Golfing

     Two day ago, me and my three friends went golfing at Sharjah Gold and Shooting Club. We took an eighteen hole game and drove together with golf carts. The experience was nice and we all played well. On hole 10, the course was at its peak and many other golfers were coming. So we were slightly pressured by people behind us and slowed down by people in front of us. On one of the holes, my friend hit very far, about 250 yards and almost hit the person in front of us. They were angry and complained, so that shows that you should be careful when you hit. Anyways, the eighteen holes was very fun and I hope to do that again!

Jailbreak'ing to the furthest

   Despite the amount of updates continuously released by Apple, the jailbreaking community finds a way to jailbreak it. What was the big deal of the Iphone 4S? Well the Iphone 4S mainly has better graphics and a better A5 chip, but the main feature was Siri. Siri is basically a built in program that understand speech and does what you say. For example," Please call my 'Mom' afterschool." It will then do that at the specified time. Anyways, Siri was meant to be the special feature of the Iphone 4S as specified before. But now hackers have found a way to put Siri on the Iphone 4! Even with the new release of the firmware update 5.1, its been jailbroken. Its also an untethered jailbreak! You can search it up on many websites but normally for a jailbreak, i use Redsn0w. The Redsn0w application also allows you to boot for tethered and it has many features along with it! 

Al-Ain Trip

     Yesterday my whole family went to Al-Ain for one night along with my friends family. We rented a chalet next to the mountains and unpacked everything there. Straight after packing we headed for a picnic at the foot of extensive hilly ranges. The picnic area was packed, it seemed as if everyone else choose to have a picnic at the same place on the same day. There were many different small ranges of rocky mountains. After the picnic, it was already midday and we headed back to the chalet for awhile. We took a short rest and wore sweaters, getting prepared to drive up the mountain. It was dark when we started departure to the mountains. As we started escalating higher and higher, my ears started to feel air pressure. After some stages or so there were observation stops. My friend had Chinese lanterns and lit them. The lanterns flew away in the air brightly, attracting lots of attention from other people along with it. Finally, we approached the summit. There wasn't much up there but a restaurant and some hotels. But the view was simply splendid. After this we went back to the chalet for the night. The next morning we went to the Al-Ain zoo. It was an average zoo but all zoos are a nice experience, in my opinion. At some point my baby sister was tired and got really grumpy. In result we had to leave and that concludes the trip. I'm just glad to say that I've been to Al-Ain before, it was a nice trip overall!

Honey! Sweet Goodness!

     Just yesterday, my parents and their friends along with me went to Global Village in Dubai. If you don't already know about Global Village, I have an article about it somewhere in my previous posts. Anyways, it was a really fun experience with many cultural stalls and amazing performances. We had visited 'Yemen,
 which is one of the many countries they have in Global Village. Yemen had lots of local merchandise and probably the most distinctive of them is their honey. Yemeni honey is supposed to be one of the best. Most of the sellers gave free samples of the many types of honey they sold. They had special honeys to add on to the original honey like honey for married couples or kids. Honey is very healthy along to it being very delicious. If someone tells you that honey isn't good for you then that person is wrong. Honey is rich in antioxidants. It helps clean the body and is good for your throat. Also, honey has various healing properties to nearly all parts of the body, it can even cure eye problems. Lastly, honey is good for skin care like healing scars. As a conclusion, honey is very tasty, sweet, and can be used for cooking as a glazing or dip whilst being very nutritious and good for you! 

Fur Elise Piano

 Fur Elise or For Elise is one of the most famous pieces from Ludwig Van Beethoven. Most people would recognize this piece from hearing it. The song is native to the piano and till this day, is still listened to. Hear is a video of me playing 'Fur Elise,' please like and subscribe:

  

    Me playing Fur Elise

Mining in Ghana

This is my school report to act as a local inspector writing a report to the president of Ghana, based on the gold mining activity occurring. Ghana is a rapidly growing country and is developing quickly, soon becoming a more economically developed country. These were based on past working conditions that may still be present in some slum cities in Ghana. 

Ghana Mining Report

Dear President John Atta Mills,

             I am writing a report on behalf of the gold miners and environment of our country Ghana, concerning worker safety and wage. Ghana depends on timber, manganese, cocoa, gold and since 2007, the discovery of oil brought a new hype to the wealth of our country. As I stated above, I’ll be focusing mainly on gold mining. Foreign countries like China sent over equipment to assist the miners in mining the gold. Our workers grew a suspicion that China was consuming the profits made and this brought on less profit to our workers. The mines are a dangerous place to be and workers should be well equipped with safety ropes, lines, and mining tools. The margins of safety for the miners are currently minimal, injuries regularly occur. As a local inspector, I feel pity and think that they should be able to do their job with plenty of safety. As I passed by the mines, I met a young man who had scar and cuts all over his body. He told me that everyone was aware of the dangers and risks of gold mining but it was the only way to make a living. The man added on that he wanted a change in life and that he felt mad that foreigners were benefiting more than the locals from the gold. Hearing this, I asked him about his working conditions and the requirements to work. He replied, telling me that he went down the mine with a single rope/line and wore only his shirt and pants, no padding or helmet. He brought the equipment provided for him and a small flashlight. The scars and cuts on his body were obviously from the sharp edges of the rocks down in the mine. These mine workers don’t have anything else to do that will bring a change in their lives, there are no jobs with a potential for them.

            The mines are a dangerous place and should be entered only once properly equipped. In Chile, a group of miners were trapped in a mine for around seventeen days. This concerns me and I wouldn’t like that to happen to our own people. Mining brings an impact to the environment as it also does to our people. The big machines and equipment brought are used to clear anything around the mine to make space. The movement of the drills and people shift the dirt around and leaves the land looking in a terrible shape. Mines that are near villages disrupt the peace and bring lots of ‘sound pollution.’ Sometimes trees or animal habitats may be present near or on top of the mine. The workers or miners would be forced to clear the area. This would mean trees would have to be cut down and that animals would be forced out and possibly die. Foreign countries run most of the mines and once the gold is mined, they would just leave the mine, as it is, barren and empty. The foreign countries don’t have any care for the mine and its surroundings mainly because it isn’t their country; they’re just there for the money.

            As a conclusion, worked out through many point of views, I would be against the mining of gold. There is little safety and as a last fact the foreigners focus intently on the bigger gold mines rather than the smaller ones. Therefore the smaller mines are less looked after and not much money is spent on it. Another reason of why I’m against gold mining is that foreigners benefit more than locals. Lastly, the gold mining brings a terrible look upon the environment of the mine and the land surrounding the mine. Many workers risk their lives mining in these dangerous mines in order to bring a bright future for their family and children. So this gold mining has an impact socially and environmentally. If you can’t stop the gold mining, at least further the safety of the workers and the equipment. Please consider the gold mining conditions according to what you think, our country is rapidly developing. Part of development is the safety and education of our people and well looked for environment. Thank you for your time!

