I Love/Hate Snow

I have a love/hate relationship with the fluffy white stuff we call snow. That first snow always brings out a sense of beauty among the hills. I love the feeling of finally being able to go out and enjoy making a giant snowman and making that first snow angel. But at the same time there are always the negatives to snow. The risk of getting injured goes way up. The sidewalks and roads are very slippery. Slipping and falling or sliding and crashing can be two ways to get you injured before the holiday season.

            There are many reasons why I love the snow. Snowmobiling is the main reason I love snow. Getting out and ripping up the fields on the fresh snow is an amazing feeling. The air is so cold yet you are so hot from constantly moving on the snowmobile. Going off jumps and trail riding is so much fun. Whenever it gets cold I can’t wait for that first snowfall. I always strive to be the first one out on our family owned land.

            Another reason I love the snow is all the fun you can have with it. You can go sledding, have snowball fights, build snowmen, and the list goes on and on. Ever since I was little I strive to get the chance to go out and enjoy the fluffy snow. So far this year I have taken full advantage of the snow and played other games like football, capture the flag, and smear the you know what.

            At the same time there are many negatives to snow. That first snow brings horrible driving. As the first snow approaches you should really take time to prepare your car for the weather ahead. You should also relearn your winter driving skills because if you don’t, you will end up in a ditch, in a crash, and possibly dead. This year, my first time driving was horrible. The first time I went out I slid through a stop sign and almost had a horrible crash. I put my car in the ditch to avoid the devastating crash.

            One major negative is shoveling, shoveling, and more shoveling. It doesn’t matter if you’re shoveling the driveway or shoveling the sidewalk. All shoveling is torture and is not fun. First of all it does a number on your back and arms. It doesn’t matter if you’re the fittest person in the world. You will be in a world of hurt the next couple days after shoveling. The worst shoveling is when you are parked on the side of the road and the snow truck plows you in. When I’m in a hurry and my car is stuck in 2 feet of snow, I get really pissed off.

            One of the most annoying parts of snow is that it is wet, cold, and at some time it hurts. A regular pair of shoes on average goes up to about the ankle. If the weather is predicting more than 3 inches of snow you better wear boots otherwise you will have snow in your shoe. This happens to me all the time and is not fun. Playing in the snow gets you all wet too. After a long time of playing in the snow it becomes a nuisance because by then you have gotten snow in your face, in your jacket, and probably in your boots. When it all melts it just makes your clothes wet and very uncomfortable. On occasions you get a blizzard that makes the snow go from east to west and hurts when it hits your face.

            The ultimate worst part of snow is when it all melts. First of all you can’t have the fun that you once had. The other reason is that it is a sloppy mess and makes everyone angry. From stepping in puddles, to making your car all nasty, to flash floods. Melting snow is a mess that creates frowns and angry faces.

            No matter what I will always stay in Wisconsin and deal with the snow. It creates many opportunities to enjoy outdoor activities that you wouldn’t be able to do in states like Florida or California. The positives out way the negatives by far. Even though the summer is way better than the winter, I still enjoy being able to have fun in the snow and get outside.

John Forbes Nash Jr.

What comes to mind when you hear of paranoid schizophrenia? From a stereotypical standpoint, most people would come up with words like crazy, delusional, and other negative opinions. But come to find out, a man, diagnosed with this disease, won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994 (Mandel 1). Through John Forbes Nash Jr.’s papers he wrote in game theory, he was awarded the prestigious prize along side of John C. Harsanyi and Richard Selten (“John” 1). In his time he was known as one of the most brilliant mathematicians that walked the earth and anyone in the field of mathematics and economics knew who he was. John Nash’s work is remarkable because he was one of the first to introduce game theory distinctions, he had to overcome an incurable disease, and his papers in game theory gave the United States government something to look forward to in economics.

            John Forbes Nash Jr. was born on June 13, 1928 in Bluefield, West Virginia (“John” 1). He was raised by his mother, who was an English school teacher, and his father, who was an electrical engineer and a WW1 veteran (“John” 1, 2). John also had a sister named Martha that was two and a half years younger than him. As a child he went through standardized schooling and ever since his first days in elementary school, he was seen as an advanced student. In high school John started getting intrigued by mathematics, chemistry experiments, and also electrical experiments (“John” 2).

