Nuclear Energy
You are watching the control panels and gages for rector two. Sitting comely you think about how easy your job is. It is a joke! All day you sit around and watch the gages for reactor number two just to make sure they maintain their settings. You don’t even need to look at the gages either because a computer automatically regulates them without you. Life is so good. Suddenly all the sirens go of and the gages and displays spin wildly in every direction. The ground shakes and you can hear the sound of a deep rumble. Unknown to you, the reactor’s cooling pumps have failed to cool the reactor’s core and in 3 seconds the temperature went from 280 degrees centigrade to 4,000 degrees centigrade. The water that was in the reactor is instantly turned to steam which creates tremendous amount of pressure in the reactor core. Above the reactor core there is a 5 foot thick lead plate and above that there is a meter thick floor composed of iron, barium, serpentine, concrete, and stone. The exploding steam fires the floor up like shrapnel. The metal plate goes through the four foot thick concrete roof like butter and reaches and altitude of sixty meters. You can hear ripping, rending, wrenching, screeching, scraping, tearing sounds of a vast machine breaking apart. L. Ray Silver, a leading author who covered the disaster at Chernobyl, said that within the core, steam reacts with zirconium to produce that first explosive in nature’s arsenal, hydrogen. Near-molten fuel fragments shatter nearly incandescent graphite, torching chunks of it, exploding the hydrogen. The explosion breaks every pipe in the building rocking it with such power that the building is split into sections (11-13). You look down at your body and notice that it feels hot and your hands look different. Unknown to you a tremendous amount of neutrons are hitting your cells and taking chucks out of your skin. Suddenly everything goes black.
The paragraph above describes the scene of what happened at Chernobyl nuclear plant a few years ago. From that time until the present many other smaller accidents have happened. From these accidents many people have died and millions have been indirectly affected. Nuclear energy has far to many negative problems than advantages. From the mining of uranium to disposal of nuclear waist there are problems of such magnitude that no scientist on this earth has an answer for. Nuclear energy has so many problems associated to it that it should be banned from the earth.
To understand the threat of nuclear energy we must first understand what happens in a nuclear reaction. Ann E. Weiss, who has written several books on the subject of nuclear energy, described what happens inside a nuclear power plant. In a nuclear reaction the nuclei of its atoms split, producing energy in the form of heat. The heat makes steam which powers a turbine. Fission takes place in a nuclear reactor. The fuel used is pellets of uranium. In a modern reactor, half-inch long pellets of uranium are packed into 12 or 14 foot tubes made of an alloy of the metal zirconium. About 50,000 zircalloy fuel rods make up the reaction core. To control a nuclear reaction control rods made of cadmium is used which absorbs neutrons. With the control rods in place in the core, a chain reaction cannot begin. When the plant operators want to start the chain reaction they activate machinery that pulls the control rods away from the core. Once this is done a single free neutron is enough to set off the reaction. As the reaction continues, a moderator slows the neutrons down enough to ensure that they will continually split more uranium atoms. At the same time, the moderator acts as a coolant. It keep the overall temperature about 300 degrees Celsius. Since the temperature at spots inside the fuel rods may be as high as 1,100 degrees Celsius, enormous amounts of coolant are continually needed to keep the core temperature at the proper level. When the plant must be must be shut down the control rods are lowered all the way back into the core. That brings the chain reaction to a standstill. The core cools, and steam is no longer produced (23-24). In all nuclear reactions use uranium and produce some plutonium.
Since nuclear reactions produce a considerable amount of plutonium there are considerable hazards that come along with it. Nader and Abbotts, two men who have a great amount of experience in the nuclear industry, comment that:
Plutonium’s major dangers include the fact that it is weapons-grade material, that it is highly toxic, and it is extremely long-lasting: it will take 24,000 years for half of it to decay. In addition to the possibility that plutonium could contaminate the environment or the population in an accident, there is also the danger that a terrorist group could steal plutonium for the purposes of fashioning an illicit nuclear weapon. (63)
Plutonium-239 is a man-made reactor by-product which emits highly energetic alpha particles. Even though alpha particles can be stopped by a piece of paper that can be very dangerous to tissue if they are taken into the body by ingestion or inhalation. Expressing extreme concern over the issue of plutonium getting into the human body Nader and Abbotts write:
Experiments with dogs show that the inhalation of as little as three millionths of a gram of Pu-239 can cause lung cancer. John Gofman has reported that plutonium and other alpha-emitters, such as curium and americium [other products of a nuclear reaction], when in a form that cannot readily be dissolved by body fluids, ‘represent an inhalation hazard in a class some five orders of magnitude [100,000 times] more potent, weight for weight, than potent chemical carcinogens.’ The fact that plutonium has a very long half-life, 24,000 years, makes it one of the deadliest elements known and one of the most difficult to manage. (78)
The reason why plutonium is so dangerous when it gets into the lungs is because plutonium releases radiation to a small mass of the lung at a very short distance. This effect of radiation from plutonium giving a concentrated dose to one small area is much greater than if the same amount of radiation had been uniformly distributed throughout the lung. Another problem with plutonium is its toxicity. Plutonium is the most toxic of all elements. Fred H. Knelman, who was a senior executive on the nuclear control panel in Washington D.C., wrote, «One pound of plutonium-239, distributed to the lungs of a large population, could cause between ten and fifteen million lung-cancer deaths» (32).
Plutonium is rapidly becoming more and more common throughout the world because it is being produced all the time in nuclear reactions. The Nuclear Control Institute, in Washington D.C., published a paper on the Internet describing the problem of plutonium production.
By the turn of the century, 1,400 metric tons of plutonium will have been produced in the spent fuel of nuclear power reactors, and some 300 tons of it will have been separated into weapons-usable form. Less than 18 pounds (8 kilograms) is needed to build a Nagasaki-type bomb. The amounts will continue to grow rapidly. By 2010, there will be 550 tons of separated plutonium in commerce, more than twice the amount now contained in the world’s nuclear arsenals. By that time, Japan will have acquired an amount of plutonium equivalent to the present U.S. military stockpile. («The Problem», 2)
The quote above has a few hidden statements behind it. First it predicts that soon other nations will have a greater nuclear arsenal than the U.S.A. Also the quote says that plutonium is growing to be an excess product from nuclear reactions and thus other countries who are not economically stable will have a greater tendency to want to sell some plutonium to power hungry politicians for money to help the economy of their own country.
The subject of plutonium directly relates to nuclear terrorism. The terrorists’ holy grail is to build a nuclear bomb. It is becoming increasingly easy to find the knowledge on how to build a nuclear bomb. The only thing that is holding terrorists back is getting their hands on some plutonium or weapons-grade uranium.
Christopher K. Mitchell, a student under professor J. Ruvalds, wrote a research report in physics 177N class that stated that when constructing a nuclear weapon, there would be two main issues for a terrorist. The first issue would be the knowledge required about building the bomb and making it work. Essentially, this knowledge is not a great problem. For instance, anyone can purchase a copy of "The Los Alamos Primer" for approximately twenty three dollars. This book details the work of scientist who participated in the Manhattan Project tests in New Mexico. Inside the book, a terrorist could find the amount of uranium needed to create a successful nuclear explosion. In addition, the book details the different types of nuclear bombs and how to construct them. According to Carson Mark, a nuclear weapons specialist, a terrorist group would need some specialist, such as a nuclear physicist, a chemist, and an explosives engineer to build a nuclear weapon. In addition, some specialized equipment would be required. The second issue of building a nuclear weapon is the material needed to fuel the chemical reaction. Of the two issues, this one creates a much larger problem. Until recently, it was nearly impossible for a terrorist to even consider obtaining either bomb grade plutonium or uranium. In the past, these bomb grade fuels would have been nearly impossible to steal and the price to purchase such materials was far above the budget of any terrorist group. Many experts feel that it would cost at least five to ten million dollars to purchase enough plutonium to make a nuclear weapon. Others place the estimate as high as twenty or thirty million dollars (2). The problems of obtaining money and scientists are not big. The Soviet Union has left many of its top nuclear scientists without jobs and money. Many would be happy to get out of their crime ridden country to work for a terrorist group or another country associated with terrorism like Iran or Iraq. Money is not a problem for these two countries who hold some of the world’s biggest oil reserves. This paragraph represents only one type of terrorism that can be done with money and talent but what can other terrorist groups do who don’t have very much money?
One very vulnerable terrorist target is the nuclear powerplants. Scott D. Portzline, who has a Ph.D. is nuclear physics, writes that :
Considering the fact that a nuclear plant houses more than a thousand times the radiation as released in an atomic burst, the magnitude of a single attack could reach beyond 100,000 deaths and the immediate loss of tens of billions of dollars. The land and properties destroyed (your insurance won't cover nuclear disasters) would remain useless for decades and would become a stark monument reminding the world of the terrorists' ideology. With more than 100 reactors in the United States alone, if one is successfully destroyed, just threatening additional attacks could instill the sort of high impact terror which is being sought by a new breed of terrorists. (1)
For years, what has caused concern for many observers and several federal oversight committees is a report on the potential for damage from truck bombs.
Unacceptable damage to vital reactor systems could occur from a relatively small charge at close setback distances, and from larger but still reasonable sized charges at large setback distances, greater than the protected area for most plants. («Nuclear Terrorism», 2)
This represents the Nuclear Report Committee's most feared result. At some plants, a large bomb detonated offsite can cause enough damage to lead to a deadly release of radiation or even a meltdown!
The release of radiation can come from different areas in the nuclear cycle. One of the biggest radiation threats is uranium mill tailings. «After the uranium ore is separated, the tailings are left behind. Tailings contain radioactive thorium which remains dangerous for over 100,000 years» («Nuclear Waist: The Big Picture», 2). Thousands of tons of uranium mill tailings are being produced each year. Abbots and Nader comment that uranium mill tailings is a byproduct of the enrichment process. Less than one fifth of the amount of potential uranium is extracted in a given amount of rock or sand. (90) This leaves four fifths of the uranium that was inside the rock deep in the earth, on top of the ground in the form of sand. This sand can blow across large amounts of land. «By 1986 2.7 billion cubic feet of tailings were blowing in the wind, damaging native crops and human life» (Nuclear Waist, the Big Picture 2). This is one of the biggest environmental hazard that we face today. Expressing their concern about uranium dust, Nader and Abbotts write :
Uranium dust represents a respiratory hazard to mine and mill workers, but most of the problems with uranium mining and milling are associated with uranium’s decay products. They present a much greater radiation hazard. Through a series of nuclear reactions, uranium undergoes radioactive decay to radium, which in turn decays ro radon gas. The radon gas in turn decays to isotopes which in turn can cause serious biological damage, particulary when inhaled. (82 - 84)
The serious results of having mill tailings open to the environment are just being felt now. Since the beginning of the nuclear age to the late 1960's there has been no official record kept on where mill tailings have been stored. Many towns in the middle of the United States have been built on mill tailings. Some people unknowingly have used mill tailings as building materials. Corinne Browne and Robert Munroe, who are very well internationally known authors, state that :
In some places, such as Grand Junction, Colorado, people used the mill tailings as landfill and construction material. In Grand Junction, five thousand houses, a school, a church, a supermarket, and a hospital were built on tailings, thus creating situations where people live and work in buildings emitting radioactivity. (81)
In towns that have been built on mill tailings there is a great increase in health related costs because of an increase in cancers and radiation induced diseases. Corinne Browne and Robert Munroe go comment on the effects of living in an environment that has radiation.
In the early 1970s, a pediatrician in Grand Junction noticed an abnormally large number of children being born with cleft lips and cleft palates. A study showed that there was a far higher incidence of leukemia, hydroencephalitis, and subtle birth defects in the Grand Junction area than in surrounding counties. (81)
A person could then conclude that the nuclear industry is mostly to blame for the nation wide increase of cancers and deaths. Is the nuclear industry really benefitting the nation or is it just making the world into a radioactive dump which takes thousands of years to clean up?
One last major problem with nuclear energy that needs to be touched on is the storage of nuclear waste. Nuclear waste includes all contaminated parts that have had contact with any source of nuclear energy and all products of a nuclear reaction that was discussed at the beginning of the paper. There are several problems that relate to the storage of nuclear energy.
At a nuclear storage facility, there are security officers, technicians, scientists, and regular staff which make sure the facility is safe. In the paper, «Uranium: Its Uses and Hazards», it states the half-life of some radioactive isotopes. Uranium-238 which has a half-life of 4.46 billion years and that uranium-235 which has a half-life of 704 million years represent most of nuclear waste stored at nuclear waist facilities. (1) This means that people will have to be monitoring these facilities for about ten billion years. Fred H. Knelman is very concerned about the time and man power required to run these storage facilities. Knelman wrote :
There must always be intelligent people around to cope with eventualities we have not thought of....Reactor safety, waste disposal, and the transport of radioactive materials are complex matters about which little can be said with absolute certainty. Is mankind prepared to exert the eternal vigilance needed to ensure proper and safe operation of its nuclear system? (39)
The searching for proper storage facilities and places has always been one of the top priorities of the nuclear industry. The problem is that no one wants a nuclear waste facility in there back yard. Literally billions of dollars has been spent just on looking for places to store nuclear waste.
Nuclear energy has many short term benefits but many more short term and long term problems. If anyone of the lethal potential problems develop and get out of control than the world is in serious trouble. Can the world afford to be dancing with death? Just think if a nuclear plant exploded because of a terrorist attack how our lives would be changed forever. Are we unselfish enough live without a few comforts now so that our children can have a brighter future? A nuclear disaster is the worst thing that can happen to this planet because it threatens the whole future of the human race. Nuclear energy is not worth the risk. The problem of nuclear energy such as terrorism, plutonium production, uranium mill tailings, and waste storage problems make nuclear energy too risky for humans to even experiment with. Nuclear energy holds our future in a tight grip so we must do something about it.
Mother - Tongue
Mother - Tongue
When one is subjected to rape of both the body and mind, developing an identity is difficult. Nora Cobb Keller’s short story entitled “Mother-Tongue” is about a Korean woman’s struggle for her identity lost when she experiences rape. The story is softly spoken through a Korean woman named Akiko. Akiko’s essence is stripped from her while enduring multiple rapes of both body and mind. Her loss of identity starts when her sister sells her to the Japanese for cattle at age twelve. The Japanese place Akiko in a recreation camp named Jungun Lanfu where she is forced to prostitute for Japanese soldiers. There they rape her not only of her body, but of her mind and soul as well. They violate her spirit by displaying murdered women and rape her of her language by restricting speaking. Akiko continues through life existing but never truly living. However, the miraculous birth of her child renews her spirit. Akiko’s brevity of life compels the reader to feel courage and compassion for her.
The mental rape inflicted by the Japanese stripped her of her verbal language. In Jungun Lanfu she is forbidden from ever speaking through her lingual language, she is only to respond to the sexual wants of the soldiers. To keep her sanity, she and the other woman of the camp develop a silent language. They send messages to each other “through eye movements, body posture, tilts of the head or - rhythmic rustlings” (319). After the missionaries save Akiko, she is unable to tell them her name. “I had no voice and could only stand dumbly in front of their moving mouths” (319). The missionaries refer to her as Akiko because the word was stitched on her dress. However, the word Akiko in the Japanese camps was the label for a pleasure woman.
Akiko’s body moves along the planet without a spirit to drive it. She thinks by killing herself she can recover her lost inner spirit. Because she saw what the Japanese soldiers did to the body of Induk, another Korean Akiko, she does not. The soldiers murdered Induk because she was rebellious. Afterwards, they displayed her skewered body in the camp for the other women to see what would happen to them if they were as difficult as she had been. Akiko believed that Induk knew of the consequences for disobeying and that this was her way to salvation. She knew Induk did not go crazy but that Induk needed the raping of her body and mind to end, even if it meant her own death. “...she was going sane. She was planning to escape” is what Akiko thought (322).
With Akiko’s survival of two violently torturous abortions at Jungun Lanfu, the conception of her child is miraculous. Her ignition for life comes through that of her surprise daughter named Tweggi. Akiko teaches her daughter the language of tenderness, love and caring through the warmth of touching and acting quickly upon her child’s needs. “I touch each part of her body, waiting until I see recognition in her eyes” (323). These caresses are genuine displays of affection that cannot be spoken through words. Akiko knows the only fulfillment of love is through this unheard dialect. This “Mother-Tongue” will reinforce her daughter’s identity, existence and spirit. Akiko knows that this, “is what quiets her, tells her she is precious “ (320). It is the ultimate language of love delivered straight to one’s soul.
The writer of a short story needs to bring the reader to life by stirring up powerfully deep emotions. For short stories to be successful, the reader must participate in the existence of a character. To do this, the writer must accomplish the two things that Frederick Busch outlines in his essay titled “Bad.” First, the writer must truly love his character. If the writer does not love his character, than neither will the reader. Secondly, the writer must imitate real life through logical language to achieve an effectively moving story. Nora Cobb Keller accomplishes both of Busch’s criteria within the story “Mother-Tongue.” Keller created a tangible and persuasive character that comes alive in the heart of the reader. The character’s terror of madness and death causes the reader to feel for the character. Akiko gracefully steps inside the reader’s mind and establishes a strong and convincing presence. The story’s energy stimulates emotions of fear, loneliness and understanding within the reader. By the standards established by Frederick Busch in “Bad,” “Mother-Tongue” has the elements of what it takes to be a good short story.
When one is subjected to rape of both the body and mind, developing an identity is difficult. Nora Cobb Keller’s short story entitled “Mother-Tongue” is about a Korean woman’s struggle for her identity lost when she experiences rape. The story is softly spoken through a Korean woman named Akiko. Akiko’s essence is stripped from her while enduring multiple rapes of both body and mind. Her loss of identity starts when her sister sells her to the Japanese for cattle at age twelve. The Japanese place Akiko in a recreation camp named Jungun Lanfu where she is forced to prostitute for Japanese soldiers. There they rape her not only of her body, but of her mind and soul as well. They violate her spirit by displaying murdered women and rape her of her language by restricting speaking. Akiko continues through life existing but never truly living. However, the miraculous birth of her child renews her spirit. Akiko’s brevity of life compels the reader to feel courage and compassion for her.
