Obama is not a man of the people?

Fox News strikes again. According to Sean Hannity, Obama is not a man of the people because he preferred Dijon Mustard instead of regular ketchup on his hamburger. I don't think what you consume affects how you run a country. Sean Hannity's report probably backfired on him because he is practically stating that the United States should not consume anything from any other country, but I guarantee you that if you look on the inside of Sean Hannity's suit it wouldn't say made in America. Other countries depend on the United States for their survival, and if we stop consuming from them, the world's economy would probably crash just like a countries economy. Video at the bottom.

Underrated

Its a shame when things are underrated. I always hear people talking about the overrated things, but never mention the underrated. Its probably because things that are overrated are well known to the public, but that same public does not know there is a helpless product that fits their expectations waiting to be discovered. Although it does not even have to be a product; some people might consider nature to be underrated. In some cases it makes perfect sense. For example, I believe Hulu.com is overrated, but the problem is that all other websites that are better are illegal, such as http://www.free-tv-video-online.info/ (do not go there because it is illegal; I only posted the link as an example... *wink*). Also, there are a lot of films that deserve more respect than they received including cult films and regular films. I understand why cult films are underrated, but I believe that the only reason regular films are underrated is because they require a higher level of mentality. For example, people might disagree with me on this but I believe that The Matrix trilogy should have gotten twenty times the number of views it actually did. Now-a-days when people speak about classics the only movie that comes up is Star Wars, and when you do hear people talk about the Matrix they don't talk about its idea, theme, or story line; they talk about that one scene where that one guy dodged some bullets. Also, this has nothing to do with this blog post, but I would rather mention it now than create a whole post about it. Why is it that when you weigh yourself at Publix, it says you weigh about two pounds less than you actually do? Is it because they want you to think you've lost weight, so that you buy more food?

Surprise

So one day I was walking around the side of my house to get a hose, so that I could place it in my garage when all of a sudden I feel something hit me on my shoulder. When I look at my shoulder I saw nothing, but red and was very confused about what just happened. Then I get a couple more hits on my chest, and I realized that the kids across the lake were shooting their paintball guns at me. The paint balls chased me back around the house until I crossed at the corner. From what I saw it seemed that there were two kids shooting, and they appeared to be brothers. Im not the type of person who gets angry over things like that, and the way I saw it they had a good sense of humor. They probably thought I called the cops or something, but no, thats not my style. For a while Ive been planning to buy an airsoft gun because I have tons of ammo, but no gun because my last one broke. What better time to do it now? So yesterday I ordered the VSR-10. Its the cheapest professional airsoft sniper you can buy. Cost me about 70 dollars. Because its airsoft it cant kill someone, but it hurts like crazy (probably more than paintball). As soon as the gun arrives I'll be on the look out for those kids. Then you guys probably know what happens after that.

Conspiracy

Is it me or are paper towel sheets getting larger. I'm talking about the ones that come rolled up in a cylinder and have little slits which allow you to tear it perfectly. It seams to me that as the years pass by the slits are further and further apart. Smart move by the paper towel companies because that way if you tear by the slits like most people do you will have finished the roll faster because you are taking larger quantities, and you will go out to buy some more. Same deal with cars. I have noticed that all these new cars need more maintenance. For example, a Toyota built around 1998 is an excellent car; they almost never have problems. It seems that these modern cars have cheaper parts which make them get replaced more often. In a way that can relate to the plot of V for Vendetta. The same people that caused the problem provide the solution to make money. It makes me angry when my family spends more money on replacement parts for our air conditioning system than the system itself.

Enemies

"Brother and sisters,........... and friends....... and I see some enemies. In fact I think we would be fooling ourselves if we had an audience this large and didn't realize that we had some enemies present." ---- Malcolm X

The truth is that enemies are everywhere whether you know it or not because some you probably haven't met yet, and possibly never will. I believe there is a balance of good and evil and no matter who you are and what you stand for there is a person who stands for the exact opposite. There is a division between morals and intelligence. Not all highly intelligent people believe the same thing. Martin Luther King Jr. argues that you should love your enemy so that you understand them, but San-tzu argues that you should love your enemy and then strike them down.

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." ---- San-tzu

I believe it is essential to have enemies because only they will point out your flaws. There are places in other countries which are filled with poisons and pesticides. The children that are born there have no problem with the environment because their bodies adapt, but if anyone else goes there, they will most likely get very sick and possibly die. If you live without enemies your whole life, as soon as you get one you won't know how to defend yourself. If your the type of person who believes in revenge then remember this quote because its probably the best form.

“Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them more.” ---- Oscar Wilde

The Weston Bear

Between April 18 and April 19 a black bear was spotted numerous times in Weston. The bear was not a full grown bear, but a medium/small size bear. People who saw the bear say it looked like it weighed about 180 pounds. The bear was spotted around South Post Road both times. What are the odds that a black bear would be spotted in Weston? I barely ever hear about bears in Florida. I think it is safe to assume that if any, there are not many more bears in Weston, thus this bear will be known as The Weston Bear. The Weston Bear is not very popular with Weston Officials though. The commission stated "We want to make sure bears move on and are not attracted to stay in these neighborhoods". Poor Weston Bear.

Teacher wages

I constantly hear teachers rant about their wages. Teaching isn't an easy job if you're actually doing your job well. Should teacher wages go up? Honestly, I think teachers should not get paid much more if any than they already do. Perhaps receive more teaching materials, yes, but wages shouldn't increase. What will happen when being a teacher is considered a high paying job and people begin to teach for the money? The idiot deciding whether to work at Mcdonalds or pursue a career in education might choose to be a teacher because he/she realizes that teachers make a lot of money. Not everyone teaches for the money. There are plenty of teachers who teach to pass off their wisdom to young minds. There are many teachers who sacrifice their time and money to try to make a difference in the future. So, should wages be raised? The real question is whther you would like more or less dedicated teachers.

A week in Chicago

I just came back from a trip to Chicago, and the thing I enjoyed most about Chicago is probably not what most people would expect. During my six day stay at Chicago I recieved over thirty recomendations on what to do for fun. These included going to museums, eating at restaurants, walking around the city, and many more. The museums were pretty boring, and even though I did walk around the city and eat a lot, I still did not consider it "fun". The funnest thing I did in Chicago was actually play in the snow. It was the first time I touched snow, so it was pretty amazing. I probably looked like an idiot running in the snow, and rolling, but I didn't care. If anyone is going to Chicago for a visit, I suggest going while it snows because it might be the best thing you find in the city. No offense Chicago.

Elevator Psychology

Now here is a post that is interesting, yet funny. One place in the world where you meet people for a short amount of time, and you probably never see them again is in an elevator. While in an elevator you might be surprised how much you can influence someone else's actions. This post relates to an earlier post titled "group conformity". You might want to check it out if you enjoy this. This post is a little short on words so I will let the video below do the rest of the talking for me.

Thomas Midgley Jr.

This next scientist created a few experiments that lead to the production of a certain product. Although this product was thought to be wonderful at first it turned out that it killed hundreds and caused extensive damage to the earth. In other words, Ms. Stoklosa would probably not like him very much. Thomas Midgley Jr. discovered that when tetraethyl lead was added to gasoline it prevented the engine from internal combustion. Gm began using the "new gasoline' to sell it, and avoided any reference of lead in the gasoline. Due to the wide usage of the gas, huge amounts of lead were released into the atmosphere, and many people suffered from health problems around the world. Midgley himself had to take a long vacation because he suffered from lead poisoning. In 1923 the General Motors Chemical Company was created to produce tetraethyl lead gas. However production was very slow because people kept dying at the factory from lead poisoning. Dissatisfied with the results GM created a new plant for production, which used a more dangerous high temperature ethyl chloride process. Within two months of the plants opening some people around the area suffered from hallucinations, insanity, and five died. At a press conference Midgley wanted to demonstrate that ethyl lead was not dangerous so he dipped his hands in it, and inhaled it for a whole minute. At the age of 51 Midgley contracted polio, which left him disabled. His last invention was a pulley system to help get him in and out of his bed. This experiment also backfired on him and he ended up getting tangled in it, and died from suffocation.

Phobia

Why do people suffer from phobias of things that are seemingly safe? For example, there are people who have heart attacks every time they see a goldfish through a water tank. Are people born hating things? The real reason is because people are conditioned not to like something from a very early age. An experiment conducted in 1919 showed how fear could be put into a child. Basically the men conducting the experiment placed a few toys in front of a baby such as a rat, blocks, a rabbit, a dog, and more. At first, the baby did not show any fear towards any of the objects. Every time the baby would touch the rat the men would strike a hammer against a metal bar, and they would scare the child. After a few strikes, the child always stayed away from the rat, and actually whimpered sometimes when he saw it. The baby never displayed fear towards any of the other toys; he only feared the rat. This experiment was criticized a lot because the men never attempted to remove the fear. The child remained afraid of rats the rest of his life. This experiment show's that even if people with phobias don’t know it, they attained their fear from childhood incidents. Fear is not the only thing you can condition. You can pretty much condition anyone to do anything at the sound of a specific noise or a particular scent.

