Yesterday was great and officially marks the beginning of my new life. I went before a judge and was granted an order to legally change my name to Jenna as well as ordering my name AND gender to be changed on my driver’s license, birth certificate, and all of my other legal documents. Ironically, I also picked up my associate of applied science degree yesterday, too. Now I have to order another one with the new name on it. No big deal though. I’ve accomplished a lot in the last year. I completed my degree, had a major surgery that needed to b e done, started electrolysis, changed my name and gender legally, paid off my house, re-established my credit, and came clean with my mother about why I had been so miserable for so long. Here’s to hoping 2010 will bring me a great job and bring me closer to feeling complete in every way possible.
January 17, 2010
December 3, 2009
Just When You Thought It Was Safe
I have two tests and two short papers to write and I’ll have my two-year degree in process technology finished. Since I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get a job, I decided to go ahead and register for two more classes in the spring. Once the semester begins I’m going to declare a new major in psychology and begin working on a B.A. in psych. It will probably take me ten years, but I’ll enjoy the courses regardless. I’m really happy to have the first degree out of the way. Once I have a job, a lot of the things I’ve worried and stressed myself over for the last two years will be relieved. It’s so nice to finally have a break, not just from school, but from everything. I’m going to take advantage of the next five weeks to rest, enjoy myself, and take a trip or two on the bikes. It’s been a hell of a year with a lot of wonderful changes in my life. I’m really looking forward to the changes that are still coming over the next few years. One age of craziness is coming to an end and another one is just beginning to take its place. Embrace the lunacy, you might just find something new and exciting that makes a wonderful change in your life, too.
November 9, 2009
This Is What I Was Expecting
Introduction
With an increasing number of people purchasing motorcycles to offset rising gasoline prices today, a potential health epidemic is beginning to emerge. Many new and even long-time riders have not been taught the importance of using proper hearing protection when they ride. By looking at how motorcyclists are exposed to harmful noise levels and methods of exposure prevention, a determination can be made as to how noise induced hearing loss among this part of the population can be reduced and/or prevented. This report will explain:
• How noise is defined
• What constitutes hearing loss
• Why failure to use hearing protection devices when riding a motorcycle can lead to permanent hearing loss
• How riders can protect themselves from hearing loss
• Recommended ways to educate riders about the dangers of noise induced hearing loss
What is Noise Induced Hearing Loss?
Noise is generally defined as any unwanted sound. Prolonged exposure to excessive levels of noise can lead to permanent hearing loss. Referred to as noise induced hearing loss, it can be defined as irreversible damage to the internal parts of the ear that convert sounds into electrical impulses that the brain then converts into information. Noise induced hearing loss is a 100% preventable condition. Preventive measures include education about the dangers of noise exposure, what constitutes noise, and how to protect oneself from harmful noise exposure.
What is The Primary Noise Exposure Hazard Motorcyclists Encounter?
The primary source of noise that motorcycle riders are exposed to is not from the motorcycle itself, which is typically around 85 – 90 dB, but rather from the wind noise created by turbulence around the rider’s head. By using microphones placed inside of motorcycle helmets, audiologists have measured noise levels as high as 110 – 116 dB when travelling at 65 miles per hour. As noted in Table 1, permanent hearing loss can begin to occur with as little as 15 minutes of exposure to noise levels of 115 dB.
What Can Motorcyclists Do To Prevent Hearing Loss?
The most important thing that anyone can do to preserve their hearing and prevent hearing loss is to become educated on the dangers of noise exposure. Once an understanding of the hazard is gained, preventive measures can be taken to reduce the amount of exposure a person receives. The easiest and most inexpensive way to prevent hearing loss is to avoid high noise levels. When this is not feasible, the next step is to use inexpensive foam or silicone ear plugs. Ear plugs only take a few seconds to insert and come with a Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) to indicate the amount of noise (in decibels or dB) the ear plugs are capable of filtering out when used properly.
