Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Today's Education System

Why are there so many problems with the education system? First off, grades are not a fair representation of knowledge, as often times teachers will give extra credit, giving certain students better grades than might accurately represent their knowledge of a subject. On the flip side, some students might have a phenomenal knowledge of a subject, but test poorly, thus making it seem they do not comprehend the subject. Another problem is that, in college, often times the classes are taught by TAs rather than the actual teacher, and some of these TAs do not have a good grasp of the subject. For example, I have a TA for chemistry who thinks that nonmetals are more likely to lose electrons and that they are the most nonreactive elements. He also does not know how to do basic math, which is a problem when he's teaching CHEMISTRY!

But maybe I just have the one bad TA out there. What do you think? Leave a comment!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

My Opinion On Other People's Taste In Music

As I search for music on youtube, I notice that all the comments have one of two forms. "OMG this is like the best band like ever! like ohmahgah! all other bands are crap lol," or "This music is crap. How can anyone listen to this and not start bleeding from their ears?" Why the hate guys? Why the elitist attitude? Can't we all just get along? The kind of music someone listens to doesn't make them a better or worse person than you. Granted, people are often defined by the kind of music they listen to, thus leading certain people to associate with other people with the same taste in music and avoiding those with different tastes, but this does not make them any better or worse than those with different tastes.

This is also not to say that everyone should listen to every type of music, but don't tell someone that they can't listen to a certain type of music because you don't like it. Personally, I would never listen to country music EVER, but I don't care if other people listen to it. I don't even care if you listen to Justin Bieber, in fact I encourage it because it leads to awesome remixes like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvmIzxO0-n4
If you didn't click that, you should go back and listen to it. I think you'll enjoy it, but if you don't that's fine. THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT!!!

So the next time you see someone being a dick about how their music is so much better than everyone else's, tell him what I've told you just now. Maybe they'll understand, and then they could pass on this message of musical tolerance.

But enough about that, what are your favorite bands/types of music? Leave a comment, and don't forget to rate!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Addressing The Apparent Lack Of Foxes In The Foxhole

It appears that, besides Ash, our mascot, there are very few foxes in the foxhole. I will now address this problem, and hopefully solve it.

And now we have foxes! Thank you photographers of the internet!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Weight Loss

I personally have been struggling with my weight and an overall poor self image for a while. I used to weigh about 256 lbs. (116.12 Kg) and it got to the point where I was very depressed about it. I decided to nip my problem in the bud and started researching weight loss online. Since then I have lost about 70 lbs. (31.75 Kg) thanks to different diet tips I found and online trainers. I hope that if there is anyone out there who wants to lose weight, it is possible. With hard work and the right guidance you can lose the weight.

Now this is only if you WANT to lose the extra weight. You should be happy in your skin, no matter how big or small you may be. There are people who are in great shape, but have poor self image and it makes them almost unbearable to be around. If you are happy as you are, don't be pressured into things, especially not weight loss, as it requires full commitment, often meaning you will have to change an entire aspect of your life. I myself have become about 80% vegetarian (I don't mind eating meat, but rarely do so). So if you do plan to lose some weight, check out the links at the bottom of the post. They helped me get through some of the hurdles on my journey, which I still have yet to entirely finish.

If you are curious as to specific tips that I might have, leave a comment! I promise to get back to you.

Links:
http://www.bodyrock.tv/ - A great online trainer! Explains the workouts well and also has weekly diet challenges (and she's definitely not hard on the eyes). These workouts can get difficult if you try to completely replicate them right off the bat, so be careful and take it slow.

http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/negative-calorie-foods.html - A list of good foods to eat (it says that they are negative calorie foods, but there really are no completely negative calorie foods). These foods are great for filling you up without killing your caloric intake.

Please Follow My Friend As Well

If you guys enjoy laughing then you are going to LOVE this guy. He's a good friend of mine so please give him the same kind of support you've been giving me (that is if you aren't already following him)

http://www.ohaiderr.blogspot.com/

If you know of any other good blogs, leave a comment! Spread the love around!

Just so everyone's clear.

So in case you didn't see, at the bottom of each post are two check boxes, one for "Foxy" and one for "Fauxy." If you like something you see, rate it "Foxy," if you don't, rate it, "Fauxy." This helps me gauge what content is prefered, i.e. you want more video game news rather than world news.

Thanks!

Inception: Here Come The Arguments *SPOILERS*

By now I hope you've seen "Inception," because, in my opinion, it's a great movie. If you haven't you may want to skip over this article. For those of you who have seen it, it's time to talk.

The most argued aspect of the film is the ending. Is Cobb back to reality? (Oh, there goes gravity?) Is he in limbo? Did the top fall down or is it still spinning? What was the point of the movie? I'll answer these questions, relax.

It seems that right before the scene cuts out, the top begins to make more noise. This is due to the top beginning to tilt, as when a top starts to fall down, the surface area of the top that is in contact with the surface it is spinning on increases. If you wish to test this spin a top (or a coin) and pay close attention to how it sounds and how it looks as it gets closer and closer to falling down. Of course if it doesn't fall down you should wait for a train. By this logic, Cobb is out of Limbo.

Another reason I believe Cobb is back in reality, is that after he gets off the plane, only the people he knows respond to him, whereas, in the dreams, the entire subconscious would respond, either by looking or attacking. Another aspect of this is the fact that when Cobb and Mal are in limbo together, there are no people, only them, whereas, after the dreams there are people everywhere. Now this brings up the argument, "Couldn't Cobb create people to give himself a sense of reality?" If he could do this, why would he bother creating the airport scenario? Why wouldn't he just allow himself to be with his family right away, and therefore wouldn't he create another version of Mal?

But these arguments take away from the real point of the end of the film. The scene cutting out represents how Cobb no longer cares whether or not he lives in reality. By confronting Mal he achieved his catharsis and felt redeemed, ridding himself of his guilt. This is Christopher Nolan's point. To cleanse ourselves of our past misdeeds, or missteps, we must take responsibility and confront those whom we've wronged. Only then can we enjoy that cathartic feeling of relief.

But this is just my opinion. What do you think? Leave a comment. And please refrain from comments such as, "you're wrong." Please elaborate. Discussions are nice.