Why Be So Negative When There’s Plenty of Positives

My brother is fourteen years old now and for most of his summer and even previous years, he spent most of his free time playing video games. He played sports games, action games, and probably games that he technically shouldn’t have been playing. However, he loved to play his xbox live. When my mom refused to pay for another month of it, he found it to be boring. He had no one to play with so instead he started hanging outside all the time. Since all he did was hang out in the street, he got into fights, stole stuff, and even got arrested once. My mom had to quickly think of a way to keep him in the house more.

This brings me to video games. So many people think video games are bad for many reasons, but I personally love video games. People say they make kids anti-social, it makes people lazy, a lot of games contain violence, and a couple of other things in that realm. It seems like all the negatives beat the positives of video games because some parents don’t supervise or control the amount of time a child can play video games. If these things are controlled, the positives would out weight the negatives aspects of video games. Video games are interactive and as a player, you start identifying with some character in the game and that state of mind has a positive effect on the player. You can also begin to develop skills like problem solving, planning, quick decision-making, estimation and analysis of the moves or actions of both you and your opponent.

Aside from those positives, some people will always argue about the violent games, for example Grand Theft Auto. How is that game good for any one? The way I see it is if a player can handle playing a game like that without imitating what’s done in it, in real life, than all it does is built a person’s maturity level. The game is rated M for mature any ways, so younger children shouldn’t be playing it and that supports one of my previous points about parents’ supervision. I love Grand Theft Auto because it seems all so real, but I don’t go imitating it. The game is like a movie; it has a storyline and you can’t wait to pass it so you can see how it ends. It builds suspense and the fact that you are controlling everything makes it all so better.

Some are quick to throw video games under the bus because of its negative aspects, but how about those children who don’t have the ability to go outside and run around and do the things that people say children should be doing instead of playing video games. There are children who have disabilities and video games help them build self confidence and it makes them happy. I saw video games as a way to keep my little brother out of trouble so every time he asked me to play with him, I would so he wouldn’t get bored and leave the house. I know that every kid is different, but there are just so many different games out there and as long as parents control what games their children play and how long they play them for, only positives would come from it.

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/10_Benefits_Of_Video_Games.html

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/positive-effects-of-video-games.html

I SPY

If you want to pin-point your exact location: there is an App for that. When I first seen my house on Google Maps I was impressed but also flabbergasted. I thought “Who and When did they take this picture” and if I can access this information with ease so can anybody else. Today most cell phones are equipped with GPS Navigation Systems, and since no one in today’s society is detached from their cell phone they can always be traced to a precise location.

I first got the notion that I was constantly being watched when I received a ticket in the mail for turing right at a red light in Delaware. I would have gone back to speak to the prosecutor, but the ticket was only for $25 dollars and it’s “Delaware” I was just passing through. As American citizens is our privacy really protected? Nowadays, it can be rather easy to access someone’s information and records by way of the internet. With new technological advances being made every day, I do not feel that we are ever left private and secluded to just ourselves any more.

A controversial topic brewing right now in the State of New Jersey is death of 18 year old Rutgers Freshman Tyler Clementi who took his life after his roommate Dharun Ravi streamed his sexual encounter with another man on IChat and sent the link to 143 Twitter Users. Ravi has already been charged with Invasion of Privacy, but authorities are trying to charge him with a Bias Crime or possibly Involuntary Manslaughter.

Could this have been avoided ? I think so. Is technology to blame or is it the people who are operating them? This generation has become so fascinated with how other people preoccupy their time, that some would stop at nothing to document the moment, and this new technology allows them to do so. We are always being watched, whether it be by “BIG BROTHER” or a nosey neighbor. Our personal life is about as private a as Reality TV show.

How To Send A Grown-Up Email

In today's world, it's extremely common for e-mail to be used as communication in the workplace. Despite the popularity of e-mail, some young people still make etiquette mistakes in email. These mistakes could cost you an interview or even your job, so read on and find out how to send an e-mail you can be proud of.

