% Vitamin C
• 10% Calcium
• 15% Iron
6pc McNugget (3.4oz):
o 280 calories
 160 from fat
 17g fat
 3g saturated fat
 0g trans fat
 40mg cholesterol
 600mg sodium
 16g carbohydrates
 0g dietary fiber
 0g sugars
 14g protein
 0% Vitamin A
 2% Vitamin C
 2% Calcium
 4% Iron
...I just ate 18 nuggets. LOL. I can feel my arteries clogging.

Ø How does the suicide rate for ranchers and farmers compare with the rate for U.S. citizens in general? Why?
Ranchers and farmers off themselves at a rate of three times the national average. McDonald's et al. buy beef from major meatpackers in such large quantities that the price of beef has gone so low that over a half a million ranchers have gone out of business. The high unemployment rate is stressful enough, but these people don't know any other way, having grown up on the farms since childhood, often forsaking even a complete high school education to master the cattle ranching trade; they literally have nothing else going for them. I'd consider offing myself too.
Ø Do you feel as if there is any healthy fast food available to consumers? If so, where and why? Give specific examples of products.. Please be honest and support your opinions. For example, I feel that Subway's Veggie Sub is extremely healthy due to its freshly-cut produce, cheese, and fresh-baked breads. I actually talked to a friend who works at Subway and he said in MQT, they slice their own produce. (My fear was that it arrived pre-sliced and filled with preservatives). It's not organic, but it's a start.
No, not really. But if you’re that conscientious about your health, you’re smart enough to avoid fast food anyway. There is no healthy fast food because the two completely negate each other – the whole point of fast food is quick, cheap and easy; healthy food is expensive (it has to be grown well, harvested ethically, shipped properly, prepared properly, and served properly – all these things are very time-consuming as well as money-consuming!)
Rock Togo’s subs, Toarmina’s pizza, and if you have to have fast food, rock the Beef-A-Roo! They’re supplied by Sysco (as are most real restaurants around town), the meat and produce are restaurant quality (a big step above fast food quality) and they’re owned locally.

Mnemonic for wristbones

I'm never going to forget this.

You're going to have to highlight this, because of its objectionable content ;)


Sally licked Tom's penis. He came three times.


HAHAHAHAHAHAHA OMFG HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Scaphoid Lunate Triquetrum Pisiform. Hamate Capitate Trapezoid Trapezium.

First row from thumb to pinky, second row from pinky to thumb.