The 10 Companion... Vegetables?

In Food, a math and science course, we are studying food as a science. In the other class, Food for Thought, we talked about the history of food. The Food class is a freshman class that’s integrated with the math and science of fruits and vegetables. We learned about plant ecology, how certain plants are companion plants, and how those plants assist each other. An example is when they share nutrients or give shelter. At times they will benefit one another like warding off insects.

The elements of a healthy soil environment include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These are 3 macronutrients that help in the growth of the garden; nitrogen assists in gathering protein and green coloring with the chlorophyll. There are also different types of dirt, alive and dead. The live dirt is rich in organisms, compost, mulch (anything like other scraps of plants), and has a darker color of brown than other types. The dead dirt is much paler and has pests that don’t benefit the ecosystem the way that the dirt or the plants may need. It may also be hard to break apart, unlike alive dirt which may be fragile and falls apart, but has many more nutrients.

This Action Project is meant for us to study the optimal situation for 10 vegetables of our choice (within the options inside a catalogue) and plan out, like a blueprint, a garden. Along with a detailed sketch, we have the option of actually growing them. My 10 products of choice are; the dragon carrot, iceberg lettuce, nutri bud broccoli (yes that’s the actual name), rudolf radish, renegade spinach, scotland leeks, yukon gold potatoes, legend tomatoes, black beans, and some maize/corn.

All these plants interconnect and share similar nutrients. Carrots grow well with lettuce and tomatoes. While tomatoes delay the growth, they assist in the flavor, by adding to it. Lettuce will grow well with radishes and beans, and beans also go with corn and spinach (if they are broad beans). Beans themselves are a nitrogen fixer which aid in the gathering of nitrogen like converting it into nitrogen compounds that plants can absorb. Some of these compounds include nitrate, nitrites, and ammonia. Plus, broccoli grows well with potatoes. Broccoli loves calcium and even though there aren’t any herbs to help with that, the potatoes add flavor similarly to the tomatoes. Then corn can also grow as a companion plant with the potatoes. They also resemble characters I like through either obscure references or mistaken identity.

I designed the garden in a circular formulation because all my plants interconnect with each other to assist one another. My backyard would already sustain these because my mother already has a garden there. However I do need to add a nitrogen and phosphorus booster. I need 1.8 lbs of blood meal, which adds nitrogen, and 0.72 lbs of soft rock phosphate, that is a phosphorus booster. I figured it out with these calculations:

Test	Result	Parts per Million Equivalency Chart
pH	pH 7 neutral	----------------
Phosphorus (P)	P2 adequate	20
Potassium (K)	k3 sufficient	600
Nitrogen (N)	N1 deficient	10

Nutrient	Product	Quantity
Nitrogen	Blood Meal	1.8 lbs
	Fish Meal
	Cottonseed Meal
	Feather Meal
Phosphorus	Soft Rock Phosphate	o.72 lbs
Potassium	Sulfate of Potash	Not needed

Nitrogen:

36% of 5

36% x 5 = 1.8

Phosphorus:

36% of  2

36% 2 = 0. 72

I obtained the 36% percent through a calculation. This was done by comparing my area of my garden compared to the recommended amount for a set area. So my garden was just 36% of that size that requires 5lbs of blood meal and the two pounds of the phosphate.

  Overall, I’ve learned much through this unit. The main reason why I did the soil test was to check if I needed any thing, like nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) boosters such as blood meal and phosphate. I might actually plant the garden after the project, but it also might take up a lot of time, so there’s no guarantee there. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.

Some Food for Thought

Here’s some Food for Thought, I have two new classes this term and one of them is actually named Food for Thought. As for my other class, it’s called Food, but in this new Action Project, I was to create a narrative of a specific product, as if I were the ingredient itself. This unit was about how agrarian societies began and how do they influence what we eat today? We studied ancient ancestors of  modern day fruits and vegetables. This assignment specifically revolves around an ingredient we chose from a family tree that we drew (which is shown below). I chose bacon because it was my favorite which is shown on the illustration, plus it seemed to be unique so far. However, I will not only talk about bacon, but be the bacon in the next paragraph, yet before I do that I shall state one more thing. Overall, mine is quite mixed based on their favorite food. My mother prefers a simple plate of rice & black beans, while my father enjoys a steak dinner (with some fries), and my brother likes a special Brazilian treat that's dough baked and then fried in the shape of an egg which can contain anything you want inside.

