Remember Them Good Ol' Friday Nights?

    Though I did not experience "the good ol' days," I've heard a lot about them. Hearing about them made me further believe that just because we have technology today doesn't exactly mean it's a good thing. From what I've hear and through simple logic, relationships among communities were much better way back then.

    Lets think about those Friday nights and social gatherings. From hearing the stories my parents used to tell me, that always started with that cliche, "back in the day..." hanging out has changed a lot. It used to be such a thing that a group of friends could meet up with each other by walking through neighbors backyards, (yes that means no fences,) to hanging out at the mall for hours on end. For most teens, movie outings generally contain an almost annoying amount of pictures for instagram, snapchat, etc., and nights spent hanging out in the fresh cold crisp air, have been changed to gaming nights. I can't help but question how much this has affected the relationships we have between friends.
    Everyone knows that in order for a friendships to sprout and to really grow, you must spend time with them. To me spending time with them is harder these days, especially to do so without being interrupted by a text or notification. In fact, most teenagers would think you to be an outlier, of this technology decade, if you asked them to refrain from any technology while hanging out with you.
    Now, for the contacting part. Contacting has improved a lot, but I'm only going to focus on the last few years. Calls have decreased and texting has increased, and has become a quite common way to communicate. Texting enables you to catch up with multiple people at once while maintaining a quiet atmosphere. I also allows you to communicate in environments too loud,  or just flat out satisfy your need to communicate, typically with someone who you simply don't feel like talking to. In my opinion calls are considered more personal because they take far more time and effort than texting.Some people value calls higher than texts and vice-versa. Personally, I like texting more than calling. This may just be because I'm part of this "techy" generation, or just because I don't like talking on the phone that much. For all I know the result could be a mix of both.
    Social media has taken up a lot of time. Back in high school I remember being asked how many hours I spend on media per day and that if you have a smart phone with notifications you had to put down 24 hours. I remember my response quite clearly. Just because our phone is connected doesn't mean you're always on it. I have arrived at the conclusion that you don't have to be on your phone staring at your screen for the "time" to count. Whether its just a fraction of a second to glance at that notification that just came in, or a couple minutes scrolling through any social media. No matter the length, it's still time spent on social media. This time spent on social media is time that could be used to do two different ways.
    Social media, can be bad way to spend your time. Some of these other things may, or may not be more productive than scrolling through social media. For example, seeing what that old friend of yours, who you couldn't care less about but felt bad denying their friend request, is doing while having a massive pile of things you need to do. This does none other that delaying the process. How about "just checking," your phone that ends up being several hours? I could sit here and type hundreds of bad situations to be on social media but hey you get the point. After all the large majority of us have already experienced it.
    Despite what seems like to be an overwhelming number of bad times to be on social media, it can also be good. For example I use it to stay in touch with friends I no longer go to the same school as. It can be a great was to connect with multiple friends or even your team, with features such as group messages. You can use it to see what your friends are up to without having to get into a long detailed conversation with them.
    Social media has had many impacts on society that aren't necessarily bad. Many daily tasks have become easier, thanks to technology. One of the many examples include navigation. The majority use google maps to navigate through or to an unknown area. These are great because on most devices you can change the settings to speak to you as you're driving. This helpful feature provides you with hands-free directions, in contrast to the old-school massively sized paper with small font that's almost impossible to read, especially while driving. As a driver I, like most, prefer as much notice as possible when going somewhere unfamiliar. After the map came GPS, however I prefer google maps as it is much more eye appealing and is available on the majority of internet-connected gadgets.
    Technology has its share of bad effects, however there are also some pretty significant positives. As time goes on technology will continue to evolve and better benefit us. However, I often wonder how it will negatively impact the world.

X Seconds Till Ipmact

    Remember when hand written thank you notes were received, eye contact was maintained, and the good places to grab a cup of joe as well as where the best eats were heard of through the newspaper or by voice? Technology has impacted society greatly. Thank you notes and acknowledgements are expressed through email, twitter, facebook, and even instagram.
Today you hear all types of great places to try like coffee, Italian, Asian, Mexican, study spots, just about anything with the aid of technology. Places are reviewed and shared through yelp, google, (thought I hate to admit it, due to my hatred) bing, and many more.

