Monday, March 30, 2009

Smoking

Why do people smoke? It effects you physical and mentally. The smoke as soon as it hits your lungs makes the Adrenalin glands go crazy and start producing epinephrine (or Adrenalin). It also makes signals go to your head that release dopa means (or making your brain think you are experiencing pleasure). There are actually benefits to smoking. There have been a few studies showing that a new smoker actually has an increased reaction time. Maybe this is because of the higher respiration rate, blood pressure, heart rate. Smokers at first feel more calm... and other such soothing feeling. So, is this why people smoke? If so, it's a pretty pathetic and potentially dangerous habit.

One cigarette contains over 4,000 different chemicals. That alone should send warning signs to any smoker. Included in these chemicals is Arsenic (which is a poison), Acetic Acid (Corrosive to respiratory tract), Acetone (used in nail polish removers), Ammonia. (Used in floor and toilet cleaners), Cadmium (Car battery Fluid), Carbon Monoxide (interferes with the supply of oxygen in the blood to the rest of the body), DDT/ dielderon (Insecticides), Ethanol (Alcohol), Formalin (used in preserving human tissue and fabric), Hexamine (used in explosive compounds), Hydrogen Cyanide (Poison), Methane (Petroleum Gas), Naphthalene (used in moth balls)
Nicotine (Schedule 6 Poison), Nitro Benzene (a petrol additive), Phenols (used in disinfectants), Stearic Acid (used in candle wax), Toluene (Industrial solvent), Vinyl Chloride (used in PVC). These are just a few from http://home.honolulu.hawaii.edu/~pine/Phil110/cig-contents.html. Smoking, as we all know, increases chance for heart attack, stroke, lung cancer, etc.

Now some say cigarettes can't be proving to cause lung cancer, while others say it can. So how about I give some interesting facts. 48 million people smoked last year. 180,000 people were diagnosed with lung cancer last year. Although the ratio to smokers to lung cancer is very low, here's something interesting. Of those 180,000 people that were diagnosed with lung cancer, 96% of them smoked. That is a huge percentage! If you don't see the connection between % of smokers, to % of lung cancer, to % of lung cancer and smokers, I suggest taking a statistics class because this is pretty obvious.

But like all statistics, #'s can be used both ways. For smokers, they can say the chance is very slim, and is easy to repair (that is if you stop smoking before anything bad happens. The cilia repairs its self in three days. And in 5 years, your chance for stroke and heart disease is that of a non-smoker.

But those against smoking can say, why risk it? The benefits to bad consequences is highly in favor of bad consequences.

I honestly don't care either way, but don't get in the way of my life by needing health care for your baby cause you smoked while pregnant, or put my health in danger with careless smoking, or complaining about anything that I can tie back to smoking. Smoking is your choice; don't let it affect mine not to smoke.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Spring Break!

I know it's a little to soon to be celebrating spring break, but in my opinion, i'm ready for a week off. I need some "chill" time, but even my break is going to be packed with things to do.

I plan on going to Idaho to visit my grandpa who just but a huge house (because he's afraid of banks), help with making the house perfect for him, visit my aunt and uncle (who must have lost their spoons when they were raising their children, say goodbye to a good friend who's going into the military, and probably spend time doing the never-ending-bed-ridding mountain of homework that I will undoubtedly get from most of my teachers. So, it's a pretty short list, but the last (on the things to do) will take most of my "me" time away.

And thinking about this upcoming weekend and how it's full of time consuming stuff, I thought back about my past "time offs." And I have come to realize, there's almost no such thing as "me" time anymore. I mean, I can only recall a few times that vacation has been a vacation. Anyone who is in school, wont have vacation during the school year. And now, even the "summer vacation" is being takin away by pre-class homework. What kind of sick teachers do that? No offence to teachers, but that is wrong :). The last couple years of high school, many of my friends could only have fun for the first few weeks of summer, and only because they would put off their HW for that long. I, never being one who enrolled in such a class, thought it a joke. But no, they had books to be read before class started. And you had to read them, 'cause if you didn't, everything would go right over your head when class "started."

Having that new perceptive on life (that there is no chill time), it's made me even more want to go to school to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or anyone that makes bank, so I can earn enough money to escape for a while to chill.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

What is the Perfect Career?

Currently I've just finished a career planning class. During the course of this class, I took several different personality tests, which were givin to me by the teacher, to help find a job that would best fit "me". I was giving a list of the top ten closes jobs that would fit me (in two 15 page portfolios). The top ten consisted of careers like financial manager, accountant, military officer, computer and information systems manager, and an actuary.

