Response to Nicole's Stem cell post

I am actually really interested in this post made by Nicole on stem cell research and development. I feel like the whole concept of stem cells is really intriguing and can easily be argued, especially since the main source of stem cells is actually from embryonic cells from fetuses (by the way, I thought the plural of fetus was feti the first time I looked at it…just thought I should add that). This can definitely be a problem since it forces one to choose whether they would want to kill a living thing in order to save another. This can definitely be an issue because it changes the position from a scientific one to a more moral stance which can tug on one’s heartstrings. The two links posted were very much like the ones I posted in that one was more compelling in their argument than the other. Ironically enough, it was also the pro side that was more compelling. The reason was also the same: both of the pro arguments not only provided strong points that added to their argument but also added counter arguments that were properly refuted and explained. This allowed for a more convincing claim overall as well as more legitimate website/blog in general. In addition, the other website that was posted was also one-sided and tried to use a fear tactic in order to scare, as well as sadden, people into supporting their side instead of trying to provide facts to support their argument. So all in all, I do have to agree with what Nicole had to say about the links she posted as well as her overall opinion on the topic overall.

Ethics and medicine: Abortion

No matter who you talk to in the united states, they will have an opinion on abortion. This is just another one of those hot topics that never seem to be solved and keeps floating around in almost every political argument between liberals and conservatives. My personal opinion is that abortion should not be a legal matter, and that it is up to the woman themselves if their baby should be aborted or not. It doesn’t matter whether someone else thinks it is not the right thing to do, it is only the decision of the mother alone. However, many argue that this is considered murder and that this is not only an act against the law, but also Christianity as well.
The counterargument above is discussed in this pro-abortion blog (http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/pro-abortion.htm). Although the last argument I stated was anti-abortion, this blog actually addresses the arguments against their position and is able to refute them properly. This blog mainly argues what I stated above with a few more arguments on peoples’ rights in general. Although this blog is one-sided, it does focus on the counterarguments and refutes them pretty well.
Another website I found was http://www.nrlc.org/, which mainly focused on the problems that can occur with abortion and had many arguments against it. Although this website is an organization website, I feel like it was less legitimate than the last website. This website I found was mainly one-sided and made me feel like there were not even counterarguments available. This website could have had a stronger stance if it added not only a few rebuttals, but also become less extreme than it is right now. Although this could have been just my personal bias since I am pro-abortion.

Response to Morgans video of "How to Make a Solar Oven"

Although we did all those demonstrative speeches in class, I still think that looking at other people’s ways of explaining things is really intriguing. Although I do have to agree with Morgan in the fact that the video she posted was a little confusing. She seemed like she was messing up a lot of things she was try to get across. But the speaker was able to explain what she wanted to and on top of this, she also made the point of the creation of this “solar oven” important to those watching the video.

However, like Morgan noticed as well, there were some common problems in the speech. For one thing, there was a definite change in probs mid-speech, which made the viewing a little confusing. Also, the presenter had an issue in repeating the steps. This was definitely a problem due to the fact that this is actually a complex process that does need a lot of practice and understanding to do. I also noticed that the author also had really bad transitions in her speech. Although this is not that big of an issue in the speech itself, it does take distract us from the main purpose of the speech and make it harder to understand the point of what she is saying.

All in all, I do have to agree with Morgan that this project definitely needed some more work on it. Although there were some strong points in her overall performance, there were also an excessive amount of low points that could be altered to make the presentation run smoother. Then again, the presenter did look young, so I think she will have plenty of time to tone her skills before college comes around.

"Imagining the tenth dimensions" youtube video

So I asked my friends what was a youtube video that could “ describe a complex topic in an accessible way” and immediately got the response “DUDE, check this video out. It will blow your mind!” I do have to say, after looking at this video, it really did blow my mind. This video on the description of the 10 dimensions not only allowed me to see dimensions in an entirely new way, but also helped with my understanding of the dimensions as a whole. Just by explaining it in a slow and steady speed allowed me to stay with the creator’s logic and understand what he was trying to get at. This video also did a great explanation of how time works and how our past could be changed to create what we want. Now I am able to actually understand what the heck the professor was talking about in back to the future, which is actually a really good accomplishment since I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about in his explanations to Marty. I also like how the creator of this video used visual aids and antidotes to explain what he was talking about since his explanations of how time and space work made completely no sense to me. Although this video only explains the first 6 dimensions thoroughly (the other 4 are on another video titled “Imagining the Tenth Dimension part 2 if 2”), I did think that this aided in my understanding of the topic as a whole and thus this video was defiantly worth the 6 and a half minutes I spent watching it. So I suggest that if you want to view time and space in a completely different way, watch this video.

Response to Jake Ninneman's technorati search

I found Jake’s post about his technorati search aimed at nutrition very interesting. After having just done my own post using technorati, it was interesting to see what other blogs about different topics might contain. What I found was that the types of blogs are basically the same. Looking at both of our blogs, I could see that my not only did many bloggers write between 15 and 30 blogs a month, but that many other bloggers also used a more direct and formal type of writing style. Also, after looking at the blogs that Jake posted, I could also see that many authors of these blogs usually feel like they are speaking to an audience that is well informed about the topic being researched. This was parallel with what I found on my blogs. On top of this, I also saw that many bloggers look at articles from newspapers and articles as well.

It was interesting to read the articles that Jake posted along with his blog. I really enjoyed the one about the benefits of fish and the studies found. A study in this link shed light on the fact that the omega 3 fats found in fish can actually decrease the occurrence of Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The other article that Jake posted was also a little out of ordinary due to its focus on flushing toxins found in different fast foods and processed foods out of your body in order to lose weight. Some of the other articles were interesting as well, but these did seem a little too unusual to actually be practical in everyday life.