Family Tree© VG 2013 >

A very Pork Memory

I am a very well-known person, some people love me, others don’t believe or approve of how I’m porkish. Either way I am still one of the oldest meat cuts in history. The Roman empire is as far back as I can remember, but anyway here’s how it all started. As the young and living lad I was, I pigged out on the fields, eating as I pleased, being an omnivore and whatnot. Usually feasting upon the grasses but sometimes I’ll eat the corn that the farmer brings me. Hey you, back in those days I was smarter than a dog! But now I’m devoured by those same dogs, incompetent humans feeding them my kind, bacon.

You know, it’s funny, me being so popular at my age. Some people idolize me, create new inventions and such, and all just for what? People have created so many methods to eat me, just to eat bacon. However, mind that there is not only one of me, if memory serves right. I believe that turkeys and apparently Canadians too are made into bacon… sounds like cannibalism in my book, my 3500 year old book, perhaps I’m getting senile, or maybe it’s the style of bacon. There was also another instance of my popularity increase 400 years ago. I kept the European peasants alive and kicking, because I was a so-called cheap meat cut, try saying that now. I am treated with the utmost respect but still, all because of how I taste, not really an optimal reason but at least it’s there, along with my cousins: the bacone, chicken-fried bacon. Honestly, I think if you want bacon, eat it, want chicken, have that, but both? Plus eating me like an ice cream cone is just plain insulting, I’m a meat, not a sweet! Well at least it all rolls back to me, bacon. I’m old, popular, and rich… kind of anyway.

Deaf Culture and Equality

Hello again, does anyone remember that group project I mentioned? Because here it is. This was that group micro-mentary, plenty of hard work was put into this. During the Experiential Term, we learned ASL and immersed ourselves into Deaf culture. We worked as a group to make a micromentary that answered a question that we were passionate about answering. We all had roles that we took on during this project. We learned how to work together and listen to each others ideas. What we are most proud of is how our micromentary came together. We worked really hard on it. Watch our video below!

Transcription:

We learned that as early as 1000 BC the Deaf were discriminated against due to their permanent loss of hearing and outrageous claims that deafness was a sign from God to show his anger towards humanity. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, there were very high limitations in educational opportunities for Deaf children in America. In the 1800’s there were about 30 deaf schools that opened across America. The Cobbs School, Alexander Graham Bell School and Gallaudet were the first schools to present curriculum based on oral learning and ASL for both educational and cultural purposes.

 We watched Sound & Fury a documentary following a 5-year old girl with the desire to learn spoken language by getting a cochlear implant. Her parents were deaf and proud members of the Deaf community and feared losing their daughter to the hearing world. This showcased the struggles of being a member of both the Deaf community and the hearing world. There is much controversy surrounding cochlear implants which is believed to be a cure to deafness. This technology is controversial because it threatens the survival of the thriving Deaf language and Culture. Today, it is easy to see the importance and prominence of Deaf culture in schools, sports, and Art.

We visited the Children of Peace School in Chicago that focuses on integrating hearing and deaf education. We were surprised to see hearing, hard of hearing, and deaf students learning in the same classroom. We also attended a basketball torment for the Deaf where Deaf teams from as far as Boston competed for the title of champion. I was in awe by how highly athletic these players were and how everyone knew each other. We witnessed the same type of talent and friendship when we watched the documentary Deaf Jam, which showed a group piece performed by Aneta, a Deaf poet and Tahani a spoken word poet .They captured the vision of Deaf and hearing worlds coexisting.

ASL in the New Term

Hello once again, it’s time for another Action Project. Now this new, Experiential Term (which was much shorter than the rest), is coming to an end. We learned ASL (American Sign Language) this term, which is just one of the types of sign language. We’ve learned about the Deaf culture and went on multiple Field Experiences (in the case you may have forgotten or do not know, an FE or field experience is an external visiting from or to us), including visitors from the 30 Million Word Project and certified professionals of the Lurie's Children's Hospital.

