My Thoughts on the Super Bowl

If you did not get a chance to watch the Super Bowl, I’ll fill you in on what happened. The Seattle Seahawks demolished the Denver Broncos 43-8. A matchup between the league’s best offense (Denver) and best defense (Seattle) turned into a clinic by the latter of the two. Many were shocked, being that this year’s MVP, Peyton Manning, was in the losing squad.

I was rooting for the Seahawks the whole game, but heading into Super Bowl Sunday I was convinced Manning would lead the Broncos to a championship victory. The Broncos came into the game as of one of the most potent offenses to ever play the game. Peyton Manning and his boys together broke 14 different offensive records during the regular season. With credentials like that, you would expect them to put up some large numbers in the Super Bowl, but that was not the case on sunday.

On the other side of the ball, the Seahawks came to play. They held Denver to only 27 rushing yards, and forced 2 fumbles on the way. They also made two interceptions, one for a touchdown. To start the second half, Percy Harvin took a kickoff 87 yards to the end zone to extend the lead by 22 points.

Overall, I don’t think this game is going to help the popularity of the NFL. The past 6 super bowls had all been nail biters, which kept the TV audience captivated. Fans don’t like blowouts. Fans don’t like to watch one-sided football. Fans don’t like to see one of sports’ biggest icons (Peyton Manning) get humiliated. Another let down to the fans was the the ads. In recent years, many people only watched the game for the commercials, which were mostly comical. This year, a lot of fans were let down with the scarcity of humorous commercials.

I was disappointed with the Super Bowl this year because of the quality of entertainment. It wasn’t very competitive, and the commercial breaks were boring. I’m still going to watch next year, but not because of anything that happened this year.

Anything you want to say about the game? Comment below

Electronic Home

Do you think our already technology rife world could use a bit more gadgets? Look no further than to Google, who just purchased Nest, a home automation company in California for a grand total of $3.2 billion.

What exactly does Nest do? So far they have released two home products on the market. A thermostat and a smoke/CO detector, both going for $249. doesn’t sound like much.

Google made this purchase was because they were investing in the future. Nest had been trying to take everyday objects, like a refrigerator or an oven, and make it more efficient, and integrated into a whole electronic system.

This whole new market has been called the “Internet of Things”. Everyday objects all interconnected. Lowe’s, AT&T, Belkin, LG, and Samsung are among the giants who are beginning to invest in this new market.

Some products getting ready for release are the LG HomeChat washer that you are able to text, A Crockpot from Belkin that can be used with an app, and home locks that can be opened or closed with an app.

Right now the biggest block in the road to the future of electronics is the amount of independent systems existing already, that do the job these bigger companies are trying to do. The way I see it, that is really good. Instead of a company like Samsung prematurely releasing a product to make some quick cash, They are going to have to wait a bit until what they make is better than what is already available. Hooray for consumers!

I’m personally looking forward to the arrival of this technology. Many people are afraid of what this would mean in terms of privacy, but I don’t think that will be much of an issue.

Read more at http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/01/14/from-washing-machines-to-crock-pots-connected-home-is-coming/

Thoughts? Comment below with whatever you want to say about this.

Doodle More!

Here’s something that will catch you off guard. Doodling doesn’t mean you aren’t paying attention! Some studies have shown it is actually a good thing to do. That is exactly the opposite of what I’ve been taught and what teachers have said to me when they’ve scolded me for doodling in class. In a recent article I read on CBS News, I learned some interesting theories about doodles and some evidence to go along with it.

Many psychologists are starting to believe that doodling actually engages the brain. Many people who doodle claim to have improved problem solving skills because of it. Visual techniques seem to help explain ideas or plans to people struggling to see what you see.

One piece of evidence in the fight to encourage doodles is from a study in 2009. Two groups of people were played a long voicemail. The first group just listened to the voicemail, and nothing else. The second group were instructed to doodle during the voicemail. After the voicemail was played, The group that doodled remembered 29% more details than the group who only listened. Doodling seemed to IMPROVE memory in this case.

Some psychologists believe that doodling is not the distraction itself, it is instead a way we protect ourselves FROM distraction. It acts like a barrier so that distractions can’t get through to our heads

Jesse Prinz, a professor teaching philosophy of the mind at the City University of New York, has this to say about doodling.

"Think about mindless drawing as a way to take all those things that distract you, all those subjects that you ruminate on, and clearing them away, and opening this space where information can get in. Doodling is the attentional sweet spot."

He says when we doodle, we are open to learning. If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. When we doodle we aren’t taking in distracting information like we would if an iPad was put in front of us. The only information you receive is the information being shared by others around you.

Then again, we could benefit greatly from NOT doodling. Who knows?

Read more at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-higher-purpose-of-doodling/

Think you know? Comment below to weigh in.

Murderer or Hero?

Today I just learned of a court ruling in New Mexico one week ago that could legalize physician-assisted suicide in the state. This would let patients who are mentally stable and terminally ill to choose death via the physician. The patient would take a drug given to them by the physician that painlessly kills them. New Mexico would be the 5th state to allow this.

Obviously this creates a large controversy.

On one hand you have the people who support this law. People like Judge Nan Nash, the man who passed this ruling. Nash says,

“This Court cannot envision a right more fundamental, more private or more integral to the liberty, safety and happiness of a New Mexican than the right of a competent, terminally ill patient to choose aid in dying. If decisions made in the shadow of one's imminent death regarding how they and their loved ones will face that death are not fundamental and at the core of these constitutional guarantees, than what decisions are?”

Nash raises good points. He wants people who know they are going to die soon, possibly in a very painful way, to have the right to end their lives without pain. He sees this as a right.

On the other hand you have those who oppose this. People like Leon Kass, MD, PhD, a doctor against assisted suicide. He brings up the Hippocratic Oath, saying,

"The prohibition against killing patients... stands as the first promise of self-restraint sworn to in the Hippocratic Oath, as medicine's primary taboo: 'I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect'...”

The Hippocratic Oath is a set of guidelines that practicing physicians swear to abide by in their work. People against assisted suicide bring this up because it is in direct contrast with what the law would bring about.

I am still not sure about where I stand, as it is an enormous statement about yourself to take either side

There are many more arguments for and against, and you can find them at http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000126

Thoughts? Want to voice your opinion? feel free to leave your comments below.