Genuine Geniuses: Engineers & Scientists Analyzed

Actually it was in the Creativity class today I gained an awareness that I'm living in a world surrounded by genuine geniuses. And also engineers & scientists alike's true face. My version of a genuine genius is one who has insanity, intelligence, creativity, boldness, valiance, sense of caring, responsibility, authenticity, Peter Pan, imagination, and sense of art combined together.

I'll explain. Today we were watching some of the class member presentating their innovation (any innovation they could think of, no matter how crazy it sounds). Here's some memorable innovations:

- The first team presented a polymer high-tech helm (we have quite plenty of motorcycle users here. It's part of college life, after all) which was designed having UV screen for daytime and lightning for nighttime. It also has a thin cooling-fan layer. The energy used for the fan and lightning comes from a solar cell on TOP of the helm (so it can be charged during the day).

Though I think a cooling-fan isn't needed, just add some holes on it and you'll have air circulation instantly. And how much energy can a single little solar cell mount? Teeny-teeny bits of energy, everyone knows. But it's a fantastic idea indeed. What an imagination, we have to appreciate it!

- The second team presented a chair with student's absence detector. Simply put a fingerprint detection device on the chair. When the class starts, the teacher activates the entire class' system. Students do the fingerprint detection, the system matches it with existing database, done! It 'll bring effectiveness to lecture time and prevent absence manipulation.

But anyone with enough skill can hack into the system database and ruin the whole plan. It'll be a bit trickier to be applied to a class full of IT students ;)
(not me, pharmacist doesn't do that kind of stuff)

- The third team (and the last that I remember, sorry) presented an offshore dwelling concept. Actually it's been made in Japan (but underwater), said my colleague. This one isn't underwater. Basically it's a big, board-like structure connected with the foundations below. The team explained kinds of foundations used underwater, but I can't remember the details (I wasn't paying the least attention but it was just too much and too...distant. Not my field). Besides the foundations, there's also a 'waveradar' structure. It's like a single tube divided into 3 horizontal branches at the end. On each single branch another tube structure is vertically attached. This vertical structure swaying up and down, following the ocean wave. The swayings are sent through the big, single tube and then converted into electrical datas. The computer reads this and will respond by slighthy moving the whole structure according to the wave. The 'waveradar' is also used to eliminate the wave vortex so the force can be reduced. And the dwellings (home, etc) is placed on the board. Like a refinery nowadays.

It's too expensive! Although I'd like, like to see and visit such a town. Imagine a whole town floating over the water just like Lake-town in the Hobbit! And visit your neighbor with boat-ride ;) hmm all fun


Although they all took much liberation to imagine something, perhaps ridiculous and not practical, but I like them. They're all a bit of mad scientists who believe that possibility has no limit. Their innovations might be incomplete here and there, but basically they all just want to help fixing the world. They care, they are aware of social problems. Engineers and scientists are not people who sit all day mumbling on equations and science laws. They 're dreamers. Creative dreamers who want to help fixing living creatures' and environmental problems. Why? For they care. They have sympathetic feeling and responsibility towards these creatures and environment, because of all persons on earth they are the ones who understand most of the secret of the universe. And we are all part of the universe. We are all the building blocks of it. It's you who must choose whether your block addition will ruin the whole structure of the universe...or build it.

Whew. That was a long post. Need some sleep now. Vale!

Random English Assignment

When my English teacher gave us an assignment on Descriptive Paragraph, I automatically tought of describing Danigall Inn (my dreamplace, only exists in my imagination) with a little modification. Here's how it goes:

Of all crazy things my friend possesses, it's the house that is most peculiar. Everytime I come there, it always seemed like heaven. Imagine you are surrounded by clear waves, golden sand, and seagull's cry. My friend's house is located on a small cove. The cove has a huge cliff standing tall, and on top of the cliff is where my friend's house is. Everytime I come there, my friend takes me to the shore below or kayaking around the cove, or go to the lighthouse nearby. Everyday there seems like another day in paradise. Although the place sounds difficult to be reached, it is actually quite accessible. That is quite complicated way to go there, yes. But we can work it out by simply following a long and winding road from a nearby town.

