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(06/07/13 8:07pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU is home to one of the largest Greek communities in the nation. But with four major councils, which one’s right for you? Here’s a rundown of all of the nationally recognized Greek organizations on campus to learn more before you rush.Panhellenic AssociationMinimum 2.7 GPAFollow: @IUBPHAFor more information: iubpharecruitment.comPHA is composed of 21 sororities focusing on leadership, scholarship, philanthropy and sisterhood. Any freshman or sophomore woman may seek membership by first attending a Greek informational meeting on Nov. 3. After registering for the PHA recruitment process, each woman will be assigned a recruitment counselor known as a Rho Gamma. IU PHA operates on a deferred recruitment process, meaning rush does not begin until second semester. This way, women are able to adjust to college life and develop good study habits and friendships their first semester before joining sorority life. Rush officially begins Jan. 9 with Open House, or “21 party,” where potential new members will visit all 21 PHA chapters. After 21 party, potential members meet with their Rho Gammas and rank their favorite chapters. In the days following 21 party, women will go through three more stages of the rush process as they get to know the personalities and values of each chapter. Recruitment finishes with Bid Day, when women receive bids from respective sororities, and upon accepting the bids, they begin initiation.PHA president Anjulia Urasky said there are many benefits to going Greek.“You get lifelong friendships, leadership opportunities, and a supportive community,” Urasky said via email. “Members of a sorority or fraternity join for life it’s not just four years."Interfraternity CouncilMinimum 2.7 GPAFollow: @IUBIFCFor more information: iubifc.comIFC is composed of 30 chapters and 3 colonies, new Greek organizations awaiting official approval by their national fraternity. IFC fraternities are based on brotherhood, leadership, scholarship and service.IFC recruitment officially begins Sept. 14, 2013 with an open house-style event in Dunn Meadow where rush chairs from each chapter will be present to talk with potential members. Prior to that event, beginning Sept. 2, 2013, men interested in Greek life can attend meetings in their residence halls where they will meet with “Bro Gammas,” men from IU fraternity chapters selected to help mentor freshmen through the process and find the best fit for them. Fall 2013 will be the first time Bro Gammas will be implemented into IFC recruitment. “Our mantra is if you want to join Greek life, we can a find a frat for you,” VP of Recruitment Tom Ault said.After meeting with the Bro Gammas, Ault said it’s their hope that men will come to Dunn Meadow with a shortlist of fraternities to meet so they can maximize their time at the event. Once potential members sign up with a number of fraternities they’re interested in, they can attend open events where they’ll go on house tours and meet brothers in a sober setting. Fraternity chapters then extend bids, and once a potential member signs a bid to a specific house, he’ll begin member education, or the pledge process. Men may also choose to rush in the spring. Interim IFC president Sean Jordan said he’s gotten a lot out of his decision to join a fraternity.“For me, it’s a lot of leadership development, making a big school feel small, finding your niche with a great group of guys and providing a solid foundation to grow as a human being throughout your college career,” Jordan said. Multi-Cultural Greek CouncilNine chapters, one colonyRequirements: Minimum 2.5 GPA, letters of recommendation, letter of interest, community service hoursFollow: @IU_MCGCFor more information: contact adviser Lindsay Echols, lechols@indiana.edu, 812-855-1227.MCGC is composed of nine sorority and fraternity chapters and one colony. The chapters identify with a specific race, sexual orientation or religious preference, but students may join any chapter regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. All MCGC chapters commit themselves to academic excellence, leadership development, and community service. To join a MCGC chapter, interested students can attend an informational session at the beginning of the semester. They will then fill out an application to seek membership to a specific sorority or fraternity. Each chapter runs its recruitment process differently.MCGC adviser Lindsay Echols said there is a distinct benefit to joining a MCGC sorority or fraternity.“MCGC chapters are able to delve in and celebrate other cultures in a predominantly white campus, so members are able to learn about themselves and others,” Echols said. “It’s a wonderful learning opportunity.”National Pan-Hellenic CouncilRequirements: Must have completed at least 12 credit hours with a minimum 2.5 GPA, letters of recommendation; letter of interest, community service hoursFollow: @NPHC_IUFor more information: contact adviser Lindsay Echols, lechols@indiana.edu, 812-855-1227NPHC is composed of nine historically black national sororities and fraternities, however, like MCGC, members do not have to be of a certain race or ethnicity to join. The chapters are founded in philanthropy and service, working in the community at local non-profit organizations like Middle Way House and the Boys and Girls Club. To get involved, interested students can attend a joint informational meeting with all nine chapters on Sept. 24, 2013. The time frame for rush varies by specific chapter, but those seeking to rush will receive an application and submit for membership after the first informational meeting. The process will repeat in the spring.In addition to the friendships and networking opportunities, NPHC adviser Lindsay Echols also said joining a chapter means making a lasting pledge to the sorority or fraternity.“The thing that sets NPHC apart from other councils is the life-long commitment,” Echols said. “My grandmother is 91 years old and still a financial member of her sorority.”