The mental rape inflicted by the Japanese stripped her of her verbal language. In Jungun Lanfu she is forbidden from ever speaking through her lingual language, she is only to respond to the sexual wants of the soldiers. To keep her sanity, she and the other woman of the camp develop a silent language. They send messages to each other “through eye movements, body posture, tilts of the head or - rhythmic rustlings” (319). After the missionaries save Akiko, she is unable to tell them her name. “I had no voice and could only stand dumbly in front of their moving mouths” (319). The missionaries refer to her as Akiko because the word was stitched on her dress. However, the word Akiko in the Japanese camps was the label for a pleasure woman.
Akiko’s body moves along the planet without a spirit to drive it. She thinks by killing herself she can recover her lost inner spirit. Because she saw what the Japanese soldiers did to the body of Induk, another Korean Akiko, she does not. The soldiers murdered Induk because she was rebellious. Afterwards, they displayed her skewered body in the camp for the other women to see what would happen to them if they were as difficult as she had been. Akiko believed that Induk knew of the consequences for disobeying and that this was her way to salvation. She knew Induk did not go crazy but that Induk needed the raping of her body and mind to end, even if it meant her own death. “...she was going sane. She was planning to escape” is what Akiko thought (322).
With Akiko’s survival of two violently torturous abortions at Jungun Lanfu, the conception of her child is miraculous. Her ignition for life comes through that of her surprise daughter named Tweggi. Akiko teaches her daughter the language of tenderness, love and caring through the warmth of touching and acting quickly upon her child’s needs. “I touch each part of her body, waiting until I see recognition in her eyes” (323). These caresses are genuine displays of affection that cannot be spoken through words. Akiko knows the only fulfillment of love is through this unheard dialect. This “Mother-Tongue” will reinforce her daughter’s identity, existence and spirit. Akiko knows that this, “is what quiets her, tells her she is precious “ (320). It is the ultimate language of love delivered straight to one’s soul.
The writer of a short story needs to bring the reader to life by stirring up powerfully deep emotions. For short stories to be successful, the reader must participate in the existence of a character. To do this, the writer must accomplish the two things that Frederick Busch outlines in his essay titled “Bad.” First, the writer must truly love his character. If the writer does not love his character, than neither will the reader. Secondly, the writer must imitate real life through logical language to achieve an effectively moving story. Nora Cobb Keller accomplishes both of Busch’s criteria within the story “Mother-Tongue.” Keller created a tangible and persuasive character that comes alive in the heart of the reader. The character’s terror of madness and death causes the reader to feel for the character. Akiko gracefully steps inside the reader’s mind and establishes a strong and convincing presence. The story’s energy stimulates emotions of fear, loneliness and understanding within the reader. By the standards established by Frederick Busch in “Bad,” “Mother-Tongue” has the elements of what it takes to be a good short story.
Is the telephone a curse or a blessing ?
Is the telephone a curse or a blessing ?
A slightly eccentric professor of archaeology in West Africa would neither answer the telephone nor reply to letters. As for letters, he would say, leave them long enough and they answer themselves. As for the telephone, I consider it an unwarranted intrusion. If people want to talk to me they can come and see me. Of course, the world could not carry on in its modern way without the telephone, which has become an essential part of living. Yet, in some respects it can be a curse.
Today, telephonic communication is worldwide and instantaneous. It is possible to dial people at the other end of the world without even going through an operator. This is fine, providing the time-differences are remembered. More seriously, in conjunction with satellite television, world news is instantly on our screens, sometimes even as it happens. Such exposure of, usually, unhappy events, wars, accidents, acts of terrorism etc can actually have a bad influence on the course of a war, a hostage-taking, or a tribal massacre. When it took a British ship four months to deliver a letter to or from, say, India, the crisis had often been settled locally, with much less anxiety all round.
The telephone has greatly decreased the volume of mail worldwide. Some letters have to be written, of course, but the art of private letter writing has become a dying art. Writing a good letter means first collecting then sorting out one's thoughts, and the finished article can be something to be proud of, a small masterpiece. And because letters today are considered of secondary importance, mail services in many countries have greatly deteriorated.
One of the most annoying experiences in life is to be seated in somebody's office and to begin to talk business when suddenly the telephone rings. "Oh, excuse me", says the official, "I must answer this". Why should the telephone be given priority over the individual who has taken the trouble to attend in person ?
The telephone can become a curse in the home, when it is abused either by the caller or by a family member. Most countries have customary hours for mealtimes, and a caller who is determined to speak to you at all costs will often make use of this knowledge, interrupt your meal, and perhaps or perhaps not apologize for doing so. Small wonder that many people take the phone off the hook when they sit down to eat.
There are the callers you can well do without. Some commercial concerns employ salespeople to use the hard sell on the telephone, and this is becoming such a nuisance that in many cases the problem is being brought under legal control. The worst kind of unwanted calls are abusive calls or obscene calls, made usually to single women and often late at night. Modern telephone systems can be made to identify the source of these calls, and this should go some way to helping the police solve the problem.
Family members have been mentioned, and here one thinks of the commercial exploitation of teenagers who are pressed to use chat-lines to pour out their troubles, or to talk to teenager pals overseas. Neither occupation offers any benefit, and the parents' phone bill may become astronomical.
Does all this mean that the telephone is really a curse? Of course not. Like any other advance in science the telephone is neutral. If it is abused, it becomes a curse. If properly used it is a great blessing in many ways.
To the lonely person, telephone chats are a blessing. To the disabled person, the telephone may be the only means of keeping in touch with family and friends. To the business, the stock exchange, and countless other features of modern life, the telephone is essential. In the police response to crime, in fire or medical emergencies, the telephone is indispensable. In all matters which require urgent communication and quick response, such as the locating of suitable bodily organs for transplant surgery, the telephone is a boon. For air to ground and ship to shore communication, the telephone is vital. Properly and responsibly used, it is a blessing.
A slightly eccentric professor of archaeology in West Africa would neither answer the telephone nor reply to letters. As for letters, he would say, leave them long enough and they answer themselves. As for the telephone, I consider it an unwarranted intrusion. If people want to talk to me they can come and see me. Of course, the world could not carry on in its modern way without the telephone, which has become an essential part of living. Yet, in some respects it can be a curse.
Today, telephonic communication is worldwide and instantaneous. It is possible to dial people at the other end of the world without even going through an operator. This is fine, providing the time-differences are remembered. More seriously, in conjunction with satellite television, world news is instantly on our screens, sometimes even as it happens. Such exposure of, usually, unhappy events, wars, accidents, acts of terrorism etc can actually have a bad influence on the course of a war, a hostage-taking, or a tribal massacre. When it took a British ship four months to deliver a letter to or from, say, India, the crisis had often been settled locally, with much less anxiety all round.
The telephone has greatly decreased the volume of mail worldwide. Some letters have to be written, of course, but the art of private letter writing has become a dying art. Writing a good letter means first collecting then sorting out one's thoughts, and the finished article can be something to be proud of, a small masterpiece. And because letters today are considered of secondary importance, mail services in many countries have greatly deteriorated.
One of the most annoying experiences in life is to be seated in somebody's office and to begin to talk business when suddenly the telephone rings. "Oh, excuse me", says the official, "I must answer this". Why should the telephone be given priority over the individual who has taken the trouble to attend in person ?
The telephone can become a curse in the home, when it is abused either by the caller or by a family member. Most countries have customary hours for mealtimes, and a caller who is determined to speak to you at all costs will often make use of this knowledge, interrupt your meal, and perhaps or perhaps not apologize for doing so. Small wonder that many people take the phone off the hook when they sit down to eat.
There are the callers you can well do without. Some commercial concerns employ salespeople to use the hard sell on the telephone, and this is becoming such a nuisance that in many cases the problem is being brought under legal control. The worst kind of unwanted calls are abusive calls or obscene calls, made usually to single women and often late at night. Modern telephone systems can be made to identify the source of these calls, and this should go some way to helping the police solve the problem.
Family members have been mentioned, and here one thinks of the commercial exploitation of teenagers who are pressed to use chat-lines to pour out their troubles, or to talk to teenager pals overseas. Neither occupation offers any benefit, and the parents' phone bill may become astronomical.
Does all this mean that the telephone is really a curse? Of course not. Like any other advance in science the telephone is neutral. If it is abused, it becomes a curse. If properly used it is a great blessing in many ways.
To the lonely person, telephone chats are a blessing. To the disabled person, the telephone may be the only means of keeping in touch with family and friends. To the business, the stock exchange, and countless other features of modern life, the telephone is essential. In the police response to crime, in fire or medical emergencies, the telephone is indispensable. In all matters which require urgent communication and quick response, such as the locating of suitable bodily organs for transplant surgery, the telephone is a boon. For air to ground and ship to shore communication, the telephone is vital. Properly and responsibly used, it is a blessing.
Mission Unaccomplished
Mission Unaccomplished
Peacefully I lay on the solid and rugged ground. As gusts of wind rose, I could sense the featherweight sand passing through my powerless body. The sound of the wind was humming the elegy that seemed to be playing for me. The time was drawing near. It was time for me to unite with my loved ones. My eyes were getting heavier every second. I started to lose feeling of my lower body. Large gusts of wind howled once again, reminding me that the time had come. As I shut my eyes, memories and emotions started to flow…
I saw an opening in the enemy’s defense and went in breathing calmly as I slashed a horizontal gash across his thick neck. I could almost smell the death in the enemy’s breath as I made a final thrust, burying my jeweled sword up to the hilt in his chest. I was exhausted from the countless wounds. I had lost too much blood. Even standing up required an extra effort. I was tired of everything, of the battles, of the bloody corpses of enemies and of my family, but most of all, of this war that had made me lose so much.
The war was carried from the past generation between two groups; Hucard and Namcot. Many centuries ago, our asteroid was once united, but eventually, arguments appeared. The two groups have too many unlike judgments to solutions and soon they separated. Afterwards, the opposite asteroid became enemies, they started to have battles and began sending secrets agent to spy on each other. The principle of these two countries was to overwhelm reciprocally and conquer more properties. There was only one way to end this combat, one of the asteroids would have to surrender or to be defeated.
Everything was peaceful inside the central asteroid’s shield. The firm shield was to stand up against the strongest impact that man could create. But apparently, a spy was generously paid to sabotage the energy generator which operated the ozone. Then we were hit and I was the only one who survived after the great impact. When enemies noticed that there was a living soul inside the central asteroid, they sent troops to go after me. I had no choice but to flee to the other section of the asteroid immediately.
As I ran across what was left of a road, I had to cover my eyes against the brilliant flashes of bombardments from the sky. Dilapidated towers and houses were scattered everywhere, corpses littered the ground leaving putrid odour. From the mound of debris that I was standing on, I could see what used to be my home. I could see it burning, leaving great gray trails of smoke snaking into the sky like claws grasping for life. This place of sorrow was once my home, a place I lived in, a place to defend. I had tried my best, but to no avail. The enemy had attacked too vigorously and too unexpectedly.
All of a sudden, I saw the enemy’s gun boats surrounding this sector. The people who lived here had always lived a quiet peaceful life. The attackers broke into a panic stricken state, while the yellowish haze of the shield dissolved. The shield had meant the people’s endurance of existence. This sector of the asteroid was one of the last places to be hit, at least the opposition was not as difficult as the attack in the central city where the majority of weapons are located.
An enemy’s combat team dropped from the sky fully armed with powerful weapons. All I could do was observe. It would be useless to attempt the manslaughter, there were too many of them. As time seemed to stop, one of the combat team member walked toward a young beautiful girl. She was driving away tears from her eyes and was too terrified to take any chances to escape. As the enemy draw his sword out, the young lady shut her eyes and waited for the assassination. The enemy gashed her throat without any consideration. She looked painfully at me for a second and then went limp. Dark red blood gurgled from her lips and neck, leaving a trail of it. At that moment I felt like crying out in agony. My heart was filled with a weight so great that I could hardly breathe.
As I watch the innocent slaying of the girl, surges of memories and passions flood into my mind. I did not want to remember, I just wanted to disregard everything, yet the memory came. As the central asteroid’s shield was destroyed my family and I were running to one of the emergency space ports seeking escapes, the assassins came. Without any second thoughts, the assassins aimed massive firearms at us and pulled the triggers. As soon as my father heard the gun, he grabbed me tightly and protected me with his soul. At that moment, all I could hear was gun fire and vanishing shriek. I find myself useless, I heard my family die one after another and all I could do was remain silence. Revenge, all I could think of was revenge, but how? With what? After awhile, I started to calm down. Without any enemies noticing, I silently turned around. I saw many assassins and one that caught my attention was the one without an ear on the right side of his face.
I continued to watch the assassinations that just hit this sector. Unexpectedly, a member of the combat team caught my attention. By the figure of his armor, it was obvious that he was the leader of the combat team, also the right side of his face was missing an ear. I stood still, cold air circulated my body. I was petrified. I did not know what to do. I must take revenge for my family. It did not matter if I was killed, because I could associate with my loves ones. But first I am going to give it all to avenge everyone who had been killed by these nasty attackers.
I went in thrusting. I twisted my body at the last moment to dodge the spray of bullets that whipped at me. My sword struck true, knocking the assault sniper from the enemy’s hand. The enemy countered with a backhand swipe that propelled him and my sword a few meters away. If it was not for the commander armor that he was wearing, he would, no doubt, have been a pile of broken bones by now.
The commander charged towards me bellowing a deafening war cry, his eyes thirsty for the sight of my blood. Time slowed once again as I saw death creeping closer. The commander’s muscular grayish rock-like skin pounded closer and closer. It was too much to suffer, waiting for death while lying there painfully with broken legs. At the last moment, as the commander leaped his final stride, he screamed with deathly terror. I felt nothing but emptiness.
… bright light struck my eyes, and feel that I am traveling through a long and peaceful tunnel. All of wounds from the previous battle are healed. Then I opened my eyes, my family was all waiting for me
Peacefully I lay on the solid and rugged ground. As gusts of wind rose, I could sense the featherweight sand passing through my powerless body. The sound of the wind was humming the elegy that seemed to be playing for me. The time was drawing near. It was time for me to unite with my loved ones. My eyes were getting heavier every second. I started to lose feeling of my lower body. Large gusts of wind howled once again, reminding me that the time had come. As I shut my eyes, memories and emotions started to flow…
I saw an opening in the enemy’s defense and went in breathing calmly as I slashed a horizontal gash across his thick neck. I could almost smell the death in the enemy’s breath as I made a final thrust, burying my jeweled sword up to the hilt in his chest. I was exhausted from the countless wounds. I had lost too much blood. Even standing up required an extra effort. I was tired of everything, of the battles, of the bloody corpses of enemies and of my family, but most of all, of this war that had made me lose so much.
The war was carried from the past generation between two groups; Hucard and Namcot. Many centuries ago, our asteroid was once united, but eventually, arguments appeared. The two groups have too many unlike judgments to solutions and soon they separated. Afterwards, the opposite asteroid became enemies, they started to have battles and began sending secrets agent to spy on each other. The principle of these two countries was to overwhelm reciprocally and conquer more properties. There was only one way to end this combat, one of the asteroids would have to surrender or to be defeated.
Everything was peaceful inside the central asteroid’s shield. The firm shield was to stand up against the strongest impact that man could create. But apparently, a spy was generously paid to sabotage the energy generator which operated the ozone. Then we were hit and I was the only one who survived after the great impact. When enemies noticed that there was a living soul inside the central asteroid, they sent troops to go after me. I had no choice but to flee to the other section of the asteroid immediately.
As I ran across what was left of a road, I had to cover my eyes against the brilliant flashes of bombardments from the sky. Dilapidated towers and houses were scattered everywhere, corpses littered the ground leaving putrid odour. From the mound of debris that I was standing on, I could see what used to be my home. I could see it burning, leaving great gray trails of smoke snaking into the sky like claws grasping for life. This place of sorrow was once my home, a place I lived in, a place to defend. I had tried my best, but to no avail. The enemy had attacked too vigorously and too unexpectedly.
All of a sudden, I saw the enemy’s gun boats surrounding this sector. The people who lived here had always lived a quiet peaceful life. The attackers broke into a panic stricken state, while the yellowish haze of the shield dissolved. The shield had meant the people’s endurance of existence. This sector of the asteroid was one of the last places to be hit, at least the opposition was not as difficult as the attack in the central city where the majority of weapons are located.
An enemy’s combat team dropped from the sky fully armed with powerful weapons. All I could do was observe. It would be useless to attempt the manslaughter, there were too many of them. As time seemed to stop, one of the combat team member walked toward a young beautiful girl. She was driving away tears from her eyes and was too terrified to take any chances to escape. As the enemy draw his sword out, the young lady shut her eyes and waited for the assassination. The enemy gashed her throat without any consideration. She looked painfully at me for a second and then went limp. Dark red blood gurgled from her lips and neck, leaving a trail of it. At that moment I felt like crying out in agony. My heart was filled with a weight so great that I could hardly breathe.
As I watch the innocent slaying of the girl, surges of memories and passions flood into my mind. I did not want to remember, I just wanted to disregard everything, yet the memory came. As the central asteroid’s shield was destroyed my family and I were running to one of the emergency space ports seeking escapes, the assassins came. Without any second thoughts, the assassins aimed massive firearms at us and pulled the triggers. As soon as my father heard the gun, he grabbed me tightly and protected me with his soul. At that moment, all I could hear was gun fire and vanishing shriek. I find myself useless, I heard my family die one after another and all I could do was remain silence. Revenge, all I could think of was revenge, but how? With what? After awhile, I started to calm down. Without any enemies noticing, I silently turned around. I saw many assassins and one that caught my attention was the one without an ear on the right side of his face.
