I know this is way too long, but I think it’s worth it. Plus, it is the summer time so I figure you got some time to kill.

Nowhere is there such a vast collection of great minds that think differently from each other than at a college. (Okay maybe the folks at Google, too.) What a great place to throw a problem in and see what solutions come to surface.

One of the greatest aspects of this site is the presence of collective thought. If an issue comes up, a huge number of people will chime in with points of view that are sometimes polar opposites. That is the most effective and efficient way to solve a problem. Without collective thought, I have this vision of a sculptor trying to chisel a block of granite into a sphere while remaining on one side of it.

In this effect, UMBC could be more like a company with a product. Problems could be posted here on this site and, subsequently, solutions could be proposed. If, after discussion, an answer is agreed upon, we could use our resources to produce this answer (or at least sell the idea,) whatever it be. Maybe the money earned from selling these ideas or products could be used towards lowering tuition, or something along those lines. I know this is wishful thinking, but that is what I’m famous for and I don’t think it’s such a bad thing. I will start a Think Tank section of this site for the fall semester and we’ll see what happens.

I have an example of a problem and possible solution and I want to see if you can help see my idea to fruition (or shoot it down, haha.) Well, I think I’m running out of ado so here it is:

When I had a night to myself recently, I decided I would do nothing but watch TV (something I haven’t done in a long time.) Flipping through the channels, I passed three or four specials and investigative news reports about the energy crisis. People are finally accepting the idea of peak oil and going “oh crap, we should have started thinking about this ages ago.”

So far, with the election nearing, the presidential candidates have taken staunch positions on the matter: Obama is on the side of alternative fuels and McCain is urging to expand our search for oil to off-shore drilling sites. Even ignoring the environmental implications, McCain’s proposal could very well leave us high and dry if nothing is found and even if it is found, it won’t last very long. Obama’s proposal is more forward-thinking but it will take vast amounts of oil to begin production of these fuels and none of the alternatives so far have proven to be very beneficial. (The problem with electric cars is that the energy still has to be produced somehow and batteries leak and are hard to recycle. Nuclear power is sufficient and clean while in use, but the waste disposal is terrible.)

Both sides have agreed that the best way to help the situation is to change our living habits and that heading in that direction is a lost hope because people aren’t willing to make the drastic changes necessary. I agree that the solution lies within changing our lifestyles but I don’t agree that it is a lost hope. Instead of saying that it won’t happen, we need to foster that change.

In order to make the necessary cutbacks in our energy consumption, the mechanisms would have to be built into our lifestyles. We wouldn’t have to contemplate the environmental consequences of every little thing we do if our surroundings “thought about it” for us. For this, I propose that we design a new type of city: one that is built, lived in, and maintained with the idea of sustainability in mind. I use the word design because I realize that it would be hard for us as a university to actually build an entire city. Would it be possible for the computer science department to design a SimCity-type program so that the city could be “lived in” and the energy consumption could be monitored? It would be really cool if the simulated inhabitants were designed based on students here. Everyone could fill out an online form about their current daily habits and these characteristics would be used for a certain number of the city dwellers. I know, I’m dreaming again…

Okay, back to reality… sort of.

I have a lot of ideas that skim upon every aspect of daily life but 1. I’m sure I’m missing a bunch of things and 2. I don’t really know how to organize them, so this might seem like a jumble of concepts. Then again, I want to start a brainstorm so I guess I should begin with my own cloud of thought.

A few years back, I wrote a report about New Urbanism for my technical writing class. It is a really interesting concept and is still fairly young. The main idea behind New Urbanism is walk-ability. Instead of having to make lots of short trips in your car, you can walk anywhere you need to go. So I dig this idea and I think it should be a car-less city. Tricked out bicycles would be encouraged and there could be bicycle taxis for the elderly and physically disabled. Emergency access roads would still exist for ambulances and the sort. There would be a light-rail to the nearby business districts and perhaps a rent-a-car place on the edge of town. (Maybe all these cars are electric and the batteries are charged strictly by renewable energy.) I think it would be cool if the light rail station was actually a breakfast restaurant called Light Fare and the light rail actually traveled through the back of the restaurant.

This city is almost a “return to simpler times” while taking advantage of modern technologies. This could be the most simple solution and it would improve our quality of life at the same time. Overall, I want this place to be energy efficient, but I also want it to be a lot of fun so I’ve tried to think up a bunch of low-energy activities that would be included in the town. For example, mini-golf seems like a great outdoor activity that doesn’t take large amounts of energy to construct or maintain.

