Random SMOOTHIE Post

Since coming to the southern California area, I’ve learned quite a few things. One thing I’ve learned is that it is always really hot here, and you can pretty much wear shorts and a t-shirt everyday. Another thing I’ve learned is that since it’s always hot, you can enjoy a smoothie pretty much everyday.

The initial factor that started me on my smoothie journey was variety. I wanted to have a large variety of fruit regularly, but couldn’t seem to find a way to consistently fit all of the different kinds of fruit that I wanted to have into my diet. This issue continued until last year, when one of my roommates brought a blender and showed all of my suitemates and I some smoothie recipes. Since then, I’ve been making at least one smoothie pretty much everyday, for other people or myself. Now, I have a few main recipes that I cycle through depending on the occasion and what I’m in the mood for, and often experiment with different ingredients to fine tune my smoothie recipes.

For obvious reasons, the healthiest smoothie in my recipe arsenal is usually my daily go-to smoothie. Some of the ingredients include bananas, milk, greek yogurt, avocado, spinach, peanut butter, and a fruit that’s in season. Although this is my healthiest smoothie, it isn’t the tastiest smoothie that I know how to make. Whenever I have friends over and I really need to impress everyone with my smoothie-making capabilities, I mix up my recipe of choice and opt for something more adventurous. There’s actually an art to choosing the right recipe for your audience too. For someone that might have a sweet tooth, I’ll use an ice cream or gelato smoothie recipe, with fruit that’s in season to really flush out the flavors. For someone that might want to have a little more fun, I might use a recipe that incorporates alcohol, for a sort of faux cocktail. With these smoothies, I usually just make do with whatever alcohol is available to experiment and make a recipe on the spot. To be fair, these recipes don’t always turn out great. But the good news is that after a few sips people usually learn to love the smoothie! As for words of wisdom, if I had to give one piece of advice that could apply to my fellow smoothie enthusiasts of all levels looking to experiment, it’s that the most important step is keeping the lid on the blender.

A Nuclear World

And how it could be a good thing

What would happen in a nuclear world? No, I don’t mean the aftermath of a nuclear war. With all of the buzz about North Korea and nuclear weapons, it’s easy to see why people now seem to only associate nuclear power with the amount of nuclear warheads that a country has. I’m actually talking about a world where nuclear energy replaces the use of fossil fuels.

There are many reasons behind why nuclear energy is the best choice for replacing fossils fuels, especially when compared to other possible candidates such as wind, solar, and geothermal energy. In crowning nuclear energy the winner for the title of “Best Replacement for Fossil Fuels”, I considered four main factors.

• Pollution and the Environment
• Cost Effectiveness
• Safety
• Feasibility

Pollution and the Environment: Let’s be nice to the planet, we only have one

Carbon dioxide emissions caused by the use of fossil fuels to create energy is arguably the largest contributor to the increase of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. Nuclear energy, on the other hand, does not release any greenhouse gases. Since the creation of functioning nuclear reactors in 1971, it is estimated that nuclear energy has helped to prevent the emission of 56 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide that would have been released into the atmosphere if fossil fuels were used instead (World Nuclear Association).

http://www.neuralenergy.info/2011/09/

Although there are many other sources of energy that do not produce any carbon dioxide emissions, nuclear energy is the most viable. Other forms of energy, such as wind and solar energy, do not provide large enough outputs to be used as the new energy standards. However, hydroelectricity can produce large enough outputs to help power the world.

Hydroelectricity is an energy source that is often referred to as a one of the best sources of renewable energy, since relatively large amounts of energy can produced by it. However, the creation of these plants can ruin entire ecosystems (Markoff). Compared to hydroelectricity plants, the impact of nuclear reactors on the surrounding environment are nominal. Additionally, there is the issue of scaling up to meet the demands of growing energy consumption. Due to the massive size of hydroelectricity power plants, scaling up to meet increased demands would devastate many ecosystems.

