Song of Solomon Blog Response Dos

Well well well, back again, aren't ya?

So lets get on with it. My book is Song of Solomon and currently I have read up to page 217, so I am a little behind. Don't worry though, I'll catch up. Some things I like about the book are the difference in characters, the setting of time, the way the author uses racial discrimination towards the plot line, and the amount of crazies in the book. All these things and more is what makes the book so enjoyable and at some times hard to put down. Also some things that are developing seem to be: Porter and Corinthians having a relationship (a pretty serious one), Milkman and his search for gold, and Guitar and his seven days club thing.
So in the pages I actually read last night, we found that Circe is still alive. But shes friggen OLD man! Dude, I really don't understand how she can be that old when she was alive for so long. Why is she still alive? Is it some force that we don't even understand? (cue twilight zone music)
So one quote that really stuck me was when Guitar was talking about the Seven Days. He starts talking about this ratio and that we have to keep it the same and it kind of freaked me out. Its on page 155, and starts, "You? You're going to kill people?" "Not people. White people." "But why?" "I just told you. It's necessary; it's got to be done. To keep the ratio the same." I mean, yes I understand that people in the south were killing black people, but that shouldn't be handled through means of violence. That means you are no different than those that killed before you.

Song Of Solomon & 1337l\l355

So my book is Song of Solomon and were right now almost at the middle of the book. Its easy to figure that one out since there is a part I and part II of the book. Anyways, the book is really fun. It has a bunch of twists and turns and it just wraps you up into it. I was reading Savannah's blog and I kinda feel the same way that sometimes it gets hard to put it down. Kind of like how television does those little teasers. They are quite annoying actually.
I actually like how the book is quite in the historical time that the author puts it into. What with segregation and lynching and racism. These also really apply themselves to the overall plot of the book.
I have found that the book is very descriptive. You can easily picture the scenes and follow the story very well. Its like watching a good movie, just better.
What the author also does is use the sort of uneducated black accents that were used in those days. Sometimes it confuses me, but you can certainly tell the difference when an educated person talks rather than an uneducated person.
So far, my literature circle seems to be grasping the book quite well, so it hasn't appeared to confusing. A lot of our conversations though do include lots of questions about the book, so maybe there are some foggy parts that people can't really figure out. I've had my fair share as well. A good example is Hagar. What is with her? Seriously, she has some major issues.
Overall, I have really enjoyed this book and am really excited to read it. Thanks Spence.

Turbidity (again)

More sources on turbidity!

http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/data/BACT/info/Turb.html
Explains the sources of murky water/how it happens. Also explains a lot about how to measure turbidity as well.

http://www.omega.com/techref/ph-6.html
An article that explains turbidity and how it is measured. Also explains turbidity in more scientific terms.

http://www.water.ncsu.edu/watershedss/info/turbid.html
Yay more turbidity! Oh, and some sources and other stuff. It seems like a lot of the sites are repeating themselves so yeah.

Colloid!

Well, I found a website that explains colloid!

What it refers to is one substance suspended in another, kinda like how the erosion from rocks and stuff gets suspended in lakes and cause fish to die. It all is coming together...

http://www.mpikg.mpg.de/kc/what_is_a_colloid

T-T-Turbidity!

Ok, so here is my first resource for our water project. The prompt of it is:
What is meant by the term "turbidity?" Define "colloid" and explain how it relates to turbidity. Include reasons why turbidity is included in water quality testing. Be specific on what particles contribute to turbidity.

The idea of turbidity, as explained in this website (http://waterontheweb.org/under/waterquality/turbidity.html) is that turbidity basically means how clear the water is. The more Total Suspended Solid, the more turbidity and the murkier the water. What makes the water murky can be a multitude of things, from phytoplankton, to different forms of erosion. More turbidity causes less fertility rates and more stress on fish. If the turbidity of the water gets bad enough, it can even cause deaths. Great website, and don't worry, it has a lot more than I just simply explained!

All righty, off to more homework shtuff.

DDT

Here is information on DDT
http://www.3dchem.com/molecules.asp?ID=90

Also, I was able to finish up the script. (Yay me!) Although, I'm not quite sure how my group will react. Oh well, we'll just have to wait and see!

