The Mind of Adam

Congratulations, Olivet College 2013 Grads

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:39:26 -0400

Yesterday, Olivet College graduated over 200 students, and I was one of them. I was selected to be the senior class speaker, and that was huge for me, I’ll post more about that experience later. I spoke for around tn minutes in a speech, and I wanted to share this for ages, but here it is:

Thank you, President Corey, and Good afternoon, fellow students, honored guests, distinguished faculty, emotional parents, and those of you who showed up here thinking there was a basketball game. It is truly a great honor to be addressing you all today. I come to you today, not as a valedictorian, not as cum laude, No honors, I’m just an overwhelmingly typical Olivet College Student. To say this is the hardest thing I’ve had to do at Olivet may not necessarily be true, but at least everything else I’ve worked this hard on got to be in my graduation portfolio. Also, there wasn’t a lot of help on this one from Wikipedia.

Seated in front of me are Artists, Scientists, Musicians, Writers, Aspiring Entrepreneurs, Gamers, and Dreamers, Black, White, Male, Female, Greek, Independent, Athletes, non-athletes, straight A students, and those who saw extra credit, not as an opportunity, but as a necessity. What a diverse group of people we have gathered here today. Take a good look around. A group like this will never pass through the halls of Olivet College again.

We took Olivet by storm in 2009, being one of the largest incoming classes the college has ever seen. The first year we shared many new experiences. The first roommate, the second roommate. The third roommate, the realization that maybe it really is you. The first encounter with a frat; the first encounter with the Kirk Center. The state yanked our promise scholarship, and graduation seemed so far away.

Year two we saw even more experiences, and some even unique. A new president and a SNOW DAY. This was big, this one snow day far increased the likelihood that whenever snow fell, there would be someone that would swear that class would be cancelled. Never to be right again. We had hit our stride as college students. We lived through the Arab Spring, and half of our college career.

In the fall of 2011, we were juniors. We finally saw our football team win. Classes became brutal, and we realized that we had to start acting like grownups before time ran out and graduated. Those thoughts lasted for a little while until Netflix loaded the episode of whatever show we had fallen in love with when we were in the fourth grade. We even got to enjoy eighty degree days in March when we are just getting there in May.

We spent our final summer of college working in jobs and internships, realizing that in one year we wouldn’t be college students anymore. So coming in for our senior year was bittersweet, time was running out, but we were at the top of the food chain. It’s odd how when you were in high school, college freshmen seemed like the most mature people ever. And here we were as seniors, how perspective changes things.

Not everyone that started with us are here today, they left us for careers, they left us for service, or they are about to enjoy another summer avoiding having to grow up. Be proud, your own effort is what kept you on the path to where you are right now. However, I’m not discounting the support from everyone else here. The excellent faculty; who got to know us, and not just by name. The Support staff, with some of the most friendly people I have had the pleasure of getting to know. Our parents, who regularly assured us that money doesn’t grow on trees, our fellow students, I mean, Active Role in a Group project is a portfolio requirement. But it’s more than just that. For the last four years, we have been members of this large, often dysfunctional family. Living together, eating together, and learning together. I can’t think of a finer group of people with whom to have shared that time. Individually, however, you combined the efforts of those whose help I just mentioned. You, through determination, fortitude, a good amount of caffeine, and dash of panic, you pulled those all-nighters to meet the deadlines. You pretended to pay attention while your advisor told you the same story for the fourth time. You successfully avoided the dark places of the internet where pictures of cats with captions on them rule; well, at least long enough to get your work done.

Don’t think that the diploma you are about to receive means that you can stop working and just kick back, relax and let the cash start flowing in. The old adage that today is the first day of the rest of your lives hold true, especially today. Olivet has imparted you with the education. Now it’s up to you to use it. And regardless of what specific knowledge you may have gained. There is one central idea: Responsibility

You may recall that ‘Individual and Social Responsibility’ is the guiding principle by which Olivet College operates. Oookay, a lot of blank stares, how about the portfolio requirement? No? The one thing that was on every flier that got put out on campus? (defeated sigh) Just look on the back cover your programs.

Starting with individual responsibility, I’m sure you all are familiar with the responsibility of making good decisions Tuesday nights and spending the evening preparing for Seminar (the following day). You navigated the dangerous disorder known as senioritis, or as Provost Davis once pointed out to me, since the symptoms do not include inflammation, seniorosis. Our own choices and actions determine who we are and how we all fit in this odd society. We came to this college thinking we had a pretty good idea who we were, now we know a whole lot more.

