America's Pastime

The American Pastime

Baseball is a game loved by many world-wide. In this game, you have two teams of at least nine players each. One team pitches and one team bats. Each player bats and tries to run to as many bases as possible, and score as many runs, without getting out. The field is in the shape of a diamond with four bases; first, second, third, and home. Each player stands at home base to bat, and the pitcher approximately sixty feet in away from them. The goal of the pitcher is to strike the batter out. Each pitch can be a strike, ball, or a foul. After the pitch, it is the other teams job to try and catch the ball to get a player out. The love of this game continues to grow. Early in history, baseball was used as a pastime from things such as war. Baseball has led many greats, such as Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth that helped shape baseball into the sport it is today. In order to get a better explanation of baseball, we interviewed Alex Bowman to get an insider's look at this pastime.

Alex is a freshman in college who played baseball for thirteen years and recently had to take a break due to a torn Labrum in his shoulder. On the field, he would play short stop and third, two very important positions. Alex would bat with the typical 33 inch bat that weighs 30 pounds. When asked what he likes most about baseball, he responded with one word, “relaxing.” Games are different in each division. In high school, games are seven innings, and after that, there are nine. Before each game, there was practice. At practices, you would have bat practice, on the field and in the cages, and you also “took” infield and outfield, which is a term in baseball meaning to work on defense. Alex spoke very highly of baseball. His favorite team is the Red Sox. When asked about his most influential character, he responded with “obviously Babe Ruth...”

Annotated Bibliography #3

So I finally found some U.S. stuff. =]

DNA Databases

F.B.I. and States Vastly Expand DNA Databases

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/us/19DNA.html

This article talks about the DNA Databases in the U.S. It discusses how this process will help identify many crimes unsolved. If we put every criminal in the database no matter how small their crime is, we can either put criminals behind bars, or exonerate more of the wrongfully convicted. DNA specifically identifies a person, and there isn't a question as to if it's them or not. Using it instead of fingerprints, helps keep out the error in convicting someone. DNA Databases are in effect in the UK and it works fairly well over there. Rock Harmon states that "If you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear." If you aren't guilty of anything, then what is the harm in your information being in the database just to confirm that?

The Wii

Okay. We have a Wii, and it's pretty awesome. We got a new game this weekend that's like Wii Sports: Summer version or something. It is an intense game. You have to move your hands really fast but keep them steady or you lose. It's funny to watch my parents and my aunt and uncle do it because I can't help but laugh at them. Sometimes I have to explain the game to them because they don't understand it. haha. I love it. This game has like jet skiing, water skiing, airplane flying, canoeing, frisbee throwing, and many other fun games that cause a lot of motion in the upper body. They played it last night and all woke up with sore arms because they have to move so fast. They were canoeing earlier and the canoe kept going in circles since they weren't moving their arms right. I was about to die laughing. The Wii is a fun way to have a good laugh and not do homework. =]

UFC

So, I watched UFC for the first time this past Saturday, October 24th. I never watched it because I'm not really in to the whole fighting thing. My dad watches WWE and I've always thought that it was absolutely the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Well, I was invited to watch UFC this weekend, and I figured I'd give it a shot since I can't really say I don't like it if I have never seen it. The fights finally come on. I'm watching and they are just kind of so-so, not really the best but they weren't the main event. When the main event comes around, I'm pretty excited. We are watching a fight against Lyoto Marchida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Throughout the fight Shogun stays ahead of Lyoto. Well they go five rounds and neither were knocked out. The judges make a decision and they choose Lyoto as the winner. The crowd at this point is booing. It was disappointing because Shogun was the overall better fighter and he should have won. It was a cool night though because UFC is so much better that WWE, because it's actually real. =P.

Annotated Bibliography #2

Forensic DNA Databases: Linking Criminals to Crimes

The development and expansion of databases that contain DNA profiles at the local, State, and national levels have greatly enhanced law enforcement's ability to solve cases with DNA. Convicted offender databases store hundreds of thousands of potential suspect DNA profiles, against which DNA profiles developed from crime scene evidence can be compared.

Given the recidivistic nature of many crimes a likelihood exists that the individual who committed the crime being investigated was convicted of a similar crime and already has his or her DNA profile in a DNA database that can be searched by the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) software. Moreover, CODIS also permits the cross-comparison of DNA profiles developed from biological evidence found at crime scenes. Even if a perpetrator is not identified through the database, crimes may be linked to each other, thereby aiding an investigation, which may eventually lead to the identification of a suspect.

link here

This article is for DNA Databases. It is explaining how it helps solves crimes and that even if the perpetrator is not in the system, it can still link crimes which helps the investigation. DNA Databases are a good thing because they help solve crime. It should be expanded to all people because then everyone would be in the system and you would not have to worry about if one crime will link to another. You will be able to find the perpetrator right off the bat. They would help the cops do there job quicker, and it would take more criminals off the streets, which would put the victim's families minds at ease.