                                               

                                                                        -Arief Zul, local inspector. 

Animal Kingdom

This was a funny storyline for my animation proposal for my information technology class. It has been a very long time since I've updated my blog but I will start posting again!

   "King Donkey passed by the dark swamps of the kingdom of King Croc. A disturbance was bothering the kings and today was the day of the meeting of the three kings, King Donkey, King Croc, and King King Cobra. As King Donkey stepped on the marshy swamp, three shadowy figures rose from the bushes. The figures threw poison dart cookies and King Donkey took out a can of Red Bull. The shadowy figures appeared to be assassins and King Donkey had lots of experience against assassins from playing Assassins Creed. Once he finished the Red Bull, King Donkey grew wings and he flew away. Flying with great speed, King Donkey used his incredible eyesight to spot King Croc. King Croc was busy polishing his teeth but King Donkey had to get the word out. The zookeeper alliance are coming against us, we must push aside our differences and unite as one. King Croc seemed to not pay attention as he slurped loudly on his Oreo milkshake, and slithering from the door was King King Cobra. King Donkey always was jealous of King King Cobra, for King King Cobra always got the best things. It seemed that King King Cobra just got Dr. Dre Beats and he wasn’t paying attention to anyone. The meeting was pointless so King Donkey left the two spoiled kings. Ninja rabbits from the zookeeper alliance surrounded King Crocs’ kingdom. King Donkey couldn’t just stand there and watch the two kings die so he called on his troops and marched on to King Crocs’ kingdom. King Donkey pushed against the troops of the zookeeper alliance and he got to the kings. Both of them were slouched at a corner with pacifiers in their mouths. King Donkey encouraged the kings to fight, he told them to imagine that the Ninja Rabbits were zombies in Call of Duty and knowing that the two kings were good at Call of Duty, it seemed to do the trick. After a long hard battle, the three kings and their army came to a victory. On the battlefield the three kings fought well. The zookeeper alliance aren’t finished yet, they plot their next battle plan after the release of Battlefield Bad Company 3, so they can get ideas."

On Vacation

  It has been pretty long since I've updated this blog but that is since i'm on summer vacation. The first two months of my vacation was pretty wasted, I was at home and was studying for my violin exam. It's good that i passed it, another step to success. Now i'm at Malaysia, my home country, everything's great in a way, like I get to play with fireworks and see my relatives. I got a good break from electronics and most especially internet. For the past time, i've been using my cousins laptop or visiting internet cafes. Well that's pretty much it, i'm having plenty of fun, fasting along with others for Ramadan and celebration is coming for Eid. Once i'm back in Dubai, i'll be updating, continuing on the book 'Nudge.'

Ion Magnet Wristbands

   Magnetic accessories are thought to have special properties to help bring an active lifestyle or cool down head-aches. An ion wristband is commonly seen on professional sports athletes, especially golfers. What do these wristbands do or give? There are supposed to be magnets on the wristband which stabilizes the amount of ion charge in your body. It is said that it helps stop head-aches and that it gives an edge in sports. I have a Trion:Z wristband and it's pretty nice. It is black and red with a magnet on the top and bottom of the wristband, opposite sides. I can't say for sure that this wristband improves performance but it sure is a comfortable thing to wear on your wrist. The special property is probably a lore but there is definitely something going on. I'm sure it does help sharpen your mind up and in turn that helps to improve performance. Just like how people say looking at an emerald heals your eyes, an ion wristband can bring an active lifestyle. There is a sense to both, our eyes naturally relax and stress less to the color green, this is a fact. An emerald is a beautiful green gemstone and that is probably why people say that. Ion wristbands have magnets which collaborate with each other and probably does something. Well, for a conclusion, ion wristbands probably do assist you in a healthy lifestyle and it also looks very nice and sporty!

Trion:Z wristband from the United Arab Emirates.

New Look!

 Well, I have been going through a series of updates to enhance your experience on this blog. Firstly, I made a new striking title using Art Text 2 for Mac. Secondly, I made it easier for people to follow this blog, right through e-mail, just enter your e-mail address on the 'follow by e-mail' bar. Lastly, I have added a viewable analytic for everyone to view for fun. I'm trying to connect my Youtube account to this blog therefore making it easier to view my videos. If you haven't already, please check out my Youtube channel!

My Youtube Channel!

E-mail me suggestions: My e-mail!

Mac OS X Lion Review

  The company, 'Apple' recently released their new operating system, 'Mac OS X Lion.' It is available for purchase on the Application Store on all Mac computers for $29.99. It can also be bought at the Apple store or retailers for $49.99 which includes a USB. Lion is an upgrade to the previous OS, Snow Leopard. Upgrading would result in the new 10.7 update. What features do you get from this? Well, you receive three new things on your dock, Launchpad, Mission Control, and Facetime. This update involves many changes in design, in fact, it was inspired by Ipad/Iphone/Itouch. Launchpad gives you the springboard look of the Ipad, Mission Control shows you all the applications that are on, in an all in one look. Facetime is exactly the same thing as the facetime in the Ipad 2, Iphone, and Ipod Touch 4, it is a video calling application. Along with that, speeds are slightly faster as it neatly cleans your Mac. The touch gestures for your trackpad are revamped and new. It takes time to get used to the new movements but it seems better in a way. One thing that I appreciate is the new full screen features in selected programs. Your photo-booth is totally fullscreen and same goes with you Safari browser! There is also a new feature called 'AirDrop' which allows Lion to Lion  Macs to share files instantly and easy. You can see my video that I made whilst downloading OS X Lion, a day after the release, it shows the important features and is best of all, a commentary!

NOTE: This video is fully created by me and is therefore mine! 

Final Showdown

  Early morning on Friday 22nd of July, 2011, my mother brought me to her class at American University of Sharjah. She is a professor there in MIS but she wanted to show me a footwear company project that her masters students in the school of engineering were working on. There were three teams and they presented information on their product and why customers and investors should choose them. My mom invited two guest judges from the MBA program to help make the final decision on who was the best. I was just there to witness this event and to see how things run in a college. The first team was very professional and handed out folders and water bottles with their logo on it,' Pulse.' They designed a shoe with a specialty called 'Zigtech' which brought balance to every step you take and rippled around your whole foot. The team brought a great mixture of explanation and presentation. The slide shows were interesting and gave a promotion to exercising as the shoe was specified for running, in what I saw. The second team was called 'Jowati' and this was my favorite team, mainly because they were interesting to watch. They put humor along with information on their product. The group, mainly consisting of Emarati locals, associated the royal families in assisting their product mainly with funds. This in turn could help them in the future to market their product internationally. At the end of their presentation, they handed out delicious cupcakes imprinted with Jowati shoes, they also gave keychains, pens, notepads, and personally to my mother and I, a Jowati T-Shirt for my baby sister and me. This team had something different from the other teams, they uploaded a video on Youtube, this is a rather excellent choice to promote a product. They received lots of feedback on their product along with their saying 'Share your dreams with us.' In all, I favored that team the most. The last team which is team three, was a very informative team. They did lots of explaining and were really deep with their product. Their idea seemed wonderful but there was a lack of presentation. Even so, they also did something different, they had an activity. In the middle of the presentation, they distributed hand-outs to everyone with two groups to keep in mind, buyers and investors. The buyers were told on the benefits and features of the shoe whilst the investors were told why you should spend on them. This group was formal, in fact, they even served food in a 'lunch break.' All of the teams were excellent in my opinion and i really enjoyed visiting the university, I learned a lot. Everyone did amazing though some could improve, of course, but it was a hard decision to select the winner of the 'Showdown.' Anyways, the teams put lots of effort and you can even see it for yourself if you were there, congratulations to all!