This image empowers the DHH community

However, I think the one that inspired me the most was the La Rabida Children’s Hospital. This vivid and colorful treatment center cares for children who are challenged or disabled. Every inch of this center is as child-friendly as possible, with every patient’s room has a lakeside view. This facility does not fulfill surgical operations, only basic clinical care.

The appeal to the youth is still accomplished with a section named the S.S. La Rabida, following a nautical theme due to the center being near a large body of water. This is important because you want a facility to be as appealing to the children as possible. It inspires me by how they care for their patients, all the consideration to make La Rabida a comfortable environment to the children. You can check out their website at http://www.larabida.org/. That's where you can learn more about how they give any mentally challenged child a fair chance at life with equal education and special treatments.

Overall, learning ASL has changed my perspective on the Deaf community. I used to think that they couldn’t complete tasks like driving or teaching, but now I know that the only thing they can’t do is hear. I also learned the Deaf or Hard Hearing (DHH) community can access certain assisting devices and services if needed, including: hearing aids, cochlear implants, interpreters, video/relay calls, a BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid), or even simply making notes.

We also worked on a group mini documentary during this brief term. Working with other students to form a micro-mentary, or a mini documentary, we pursued a single guiding question: “How may Deaf culture become mainstream?”

In that project I filled the roles of being a researcher and interviewer (gathering information on FEs). Contributing to the project by finding multiple creative commons images. I've also gathered collected information regarding questions in Field Experiences. As for the question itself, my personal opinion differs upon situation. I want the DHH culture to become mainstream but if the hearing "world" can't accept it, then we won't be getting anywhere.

Another question asked is how may we live in another person's life and step into their shoes. In my opinion, this is impossible. We can attempt to experience the same things they have, even feel a similar emotion, but we can never truly do what they once have. Books, videos, illustrations; those can assist but we can never truly be.

This is an intro to me using sign language and has captions that will translate the ASL. Thank you for your time.

The Carbon Footprint That Takes up 4 Planet Earths

As the final Action Project of this third term here at GCE, in my FUEL class we learned more about the pollution that affects our environment. Now, a can on the floor may be disrespectful, but we’re talking about the big gasses here; carbon.

Yet carbon can come in multiple forms, like the ever so common carbon dioxide, but there’s one much, much worse than that. Colorless, so you can’t see it, tasteless and odorless, meaning that there’s practically no way to know it’s there. An invisible poison known as carbon monoxide is created when there’s more carbon than oxygen in an area and comes from many things. Carbon monoxide can come from wood burning, like a fireplace, boilers, steamers, heaters, furnaces, and even a car (that’s turned on, granted) in a closed garage. The boilers and furnaces can malfunction to create this gas while everything else is from an incomplete combustion creating the CO (carbon monoxide). It’s best to avoid these scenarios if you want to keep away from the room or area where these might occur. Here’s a diagram to show you the dangers on a visual perspective.

Now, the other assignment, that focuses upon the project was to enter your carbon footprint data, and then simulate scenarios and compare it to other cases like how many pounds of coal burned equals that same amount. Here I have the actual report I made which includes more detailed facts about my carbon footprint and how I can reduce it.

What is pollution? Well, pollution is a harmful toxin that affects the environment, it gets released in multiple ways and in multiple forms. There are different pollutants that affect the environment in different ways, like air pollution, water contaminants, and even pollution that affects underground structures. Carbon can be released through exhaust of vehicles, as a byproduct of combustion, and even when we exhale. Why am I talking about pollution? Because pollution is destroying our world slowly, but by a lot each day.

My life uses 16.5 tons of carbon a year, that’s 15 metric tons. In other words, that’s the greenhouse gas emission of 11,600 pounds of trash sent to a landfill each year by those dump trucks full of exhaust. That exhaust translates to the carbon produced by 1,678 gallons of gasoline. However, all this can be reverted, because most pollution can be replaced and reduced.

