Week of 3-24-08

Well for those of you who noticed, which I am sure not many of you mainly because you did probably because you don’t even know who I am, I missed class this past week.  The reason being is that I had to go home (home for me is in Indiana) because I had an interview for a potential job; it’s just another reminder how freakishly close graduation is approaching and I will be inevitably forced into the real world.  No more depending on mom and dad; that’s means no more car insurance under their names, no more health insurance provided by them, and most importantly, no more of that hotel-like hospitality that only your mom can provide for you.  siiiiiiiigh…  At any rate, I returned home this weekend for an interview for a potential job after I graduate.  All in all, I think it went pretty well and I walked away from it feeling confident and in control.  I felt I answered and responded to all the questions extremely concisely and methodically; it’s always good to research potential interviewing questions that employers may ask in you pertaining to your respective field.  The other key to an interview is first impressions; you have to make sure you are dressed professionally.  You don’t want to dress too flashy, as if you’re attending the golden globes, but you want make them remember you.  The other integral part of the interviewing process is your resume and cover letter.  I remember a CEO once told me that if you wouldn’t be willing to frame and hang your resume on a wall, then it’s not good enough to present to the company you wish to get a job at, and I really think this is true.  Resumes and cover letters are essentially a representation of you.  If they’re sloppy and visually not pleasing to look at, then most likely you are too.  So it always good to have a well polished and well written resume, because after all, your resume and cover letter are also the likely reasons you got the interview in the first place.  As for me, I guess I just have to wait and see and hope they contact sooner rather that later.  Oh, always, ALWAYS send out a letter of thanks.  Regardless of what happens and how things turn out, it’s always in your best interest to take the time to send them a letter letting them know you appreciated them taking the time and presenting you with the opportunity.  

Annotated Bibliography 3-24-08

History 120:  Annotated Bibliography

Books:

Kutz, Gregory. Investigation : Military Meals, Ready to Eat Sold on EBay. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2006.

I found this book in the library at Fenwick.  I’m not sure exactly how it will be beneficial right, but it was one of the only books I found regarding Meals-Ready-To Eat.  From what I have read so far it talks in large part about some of the MRE’s that are available to civilian consumers today.

 Sommers, Richard. Military History Research Collection. Carlisle Barracks:U.S. Army Military History Research Collection, 1972.

This book too was found in Fenwick’s stacks.  I did a publish date and topic search and found this historic collection’s book.  It was published around the time when MRE’s were first introduced and has some brief information on the formation and characteristics of MRE’s.

 

External Websites:

“Full Moister Pouches-Meals Ready to Eat.” Long Life Food Depot. 28 Mar.2008 <http://www.longlifefood.com/>.

This is a great website.  LLFD is a government-contracted company that produces MRE’s for today’s soldiers on the field.  It gives great information about how they started producing them and how demands and characteristics have changed since their inception. Everything from menu changes to the technology needed to warm these bad boys up, they do it all.

“MRE History.”MRE Info. 28 Sept. 2007. 27 Mar.2008 <http://www.mreinfo.com/us/mre/mre-history.html>.

I found this website through a google search.  It’s probably one of the best pieces of information I have found so far.  It goes into great detail about when, why, and how the MRE’s came into existence.  It’s a website solely dedicated to the Meal-Ready-To-Eat. From everything from pictures to ingredients this website seems to have it all.

 

Wikipedia Articles

“The Evolution of the MRE.” Whole Latte Love. 28 Mar. 2008  <http://www.wholelattelove.com/articles/evolution_of_mre.cfm>.

This website talks about the evolution of the MRE.  It references back to the 1800’s and progresses to what has become of the MRE today.  I think this will be useful because it talks about President Jackson who first initiated soldier rations  and talks about what we have today in the MRE.

“Flameless Ration Heater.” Wikipedia. 9 Mar. 2008. 27 Mar. 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flameless_ration_heater>.

This talks about the innovation behind warming up the MRE’s.  It’s a really interesting technology called Flameless Ration Heater(FRH) that uses exothermic chemical reactions to generate an intense, flameless source of heat.  That has been the technology for about the past fifteen years, and I am not sure whether it has changed or not.  So more research should indicate whether this method is still currently in use or outdated.

