100 marathons in 100 days

 

                                           Video:  Man runs 100 marathons in 100 days

 

Recently I came across an interesting story.  Daren Wendell has just ran 100 marathons in 100 days to raise money and awareness about the need for clean water in certain parts of Africa.  During his incredible journey, Daren went through 30 pairs of running shoes.  Yikes! I could not imagine how tough it would be to run one marathon, let alone 100 consecutively.  I think that it is amazing that he would go to such great lengths to help other people out when most people won't even hold a door open for someone.  Daren has restored my faith in humanity and reminds me that helping others is something that we should always strive to do.  Not that everyone should run 100 marathons to help others out, but we should definitely make it a point to help people in need.

The Future of Nuclear Waste

In Richard Mullers' article Nuclear Waste, he argues that nuclear waste is going to be one of the toughest issues that future presidents will face.  Muller also raises some interesting questions on the safety of nuclear disposal.  As someone who knows nothing about the topic, I found his argument to be ineffective.  There were just too many science and math terms such as half-life for me to really get interested in his argument.  If Muller would have stuck to layman's terms, then I think that I could have grasped his message a little better.  Even though his argument failed to lead me to a conclusion on what I think about nuclear waste, I must admit that the article did make the future sound a little scary.  From the second I read the word "danger" in the first sentence I immediately pictured a future full of post-Chernobyl disaster conditions.  Besides the instilling of danger, Muller's argument didn't really do anything for me.

Is technology a homewrecker?

While doing some research for my argument essay I stumbled upon an article about how technology affects family communication.  In this article, Barbara Sorensen states that technology allows for families to keep in touch via social media and texting, but that one-on-one communication is suffering.  She also points out how television and other technologies have made it easy for families to sit down near each other and not talk for hours.  I completely agree with everything that Sorensen says in her article.  The reason why I agree is because I see it happen all the time.  Even though my family communicates a lot, every once in a while we will all be glued to our phones for a period of time without saying a word to each other.  This is something that I also see happen to other families, especially at restaurants.  It is sad that many people don't make it a point to enjoy each others company.  As an avid social media user, I think that we are better off with technology but I still don't like its repercussions.  Enjoying the company of the people around me is something that I make a point of and others should too.  Just because you use technology that doesn't mean that it has to run your life, which is a point that I think Sorensen would agree with.  Sorensen emphasizes how parents need to control social media so that it doesn't get in the way of family communication.  I think that Sorensen has the right idea in mind on how to fix the communication dilemma.  If more people could understand that they need to take control over technology and how they communicate with family members, then maybe then the decline in communication skills wouldn't be such a problem.

Calling All Dreamers

During spring break I had the pleasure of visiting Disneyland.  As I stood in the middle of Walt Disney's  creation, I was amazed at how one man's vivid imagination could lead to building something so incredible. Being at Disneyland reminded me of how important it is to have a good imagination.  This is something that many people ignore.  The school system is definitely guilty of not putting an emphasis on the importance of imagination.  Even though many teachers think that they allow their students to use their imaginations, they don't realize that the guidelines and their styles of grading put chains on students' thoughts. I think that more teachers should put aside some time in their busy curriculums to allow students to do any creative activity  that their hearts desire.  Also, these activities should be graded based on participation and not how well the students do.  If this change could happen, then maybe we would find more Walt Disneys in this world.  People just need to understand that a good imagination can do a lot for this world.

Robots are taking over the world

In Sherry Turkle's TEDTalk she discusses how society is so glued to their phones that they don't even know how to be alone.  She explains how the second we are alone, we pull out our cell phones for forms of connection.  This is something that I see happening all the time and it's something that I'm guilty of.  The only difference between me and most people I'm around is that I won't pull out my cell phone while someone else is talking to me.  One of my pet peeves is when I go out to dinner with my friends and they are all fixed on their phones, while simultaneously having a conversations.  Even though it is rude to be focused on your phone during a conversation, I don't think that people do it to be rude.  Its become a habit so strongly programmed into most teens that they don't even realize they're doing it.  As Turkle puts it, we are becoming robots.  I wish that more people knew when to put away their phones because it would be nice to have a real conversation.

Should Alcatraz Island Re-Open It's Penitentiary?

Over the weekend I had the privilege of visiting Alcatraz Island.  Alcatraz Island used to have a fully operating federal penitentiary, which housed the most vile criminals who had caused enough trouble to get kicked out of other prisons.  At one time, the famous mobster Al Capone even had to serve time here.  From what I saw in the cell house, the prison was fit for the worst criminals.  The cells were small, lacked privacy, and did not allow for a large variety of hobbies.  The solitary confinement cells were even worse because there was absolutely no source of light in them.  Some may think that Alcatraz was inhumane, but I think that many of the inmates deserved to be there.  In my opinion, it is a place fit for murderers and those who choose not to conform to prison rules.  Even though it was closed down because it costed much more to run than all of the other prisons in the United States,  I still believe it should be re-opened.  Evil people shouldn't be allowed to reside anywhere near the general public.

Loving mother on the outstide, cold-blooded murderer on the inside

As I was about to navigate from msn to YouTube I noticed the headline Mom convicted of killing son, 5, by poisoning him with salt.  Before I even read the article I was immediately disgusted by the headline.  Lacey Spears, the mother of 5-year-old Garnett-Paul Spears, was found guilty of poisoning her son with salt through his feeding tube.  She was seen as a loving mother who was always by her sickly son's side until a video surfaced of her and Garnett going into a hospital bathroom and him becoming very ill afterward.  Though the evidence to put  Lacey Spears behind bars exists, it is still very hard to believe that a mother would do anything to harm their child.  It is sick that she only pretended to be a good mother so that she wouldn't get caught for killing her son.  People like her don't deserve to be called a parent and they definitely shouldn't have children in the first place.