The Best of USI

Okay, these were a lot easier for me to come up with than the worst of USI. Here we go...

Number One) I love the fountain. My night class just happened to have a view of the fountain and I would zone out when my teacher got boring (you can only make history so interesting) and look at the fountain. I later found out this really bugged the lady who sat behind me, which made me do it all the more often.

Number Two) As an engineering major, I think it's really awesome that they're building a new engineering building. I've had a lot of fun watching the construction this semester.

Number 3) The flowers around campus are gorgeous. 'Nuff said.

Numero Quatro) I have a daily commute of about fifteen minutes. It's a really pretty drive, and I get to listen to my music and collect myself between the stress of getting ready and the stress of going to class. Without speeding and getting a ticket, there's really no way to hurry my drive here so I just have to sit there and go with the flow of life for a little while. It's a really good thing. This sign is on my way here, and is (technically I hope) on the USI campus, and so qualifies for this post.

The most important and awesome thing about USI, for me, is that it's near home. My family lives around this area, I grew up in this area, and I really missed it last semester when I was in Oregon. So, the absolute best thing about USI is that it's in Indiana. Have a good summer everyone!

The Worst of USI

This post will be first because I didn't want my worsts to be at the top of my page. Basically, I love USI and it is far superior to my old school.
Number 1) Road construction. I am not excited about this.
Number 2) Getting stuck behind the shuttle when I am running late for class. THis happens a lot.
Number three. I'm not really all that fond of the new UC bridge/cone/ clown hat thingy.
Number 4) While the parking here is much better than my school in Oregon, I would still like to see closer parking to the front buildings after they finish all the glorious road construction. Of course, doing this would mess up the parking situation that exists already and creat more construction. hmm...

Another One Of My Favorite Things

see more pwn and owned pictures

A few posts ago, I discussed my favorite web comic, xkcd. This week, I thought I would reveal another of my favorite places on the web to visit.

The Fail Blog website www.failblog.org has provided me with much laughter and enjoyment this past year. I found it while seeking an explanation of why my friends in AP Physics class in high school were always saying the words "fail", "epic fail," and "win". It is a testament to the stupidity of man. I don't know that I can really explain it, you'll just have to check it out for yourself.

While you're there, direct your gaze to the top navigation bar. You should see many links with the letters "lol" in them. Failblog is part of a conglomerate of websites devoted to funniness in all forms. Lolcats, Loldogs, Fun With Charts, and Engrish along with failblog are daily checks for me. With all the stress in life, I need some laughter now and then.

Be sure to check this one out, if you aren't aware of it already. I hope it makes you smile as much as I did.

I Forgot To Post Twice Last Week

Apparently, there's no class today. Fail for me because I went to the room anyway. With the unexpected free hour I now have, I decided to post the blog I didn't post last week.

This is a blatant and biased plug for my friend Matt's blog. You can see it here. He calls it "The Hunt for Red November." It's part political, part amusing, and part thought provoking. Although I do not always agree with what he has to say, I am almost always entertained one way or the other.

So great job Matt! You've achieved the immortal status of providing me with a blog entry that fulfills my duties as a student of Honors 102. Well done indeed.

My List

I lifted this out of my diary. I wrote it a while ago.

Things I want to do and Places I Want to Visit before it's too late:

1) The Great Barrier Reef
2) The Tepee Hotel
3)Venice
4)Paris
5)Swim with a pod of wild Dolphins
6)Hear a humpback whale
7)See the blue ice in Alaska
8)see the floating city in South America
9)The Incan Ruins
10) A Native American Reservation
11) Drive Route 66

And these are the ones I'm adding today:

12) Tour Ancient Egypt
13) The Galapagos Islands
14) Ireland
15) Australia
16) Amazon River and Jungle

As you can see, I hope to do a lot of traveling some day. Post the places you'd like to visit or things you'd like to do as a reply; I think it would be really neat to see what our class hopes to do.

