Smokes no Joke.

Well the U.S., being the great capitalist nation that it is, has these things called tobacco states. These states produce tobacco. Not rocket science. So if we made tobacco illegal, these states would lose lots of money. So the politicians from those states make sure that a law banning tobacco does not get passed. In return, they stay in power because the smokers and tobacco companies give them money and support. Then there are the tobacco companies. These companies spend millions of dollars trying to convince us to use their products so that they can make money. So i guess its a double edged sword in this economy. Either we allow these companies to produce this silent killer or the unemployment rate goes up. And then there are those lovely, tar infested, addicted smokers who would fight the government to no end if a law banning smoking was passed. Lastly, there are those magnificent things we call taxes. The government makes millions of dollars off of tobacco tax. Once again we have the double edged sword. Allow tobacco use and production or dramatically raise taxes. I would just like to say that I am 100% against smoking, but that doesn't mean that i don't understand why the government allows it. Its all about the money. Its sad but true. Personally i think the government should raise the tax on tobacco, make more money, and start paying off that astronomical debt we have these days.

Its gettin hot in here...

Global warming. Is it happening? Yes. Is it a problem? No. Global warming is a natural occurance that happens every thousand or so years. Technically we are still in an ice age seeing as both our poles are covered in ice.

Extinction. Another thing that is happening but is not a problem. Periodically throughout history species go extinct to make room for new ones. Yes it is sad to see the panda die off but it is necessary.

Energy. While it is good that we are looking for alternative sources of energy, we do not need to swear off oil. All we need to do is drill Alaska!

A legit problem is water polution. Do we really want to be drinking water laced with hormones? NO! Only a small percent of earths water is drinkable, we dont need that to go down because of pollution.

Air pollution is another issue. I dont want to be breathing smog for the rest og my life. Lets clean it up.

Welcome to the Dark Side.

Soy. We hear about it all the time. They make soy everything. From milk to joy. But what really is soy? They make it seem so happy and healthy. But is it really?

The Happy side of soy:

• Soy has tons of protein. Its loaded! More than any other grain.
• Soy can help you live longer. It helps with cancer prevention and stuff like that.

The Dark side of soy:

• Soy can make you crazy! It contains a hormone called Phytoestrogens. These are like estrogen in humans, except they're for plants. They're not intended for humans! Our bodies create all the estrogen we need! We don't need more!
• Soy can make you fat. It stops your thyroid from getting the necessary iodine, which in turn, makes you fat. want to stop obesity? Stop eating soy!
• Soy contains Phytates, which means it blocks minerals from being absorbed by your body. So your trying to be healthy and all that jazz by taking the correct vitamins and minerals and by eating soy... WRONG! your not getting those vitamins and minerals because your eating soy.

In conclusion... Soy is evil. You can get protein from other sources and help prevent disease by doing other things. You don't need to make yourself fat and moody to do it!

Its a bird, its a plane, its a SUPER FARM!

Industrialized farming has changed the face of food. Its a tad bit ridiculous. I mean really, is it entirely necessary to lather our food in chemical just to get rid of a few bugs? I think not. Take baby carrots for example. That white film that you see on them is bleach. BLEACH! Ewww! Personally I would rather buy a regular old carrot, wash it and peel it myself. And what about cattle farms? They feed hormones to these poor cows to make them fat and grow faster, kill them, and then we eat it. Aren't people hormonal enough? I think so. And what happens to the hormones discharged in human waste? They end up in our water supply! Industrialized farming may be profitable but it is also a little bit disgusting. There is no way to reverse the chemical damage that's already been done but cant we stop using them before its too late!?

They're more than good... theyre G.R.E.A.T!

#1
Identify the decision to be made - exactly what are you trying to decide?
Know yourself - what are your strengths, weaknesses, skills, values and interests
Identify options - list the various choices so far
Gather information and data - about each alternative
Evaluate options that will solve the problem, pros, cons and risks of each alternative
Select the best option- may be necessary to loop back and gather more info
Develop a plan of action - and implement it
http://www.decision-making-confidence.com/7-step-decision-making-model.html

This model is similar to the GREAT model because they both tell you to think about the problem, identify your options, evaluate, select the best one and execute. This one, however, also tells you to know yourself, gather information, and develop a plan of action, The GREAT model tells you to think about it afterwards. I think that this model is a better choice than the GREAT model because it is more thorough.