Conclusion
Hearing loss due to prolonged exposure to noise is a preventable injury that can best be prevented by educating new and experienced motorcycle riders alike on the dangers of noise exposure, how they are exposed, and how to protect themselves. This can be accomplished in several ways, including:
1. Inclusion in the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s Basic & Experienced Rider Courses
2. Inclusion in the owner’s manual that is shipped with each new motorcycle
3. Literature to be included with the purchase of new motorcycle helmets
4. Posters in motorcycle dealerships and parts supply stores
While there are most certainly many more ways that motorcyclists can be educated about hearing loss dangers, these few recommendations should serve as a basic guideline for instituting a program to educate the riding public on an often overlooked piece of safety equipment that should be included in every rider’s collection of safety equipment and daily riding habits.
Noise Source Sound Level (in dB) Maximum OSHA Exposure Time
Conversation 65 Unlimited
Motorcycle (at rest, idle) 85 to 88 10.6 – 16 hours
Lawn Mower, Shop Tools 90 8 hours
Leaf Blower 95 to 105 4 hours (at 95 dB)
Chain Saw 100 to 105 1 to 2 hours
Woodworking Shop, Stereo 110 30 minutes
Sandblasting 115 15 minutes
Motorcycle (at 65 mph) 110 to 116 15 to 30 minutes
Ambulance Siren, Rock Concert 120 7.5 minutes
Jet Engine 130 1 minute 52 seconds
Table 1: Noise sources, sound levels, and permissible exposure limits
The Table didn’t copy over very well, but it’s there.
This Is NOT What I Ordered
So I was supposed to have an analytical report done up for my class, due today. What do I get? A half-assed research paper with no headings or formatting. I is not amused! Just look at this garbage. Not even a title on the damn thing.
Old methods dog training involving force and pain not only broke down of the bond between man and dog, they were only slightly effective at best. New methods of training have evolved such that not only are they more humane. They have proved much more successful, promote faster learning, and strengthen bonds. The purpose of this report is to compare the techniques of old versus modern techniques of dog training. Here we will show that newer techniques have far surpassed older techniques.
Outdated training techniques were done through pain and intimidation, force, intimidation, punishment (especially hitting), and negative reinforcement. These were thought of as a quick fix to training because the dog learned quickly it must obey or suffer the consequences. However, trust and respect from the pup was lost as obedience was unwillingly given severely damaging the bond between pup and trainer or owner (5-p.23) Quick fixes were tempting and easy, but their benefits were short termed and the consequences far out weighted any benefits. Force, intimidation, punishment, and negative reinforcement were the mainstay of every trainer’s arsenal. These methods were often cruel and insensitive to the pup and actually hindered the learning process. They provided no motivation other than pain to preform for the trainer which made the pup resentful with little enthusiasm to please. Choke chains and prong collars for example inflict pain and force compliance, but only for that one command. Resentfulness diminishes a dog’s natural eagerness to please which diminishes the want to learn new tricks. Punishment never promotes good behavior. Because punishment in children promotes better behavior does not mean the same will with dogs. Proof to the owner that the dog knew he did something wrong, is when the owner comes home to destruction caused by a badly behaved dog, and the dog cowers in the corner at the site of his owner. The owner punishes the dog, perhaps by beating it with a newspaper, yet the very next day, the same thing would happen again, and again, and again. The owner would become frustrated because the obviously the dog knew it did something wrong as evidenced by it’s behavior whimpering and cowering. The dog does not have the capacity to remember what it did two hours ago and was actually responding to the body language of the angry owner. Punishment stops bad behavior if it is timed correctly with the behavior, but it is meaningless if given after the action has occurred. It only teaches the pup to fear the trainer (4-p.124) Once we realized that dogs did have feelings and took those considerations into account; we found far more effective and humane ways of training “man’s best friend.”