            After high school, John went to Carnegie Tech. in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on a full scholarship where he entered as a chemical engineering major (“John” 2). Throughout his stay at Carnegie, John was struggling to decide whether he wanted to switch to chemistry or to mathematics. In the end he decided to stay with mathematics and progressed so much, that they gave him an M.S. in addition to a B.S. (“John” 2). After graduation he got offers from Harvard and Princeton to apply as a graduate student (“John” 2). He ended up choosing Princeton because they seemed more interested in him coming there to study. There he studied mathematics and started to get very intrigued with game theory. Through his game theory ideas he was able to achieve a mathematics Ph.D (“John” 2). In 1951 John went to M.I.T. as a “C.L.E. Moore Instuctor” (“John” 2).

While at M.I.T. in 1956, John met a student named Alicia Larde. In that same year John decided to marry Alicia who he claimed to be the love of his life (“John” 3). John resigned as a teacher in 1959 as a result of his mental state becoming delusional at the age of 31 (“John” 3). He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia around the same time he found out that Alicia was pregnant (“John” 3). John was put in a hospital for 50 days to undergo evaluation. He was in and out of hospitals involuntarily for a long time. He was also spending a lot of time with different psychiatrists. In 1963 Alicia divorced John but never really let him go. She was always there for him and took care of him daily (Nasar 5). John was granted permission to visit Princeton whenever he wanted. People referred to him as a “ghost-like” presence and he was known as “the Phantom of Fine Hall” (Mandel 2). Eventually as time passed John miraculously got better and learned to block out the delusional influences. He continued to do work and research on game theory.

Then in 1994 John Nash received the news that he was up for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Economics. He then went on to win the award in economics for his 27-page doctoral thesis paper on game theory that he wrote when he was 21 (Nasar 2).

John Forbes Nash Jr. has done many things in the field of mathematics and economics. He is most famously recognized for his work in game theory. John’s contributions include “introducing the distinction between cooperative games, in which binding agreements can be made, and non-cooperative games, where binding agreements are not feasible. He also developed an equilibrium concept for non-cooperative games that is now called Nash equilibrium.” (“John” 1). His doctoral thesis is what brought him his fame. In the early 1950’s, his thesis name “Noncooperative Games” was published (Boman 1). This work was considered to be the mathematical foundation for game theory (Boman 1). Game theory was first invented by a man by the name of von Neumann who also helped build the A-bomb and invented the modern computer (Nasar 2, 3). He wrote a book called The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior which was about configuring mathematical rules about rivalries (Nasar 3).

John Nash followed up John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern’s theory. Their theory was only for rivalries in which if one gained the other lost (Nasar 3). “Nash focused on rivalries in which mutual gain was possible. He showed there were stable solutions –no player could do better given what the others were doing –for such rivalries under many circumstances. He turned game theory, a beguiling idea, into a tool economists could use to analyze everything from predatory pricing to trade deals.” (Nasar 3). 

John Nash’s work as a mathematician is obsolete and made him known as one of the most influential mathematicians of his time. The most incredible part of his work was that everyone had to wonder if his work was credible because of his mental state. In the late 80’s, the Nobel committee started to talk about awarding a prize for game theory (Mandel 2). Obviously John Nash was well deserving of the award and was at the top of the list. But the committee had to question Nash’s state of mind (Mandel 2).

On the day the winner of the prize is announced the Swedish Academy of Sciences has to vote for approval (Mandel 2). In almost all the prize nominations, the vote goes through in favor of the nominee without question. But in this case the committee was skeptical on whether John Nash deserved the award based on his mental state. For the first time in history, John Nash passed by only a handful of votes (Mandel 2). Nash’s incredible feat’ over paranoid schizophrenia is truly amazing.

Critics were skeptical on whether or not Nash’s work in game theory was useful at the time of the selection of the Nobel Prize winner. But at the time when he was studying the theory, it was looked upon as a good way to help with economical decisions for the government. “It wasn’t until Nash that game theory came alive for economists,” said Robert Solow, a Nobel laureate in economics at M.I.T. (Nasar 4). John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern gave insight to future economic answers in game theory but John Nash helped introduce a full scale working explanation on how game theory can give future economists answers to economic questions.