Jowati Youtube Video: Click Here

IOS 4.3.4 And Others Jailbreak via Redsn0w

  This guide is for educational purposes only!

   As you know, many hackers found ways to hack your Iphone/Ipod Touch/Ipad (1 & 2). What is jailbreaking and what does it do? Let's break the words up, Jail-Break. Jail is locked up and break is freedom. Break free from jail, get freedom from being locked. Here are the main reasons people jailbreak their devices:
- Custom themes, lock-screens, sounds, symbols, and sliders.
- Free games from Cydia or free application store games from Installous.
- Tweaks, changes, extra-columns, shortcuts, and 'hotkeys.'
- Free music, ringtones, and camera enhancing.

  That's the main reason people jailbreak their devices but its not all fun and games for those people, there is a down-side. Once jailbroken, synchronizing to Itunes or updating your firmware will delete the jailbreak and everything you got from it. After this you could always re-jailbreak but its tiresome. Okay, to learn how to jailbreak and to get started, all you need is your Iphone/Ipod Touch/Ipad (1 or 2) and your white charger cable to connect to your computer. This jailbreak is from Redsn0w and can be used for IOS 4.3.4 or any other firmware before that, just select the firmware below:

• First select your firmware: Select your Firmware

• Then visit Redsn0ws official website to either downgrade your firmware or download the jailbreak: The Website to Download Jailbreak

• Lastly follow and read these guidelines: This jailbreak is free and once you download it, follow the instructions, no surveys or gimmicks. Instructions below:

   - Turn off your Iphone/Itouch/Ipad then click 'Next/Proceed.'
   - Then hold the power button at the top for the stated amount of seconds.
   - Without releasing the power button, hold the home button for the stated amount of seconds.
   - Release the power button but hold the home button or vice versa.
Remember: Just read the instructions on what it says, it's fairly easy. These instructions are to guide you on what to expect.

Hopefully you enjoyed this guide on jailbreaks, explore because there are many things to be found!

Nudge: Choice Architecture

Chapter 5 (Conclusion to Part I)
Choice Architecture

   Choice Architecture brings the conclusion to the Part 1 of the book 'Nudge.' It starts out with an example from one of the authors, Thaler. He teaches at a college and the door to his classroom has a wooden handles. Instinctively, how would you open the door? You don't push handles, do you? You're supposed to grip the handle and pull it. The architecture for the big door confused many people because that door must be pushed. The natural way of thinking is to push a door when leaving but with the handles, this could be an exception. Handles are meant to be pulled, so your mind tells you to pull open the door. But it doesn't budge, then you push the door, realizing your mistake you must feel pretty embarrassed. Especially this one student in Thalers class who pulled the door, truthfully it's pretty hard to tell whether to push or pull in this situation. This architecture doesn't follow the law of a psychological rule, 'Stimulus Response.'  What is your stimulus response? It is the way of something that you get used to. As we are humans, we err and make many mistakes in our lives, especially when we let our Automatic thinking take control. In order to combat this, more thoughtful people would consider the Reflective thinking for a rather thought of way. An example is saying what color one would see at your computer screen, sounds simple. Then add a the name of a different color like GREEN on a background color of blue. This will make you think more than if it wasn't there. I have a little test for you, follow the directions below:

- Tell me what color you see in thats shaded in the background but ignore the text (or try to), answer each question in three seconds (Do this fairly, you would just be cheating yourself if not). This test is created by me.

RED        


GREEN   


BLUE      


BLACK   


YELLOW


   Lets spice things up a bit, tell me the color of the text, like what color it is but not what color it says.

BLUE      


PURPLE  


YELLOW


 Did you solve this? If so then kudos to you! It might not be hard if you take a glance at it but on real professional ones it would. This is just to give you a taste of what this is like. There is something exactly like this on 'Brain Age' for the Nintendo DS.

  No architecture has nudged so many people in the world than Amsterdams 'Fly in the Urinal.' It is very effective and stopped 80% of spillage in bathrooms. Cleaners must've complained of the amount of spillage in bathrooms and eventually engineer Doug Kempel experimented with a fly sticker and put it on the urinal. Later he brought it to the public and results were a hit! Orders were made online for this fly sticker and were used in schools, libraries, and mostly airports. Lousy aiming was stopped when the fly was spotted on the urinal, it sounds funny but was a major success. Doug specifically said," My goal is nothing less than to save the world, one urinal at a time." Well his goal is working and this fly sticker is seen commonly in America, Moscow, Holland, Singapore and many other countries. 80% less spillage is a lot, really!

  Defaults are something that is already there if nothing is custom or selected. As the Automatic thinking side is stronger and more powerful than our reflective side, we tend to like defaults. How does the automatic thinking function the way we like defaults? Lets look at the facts of behavior analysis. But before we do that, what is behavior analysis? Behavior analysis is a type of psychology that is based on the behavior of something, mostly the way we humans act and behave. If you look at it in a way, behavior means the pattern or way one behaves whilst analysis means a study or to research. Now back to the question, automatic thinking function the way we like defaults because we like things that require the least work possible. Who wouldn't like to get a million dollars or cash in seconds rather than in fifty-years. Defaults assist us in many ways, take the defaults of your computer or laptop. When you go to the bathroom, the computer will automatically dim the display light and eventually the screensaver will show or otherwise it would go to sleep. This is a default, very simple to understand. In full terms, the sub-heading is called 'Defaults: Padding The Path of Least Resistance.' Most people left the default like that, I doubt most people change their defaults for the computer. Another example of default is when we order food in a fast-food restaurant. The guy taking your order forgets to ask you for what drink you want and you also forget, by default you would a get Pepsi or cola. This happens because many people order their drink as cola and the waiters take it as the default.
 Expect error, a good architect would know that the building or things he designs or for humans and like I said before humans err. Like the chapter suggests, choice architecture must be well thought of. In America, drivers drive on the left-hand side whilst in the United Kingdom its the opposite. So to suit the safety of tourists and pedestrians, the city is well equipped with warnings. Bathrooms are great examples of expect error. Some people forget to flush (its true and disturbing), so automatic toilets fix that, some forget to turn off the water and others take too much paper towels, that it all fixed to meet the likings of everyone. The people who made this expected error. Maybe someone was focusing on something whilst on the toilet and forgot to flush, despite how you go to the bathroom, its different for others. Don't tell me you've never seen someones left-overs in the toilet before. In other situations, a business man is in a hurry and doesn't close the sink properly and it is dripping, automatic ones can fix that! Humans aren't perfect and we were never supposed to be, we help each other by seeing each others mistakes and hopefully the world would be a much better place, with less error.
 Giving feedback is essential to improving. If someone made a brand new 'Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG),' then they would need feedback to improve and make it meet the likings of many people. This applies to mostly everything, giving feedback on how you study, look, or do things also count in. Restaurants need feedback because they have tough competition against others, that's why they usually give feedback cards after you finish your meal, to ask how it was. They value your feedback because if you didn't like something then maybe someone else didn't like it.
  Structure complex choices, when selecting something that is in a big number, you would want to get the best one. To find this, we use 'Elimination by aspects.' Say you wanted to rent a car, there are many cars out there but which one is the best suited with what you can afford. You eliminate some things first, if its above $50,000 then you won't buy it or if its a 4 seater than you won't get it. Select the features you want, $25,000, 7 seater, four-wheel drive, and the brand Toyota. The example from the chapter is similar but involves someone searching for apartments.