On any given day in this city, you would have plenty of options for outdoor activities. There would be an outdoor climbing wall and a bungee trampoline. If the location provides, there would be a lake to sail on, swim in or skate on. If there is a mountain nearby, lots of hiking trails would lead to picnic areas at the top. There would be bike trails all about the city that would take you past outdoor attractions and through the bustling piazza where the outdoor market is.

The gym is located at The Wreck, which is a name I’ve given to the town recreation center. However, this is no ordinary gym. Instead of using energy, this gym provides; all of the weight lifting and cardio machines are generators much like the stationary bikes with the TVs attached to them. Now, I know the body builders wouldn’t be able to power the city, but they might be able to produce enough power to keep the place lit which would at least help lower their membership fee.

In another area of The Wreck, one could play on the indoor courts, take a dip in the swimming pool, try their hand at pool or ping-pong, or grab a bite to eat while listening to a live band. This place would be the neighborhood rainy-day hangout.

Camping would be a bit different here. I’ve always envisioned a camping area in the woods where it is possible to either bring a tent and rough it, rent a semi-luxurious tent, or rent a tree house to spend the night in much like the ewoks did. People would come from all around to spend a night there.

I think my favorite part of the city would be the park. This park would be akin to St. James’ Park or Regent’s Park in London. Instead of every tenant having a separate yard to manage with less-than-friendly chemicals and lots of water, there would be a community garden in the park that the Garden Club would maintain (and anyone can be part of the Garden Club.) Along with a flower garden, there could be a community fruit and vegetable garden with plenty of beehives to provide delicious honey. (My dad is a bee-keeper and the benefits of having local honey are innumerable.)

In this park there would be plenty of walking trails, places to sit down and eat, fields for outdoor sports, and perhaps kinetic sculptures made out of recycled materials (to give the place some character.) Maybe there could be a Frisbee golf course at one end. In the middle of the park there would be a venue for outdoor concerts or plays. We could use energy-efficient maintenance practices such as using push-mowers (the non-powered ones) and proper watering schedules.

Providing lots of low-energy activities in this city would put us at a great advantage because we could then consider renewable energy sources that might not be efficient enough to power a typical city today. Combinations of wind turbines, water turbines and solar power become feasible if we don’t need extreme amounts of energy to keep the city running.

The houses in this city would be mixed-use apartments and row houses much like Pence Place in Oregon (sorry, I couldn’t find a proper link.) These town homes not only have solar paneling on the roofs but are more energy efficient simply due to the nature of having less surface area exposed to the elements. There are plenty of practices that could be built into these homes to make them energy conscious like running the hot water pipes through black hosing on the roof before going to the water heater. Clothes lines would be present for use when the weather permits. Each town home would have a mud-room with a shoe cubby in it so vacuuming the house wouldn’t have to happen so often. Also, the homes would have lots of sky-lighting and all of the electric lights in the homes would be LEDs.

It is said that the best way to cut down on water usage in the shower is to keep a clock near-by so you are aware of the time spent. I suggest that the faucet have a mechanical timer built in that would max out at 15 minutes (you could reset it if you absolutely needed to) and an easy to set temperature gauge so the first two minutes aren’t spent adjusting the water. Magnets with people’s initials written on them could serve as a “temperature memory” system. Sorry about the drawing, I didn’t spend much time on it.

All of the food consumed in this city would come from local farms so as to support local business and cut down on fuel used for commercial transportation. Plus, it tastes so much better because it is much more fresh. Also, no Walmarts allowed. We would have a great classic general store that sells local products where you could get anything you need.

I think it would be neat if we had a mixed-use office building. Businesses could rent single office spaces for people to work in instead of working from home where productivity is very low. The inside of the building would not be a cubicle farm, but a place with inviting architecture that would make people want to go to work. All of the buildings in this city would not exceed 4 stories and many of them would having green roofs on top. Both of these practices have been proven to support a happier feeling while living in a city.

With this city we can improve our energy use while improving our quality of life. I think there is definitely a market for this type of place right now and there would be plenty of people to fill it and even more people to come and visit as a tourist attraction. The builders would make plenty of money and the city would make plenty of money. The people we have to worry about is the energy companies. I don’t really know how we could convince them that this is a good idea because we would barely need their presence after the city is started.

It feels great to finally write this down. I’ve been holding on to it for a while now with the idea in mind that I could take it to a New Urbanist developer and immediately get a job there. I didn’t want to share it with anyone in case someone stole it. Then I realized that I didn’t spend so much time thinking about it for personal gain and it would be really hard to make this happen all by myself. I really want this to be accomplished and I think that this is a great way to get started. If you have any thoughts on how to improve it, change it, or how to get the ball rolling, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. I really want to know what you think.