Everyone about to graduate has, in their mind, some grandiose idea of how they will make this a perfect world, and it’s just so simple. And behind them sit everyone else, (face-palming and with a collective) ‘[gasping] gaaaaahhhddd’ they lament that we have no idea how the world really works. And you know, they’re right. We are all about to experience the real meaning of individual responsibility, we are about to have all kinds of bills, families, and careers. And, just like most in-class presentations we have had, you have to wing it until you find what works. Then, and only then, can you move on to making your impact on the world through the second half of our education, Social Responsibility.

Now being beneficial to society and making an impact on the world sound like big tasks, but in all reality, it means to live well; it means to do what’s right, not just some of the time, but all of the time. You don’t have to cure cancer, find high-powered, efficient alternatives to fossil fuels, or end world hunger. (I mean, if you can do that, then awesome, you get extra credit.); but do good work and take ideas like accountability and respect to heart and live them. You know how to do that already. These ideas are the spirit of the Olivet College Compact, and for the last four years, you have lived the seven, twenty-four seven. You are responsible for your own actions and the impact you make. Serving others and treating them with respect. Communicating and behaving with honesty and integrity. And taking pride in where you are and where you come from. So go forth with your new degrees today and begin your new lives. Share the wisdom that Olivet has imparted in you, and take to heart the compact. I have high hopes for us all. You are all bound for excellence. I’d like to once again thank you all, and congratulations, Class of 2013. Good luck.

How bad is it...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 16:50:14 -0500

That I genuinely wish for a power outage so that someone down the hall’s inappropriately loud rap music would just … stop

The News: The What Is and What Shouldn't

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 00:08:27 -0500

Let’s see what is making headlines right now…

The Hostage Crisis With the Bunker in Alabama - CNN

Looks like the boy that was taken hostage is having come trauma problems. Maybe because The media won’t let him be. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. The worst thing about this whole hostage crisis is that the Media continues to sensationalize the SHIT out of it. Shame on you.

Resignation of the Pope - CNN

Yeah, if you hadn’t heard, the pope decided that he has become too old to be the authority on Christianity. Good move, giving up your job for lent.

The Manhunt for the Cop-Killer - CNN

Not gonna lie, this is pretty intense. I can;t wait to see what the game wardens do if they found out they burned down a cabin with an innocent person inside…

Lady Gaga plans on having Hip Surgery - CNN

Woo… so? Did you need hips to sing?

US and EU open talks in regard to free trade - Al Jazeera

Why is this not being reported anywhere else? This is big!

"What do WNBA players do after they retire? (prevailing theories suggest once a player gets a career..."

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 09:58:17 -0500

“What do WNBA players do after they retire? (prevailing theories suggest once a player gets a career 100 points, they are forced into retirement). I don’t think JoAnn fabrics has that many job openings…”

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions."

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 00:33:13 -0500

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

- Albert Einstein

"Politics is the second oldest profession in the world. And it bears much resemblance to the..."

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 17:50:24 -0500

“Politics is the second oldest profession in the world. And it bears much resemblance to the oldest.
Now so more than ever, Some in that line of work get confused and do both„, #Petraeus”

"Some racists are Republican, so all Republicans must be racist. We all must hate gay people. We all..."

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 10:28:00 -0500

“Some racists are Republican, so all Republicans must be racist. We all must hate gay people. We all think women are best kept barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen. Republicans are only Republicans because they want to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. It sounds ridiculous when I say it like that, but those are the notions and attitudes of many people I encounter, and they don’t even realize that what they’re suggesting might be insensitive (or incorrect).”

- Ian Lang - AskMen.com

Petraeus

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 12:51:17 -0500

Oh no! Another government official had an affair! Amazing how often that happens.

But why is this STILL news? It’s not like this is rare.

I don’t like this. When something tiny like this makes headlines day after day, it means someone is covering something else up. But What

"Carly Rae Jepsen may be stunning, and I really do like Good Time and Call Me Maybe, but who is she..."

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 20:50:31 -0400

“Carly Rae Jepsen may be stunning, and I really do like Good Time and Call Me Maybe, but who is she under all that makeup?”

Sciency Post!

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 01:27:58 -0400

The more I read about it, and think about it, Laser Ablation really seems like a promising “OF THE FUTURE” technology. I’ve boiled the why down to a short list:

1) It’s LASERS

That’s pretty cool enough to be an “OF THE FUTURE” technology in and of itself. Right now, it is being utilized as a Vericose Vein therapy, degenerative sight and cataract solutions, amoung many examples in the human body. However, the possibilities are seemingly endless for what most of you are imagining as a little red dot that kitties love to play with.

This emergent technology is also being used to date geologic samples (read: rocks) and glacial deposits (old ice). What do nasty-old people legs and rocks have in common? It requires something to be removed, layers of rock, or protocancerous cells, are removed by a laser ( removed as in VAPORIZED) and, as a benefit for people, is pretty non-invasive

Oh, did I forget to mention SPACE?

