A Voyage Inside The Cell

David Bolinksky is a medical animator who is the creator of a fascinating movie that recreates the life that goes on inside the basic living cell.He helps people understand truth and beauty in the biological sciences through animation.I think in a sense that he wants people to realize that although we all think we see something when we look at it, we are not really looking at it and truly seeing. Bolinsky wanted to create for medical students "a mental image of the cell as a large bustling city of micromachines". One need only watch the film to see that he certainly succeeded.It is an amazing film showing how the most basic simple thing that is the start of all life is really a network of "micromachines" all working together to provide the cell what it needs to survive and thrive. Without them, there would be no cells, and hence no life. It forces one to really visualize and use their imaginations to realize that nothing is so simple. There is complexity in everything but one must really take the time to look, and see. Upon doing so,one must then be willing to contemplate upon the real wonders of life, its beginnings, and the possibilities and secrets that it still holds.

Surfing The Web

Surfing the web can be a lot of fun. I wish I had more time and high speed. Unfortunately, I still have dial-up which can take up a lot of time. I usually only spend about three to five hours on surfing because I just have too many other things going on right now.I visited the following sites this past week:
1. www.rcc.vccs.edu to do my college work on Blackboaed, check my college email, check assignments, etc.
2. www.ted.com for my Internet Services class assignments.It is a site with all kinds of different talks on different topics.
3. www.nasdaq.com
www.nsye.com Both of these sites were for my Business 100 class. We have a stock exhange project that we have to do, and these sites list all kinds of stocks and their prices.
4. www.southernlivingplans.com I was checking out this site because my husband and I are looking to add a Florida/Sun room onto our house and it is has some plans for doing such.
5 www.blogger.com This site was for doing my blogs for this class.
6. www.google.com This site is a great starting point for when you are looking for a site to go to, but don't know the web address. You type in a few key words and Google does a search for you. All the related web sites pop up, and you can choose from there.
7. www.beachhouse.com
www.vacationrentals.com
www.century21thomas.com
www.elliottrealty.com I checked out all of these sites because my family and I are looking to rent a beach house in Myrtle Beach S.C. this summer for a family vacation. They all popped up when I plugged in Myrtle Beach S.C. in Google.

Lead a Passionate Life

This week I decided to listen to a talk by Ben Dunlap on: The Story of a Passionate Life.Mr.Dunlap teaches at Woolford College in South Carolina and it was there that he met a Jewish immigrant by the name of Sandor Teslor. He was by then 90 years old, had started at the college in his 80's, and had taken all the courses in the college catalog.
Mr. Dunlop's talked focused on the hard life that Mr. Teslor had led from being born with 2 club feet, to he and his family being arrested and taken to the death camps by the Nazis. After surviving that, but losing his business in Yugoslovia, he immigrated to the U.S. where he finally settled in Spartanburg, S.C.. There the Clan was taking hold, but again Mr. Teslor would not be beaten and was able to be successful again. Here was a man who had faced unhuman cruelty and hardship, but never let his spirit be broken. He also never let his love of learning stop. It was in one of Mr. Dunlops lectures that he even begged to differ on the state of human beings and humbly argued that "Human beings are fundamentally good". Quite an amazing statement from a man who had survived the Nazis and prejudices again in the deep south.
We could all learn a lesson from this humble man about living life to the fullest, appreciating every day we are given, forgiving those who have hurt us, and never giving up our passion to learn. This is a man who could have easily given up, become bitter, and lived a life of hatred. Instead he chose to forgive, look beyond, and if you listen to the talk, learn how he wisely handled the prejudices and segregations of the South.

Education and The Internet

I have been out of High School for years now, but have used the Internet extensively in my studies at RCC. I'm really not sure that you could pursue a higher education today without access to the internet. It is needed for everything. I have used it for Flo classes, research purposes, and to be able to communicate back and forth with my professors and fellow students.
In five years, I'm not sure lower education and the internet will change much.While some public high schools now provide laptops for every student, money is still the big issue. Some private schools already require them. Computers are expensive, but I have been seeing articles lately about new computers that are coming out that are relatively inexpensive.Until this country really gets serious about its children and their educations, I'm afraid computer access and the internet on a daily basis for education will probably be limited to some library use or computer classes much as they are now.
There are lots of changes that need to be made in education with the first being that people in this country need to realize that the children are our future and by future, I mean our leaders, inventors, and caregivers. They need to be educated.Education takes money and in schools, money comes from taxes.Taxes are the first thing the average citizen gripes about, but for better or worse, our world is now one of technology. If we are to keep up and compete along with connecting and understanding people of other nation's and cultures, our children need to be computer literate and internet savvy.In order to connect the different peoples and nations on an academic level, it is almost as if a curriculum needs to be established on a world level.It would be created so that all students would have the same level of understanding and knowledge in order to function later on in the world much like all students learn the same basic math, reading, and writing principles.

Macworld 2008 New Releases

At Macworld 2008, four new exciting products were revealed.
They included:
1.The Mac Air Notebook-the world's thinnest notebook.
2.New software updates for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Apple TV.
3.The Time Capsule which is wireless back-up for all Macs.
4.iTune movie rentals.
How great is all of this for the Mac users out there? For more info on these new introductions, you can go to www.apple.com.

Sir Ken/ Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson gave a very interesting speech contending that our schools are killing creativity in our children and offers that " creativity is as important as literacy in education" and "that instead of growing into creativity, we grow out of creativity". As the mother of three children, I wholeheartedly agree. It seems that schools are focused on one thing these days- the SOL's and accredidation. Gone are the days of creativity, the arts, music, and just using your imagination. We are turning out robots that just just spew out facts to a test. When there is a budget crunch or time factor, the first thing to go are the arts. Children are not meant to fit into a mold or box. Every child has their own talents or gifts, and schools have a responsibility to discover that gift and nurture it to help that child grow and reach their fullest potential. It seems to me that when liitle Johnny can't sit still, the first thing a school wants to do is have him diagnosed as ADHD and put him on Ritalin. Maybe, he is just a creative soul who needs to be able to express himself through art, music, dance, or hands on learning. Not sitting still at a desk for 8 hours. I believe some children are meant to work with their hands versus books. That does not make them any less smarter or valuable. As we all know, when our pipes bust or car breaks down, we want that plumber or mechanic ASAP.
As for creativity, I would point to my own daughter as an example. She is a Pastry Chef. Do you have any idea how creative you have to be to be in that field? It also involves a tremendous amount of math,chemistry, imagination,presentation, and time management. You are still adressing your math, chemistry, and English skills in recipe formulations but just in a different way.It doesn't make it any less valuable than say Algebra. After all, we all love to eat out. I would even contend that the skills are even more important, as can any of us really say that we use Algebra on a weekly basis?
As for what we can do about it, I would say that parents have to start being much more involved in their children's education. Speak up. Recognize your childrens talents and push them in that direction. Don't worry about what Susie or Johnny is doing. That is the problem now. Everyone is so afraid to think outside of the box and thinks they have to follow the same formula of AP classes, college, and so on. Listen to your children. Let them follow their hearts. You might be surprised by the results. I sure am. I'm eating more desserts than I can handle.

My ITE 130 Video Introduction

My First Blog Post

Wow! I'm actually making a blog. It's up and working too. This is going to be fun.