Is Blogging An Effective Way To Learn?

Blog (blawg) noun

“1. a website containing a writer's or group of writers' own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other websites. “

I believe that blogging is an effective way to learn. The way this class is set up, we learn about an overview of a subject and then we are given a specific topic to write about so we can further understand the subject. Having to write a blog as an assignment forces us to look up and read information on the topic we are studying which makes us learn and expand our knowledge on the topic. Also after reading about it, having to write it in our own words reinforces it and helps us retain the knowledge. This is more effective than reading a bunch of pages from a book or looking at one hundred PowerPoint slides. I like the whole idea of blogging because it feels more contemporary. While looking up the information I got a chance to gain information from different sources which gave me new perspectives on each subject since it wasn’t all coming from one source. Gathering info from more than one source is the best to learn and expand your thought process. This is part of the reason why it is good to surround yourself with people who don’t always think like you. This is also a good reason why the best teams consist of people from different backgrounds and cultures. It’s good to have different experiences and points of views coming together for the same purpose. If all the learning from one class only comes from one teacher and no other experiences on the subject, then the learning will be one sided. Using multiple sources of information for each blog has been the best way (for me) to learn about each subject.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=blogging+definition

The History of Tai Chi

Tai chi, which was originally used in China as practice for self-defense, is now an exercise used as a form of relaxation. Tai chi is an internal Chinese martial art. It started around the 12^th century and there different schools that taught the Chinese the proper forms and techniques. It came to America around the 1940’s by Choy Hok Pang who openly taught it to those who were willing to learn. Tai chi is not complicated and also does not put stress on the body. It does not put pressure on the muscles and when done correctly it can help with a person’s balance.  There are also many styles and forms of Tai chi. when done correctly, practicing Tai chi has been known to benefit people in many ways such as: decreased anxiety and stress, increased energy, stamina, muscle strength and definition, and also increased flexibility and agility. Some people have also claimed that tai chi has helped them with sleeping, strengthened their immune system, and also helped reduced joint pain. You can learn tai chi on your own by reading books or watching videos on YouTube, but the best way to learn is by going to classes and learning from a trained professional. Here at Ohio University, there are tai chi classes offered at the Ping Recreation Center. It is an hour long class and cost $35 for students and $75 for non-members of Ping. Going to a class will help with learning the basics and will allow a person to know everything and be able to practice on their own. The first 8 forms of tai chi are: Hold a ball, Part the horse’s mane, Single whip, Wave hands like clouds, Repulse monkey, Brush knee, Fair lady works at shuttles, and Grasp the wild peacock’s tail. Tai chi is very simple to learn and doesn’t require a lot of energy.

http://www.ohio.edu/recreation/fitness/workshop2.cfm

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/stress-management/in-depth/tai-chi/art-20045184?pg=2

Top 5 OHSA Vilotions In 2014

In mid-September, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration compiled and released a list of the top 10 most- cited violations for 2014. The bottom five violations in order from 6-10 were: Powered Industrial Trucks, Electrical- Wiring Methods, Ladders, Machine Guarding, and Electrical- General Requirements. The top five starting with #5 is Lockout/ Tagout which means marking equipment that is unusable with a tag that lets other workers not to use it. Lockout/Tagout  is an effective method because machines and equipment break down for various reasons such as a piece missing, electrical wires exposed, etc. and the tagout will be able to show other workers who didn’t know before, what the issue is with the equipment. Number 4 is Respiratory Protection. This includes wearing proper breathing masks for workers who are exposed to harmful air toxins and chemicals. There a lot of companies that, during inspection, did not enforce rules that made workers wear respiratory protection. Number 3 is scaffolding which deals with standing on surfaces that allow workers to reach higher heights when working. The workers weren’t following proper procedures when it came to having all the necessary tools and being safe when it came to standing on these surfaces. The second most cited violation was Hazard Communication. A lot of citations could fall under this category, but to sum it up workers were not being accountable and considerate if theirs and their coworker’s safety. People were not telling each other when something was not safe and also not reminding others when they forgot a safety procedure. The number one most cited safety violation of 2014 was Fall Protection. This consists of wearing the Proper Protection Equipment (PPE) that is required during different high height expenditures. Harnesses weren’t being latched and tightened properly and small mistakes like this could easily result in an injury or even be fatal.