After John Nash received the Nobel Prize in Economics, there was a book and a movie made, both named “A Beautiful Mind”, that reflected his remarkable life (Weston 1). His life and accomplishments are a truly inspiring story that many have come to see. Being the next big thing in mathematics after being heavily praised at Carnegie Tech, M.I.T, and Princeton is not an easy thing to take on. After being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and falling off the map how could anyone regain what they had and win a Nobel Prize. John Forbes Nash Jr. did it and is truly amazing. His work in game theory gave excitement to future economists and was praised to be the next big thing. For his genius doctorate he wrote when he was 21, John Nash is well deserving of the Noble Prize in Economics that he won in 1994.

Cheetah Woods

Will Tiger Woods ever rebound from his mishap of last year? All the sports talk of 2009 and 2010 was always about Tiger Woods and how he had all of these alleged mistresses. He was scrutinized and his reputation as a world class, number one ranked golfer, and sports icon was tarnished after reports of all these women came out. Most people do ask the question if Tiger Woods will ever return to his dominate form and come out of this. I’m very skeptical on whether or not he will.

             I have never really been that much of a golf fan when it comes to watching the game. I do love playing the game though. The only golfer I actually know of and like is Tiger Woods and have always respected him for what he has done for the game of golf. As a minority in a sport that doesn’t get much recognition, he has done what no other African American has ever done in the game of golf. Ever since the first reports of him cheating on his wife came out, he has lost all that credibility.

            As a person who has been in a few long lasting relationships, I value honesty and staying faithful in a relationship. Any fooling around in a relationship and especially in a marriage is a horrible thing to do. If one person truly is in love with another person they would never go outside a relationship. The first time he went outside of his marriage was enough but hearing how he has slept with a number of women is just wrong. And as a celebrity he must have known that after the first reports came out, that all the other women would slowly put their stories out there. If his wife would’ve actually stayed with him she would’ve been coined as the biggest idiot of all time. She made the right decision to get rid of him.

            I can’t imagine what he is dealing with in his personal life from his family to his friends to the paparazzi always being in his face about the issue. Let alone he has to keep up his golf game and keep his elite status. Taking a break from the game of golf to sort out his life was a good decision but when he came back, everyone was asking if he was going to be the same Tiger as he always has been. So far from the tournaments he has been in and what I have seen on ESPN, his personal life is getting in the way of his golfing career. He is not the same person he was when at the top of his game.

            Today he is looked upon as a bad person and he doesn’t have too many fans anymore. When he goes to tournaments he gets booed and people yell different things to him all the time while he walks by. Everyone has probably heard of different names he is being called like “Cheetah Woods” and I’m sure there are many others. Personally I hope he rebounds and builds his life back and regains a good reputation for himself. I believe everyone should get a second chance no matter what. People make mistakes and he is only human. But when trying to answer the question if he will ever get back to where he was before, I don’t think he ever will.

Just quit Brett Favre

Football and just sports in general are a big part of my life. I follow the NFL pretty closely and I know what is going on currently with the game. The Green Bay Packers are my favorite team and Brett Favre used to be my favorite player by far. When he was with the New York Jets I still really liked him and always hoped he did well.  But ever since he migrated to the other side of the boarder, I have lost all respect for him as a person and a player. He has made a mess of his life and he just makes himself look like a fool every single year.

            For the past five or so years, Brett Favre has been contemplating retirement. He has made statements over and over again saying that he was going to leave football for good and he was calling it quits. But every year he comes back, he just makes himself look like an idiot for creating all this media attention towards himself. I feel like he is the laughing stock of the NFL. Especially when he holds media conferences and cries about leaving the game and then two months later he is back with a new team and a horrible reputation.

            The 2009 season for Brett Favre was a season of great accomplishments. He took the horrible Minnesota Vikings and made them into a pass reliable team who not only won their division but made it to the NFC Championship game. That is where I feel he should’ve ended it. When he came back for the 2010 season after a torn bicep and wear and tear to basically every limb of his body, I thought, “Wow, what a horrible decision.” And so far it has panned out to be just that.

