Sunday, November 20, 2011

Assignment 5: Research Blog

In America, taxes are important to the government.  They help pay so much to run the government.  However, some people aren't paying the taxes they should and it's the lower and middle classes who have to suffer for it.  The upper class pays so little taxes compared to the lower and middle class that is just isn't funny.  And with the way Republicans see it, the rich should pay less taxes and the poor should pay more, that everyone should pay the exact same in physical money than on a percentage base.  Where the lower and middle class are paying taxes that they can't afford, ranging from hundred to thousands of dollars, the most of the rich want to pay just as much: No more than a few thousand in taxes.  This is, obviously, unfair.  Rich should be paying a percentage rate just like everyone else.  Taxes on the lower and middle classes should be less and the rich should pay more.  The person who's blog name is tax the rich right away agrees with this in his blog and even has posted graphs and videos to support his point.  However, I could not find his account information for credentials.
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Assignment 4: Where I See Myself in 10 Years

10 years is a long time and it is hard to say what any person could or will be doing in that time.  However, if I can push for it, I'll be making my own video games and CEO of my own corporation.  It is a long and tiring agenda, but what's wrong with that to do what you want to do in life?  As a video game developer, I'd be responsible for actually making the game's level designs, storyline, rules (if any), sound concept, idea of artwork, and anything special to the game.  This requires being creative.  However, so the idea isn't changed very much, being a great negotiator is important, too.  That way the game is as close to one's own vision for the game.  In general, the starting salary is anywhere from $25,000 to $65,000 a year, and experienced developers can make over $120,000 a year.

Of course, most people who want to develop games go to college to learn how to write it all up so the actual people making the game itself can understand it.  A college I would consider for this is Herzing University in Madison, Wisconsin, but nothing is set in stone yet.


Image found at ak.fbcdn.net

This is what I want to achieve, to make my own video game.  This is what I will work to achieve in my life and will do so, no matter how long it takes.

Job description found at CourseAdvisor.com
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Assignment 3: Animal of Choice

If I had to be any animal, my simple response would be to remain a human.  Humans have so many advantages over most other species!  We are virtually the only species that can act against instinct, our opposable thumbs, which other primates also have, allow us to grab and hold different items with easy, and we can think well enough that we advance technologically.

Image from PBS.com

In general, humans have done a lot, including make a giant civilization and grow in numbers to a full, working, and well-connected society.  Humans are the second largest group of lifeforms on Earth, only outnumbered by insects.  Humans are also one of the smartest animals on Earth.  If is hard to actually say which animal is smartest, but most researchers say humans are the smartest.  No matter what, however, I don't see why people would want to be any other animal.
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Friday, November 18, 2011

Assignment 2: Place to Be

If you could go anywhere you wanted, where would that place be?  For me, the answer is simple: Mars.  Of course, that is currently impossible for numerous reasons, but over time, the human race can fix the red planet up and make in habitable.

The planet's current problems include a very weak magnetic field, almost no atmosphere whatsoever, frozen water, no o-zone, and no breathable air for humans.  There are numerous ways to fix these problems.  Humanity's current technology would not be able to fix our neighboring planet, but it could be very possible in the near future.  Primarily scientists around the world are figuring out ways to solve these problems, though it isn't limited to just scientists.  Average day people also have wonderful ideas to solve these problems.  I myself will present some in this post.

 Currently, Mars looks like this:
Imagine from wikimedia.org

It's a desolate place about 1/3 the mass of Earth where the only living organisms on it are bacteria.  Though it's not an intelligent life form, it is life.  This fact is how scientists believe intelligent lifeforms once existed on Mars, but due to some catastrophe, ceased to live as the magnetic field weakened and solar winds swept the atmosphere away.  This is, of course, only one theory to why Mars is no longer able to sustain life, and there are many others.  No one will ever know exactly why it cannot currently sustain life.  Notably, some of the religious communities think that is how the planet should remain while others think we should terraform, or change, Mars.  Because of this, it is widely discussed whether or not the planet should be terraformed, let alone even possible to terraform.  I believe that humanity should try to terraform the planet for multiple reason.  Such reasons include over-population problems could be easily solved, it could be used to expand as the land on our home planet is pretty much used up or protected, and could be used for gathering more minerals and ores (as long as it's done conservatively to not destroy the planet like Earth is to some people).

Of course, the problems need analyzed first and solved.  As stated before, these problems include a weak magnetic field, dangerously low atmosphere, frozen water, no o-zone, and no human-sustainable air.

Weak Magnetic Field

First, the magnetic field needs amplified or no o-zone can be put into place, which is extremely important in protecting most forms of organic life.  The reason the magnetic field has ceased to be powerful enough is that the core of the planet has become frozen.  When talking about a planet, that means the core has slowed down so much that the magnetic field can no longer be sustained, not literally frozen like ice.  The core actually remains at extreme temperatures.

The solution I devise is the simplest that I honestly think will work:  Using electro-magnetic amplifiers to sustain and boost the magnetic field to sustainable levels to hold an o-zone in place.  These would have to be maintained extremely efficiently, however, and cannot risk any power-loss.  These problems are solved by themselves, however.  There would be a need for jobs to run the facilities, and since the core of Mars is still hot, geothermal energy to power the facilities is easily accessed to keep them powered at all times, even without human interference for extended periods of time, if necessary.