I continued to watch the assassinations that just hit this sector. Unexpectedly, a member of the combat team caught my attention. By the figure of his armor, it was obvious that he was the leader of the combat team, also the right side of his face was missing an ear. I stood still, cold air circulated my body. I was petrified. I did not know what to do. I must take revenge for my family. It did not matter if I was killed, because I could associate with my loves ones. But first I am going to give it all to avenge everyone who had been killed by these nasty attackers.
I went in thrusting. I twisted my body at the last moment to dodge the spray of bullets that whipped at me. My sword struck true, knocking the assault sniper from the enemy’s hand. The enemy countered with a backhand swipe that propelled him and my sword a few meters away. If it was not for the commander armor that he was wearing, he would, no doubt, have been a pile of broken bones by now.
The commander charged towards me bellowing a deafening war cry, his eyes thirsty for the sight of my blood. Time slowed once again as I saw death creeping closer. The commander’s muscular grayish rock-like skin pounded closer and closer. It was too much to suffer, waiting for death while lying there painfully with broken legs. At the last moment, as the commander leaped his final stride, he screamed with deathly terror. I felt nothing but emptiness.
… bright light struck my eyes, and feel that I am traveling through a long and peaceful tunnel. All of wounds from the previous battle are healed. Then I opened my eyes, my family was all waiting for me
How far are our lives today affected by the past ?
How far are our lives today affected by the past ?
"History is bunk". This saying was attributed to the late Henry Ford, of the motor company. Though untrue, the statement makes the true point that no approach to the past is ever complete. Therefore the influence of the past on our lives is not easy to assess. Neither should we ignore the fact that in many contexts people deliberately reject the past for a variety of reasons. Yet, it remains true that genetic inheritance is a far more powerful influence on our lives than either upbringing or social environment, and that our genetic make-up has been conditioned by the past.
Yet, we are not entirely the victims of our physical inheritance. We learn a great deal from the attitudes of our parents and grandparents. Some we adopt, others we may reject as old-fashioned or irrelevant. The same applies to our hopes for the future. Just because father and grandfather were manual workers, does this prevent us from obtaining a good education and qualifying for a professional or business career ? Thankfully, in the modern world, and in most countries, it does not. More societies are ceasing to be autocracies, and are becoming meritocracies. The restrictions of the past make us even more aware of the opportunities of the present.
The same applies to outmoded class systems. Most countries have had class systems based on rank and wealth, supported by almost unbreakable barriers. Thankfully, this is generally less true today. Society is more flexible. If our grandparents kowtowed to the local dignitaries, we are no longer compelled to do the same. Except in countries which preserve autocratic and caste systems, education and opportunity have abolished these old shibboleths.
Yet, in many other ways we are still influenced by the past. The families and the societies in which we live are without question given their character by history. In many societies, family tradition is still all-important. Codes of morals, good manners and general behavior are instilled into us as children, and this has been the case for generations. The society into which we were born has its own standards of what is acceptable and what isn't. Most people conform to both, or are identified as drop-outs .
These pressures to conform stem from the different histories of different countries. A primitive and warlike tribe may put their young men through horrific initiation ceremonies in order to inure them to pain and to test valor, because they must become hunters and warriors, and the young men do not question the ordeal. Families in a country which has a caste system may withhold the freedom of women to choose their own husbands, or at least veto a marriage which is not approved. Women in other countries play a subordinate role because such is the diktat of their national religion. The young people of one African tribe will instinctively hate the people of an adjacent tribe because there has been a long history of warfare between the two.
In more advanced countries, military and naval traditions, which are deeply rooted in history, play a major role, especially in wartime. So does geography. The citizens of a small country surrounded by powerful neighbors, and frequently the victim of invasion, live in a perpetual perhaps subconscious fear of a repetition, and are often slow to develop independence and a sense of national pride. On the other hand, an island such as Britain, never successfully invaded since 1066 A.D., maintains a fierce pride in its freedoms and independence -- hence Britain's reluctance to become a European state. And from this stemmed the seafaring tradition which in the past enabled Britain to build an empire.
Again, some countries have developed by evolution, others through revolution. Both kinds may now be democracies, but in countries such as France the "will of the people" plays a much greater part than in countries where anomalies and injustices have been eliminated by parliamentary and legal reform.
Perhaps the chief factor which affects our lives is education, and the style of education which any country offers is deeply rooted in its history. The teaching of history itself always has a national emphasis, which always colors the student's outlook.
In spite of modern communication, in spite of the modern, modish concept of a world community , in spite of the rebellious atmosphere of the 1960s in the USA and the UK, in spite even of glasnov and perestroika, the main influences on our lives stem from the history of the country in which we happen to live. This is mediated through the society to which we belong, and the families which gave us birth.
"History is bunk". This saying was attributed to the late Henry Ford, of the motor company. Though untrue, the statement makes the true point that no approach to the past is ever complete. Therefore the influence of the past on our lives is not easy to assess. Neither should we ignore the fact that in many contexts people deliberately reject the past for a variety of reasons. Yet, it remains true that genetic inheritance is a far more powerful influence on our lives than either upbringing or social environment, and that our genetic make-up has been conditioned by the past.
Yet, we are not entirely the victims of our physical inheritance. We learn a great deal from the attitudes of our parents and grandparents. Some we adopt, others we may reject as old-fashioned or irrelevant. The same applies to our hopes for the future. Just because father and grandfather were manual workers, does this prevent us from obtaining a good education and qualifying for a professional or business career ? Thankfully, in the modern world, and in most countries, it does not. More societies are ceasing to be autocracies, and are becoming meritocracies. The restrictions of the past make us even more aware of the opportunities of the present.
The same applies to outmoded class systems. Most countries have had class systems based on rank and wealth, supported by almost unbreakable barriers. Thankfully, this is generally less true today. Society is more flexible. If our grandparents kowtowed to the local dignitaries, we are no longer compelled to do the same. Except in countries which preserve autocratic and caste systems, education and opportunity have abolished these old shibboleths.
Yet, in many other ways we are still influenced by the past. The families and the societies in which we live are without question given their character by history. In many societies, family tradition is still all-important. Codes of morals, good manners and general behavior are instilled into us as children, and this has been the case for generations. The society into which we were born has its own standards of what is acceptable and what isn't. Most people conform to both, or are identified as drop-outs .
These pressures to conform stem from the different histories of different countries. A primitive and warlike tribe may put their young men through horrific initiation ceremonies in order to inure them to pain and to test valor, because they must become hunters and warriors, and the young men do not question the ordeal. Families in a country which has a caste system may withhold the freedom of women to choose their own husbands, or at least veto a marriage which is not approved. Women in other countries play a subordinate role because such is the diktat of their national religion. The young people of one African tribe will instinctively hate the people of an adjacent tribe because there has been a long history of warfare between the two.
In more advanced countries, military and naval traditions, which are deeply rooted in history, play a major role, especially in wartime. So does geography. The citizens of a small country surrounded by powerful neighbors, and frequently the victim of invasion, live in a perpetual perhaps subconscious fear of a repetition, and are often slow to develop independence and a sense of national pride. On the other hand, an island such as Britain, never successfully invaded since 1066 A.D., maintains a fierce pride in its freedoms and independence -- hence Britain's reluctance to become a European state. And from this stemmed the seafaring tradition which in the past enabled Britain to build an empire.
Again, some countries have developed by evolution, others through revolution. Both kinds may now be democracies, but in countries such as France the "will of the people" plays a much greater part than in countries where anomalies and injustices have been eliminated by parliamentary and legal reform.
Perhaps the chief factor which affects our lives is education, and the style of education which any country offers is deeply rooted in its history. The teaching of history itself always has a national emphasis, which always colors the student's outlook.
In spite of modern communication, in spite of the modern, modish concept of a world community , in spite of the rebellious atmosphere of the 1960s in the USA and the UK, in spite even of glasnov and perestroika, the main influences on our lives stem from the history of the country in which we happen to live. This is mediated through the society to which we belong, and the families which gave us birth.
Kids - summary
Kids - summary
Characters:
• Telly: On the outside, Telly is the kind of teenage boy any mother might let her daughter go out with. He look "normal" - whatever that means - and can be polite and sincere when it brings him an advantage and suits him. But Telly is an inveterate liar. He would say or do anything to satisfy his addiction to deflower virgins girls ("They are gonna remember you because you were the first"). Sexually unengaged girls present the greatest challenge to him and, as some kind of bonus, are guaranteed disease free. He's only motivation is lust and he's propelled by it like some kind of heat-seeking missile. Or as he says at the end of the movie: "Fucking is what I love. Take that away from me and I really got nothin."
• Casper is Telly's best friend. He's as much into drugs and alcohol as into sleeping with girls. Unlike Telly, his partners don't have to come out with their hymens being intact but he's not concerned about the future or the consequences of his actions. He takes life as it comes, whether that means raping a stoned girls, inhaling dope, or beating someone half to death.
• Jenny: She is a former conquest of Telly, the only boy she ever had (unprotected) sex with. When her HIV test comes back positive, her whole life collapses around her and nothing seems to make sense anymore. Her best friend Ruby has had sex with at least eight guys and yet, tested negative. She now tries to track Telly down to tell him her "news".
Plot:
The screenplay takes place in Manhattan and starts with Telly locked in embrace with a young girl barely into puberty. Telly tries to seduce her with his sweet-talking, telling her how much he loves her and how she's the only one. And he's as successful as he was with several other girls before. Despite his former promises, it hurts when he tears away her virginity with his brutal uncaring thrusts. After the deed Telly races away outside to meet his friend Casper to describe his latest conquest in graphic detail. To him, the self proclaimed "virgin surgeon", virgins are a perfect target to aim at: they're clean, free from STDs and above all will still remember him after 50 years because he was the first one. It seems to be his way of leaving a legacy. On their way to a friends house they both decide to get some food and alcohol in their own cursing and shoplifting fashion.
Arriving at their destination it gets even worse. Sitting around at their friends home, high, in a blaze of smoke, and talking about girls and sex. Meanwhile, somewhere across the town a mirror-group consisting of Jenny's friends happen to talk about the same topic: sex. Juxtaposing both conversations you can see the diverse and yet similar views of both groups. When the topic of AIDS comes up the boys dismiss it as fiction ("I don't know any kids with AIDS....It's like some weird make-believe story that the whole world believes.") while the girls are more worried, particularly Ruby and Jennie who have done a testing. The main shocker of the movie is that Jennie tests positive while she's only slept once with a boy, Telly - compared to Ruby who's slept with at least eight guys without catching the HIV.
Starting with this revelation everything falls apart in her life and Telly mutates into some kind of walking time bomb, who has to be stopped by all means. Jenny desperately tries to find Telly to tell him her - their news. Meanwhile Telly and Casper by Telly's house trying to get some money, which his mother won't give him. So they decide to steal it instead and head off to buy some drugs at the local park. In this scene a gang of Caspers friends beat a hoodlum half to death only because Casper bumped into him with his skateboard. Meanwhile Telly gets fixed on another target he can deflower: Darcy, a cute 13-year-old girl and he uses the same tactic in refuting her fears as he used at the beginning of the film/screenplay. Jenny's need to find Telly now becomes even more urgent since she could thus, stop another girl from sharing the same fate. After several failed attempts to find Telly she finally finds him at a party. Unfortunately she arrives too late for Darcy who was already seduced by Telly. The screenplay ends with one stunning last question which seems to be typical for today's generation described in the movie: "Jesus Christ. What's happened?"
Personal Opinion:
When I first watched the film a was very shocked about the stark views it provides and their truth, blurring the border between reality and fiction with a kind of documentary feeling accompanying the movie. The movie displays a portrait of youths who resort to drugs and sex not as a form of rebellion but to fill the void of their otherwise empty and meaningless lives.
There are a lot of powerful scenes scattered throughout the film which left their impressions on me.
One of them appears while Jenny is on the search for Telly when a cab picks her up. The driver sees her as a quite good-looking girl with a troubled face. As he watches her, silent and axious, he gives her his grandmother's advice: "If you want to be happy don't think. Don't bump into any walls. If you stutter don't talk." whereas she answers "What if everything falls apart?". The taxi driver is from an era where problems, no matter how dire, can be fixed - or at least be survived, which is excactly her problem.
Another one is the scene where the various views on sex are juxtaposed. What is stiking to me is not that the conversations are different, but that they are somwhow so similar. The girls in Kids are no longer the romantics as they were in the good old times and neither are the boys. In fact they are anything but that. This scene shows us what has changed in the course of time. Of course there are differences too like their idea of a foreplay: while the girls all agree that foreplay with a boy who knows what they like is the best, the boys think foreplay is a good chance for the girls to practice feelatio, which they know the girls can't get enough of.
The scenes which impressed me most is the one which ends with the final and stunning question, "Jesus Christ. What happened?", which is interestingly enough asked by Casper.
Characters:
• Telly: On the outside, Telly is the kind of teenage boy any mother might let her daughter go out with. He look "normal" - whatever that means - and can be polite and sincere when it brings him an advantage and suits him. But Telly is an inveterate liar. He would say or do anything to satisfy his addiction to deflower virgins girls ("They are gonna remember you because you were the first"). Sexually unengaged girls present the greatest challenge to him and, as some kind of bonus, are guaranteed disease free. He's only motivation is lust and he's propelled by it like some kind of heat-seeking missile. Or as he says at the end of the movie: "Fucking is what I love. Take that away from me and I really got nothin."
• Casper is Telly's best friend. He's as much into drugs and alcohol as into sleeping with girls. Unlike Telly, his partners don't have to come out with their hymens being intact but he's not concerned about the future or the consequences of his actions. He takes life as it comes, whether that means raping a stoned girls, inhaling dope, or beating someone half to death.
• Jenny: She is a former conquest of Telly, the only boy she ever had (unprotected) sex with. When her HIV test comes back positive, her whole life collapses around her and nothing seems to make sense anymore. Her best friend Ruby has had sex with at least eight guys and yet, tested negative. She now tries to track Telly down to tell him her "news".
Plot:
The screenplay takes place in Manhattan and starts with Telly locked in embrace with a young girl barely into puberty. Telly tries to seduce her with his sweet-talking, telling her how much he loves her and how she's the only one. And he's as successful as he was with several other girls before. Despite his former promises, it hurts when he tears away her virginity with his brutal uncaring thrusts. After the deed Telly races away outside to meet his friend Casper to describe his latest conquest in graphic detail. To him, the self proclaimed "virgin surgeon", virgins are a perfect target to aim at: they're clean, free from STDs and above all will still remember him after 50 years because he was the first one. It seems to be his way of leaving a legacy. On their way to a friends house they both decide to get some food and alcohol in their own cursing and shoplifting fashion.
Arriving at their destination it gets even worse. Sitting around at their friends home, high, in a blaze of smoke, and talking about girls and sex. Meanwhile, somewhere across the town a mirror-group consisting of Jenny's friends happen to talk about the same topic: sex. Juxtaposing both conversations you can see the diverse and yet similar views of both groups. When the topic of AIDS comes up the boys dismiss it as fiction ("I don't know any kids with AIDS....It's like some weird make-believe story that the whole world believes.") while the girls are more worried, particularly Ruby and Jennie who have done a testing. The main shocker of the movie is that Jennie tests positive while she's only slept once with a boy, Telly - compared to Ruby who's slept with at least eight guys without catching the HIV.
Starting with this revelation everything falls apart in her life and Telly mutates into some kind of walking time bomb, who has to be stopped by all means. Jenny desperately tries to find Telly to tell him her - their news. Meanwhile Telly and Casper by Telly's house trying to get some money, which his mother won't give him. So they decide to steal it instead and head off to buy some drugs at the local park. In this scene a gang of Caspers friends beat a hoodlum half to death only because Casper bumped into him with his skateboard. Meanwhile Telly gets fixed on another target he can deflower: Darcy, a cute 13-year-old girl and he uses the same tactic in refuting her fears as he used at the beginning of the film/screenplay. Jenny's need to find Telly now becomes even more urgent since she could thus, stop another girl from sharing the same fate. After several failed attempts to find Telly she finally finds him at a party. Unfortunately she arrives too late for Darcy who was already seduced by Telly. The screenplay ends with one stunning last question which seems to be typical for today's generation described in the movie: "Jesus Christ. What's happened?"
Personal Opinion:
When I first watched the film a was very shocked about the stark views it provides and their truth, blurring the border between reality and fiction with a kind of documentary feeling accompanying the movie. The movie displays a portrait of youths who resort to drugs and sex not as a form of rebellion but to fill the void of their otherwise empty and meaningless lives.
There are a lot of powerful scenes scattered throughout the film which left their impressions on me.
One of them appears while Jenny is on the search for Telly when a cab picks her up. The driver sees her as a quite good-looking girl with a troubled face. As he watches her, silent and axious, he gives her his grandmother's advice: "If you want to be happy don't think. Don't bump into any walls. If you stutter don't talk." whereas she answers "What if everything falls apart?". The taxi driver is from an era where problems, no matter how dire, can be fixed - or at least be survived, which is excactly her problem.
Another one is the scene where the various views on sex are juxtaposed. What is stiking to me is not that the conversations are different, but that they are somwhow so similar. The girls in Kids are no longer the romantics as they were in the good old times and neither are the boys. In fact they are anything but that. This scene shows us what has changed in the course of time. Of course there are differences too like their idea of a foreplay: while the girls all agree that foreplay with a boy who knows what they like is the best, the boys think foreplay is a good chance for the girls to practice feelatio, which they know the girls can't get enough of.
