More Than a Game

Next weekend’s Giants Patriots game seems like just a normal regular season football game.  However, it is a lot more than that.  This is a very exciting game for the state of Connecticut because we are right in-between New York and Massachusetts.  Therefore the majority of the state is either a Giants or Patriots fan.   This is the first time since Superbowl 42 that these two teams are playing each other.  The Patriots were 18-0 and about a two touchdown favorite.  However the Giants were not afraid.  The Blitz the whole game and sacked Tom Brady multiple times.  They ran the ball effectively and controlled the time of possession.  They played to the Patriots weaknesses and won the game 17-14.  Although that was four years ago, the Patriots are looking for revenge.  Another reason this is an important game, is because both teams are in the Playoff race.  The Giants are in first place in their division, but they have the Philadelphia Eagles Breathing down their neck.  The Patriots are tied for First place in their division with the Buffalo Bills.  So whoever loses this game could be in a lot of trouble in their divisions.  The Giants have had a moderate schedule through the first eight weeks of the season.  However, their next five games are going to be very hard.  They play the Patriots this week, then their next four games they play the Eagles, Packers, 49ers and Saints.  All five of these games are not going to be easy to win.  Plus, they have four more divisional games to play this season (every division game is always a dog fight).  The Patriots schedule does not get easier either.  They will have to play the Bill and Eagles after the Giants so they really need to win this game too.

Lorraine Warren (Safari 12)

On Wednesday October 26^th I went to the Lorraine Hawkins presentation about ghost hunting.  This took place in the Lyman Center on campus.  She talked about how she has been ghost hunting for about 60 years.  I do not think she could have faked having a sixth sense for 60 years.  There isn’t a doubt in my mind that she is the real deal.  One thing that really interested me was that she was a big part of the Amityville Horror.  She and her husband Ed went into the house and tried to talk with the demons.  This only made it worse off for the Hawkins.  They would have demons appear at their own home.

Goals for Part Two of The Semester

Over the past few days I have been looking on vista for my midterm grades.  This has been a very scary process.  Everyone wants to do well so that is why it is a very nerve racking process.  The first midterm grade that was posted was in my anthropology class.  I received a B which I was very happy with considering that I do not understand the class. I also got a B on my math midterm.  I was satisfied with this grade but I know I could have done better.  The next grade that I got was in my Inquiry class.  I got a B- on that midterm.  I will usually never complain if I get a B, but I know that I could have easily got an A in this class.  I slacked on a couple of the blog assignments, especially the campus safaris.  I also forgot to put pictures in a couple of blog posts and this brought my grade down as well.  In my computer science class I received an A on my midterm.  This class has come very easy to me throughout the first semester.  I completed all my work, and studied hard so I felt like I really earned this grade. Hopefully the class stays easy.  My microeconomics grade was not so hot.  I definitely need to try harder or get help from my professor.  For the remainder of the semester I want to set some goals for myself.  In my Inquiry class I want to do all of my blog posts, especially the safaris because they should be an easy A.  In my microeconomics class I want to do well on all my quizzes.  Easier said than done, I will study for all my quizzes and if that does not work I will stay after and get help.  These are the only set goals I have for a specific class.  But my overall goal is to do better in all of my classes.

Credit Cards.

Doing something out of your comfort zone is never easy.  That’s why it is called a comfort zone.  There isn’t too much that is outside my comfort zone.  I consider myself a pretty outgoing guy.  But what I did was apply for credit card.  I figured that I am eventually going to need loans for a car or a house so I wanted to work on my credit score.  Most people would think this is a pretty simple and care free task, but credit cards in general can be very scary.  They have their benefits like booking a hotel.  They are also a good replacement for cash.  If you’re at a store and you do not have enough for something you have to have, you can just use your credit card.  Also one of my biggest fears is not paying attention while I’m pumping gas and putting in more gas than I can afford.  This is where the credit card comes in.  Although all these things are good, there is much more to it.  I took business classes all throughout my high school career and they warned us about the risks of having one.  If you are not responsible with it, it could ruin your life.  if you do not pay your bills on time it will negatively affect your credit score.  This will result in higher interest rates and possible denial of loans.  You also have to make sure you do not lose it.  If you misplace is or by accidentally lose it, someone could steal it and purchase items in your name.  You are also risking identity theft.  This is what scares me the most.  Getting your identity back is a long and difficult process.  This is why I am so worried about getting a credit card.  I have not gotten the card yet but I know I will be responsible with it.