There was a time when I actually obsessed with American Idol thing and David Archuleta :-)

And my friend who sat nearby commented, "Is that your friend's house? OMG that's so cool! Where is it?"
God, I'm damned. I thought that. Well, I said it is in a secluded beach an island in my country. Thank God he was convinced. Imagine if I said it's in the shore of Leningradskaya Oblast province in Russia, facing the Baltic Sea. He would've thought of me coming from some nearby lunatic asylum, maybe.

Antioxidant: Types and Sources

Know what antioxidant you eat.

Basically there are 3 types of antioxidant:

• PRIMARY. Now this is the type that prevents the formation of new free radicals (e.g superoxyde dismutase, glutation peroxydase)
• SECONDARY. This type catches free radicals thus prevents their chain reaction (e.g Vitamin C and E, beta-caroten)
• TERTIARY. It repairs biomolecular damage(s) caused by free radicals, so they don't attack free radicals directly (e.g DNA repair enzymes, methionin sulfocyde reductose)

Sources? They come from fruits and veggies, mainly. Cloves is ranked #1 for having the highest antioxidant content, followed by cinnamon, ginger, saffron, and chilli (surprisingly). Herbal plants' antioxidant compounds are flavonoid, coumarin, terpenoid, alkaloid, and glycoside.

But none of this compounds has matched the activity of Vitamin C, the queen of antioxidant! So eat whatever food has high Vitamin C value and you shouldn't be bothered to buy fancy antioxidant supplements, that's just my 2 cents.

The Many Wonders of Cinnamon

Cinnamomum verum or C. zeylanicum from the family of Lauraceae (commonly known as cinnamon) is a spice herb. It has a distinct taste and odor (sweet, but somewhat spicy hot). This plant is 10-15 m high, with ovate-oblong shaped leaves (7-18 cm). Its flowers are arranged in panicule, green, and have a specific aroma. The fruits are about 1 cm each and of purple colour.

Cinnamon has been long used since eons ago (app. 5000 years ago by the Egyptians) for religious reasons because of its mystical odor. Used for clothing fragrance and spice too (wonder why it doesn't make for perfume?).

Today's commonly used part is the bark. The skin of the bark. It has a lovely odor and taste thus people use it as spice. The odor comes from aromatic essential oil which can be gained by macerating the bark in saltwater then distilling it. The oil has golden colour and smells good. This oil also has low boiling point, therefore it is a volatile substance. The sweet odor and taste of the oil comes from an aldehyde compound, cinnamaldehyde (60% of this oil contains this compound). It can be oxydized easily and becomes darker as time passes. Besides cinnamaldehyde, there are also etyl cinnamate, eugenol, beta-caryophilen, linalool, cinnamil acetat, anethole, and methyl cavicole. Cinnamon bark itself contains important minerals like manganese, iron, calcium, and fibers.

In medication, it's used to treat common cold, diarrhea, ulcer, hypertension, vertigo, liver disease, urate acid, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, sprue, menstrual cramps, and gastrointestinal problems. Cinnamon oil has been used for preserving foods, so it must have antimicrobial activity. Following studies are needed in this matter to know what microbes it has antimicrobial activity at. In a study published by researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Maryland, cinnamon reduced the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells. It may be developed into new antitumor drug, then. It also has anticoagulant effects. I daresay it's a promising cardiovascular drug (antishock). So much from just one plant, eh?

Some recent studies has proved that cinnamon has therapeutic effect on diabetes type 2 and insulin resistance. This is caused by cinnamtannin B1 compound which can induce the production of insulin therefore blood sugar level can be controlled.

Normal dosage is 2-4 g (1/2 - 3/4 tsp) cinnamon powder per day. In its ticture form, normal dosage is 6-9 mL per day.

Sources:
http://www.prevention.com/cda/
http://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/Cinnamon
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/15-health-benefits-of-cinnamon.html