I was very excited to learn today in class that I won one of the awards; yay bonus points! I must say that I am sad that today was the last day of class. I really enjoyed this semester and cannot wait to learn more and hopefully see more of each of you throughout the rest of our time at Allegheny! Bye everyone, and remember I'll see you on the radio. ;-)
This week we learned about meditation and all the amazing effects it has. The podcast we listened to cleared up and explained a lot of my misconceptions about how it works and what exactly it does. It is exciting to know that something that has been used for so long by so many cultures, religions, etc that it is more than just superstition or the placebo effect or something like that. I have learned that is is an extremely useful tool and may look into applying it to myself. I feel that sometimes Western cultures such as ourselves tend to overlook and ignore other cultures' remedies, etc (especially in medicine) because there has been no research on it so it is negatively viewed. I am glad that this topic was not ignored and that it is proven to have positive effects on those who practice it!
Its sad but true; Sunday Morning is done for the class. Looking back I am extremely happy that I took this class and learned about this show. It was nice to see journalism that focused on some positive aspects and stories then just your basic "Paris did this," Who da baby daddy?" and "this blew up," story that one sees everyday. I really enjoyed the discussion that this show generated in class and how much I learned by watching it and reading the follow up material. It will be fun to emanate this style in our own Sunday morning projects and it will be fun to learn from the other classmates as well!
A segment on Sunday Morning told about a competition in which colleges around the world design, build, and show houses that are run completely from solar power called the Solar Decathlon. I absolutely loved this segment! We have talked a lot about energy sources in this class and it is extremely interesting to see that things are being done to help solve the energy crisis. The houses are so innovative and stylish and simply amazing (I wish I could have one!). Some of the ideas and designs were brilliant. For example, one house had an oven that opened from the bottom so that no heat would be lost at the top and therefore saving energy! Another house (the winning house actually and the house pictured above) had its solar panels in thin strips almost like shutters that would be able to adjust to the angle of the sun so there is always optimum energy being collected! That same house had an object that looked like a mirror but was in fact a television. Watching this segment was like catching a glimpse at the technological advances that will hopefully soon be available to the general public. These houses and the technology that runs them are with any luck the future for energy and for consumers, and it is important that we understand their importance and need. How can anyone argue that solar energy is not a reasonable solution for the energy crisis now?
Listed is the link to the Solar Decathlon page.
www.solardecathlon.org
I gave my commentary on Thursday and was very pleased with the discussion that the class started when they asked questions. One of the points I liked to most that I wish I would have involved in my commentary was the fact that President Bush vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have helped many children get health insurance (link below). Also related to this topic, I attending the Lehman Lecture which gave me even more to to think about. The lecture noted the history of pharmaceutical adds and really helped me to understand the the solution to health care in the US is not as simple as many people believe and must include a change in American society.