Be the Crane

I saw the most awe inspiring site today. Out my backdoor flows the Ohio River. There's a lot of debris floating downriver this time of year. Today, on one of the logs, sat four cranes. They were completely motionless, even as the log turned in circles and continued speeding along.
I watched them until they floated away and out of my sight. They never flew away, or even fluttered a feather. It got me thinking about how small those four cranes were compared to the big river. Yet they were not afraid.
What an accomplishment would it be if we could all behave like those cranes? If we could learn to go with the flow of life. If we could learn not to fight the small currents, knowing that they are insignificant in the big picture. Better still, if we could learn to stay close to our friends when times get tough.
Short story short, the next time you catch yourself stressed from a test or paper, be the crane.

This made my day...

This could be considered off topic, I know, but it has to be said.

So, I was in my advising appointment Monday, which is why I missed class, and talking about the usual to my counselor.

Suddenly, in the middle of his sentence, his cell phone goes off. *doo de doo de doodoodoo-doodoo dooddle de doo dooddle de doo* He makes the fastest move I've ever seen to turn around and shut it off, then continues talking.

I waited a moment, tried not to snicker, and said slowly, "That was the Cantina Song from Star Wars, wasn't it?" He didn't look up but smiled embarrassedly and said, "Yes it was."

Like I told him then, that just made my day.

My Favorite...

Let's say we were playing twenty questions. And let's say you asked me what my favorite comic was. (Because that's everybody wants to know...) I would have to say this one. It's nerdy, satirical, and just a little off.

Check out more here.

Disclaimer: Murder is bad. Don't do it.

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted!

For the next few days, until Thursday, I will be incognito, unreachable, technologically challenged, in short, camping. I'm going to go hide away from the world for a little while. I'll be rock climbing, hiking, sitting by a cozy campfire, and loving every minute of it.

Pictures might follow this one up. I am, however, notoriously bad at sharing promised pictures. But I'll try.

In the meantime, everybody have a great spring break!

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.

Then the leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

A little Robert Frost in honor of the lovely weather.

Making up for Lost Time

We talked about graduate school in class yesterday. I still am not sure what I might do about graduate school. I know I want to get a PhD in engineering, but what I really enjoy is renewable energy. Schools are just now starting to make this a major so I don't know how I will incorporate this into my current major, let alone a graduate degree.

In other news, I found the information about the RISK grants at USI very interesting. I have a dead car in my driveway that I won't even get a decent trade in on. It lived a long and fruitful life, but I want to give it a second chance. I want to convert it to all electric. I know this will take time and money, but it will be a great way to improve my skills. So, I plan on pursuing this grant option, and we'll see where it gets me.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell: Part II

The benefits of hydrogen fuel cells are that they produce power with water as their only by-product. The downside is that hydrogen is not abundant in nature, and so it has to be produced which is an expensive process. However, all things improve in efficiency with time, and this is a relatively new process. The oxygen can be derived from regular air in most cases, so the price of refining oxygen is not an issue.

As mentioned, water is the only by-product produced my fuel cells, as opposed to harmful greenhouse gasses and other harmful chemicals produced by burning fossil fuels. I don't believe anyone has done a study on the effects of taking oxygen from the air to power these fuel cells, but it would be something to potentially look in to. Also, as shown on the diagram, part of a hydrogen fuel cell uses platinum. I know I don't need to mention that platinum's expensive. In addition, current fuel cells produce a lot of heat; most of the energy they produce is in the form of heat. Consider, though, that power plants lose most of their power in production as heat and 40% of what actually leaves the plant is lost from power lines, and fuel cells don't look so bad. However, the current method of producing hydrogen involves using fossil fuels, and it takes more energy to produce hydrogen than the hydrogen itself can produce, thus creating more pollution than just using fossil fuels. There are, however, potential methods of producing hydrogen that don't use fossil fuel. These have yet to be refined.