The scenes which impressed me most is the one which ends with the final and stunning question, "Jesus Christ. What happened?", which is interestingly enough asked by Casper.
CAESAR
CAESAR
Gaius Julius Caesar was an extremely powerful politician and a brilliant
general. He also gained the respect as a good leader and was appointed
dictator of Rome. Caesar helped Rome and the present day world become
what it is today by his great leadership qualities.
Caesar was born on July 13, 100 BC. Legend has it that Caesar was born
threw an incision in his mothers stomach, that is how the term Caesarean
Section originated (Isenberg, pg 11). Caesars father was also named Gaius
Julius Caesar as was his father. Caesar mother name was Aurelia which was
connected with the prominent Aurelii family (Ward, pg 1). Caesar had three
names because he was the eldest son. His personal name is Gaius, his second
name is the name of his family's clan (Julius), and his third name is the
family name (Caesar), which means "hairy."
Caesar was introduced into politics at a very young age. Almost
everyone in Caesars family had a position in the senate or held a political
office. When Caesar was twelve, he went to the Curia which is the Senate
House to listen to speeches and debates and watch the statesmen at work.
Caesar was also often found at the Regia which is the offices of the High
Priest because his uncle, Cuius Cotta held an important position in the
College of Priests.
Caesar learned a lot from his uncle, Gaius Marius (Grant, pg 34). Marius
was involved in politics at a very young age, just as Caesar was. It was very
difficult being a young man involved in a career that mostly adults were in
charge of, but Marius won the loyalty of the common people and was elected
into consul in 108 BC. Marius was also a brilliant general who won a lot of
battles for Rome and its people.
Caesar was also in the military and held a rank as general. Caesar led his
troops to many battles and was rarely defeated. During this time, his military
was one of the strongest in all of Europe. Caesar learned a lot of his military
strategies from his uncle, Marius who was probably one of the greatest
military leaders to ever live.
Caesars political success had a lot to do with getting on the common
peoples side and helping to meet their needs. By doing this, people gladly
elected him into higher positions. Caesar was also a strong supporter of the
military and wanted to keep it as strong as it could be. While in the military,
Caesar was an aedile which is a person in charge of games. When he was
doing this, he went into debt. In 61 BC., Caesar became governor of Further
Spain. While in Spain, his military action restored his finances. In 60 BC.,
Caesar was elected to the consulate with the support of Crassus and Pompey.
Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey formed the first Triumvirate which is a form of
government. After forming the Triumvirate, Caesar obtained a reduction of
the Asian tax contracts for Crassus, land for Pompeys veterans, and Caesar
received the governorships of Illyricum, Cisalpine Gaul, and Transalpine
Gaul. Caesar was also given control of a large army, which he used to take
over Gaul. He gained a lot of strength from the Gallic Wars, which lasted
from 58 to 51 BC.
Caesar had a couple of wives. His first was Pompeia who he married in
68 BC. Pompeia was the granddaughter of Sulla and a relative of Pompey.
After 6 years, Caesar divorced Pompeia after assuming she was with another
man. Caesars next wife was Calpurnia, who he married in 58 BC. Caesar had
one child, Julia and another adopted son, Octavian, who later takes over
Rome.
In 59 BC., Julia married Pompey. Strain encouraged by Crassus,
developed between Caesar and Pompey. The "Triumvirate" was renegotiated
in 56 BC., but the death of Julia in 54 BC. and Crassus in 53 BC. and the
great success of Caesar in Gaul eventually destroyed Caesars relationship
with Pompey. On January 10, 49 BC., Caesar crossed the Italy border which
started civil war. Caesars stronger army defeated Pompeys army and forced
Pompey to withdraw to Greece.
In 49 BC., Caesar was appointed dictator of Rome and in 44 BC. he was
appointed dictator for life. While dictator, Caesar introduced many reforms,
such as limiting the distribution of free grain, founding citizen colonies,
introducing the Julian calendar on January 1, 45 BC., and enlarging the
senate. And at the same time he reduced debts, revised the tax structure, and
extended Roman citizenship to non-Italians. On March 15, 44 BC., two of
Caesars partners, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus stabbed
Caesar to death at a meeting of the senate in Pompeys theater. After Caesars
death, his adopted son Octavian took his place as dictator. Besides being a
great leader, he was also an accomplished orator and writer. His two
surviving works On the Gallic War and On the Civil War introduced personal
war commentaries into our literature.
To sum things up, Gaius Julius Caesar was a powerful leader in our
history. Caesar struggled to make Rome a good place and he did a fine job at
doing it. Julius Caesar will always be remembered as not just a man, but as a
great leader.
Gaius Julius Caesar was an extremely powerful politician and a brilliant
general. He also gained the respect as a good leader and was appointed
dictator of Rome. Caesar helped Rome and the present day world become
what it is today by his great leadership qualities.
Caesar was born on July 13, 100 BC. Legend has it that Caesar was born
threw an incision in his mothers stomach, that is how the term Caesarean
Section originated (Isenberg, pg 11). Caesars father was also named Gaius
Julius Caesar as was his father. Caesar mother name was Aurelia which was
connected with the prominent Aurelii family (Ward, pg 1). Caesar had three
names because he was the eldest son. His personal name is Gaius, his second
name is the name of his family's clan (Julius), and his third name is the
family name (Caesar), which means "hairy."
Caesar was introduced into politics at a very young age. Almost
everyone in Caesars family had a position in the senate or held a political
office. When Caesar was twelve, he went to the Curia which is the Senate
House to listen to speeches and debates and watch the statesmen at work.
Caesar was also often found at the Regia which is the offices of the High
Priest because his uncle, Cuius Cotta held an important position in the
College of Priests.
Caesar learned a lot from his uncle, Gaius Marius (Grant, pg 34). Marius
was involved in politics at a very young age, just as Caesar was. It was very
difficult being a young man involved in a career that mostly adults were in
charge of, but Marius won the loyalty of the common people and was elected
into consul in 108 BC. Marius was also a brilliant general who won a lot of
battles for Rome and its people.
Caesar was also in the military and held a rank as general. Caesar led his
troops to many battles and was rarely defeated. During this time, his military
was one of the strongest in all of Europe. Caesar learned a lot of his military
strategies from his uncle, Marius who was probably one of the greatest
military leaders to ever live.
Caesars political success had a lot to do with getting on the common
peoples side and helping to meet their needs. By doing this, people gladly
elected him into higher positions. Caesar was also a strong supporter of the
military and wanted to keep it as strong as it could be. While in the military,
Caesar was an aedile which is a person in charge of games. When he was
doing this, he went into debt. In 61 BC., Caesar became governor of Further
Spain. While in Spain, his military action restored his finances. In 60 BC.,
Caesar was elected to the consulate with the support of Crassus and Pompey.
Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey formed the first Triumvirate which is a form of
government. After forming the Triumvirate, Caesar obtained a reduction of
the Asian tax contracts for Crassus, land for Pompeys veterans, and Caesar
received the governorships of Illyricum, Cisalpine Gaul, and Transalpine
Gaul. Caesar was also given control of a large army, which he used to take
over Gaul. He gained a lot of strength from the Gallic Wars, which lasted
from 58 to 51 BC.
Caesar had a couple of wives. His first was Pompeia who he married in
68 BC. Pompeia was the granddaughter of Sulla and a relative of Pompey.
After 6 years, Caesar divorced Pompeia after assuming she was with another
man. Caesars next wife was Calpurnia, who he married in 58 BC. Caesar had
one child, Julia and another adopted son, Octavian, who later takes over
Rome.
In 59 BC., Julia married Pompey. Strain encouraged by Crassus,
developed between Caesar and Pompey. The "Triumvirate" was renegotiated
in 56 BC., but the death of Julia in 54 BC. and Crassus in 53 BC. and the
great success of Caesar in Gaul eventually destroyed Caesars relationship
with Pompey. On January 10, 49 BC., Caesar crossed the Italy border which
started civil war. Caesars stronger army defeated Pompeys army and forced
Pompey to withdraw to Greece.
In 49 BC., Caesar was appointed dictator of Rome and in 44 BC. he was
appointed dictator for life. While dictator, Caesar introduced many reforms,
such as limiting the distribution of free grain, founding citizen colonies,
introducing the Julian calendar on January 1, 45 BC., and enlarging the
senate. And at the same time he reduced debts, revised the tax structure, and
extended Roman citizenship to non-Italians. On March 15, 44 BC., two of
Caesars partners, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus stabbed
Caesar to death at a meeting of the senate in Pompeys theater. After Caesars
death, his adopted son Octavian took his place as dictator. Besides being a
great leader, he was also an accomplished orator and writer. His two
surviving works On the Gallic War and On the Civil War introduced personal
war commentaries into our literature.
To sum things up, Gaius Julius Caesar was a powerful leader in our
history. Caesar struggled to make Rome a good place and he did a fine job at
doing it. Julius Caesar will always be remembered as not just a man, but as a
great leader.
Microsoft is Dead
Microsoft is Dead
A few days ago I suddenly realized Microsoft was dead. I was talking to a young startup founder about how Google was different from Yahoo. I said that Yahoo had been warped from the start by their fear of Microsoft. That was why they'd positioned themselves as a "media company" instead of a technology company. Then I looked at his face and realized he didn't understand. It was as if I'd told him how much girls liked Barry Manilow in the mid 80s. Barry who?
Microsoft? He didn't say anything, but I could tell he didn't quite believe anyone would be frightened of them.
Microsoft cast a shadow over the software world for almost 20 years starting in the late 80s. I can remember when it was IBM before them. I mostly ignored this shadow. I never used Microsoft software, so it only affected me indirectly—for example, in the spam I got from botnets. And because I wasn't paying attention, I didn't notice when the shadow disappeared.
But it's gone now. I can sense that. No one is even afraid of Microsoft anymore. They still make a lot of money—so does IBM, for that matter. But they're not dangerous.
When did Microsoft die, and of what? I know they seemed dangerous as late as 2001, because I wrote an essay then about how they were less dangerous than they seemed. I'd guess they were dead by 2005. I know when we started Y Combinator we didn't worry about Microsoft as competition for the startups we funded. In fact, we've never even invited them to the demo days we organize for startups to present to investors. We invite Yahoo and Google and some other Internet companies, but we've never bothered to invite Microsoft. Nor has anyone there ever even sent us an email. They're in a different world.
What killed them? Four things, I think, all of them occurring simultaneously in the mid 2000s.
The most obvious is Google. There can only be one big man in town, and they're clearly it. Google is the most dangerous company now by far, in both the good and bad senses of the word. Microsoft can at best limp along afterward.
When did Google take the lead? There will be a tendency to push it back to their IPO in August 2004, but they weren't setting the terms of the debate then. I'd say they took the lead in 2005. Gmail was one of the things that put them over the edge. Gmail showed they could do more than search.
Gmail also showed how much you could do with web-based software, if you took advantage of what later came to be called "Ajax." And that was the second cause of Microsoft's death: everyone can see the desktop is over. It now seems inevitable that applications will live on the web—not just email, but everything, right up to Photoshop. Even Microsoft sees that now.
Ironically, Microsoft unintentionally helped create Ajax. The x in Ajax is from the XMLHttpRequest object, which lets the browser communicate with the server in the background while displaying a page. (Originally the only way to communicate with the server was to ask for a new page.) XMLHttpRequest was created by Microsoft in the late 90s because they needed it for Outlook. What they didn't realize was that it would be useful to a lot of other people too—in fact, to anyone who wanted to make web apps work like desktop ones.
The other critical component of Ajax is Javascript, the programming language that runs in the browser. Microsoft saw the danger of Javascript and tried to keep it broken for as long as they could. [1] But eventually the open source world won, by producing Javascript libraries that grew over the brokenness of Explorer the way a tree grows over barbed wire.
The third cause of Microsoft's death was broadband Internet. Anyone who cares can have fast Internet access now. And the bigger the pipe to the server, the less you need the desktop.
The last nail in the coffin came, of all places, from Apple. Thanks to OS X, Apple has come back from the dead in a way that is extremely rare in technology. [2] Their victory is so complete that I'm now surprised when I come across a computer running Windows. Nearly all the people we fund at Y Combinator use Apple laptops. It was the same in the audience at startup school. All the computer people use Macs or Linux now. Windows is for grandmas, like Macs used to be in the 90s. So not only does the desktop no longer matter, no one who cares about computers uses Microsoft's anyway.
And of course Apple has Microsoft on the run in music too, with TV and phones on the way.
I'm glad Microsoft is dead. They were like Nero or Commodus—evil in the way only inherited power can make you. Because remember, the Microsoft monopoly didn't begin with Microsoft. They got it from IBM. The software business was overhung by a monopoly from about the mid-1950s to about 2005. For practically its whole existence, that is. One of the reasons "Web 2.0" has such an air of euphoria about it is the feeling, conscious or not, that this era of monopoly may finally be over.
Of course, as a hacker I can't help thinking about how something broken could be fixed. Is there some way Microsoft could come back? In principle, yes. To see how, envision two things: (a) the amount of cash Microsoft now has on hand, and (b) Larry and Sergey making the rounds of all the search engines ten years ago trying to sell the idea for Google for a million dollars, and being turned down by everyone.
The surprising fact is, brilliant hackers—dangerously brilliant hackers—can be had very cheaply, by the standards of a company as rich as Microsoft. They can't hire smart people anymore, but they could buy as many as they wanted for only an order of magnitude more. So if they wanted to be a contender again, this is how they could do it:
Buy all the good "Web 2.0" startups. They could get substantially all of them for less than they'd have to pay for Facebook.
Put them all in a building in Silicon Valley, surrounded by lead shielding to protect them from any contact with Redmond.
I feel safe suggesting this, because they'd never do it. Microsoft's biggest weakness is that they still don't realize how much they suck. They still think they can write software in house. Maybe they can, by the standards of the desktop world. But that world ended a few years ago.
I already know what the reaction to this essay will be. Half the readers will say that Microsoft is still an enormously profitable company, and that I should be more careful about drawing conclusions based on what a few people think in our insular little "Web 2.0" bubble. The other half, the younger half, will complain that this is old news.
A few days ago I suddenly realized Microsoft was dead. I was talking to a young startup founder about how Google was different from Yahoo. I said that Yahoo had been warped from the start by their fear of Microsoft. That was why they'd positioned themselves as a "media company" instead of a technology company. Then I looked at his face and realized he didn't understand. It was as if I'd told him how much girls liked Barry Manilow in the mid 80s. Barry who?
Microsoft? He didn't say anything, but I could tell he didn't quite believe anyone would be frightened of them.
Microsoft cast a shadow over the software world for almost 20 years starting in the late 80s. I can remember when it was IBM before them. I mostly ignored this shadow. I never used Microsoft software, so it only affected me indirectly—for example, in the spam I got from botnets. And because I wasn't paying attention, I didn't notice when the shadow disappeared.
But it's gone now. I can sense that. No one is even afraid of Microsoft anymore. They still make a lot of money—so does IBM, for that matter. But they're not dangerous.
When did Microsoft die, and of what? I know they seemed dangerous as late as 2001, because I wrote an essay then about how they were less dangerous than they seemed. I'd guess they were dead by 2005. I know when we started Y Combinator we didn't worry about Microsoft as competition for the startups we funded. In fact, we've never even invited them to the demo days we organize for startups to present to investors. We invite Yahoo and Google and some other Internet companies, but we've never bothered to invite Microsoft. Nor has anyone there ever even sent us an email. They're in a different world.
What killed them? Four things, I think, all of them occurring simultaneously in the mid 2000s.
The most obvious is Google. There can only be one big man in town, and they're clearly it. Google is the most dangerous company now by far, in both the good and bad senses of the word. Microsoft can at best limp along afterward.
When did Google take the lead? There will be a tendency to push it back to their IPO in August 2004, but they weren't setting the terms of the debate then. I'd say they took the lead in 2005. Gmail was one of the things that put them over the edge. Gmail showed they could do more than search.
Gmail also showed how much you could do with web-based software, if you took advantage of what later came to be called "Ajax." And that was the second cause of Microsoft's death: everyone can see the desktop is over. It now seems inevitable that applications will live on the web—not just email, but everything, right up to Photoshop. Even Microsoft sees that now.
Ironically, Microsoft unintentionally helped create Ajax. The x in Ajax is from the XMLHttpRequest object, which lets the browser communicate with the server in the background while displaying a page. (Originally the only way to communicate with the server was to ask for a new page.) XMLHttpRequest was created by Microsoft in the late 90s because they needed it for Outlook. What they didn't realize was that it would be useful to a lot of other people too—in fact, to anyone who wanted to make web apps work like desktop ones.
The other critical component of Ajax is Javascript, the programming language that runs in the browser. Microsoft saw the danger of Javascript and tried to keep it broken for as long as they could. [1] But eventually the open source world won, by producing Javascript libraries that grew over the brokenness of Explorer the way a tree grows over barbed wire.
The third cause of Microsoft's death was broadband Internet. Anyone who cares can have fast Internet access now. And the bigger the pipe to the server, the less you need the desktop.
The last nail in the coffin came, of all places, from Apple. Thanks to OS X, Apple has come back from the dead in a way that is extremely rare in technology. [2] Their victory is so complete that I'm now surprised when I come across a computer running Windows. Nearly all the people we fund at Y Combinator use Apple laptops. It was the same in the audience at startup school. All the computer people use Macs or Linux now. Windows is for grandmas, like Macs used to be in the 90s. So not only does the desktop no longer matter, no one who cares about computers uses Microsoft's anyway.
And of course Apple has Microsoft on the run in music too, with TV and phones on the way.