The bobo doll

Is aggression in human nature or is it taught to us? Many people think that watching a violent film does not influence people to commit violent acts, but psychologist Albert Bandura proved otherwise. In his experiment he gathered a lot of children and split them into two groups. The first group was placed in a room with a few toys. Among these toys was a doll called the bobo doll. An adult model comes into the room and plays with the toys for about ten minutes. When the model leaves the room the kids play with the toys like any other child would. The second group of kids were placed in the same room, but only with a different adult model. This adult model did not play with the toys peacefully like the first one, but rather started hitting the bobo doll with fists and kicks, and sometimes with other tools. When this group of kids were left in the room (one at a time), they began to hit the bobo doll with fists and kicks just like the adult, and some of them even began to swing a hammer at the dolls head. This experiment resulted with the following conclusion : children exposed to aggressive behavior tend to act in aggressive ways whether if it is watching an adult physically  harm someone or something, or if it is watching a violent movie, and perhaps video games as well. 

Psychology of a psychopath

What is a psychopath? A psychopath is a person who is very antisocial, and thinks in a criminal, perverted, and aggresive ways. Psychopaths feel no empathy or remorse towards others, and that is the main reason they kill human beings and animals. Before researchers and scientist believed that psychopaths were just plain crazy, but it has been discovered that most serial killers have brain defects in which the part of the brain responsible for feeling sympathy towards others was either extremely small or missing completely. This means that if a psychopath killed someone he/she would feel no guilt, or in other words not see anything wrong with his/her action. Scientist performed a few tests to see how a psychopaths brain reacts to emotional words such as love, hatred, and sadness. The results of the test were that while a regular persons brain reacted to the words, a psychopaths brain did not react in any way, and functioned as if the word had never been said. It is estimated that about 4% of the population of the United States are psychopaths. Although this statistic may sound unrealistic at first, that is because most psychopaths are not killers even though they have the tendency to. Most psychopaths have abrasive personalities, and enjoy making life difficult for others. Some things that most killer pyschopaths have in common is that they wet their beds untill their about 12 years old, they enjoy torturing animals, do bad in school, enjoy lighting things on fire, and are actually very intelligent.

Harry Harlow and his monkeys

Rules were meant to be broken, so for this blog post imagine that at the top of this page the title reads "animal psychology". Although in this next experiment the test subjects are monkeys it resembles human actions. The Harlow experiment's purpose was to demonstrate the importance of love. In the experiment there are two sets of monkey's. The first set of monkeys were raised by a mother and were given love and affection from an early age. When the monkeys were put into a cage with a fake monkey made out of wires and a fake monkey made out of a soft cloth the monkeys always went to the wire dummy because it was the only source of food. The second group of monkeys were monkeys that were separated from their mother at birth so they were never given any love or affection. When the second group was placed in the cage the monkeys always went to the soft cloth dummy because it was soft, warm, and resembled love and affection. When scared or frightened the second group monkeys always went to the soft cloth mother, and only went to the wire dummy when they wanted food. Many other animals cannot function normally when separated from their mother at an early age. For example, a pig that was never given love or affection panics regularly, while a pig that was given love and affection lives a regular pig life. The Harlow experiment demonstrates that love is essential to maintaing a healthy live. The video below is the experiment itself.

The Milgram Expirement

The Milgram experiment is very popular, and well known. Even though you may have never heard the name before chances are that you have probably heard or read about the experiment itself. The purpose was to see to what point regular people would obey a figure of authorities command even though it is against their consciousness. In the experiment a man in a white lab coat (the figure of authority) instructed a volunteer to ask another man who he also thinks is also a volunteer (actually an actor) questions. The first time the actor gets a question wrong the volunteer has to press a button in front of him and shock the actor, who is in another room, with 15 volts (because he is an actor he pretends to be shocked every time the button is pressed, but the volunteer thinks it’s real). The buttons in front of the volunteer range from 15 volts to 450 volts, which is considered deadly. As the volunteer makes his way down the buttons, and increasing the voltage the actor screams louder and louder and begs for the volunteer to stop, but the man in the white lab coat keeps saying the same phrases: “Please continue”, “The experiment requires that you continue”, “It is absolutely essential that you continue”, “you have no other choice, you must go on”. Because the man looks like a figure of authority most volunteers go on. Around the 300 volt mark the actor stops screaming and makes no noise at all to make the volunteer believe he is in danger. As a result, out of 40 people, 26 worked all the way down to 450 volts, which is considered deadly, even after the actor stopped making noise. The video below is reproduction of the milgram experiment, not the original.

