Response to Megan’s Blog

            In Megan’s blog she talked about a “how to video” that she found online. The video that she chooses to write about was how to perform CPR. She starts off by stating how learning CPR is the very basic first step in becoming a medical student. So, right off the bat she states the relevance of the video. Megan then breaks down and analyzes the speech. She talks about the how video doesn’t really have an introduction or a conclusion, it just starts off right away by saying how to assess the patient. She says the video did a good job of explaining each individual step well and clearly, and that the “dummy” was a good visual aid and helped out with going over the steps.  Megan also talked about how the presenter’s voice made the speech boring to listen too. She said he had a very monotone voice and lacked any excitement, what so ever. The presenter also only went over each step once, when in a “how to speech” it is best to repeat the steps, so it sticks in the audience’s head more. Megan did state that the speech did do a good job of outlaying the proper steps of CPR.

            Overall, Megan did a very good job of analyzing and breaking down this, how to give CPR demonstration speech. She did a good job of breaking the speech down and commenting on the little things that make up a good “how to speech”. She did a very good job out outlying and stating the good and the bad points of the speech.  Explained what the presenter did well and what he needed to improve on. In general, Megan did a good job on breaking down this “how to teach CPR” speech. 

Technorati Blog Post

The blog that I found using Technorati search is called “Anabolic Steroids” and written by the author “isteriod”s. This blog is a blog about anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) in sports from today’s society. From MLB to NFL to MMA, it covers steroids in all sports and the world. Steroids in baseball and running have been the attention lately as they have been recent issues in the last twelve months. This blog has been up and running since December 2009, but as an extreme high number of posts as there is on average 2-3 blog posts a day. The author of this blog does a nice job of utilizing hyperlinks to better their blog. It adds a nice extra dynamic to the blog, ass it adds a useful website that goes into more detail about the certain blog post that the hyperlink is linked too.  The author also adds a lot of pictures to the blog posts; most of these pictures is a certain athlete about the sport that the blog post is talking about. The odd time the author will add a video to its blog posts, which are usually some sort of interview about a specific aspect of the blog post.

            The blog post that I found that relates to my informative paper is from the same blog I talked about in the above paragraph. The name of the blog post is, “Olympian Eddy Hellebuyck Admits Doping “.  This blog talks about a Olympian runner who admitted to using anabolic steroids to enhance his performance. The reason for him using the steroid was to better his recovery (which I outlined in my informative paper). The tone and style of this blog is written in a very informal style, while my informative paper was more formal. The informative paper was more of a academic tone, while the blog was written for all ages to read and more in a amateur tone.

Response to Laurel's Blog

In her blog, Laurel talking about weather or not people’s organs should be allowed to be sold on the free market. This is a very controversial topic, and Laurel did a very good job explaining all of the detail that is involved with organ donation. She outlined both the positive and negative of organ donation. Her opinion on the topic is that organ selling on the free market place should be legal. Her main point behind her opinion was that it would help save many people’s lives. The idea that the more opportunity that someone who is in dire need for an organ is much greater to receive one if they are available on the free market place, just because of the fact that there are more available. This would help save many people’s lives. Her other point that favored organs being allowed to be sold on the free market, was that is it the individual’s right what they want to do with their own body parts.

 To me both of these points make a lot of sense. For some people there are long waiting lists for organs, which these people need to survive and by having them being sold on the free market, this will allow more availability for these people to get the organs that they need. Overall Laurel’s blog was well written, she did a good job of outlining the scenario and then giving details about the situation. She then expressed her views and thoughts well and clearly This blog was easy to read and respond..

