Monthly Archives: September 2014

Class Speeches

Overall, I was impressed with my classmates’ Civic engagement speeches, because of their abilities to tie together elements of good speech making. However, a few stood out. These speeches combined good structure and content with an appropriate visual aid and exceptional delivery.

Although there seems to be an emphasis on visual aids in speeches, I find that the other elements of the speech are far more important. I think that a good speech (in terms of content, structure, delivery) without a visual aid is superior to a mediocre speech with one. Furthermore, a good speech makes a visual aid successful, that is, it matters more how the aid is used than what it is. For example, I don’t think a speech that only used a picture as a visual aid was any more or less successful than one that used a complete slide show.

In terms of delivery styles, I thought that the people who had a notecard, but rarely used it were the most successful. This is because they knew the content well, and the card helped them form a logical structure. Additionally, the speakers who spoke with emphasis were more engaging than those who spoke flatly.

Common pitfalls, most of which I fell victim to, include: not ending with a strong conclusion, talking about insignificant details, not tying each idea to the thesis or not having a thesis, and acting nervous. I know the last one seems critical, but I think my own speech would have been much better if I didn’t act to nervous. A nervous speaker makes for an uncomfortable, unengaged audience. The other pitfalls are fairly self-evident in the fact that they are factors of good communication through all means.

Confessions of a (want to be) Lumberjack

Confessions of a (want to be) lumberjack

When I was younger, I loved to watch my dad and others fell trees. More recently, clients and their neighbors seem to be fascinated and watch as I cut trees. I have noticed two key emotions that likely lead to this fascination. First is amazement that a human is dominating something much more massive than himself. The second is remorse for destroying an object of natural beauty that has taken so many years to grow and had potential to grow for countless years to come. However, felling trees helps to perpetuate the human race by providing it shelters, fuel, paper, or by protecting a single home from the threat of downed limbs in a storm. A portion of my job over the past few years has been removing trees that threaten to fall on homes or otherwise damage property, and so I have become familiar with the modern tool of the trade: the chainsaw. Here are some of my observations:

Take a course of course

My dad has always had a philosophy of “learn by doing”, so I was practically left on my own to learn how to use a chainsaw. I regret this not because anything went horribly wrong, but because it could have, and it is much safer and less frustrating to take a course.

Chainsaws don’t dig dirt.

After a tree is felled, one must then cut it into reasonable length pieces to burn, which is called bucking. The problem is that as you cut farther through the log, you get closer to the ground. One might think that dirt is soft compared to wood, however dirt is made of hard components such as sand (think sandpaper) and rapidly dulls the chain. To remedy this: put the log you are cutting on top of another piece of wood, or cut half way through then roll the log  over and cut the rest from the top.

Trust your cutting buddy

I wouldn’t trust Bobby to do my math homework, but I know he is always there to warn me of dangerous situation and willing to help get me out of it. Over the past two years, we built a sort of respect of each other’s abilities and a means of communication to make sure no one gets hurt. One analog is a football team, each player must be able to anticipate and rely on the others’ actions.

Bobby tying lead rope to pull down tree

Bobby tying rope to guide tree as it falls

Just for starters

               When I was still green, I tried to start it up the “cool way”, that is I held the string in one hand and forced the saw down with the other. The saw hit my thigh. Ironically, it didn’t start, and it only tore my jeans. The only safe way to start a chain saw is to pin the saw on the ground with your boot, and then pull the string upwards.

It’s not always as fun as it looks.

For every hour I spend sawing and feeling like Paul himself, I usually spend an hour hauling brush and logs.

Chainsaws are picky eaters

Chainsaws have what is called a two stroke engine. This means that the lubrication is incorporated in the gasoline, referred to as “Mix”. My family’s business is somewhat disorganized and on one occasion a mix can was switched for regular gas can. Although there is a color difference, one of my coworkers used the regular gas in a saw. In less than a minute the engine seized up, never to run again.

Does make matter?