            This season for Brett Favre and the Vikings has only been a season of disappointment. A losing record, allegations of sending lude pictures to a Jets reporter, and fingers being pointed to him for the downfall of the Vikings is what he has had to deal with so far. And just recently all hell has broken lose in Minnesota. The fans and even the players want their head coach Brad Childress to be fired. Everyone on the Vikings team is talking bad about each other and the team is falling apart. Now I ask the question to Brett Favre. Was it really worth coming back for another season?

            You can see the disappointment in Brett Favre’s eyes every Sunday. He knows that his playing abilities have dropped off significantly since the season before. He came back to the Vikings this year for one thing. He wanted to make another run at the Super Bowl. But with the chances of the team making it that far dwindling, you can see that Brett just isn’t there mentally and physically anymore.

            I wish I could talk to Brett Favre myself and look him in the eyes and say, “Brett, you’re old and washed up. You need to quit football for yourself and everyone else. You have your own health to worry about and a family that is dwindling because of your idiotic gestures towards the New York Jets reporter.” In my opinion this for sure needs to be Brett Favre’s last year as a quarterback in the NFL. Please do it for yourself and everyone who hates you and loves you alike.

Underage Drinking? Bad Idea

It was an amazing night that turned bad so quickly. One second I was having fun with my friends at the chip dumpster. The next second I was in my car throbbing in pain and horrified at what I was looking at. If I ever learned a lesson this was the worst way for it to happen. Being intoxicated as a minor leads to broken fingers, visits to the hospital, and parents wondering what in the world you were thinking.  

            After some heavy drinking at a one of my friend’s parties, we found someone sober to drive us around to listen to music. We had been driving around for about an hour and we all of a sudden had a serious case of the munchies. We all knew exactly where we would go to solve that dilemma.

            Everyone at West Salem has heard of the chip dumpster. The chip dumpster is a dumpster at the Frito Lays Company in West Salem. The company throws away barely expired chips, salsa, nacho cheese, and many other what we call treasures. Most of the time, the munchies aren’t even expired and are perfectly fresh and okay to eat.

            So we pull up to the dumpster to start our scavenging for various munchies. Usually the dumpster is full and this time there was barely anything in there. So we grab the chips that are in there and put them all in the car. There was one bag left at the bottom of the dumpster that we all had to go back to get. We all idiotically jumped on one side of dumpster to reach in and grab the bag of chips. The next thing we knew we were all laying on the ground wondering what just happened.

            The dumpster became too heavy with all of us on the one side of it and fell over. We were all asking each other if we were okay and my friends all said that they were okay. They asked me but I just walked back to the car as silent as could be. All my friends knew something was wrong. As soon as I hit the ground I knew something bad just happened to my hand. I didn’t feel any pain but my hand felt like my heart was in the center of it. All of my fingers were throbbing really badly.

            I got into my car along with the rest of my friends. They were all asking, “Matt, are you okay? Is something wrong?” My replay was, “Turn on the light!” As soon as they turned on the cargo light in my car everyone’s heads turned away because of what they were looking at. My hand was mutilated and two out of the five fingers on my left hand were crooked. There was skin hanging off of my fingers and I was bleeding everywhere.

            My friends then went to go pick the dumpster back up and we hurried out of there. I was surprised that my hand didn’t hurt more. I took a second look at my hand and I blacked out. The next thing I know we are heading back to the party to drop all of my friends off at their cars. This is when the pain finally started to hit me. Everyone was saying, “Oh my god! We didn’t know if you were going to wake up or not.” Apparently my eyes rolled in the back of my head and I was out for ten minutes. They got me to come back to consciousness by putting one of the cold nacho cheese jars against my face.

            All of my friends were freaking out because they didn’t know if they should take me to the hospital. I was contemplating whether or not to go home and tell anyone. There was no way I wasn’t going to go to the hospital. So my best friend decided to drive me to my dad’s house where I had to face the humiliation of telling the dumb story. I didn’t really feel like telling the real story right away so I started to make up a story on the way to my house. I decided to tell him that I slammed my hand in my car door before coming inside.