(04/08/13 7:00pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There is no one secret to athletic success. There are three: genetics, training, and technique. Kinesiology professor Jesús Dapena has conducted sports biomechanics studies since the 1970s . This science works with technique, understanding, and enhancing athletes’ performance on the field through cause-and-effect analysis of their movements. Over the years, Dapena’s lab has analyzed a number of athletes — baseball pitchers, dancers, discus throwers, and field hockey players. But the bulk of his research has focused on high jumpers. He’s spent 25 years recording, analyzing, and critiquing the performances of USA Track and Field’s best jumpers to prepare them for competition.While top athletes like IU high jumper Derek Drouin may consistently place, that doesn’t mean an aspiring young athlete should copy Drouin’s technique to a T. Instead, Dapena says improving one’s performance comes down to the details. For example, when jumping into the air, an athlete must lift his or her knees at a precise moment to clear the bar. Sports biomechanics can pinpoint the exact angle the knees should be at to reach the optimum height.In the 1968 Olympics, American athlete Dick Fosbury changed the sport of high jumping when he introduced the technique that’s become known as “The Fosbury Flop.” Rather than using the then-standard sideways straddle, Fosbury refined a technique where he ran in a curve, leaning away from the bar and jumping over with what is now the characteristic “backwards over the bar” appearance of high jumping. Biomechanics consultants did not create this technique, but they can help refine it for specific bodies to achieve success.But how exactly do they do it? Dapena relies on video footage that he and his graduate students record of athletes on the field, track, or stage. They favor this on-site method over data collecting in the lab, because only in competition is an athlete performing near or at their full potential.In the end, talent may win out over training — but with the help of sports biomechanics research, coaches have the chance to craft the perfect player. How It WorksBack in the lab, the biomechanics researchers upload the video to a computer program called Simi Motion, where each recorded jump is broken into single frames to allow for digitizing. The digitizing process is a manual one and can be slow (one jump takes at least two hours to digitize, Dapena says), but it’s precise. The body is broken down into 21 points including the top of the head, shoulders, and ankles. On each still of the video, Dapena marks these points to create digital “stick figures” of the athlete’s movements. These figures are then used to create a computer simulation of the jump. From there, researchers can create graphic representations. This allows them to calculate precise angles and heights, determining exactly which movement can be improved. Coaches then receive this analysis and can use it to polish their athletes’ performances.
(02/19/13 1:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____> Three comics wait out of sight at the Comedy Attic’s Wednesday night open mic. “He’s from Terre Haute, so he’s probably addicted to methamphetamine … Ben Moore!” “He’s the man with the most unfortunate name in the state of Indiana, please welcome … Tom Brady!” “He just released his sex tape … which is just a roll of duct tape with blonde hair stuck to it … Jamison Raymond!” Ben, Tom, and Jamison make up three of the five guys who helped build the Bloomington comedy scene, the ones who started together four years ago when The Comedy Attic first opened as The Funny Bone on Walnut Street. Each man takes the stage for his own act, and immediately it’s a flow. It’s a beat. It’s an art. Stand-up comedy fits them. On stage, their dialogue feels unrehearsed, like talking to your funny best friend — if your best friend was the kind of guy who would joke about black cavemen, bathroom drinking, and four-day boners. There’s a bated-breath pause. Then the crowd erupts in a giant wave of laughter. This is it. This is the throw-it-all-away, addictive high, falling-in-love rock star moment. This is what ruins your life.*** Ben Moore sits in a downtown Indianapolis Starbucks, unwrapping Halls cough drops with his teeth, popping them in, and letting the mentho-lyptus work its magic. He’s not convinced. The economy-sized pack shrinks slowly. At 32, dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a weatherproof jacket, Ben is living life on the road as a professional comedian. He’s been around long enough to know the rules: 1. Always bring your own plasticware and instant coffee. 