http://www.jjkeller.com/shop/Category/content_category_Workplace%20Safety_article_OSHA-announces-Top-10-violations-for-FY-2014*092014_10151_-1_10551?PromoCode=101133&cm_mmc=google-_-JJK+Gen+Srch+Dynamic+Search-_-Dynamic+Search-_-dynamic&gclid=CMvSxObPrcICFQ4LMgodWCgATg

http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/11136-osha-announces-top-10-most-cited-violations-for-2014

Castoreum

Castoreum, which is not the same as a castor bean, is a flavor enhancer used in a lot of processed foods. It is also used for anxiety, restless sleep, and some women take it to start their menstrual cycles or to lessen the pain during the cycle. Castoreum has been deemed safe to ingest by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA), and is generally recognized as safe.  It is an extract that is dipped in alcohol (not the kind people use to get intoxicated) and is used as a vanilla flavoring. The crazy thing about this is the extract comes from beavers. The secretion is extracted from the beaver’s castor sacs which are located I between the tail and pelvis of the beaver. Since the castor sac is close to the anal glands, Castoreum often has anal gland and urine residue mixed in it. It is a brown slime with a similar texture to molasses. It is not easy to manufacture enough Castoreum for the massive food production. Some extractors have stated that a popular method is to milk the anal glands and the Castoreum gushes right out. As disgusting as it sounds, they say this is the most effective method. Since Castoreum comes from animals and according to its FDA classification, food companies are allowed to out “natural flavoring” instead of putting Castoreum which is pretty misleading to say the least. Its loopholes like this that do not help those people who are conscience of what they eat and use the food labels as guides. Although it has been deemed as safe from the FDA, using Castoreum in foods just doesn’t seem natural. As much new scientific discoveries as we have, there should be a way to extract these flavors and scents from the actual produce/foods that they come from.

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/10/01/beaver-butts-emit-goo-used-for-vanilla-flavoring/

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-315-castoreum.aspx?activeingredientid=315&activeingredientname=castoreum

http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/castoreum.asp

Dr Gerald Pollack and EZ Water

Dr. Gerald Pollack got his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. He got his degree in biomedical engineering and has been a professor at the University of Washington. His main studies were how the muscles worked. During his research he discovered that when muscles are contracting they don’t use water although the muscle tissues are 99% water molecules. Dr. Pollack wrote a book in 2001 called “Cells, Gels, and the Engines of Life” where he described different ways that the cell operates in the human body. He believes that water has another form besides the known three: gas, liquid, and solid. He has stated that there is a transition stage and has devoted his time and research to prove that this theory is correct. In the book he states, “Water is absolutely central to every function of the cell - whether its muscle contraction, cells dividing, or nerves conducting, etc.” In this book there are a lot of unproven ideas about the nature of water and the most mind boggling idea is that our human cells are able to store water while it’s in a different state in order to transport it. Pollack believes our cells have something called an exclusion zone and the water that is stored in the cells assumes a form that is ordered like a crystal. He calls it structured water. This EZ water got its name from Pollack and his team when they discovered that the water excluded all particles from entering the cell. The Exclusion Zone is located on the outer rim of the cell. Places where EZ water can be obtained are ice glaciers, spring water that is deep in the ground, and also sunlight. Light is key component to EZ water because of its electromagnetic energy. The ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths allow the EZ water to build on water loving and hydrophilic surfaces.

http://www.structuredwaterunit.com/Dr_Gerald_Pollack.html

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/18/exclusion-zone-water.aspx