I keep thinking I should make a list about the things I have done in my life that I never thought I would do. I keep thinking that it is amazing to think life will go one way and find out that we change in magical ways that we never thought we would.
So here's the list:
1. Performed an experiment with lasers
2. Used flame absorption spectroscopy to analyze sodium and calcium levels in both water and snow samples in Pittsburgh, PA (it was an analysis regarding road salt)
3. Helped build a playground in Turtle Creek, PA (I was on the spiral tube slide team.)
4. Performed a lab experiment about surface tension and recorded it on video
5. Used Excel to create a user-friendly dropdown menu mathematical model on the net energy balance of corn-ethanol
6. Presentation on the math portrayed in Alice in Wonderland
7. Volunteered at a Biofuel's Convention in Pennsylvania
8. Took the GRE and did well in it for only studying 2 weeks
9. I attended UC-Berkeley for a semester in their Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's program.
10. Rode the BART and the Subway
11. I've been to New York and have seen Ground Zero.
12. I've explored a monastery in New York.
13. I've toured pump stations, rate-of-flow stations, and the Hoover Dam.
14. I've seen construction sites with inspectors.
15. I've been a substitute teacher in middle school and high school math classes.
16. I've been a registration typist and worked at conventions.
17. I've been a bridesmaid and I even caught the bridal bouquet.
18. I've mastered cookie-baking.
19. I know how to sew and have even hemmed pants.
20. I can cook
21. I know how to use a soldering iron.
22. I've babysitted young children.
23. I've driven to Overton for a funeral by myself.
24. I've used statistical programming to perform linear regression analysis.
25. I wore braces for over 2 years and now I have straight teeth.
26. I've dressed up like the Easter Bunny #Mascot Style
27. I've had a hollowed out pumpkin jack-o-lantern on my head to be the Genetically Modified Pumpkin in a Halloween maze
28. I've read a speech in front of people.
29. I've sent stories I've written in to contests.
30. I've been groundtruthing.
31. I've weighed ingredients to be used in a concrete canoe.
32. I've placed concrete on an oddly shaped mold.
33. I've sanded a concrete canoe.
34. I've performed a Modified Proctor test.
35. I've used an air-compressor to remove concrete cylinders from molds.
36. I've polished a brass bent statue with Greek letters on it.
37. Hit a metal plate with a sledgehammer to create P-waves that were picked up by geophones (seismic waves lab experiment!) (I was the only girl who wanted to swing the hammer, by the way.)
...
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Salem Witch Trial Tactics Towards Gun Control
I was washing a load of dishes while listening to CNN. Apparently, the government is considering confiscating weapons from people who are deemed mentally unfit to have them. The reporter and her guest speakers were discussing depression and how depressed people may not be fit to own weapons. A psychologist was consulted about whether or not depression was a condition affecting whether or not people should own guns or not. From the discussion, I found myself under the impression that CNN was arguing that guns should be taken away from people who are depressed, even though antidepressants are common prescriptions prescribed in the United States.
Now, I kind of have a problem with this logic for several reasons...
First, the right to bear arms is in the Constitution. I feel like going on a "witch hunt" (or a "wacko hunt" in this case) would infringe on that right of the American people. Ironically, a strict constructionist would be all up in arms about even the idea of this sort of hunt (politcal humor).
I also believe that if the government was going to go around hunting people down because of the medications they take and require hearings on whether or not every person was mentally fit to own a gun...on the upside, the authorities would never run out of work, but people might also start riots. (And there might not be many mentally fit people left to own guns at all...gun manufacturers might suffer...hunters might suffer as well.)
Furthermore, just because people are taking medications like antidepressants, it doesn't mean that they are unfit mentally. Several people take antidepressants regularly and it helps them function better than if they were not taking them. Also, the people who take antidepressants are not always taking such medications for depression specifically. There are these afflictions called migraines which are often treated with antidepressants. Anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and fibromyalgia are also treated with antidepressants. People experiencing less head pain and body pain are probably less likely to go on a shooting rampage...but that's just my opinion.
I also feel like this concept of doing mental fitness assessments to determine whether or not people should own guns or not is just a way to place blame on mass shootings. To be honest, if someone really wants to cause anarchy, they can figure out a way to do it (whether or not they have guns or not).
Let's consider September 11th. Planes and big buildings were used in this awful event in American history (not primarily guns...although maybe they were used to keep hostages in line). There was also the Oklahoma City bombing. In this, the bombs were again the more focal elements than the guns. There is also the concept of bioterrorism. Anthrax scares within the United States Postal System was not a gun-related scare. In fact, the idea that something microscopic can kill off a large amount of people while they are unaware of the existing threat seems much worse than something like a gun (which we can see and possibly stop with security guards). (However, scares like this did inspire the episode of NCIS where DiNozzo opens Gibbs' mail and inhales a mutation of the bubonic plague....Now, that's good TV.)
People learn how to make potato guns from the internet. People learn how to make bombs with fertilizer. People can kill people with all sorts of objects. Just look at the Mythbuster episode on the weapons made in prison museum. If people have the mind to hurt other people, people can certainly think up a way to do so even with a lack of resources. People are inventive and will come up with new ways to accomplish their goals (nice goals, nefarious goals, mundane goals).
So what will taking away the guns really accomplish?
CNN noted that a lot of people in New York are packin' (as in, own a gun). This makes sense because New York (at least on TV shows) has high crime rates and it is a city having a great amount of walking populace. Similarly, in Las Vegas, there is a hodge-podge mix of inhabitants and many pedestrian-heavy areas (like the Strip). Thus, it would make sense if people in Las Vegas, NV carried weapons more commonly than in tamer areas of the U.S. (if there are any...maybe in Montana). But in any case, I feel that taking away the guns in higher crime rate-having areas, would upset the local residents a great deal.
