A Report & A Debate

The final Action Project for the class Population, which is a STEAM class, relating to science, math, art, is something that may russle your jimmies. As a debate-styled project, we are to discuss the matter of population growth, after doing some research to back it up of course. A site that was ruled out to be a lone source itself was  Wikipedia, since the collection of info was actually from other sites, which are indeed cited below, a useful tool to find research. Something rather troublesome for me was finding the right viewpoint I needed, which will be shown below. As something I'm rather proud of, part of the criteria is to make a script as if you were directing an animated short, and I really did enjoy mine. So with this being said, I grant you a report of population growth and my opinions on it.

Overpopulation, Should We Be Concerned?

There have been calculations of the world population, specifically using the method of exponential growth, the geometric version.

Over 10,000,000,000 people on Earth by 2050 is the prediction of our population, it’s a geometric increase because it’s a specific increase based on total population, like a percentage increase, affecting it like a factor.

Calculations of population, VG, 2014

In regards to estimations of population increase, so far, it’s been every 8 years of which there’s an increase of one billion (2006-2014), but the geometric increase is also to be considered, as well as:

resources, technology,
disease, technical assistance,
economy, early pregnancies,
financial development, being an already large population,
natural disasters, bioengineering, and
“space”-such as living quaters- (It’s possible, just not plausible)

These are all factors to consider when determining population growth, especially in a debate.

3. What is an issue that is related to population growth that you would like to research?

Lack of resources:

-Depletion of natural resources, especially fossil fuels

_________________________________________________________________________________

There are 2 viewpoints revolving around population growth:

1. Resources- not enough

                          &

2. Technology- always supporting
   
   

The first viewpoint (negative towards overpopulation):

-We are quickly running out of fuel that our society is depending on more, that’s why gas prices went up, because it was becoming rarer (but I remember reading about a fuel reserve of some sort, online, I just don’t remember the site).

-We have been using up other resources and polluting our natural environment too much.

The second viewpoint (positive towards population growth):

-technology is advancing and we’re beginning to create our own resources

-science is so advanced, we’re being able to counter against all other natural epidemics

Though the one that features a lot of evidence is the one concerning about overpopulation, I will be supporting the viewpoint saying technology can aid us, for it acknowledges both points of population growth & uses evidence of the past to predict the future.

Humanity and technology in a mutual benefit, as technology assists us Earthicans, we also create more advanced technology, thus supporting it.

_________________________________________________________________________________
The Script:

[Mark, Jean (John), and Eren, three friends, are sitting in a pub. While Jean and Eren discuss a matter of overpopulation, Mark takes their information to true consideration, seeing as how he never even realized it was a matter to discuss in the first place.]

*J=Jean E=Eren M=Mark*

[As it starts, Mark stays silent throughout the entire conversation,]

J: Hey, have you ever wondered how much the Earth can support us?

E: What, you mean like it’s carrying capacity? Psh, we’ve got plenty of space.

J: You sure? I mean, if that’s so, then why are there so many people in undeveloped countries starving?

E: Well that’s just it, those are undeveloped countries. America wasn’t always hashtags and “can’t evens”, you know. There were times in history where the New World was in poverty.

J: Yeah, but still, it’s because they don’t have any resources; that’s why they can’t develop. (1)

[Eren sighs and starts again,]

E: No, it’s because they’re still going through changes, think about it, the Alpha build of a game won’t have everything it’s going to have later, sure that stuff isn’t even there, but the goal is to implement it into the final product.

J: Life is no game, humans are using or even destroying our one and only resources too quickly.
E: Well, yes, that’s true, but that phase is over, notice the awareness we took after noticing these things? We now make sure products don’t pollute, we recycle or reuse, and sometimes, reduce what we are using so it’s not to go to waste.

J: Well, what about space then? There are--

E: I’m going to stop you right there, trust me, the entire 7 billion people on this planet could all live in Texas, and no, not just crammed into that space, but live in a standard house size. Sure all the houses would need to be similar, but similar doesn’t mean exact, that would be something like congruent.

J: Whoa, wait, hold on, when did Math come into play here??

