Why Facebook is Necessary (Thanks Laura)

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National Geographic Pictures

Quotations Needed

"Any given culture is a reflection of the politics and economics of a given society, and the former in turn has a tremendous influence upon the latter; politics is the concentrated expression of economics." - Mao Zedong

Evolution, Security and Progress of Civilizations

In the past, civilizations were compelled by natural disasters to advance their technology or perish. For example, the Indus River valley civilization had to create an irrigation and dam system to control the seasonal overflow of the river. This same scenario applied to the BCE civilizations in China and India. Moreover, the hybridization of plants (like rice and wheat) had to occur in colonies where the climate and soil were much different from that of the motherland.

In the present time, the country of the Philippines is not following this technological response to natural disaster pattern. Recently, in the news, we see the capital city of Manila underwater and the surrounding towns experiencing mudslides from the attack of two typhoons. Each year, the Philippines gets pummeled by typhoons - people die and the streets flood - yet there has been no infrastructure improvement to prevent the same incident from happening the next year.

First, there is government corruption. The government does not have its priorities straight. Money is being siphoned off by greedy and corrupt government officials. Just as long as the officials are doing well then they don't care about anyone else. There is such a great divide between the poor and the rich. So, there is no money for infrastructure improvement. Next, the Philippines has a tradition of exporting its college educated to developed countries to work. A good percentage of the country's financial imports come from overseas worker remittances. Hence, civil engineers are not staying in the country to address the problem. I can go on and on.

If the Philippines does not address its fundamental problems of dealing with natural disasters then it is handicapped in the world stage. Yearly typhoon attacks are hindering economic growth and the general progress of the country. The bottom line is - the country must deal with its fundamental problems or perish.

Opinion: Megan Fox

Ok, I have to hand it to her - she is DAMN HOT. However, she comes off as a bitch.

Anderson Cooper is THE man!

Humongo Jellyfish

Nomura's Jellyfish can grow up to 6 feet. They are currently being a pest in the Sea of Japan according to the CNN article: Japanese fishermen brace for giant jellyfish

Some of my friends are scuba divers and I definitely don't want to swim beside these ridiculous things. Well, I think I am afraid of deep water anyways, but still.

North Korea

The United States and the United Nations have already taken steps in order to control North Korea's nuclear capabilities. North Korea has shown the world (more like announced) its nuclear weapons capability. If the nuclear technology was used for peaceful means like nuclear energy then I would lean towards leaving them alone, but in this case, North Korea will obviously use the technology for military purposes.

The United States has met with Russia, China, Japan and South Korea and together they have created a plan to deal with North Korea. The United Nations has created sanctions against North Korea and will become stricter if the nation continues its nuclear testing.

I suggest doing two things:
1) Passing HR2647 National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2010 ASAP to increase military capabilities on the island of Guam.
2) Involve the Philippines in the plan to deal with North Korea. The Philippines is the only truly democratic nation in the region and has an excellent relationship with the United States. The archipelago also proved to be critical ground during World War II. I believe that the Philippines has the capability of being a great civil asset (not a military one, although it may contribute some).

Michael Jackson

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

There is a debate right now whether MJ's legacy will be his past contribution to music or his more recent controversies. I think, in the end, MJ's music and contribution to the world will win out. His music shed light on race issues and global problems of the time. However, his recent controversies currently flood the media and I, to be honest, am interested in the coroner's report and the truth about his skin condition and the deal with his kids.

I think favorite song of MJ's at the moment is "Man in the Mirror"

Transformers Response

First: Why did the Decepticons have significantly more robots than the Autobots?

Anyways, moving on. I don't know if anyone else noticed, but the Autobot cars were all made in the United States while the enemy Decepticon cars were all made in foreign countries. This reminds me of the time when the comic/superhero world created Captain America and Red Skull in the late 1940s to represent America and Democracy v. Communism and the Soviet Union, respectively. So, instead of nuclear weapons in the Transformers 2 movie, the opposing sides represent the current economic situation of the world in a larger sense. One can also view the two sides on a more specific level - U.S. auto companies v. Foreign auto companies. If real life and the movie were juxtaposed, then currently we would be in the middle of the movie when Optimus Prime has died and the Autobots are getting their ass kicked.

