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Brobama or Bromney?

Who's going to win?!

1:52- This is the first election that can be influenced by social media. 18,521 tweets per minute are being tweeted about the elections. Words, results, and opinions are being sent out faster than ever. 

2:00- First election polls are closed in six states: Georgia, New Hampshire, Indiana, Vermont, Kentucky, and a Virginia; Can't say anything about Virginia at this hour. Romney is ahead with 19 electoral votes verses Obama with 3 electoral votes while 270 is needed.

2:07- Virginia seems to be favoring the Republican Party this year as well. 

2:30- The polls closed for a key state, Ohio and North Carolina. There have only been 2 incidents where Ohio didn't win the president-elect. Romney now has 24 electoral votes and Obama still has 3. 

2:42- The popular vote at this is moment is 49% for Obama and 50% for Romney. The race is neck and neck!

2:48- The votes for Ohio is still too close to call at this moment.

3:00- The polls for Florida is now closed; they are a state for the most electoral votes. Obama gets more electoral votes from a number of different regions so he now leads the electoral vote at 78 to 71 for Romney.

3:08- O'Reilly brings up the issue about the Hurricane Sandy victims. They way Obama handled the issue brings him favor to those victims. This can be a big factor the winner of this election. O'Reilly predicts that if Romney is not favored by Ohio, the President will be re-elected.

3:21- Governor Romney picks up more electoral votes. It's not 88 to 78. Still waiting on the bigger states to cast their results; Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina. Numbers can drive up any party significantly. It's important votes in those states are recorded accurately. 

3:32- It seems like the bigger states are what is going to impact this election. Virginia is still having complications in bringing in their votes because people were complaining about long lines so they're still accommodating peoples' votes.

3:35- Romney would want to be at the percentage Bush was at in the 2004 election. 

3:40- There will more minority groups, African-Americans and Latinos, voting for Obama.

We'll see how these big states pull through later on!

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Do I match with this Pandora?

Pandora is an internet radio station that is personalized to your individual taste for music. Their goal is to only play the music you love through stations they create that are based off songs you find appealing. It is based off the Music Genome Project that was started in the 2000s which caused them to establish the official site in 2005. The Music Genome Project was made up of musicians and music lovers who have now made a team of music analysts and musicologists who study a variety of music to determine and understand the preferences of listeners of many music styles. 

http://www.pandora.com/about/mgp

The site is easy to use as you just have to type in a song of your choice, an artist, track, or genre. Stations that you prefer are constantly being tweaked to your taste as you're able to rate each song with a thumbs up for a thumbs down. They have also added a comedy line, so you're now able to listen to your favorite comedians. The venture could also be downloaded as an application perfect for your phone. The best part about is that this is all totally free. However, they do offer a premium plan that is $36 a year but allows you to listen to your stations with no advertisements and higher audio quality.

http://www.pandora.com/

Pandora is absolutely legal as they have licenses to play the music they share and protect them from copyright laws. 

Pandora is a for-profit venture that hasn't gained much profit according to Forbes. The site had a net loss of $328,000 on revenue of $90.1 million during the first nine months of its most fiscal year. By January 31, 2010, the site lost $16.8 million on sales of $55.2 million. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2012/09/10/pandora-finds-little-profit-in-reinventing-radio/

Their biggest competition would be Spotify. The feature that Spotify has that Pandora lacks is that ability to share your playlist or music station with your friends. Another site that seems to be a main competitor is Songza. Forbes has also rumored that Apple is thinking about investing in a programs that also provides the same features. This can be a big threat because Apple is already the biggest music seller site through iTunes. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2012/09/10/pandora-finds-little-profit-in-reinventing-radio/

I feel like Pandora has created great relations for music composers as they pay for each song they play. The few things that could possible push away users would be the advertisements but if you're listening to great music for free, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I feel like the heart of Pandora is real for listeners and composers which may be why their profit may not be where they would like. It seems like providing a legal venture that makes music lovers happy is all that matters for the founders. 