2. Don’t look anyone in the eye. 3. Don’t get sick. To forget the rules is to pay the consequences and possibly end up eating Caesar salad with your fingers — it’s happened before. But it’s the last rule that’s the most important, and right now Ben is certain he has the flu. He takes off his glasses and begins muttering. “Damn it. No. I’m so stupid. I’m a dummy. This is the road. I blame the road for this.” It hasn’t always been this way, this featuring comic’s lifestyle of fluorescent-lit bus stations and pushing sleeping strangers off his shoulder driving somewhere between Cleveland and Syracuse, N.Y. First there was the move from Terre Haute to Bloomington with his identical twin brother in his early 20s. Then there was the hole-in-a-basement $100-a-month rental apartment, the slew of night jobs he took so he could stick it to The Man, the public access sketch comedy show airing to an empty audience at 3 a.m. There were guest spots at the Monday night Bear’s Place show and double-digit drinks to get over crippling stage fright. And then in 2008, there was a miracle: Bloomington’s first full-time comedy club opened its doors. Ben wandered in, stuck around, and quit drinking. “My worst fear was not making it,” he says. “I didn’t want to look back and think what if not quitting was what held me back.” Stand-up comedy turned out to be the only thing better than alcohol, and so Ben traded in bottles and booze for stage lights and a life on the road. The cough drops keep coming because Ben can’t be sick. It’s an inconvenience. “It’s just so stupid. I’m going to be sick. I’m going to be on the bus, sick, all because of this harlot, this whore in Milwaukee,” he says. Mistakes happen. Milwaukee happens. Ben tries to explain. “There’s nothing to do! I don’t do drugs. I don’t drink. I don’t commit crimes. But here, people get into trouble out there. Greg Giraldo. Mitch Hedberg. You’re out there, and you have all that time. Guys like that, they start doing drugs out of boredom or whatever. It kills people. The road kills people.” Printed on every Halls wrapper is a mini pep talk. “Get back in there champ!” says the cough drop. “Tough is your middle name.” *** From the back of 25-year-old Tom Brady’s Chrysler Concorde comes a sound like fireworks. He doesn’t flinch. He’s driven the black four-door for six years but can hardly remember a time when breaking down on the side of the road wasn’t a real possibility. Tomorrow, he says. He’ll take it to the shop tomorrow. He said that yesterday, too. Tom wants to make you laugh, but he doesn’t want to talk about that great touchdown pass last night. He’s not laughing at your Gisele Bundchen jokes either. “When people say comics don’t laugh, it’s not true,” Tom says. “Comics just don’t laugh at things that have been done to death.” The car radio temporarily drowns out the popping noise, but suddenly Tom reaches forward and changes the station, like listening to one more second of Dave Matthews Band’s “Don’t Drink The Water” might physically pain him. “I hate when I start tapping my fingers to a Dave Matthews Band song,” he says. “I’m like, ‘Oh shit! Dave Matthews! Not me! I’m cooler than that.’” He can immediately name his favorite band: Modest Mouse. It used to be Radiohead, but isn’t Radiohead the favorite band of every depressed comic you know? Tom’s not calling himself depressed. That downtrodden persona some comics take onstage may just be one more way to air out self-deprecating thoughts, he says. “There’s a sadness in everybody,” he says. “But we can laugh about it.” At 21, Tom wanted a fairy tale life. Raised by women and Disney movies, he called himself a sap, but four years and a broken engagement later, he’s making his own version of happily ever after. There’s no wife, no six-figure career, no pet dog running around a fenced-in backyard. He settles for visiting puppies in the College Mall pet shop and plans to move to Chicago, where he’ll finally be able to work his day job around comedy rather than vice versa. For now, Tom’s picked the fickle lover that is stand-up comedy. “Being on stage is the best and worst feeling. It’s isolating and the most alone you’ll ever feel if it’s not going well and no one’s with you,” he says. “But when it’s going well, it’s like this energy. It’s a drug and an adrenaline rush. When you haven’t done it in a while, it’s almost like an itch that in order to scratch, you must get back up on stage.”*** Buried in the sock drawer of Jamison Raymond’s dresser is a slim IU Credit Union envelope. Scrawled on the outside are words and numbers: Earned 2009. Do not spend. April 2011, do not quit. They’re personal reminders, written in the trying moments when leaving comedy behind seemed like the easiest thing to do. Tucked inside is a single dollar, one more reminder of the first time someone paid him to do what has become a compulsion and a need. He’s a 31-year-old with a Spiderman bedspread and comic books, a guy who yells obscenities while playing “Call of Duty” at night with his friends. And he’s not afraid to admit that maybe it’s a little childish. “That’s who I am,” he says. “My life is awesome.” He also knows if he wants to do comedy full time, he has to make a choice. Does he stay where he’s at, continuing to feature the odd show and working the local open mic scene? Or does he take the next step and move toward professional comic life? “I don’t want to be in my 40s, on the road, never married, no kids, drunk, and talking in a bar with 20-year-olds about comedy,” Raymond says. “I don’t think that’s something I’d ultimately be fulfilled by.” He says his friends think it would be a waste of talent if he quit, but trying to make it big requires a change of mentality, a change of lifestyle, and a change of location. He could quit his desk job at the hospital and hit the road like Ben. He could call it quits for now on the possibility of a relationship and move to the city like Tom. Whether it would be worth it all — that’s what he doesn’t know.