    Just last week I was looking for a close coffee shop with a study environment and coffee, hopefully ranging from decent to outstanding. How did I go about doing this? I simply opened my Yelp app, and typed in coffee. My phone then aided me into it's warm atmosphere. Symposium Coffee has now been made into my second home, I'm even writing this post from it. I have incorporated it into my weekly schedule as well as my budget. I now plan on eating, having coffee, and doing homework here a minimum of twice a week, usually three times if possible.

    As I've sat here for several hours, completing homework, multiple people, including myself, have pulled out laptops and completed work. Not so far away, lies their phone face-down, if they do not wish to be disturbed and distracted from the task at hand, or face-up if they aren't doing too serious work. Not so long ago that would not have been possible. Now navigation, printing, books, and much more are accessible through a number of resources. Many of these include internet available on tablets, laptops, phones, and even cars.

The First Computer

    Work used to be done at work, with dinosaur computers and monitors, and nearby lied a corded work phone with no Bluetooth headset insight. Not so long before that computers used to take up a whole room with cords spread all over the place. Before that was type-writers and it's parent, the manual version. The manual version aided by machine consisted of stamps for each individual letter that was then used on paper. Well before everything was a quill ad parchment later replaced by a pen or pencil and paper.

    Ever wonder what this is doing to society? Ever think about how the social norms have changed? From my experience I have noticed a  large difference in eye contact. This may be because I took ASL, and now I get adequately irritated when someone is looking at their phone and not at me. However, I can't help but assume that if technology was not so advanced eye contact would be much more valued and popular among my generation. Personally I view eye contact (for the most part, take a look at the picture) as an act of respect towards anyone you're talking to, or listening to.

Comments welcome. Disagree? Tell me why. Have any stories? Don't hesitate to share them.  Do the same things(or others) bother you too?

Pandora's Not so Box-like Jar

    Just about everyone who has either studied Greek Mythology as part of their high/middle school curriculum, was read Greek Myths when they were little, or just had a curiosity of Greek mythology is familiar with Pandora's Box. For those of you who didn't know that "box" was actually a jar. The original word used was pithos, which can be translated as a large storage jar. This jar did not change into a box until the 16th century when the myth was mistranslated.
    If you are unfamiliar with the well-known story of Pandora's Box, it is about a girl named Pandora. Pandora was the first girl to be made of clay. She was created to be a spouse to Epimetheus. Epimethus and Prometheus were brothers, one of which, Prometheus, had angered Zeus by giving people fire without asking Zeus's permission first. To get even with Epimetheus, Zeus gifted the naturally curios Pandora, with a box. The box was relativity small and had a large lock on it. He then made Pandora promise she would never open it,gave the key of the heavily locked box to Epimetheus, and also told never to open. Zeus was quite sure curiosity would get the better of either one of them and the box would soon be opened. When Pandora wished to see what was inside the box Epimetheus responded, "You know your father," referring to Zeus. "He’s a tricky one."
One day when Epimetheus was sleeping, the highly curious, Pandora stole the key and broke the promise she had made to Zeus. The broken promise resulted in the release of every disease and sickness, all the hate and envy, and everything bad that had not been experienced. When her husband awok,e he found her sobbing. As she explained what had happened, she expressed her effort how she had tried to catch them and failed to do so. She then opened the box again to show him how empty it was, and out flew one tiny bug. Pandora tried to catch it but, yet again, failed. “Hello, Pandora,” said the bug, hovering just out of reach. “My name is Hope."
      I look at this story as a way to teach not only children but everyone, the danger of curiosity. Zeus knew that curiosity was bound to strike either Pandora or Epimetheus, that is why he placed the responsibility into their hands, thus satisfying his need for revenge. I also think that this is a lesson to be learned about temper. Zeus was angry, rather than confronting Epimetheus and Prometheus he released everything bad, apart from Hope. I believe that the opening of Pandora's Box was on account of all four Gods. I feel that in life, the responsibility of dealing with life itself is different than in the story. I feel like if an error is made, it's not so much other people's fault rather than your own. In the myth, the blame is almost equally dispersed among the Gods. I feel like in life it is mainly (for the most part) you who is responsible for your outcomes. I know that life as well as daily tasks heavily depend on others. I feel like if something does go wrong, in general everyday life such as work or school, there are very rare times in which we can say to ourselves, "there was absolutely nothing I could have done." Could you have been better organized? Better prepared? studied more? However you may think there are exceptions. For example in the case of a genetic disease or any fatal tragedy. In that situation there is always something you could have done. Preventing death, is of course inevitable. However, you could have taken them to the place they always dreamed of, spent more time with them, made them smile one more time, and/or heard their laugh just one more time. You always could have done something more, something to have made that time better. If you are experiencing this in the present, by all means do what you will look back on and wish you had done. My question to you now, is not what could you have done or what would you have wanted to do, but what will you do with the time given to you now? 