Strange thought

There are two groups of people in two different locations. The first group receives 100 pounds of food from their government for the first month, while the second group receives 200 pounds of food. In the second month the first groups is given 200 pounds of food while the second group is given 100 pounds. because the first group received 100 pounds of food more the second month than the first they support their government, but since the second group received 100 pounds of food less the second month than the first they rebel against their government. Even though both groups were given the same amount of food within the same time period one group supports their government and one doesn't. This happens all the time in our society. The real question is why does this happen? Why do human beings pay attention to whether they are given more or less than rather what they are receiving itself. For example, at our school, Cypress Bay, student lunches include a milk carton and a juice carton. Whenever the school is out of juice the student get angry. If the school would have never gave out juice to begin with the students would never get mad about it. Maybe this is the reason some places cannot advance. If their government gives the people too much the people will want more and more, and if they don't get it they rebel. Sometimes I think it might be better for our country if the government were greedier. Maybe this might even have something to do with communism. Tell me what you think.

What side of the brain do you use most, right or left?

This next video is a very neat trick. What you will see is a woman spinning. What actually matters is which way you see her spinning. If you see the woman spinning clock-wise then you most likely use the right side of your brain the most. If you see her turning counter-clock-wise then you most likely use the left side of your brain the most. Depending on which side of your brain you use the most you can figure some things out about yourself. If you use your left part of the brain the most it does not mean that everything that is under "left brain sided" in the chart below describes you because most likely you have some of the attributes on the other side of the chart. Some people are 50 - 50 left and right sided. Try to see if you can manipulate the spinning woman with your mind and make her spin both ways (it might take a long time)

________________________________________________________________

Right brain sided === uses feeling - "big picture" oriented - imagination rules - symbols and images - present and future - philosophy & religion - can "get it" - believes - appreciates - spatial perception - knows object function - fantasy based - presents possibilities - impetuous - risk taking

_________________________________________________________________

Left brain sided === uses logic - detail oriented - facts rule - words and language - present and past - math and science - can comprehend - knowing - acknowledges - order/pattern - perception - knows object name - reality based - forms strategies - practical - safe

_________________________________________________________________

Group conformity

When in a group why is it that individuals don't think separately, but rather as a whole? For example, if there is a class discussion and a controversial question is asked, most people would answer the question based on what the others in the class have answered even if they don't agree with it. Most psychologist believe that group conformity occurs because human beings are very social, and they want to 'fit in' with others. A psychological experiment known as Asch's experiment is demonstrated in the video below. In Asch's experiment five males are chosen to be participants in a test. Four of the five participants are actually actors and they were told ahead of time to choose the incorrect answer. Because there is one actual real participant the experiment is to see whether he chooses the obvious right answer or if he sticks with the groups wrong answer.

The Stanford Prison experiment

The Stanford Prison experiment was a study conducted by Professor Philip Zimbardo at Stanford University. Basically an ad in the local news paper was placed to gather a few undergraduates to participate in an experiment where they would play roles as either the prisoners or the guards in a mock prison. 24 out of 70 students were chosen to participate, and they were split up into their roles. Although the experiment was set to run for two weeks the professor had to terminate it after six days because things grew out of hand. The Guards at first did not know how to show authority over the prisoners, but then they started to rudely awake the prisoners randomly during the night for no apparent reason; sometimes they would force the prisoners to do pushups, and they even took away the mattresses in which they slept on so the prisoners were forced to sleep on concrete. By the second day the prisoners rebelled and they barricaded the cell doors so that the guards couldn’t get to them and they began to taunt and curse at them and rip the caps and identification numbers which they were given when they began the experiment. The guards were outraged by this so they grabbed the fire extinguisher, sprayed the prisoners until they opened the door, stripped them naked, and sent the leaders of the rebellion to solitary confinement. Because the guards and the prisoners hated each other so much and too much harassing went on the experiment was shut down by the professor six days after it began. During the experiment some prisoners experienced emotional psychological effects such as disorganized thinking, and uncontrollable crying and rage. It is said that some prisoners never recovered.