[Mark attempts to interrupt but is cut off]

M: Uh, guys, how did we get into talking about this in the fir--[Mark’s speech fades off: (--st place…)]

E: Trust me, math takes a bigger role in this than you think. It’s actually because of math that we have this information.

J: Well you know what, our usage means still need to change.

E: I agree, but shouldn’t you acknowledge technology? Think about it, sooner or later, we might even become cyborgs, humans with robotic augmentations and such. But going back to math, it’s estimated that by 2050, there will be 10 billion people on this Earth, but because--

M: That much? Jeez, great, say hello to higher gas prices, am I right? Aheheh…

E: ...Anyway, if we were truly concerned about this, we would be taking extreme precautions.

J: Well, if overpopulation is of no concern, then why does China limit the amount of children you can have?

E: Because that’s overpopulation in a concentrated area.

J: So now you’re hypocritical?

E: Well, it’s more like cities are too populous, rather than the entire Earth being in danger.

J: Then what about gas being much more expensive?

E: Corporations want money, there was a recent discovery of many fossil fuels--

J: Oh, let me guess, you read that on the Internet? Do you even remember the site?

E: Alright, fine, let’s just assume that there wasn’t a discovery, but relating to gas, why do you think we have electric, fuel efficient cars now? Gas, regardless of the price, makes pollution, so technology is advancing with the times, sooner or later, we won’t need the many fossil fuels we strive for.

J: I still think that in a few hundred years, we’ll be gone.

M: I’d say that we’d still be kicking a thousand years later, with drunk robots and cool cyclopes, right?

E: I agree, just not to that degree… in the scenario that we run out of natural resources, which in the case of our efficient technology that’ll take forever, we’d probably have enough scientific advance to reach out past the stars, especially since space travel is already possible. Think about it, us humans are true creatures of genius, we adapt and evolve without taking thousands of years. We are even synthesizing our own food now, but it’s frowned upon because it’s new and different. Can you really say that with our technology we’d simply run out of all resources and slowly die off? The famed future of the next millennium predicted in the 90s is already here, we can soar past all expectations and I feel like by the next century, humanity will still have Earth, it’s just not the only option.

J: It just seems like the population is growing too quickly.

E: Yeah, that’s right, but electronics are growing even faster, we can render better than life visuals now, and even make them interactable. And that’s just on the entertainment side of science and tech.

M: You guys wanna know what I say? I say that whether or not I knew about this issue, it really wouldn’t matter, Eren here did bring up a lot more points than you did, Jean.

J: But nothing he said has happened yet, he’s pretty much saying that Mars is our failsafe planet, how can you believe in that?

M: Simple, I a bit buzzed right now, so my judgement is a tad bit off…

E: Ok, Jean, think of this; we have robots that can do work for us, remember how much this was fantasized just a mere decade ago? The idea was that it would take us more than a thousand years to make human like AI, but guess what, you can talk to some right now on the Internet.

[Jean looks at his smartphone briefly and looks back up at Eren]

J: ... Okay, maybe we’ve got more than a hundred years...

_________________________________________________________________________

My sources (cited)-

(1) Overpopulation Is Not the Problem, Erle C. Ellis, The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/14/opinion/overpopulation-is-not-the-problem.html?_r=0

(2) Energy, NA, World Resources Institute

http://www.wri.org/our-work/topics/energy

(3) Overpopulation: Environmental and Social Problems, NA, how many(?).org

http://howmany.org/environmental_and_social_ills.php

A Hero's Journey, You've Had One

Name: VG Date: 10/22/14

Journey of a Hero, It’s Happened to You

The final Action Project for this term is ready for submission, and here’s what it’s about. In the literature class “Stories”, we have the final Action Project which relates to a hero’s journey, a specific series of events. There were many difficult parts such as attempting to find a real hero/idol of mine to interview, but I am proud of my choices for both the fictional hero and the real hero. 

The hero’s journey, according to Joseph Campbell, usually starts with the call to adventure, including a mentor, guide, or ally, that has unfamiliar territory, challenges and trials, an ordeal, a road back (or rebirth at times), atonement of what has been lost, and the return to a normal life. Those are the 8 most basic stages of a hero's journey, but they don’t only happen in stories. This order of events happens in common life too, such as joining a sports team, in which the call is our interest; joining the team, the challenge and unknown would be being nervous, and any ordeal may be not joining the team, or failing the trials (tryouts).

