DIRT! The movie

This documentary focused on, what else but, dirt! Dirt, believe it or not, is alive. A handful of dirt has more organized information than the surface of other known planets. There are so many different organisms in dirt, and they are one big community, there are trees plants and they give our community, the human community, oxygen and they take away what we don’t want, aka carbon dioxide.  Everything we make starts in the soil. Paper? Trees, soil. Food, plants, soil. We are destroying the one thing that is our wealth! We have lost 1/3 of topsoil in the last 100 years. We lose more and more every day due to the lack of respect we give dirt. When pesticides are sprayed all over fields, that destroys the earth because only 20% of it or so actually gets into the plant, the rest ends up in our waterways. If we treat the dirt, the soil, the black gold a little better, it will actually be the new gold.

            I honestly have no idea what I think of this movie. I knew dirt was important and all, but I never fully comprehended just what exactly it does. I knew it grew plants and such, but everything comes from dirt! It’s amazing to think of that. Seeing what is happening to dirt, it makes me want to do something more. I don’t know, maybe I’ll start composting or something. We need more dirt, or soil, and that is the bottom line. How ridiculous is it that I had to but a bag of dirt to replant a tree in my backyard? Quite ridiculous, especially because we had to dig a hole and had a huge pile of dirt just sitting there. I remember asking my dad why we did not just re-use it, and he told me because it is not good for the new tree. Watching this video made me understand why it was not good, it was polluted, and the new tree would not grow right if it has horrible polluted soil around it. But the way we just get rid of dirt, putting cement on top of it, we must treat it with respect. After all, we walk all over it every day, perhaps respecting it and making it healthier would make it less mad. 

Wiscareers

Ok, first things first, I am a Minnesota Girl born and raised. I have no idea what the Wiscareers is. Well... Now I do, but I didn't know when it was assigned. We had to go through 5 different assessments and then it will, not grade us but tell us more about ourselves and what job would be best for you.

The first link was Personal Globe Inventory. This link told me that I was a very realistic person, and I find this true. Even more than being realistic I am a social person. This was a little far fetched to me, because I feel I am more empathetic than social. Perhaps that is what the assessment meant by social. I did NOT agree with the idea of my artistic skills lacking, I am so artistic, I write poems and songs and I play two instruments and dance and so much more. But other than that this part of the Wiscareers was no too far from the truth.

The second link was the Career Interest Snapshot. Now I know what I want to major in, so that is one step to my career. This assessment said I was investigative social and realistic. Realistic, there is that word again. I did not agree with the careers it suggested, Radiation Therapist? Two different types of nurse? A teacher? Now I do admit that I was thinking about becoming a teacher for a while, but then I found Engineering! I am an engineer, that is that.

The third part, Career Skills. It gave me completely different occupations!  More or less, it told me my number one job would be a Postsecondary Teacher. The next would be Adult Literacy Teacher and Special education teacher. What is with all the teacher jobs??!!

The next section was the Work Skills Inventory. I had two high scores, Mathematical/Finance, and Self-Management. Finaly a score that agreed with me, I love math and I am pretty good at it too! The next hig was mechanical! THIS is what I was looking for, I am going to be a mechanical engineer, so I need math and mechanical skills.

The last section we were told to do was the Work Values Inventory. My values profile, this was strange. My highest score by a landslide of almost 20 pts was Achievement. I would never think that achievement was that important to me, of corse I like succeeding, but I never would have thought that would beat out respect by 40 pts.

For the Occupations link I clicked the work skills link. I did not really like this, it have different skills one should have and how you define it and how you get information and such. I feel as though most of this was self explanatory.
Under the Education link I went into Major and Degree Info. I know what Mech Eng has to do, but I wanted to see if there was anything else I should know... Nope, not really.
Now I liked the Job Seeking link, I clicked the Employers or whatever it was, and I found a lot of names that would hire a mech eng. This is great if I am looking for an internship next summer.
For budgeting, I did enjoy the math part, but that was about all I liked to do, put in different numbers and see how the rest changes. I don't want to focus too much on the future now do I?
The whole last link thing and WHO AM I thing was strange. I have a lot of half good things that are good for mechanical engineering. :p it's strange to see this all laid out before me, seeing what I need to have and what I actually have...

I don't know how to end this or if anyone will even read it, so I will say, MINNESOTA!!!!!!!!!!!

Energy Fair

Ok, so on Friday we went to the energy fair. This was a really hot day, and everyone was really tired. I went to two different exhibits or talks about different things.
The first was called Local and Sustainable Food, and this was defining what local meant and how we are making food now and how that is harming the environment. I liked this one and I learned a few different things from here. First and foremost I learned that waaaayyyy back when, in towns all over the place the food used to be grown, canned, and sold all in the same city/town. This was amazing to me, because I think about 90% of carrots are from california. My home town, or outside it anyway, grows corn. Yah, just like the rest of the small towns, corn. Possibly the number one crop in America. I am sorry, but this is kind of sad. Ok, the second thing I learned was that for EVER SINGLE SOLITARY calorie we eat, there are 9 CALORIES OF PETROLEUM USED TO GROW MAKE that single calorie. That is a ratio of 1:9, it's a very bad bad ratio.