Cost effectiveness: The best things in life are free (or at least cheap)

Now that we are trying to find a replacement for fossil fuels, we need to look at the cost of producing energy. When compared to wind energy, one nuclear power plant costs approximately the same as about 1000 wind turbines. However, one nuclear power plant produces the same amount of energy as about 1800 wind turbines, making nuclear energy nearly 45% cheaper than wind energy (Alexander).

https://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/Green%20energy_79881

In fact, one of the main reasons for the continued use of fossil fuels such as coal is because it is a cheap form of energy. The costs associated with creating energy from nuclear power is similar to that of fossil fuels, which begs the question of why we still use fossil fuels. France has apparently asked this question already, and couldn’t seem to come up with an answer. The country went ahead and reduced its reliance on fossil fuel by using nuclear energy. Now, around 75% of the country’s energy comes from nuclear power (World Nuclear Association). Go France!

http://www.memes.com/success-kid/96

Safety: But isn’t EVERYTHING related to the word “nuclear” bad?

The short answer is no. The long answer is it depends. As with all forms of energy, nuclear power doesn’t come without risks and consequences. Compared to fossil fuels, however, it is debatable as to which form of energy has more risk. Over the period of 1969-2000, the number of fatalities directly tied back to fossil fuels such as natural gases and coal added up to a little over 22,300 (National Geographic Society). This number represents only the known deaths too, as the decrease in air quality in some parts of the world have led to respiratory diseases such as lung cancer which are hard to account for.

Another possible safety issue that is raised would be the disposal of nuclear “waste”. Even from an environmental standpoint, however, the creation of nuclear waste is better than the CO2 emissions from the use of fossil fuels. The nuclear waste can be separated from the environment and contained, while CO2 emissions are not contained and go directly into the air that we breathe. To illustrate the large difference between CO2 emissions and nuclear waste;

• A 100 MW coal plant releases around 400 tonnes of carbon dioxide“ash” into the atmosphere per year (McInnes)
• A 100 MW nuclear power plant creates around 27 tonnes of waste, which can fit into a box with the volume of 3 cubic meters (McInnes)

Now, I know you’re thinking that this sounds too good to be true. To be honest, I didn’t really buy it when I first read about this either, but advances in technology have made this possible. The reason behind why such little waste is produced lies within the radioactivity of the objects. High level radioactive waste can now actually be used to produce more energy, leaving only very small amounts of waste that has relatively short lifespans (McInnes).

Feasibility: Less is more, but not when it comes to energy

https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/l/less_is_more.asp

When it comes to sources of energy, the world tends to look at quantity over quality. This outlook makes sense, since our main source of energy needs to be able to provide enough power for everyone. We see this in the use of coal. Although there is an abundance of coal relative to other sources of energy, the environmental impacts related to the use of coal make it “low” in quality. Following fossil fuels, uranium used as fuel for nuclear reactors is the next most abundant source of energy.

What do uranium and tin have in common? Both of these metals are comparable in abundance within the Earth’s crust. Uranium isn’t the only metal that can be used to create nuclear energy, though. When used with plutonium, thorium can also be an energy source. Plutonium can be artificially produced to meet the needs of nuclear energy production, and thorium is about three times more abundant than uranium (Nuclear Energy).

Summary:

Hopefully by now, you know that nuclear energy can be used for things other than as weapons of mass destruction and deterrents of war! In terms of being the best replacement for fossil fuel, nuclear energy clearly comes out on top. All of the other potential contenders such as hydroelectric, solar, wind, and geothermal have shortcomings that make them unfit for the title. We’ve talked about the misconception surrounding the dangers that are often connected with nuclear energy, and how it contains many of the benefits that are associated with the other forms of energy. One of these benefits being less carbon emissions than fossil fuels.  However, the areas in which nuclear energy really out shines the other forms of energy are in cost and consistency. Nuclear energy is cheaper than other sources of energy, and due to its abundance, can be a more consistent source of energy to power the world.

