NASA Should Be a Higher Priority

There are many problems currently in the world that have been helped directly or indirectly by advances in space technology and the tools developed for space flight. In fact, even the personal computers and the internet owe their existence to these programs. Weather satellites, communications satellites, cell phones, and many more neat things exist to resolve serious problems here on earth. Not all the uses are serious, but some are. There are a huge amount of space technology spin-offs (including the CAT Scan and PET scan)

NASA's budget seems huge, but is really pretty small compared to the jobs and stimulus and other ways the government can spend our money -- The Apollo project, if I recall correctly, cost something like 25 billion dollars. To go back to the moon was going to be a bunch more than that, but is still pretty small compared to the hundreds of billions that are spent in other ways.

NASA should be funded. Whether we should go back to the Moon, or go to Mars is another set of questions. Priorities need to be set and then pursued if you want a particular result. If we remove the quest for knowledge (outside of Earth) we will ultimately suffer. 

If we stop searching for answers (any answers) and just work on "politically acceptable" problems, some of the basic science that will ultimately be needed for some solution, perhaps to a problem we don't even recognize yet, will be missing. So, technology and science should advance. The competition of the Space Race motivated the research and development in two great countries, but left a lot for others as well. Further, the information derived has benefited humanity and the Earth.

Why is there homework over the holidays?

As I was finishing off some homework after eating way too much food on Thanksgiving, I started thinking. Why did we get homework over this holiday break? Normally I am opposed to homework even over the weekend because it should be our time to have to ourselves and spend however we want, but what really got to me was the fact that the school gave us this 5 day weekend because of the holiday. So, if the school doesn't want to have school go on over the holiday, why are we forced to do school work at home during it? It doesn't make sense to me, and it never really has.


My brother came into town from college for the weekend, and I know a lot of other families either went out of town to visit relatives or had relatives come into town. They come to celebrate Thanksgiving as a family and spend time together, but I found myself having to do homework a couple of hours each day rather than spend time with family. We get the couple of extra days off of school to be able to spend time with family, so it's crazy to me to actually have to do work over days our own school gives us off.


I then decided to look online about what other schools are doing regarding homework over holiday breaks. A high school in New Jersey decided to say no to homework over winter break, and is one of a handful of schools to actually do it. I read this in an article here.


Lastly, as a teacher, would you really want to be grading papers daily instead of spending precious time with family? I didn't think so. Cut us some slack please, I feel it is well deserved.

No HOF For Punter?

After reading a Bleacher Report Article that displayed 30 of the greatest snubs for the NFL Hall of Fame, one name really shone on the list, Ray Guy. Oh, and did I mention he is a punter?


For all you football fans out there, you realize the role of punter on an NFL team. They come out onto the field during the game to punt 4-5 times a game, and less if their team is doing well. They really go unnoticed, and people don't have their "favorite punter" like they do with their "favorite quarterback" (mines Brett Favre). This is why punters never find themselves getting inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. But what about the best punters of all time?


Ray Guy, punter for the Oakland Raiders from 1973-1986, is widely considered as the greatest punter of all time. Let me give you a rundown of his career in brief.

• Attended Southern Mississippi where he punted and kicked. He had so much success that has been inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, and the College Football Hall of Fame.
• Drafted in the 1st round of the 1973 draft. If you didn't know, only 3 punters have ever been drafted in the first round. Ever.
• In his NFL career, he played in 207 consecutive games.
• Led the NFL in punting 3 times
• Has a record of 111 punts in postseason history
• He has NEVER had a punt returned for a touchdown. This is the fact that I find most amazing because to not have a punt returned requires precision and placement, and to not have 1 of his 1,049 punts returned is just astonishing.
• He has been a vital part of 3 Super Bowl Winning teams
• Has a collegiate award named after him, the Ray Guy Award, which is awarded to collegiate's best punter.
• 7 time Pro Bowl selection

These are just a handful of his amazing statistics, and is incomparable to any other punter, so why is he not in the Hall of Fame? If you were not aware, a punter has never been elected into the Hall of Fame, and why not? They are a vital part of a team and every team needs a good punter.

Ray and his wife Beverly Guy had to file for bankruptcy in August, 2011. He was forced to put up all of his Super Bowl rings up for auction and sold for just over $96,000. Punters and football players alike didn't make that much money back in the 70's and 80's, so don't think that Guy was just spending-happy and wasted all of his money, he just wasn't paid that much.