So by the time that this talk was over we were very hungry. We got our food from the car and found a food court! Most all of it was organic food. There was even organic ice cream! (delicious!) [on right, my friend Jessica with her organic ice cream which I ended up eating most of it]
By the time we finished eating, we went to the Key-Note Speaker, Will Allen! Now if you asked me before the fair, I had no idea who the h-e-double-hockey-sticks he was. Now if you asked me, I would tell you one thing that would make you dig further: He grew up on a farm, vowed to never grow food again, and went later in life to grow his own food again! I know that does not make much since, but that's what I meant when I said someone would ask me another question to inquire more. Basically what he did was make a bunch of small greenhouses and grow his own food all year round! But it's more than just him now. It's an entire community with him, they also have their own compost with lots and lots of worms.
We didn't get to hear as much as I wished we could have because Will Allen was about an hour late in getting to his own time slot. We left after about 45 min of him talking, and he said a lot more about how we need to grow our own food again, helping the environment and all that jazz.
Well that's the energy fair for you. So much but not a lot. :)

Food Inc Reaction

Ok, so the idea of using corn for food is great and all, but how we came to be is kind of crazy. We use corn to such an extent that we use it for fuel, food, livestock feed, as well as replacement as high fructose corn syrup for regular sugar. The fact that corn is in such abundance gives us reason to find new uses for it, but the fact that that we are using it in such horrible ways, that is despicable. Because Corn stays for longer, I feel like if we planted more sweet corn we could feed more people and help the hunger problem in America.

I plan on keeping on buying organic food and also keep on my diet of not eating red meat. For some reason I feel as though that is not only keeping me healthier, but also even a little bit helping the Earth. Individual actions are easier to start and keep up, where as group/ collective actions are harder to get people up to it and stay with it. Collective groups make more of an impact for the environment.

Museums

I really don't feel like writing too much because my last few were very long. Mainly what we did was visit four different museums in Madison, the Chazen Museum of Art, the UW-Madison Geology Museum, the UW Zoological Museum, and the L.R. Ingersoll Physics Museum. Now what I am so posed to do with the whole, this is what we did at the museums, is show how it has to do with what I think science is.

For the Chazen Museum of Art, well its a little difficult to compare art to science, but I managed it some how. The paintings and sculptures all had to be imagined before they were actually created. That is the same with science, and inventing things to help the human race. There were a few displays that answered the questions I was told to answer.
the first one was Which display best represents your thoughts and/or feelings about your current major and career goals?
The display I thought answered this question was "The Artist's Studio." I thought it showed the idea of what I want to do with my major, I want to gather with people in my area of expertise (engineering) but we have different ideas. I want to discuss with them and then together make something brilliant.

The second question was Which display had the most affect on you, good or bad?
The painting I found that right away spoke to me was "Lady at Fireplace." The painting, the she was sitting alone, reading. I do this so often, and I feel people think I am a loner or sad. This makes me think 'why can't people just be alone for a bit and gather thoughts?' This woman is calm, not over emotional, not in need for someone to feel sorry for her. This is how I am many a time. I don't know if you would consider this a good or bad affect, but it affected me and made me think so much more.

The third question was 'Which display represents the concept of 'growth'?
I found a painting called French Landscape. It is a woman standing off a dirt path, and I feel as though it answers this question. She is standing back, and looking at a bunch of animals. She is protecting herself with a stick in her hand, perhaps she learned from a past mistake? She is off the beaten path, and going her own way. She is observing and learning. She is growing.

I arrived at the UW Zoological Museum at 1:50 pm, and they informed me that they were closed, but for some reason they liked the way my group was interested in the STEM fields, and gave us the grand tour. This museum was particularly interesting. I liked how a piece of history is preserved like that and it helps in learning and planning about the future. The process that is taken to preserve the animals and bones is incredible. The facilities are complex but pen to the students and are hands on, which is what I enjoy about science and labs. With the entire time my group was there, we left around 3:00 pm.

At 3:05 pm I arrived at the UW Madison Geology Museum. I did not like this museum, it did not really make me feel as though it related to my area of the STEM fields. The part of the museum I liked was the Cave. I was liking how I could hear the echo, and it made me want to find out how there could be an echo in a plastic cave. I looked around and found the microphone. This was very disappointing to me, because that takes away the wonder of the cave. We left the museum at 3:30, because I attempted to become more interested in the rocks, but I just could not manage it.

I arrived at the last museum at 3:35 pm, and I instantly knew I would like the L.R. Ingersoll Physics Museum. I loved how hands on it was. All the activities and having the description as to how and why they worked; influencing the machines to change the outcome is what I really enjoyed doing. Trial and error, the very basics of science. Even if I did not understand what the activities explained, I got the general idea.

