Weddings

So, a lot of my friends are getting married or engaged (and by a lot I mean very few.. but a lot of my friends have friends who are getting married so that counts!) and it makes me think about life in today's world. Do women still really just want to get married? Is that the end goal for us now?  Either way, these thoughts have not only been on my mind lately because a lot of my friends are posting articles about similar things AND are thinking about how much marriage makes us question equality between men and women.  This article made me especially question the validity of an engagement ring. Everything it says in there I thought "that's so true" but had never thought it before. For example: men don't wear a ring until marriage, I guess they don't have to be "marked" and women want to be equal but still expect the man to buy the ring. I do have some friends who bought their significant other a present when they knew the engagement was coming up, as a way to balance out the fact that the other one was buying the ring, but why not start buying a ring for the man as well?! I think it sounds like a good idea, or just throw out the idea of engagement rings at all. I personally have never been a fan of rings in the first place, I think they are uncomfortable and unnecessary, but this society expects that.

However, this article brings up an even more important question of marriage anyway. Do we need to set marriage as our goal in life? I had a friend tell me that she is settling for her boyfriend who she argues with all the time because she thinks he will be a good father. Should it be our place to "settle" for anyone? I think women can wait until they are ready for marriage, and wait until they find a person they truly want to be with forever... and even that idea scares me.  Is there really any way to say that one person is the person you would want to be with forever? I just hope that someone else figures this all out before I have to deal with the idea of me getting married!

On a happier note, I do still enjoy weddings, so if my friends want to keep getting married I am OK with that!

R

School idea!

So, this article in GOOD Magazine makes a good point about helping students get college credit. Many jobs require at least a bachelors now, and many students can't afford that. But helping them get at least an associates degree could be awesome. This article says organize high school so people can finish their required classes in three years and spend the next two years (at no extra cost) getting basic college courses. The students can then graduate with an associates degree, or at least about two years worth of credit for a four year college. This would provide a great avenue for lower income students to afford college and possibly get more scholarships because they showed their dedication.

I was talking with a friend the other day about this, and probably the students who participate in this program would be the more dedicated ones anyway who could get scholarships for a four year university anyway. But this could be a good way to get some students who just want an associates and are willing to try a little harder in high school to get one for free. These students, I think, will benefit the most. It is also a great way to help students realize that going to college is achievable for anyone, if they work hard and focus on school, as well as apply for scholarships. With the "no child left behind" this could also be a great way to help support those students who do well and have partially been neglected in this program because the schools have to focus on struggling students more. It will be interesting to see how this works out. I'll keep my eyes open for more developments from Maine!

R

Fun map of the day!

So I'm not actually going to post maps every day, though I probably see enough where I could. However this is a really interesting map, and I like it. It shows public involvement and political stance for the nation as a heat map! And of course there is an article that goes along with it about how the person made this with R (a programming language) and it makes me really want to learn it!



Happy mapping!
R

A house from the dirt

This group is making homes out of dirt.  They fill long bags with dirt and stack them to make a home shape.

They remind me of the creampuff house in Austin.  This method was recommended as a way to build on other planets. We could be living under the dirt of Mars!  It has actually been used to build emergency and safety shelters after natural disasters, but they can look pretty nice.  I bet they stay cool in the summer too, it's the same as living underground.   Check out this article to see more pictures and read more about the project.