A New Voice

    Nearly everyone was read stories when they were little. Most commonly stories were read before bed time. In fact if you were not read stories, especially in the US, before bedtime your childhood is thought to be significantly lacking. My childhood was filled mostly of your typical Christian stories accompanied by other fables, and fairy tales. I am unsure if being raised by Christian family played a role in which kind stories were told. However, I was still left lacking the knowledge of the "classic" bedtime stories.
    Up until middle school I had never encountered Greek mythology. Although, after middle school I had kind of forgotten about Greek Mythology, along with everything I had learned, I decided to pick it up again. This week I met with Mary Chase, my writing professor, to do a check-point of how my blog was going. What I pulled from our meeting was that I need to loosen up in terms of my writing style and let my thoughts flow. Next we talked about linking my thoughts about Greek Mythology to modern day. I was then refreshed on the Greek Myth ofArachne.
    For those of you do don't know the story it is about an arrogant girl whom of which was very skilled at weaving. Because of her skill she believed she was the best weaver and challenged Athena to a weaving contest, which resulted in Arachne being turned into a spider. Aachne's new transformation was designed to punish her and her descendants weave for the rest of their lives with their work constantly being destroyed.

    After revisiting this story I began to think if there was more to the punishment than just having to weave for the rest of your life, fixing the aftermath of humans. Have you ever been showering and looked up to see a massive spider who caused you to drop your shampoo on your foot and scare the living crap out of you, all in the matter of about a second? Well, one of the first things that came to mind is that I really hate spiders, especially if they are discovered in bed and our of reach. Next, entered word arachnophobia into my brain, and from there on I thought of how many people are scared of and dislike spiders. Despite them killing a large majority of insects, they are still hated among the majority of humans. That got me thinking, maybe there was more to Athena's punishment. Not only did Arachne and her descendants have to live their life with their work constantly being destroyed, but they were also viewed as monsters and undesired by most people. They are forced to see (with very blurry vision) the hatred and fear they cause humans, then they are left to run for their life from their distressed punishment's foot, vacuum, Kleenex, coffee mug, or whatever hard object happens to be lying within reach. Then if not killed that time they are forced to repeat the process, given that they are not killed by another predator.

Have any thoughts about spiders or any stories about your encounters? Leave me a much welcomed and appreciated comment below.

Information to Get out of My System

    Before I truley understood the direction I wished to pursue I had been doing more of a "report back" style of writing. Now I understand its okay to really branch out. This is what I had typed up until this point(pretty rough draft.) It's just information with little to no voice whatsoever. From here on out I will be changing my style of writing and thought I'd put this up for those of you who may have an odd fascination of blunt information.
    Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. Aphrodite was other wise known as Acidalia, Cytherea  meaning Lady of Cythera, or Cypris meaning Lady of Cyprus. These names were used amongst different local cults of the goddess in Greece. The Goddess of beauty was born, according to Hesiod's Thegony, when Cronos cut off Uranus's genitals and threw them into the ocean. Aphrodite then arose from the sea foam (aphros). According to Homer's Iliad she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Because of her astonishing beauty there was fear that jealousy and lust over her amongst the Gods would disrupt the peace, Zeus Married her to Hephaestus. Due to  Hephaestus's ugliness the threat was eliminated. Aphrodite had many lovers such as gods (Ares) and men (Anchises.) She also played a role in the Eros andPsyche legend and was later Adonis's lover as well as his surrogate mother. She is also said to be the mother of many lesser off-springs.