Grades

Okay, so grades in college are weird. We got our grades back on the Chemistry exam and I got a 70.8 which is a C apparently. I'm okay with that because it is the first grade, but I don't want to get in the habit of being okay with C's because I won't be able to keep my scholarships that way. I need to learn a different way of studying so I'll remember the information and make better grades. In some of my classes I think I'm doing pretty good, but I have to keep my grades up in all my classes. I know that the college transition is not easy, but I didn't realize it was going to try to kill me. Hopefully I'll get the hang of it sooner or later.

Jill McCorkle - Outside Event #2

So I went to Jill McCorkle's reading of "Surrender" today with Tanner and it was rather interesting. First, I get us lost, and we just happened to drive up on the road we were supposed to be on all along, so we didn't get there until like 5:55p.m. Luckily she hadn't started to read yet. So we go in and it is really crowded because it is a small place to begin with and there is over a two dozen people there. We go stand towards the back, and I lean on a stool, and there is this guy sitting in front of me. Well he offers me his seat and even though I said it was unnecessary, he got up anyway, so I sat down. A few seconds later, this woman decides to tell me that I took his seat and that I should move, and I told her that I knew that and that he offered me his seat. I kind of felt like a jerk, but she wasn't very nice. Then Jill McCorkle starts reading from her book Going Away Shoes, in which she reads the short story "Surrender". It was cool to hear an author read from her book, but I didn't really care for the story. She talked about things that I didn't see as humorous, I just saw it as inappropriate. She definately portrayed the fact that she knew the story, but I thought she was kind of monotone, maybe she might have been nervous. It was cool to hear other peoples reactions to the story and watch them read along with her. Overall, it lead to an interesting night.

Chemistry Exam....

Okay. So the Chemistry exam was canceled on Friday. I was a little upset, because even though I didn't feel that prepared, I still wanted to get it over with. The nerves had built up on Friday and then we didn't even get to take it. I guess misunderstandings happen like this all the time. The good thing about it being canceled is that I can study a little more, but I don't feel like it'll help me that much more. It is a lot of material in a relatively short test. So that scares me. Hopefully the study groups will pay off and I'll do good on the test tomorrow.

Annotated Bibliography

DNA Databases

Article HERE

This article gives the positive and negative effects of DNA Databases. Some argue that DNA Databases are an invasion of privacy. Alec Jeffreys believes that "Innocent people do not belong on that database." I think that if you aren't guilty, then why worry about being in 'the system.' On the other hand, it discusses the positive effects such as all the crimes that were solved in Britain because of it. This helped solve more than 17,000 crimes, which is an astounding number. Other benefits would be being able to see family relationships and so on. This article was a good article to get information on both sides of the argument.

Evaluation Essay Proposal

I think I could sufficiently evaluate DNA databases for a good paper. I, personally, think it is a good idea, and, like everything, it has it's pros and cons. The pros, in my eyes, outweigh the bad. It would act as a way of putting everyone in the system. This would help for when criminals may not be in the system, they can identify them more quickly. It would pull a lot of crime off the streets. It eases my mind to think they could find someone that has never been in trouble and pull them off the streets for raping someone. I like this idea. Some may say that it invades privacy, but I think that if you aren't guilty of anything, then why does it matter if they have some of you DNA?

Cell Discovery

Scientist Discover What Makes the Same Type of Cells Different <- view article

I thought this was pretty interesting since we are all Biology majors, so this applies to all of us. It was awesome to see how someone's experimenting led them to the discovery they were looking for. It shows the scientific method in action. It shows how you must experiment, collect and record data, and try again. It shows us all to never give up. It took these scientist three years of studying until they found what they were looking for. If they would've stopped experimenting, it could've been years for someone to discover that same cells can react differently. The most important thing though is for us to never give up.

Lack of Focus

So, I find myself more often than not, having trouble focusing on schoolwork. If they made it more interesting, I may want to do it, but it's always so boring. I struggle with staying focused on something longer than an hour. After that, I'm gone. I usually give in to the lack of focus and start doing something else. Then I end up having to rush to finish something. I thought it would get better when I got to college, but I think it has gotten worse. Especially being home, I have tons of distractions like my phone, my dogs, my parents, the t.v., and just the thoughts of things I could be doing other than homework. This, for instance, is a lack of my focus. I really need to get focused and do some work. =P

A Streetcar Named Desire Observation

This play was pretty interesting. It was neat to see literature in motion. I thought the play was good and the characters did a great job portraying their parts. Watching each character, you could kind of see what was going to happen next. With Blanche, she got even more crazy as time went on. She had all these crazy stories she would tell to Stella and Stella would believe her. Stella didn't want to think her sister would lie to her, but Blanche was. With Stanley, he seemed like he was going to be a nice guy, but then he started getting abusive. I don't care how crazy Blanche was, there was no reason for Stanley to get out of control like he did. In the end, they take Blanche to a psych ward which was probably the best thing they could have done. Even though Stella didn't really want to, that is where Blanche needed to be. This play caused a lot of laughter, especially sitting with Bobby, Jessica, Casey, and Sunah. Even when it was a serious part, I was laughing at something. It was nice going to a play with friends. It adds to the experience when you get to see your friends reactions alongside your own. =p