Dog With a Blog

If you've seen the Disney Channel sitcom,  you probably know that the show centers around the life of a talking dog and his family. You might be among those who just can't fathom what Disney has come to. I know I am (sorry, fans). But how far-fetched is it really? 

I have a dog. He responds to Milo. So I got to thinking... if Milo could talk, how different would our lives really be from the Disney show? 

Well for one, we could talk about his abandonment issues. Milo seems to think that, whenever we're out of town for a few days, we're never coming back. And much to my mother's disdain, he takes it out on the furniture. No lie, he's chewed up a chair, nibbled on the length of a banister, scratched a few carpets, and marked up the window pane. That wasn't exactly the welcome home surprise we had in mind, to say the least. 

We'd also probably have to work on his social skills. Milo tends to get a little... overexcited in the presence of company. You have to remember though, his heart's in the right place. On the bright side, we've been setting up play-dates for him to get used to other people and dogs. Baby steps, I guess. 

Singing lessons would be in the cards for Milo, as well. His midnight serenades aren't going to cut it anymore. In the most human-like state of mind, he actually sings along with us. Sometimes I think he's every animal but a dog. But that's mainly credited to the fact that he can't smell or see anything. Though he's not completely blind, or nose-blind for that matter, Milo's senses aren't his strong suit. Which is pretty unusual for a dog, but meh. Go figure. 

It sometimes saddens me to think that, while he's just a small portion of our lives, we're his whole life. And though he's not your average-Joe kind of dog, Milo will always be the epitome of a perfect dog to me. 

First Generation students face challenges in college

https://youtu.be/HFyceloSkQE (click on the link to watch the video package that goes along with this story)

By Maggie Nelson, Jasmyn Pearl, Alekya Raghavan

For thousands of adolescents, starting college is a major milestone. It’s an adventure they’re eager to begin. First-generation college students, however, may be intimidated by the credit hours and hundred-seat lecture halls. Though pursuing higher education is a new experience for everyone, being incognizant of what lies ahead makes the situation more stressful.

According to Angela Lash, the Assistant Director of the Allen Student Advising Center at Ohio University (OU), about a quarter of the incoming students at OU are first-generation. She says these first-generation students face several challenges.

“First-gen students may just have less support or not have a resource at home that they can ask questions about for things regarding processes of the university,” Lash says. “We also see self-efficacy concerns sometimes. First-gen students may be more likely to doubt their ability to do well here.”

Carli Rosati, a rising senior at OU, is a first-generation student who works at the Allen Center. As someone who’s always enjoyed school, she is happy to have such a supportive family behind her. But she admits there are downsides to being the first person in her family to go to college.

“Even though my family was a big advocate for me, they don’t necessarily have the tools that they would like to have,” Rosati says. “When I go home sometimes it’s even difficult to hold conversations with my family, because I don’t want to seem like I’m above them.”

According to the University of Oregon’s Counseling and Testing Center, a lack of knowledge about higher education is likely to prevent students from “taking advantage of the academic and social benefits of higher education.”

Senior Mitchell Simmons, majoring in Criminal Justice, believes there are several things we can do to make first-generation students feel more at home.

“If anything, we could help first generation students be brought in to the college experience better,” Simmons says. “Be told what to expect from classes and stuff, just from our parent’s perspective.”

Originally posted on www.scippsworkshop.org

To Mars and Beyond

Advances in research and science are constantly taking us places. Our next stop? Mars. And its a one-way trip.

Orchestrated from the Netherlands, this production is complex and intimidating in innumerable ways. It's a performance that will forever change life as we know it.

SETTING THE STAGE: A  BRIEF TIMELINE
Founded in 2011, 'Mars One' is a non-profit organization created in hopes of establishing a permanent human colony on Mars by the late 2020's.

In 2013, Mars One launched an astronaut selection program inviting persons of all nationalities to apply. The application process consists of four rounds, spanning over two years. At then end of it (which should be sometime this year), 24 individuals -six teams of four- will be selected for training.

Training will last until the launch in 2026. Ability and patience to spend long periods of time in a remote area is the first and main thing tested. They will also learn to repair components of the habitat and rover as well as learn how to grown their own food in that habitat. They are also trained in medical procedures.

The plan is, from 2024 to 2025, six cargo units will have landed on a relatively ideal terrain. Before the first crew starts their journey, the life support system would have produced a breathable atmosphere of 0.7 bar pressure, 3000 liters of water and 120 kg of Oxygen that will be in storage. 

For more information about the timeline, click here: http://www.mars-one.com/mission/roadmap 

ACT I: MEET THE ACTORS 

The astronauts who have signed up for this project are people like you and me. Remember: its a one-way trip. These are people with families, careers, healthy lifestyles and their whole lives ahead of them. They are sacrificing everything familiar and comfortable for the sake of science, discovery and the progression of mankind.  

So you might be thinking: Why would these people be willing to throw away their lives for this project? Hear it for yourselves...

ACT II: TAKE A TOUR

About 15 years from now, all supplies and materials required (including the people), will have landed on Mars. But what happens next? 

The astronauts will be living in habitats. These are modular units comprising of multiple inflatable units... about 250 cubic meters per person. 

Then of course, is the suit. Naturally, the environment of Mars isn't suitable for human life. Inhabitants will wear full body suit, similar to the ones worn to the moon. It will be flexible enough to allow the wearers to work and move around, yet provide adequate protection from the harsh temperatures and the thin, carbon dioxide rich air. 