  That's it, you've survived Part I of Nudge, but its not finished yet. There are still 200+ pages to go but in all that brings the conclusion to basic thinking and we managed to learn some great vocabulary! Humans and Econs brought a great point and was an amazing part. Part II is detailed on wealth and will research further into behavior, in fact, its simply called,' Money.' Remember the description, improving decisions, about health, wealth, and happiness. Lets see if its concluded at the end of the book.

Fly in the Urinal, a big success!

Push or Pull?

Holocaust

 Most people learn about this in their history class, but do you truly know what happened at the time of the holocaust. It was a time of true horrifying terror, hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed, in Germany. Why was this so? Adolf Hitler, a notable figure, wished for the extermination of the Jews. Not only were Jews killed, but many others were also killed. In total, around 15 million people were killed. There were secret camps in Germany where captured Jews were kept. These Jews were forced to work, even children. If the worker was weak or not fit to work anymore, they would be killed or sent to a gas chamber for genocide. A genocide is the mass killing of a group of people, ethnic or religious. In this case, Jews were killed. Germen gas chambers (or any other) are buildings big enough to fit groups of people. There were vents on top where the German soldiers put Zyklon B and gassed the Jewish people inside to death. In order to keep the Jews calm, the Germen soldiers told the Jews to take off their cloths because they were going to have a shower. This kept the Jews calm but when they entered the so called shower room, the lights were shut, doors closed, and gas emptied in the room. Everyone in there would die within minutes. It is a sad tragedy, but this was to meet the likes of Hitler. Many lives were lost and it is indeed tragic. In fact, I was inspired by the movie,"The boy in striped pajamas." You should watch it, it is rather sad and touching.

Nudge: When Do We Need a Nudge?

Chapter 4
When Do We Need a Nudge?

  This chapter is fairly short but brings a good meaning to how industries and businesses survive, in my opinion. Previously, my review of Chapter three, following the herd, we can see how nudges can make people do things. Also, we learn how nudges can be deceiving. Benefits now, costs later, is a description on how people choose things and thinking about the downsides in the near future. There are good habits that we can do in our lives, like taking a walk or designing our own film, these are good things that we should do. For a New Years Eve resolution, no one would say take less walks or design less movies. Benefits now, costs later is directly pointing to bad habits or choices like smoking (Number one example) or eating fatty foods. Again, for a New Years Eve resolution, you wouldn't say that you would want to smoke more or eat more fatty foods, that's just wrong. The benefit is, say for eating fatty foods, you can enjoy the taste and the cost is gaining weight.

  Degree of difficulty effects when we need a nudge. When turning on the television, we don't need help. But with picking the right mortgage, we do. There may be some words that we can't spell, but what is our solution? Use a spell checker or just google it.

  Imagine there are two worlds, one with just economists and the other mixed with plain humans with economists. The economist would strive and compete against each other but the mixed world would be interesting. Economists sell warranty plans to humans, though it may be a rip-off if looked carefully. We sometimes buy these rip-offs because the salesperson was good at explaining. It happens but that's how some businesses or companies survive.

  So, when do you think you'll need a nudge to help you the most, respectfully ?

  - When eating a tasty brownie.

  - When going for a mile run.

  - When playing too much games.

   Well, all of the above are okay, but mostly the going for a mile run is the best answer. Why is this so? Eating brownies and playing games are a habit that we tend to like. Running is a habit we want to do, so in order to do that you have to push that doer out, even though it takes hard work. In the end, you'll be sure to figure it out. So remember, not everyone is perfect or full-proof, our minds tend to lack to something right in our face due to our thinking. A friendly salesman could just take $100 off of you like that, we're not all economists, but we can sharpen up. Economists are human too, though harder to be 'nudged' upon.

  " Governments can, of course, outlaw some kinds of activities, but as libertarian paternalists we prefer to nudge -and we are keenly aware that the governments are populated by Humans." - First paragraph of page 88, Nudge.

Nudge: Following the Herd

Chapter 3
Follow the Herd

 

   Now on the third chapter of Nudge is Following the Herd. This chapter is mainly about how our minds tend to follow things that others do. This happens to most sociable people but as the book says not so many economists are sociable. They only talk when they gain something. In a basic way, we are nudged by each other. Do you know the history of ties? What are the uses of a tie? Ties were originally used as napkins, which may not even sound like much, but have a use. People see other people wearing ties and now ties are a symbol a formality. Legends are believed and thought of from other people, who else, we are the ones who can choose to believe them. There are many tales that if you live with someone for a long time, you'll look like them. Its not entirely true, but there is a sense to it. You share the same diet, shelter, and lifestyle which in result contributes to a minor physical change. The goal and sole aim of this chapter is to see why social influences work as they are. I will be using examples of my own to help with understanding:

1. Living in a neighborhood with wealthy people and rich children will influence your child to want to have the stuff the rich children have.

2. Most people are using a certain brand perfume and they ask you if you are using it, you will feel left out because you use a different perfume.

 Doing what others do is nothing bad at all. It can help you follow the trend and not feel left out. But there are many nudges to this. For example, a soda company wants to promote their beverage, so they say, "Drink this beverage because its good." Thats a fairly simple and lame sentence, most people would comeback by saying stuff like 'who said its good?' A better way to say it is, "Drink this beverage because everyone thinks its good!" That sentence is not bad, some people would be convinced even though the sodas are the exact same thing but with different descriptions. To promote it even more you can put a famous person in it without changing the rest, like, "Drink this because Tiger Woods and everyone else thinks its good." Along with that, add the picture of Tiger Woods. An example from the book is situated in Texas. Apparently, Texas had a litter problem back than and was trying to promote 'No littering.' Most of the litter bugs weren't too convinced by this, so they had to step up. They made a new slogan, "Don't mess with Texas!" What do you notice about this? In other words, the slogan says don't mess with the people of Texas. Adding people to the topic changes things because people like to follow a bigger group of people, why not follow the whole Texas state! The Texas government was smart, they got football players from the Dallas Cowboys saying the slogan, so inspirational.