No O-Zone

O-zone of a planet (made up of three Oxygen atoms in a molecule, O3) protects the planet's ecosystems from deadly solar radiation.  Mars' o-zone is currently non-existent, blown away with the atmosphere from the solar winds, which are given off from our sun, Sol.  There are only two ways to fix this problem:

A) The o-zone molecules can be made by properly combining oxygen atoms to create the deadly gas and get enough of it released into the new electro-magnetic atmosphere to start reforming Mars' o-zone.

B) Place bacteria on Mars that creates the o-zone molecules, or even just regular oxygen, and let time combine the atoms into the proper molecules needed to form an o-zone.

The latter takes centuries, even millennia, to achieve.  The former, however, could be done in a matter of decades.  It just takes a chemical reaction to preform.  Though I do not know too much about this subject, however, I do know scientists could easily figure out how to do this using the planet itself to even aid in making the o-zone.  Until then, however, the other way to get an o-zone is to use glass domes, build up the o-zones inside them, and then release the o-zone into the new electro-magnetic atmosphere and the o-zone would now be in placed.  This could also help the next step in that some plants and breathable air would be put into the atmosphere and protected by the o-zone.

Low Atmosphere

With a magnetic field and o-zone to protect the planet from solar radiation, we can now move onto the next step.  We can now start adding gases into the atmosphere.  These gases could be created using chemical reactions or with bacteria.  After a while of both, there could be enough breathable gas in the atmosphere to be something like Denver, Colorado.  That means plants and animals would be able to sustain in the atmospheric conditions.  Of course, without a few other steps, they wouldn't survive, such as water and food sources, but this is a start toward need for that.  Food sources (plants and the animals that need the plants) could start existing with a proper atmosphere.  However, the next problem would be the soil.  But that is also a different problem.

After those steps are taken care of, the atmosphere could possibly get enough gases in a few decades more of work and the atmosphere would be suitable for humans in general.

Frozen Water

Next is water on the planet.  Currently, all water on Mars is frozen.  This is because without the greenhouse gases inside of an atmosphere, the general temperatures of Mars are extremely hot at its equator, extremely cold at its poles, and extremely cold on the dark side of the planet.  A good portion of Mars' water is otherwise missing, lost into space from it being heated by the sun and evaporated.  However, with the water that does remain, it would start to melt once an atmosphere is in place and temperatures start being moderate, warm enough to melt the ice.  This would start cooling the atmosphere and causing for decades the planetary temperatures being cool, but probably not winter cold.

Soil Fertility

Finally, to properly sustain plant life, we need fertile soil.  Mars is naturally fertile, but it has to be a correct fertility to grow Earth plants for a food source and vegetation.  With human interference, that wouldn't be much of a problem.  There are many ways to fertilize the land, which are all common here on Earth.  One is taking trees to Mars and burning them to fertilize the land.  Of course, then planting fully grown trees and just keeping them watered until natural weather starts occurring is also important to keep the oxygen in the atmosphere.  That would also allow for farming the soil to grow plants, and thus Mars gains a food source.



With all these things done, the planet would start to "reactivate", in a sense.  The planet is forever dead, but humans can terraform the planet and life can start again on the planet.  Of course, if humans stop maintaining the planet, it would very quickly fall again and decades of work would be lost.  If we want to achieve terraforming our neighboring planet, we must push and work to do our parts.  Together, the dream of going to another planet as another place to live can be achieved!

Image from googleusercontent.com
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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Assignment 1: Song of Choice - "Go" by Asia


I rather enjoy "Go" by Asia on the album Astra.  The song is about a spy trying to get information to her commanding officer, who happens to be in love with her, in a war setting.  Pretty straight forward song.  It is classified as an 80's rock song, which would be soft rock specifically compared to newer music.  I love this song because it starts with a slow start, then instantaneously turns into a fast-paced song.  And having an organ sound for the start is genius.

Image from carlpalmer.com

The rock band known as Asia was formed in 1981.  When Asia originally formed, it included Geoffrey Downes (keyboards, backing vocals), John Wetton (lead vocalist, bass guitar), Steve Howe (guitar, backing vocals), and Carl Palmer (drums, percussion, backing vocals).  It has gone through numerous changes over the last 3 decades, but it is now back with the original members playing their parts.  Asia's history has also brought about a few secondary groups that formed from the Asia name.

Image from examiner.com

-- Lyrics --

  Dig for victory, go for gold
  I don't want to die before I get old
  And I wonder where I'm going to
  There's someway out, there's someway through

  But I'm lost, I'm lost
  I'm down again
  My direction is changing
  Which way, which way can I go?

  Get up and go!

  You start me up, you slow me down
  No one can deny you get around
  When you're hot, you're cold, you're in between
  Keep asking myself, what does it mean?

  And I walk that tightrope, you should know
  I'm losing my balance
  Maybe, maybe I should go!

  Get up and go!
  Just go!

  Face to face in sympathy
  But now you turn your back on me
  Turn a card and win, but you may lose
  Fate only has that right to chose

  If you're right, leave me here, I'll die alone
  You got the time, you just got time, just go!

  Get up and go!
  Just go!
  Get up and go!
  Just go
  Just go!
  Get up and go

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The YouTube.com video was pulled directly from my YouTube channel.  To listen to more Asia songs that I have posted, visit my channel at
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