Water, oxygen and food will be produced on the planet as sending these essentials from earth is out of the question. Water will be extracted from the soil, oxygen will be derived from splitting water into its constituents and food will be produced under artificial lighting.  

For further information and FAQ, click here: http://www.mars-one.com/faq 

ACT III: THE POSSIBLITIES ARE ENDLESS

What does this Mars One project mean for the future? Provided this mission is a success, this project opens up a variety of possibilities for mankind. 

A second planet may soon be in high demand, at the rate this one is deteriorating. The results of the project could be revolutionary in several fields, be it medical, agricultural, environmental, etc.

 


And of course, we can be part of the adventure too. Through donations and generally raising awareness we can do our part. 
This is definitely not science fiction anymore.
Explore the website, http://www.mars-one.com/ to learn more. For more videos, visit their YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/user/MarsOneProject. 

An International Experience

2010 was an interesting year for me, to say the least. That was the year that my family packed up and moved to the other side of the world. To India. For the next four years.

Now you have to understand, to my ten year-old self, this was the end of the world as I knew it. Born and brought up in Ohio my whole life, to suddenly move to a place I hardly visited before (and even then, I was too young to remember it), was devastating. At the time, I had every misconception there was in the book about India.  

To be fair, I was pretty young. And it seemed like nothing would go my way. I had trouble adjusting at first. Often times I'd come home from my new school, in tears. Everything was foreign, from how people dressed, to the color of the road. But a few months in, I had quickly adapted to the way things went. Not that I particularly liked it. 

I didn't exactly love the first school that I went to. It was a big international school, with children of all kinds of ethnic backgrounds. The actual learning itself took some getting used to. Teachers had some unconventional (well, to me) methods of going about things and the students seemed to know what they were doing. But I had troubles ranging from taking notes in class to knowing the latest sports teams. And let's not forget all the pre-teen drama. But, when in Rome...

The third and fourth year were definitely better for me. Having switched schools, I was now in a smaller environment. The student body consisted of about three hundred and fifty students. Most of my classmates were in the same position as I was. Slowly as time went by, I realized whether I lived here or there, the inner-workings of a thirteen year-old mind didn't change. Everyone was obsessing about One Direction or wondering when the next Harry Potter movie would release. The 'unconventional' things turned into the norm. I made some life-long friends and got to see family more often. 

I learned so much as the years zipped by. And now I'm back. Part of me likes that. But part of me misses my home in India. There, I evolved into the person I am today. It is a huge part of who I am. It's an experience I'm eternally grateful for and wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

Lending a Helping Hand

Sometimes we don't realize just how lucky we are to have the things that we do. And I'm not just talking about material things...

For most of the Bhutanese immigrant children that have come over to Ohio from their country, things have been rough. From being in a totally alien environment to not even being able to properly comprehend the English language, they can use all the help they can get. Which is why I've joined an initiative to help tutor these children, to hopefully make their lives easier, here in the US.

Every Wednesday, for a couple of hours, we gather in a local library. The children usually bring school work, especially in areas that they need our help with. Slowly, concepts are explained, problems are worked out and their mind's fill with information. Of course, we learn too. All the time.

But it's not an easy challenge. The problems faced are mainly communication related. The language barrier can sometimes be tough to overcome. But with good resources and skills, we manage. We also have to remember that we're dealing with adolescents here. These kids are just like us. The occasional immaturity (from both parties), teenage attitudes and the desire to fit in are all factors.

And when the holidays roll around, we have drives to help get gifts (and other necessities!) to them. We jolt into the holiday spirit by singing carols and eating cookies. The summer is the time to help them focus on things other than school work and expand their knowledge. 

It's a lot of fun. I love the experience of getting to work with them as well as all of the volunteers who help out. Its amazing what you can do in just a couple of hours. At the end of it all, we feel satisfied with our work and feel like it's completely worthwhile when we see the proud looks on their faces.

The Dress Mess

The dress.

Oh, don't tell me you haven't heard of it. Literally the whole world has. You might know it as simply 'the dress' or 'white and gold or blue and black' or even 'the dress that broke the internet'. More often than not, people will know what you're talking about. 

Friday morning, before the bell even rang, this debate was up and roaring throughout the halls of my school.  

Next thing you know, teachers are leading debates in classes, polls are being taken and the picture is trending. It took me some time to realize that this wasn't someone's homecoming picture gone wrong. 

It took all of half an hour for the internet to work its magic. Celebrity tweets, arguments on popular news channels and scientific explanations only helped expand its popularity. Amazing, isn't it? How something so seemingly trivial becomes one of the biggest yet ephemeral discussions on the internet. 

So what are the professionals saying? 

Everyone sees things differently. Individual wavelengths don't have color so in the case of the dress, some of us interpret those wavelengths as blue and black and others as white and gold.  

I think what's got the world so worked up about this dress is the vast difference in colors that we are perceiving. It's incredible that, in reality, the dress is actually blue and black but a majority of people see the white and gold. 

This has gotten so popular that major companies, food chains and stores have used this to advertise themselves. 

Personally, I see white and gold. To me the black is non-existent. But ask around (if you haven't already). I'm sure you'll get some pretty weird answers.

But from past experience, this isn't going to last for long. Sooner or later, the dress will be travelling down the same path as #alexfromtarget or the last iphone.