I usually love to buy bargain brand goods because they are not much worse than the expensive version. However when it comes to chainsaws, I find discount saws to be endlessly frustrating. The Home Depot special just doesn’t cut it (hah) if you want something reliable. My personal favorite is the Stihl brand because their saws have a high power to weight ratio, are easy to start, and don’t quit until they are out of gas.

stihl

Making Your World a Smaller Place

While reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau I came to the point when he was describing why he was building a cabin near Walden Pond: “Man was not made so large limbed and robust but that he must seek to narrow his world, and wall in a space such as fitted him. He was at first bare and out of doors; but though this was pleasant enough in serene and warm weather, by daylight, the rainy season and the winter, to say nothing of the torrid sun, would perhaps have nipped his race in the bud if he had not made haste to clothe himself with the shelter of a house.” I am captivated with this perspective. I have been fascinated with the idea of shelter for a long time now; my job for the past six years or so has been focused on repairing peoples’ homes, and for even longer than that I have been building various shelters to sleep in (not all the time of course).

I would like to share with you some of my ideas regarding basic shelters. I built my first shelter when I was 10 or so, while walking through the woods and thinking a similar but simpler thought as Thoreau. The method I used this first time ended up being very viable, and I have used it with most of my shelters since. I started by finding a tree with a crotch about three to five feet off the ground. Then I searched for my main beam, which is a generally straight, long stick, four or more inches in diameter and around twelve or more feet long. One end of the beam goes in the crotch, and the other goes in the ground. Now is the time you must make sure the shelter is going to fit you, not after you have labored for hours. Next, I take sticks that act as ribs, at least one inch in diameter, and lay them from the ground to the main beam, making a tent shape. These should cover the whole beam on both sides at say a 5 inch spacing. Next, I like to gather sticks with many branches on them, and place them on the ribs to create some random cross work to support the next layer. The next layer is vegetation. I use dead leaves usually because of their light weight, good insulation value and ease of collection. I just gather handfuls and throw them on top of the cross work. My test for coverage is if you lay in the shelter during the day, there should be no light entering through the roof.

 

 

 

 

 

A few important notes about shelter building:

  • There are limitless ways to build a shelter and this is just one
  • Depending on available resources the design should be modified- improvisation is key
  • I tend not to cut down anything live; dead wood is lighter and easier to get
  • They don’t completely separate you from nature- I was sleeping in one I made and had a five foot snake slither out of bed with me in the morning

This first shelter I built was somewhat of a magical moment for me. The next rainy day after my shelter was erected I ran into the woods and sat in it (dry) for a long while, just thinking about my accomplishment. I had constructed something that separated me from the outdoors, and narrowed my world, using just what was naturally available.

RCL 3

This section of the book was particularly insightful because Ifemelu’s observations are of things we are familiar with, but with a unique perspective. I completely agree with her assessment of how American students participate in class. I always disliked high school book discussions when contributions were generalizations or otherwise not unique. I also agree with her assessment of Americans’ ability to speak English. I am not particularly proud of the way I speak; I often say many of the same things Ifemelu mentioned as common mistakes. I didn’t learn the difference between using well and good until seventh or eighth grade, and I think this is evidence that Americans tend not to speak with precision. I somewhat disagree with her assessment of school in general being easy in the US. Although I don’t have any other perspective besides my own of the American school system, I do not consider it easy. However, I am thankful of the opportunities and treatment we receive in the US school systems, like good instruction, plentiful materials, and a more relaxed learning environment.

I consider the major ideological difference between American and Nigerian school systems to be the general attitude. Specifically, the Nigerian system seems to be more direct, more business-like. In contrast, the American ideology has a more feel-good aurora. My guess is that the American school system felt more like the Nigerian one when the United States was a little less developed, and took less for granted.  I think this because I seem to notice a relationship between the wealth/development of a country and its value of education. Education can be the gap filler when it comes to surpassing difficulties of improving quality of life in developing countries.

If I was in her shoes, I think I would notice many of the same things because I am in her shoes. I notice lots of unnecessary questions and conversation, and a generally low demand learning environment (albeit this is my first semester). In this classroom, I notice that answers for questions in discussions are often repeated. This is not necessarily bad because at least those individuals who repeat answers have the chance to participate firsthand and reap those learning benefits as well as speaking skills.

Charlie Chaplin in “The Great Dictator”

One speech I particularly admire is Charlie Chaplin’s speech in his movie “The Great Dictator”. In this speech, Chaplin gives what is staged to be an impromptu speech. He starts very timid and quiet, but he gradually gains force and emphasis as the speech goes on. Generally, he is talking about his view of the current state of the world (1940). He says that men are becoming machines, and they must stop following the dictators of the world to fight for democracy.