People normally imitate their favorite quarterback or wide receiver when playing football. But when Ray Guy was playing, fans would imitate him. They tried to copy his picture perfect form. He was an exciting player, which is amazing to consider for just a punter.

Guy's Hall of Fame snub is considered one of the greatest of all time. Who knows, if he had been inducted to the Hall of Fame, he may not have had to file for bankruptcy and make drastic changes to his life. Why not break the trend and induct the first ever punter into the Hall of Fame? Ray Guy definitely deserves it.

Another Habitable Planet?

"Goldilocks" is the nickname for a section of space that is habitable for humans. In the Goldilocks, there are temperatures ranging from 80-120 degrees, which is much like certain parts of Africa in the summer. The ground is rocky and possible to build upon, and there are even clouds for shade. Amazingly, we have discovered a planet in this region of space, HD 85512b. If HD 85512b were as far from Earth as Mars is, we would be able to visit there safely, even start a colony. This is what gets astronomers so excited. The only problem is, HD 85512b is over 36 light years away. 

With our present technology (telescopes and spacecrafts), we are not able to get a clear view of the planet or even get anywhere near it. The idea of another planet being able to house humans is amazing to me, but sadly we won't be able to make any further investigations of it without the right technology. And the one thing that technology requires is money.

NASA is still a vital part of our government and country. We need to keep the funding to NASA up so we are able to make more discoveries like this and to investigate them further. 


The brilliance of what lies deep in the outer rim of our universe (and many other universes for that matter) will not be discovered without the proper funding. Habitable planets, new sources of energy, or even other living creatures is just a short list of what is possible beyond our solar system. 


In just 53 years since the establishment of NASA, we have made incredible discoveries in our own solar system, and even managed to safely send a man to the moon and back. Now imagine what we can do in the next 50 years if we focus on what is outside of our solar system. The possibilities are endless.

1372 Days Until Our 1st Picture of Pluto

It's been nearly 2091 days since the New Horizons spacecraft was launched by NASA in it's remarkable 10 year journey to fly by Pluto and its surrounding moons, Nix, Charon, Hydra, and S/2011 P 1. The goal of the New Horizons spacecraft is to shed light on the mysteries that lie deep in the outside parts of our universe, and to give us our first ever close up picture of what Pluto looks like. So far, all recreated images have been based of the speculations of scientists across the globe, but in roughly 1372 days the spacecraft will be at its closest point to Pluto and will take pictures and other scientific readings of this massive dwarf planet.


New Horizons is the fastest ever man made object to be launched from Earth, traveling at an astonishing 36,373 mph after its last engine had shut down. Now, the spacecraft has slowed down to roughly 15 km/s, which is equivalent to about 33,000 mph.


The expected date that it will fly by Pluto is July 14, 2015, where the spacecraft will be a couple billion miles away from Earth. (The flight path that New Horizons has been on is shown above). Soon enough, we will have our first picture of the former planet Pluto.


To track New Horizons on its journey across the universe, go to NASA's website where its location and time of fly by is updated daily.

American Dream vs. North Shore Dream

In class today and in previous classes we have discussed what the American dream means to us. Responses were usually involving a white picket fence, 6 digit salaries, a wife, kids, and a garage full of expensive cars. This got me thinking. Is this really the American dream? Or is this just a North Shore dream?


There is nothing wrong with thinking that what I described before is the North Shore dream, because in all honesty, it really is. Most kids are raised in the North Shore with there parents already achieving this dream, so of course it seems normal. But when I think about it, this doesn't seem like the normal American dream. Yes almost everyone in the country wants to be as successful as they can be, but most other parts of the country are not as privileged as we are to live in a place like the North Shore. Their dream may just to be able to graduate high school or college. For some it might be to have the ability to move out of their parents house after college, where here in the North Shore that seems to be the norm.


All that I am saying is that the difference between the American dream and the North Shore dream is great, and we should all be grateful to be privileged enough to have the opportunity to live the North Shore dream.

Why Corporation's 9/11 Commercials Were Amazing and in Good Faith

In class today, we had a discussion about the commercials shown during NFL football games yesterday, September 11. These commercials were commemorating and honoring those lost on the attack on the World Trade Center 10 years ago. Personally, I found these commercials to be in good will and a really nice thing for these companies to do, but a bunch of people had a different viewpoint.