    Hesiod was a Greek poet thought to be alive between 750-650 B.C.) Thegony is poem Hesiod wrote in the 8th-7th century B.C. entailing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods. Hesiod's piece was originally composed in Homeric Greek. Ancient authors give him give him and Homer credit for creating the bases of Greek religious customs. Many scholars regard him as one of the major scources of Greek farming techniques.
    Homer was also a Greek poet, whom of which, lived in years unknown to this day. Homer is estimated to have lived 400 years before his own time which would place him at 850 BC. The majority of modern researchers imagined him to be around the 8th-7th centuries. He is considered to be one of the greatest Greek poets whom of all dramatically impacted the history of literature. About 50% of his work are speeches. Homer composed his epic pieces of writing in a archaic version of Ionis Greek combined with other dialects such as Aeolic greek. This system of writing later became the base of Epic Greek(the language of epic poetry generally in dactylic hexameter.)

A Role in Fortunes

     After embarking on my journey to learn all about Zodiacs I soon found that Greek Mythology kept popping up. I have always found Greek Mythology fascinating. My fascination began the summer in 6th grade, when I was required to read Percy Jackson the Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan. All incoming middle students were required to read the novel as an introductory to Greek Mythology. Unfortunately, the class only skimmed Greek Mythology resulting in my own deeper interest.
    From what I know, which isn't a whole lot, there was only 12 gods at one time. The Olympian Greek Gods/Goddesses were Aphrodite Goddess of love and beauty, Apollo God of the sun, Ares God of war, Artemis goddess of hunting, Athena Goddess of wisdom, Demeter Goddess of harvest, Dionysus God of wine, Hades God of the underworld, Hephaestus God of metallurgy, Hera Goddess of family, Hermes God of trade, Hestia (calm) God of the hearth, Poseidon God of the seas, and Zeus King of all Gods and ruler of all mankind.

    While researching this topic what I wish to learn is repetitively general. I wish to discover why there were so many gods, gain knowledge about each Olympian God's/Goddess's myth, and anything else that I may come across.

Zodiac's Origination From Babylon

    Among my week of research one of the things I first encountered was the origination of Zodiacs. One of the first things I learned was that in astronomy and astrology the word Zodiac derives from Latin. which comes from the Greek meaning "circle of animals."

Chinese Ox Zodiac

    Little did I know that there are several different Zodiac calendars, each of which ranging in diversity. In fact, for quite some time I had no knowledge that sign calendars differed. For example the Chinese calendar. A couple years ago my lack  of knowledge resulted in my possession of a Zagg(aka Invisishield, the protective film they put on the blades of military helicopters)  ox designed, Droid skin. I had this case for over a year with an explanation I cannot recall. After receiving puzzled looks and being questioned about my odd case, following all my friend's curiosity was my father. Whom of which then preceded to ask the same questions everyone else had. After telling him it was(to my knowledge) my Zodiac sign he then corrected me and told me I was a Leo. Ever since then it has been made clear that a Lion is much more appealing to the eyes, as was the reactions. Reactions began transforming from, "What's on your case? It looks odd." to, "Is that a Lion? I like it, very cool." Ever since I became aware of my error, I have been curious as to where Zodiacs originated. I then decided to expand my horizons with the use of this term.
    In the early 4th century (B.C), in such a time where astrology and astronomy did not differ, Babylonian astrology was introduced to the Greeks. After the introductory to the Greek ancient astrologers studies, such as Plato and Aristotle, played a large role in how astrology was labeled. If it were not for astrologers, astrology would not have been regarded as a science until much later on.
     After learning that Babylonian astrology was the origin of Zodiacs.Not only did I learn that the Zodiac originated in Babylon, but that, in astrology, the Zodiac was born from the first organized system. The first organized system arose in the second millennium.