The Heroes

The Fictional Hero:

For my fictional hero, I chose the famed Batman, but which one? Batman has had many adventures, incarnations, and retellings; it would be impossible to cover them all. That’s why I chose the specific journey our hero has in Batman: Arkham City, which is the 2011 video game, sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum. In Batman’s journey, he experiences all of these stages, and all witin the first half of the main focus of Arkham City, too.

Batman's call to adventure happens when Bruce Wayne is abducted and kept in the major penitentiary project known as Arkham City. Professor Hugo Strange is the director of Arkham City and he was the one to order the TYGER guards to take in Bruce Wayne. After obnoxious rambling and going on about Protocol 10 making him a hero, Strange reveals that he knows Mr. Wayne is the Batman. Obsessed with becoming a hero like the Dark Knight, Strange releases Wayne into Arkham City to determine if his plans will succeed. Wayne then climbs the Ace Chemicals building to reach his about-to-be-delivered Batsuit. Batman's allies as of that moment included Alfred, his butler, and Catwoman, who decided that the idea of Arkham was indeed, quite crazy (especially if it interferes with collecting her valuables). Soon after, Barbara Gordon, daughter of police commissioner Gordon, (codename Oracle) has joined the intercom channel with Alfred, assisting Batman in analysis while Alfred takes care of remote deliveries and general advice.

He faced many trials along this extentsive and confusing path. Gang wars for claim of territory between Two-Face, Penguin, and Joker, each one with a grudge against the Night himself. His greatest ordeal was having the Joker's now poisonous blood in him. Joker's blood got infected from the unstable formula for "TITAN" -a chemical that enhanced venom, which is the super steroid Bane uses, TITAN was featured in the predecessor game, Arkham Asylum- which ultimately failed back on Arkham Island when Joker attempted to take it over.




Now, with a great disease, and 9 hours left until Protocol 10, Batman must track down Mr. Freeze so he can synthesize a cure. Unfortunately, the Penguin captured him so his live Iceberg Lounge gallery in the museum is one more exhibit closer to completion. "Penguin" Cobblepot aims to add Batman to his collection, but it's obvious that won't happen.

Of course Batman does what he does and frees Fries (Dr. Victor Fries {fre•ease} aka Mr. Freeze}. Yet another trial awaits him...
The new mission? Batman must retrieve a DNA sample featuring a certain enzyme that only Ras Al Ghul's body contains. To infiltrate the League of Assassins HQ and then get close enough to take a blood sample from the leader himself? Such a smooth evening it's going to be...

Batman's challenges are ever growing, and on a time limit, he needs to stop Protocol 10, find a cure, and shut down Arkham City, all in one night. It will truly be a Dark Knight for the world's greatest detective. And if that's not hard enough, there's a multitude of crimes, murders, assassinations, kidnappings, and hostage taking in Arkham City. If Batman can't do it, who will?

The Real Hero:

Now for my real hero, I chose my father seeing as how I’ve always looked up to him. He believes that assisting others is simply natural; he always knows how to react to things, and he is indeed a hero in my eyes. The following recording tells of when he had a journey of his own, starting when he was washing a car in Brazil when he was just a teenager. ––To air dry the car and make the job go faster, my father drove around the block, but then he saw someone he recognized. His neighbor was on the sidewalk, head down, lying on the ground. His first thought was that the man was drunk, but knowing his neighbor, he dismissed that thought and instinctually went to see what happened. The man's wife and daughter were rushing towards him, telling my father that he was actually sick and is in need of medical attention immediately. My father used common sense and rushed into the car, despite not having a license yet, and transported the man and his family to the hospital. Unfortunately, the closest one that he traveled to was closed, no service was there, and the next one was a mile and a half away. This only drove my father to act even more quickly. Once the man was there, he was treated, or at least, the doctors tried to assist him. The man unfortunately passed away, since nothing close to the idea of our modern technology was available at the time. While in the long run, it didn't affect my father's life too much, he definitely won't forget what happened on that day.––

Explanation Transcript:

VG: "Hello and welcome, today we have a recording which falls along the lines of a hero's journey. Now, you may be thinking a hero's journey is pretty simple; some princess gets captured, and then they go out to save them, but a hero isn't always the same thing. At times a hero can be you yourself. The hero's journey falls along these simple steps; There's always a call, something that inititates the missin or the challenge, something that starts everything. Then there's the mentor, the ally, the guide, someone who helps along the way of the initial quest. As the third step, [or stage], we have the unknown, [sometimes called] crossing the threshhold, this is when we travel through unfamiliar environments or try something new. The 4th stage of the hero's journey [is] the trials and tests, there can be as many trials and tests as possible, but it's essentially the challenges we go through during the journey.