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This is really embarrassing :\

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Presidential Debate

(7:10) Obama: Glad that Romney is able to identify that Al Queda is our threat, not Russia. 

(7:28) Romney- Our purpose is to promote a peaceful planet. We need a strong economy, military, allies, and strong principles, so other countries can fall to America. This is how America can fulfill its role in the world. 

(7:35) Romney- Has a future plan to help the economy grow.

North American energy independence, increase trade, training programs that work for students and workers, balanced budgets, and bringing back small business.

(7:40) Obama says that Romeney's five trillion tax cut with the two trillion dollar expense on the military doesn't make sense.

(7:46) Both candidates stand that if Israel is attacked, America will stand with Israel. We will do all we can to not have Iran obtain a nuclear weapon. 

(7:56) Israel is getting closer to a bomb. Romney doesn't see America's influence growing on the rest of the world. 

(8:04) Romney- we're to be done with this longest war in Afghanistan by 2014. But we shouldn't ignore the threat that Pakistan has on us and the rest of the world because of their nuclear possessions. 

(8:08) Obama- because we're having a transition in Afghanistan, we're trying to have veterans be certified with their experience which will decrease veteran unemployment.

(8:17) Obama- enforces that China is playing by the rules. We've brought many trials against China because of cheaters. 

- Romney says that we can work to be partners with China. This is so we can have trades with them that will work for us.

(8:22) Obama continues to make investment suggestions to education, research, and technology to be able to hold America's leadership. 

Romney doesn't think that Obama's investments in companies is not going to make us competitive. 

(8:27) Obama- After the drift of jobs switching overseas, America has progressed.

Closing Statements

Obama says that Romney is going back to policies that will bring us back to the deficits that we've been digging ourselves out of. Romney wants to see growing peace in this country by promoting these peace principles. America is viewed to come back with more jobs and with stronger leadership to maintain America as the hope of the Earth. 

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This topic really interested me because I'm really considering getting the iPhone 5. You're right about us evolving to technological beings, I don't think we can deny that. Here I am hating on my android phone but without it, a big part of me will be lost. So now that I'm wanting to get the iPhone 5, it makes me ask myself, am I just being materialistic now? A purple flare in a picture or the double space glitch my android phone has to do every time I want to send a message is what infuriates us in this society while people in Africa are just trying to find something to eat tonight! Is this a good enough reason to keep up with society?

I recently read an article about how the new iPhone 5 has been showing a purple flare on pictures. Whenever somebody tries to take a picture with the phone in the light the entire picture looks purple. This immediately jumped out at me as dumb issue. Like seriously? Get over it, your iPhone has...

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Luke, I am Harry Potter

"These conservative critics warn that the compelling experiences of popular culture can override real-world experiences until children are no longer able to distinguish between fact and fantasy." 

In the beginning of the section, Muggles for Harry Potter, Jenkins talks about the concerns of critics upon the Harry Potter series. Critics are baffled by the actions children/teen readers convey. Kids would dress up like Harry Potter, running around with "magic" capes, imitating Harry's initiation rituals, drawing scars of their foreheads, etc. This is a suggestion that children are getting so compelled by this fantasy that they begin to practice it in real life; this is the part that seems as if children meshing real life and fantasy together.

This suggestion stuck out to me because it sounded very familiar to our earlier readings. Just as people are concerned about video games portraying violence and how children and teens apply it to real life ideas, they are also concerned here as they feel that the Harry Potter series supports the idea living in an obscure fantasy. As I compared the two different situations, I feel like it the view point from reading a fantasy is open to more variety. Reading is determined by the reader's own imagination. This is very different from video games as they provide visual images your imagination is limited to what you see. 

Let's pretend that Harry Potter didn't come up with a movie series, could we still blame these imitations by the series? Or is it the reader's imagination that influences the actions? What other factors contribute to levels of imagination?