The first step is to set up a clean, new e-mail account. You should always have an email address that you use only for work- and school- related purposes. That means that your clean account shouldn't be linked to Facebook, your Yahoo! Answers question about how to turn into a mermaid, or the Buffy the Vampire Slayer website you made when you were twelve (OMG SPIKE IS SO HOTT!!!!) 

The username you pick for this new account is also important. The standard "first initial, last name" format is perfect (unless you're this girl). Definitely don't use anything that sounds like an AIM screenname (skibunny43@site.com) or anything that says a little too much about your personal life (partyallnight@site.com).

Now, I know this might be rough for some of us (I'm looking at you, Myspacers), but a professional e-mail should not have any weird fonts, colors, or signatures. Keep in mind that some people view their e-mail in html, so your **aWeSoMe SiG** will appear to them as an obnoxious string of text tags. No emoticons, either. That stupid smiley face with the sunglasses is so 1998. 

It should go without saying that spellcheck is your friend, but let's take it one step further. Why not copy and paste your important e-mail into Word or a similar program to double-check the grammar? Poor grammar can be a red flag for potential employers. Syntax that sounds acceptable while speaking can look glaringly wrong when written. 

This brings me to my next point about the difference between speech and e-mail. Joking tones, especially sarcasm and understatement, can be hard to discern without tone of voice. You wouldn't want to get in trouble with your boss because you said "Yeah, I totally haven't done anything for that project yet" when you actually meant "I have done so much for this project that I feel like I can jokingly say that I have done nothing" and your boss took your statement at face value. This is a pretty common problem. A good rule of thumb is that if it can be misinterpreted, don't put it in your e-mail. If you're not sure, try reading the sentence to yourself in different tones of voice. You never know how someone else might read what you've written.

The last rule of professional e-mail is possibly the most important- you need to check it, at least twice a day if it's your work e-mail. Promptly responding to e-mails shows that you're engaged in your work and responsible. It also ensures that you don't miss anything time-dependent (such as the all-important pizza in the break room in 10 minutes). If you can get e-mail notifications on your phone, do so.

Like it or not, e-mail is the mode of communication in today's business world. There are situations in which you will be judged for not only the content of your e-mail, but for the professionalism. Don't let yourself miss a job opportunity because you don't know the difference between "your" and "you're". Actually, if you don't know that by now, you might be hard-pressed to find a job anyway. 

(See, that ^ was supposed to be a joke, but it can sound mean in text! Be aware!)

Computer Assisted Surgery (CSA). How Computers and New Technology are Helping Surgeons and Knee replacement Patients?

Please click the link before reading this Blog: 

 Please check out this video on a real live knee surgery 

I have been playing athletics since I could remember.  I also can remember when my knees started to hurt and affect my ability to perform on and off the field.  Today I have constant knee pain and I am only 22 years old.  It sucks having pain all the time and being this early in my life I almost feel like I have 60-year-old knees in a 22 year old body. 

            I have seen many doctors about my knees, probably starting around my years in middle school.  At first I was diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter Disease, which causes knee pain in young athletes.  It causes swelling, pain and tenderness under the knee, right over the shinbone.  It is mostly seen in boys that are having a large growth spurt during their teenage years.  In my case it started to happen earlier en most people and it affected both of my knees.  The only cure for this was to ice before and after competition, practice, or whenever it hurt.  Eventually I grew out of it, but my knee pain become worse and I eventually made my way to a very prestigious hospital in New York City, called the Hospital For Special Surgery, where they specialized in knees.  At this hospital they have all of the top technology that helps them determine what exactly is wrong with a patient.  In my case I was sent to receive x-rays, and MRI’s so the doctor could receive a better and more intense look into my knees and what exactly was going on.  Once the doctor received the results of both procedures he told me to stop playing sports or you will be having a lot more pain and will need major surgery down the road.  Well, he was right.  He diagnosed me with a Patella Knee Syndrome and Patellar Subluxation and Dislocation.  Both are related to an over-use of the knees from too much activity.  The doctor determined that my kneecap does not fit correctly it my knee cap socket.  He called it a “floating knee.”  So me being stubborn I did not stop playing and continued to play three sports during high school, football, wrestling, and lacrosse.  During my sophomore year at wrestling practice I dislocated both of my kneecaps at the exact same time.  I made a choice to stop wrestling and just concentrate of football and lacrosse for the remainder of high school. 

