The Columbia Disaster

The space shuttle Columbia Disaster was a tragedy that could have been avoided, but occurred because of negligence by the engineers and NASA administration.

During the design of the space shuttles external fuel tank, one of the requirements was that the foam, which prevents icing, would not come off during launch. The foam shedding had been observed before, and did not alarm NASA Engineers at all. The foam struck a Reinforced Carbon Heat Shield panel on the left wing, and knocked it off. The next day during video review of the launch, the foam strike on the left wing was observed, but due to the low film quality, the extent of the damage could not be determined. While the Shuttle was in orbit, NASA’s Chief Thermal Protection System Engineer made a request for an astronaut to inspect the wing, but nobody ever responded. Other engineers requested that the Department of Defense image the shuttle in hopes of getting a better picture of the damage. NASA denied these requests, after they ran several simulations using damage simulating software. The results showed the possibility of damage, but they downplayed the results, claiming it exaggerates damage. As the shuttle reentered the atmosphere, it began to shed debris, and eventually broke apart and scattered debris across Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

One of the largest engineering oversights during this disaster was made by NASA management. After viewing the foam debris strike the left wing on video, they used damage prediction software to predict possible damage to the reinforced carbon-carbon shield, which alerted them of severe penetration of multiple tiles by the foam. NASA managers denied requests for astronaut inspection of the left wing from the Chief Thermal Protection System Engineer. Other NASA engineers made three separate requests for the Department of Defense to take satellite images of the shuttle while in orbit in order to get a clearer picture of the possible damages, despite these requests, NASA managers denied them, and stopped the Department of Defense from intervening.

Lessons learned from this incident included four main factors, the recency effect, conservatism, overconfidence, and selective perception. The recency effect consists of making decisions based off recent events. On previous flights, foam had been observed breaking off during liftoff, but those occasions never resulted in an accident. Therefore, NASA managers believed that this would not result in an accident either. We now know that this “recency effect” can cloud the real danger presented by the shedding of the foam. The second lesson was conservatism. It is when new information is either ignored or not given much attention. This was present when NASA managers downplayed results from the damage prediction software. The third lesson was overconfidence. NASA managers denied the need for satellite imagery of the shuttle because they were confident that there was no safety issue. The fourth lesson was a result of selective perception. The NASA management had shifted their view from an engineering focus to a management focus. They had the mindset of “better, faster, cheaper”, which forced responses to potential problems to be dominated by schedules and budgets rather than the principles of engineering and safety.

Word Count: 522

The Patriot vs. History

There are many similarities and differences between reality and the movie The Patriot. In some aspects, Hollywood did a great job replicating history exactly. But, in other areas, they could have made things more historically accurate. Despite this, The Patriot is still an all around awesome movie. It is probably in my top ten most favorite movies I have of all time.

One of the similarities between the movie and the reality is the reasons for fighting. At the beginning Benjamin Martin and his family are being mistreated by the British. Benjamin Martin (aka Mel Gibson) is loosely tied to the Continental Army Officer Francis Marion. It follows history in that South Carolina voted to support the war. They also accurately portray the British capture of Charlestown.

In the movie Colonel William Tavington (Jason Issacs) is accurately portray as the real-life Sir Banastre Tarleton. He too in real life employed ruthless tactics as shown in the movie. Guerilla warfare was also employed in the movies, a historical tactic used by the Continental Army. At the end of the movie, the war ends at the battle of Yorktown with the help of the French, just like in history.

Some of the things that are not historically accurate are usually minute details throughout the film. One big thing is the way the slaves were treated. In the movie they were treated very well, and in reality they were almost never treated this well. Another detail was the cannonballs. In the movie, they exploded on impact, in history they did not, they would simply roll and basically destroy anything in its path. Another key difference is the Laws of War in the two settings. When Colonel Tavington finds a group of wounded soldiers (both British and Colonial) on the Martin’s Porch, he orders the colonial soldiers to be shot and the house burned. In reality, this would never happen because historically, both sides obeyed the Laws of War.

Bibliography:

"The Patriot (2000 Film)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Patriot_(2000_film)>.

Word Count: 339

Eastern Spirit, Western Dreams

Jung, Woo Jin. Eastern Spirit, Western Dreams. Edina, MN: Beaver's Pond, 2004. Print. (222)

Eastern Spirit, Western Dreams is more than just an inspirational book to me. It means much more to me than any other book I have ever read. This is for two reasons, my Grandfather fought in the Korean War, and the author is my dad’s former boss. This book I could truly relate to myself unlike any other book. Woo Jin Jung’s story is one of devastating tragedies and miraculous triumphs. He proves that anything is possible if you are willing to work for it. It was because of his work, his determination to succeed, that he was able to overcome any challenge and any obstacle that came in his way. When he arrived in the United States he had just 35 dollars in his pocket. He fled Korea to get away from the war. He wanted to start a new life, one where he could be at peace, where he didn’t have to fear the ensuing North Koreans. When thinking of where he should go, he decided to move to America, the land of opportunity.

Through the practices of Tae Kwon Do, Jung is able to achieve the unachievable. This is where the book gets its name “Eastern Spirit Western Dreams”. The Eastern Spirit is the Tae Kwon Do, what he learned in Korea. The Western Dreams are the goals Jung had in America and how he achieved them.