Yeah, there’s a LOT of research going on into what this means for humans in space. First off, this is a fairly promising method of propulsion. Turns out, if you pump enough energy into a substance, it ablates in an even more powerful blast, turning rock into plasma and bam, powerful (and efficient) space travel.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
Remember the movie Armageddon? (If not, it’s okay, its only about a month older than my sister) Where astronaut Bruce Willis has to save the Earth from an asteroid, turns out, he can save his energy and continue to be an Expendable, and leave that job to, guess what, Laser Ablation.

Cool.

"Remember kids, the difference from messing around and science is writing things down."

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 23:37:52 -0400

““Remember kids, the difference from messing around and science is writing things down.””

- Adam Savage -Mythbusters (Titanic Episode)

"The single best thing about quotes on the internet is that you cannot tell who said them."

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 09:56:50 -0400

“The single best thing about quotes on the internet is that you cannot tell who said them.”

- Benjamin Franklin

I'm Volunteering to be a Spokesperson

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:44:23 -0400

Quick, think of the person on all the Wendy’s commercials. Either real Wendy, or better-looking Wendy, right? Think of a ginger fast food person, and you have the place with the square burgers. Who is the face of the NFL? Probably John Madden, but someone probably comes to mind. T-Mobile? The T-mobile girl who wears too much makeup. Progressive Insurance? Flo (who also wears too much makeup). Hell, even fringe groups like the Tea Party have Sarah Palin. Here’s my question to you.

Who is the spokesperson for science?

No specific science, just science.

Some of course come to mind. Carl Sagan, he had his TV show Cosmos on PBS, which was in1980.And to his death remained an advocate of the sciences. Bill Nye? Probably the closest. Quick fun fact, when did Bill Nye: The Science Guy leave the air? 1998.14 years ago. Like Sagan, he also remains a major advocate, primarily of astrophysics. Up and coming popular science-folk appear to be Niel deGrasse Tyson and Richard Dawkins. Youngest of all of them? Tyson, at 54.

This is why I am officially throwing my hat into the ring for “Next Science Advocate on Television”. These guys are simply too old, and have a difficult time explaining things in layperson terms. The current need is someone of THIS generation, someone young enough to challenge the idea that our generation is a bunch of Jersey Shore losers who will likely bring about the next dark age. Not a dark age of denial and cover-up, but a dark age of apathy.

Now, any ideas as to what to call my show?

My "Oh God, Why" Moment

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 23:01:00 -0400

Went into the campus dining hall today, and like many before me, I noticed the nice new bookstore sign. It looks cool, it’s eye-catching. “REGULAR HOURS: Monday-Friday 8a.m.-5p.m.” and above that, “Open select Saturday’s for special events including football games and commencement”

No.

That’s not a typo. I don’t leave typos.

There really is an apostrophe in there. Right where it shouldn’t.

“So it’s just a wayward apostrophe, what’s the big deal?”

Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel there is a certain desire to be completely uneducated in this country. Grammar has gone out the window. It’s lazy, and it is really hard to respect someone when they do something like that.

Especially a college. smh. Please, someone change the sign.

You+Me+Radio Show at OC? Yes? No?

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 00:05:12 -0400

oh fuck yes

My Friend Aly Was Ranting About This Topic This Morning, And I Want To Further Elaborate

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:57:05 -0400

The American Public School System.

An institution that yearly educates approxamately 90% of the U.S.’s 76 million children. Including me (except 4th-7th grade).

It’s a socalism factory.

Now, that sounds pretty extreme for this blog, and hopefully I haven’t lost everyone, but hear me out. The basic idea of socalism is that the central government gains power from providing its citizens with everything, while everybody works pro bono for the common good of everyone else.

Now it’s pretty well documented that the second part of that last sentence just doesn’t work. It goes against human nature (and most animals); there needs to be a reward system for going above and beyond requisite. In Atlas Shrugged, this example was taken to extreme at the Twentieth Century Motor Company, where the workers agreed to a socialist work structure, forfeiting pay for moving their families into a commune where they were supplied what was needed to live. Ultimately, workers who were top performers were made to work longer shifts to increase production; so all of the workers slowed, so they did not have to work over. The motor company failed as a result, and the rest is in the book, go read it for yourself.

Schools have the reward system of “if you get good grades, you get a good GPA, which gets you into college.” and some schools in large cities have experimented with pay-for-performance, although that did not do well. However, the other part of a basic socalist culture is very much present. Schools are providing students with pretty much everything. The ‘Lunch Lady’ is a thing of a past, with schools now serving breakfast, lunch, and, in some cases, dinner. Although intrinsically good in practice, helping children get the food that they might not otherwise get, it is still a government institution feeding you what they decide for you.