Barrel Monster

I love it! Article by NCSU's Technician here: Barrel Monster Creates a Stir on Campus

The guy that created this urban art has a blog with pretty cool night pictures: nopromiseofsafety.com

NC Budget Deficit

I haven't really researched much into the NC deficit, but from what I am seeing that the media is reporting, I don't like how they are trying to close the gap.

First, they have cut state employees' pay by 0.5%. Then they are trying to increase public university tuition by 8%. And finally, they are also cutting public education budgets and laying off teachers.

I hope that when they cut state employees' salaries that the cut involved the salaries of the NC General Assembly. I just think its really hypocritical when government officials cut peoples' salaries and not their own. And I mean, I think members of the NC General Assembly are already well-to-do people, often being partners in law firms or having their own private businesses.

I have a problem with them increasing tuition and decreasing the education budget. I think that education should be one of the last or actually, THE LAST place where a state should look to close the gap on its budget deficit. I mean, really, this is EDUCATION. Education = jobs = contribute to the economy.

Like I said, I haven't researched much into this topic or thought about it that much so my comments may be ignorant. But I am seeing it from the perspective of a regular citizen who doesn't research budget policy and how the media is portraying it.

New York City Assessment

I went to New York City over Memorial Day weekend and I have concluded that the city is not my cup of tea. I have always thought that NYC would be one of the cities that I would want to live in 'just for the experience' and well, I have experienced all that I want in 5 days.

New York City is an acquired location, like beers are acquired tastes. The city is just too busy for me. The subway is really dirty (I can handle the Washington, DC Metro). And everything is expensive. Even if I was a millionaire CEO, I wouldn't want to live in NYC. I would find someplace in the suburbs of NYC to settle. I guess, I like a significant separation between commercial and residential areas. I mean, seriously, one Avenue is a conglomerate of shops, like a walk-around mall, and then you would turn the corner onto a Street and it would be residential. A nice condo would be right across a restaurant or a antique shop.

Oh and about the subway - its complex. We tried asking for subway directions from natives and they argued between themselves on the best way to get from point A to point B. I mean, jeez, if the natives don't have it down then who does? Maybe take a taxi everywhere? Nope, that gets expensive after a few trips. There is basically a $3 charge for just sitting in one, even before the meter starts to move.

Also, there are tourists EVERYWHERE speaking different languages. Funny thing, I was in Chinatown and the language I heard spoken the most was French.

There are some good things about NYC though. There are some awesome places to eat. There are awesome boutiques everywhere that you can get a bargain. Then there are also the expensive places. I guess you have to live there and find out where the good places are. For example, Big Wong Restaurant is a place where you would never go but the food is AWESOME and its CHEAP! Sure you have to sit with Chinese families and their kids - its not a place where you have to use etiquette, let me tell you. Haha.

For those who are visiting New York, I would suggest to go and buy a Frommer's NYC guide. That book is awesome. It has everything you can think of and tells you the real deal from a NYC native's perspective.

My personal conclusion - visit NYC, don't live there.

Washington, DC Internships

I think unpaid Washington, D.C. internships in Federal Government are unfair. How do they expect us to to live in DC for the summer/semester without any income. I mean sure they urge us to look for funding through non-profits, but those are rare. So, the majority of individuals who take unpaid DC government internships are rich. So they have every financial advantage in life (and probably education too) and now they have a political advantage. How about us who come from the middle class and who are on college loans? I can go on and on but I will stop there. Just frustrated.

I have a new hobby: Jumping

Sequel to Dick in a Box

Revisited: Facebook and GPA

This is a hot topic right now with people actually trying to research and study the relationship between Facebook and GPA. In my previous post "Facebook v. GPA," I posted a CNN article about an Ohio doctoral student who actually did a study on the relationship and the answer is that more time on Facebook equals low GPA. If you just think about it, the common sense answer is that there is a negative relationship between Facebook and GPA - as the time spent on Facebook increases then GPA decreases. If graphed in scatter plot there would be a definite negative trend.