Overall, fuel cells look average to me. Their downfalls will likely be solved through research and improved efficiency. Unfortunately, this is the one power source that the government pushes. You see, if cars are powered by hydrogen and air, people still have a reason to "go to the pump" and get hydrogen, it just won't be the same pump. In contrast, solar powered cars require no gas stations or hydrogen stations, and the government has yet to find a way to tax sunlight. Therefor, hydrogen fuel cells are a way for the government to look like it cares about the environment, all the while only switching their revenue source from oil to hydrogen.

I hate to look like a pessimist, but because of this I would rather see a switch to solar or wind power; sources that aren't taxable and would represent a real change to American people.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell

This diagram show exactly how a Hydrogen Fuel Cell works. There are other types of fuel cells, but as far as I know this type is the most common (at least the one most commonly heard about). I will post more later. If anyone has any questions they'd like me to answer, let me know.

Guys, Maybe You Can Help Me Out Here...

What's the deal with newspapers? i never read them, I get what I need from the news (weather) but my dad always reads them. he buys one every day, sometimes two. I had to read the wall street journal for econ tonight, and I wanted to pull out hair. I can't get it to not fall over while I'm reading it. Light shines through the back of it and makes it harder to read. i can't hold it close enough to my face without having it topple just as I can read it. I just gave up and tore my article out so it was small enough to manipulate and hold close enough to read. Why are these annoyances so successful, and why with men in particular? It seems all the basic physics problems inherent in the newspaper were solved by the magazine, yet newspapers remain.

I'd like to hear some other opinions on this. Guys; do you like newspapers, why or why not? Girls too; do these annoy you as much as me?

Traveling Abroad

I saw the movie Taken this weekend. It's the story of a girl that gets kidnapped while in Paris and sold into a sex trafficking ring, and how her Jason Bourne style father fights to get her back. Unfortunately, things like that happen in real life. As a woman, it makes me scared to be an exchange student. Anyway, this was my post in response to last Monday's class.

Ode to a Warm Day

How beautiful your sunshine
The snow and ice melt away
And for a time
Birds sing in the trees

Cold and Winter may come again
And arctic winds howl loudly
But the memory remains
Of this one bright day


I wrote this Friday. In case you can't tell, I'm tired of winter. Bring on the sun!

Connection Troubles

I just spent the last two hours trying to get my internet up and running; one was spent of the phone talking to att. After four departments, a guy in Nova Scotia helped me determine that my data card was broken and had been since i bought it. According to him, I should no be able to connect to the internet now. Hmmm... I'm beginning to doubt the technical abilities of att. At least they listened to me and offered me a free replacement if I bring it in by Monday. how this is relavent, I don't know, but that's my blog for today.

My Memo the the President

Dear President Obama,

What a world you have inherited. It seems there are more problems today, and more severe, than in any previous age. I encourage you, though, for all these errors can be corrected. Concerning the environment, however, I would advocate you to act quickly. This is not a problem that can wait fifty years to be solved; it cannot be ignored even a day. As you said in your inauguration speech, “What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.” The United States has been, up to this point, irresponsible in its use of energy and natural resources. Because of this, our world is in a drastic state of climate change. The way that we use our energy needs to be addressed immediately, and we need to make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy.

How easy it would be to bury our heads in the sand and continue living life in our current state. We cannot do this. The world is changing around us: weather patterns have become erratic and unpredictable; natural disasters of epic proportions are occurring with increasing regularity, hurricane Katrina, the 2004 tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts, floods. Scientists who do not subscribe to the global warming/global climate change theory say that the earth is experiencing a natural cycle of climate change, and that the erratic climate history of the planet suggests that the previous centuries of calm weather have been, for lack of a better expression, a fluke. While there is some evidence to suggest that this may be true, it should not be used as an excuse to continue irresponsible behavior. Scientists have proven that increasing amounts of Carbon Monoxide and Dioxide in the atmosphere can and are changing our climate. In that case, even if we are experiencing a natural weather cycle, our habits of energy consumption are making it worse; both of these facts are true, and one cannot be taken without the other, as some would try to do. So, then, given the facts at hand, a solution to the energy crisis must be found.