    After uncovering the general information about the origins of Zodiacs, I then was hit with curiosity as to how the signs of the Zodiac came to be. In Greek the Zodiac is a circle divided into twelve 30 degree "slices" of celestial longitude with the center being the ecliptic. The paths of the Sun, Moon, and visible planets all fall near the ecliptic(the center). I also learned that the paths are at a consistent distance near the ecliptic. This is called the belt. This belt spans 8-9 degrees north or south of the ecliptic. While researching I came across a term I had never really understood. I couldn't think of any reason not to look it up. While following my curiosity I came across the term vernal equinox. I found that it is where the ecliptic intersects with the celestial equator, and when the sun moves in a northerly motion. To simplify it all, the Zodiac is a (celestial) coordinate system, more specifically an ecliptic coordinate system. In the ecliptic coordinate system the ecliptic is the origin of latitude, and the sun at the vernal equinox is the origin of longitude.

An October's Day Brainstorm

    Though I have been given ample time to decide on a topic for my first blog, I am still unable to decide. The topics I have brainstormed have little to absolutely no relevancy. So far the topics that topics the have captured my attention are the Prohibition, Civil and Structural Engineering, Zodiacs, and the role Social Psychology plays in society.
    Ever since I studied the Prohibition Era in high school, it has always been something that has fascinated me. Most students would cringe at just the idea of being forced to study a topic previously taught in school, they would also very likely believe you to be insane to voluntarily research it independently. The majority of students proceed to forget all information they have obtained promptly after that dreadful assignment has been handed in. However, I differ from those students. Rather than the idea of returning to a topic previously studied boring me, it has surfaced my brain while I was brainstorming topics(I'm not sure if that's because I have had a genuine interest in the subject from the start, or because I have been watching The Great Gatsby too much.) Nonetheless I have an interest in the time period of the Prohibition, particularly the bootlegging era.

    I remember, when I was little, I had fixed a car remote(used to lock and unlock doors) when I was about 6 years old. At the time my parents were very impressed, as it had completely shattered and I was able to restore it completely, however I didn't think much of the action, with the justification of simplicity. All I had to do was look for what parts go where, and restore them to their original location with the correct connection. Growing up I had always expressed an interest in Law and Engineering, and predicted my future career upon the general field of engineering or law. As I entered high school I was lucky enough that my CAD(computer aided design) teacher approved of my freshmen self to be in a senior-leveled class. This class taught me how to create renderings(virtual models of building, bridges, dams, etc.) Ever since I experienced the joys of designing buildings and such I have "locked-in" my career, Civil Commercial Architectural Engineering. While my pursuing career is Civil Engineering I am still unsure if I would like to pick it as my topic despite my level of interest.
    While looking up classes online while sitting engulfed in the comfort of my bed wondering which classes I should take this fall, I stumbled across Social Psychology. I immediately decided to take the class, not only to fulfill my requirements, but to explore my curiosity and try to determine if I would like my minor to be in Psychology. Thus my further interest in Psychology, specifically Social Psychology, grew. There are many aspects of Social Psychology. If I were to choose a topic among the realm of Psychology I would choose conformity, aggression, or justification/rationalization.
    As of now  I know very little about Zodiacs, I'm not sure if that's because I was raised Christian and was told they don't exist and are inaccurate, or because I never took the effort and energy to really explore them. I know I am a Leo and that most of the description generalizing all Leos,(found on Google of course) is pretty accurate. I have discovered that Zodiacs may be a topic I would like to further explore, such as origination, compatibility, meaning(how the signs and descriptions were created), and whatever else that may form a question in my mind along my journey.



    After reflecting upon my top topics I have decided to expand my knowledge of Zodiacs. I hope to find out their history including how they were interpreted, how different cultures viewed them, which culture was the first to generate them, and anything else that sparks an interest along the way.