Just text WG1 to 91270 to vote for her

Her name is Alicia Green and she auditioned for the spot and made the final cut but we can vote for her by texting WG1 to 91270.

Here’s a link to the Washington Wizards site with more information.
Here’s Alicia’s facebook page.

(Thanks to David who sent us the links)

Louise Schlegel, a student at UMBC, won the Miss Maryland Pageant.

Apparently there were at least two UMBC students in the Miss Maryland pageant, Louise Schlegel & Lauren Kozlosky.

Good luck to Miss Schlegel in the Miss America Pagaent

I just wrote UMBC my last check as an undergrad.  15 bucks for my check-out fee and I’m now comletely financially liberated from UMBC (my 10 grand from loan people is a different story).

So, life on the outside.  This was my first week at my new job.  I somehow managed to find a job at Hopkins.  The commute’s… you know, long, and having set times when I’m responsible for being places is certainly different, but it’s good.  Everyone in my office is nice, I get an hour for lunch, and being down around Hopkins  campus is fun.  Although, it’s a little weird to have an ID card with a school besides UMBC.

And, the whole wearing a tie everyday thing.

No one really tells you how many miscellaneous expenses there are to being out of school.  Take ties for example.  I discovered this week that it’s tough to find a tie for less than 12 or 13 bucks — and the nice ones are easily 18+.  WHOA!

All’s well though. [I feel like I'm writing a post card back home or something]

I have been thinking about how great internships as an undergrad are though.  I had this internship at this textbook editing/publishing kind of place my senior year, and… I mean, it was okay, but it wasn’t what I really wanted to do.  But it was great to realize that before graduating, when I had time to find something else.  Plus, even when a job doesn’t work out, it’s always a great networking device.

Holy crap, our cat is so cute (I got out of work early today).  Alright, gonna go now.

How’s summer going for everyone?

Dangit, I forgot to post this on Sunday night:

I went out this past Saturday night with my girlfriend, her grandparents and a couple they are friends with (I know, a peculiar sounding triple-date) to see a play put on by the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. We saw The Comedy of Errors; it was fantastic!

After a short drive to Old Ellicott City, we arrived at the Patapsco Female Institute Park. We brought a picnic with us (the food was delicious Mrs. H) so we got there early enough to set up shop and have time to enjoy dinner before the show. Before we ate, my girlfriend and I got a chance to walk around.

The venue is incredible. PFI Park is the renovated ruins of an historic all girls finishing school, so it looks like half of a building. It’s not the lower half or the upper half, it’s the interesting half. You’d have to go there to know what I mean. If you decide to picnic there also, I would recommend bringing a citronella candle, although, we got along just fine without one.

The play was done in a light manor, not too strict to the Shakespearean dialogue, and the performers were very lively. It was such great fun to be able to relax and enjoy the show outdoors. The summer performances run till the 13th of July so if you have a free weekend coming up, I strongly suggest that you check this out.

I am very excited about the switch to Chartwells. Even if the food turns out to be not much better than Sodexho, I think it was one of those “stick it to the man” opportunities that we needed to seize. Sodexho has been providing us with low food quality and even lower health regulation standards for far too long now. I’d like to think one of the main reasons the administration didn’t stay with Sodexho is because they were listening to the students. Re-contracting with Sodexho would have been akin to electing Bush for a second term. However, I know better than that and I believe money had a lot to do with it. Regardless, out with the old (and crappy) and in with the new.

I don’t want to get my hopes up about what is to come but it’s too late, I already love Chick-fil-A. I saw a Chartwells rep in the commons a few days ago and I stopped him to ask about the upcoming changes. In picture form, this is what he said (click to enlarge):

Chartwells will start serving food on campus on July 3rd. The rep had a lot to say and I wished that I had taken notes until I realized that they have a website (www.dineoncampus.com/umbc) with everything I wanted to share. For those of you who are near campus now, here is the site with information on what will be open during the summer.

Let’s all cross our fingers and pray to whatever you believe in that Chartwells will be an improvement. If not… I don’t even know how to end this sentence.

Just got an email from the ZU Sigmas with a link to their new blog. Check it out, looks like they’ve been busy so far this summer. zusigmas.blogspot.com

I recently received an exciting email through the grape vine and I hope Mr. Foster doesn’t mind me posting it:

To the friends and supporters of the UMBC Baja team, The UMBC Baja team has returned from the 2008 SAE Collegiate Design Series Baja Competition held in Montreal, Canada. The trip was a great success, with UMBC’s two vehicles placing in 27th and 30th out of a collection of 120 teams. Overall, our new planetary gearbox drivetrain concept was proven to be very successful in minimizing power losses in our previous drivetrain.