All in all, I thought Jake’s post was pretty intriguing. I was very interested to see the similarities and hope that his next paper is a good one.

Technorati search (post below)

HERE ARE MY LINKS!!!!! I don't know why they didn't post.
Ecofriend:
http://www.ecofriend.org/
NEI Nuclear:
http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com

After looking at the NEI Nuclear Notes blog, I have noticed a few major differences that differ between this and my blog. First off, the blogger, Jim Slider, usually goes way more in depth in his topics. He usually uses links to organization websites in order to emphasize the points he tries to get across in the post. Looking at his history, though, I can see a lot of news articles and highly influenced by the writer and are one sided. Also, Slider usually posts at least 2 or 3 times a week, each of these being at least 500 words. However, the amount of posts due vary from the current amount per week to almost 15 or 20 posts a week throughout the blogs creation in 2005. This posts are also much more formal than the type of writing I usually use in my posts.

For my persuasive paper, I have decided to focus on the topic of biofuel. On this note, I looked at blog called Ecofriend as my second blog choice. After looking at some of the posts, although many are not mainly focused on biofuel, I have noticed a few differences in their writing style compared to what I am predicting my writing style will be like for the persuasive paper. The main difference this blog has is that since it is already focused on a biased audience, it doesn’t really need to do a lot of persuasion to convince the readers to swing a particular way. Also, since the blog is catering to a more educated audience, the posts do not do too much background info. This will definitely differ from my in depth paper that I will write for class later in the month.


Altogether, both these blogs differ from my writing method in their style and theme. But this is exactly why they are blogs and not papers.

selfevalutation on speech

After watching my own speech, I have realized a few faults. First of all, I heard myself using a lot of filler words in my speech. Words such as "like" or "ummm" took away from the purpose of my speech and really didn't help people understand what i was trying to get across. Also, I used my hands a lot when there wasn't really anything to be explained. This also made my speech less focused and concise. Other than these problems though, I do feel that my speech was overall well done. I got all my points across, gave the speech a purpose to the audience, made throwing a frisbee into a few easy steps, and got my speech done in the time limit. I feel like a 60-65 out of 75 would be a perfect score for this speech.

Response to Caroline bauer

After reading Caroline’s article, I see a slightly different perspective to an almost identical response of mine. In my response, I focus mainly on how people should be allowed to donate and what system should be set up. In Caroline’s response, however, she focuses on the stats that help prove her point that selling organs can be an effective way to meet people’s needs. I also liked her focus on how it doesn’t hurt anyone to sell organs once one has deceased. It was really interesting on her perspective that an organ is a gift that will last forever. I do have to agree with her statements on increasing supply, as it was discussed in the BBC article, as well. The idea that it all is beneficial for everyone in the market never occurred to me before I read this article. I never really thought that decreasing prices due to increasing the supply would assistance both the buyer and the seller; the buyer in that there will be a wider variety to choose from, and the seller in that they will be able to sell an organ that otherwise would have gone to waste in their death or the death of a loved one. Having 2 doctors as parents, I do have to agree with Caroline’s statements towards the end of her response that focuses on the benefit the doctor will receive of just being able to help people due to the huge increase in the supply of organs. Her almost spiritual view of “your body living a second time in the life of another” gave me a different viewpoint on the subject as well. All in all, I thought Caroline’s response was very intriguing and overall interesting.

Organs for sale? post

I believe that the matter of what to do with one’s own body parts is the right of the individual, not the right of the government. If someone wanted to sell their kidney, let them do it; they have to deal with the consequences in the end. I don’t understand what the big problem would be in the first place. People should be able to do what they want to their bodies, even if that means taking a part of it away.
Although I believe this, I do not think that we should just let people sell you their organs off the street. I am not discouraging it, however, I am just saying that I believe that there should be some organized way to do such a process. This system would not only need run by a large medical group, but will need to have background checks on donators for abnormal health issues, blood work done to show that one is healthy when they donate, and some legal connection to the organ trade. Selling of organs could also bring a whole new market on the table. Think of the possibility of trading organs not just nationally, but worldwide. Having the ability to ship a new kidney from England for a transplant in the united states seems like a far away probability, but just thinking of this can lead to its development.
We are a free country, letting our citizens do almost anything they want, when they want. We cannot let the government take away the right to be free on a moral issue. Although I do agree that some things need to be regulated, I do not believe that this means that the right should be stripped from people altogether.

the reading and writing of TILOHL

After reading the summary of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, I feel like this could be another kind of story about an African American who was oppressed around the time of the civil rights movement. However, there does seem to be a huge difference with the fact that Henrietta Lacks’s cells are still being used today. I can see how this could become a problem for the author since she could make the story swing either way. If she talks too much about how wrong it is for the family on the fact that they are African American, it could become another segregation/ inequality story. On the other hand, she could push the story more to an “unfair treatment of family by those who could have helped her” kind of story. But, like the other type of story, this could prove to be another “Erin Brockovich” type of anecdote that we have all heard before. However, if she pushed the story to somewhere in between these two points, Skloot might be able to capture the broader audience she is looking for.
With such a broad audience, also comes the need to entertain and educate simultaneously. This could prove very difficult, especially since it is hard not to sound somewhat boring when someone is just naming facts. Also, making a true story actually entertaining seems really hard when done through a book. Movies can make it seem way easier than it looks.
I personally don’t feel like there will be too many challenges when reading the book, mainly because it actually seems interesting to me. However, to those who it won’t, it might be a contest.

obstacles in reading and writing TILOHL