            When I was accepted to Drew University I knew I wanted to play lacrosse so I did.  I knew my knees were going to still be in pain but I was determined to prove everyone wrong and achieve in playing.  I am a senior now and have had some ups and downs during the seasons.  When my team went to San Diego during our annual spring break to play different colleges around the area I did it again,  I fell right on my knee cap and broke it.  I eventually finished out the season with a broken kneecap and eventually received arthroscopic surgery on my knee.  The doctor told me that my knee will never be the same from this injury and already knew what he was going to say, which was to stop playing.  Ha, I never stopped.  So now in my senior year I am in need of a total knee replacement on my right knee.  I am in constant pain, even if it is walking to class, sitting on a chair, or walking up stairs.  I am at a point that I need to take some days off from practice just so I can recover form the last practice.  I am pretty much ruining my knee playing but my love of the game is much stronger then the pain that I have.  I am trying to wait it out and finish out my senior year before I receive the surgery, but it is just day-by-day for now. 

What I am trying to get at is that the technology of knee replacements today are high tech. and less intense.  Researchers and doctors have been working on new technology for knee implants because existing implants usually only last from 10 to 15 years, and doctors are frequently hesitant to give them to young patients because they will usually outlive their implants. 

            One new technology that has been formed is Three- dimensional imaging, which was invented by Smith and Nephew Orthopedics, who work out of the Hospital for Special Surgery.  They call it VectorVision, which is a “global positioning system for the body.”  VectorVision allows surgeons to use preoperative pinpointing images to, “See and track the position of their choice of surgical instruments intraoperatively through a touch-screen interface.  The VectorVision system empowers surgeons to select the optimal implant during total joint replacement surgery by using a patient’s 3-D image data.”  It makes it easier to guarantee that the ligaments of the patient’s knee have the suitable tension after the operation is complete.  This will allow the patients knee to move more smoothly after the knee replacement.  There are an increasing number of people that need knee replacements and VectorVision gives hope to patients that there will be less pain and a shorted recovery period after surgery. 

Dr. Tilok Ghose, who practices at the Aspen Medical Group's Bloomington says, “The system provides improved accuracy, which is especially important since the average age of patients requiring knee replacements is getting younger.”  Seeing all these innovate studies and new technology for knee replacements puts a little less stress on me and give me hope for an easy recovery.  


Computer Assisted Surgery (CAS) is also another way that surgeons and doctors and finding it easier to give patients knee replacements.

How does Computer Assisted Surgery work?

This new technology uses specials tracking devices to give a doctor a better understanding of patient’s joint workings while in the operating room.  With specific information the surgeon can make specific adjustments or changed to help ensure the new joint has the right stability and range of motion that is needed for a successful knee replacement.  This technology uses the latest computer engineering to make a surgery more precise then without the use of computer assisted surgery.  While in surgery doctors are now able to obtain infrared trackers to calculate an instruments position and the wireless instrument transfers the data to a computer that sits right next to the surgeon.  The information that is picked up if displayed on a monitor, which looks very similar to a “blue print.”  This gives the doctor comprehensive views of the angles, lines, and measurements of the patients knee and anatomy.  Special pins are also used to track the incision that is made by the surgeon and these are also sent to the computer and make the surgery even more exact.  This new technology can reduce the number of incisions and reduce scarring.