Schools are also set up to have students fail in the long run. Is it any wonder that America keeps falling behind on education stats compared to other counties when they spend the first couple of months re-teaching what was taught in the last grade level? And you can forget about the idea of doing any real learning outside the classroom, because inside it is shoved upon them in the worst way possible, in the shortest amount of time, that it drives children into the lap of the television the moment they arrive home (at least half by government-owned busing).

Additionally, the children learn the wrong things. The removal of life-skills classes throughout the country has left more young adults leaving high school knowing Pathagorean’s Theorem than how to fill out a proper personal check, or how to really live on their own, leading to the generation ‘boomerang’ that we are seeing now.

AND GOD FORBID THAT THEY BE CALLED A FAILURE FOR MOVING BACK HOME. It’s possibly the worst thing to happen in schools today, children are being treated like developmentally-challenged toddlers. Everything from abolishing the word ‘wrong’ from the Teachers’ Lexicon, to banning the use of red ink when correcting papers all to protect the little feelings of the little students. Well guess what; making mistakes is the best way to learn. Getting electrocuted guarantees that you make sure not to mess up the wiring again, getting slapped upside the head when disrespecting elders ultimately makes you a respecting (and respectable) person. It doesn’t damage the kid’s psyche, rather, it shouldn’t because people have been smacking their kids when they aren’t respectful since God (or evolution, or both) gave us hands.

This just teaches kids to be lazy, and complain, and possibly not understand when they don’t get their way. The school never said no to them, so why did that HR person say no when they went in for a job? People are filled with the idea that the world owes them a living, just what the mission of socialism is. And its not like many of them can get help from their parents, because guess what mindwashing institution taught them to be uneducated assholes.

Maroon 5: My Reaction Everytime

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 17:36:56 -0400

This is my reaction to any Maroon 5 Release (dating back to when I first listened to them):

1. Man this song (band) is stupid

2. I can’t STAND this song (band)

3. mumble mumble mumble

4. I’m at a PAAAAYPHONE tryin’ to call home…

Adam Reboots The Blog

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 01:56:13 -0400

So upon realizing that my last post on here included Admiral Ackbar telling us all that BIO 150 is a trap, I realized that I went just about the entire summer without posting once. I blame the fact that I worked midnights over break. I mean, I did that last year and it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was this summer. And I don’t even know why it was rough this summer.

I’m talking like sleeping for 12 hours and not feeling rested whatsoever. Suck. But the real lesson here is that I was trying to get through the summer quickly and get back to school. and to that, I say

Zoology

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 23:54:00 -0400

So I came to the realization today about my INTRODUCTORY Zoology course today.
Someone must have done some serious clerical fuckups for that class
I mean, BIO 150, BIO 450, Looks the same, in poor lighting anyway, and I KNOW I signed up for the 150 part. But that cant be right, this shit is far too comprehensive for an Intro course.

Seriously, Fuck Intro Zoology, it is a Trap. A Certified Admiral Ackbar Trap.

Thank You

What kind of Introductory course goes four categories deep and expects you to remember ALL of them for the test? A Marcus Waselevich Introductory course does. I kind of want to destroy the environment now, so that Marcus will have much fewer animals to cover in this class for posterity.

Random Fun Fact III

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:35:00 -0400

Will Smith, the character, not the guy who played him, was a typical, unassuming, teenager beginning high school, innocently playing BBall while trying to avoid getting caught up in the early 90’s gang wars

Still, not too far off…

Maybe he decided to start fighting away the gangs, maybe he was jumped, maybe he was just goddamn retarded, but any way, when Will came home all dizzy from being spun around like JD on scrubs likes to eagle…

…his mom FLIPS THE F**K OUT. enough for her to get off her welfare-ridden ass and buy him a freakin 1st class ticket to LA. where he then got into a shady cab that got him to the prestigious Bel Air mansions.

BUT

Really, who’s gonna buy a 1st class ticket like that? I’m more likely to believe that she made him walk. But let’s take a different approach… lets imagine if the Fresh Cab took him from his west Phillie roots to the lap of luxury.
If Will left from his (most likely) High School, MLK Jr. High (assumption based on really low performance and being the westernmost high school in the Philadelphia School District) and rode the Fresh Cab (with the prices posted on the door as 25¢ for every 1/5 mile, and 5¢ every minute) to the destination of 805 Saint Cloud Road, Bel Air, Los Angeles, CA (revealed in the series)…

Will would have ridden in that cab for 44 hours, riding 2731 miles, and accumulating a bill of at least $3545.75. and his tip? “Yo, homes, smell ya later”