            So I get into the house and start walking to my dad’s room to wake him up. All I am thinking about is him telling me don’t go out and drink now. It only leads to bad things and in the end isn’t worth it. It was about 2:30 in the morning when I went in his room to wake him up and he right away started questioning me. I said I wasn’t drinking and continued with my idiotic story of how I slammed my hand in my car door. He really didn’t care about my story too much and we started to drive to the hospital in an instant.

            That drive was one of the longest and most painful drives I have ever taken in my life. I was thinking to myself, why did you drink? Why didn’t you take your dad’s advice? On top of that, every bump was a horrible jolt of pain being sent threw my hand. I couldn’t take driving any longer. I needed the pain to go away as soon as possible.

            We arrive to the hospital and head straight to the emergency room. There were about five people ahead of me and I showed them all my hand and they let me go straight to the front of the line. Immediately they got me into a room and onto a stretcher. They shot me up with pain meds and I finally got some relief. The doctor came in and I told him the made up story also. No one really believed me but I was sticking with that story. Of course the doctor also had to ask if I was drinking. That is when my dad figured out for the first time that I was drinking. I felt like I had to tell the doctor that I was drinking. I felt so embarrassed. He then had to preach to me like everyone else that drinking as a minor never is a good thing and leads to nothing good.

            They then sent me into get x-rays. After that they brought me back to my room where I fell asleep for an hour before they came back with the results. The doctor said I shattered my middle finger and would have to have surgery to repair it. The rest of my fingers were also broke. He said I was going to have early arthritis and really bad nerve damage.

            After the results came back the doctors put a huge cast on my arm to support all of my fingers and keep them straight. I was still in barely any pain and I started to reflect on what just happened. I was having such a good time and everything went downhill so quickly.

            No one ever second guesses drinking as a minor. All they think about is the “now effect” and not the consequences that could affect them later in the night.  If I wouldn’t have drank that night, my hand wouldn’t have been mutilated and I would’ve been in perfect harmony. Instead, I was in throbbing pain with an upcoming surgery to repair my finger. I also learned that the chip dumpster is stupid and dangerous. Next time I’ll probably just go to the local Kwik Trip and buy myself a bag of chips. I have never even come close to returning to the chip dumpster. Underage drinking is illegal and a dumb idea. I recommend that no one drinks if you are under the age of 21. Nothing ever comes good out of it.

Is the ban on Synthetic Marijuana productive?

           Could there really be an alternative for marijuana? Is there really something out there that is legal that can get you high? To all you marijuana smokers in the United States the answer is yes. Lately in the news you have been hearing about the popular “legal” K2 incense, “Happy Shaman”, and “Spice” products that many people have been buying from smoke shops across the nation. It has been coined synthetic marijuana because it gives you the same affects as marijuana if inhaling it but is a lot more intense and harmful for you. Local and Nationwide authorities have been stepping in and banning the substances because of reports of heart attacks and high blood pressure from smoking it. But is making the substance illegal really going to stop the sale and nationwide consumption of this product? I believe the illegalization of synthetic marijuana is going to have no affect on buying and consuming the products because many people do not care about the side effects, the marijuana industry hasn’t changed, and the product is easy to obtain.

K2 and spice are herbs that are sprayed with chemicals. When inhaling the product, you get the same effects as if smoking marijuana. John Huffman, of Clemson University, developed the compound chemical "1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole," in 1995 when studying the effects of cannabinoids, the active ingredient in marijuana. Government officials are concerned about the product because the chemical sprayed on the synthetic marijuana is leading to an increase in heart rates and high blood pressure. But do the people buying the product really care? The answer is no.

Many people know that synthetic marijuana is bad for them. They have heard the warnings and consequences of smoking this product. For most people either smoking weed or the legal weed, they do it to get the sensation of that high. There are side effects to smoking both products so you typically find the common smoker asking, what’s the big deal? Government officials trying to warn people about the side effects will do nothing for most of the people who obtain synthetic marijuana. This is why banning the product because of its potentially harmful side effects will do nothing to stop people from buying synthetic marijuana.

 In a survey reported by CNN, 14.4 million United States residents admitted to smoking marijuana in the past month. Now which one of these 14.4 million people wouldn’t like to have something that gives you the same effects as marijuana, is legal, and is available for purchase? Marijuana has been illegal for many years now but when you look at the industry, it is still alive and flourishing more than ever. Somehow pot dealers and buyers are getting around the system. There is no possible way to ever stop illegal drug use and trade in the United States. There will always be a loophole that dealers and buyers alike will find.

