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Well, if I were released from the constraints of the architecture school program, I have a feeling that my laziness would overcome me. Physically I would still be alive but mentally, my brain might start shrinking as I watch television and movies all day long. There may be an occasion get up to go to the bathroom and leave my impact on the environment in the septic tank, but other than that the pounds might start multiplying on my hips.

(http-::www.flickr.com:photos:bokeh:100129913)

(www.flickr.com:photos:terrylea:218507785)

But lets say, my laziness is over is overtaken by my strong will to do something more, I might just be a wonderful gift for the world. This would only occur in a magical heaven though, where there is no money and personal heartache does not exist. I could ride around on snowmobiles all day long and teleport to Africa or China with a snap of the fingers.

(This is me snowmobiling everyday)

With my strong will, I would travel around to different cites and different countries, educating people about the environment and about computers and the beauty of life. I would teach people how to express themselves and how to express their beliefs. There would be equality between genders and equality between different social standards. Families would be together or they would be apart if that was best. There would also be some sweet buildings next to some sweet natural phenomenons. An example would be a tree house underneath a waterfall. Life would just be fun and people would be happily swinging on ropes as they jump into crystal clear non-contaminated pure water. Everybody would also recycle (this includes every country).

(Photo by William Shelf at http://www.flickr.com)
(This is what the beauty of recycling would look like on every street in the ideal world).

Ah, if only I had no constraints in Architecture School.

Posted by gran0463 at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

These pictures are just so cute and cool at the same time. (This is not a blog entry, even though it may look like it)

"Julian Beever 01" Submitted by Thiago Yokota at http://www.whatatop.com

Submitted by zingara at http;//www.whatatop.com

Submitted by Saryta-Rebeky at http;//www.whatatop.com

Posted by gran0463 at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

People are bombarded by society every second with new ideas, new products, what we should wear, what we should believe and so on.
Here are a few pictures, quotes and songs that I have been bombarded by. They have influenced me and outline my values on environmental sustainability.

Pictures

This is a girl being sprayed with DDT. Which today is known to have caused serious and drastic side effects like cancer. "Silent Spring" by Rachael Carson is a great book that outlines the dangerous effects of pesticides in todays world. DDT may have killed off malaria and helped crops but it killed so many. This shows that people can make stupid mistakes. We are not perfect. Even though we have many laws and regulations today, we can make mistakes that have huge consequences on the world.

(viewimages.com)

Metro Transit plans to come out with 172 hybrid electric busses by 2012. The world is trying to have cleaner CO2 emissions and I am proud that the twin cities is active in helping out.
**On a side note I took one of these busses home, and it was super uncomfortable and cold feeling. Why does something good for the environment have to be so uncomfortable? The cost is a big part of it, but I am sure they could have been designed better.*

(http://www.metrotransit.org/news/stories/11-07-hybridbus.asp)

Renewable Resources are a big part of environmental sustainability. From wind power to geothermal and solar energy. They are important for our future. My favorite renewable resource is the wind turbine. I love seeing them in fields knowing that all thats powering them is wind. The may be harmful to birds but not to the air.

(http://www.awea.org/resources/)

Quotes

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King Jr.

When we lose hope, I believe the days just become harder and harder to endure. We can work to make the world better.

"God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools." John Muir

This quote goes along with the use of DDT. People can be stupid and do harmful things without realizing the consequences in the future.

"You can never do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late" Ralph Waldo Emerson

"People that seem so glorious are all show; underneath they are like everyone else" Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Songs

The Times They Are a Changin' Bob Dylan
These Streets Paolo Nutini
Timor Shakira
The Four Season Vivaldi (performed by Capella Istroplitana)
"Summer, Spring, Winter, Autumn"

Now I don't claim to be a hippy wrapping myself around trees. I haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth and my family has a thing against the Sierra Club (long story) but I still care for the environment. We have made stupid mistakes that have had huge consequences. And I believe that if we but aside our selfish ambitions and pride we can have hope for our future.

Posted by gran0463 at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Education and Striving for excellence.
It’s a good thing as Martha Stewart would say, but I would say I’ve found a social design issue. It may be that I went to a really competitive high school that didn’t have any valedictorians because there was too many kids with 4.2’s and I may be taking advantage of the great education that has really been given to me, but to tell you the truth, I am just sick and tired of all the overachieving. The competition around is making me stressed and I am pretty sure less people would drop out of college if it weren’t so intense all the time. I have friends trying to graduate in three years; one of them can graduate in two years with all the 90+AP credits he came in with. Even Facebook is a competition with the number of friends people have or the number of pictures people are in. It seems to me that no matter how hard I try there is always someone better, someone with better ideas. You can’t just be good anymore. You have to overachieve.

And I ask, does it do anything in the end? Does this overachieving prove anything? And what are they trying to prove? Do honors classes really prepare you better? Are honors kids actually smarter? Or are they just worshiped by teachers?

In the articles we read, Fisher talks about degree inflation. Only until recently have I heard this idea, maybe it’s because I am new to college, but graduating with a four-year degree may just not be enough anymore. We now have to go for six. If it weren't for all the overachieving kids I believe this would not be a problem.

There is also the issue of economic inequality. With school being so expensive these days only the wealthy can afford the higher education needed. The average person is bound to end up with thousands in debt.

So, I am advocating for the average. We may be mediocre going at the normal pace, but I tell ya, we have personality. We will live longer because we don’t say up till 3 every day doing homework. Just like Vince Vahn in Dodge ball on the Average Joe team. We will win in spirit and maybe come out equal in the end. Just wait.

Posted by gran0463 at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The idea of energy, flow and transformation through the city.

The idea of energy comes in many forms. It may be the water as it drips out of a faucet, it may be a bolt of lighting as it appears for a second through the window and then disappears from sight, or it could be a car that is going 15 miles an hour in a 35 mile an hour zone. Energy may be visible to one human and totally oblivious to another. It can be hard to find (Being exhausted from going to bed way to late) and sometimes what we just want to hide (the evidence that we eat and discard).

The energy that interests me most though is what’s in our head. It is the voice that we listen to 24/7 or don’t listen to. It is the thoughts that we can’t get rid of and want to. It is the motivation and drive that pushes us to act. It is what creates our ideas. Sometimes it can be that joy when we win a competition or get an A on an incredibly hard test and other times is can be our jealousy and disappointment when the girl next to you is supposed to be in 8th grade and understands the calculus better than you. This energy cannot always be understood. It can be confusing. It can be stressed. It can be wasted.

If we put all our energy into one thing, like studying really hard, finding the perfect friend or earning a million dollars, will our energy ever burn out? Or will it just keep going? And if it just keeps going, where is it going? I must say that the city is deep. We only see through our eyes and mind miniscule things in one day compared to the rest of our lives. We may forget that what happens today is only a speck in the realm of time. The energy we use today is only a dot in a line of infinity.

________________________________________________________________________________________________
(Line of Infinity)

Posted by gran0463 at 5:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)