I'm glad Microsoft is dead. They were like Nero or Commodus—evil in the way only inherited power can make you. Because remember, the Microsoft monopoly didn't begin with Microsoft. They got it from IBM. The software business was overhung by a monopoly from about the mid-1950s to about 2005. For practically its whole existence, that is. One of the reasons "Web 2.0" has such an air of euphoria about it is the feeling, conscious or not, that this era of monopoly may finally be over.
Of course, as a hacker I can't help thinking about how something broken could be fixed. Is there some way Microsoft could come back? In principle, yes. To see how, envision two things: (a) the amount of cash Microsoft now has on hand, and (b) Larry and Sergey making the rounds of all the search engines ten years ago trying to sell the idea for Google for a million dollars, and being turned down by everyone.
The surprising fact is, brilliant hackers—dangerously brilliant hackers—can be had very cheaply, by the standards of a company as rich as Microsoft. They can't hire smart people anymore, but they could buy as many as they wanted for only an order of magnitude more. So if they wanted to be a contender again, this is how they could do it:
Buy all the good "Web 2.0" startups. They could get substantially all of them for less than they'd have to pay for Facebook.
Put them all in a building in Silicon Valley, surrounded by lead shielding to protect them from any contact with Redmond.
I feel safe suggesting this, because they'd never do it. Microsoft's biggest weakness is that they still don't realize how much they suck. They still think they can write software in house. Maybe they can, by the standards of the desktop world. But that world ended a few years ago.
I already know what the reaction to this essay will be. Half the readers will say that Microsoft is still an enormously profitable company, and that I should be more careful about drawing conclusions based on what a few people think in our insular little "Web 2.0" bubble. The other half, the younger half, will complain that this is old news.
Electric Cars
Electric Cars
In numerous cities across the country, the personal automobile is the single greatest polluter, as emissions from million of vehicles on the road add up. Car pollution is one of the biggest polluters the solution is to have much more efficient vehicles that produce fewer emissions with every mile. So what would be the best thing for cars to run off of in the future? Electric vehicles are the answer to this problem. Electric vehicles or EVs, are vehicles that are powered by an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine (Frequently). EVs use electricity as the "fuel" instead of gasoline or some other combustible fuel. The power for the vehicle is stored in many large batteries in the bottom of the car, then from there the power goes to a power regulator where it is changed from DC power to AC power. The engine only has one moving part, which send the power directly to the wheels. Therefore it does all the primary functions of a gas engine with no emissions. (Automobile) With technology like this one might guess who is going to jump on the electric vehicle bandwagon right away. The major auto manufactures are producing high-performance electric vehicles, such as General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and many foreign companies as well, in a wide range of style and sizes. They include passenger cars, mini-vans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. Also there are some as small as bicycles and motor scooters and as big as busses. (Frequently) The EV is environmentally friendly (Automobile). Electric vehicles are today's zero-emission vehicles (Technology). The EV releases no pollutant because it has no tailpipe. Therefore, making it safe for the environment. Instead of gas stations, EVs get their "fuel" from electric power stations. An electric powered engine has many has many benefits over a gas engine in the comfort department as well. EVs offer a quiet fume-free, smooth driving experience. Since the motor does not operate when the vehicle is at a stop, an EV has no "idle" noises (Frequently). EVs provide fast acceleration by delivering power instantly to the wheels by providing high torque at low speeds, they give a feel of smooth and quick responsiveness (Technology). Well-designed EVs like those produced by major auto companies, travel at speeds equivalent to conventional vehicles and offer all the same safety and high-speed performance features. The EV also has low operating costs. The per-mile fuel cost of operating an EV can be less than one-third that of a gasoline-powered car (Frequently). EV owners also say goodbye to many familiar maintenance costs, no more tune-ups, oil changes or muffler replacements (Technology). Another advantage of an EV is the convince of no gas stations. EV drivers like that "refueling" can be done overnight, easily and safely at home or at public locations like shopping centers, where electric charging units have been installed. Electric vehicles are very safe. The EVs produced by major companies meet all safety requirements. As the EV becomes more popular the safety record is being safety monitored. To date, findings are positive and have shown that numerous EV vehicles maximize safety. For example EVs have lower center of gravity that makes them less likely to roll over. EVs have also less potential for major fires or explosions. And the body construction and durability of EVs enhance the vehicle safety in an accident (Technology). A question that many people ask is "where and how can I buy or lease an EV?" The dealerships selling EVs are limited at this time, because the industry is just beginning to emerge. As EVs become more popular, the network of EV dealerships that sell and service EVs will grow. Several major auto companies are now making EVs available on a lease basis so that customers will not have to worry about maintenance and so that they can minimize the risk associated with the purchase of new technology (Technology). Prices for the first EVs from the major auto manufactures range from the low $30,000's to mid $40,000's for purchase, or from $399 per month on up for lease (Frequently). EVs are also expected to have lower routine maintenance costs, since they have fewer moving parts that internal combustion engines, and don't require tune-ups or oil changes, but some EVs require battery pack replacements. With all the pollution from factories, homes, and automobiles the days of clear skies may be limited. With all the new technology that has come about on electric vehicles we will cut back on pollution in leaps and bounds. We all saw movies about cars from the future and thought they would run on electric and fly, well we might not see cars flying for some time yet but now we are seeing the electric car coming out of the movies and into real life
In numerous cities across the country, the personal automobile is the single greatest polluter, as emissions from million of vehicles on the road add up. Car pollution is one of the biggest polluters the solution is to have much more efficient vehicles that produce fewer emissions with every mile. So what would be the best thing for cars to run off of in the future? Electric vehicles are the answer to this problem. Electric vehicles or EVs, are vehicles that are powered by an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine (Frequently). EVs use electricity as the "fuel" instead of gasoline or some other combustible fuel. The power for the vehicle is stored in many large batteries in the bottom of the car, then from there the power goes to a power regulator where it is changed from DC power to AC power. The engine only has one moving part, which send the power directly to the wheels. Therefore it does all the primary functions of a gas engine with no emissions. (Automobile) With technology like this one might guess who is going to jump on the electric vehicle bandwagon right away. The major auto manufactures are producing high-performance electric vehicles, such as General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and many foreign companies as well, in a wide range of style and sizes. They include passenger cars, mini-vans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. Also there are some as small as bicycles and motor scooters and as big as busses. (Frequently) The EV is environmentally friendly (Automobile). Electric vehicles are today's zero-emission vehicles (Technology). The EV releases no pollutant because it has no tailpipe. Therefore, making it safe for the environment. Instead of gas stations, EVs get their "fuel" from electric power stations. An electric powered engine has many has many benefits over a gas engine in the comfort department as well. EVs offer a quiet fume-free, smooth driving experience. Since the motor does not operate when the vehicle is at a stop, an EV has no "idle" noises (Frequently). EVs provide fast acceleration by delivering power instantly to the wheels by providing high torque at low speeds, they give a feel of smooth and quick responsiveness (Technology). Well-designed EVs like those produced by major auto companies, travel at speeds equivalent to conventional vehicles and offer all the same safety and high-speed performance features. The EV also has low operating costs. The per-mile fuel cost of operating an EV can be less than one-third that of a gasoline-powered car (Frequently). EV owners also say goodbye to many familiar maintenance costs, no more tune-ups, oil changes or muffler replacements (Technology). Another advantage of an EV is the convince of no gas stations. EV drivers like that "refueling" can be done overnight, easily and safely at home or at public locations like shopping centers, where electric charging units have been installed. Electric vehicles are very safe. The EVs produced by major companies meet all safety requirements. As the EV becomes more popular the safety record is being safety monitored. To date, findings are positive and have shown that numerous EV vehicles maximize safety. For example EVs have lower center of gravity that makes them less likely to roll over. EVs have also less potential for major fires or explosions. And the body construction and durability of EVs enhance the vehicle safety in an accident (Technology). A question that many people ask is "where and how can I buy or lease an EV?" The dealerships selling EVs are limited at this time, because the industry is just beginning to emerge. As EVs become more popular, the network of EV dealerships that sell and service EVs will grow. Several major auto companies are now making EVs available on a lease basis so that customers will not have to worry about maintenance and so that they can minimize the risk associated with the purchase of new technology (Technology). Prices for the first EVs from the major auto manufactures range from the low $30,000's to mid $40,000's for purchase, or from $399 per month on up for lease (Frequently). EVs are also expected to have lower routine maintenance costs, since they have fewer moving parts that internal combustion engines, and don't require tune-ups or oil changes, but some EVs require battery pack replacements. With all the pollution from factories, homes, and automobiles the days of clear skies may be limited. With all the new technology that has come about on electric vehicles we will cut back on pollution in leaps and bounds. We all saw movies about cars from the future and thought they would run on electric and fly, well we might not see cars flying for some time yet but now we are seeing the electric car coming out of the movies and into real life
Acid Rain On Water
Acid Rain On Water
The effects of acid rain are most clearly seen in the aquatic, or water, environments, such as streams, lakes, and marshes. Acid rain flows to streams, lakes, and marshes after falling on forests, fields, buildings, and roads. Acid rain also falls directly on aquatic habitats. Most lakes and streams have a pH between 6 and 8. However, some lakes are naturally acidic even without the effects of acid rain. Lakes and streams become acidic (pH value goes down) when the water itself and its surrounding soil cannot buffer the acid rain enough to neutralize it. In areas like the Northeastern United States where soil buffering is poor, some lakes now have a pH value of less than 5. One of the most acidic lakes reported is Little Echo Pond in Franklin, New York. Little Echo Pond has a pH of 4.2. Lakes and streams in the western United States are usually not acidic. Because of differences in emissions and wind patterns, levels of acid deposition are generally lower in the western United States than in the eastern United States. This chart shows that not all fish, shellfish, or their food insects can tolerate the same amount of acid: Generally, the young of most species are more sensitive than adults. Frogs may tolerate relatively high levels of acidity, but if they eat insects like the mayfly, they may be affected because part of their food supply may disappear. As lakes and streams become more acidic, the numbers and types of fish and other aquatic plants and animals that live in these waters decrease. Some types of plants and animals are able to tolerate acidic waters. Others, however, are acid-sensitive and will be lost as the pH declines. Some acid lakes have no fish. At pH 5, most fish eggs cannot hatch. At lower pH levels, some adult fish die. Toxic substances like aluminum that wash into the water from the soil may also kill fish. Together, biological organisms and the environment in which they live are called an ecosystem. The plants and animals living within an ecosystem are highly interdependent. For example, fish eat other fish and also other plants and animals that live in the lake or stream. If acid rain causes the loss of acid-sensitive plants and animals, then fish that rely on these organisms for food may also be affected.
The effects of acid rain are most clearly seen in the aquatic, or water, environments, such as streams, lakes, and marshes. Acid rain flows to streams, lakes, and marshes after falling on forests, fields, buildings, and roads. Acid rain also falls directly on aquatic habitats. Most lakes and streams have a pH between 6 and 8. However, some lakes are naturally acidic even without the effects of acid rain. Lakes and streams become acidic (pH value goes down) when the water itself and its surrounding soil cannot buffer the acid rain enough to neutralize it. In areas like the Northeastern United States where soil buffering is poor, some lakes now have a pH value of less than 5. One of the most acidic lakes reported is Little Echo Pond in Franklin, New York. Little Echo Pond has a pH of 4.2. Lakes and streams in the western United States are usually not acidic. Because of differences in emissions and wind patterns, levels of acid deposition are generally lower in the western United States than in the eastern United States. This chart shows that not all fish, shellfish, or their food insects can tolerate the same amount of acid: Generally, the young of most species are more sensitive than adults. Frogs may tolerate relatively high levels of acidity, but if they eat insects like the mayfly, they may be affected because part of their food supply may disappear. As lakes and streams become more acidic, the numbers and types of fish and other aquatic plants and animals that live in these waters decrease. Some types of plants and animals are able to tolerate acidic waters. Others, however, are acid-sensitive and will be lost as the pH declines. Some acid lakes have no fish. At pH 5, most fish eggs cannot hatch. At lower pH levels, some adult fish die. Toxic substances like aluminum that wash into the water from the soil may also kill fish. Together, biological organisms and the environment in which they live are called an ecosystem. The plants and animals living within an ecosystem are highly interdependent. For example, fish eat other fish and also other plants and animals that live in the lake or stream. If acid rain causes the loss of acid-sensitive plants and animals, then fish that rely on these organisms for food may also be affected.
Woman Secrets
Woman Secrets
Contrary to popular belief intimacy and honesty doesn't mean you should tell all to your partner or potential partner. Sharing too much information can be destructive to a relationship. You might feel better if you spill your guts, but your partner most times ends up feeling much worse. Let's take a look at sexual secrets. Tell only on a need to know basis. You needn't tell your lover how many other partners you have had before he came along, and certainly don't give any details of past experiences. It won't help your relationship and if something happened that has profoundly affected you and/or will continue to have an impact on your life, you should tell your partner. He doesn't have to know that you have dated someone once or twice, but he should be told of a long term or otherwise serious relationship, especially if you were married or engaged before. Withholding information can hurt a relationship if there are serious or ongoing issues between you and your partner. Money is always a touchy subject for couples. Couples should talk with one another about money issues; there should be no secrets when it comes to finances within a serious relationship. When it comes to family secrets, you may want to tell all in a new relationship, but, don't tell how uncle Lou dresses up like Cinderella at the family New Years party after 2 drinks, and sings there's no place like home. The relationship between you and your partner might not last, and how would you like everyone in your Sociology class to know that about dear old Uncle Lou? Keep it to yourself until they are officially in the family. I know you want "no secrets" between you two from the start, but think first before you turn out your family. Only tell secrets that are pertinent to the situation at hand. Let's move on to personal secrets. If there are any secrets, he should hear them from you. You must use your own best judgment as to how much and how far back you should go when spilling those little secrets. Don't tell him secrets just to get them off your chest, which is not fair to him or yourself. If the secret is a life or death piece of information, he or she certainly has a right to know. If the secret is going to come out eventually, your partner should hear it from you. Revealing secrets can make the two of you closer, but do so slowly and with caution. Trust is something a couple builds over time.
Contrary to popular belief intimacy and honesty doesn't mean you should tell all to your partner or potential partner. Sharing too much information can be destructive to a relationship. You might feel better if you spill your guts, but your partner most times ends up feeling much worse. Let's take a look at sexual secrets. Tell only on a need to know basis. You needn't tell your lover how many other partners you have had before he came along, and certainly don't give any details of past experiences. It won't help your relationship and if something happened that has profoundly affected you and/or will continue to have an impact on your life, you should tell your partner. He doesn't have to know that you have dated someone once or twice, but he should be told of a long term or otherwise serious relationship, especially if you were married or engaged before. Withholding information can hurt a relationship if there are serious or ongoing issues between you and your partner. Money is always a touchy subject for couples. Couples should talk with one another about money issues; there should be no secrets when it comes to finances within a serious relationship. When it comes to family secrets, you may want to tell all in a new relationship, but, don't tell how uncle Lou dresses up like Cinderella at the family New Years party after 2 drinks, and sings there's no place like home. The relationship between you and your partner might not last, and how would you like everyone in your Sociology class to know that about dear old Uncle Lou? Keep it to yourself until they are officially in the family. I know you want "no secrets" between you two from the start, but think first before you turn out your family. Only tell secrets that are pertinent to the situation at hand. Let's move on to personal secrets. If there are any secrets, he should hear them from you. You must use your own best judgment as to how much and how far back you should go when spilling those little secrets. Don't tell him secrets just to get them off your chest, which is not fair to him or yourself. If the secret is a life or death piece of information, he or she certainly has a right to know. If the secret is going to come out eventually, your partner should hear it from you. Revealing secrets can make the two of you closer, but do so slowly and with caution. Trust is something a couple builds over time.