*** The comics leave the open mic stage to cheers and applause. The crowd shifts in their seats, pulling on their coats as the lights go up. Ultimately they’ll all have to walk off that Comedy Attic stage for good, no more routine features as one of the five guys who stuck around. They can’t stay because younger guys wait in the wings looking to become the next Ben Moore or Jamison Raymond. The scene must change and the characters up front must switch, pulling new material and jokes to relate with the crowd. In September, The Comedy Attic will celebrate its fifth birthday. The Fifth Annual Bloomington Comedy Festival will kick off in June, crowning the best comic in the city at the end of the summer competition. In the last four years, these five guys have passed around the title. One would only expect 2013’s result to be the same. But Ben, Tom, and Jamison don’t want this town’s last laughs, so the time to make a choice and part ways is approaching. They’re looking forward to headlining shows, recording albums, and settling down. In 10 years, they hope Bloomington will be able to have the same draw as Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. If fame’s spotlight hits one of them, The Comedy Attic’s name would shine, too. Young, up-and-coming comics could hop in their cars and bypass the big city in favor of starting their careers in southern Indiana.
(02/18/13 11:53pm)
Abstract:
(11/27/12 5:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Remember all those promises of flying cars, robots, and cities on Mars once we entered the 21st century? Well, we're still waiting. Take a look at this list to compare past pop-culture predictions with present-day reality. "The Jetsons" 1962-1987In the show...The cartoon family, the Jetsons, navigate Orbit City by way of a flying car in the year 2062. Today... Aeronautical company Terrafugia created the Transition Roadable Aircraft. While it’s not ready for consumer use and trafficking the skies, Transition is a vehicle that can fold its wings and drive on roads, then unfold them to be used as a plane."Minority Report" 2001In the movie...As Tom Cruise walks through the mall, virtual screens pop up in front of his eyes, all competing for his attention to draw him into their stores.Today...Google's Project Glass prototype is essentially a wearable smartphone in the form of lensless glasses. The technology allows wearers to send messages, take pictures, navigate maps, and more via voice-activated commands. All this is slated to be out on the market by 2014."Fahrenheit 451" 1953In the book...Ray Bradbury writes in his classic dystopian novel of a device that helps users fall asleep: “And in her ears the little seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk and music and talk coming in, coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind.”Today...Sound familiar? Earbud headphones."Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" 2001
In the movie...Boy wizard Harry and his friends avoid losing house points for breaking curfew with the help of a magical invisibility cloak.
Today...Researchers from the University of Texas have developed a carbon nanotube technology that uses the mirage effect to hide objects. These tubes have the potential to be developed into Harry Potterstyle cloaks. The technology is not yet ready for consumer use, but don’t lose hope yet, muggles."Back to the Future: Part II" 1989
In the movie...When Marty McFly visits 2015, he encounters fingerprint scanners used to validate identity.
Today...Now widespread, biometrics uses human characteristics like the fingerprint to confirm identity. Today, you can unlock anything, from the door of your local 24-Hour Fitness to some greek houses on campus with one touch of a fingertip. In 2010 some European banks even instituted biometric screening on their ATMs.
"Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century" 1999
In the movie...
The Disney Channel Original Movie features Zenon and her family talking on video chat via handheld devices in the year 2049.
Today...Apple has made mobile video chat a modern convenience with FaceTime technology, available on iPhone models 4 and up."Toy Story" 1995
In the movie...Space action figure Buzz Lightyear flies “to infinity ... and beyond!” thanks to a personal jet pack strapped onto his plastic body.
Today...The Martin Jetpack, introduced in 2008, is marketed as a personal and practical aircraft. The Jetpack uses a gasoline engine and two ducted fans. It is said to reach a top speed of 60 miles per hour and an altitude of 8,000 feet. You can fly for about 30 minutes on a full fuel tank."Star Trek: Generations" 1994
In the movie...