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Gimme that Filet-O Fish!

Due to studies over the years, doctors advise pregnant women to limit or even avoid eating fish during pregnancy because of the mercury content that can affect fetus development. However, recent studies are suggesting that eating fish during pregnancy is more beneficial than harmful.

With current studies being tested at the University of Hawaii's John A. Burns School of Medicine, doctors and perspective doctors are suggesting that eating fish during pregnancy is actually essential to brain development of unborn children. The idea is that most ocean fish that we eat have more selenium, a chemical element, than mercury. Dr. Marla Berry, from the School of Medicine Cellular & Molecular biology at John A. Burns, states that selenium is a great anti-oxidant enzyme that along with omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish, is what is needed for brain development. These anti-oxidant enzymes help protect against the toxins and is needed for the thyroid hormone which is also important for fetal development.

I thought this was great to know so that I won't have to feel so deprived of great tasting fish when and if I do get pregnant in the future. Hopefully by the time I get pregnant, more studies will support the consumption of fish during pregnancy and hopefully even show that raw fish isn't harmful either. I love spicy tuna and I can't imagine being deprived from it for nine months. 

http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Study-questions-eliminating-local-fish/0i1u1hDj90KO9AlgABthhw.cspx

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Tech-or-Treat!

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When the whole controversy of GMO came along, I decided to take the side for GMO's. I don't see anything wrong is modifying their these organisms if its going to keep the pests away and even provide more nutrition than an organic fruit or vegetable. I don't think I can agree to this study done on rats because it seems like it can be a bias experiment. Rats can have different genes that react to these GMO's. This experiment should be replicated on other organisms for reliable results.

lThere is currently a controversy in California over labeling Genetically Modified Foods (GMO’s) which studies by French scientists have found to cause tumors and premature deaths in rats that ate GMO foods in comparison to non-conventional foods. This raised attention to those who oppose such…

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These are such tragic pet stories. I have a big heart for dogs and I can't imagine how their owners must feel. I don't know exactly how airline companies treat the pets on board but they should at least have people with knowledge of how to care for the pets during flights and layovers. They should be able to identify if a pet is not looking healthy and be able to treat them. I've noticed that these incidents happened to dogs or larger breeds too so for them, it just may be harder for them to naturally regulate their body temperature so someone should be keeping an eye on them. People hold emotional attachments to their pets and if they're bringing them along for thousands of miles, they should be treated as pet passengers, not just luggage. 

I found these two articles (http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/united-airlines-killed-golden-retriever-model/story?id=17287486),(http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/flying-deadly-skies-florida-man-140-pound-mastiff-bam-bam-died-cross-country-united-flight-article-1.1169505) and a blog (

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Paging Dr. Cellphone

This article by Nadim Mahmud was titled, How the cellphone can improve healthcare, in the "Our Mobile Society" section of CNN. Mahmud is the co-founder of the nonprofit organization, Medic Mobile. It is an organization that seeks to use innovative tools that mobile devices can provide to help communities in developing countries.

Medic Mobile recognizes that the mobile revolution is happening world wide. 76% of the 6 billion subscriptions worldwide are in developing countries and in rural areas. Mahmud saw the potential of transforming the delivery of health care to underserved countries back in 2007. The idea was to create health care support networks from SMS-based platforms.The health care support would include emergency triage systems, sending medication adherence reminders, enabling home-based antenatal care, tracking community immunization and dispatching mass announcements that provide detailing satellite clinic schedules and locations.

Mahmud has already seen the affect of this system there has been a dramatic vaccination rate improvement in Kurnool, India. The system sent out reminders to mothers when their infants were due for another vaccination. 

In the U.S., Medic Mobile is trying to change the idea of smart phones being a pain in the neck to devices that are saving lives by innovating the newest technologies from diabetes management apps to mini diagnostic devices. Imagine being able to access your medical information, monitor loved ones' vital signs, receive secure lab results, compete for "best blood sugar control," and managing medications reminders. Although these are just ideas, it doesn't seem to be improbable at all. It can just be some time in the near future. 