All we need to do is plant trees. It would take just 384 seedlings to be planted to compensate for the carbon I produce. Sure, if everyone on Earth lived like me, it would take 4 Earths to provide the substances and materials we need.  However, in the span of a decade, we could plant 384 trees for each person, and the carbon would balance itself out with the oxygen. If you’re interested in the mathematics, or wondering how that amount of trees came to be, then let me display the equation that calculated this in my favor.

“x” metric tons (1 tree/0.039 metric tons) = ? trees

16.5 metric tons (1 tree/0.039 metric tons) = 384 trees

Now, what if planting isn’t really an option, like if you live in a snowy or desert-like area, or even if you just live in the city? In a case like mine, I went to a website to simulate certain scenarios, which was the same site that I used for the calculations.  If I had pledged (and fulfilled) that I would use solar panels, my carbon use would reduce by 2.2 tons. Another scenario would be if I only purchase products that have reduced or recycled packaging, this would bring my carbon use down by 1.1 tons. Then, in a different scenario, if I were to own and use only energy-efficient products, the carbon would reduce even more, by 0.6 tons of the carbon. However these were not the only scenarios I could’ve chosen, but they were the most plausible for me to complete, solar panels, reduced packaging, energy efficiency, those all seem like a possible feat for anyone to complete.

My individual actions alone may not bring down the ppm (parts per million) of 400 to the much better 350, but if we all do our part, we’ll definitely be helping the environment. If everyone, who had the means to, could started to reduce their use, then the Earth wouldn’t be dying so fast.

A New Dream, and this one tells a tale

Once again, another Action Project comes my way. This is the final project for my integrated class, that studies philosophy and is named Who Am I, as we try to figure out who we truly are based on our; beliefs, memory, doubts, and dreams. This time, we were assigned to create a dreamcatcher that resembles  what we experienced in our dream and what elements would have been caught if passing through one. The general question was “What are your dreams and fears for the future?” So in this sense, I thought of how I wanted to be an arts related expert that makes successful animations.

Original image; Dream Catcher VG

I have made a dream catcher that symbolizes several elements in my dream that appeared in sequence, like a television series, and in an abridged, parody like, fashion. There are several parts that represent different elements and refer to different parts of my personality. The center of my dreamcatcher represents the base of operations and where I stayed place during most of my dream. The other bindings represent the web of lies I was told (hence the focus upon the octagon sides which relates to how spiders have eight legs and make webs). Each bead represents a danger and an ally, red and orange being enemies or the giant deadly humanoids, and green being my soldiers. This would almost map out my dream and the paths that were taken by others in it throughout the dream. The frame made from pencils represents the animated like visuals I had during the dream and the abstract form of the web illustrate my creativity in general, despite the many already made and well known characters..

I could easily tell that my dream was heavily inspired of the new Japanese anime, Attack on Titan, because of the way it was constructed and it’s plot. The slight difference would be that the characters of that show were replaced with other very iconic characters from multiple franchises including several other japanese anime and popular companies like Nintendo, Sega, Konami, Kojima productions (as in Hideo Kojima), DC universe, Marvel comics, Hasbro, and many others. My dream featured a large cast of characters I thought were cool, ones that I generally liked (meaning that influence and opinion was a very large factor in this dream). I like to think that the id was influenced by what I recently watched and that the ego produced the imagery, simulating the scenario for my id. Now, the id is the inner child that keeps all the inappropriate ideas, or at least based on our perspective, while the ego keeps these thoughts at bay. What I think is that it was the sense of violence that the ego was simulating so the id would not act upon it in reality. My defenses wouldn’t have broken down, if I hadn’t had trusted the entity who had a bad reputation of a malevolent past.

However, there weren’t all upsides to this dream, as the battles went on, my allies grew weaker. Some had fallen others retreated, but if I fought sooner within the dream, then one of the greatest warriors wouldn’t have to sacrifice himself. I believed my dream to be a reflection of influence and how I enjoy to be around others, with heroes by my side, protecting the world from harm. Overall, there was one main lesson that I learned in the dream which would be; “Don’t trust those who have a bad reputation”,hmm, sounds like a bumper sticker.