Personal Access Display Devices were flat, silver, and let characters select what they needed simply by tapping the screen. Today... While consumers may have mocked the iPad’s name upon its release, this tablet computer and others from companies like Google and Samsung bear more than a passing resemblance to the space-age technology of “Star Trek.”
(11/27/12 5:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Remember all those promises of flying cars, robots, and cities on Mars once we entered the 21st century? Well, we're still waiting. Take a look at this list to compare past pop-culture predictions with present-day reality. "The Jetsons" 1962-1987In the show...The cartoon family, the Jetsons, navigate Orbit City by way of a flying car in the year 2062. Today... Aeronautical company Terrafugia created the Transition Roadable Aircraft. While it’s not ready for consumer use and trafficking the skies, Transition is a vehicle that can fold its wings and drive on roads, then unfold them to be used as a plane."Minority Report" 2001In the movie...As Tom Cruise walks through the mall, virtual screens pop up in front of his eyes, all competing for his attention to draw him into their stores.Today...Google's Project Glass prototype is essentially a wearable smartphone in the form of lensless glasses. The technology allows wearers to send messages, take pictures, navigate maps, and more via voice-activated commands. All this is slated to be out on the market by 2014."Fahrenheit 451" 1953In the book...Ray Bradbury writes in his classic dystopian novel of a device that helps users fall asleep: “And in her ears the little seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk and music and talk coming in, coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind.”Today...Sound familiar? Earbud headphones."Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" 2001
In the movie...Boy wizard Harry and his friends avoid losing house points for breaking curfew with the help of a magical invisibility cloak.
Today...Researchers from the University of Texas have developed a carbon nanotube technology that uses the mirage effect to hide objects. These tubes have the potential to be developed into Harry Potterstyle cloaks. The technology is not yet ready for consumer use, but don’t lose hope yet, muggles."Back to the Future: Part II" 1989
In the movie...When Marty McFly visits 2015, he encounters fingerprint scanners used to validate identity.
Today...Now widespread, biometrics uses human characteristics like the fingerprint to confirm identity. Today, you can unlock anything, from the door of your local 24-Hour Fitness to some greek houses on campus with one touch of a fingertip. In 2010 some European banks even instituted biometric screening on their ATMs.
"Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century" 1999
In the movie...
The Disney Channel Original Movie features Zenon and her family talking on video chat via handheld devices in the year 2049.
Today...Apple has made mobile video chat a modern convenience with FaceTime technology, available on iPhone models 4 and up."Toy Story" 1995
In the movie...Space action figure Buzz Lightyear flies “to infinity ... and beyond!” thanks to a personal jet pack strapped onto his plastic body.
Today...The Martin Jetpack, introduced in 2008, is marketed as a personal and practical aircraft. The Jetpack uses a gasoline engine and two ducted fans. It is said to reach a top speed of 60 miles per hour and an altitude of 8,000 feet. You can fly for about 30 minutes on a full fuel tank."Star Trek: Generations" 1994
In the movie...
Personal Access Display Devices were flat, silver, and let characters select what they needed simply by tapping the screen. Today... While consumers may have mocked the iPad’s name upon its release, this tablet computer and others from companies like Google and Samsung bear more than a passing resemblance to the space-age technology of “Star Trek.”
(11/27/12 4:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a scary world without your smartphone, the Internet, or a greenscreened weatherman on TV, how are you supposed to know when to bring your umbrella? The experts have their weather balloons and statistical evidence, but all you need is a pair of eyes and a decent sense of direction. Geography professor Scott Robeson offers a few tips on predicting the weather without a forecast. Let the Indiana Memorial Union flag be your guide. Since it’s high up and out of the way of other buildings, Robeson says he looks to that flag to see which way the wind blows. Tip for the directionally challenged: If it’s blowing toward the Kelley School of Business, it’s north; toward Ballantine Hall, it’s south. Major weather tends to move from west to east. Once you’ve figured out where the wind’s coming from, stand with your back to it. The low-pressure area is to the left, and the high-pressure is to the right. Low-pressure areas produce clouds and precipitation. Types of clouds and what they meanCirrus clouds are long and wispy and typically mean fair weather. They can also indicate a change in weather patterns within in the next 24 hours. Cirrostratus clouds are sheet-like and cover the whole sky, and the sun easily shines through them. When these appear, it means moist weather in the next 12 to 24 hours. Altocumulus clouds are also sheet-like, but the sun does not pass through them. Seeing these in the morning means rain. Cumulus clouds, the standard, puffy, cotton ball clouds, mean fair weather until they start forming towers. When this happens, they turn into cumulonimbus clouds and form an anvil shape that points toward the direction the storm is coming from bringing rain, lightning, hail, or even tornadoes. Remember these rhymes “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailor’s warning.” If the sky is distinctly red or pink at night, the next day should be fair. In the morning, it could mean rain. “Ring around the moon, rain or snow soon.” If the moon looks like it’s wearing a halo, it can mean bad weather is coming as this ring shows up when a warm front and low-pressure area approaches.How to predict the day's weather with coffee1. Fire up that tea kettle or coffee maker — any hot beverage will do. Once the pot’s full, grab your mug and pour until nearly full. 2. You should see some bubbles on the surface of the liquid. Watch carefully to see where they go. If the bubbles stay in the center of your cup, remember an umbrella on your way out the door. If the bubbles disperse to the sides of your cup, you’re in the clear. Expect fair weather for the next 12 hours. 3. How does this work, you ask? High pressure will push the bubbles to the edge, while low pressure will keep them in the center. Note: We tested this experiment here at the Inside laboratory, and yes, it really works. We saw clear skies for 12 hours after.