This phenomenon is not new. In the past there has been attempts to find out the relationship between AIM and GPA. In my opinion Facebook v. GPA has a stronger negative relationship than AIM v. GPA. Why? Because Facebook is more interactive. There is more "stuff" to do on Facebook. On AIM, back in the day, you just check people's away messages and simple profiles. In Facebook you can do that and more - look at pictures, comment, stalk people, profiles are more in depth, there are games, etc.

Of course this negative relationship does not apply to everyone. There are even outliers out there that spend countless hours on Facebook yet still retain a high GPA. Well, it could be that these people are naturally smart or they use Facebook to their advantage. Yes, they use Facebook academically. They message their friends and ask help on homework and so forth. Individuals can find out the same mental anguish that a friend is going through with a Calculus problem based on their status message.

However, it all boils down to self-control and self-discipline. If you want to do better in school - then get off Facebook (and AIM) and go to the library or a place that doesn't have computer access. If you need to do online research then try not to go on Facebook, if you do, then just keep it in the background. You can even tell yourself that you will just check it every 30 minutes as a reward for your hard work. So, anyways, if you don't want to be part of this negative trend, then don't be, have a little self-discipline - its a lesson that we all have to learn in life.

Swine Flu Opinion

I just want to clarify: the MEDIA is making/made a big deal about the swine flu THEN everyone else followed. The democrats were not the primary agenda setters. Although I am irked by this swine flu ridiculousness to the point of cutting a bitch if they mention the words 'swine flu', the Economist writes this article which I have come to agree with.

Arguments, Debates, Discussions: Talking to Your Friends While Inebriated

Actually, the title leads to a misleading main topic and this post is actually all encompassing. Ok, so we have all been there - talking politics or life with our friends. Some topics are more sensitive than others; and some discussions may end up with a black eye or a hug, depending on the subject. My favorite kind is discussion, but lets clarify the other two.

Arguments:
This is a full out yelling contest. Basically, who has the loudest voice wins. Or whomever busts the others ear drums first. Or the argument turns into a physical altercation, then in this case the best right hook or uppercut wins. Nevertheless, this type of talk is not going anywhere, it is non-informative and non-constructive. Its purpose is to release one's immature and uncontrollable anger in verbal format. And what do you get out of it: nothing.

Debates:
Back and forth. You say your thing and then the other person does a rebuttal of your statement and then offers his statement. The purpose of a debate is to win the topic, question or controversial topic at hand. As you can probably infer, some topics are "un-winnable" like abortion or gay rights or religious. The winner of this type of talk is the one who has the most information in their memory. For every single statement Person A says, Person B will always have some study or fact or written work that contradicts A's statement. This talk is basically a battle of who has the most information. What do you get out of this talk: more (useless and probably esoteric) information.

Discussions:
This is my favorite. Discussion involves one or both of the above. Who wins in this type of talk? Nobody and everybody. This type of talk is constructive. Discussion is the mature exchange of ideas. Its purpose is to constructively explore a topic or subject. A person can ask the other person for clarification. There are no 'sides'. What do you get out of this talk: at best, enlightenment; at its worst, more questions.

TextsFromLastNight.com

FML takes 1st place, TextsFromLastNight gets 2nd. Thanks to Falling Up blog.

Barack Cartoon

Summer 2009 Style - Shoes

Sperry Top Siders are the new Chuck Taylors. If you don't have a pair of brown Sperrys then go get yourself one now. They are affordable; between $50-100 depending on the store that you go to or the style that you buy. You can wear them with anything - jeans, shorts, khakis. They are also easy-wear, you just slip them on and you are out the door! They are no longer categorized under frat clothing, but will move into ubiquitous status this summer. Make sure you buy the odor eaters inserts because you don't wear these with socks. I repeat, DO NOT wear Sperry's with socks - it just looks ridiculous.