Ericsson, Environmentally friendly

I had an interesting conversation with my dad about what his company does to reduce energy usage and be environmentally friendly. He works at Ericsson, which has a relatively large office in Putrajaya, housing some 400 people. The basic things they do are :

• Recycle paper
• Turn off unused server farms
• Use environmentally friendly materials for construction of cellular signal masts.
  

All in All

Robert had much to tell us, yet I felt that personally, the FCD meeting was not as beneficial as it should have been. Every year we are told about the dangers of alcohol and drugs, yet I have mixed feelings about our meetings.

Food and Exercise Habits

According to Mypyramid.gov my food habits could use a bit of work :P
To start, it explains that I need 2563 calories per day. Somehow, I get somewhere near to 5000 which is just a tad too much. When looking at individual food groups, I do pretty well in all of them, save for the dairy group, in which I'm getting only 1/3 of what I need. Over on the vitamins side, I'm getting more than enough of each, but on the negative side, sodium is also 3 times as much as it is supposed to be.

On to physical exercise.

My four physical activities for the day were more than enough to cover what was required, so I guess i'm satisfied with that.

Things that make me proud

1. Making it into the talent show
2. That I have traveled to many places around the world
3. Patriotism
4. My family history (my great-great-great etc grandfather was the commander of a fleet of trading ships)

Favourite Foods

Kebab!

Dol Sot Bibimbap, along with anything else they barbeque in Korea, and some Kimchi!

Pizza Diavola - Tomato sauce, basil, olives, mozzarella, red peppers, onion.

Nasi Goreng- Indonesian Fried Rice typically served with an egg and krupuk.

Tortillas! or anything else of that sort.

"Bosche Bol" its a dough ball filled with whipped cream, and covered in chocolate, invented in Den Bosch, hence the name. No joke, this tastes better than a rainbow.

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Health in the News

Violent Video Games - Affecting Aggression in our Youth?

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/11/03/healthmag.violent.video.kids/index.html

This summary is an analysis of an ongoing study in the behaviour of children, aged 9-12, 12-15,13-18 across 2 different countries, USA and Japan. Researchers have found that violent games do provoke more aggressive thoughts in children, but not in a way that one might assume. It is a gradual change in personality, that takes place over a long period of time. Certain children are more perceptible to this behaviour, yet most are generally able to suppress their thoughts that originate from these games. There are 2 main ways that violent video games affect the behaviour of children negatively. First, a child will merge his or her thoughts from in the game, with the real world. In a game, the world is a hostile place, where aggression is the way to deal with problems. A child may mistakenly associate this with the real world, and beleive that violence is an O.K way to deal with issues. The second is slightly more complex. In this situation, a child becomes desensitized to violence, and the goriness/stigma of it all wears off, leaving them less perceptible to it's negative thought invoking power. In this manner, violence and gore lose their power to bring fear, and seem like everyday things.

What's the big picture?

 The article lists a few ways in which the current situation can improve. The first being the fact that the Mature (+15) rating needs to be reinforced more at vendors. Teens below this age, and children, are free to buy games of this ESRB rating at many stores, with the storekeepers simply seeking the profit motive. Keeping these sort of games out of the hands of younger children is simply the number one way to solve/better this issue. Common sense is key in this solution. What parent in their right mind wants their child shooting gangsters at the tender age of 9 or 10? The second idea they put forward, is to put the gaming system or computer in a publicly shared area, such as the living room, instead of in the child's personal bedroom. In this way, the parents can monitor what the child does, and can make sure that they can lay down the proper context for what happens.

How does this affect me?

To be honest, I have played quite a host of these "violent" video games in my time, but personally don't feel like an aggressive person. In my opinion, it just takes that one perfect mix of factors, just as another article explains with the tragic stories of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in Colorado, to create a hostile situation in which fiction becomes reality. 

Things That Stress Me Out

Here's just a quick list of things that stress me out.  (no particular order)

• Homework
• Grades
• Pressure to do well in School
• Chores
• Not getting enough sleep
• Planning
• Organization