People thought that these commercials were for the companies just to make money by having the viewers believe that the company is compassionate, making the viewers purchase their products. They thought that these companies showing the commercials was disgusting and in poor taste because the goal of the commercials was to make money. It is ridiculous to think that people are belittling these commercials that are honoring the ones that were lost or affected by the attacks 10 years prior. In my opinion, the ones questioning these commercials are the horrible ones. How can you not see the good? These commercials were beautiful things, and to ridicule the companies for making them is dishonoring someone showing their respects to those affected.

Look at it this way. The NFL is a corporation. We have seen this throughout the long lockout this summer. Yesterday, before all the NFL games that I was able to watch, there was a pregame ceremony that the league held in each game where they had dozens of people hold a massive flag that spread throughout the entire field (see upper picture). There were beautiful renditions of the national anthem and other songs, and plenty of other little ceremonies that I was not aware of. Taking into account that the NFL is a corporation, would you say that the NFL is only doing this to make money? I mean, the same amount of people are watching both this ceremony and the commercials. Both are sponsored by huge companies (NFL and, for example, Verizon), so should they be treated the same? NO! This is completely wrong and I am astounded to I hear people argue for the contrary. These commercials are trying to convey the same message as the pregame ceremonies, We Will Never Forget.


Here is another example. Please watch this commercial before reading on. It is a commercial by State Farm that is made by Spike Lee and was aired throughout television yesterday.

After watching this, I hope you understand that State Farm is not trying to make money. Who would even think of buying insurance after watching a commercial like this? It is a very touching commercial that really made me appreciate the importance of September 11. These kind of commercials are just amazing, and there are many more trying to convey the same message, We Will Never Forget.

(Since writing this post I have discussed this topic with some of my friends, and I will concede a couple points. Companies like State Farm definitely realize that they can make some money off of this and have more people like them because they believe that State Farm cares. But, I also think that the main goal in mind for this commercial was to respect and honor those affected by the attacks. So, to summarize, I can see people's points about the fact that these commercials definitely have some profit for the companies, I will give you that.)

Obama Backs Off of NFL Season Opener

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the champion
Green Bay Packers presenting a jersey to President Obama.
(New York Times)

Barack Obama must have a lot going on in his head. The economy is going through rough times, jobs are being lost every day, and he has millions of Americans taking shots at him for not addressing these pressing issues. In an attempt to discuss these issues with the American public, Obama is slated to appear on television tomorrow at 7pm EST. Unfortunately for Obama, there is something else on his mind. The NFL season begins tomorrow after a 132 day lockout, and he knows that millions of Americans would rather tune into the Packers vs. Saints game than his speech.


How has the White House attempted to handle this issue? “I can assure all you football fans that he will be completed before kickoff,” the White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “It means he will have the opportunity to watch the game, like millions of other Americans." Thats right, instead of facing the game head on and compete for viewers, Obama made the right move and decided to start his speech an hour and a half prior to opening kickoff. Not only does the NFL have the support of our nation, but also the support of our President. What more could you ask for?

Reality Trumps Technology

Like most people, I had a Facebook profile. I used it to communicate with classmates, family, and past friends that might have moved to a different town or that I haven't seen in a long time. But something about it didn't feel right. I felt that the relationships that formed through Facebook weren't real. Like most people as well, I had a handful of friends that, when looking at conversations on Facebook, would seem as though we are very close friends. In actuality, I haven't spoken to those friends in "real life" in months. I guess the "Facebook friend"  doesn't translate to a "real friend" in the real world. Because of these "fake" relationships and the sense of me only talking to a commuter screen, I deactivated my Facebook.

Now, the notion of deactivating a Facebook in the age of social media overruling face to face conversations seems preposterous. "How can you communicate with loved ones?", one might ask. Well, I've noticed in the month that I haven't had a Facebook, that I am much more inclined to work on my "real" relationships with classmates, friends, and family. The deactivation of my Facebook has led to a major improvement in my life, so for everyone that feels that Facebook has taken over their life, I would recommend this. Try deactivating it for just a week, two weeks max, and notice the improvement in your overall life. If you like having no Facebook, keep it deactivated forever, like I plan on doing. Take a step back from technology and try to enjoy reality.