This is a great way to "mobilize" our globe. We don't even need fancy iPhones or Androids to  start saving lives, a simple Nokia 3100 is enough to keep you up to date with your  necessary vaccines. I like the idea of the iPhone not just being a device to entertain you or organize your day, it's a device that your health could also depend on.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/28/opinion/mahmud-mobile-medic/index.html?hpt=he_c2

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Media Cast Away

The day I chose to experience a "semi-caveman status" for a day was Friday, September 28. I figured this would be a good day to stray away from the world for a little bit because I didn't have to take the bus to go to school or have any planned events where people would need to contact me. I also so saw this an opportunity to be productive around the house and even catch up on homework. The only place that would lose out on my media dependence would be my work place if they needed me to cover. 

I woke up on Friday and it was so weird to not be able to look at the time on my phone or even if I had any unread text messages. One thing I do before getting out of bed is to read my daily devotional plan on my Bible app on my phone so not being able to do that already baffled my mind within the first five minutes of day. After brushing my teeth, I figured I'd just read a chapter out of the Bible and catch up on the plan the next day.

Knowing that I couldn't look at my phone, I went right into taking out my laundry that I haven't done in a month and reloaded my closet with the clean clothes that have been lying in my clean hamper for even longer. Putting in the time to actually do this made me realize how much I've been slacking with my things to do around the house. After this task, I also came up with the idea to wash my car and even give my dog a bath. But to be honest, these ideas were just excuses to not do my homework. 

Remember how I said my work place would be the only place to miss out on my absence? Well, apparently, they didn't miss out. Since my brother and I work for the same business, they called my brother's phone just after an hour of being awake and told them they needed a cover (how convenient right?!). So my wonderful ideas of being productive and studious at home were totally ruined by this call in. 

Since it was busy at work, I really didn't need have the urge to look at my phone (I even made sure to bring my watch). By the time I came home from my 8-hour shift, I was already too lazy to do anything. I just wanted to wind down in front of my computer. This was the hardest part of the day. Usually, I'd catch up with my text messages and maybe even see if friends would want to eat dinner or something. I tried to look at this as a good thing because I was able to save money on a meal and make my mother happy by eating her home-cooked meal. Night time was the worst as that was where I just felt like giving in and turning on my phone. I got pretty antsy and frustrated at the fact that I couldn't look at my phone so this made me not want to do my homework even more. 

This experience made me realize how much I really depend on technology and media in my daily life. I didn't think it would have been that difficult to me because I didn't feel like I depend on the internet a lot. I think the idea of not being able to use it was what bothered me the most, not the actual usage of it. Whether I like it or not, I have to admit that I am heavily influenced by this technological society I'm in. 

I can't imagine how chaotic my day would have been if I chose to do this mission on a school day. Since I take the bus to school, I rely on google maps to tell me when the buses are coming and what stop I should be at. If it wasn't for my phone, I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up in Waianae everyday. Another thing to add to the miserable chaos would be having to walk home from the bus stop. A 20/30 minute walk up a hill after a long day of school is totally not the business. Thankfully, I haven't had to do it yet, but I already know I'd turn into something different if I had to. 

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I think this is a very interesting study. And for some reason, it seems to make sense but at the same time, I feel like boys should be able to learn emotional expressions after the pacifier stage. I think the researchers should figure out how long the child has been on the pacifier and at what age did they stop. It's not a surprise that the pacifier doesn't affect females because they really are more emotional beings. One idea is that boy infant who is dependent upon his pacifier at a young age might even be more emotional because of the attachment he has with it and when it is taken away, he can be distressed.

New studies have found that using a pacifier for baby boys may have some shocking side effects. According to the Journal of Basic and Applied Social Psychology researchers, one effect may be that it could slightly inhibit their emotional growth if the pacifier is used often. These...