AIDS
AIDS
Being one of the most fatal viruses in the nation, AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is now a serious public health concern in most major U.S. cities and in countries worldwide. Since 1986 there have been impressive advances in understanding of the AIDS virus, its mechanisms, and its routes of transmission. Even though researchers have put in countless hours, and millions of dollars it has not led to a drug that can cure infection with the virus or to a vaccine that can prevent it. With AIDS being the leading cause of death among adults, individuals are now taking more precautions with sexual intercourse, and medical facilities are screening blood more thoroughly. Even though HIV ( Human Immunodeficieny Virus) can be transmitted through sharing of non sterilize needles and syringes, sexual intercourse, blood transfusion, and through most bodily fluids, it is not transmitted through casual contact or by biting or blood sucking insects. Development of the AIDS Epidemic The first case of AIDS were reported in 1982, epidemiologists at the Center of Disease Control immediately began tracking the disease back wards in time as well as forward. They determined that the first cases of AIDS in the United States probably occurred in 1977. By early 1982, 15 states, the District of Columbia, and 2 foreign countries had reports of AIDS cases, however the total remained low: 158 men and 1 woman. Surprising enough more then 90 percent of the men were homosexual or bisexual. Knowing this more then 70 percent of AIDS victims are homosexual or bisexual men, and less then 5 percent are heterosexual adults. Amazing enough by December of 1983 there were 3,000 cases of AIDS that had been reported in adults from 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and the disease had been recognized in 20 other countries. Recognizing the Extent of Infection The health of the general homosexual populations in the area with the largest number of cases of the new disease was getting looked at a lot closer by researchers. For many years physicians knew that homosexual men who reported large numbers of sexual partners had more episodes of venereal diseases and were at higher risk of hepatitis B virus infection than the rest of the population, but conicidentally with the appearance of AIDS,. other debilitating problems began to do appear more frequently. The most common was swollen glands, often accompanied by extreme fatigue, weight loss, fever, chronic diarrhea, decreased levels of blood platelets and fungal infections in the mouth. This condition was labeled ARC (AIDS Related complex). The isolation of HIV in 1983 and 1984 and the development of techniques to produce large quantities of the virus [paved the way for a battery of tests to determined the relationship between AIDS and ARC and the magnitude of the carrier problem. Using several different laboratory tests, scientists looked for antibodies against the HIV in the blood of AIDS and ARC patients. They found that almost 100 percent of those with AIDS or ARC had the antibodies-they were seriopostive. In contrast less then one percent of persons with no known risk factors were seropositive. Definition of AIDS AIDS is defined as a disease, at least moderately predictive of defects in cell- meditated immunity, occurring in a person with no known cause for diminished resistance to that disease. Such diseases include Kaposi's Sarcoma, Pneumocystis carnii pneumonia, and serious other opportunistic infections. After the discovery of HIV and the development of HIV-antibody test, the case definition of AIDS was updated to reflect the role of the virus in causing AIDS, but the scope of the definition remained almost the same. Transmission HIV is primarily a sexually transmitted disease, it is transmitted by both homosexual and bisexual and heterosexual activity. The first recognized case was among homosexual and bisexual men. Many numbers of studies have shown that men who have sexual partners and those who practice receptive anal intercourse are more likely to be infected with HIV than other homosexual men. Researchers found a strong connection between HIV infection and rectal trauma, enemas before sex, and physical signs of disruption of the tissue lining the rectum. Homosexual women tend to have a very low incidence of venereal disease in general, an AIDS is no exception. Female-to-female transmission is highly uncommon, however it has been reported in one case and suggested in another. In the reported case, traumatic sex practices apparently resulted in transmission of HIV from a woman who had acquired the virus through IV drug abuse to her non-drug- using sexual partner. 1983 was when the first heterosexual (Male to female; female to male) transmission was reported. In 1985, 1.7 percent of the adult cases of AIDS reported to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) were acquired through heterosexual activity; projections suggest that by 1991 the proportion will rise to 5 percent. Heterosexual contact is the only transmission category in which women outnumber men with AIDS. Heterosexual contacts accounts for 29 percent of AIDS cases among women in the United States, but for only 2 percent of cases among men. Estimates of the risk of HIV transmission in unprotected intercourse with a person known to be infected with HIV are 1 in 500 for a single sexual encounter and 2 in 3 for 500 sexual encounters. The use of a condom reduces these odds to 1 in 5,000 for a single encounter and to 1 in 11 for 500 encounters. Routes NOT Involved in Transmission of HIV A study of more than 400 family members of adult and pediatric AIDS patients demonstrate that the virus is not transmitted by any daily activity related to living with or caring for an AIDS patient. Basically meaning that personal interactions typical in family relationships, such as kissing on the cheek, kissing on the lips, and hugging, have not resulted in transmission of the virus. Patterns There are three different geographic patterns of AIDS transmission. The first one is characteristic of industrializing nations with large numbers of reported AIDS cases, such as the United States, Canada, countries in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Latin America. In these areas most AIDS cases have been attributed to homosexual or bisexual activity and intravenous drug abuse. The second pattern is seen in areas of central, eastern, and southern Africa and in some Caribbean countries. Unlike pattern one most AIDS cases in these areas occur among heterosexuals, and the male-to-female ratio approaches 1 to 1. The third pattern of transmission occurs in regions of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and most of the Pacific. It is believed that HIV was introduced to these areas in the early to mid-1980s. Any study associated with AIDS must begin with the understanding that AIDS is only one outcome of infection with HIV-1. People infected with the virus may be completely asymptomtic; they may have mildly debiliating symptoms; or they may have life-threatening conditions caused by progressive destruction of the immune system, the brain, or both. One of the first signs of HIV-1 infection in some patients is an acute fluelike disease. The condition lasts from a few days to several weeks and is associated with fever, sweats, exhaustion, loss of appetite, nausea, headaches, soar throat, diarrhea, swollen glands, and a rash on the torso. Some of the symptoms of the acute illness may result from HIV-1 invasion of the central nervous system. In some cases the clinical findings have correlated with the presence of HIV-1 in the cerebrospinal fluid. Symptoms disappear along with the rash and other sings of acute viral disease. When the blood test for HIV-1 antibodies become available, researchers demonstrated the lymphadenopathy was a frequent consequence of infection with the virus. Scientist do not know what causes the wasting syndrome, but some experts believe that it might result from the abnormal regulation of proteins called monokines. Between 5 and 10 percent of patients with AIDS and HIV-related conditions have bouts of acute aseptic meningtis. About two-thirds of AIDS patients have a degenerative brain disease called subacute encephalitis. HIV infection also have been associated with degeneration of the spinal cord and abnormalities of the peripheral nervous system. Symptoms include progressive loss of coordination and weakness. Involvement of the peripheral nervous system may result in shooting pains in the limbs or in numbness and partial paralysis. HIV destroys the body's defense capabilities, opening itself to whatever disease-producing agents are present in the environment. The diagnosis of secondary infection in AIDS patients and others with HIV infection is complicated because some of the standard diagnostic tests may not work. Often such tests detect the immune response to a disease-producing microorganism rather than the organism itself. The most common life threatening opportunistic infection in AIDS patients is Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonia, a parasitic infection previously seen almost exclusively in cancer and transplant patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs. The first signs of disorder are moderate to severe difficulty in breathing, dry cough, and fever. Infection Infection with HIV is a 2-step process consisting of binding and fusion. The larger protein, glycoprotein120, is responsible for the binding activity. Its target is a receptor molecule called CD4, found on the surface of some human cells. The tight complex formed by glycoprotein120, and CD4 receptor brings the viral envelope very close to membrane of the target cell. This allows the smaller envelope protein, glycoprotein41, to initiate a fusion reaction. The envelope of the virus actually fuses with the cell membrane, allowing the viral core direct access to the inner mechanisms of the human cell. Once the viral core is inside the cell, the viral RNA genome is reverse transcribed into DNA and then integrated into the host genome cells. Cells infected with HIV carry envelope proteins lodged in their membrane. These cell-bound proteins can bind to CD4 receptors on uninfected cell. Fusion of the two cell membranes allow partially formed viral particles to move from the infected cell to the uninfected cell. Thus, HIV theocratically could spread through the body without leaving host cells. Cell Death HIV infects many different cell types, but it preferentially kills the T4 lymphocyte. There have been suggestions the T4 cells are more vulnerable to HIV- induced cell death than other cells because they have a higher concerntration of CD4 receptors. There is speculation that cell death occurs when viral envelope proteins lodged in the membrane of an infected cell bind to CD4 receptors embedded in the same membrane. Multiple self fusion reactions could destabilize the cell membrane and kill the cell. The massive depletion of T4 cells involves the cell-to-cell fusion reaction described above. A single infected cell with a high concentration of viral envelope proteins on its surface can bind to hundreds of uninfected T4 cells. The fused cells form giant, mulitnucleated structures called syncytia, which are extremely unstable and die within a day. One cell with a productive viral infection can cause the death of up to 500 normal cells. Cell death might be related to the presence of free- floating viral envelope proteins in the bloodstream. These could bind to uninfected T4 cells, leading to their elimination by the immune system. Other autoimmune mechanisms also may play a roll in T-cell depletion. HIV infection also may directly or indirectly suppress the production of new T4 cells. Direct suppression would occur if HIV damaged T precursor cells in the bone marrow. Indirect suppression would result if HIV interfered with the production of specific growth factors. On the other hand, infected cells may secrete a toxin that shortens the lifespan of T4 cells or other cells required for their survival. Immune System The Immune response to HIV infection, does not appear to halt the progression of disease. Part of the explanation for this failure probably relates to the structure of the envelope proteins. The most effective way to stop HIV infection would be to block the binding reaction between the glycoprotein120 and the CD4 receptor. However, antibodies from infected patients rarely do this. Scientists speculate that 2 or 3 regions of the glycoprotein120 molecule involved in the binding reaction may form a recessed pocket. The inability of antibodies to get inside such a pocket could explain the lack of protective immune response. The envelope proteins also are heavily coated with sugar residues. The human immune system does not recognize the sugar residues as foreign because they are products of the host cell rather then the virus. The sugar residues form a protective barrier around sections of the glycoprotein120 that might otherwise elicit a strong immune response. Regulatory Genes There has been recent studies that indicate HIV's unusual regulatory genes contributing to its ability to evade the immune system. In the simplest retroviruses the replication rate is controlled by interactions between the host cell and elements in the viral LTR. The virus itself has no way of regulating when, here, or how much virus is produced. In contrast, the human immunodeficiency viruses have elaborate regulatory control mechanisms in the form of specific genes. Some of the genes permit explosive replication; other appear to inhibit production of virus. Mechanisms that suppress the production of certain viral proteins, such as the envelope proteins, may allow HIV to hide inside infected cells for long periods without eliciting antibodies or other host immune responses. Conclusion As stated above in the last few pages, AIDS is the leading cause of death in homosexual, and bisexual adult men. However, these statistics were from 1986, 11 years later it has grown to more, not just in homosexual and bisexual men, but also in heterosexual sexual intercourse. At this point in time there is no cure, nor is there a vaccination. However, there are ways to prevent HIV, some of those ways are: abstinence, condoms, not sharing needles used for IV drugs. Public concern is higher then it was 10 years ago, but that's because people are starting to realize that not everyone is immune to it, as of right now the only ones immune to the HIV virus are baboons.
Being one of the most fatal viruses in the nation, AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is now a serious public health concern in most major U.S. cities and in countries worldwide. Since 1986 there have been impressive advances in understanding of the AIDS virus, its mechanisms, and its routes of transmission. Even though researchers have put in countless hours, and millions of dollars it has not led to a drug that can cure infection with the virus or to a vaccine that can prevent it. With AIDS being the leading cause of death among adults, individuals are now taking more precautions with sexual intercourse, and medical facilities are screening blood more thoroughly. Even though HIV ( Human Immunodeficieny Virus) can be transmitted through sharing of non sterilize needles and syringes, sexual intercourse, blood transfusion, and through most bodily fluids, it is not transmitted through casual contact or by biting or blood sucking insects. Development of the AIDS Epidemic The first case of AIDS were reported in 1982, epidemiologists at the Center of Disease Control immediately began tracking the disease back wards in time as well as forward. They determined that the first cases of AIDS in the United States probably occurred in 1977. By early 1982, 15 states, the District of Columbia, and 2 foreign countries had reports of AIDS cases, however the total remained low: 158 men and 1 woman. Surprising enough more then 90 percent of the men were homosexual or bisexual. Knowing this more then 70 percent of AIDS victims are homosexual or bisexual men, and less then 5 percent are heterosexual adults. Amazing enough by December of 1983 there were 3,000 cases of AIDS that had been reported in adults from 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and the disease had been recognized in 20 other countries. Recognizing the Extent of Infection The health of the general homosexual populations in the area with the largest number of cases of the new disease was getting looked at a lot closer by researchers. For many years physicians knew that homosexual men who reported large numbers of sexual partners had more episodes of venereal diseases and were at higher risk of hepatitis B virus infection than the rest of the population, but conicidentally with the appearance of AIDS,. other debilitating problems began to do appear more frequently. The most common was swollen glands, often accompanied by extreme fatigue, weight loss, fever, chronic diarrhea, decreased levels of blood platelets and fungal infections in the mouth. This condition was labeled ARC (AIDS Related complex). The isolation of HIV in 1983 and 1984 and the development of techniques to produce large quantities of the virus [paved the way for a battery of tests to determined the relationship between AIDS and ARC and the magnitude of the carrier problem. Using several different laboratory tests, scientists looked for antibodies against the HIV in the blood of AIDS and ARC patients. They found that almost 100 percent of those with AIDS or ARC had the antibodies-they were seriopostive. In contrast less then one percent of persons with no known risk factors were seropositive. Definition of AIDS AIDS is defined as a disease, at least moderately predictive of defects in cell- meditated immunity, occurring in a person with no known cause for diminished resistance to that disease. Such diseases include Kaposi's Sarcoma, Pneumocystis carnii pneumonia, and serious other opportunistic infections. After the discovery of HIV and the development of HIV-antibody test, the case definition of AIDS was updated to reflect the role of the virus in causing AIDS, but the scope of the definition remained almost the same. Transmission HIV is primarily a sexually transmitted disease, it is transmitted by both homosexual and bisexual and heterosexual activity. The first recognized case was among homosexual and bisexual men. Many numbers of studies have shown that men who have sexual partners and those who practice receptive anal intercourse are more likely to be infected with HIV than other homosexual men. Researchers found a strong connection between HIV infection and rectal trauma, enemas before sex, and physical signs of disruption of the tissue lining the rectum. Homosexual women tend to have a very low incidence of venereal disease in general, an AIDS is no exception. Female-to-female transmission is highly uncommon, however it has been reported in one case and suggested in another. In the reported case, traumatic sex practices apparently resulted in transmission of HIV from a woman who had acquired the virus through IV drug abuse to her non-drug- using sexual partner. 1983 was when the first heterosexual (Male to female; female to male) transmission was reported. In 1985, 1.7 percent of the adult cases of AIDS reported to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) were acquired through heterosexual activity; projections suggest that by 1991 the proportion will rise to 5 percent. Heterosexual contact is the only transmission category in which women outnumber men with AIDS. Heterosexual contacts accounts for 29 percent of AIDS cases among women in the United States, but for only 2 percent of cases among men. Estimates of the risk of HIV transmission in unprotected intercourse with a person known to be infected with HIV are 1 in 500 for a single sexual encounter and 2 in 3 for 500 sexual encounters. The use of a condom reduces these odds to 1 in 5,000 for a single encounter and to 1 in 11 for 500 encounters. Routes NOT Involved in Transmission of HIV A study of more than 400 family members of adult and pediatric AIDS patients demonstrate that the virus is not transmitted by any daily activity related to living with or caring for an AIDS patient. Basically meaning that personal interactions typical in family relationships, such as kissing on the cheek, kissing on the lips, and hugging, have not resulted in transmission of the virus. Patterns There are three different geographic patterns of AIDS transmission. The first one is characteristic of industrializing nations with large numbers of reported AIDS cases, such as the United States, Canada, countries in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Latin America. In these areas most AIDS cases have been attributed to homosexual or bisexual activity and intravenous drug abuse. The second pattern is seen in areas of central, eastern, and southern Africa and in some Caribbean countries. Unlike pattern one most AIDS cases in these areas occur among heterosexuals, and the male-to-female ratio approaches 1 to 1. The third pattern of transmission occurs in regions of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and most of the Pacific. It is believed that HIV was introduced to these areas in the early to mid-1980s. Any study associated with AIDS must begin with the understanding that AIDS is only one outcome of infection with HIV-1. People infected with the virus may be completely asymptomtic; they may have mildly debiliating symptoms; or they may have life-threatening conditions caused by progressive destruction of the immune system, the brain, or both. One of the first signs of HIV-1 infection in some patients is an acute fluelike disease. The condition lasts from a few days to several weeks and is associated with fever, sweats, exhaustion, loss of appetite, nausea, headaches, soar throat, diarrhea, swollen glands, and a rash on the torso. Some of the symptoms of the acute illness may result from HIV-1 invasion of the central nervous system. In some cases the clinical findings have correlated with the presence of HIV-1 in the cerebrospinal fluid. Symptoms disappear along with the rash and other sings of acute viral disease. When the blood test for HIV-1 antibodies become available, researchers demonstrated the lymphadenopathy was a frequent consequence of infection with the virus. Scientist do not know what causes the wasting syndrome, but some experts believe that it might result from the abnormal regulation of proteins called monokines. Between 5 and 10 percent of patients with AIDS and HIV-related conditions have bouts of acute aseptic meningtis. About two-thirds of AIDS patients have a degenerative brain disease called subacute encephalitis. HIV infection also have been associated with degeneration of the spinal cord and abnormalities of the peripheral nervous system. Symptoms include progressive loss of coordination and weakness. Involvement of the peripheral nervous system may result in shooting pains in the limbs or in numbness and partial paralysis. HIV destroys the body's defense capabilities, opening itself to whatever disease-producing agents are present in the environment. The diagnosis of secondary infection in AIDS patients and others with HIV infection is complicated because some of the standard diagnostic tests may not work. Often such tests detect the immune response to a disease-producing microorganism rather than the organism itself. The most common life threatening opportunistic infection in AIDS patients is Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonia, a parasitic infection previously seen almost exclusively in cancer and transplant patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs. The first signs of disorder are moderate to severe difficulty in breathing, dry cough, and fever. Infection Infection with HIV is a 2-step process consisting of binding and fusion. The larger protein, glycoprotein120, is responsible for the binding activity. Its target is a receptor molecule called CD4, found on the surface of some human cells. The tight complex formed by glycoprotein120, and CD4 receptor brings the viral envelope very close to membrane of the target cell. This allows the smaller envelope protein, glycoprotein41, to initiate a fusion reaction. The envelope of the virus actually fuses with the cell membrane, allowing the viral core direct access to the inner mechanisms of the human cell. Once the viral core is inside the cell, the viral RNA genome is reverse transcribed into DNA and then integrated into the host genome cells. Cells infected with HIV carry envelope proteins lodged in their membrane. These cell-bound proteins can bind to CD4 receptors on uninfected cell. Fusion of the two cell membranes allow partially formed viral particles to move from the infected cell to the uninfected cell. Thus, HIV theocratically could spread through the body without leaving host cells. Cell Death HIV infects many different cell types, but it preferentially kills the T4 lymphocyte. There have been suggestions the T4 cells are more vulnerable to HIV- induced cell death than other cells because they have a higher concerntration of CD4 receptors. There is speculation that cell death occurs when viral envelope proteins lodged in the membrane of an infected cell bind to CD4 receptors embedded in the same membrane. Multiple self fusion reactions could destabilize the cell membrane and kill the cell. The massive depletion of T4 cells involves the cell-to-cell fusion reaction described above. A single infected cell with a high concentration of viral envelope proteins on its surface can bind to hundreds of uninfected T4 cells. The fused cells form giant, mulitnucleated structures called syncytia, which are extremely unstable and die within a day. One cell with a productive viral infection can cause the death of up to 500 normal cells. Cell death might be related to the presence of free- floating viral envelope proteins in the bloodstream. These could bind to uninfected T4 cells, leading to their elimination by the immune system. Other autoimmune mechanisms also may play a roll in T-cell depletion. HIV infection also may directly or indirectly suppress the production of new T4 cells. Direct suppression would occur if HIV damaged T precursor cells in the bone marrow. Indirect suppression would result if HIV interfered with the production of specific growth factors. On the other hand, infected cells may secrete a toxin that shortens the lifespan of T4 cells or other cells required for their survival. Immune System The Immune response to HIV infection, does not appear to halt the progression of disease. Part of the explanation for this failure probably relates to the structure of the envelope proteins. The most effective way to stop HIV infection would be to block the binding reaction between the glycoprotein120 and the CD4 receptor. However, antibodies from infected patients rarely do this. Scientists speculate that 2 or 3 regions of the glycoprotein120 molecule involved in the binding reaction may form a recessed pocket. The inability of antibodies to get inside such a pocket could explain the lack of protective immune response. The envelope proteins also are heavily coated with sugar residues. The human immune system does not recognize the sugar residues as foreign because they are products of the host cell rather then the virus. The sugar residues form a protective barrier around sections of the glycoprotein120 that might otherwise elicit a strong immune response. Regulatory Genes There has been recent studies that indicate HIV's unusual regulatory genes contributing to its ability to evade the immune system. In the simplest retroviruses the replication rate is controlled by interactions between the host cell and elements in the viral LTR. The virus itself has no way of regulating when, here, or how much virus is produced. In contrast, the human immunodeficiency viruses have elaborate regulatory control mechanisms in the form of specific genes. Some of the genes permit explosive replication; other appear to inhibit production of virus. Mechanisms that suppress the production of certain viral proteins, such as the envelope proteins, may allow HIV to hide inside infected cells for long periods without eliciting antibodies or other host immune responses. Conclusion As stated above in the last few pages, AIDS is the leading cause of death in homosexual, and bisexual adult men. However, these statistics were from 1986, 11 years later it has grown to more, not just in homosexual and bisexual men, but also in heterosexual sexual intercourse. At this point in time there is no cure, nor is there a vaccination. However, there are ways to prevent HIV, some of those ways are: abstinence, condoms, not sharing needles used for IV drugs. Public concern is higher then it was 10 years ago, but that's because people are starting to realize that not everyone is immune to it, as of right now the only ones immune to the HIV virus are baboons.