An investment of time and resources in research toward new and better sources of clean and renewable energy, and a commitment to act upon the findings of that research will allow the United States to lead the way in solving the energy crisis. It is necessary not only to decrease pollution, but to create new forms of harnessing earth’s natural resources and improve and instate existing forms throughout America. Consider the current state of the economy and of unemployment. An investment in renewable forms of energy is a dramatic step in the right direction to help those problems. Imagine if grants were provided to companies committed to building and expanding renewable energy harnessing plants. New plants would open; these need builders, contractors, architects, engineers, and suppliers to build them, and workers and managers to operate them. They will provide business to banks, local restaurants, local housing developers, and most importantly, jobs to everyday citizens. Power plants cannot be outsourced to countries across the sea where the labor is cheaper, the profit margin higher for corporate employees, and there are no benefits to the American people. Implementing these changes now will also prevent further human impact on the environment. Future global catastrophes can be prevented, and at the same time, the economy will receive a much needed stimulus. And this form of stimulus package follows the old adage, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will never go hungry.” Renewable energy investments are, so to speak, lessons for the American people in how to fish. New business provides for the future in a way that a monetary handout cannot.

As has been shown, the world is currently in a state of climate change. Whether this change is partly a natural cycle or not, science has shown that the greenhouse gasses created from the burning of fossil fuels to produce energy do have a negative effect on the environment. These effects include large scale catastrophes such as hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami. The good news is, these problems are solvable, if we act now. Because global warming begets more global warming, we are at a crossroads in time. If nothing is done to drastically decrease greenhouse gas emissions while increasing renewable energy sources, the climate will progress beyond the point where human kind can do anything about it. This is the time to act, if any action is to be taken, and if none is taken, we resign ourselves to oblivion. This is a problem that can be met and defeated. I and your country have faith in you. Please invest in our future as a nation and invest time and funding in the development and deployment of Renewable energy technologies, and give this country the chance and change it so desperately needs. Thank you for your time, and may God Bless you and your efforts and this great country.

With Highest Regards,

Samantha C. Smith

This Does Not Compute

Last Monday, we talked in class about morality; what it means, how we use it, and how the government should use it. I don't want to go over any of that today. I just came across a short and interesting thought that I would like your insight on.

Rod Blagojevich, the governor from Illinois, has officially been impeached. His crime? Attempting to sell President Obama's senate seat. Within weeks of this discovery he has been tried, impeached, and replaced.

Now, here's my question: if Blagojevich can be tried and impeached for something as immoral as attempting to sell a senate seat, why did former President George W. Bush remain in office full term after he lied about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which lead our country into a war that continues even now, ignored his country's citizens in one of the worst hours of need in history, during hurricane Katrina, and violated the Constitution and the Geneva Convention at Guantanamo Bay?

On the scale of immorality, guess which offender I'm ranking more heinous? And he got off scot free.

Introductions

Hello everyone! I seem to be the new kid on the block so to speak. Due to a very weird first week and signing up for classes the Friday before, I missed the Monday class. So it's okay if you see this and don't know me. Why did I not sign up for classes before the week before school? Well...

I moved to Castle High school for my Senior year, and everything was fantastic! Soon, it's time to pick a college and, for me, that meant picking a major as well. I thought I wanted to go into physics and got accepted into a college in Florida, but then I did some soul searching and found that physics was not really what I was passionate about. And that's one thing my parents have always stressed to me, "Do whatever you want, as long as you're passionate about it." I noticed that I spent all my free brain time (you know, drives to and from school, time spent waiting in line, when you really don't have anything to do but daydream) thinking about ways to improve energy and to work with renewable energy. Bingo, that's what I want to do. Simple, right?

