Greetings! Well Im guessing that everyone will be reading this late at n ight as it comes down to the wire when we all have to turn in our blog posts on Tuesday! I was a moron and never posted anything during the semester because I suck like that but I applaude those of you who were good students and kept up with it. I regret not posting because i am just now reading the interesting comments flying around the site. Good luck to all that are posting late into the night like myself! Procrastinating catches everyone...am I wrong?
For you last minute bloggers like myself, here is some more fodder:
HGH is human growth hormone and has been around since the 1920's. It is derived from human cadaver glands and only a few drops at a time. That is, until a biotech company successfully cloned insulin and then began marketing a GE, genetically engineered, version. It was used for 30 years for children and adults with deficient growth with little or no side effects and is now being marketed to adults without growth deficiencies to counter the effects of aging.
We have been talking a lot about genetically modified crops and fertilizers. Would you consider using a genetically modified product HGH to increase your youthfulness and longevity? Why or why not?
The previous primeminister of the Ukraine was re-elected in last month's election. Claims are being made that the election was rigged in his favor. Could this be the reason motivating his recent poisoning that permanently scarred his face? Check out the article listing the proposed ways that the election was rigged at:
http://slate.msn.com/id/2110858/
This is an article desribing Bush's opinion about illegal drugs used in baseball and what action the sport should take. Aparently, he included this in his January address. He feels that the teams should impose stricter penalties for players that use illegal performance enhancing drugs and that their use by professional sports players undermines 'the efforts of parents and coaches to send the right message' to their youthful players and children. Do you think this is something that Bush as president should include in his presidential address? For those unaware, he was part owner in a team, the Texas Rangers.
Read it yourself at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/12/09/MNGFFA91PF1.DTL&type=printable
The Star Tribune reported on December 13 something very interesting. Republican Abe Lincoln carried nearly exactly the same states in the 1860 election as Democrat John Kerry did in 2004. It is very interesting that there has been a complete opposite shift in politics since the first Republican president.
GM foods, if the U.S. actually took the time to introduce them around the globe, could effectively fight world hunger. To me, its not really a question of whether or not its moral, since I believe that over time it will have to happen. I mean, if you considered what the world would be like if no one ever persued something that was immoral (a science), I think we're better off just letting it happen. The only qualm I have about it is the ability to control these different crop types from cross-pollination, and making sure pests don' t somehow develop immunities to the different effects of hybrid plants.
GMOs are very contriversial. They have been introduced in recent years and used in many different applications. GMOs are designed to modify organisms to have all desirable traits. In agricultue, they have been used to modify almost all crops in one way or another. They are used to resist pests, increase yields, etc. Many people believe GMOs are the answer to world hunger. Others believe GMOs are bad because they believe it is like playing God. At any rate, I think there needs to be lots more research before we use them in huge quantities.
Check out the 'Five most recent Ping's section and note the post regarding the pro-life guy who is politically pro-choice. I thought it was well-stated. What do you think?
I received this email and I thought is was very funny and interesting. Just in case a question like this appears on the chem final (I'm sure it won't though), you'll have an idea on how to respond.
Subject: Is Hell exothermic?
The following is supposedly an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.
Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.
As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different Religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.
With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.
This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.
So which is it?
If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my freshman year
that, "it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,” and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct...leaving only Heaven thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."
THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A"
Hallie O'Connor
I was just lookin through CNN.com and found this article that I thought looked pretty interesting. Apparently, two different studies found that lack of sleep is directly related to weight gain.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/diet.fitness/12/06/sleep.weight.gain.reut/index.html
theres the link if you want to check out the whole article.
This guy has a very interesting theory on life, the universe, and everything. Creation, but it is based mainly on science and physics rather than religion.
Click here
Here is the home page, tons of stuff on this site.
Click here
***DISCLAIMER***
"The site begins with a scientific feasibility analysis of the creation of life using molecular biology and physics followed by a probabilities analysis of a superior being existing based on a scientific analysis of the Torah or first five books of the Bible which promises to be controversial and interesting. I intend to be honest and frank and will, therefore, step on some toes. You have been warned. If you don't like the site, don't read it. Every thing contained in this site is the personal opinion of Carl Cantrell. This site WILL cause you to think. Be warned: I enjoy using dry humor to make points and keep the text interesting."
-Carl Cantrell, author of site
If you are easily offended by having your ideas challenged, it is probably not a good idea for you to read these links. This guy can be a bit... um... unconventional in some of his more political arguments.
You have been fairly warned in advance, so don't blame me for any offenses.
But I do encourage others to check out the site, as it will get some serious thought flowing and maybe some heated discussion.