The details of his life made this book so gripping. Some details are gruesome and horrible to think that they actually happened, but they just add to Jung’s greatness. I have never cried before while reading a book, but I did find myself tearing up while reading this. When Jung set out for America, for the land of opportunity, he completely fulfilled the term “land of opportunity”. Today Jung is an owner of numerous fitness clubs in both Iowa as well as North Carolina. He has named his chain of fitness clubs New Life Fitness World, a true testament Jung’s life. Through all of his inspiring hard work, Jung is now a multi-millionaire. I believe it is safe to say that he is living the American Dream.

Word Count: 371

Survival of the Sickest

Moalem, Sharon, and Jonathan Prince. Survival of the Sickest. 1st ed. New York: William Morrow, 2007. Print. (253)

The book Survival of the Sickest can be compared to myth busters of biology. It explores prominent diseases in today’s society and explains their history and journey through natural selection. It is a book that wonders why and asks why not. It’s about survival and creation. And it takes you on a magical medical mystery tour.

Survival of the Sickest was only possible because Dr. Moalem asked questions. This is the key to scientific discovery. You cannot assume how certain things work, or simply guess. You must break down each detail and ask how or why things work a certain way. An example from the book was when Dr. Moalem put together her grandfather’s love for giving blood with the relief it gave him. Dr. Moalem didn’t just acknowledge that this happened, he asked why it happens. Because he asked why, he was able to determine that his grandfather had a heredity condition called hemochromatosis. He didn’t stop there though, when his grandfather developed Alzheimer’s, he went even further to discover a link between hemochromatosis. There are multiple more examples like this throughout the book that require the same level of thought to formulate.

With that simplified background of the book one can understand the magnitude of thought needed to formulate this book. It was truly an eye opening experience reading this book. One can simply focus narrowly on the task at hand, much like looking down a hallway, but you can also look at the task at hand and relate it to other aspects of your work, much like looking at something outside in the wide open. This book gives you the ultimate big picture. It thinks of everything you didn’t think of. It was truly an eye opening and in-depth experience reading this book.

Word Count: 314

Stiff

Roach, Mary. Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2003. Print. (292)

Stiff is a realistic approach to what happens to human cadavers. When people think they are donating their body to science, they usually think of their body lying in a University laboratory. Despite this being true for some, it is far from the truth for others.

I myself have visited a cadaver lab with Biology Club out at Kirkwood. I must say, it is quite the experience. It is definitely not for the faint of heart. Before we were let in they had to talk to us about how if any of us start to feel nauseous to let one of the adults know, and that we could leave the room. Overall it was a very cool experience to be able to learn about the human body. “Torso man” can only teach you so much, but seeing and being able to hold actual organs is truly hands on learning.

In Stiff I bet a lot of the donors believed that their body would be in the kind of setting I described above, but in fact, a lot of the times it is not the case. In the first chapter I was at first appalled by the fact that human heads were used practice face lifts. But when you think about it, what else would they practice on? Roach brings up a good point that if you were a patient getting a face lift, would you want your cosmetic surgeon to be performing it on you without any “real” practice. Obviously not, and this is the type of questions raised throughout the book. This is the realistic approach that many of us do not think about. Before reading this book I didn’t really have any interest in donating my body to science. After reading it I feel as though the book has reinforced my decision, even though it is still necessary for the development of human sciences.

Word Count: 333

1984

Orwell, George. 1984. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984. Print. (245)

1984 brings to light the extremities of totalitarianism. It gives people a look at what could happen someday if a single government party gained too much control. It provides evidence to support our two-party system of government. That way no one group can gain too much power.

In relation to the real world today one can observe similarities between 1984 and the totalitarianism happening slowly but surely today. It is happening so slowly that individual and subtle changes go unnoticed in the grand scheme of things. Totalitarian leaders Adolf Hitler’s and Joseph Stalin’s campaigns happened abruptly, making is easily noticeable. One example of this is the mobile speed trap (red jeep), although there is only one of these mobile speed traps, there are now many red light cameras and speed cameras implemented throughout the city.

Social injustice portrayed in 1984 is to the extreme. The elite and rich are the inner party members. Next in the social hierarchy are the outer party members, barely existing and getting by. The social standings are similar to those in The Hunger Games. High class people will only interact with each other, and are quick to disrespect the people of lower classes.

Despite the shocking reality 1984 had on me, I enjoyed it because of the depth of knowledge behind it. Who could have thought of the creation of a new way to speak? (Newspeak) Definitions of words had explicit meanings, in order to eliminate unintentional meanings. They eliminated words that could speak badly about something, that way it was impossible to formulate a bad thought into words. My experience was eye opening to the world today, and has made me more aware of things in society.

Word Count: 294

Where I am From

I loved Legos

Thomas the Train, Spongebob

Kinex, monopoly, soccer

White and brick house

Flower pots in front

Playground in back

Tastes like heaven

Smells like home

Sounds like peace

Christmas at our place

Jolly and fun

Oh the gift of giving

Debbie and Randy Man

Messy Jessy and Jenny

Plus the Gunnar Guy

Always late

Told to be on time

Santa isn't real?

Ya fired'

Lutheran Church

St, Luke Hospital

Apple Crisp

Falling in the FDR Memorial

Family Vacation to the coast