The crescendo, and the parallels of language in Chaplin’s speech make it especially powerful. His crescendo of energy during the speech is apparent through several things. At the start, his eyes look distant, and his body language is very subdued. Also, his voice is even, without too much intonation. However, by the end of the speech, his eyes are focused, his body is in motion, visually emphasizing his words. He even includes a few air punches towards the end which shows the great energy in his speech. In addition, his intonation becomes varied and emotional. This is very effective because it gradually gets the audience in to the speech. He gains their attention and agreement with more general truisms, like saying all people no matter race, color, creed, nationality etc. Then when he has the audience’s attention he increases emotion and uses specific, more opinionated speech.  Also, I find his language very effective. He constantly uses parallel language in order to strengthen ideas. For example, he says people “think too much and feel too little”. This parallel language makes his speech strong because it not only creates a good meter, but it also increases potency of what he is saying by adding a layer of depth. In all, Chaplin uses effective crescendo of energy along with effective language to make an altogether powerful speech.

5 Misconceptions About Campfires

  1. “I can always light a fire if I have paper”

One time at camp, a particular kid- scout’s honor it wasn’t me- was in charge of making a ceremonial campfire, so he gathered some logs and wrapped them in toilet paper. He then lit the paper. He was sorely disappointed and more than slightly embarrassed when the fire quickly went out in front of the crowd. I later explained to him the following: Paper is great tinder (starting material) for a fire, but you must also have dry material ranging from the diameter of spaghetti to green beans to cheese burgers (can you tell I’m hungry) and everything in between. The basic idea is that you must incrementally lower the surface area to weight ratio in order to control the rate of the combustion.

  1. “It’s raining- I can’t start a fire”

Although it might seem impossible at times, with the right skills and drive one can almost always light a campfire. Once during my first campout as a scout (I was 12), there was a camp-wide competition to light a fire and boil a can of water in as little time as possible. After 24 hours of rain, and with no sign of it stopping, this was not an easy task. I first delegated two guys as “the tent” and had them lean over the pit to shield it from the rain. We gathered the driest wood we could from standing dead trees, under rock outcroppings, under leaves, and even pulled the lint out of our pockets. This eventually cooked us some water and we won-or at least were the only ones who tried.

  1. “I’ll dump some gas on it and light it”

The vapor pressure of gasoline is too high to do this safely- the liquid you pour on to the wood quickly turns into a gas that hovers, waiting for a spark and ready to explode. My favorite accelerant is diesel fuel. Diesel has a larger carbon chain length molecules than gasoline, making it less volatile, but still effective way to cheat. Diesel is also in my opinion the best fuel for vehicles- my dad’s truck gets 20 miles per gallon whereas a comparable gas truck would get 10mpg.

  1. “This firewood is too wet”

If you have a fire going, but run out of dry wood, you are still ok. You can simply stand pieces wood up close to the fire so the heat of the fire dries out the wood. Then, you can put the now dry wood on the fire, and stand more wet pieces up to dry.

  1. “It would be a good idea to put these river rocks in the fire”

Oh you didn’t think this was a misconception? It really isn’t, but my friends and I did it for some reason or another. A few minutes after being thrown in the fire, the water or air locked in the rocks expanded and exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. Thankfully it didn’t hit our eyes, but it sure didn’t feel good on my arm! Don’t get me wrong- rocks are great for making a fire ring, just avoid ones from a stream bed, especially sedimentary rocks like slate and shale.

Passion Blog 1

I currently have three ideas for the subject of my passion blog: Outdoors/outdoor skills, Fixing things, and Sustainability. I like to think that I have a decent amount of knowledge in each of these subjects so it is hard for me to pick just one.

My passion blog about the outdoor and outdoor skills would be based off of my knowledge and funny or interesting experiences with each specific subject area. I have spent basically my whole life experiencing and learning about the outdoors and I like to think that I know something about it. Specific subjects I could write on include: knots, chainsaws and tree felling, axes, shelters, backpacking, hunting, trapping, cooking over a fire, sailing/canoeing, fire lighting, knives, and RVing. For each one of these things I am able to discuss techniques, safety, and give personal stories or examples. I think that all of the topics are important things to know. However, I am not sure if anything I say will be too controversial so I don’t know if it would really entice commenters.

