Entry #11 What Fun It Has Been!

Hello my fellow inquisitive minds! It’s hard to believe it has already been eight years since the start of this blo…wait what?! It’s only been eight weeks?! Well, yeah I guess that sounds about right. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed immensely the short time I have spent as the fabricator of this blog and hopefully all of you have enjoyed it as well. 

I have done my best to share a wide variety of topics to keep all of you engaged and to feed your curiosity. And while it was difficult at times for me to “write on demand,” after all, I had to make sure you all had content to keep you entertained; I have never felt blogging to be a chore. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to write about whatever you want. Though, at the same time, I knew I had to think of content and rhetoric because I (hopefully) had an audience to appease. And that’s what has made this project not only challenging, but also an awesome learning experience. I now feel more comfortable with writing and feel that I am able to express my personal writing tone and voice thanks to this project. I can’t think of any other medium that could help you to learn this invaluable lesson so well.

And so, I would like to thank the powers that be for making me start this blog. It really has taught me a lot, and I will never forget it. I would also like to thank all of you for reading my posts week after week and for your comments and suggestions. They really meant a lot and were very encouraging. No, this is not a goodbye, but simply see you later. For the Widely Curious and Dabbling will be on hiatus, but I hope to return soon. Until then—stay curious my friends!!!  

(EC) Should We be Allowed to Patent Life?

Polio, one of the most dreaded diseases of the 20th century has largely been eradicated due to the discovery of the polio vaccine by a man named Jonas Salk. Hundreds of thousands of children died from this terrible disease before Salk invented this vaccine, and people lived in fear of their child being infected. But Salk’s vaccine

changed all that. Such an amazing invention, surely Salk patented it right? Wrong. When Salk was asked who owned the patent for his vaccine, he answered, “Well the people I guess. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?”

Salk had a good point, after all, the life the vaccine was made of, just like the sun does not belong to any one person. It makes sense that we shouldn’t and perhaps couldn’t patent a living thing that does not really belong to us anyway right? Well that’s what I would have thought anyway, but oddly after watching Food Inc. a documentary about the production of our food, I know that we definitely should not be allowed to patent life, but for some reason some companies have been allowed to do so.

In the documentary Food Inc. we are shown just how closely linked

just about every company is that gives us the majority of our food. Everything from Beef to Soybeans is connected in some way and these companies control the way that farms and the markets are run. Though what really caught my attention in the film was the story of Monsanto. This company ruthlessly hassles farmers and forces farmers to always buy all of their seed from them. They spy on the farmers and if they catch them using seed that they have not bought from them, they will sue them for all that they own. How do they do this you ask?

Well they have patented the seed that’s how. Yes, Monsanto also the makers of Roundup made a genetically modified soybean that they then patented. They now force all farmers to buy these seeds from them. So just don’t buy those seeds right? Well the problem is that the seeds are alive. They blow around and bees cross pollinate Monsanto crops to the regular one. Now all of the genes are mixed up and Monsanto claims that the farmers are guilty of patent infringement.

Now due to this one patent, Monsanto has become almost a god of soybeans, punishing those who dare touch their creation without paying first of course. This is precisely why we should not be allowed to patent life, it allows for too much wiggle room, after all, life changes and slowly adapts. At what point is it still the original creation? This is no end to the loopholes. 

Entry# 10 A New Use for Beards

Due to our overuse of antibiotics, bacteria have been mutating rapidly and becoming completely resistant to all of the antibiotics in our current arsenal. This means that diseases that were once treatable are now deadly again. Scientists have been working feverishly to discover a new stronger antibiotic that would be able to combat some of these super bugs. This search has led to some weird findings.

Scientist have discovered a bacteria that thrives on men’s beards produces an antibiotic that effectively destroys other bacteria. Interestingly, the discovery came from another study the scientists were working on stating that men’s beards had traces of feces in them (the study found no feces in men’s beards). They are doing more research on the bacteria, but so far the study looks promising.

The same scientists are also asking that people send them swabs of areas that they feel might have a lot of bacteriological activity. They will be checking these swabs for other bacteria that might produce an antibiotic as a form of defense.

Check out the whole story at ScienceDaily .

Just for fun! 

Entry #9 You Are What You Eat

While driving home from a rough day at work, the thought crosses your mind that you will be too tired to prepare yourself dinner. As you are making your way through traffic your stomach begins to growl. This is when you notice just off to your right that ever so familiar yellow “M.” You decide to drop in and grab a double cheeseburger…or two, okay three! It’s not bad, could be better, but who could beat that price right?  Your stomachs now full and your wallets no worse for wear. Though, if you had heard the controversies around those burgers, would you still have eaten them?

That's not strawberry icecream! 

Not that long ago there was a huge public outrage over this stuff called “Pink Slime.” It’s basically tiny bits of otherwise unusable dirty meat that is emulsified and mixed with ammonia to sanitize it. The stuff was thought to be everywhere and lot of people stopped buying certain meats because of it. One of the claims was that

all of McDonald’s foods were made with this “Pink Slime” and that was how they made their food so cheap. It was never proven, but it did a lot of damage to the company’s reputation.

I wonder though, if the news companies that released the stories about “Pink Slime” hadn’t portrayed it as a toxic substance that could kill you, how the public would have reacted to first seeing the gooey substance. After all, we have to realize that cheap prices come at a cost right? You know like mom and dad always said, “You get what you pay for.” This stuff has been around for quite some time, I wonder why nobody got upset about it sooner. Perhaps, it’s because deep down, we know that when we eat at McD’s and pay a dollar for a burger it’s probably not good for us….would we be okay with paying a lot more for a burger made from quality meats? Well if that’s what we wanted we probably would have gone to Red Robin then…..I think in the long run “Pink Slime” in one form or another will make a comeback, after all we Americans love cheap food. 