Euthanasia: Ethics and Medicine

In our society on of the most discussed topics is the idea of Euthanasia. Euthanasia is when you kill someone that is extremely ill and is suffering in major pain that does not have a good chance of living anymore. This is widely discussed in the areas of medicine and ethics. A lot of people disagree with the idea of killing a person who is still alive, but on the other hand people say that a person should not have to suffer through such dramatic pain, if they have no hope in living much longer. I feel the side about keeping someone alive as long as possible goes under the radar a bit. You only get to live life once so you should be able to live as long as possible no matter what. There has also been dramatic cases where people incredibly get better when they are on the verge of dying. There is something to be said about the power of hope and believing. The BBC has an article that outlines points against euthanasia. These points are as follows: life is sacred, it devalues life, it is against the will of god, gives too much power to the doctors, and that it will be over used and abused. Another article from the New York Times argues for Euthanasia saying that no one should live through aments’ pain, and also that someone should have the right to choose what they want for themselves. All of these are really good points. However, I feel the best way to go is against euthanasia for the two reasons that life is too valuable to end sooner then its suppose to, and also people can make remarkable comebacks from being extremely sick.

Speech Review

      Overall I thought my speech was done well. I had my strengths and also several weaknesses that I can learn and improve on for my next speech. I will start with the things I thought I did well. First off, I thought I knew my points and knew my topic well, so I have good points to talk about. By knowing my points and steps to my speech, my speech was able to flow smoothly. The smoother the speech goes, the easier it is for the audience to understand and follow. Another thing I thought I did well was projecting my voice and talk loud. It is critical that you audience can hear your voice all the way from the front of the room to the back. Its no good if you are giving a speech and your audience misses a crucial point or step because you are speaking to quietly and the audience cannot hear you.  These are some of the things I did well during my speech.

            There are also several things I can improve on to make my next speech better.  I have to not talk so fast during my speech and slow my points down. I got going a little too fast on my speeches and therefore some of my points were not said very clear. This can be improved on my staying calm and not getting nervous in front of the audience.  Similar to slowing down my talking I have to try and not stutter on some of my points. This makes the speech less clear on points I am trying to get across. This can also be solved my not getting nervous and taking a deep breathe before giving my speech.

            I am going to take what I did good on this speech and what I can improve on from this speech and use the towards my next speech, and hopefully show some improvement. Overall, though I thought this speech went well. 

Response to Jake's Blog

       In Jake’s blog post he talks about an interesting article that he found on sports nutrition using “technorati search”.  Jake does a good job of first talking about the blog that he found using the search engine. He talks about the author and the author’s past, as long as explaining what the blog is about. He could of done a better job of going into a little more detail and talking about more specific topics in this blog that he found. Jake also describes how the blog is setup. He does a good job of this, telling us how the author uses pictures and hyperlinks effectively. This is a nice added detail Jakes talks about. Jake then talks about another blog that he found to be quite interesting. This blog is about health benefits from fish. He explains how the author writes this blog, which direct statements stating different ideas. However, he does not talk about any details on what the author is stating. Just that is about health benefits from fish.

            Overall Jake’s blog was well written. It was interesting to see how he finds sports nutrition so interesting. The blog that he found had some very good and insightful posts on it. The author did a good job on the blog, as it was easy to ready and follow. Jake’s blog post was like that as well. It is easy to follow and well organized. The only suggestion I can make is a little more detail in the post. Would of given the reader a little more information. Overall though, Jake’s blog post was well done.

Organs For Sale

When it comes to an individual having the right to sell his or her organs it is quite a debatable topic. I believe that an individual should have the right to sell their organs. It is their organs and they belong to the particular individual, so it should be up to them to do what they want with their body. These organs can do helpful things in our society and have the potential to save lives.  There are shortages for organs in the world today, and if more organs can become available via a free market then people who need these organs to survive can have the opportunity to purchase them and live.  For some people in this country, getting a new working organ is the difference between life and death, so why should the government keep people from getting organs and living. As long as the organs that are being sold are in proper working condition and are clean and do not have infection or anything wrong with them, then an individual should have the right the sell his or her organs.

After reading the article, “Sell organs to safe lives” my opinion does not change. It just re states my view and my opinion. The article talks about how the permitting of organ sales would allow more people to get organs when the really desperately need them, instead of waiting on a donor list and risking the chance to stay alive. Also it should be up to the individual what they want to do with their body parts. It is their body and people should have the right do sell or not to sell their organs if they choose. There are a lot of other worse things people can and do, do to their body. This is why individuals should have the right to sell his or her organs if they choose.