Majors Expo (safari 10)

On October 19^th I attended the major’s expo that was held on the third floor of the adanti student center.  It was held in the ballroom and was very interesting.  Although I have already declared my major I thought it would be fun to check out what Southern has to offer.  Me and a couple of my friends who are undecided on their majors decided to check it out.  We looked around and found the psychology table.  I have always been interested in psych so I grabbed three very useful pamphlets from the stand and took out feeling accomplished and able.

How my Project is Going

Time management on a big project is very important.  You have to make sure you have enough time for everything.  This is one of my first big projects of my college career, so this is a test drive of how I should spilt up my time.  Interviewing people did not take that long.  I spent about an hour doing that.  Brain storming is a never ending process.  I am always thinking of ways to make my project better.  That part of the project is always on going.  Gathering quotes and articles is never easy because you always have to read and dissected them.  And then you have to make sure they fit well with your project.   Finding music is the same way.  You have to make sure that the song fits with the project and flows well with everything else. Naturally I did not have trouble transferring materials to my computer because I am using my webcam to take all the videos.  Learning how to use the video software took a little longer than I thought it would.  I thought windows movie maker would be easy to use but I was mistaken.  I asked my sister who goes to Uconn if she could help me.  She denied me.  I then asked my other sister if she could help.  She couldn’t because she had projects of her own to do.  I finally asked my best friend if he could help me because I know he is a master of Imovie.  He was very helpful in that process.  So far the whole process took about 5-7 hours.  I plan to most likely double that because I want a good grade on this project.  What I could have done differently on this project is take the videos more seriously.  The first video took about an hour to do because we had so many takes.  We could not stop laughing.

Problem Solving

Overall my project has been going very well.  Whenever I asked people to interview they have always said yes and have been very cooperative.  I have three interviews done and they have all gone well.  One of them we had about 40 bloopers.  But, regardless we got it done.  In the next interview we pretty much free styled it which worked a lot better than having a set script.  My third interview also went very smoothly.  We just did it on the spot, which once again worked a lot better than having it scripted.  The editing process is what I’m having trouble with.  I’m pretty new to windows movie maker so the editing process has been a little difficult.  I asked my sister about what to do and she told me she did not know because she is not good with computers.  So I asked my other sister if she could help me.  She told me no she had too much work to do.  It must be a twin thing.  Yes my sisters are twins and do not look anything alike.  It is weird. So I asked my friend Robert what I should do because he is pretty good with my computers.  He helped me add my music in my introduction.  I also needed to cut out all of the bloopers from my movie.  He also helped me with that.  I do not know what I would have done without him.  I am also having trouble with my time management for this project.  I forgot that I was going home last weekend and forgot to interview some of the people I wanted to interview.  I know I still have a lot of time to interview people but I would have liked to get some of the work done last weekend. So I will have to go twice as hard this week.

My Critical Thinking Project

My Critical thinking project is going pretty well.  My First interview took about an hour to do because we had to do about thirty five takes.  We kept laughing while we were filming.  Although it took long it was pretty funny going back and watching all the outtakes.  We finally finished and I edited out all of the bloopers.  I thought about adding music but it was late and I was tired.  So I decided that I would add music some other time.  The next day I interviewed someone else.  We did not have as many bloopers at the first time but it was still pretty fun.  One problem I am having is using windows movie maker.  I have only used Imovie and that was just a couple of times.  I do not really know how to do much.  Especially the special effects part of the project.  I’m not really sure how to add pictures or writing, but I am sure eventually I will figure it out. Another problem I am having is getting professors to interview.  With all my projects and homework to do it is tough to find free time during their office hours.  And getting them to talk on camera is also a challenge. Most of them say they don’t want to be on camera, or they have too much work to do.  A couple of teachers told me that they will answer my questions but they would not go on camera.  So I will probably just end up quoting my teachers.  I am also having problems finding a student leader to interview.  Everyone has busy schedules and the last thing they want to do is have some freshman asking them questions after a long day.  My schedule is also very booked.  I have to go home this weekend so that is valuable time that I could be using to interview people.

What is Critical Thinking?