(11/27/12 4:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a scary world without your smartphone, the Internet, or a greenscreened weatherman on TV, how are you supposed to know when to bring your umbrella? The experts have their weather balloons and statistical evidence, but all you need is a pair of eyes and a decent sense of direction. Geography professor Scott Robeson offers a few tips on predicting the weather without a forecast. Let the Indiana Memorial Union flag be your guide. Since it’s high up and out of the way of other buildings, Robeson says he looks to that flag to see which way the wind blows. Tip for the directionally challenged: If it’s blowing toward the Kelley School of Business, it’s north; toward Ballantine Hall, it’s south. Major weather tends to move from west to east. Once you’ve figured out where the wind’s coming from, stand with your back to it. The low-pressure area is to the left, and the high-pressure is to the right. Low-pressure areas produce clouds and precipitation. Types of clouds and what they meanCirrus clouds are long and wispy and typically mean fair weather. They can also indicate a change in weather patterns within in the next 24 hours. Cirrostratus clouds are sheet-like and cover the whole sky, and the sun easily shines through them. When these appear, it means moist weather in the next 12 to 24 hours. Altocumulus clouds are also sheet-like, but the sun does not pass through them. Seeing these in the morning means rain. Cumulus clouds, the standard, puffy, cotton ball clouds, mean fair weather until they start forming towers. When this happens, they turn into cumulonimbus clouds and form an anvil shape that points toward the direction the storm is coming from bringing rain, lightning, hail, or even tornadoes. Remember these rhymes “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailor’s warning.” If the sky is distinctly red or pink at night, the next day should be fair. In the morning, it could mean rain. “Ring around the moon, rain or snow soon.” If the moon looks like it’s wearing a halo, it can mean bad weather is coming as this ring shows up when a warm front and low-pressure area approaches.How to predict the day's weather with coffee1. Fire up that tea kettle or coffee maker — any hot beverage will do. Once the pot’s full, grab your mug and pour until nearly full. 2. You should see some bubbles on the surface of the liquid. Watch carefully to see where they go. If the bubbles stay in the center of your cup, remember an umbrella on your way out the door. If the bubbles disperse to the sides of your cup, you’re in the clear. Expect fair weather for the next 12 hours. 3. How does this work, you ask? High pressure will push the bubbles to the edge, while low pressure will keep them in the center. Note: We tested this experiment here at the Inside laboratory, and yes, it really works. We saw clear skies for 12 hours after.
(11/06/12 6:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Today, Americans will step into voting booths and elect the next president. In this election, there are more than 180,000,000 citizens registered to vote. But an election is more than just politics. For these six students, with conflicting partisan views, this is a divided campus.