Taking the time to learn to get your dog’s attention and compliance willingly, eagerly, and enthusiastically is preferred. Most dogs are eager to please their owner and respond well to praise, treats, and toys. Newer training techniques using such motivations not only foster learning, dramatically increase retention, and promotes bonding between the pup and trainer. One new training method that significantly improved the success of training is the clicker. The clicker is great for communicating to the dog “YES, THAT’S WHAT I WANT.” It uses a metal plate to make a loud abrupt noise that marks a specific behavior. When a treat is combined with the “click” of the clicker, the dog understands that performing that behavior gets him a treat. Motivation for this yummy treat strengthens and reinforces the command and helps him remember what you want the next time you ask. Thinking like a dog and becoming the pack leader is essential to the success of modern training techniques. Dogs are by nature pack animals and early on in life they recognize a social hierarchy. As the dog’s owner you must be at the top of that hierarchy. The pack leader controls everything from meal times, play times, and is responsible for the welfare of the pack. There are many ways to do this including using a firm, confident, calm, commanding voice, staying patient, persistent, and using correct body posture while you wait for the dog to comply. Dogs listen to pack leaders, they do not listen to non-pack leaders. These modern techniques using motivation, treat, toys, and praise are very effect tools for training your pup and tend to produce happier dogs. We have discovered positive training methods that motivate and encourage pups tend to be much more effective and humane than older methods and instill an eager want to please making training fun, effective, and long lasting.
We have learned we can actually motivate dogs to do more, faster using treats and motivation than through intimidation and beating them into submission. Intimidation only serve to teach our dogs to fear us. We have also learned that newer methods tend to be not only much more effective and humane, but fun, effective, and longer lasting.
Here are some things to remember when training your pup. Don’t speak harshly as this is counter productive, instead use a fun high pitched tone. High pitched voices convey happiness. Establish your status as leader with a firm voice and correct body posture while you wait for the dog to comply. Pain, intimidation, force, punishment (especially hitting), and negative reinforcement should be avoided. Instead praise, treats, toys, and motivation should be used to instill and promote the pup’s eager want to please. Use a firm, confident, calm, commanding voice, stay patient, persistent, and always make training fun!
Works Cited
1. http://www.pethealthlibrary.com/Article/Pros-and-Cons-of-Dog-Training-Control-Tools/3
2. http://www.doggybehave.com/basic.php
3. http://www.alldogsgym.com/content/view/42/74/
4. The Everything Dog Training and Tricks Book
5. The Home and Family Protection Dog
6. The Everything Dog Obedience Book
Is it any surprise that the girl who wrote this has been in college for 12 years trying to get a degree? Fark, now I have to actually do some work.
November 8, 2009
The End Is Near
At least I hope it is. I still have to make it past Technical Report Writing and Interpersonal Communications. I’ve enjoyed the psychology and philosophy courses more than anything else I’ve taken so far. Sure, the technical courses were good, but they just didn’t feed my hunger for knowledge that these two did. Graduation appears to be set for next month, then the real fun begins. Time to actually find a job and make some money. I got another toy to pay for a few weeks ago so no time to goof around waiting for the jobs to come to me. Also scheduled to see an endocrinologist next month to begin managing my HRT properly. This only leaves a couple of little legal things to attend to before the real life test begins. I’m really hoping that i can swing this before I get a job since things will go so much easier by doing so. Okay, blog updated. I know I’ve been lazy, and the school work is showing it. I’m still behind on my reading and pretty much have been all semester. Thank God it’s almost over with. I just wish I could have done one more semester to take another psychology course. Time to start playing catch-up on the reading.