As it turns out, not so much. You see, interest in renewable energy is so new, there aren't any majors out there that really focus on it. I had a hard time finding anything until I stumbled across Oregon institute of Technology and their renewable energy engineering program. I was so happy. I applied, got accepted, and began a grand scramble to get funding. Graduation rolled around, and, while sad about moving all the way to Oregon (that's Oregon the state, by the way. I get a lot of questions about that) I was certain that I would make new friends, excited about my new apartment, and excited about my major. Plus, my dad was able to accept a transfer to Washington and my parents were moving there. The whole family packed up our things, said goodbye to our house, and set out for Oregon the beginning of August last year.

Now I'm going to skip ahead a few months. Not that August and September weren't interesting and important to the story in their own way, but I'm not shooting for an essay here. I want you to actually finish my first post. So, in the time that's passed, I'm having problems. I don't really like where I'm living, I haven't made any new friends, and my school is looking and feeling more rinky dink by the day. My mom hurt her back and had to stay with me, which ended up being great because I'm not sure I would have told her how much I didn't like Oregon if she hadn't been in the same room. We talk, and I discover that I'd really like to move home, and then she tells me she really would to. But we're not fly off the handle people so we wait. But, getting back to November, that was the month of the interesting discussion in my engineering class.

My teacher was giving a boring lecture to our small renewable energy class about engineering as a whole, and the topic of accreditation comes up. He talks about how important an accredited program is to an engineering student because otherwise said student cannot get a graduate degree nor is it likely that they will be hired. The class is uninterested. By this time, everyone has figured out that they can play and surf the net on the computers at each work station so hardly anyone's listening anyway. But then the prof. goes on to mumble that our degree is not yet accredited, but that it will be, and moves on to the next slide. Suddenly, everyone is awake and has questions. The basics, it's a gamble to be in an unaccredited program, and no one had any idea that this was not accredited, and, by the way, it might not be by the time your class graduates.

I already knew that though. Remember that scramble for funding I mentioned? (I hope everyone's taking notes. there's a quiz after the reading.) Well, as I was searching I found a women's engineering scholarship. There aren't too many women engineers; I thought I was a shoe in. But, before you can even apply, they have you find your school and major on the ABET accreditation site. I look for my school. I find it. I look for my program. It's not there. This was spring, and when I called my school, I was told that the website simply hadn't been updated yet and to check back in the fall. So I checked back in the fall. Still not there. I call the head of the engineering department for my school (he's in Portland), he doesn't want to give me a straight answer so i put my mom on the phone. Only when she threatens a lawsuit does he come loose with the truth. OIT is not accredited for my program. Not only that, but several other engineering programs that have been going for many more years than mine are also not accredited. In case you can't guess, that's bad. Very bad. It means the school lied to its students and recruited under false pretenses. Bad.

So, what do you do when your school gives you the option of gambling on a program that isn't accredited? If you're me, you move back to Indiana. You call USI, talk to the most wonderful people everywhere and do as much as possible over the phone to get yourself enrolled. I had to wait for my transcript at the end of the semester, though, before i could be accepted. And, by the time OIT sent out transcripts, I had already been on the road for three days. We packed me up and left the day after I finished my finals. But, remember when I said my parents were moving out with me? Their stuff was still in storage in Washington since my mom had never moved out of my apartment. Have you ever unpacked a storage shed in negative ten degrees with snow on the ground? I have. Because the snow started falling as we were leaving town the day after my finals, and we fought it all the way across the mountains and plains driving home.

But I'm here. I'm home. And so much else went on that I have not mentioned. Maybe I'll do another post on it someday, but the important thing today was to tell you all how I got here, and why I was not at the first class meeting. It was because until the Friday before class started, when I went into the admissions office for the first time, I was not technically a student at USI. I am so glad to be one now, and I look forward to meeting all of you in class tomorrow. And, if you happen to make it down this far, thanks for reading. :)