The Spotlight Effect


 Would you feel like you were in a spotlight if you were the only one wearing a T-Shirt at a conference meeting. For many people, that would be a 'yes.' Research show that many people feel that someone is watching them or that they're being stared at. If you were at a meeting then that would be true. But if you had a stain on your shirt at a party, would you feel odd. Don't feel too special because most people won't even notice it. In fact, a study shows only 23% of people noticing a stain on a persons shirt in a party. Thats very little compared to a spotlight.

Smiles frowns and saving energy is a paragraph on a social nudge which saves energy. Houses are told on how much electricity they use and the government rates how much they use with smiles. Along with that, they tell you if you use a good amount, little, or a lot. A house gets rated with a sad face and another with a smiley face. The house with the sad face uses less electricity and the house with the smiley face stays the same with slightly higher electricity. They change the amount of electricity they use all because of this information. Smart way of conservation for electricity.

Nudge: Resisting Temptation

Resisting Temptation
Chapter 2

"At O'Hare Airport in Chicago, two food vendors compete. One sells fruit, yogurt, and healthy foods. The other sells Cinnabons, that have a whooping 730 calories and 24 grams of fat. Care to guess which of the two stores always has the longer line?"- Page 53 of 'Nudge.'



  Chapter 2 of Nudge starts out with an example of temptation. Thaler (one of the two authors of Nudge) was hosting a party. He put out a bowl of cashews and people ate some. Thinking about the main course, Thaler puts away the bowl of cashews so the people wouldn't be full. In the way of economics, it doesn't matter if you have extra or more options, because you could always turn them down. When Thaler put the bowl of cashews down, the people could choose to eat them (or not), eat more, or finish the bowl. If they finished the bowl, it would wreck their appetite. So firstly they ate some cashews, than it just kicks in that they eat more and more until the bowl is empty. What makes them want to eat more or do they want to eat more? This is called 'dynamically inconsistent.' A good example that you could think up yourself would be that you want to do something but you don't, it fails. Lets say its a nice Friday morning, you feel like taking a walk, go fishing, or do something productive. As time passes by you didn't do what you planned, in fact, you didn't even take a shower yet! That's our lazy side, but how does this relate to the bowl of cashew situation. Before the bowl of cashews were placed, no one asked for it or even thought about it. But when it was placed they ate a bit but planned to eat the main course of food. Without thinking they just kept eating and eating the cashews. This is dynamically inconsistent, you're not following your plan. This chapter covers another two main things:

- The 'planner' which is influenced by your reflective system of thinking (mentioned in the previous chapter).
- The 'doer' which is influenced by your much needed automatic system (also mentioned in the previous chapter).

 These two parts of your mind or brain are in a conflict. Which one is stronger for you?

 Mindless Choosing is the fact of auto-drive, functioning all by itself without your awareness. This happens to almost everyone. A good example would probably be at a movie theater or cinema. When you buy popcorn, you just keep eating and eating un-knowingly. The same thing goes with stale popcorn. A study that the chapter explains showed that a bunch of students at a theater ate a load of popcorn which was mistakingly stale. The students noticed and felt it, but for some reason they kept eating, thinking that it was just normal. Such is an example of mindless choosing.

 Self-Control Strategies are things that you are in total control of but just don't stop. The doer is telling you to continue. Most people use an alarm clock to wake themselves up, the planner would get up and turn the alarm off, ready for the day. Whilst the doer would hit the alarm clock on snooze and continue sleeping. Its hard to change doers (take Homer Simpson for example, could you change him?). Enterprise and business firms help us out in this, fortunately! There are many type of alarm clocks designed to help doers wake up, an example of this is 'clocky,' a smart alarm clock. Here is a short description of clocky from the label:

" Clocky is an alarm clock that runs away and hides if you don't get out of the bed in time."

 So basically, Clocky runs away after you click the snooze in order tog et your doer side to wake up. Pretty smart. Though I won't go through this in detail, smokers and smoking are an example of self-control strategies. The smoker knows its bad to smoke but continues, research in America show that most smokers know the harmful effect of smoking. Two thirds (2/3) of the smokers want to quit and have tried but can't, this puts a signal to your mind that you can't quit, even though you can.

  Mental Accounting is a funny thing to see in life. An example would come in money, economically in theory, money is freely exchangeable or fungible, it comes with no labels or tags. So why do some people act like it does? Most families keep savings in jars or bottles, labeling them. For example one could be electric bills, utilities, house appliances, or food. The house appliance jar could be empty and the family would be in misery, thinking that they have no money for house appliances when they could easily take money from the food jar. They think, mentally, that the money is specific for something when it is totally not. The chapter describes gamblers at a casino, one of the gamblers win a large sum of money. In the terms for gamblers, this is called 'House money.' The casino is referred to the 'House.' Being so, the lucky winning gambler thinks its okay to bet with the houses money because he won it, when actually its totally his and he could keep it for life. But he finds no loss in using the won house money. Well, too bad, he has been nudged.

The genius 'Clocky,' by Nanda Home Creators.

Nudge: Biases and Blunders

 I'm going to start reviewing the book 'Nudge' chapter by chapter. If you don't already know, 'Nudge' is a book by Thaler & Sunstein and it's about improving decisions, health, wealth, happiness, and personally for me, opinions. Biases and Blunders, the first chapter of Part I points out one main thing which you should know, the way you think or the way your brain acts to something. It's expressed in two ways, automatic and reflective. What can you tell from this? Automatic generally means, done by itself or independent, whilst reflective means the result of something or rather produced by. To make reflective thinking make more sense, its basically your un-confident gut idea being added on with a more well thought idea. The book itself describes automatic as uncontrolled, effortless, and fast. Reflective is more controlled,  effortful, and slow (obviously slower than automatic thinking). Take 1+1 for example, do you need to work out anything, no, it's obviously 2, no question about it. If you do need to work out something, think, or consider, it's reflective thinking.