Oh, and Heroes was THE BOMB!!! Hiro is an absolute playa, and Peter is too, and the Haitian is BACK! Although, I still have oodles of questions! (OMG @ Claire too!)
Hope you all will start watching soon!

Genetic Mutations and Borders and Heroes, Oh MY!

All right, I just want to spent some time doing a random post.

So, the other day while I was sitting in church, I was throwing around the whole playing God idea with our new bits and pieces of technology and would it really be wrong to create something that has never been created? Does it go against the 10 commandments? But then again, how cool would it be to actually bring to life creatures we have always read in fantasy books? What if fantasy books aren't really about the past and the magic that supposedly occurred way back when, but it is actually the future? Is it possible to genetically mutate a person to the point of receiving super-human abilities like magic, alchemy, and other sorts? Just a few questions. (Please comment if you have any views!)

Now, as for the border patrol. I actually was rather surprised at some of the respect given by classmates, but then again I would suspect nothing less. These guys are trying to make sure we stay safe and that people who aren't suppose to be here stay out. Yes, I understand that illegal immigration has somewhat helped us, but then again, their wasting our cash! If the Mexican government would just please get it together rather than us having to foot the bill for so many people, this whole immigration thing wouldn't be a problem! Also, for those of you who think that the border is not an issue, you should take into consideration the idea of terrorism. I mean, yes, there are plenty of ways to get around the system if you really wanted to be a threat to our country, but at least these guys are taking into consideration one level.

Anyways, now time for HEROES! YAY!

Resources Shyea

I am waaay too tired from the LAN (Yes, I am still having effects from loss of sleep) to provide the details of these pages right now, but I will get to it, I promise!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16764484

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=15327864&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlus

http://www.swhydro.arizona.edu/archive/V3_N1/featurette4.pdf
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/ora_oasis_viol.html#2920

ZOMG Heroes!!!

Well I'll be writing this post while the commercials of Heroes are on. (Yippeee! Doing HW while watching your favorite series!) Anyways, lets get down to some business.

I found three nice blogs, Matt's, Danielle's and Kerstin's. All three of these people have information on my topic. (What effect does natural and synthetic pesticides have on the environment in Baja?) But let me go slightly more in depth.

Matt claims he is the best, and his blog partly proves it. Matt does a really great job of actually taking note of what the websites show, and not just by writing a few sentences. He is able to thoroughly explain each link (without making you become drowsy). Very nice and direct, and even has some pics to explain it better! Great job Matt.

Danielle has a bunch of links. I mean her blog is loaded. Most of her links are about what pesticides do to the human body (she has a link for cancer, a link for general health effects, and even a website from UCSD on synthetic pesticides.) Great stuff, although she isn't as much as a talker on her blog as she is in class.

When you look at Kerstin's blog, you either think, aww, it looks so pretty! or wow, way too much pink. Anyways, Kerstin's website provides even more information on pesticides. Oh, and I don't mean just like pesticides in general, I mean every bit and peice on pesticides. We're talking Herbicides, symptoms, the whole 'shibang.' Kerstin is also a pretty devoted blogger. I sware, she doesn't miss a beat.

Alrighty, so lets talk some more. At the moment, we still do not have an interviewee, however we are certainly working towards it. I called Maura (our contact) and she gave me a person to talk to in San Francisco, as well as told us that in order to personally interview the professor at UCSD that we would have to send her an e-mail that she would forward to Public Affairs. I think that we should deffinitlely do this interview with the person at UCSD if we can, but at the very least we should try to get a phone interview with either our new contact in San Francisco, or the other woman we got in touch with who lives in Baja. In other news, our flash is almost done! Tomorrow I will be showing it to Andrew and William and adding the finishing touches. (I suspect I will be spending the majority of my time tomorrow helping others with their flash. Yay me!)

Avast! A blarg we can plunder!

Aye! This post's name be in hon'r o' Pirate Day. YAR!

Ahh yes. Pirate Day. The Magical Spaghetti Monster. Ver ver interesting. But, you wanna know wut is even MORE interesting? I found a beautiful blog by the name of Kookoo 4 Coco Puffs. This is Coco's blog, and it has tons of awesome information on Pesticides. And waddya know, our topic is on pesticides as well! She included some really helpful links like the one about Natural Pesticides: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-some-natural-herbicides.htm
Also, how could you not like a blog with a picture of some Coco-puffs? Srsly.

