Anecdote

Jon Sandler and Luke Moellman have had discussions of combining their passions of music and creating a song together before, but it was not until the two ran into each other on a busy Brooklyn street one afternoon that Great Good Fine Ok was created. Luke was busy creating music with other musicians and Jon was writing and performing music for himself at the time, but after the two put their talents together, their first hit, titled “You’re the One For Me” was created and there was no turing away.

Science Scavenger Hunt

New smartphone technology is here and could mean better health and longer lives for us all.

Apple has introduced its new free software app called ResearchKit. This app allows researchers to build their own apps within that can collect data for them. The individual users, then allow the health data they construct to be sent directly to these researchers.

According to David Pogue for Scientific American Magazine, The pro to this system is that users are providing updates through the functions on their phones hundreds or even thousands of times a day rather than once every few months.

Some of the apps that have been made possible by ResearchKit include MyHeart for cardiac health, Asthma Health, GlucoSuccess for diabetes, mPower for Parkinson’s disease, and Share the journey for breast cancer.

Michael McConnel from the Stanford University School of Medicine told Pogue, “ResearchKit solves a number of the current challenges to clinical research” such as recruiting more users, lower costs, and a quicker method to data sharing.

The apps resulting from ResearchKit are bringing in necessary data in a way that users are more able to stick with.

 

 

Stuart Scott Accepts Jimmy V Award

Stuart Scott preaches hope and inspires the ability to fight on for what is important in life when it comes to hardships.

At this year’s ESPY’s, sportscaster Stuart Scott accepted the Jimmy V Award and gave a very moving speech about his journey.

When learning he would be presented this award, Scott thought back to other past recipients. To those he has even presented the award to. He stated that intellectually, he got it, but at the gut level he did not think he belonged with these people.

The remainder of his speech proved that he did.

He explained that life’s journey is about the people that touch us. He encouraged everyone to always keep fighting. “I’m not losing. I’m still here. I’m fighting.” He stated that fighting is the most important part and when you are too tired to fight, lay down and have someone else fight for you.

 

Towards the end of his speech, he stated, “to be honored with this award, I have a responsibility to not give up.” He then made it personal by saying he can not give up because he can not leave his daughters. The emotional appeal was strong and the closing hug between Scott and his youngest daughter enlightened the importance of having support and the will to keep fighting.

Dr. Patrick Blaine Interview

Dr. Patrick Blaine is no stranger to living abroad and he is sharing his experiences and knowledge with Morningside students first hand next semester.

Morningside College is offering a study abroad semester in Italy for the 2016 spring semester and Dr. Blaine, as a member of the study abroad committee, will be going along with the students.

The group will be gone for the whole spring semester. Dr. Blaine will be visiting home for a couple weeks in February for the birth of his first child.

Dr. Blaine’s experiences include living in Chile for three years and Spain for one year as well as several other countries that he has visited. Through his studying and travel, Blaine has become fully bilingual in English and Spanish and is familiar with French, Italian, and Portuguese.

Dr. Blaine values international education and loves living abroad. The semester in Italy allows him to experience both of these things while still having a job and a family. Dr. Blaine stated, “if I get an opportunity to do something fun – I do it”, thus only adding to the list of reasons for him participating on the trip.

According to Dr. Blaine, the Italian language is related to the Spanish language. So, this trip and Blaine’s fluency in Spanish will help him build on his knowledge of speaking Italian.

As a student, Dr. Blaine did not think he would be doing what he is doing now. After making the decision to try studying abroad, he quickly fell in love with it. His passion for and knowledge on international learning is greatly appreciated by Morningside College.

Scavenger Hunt – News Conversation

My scavenger hunt objective was to have a conversation about a current news event.

During my shift at Peachwave Tuesday night, I stood at the counter doing homework, cleaning up, and manning the register as customers slowly filed in. Towards the middle of my shift, a man who looked like he was in his fifties or sixties came in for yogurt. This man, who I later found out is named Ken, went directly to the bowl dispenser and filled his up with chocolate yogurt and pecans.

While he was scanning the topping bar, I was putting away my notebooks, textbooks, pens, and laptop as people were starting to come in.

Once the man got to the register he asked me about my school work. Simple questions like what I was studying and if I enjoyed it. Upon answering, he told me that earlier that day, he read an article about a school in London where all use of the internet was banned for students under the age of 12.

On a normal day, this might have just been small talk. But this week, him bringing up the article was a perfect find for my scavenger hunt.

I asked him more about what he read. Ken said that “the purpose of the ban was to promote creativity. Instead of the students leaning on technology, they could create their own activities.”