30 things

Our communication professor on the very first day made us make a list of things that are important to us now that we are on our own. My list reads as follows:

1. phone
2. bed
3. computer
4. photos
5. first aid kit
6. journals
7. bedroom
8. bathroom
9. camera
10. watch
11. food
12. money
13. ability to take care of self
14. communication
15. ability to meet people
16. memories
17. family
18. love
19. ability to protect self
20. reason/strong will
21. beliefs
22. pride
23. individuality
24. openness
25. coffee/ caffeine
26. friends
27. community where I belong
28. medication
29. music
30. pen

30 things that are important. Out of the thirty we had to choose a top five. My top five were:

1. family
2. love
3. pride
4. community where I belong
5. pen

I chose family because they stand behind me for every decision I have made. Although some they do not completely agree with, they help me when I need it most. I love them so much. Love was my second choice because with out love, from family friends and someone very special, I would not even be where I am. Love got me to be proud in myself for the first time in my life. Pride helps me walk down the street with my head held high holding the hand of my girl friend and speaking out for what I believe is right. A community where I belong is so important to me, because I NEED to know that there is someone out there that accepts me and will keep me in their life, even after they know how strange I can be. Finally I chose my pen. This may seem strange to some people, but the reason why I chose it is because they best way I am able to communicate with anyone is through my words, my writing. It is the only way I can take out my anger and not hurt anyone. It calms me down and helps me think through my thoughts.

Well that is my list. Hope it wasn't too long or too unusual. :) 

What is Science (To Me)?

What is Science? Science is the very existence of our being. It helps us function, biology; it helps us in our every day lives, physics/chemistry/biology; science is all around us.  Science is what started the universe, the big bang theory, and it is what helped scientists come up with theories as to how humans evolved. Science is all around us: toothpaste, lights, and fans, even cars. But you know what is amazing about science? New things are being discovered every day!

What happens when things are discovered? They are put to use in some way or another. What happens with that? Everyone wants what is new. How does this happen? Things are mass-produced on a factory line or by machine. That is what I want to do, I want to make the machines or design them, perhaps make the old ones more up-to-date. That is what I want to do with science, once I am able to, but for now I think science is a wonder. I can’t help but wonder what else is out in the world to be discovered and made.

Science is wonder, imagination, and determination to succeed. It is fact, logic, as well as combinations of different things. Science is our past, as well as our future. A machine is something that makes life easier, but we would never have discovered machines or how to make them as efficient as they are without science, physics (my personal favorite). Science is inescapable, no matter where you go there is always science around you. All in all, science is what makes me think, and is what has inspired me to do what I do and think outside the box. 

My Goals

As our first official blog assignment, we are to post three goals we have for ourselves while in this program. Then, as I continue to read the instructions/directions, we are to develop active steps you will take to achieve academic goals by following the S.M.A.R.T. Goals rubric.

So I suppose my first goal for this program is pass all of my classes, but that seems to generic of a goal. So instead I write:
Goal #1- Develop better time management skills that will, in the long run, improve and expand my study time which will cause an improvement in my grade.
Goal #2- Get in the habit of writing down assignments, rather than depending on memory to recall every due date.
The reason why this is my second goal is because in the past I remembered wrong due dates, and end up either scrambling to turn it in on time because I learned that my assignment was due the next day OR I end up turning it in late and have no excuse and my grade drops down how ever many levels.
My third goal seems hard to come up with. For a goal that has to do with the program, it is difficult for me to even imagine anything other than achieving my first two goals, but now as I sit here and write this, I know I have one more fault, and that is actually DOING the work the day it is assigned.
Goal #3- After the assignments are written down, not just remembered in my memory, if possible (for small assignments such as reading and bloging and math and such) do the work the day the material is covered in class.

Now I believe these goals are good by following the SMART Goals rubric.
S-specific, I was fairly specific when it came to who what and why.
M-measurable, How will I know when my goals are accomplished?

• Goal #1- My study schedule will be consistent and planed.
• Goal #2- When writing down assignments will be instinct rather than having to remind myself every time I get a new assignment.
• Goal #3- When I stop doing assignments the day before they are due.

A-attainable, these are very reasonable goals, yet difficult enough that they will take effort in completing and achieving them.
R-realistic, read above.
T-timely/tangible, I hope to have these skills by the end of the 8 weeks of this summer program.

The question is, HOW will I manage to complete all of these goals by the end of the summer? For the first goal, I will make a schedule and LIVE BY THE SCHEDULE! No exceptions, you know, unless it's life or death. For the second goal, I will carry my planner in my hand so I remember that it is there and that I must use it. For the third goal, I will use the planner and scheduled time to do homework to do my homework RIGHT AWAY!

Well, that is the first blog for this program, and it was long, but it covered everything! Hopefully the next one will be shorter. But I enjoy writing, so I will probably write a lot each blog, but I will try to cut it back a little!