CHRISTOPHER BABCOCK Loganspot, Ind. President of IU College DemocratsSenior environmental management major Christopher Babcock says a trip to Vietnam emphasized the importance of environmental protection in the United States.On a walk, Babcock noticed a young boy toss a soiled napkin into the streets. As he traveled along a forest trail, he found himself surrounded by mounds of garbage. Babcock says this experience was eye opening. It gave him another reason to fear Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.Babcock says the religious right of the Republican Party, has a sense that global warming isn’t an issue. They believe God is in full control of the Earth and climate change. “They make decisions that could directly and indirectly support their industries rather than protect their citizens from actual harm,” he says.He says he fears if Romney becomes president, Roe v. Wade, social security, Medicare and Medicaid will be rolled away.“I would be scared under a Romney presidency that decisions might be made that were politically convenient and not in the best interest of the whole country,” Babcock says. “However, to say or to think that the economy being bad wouldn’t affect me personally just because I have a job, it just isn’t true,” he says. “Ultimately, what I fear most is I don’t know what a Romney presidency would look like,” Babcock says, “and I think that’s scary for me."RILEY PARRIndianapolisTreasurer of IU College RepublicansSophomore Riley Parr remembers watching the election coverage on television in 2008. Although he wasn’t old enough to vote, he says he remembers wanting Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. to win but didn’t fully grasp what it would mean for the country if either candidate won. Four years later, it’s not the same story. Parr is currently treasurer for the IU College Republicans and involved with the Student Alumni Association and Student Alliance for National Security. He says he knows politics, and he knows he wants Mitt Romney in office. Parr calls himself “not your normal college-aged Republican” and more of a social conservative than other students. He supports Romney for his knowledge in business, something he believes the country needs due to the financial crisis, and would like to see a sound economic plan in place. “I think what Obama’s done is energize Republicans like me to get them to do their research and understand the philosophies and history behind the issues,” Parr says. “We don’t have to listen to the man on the television or the newspapers to make our own decisions.” TESS LEUTHNERMilwaukee, Wis.Sent in an absentee ballot for the electionTess Leuthner is a senior studying environmental science. She is also involved with Timmy Global Health and works at a research lab that studies environmental toxicology in aquatic systems. She’s passionate about the environment and concerned about health care. Leuthner says she is an avid President Barack Obama supporter. She’s nervous, though. It’s the idea of a nation run by Mitt Romney that scares her. “He’s going to try and destroy all the progress that we’ve made over the four years, mostly social issues and economic issues,” Leuthner says. “He’s not fighting for women, or minorities, or gays, or workers, or artists.” For Leuthner, Obama is a symbol of trust — the man who sees the nation and its people in its entirety, she says.“I guess he’s incredibly determined and selfless, and you usually don’t feel that way about a politician,” Leuthner says. “I think that’s why I am able to trust him, because he’s looking out for everyone. He understands what world he wants to leave behind for his children.” Romney, on the other hand, makes her feel uneasy, she says. She says she’s afraid that he doesn’t understand America and the issues at hand. “That’s what I fear, that he’s blind to things,” Leuthner says. “He’s blind to other ways of life that make the U.S. what it is.” The more vocal Romney has been, the more worried Leuthner has become. “He can never answer the question with what he’s actually going to do,” she says. “Even when I muted the debates, I would feel worse just watching him in how he treated the audience, the moderator, and Obama.” “He’s just so aggressive and disrespectful, and that is just not someone who should be running the country,” Leuthner says.HILARY LEIGHTYWashington, Ind.Chairwoman of IU College RepublicansHilary Leighty is determined to make her last month as chairwoman of the IU GOP a good one. Leighty has been working hard manning the phone banks and helping out with various delegates’ campaigns. “I don’t think it’s going to be good if (Obama) has another four years,” she says. “I think there’s going to be a lot of good things that won’t happen if he is president.” With parents who are generally conservative, Leighty says she did not grow up in a very politically minded environment and did a lot of her own research before deciding she agreed more with Republican policies. The classes she’s taken at IU have only reinforced her conservative beliefs and ideals, she says. A junior studying marketing and management in the Kelley School of Business, Leighty says the party’s stand regarding economic and business issues appeal to her most. A supporter of Reaganomics instead of Obama’s brand of Keynesian economics, and a supporter in Bush tax cuts, instead of tax hikes, Leighty says Obama’s policies have created a burden on small businesses. “I don’t know when it became a crime to be successful and make money in this country, but apparently it has,” Leighty says. “The thing that makes me frustrated more than anything else in this election is (Obama’s) demonizing people for being successful, and for making money. Like, that’s the American Dream. That’s the entrepreneurial spirit. These people have worked hard.” Leighty says that if Obama is reelected, there might be more waiting for good things to happen. She poses the idea that the economy could remain stagnant until 2016. For election