The second subject I may write on is “fixing things”. I have worked at my family’s business Highland Orchards for the past seven years. Besides farming, we also do construction and home repairs. Through work and other experiences, I think that I have developed a fairly vast knowledge of handyman skills. (I was known at my high school for being able to fix almost anything, and having the right tool to do it in my truck.) My goal would be to discuss how house hold systems work and how to fix them when they don’t. Topics I would write about include: fixing water leaks, troubleshooting electrical systems, how house hold wiring works, how well water systems works, and how sewer systems work.. I have personal experience with all of these topics and would be able to throw in a story about a time at work. Just like the previous topic, I think that the information I would write about is good to know but not very controversial and would therefore require me to be intentionally engaging.

The last subject I could see myself writing about is sustainability. I have gained experience of the topic through a few projects I have developed and also with some research. The general idea I want to convey is that people, specifically in the United States, should at least consider their impact on the environment and what they can do about it. Topics I could write about include: benefits (and drawbacks) of local agriculture, greenhouse design, row crop covers and drip irrigation, energy dependency and suburban culture, sod houses, solar collectors, why we still ne natural gas power generators, and erosion. Although I have experience with each of the topics I listed, I think that sustainability would require me to do slightly more research than the other two subjects because I don’t know enough specific statistics about each topic.

RCL #2

Write an RCL blog post in which you identify and respond to one of the “civic spaces” in Adichie’s novel so far. You might think about what makes the space civic? How does it function for its users? What messages about civic life does Adichie send?

One important civic space developed in Americanah through chapter 11 is the University. The University setting is a civic space for a number of reasons. For instance, it is a place where individuals come together for the common task of learning. This is civic because they are engaging in an activity with other like minded people, and it is accomplishing the task of generating knowledgeable people who are better suited for certain positions in society than uneducated individuals. Besides being a place where intellectuals gather in the common interest of learning, the University life provides the students and faculty an opportunity to civically engage with their government. The persistent strikes are a vivid image of this engagement. The university acts as a center for a dialogue between the scholars, the media and the government. The strikes make apparent the strain in the civic relationship between the universities and the government and therefore show that Ifemelu and others at the university are civically engaged. Ifemelu directly participated in demonstrations, giving the readers the notion that students in addition to the faculty are civically engaged. They protest, somewhat violently, in order to have their collective voice heard, and thereby make a civic impact. The university is an excellent example of a civic space because not only is the simple act of attending classes civic, but it also provides those who occupy the space a platform from which they can engage society and specifically their government with civic dialogue.

Adichie uses the specific example of the university as a civic space to send a message to the reader about the civic life. The notion that Nigeria does not have a stable higher education system shows a reader the status of civic life in the country, as well as urges a reader to consider a comparison to one’s own society. In all, she is very in tune to the fact that civic life varies from one place to another and she exploits this through her use of language to impact a reader’s perception of their own civic life and the one presented in the book.

Convincing Arguments

Think about a time when you tried to convince someone to change his or her mind. How did you go about it? Were you successful? Now think of a time when someone tried to get you to change your mind. What arguments did the person use? Was he or she successful?

I was unhappy with a particular mark off on a math problem, stemming from what I thought was imprecise wording of a question. It went along the lines of “how many one gallon cans of paint do you need to paint this surface?” I did my calculations, and determined it needed say 2.5 gallons; one gallon to the can so 3 cans to paint the surface. My teacher marked this wrong, 2.5 cans being the “correct” answer. I first approached him, and asked if we could discuss the problem. To change his mind, I attempted to be very polite and respectful towards him while showing him that his question was ambiguous. Although not convinced at first, I reasoned that if only one gallon cans are available and you need 2.5 gallons, Home Depot will sell you three, one gallon cans (not precisely 2.5 gallons/cans). I explained to him that I understood why he might mark it wrong, but logically speaking my answer also satisfied the demands of the question. Eventually, I was successful in convincing him that my answer was correct (or at least he gave up and gave me points back).

I went on a road trip this summer with six of my friends, and we occasionally disagreed on how we would go about doing things. I cooked many of the meals on the trip because quite often, no one else wanted to. One dinner was macaroni and cheese, a seemingly simple thing to cook. One friend (who hadn’t cooked yet on the trip) asserted that I should put less butter on the pasta than the box recommends. I asked why (since Kraft probably put lots of time and effort to determine ratios of ingredients). He responded by saying that that is how he makes it. Given the fact that he did not prove his credibility as a cook on the trip, or present any logical reason why less butter would make the mac and cheese taste better, my mind remained unchanged.