As this was a news story that I had not yet heard of, but was interested in learning more about it, I asked if this was something all of the students are required to do. Technology is so common in children’s lives today from leisure activities to learning. He said that it was a particular school that was using this format and that the parents that choose to send their children there were in compliance with the absolutely no technology until the age of 12 rule.

My immediate feeling of being surprised at the information must have shown. Ken asked if I could imagine not having the availability of technology when doing my schoolwork. I can imagine it, as technology was not so deeply incorporated in education before I was 12. But in today’s age, it is hard to believe. Especially with the use of technology outside of the classroom.

Overall, this assignment was interesting. If I had not had this task, I would have most-likely never kept this conversation going with Ken. By doing so, I learned a lot and was happily surprised with how quick, yet full of information our interaction was.

Snack Cake Description

As I unwrap my twin pack of fall party cakes, the clear, plastic wrapper makes an unavoidable crinkling noise.

The red, yellow, and orange sprinkles on top of the chocolate frosting give a festive vibe to a classic snack. I grab the first snack cake and my fingers make indents on the warm frosting and the squishy cake underneath it.

As the first bite is taken, the smooth frosting starts to melt and the sweet, yellow cake feels dry and starts to crumble. There is a more airy chocolate frosting between the layers of the cake on the inside.

The explosion of sugary sweetness and powerful chocolate icing is something that will be satisfying to a dessert-enthusiast, but possibly overpowering to those who lack a sweet tooth.

Quotes and Attribution – Don Juan

John Dodge and Don Cooper make up the band Don Juan and are here to talk about their journey and their future as musicians.

Dodge, guitarist and singer songwriter, confirms that they “will be recording this spring.” He and Cooper have been singing together for about three years now and are confident that people will be hearing their work by the end of summer.

One of their biggest accomplishments as Don Juan thus far is a show they did in New York with Jackson Browne and James Taylor. According to Dodge, “James has been a fan for a while and Browne turned into a real solid supporter.”

When creating their material, Dodge emphasizes that they do not settle “for anything less than the best.” Cooper explains that the drive for their new music comes from the emotions and experiences they have when out on the road touring.

Before forming the band, Cooper admits that he did not think he could really make a living doing what he really loves. He decided to “be an English teacher just in case.” After three years, Dodge finally put his happiness first and started doing what he is best at; making music with Don Cooper.

Staying positive and working through the bumps in the road is worth it for these two.

Local Man Dies in Car Accident

A local man has died in a two vehicle collision just outside of South Sioux City.

Moyer Quick, 65, died when his vehicle collided yesterday morning with a truck driven by 17 year old Randy Radin.

Three other people involved in the incident were injured and transported to Marian Health Center. Dorothy Quick and Maxine Steuerwald, Quick’s wife and sister-in-law are said to be in “good” and “fair” condition respectively. Radin has been reported to have a fractured skull and internal injuries putting him in “critical” condition.

Patric Stewart, an Iowa Highway Patrolman, stated that both vehicles were heading west on the two-lane highway when Quick passed Raddin, but Quick’s rear end struck Raddin before the pass was completed. This impact sent both vehicles into the ditch and caused Quick’s vehicle to roll once.

Autopsy shows that Quick had a heart attack wile driving which could have been the cause of the accident.

Lead Practice

Iowa Highway Patrol will no longer be able to use hand-held radar guns due to the gun’s relations to cancer-causing radiation waves.

The ban was ordered yesterday in Des Moines. Studies are currently being carried out as to whether the link between cancer and the use of said guns are possible. While 70 radar guns will be withdrawn from service, radar units with transmitters will be mounted on the exterior of the trooper’s cruisers.

All of this has been done in a state of precaution. Adam Berluti, spokesman for the Highway patrol, states that, “the whole situation is under review.”

This precaution is something that has never before been carried out by a police agency. The prompt for this change derived from officers in Cedar Rapids filing workman’s compensation claims saying they developed cancer from using the guns. These claims happened only two months ago.

Description Warmup

Before coming to campus this morning, I had a discussion with Betsy Waldon about her water dragon. Betsy was dressed in a fitted, white t-shirt with Nikki Minaj’s face printed on the front. This was paired with a pair of dark skinny jeans with holes ripped in the knees and thigh. Her long, sandy brown hair was tied back in a pony tail.

Before driving off in her little, white Rav-4, she told me about the waterfall she is making for her pet Chinese Water Dragon. Her elaborate cage for him already makes him a lucky dragon, but her plans will expand this. She is attempting to stack rocks up in a pyramid fashion in one of the corners and use a small hose to circulate the water behind, through, and over top of the rock pyramid.