Blog Assignment #6: Carte Blanche

For the 6th and final blog assignment I've chosen to write a bit about my view on Texas Hold'em Poker. .

It's a great game because you can play it in so many ways. If you are really good at it you can win a lot of money, and if you are a beginner you can play it with your friends.

Every now and then I play Texas Hold'em with a few friends. We play with a symbolic sum of money so that there will be better focus and some excitement with the game. To play just for fun is good when you learn how to play, but when you want to enjoy the game with a few good friends I can recommend you to spend some small amount of money. It gives the game some extra dimension and makes you think more of how to play your cards.

So if you are bored on a Saturday, call your friends and gather up for some poker. All you need is a deck of cards and some poker chips.

Blog Assignment #5: Contact

The 5th blog assignement was to read the book "Contact" by Carl Sagan.

Something that caught my interest was how the number pi was used as a "sign from God". Pi exists in everything that has something to do with geometry. In a message from outer space they receive plans on how to build an advanced space ship. They also find out that there can be hidden message in the number pi that will reveal more about the creater of the universe, or a God. This is the starting point for a journey and a search for aliens.

It's interesting how Sagan can mix religious messages with science. To use pi, which is a symbol fo science, as a "code" that will reveal if there is a God or not is an interesting aproach.

Seen Any Good Films Lately?

I’ve seen a lot of good movies recently and one of them is “Lord of War”.

The movie is about the Ukrainian immigrant dealer Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage). He is living a poor life in Little Odessa, USA, and one day he decides to change his economical situation. He becomes an arm dealer together with his little brother Vitaly (Jared Leto).

They start of with dealing arms to local mobsters, but this is not enough for Yuri. With the end of the Cold War he sees his chance to buy weapons cheap from a corrupted Russian officer. He supplies the illegal weapons to disturbed areas around the world. You follow his journey from a poor immigrant to a well-known arms dealer.

The movie has a good story with some really good actors. So if you are looking for a crime/drama movie this is one that I strongly recommend.

Blog Assignment #3: Video Game Addiction

I have always played video-games but I've never been close to being addicted by it. My father owned a toy store when I was little so I guess that came with a few benefits. I really can't understand how people can let it go that far, or the how the people around them can let it happen. When I was little I was only allowed to play when I was sick, when it was bad weather or maybe an hour or two in the evening before bedtime. These days’ children are allowed to play as much as they want. Whenever they want to.
I am one of the 8 million that play World of Warcraft. I play when I’m bored, at the evening when I’m done with my university studies etc. I actually play with a few of my real life friends. We play WoW together a few hours/week. Like people are watching a movie together (and we do that to ;)) It's a way of relaxing for me, but at the same time I have a great life away from the computer.

One of my friends from when I was a little kid was so deep into playing MMOG that he even bought items in the game for real cash! He played every free minute he had and eventually his parents had only one choice. They brought the internet modem with them to work. He was only allowed to surf 30minutes per evening. He was a normal guy. He played soccer and floorball like everyone else. But when he began to play that game (this was before WoW) he changed in a second. Today he is back to normal, and that’s because of his close ones who did what they had to do.

The problem is that parents put their kids in front of the computer when they don't have time with them. The kids play more and more. Eventually they will get a bigger interest in it, which in bad cases can lead to addiction. The parents stay happy because they don't have to look after their own children, driving them to sports etc. So with this stressed society we live in today it will become more and more common with these kinds of addictions.

We can't point how people should live their own lives, but when they have a problem we should be there to help and support them. The most important thing is to show your friends that you are there for them when they need it.

Blog Assignment #2: The State of the Planet

Of course we need to do something to save our planet. Take a look at the global warming and there is no doubt that we all need to contribute if we want our offspring to live with a normal climate.

As a result of our pollutions there are more and more natural disasters all over the world. Here in Sweden there have been relatively few, but the hurricane that struck us in the beginning of 2007 and the landslides in the end of 2006 are just pointers to where we might be heading. The damage the hurricane did to the landscape and to the people that lived there where tremendous.

I shudder when I think that this can actually happen to me, or to my close ones someday in a not to distant future if we don't care about our environment. To predict our future will be as hard as to win on the lottery, even if we begin to do something, it might not be enough. But we have to try, we owe the future that much.

An extremely precarious time is a head of us, even if you only take the buss instead of driving your car; it's at least a step in the right direction. I always take my bike to the station, and from there I take either the train or the bus to the university, instead of driving my own car. It's a small step in the right direction.

The future might be intimidating for us, but it can also be a very bright one if we work hard for it. Stop driving that car of yours and take the bike, don't be so lazy. Try to save some energy; you don't need to have the TV, your stereo and your computer on at the same time. You can't use them all at the same time.

Steven

Blog Assignment #1: University Studies

KAU, the starting point of my journey towards my distant future. Why did I decide to start it here?

I have always been interested in chemistry, studied chemistry during high school, and thats what made me do my decision about my future. After a year of working at ICA MAXI I decided that it was time for me to study again. Chemistry was the main subject, the question was only where to study it and to what.

After some research my choice was Chemical engineer. Since Karlstad is pretty near where I live, approximatly 40km, it wouldn't be any problem if I found out that chemical engineer wasn't something for me.

But here I am, 3 years later, enjoying every bit of it. So I guess my choice was right! Only 1,5year left! ;)