5th stage is the ordeal, essentially what you may have lost [along the way]. [Next] we have the reward and the road back, sometimes known as rebirth. When the hero of the story [completes his objective or gets revived] somehow. The 7th stage, atonement, [--] is when the hero learns to accept what he's lost, and more importantly, how he [overcomes] (goes through about) losing it. Then we have the return, the final stage, [and it's] when the hero -well- returns, when the hero goes back to [their] original life, even if it is a little bit different."

Conclusion/Summarization:

You see, both my father and Batman have common relations, such as both having a call to help (an)other(s) in need. Both also had to get through certain challenges to save the one(s) they know. Another incident they share is the loss of the one(s) they knew and tried to protect, as well as dealing with these losses. You don’t need to be a hero to have a hero’s journey, it’s a part of everyday life sometimes, whether it’s us, or the protagonist in a story.

Thank you for reading, and remember that right now, you could be having a hero's journey.


**Information citations
Batman: Arkham City, Rocksteady, DC comics and Warner Bros., Unreal-Technology, Oct. 2011

The Mars Animal Division entry; Alaskan Husky

The second Action Project for my math & science class, "Population", and this one revolves around Mars. The assignment was to choose a common pet, but a specific breed, and tell why we believe it could survive on Mars (granted basic food & shelter is provided). Naturally, I chose the Alaskan Husky for quite a few reasons; one- it was the semi-unique choice, even when every one else did indeed chose a type of dog, two- Mars is incredibly cold, seeing as how it is more than 54.6 million miles away from Earth, meaning 54.6 million more miles away from the Sun. Some challenges I ran into include collecting data, it was tough to find a unit that could be measured well by at least 11 other breeds/animals, and then applying it into the standard deviation was also long process... a long process which had lost itself, so unfortunately I couldn't include a picture for those calculations. Despite those slight troubles, I'd say I'm proud of the area of Mars I chose, cold, but warm enough to survive, which is explained further in depth below, hope you enjoy.

Unit 2: Action Project

POP

Mars One: Animal Division

"Water ice clouds hanging above Tharsis PIA02653

black background" by NASA/JPL/MSSS

1. After watching the video on Mars’ climate, where do you think the colony will settle?

Somewhere in the warmer regions like mid Mars since it’s a frozen desert, cold sand, but also near the ice caps.

2. What climate features are the most important to address in that area?

The ones that include water, such as icy temperatures that have frozen water.

3. What traits would be best suited to this kind of environment?

Blubber, fat, lots of fur, and so on.

4. What traits would be worst suited to this kind of environment?

Carnivorous teeth, not exactly any life on Mars to consume.

5. Of the animals you observed, which breed of animal would have the best chance for survival in the new environment? Give several reasons why.

Alaskan Husky, their fur coat is thick and warm.

6. Insert a photograph of the breed you chose.

7.Insert a transcript of the 60 second proposal and include supporting evidence.

To the Mars animal division: The Alaskan Husky is a winter dog, so of course it would be more suitable to survive on Mars than an animal that may require a lot of heat, like a lizard. The great husky may not have the best claws or teeth for this environment, but a thick coat is really what helps it survive, even if there’s not any meat on Mars to consume, or snow for those claws. If we’re listing the less useful traits, then those long legs aren’t the best to keep the warm blood to the core. But if there is food provided, then an alaskan husky can easily survive in the equator region of Mars, where the temperature is around -20°F, a temperature that’s feasible on Earth. Assuming there is ice, the dog can use it as a water source for drinking. It has great tracking skills, so getting lost won’t happen to this pooch.  That is why I believe the mighty winter dog know as the Alaskan Husky is a prime candidate for the Mars animal division.