Before        After

                      Knee Replacement Surgery Video   Please check this out.  

Advantages of Computer Assisted Surgery

·      Cutting bone and positioning the components with an accuracy up to 0.5 degrees and 0.5 mm

·      Constant guidance, monitoring and confirmation during surgery -ability to judge the bony cuts before actually making the cuts

·      Ability to verify the cut to very precise accuracy

·      Increased implant longevity.

·      3 Dimensional planning.

·      No radiation during surgery.

·      Range of motion analysis to achieve maximum function.

·      Correct implant selection and placement.

·      Decreased incidence of pulmonary embolism in knee surgery.

·       Minimally invasive surgery,

·      Decreased blood loss

·       Decreased hospital stay.

·      Reduced complications like
, Dislocation, Impingement, and Limb length inequality

A New Way To Watch TV

Country singer Brad Paisley remembers “thinking how cool it would be, when we were goin’ on an eight hour drive, if I could just watch tv” in his song Welcome to the Future.

Well Brad you’re a little behind.
Welcome to Myvu. It's a way to watch a movie in private the same way you listen to music in private with headphones. No, this isn’t the same as watching a movie on your ipod. IT'S BETTER. You don’t have to squint at a minuscule screen or hold an ipod in a specific position inevitably resulting in an arm cramp.



The Myvu revolutionizes the way we can watch TV. I can be in any awkward position or place and watch a movie without anyone being able to look over my shoulder and see what I’m watching.

The Myvu is a pair of “glasses” that make you look like you’re in Star Trek when you wear them. With these fashionable glasses you can watch a movie, any other type of media or play a game like Guitar Hero with your own private screen and ear buds that are connected to the glasses.




The Myvu is compatible with ipods, iphones and other devices. It blows watching movies on ipods and cell phones out of the water.

I personally got to test the Myvu out years before it came out. My mom worked at a company MicroOptical which is now known as Myvu and helped build the original MicroOptical crystal personal media viewer. Years ago, before it was finalized, the product was incredible. Since then changes have been made to improve the product. The picture has been greatly enhanced and different size ear buds are available to fit almost all ears. Also there are now prescription clip on lenses available for people who aren’t lucky enough to have 20/20 vision.

The Myvu does take some getting use to, but it’s well worth it. Each eye has its own screen. Even though they are almost perfectly aligned to form a flawless picture, the center seems blurry at first. After adjustment, the blurred center goes away and the movie is yours to enjoy. Also, because you can see above and below the lenses you may get slightly dizzy going back and forth. The feature a bit questionable initially, allows you to know what is going on around you.

Although the Myvu is a great product there are arguments against it. Why would you want to watch a movie that has some blurriness to it when today we have high definition televisions with crystal clear pictures? The dual vision of the movie and your surroundings can cause dizziness similar to when you look above and below your glasses too much. Some people get over this others are unable to. If you try to move around with the Myvu it bounces up and down and the clarity of the picture is terrible. While moving you have to hold the glasses where you want them so you can still see. Also having ear buds in your ears for too long can cause irritation for certain people.

There are obvious benefits and disadvantages to using a Myvu. Is it worth the minor discomforts and disadvantages to be able to watch a movie completely in private when you have hours to kill or just want to keep your viewing material to yourself? I think so.

Myvu. Try it out for yourself. It may change the way you watch movies forever.

Cell Phones: The Downfall of Society’s Social Skills

Today’s society is all about speed; getting things done as fast as possible in the most efficient way. Cell phones are a main contributor to that. But are there some negative repercussions that go along with these mini devices of communication? Absolutely.

Many teens and young adults in today’s times have no clue how to have an actual conversation with another human being. They just whip out their phones and start texting the person in the other room. He’s three steps away! Just go talk to him! I know this weekend I was at a party and my friend who is pretty much surgically attached to his cell phone texted me while we were in the same room. I read it, got up, went over to him, put my cell phone in his face and said in an extremely boisterous fashion, “You have words! Use them!!” In my personal opinion, texting is the reason that English test scores are so low. We are forced to text in this language of abbreviations and therefore kids don’t know the real spellings of extremely common words.

