Reduce Reuse Recycle
Ok, I know I've been promising you all a post for a few days now, but unfortunatley I have to keep an informal online "science journal" for one of my j-school classes, so I used up all my wit and creativity writing that junk.To keep you ravenous wolves at bay, however, I've decided to cut and paste my science journal entry here for you all to enjoy.
Don't judge me, I'm a busy girl and there's only so much bloggin' I can do in a day!!
Sept. 28, 2005
Science has always been a weird subject for me. I've always really liked it, but I've never been very good at it. Though I think half the battle there is having a teacher who is able to successfully relate the information to students who may not be scientifically-inclined by nature, and I definitely didn't have much luck with that!
My science teacher in grades seven and eight was on the verge of retirement, and had basically checked out by the time I got to middle school. He refused to start the class until everyone was absolutely quiet, and would just sit at his desk in the far corner of the room until it was so quiet you could actually tell if the last class had left a Bunsen burner on. Anyway, put a bunch of 13 and 14-year-olds in that situation and you've got a recipe for a free period of chatting with friends (and evidently playing with Bunsen burners). I retained two things from that class: how contact lenses work, and the difference between a transparent and a translucent surface.
When I got to high school I took all the mandatory science courses and managed to scrape my way through. In grade 11 we were given the choice between doing chemistry or biology. On the advice of an older friend of mine I chose chemistry, mainly because the teacher was supposed to "rock." Unfortunately however, once I got my schedule, the rockin' science teacher had been replaced with the drastically under-qualified mother of one of my fellow students. Throughout the first semester we did the same experiment three times, and she lost our exams so we all got Bs.
Go Mike Harris.
Anyway, that basically sums up my science education. I've been lucky to have a lot of friends who have gone into science in university, and their passion for the subject is was lifted me out of my anti-science funk and inspired me to take this course.
And now onto today's science news:
Calamari Hoola-Hoops
I read a really interesting story today about how scientists in Japan used a camera with a bated hook on the end to capture the first photos of a giant squid in its natural habitat. The squid they photographed was about eight metres long, which is small for the species. The Citizen wrote that the largest one ever found washed up on shore in New Zealand and measured 17.7 metres.
I nabbed this photo off CBC Online. Pretty cool.
This story was fairly big news globally. I found it covered in the Ottawa Citizen, CBC Online, Daily Planet and even on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart!
Ice Caps
Another big news story today was regarding the rate at which the polar ice caps are melting. This past summer was apparently the hottest of the last four centuries, leading to record low amounts of sea ice. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Centre, if these temperatures continue, there will be no summer ice in the Arctic by the end of this century.
Well, those were the big stories I saw today. I also read something on CBC Online about a US columnist who wrote that some Canadians "prefer to be fat." I can't say I agree with him, but winter's coming and everyone has their own ways of keeping warm.
G'night folks.
P.S. Tomorrow I have a four-hour break where I'm being forced to sit in a room full of computers. If the mood strikes me I may post something more substantial then, OKAY? :P
