One Day in 1983

Evan F.

4/10/11

Period 4/5

One Day in 1983

To be perfectly honest, giving up all my newfangled electronics wasn't hard. For the most part, the only new age doodad I use on a regular basis is my computer. Which, unsurprisingly, was the hardest thing to give up. My phone, on the other hand, was as easy as never having it in the first place. I'm incredibly notorious for being the most difficult person to get a hold of because I never answer my phone or recognize it's existence. Mainly because I don't like talking to people. So I figured cutting all possibility of communication with the outside world wouldn't be much of a difference. On top of that, I don't even watch that much TV. I watch maybe 1 or 2 shows a week, and none of them came on Saturday. In that regard, it wasn't much of a challenge to give it up. Pretty much the only gripe I had was that I couldn't use my computer, and even then it was a small gripe at that.

In general, I will spend about 25% of my down time doing yard work and chores, 25% of my down time in the Rancho Penasquitos reserve hiking around, 30% of my time on the computer, and the remaining 5% doing miscellaneous activities. Changing that spread to 55% of my time in the canyon wasn't much of an effort. Every weekend I'll take a walk down to the Penasquitos watershed in the reserve and boulder the surrounding rocks. Jumping, climbing, running to my little monkey heart's content. Afterward I lie out on the rocks like a lizard and sleep anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours. Then I pick myself up, hike around a bit looking for interesting things, and head home. So guess what I did when I woke up on Saturday? Hiked, jumped, slept, hiked, ate, slept; in that order. Rattlers are starting to get feisty this time of year, and it's common courtesy to smash the head in of any you come across so that the little kids that come through don't get killed. At least that's what I do. Unfortunately I didn't find any this particular trip. They lucked out this time.

The fact is I'm a redneck with disposable income. I can make do with being outside all the time if need be. I just happen to have a fancy schmancy computer and a big house. My phone is really an effort on my mom's part to make sure she can get a hold of me when she needs to; even though I hardly carry my phone at all (and when I do it's probably dead). If I had it my way, I would have a phone that was only capable of making calls. They used to have those. Shocking right? TV lost its luster when horrible sitcoms started popping up on all my favorite kiddy channels. The fact that something like Jersey Shore exists on TV really stops me from ever hitting the power switch.

In the end, it was a nice excuse for me to get away from the computer desk and spend a little bit more time outside, where I generally like to be anyway. My mom is always barking at my brother, telling him that there's “a whole world out there that he can explore, and he's squandering it inside”. I know that back in the day they didn't have all the newfangled technology we do, and it's good to appreciate the fact we've been born in this day and age.

Essay Intro: Childhood Obesity/Marketing to Children

The rates of obesity among Americans has been steadily climbing over the last decade or two. Namely, the rates of childhood obesity have sky rocketed. One could easily name a plethora of reasons as to the cause of this epidemic; among them the tidal wave of cheap corn and the convience of fast food. But it is my belief that the primary cause of the childhood obesity problem lies behind the cheap plastic smiles of advertising figures such as Tony the Tiger and Captain Crunch. The way in which companies market food to children poses a serious risk of creating the future generation of the morbidly obese.

Blue Gold Review

The conservation law of matter says that all matter can not be created nor destroyed. This of course applies to the water resources we posses here on Earth. However, this law says nothing of polluting or transmuting our water to the point of being useless. Blue Gold does the job of peeling back the layers of intrigue that keep the truth of the water problem hidden from the average person. By using frank, factual evidence and gut wrenching stories from those that suffer from the effects of water shortage, Blue Gold strikes a heart string or two in an epic tale of how we may wake up one day to find that the fresh water that makes our planet so special isn't around anymore. And the only ones to blame will be us.

Blue Gold does a good job of being honest about how our water supplies will be gone in the future. The pure frankness of the film gives it more oomph and shocks the viewer into a state of believing everything the film says. As a a natural skeptic, I always look for "facts" that can be disputed or any blatantly biased experts or speakers, but it was pretty tough to disagree with the film. Were the speakers biased? Yes. But not in a way that made their points invalid. It was because these people knew the truth and outwardly showed their strong opinions on it.