8. Which trait did you choose to analyze on your FE?

Age by months

9. Copy your data here:

(displayed in numerical order and rounded to nearest half of month)

0.5 (1/2 month), 0.5, 2, 2, 2.5, 3.5, 4, 4, 12.5, 14.5, 16, 17, 21.5, 33, 48.5, 60, 60, 60

10. Insert a box-and-whisker plot showing your data here:

11. Fill in the following central tendencies for your data:

Mean:20 (rounded to nearest whole)

Median:13.5

Mode:60

Maximum:60

Minimum:0.5

Range:59.5

12. What is the standard deviation from your data, and how is it significant in relation to the data?

Sample standard deviation is 21.6 (rounded to nearest tenth)

 *this is where I would have included another picture of calculation if I still had it.

And so, this concludes the report, do you think the evidence is feasable? What kind of animals do you think could survive on Mars? I wish to see you again in the next Action Project.

Thank you for reading through!

Honey Badgers and Karma

The second action project calls upon the sophomores of GCE, and this time, we're making a fable. A fable is of course a type of story that contains a moral, or lesson. In the one I have made, it tells the tale of a bad badger who gets his own medicine when Karma intervenes in his mischief. I must say that making this was what I enjoyed, creating the general story was both fun & challenging. Hopefully, the message is clear to see because it will not be directly stated here, or in the story, just to leave interpretations sake. So with this brief explanation out of the way, I hope you enjoy.

Karma’s Been Badgered

“Ben. Ben Badger. A misfit amongst misfits, and no I don’t mean he acts good or proper. Imagine the worst bully you had, multiply by eight, and straight up know this guy’s got no incentive whatsoever. His most frequent victim is Joe the Swan, a bird who can’t fly, can you guess why? Years ago, Ben was being egotistical as usual, and when he saw, ‘Some feathered finch on his turf ’ he instantly slashed those silky wings making him flightless. Joe never went near that maniac again, it’s just a shame others have.

VG, Karma 2014

The poor people of Elwood need to put up with this furry beast everyday, and since nothing about their democracy says there can be an option of exile, they truly are stuck with him,” reads the report, “You know, I can’t believe I’ve overlooked this issue for so many months now…” mumbled Karma.

-Okay, so first things first, you’re probably wondering who, or what, Karma is. Karma is an invisible force of equivalent exchange, simply put; good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. But something to note would probably be how busy Karma is, you know, kind of having to serve the entire world ‘n all… sounds like a job for Santa. Coming around back to… Ben… he never got paid back for what he did to me, I valued my wings just so much, especially since I made a living off of them. I used to be an airdevil, somebird who pulls of tricks of flight for show, but my career came to an unfortunate ever since that overgrown rat sliced ‘em up. So now I’m retired, unwillingly, and am doomed to narrate this story forever… or at least for however many times anybody’s going to be reading this really.-

Moving on, Karma was determined, knowing that it’s been ignoring such a threat only boiled it up some more! The question is, how should Karma play it out? It thinks, and it thinks, and it thinks of it some more, and now the answer is clear. Karma realizes that surely, should every mischievous deed of Ben’s backfire, then he would definitely see them as signs. Unfortunately, only moderately intelligent or smarter creatures get this point… Ben of which, is not.

Searching for the brown, black, and gray troublemaker wasn’t all too hard for Karma, seeing as how the ability to fly comes very useful in it’s job, yet the large city of Elwood is rather, uh, large. “In the multiple reports, Ben has been described as a large Honey Badger, often wearing a leather jacket, skinny jeans, and of course, his valued necklace of a golden number one,” Karma remembers, “So if I was a badger, I’d probably be hiding in my hole, wouldn’t I?”

As Karma searches for the mangy mammal, it finds out that everyone else always knows where he is. Karma heard the Owl cousins discussing that Ben was planning to put up offensive graffiti on the domestic houses, simply to assert his… dominance.

As you probably guessed by now, I truly have a fond hatred for that striped furball, so the best thing I could do after that incident is warn everyone I know about Ben’s horrible acts. It’s just a shame I couldn’t tell Glen about him before Ben decided to prank him. Now Glen is a hummingbird with a swollen chin, and a sprained wing… Ben’s idea of a joke usually consists of a tripwire near some stairs… if only Glen embraced his flight, but he’s not really one of flight, poor guy never learned how.