July 12, 2009
I Hate Being The Bearer Of Bad News…
But not nearly as much as being the recipient of it. I got some absolutely thrilling news last week. Oh wait, it’s not that thrilling. I’ve been having serious pains for the last few months that I tried to ignore in the hopes it would pass, or at the least wait until I finish school in December to deal with. After an episode last week where i could hardly function I decided to go get checked out. The diagnosis is not something I wanted to hear. Without going into the graphic details, a couple of cysts were found that need to be removed before they get any worse. These things have been caused me a lot of pain, discomfort, and metal anguish, and in all honesty I really don’t think I can make it until December when I’m done with school. Now I’m kicking myself for not keeping up with a health insurance plan for when stuff like this comes up. So with that said, I set up a little page at ChipIn.com to try and raise the funds to cover the cost of the surgery. To everyone that has contributed so far, it is greatly appreciated and you have my thanks. Every little bit helps.
July 9, 2009
The Fourth And Final Essay
In recent years, the subject of obesity has become a hotly debated topic among health professionals, as well as in the media. While some of the problem can be attributed to poor eating habits, there are other factors that contribute to the issue which are leading to a global health crisis. So what are these contributing factors and how do they exacerbate the obesity epidemic?
As society has evolved over the course of the last century, we have entered into an age where food is so readily available that we can have it any time we like. Gone are the days when one might wake up at midnight and have a quick snack, now it has become a full meal. Microwave dinners packed with 2000 calories, almost a full day’s supply for an adult male, can be fully cooked in a microwave oven in ten minutes. And what becomes of those calories after this midnight meal is consumed? Returning straight to bed means those calories end up unused and stored by the body as fat. Hours later, when it’s time to rise for work or school, a hearty breakfast further adds to the calorie glut. Someone working an office job might not burn off all of the calories consumed at breakfast and lunch, never mind dinner and the midnight meal.
The ease with which we can get our food now has led to another problem that is causing an increase in obesity rates – we have become lazy. The ease with which we can get foods pre-cooked and ready to eat makes it easy to consume too much. When combined with a lack of regular physical activity disaster is bound to strike. In countries where people formerly walked or rode bicycles as their primary form of transportation the problem is more evident. With an increasing amount of motor vehicles in countries like China, India, and North and South Korea… people are gaining weight faster and easier than they can take it off.
As the adult population has continued to pack on the pounds, there has been a trickle down effect on the youth population. Childhood obesity is quickly reaching epidemic proportions as fewer children spend time involved in outdoor activities. Instead of going outside and playing sports, they prefer to spend their free time in front of televisions playing video games that simulate sporting activities. Poor dietary habits and a lack of physical activity are creating a generation of overweight kids that face an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Children are now experiencing these health problems in their teenage years while others are now beginning to see the effects caused by years of eating junk food in their twenties and thirties. Health concerns that once only affected the senior population have begun to show that they do not discriminate against anyone regardless of age, race, or nationality.
Faced with a potentially catastrophic health crisis, we have to ask ourselves what must be done to curb the tide of obesity. A renewed emphasis on proper dietary planning in addition to increasing the amount of quality exercise in our daily routine seems to be the first line of defense in protecting our health as well as our children’s. Until that message sinks in the problems facing humanity from the obesity issue will steadily continue to grow.
June 14, 2009
First Essay Assignment for English Comp 1, Draft 1
So the assignment is this: Describe the living conditions in a region or neighborhood with which you are familiar, using a broad range of descriptive detail (both objective and subjective) to communicate what it looks like from the outside and what it feels like to live there.
And this is my first draft. I just have to trim it down from 830 words to about 500 now. 
When I was younger I would often take jobs working for restaurants delivering food. It often surprised me how much the scenery could change in a matter of a few blocks. Sometimes there was such a stark contrast in the appearance of the neighborhood that it was like night and day on each side of the street. While most of the drivers tried to take the majority of their deliveries to the nicer areas of town, the middle class and upper-middle class subdivisions, I found the lower income parts of town to be filled with people that were much friendlier and appreciative of the service we provided for them.