 “Meal, Ready-to-Eat.” Wikipedia. 25 Mar. 2008. 27 Mar. 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRE>.

This article provides a brief introduction as to what the MRE is and where it has come from.  It will be helpful because it provides a starting point for a lot of potential topics I can research.  It’s also interesting because it list about forty of the current available MRE that soldiers are consuming today.

 “Rochester Institute of Technology.” Wikipedia. 29 Mar. 2008. 28 Mar. 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester_Institute_of_Technology>.

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is responsible for developing the technology used to heat up MRE’s known as FRH.  They developed this technology and it was actually added as an MRE component in May of 1990.  I am not sure when they actually started developing this technology, but does say they are accredited with its development.

Class Reflection Week of 3/17/08

I know this class I didn’t contribute a lot, but it surely wasn’t for a lack of ideas running through my head.  This class, one of the topics we discussed was how colored people and white people were segregated.  Another thing I remember discussing was how they used to determine whether or not someone was white, colored, or Indian.  I find it comical the people were so bent on separating whites from other races that they went to the lengths of creating living parameters so that colored people couldn’t live on the same street, or within a certain number of houses from a white person.  I don’t know, that’s just so absurd to me.  Obviously beliefs and things like that were far different than they are today, which is most likely the main reason I have a hard time understanding why certain things were done they way they done back then, but I just don’t know how they thought what they were doing was actually going to benefit them or help preserve the white race, or even help it evolve.  Thankfully we were able to realize our wrong doings and change things, but clearly not before a lot of damage had been done.  The other thing discussed was how they used to determine whether or not a person was a certain race or color.  Sure they had a system for stating who would deemed white, colored, or Indian, but I don’t know how they actually enforced it.  I mean as it was, the majority of the colored people that were now freed slaves had no documents whom they were or where they came from, but it’s completely impossible that decades later they could somehow determine that they were indeed 1/16 colored, ultimately deeming them unworthy of so many privileges.  Something was said about how they could determine someone’s race by interpreting their actions and personality.  That’s just completely absurd.  I mean did they not realize that everyone’s different.  I mean regardless of race, white or colored, people just act differently.  That’s what makes being you, YOU, and I really don’t know how they could actually go about enforcing those ridiculous rules.

MY WEEK OFF!!! :-(

Hey everyone,I hope you all are having an exciting spring break and doing lots of crazy, rambunctious, and “you better not tell anyone about this” things.  I wish I could say I was somewhere south, basking in the sun, only to wake up from drinking too much and notice that I look like a lobster because I’ve been in the sun too long without any sunscreen(by the way I just read an article in Science News where they said sunscreen may be absolutely useless.  Contrary to their initial belief, that you were being protected from the harmful rays by wearing sun screen, that in fact, it actually blocks out everything but those rays that are harming you.  Although you may not get tan, it’s still letting through all those harmful little rays.)  Anyways, as for me, I’m going to be working this week and trying to make some money and I’m actually going to be trying to get ahead in some reading for a couple classes that I fell behind in.  I may even read the wiki articles for this class a couple weeks in advance, but who knows.  I hope you all have a great time, and hopefully if you feel compelled, make me feel extremely jealous and tell me what your doing. 

Class Reflection-Week of 3/3/08

In tonight’s class I believe the theme was movies; it’s a theme that I particularly had interest in because I love watching movies.  We watched a few clips from each of the three different movies (Gods and General, Glory, and Cold Mountain) all containing foundations based on war and soldiers.  Professor Boggs mentioned that one  of his Professor at Virginia Tech was actually one of the consultants during the making and production of this movie because of his acute  attention detail regarding the civil war, a fact that I found really cool.