Snicker Garble Garble

Well, it was another busy day for mwa. I didn't have much difficulty deciphering the text in class today, although I think Austin Han did seem to have much trouble and instead of actually asking the right questions kept whining. Ahh yes, our lovely class. Anyways, our BDB (Beyond Da Border) group decided to stay after-school to get some head-way on our script. It sorta-kinda worked, as we have now at least a page of our script done. I'm hoping we will have it done before Thursday so we can do at least some revision, but if not then at least lets get it done. I really don't know how we will split it up though, since we all can't get together again this week. Also, I really don't want to take too much responsibility over it, although I will if I sincerely must. Also, we still have not fully gotten our expert source as it seems we have been playing phone tag with a bunch of people and have not yet set up a date, although now we are hanging on for dear life on two small strings: A Professor at UCSD, and a Pesticide Expert who only speaks Spanish and lives in Baja. So now I must talk to Spencer about whether it is OK to do like a phone interview or even an e-mail one, since I have no idea how we would be able to record a phone conversation. I really do hope that the professor comes through though, since he is the one who is closest and we could get real footage of him and what he looks like.

Well, everything else seems to be well. Anne's DP is almost done and now I have started on a bunch of other dinky projects (including Solare.) I also have a meeting with Julio Delgado tomorrow, and Anne's Calendar needs to be set up, and I have homework to still do. Why must life be so busy??? T_T

Resource #: 8 Incas

Resource #: 8
Author: None listed
Title: 4.1 Raised beds and waru waru cultivation
Address: http://www.oas.org/dsd/publications/Unit/oea59e/ch27.htm
About: This shows another innovation to the Inca Civilization. Its a raised plot of land with ditches on either side. Pic below:

Resource #: 8 Beyond the Border

Resource #: 8
Author: Cliff Gruenberg, Hiram Rocha, and Mario Ibarra
Address: http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/enfcmpli/usmexbrd/bpdocs/imp_perp_eng.pdf
About: PDF file that is on the pesticide issue in Baja. It not only includes the environment, but the health side as well. The other thing is it covers what is being done to stop pesticides from effecting the environment, people, and even property. Very formal, but a lot of text to work through.

Resource #: 7 Beyond the Border

Resource #: 7
Author: Bill Freedman
Address: http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/retrieve.do?subjectParam=Locale%2528en%252C%252C%2529%253AFQE%253D%2528su%252CNone%252C10%2529Pesticides%2524&contentSet=GSRC&sort=Relevance&tabID=T001&sgCurrentPosition=0&subjectAction=DISPLAY_SUBJECTS&prodId=SRC-1&searchId=R1¤tPosition=1&userGroupName=sand07018&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&sgHitCountType=None&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28SU%2CNone%2C10%29Pesticides%24&inPS=true&searchType=BasicSearchForm&displaySubject=&docId=EJ2166030044&docType=GSRC
About: This website has some great statistics on Pesticides and how they categorizing them. Great little source for a basis on making us sound smart. =]

Resource #: 7 Incas

Resource #: 7
Author: Hiram Bingham
Address: http://www.incas.homestead.com/Index.html
About: This website is really all about the discoveries made by the first American to discover the Incas. Every page is his works. Pretty interesting, as it goes in depth into a lot of different categories. Useful link.

Yippee!

New image for my header. Post your opinions as a comment.

Resource #: 6 Incas

Resource #: 6
Title: The Land of the Inca - Art of the Inca
Address: http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/inca.htm
Author: Judy Decker
About: The site is actually a link place that provides links out to a whole bunch of different websites referring to the Incas. I've only checked out one on Inca Art, but I'm sure it provides they will all provide a bunch of information.

Resource #: 5 Incas

Resource #: 5
Title: Inca Art
Address: http://library.thinkquest.org/5058/incaart.htm
Author: None
About: Describes some things about the Inca Art, including how they made textiles from Alpaca, llama, and even vicuña fur.

Resource #: 4 Incas

Resource #: 4
Title: The Incas
Address: http://incas.perucultural.org.pe/
Author: Maria Rostworowski
About: Has a private gallery of Incan art, also has a history and technology page. Quite an interesting and complex I must say, so it probably was done by a non-profit. Definitely not the same kind of site I've been seeing quite often.