Questions and Doubts

Another Action Project in my second class, Who Am I (studying literature and philosphy), and in this class, we're fast fowarding thorugh unit 3. The study of the unit is still present, but the students all zoomed through that lesson plan. So as the third action project, to relate to the guiding question of doubt, we were assigned to create a guiding question of our own and then answer other question about that question. Sound, confusing, but wasn't really.

There was a choice between having a seven slide presentation and a 500 word essay. Naturally I felt that the essay would be easier because my voice isn't the most optimun one for recording. So as I pursued the research about pursueing my goal, I found a few things that met the criteria. As a summarization of the points made to meet, I needed to state and review the similarities between what we went over in class and my question. Then we needed to research at least two experts who shared they're thoughts on the subject, which did not mean an interview was required. I bet you wondering what I questioned and why I've made that one, well just below you can read the copy of the essay.

Thanks and enjoy.

Guiding Question; Do we really have control?

Do we really have complete control of our lives? Life can truly be mysterious. For instance, whether we have the free will to control it or not is the real mystery. Doubt is something most people have on a daily basis. People might doubt whether they should buy a coffee in the morning or make it at home before they leave. But in this case, I have doubts of whether or not humans truly have control of themselves. I am compelled to this question and it is important for me to me to pursue it because of several cases where my life has seemed as if an outer force was controlling everything that’s happened to me. This question isn’t something simple that can be answered by an internet search nor can it be answered with a few words. This question was also inspired to me by certain characters, both fictional and factual. This is a universal question because we truly have no idea if we are beings of free will or if this is a reliving of the past, or even simply the course of nature. We have seven minutes of activity left in our brains before we die, it is said that that is truly when your life flashes before your eyes, meaning that this in itself could just be a re-experience of our life in seven simple minutes.

In the movie, The Truman Show, a fictional character named Truman was unaware of his unusual life. Truman’s life, from the very beginning was a set-up. He was legally adopted so his life could become a television series. Every moment of his life was not from real control… it was preset, his fate was predestined, controlled by the TV producers.He never had to face any risks, his best friend and wife were picked for him, and so was his career. He had no control over his life, which is what I’m questioning now. However, certain mistakes in the production of the TV series (in movie), like actors found behind the set enjoying a break, lead Truman to start questioning himself. His sanity, his existence, his choices, was any of it him? But by the end of the film it was revealed to him that his life was just a show to the public.

Then there’s the philosopher, Rene Descartes, who had doubts of his very own. My question isn’t about how we may or may not have free will. It is about doubting that my actions, which are so simple, could’ve caused what (at times) happens to me. Other times I feel as if I’m being controlled by an outer force. Descartes wrote a study upon the “Discourse on the Method for Reasoning Well and for Seeking Truth in the Sciences”, in which he believed that, our senses deceive us sometimes, and how god is perfect while nothing else is nor compares to perfection. Also, he said, “I think, therefore I am”, “noticing the truth so firm that all the most extravagant assumptions of the skeptics would not be able to weaken it.” The disbelief in his mind lead to reassurance as well, which can be odd in case where the focus is doubt. Descartes doubt he had full control, and in this scruple, he thought it was God that had control in his life

Two other experts have also study a case of the control we have over our lives. One of these experts is Dr. Bruce B. Abbott, Ph.D who states that, “At the heart of perceptual control theory says that us humans are super intricate machines.” Then there was Albert J. Reiss, a theorist who believed that, “...behavior consequent to the failure of personal and social controls.” However, these statements seem rather scientific and biological, but they inconsistency of choice makes things seem that it can be explained so simplistically.

Now if were to pursue this question as my career, there are plenty of risks I’d be taking. Lets say, if my life was actually being controlled by an outside force, I risk losing what I have and I’m not sure up to what lengths, whomever it may be, might do to stop me from figuring it out. However if that person is distant, then the further I try to answer the question, I may one day venture to depths of sea or space, which would risk my entire life if I were to get lost in one or the other. Should my efforts be going after something that never existed in the first place, I may live a life of paranoia and never feel relaxed because I wasn’t satisfied with finding nothing.