Getting these as a few careers I should think about going into, or that would best fit me, I did some research on them all. What I found out, is almost all of these guys sit back and tell people what to do. The majority, of the telling people what to do, had to do with telling them how to spend their money. Ha-ha, i'm 17 and I have to personality and skills to tell people how to spend their money, and organize how to run business things? All I have to say to that is wow. If I am the kind of person for that job, no wonder the economy is in the craper.

And since I've been doing my research, I also want to know other careers that I may be good at.
From the information above, it seems to tell me that i'm good with money. I also consider myself OK at math, and communications. So, if you have any cool careers that you know of that would fit these abilities (which are tons), write a comment with the career's title. It would really help since i'm in the stage of choosing what i want to do for a career. Thanks.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Xbox

What better thing to talk about than what many of us high schoolers do in our free time (at least so of the time). Xbox, has gotten a lot of crap about many aspects of it. For instance watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ-nRVy-z_8&feature=related. WARNING it uses profane language, and may be slightly offencive to women (because the author is replying to a women). It's only ment to show how wrong people can be about video games. Maybe they need to just sit down and play it.

I've had an xbox for a little over a year and a half, and haven't ever regret it. See, teenagers don't always have a lot to do, and this is something that can keep us entertained and out of trouble. But, I think xbox and other video games alike have major benefits. I notice a lot of logic, physics, tactics, hand eye coordination, and knowing how to communicate with panicking, unknowledgeable, or knowledgeable people to work together and get things done. These are just a few that come to mind while I sit here.

My dad and his buddies have recently gotten to like xbox a lot. This doesn't mean they have quit their jobs to play, but every once and a while they'll pull an all nighter. Now me, being a Fairly quick learner when it comes to games, watch as my dad (who wins at everything) runs straight down a street in COD4 lined with bad guys. And duh, he died. Or in another military based game, how they maneuver to take out some bad guys. Ugh, I want to jab my eyes out when the sniper runs into the base filled with guys while the rifle dude runs in the back ground warning the sniper if guys are coming.

These qualities do show in real life situations. I took my dad and four of his buddies came along. We played some regular elimination scenarios, but their guns (and tactics but I didn't tell them that) were being way out done, so we went to the speed ball course where guns don't matter as much (at least in my opinion). A buddy of mine and I could take them all out without anyone of us getting hit. They didn't know how people act under pressure, when we did. Seeing something and taking advantage of it, didn't seem to be very well ingrained into their minds. My buddy and I (who really aren't that good) were like ghosts to them.

Well... i'm just rambling, but videos games did help make the difference. I'm not saying video games are all positive, i'm saying they have positives.

Here's a video that I think would help with the video games with the frying aspect.

http://technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrN0qRKjfX3s

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Socialism and Health Care

Being that some people are interested in the topic of Socialism, I decided this week to continue about it in more detail. I received a reply that was up for the idea of "national heath care" as a positive of Socialism. So this weeks blog is Socialism repeted with a little national health care thrown in.

There are a few problems with Socialism in accordance with national health care. The argument with health care and socialism posted at http://rochesterconservative.com/blog/economics-101-or-why-socialism-is-bad/ is as true as it gets. If you want to read some about JFK's tax cut (used in the last sources argument), visit http://www.msjc.edu/econ/jfk022502.htm for a fuller story. Even the source at http://sterlingterrell.com/socialismbad.aspx, although having bad syntax (not like mine is great), has a good argument about Socialism all the same.

My first question is reguarding national health care. Who would pay for national health care? The government? Where do they get their money? Oh... so tax the rich? Haha that's a good one. Did you know that the top 1% pay more than 10 times in federal taxes than the bottom 50%? Visit http://townhall.com/Columnists/FrankPastore/2007/04/01/whos_paying_the_taxes before you say "tax the rich." And like the argument made by source #1, the government may be to blame for the price of health care now. "As soon as you get government involved, there are mandates of what plans have to include, it increases prices and consolidates supply," etc.

Secound question is, all socialism just for national healthcare?

Let's get this straight, Socialism lets the government take money from people that deserve it and have earned it, and gives it to those who are unable to (due to some condition, etc.) earn or don't deserve it. That may sound harsh and unfair, but for the most part is true. Socialism, by the sounds of it, makes the majority of people more lazy. It makes it so people don't really have to work as long as there is someone (the rich) to pay for it.

So, before you reply, read the articles above. They're aren't that long, and their concepts have relevance to your lives. Please don't be arrogant to believe that I was able to put every argument that these readings give me, or perfectly depict the argument that is going on in my head, on the table. I am simply throwing out some info, asking questions, and waiting for a knowledgeable response. Till next time... Dylan out.