In watching the clips (namely Gods and General), and even though I had learned this previously in other history courses, I still was just so amazed by the war strategies that were used for this time era, especially regarding close combat encounters and small arms fire; the soldiers just got into lines by the hundreds, row after row of them, and walked so aimlessly, directly into the opposing line of fire, exchanging rounds of ammunition of all sorts, all while people were dying and just completely getting massacred everywhere, and yet it seems nothing ever successfully deterred them from continuing on their march that would eventually result in sure death.

The discussions also really brought up a couple of thought provoking topics.  I mean, just how did they know from who’s perspective to tell the story, and where exactly did the get the sources?  Did they somehow retrieve the General’s journal, or was it one of the soldier’s diaries that they came across from whom they collected the essential materials and information from in order to accurately depict the war; you really don’t know and that’s what makes you really question the credibility of the producer’s representations.

 

Post #2: Jordania

Jordania: The Utopia for Everyone!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24320368@N06/2304604199/ 

 During the Jacksonian American time-period the nation was experiencing a tumultuous epoch in which vast changes were being made. Many considered the new changes to be unacceptable, and instead of hanging on to their old communities in fear of what they might become, many decided to let go and moved westward to create their own towns and own communities. They hoped to create a utopian community that would enable them to live by their own standards and rules. They could implement their values and use them as a basis of law that would eventually govern their new homeland.

 

After reading and examining problems people faced from the Jacksonian time era, I created a community that I felt would best alleviate the problems associated with this time-period while also incorporating a bit of my own personal tastes to make the community a representation of me and my values and beliefs. I created the utopian community Jordania. I named it after myself because I used my own personal style and incorporated certain aspects from my life to create it, just as people did when they moved west to create their own unique utopia.

 

I designed my community around the more avant-garde “Oneida Collective” rather than the timid and more conservative “Shaker” and socialist ideal. It has a capitalist feel to it, in that there are factories, agricultural, orchards, public buildings, but also really manages to capture integrate all the different utopian types and mix them into one. I believe this style of community would help to cultivate and promote happiness the most, while at the same time exude a feeling old fashioned simplicity, as can be explained by the church and school.

 

I placed a few houses by the river for those who enjoy the subtle sound of flowing water and can find comfort in the more scenic, water front properties. I then placed a couple houses in the woods for those more inclined to feeling the seclusion offered by the deep wilderness from being surrounded by trees and wild life. This will most likely appeal to those who prefer the “Oneida” idealism, as it will allow them to fornicate within the shelters and confines offered by the woods; they would also be out of sight from the more conservative inhabitants and therefore would have no affect on their presence in the community. Also placed far from the living quarters you will notice the agricultural fields, factories, and mills. Again, this is to give the more conservative inhabitants the sense of stability and control, in that they aren’t surrounded by modernization and industrialization. At the same time these features also appeal to those who are advocating progression and advancement.It gives them the option of working and making money outside the boundaries and limitations from tending to their homes.

 

Finally, I placed the public building and park on the opposite side of the river. For those who are making a trip to the park, it allows them to escape their every day, possibly monotonous lives, and enjoy the time away from home to let loose. The public building is right next to the church; this will kind of give off the vibe that the law and religion are intertwined, but at the same time they aren’t one in the same. In the end, I think everyone will love this community. It offers something for everyone and enables people to find a niche that suits their values and lifestyle that will facilitate happiness and order.

 

My Day Off 2/25/08

I hope everyone had a great night and enjoyed their time off from class tonight.   I’m sure it’s safe to say that no one did any extra studying or reading for history, or any other class for that matter.  Unfortunately, I had to use my day off to study for my Finance 411 class, Advanced Portfolio and Securities Analysis, which turned out to be the arguably the hardest exam I have taken at Mason.  Considering I spent a good chunk of time preparing for the exam, probably 15-20 hours in all, I was in a world of hurt from the get go.  Relatively speaking I feel I was one of the top performers.  Five kids put their name on the exam and filled out the multiple-choice, which only compiled for 30% of the exam, and then handed it in.  I talked to at least another five  kids who left the last four pages blank, which provided 60% of the total points.  One kid actually finished and completed the exam with about 10 minutes remaining.  Thankfully I finished and completed the exam with relative confidence, I can only hope I calculated the problems correctly.