#2
define the situation and the desired outcome
research and identify options
compare and contrast each alternative and its consequences
make a decision, choose an alternative
design and implement an action plan
evaluate results
http://www.decision-making-confidence.com/six-step-decision-making-process.html

This model is similar to the GREAT model because they both tell you to think about the situation, identify options, compare the consequences, choose an option, and look at the results. Though this model tells you to design an action plan, it is almost exactly the same as the GREAT model. I think that model #1 is still the best choice because it has almost all of the same steps as the other 2 but it is more thorough and i believe it would result in a better decision.

Unnatural Resources

On a local level, Fairview is pretty boring. I'm not saying its not nice, its a great place to grow corn, but its pretty boring. There is a library, a school, a park, and some restaurants and such but that's pretty much it. The library is good for your mental health and so is the school. Snap Fitness is good for your physical health and the park could be too. We have a church that could help with spiritual health, if your a religious person. If your not, then you probably get your morals and values from some other source.
On a state level, Pennsylvania has the Turnpike which offers some social value because it allows people to visit friends and family living in other parts of the state. Although if you do not have family or friends living in other parts of the state, this resource is useless to you. Pennsylvania also has Nature Reserves that could be seen as environmental heath. These Nature Reserves help to provide us with clean air and recreation. The state provides emotional support for alcoholics and drug addicts through programs like AA. They also have health facilities to aid in physical health.
On the national level we have National Parks that aid in environmental and physical health. We have the Internet that can be used for mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health. The US provides public schooling to aid in mental and physical health. They also provide a highway system to allow us to be social with people in other places around the country. So basically there are a lot of resources around the country that we can use to better ourselves. Could it get much better?

Me Myself and I

How is a raven like a writing desk? And what about jumbo shrimp? If it is a shrimp, how is it jumbo? Welcome to the workings of my mind. Some call it insanity. I just call it fun. My name is Amanda. It’s kinda boring, but let’s just thank our lucky stars it isn't something like...oh I dunno... HOLLIN ELIZABETH HOLLINGSWORTH ELENOR NIES! I am eight-hundred and forty-eight hours into my sixteenth year of life. Ill let you do the math. Unfortunately my parentals did not stop after me, though life would be much easier and more entertaining if they would have. No, they had to continue on and have three other children. As if they weren’t in over their heads already with me. They call them Jacob, Allison and Nicholas. I prefer It, This and Hubert. Patrick and Melissa are not very creative namers. As for myself, I enjoy creatively naming inanimate objects. I also enjoy water polo, a highly entertaining sport for those of us with aggressive personalities. It is also a sport that HOLLIN NIES refuses to join because “it’s during cross country season”. Who likes cross country anyways? I personally do not enjoy running without a purpose. Actually, I do not enjoy running at all, partially because I am asthmatic and partially because I just don’t like it. I prefer sports where I cannot trip and fall on my face. I do that a lot, the whole tripping thing. I think it’s because I’m pigeon toed. I enjoy reading, mostly because the characters are normally more screwed up than I am. It makes me feel special. I have lots of friends. Although, they enjoy tormenting me by reminding me of an unfortunate Halloween costume that wasn’t even that bad to begin with. Have you ever noticed that sparkly and shiny things are highly distracting? I have. They have caused many problems. We have a love hate relationship. I love them, my attention span hates them. I plan on attending Bucknell University for Biology, Biochemistry, or Neurosciences. Then I would like to attend The Ohio State University Medical School. So, yes, I will be in school for a very long time. Have I mentioned that “Titanic” is my favorite movie? Or that I have a pathological fear of nuns? I think its called cloisterphobia. I used to think it was sphenisciphobia but I have recently learned that that is the fear of penguins. I do not fear penguins. I actually enjoy them. There are penguins in the movie “Happy Feet” although I prefer “Finding Nemo” “Finding Nemo” does not have penguins. It is unfortunate. Has this blog confirmed the above statement about my insanity? If not I suggest you read it again. If it still doesn’t, you are probably just, if not more insane than I am. In conclusion I will leave you with this thought… Dearly beloved… We gather here today to honor a once critical communication conduit that has passed away… What happened to letter writing!? Does no one feel the joy of receiving or sending a lengthy letter anymore!? I suppose not. The End.