Texting is not only cerebrally harmful, but it also is annoying and extremely dangerous. My mom is always yelling at me in the car to stop texting and have an actual conversation with her. I tell her to just be glad I’m not doing it in the driver’s seat. Countless car accidents are caused due to texting while driving. Some states have outlawed it but this doesn’t seem to stop some people. I mean if you don’t care about yourself, at least think of the passengers inside the car with you. I am one hundred percent positive that the conversation is not important enough to put yourself in danger in order to text while driving.

Texting allows you to communicate with someone without truly communicating. The number of text messages versus the number of phone calls made between the ages of 18 and 24 is astounding. 790 versus 265. And I’m sure that more than half of those phone calls are quick “Where are you” calls from Mom because unlike her kid, Mom knows how to talk to another human being. My own roommate will have me make the take-out delivery order because she has a serious fear of talking to a random stranger on the phone. So basically, today’s phobia of using a cell phone for what it was actually invented for is yesterday’s stage fright. Well, there’s only one way to get over it: practice! Don’t text someone with a serious conversation topic; Call them! If you don’t want to call them, then go see them! If you don’t want to go see them, then you probably don’t know this person well enough to be talking to them in the first place. Honestly, how many names and numbers of people do we have programmed into our phones with whom we would actually talk to in real life? It’s pretty pathetic and a little creepy.

Texting should be used sparingly. Texting is for those quick “Hey, I’m at lunch. Where are you?” conversations. So maybe if we put away our cell phones and actually start talking to people English test scores would go up, phobias would be cured, car accidents would be prevented and texting bills wouldn’t be through the roof. But if we continue on this path to solely virtual communication, soon enough we won’t need our mouths for talking. We’ll just have big projectors above our heads while carrying keyboards around to type how we feel in 160 characters or less, of course.

A Greener Future for Financial Transactions: Swipe your friend's phone!

No, I don't mean steal...I mean pay him back the ten bucks you owe him, and swipe your card! Thanks to a recent addition to the world of technology - the Square - the individual has the power to "take credit."

This device gets plugged into the headphone jack of your iPhone, Android, or iPad, and you have the ability to accept a credit card payment. Signature is required and can be done right on the screen. Then the transaction is conducted, providing both participants with copies of an e-mailed receipt.

The rapid progression of technology that has recently taken place - especially involving smart phones - astounds me. To think that I could have the ability to conduct completely paperless financial transactions is particularly appealing. How great would it be to eliminate the need for physical cash and receipts altogether? Very green.

Each individual would need a Square, a Square-compatible device, and a credit card, and all transactions could be electronic (AKA waste-less). As a promoter of environmental awareness, this aspect of technology decreasing physical waste is appealing to me.

Of course the adaptation to this new way of doing business would never be universal. Still, as this innovation gains popularity, it is will be a huge jump in business for apple and credit card companies, and somewhat unnerving for consumers.

The notion of going completely technical, while it has its environmental pros, is not the most secure of ideas. In a world where identity theft is experienced by 11 million Americans from 2008 to 2009, I know that I'm not completely comfortable swiping my card - with my account information incorporated into a magnetic stripe - on another person's phone. Sure, I would swipe my card at a store...but, even with that, I use discretion. Maybe it's not as safe as I believe it to be, but the fact that there is a company that can be held liable if any fraudulent charges are made, secures my decision to swipe.

According to the Square website, "Card numbers, magnetic stripe data, or security codes are not stored on Square client devices." So, my question is answered. Still, I and the remainder of the hesitant consumers will feel a sense of vulnerability when putting our information into an untraceable interface, where things are no longer physically track-able. I guess, it will take some getting used to, and like the rest of the internet, will come with its security breaches and general consequences.