Overall, the film was a nice eye opener. I, and most of the people I know, either don't know about the water issue our planet has, or don't care enough to do anything. I'm one of those people who knows the problem, but takes the easy route and do whatever I want to do anyway.
Even so, I find myself taking another look at my usage of water and the ways I can improve my water efficiency. Any film that can make me do a life double take is a winner in my book. Blue Gold gets the seal of approval from me.

Seed Research

My top three choices
Habanero Peppers: I love spicy food, so how cool would it be if I could grow my own spicy stuff? Some of the store bought stuff I buy is kind of nasty, and I would highly appreciate having my own supply.
Walla Walla Onions: These are my favorite onions. I put slices of these on EVERYTHING. And when they get sauteed, it's like a disco party on your taste buds. Complete with platform shoes, bell bottomed pants, and Bee Gees music.
Ed's Red Shallots: Shallots are delicious. My family makes some sweet green beans with sauteed shallots and dijon mustard. I can't get enough of them.

Habanero Peppers:
Soil Temperature: 75-85F
Planting Depth: 1/4"
Germination: 6-15 Days
Height At Maturity: 24"-36"
Days To Maturity: 90-100 Days
Sun/Shade: Full Sun
Spacing After Thinning: 12"

Habanero peppers are fruits that require well worked soil with good drainage. They should be planted right before the end of winter, and require warm, moist climates to grow properly. They should only be watered when dry, and harvesting the early fruits will encourage the plant to continue producing fruit.
The time till germination is feasible within our semester's time frame. Assuming we were to plant the seeds in the next month, we would have mature fruit in 3 months; cutting it close, but ultimately maturing before the end of the year.
An interesting fact about the Habanero is that it is the hottest pepper on Earth with a Scoville rating of 200,000. That's 1000x times hotter than the Jalapeno.

Walla Walla Onions:
Soil Temperature: 65-85F
Planting Depth: 1/4"-1/2"
Germination: 4-10 Days
Height At Maturity: 2'-3'
Days To Maturity: 100-150 Days
Sun/Shade: Full Sun
Spacing After Thinning: 3"-4"

Walla Walla onions are vegetables that prefer loose, fertile soil, with a lot of organic matter added to the mix. Their roots systems are susceptible to disruption, so mulching the soil to prevent weed growth is a good idea. Normally, Walla Walla’s are sown in late fall for a spring harvest, but they are hardy enough to be planted in the spring. Unfortunately, in our time frame, it wouldn’t be realistic to expect a harvestable plant before the end of the semester.
However, an interesting point to note is that Walla Walla’s can be harvested early to use as green onion/shallots for salads or raw eating.

Questions for farm bro

What effects on the economy does a mono-culture have?

In what ways do organic foods benefit the environment?

Is livestock that lack genetic modification healthier for consumption then their genetically modified counterparts?

2 articles

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Two-Killed-Hundreds-Injured-in-Algerian-Food-Riots-113133109.html

This article is a brief look into an incident in Algeria where a food riot on January 8, 2011 claimed the lives of two people and injured hundreds of others. Citizens ransacked government buildings over the rising costs of food items such as sugar and flour. Riot police were forced to shoot the protesters, resulting in the death of two civilians.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/world/asia/14australia.html

This article is about how the Australian floods in Brisbane and other Queensland areas have peaked far beyond anyone's predictions. The water level in some places has reached a height of almost 15 feet. Many people were not insured for flood damages, and the government has released a statement claiming clean up and reconstruction will be on a "post war" scale.

Three items

Refridgerator: Fridges are big, hefty pieces of engineering with lots of different materials on them. Among them, copper, which has a huge mining industry behind it.

Football: I want to know how my favorite past time winds up in my hands. As a personal question, I want to know whether my "pigskin" is actually made of pig.

Fiberglass insulation: The stuff that keeps my house warm is also the bane of my existence. Where does this awful material come from, and how does such a facility that produces it have an impact on the environment?