Resource #: 3 Incas

Resource #: 3
Title: Inca Music El Condor Pasa, Flight of the Condor, Andean dance.Sheet Music.
Address: http://agutie.homestead.com/files/Inca_Music.htm
Author: None
About: Tons of information on music of the Incas. Includes what instruments were made of, what kind of dancing was done, and also has an interested part on how the musicians could put the dancers into a hypnotic trance.

Artifacts! (Who is doing what)

Ok, so here is what everyone should be doing. If it is incorrect, send me a comment.

Mellisa Sun-Shrine
Kerstin Dehydrated Food/ String thing with Knots
Olivia Incan Temple
Austin Hunting Tool
RJ Incan Foot Plow
Andrew Weapons
Jessica Pottery
Emlyn Chimu
Chris Weapons
Adrian Weapons
Briana Woven Basket

Resource #: 6 Beyond the Border (cuz big Dr00 stole my #2 >=[ )

Resource #: 6
Author: D. Micheal Fry
Address: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0091-6765%28199510%29103%3C165%3AREIBET%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage
About: This includes a short excerpt on how birds in Southern California and other places are effected by agricultural chemicals (pesticides) and the things that occur when they are directly exposed to them. This includes both effects from the pesticides and also birth defects that occur.

HAH! I have 5 resources now! Yippee!

Resource #: 4 & 5 Beyond the Border

Resource #: 4
Title: Baja California Home
Address: http://www.questconnect.org/baja_california.htm
Author: Kim and Donne Greene
About: Provides a brief explanation of Baja's Economy, and environment, as well as some history. Nice overall website for just trying to get a grasp on Baja. Maybe we use some of this for the beginning of our video? (e.g. Baja California encompasses a booming tourism oriented economy, . . .)

Resource #: 5
Title: newsobserver.com | State can't prove birth defect link
Address: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/pesticide_violations/story/442930.html
Author: Kristen Collins
About: An article on the birth defects of three different children born from the same mother. One has missing limbs, another a missing jaw, the other had no visible sex organs and died. They have tried to link it to be a fault of the company (Ag-Mart) as they have actually allowed workers onto the field earlier than they are suppose to after spraying pesticides. Also, Ag-Mart was fined for 369 other violations.

Resource #: 3 Beyond the Border

Resource #: 3
Title: About Pesticides
Address: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/about/index.htm
Author: EPA
About: Provides an overall description of what a pesticide is, how they are used, and how there are other forms of pesticides that are becoming safer.

Resources for Incas

Resource #: 1
Title: Inca
Address: http://www.crystalinks.com/incan.html
Author: Ellie Crystal
About: This site seemed to have a brief overview of the Incas, covering a lot of different topics. What was nice was that the site separated all of the information by a header. I would really suggest it for someone who would like just an overview of the Incas. It also had some information on my artifact, which I have now figured out looks like this:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/history/lecture14/r_14-3-02.jpg

Resources For Beyond The Border

Format
Resource #:
Title:
Address:
Author:
About:

Resource #: 1
Title: Environmental Issues of the California-Baja California
Border Region
Address: http://www.scerp.org/bi/BIV/Ganster.pdf
Author: Paul Ganster
About: Has two important bits. One talks about contamination of Agricultural Chemicals and pesticides of the New River, the other about other streams that are bathing, cooking, and drinking water for people in Imperial Valley and Mexicali Valley.

Resource #: 2
Title: Indigenous Migrant Workers Struggle Against Pesticides
Address: http://isla.igc.org/Features/Border/mex5.html
Author: Rufino Domínguez Santos
About: Describes an Indigenous group in Mexico and how they have migrated to Baja to find better work, better homes, and a more stable life. However, they have had much trouble with the pesticides as it has effected the water, the soil, and the health. Many have actually died from Pesticide poisoning, and a few at relatively young ages. (One died at the age of 18.) Does describe some symptoms workers feel as well after working in the fields without protective equipment.

For the simplicity of a lifestyle

All righty then. Now I have figured out a way to have many wonderful things all on one page! By deleting my blog I recently created in class, I re-created it on a gmail account. Now, because I can then have a google homepage, I can read e-mails from my gmail account, check out the RSS feeds from that same google homepage, and even read e-mails from my hotmail account! Ahh the beauty of it all. SO, if you would like some help customizing yourself to that point, feel free to shoot me a comment! I'd love to help you out.