night, Leighty already has her plans laid out: at the headquarters making calls all day, working the polls for a few local candidates she endorses, going to KRC Banquets and Catering to support Todd Young and his staff and then attending party with the other College Republicans. “And I might go to the bars after that, for a little bit, if it’s a good night,” she says. “We’re hoping for good things. We’ll see if I’m really happy or really depressed.”PARKER MANTELLMemphis, Tenn.Voted with an absentee ballot in TennesseeAs a political science major and columnist for thecollegeconservative.com, junior Parker Mantell knows his facts. He’s done his research, he has the numbers, and he isn’t afraid to share it. “I tell people all of the time we are all part of the debt-paying generation,” Mantell says. “Yet today, half of Americans out of college can’t get a job and that’s very frightening.” So in an election that Mantell says will be determined by the economy, Romney has his vote. “If his tenure of balancing budgets as governor of Massachusetts has any indication on how Romney would run this country, he has what it takes,” Mantell says. Charged social issues may be what fire up the passionate American public, and Mantell sees nothing wrong with that, but he believes that this presidency will be determined by economic decisions. Candidates must be able to do more than just talk for the millions of Americans without jobs and for the students prepping to join the workforce. “The reality is that this is the final chance we have to get this country back on track,” Mantell says. And for Mantell, Romney is the one to do it. SONYA JAYARATNAWest Lafayette, Ind.Re-registered to vote in Bloomington this yearSonya Jayaratna wants to go into health care. She’s studying biology as a senior and is involved with Timmy Global Health in addition to doing research in an animal behavior lab. If Romney is voted into office, Jayaratna says she is especially nervous when it comes to healthcare policy. “Even when he speaks over and over about how he pays attention to the middle class or how he’s in for the middle class or whatever, he’s so wishy-washy,” Jayaratna says. “That speaks to why I don’t believe he really has those issues in mind.” She says she is afraid Romney doesn’t seem to always understand the importance of social issues. “I like how Obama says that it’s like an investment in a person,” Jayaratna says. “People don’t always have the means to or the opportunity to become a Romney themselves, and I don’t think Mitt Romney really understands that.” Jayaratna says she fears that Romney’s views are outdated and will stunt America with his mindset. As one of the millions of immigrants, she also says she doesn’t find him relatable. “He just has an ideology that should not be applied to today’s society, it’s not consistent with how we have evolved as a population,” Jayaratna says.
(10/16/12 6:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If your knowledge of astronomy lies somewhere between chowing down on a Milky Way and Wallace & Gromit’s 1989 claymation space adventure, well, you’re not alone. Seniors Jesse Feddersen and Katie Gosmeyer and other members of the IU Astronomy Club would like to set the record straight on this brand of science. Grab your pencil and paper (there may be a quiz!); it’s time for a little lesson in misconceptions of astronomical proportions.Oh, you’re ?majoring in astronomy! When are you going to space?“We get it all the time. You tell people you’re majoring in astronomy, and then they think you want to be an astronaut. Wrong.” Rocket ships, zero gravity, and space ice cream are not always the aspirations of someone sitting through a class on astronomy. No one’s going to teach you to moonwalk in A100: The Solar System. Astronomy is a major grounded in Bachelor of Science classes where you’re more likely to be studying physics, calculus, and computer or geological sciences. With advanced mathematical problem solving skills, students can go on to graduate degrees and work in technology, programming, or careers that are research-based. Astronomy, huh? Can you read my palm and tell me the future?“I tell someone I study astronomy and then they’re asking for me to look at their hand and tell their fortune... Sometimes I go along with it.” A simple equation for you to memorize: astronomy ? astrology. And the difference is more than a just few letters in their spellings. Astrology is what scientists call a pseudoscience; it is based on the idea that there’s a relationship between celestial objects and phenomena and earthly, human events. Failed your exam because of the zodiac? Not so much astronomy’s fault. Wait, so the moon isn’t made of cheese?“There is no such thing as moon cheese! And the sun is not made of spareribs either.”That myth can be traced back to a cheesy couplet that has set many young Galileos looking to the sky for their sandwich ?ingredients. 16th century English poet John Heywood wrote, “Ye set circumquaques to make me beleue / Or thinke, that the moone is made of gréene chéese.” Get your head out of the stars and grab yourself a grocery cart — the refrigerated cheese aisle will have to do, earthling.Help, I’m lost! I just need to find the brightest spot in the sky and I’ll find my way home, right?“Polaris, commonly called the North Star, is actually not the brightest star in the sky...” Sirius, the Dog Star, holds that title. Polaris is only ranked as the 50th brightest star, so don’t set your sights on this spot as nature’s foolproof GPS. The star sits as a fixed point aligned to the north celestial pole, thus earning its name and its ability to be used as a navigational tool. But you’ll be led astray if you look only for the brightest dot in the night sky.Open for ObservationNestled on the edge of campus near the Sample Gates, the Kirkwood Observatory makes stargazing accessible to the general public. Astronomy graduate student Maria Cordero gives the details on this round-topped piece of history.