I never really thought about critical thinking until I got to college.  Naturally I always did it, but never realized.  The article I picked tried to define critical thinking. “Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action” (Scriven).  It talks about a bunch of concepts I never thought about.  People have been doing it forever but the concept has been around for 2500 years.  Another thing the article talked about critical thinking will change based on how motivated you are.  “Critical thinking varies according to the motivation underlying it. When grounded in selfish motives, it is often manifested in the skillful manipulation of ideas in service of one’s own, or one's groups’, vested interest. As such it is typically intellectually flawed, however pragmatically successful it might be” (Scriven).  The more motivated you are the harder you will try to achieve your goals.  The article also explains what critical thinkers do.  They ask important and concise questions. After gathering information they sort through it and find the main ideas.  They have an open mind about everything and are not afraid to say yes.  They can communicate positively with others.  It’s easy to say critical thinking is just deep thinking.   However it is so much more.  This quote breaks it down to two parts.   “Critical thinking can be seen as having two components: 1) a set of information and belief generating and processing skills, and 2) the habit, based on intellectual commitment, of using those skills to guide behavior” (Scriven).   Overall, what I have learned is that there is not just one definition for critical thinking.  There is also not a right definition. Critical thinking is whatever you make of it.

"Defining Critical Thinking." Critical Thinking Community. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct 2011. <http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766>.

How to Get Rid Of Your College Related Stress

My favorite thing to do when I am stressed is exercise.  Exercising is a good way to get rid of your anger.  Most people actually prefer to work out when they are mad or stressed, because it makes them exercise harder and longer.  I went to the fitness center and warmed up on an elliptical.  What’s nice about the ellipticals at the fitness center, are they have TVS in front of them that you can watch while you work out.  I did about ten minutes of this and was finished with my warm up.  Mondays I exercise my Biceps.  So I started with bicep curls.  If you want results you should do atleast three sets of ten reps.  After about an hour or so in the fitness center, I was done lifting weights.  Now it is time for cardio.  I run about two miles after every workout.  One of the best parts of running is it clears your mind.  All you can think about is how much running sucks.  Another thing I like to do when I am stressed or upset is watch a funny movie or a funny show.  Funny movies always make me feel good about myself because I realize that everybody has problems.  A funny movie I would recommend is Step Brothers.  For those who have seen this movie they know what I am talking about.  This movie is always good for a few laughs, no matter how many times you’ve watched it.  A show that I would recommend to relieve stress is Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  This is hands down my favorite show.  It is somewhat relatable, and Danny Devito is a riot.  If you do not like either of these programs I recommend watching some standup comedy.  I have never met anyone that does not like stand up.  You cannot go wrong with the blue collar comedy tour, or Daniel Tosh.

A Guide to Staying Healthy

Trying to stay healthy in college can be very difficult.  There are so many students that if one of them contracts a virus it could spread rapidly throughout the campus.  There are steps you can do to try and avoid getting sick.  One of them is frequently washing your hands.  One of the most common ways people get sick is having dirty hands then they touch their face.  This is especially true for people who wear contacts.  I have gotten sick multiple times by not thoroughly washing my hands and then taking out my contacts.  It is also very important to eat healthy.  The saying an apple a day keeps the doctor away isn’t just catchy.  It actually works.  I know it is hard when you are tempted by Conn Hall Pizza and student center burritos, but if you want to stay healthy you need to get a good balance of fruits and vegetables. If you are a college student you should also try to exercise every day.  The Fitness center is only $60 a semester and it is worth every penny.  There are a lot of machines in the facility, and also a lot of work out classes.  If you are not interested in that then I would suggest doing cardio around campus.  Cardio is great for clearing your sinuses and it will keep you in good shape.  Something I also recommend is taking daily vitamins.  I take four every morning; fish oil, vitamin c, One a day men’s, and a calcium pill.  All four of these serve a different purpose.  The Fish oil is to help keep my cholesterol down.  The vitamin c helps my immune system, the one a day men’s is to help prevent prostate cancer, and the calcium pill will help me build strong bones.  All of these different routines not only help you from getting sick, but they can also help you get better when you’re sick.

 

SCSU Health Center (safari #3)

This weekend I went to the Southern Health center and asked them about some common health problems that college students are faced with.  I asked them about certain eating disorders college students can go through.  They told me that most people know about the freshman fifteen.  Kids are on their own for the first time and can eat what they want whenever they want.  They also told me that a lot of kids who live on campus will not get the proper amount of nutrients.  You should make sure you get a proper balance of fruit and vegetables.  They also recommended taking daily vitamins.