Taking Tests

I was riding my bike to the testing center the other night to take my midterm exam for Media, Family and Human Development. As I was riding, I remembered learning in that class that listening to music before taking a test could help you do better (this particular study didn't did look at listening while studying or while taking a test, but just listening before you take the test). Well, I actually hadn't been listening to anything while studying nor before taking the test, so I was a little disappointed that I hadn't taken advantage of something that could possibly help my score. Then I remembered that it didn't matter if it was Mozart you listened to, rhythm sounds, or the sounds of traffic, but that just listen to something was helpful!  So as I rode my bike to the testing center, I focused on listening to the sounds of traffic around me.  And guess what, I scored a whole 10 points better on this test than I did on a similar test (for a different class, but same teacher).  So maybe, just maybe, it actually worked for me.  It was fun to think about none-the-less. 

Roku

I find that I have a tendency to be behind when it comes to technology and what's coming up. So I don't know how long this has been out, but my husband just told me about Roku. I guess it's a streaming media player that uses your wifi connection to stream media onto your TV.  Companies can create an app for the Roku player and users can select what content they want. The Roku is a one time price (not too expensive apparently) and the apps are then free.

I know in the past I have mentioned to my husband my concern of all the junk that is available on cable and that I wasn't sure if I wanted that in our home for our kids to potentially view. I thought it would be great if we could somehow only have the option of just a few channels that are uplifting (such byutv). But now it seems like Roku is the perfect option for that were we really could just pick a few apps of channels or whatever that we felt was good to have in our home.  Perhaps in a few years when we have money we will get Roku.

A Second Birth

On Saturday my husband and I went to see a play called A Second Birth. I actually had no idea what it was about until I stared watching it, but it was actually really good! It was in a small theater downstairs in the HFAC. There were chairs all around the room facing the middle where there was a small circular stage. Only a handful of people were composed of the cast, and when they were no actively performing on the stage, they would sit on the ground and turn the stage so that it would circle around. I just loved how close and intimate the environment was for the play.

The play took place in Afghanistan and was about a girl who was a bacha posh. Bacha posh is girl who's parents dress up as a boy so that they can attend school, work, etc. and bring honor to the family. These girls who are dressed like boys learn how to fight, play soccer, and do things that boys do. The Bacha posh in the play reaches the age where she is starting to develop, and he parents are worried that she will be discovered (which could mean death), so her parents decide to arrange a marriage for her. She quickly has to learn how to cook, sew, and various other skills that a woman is expected to do. She certainly fights against this and feels that her freedoms are being taken away and that her life will confined where she will feel like a slave. There is however a fun twist to the play and how it ends.

I liked the play because it really makes you think about men's roles and women's roles and what really makes us different...or the same. I believe men and women are more the same than they are different, but that by having different roles can bring the potential to accomplishing great things as a couple, if used properly and with wisdom. 

Toilet Phone

So...this is kind of embarrassing. I was walking into the bathroom and the cell phone that was in my back pocket fell out...into the toilet! Yes, it got wet, but in the most awkward way. So naturally I reached my hand into the bowl to get it out. Gross!!! The saddest part of this whole thing is I did the exact same thing almost a year ago where I dropped the exact same phone in a toilet. As of now, my poor little phone is sitting in a bag of rice, in hopes that it will work again. It worked for a whole year after the last toilet plunge, so if it's fine again I will be very impressed (especially seeing how I have one of the cheapest phone you can possibly get).

It's times like this where I get a little reality check on how dependent I am on my cell phone. Without it this evening I couldn't call my husband to tell him the "bad new". Tomorrow, no one will be able to get a hold of me. I think it's the curiosity that kills me, wondering who might be trying to text or call for whatever reason. I think I've decided to just try and enjoy tomorrow as a cell phone free day.

Foldit: video gamers helping scientists

We talked about video games in my Media, Family, and Human Development class yesterday. For a very long time I've been pretty against video games, especially the violent ones. I've seen how they can be addicting and lead to outcomes that I wouldn't consider the most desirable. Also, when it comes to violence, the scriptures talk pretty strongly against murder as a very serious sin, so I personally don't see how pretending to commit that "sin" by shooting and killing on video games is good for our soul. 

But, none-the-less, it was interesting for me to learn in class that those who play video games and become pretty good at 3D navigation, which has shown to be helpful in things such as laposcopic surgeries. Who knew that laposcopic surgeons who previously previously played video games had an advantage.

Well oddly enough, this morning my husband was watching a video about video-gamers helping scientists figure out protein folding. The scientist turned it into a game called foldit, and low and behold, the gamers were better than the scientists at it in figuring out how to do the protein folding. Anyways, it's pretty interesting and not very long, so you should take a look at it! So it appears to not all gaming is bad, but the skills you learn can actually be helpful.

Here's the link: http://youtu.be/axN0xdhznhY

Stress

So, we got a promotion in the mail for a free month of netflix. I'm not a huge media consumer and rarely watch movies. But my husband and I are giving it a try, and we'll cancel after the free month is over (for time and money reasons).

We watched a documentary by national geographic called Stress. I liked the documentary a lot because it talked about real research that has been done on stress and the neuroscience behind the effects of stress. I knew that chronic stress wasn't good for your health and can lead to brain cell death, but that was about all I knew. Chronic stress actually has a lot of impacts. For instance, when we undergo stress, the bodies resources of prioritized and goes to heart, lungs muscles and brain (such as when an animal is running for it's life) and then other body systems shut down. This is ok for short "fight or fight" responses, but long term stress lowers the immune system and health problems can arise (because resources are not being distributed evenly).
I learned that stress is linked to accelerating the rate of shortening the telomeres on the ends of chromosomes. But acts of compassion and helping others increases the levels of telomerase which helps rebuild telomeres. One way I thought of this was that the saying of helping others in need makes us feel better, is actually true at a biological level.

Ok, I am not a science person and I might not have understood all the science behind everything, but that is the basic gist of what I got out of the documentary.

For the Strength of Youth

I recently was looking at the LDS Church’s website for the youth. If you haven’t seen it, check it out at www.youth.lds.org .  It’s been about 8 years since I was in that program, so it was interesting for me to see what has changed in the youth program since I left. It looks like they have a new For the Strength of Youth pamphlet, and obviously now they have this great website for the youth! The youth sure do love technology and media, and I think this website is a great resource for them to use.