 One part of the human thinking is the rule of thumb. In may own words the rule of thumb is solving something or getting something for what we generally know as it is faster, rather than research. This way of thinking can be good but it can lead to many false thoughts. Such as generalizing kids to be disruptive or a certain race to be rude. There are three parts to the rule of thumb, anchoring, availability and representatives.
 Anchoring is finding something out with information that you already know. They give a very well put example in the book but i'll give my own example, lets say that there are two children who are having a party. One child is popular and has a big house, the other child is less popular and has a smaller house. The unpopular child has ten people at his party, how can we estimate the amount at the popular kids house? We get an anchor, which is what we know, the unpopular child has ten people at his party. Then you adjust that number in what you feel is right and appropriate, so how about the popular kid has three times the amount of people in his party. So its thirty people at the popular kids party, this isn't accurate but studies show that this is a method of thinking that some people use. I must've thought like this at one point of my life and maybe even you did, it's natural, it's human.
 Availability is another rule of thumb. I'll explain the example in the book, do you worry about tornadoes, floods, or a tsunami? Maybe you do, maybe you don't, but it depends on what you've experienced. Would you get insurance for a flood in the desert, never! You may be more likely to get insurance for a hurricane after a hurricane just occurred but as time passess you will forget it and stop the insurance, so fear strikes more depending on your experience and it's a natural human instinct.  A biased version of this could come out. A person had a bad history with floods and later forgets about it. When prompted on insurance care, anyone can easily remind him of the flood, leading him to fear a flood more than a tsunami or hurricane.
 Representative is the last rule of thumb telling us how something can go to something else or relate to it. Most people would think a tall African American would be a good basketball player while a short person wouldn't. This is true in many ways but can be a bad way to perceive something. Another example is if a baseball player gets a home-run. The coach or fans may say that he's on fire and that he's likely to get another home-run. This is a myth or saying because it isn't true, you don't gain some power from scoring multiply and there is no 'hot-hand' or 'on fire.' If someone scored in soccer and he does it again, it may just be because, everyone thinks he's on fire and they are trying to defend him and bring him closer to the goal or that the person gets motivated and does better. Yet it all ends up as the way we take things or think.

 Losses are big, no one likes to lose. Gains and losses is a sub-title on page 36 of Nudge. This is another interesting study which proves many different things.  Lets say you were given a free ticket and another guy wasn't given a free ticket but he was given the option to buy the ticket from you. The other guy wouldn't care much, it's just a ticket after-all. But the guy asks you for the ticket, though he wants it for free. You got it for free but have a desire to keep it. It's inside you, you don't want to lose something. So here is a sum of it. I got a free ticket but i don't want to give it and I don't have a ticket but I don't feel the urge to buy it. If you don't understand than take it this way. You pass by a stall and see some wares, you're just looking around with no money, not wanting anything, just looking. The owner offers a free gift to you, you take it. Some random stranger wants it from you but you don't give it. Put it that way, it should make gains and losses easier.

 Status Quo Bias is a way of going which William Samuelson and Richard Zeckhauser have dubbed. It's the way of forgetting something or sticking to a current thing. In other words, not bothering to change or simply 'whatever.' A guy signs his inheritance to his mother and later gets married. He intends to leave his inheritance to his wife but never does, he just can't be bothered. So planning your best defaults and foundation is essential as you may later lose it in life or don't have time for it. Another way to call 'Status Quo Bias' is loss aversion and mindless choosing.

 Framing is an interesting way of thinking and you should consider this in your life. Framing is a success because people can be un-thoughtful decision makers and not look at something right. If you had a serious disease and went to a doctor and the doctor said that after the operation nine out of ten people survived, you'd most likely take it. But if the doctor said one of ten people died, it would be worrying and a thought may come of you being that one out of ten people who die. If you look at it both ways are the same but framing can change your decision. Altogether framing is a powerful as people make decisions from this through automatic thinking not reflective thinking. Decision, decisions, its all in your decision. Think carefully, frames are good nudges.

 In conclusion, decisions in life are changed and thought of in many different ways and humans are nudge-able. The chapter gives a very good last example of a 'Nudge' in real life. In Chicago's Lake Shore Drive, there are a series of 'S' curves. This means that drivers should be aware, I may not be able to drive but I know that you'de have to hold the brakes and drive slower in a situation like that. Anyways, many drivers just don't listen and don't follow the speed limit at the 'S' turn which is 25mph. In order to save lives, the city brought a new system to help the drivers. At the beginning of the curves there are lines painted on the road, evenly spaced and well put (not speed bumps). As the driver encounters the most dangerous corner of the road, the lines are painted closer to each other giving the driver the feeling or sensation of them speeding up, which in result makes them brake even more. This helps them slow down over-all. So when driving on the road people may find the lines as guidance and somewhat speaking to you to slow down and hit the brakes at times. Well as a good ending to the chapter, we have been 'Nudged!'

What specifically is a 'Nudge?'  At first glance, most people would consider a nudge to be a push but its also an urge to do something or decide. Specific from merriam-webster, this is the meaning:
 to prod lightly : urge into action


Check it yourself:  Definition of 'Nudge.'

Which table is a better coffee table? What are the dimensions? 

Shangri La

 Have you ever heard of Shangri La? Other than being a luxurious hotel and all, what is Shangri La? Where was it's origin and why is it this way? Hotels are meant to be a comfortable place and a sort of fun, resting, and relaxing area to stay in overnight or longer. Shangri La on the other-hand is actually Earthly Paradise. It is said to be a remote place without the touch of civilization or any human exploration. More specifically, it is like a beautiful jungle with waterfalls and a range of plants, prosperous trees and old temples. Who made this up or thought of this/believed it? In 1933, in the book 'Lost Horizon' by James Hilton, he mentioned a type of remote paradise on earth. Where is the location thought to be? Shangri La is believed to be around Tibet or China. It is said to be remote because Buddhist monks lived there in peace, un-touched by other cause of disturbance. Due to this some hotels are called Shangri La because they are referring to the earthly paradise, a myth or belief. The next time you go to a Shangri La hotel, ask the receptionist about Shangri La itself, see if you get an answer!

Wimbledon Finals

  Wimbledon, the world cup for tennis, is in its final stages. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are set to battle today (July 3rd 2011). Djokovic recently had a match with Tsonga and Djokovic was the winner. Nadal faced off against Andy Murray and Nadal won. Now It's the set, two amazing tennis players face off  for the mens tennis finals for Wimbledon. My personal opinion is that Nadal will win, though I'm biased on either of them. Djokovic is a great player, with quite a temper, but other than that, he's good! In fact, Djokovic reminds me of one of my friends. Im going to get ready to watch the match at 5:00 from the United Arab Emirates. I'm just hoping for a good game, an intense one, but i forgot to mention Nadal is injured. Still, even though he's injured, I still have high hopes for him.

Pareidolia

 It has been a long time seen I've updated my blog but anyways, I'm back! I bet you'de be wondering what the meaning of 'Pareidolia' is. This word isn't the average word you'de stumble upon but I actually did. A song by Elena Seigman called 'Pareidolia' was just released. It was a very nice song but I was wondering what 'Pareidolia' meant.
 Here is the meaning from 'fact-archive.com: The tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the viewer; such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals or seeing shapes in clouds.


 Basically pareidolia means seeing something in a different way, like the definition above, clouds are an excellent example of pareidolia. Most people would see clouds forming shapes, cars, or objects. Another example is the 'man on the moon.' People believe that they see something else from an object.

What do you see? Admit it, it does appear to be a sad face or some other face.  Excellent example of pareidolia.

