Blog Topic #9

For Spring Break I got the opportunity to go with a friend to her house in San Jose, California. I'm not entirely sure why, but I have never traveled farther west than Colorado. I've been to most of the eastern states, but not west. On Tuesday of Spring Break week, we got to go into San Fransisco. This was a lot of fun, but a very exhausting day. We walked all over the city and saw many of its famous monuments. We also got to walk on the Golden Gate Bridge, which was amazing to see how big it was. Then on Wednesday we went to Monterey Bay Aquarium, and then to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. This was fun, but since it was March most of the Boardwalk was closed and the water was cold. On Friday we drove up to Sierra at Tahoe and Snowboarded. This was my first time snowboarding and I got very sick, but it was still very fun and the views were amazing. On Saturday, coincidentally, my brother from Nebraska, was in San Fransisco visiting his friend and I got to meet up with them and we went to Alcatraz. This was especially cool, but at the same time very eery and awkward. The tour was very well done and I learned a lot about "the Rock". This was a Great Spring Break trip.

Blog Topic #8

I think that a little moderation on both sides of the argument would help the whole situation. I do not agree with giving $6 Billion dollars to Africa is a good option, but I don't think that we can just cut them off. And Yes, teaching them how to develop their own countries is the best option, but it's hard to come from a developed country to a new and strangly different country and tell them how to help themselves. This has been tried and is being tried, and it takes time. I believe that our culture is too focused on immediate gratification. We want this problem to be solved now. We don't want to invest the time in something that cannot pay top dollar.

Blog Topic # 7

HDI takes into consideration three main concepts to determine how well a country is keeping its citizens. Health, knowledge, and a decent standard of living are the three categories. Health is measured by life expectancy at birth; knowledge is measured by a combination of the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment ratio; and standard of living by GDP per capita. This seems to be relatively close to the division between developed and developing countries, and its seems the same countries of each list. Sub-Saharan Africa is ranked so low because they do not yet have capabilities and access to the technological advances that help in the three areas. Money is a key factor. Education, health, and standards of living are all directly associated with money. The money in these countries is not spread around very well and stayes in the hands of a few. They do not have the health advantages that developed countries have, which is why their life expectancy birth rate is so low.

Blog Topic #6

I chose this picture mainly for the fact that I love storms. I have grown up in the midwest and tornadoes are common during the summer. I love the shear force and magnitude that a tornado has. They are somewhat predictable, which has helped prevent many lives from being lost. When I get the chance to watch a tornado form, it makes me feel scared, but also exhilerated. I like this picture particularly because of the clouds and dust surrounding the tornado.

Blog Topic # 5

I do not think that this bill will do either country any good. It does not seem to benefit the normal citizens of Cuba at all. I agree with the quote that said "It's improper and should not be allowed until the Cuban government makes some reforms." I think Cuba is in the process of gaining back control of its country, but I don't think that trying to pass this bill now is going to help that process at all.