Week 2
This week, I was dealing with my post-sickness troubles. It was frustrating because I couldn't talk but I felt better enough to contemplate how a stupid microscopic container of Influenza DNA, deemed not a living organism by some scientists, has messed up my plans. There were just a ton of things that I thought would work out that didn't (pretty major stuff too, half of which had to do with getting sick) and I was extremely frustrated. It's not that it is the end of the world but everything I've planned out is on a very wobbly schedule and when one thing is postponed - it is going to upset everything else. In addition to that, I have actually have don't know anything about photography (1st time being in a class I don't know anything about) and I've missed a few days in the past week and the Friday this week, I've felt like I am not on top of everything. Also, just to make everything better, I haven't been the most "active participant" because every time I try to talk (when I say a phrase), I'm not loud enough and I end up coughing like crazy while talking and after I've finished. This week has just illustrated how important it is to me that I participate. I feel like the amount I get out is directly proportional to the amount I speak, weather that's answering questions or clarifying them. I've been going home super late every night (for someone sick and tired), but I did write a few things and catch up on all my work :). I just hope that once I get better, I will have an easier time connecting with people and in result make a few more friends.
Humanities:
This week we continued to read about the Great Depression and the Dust bowl. We read "The Harvest Gypsis," an article series talking about the migrating workers and their ill treatment. We then wrote an essay about weather our current society depends on a Peon class.
This is my response:
There have always been people that were taken advantage of. At, first when humans were still evolving out of their animal stages, the ones that couldn’t bite or fight the strongest lost. A few hundred years later, the ones that couldn’t defend their land were distinguished as slaves, captured and tortured, worked until their backs broke. We move forward a few hundred more years and we find once prideful farmers, close achievers of the American Dream, living no better (in a physical sense) than the slaves did a hundred years ago - ready to serve the master - except worse, for they sold themselves and their families almost willingly. Hundred years after the Great Depression, America has yet to find a way to up the lifestyles of all Americans.
America’s capitalistic culture - weather people will admit or not - is addicted to and depends heavily on the Peon class. The peon class might exist in America, or in another nation, but they both consist of dreamers trying to protect their future generations from the black hole of poverty. California and America have the potential to provide their citizens with better lives and “better” jobs, but there are tasks that cannot be replaced by robots that are sent overseas. Well, when Apple opens up a factory in China - aren’t the people there considered a part of the Peon class? They are working for an American Company in conditions to those similar of the people from the Great Depression. Let’s take a look at Salinas Valley, California. Most of them live in terrible conditions. They sleep for less than a few hours a night (like two or three), work the entire morning, and drive long distances for a meager wage of seven dollars an hour, or less if they are paid under the table. Although these important workers do not live in America, they are contributing to America’s success, they are feeding millions of people. Today, Americans depend more on the Peon class from other countries or immigrants.
Some say that in a decade or two people picking lettuce is going to be mechanized. There will be robots and farmers pay a one time investment fee. Yet, two decade from now, there will still be a job that people will hate. A job that requires almost no skill, and pay the bare minimum. Jobs that don’t necessarily require a degree from a fancy university or years of experience and practice. There are rich people that always want more and they steal it from the middle class. Unless you own your own business your paycheck depends on your company, and your company is interested in making profit. Even if living conditions for the poor improve dramatically, there will those who make money and live lavishly. Therefore, there will always be a Peon class, weather in America or in another country.
Project: We talked about different lights like Key lights, fill lights and hair lights. We then broke off into small groups and experimented. My personal favorite is the Split light. I like the dramatic flair it creates. The following is a picture of my friend that I took. The first one is the original and the second one is the one I processed with Photoshop.
The bottom is the after Processing:
The picture below is an interesting photo I took this week that I am proud of.
Chemistry:
We did a ton of interesting things this week. My favorite was Jeopardy, it is always fun to watch teams make bets with the bonus questions and strategize what they should pick. Games like that just tend to bring the whole class together.
On the more serious side, we talked about a chemistry equation and what it could "say" about chemistry in general.
The equation was:
AgNO3 + NaCl --> AgCl + NaNO3
AB + CD --> AD + CB
The A, B, C and D stand for the silver, nitrate, sodium and the chloride.
The science behind this equation is that, when two salts are combined in liquid, they break apart into their different ions. So Sodium chloride breaks up into a sodium ion and a chloride ion. When it is combined with another salt in a liquid or an aqueous solution, there is a possibility that the positive ion from salt one may bond with the negative ion from salt two. Now, keep in mind that there is never an absolute "stand still" of the number of each type of molecules. There are AB molecules, as well as A ions, b ions, AD molecules in the same solution. But the only possible way that Sliver-nitrate and Sodium Chloride can react is to form Sliver Chloride and Sodium Nitrate because of the positive- negative combination thing.