My Youtube

 Youtube has been an extremely big network for videos. You can find almost any video you want to watch on Youtube, in fact, you can watch movies! That upload limit for Youtube is 10:00 (Some say 10:59 minutes, but its not confirmed) minutes unless you have a partnership or some type of Youtube license. Before, people who made their account with the 'director' status could upload longer videos but that changed. Lots of people make a career on Youtube, you can make money by simply getting loads of views. You need a certain amount of subscribers and 10,000 views on a number of your videos, than Youtube will play you to post more videos. To add to that, famous 'Youtubers' usually have sponsers which add on to the money! Well anyways, if you have a Youtube, add me and subscribe! These days I just post gaming videos but I will post other types of videos in the future.
USER: Deathfindo

Click to see my Youtube Channel!!!!

Mac Essentials: No Kernals and Viruses

Apple's Mac computers can be a complicated computer due to its difference to the PC. Mac's are very well made laptops with an amazing design. Though the fact that mac's can't get viruses is partly true you still need to be cautious and smart whilst using your Mac. There ARE viruses for Macs, it is extremely hard to get one, but there are. Adding on to a virus, sometimes a program, file, or a software may cause your computer to crash/freeze. This is called a Kernal Panic. A Kernal Panic will stop all processes and bring a grey like screen with the power sign in the background telling you to shut down your computer. Kernal panics could be the result of over-use of your Mac, faulty RAM, a virus, or too many programs running at once. There are many possibilities for the Kernal panic and hopefully this article will resolve the problem. To avoid viruses or Kernal panics, I recommend getting MacCleanse.

MacCleans: http://maccleanse.en.softonic.com/mac - This is a safe website to download Maccleanse (Trial) for your Mac computer. This wonderful software deletes harmful, not used, old, or potential virus files, programs, and other software. In result, this helps reduce Kernal Panics and viruses.

Hopefully MacCleanse resolves virus problems or Kernal Panics. Another reason for just a plain Kernal Panic is because of over-heating. This can happen when your just watching Youtube videos, playing games, or opening websites with lots of Flash. There are many more things which can contribute to over-heating but those are the main ones. I watch many Youtube videos and play many games like World or Warcraft or Assault Cube and my computer over-heats. What can reduce this heat? Firstly, you could buy a Computer Cooling Pad for your Mac. This is probably the best choice as it helps A LOT. But if your low on money or don't want to spend cash than you could activate the built in fan thats inside every Mac or generally Computer. How do you turn on your fan? Download smcFancontrol (Completely free and easy to use)

smcFanControl: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23049/smcfancontrol - This is a 100% safe place to download the smcFancontrol. You can monitor your Macs temperature and control the speed of your fan (rpm), thus bringing the temperature down.

The best thing is to have a cooling pad and the smcFancontrol to really cool your Mac. Is your computer STILL faulty? Tell the truth, are you careless with you Mac? Do you have marks, scratches or anything broken parts on your Mac? Being careless is very fatal for your delicate Mac. The hardware could have a possibility of moving around which ISN'T good! Whats the solution? Casing, plain casing thats strong, sturdy, and stylish. This helps reduce Kernal panics even if it doesn't sound right. The other things that can help you is common sense. If you have anything that you don't use, delete it. Memory is very precious. Clean your Mac with an Air duster or with a cleaning fabric. Don't put many things on your dock and manually clean your Mac from un-necessary applications, files, software, or programs. If you still have problems with your Mac, than maybe its a problem with your OS. Get your installation CD and re-download the current OS. Software updates also solves some bugs which can lead to panics. If you think something serious happened, send your Mac to a Apple store or retailer for a fix or check. Hopefully this helps your Mac!

A picture of a Mac skin or 'shell.'

The Playstation Network Recovery

For the gamers of the Playstation 3 and PSP, April 20th 2011 to this day (May 15th 2011) must have been frustrating. Many people lost their hope in Sony, they thought that it was the end of the Playstation 3. But why and how did this happen? It started around April 20th, whenever someone tried to sign in to the Playstation Network (PSN) it would say that there was an error. It seemed like a minor problem to me and to many others, I truthfully thought that it was a problem with my internet. Days later, it was something many people couldn't ignore. Reports were sent to Sony and to the companies surprise, they were hacked. A group of hackers, who's identity aren't known managed to hack into the system and therefore able to steal the accounts of many users. A lot of people lost money due to this and it was a major problem for Sony. According to a variety of resources, Sony lost millions of dollars. It wasn't an easy thing to fix, Sony claimed that they were recovering weeks after the incident but it seemed like nothing happened. At last, Sony made a claim that they were recovering Sony fully and bring its service back on May 31st. But it turns out that it came earlier. The Network is now fixed but it is currently available in the US. The rest of the world should find it available later in this week. Sony promised a type of 'reward' for all of the users, its taken as a 'thanks for waiting patiently for the network to be fixed' type of reward. I waited long for this but its okay, every once and a while it happens. I think PSN is better than paying for online services which is required for the Xbox in the Xbox Live. So there it is, the Playstation Network is back for the Playstation 3 and PSP! I mentioned that the identity of the hackers is unknown but rumors have it that the inventors of the Iphone/Ipod/Ipad jailbreak were behind it. Another rumor is, that Xbox is next. Brace yourself Microsoft, you may be next!

Ne-Yo In Japan

As we all know, Japan suffered from an 2 earthquakes and several tsunami's. This left the country in turmoil yet the spirits of the Japanese were still peaceful. Food was scarce yet the people took their rations and didn't hog all the food, they shared. Then after all this, a nuclear plant releases radiation. Now Japan is really suffering and to ease this suffering the R&B star singer Ne-Yo visits the country. He made a 'charity concert,' despite the radiation levels he visited Nagoya, Kobe, and Yokohama. Each venue he visited, fans donated to the charity jar and received black bracelets which read,'Our prayers are with Japan.' So far Ne-Yo has raised over $10,000 and he estimates that he'll be able to reach even further! This charity concert shows Ne-Yo's good spirit and I believe more singers and start should be like this. He certainly has a good name now!

Violin Exam Grade 3

I'm practicing for the violin exams, because now im in Grade 3 for the violin. If you want to know how far you are in becoming a violinist, then you'd take an exam. The exam im taking is based on the ABRSM curriculum. There are a total of 8 exams and I already passed two of them. Each exam gets harder and harder and if you pass all 8, then you get a certificate of accomplishment. This could lead to higher levels and you can even become a professional from there. For the exam, you have to select three pieces of music from a book a music (which is from ABRSM), play and memorize scales, and learn the theory of the violin. Like i mentioned before, it will get harder and there will be more things to do.