Family Ties
Family Ties
All eyes were focused on me. This was it. The tension had been building up to this point, and I knew there was no way out. I had gotten myself into this predicament, and I was the only one that could get myself out of it. There was nobody to turn to, for they were all waiting for my final move. I had never felt so alone, so isolated.
I thumbed through my cards for the fourth consecutive time, and I could still not decide which one to throw. I glanced up from my cards and caught a glimpse of each player. I immediately felt the intensity of my brother's eyes glaring at me from across the table. He did not provide me with the support and reassurance I was looking for from my partner. I shifted my eyes to the right. My mother, having just discarded a five of clubs and seeing that it was of no use to me, was sipping coffee with a carefree grin of relief. Then I peered directly at the most intimidating canasta player I have ever encountered. Great Grandma Rose was calmly humming a tuneless tune which added to her enigma. As this crafty eighty-eight year old lady squinted at her cards through her bifocals, I knew that time was running out; I had to make my decision. The most obvious choice was to discard the king of spades for which I had no use, but I was afraid that she was waiting for this card. My alternative was to break up my meld and throw the six of clubs, a card which I felt somewhat safe in throwing.
In the midst of my despair, great grandma delivered the final blow. She stopped humming and uttered these dreaded words: "It only hurts for a minute."
She could not have dug a knife any deeper. My brother's eyes were flaring with tension, I had complete control over his fate, and I knew our team unity was riding on the outcome of my decision. I therefore decided to play defensively and throw the six of clubs. No sooner had my discard settled on top of the pile than my great grandmother's hand darted out to snatch up the stack of cards and my brother simultaneously belted out a scream. "The six of clubs? How could you throw the six of clubs!"
I wanted to ask him if the king of spades would have been any better, but I knew a rebuttal was useless. I knew he would get over it soon enough, and like Grandma Rose says, "It only hurts for a minute!"
After my great grandma laid down her meld and sorted her cards, the game continued (and so did her humming). Although we lost that particular hand, my brother and I miraculously came back to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. As we reveled in our triumph (my brother had now forgiven me for discarding the six of clubs), I could not resist directing my newly acquired quote at our opponents, who were mulling over their defeat. "Well, I have only one thing to say." My smile was so big that I could feel my cheeks stretching. "It only hurts for a minute."
Although my great grandmother had no intention of being profound, this quote actually embodies an important concept. Many people spend so much time worrying about the infinite possibilities that may result from any decision they make that they actually never make a decision at all. Although it is necessary to weigh the options and consider various viewpoints, excessive deliberation can often be detrimental. From personal experience, I have found it is usually better to think about the choices and come to a firm decision rather than to prolong the problem and perhaps create a new one by avoiding a commitment one way or the other. The best course of action is to make the wisest choice possible with the available information and then to make the most out of your initial decision. Even if in retrospect you see a better alternative, you can always pursue a new direction based on what you have learned through this experience. Surprisingly, what may at first appear to be failure may often spark an unforeseen success. I have learned not to let undue hesitation hinder my ability to take advantage of opportunities. After all, as my great grandmother so eloquently remarked during those heated canasta games, "It only hurts for a minute!"
All eyes were focused on me. This was it. The tension had been building up to this point, and I knew there was no way out. I had gotten myself into this predicament, and I was the only one that could get myself out of it. There was nobody to turn to, for they were all waiting for my final move. I had never felt so alone, so isolated.
I thumbed through my cards for the fourth consecutive time, and I could still not decide which one to throw. I glanced up from my cards and caught a glimpse of each player. I immediately felt the intensity of my brother's eyes glaring at me from across the table. He did not provide me with the support and reassurance I was looking for from my partner. I shifted my eyes to the right. My mother, having just discarded a five of clubs and seeing that it was of no use to me, was sipping coffee with a carefree grin of relief. Then I peered directly at the most intimidating canasta player I have ever encountered. Great Grandma Rose was calmly humming a tuneless tune which added to her enigma. As this crafty eighty-eight year old lady squinted at her cards through her bifocals, I knew that time was running out; I had to make my decision. The most obvious choice was to discard the king of spades for which I had no use, but I was afraid that she was waiting for this card. My alternative was to break up my meld and throw the six of clubs, a card which I felt somewhat safe in throwing.
In the midst of my despair, great grandma delivered the final blow. She stopped humming and uttered these dreaded words: "It only hurts for a minute."
She could not have dug a knife any deeper. My brother's eyes were flaring with tension, I had complete control over his fate, and I knew our team unity was riding on the outcome of my decision. I therefore decided to play defensively and throw the six of clubs. No sooner had my discard settled on top of the pile than my great grandmother's hand darted out to snatch up the stack of cards and my brother simultaneously belted out a scream. "The six of clubs? How could you throw the six of clubs!"
I wanted to ask him if the king of spades would have been any better, but I knew a rebuttal was useless. I knew he would get over it soon enough, and like Grandma Rose says, "It only hurts for a minute!"
After my great grandma laid down her meld and sorted her cards, the game continued (and so did her humming). Although we lost that particular hand, my brother and I miraculously came back to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. As we reveled in our triumph (my brother had now forgiven me for discarding the six of clubs), I could not resist directing my newly acquired quote at our opponents, who were mulling over their defeat. "Well, I have only one thing to say." My smile was so big that I could feel my cheeks stretching. "It only hurts for a minute."
Although my great grandmother had no intention of being profound, this quote actually embodies an important concept. Many people spend so much time worrying about the infinite possibilities that may result from any decision they make that they actually never make a decision at all. Although it is necessary to weigh the options and consider various viewpoints, excessive deliberation can often be detrimental. From personal experience, I have found it is usually better to think about the choices and come to a firm decision rather than to prolong the problem and perhaps create a new one by avoiding a commitment one way or the other. The best course of action is to make the wisest choice possible with the available information and then to make the most out of your initial decision. Even if in retrospect you see a better alternative, you can always pursue a new direction based on what you have learned through this experience. Surprisingly, what may at first appear to be failure may often spark an unforeseen success. I have learned not to let undue hesitation hinder my ability to take advantage of opportunities. After all, as my great grandmother so eloquently remarked during those heated canasta games, "It only hurts for a minute!"
Electronic Banking
Electronic Banking
The Electronic Banking Association (EBA) is a non-profit organization established to do one simple thing-help more people get started with electronic banking. Here's why. Who taught you how to write paper checks? Probably your parent's right? Well, who's going to teach you how to write electronic checks? Probably NOT your parents. That's where they come in. E-banking is so much more convenient and so much quicker that everyone should know about it. The EBA was established as an independent source of helpful information about electronic banking for consumers and businesses. Financial institutions, merchants, and other financial service firms actually provide financial e-commerce services, but the Electronic Banking Association (EBA) monitors progress in the financial e-commerce industry and provides information that will enable users of those services to become better informed and to locate providers of the services they seek. Everyone hates paying bills. It's time-consuming, frustrating, and you have to lick that awful envelope glue. But not with e-banking. You'll spend less time paying bills, and more time doing fun stuff. Here are some advantages to e-banking: - No more paper checks. Your computer remembers who you write checks to. You simply enter an amount then point-and-click. You'll never run out of checks again. - No more hassles. You can schedule your payments in advance, so they'll get paid while you're on vacation or away on business. Electronic payments are processed quickly, in as little as 24 hours to 5 days (unlike a paper check sent in the mail, which takes an average of 10 days to post). - No more envelopes to lick. No envelope glue. No paper cuts on your tongue. And you can stop writing your return address again, and again, and again. - No more writer's cramp. It takes forever to write checks and addresses every month. E-banking cuts that time to practically nothing. - No more stamps. With e-banking, there's no postage and your bills are processed quickly - whenever you want them paid. You can pay your bills online, so it only makes sense to receive them that way, too. This is called "Electronic Bill Presentment," and more and more businesses are going to offer it. - No more lost bills. Your dog can't eat electronic bills. Your kids can't misplace them. And you can't lose them under a stack of catalogs. - Pay bills when you want to. Not when the post office decides to deliver them. Click to see it. Click to pay it. Your bills appear right on your computer screen and look much like the printed bills you are used to getting. But the difference is you can pay them with just the click of a mouse. - Better record keeping. All your billing and payment information is kept in one convenient location, not in messy cardboard boxes or goodness only knows where else. You can pay your bills online, so it only makes sense to receive them that way, too. This is called "Electronic Bill Presentment," and more and more businesses are going to offer it. In addition to paying bills online, you can get current information any time you want it. So you can get up-to-date account balances, transfer funds, obtain information about check clearing; all sorts of things. You can import this information directly into today's popular financial management programs such as Quicken® without having to re-enter it. You buy things all the time with credit cards, right? Well then, those are electronic transactions just like these. Today's latest Web browsers have sophisticated encryption that's very secure. What's more, electronic checks are safer than having paper checks lying around where anyone can obtain and misuse your account information. Experts predict it would take a hacker over 2,000 years to crack 56-bit encryption. Yet many financial institutions today require a browser that supports 128-bit encryption, which would take about 12,710,204,652,610,000,000,000,000 years to crack. Now that's secure. (Source: Byte Magazine) When you're ready to open an e-banking account, you can receive more information on security, as well as a recent browser that supports 128-bit encryption, through your financial institution or at the Netscape and Microsoft Web sites. In the time it takes you to pay your bills the old-fashioned way, you can be up and running with e-banking. Best of all, once you enter who you pay bills to, you'll never have to re-enter that information. Your financial institution may offer e-banking via the Web or a personal financial manager or both. Web-based e-banking is generally easier and quicker to set up. All you'll need is a recent browser that supports U.S. encryption. To use your financial institution's personal finance manager, you'll need the software from that institution. How to set up an online account (You'll need a checking account established with the financial institution first.): 1. Have important information handy (account numbers, driver's license, social security number, credit card numbers, employer contact info, previous address). 2. Go to your financial institution's web site. 3. Click to the e-banking page of the site. 4. Fill out and submit the online e-banking enrollment form. 5. Within a few days your financial institution will send you a e-banking start-up package that will contain a user ID, password and web site address with instructions on how to begin e-banking. That's all there is to it! You'll be amazed how convenient e-banking is. Try it once, and you'll never go back.
The Electronic Banking Association (EBA) is a non-profit organization established to do one simple thing-help more people get started with electronic banking. Here's why. Who taught you how to write paper checks? Probably your parent's right? Well, who's going to teach you how to write electronic checks? Probably NOT your parents. That's where they come in. E-banking is so much more convenient and so much quicker that everyone should know about it. The EBA was established as an independent source of helpful information about electronic banking for consumers and businesses. Financial institutions, merchants, and other financial service firms actually provide financial e-commerce services, but the Electronic Banking Association (EBA) monitors progress in the financial e-commerce industry and provides information that will enable users of those services to become better informed and to locate providers of the services they seek. Everyone hates paying bills. It's time-consuming, frustrating, and you have to lick that awful envelope glue. But not with e-banking. You'll spend less time paying bills, and more time doing fun stuff. Here are some advantages to e-banking: - No more paper checks. Your computer remembers who you write checks to. You simply enter an amount then point-and-click. You'll never run out of checks again. - No more hassles. You can schedule your payments in advance, so they'll get paid while you're on vacation or away on business. Electronic payments are processed quickly, in as little as 24 hours to 5 days (unlike a paper check sent in the mail, which takes an average of 10 days to post). - No more envelopes to lick. No envelope glue. No paper cuts on your tongue. And you can stop writing your return address again, and again, and again. - No more writer's cramp. It takes forever to write checks and addresses every month. E-banking cuts that time to practically nothing. - No more stamps. With e-banking, there's no postage and your bills are processed quickly - whenever you want them paid. You can pay your bills online, so it only makes sense to receive them that way, too. This is called "Electronic Bill Presentment," and more and more businesses are going to offer it. - No more lost bills. Your dog can't eat electronic bills. Your kids can't misplace them. And you can't lose them under a stack of catalogs. - Pay bills when you want to. Not when the post office decides to deliver them. Click to see it. Click to pay it. Your bills appear right on your computer screen and look much like the printed bills you are used to getting. But the difference is you can pay them with just the click of a mouse. - Better record keeping. All your billing and payment information is kept in one convenient location, not in messy cardboard boxes or goodness only knows where else. You can pay your bills online, so it only makes sense to receive them that way, too. This is called "Electronic Bill Presentment," and more and more businesses are going to offer it. In addition to paying bills online, you can get current information any time you want it. So you can get up-to-date account balances, transfer funds, obtain information about check clearing; all sorts of things. You can import this information directly into today's popular financial management programs such as Quicken® without having to re-enter it. You buy things all the time with credit cards, right? Well then, those are electronic transactions just like these. Today's latest Web browsers have sophisticated encryption that's very secure. What's more, electronic checks are safer than having paper checks lying around where anyone can obtain and misuse your account information. Experts predict it would take a hacker over 2,000 years to crack 56-bit encryption. Yet many financial institutions today require a browser that supports 128-bit encryption, which would take about 12,710,204,652,610,000,000,000,000 years to crack. Now that's secure. (Source: Byte Magazine) When you're ready to open an e-banking account, you can receive more information on security, as well as a recent browser that supports 128-bit encryption, through your financial institution or at the Netscape and Microsoft Web sites. In the time it takes you to pay your bills the old-fashioned way, you can be up and running with e-banking. Best of all, once you enter who you pay bills to, you'll never have to re-enter that information. Your financial institution may offer e-banking via the Web or a personal financial manager or both. Web-based e-banking is generally easier and quicker to set up. All you'll need is a recent browser that supports U.S. encryption. To use your financial institution's personal finance manager, you'll need the software from that institution. How to set up an online account (You'll need a checking account established with the financial institution first.): 1. Have important information handy (account numbers, driver's license, social security number, credit card numbers, employer contact info, previous address). 2. Go to your financial institution's web site. 3. Click to the e-banking page of the site. 4. Fill out and submit the online e-banking enrollment form. 5. Within a few days your financial institution will send you a e-banking start-up package that will contain a user ID, password and web site address with instructions on how to begin e-banking. That's all there is to it! You'll be amazed how convenient e-banking is. Try it once, and you'll never go back.