Response to Chuck's Blog

           In his blog, Chuck talks about the story of Henrietta Lacks and how author Rebecca Skloot writes about it in her book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”. He gives enough detail about the Henrietta Lacks story so the readers have an idea of what’s going on. He does a good job early on by pointing out how he feels about the issue of the Henrietta Lack’s story being told. He believes that the story should be told to all, and that it’s a shame not too many people acutely do know the story of Henrietta Lacks. It is important for our society to know how important Henrietta’s cells are to our world. Without them we wouldn’t have a Polio vaccine, have as much knowledge about cancer as we do, and other things in the medical field. Chuck also does a good job on stating how he feels that Henrietta Lacks family should get awareness and compensation for her cells being so successful. He also makes some good points when discussing challenges the author, Rebecca Skloot will counter when the book.

            In his blog of his points and opinions made perfect sense to me and were talked about in a clear and convincing manner. I agree one hundred percent with Chuck when he says that this story must be told and more people have to know about it. I also feel agree strongly when Chuck talks about how people should know how the doctors didn’t have consent from Henrietta lacks. The final great point Chuck makes, that I agree with is when he says how if it wasn’t for Henrietta’s cell then we could be set back in the medical world today.

            Overall Chuck did a very good job on this blog, he had a lot of good points that were very convincing.

How to Invest Stock

How to Invest Stock

            My “how to video” I choose to write about is talking about how to go about investing stock. I feel this is a good topic, as a lot of people want to invest into stocks because they hear about the great benefits that can come from investing. However, what people do not realize is that it doesn’t happen that easily. It takes a lot of knowledge and a little bit of luck to make money of the stock market.

            This video starts off by telling you to ask yourself two important basic questions before investing, “ What is your end goal?”, and “What is your budget?”. I feel these are two very important questions, as you should know what you are trying to get out of your investment as well as know how much you are willing to lose if your stock crashes. Another good point the video makes, is telling the beginner investor not to use all the “trade yourself” online stock websites like E-Trade, but to get a real stockbroker that knows what they are talking about. The third good point this video explains to talking about how many shares a person should buy when starting out. You should buy as much shares as your budget allows for. Do not spend more than your budget allows. This is how you get into finical trouble as you may very well lose a good portion of your shares. If you can only afford one stock of the company that you want to buy, only buy one.

            This video has a lot of good points and suggestions in it. However, the drawback to this video is how monotone the speakers voice and how the speakers voice could turn away people from watching this video and getting all the great investing points that are in the video. Overall this video has a lot of really good points for investing and is a good video for the person who wants to learn about investing to watch.

Thoughts on "The Immoral Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

            After reading the synopsis of The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks I feel very strongly that a story like the one of Henrietta Lacks be told and heard by the public. I say this for a two reasons. First off, Henrietta Lacks deserves recognition, as it was her cell that has helped develop very important vaccines and other advances in the medical world today. Some of these include; polio vaccine, viruses, gene mapping, and also cloning. If a single person’s cell can contribute this much to today’s society they deserve to be at least recognized. The second reason why the public should hear the story of The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks is because it is a somewhat controversial story. Where the doctor did not ask for consent to take cells from Henrietta Lack’s body. If anything this story can cause awareness and make sure the proper consent is happening in today’s society.

             Some challenges that the author Rebecca Skloot may of faced when writing this book is that she had to make it readable for all readers as that is what it was written for. A problem she might have faced is the one of finding the right academic tone to write in, as it would have to be an academic tone that all levels of readers could understand and relate to. This is hard as there are a lot of different reading levels throughout our country and the world.

            As I read The immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks there is one challenge I can see myself facing. The challenge for me well be trying to get a knowledge of the medical field and how someone goes about transporting cells and then re using them. It will be a challenge to understand it better for I can have more background knowledge of the book and hopefully make it easier to understand.