And what would taking away the guns really accomplish?
It means the aspiring burglars would meet less resistance because the people without guns would be both mentally-impaired and living without an intimidating weapon to defend themselves. A gun is probably easier to use at a longer distance than a baseball bat or a cane (sorry, old people).
I propose that if mental fitness is a concern regarding whether or not people can carry a weapon, these people should be encouraged to take personality tests or love language tests to figure out what they could do with their misguided energy to increase their happiness with their lives (because my Mom says that if I don't like my life, then I should change it). Thus, we should try to provide more means of happiness to people. Happy people are less likely to go crazy and shoot a whole bunch of people (unless they are trying to abate boredom). But if people are using their misguided energy up, then they don't have the energy to go on a shooting spree (because they're too tired, even if they ARE bored).
Loving others and loving ourselves enough to face our own demons in a healthy manner (like by journaling or by talking to someone) is a better use of everyone's time than wreaking havoc on society. Others of us decide to use our time to build things that will improve life instead of end the lives of others. Improving our imperfect world through inventions and engineering is a better purpose than most, but everyone has their own path to follow. Everyone can make a difference.
That being said, psychological services are very expensive for the entire nation. Thus, this lack of availability of affordable emotional health services could be addressed to improve the mental fitness of the nation instead of going on a "gun hunt".
Now, I kind of have a problem with this logic for several reasons...
First, the right to bear arms is in the Constitution. I feel like going on a "witch hunt" (or a "wacko hunt" in this case) would infringe on that right of the American people. Ironically, a strict constructionist would be all up in arms about even the idea of this sort of hunt (politcal humor).
I also believe that if the government was going to go around hunting people down because of the medications they take and require hearings on whether or not every person was mentally fit to own a gun...on the upside, the authorities would never run out of work, but people might also start riots. (And there might not be many mentally fit people left to own guns at all...gun manufacturers might suffer...hunters might suffer as well.)
Furthermore, just because people are taking medications like antidepressants, it doesn't mean that they are unfit mentally. Several people take antidepressants regularly and it helps them function better than if they were not taking them. Also, the people who take antidepressants are not always taking such medications for depression specifically. There are these afflictions called migraines which are often treated with antidepressants. Anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and fibromyalgia are also treated with antidepressants. People experiencing less head pain and body pain are probably less likely to go on a shooting rampage...but that's just my opinion.
I also feel like this concept of doing mental fitness assessments to determine whether or not people should own guns or not is just a way to place blame on mass shootings. To be honest, if someone really wants to cause anarchy, they can figure out a way to do it (whether or not they have guns or not).
Let's consider September 11th. Planes and big buildings were used in this awful event in American history (not primarily guns...although maybe they were used to keep hostages in line). There was also the Oklahoma City bombing. In this, the bombs were again the more focal elements than the guns. There is also the concept of bioterrorism. Anthrax scares within the United States Postal System was not a gun-related scare. In fact, the idea that something microscopic can kill off a large amount of people while they are unaware of the existing threat seems much worse than something like a gun (which we can see and possibly stop with security guards). (However, scares like this did inspire the episode of NCIS where DiNozzo opens Gibbs' mail and inhales a mutation of the bubonic plague....Now, that's good TV.)
People learn how to make potato guns from the internet. People learn how to make bombs with fertilizer. People can kill people with all sorts of objects. Just look at the Mythbuster episode on the weapons made in prison museum. If people have the mind to hurt other people, people can certainly think up a way to do so even with a lack of resources. People are inventive and will come up with new ways to accomplish their goals (nice goals, nefarious goals, mundane goals).
So what will taking away the guns really accomplish?
CNN noted that a lot of people in New York are packin' (as in, own a gun). This makes sense because New York (at least on TV shows) has high crime rates and it is a city having a great amount of walking populace. Similarly, in Las Vegas, there is a hodge-podge mix of inhabitants and many pedestrian-heavy areas (like the Strip). Thus, it would make sense if people in Las Vegas, NV carried weapons more commonly than in tamer areas of the U.S. (if there are any...maybe in Montana). But in any case, I feel that taking away the guns in higher crime rate-having areas, would upset the local residents a great deal.
And what would taking away the guns really accomplish?
It means the aspiring burglars would meet less resistance because the people without guns would be both mentally-impaired and living without an intimidating weapon to defend themselves. A gun is probably easier to use at a longer distance than a baseball bat or a cane (sorry, old people).
I propose that if mental fitness is a concern regarding whether or not people can carry a weapon, these people should be encouraged to take personality tests or love language tests to figure out what they could do with their misguided energy to increase their happiness with their lives (because my Mom says that if I don't like my life, then I should change it). Thus, we should try to provide more means of happiness to people. Happy people are less likely to go crazy and shoot a whole bunch of people (unless they are trying to abate boredom). But if people are using their misguided energy up, then they don't have the energy to go on a shooting spree (because they're too tired, even if they ARE bored).
Loving others and loving ourselves enough to face our own demons in a healthy manner (like by journaling or by talking to someone) is a better use of everyone's time than wreaking havoc on society. Others of us decide to use our time to build things that will improve life instead of end the lives of others. Improving our imperfect world through inventions and engineering is a better purpose than most, but everyone has their own path to follow. Everyone can make a difference.
That being said, psychological services are very expensive for the entire nation. Thus, this lack of availability of affordable emotional health services could be addressed to improve the mental fitness of the nation instead of going on a "gun hunt".
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