 This is the same with synthetic marijuana. As long as there are people that want to buy the product, companies will try to find a way to get the product on the market. According to the story I read, six months after the first ban of K2, the police even stated that it was pointless because merchants can so easily create a legal alternative. Right now, the companies that make the product are making slight changes to the chemical in synthetic marijuana. They are coming up with knockoffs such as “K3”, “Heaven Scent”, “Syn”, and “BoCoMo Dew.” Just like the marijuana industry, the synthetic marijuana industry will always find a way around the government issued ban.

Along with marijuana, synthetic marijuana is easy to obtain. Synthetic marijuana is just as easy as it is to go to the store and buy a candy bar. Of course you have to be 18 years old but it is still sold everywhere. In LaCrosse, there are many places that sell the synthetic marijuana. I have seen it at many different gas stations and at smoke shops. All you have to do is walk in and show your identification and the herbs are yours. The ban is not very strict right now. There are still places that sell these products and get away with it. Not everything is banned yet and there are still incenses that are available. This ban is doing nothing to stop the purchase of synthetic marijuana and many people are still purchasing it and not getting in trouble at all.

In conclusion, I think the government trying to do something about synthetic marijuana is a good thing. The thing is that it is impossible to stop the supply and demand for these products. It is just like the marijuana industry where people will keep buying it if it is illegal or not. People crave the sensation when inhaling the contents and won’t stop for nothing. Also, the companies will always find a loophole when being able to distribute and sell the synthetic marijuana. My last point is that even with the ban, it is still easy to purchase any of these synthetics without getting in trouble.

Tulley

I think the video was a good way of opening up your eyes to another method of teaching. Learning by doing helps the children figure out that nothing is ever just going to be handed to you. You have to work through the problems and sometimes figure out the solution on your own. Tulley’s method brought success to the children building the different things. It also showed that you can trust kids with the hammers, drills, and other dangerous equipment.

In today’s public education, there is a set curriculum and everything is repetitive everyday. You go to class, learn a lesson, and get homework and eventually have a test. Kids never get the chance to learn by doing unless they are enrolled in a shop class that helps them develop problem solving strategies. Public education is boring and I think an approach like Tulley’s would definitely open up eyes to how to overcome failure. In my opinion it would also be a lot more fun because I like to be hands on and working in an environment where I get to create my own creation would be more fun than I ever had in any class in high school. I think public schools should definitely somehow incorporate teachings methods like this because it would overall benefit the children in helping them for their futures.

Most families today have more than one child and live hectic lives that are overwhelming. Most children are in involved in so many extra-curricular activities that consume the child’s life and the parent’s life. Children don’t have much time to do homework and have free time. It is the same with the parents. They don’t have time to relax at home after a long day of work. Tulley’s program offers time and opens up the child’s life to work freely and solve problems openly. This is another good reason why Tulley’s program is beneficial.

Responding to failure in today’s society doesn’t go over well. Most people give up and don’t try to solve the problems. Actually, when you really think about it, we give up and have someone else try to solve the problem for us. Look at our nation’s economy. It is a huge failure and no one wants to take full responsibility so we try to look for someone else to fix it for us. We all think everything is so bad and that we can’t do anything to help our own problem when in reality, all you have to do is make smart economic decisions to benefit yourself. A good response to failure is something you have to develop overtime.

I think that for all these reasons, public schools should somehow incorporate Tulley’s method of problem solving into their curriculum. They should set aside an hour everyday to work on a project that you design yourself, build yourself, and helps you problem solve by yourself. I think this method should be started at a young age because overtime your problem solving skills will be amazing. Response to failure as a society will definitely improve and it will greatly benefit everyone.

Overall I thought the movie was pretty interesting. Seeing the kids at that young of an age work to build things and be successful is amazing. There were a couple of things in the video that I thought were pretty cool. The bridge made out of bags was pretty amazing. When it showed the picture of the bike and boat that they made, I was pretty blown away. But by far the one thing that struck me the most was the roller coaster that they made. That must have been a really smart 7 year old to make that.