While these “nicer” neighborhoods were appealing because of their percieved sense of being safer and having the greater tipping potential, I was frequently disappointed when a delivery to a nice home on a rainy Christmas Eve turned sour. It was disheartening to walk away from the door holding my three cent gratuity while looking at a shiny new blue Corvette convertible sitting in the driveway. These types of people always presented a false, almost transparent, smile that said, “Oh, thank God you’re finally here. Maybe now these kids will stop screaming and leave me alone.” Despite their income levels, new cars, and perfectly manicured lawns, they seemed almost miserable. It was just time to eat. Never mind spending time with the family, enjoying a meal, and sharing the activities of their days.
More frequently, I found myself in the lower income parts of town. These were the areas that my co-workers tried to avoid. This was the neighborhood full of homes that were built in the 1930s to 1950s, some of which were so neglected that they were almost uninhabitable. Others were so decayed that they had already been condemned. Some had the paint peeling away from the walls, shingles falling off, or missing entirely, revealing rotted roofs that surely leaked onto the floors below. Many of them had unkempt yards, some littered with old cars or appliances, surrounded with chain link fencing. Quite a few people didn’t even have cars and those that did usually had older vehicles that the owner could be found working on when Saturday came around.
I had learned not to be phased by the outward appearance of a house, or even the appearance of the customer I was about to meet. Even though the homes were in a state of disrepair, and certainly did not cost as much as the ones a few blocks away, the people I encountered had a much nicer disposition. When the door opened, I would be greeted with a smile and a friendly hello. On the occasions when I was invited in, I gained a new perspective on the people I was serving. Despite the outward appearance, the interior of some of the homes was nicely furnished with leather furniture, wide screen televisions, and polished wood flooring. Even the ones that were not so nicely appointed felt comfortable inside and bore an atmosphere of happiness. My customers in these areas were happy to see me, not because it was going to settle the children and allow them a break, but because it was time to sit down for a meal with their family.
As the smell of hot fresh food drifted through the house behind me, the children and family dog inevitably followed. Smiling faces eagerly awaited the meal they were about to have as evidenced by the cries of, “The pizza guy is here! The pizza guy is here!” After giving the patron a total, I would provide change for them, knowing that most of them were blue collar workers putting in fifty to sixty hours in the plants every week to provide for their families. The best tip I could hope for was an extra dollar or two as thanks for delivering to them on a cold, wet night. And this is when the true richness of these people made itself apparent. The customer for whom I had just given change for a fifty dollar bill would ask me to break a twenty and present me with a five dollar tip, sometimes even more than that. Others who could not afford to give a monetary gratuity would give out of their own need. “Here man, have a beer. Take a couple of slices of pizza, you’re soaking wet and need to warm up a little.”
Regardless of the outcome, I could sprint through the rain and back to my truck for the return trip to the restaurant with a smile on my face. I had brought joy to a home that was thankful to have a hot meal, a family to share it with, and a roof over their heads. They weren’t driving expensive sports cars or new trucks or living in brick homes with new furniture and plush carpets. But these people possessed a wealth the others did not. They were content with what they had and thankful to have it.
May 2, 2009
Getting Closer To The Finish
The spring semester is almost over and I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. In two weeks final exams will be done and I’ll have completed all of the necessary course work to obtain my certificate of technology. That leaves sixteen hours of academics to obtain my associate of applied science degree. Although the degree has been the long term goal, the certificate will finally open some doors to getting back to work. With the economy being in such a sad state I would definitely take a job if one were offered and try to complete my academic courses through online study. For the time being I have to focus on these last two weeks. Once finals are over I get three weeks to rest and prepare for the dreaded English course. I think I see a road trip on the new bike followed by some serious gaming. Of course that’s all dependent on not sleeping through the break. And speaking of sleep, I should go do that since typing and concentration are quickly fading at 2:45 am.
January 22, 2009
Ahhh, The Boredom Killer
School is back in session after a five week break. I was getting bored sitting on my ass all day watching TV, playing games, and screwing around on the computer. 