VG, Ben Badger 2014

About midday in the Birch line ETA stop Simble, Karma finally found Ben. Oddly enough, he was just leaning on the corner of the wall, holding something… “What could it be,” wondered Karma, but then it hit him, that was a graffiti can, it’s obvious that he’s going to spray some other nasty comment on the wall. “Well if someone doesn’t want their property to be sprayed, lets see how you’d like it on yourself,” Karma uttered. Quickly, the invisible spirit vanished into the can itself. Ben says to himself, “Everybody always passes by this stop, so why not spice it up a bit, heh, no one will think of what I have planned, besides, who cares for private property anyway, it’s not stopping me,” as he shakes the can of red graffiti paint, this is when karma acts.

The can explodes, the paint dripping everywhere, but all of it on the wall simply slides off and leaves no mark. Ben, however, is splattered in red, not in a consistent manner either, frustrated, Ben chucks the remains at a car, shattering its window, yet peices of glass fly to his hands. “Augh, what a day,” Ben groans sarcastically, “Stupid can! Stupid car! Whatever, there are still plenty of mailboxes that could use renovation!”

“So,” Karma directs to Ben, “You still haven’t figured it out?” But being a spirit of equivalent exchange, Ben, nor anyone else hears a thing, but the others in the area watch as Ben storms off.

“My beautiful bike, oh how I couldn’t live without you,” Ben says to the motorcycle in his garage, “I’m so glad I found you that day.”

Karma, trailing behind him, notices that this was mentioned in a previous report, but it didn’t related to Ben… “Mr. Brown’s motorcycle was stolen by an unknown alias, he appeared to be skunk like, but Mr. Brown knew every skunk in his family, it’s just unfathomable because they could’ve simply asked. So other skunks are out of the question,” remembered Karma, “Meaning that it must have been Ben who stole it!”

Ben hopped on the bike, revved it up, and pulled out his bat. His necklace is partly spotted from that red paint, Ben, still irritated at that fact, drives of to break some mailboxes. “Venting out anger is good, and smashing stuff is even better,” Ben sneers. As Karma follows it realizes that Ben is about to hit a home run from that mailbox, so quickly thinking, Karma launches itself into the mailbox, strengthening it by, oh lets say, strong enough to withstand Ben holding out his bat while travelling at 35 mph. As soon as there’s impact, Ben flies off his bike, twirling through the air like a ballerina, and falls, banging his head… he’s not moving…

Ben’s spirit rises up from, what was once, his body and sees the strange anomaly known as Karma pop out from the mailbox. “Phew…” Karma sighs as Ben looks down. Frightened, very frightened, Ben asks, “Hey chump, w-w-what’s happening?! Why is my body there???” Karma simply smirks, “Tell me troublemaker, have you ever heard of Karma?” Ben shakes his head. Disappointed, Karma explains what it is and what’s been happening. Ben lashes out, “So that dumb stuff happened to me cuz of you?! I oughta knock your lights out… even if you are just one big light,” Karma smiles and replies, “Listen, have you tried not being bad?”

“Heh?”

“You see, I am equivalent exchange, I make bad things happen to bad people, so if you want me to leave you alone, just stop doing these misdeeds,”

Ben still has a baffled look on his face…

“Okay,” Karma starts, “If you ain’t a jerk, than yo life can be peachy, but keep doing this and Imma hafta make yo life a nightmare homie,”

Ben scoffs, “Yeah right, as if… besides, all I’m doing is having fun and keeping my land, is that so wrong?”

“Should you harm others along the way, then yes, like I said bad things happen to bad people, that’s just how, I, Karma works,”

Hours later, Ben regains consciousness, looking down at his necklace… but wait, it’s not even there. He searches for it, but there’s no luck, and then he realizes, that was no dream. What he was told by that odd little fireball must have been true. Glancing at the damaged motorcycle, Ben walks up to it. “Maybe if something I valued got lost, I’d make a hissy fit… and I may hang out at a spot a lot, but does that make it mine?” Ben contemplates and stands there, until he figures out what he must do.