E Commerce
E Commerce
An e-commerce solution for a business is the incorporation of all aspects of the business operation into an electronic format. Many well-established businesses have been selling on-line for years. For example, Dell Computers Corp., has been selling computers directly to end-users for years. Currently, Dell is selling excessive of 1 million dollars worth of computers everyday on the World Wide Web (WWW). When a business has incorporated an e-commerce solution, the business will experience a lower operation cost while at the same time increasing its profit. The e-commerce solution will allow businesses to eliminate unnecessary paperwork. All paperwork and data can be transformed into an electronic format. Thus, it will eliminate valuable shelf space and data can be searched and accessed in matter of seconds. E-commerce will also automates the sales process. Customers can "point & click" on the products they wish to purchase, fill out the customer information, and the product will be shipped and received in a matter of few days. The administration department does not have to fill out any paperwork because the customer had done it already. Thus, the efficiency will be greatly improved. With an e-commerce solution, the business will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. People from anywhere in the world with an Internet access will be able to visit the site at any time. They will not be restricted to the "normal" business operating hours. A "brick + mortar" business is normally limited to serving the customers in its local geographical location. With an e-commerce solution, that business will not be limited a geographical restriction, rather it opens itself to the global on-line market. Essentially, the business' market exposure will be greatly increased. In conducting my study, I have researched extensively on the Internet for resources. I chose the Internet as my primary research medium because e-commerce is still a fairly new technology. Since it is technology related, the Internet will provide the most recent data available. Printed publications will not be able to adapt to changes as fast and efficient as electronic publications. I researched many e-commerce related web sites along with some companies that conduct statistical studies. Some of the e-commerce web sites that I looked into are E-Commerce Times, eRetail, and eMarketer. The statistical research firms that I researched are Forrester Research and Jupiter Communication. Both firms provided valuable statistical data that shows the rise of consumers shopping on-line and the predicted dollar amount that will be spent in the coming years. Methods In conducting my study, I completed the following tasks: - I searched extensively on the Internet for sites that are e-commerce related. Upon visiting the sites, I evaluated each site for the contents, thoroughness, and objectiveness. There are literally hundreds of sites that are devoted to e-commerce. However, after my careful examination of most of them, I narrowed down to four sites that I will research for this report. - I have also researched many firms that conduct statistical researches. The two firms that I will be utilizing for this report are Forrester Research and Jupiter Communication. Both firms are known for their preciseness, non-objectiveness, and thoroughness. The statistical data I collected from these two firms will support my recommendation that every business should have an e-commerce solution implemented. Results From my research, I have developed fifteen reasons why every business should incorporate an e-commerce solution into the business operation. They are listed below. 1. To Establish A Presence There are approximately 70 million people worldwide that have access to the World Wide Web (WWW). No matter what industry or business one is in, one can not ignore 70 million people. To be part of that on-line community, one would need to be on the WWW for them. Because if one doe not do it, one's competitor definitely will. 2. To Network A lot of what passes for business is simply nothing more than making connections with other people. Every smart businessperson knows, it is not what one knows, it is whom one knows. Passing out one's business card is part of every good meeting and every businessperson can tell more than one story how a chance meeting turned into the big deal. Well, what if one could pass out the business card to thousands, maybe millions of potential clients and partners, saying this is what I do and if you are ever in need of my services, this is how you can reach me. One can, 24 hours a day, inexpensively and simply, on the WWW. 3. To Make Business Information Available What is basic business information? Think of a Yellow Pages ad. What are one's business hours? What does one do? How can someone contact the business? What method of payment does one take? Where is the business located? Now think of a Yellow Pages ad where one can have instant communication. What is today's special? Today's interest rate? Next week's parking lot sale information? If one could keep one's customer informed of every reason why they should do business with them; doesn't one think one could do more business? One can on the WWW. 4. To Serve the Customers Making business information available is one of the most important ways to serve the customers. But if one looks at serving the customer, one will find even more ways to use WWW technology. How about making forms available to pre-qualify for loans, or have one's staff do a search for that classic jazz record one's customer is looking for, without tying up one's staff on the phone to take down the information? Allow the customer to punch in sizes and check it against a database that tells him what color of jacket is available in one's store? All this can be done, simply and quickly, on the WWW. 5. To Heighten Public Interest One won't get Newsweek magazine to write up about one's local store opening, but one might get them to write up one's Web Page address if it is something new and interesting. Even if Newsweek would write about one's local store opening, one would not benefit from someone in a distant city reading about it, unless of course, they were coming to one's town sometime soon. With Web page information, anybody anywhere who can access the Internet and hears about one's site is a potential visitor to one's Web site and a potential customer for one's information there. 6. To Release Time Sensitive Material What if one's materials need to be released no earlier than midnight? The quarterly earnings statement, the grand prize winner, the press kit for the much-anticipated film, the merger news? Well, one sent out the materials to the press with "The-do-not-release-before-such-and-such-time" statement and hope for the best. Now the information can be made available at midnight or any time one specifies, with all related materials such as photographs, bios, etc. released at exactly the same time. Imagine the anticipation of "All materials will be made available on our Web site at 12:01 AM". The scoop goes to those that wait for the information to be posted not the one who releases one's information early. 7. To Sell Things Many people think that this is the number one thing to do with the World Wide Web. However, I have made it number seven to make it clear that I think one should consider selling things on the Internet and the World Wide Web after one has done all the things above. Why? Well, the answer is complex but the best way to put it is, does one consider the telephone the best place to sell things? Probably not. One probably considers the telephone as a tool that allows one to communicate with one's customer, which in turn helps one sell things. Well, that's how I think one should consider the WWW. The technology is different, but before people decide to become customers, they want to know about one, what one does and what one can do for them. Which one can do easily and inexpensively on the WWW? Then one might be able to turn them into customers. 8. To make picture, sound and video available What if one's widget is great, but people would really love it if they could see it in action? The album is great but with no airplay, nobody knows that it sounds great? A picture is worth a thousand words, but one does not have the space for a thousand words? The WWW allows one to add sound; pictures and short movie files to one's company's info if that will serve one's potential customers. No brochure will do that. 9. To Reach a Highly Desirable Demographic Market The demographic of the WWW user is probably the highest mass-market demographic available. Usually they are college-educated or being college educated, making a high salary or soon to make a high salary. It is no wonder that Wired magazine, the magazine of choice to the Internet community, has no problem getting Lexus and other high-end marketer's advertising. Even with the addition of the commercial on-line community, the demographic will remain high for many years to come. 10. To Answer Frequently Asked Questions Whoever answers the telephones in one's organization can tell one that their time is usually spent answering the same questions over and over again. These are the questions customers and potential customers want to know the answer to before they deal with one. Post them on a WWW page and one will have removed another barrier to doing business with one and freed up some time for that harried phone operator. 11. To Stay in Contact with Salespeople One's employees on the road may need up-to-the-minute information that will help them make the sale or pull together the deal. If one knows what that information is, one can keep it posted in complete privacy on the WWW. A quick local phone call can keep one's staff supplied with the most detailed information, without long distance phone bills and tying up the staff at the home office. 12. To Open International Market One may not be able to make sense of the mail, phone and regulation systems in All the potential international markets, but with an e-commerce solution, one can open up a dialogue with international markets as easily as with the company across the street. As a matter-of-fact, before one goes onto the Web, one should decide how one wants to handle the international business that will come one's way, because one's postings are certain to bring international opportunities to one's way, whether it is part of one's plan or not. Another added benefit; if one's company has offices overseas, they can access the home offices information for the price of a local phone call. 13. To Create a 24 Hour Service If one has ever remembered too late or too early to call the opposite coast, one knows the hassle. Not all businesses are on the same schedule. Business is worldwide but one's office hours aren't. Trying to reach Asia or Europe is even more frustrating. However, Web pages serve the client, customer and partner 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No overtime either. It can customize information to match needs and collect important information that will put one ahead of the competition, even before they get into the office. 14. To Make Changing Information Available Quickly Sometimes, information changes before it gets off the press. Now one has a pile of expensive, worthless paper. Electronic publishing changes with one's needs. No paper, no ink, no printer's bill. One can even attach one's web page to a database, which customizes the page's output to a database one can change as many times in a day as one needs. No printed piece can match that flexibility. 15. To Allow Feedback from Customers One passes out the brochure, the catalog, and the booklet. But it doesn't work. No sales, no calls, no leads. What went wrong? Wrong color, wrong price, wrong market? Keep testing, the marketing books say, and one will eventually find out what went wrong. That's great for the big boys with deep pockets, but who is paying the bills? One is and one doesn't have the time or the money to wait for the answer. With a Web page, one can ask for feedback and get it instantaneously with no extra cost. An instant e-mail response can be built into Web pages and can get the answer while its fresh in one's customer’s mind, without the cost and lack of response of business reply mail. Conclusion After detailed analyzing and studying of the effects and benefits of incorporating an e-commerce solution to an existing business, it is clear that an e-commerce solution will benefit the business in every aspect. The implementation of an e-commerce solution will generate a brand new revenue stream, expand the market exposure, and decrease the operation cost. Many Fortune 500 companies, such as Dell Computer Corp., have already adapted e-commerce into their business operation. As I have mentioned earlier, Dell Computer Corp. is currently generating over 1 million dollars in revenues from their web-site. Many well-known "brick & mortar" businesses are starting to establish their presence on the web. For example, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, the top book retailer in North America has just launched their web-site earlier this year following the success of Amazon.com. Amazon.com, the top book & music seller on the web, has been referred to have one of the most efficient business operation in the world today.
An e-commerce solution for a business is the incorporation of all aspects of the business operation into an electronic format. Many well-established businesses have been selling on-line for years. For example, Dell Computers Corp., has been selling computers directly to end-users for years. Currently, Dell is selling excessive of 1 million dollars worth of computers everyday on the World Wide Web (WWW). When a business has incorporated an e-commerce solution, the business will experience a lower operation cost while at the same time increasing its profit. The e-commerce solution will allow businesses to eliminate unnecessary paperwork. All paperwork and data can be transformed into an electronic format. Thus, it will eliminate valuable shelf space and data can be searched and accessed in matter of seconds. E-commerce will also automates the sales process. Customers can "point & click" on the products they wish to purchase, fill out the customer information, and the product will be shipped and received in a matter of few days. The administration department does not have to fill out any paperwork because the customer had done it already. Thus, the efficiency will be greatly improved. With an e-commerce solution, the business will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. People from anywhere in the world with an Internet access will be able to visit the site at any time. They will not be restricted to the "normal" business operating hours. A "brick + mortar" business is normally limited to serving the customers in its local geographical location. With an e-commerce solution, that business will not be limited a geographical restriction, rather it opens itself to the global on-line market. Essentially, the business' market exposure will be greatly increased. In conducting my study, I have researched extensively on the Internet for resources. I chose the Internet as my primary research medium because e-commerce is still a fairly new technology. Since it is technology related, the Internet will provide the most recent data available. Printed publications will not be able to adapt to changes as fast and efficient as electronic publications. I researched many e-commerce related web sites along with some companies that conduct statistical studies. Some of the e-commerce web sites that I looked into are E-Commerce Times, eRetail, and eMarketer. The statistical research firms that I researched are Forrester Research and Jupiter Communication. Both firms provided valuable statistical data that shows the rise of consumers shopping on-line and the predicted dollar amount that will be spent in the coming years. Methods In conducting my study, I completed the following tasks: - I searched extensively on the Internet for sites that are e-commerce related. Upon visiting the sites, I evaluated each site for the contents, thoroughness, and objectiveness. There are literally hundreds of sites that are devoted to e-commerce. However, after my careful examination of most of them, I narrowed down to four sites that I will research for this report. - I have also researched many firms that conduct statistical researches. The two firms that I will be utilizing for this report are Forrester Research and Jupiter Communication. Both firms are known for their preciseness, non-objectiveness, and thoroughness. The statistical data I collected from these two firms will support my recommendation that every business should have an e-commerce solution implemented. Results From my research, I have developed fifteen reasons why every business should incorporate an e-commerce solution into the business operation. They are listed below. 1. To Establish A Presence There are approximately 70 million people worldwide that have access to the World Wide Web (WWW). No matter what industry or business one is in, one can not ignore 70 million people. To be part of that on-line community, one would need to be on the WWW for them. Because if one doe not do it, one's competitor definitely will. 2. To Network A lot of what passes for business is simply nothing more than making connections with other people. Every smart businessperson knows, it is not what one knows, it is whom one knows. Passing out one's business card is part of every good meeting and every businessperson can tell more than one story how a chance meeting turned into the big deal. Well, what if one could pass out the business card to thousands, maybe millions of potential clients and partners, saying this is what I do and if you are ever in need of my services, this is how you can reach me. One can, 24 hours a day, inexpensively and simply, on the WWW. 3. To Make Business Information Available What is basic business information? Think of a Yellow Pages ad. What are one's business hours? What does one do? How can someone contact the business? What method of payment does one take? Where is the business located? Now think of a Yellow Pages ad where one can have instant communication. What is today's special? Today's interest rate? Next week's parking lot sale information? If one could keep one's customer informed of every reason why they should do business with them; doesn't one think one could do more business? One can on the WWW. 4. To Serve the Customers Making business information available is one of the most important ways to serve the customers. But if one looks at serving the customer, one will find even more ways to use WWW technology. How about making forms available to pre-qualify for loans, or have one's staff do a search for that classic jazz record one's customer is looking for, without tying up one's staff on the phone to take down the information? Allow the customer to punch in sizes and check it against a database that tells him what color of jacket is available in one's store? All this can be done, simply and quickly, on the WWW. 5. To Heighten Public Interest One won't get Newsweek magazine to write up about one's local store opening, but one might get them to write up one's Web Page address if it is something new and interesting. Even if Newsweek would write about one's local store opening, one would not benefit from someone in a distant city reading about it, unless of course, they were coming to one's town sometime soon. With Web page information, anybody anywhere who can access the Internet and hears about one's site is a potential visitor to one's Web site and a potential customer for one's information there. 6. To Release Time Sensitive Material What if one's materials need to be released no earlier than midnight? The quarterly earnings statement, the grand prize winner, the press kit for the much-anticipated film, the merger news? Well, one sent out the materials to the press with "The-do-not-release-before-such-and-such-time" statement and hope for the best. Now the information can be made available at midnight or any time one specifies, with all related materials such as photographs, bios, etc. released at exactly the same time. Imagine the anticipation of "All materials will be made available on our Web site at 12:01 AM". The scoop goes to those that wait for the information to be posted not the one who releases one's information early. 7. To Sell Things Many people think that this is the number one thing to do with the World Wide Web. However, I have made it number seven to make it clear that I think one should consider selling things on the Internet and the World Wide Web after one has done all the things above. Why? Well, the answer is complex but the best way to put it is, does one consider the telephone the best place to sell things? Probably not. One probably considers the telephone as a tool that allows one to communicate with one's customer, which in turn helps one sell things. Well, that's how I think one should consider the WWW. The technology is different, but before people decide to become customers, they want to know about one, what one does and what one can do for them. Which one can do easily and inexpensively on the WWW? Then one might be able to turn them into customers. 8. To make picture, sound and video available What if one's widget is great, but people would really love it if they could see it in action? The album is great but with no airplay, nobody knows that it sounds great? A picture is worth a thousand words, but one does not have the space for a thousand words? The WWW allows one to add sound; pictures and short movie files to one's company's info if that will serve one's potential customers. No brochure will do that. 9. To Reach a Highly Desirable Demographic Market The demographic of the WWW user is probably the highest mass-market demographic available. Usually they are college-educated or being college educated, making a high salary or soon to make a high salary. It is no wonder that Wired magazine, the magazine of choice to the Internet community, has no problem getting Lexus and other high-end marketer's advertising. Even with the addition of the commercial on-line community, the demographic will remain high for many years to come. 10. To Answer Frequently Asked Questions Whoever answers the telephones in one's organization can tell one that their time is usually spent answering the same questions over and over again. These are the questions customers and potential customers want to know the answer to before they deal with one. Post them on a WWW page and one will have removed another barrier to doing business with one and freed up some time for that harried phone operator. 11. To Stay in Contact with Salespeople One's employees on the road may need up-to-the-minute information that will help them make the sale or pull together the deal. If one knows what that information is, one can keep it posted in complete privacy on the WWW. A quick local phone call can keep one's staff supplied with the most detailed information, without long distance phone bills and tying up the staff at the home office. 12. To Open International Market One may not be able to make sense of the mail, phone and regulation systems in All the potential international markets, but with an e-commerce solution, one can open up a dialogue with international markets as easily as with the company across the street. As a matter-of-fact, before one goes onto the Web, one should decide how one wants to handle the international business that will come one's way, because one's postings are certain to bring international opportunities to one's way, whether it is part of one's plan or not. Another added benefit; if one's company has offices overseas, they can access the home offices information for the price of a local phone call. 13. To Create a 24 Hour Service If one has ever remembered too late or too early to call the opposite coast, one knows the hassle. Not all businesses are on the same schedule. Business is worldwide but one's office hours aren't. Trying to reach Asia or Europe is even more frustrating. However, Web pages serve the client, customer and partner 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No overtime either. It can customize information to match needs and collect important information that will put one ahead of the competition, even before they get into the office. 14. To Make Changing Information Available Quickly Sometimes, information changes before it gets off the press. Now one has a pile of expensive, worthless paper. Electronic publishing changes with one's needs. No paper, no ink, no printer's bill. One can even attach one's web page to a database, which customizes the page's output to a database one can change as many times in a day as one needs. No printed piece can match that flexibility. 15. To Allow Feedback from Customers One passes out the brochure, the catalog, and the booklet. But it doesn't work. No sales, no calls, no leads. What went wrong? Wrong color, wrong price, wrong market? Keep testing, the marketing books say, and one will eventually find out what went wrong. That's great for the big boys with deep pockets, but who is paying the bills? One is and one doesn't have the time or the money to wait for the answer. With a Web page, one can ask for feedback and get it instantaneously with no extra cost. An instant e-mail response can be built into Web pages and can get the answer while its fresh in one's customer’s mind, without the cost and lack of response of business reply mail. Conclusion After detailed analyzing and studying of the effects and benefits of incorporating an e-commerce solution to an existing business, it is clear that an e-commerce solution will benefit the business in every aspect. The implementation of an e-commerce solution will generate a brand new revenue stream, expand the market exposure, and decrease the operation cost. Many Fortune 500 companies, such as Dell Computer Corp., have already adapted e-commerce into their business operation. As I have mentioned earlier, Dell Computer Corp. is currently generating over 1 million dollars in revenues from their web-site. Many well-known "brick & mortar" businesses are starting to establish their presence on the web. For example, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, the top book retailer in North America has just launched their web-site earlier this year following the success of Amazon.com. Amazon.com, the top book & music seller on the web, has been referred to have one of the most efficient business operation in the world today.
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