http://energy-c2.wikispaces.com/Nuclear-pros

Works Cited

Alexander, Lamar. "Top 10 Reasons Nuclear Power Will Be the Key to Americaßs Energy

Future." Online Posting. The Hill . N.p. , 23 Sept. 2010. Web. 18 Jan. 2017

Kent, Heather. "Uranium Can Be Mined Sustainably." Uranium Mining, edited by Tamara Thompson, Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010715211/OVIC?u=san00962&xid=c68af8ac. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017. Originally published as "Sustainable Uranium Mining: Grappling with the New Realities," Uranium Investing News, 24 May 2008.

Markoff, Steve. "Nuclear Power Issues." Nuclear Power ProCon.org | How practical Nuclear Power now and for the future. 12 July 2004. 18 Jan. 2017

McInnes, Colin. "Nuclear Power Can Help Fight Global Warming." Nuclear Power, edited by Lynn M. Zott and Helga Schier, Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010843220/OVIC?u=san00962&xid=90a110ab. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017. Originally published as "Nuclear Energy—The Key to a Low-Carbon Future," http://biztech.caledonianmercury.com, 2 Feb. 2011.

"Nuclear Energy." Alternative Energy, edited by K. Lee Lerner, et al., 2nd ed., UXL, 2012. Global Issues in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/VUABGA456058853/GIC?u=san00962&xid=9e680cd1. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.

Rabe, Barry G. "Not Here, Not There, Not Anywhere: Politics, Social Movements, and the Disposal of Low-Level Radioactive Waste. London." The Review of Policy Research, vol. 30, no. 1, 2013, p. 136+. Global Issues in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A320266631/GIC?u=san00962&xid=aa94f523. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017.

“World Energy Needs and Nuclear Power” World Energy Needs and Nuclear Power |   Energy Needs | Nuclear Energy Meeting Energy Needs. World Nuclear Association, 14 Nov. 2016. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.

Growing a Farmer (Pt. 2)

In this second half of the book, Kurt stays true to his character from the first half of the book, and really looks to jumping into things right away. Just as his experimentation with honey led to the death of thousands of bees in the first half of the book, Kurt's journey to learn how to make ham led to the waste of large amounts of pork over the course of many years. One would think that after one year of unsuccessful ham production, that Kurt would feel the need to be less wasteful. However, Kurt continued on his own quest to find the best method for him.

One aspect that I found interesting in this latter half was his use of milk to create many different products. In all honesty, this was something that I did not think small farm, like the one that Kurt had, could venture into because for some reason I always imagined that all yogurt, cheese, and butter were created by big machines in large warehouse buildings. In this episode about milk and different dairy products, Kurt describes flashbacks to his childhood and his experiences with different products. One product he talks about is powdered milk, and how his household was unable to afford real milk at one point in his childhood. Kurt contrasts his past to the present, where he has cows which essentially produce him gallons of milk daily for "free". Great job Kurt!

One of the key takeaways from this latter half of the post is that life is unexpected. The small things that we seem to take for granted throughout our lives may actually end up becoming dominating parts of our livelihood in the future. Just as Kurt did not ever expect to become a full-time farmer growing up, I don't expect to be a full-time farmer either. But hey, maybe I'll have a change of heart and take up farming one day. I'll have to make sure that I don't accidentally kill thousands of bees, since they're endangered now.

JOB Post

Benjamin Hy

Writ 340

Prof. Hansen

8 September 2017

Investment Bankers

Whenever people think of investment banking, they usually tend to imagine one of two things. People either imagine clips from the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, or imagine sleazy business men that plot ways to swindle the poor to make themselves richer. Well, I’m here to rid people of these stereotypes by explaining what investment bankers actually get paid, a lot of money, to do.