Entry #8 Taking Photo's at The Zoo

Recently, I went on a photo expedition to the Wildlife World Zoo in Waddell, AZ with my little brother. Our goal was to try to get some professional looking shots of the animals. We had never tried this before, so we weren't sure how it would work out. Though, I think after spending the whole day there, we got some pretty cool shots (my brother's are a little better than mine). I figured why not show off some of my shots while telling some of the techniques we used that day.  

Before I get into what we learned,  I would just like to say if you are just getting into photography or perhaps just bought a new camera, the zoo is an awesome place go. Not only do you have some interesting subjects, but the multitude of challenges that come up make it great for honing your skills or testing a new camera. If you have been trying to think of a place, definitely put the zoo (any zoo) on your list. 

Squirrel Monkey, DSC-hx100v

 1. Get as close to the cage as possible

The first issue we ran into was taking photos of the animals that were behind wire cages. We found that the best way to get around this was to get up close to the cage and then zoom in a bit to avoid the bars blocking the lens. This only worked well when the animal was further away from the bars though, if you could not zoom in a little bit the mesh would still be visible. 





2. Look for an interesting scene--be patient

Black And White Capuchin Monkey, DSC-hx100v

A lot of the animals would have their backs turned or be up inside their hideaways. We learned that if we just patiently and silently waited for a while, the animal would eventually come into perfect view. We also found we would catch some pretty funny moments by hanging out for awhile. In fact, my brother caught a great photo of this Capuchin Monkey brushing his teeth with a stick (he wouldn't let me post it on here). So just be patient, if your favorite animal is sleeping when you first walk up or the lighting is bad; either just wait it out for a bit or or do a lap and come back. 

3. When there's glass, pass on the flash. 

Sea Turtle, DSC-hx100v

On the glass enclosures especially at the aquarium we found that there would be some really annoying reflections. On top of that, our cameras were demanding that a flash be used. This would have been a big "no no." Not only could the flash have scared the animals, but it also would have made a horrible reflection off of the glass. Therefore, you will definitely want to turn off the auto flash feature on your camera if you plan to go here. Ultimately, the best way to avoid the reflections was to get right up close to the glass. 

Ringtail Lemur, DSC-hx100v

4. Use a higher shutter speed 

We did not have this issue so much until it came to the Ringtail Lemurs. Nevertheless, the little guys were moving so much that our photos kept turning out blurry. I think the issue was that they were also a little further away. We solved the problem by turning up the shutter speed a bit. Although, this would only work if the lighting is ideal. 




5. You win some you lose some

Bengal Tiger, DSC-hx100v

Sometimes, no matter how hard we tried, we were unable to get the photo we wanted. Whether it be the way the enclosure was setup, or the animals not wanting to cooperate, we just had to had to do the best we could. Inevitably, if you go you will run into this problem too; however, just remember you can always edit the picture later or come back to the zoo another day. 

Entry #7 Start a Backyard Garden

Do you know where your food has been? What chemicals have been dumped on it and what processes it has been through? Well unless you grew it yourself, there is no way to know for sure. And what you don’t know might hurt you and the environment.

There’s a highly informative Documentary called Fresh that details some of the more terrifying and damaging aspects of our current industrial farm system. The film tells of the astonishing amounts of pesticides that are

“dumped” on the crops and the chemical fertilizers that are used to make the crops grow. Not only are these chemicals bad for the person that consumes them, but also for the environment that they spread into. A lot of these chemicals can be avoided by buying organic, but that can get expensive.  

In the documentary, we are introduced to a man named Will Allen. He is an urban farmer that is able to feed a whole neighborhood out of his backyard. Now there’s a great idea! How about starting a garden in your own backyard? It’s inexpensive, reduces your environmental impact, and you will know exactly where your food is coming from.

But you don’t have a green thumb, or maybe you think you don’t have the space or time to start a garden in your backyard. Well there are a multitude of solutions for you:

If you don’t have the time or space look into a barrel garden.

 

Or how about a Mobile Vegetable Patch.

And then there's also hydroponics.                 

Odds are there is a solution to your unique garden needs.While it may seem like a lot of work at first, once you taste the fruits of your labor from your backyard garden, it will all have been worth it. 

Entry #6 Ever wanted to learn how to Stargaze?

The human race has always been fascinated with the stars in the night sky. Long have the people of old studied their movements and considered their aspects. Though, in our modern age we tend not to look to the sky as often anymore. Perhaps it’s the hustle and bustle of modern life or the light pollution from the city that blots out almost every wonderful detail. Then again, maybe we are simply no longer as curious as we once were, assuming that all of the mysteries of the stars have been dispelled anyway. Whatever the reason, most people no longer care to look up at the  night sky anymore. Most people today do not know the names of the constellations or how to find them for that matter. Nor do they know what celestial events occur throughout the year. If this is you, allow me to encourage you to try stargazing. It’s easy to learn and very relaxing, a great activity to do with friends and family.

     The first thing you will need, if you want to know what stars you are looking at,  is a planisphere. This is a map of the night sky that you can adjust to the day and hour you are observing. You can either buy one, or go to this website and print one out. However, if planispheres are not your thing, there are a few smartphone apps that can help guide you through the night sky. The only issue with using the apps is will lose your night vision and not be able to see as many stars after looking at your phone screen.
             
      In fact, a planisphere or an app is all truly you need. Though, you might also want to consider getting a flashlight with a red lens to help you see the map, without affecting your night vision. Also, binoculars are a nice thing to have in case you spot a planet. And if you really get into it, you might want to look into getting a telescope.
   
    Now that you have your map and your optional equipment, you just need to get out and observe. It’s best to try to get as far from the city lights as possible, but even in the city you will be able to find quite a few constellations now that you know what you are looking for.