Heres the official website of ABRSM: http://www.abrsm.org/en/home

Worlds Highest Hotel

The title for the worlds highest hotel was broken when the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong claimed the record. The hotel is 488 meters tall and i obviously a five star hotel. A highly acclaimed part of the hotel is its restaurants which serve the best food and the finest wines. One of the restaurants, Tosca, is already set to become a dining destination in Hong Kong as an Italian restaurant. There is a unique feeling to this hotel and every room has its own telescope. An example of something unique would be the Chocolate Library, which is lounge which gives a nice chocolaty feeling and serves chocolate high tea. Also there is the swimming pool which is also the worlds highest swimming pool. The pool features 144 Television screens atop just in case swimmers get bored. The hotels service is positive and you can brighten your taste buds with the many different cuisines available in the hotel. Who are the main customers for this hotel? Well, the Chinese from the mainland are the top customers and they bring along their families to share the fun. I'd definitely want to visit this hotel and grab a room for the night!

Nintendo 3DS

3D became a big hit and started with the theaters having 3D movies with the 3D glasses. Then came the 3D television. Now Nintendo brings in the 3DS a handheld gaming device which is in 3d but heres the cool part, you don't need glasses! This 3DS is sure to impress everyone and if you were fortunate enough to buy one then you would be the center of attention with your friends. The 3DS is already released, ever since March 25th. The 3DS has one inner camera and two outer cameras which seems pretty cool. It also features a LCD touchscreen, speakers, microphone, D-pad (like in the PSP), stylus, and a SD card slot. The current price in pounds is, £229.99. Games originally from Nintendo will be the spotlight like Mario and Resident Evil. The screen for the 3DS is said to be bigger then the DSi and DS light for watching movies. But the 3DS has a competitor, the NGP (Next Generation Portable) by Sony, which has console graphics. Do you like the 3DS or will you wait for the NGP?

1st place story

This story is part of a writing competition which I just recently entered. I won first place along with AED 200. Here is a peek at the story:

It must have been very late, but I heard the sound of crunching snow outside. Drowsily, I got up and crept outside to check. There was a raging blizzard outside! I couldn’t even see anything. It could have been an animal or something. Assuming this, I went back to sleep. I dreamt of myself, all alone somewhere, I called for someone but no one answered, I was in a lonely world, no friends or family. Then the dream faded away in darkness. The sound of barking woke me up, it was morning; I drank some ice-cold water and crept outside. To my surprise, there was a tent pitched right outside of my igloo and a man was standing there with a dog and reading something in his hand.
“Waqaa young fellow, is this your house?” The man asked looking up at me.
“Who are you? What are you doing here, explain!” I blurted out demandingly.
The guy smiled and looked at a big piece of paper in his hand.
“I am the founder of the Alaskan Resource Society of Juneau, ARSJ, and came here along with a crew of miners, excavators, and researchers to collect the mass amount of mineral wealth which lies underneath this plateau, therefore we need you to leave.” The guy explained.
“This is my home, the land of my people, you can’t just kick me out for some minerals!” I replied angrily.
The guy then said that this land is subjected to my father and he asked where my father was. I told him that my father died and that I took the place of care for this plateau. He shook his head and said that I was too young to look after the plateau.
“This place is my home, I lived here my whole life, and I know everything about this place!” I told the guy angrily.
The guy said that he would give me money to support me if I left. I laughed at him and told him that I would never leave.
I remembered my father’s words about how I should never leave this Arctic plateau, that message kept me willfully strong.
“I’ll give you some time to pack up and if you don’t then you’ll see!” The man said turning around and packing his tent away. His dog growled menacingly at me.
“ I’m not leaving!” I retorted back at him.
I thought I saw him smile as he turned around with his backpack and the dog. What did he mean by you’ll see? Was he going to force me out!

I lay down on my woolly bed staring into space. The guy didn’t scare me at all and I was definitely not going to move somewhere else or accept the money that the guy offered. That would be the act of a coward. But I didn’t want to see that guy come bursting in here with some mechanics or with the miners. That would destroy nature and damage the plateau. All of this thinking made me hungry so I got up and cooked up a big fish steak from whale meat, which my father had caught. The meat was splendid and it would be even better with friends or family. Still eating the meat, I heard the sound of a dog barking; at first I thought it was the guy’s dog and that he came back here. But then I realized that it was a different bark. The bark was deeper and louder. I peeked outside to check and smiled in relief.
“Hakino! Come here boy, come here!” I said playfully.
Hakino is my Alaskan Husky who got lost in an expedition in which my father and I had. Luckily, he managed to find his way back. Hakino ran fast towards my direction in excitement, I was so happy to see him that I hugged him so tight.
“You must be hungry, right Hakino?” I said.
The dog barked in reply and we went inside the igloo and I gave him the remainder of the whale meat. He gobbled it up and gave me what looked like a smile. This is what I wanted, some company, now I felt a lot better. I brought Hakino to the water hole and let him drink up all he wanted.
“Get out of there, kid, your time is up!” A sudden voice said.

The Japanese Earthquake

On Friday the 10th, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan leaving an estimated 1,300 people dead. Buildings shacked, bridges fell, and lights were smashed. After the earthquake came a tsunami which killed even more people. Properties were lost and many people were rendered homeless or missing. About 10% of Japan was left without electricity. The 8.1 foot tsunami lasted for about 15 minutes in speeds comparable to a jet. The concern goes to the countries close by which are less developed such as the Philippines or Indonesia. The quake was the strongest to ever hit Japan and the previous one had a magnitude of 8.6. Soon after all of these problems, another happens. A nuclear plant leaks and radiation is transmitted.The death toll is still rising and many lives were lost from the disaster. I hope that Japan will recover from this!

Memory

This is a poem I made sometime ago based on what I felt back when I left vacation at my home country:

In a great metal bird, of best breed.

Ones ear vibrates below, a landlubber.

Sounds come to the ear to feed.

Blue is Atlantic Ocean, whales fat blubber.

Air; Land to sea I’ve travelled with glee.

He could leave now or go later by jet.

He left now, the plane went SWOOSH

Jet be fast, weather be harsh, risky I bet

Moderate, safe to fast, danger I shouldn’t push

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Arrive safely, happy I shine.

Meet relatives was more then fine

Dancing I am, on cloud nine.

This country is truly mine!

Leaving I frown in the boat line.

Hark at him his friends tored

On boat he Shan’t forget memories

Next year, He’d go by the board.

Diving with ocean treasuries.

Tis the tale of a mortal one lored

          Till this day he waits bored 

Cruelty In Libya

 As everyone knows most countries of the Middle East have been in a chain series of protests to pressure their leaders into resignation. It started with Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, and now Libya. In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak resigned after a long time of pressure from the citizens. The different thing in Libya is that the President Gaddafi is using force to prevent the protests in Libya. It is estimated that around 800 people were killed from the governmental forces. They were using bullets and tanks against their own citizens! How could that be, how could the leader kill his own people like that. He tried to even bomb a part of Western Libya and many Libyans are in fear. The UN and US are helping out. In fact, Us sent some ferries to transport the Libyans away from danger. I don't know whats going to happen in the future but we'll see soon. I pray for the safety of all the innocent people there, especially since my friend is living in Benghazi, Libya.