Investment bankers, even though they often have bad reputations, are actually fairly important to growing companies. People often view investment bankers negatively because it seems as though investment bankers get paid large amounts of money to just move numbers around and shuffle money. Investment bankers might not provide or produce any tangible products, but the service that they provide is important. If investment bankers actually do provide services for companies and investors, and if they all didn’t act like the characters in The Wolf of Wall Street, what do they do?

Overview

When broken down, investment bankers only essentially provide a few services for their clients. The IB industry is still around today because clients cannot or do not want to complete these themselves:

·      Investors

o   Investing the money of investors to earn a return

·      Companies

o   Helping companies raise money, acquire other companies, and merge with other companies

What they do for investors

Investment bankers provide fewer services for individual investors than they do for large multi-billion, which makes sense because individuals have less money than large international companies. For individuals, investment bankers offer investing services.

For example, let’s say that you have a spare $10,000 sitting in your bank account. You want to invest the money instead of having it just sit there, but don’t have the time or the knowledge to make good investments. This is where investment bankers come in. People give large sums of money to investment banking firms to invest because the investment bankers:

·      Devote many hours regularly to studying industries, and making sure that they are “in the loop” within their particular industry

o   This means that you can trust, to a certain extent, that the person investing your money has more knowledge than you about specific industries

·      Have access to investments and deals that most people normally cannot access

·      Generally have proven track records

What they do for companies

Companies have very different needs than individual investors, and look to investment bankers for many reasons.

One of these reasons companies hire investment bankers is to raise money, in the form of an initial public offering, or an IPO. Investment bankers help companies raise money, and help to make the overall process much shorter than if the company tried to raise money through an IPO itself.

Another service that investment bankers provide companies would be help with merging with other companies, or acquiring other companies.

Let’s say that Toyota wants to buy or merge with a company. To do so, Toyota needs to go through many regulatory hoops and be careful not to infringe on any international laws. In this case, Toyota could choose to hire employees specifically for the purpose of facilitating mergers and acquisitions, or use investment bankers. Since companies do not regularly merge and acquire companies, the companies would have to pay hired employees a fixed salary, but the employees wouldn’t be working regularly. It makes more sense for companies to hire investment bankers to make sure that laws and regulations are being followed in these large changes.

Summary

As you can see, investment bankers are in the service industry. They sell their expertise and knowledge, and do a lot for both companies and individuals alike. If you take nothing else about investment bankers from this, just know that investment bankers save their clients time by selling their clients knowledge.

Statistics

Flesch Reading Ease: 65.1
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 8.3
Passive Sentences: 0%

(Very Slowly) Growing a Famer

The first half of this book has been interesting for me, in the sense that I never really thought about the amount of work that goes into producing the food that we walk to our fridge to simply grab and eat. Kurt Timmermeister provides insight into the amount of effort that goes into producing simply everyday necessities. Having started as a restaurant owner, Kurt recounts his journey that transformed him into the small farm owner that he naively believed that he wanted. I describe his desire to own a farm and be self sufficient as naive because Kurt had no idea what it took to be a farmer and produce his own necessities. Kurt seemed to follow a philosophy of "act now, think later," as shown in his attempt to become a small-time bee keeper without any real prior knowledge of how to raise bees. This endeavor leads to the death of seemingly tens of thousands of bees in the matter of months due to Kurt's inexperience and reluctance to plan before acting. Another time this is shown is when Kurt buys a cow without consulting anyone with experience in buying and selling cows, causing him to buy a cow that is not optimal for milking, before realizing that he should use a milking machine to milk his cow. The one time that Kurt actually thinks before acting is when he decides to plant apples. However, this momentary victory is cut short an unexpected issue. The deer that live in his property ravage his trees before they can begin producing fruit, ruining the fruits of his labor.

If there's anything that I have learned from this book so far, it's that people should really plan and ask for advice before jumping into endeavors. But even when people make well thought out plans, unexpected situations may arise too, ruining the planning and changing the results. Hopefully Kurt begins to think more before acting as the book continues, so that he doesn't cause to the unnecessary deaths of thousands of more animals every year.