UMBC also placed first and second in the cost portion of the competition, with the two most cost effective cars. Not only did we represent the two most cost effective cars, but both vehicles placed in the top twenty in the four hour endurance race. The course was very challenging and tested the drivers decision making skills as there were many alternate routes along the path. There were multiple jumps, mudbogs, and a vast collection of hidden ruts, rocks, and tree stumps to test our vehicles.

We would like to thank you for your contribution this year and in the future to the UMBC Baja program.

Regards,
Mark Foster
President, SAE UMBC Baja Team

Wow. It was really strange logging into WordPress just now. I guess I haven’t written anything in a few weeks. I wanted to write a kind of wrap up/graduation/life outside of college/reflection kind of article.

Life these days is… different, to understate it. My fiancée and I are living in a one bedroom apartment. I’ve got a job lined up to start in a week or two, so I’m literally sitting on my couch with our cat, watching My So Called Life and reading books from the library across the street. It’s definitely a different kind of lifestyle than what I was experiencing 3 weeks ago.

By the way, I passed Econ 100. That situation had the potential to be really embarrassing!

So… graduation. This is how I described graduation to a few friends and family after the fact: painfully slow and ridiculously fast all at the same time. Being among the English majors, I got my degree rather quickly. Everything was a blur. They lined us up off stage, snapping pictures I wasn’t really expecting. Then standing up on stage waiting for my name to be called — I’d love to say I was thinking don’t trip, don’t trip, but honestly I don’t remember what I was thinking. It was so overwhelming, I wasn’t thinking much of anything. I shook Art Johnson and Freeman’s hand, but wow… what a blur. Awesome, of course, but a blur. I think the coolest part was after you walked off and you got to run through the train of all the faculty in your department. To realize that you knew all of them and liked most of them (in my case at least), was really cool. And they looked so darn cute. All of the professors in the English department were like proud parents. A few even shed a few tears. It was really cute.

I also wanted to share a few bits of advice about college, you know… from the outside.

Your GPA doesn’t matter that much. I know that when I finished my freshman year, my parents said that I needed to make sure I brought my GPA in future semesters. At the time, it was a 3.25. Upon graduation, it’s something like a 3.19. What I’ve realized is that your GPA doesn’t really matter that much if you’re going into the work force. If you have a 3.1, it’s really not that much different from a 3.6. Obviously really high GPA’s say something, but there are lots of other things that are just as important, if not more important for landing a great job.  Have a 3.0 at least, but there are other things more worthy of your attention.

Do something. Besides school work. In my experiences, it’s the things I did outside of class that has made me a decent candidate for jobs today. I joined SGA, SEB, I helped out with Orientation one summer as an OPA, I started this site, I joined a fraternity — this is the kind of stuff that all employers have asked about when I’ve gone in for job interviews. Employers want to know that you can solve real problems. They want to know that you can work in groups with other people who might be different from you. They want to know that you’ve got something inside, that you care about things and are willing to work for them.

Do that thing you’ve always wanted to do, but don’t seem to find the time for. Believe me, you won’t have the chance to after graduation - at least not in the same way. For me, it was playing pick up soccer. I’ve always been jealous of the people who played in the early evening, but I always just walked past and went back to my room. This semester, I jumped in a few times, and it was one of the most fun things I did in college. Try not to put those kinds of things off, because before you know it you’ll be walking off that stage.

Don’t think of your professors as the enemies. I did this all too much. To me, they were too often the ones who just assigned the papers, often bored me, and held my fate in their hands at the end of the semester. What I realized too little too late is that these people can just as easily be friends as enemies. I wish I’d read more for class. I wish I’d asked more questions. Hell, I even wish I’d gone to more professor office hours. Almost all of the professors I’ve had at UMBC have been bright, and usually eager to help. Take them on that.

Give yourself time to have a senior year. This is something I wish someone had told me a long time ago. I think everyone needs to set themselves up a certain way for senior year. Senior year (especially second semester) is a ridiculous time. You’re trying to figure out where you’re going to work and live, and having to juggle a tough course load is one thing you shouldn’t have to worry about. Leave PLENTY of time for finding a job. I mean, start looking in January. You’ll likely need a lot of time, and even if you start slow in January, by April, you should have some decent ground work already completed.

Keep a journal.

Say hi to people you don’t know. On your way to class, in the dH, to the desk staffers - whatever. It’s a good habit and it’s contagious.

Write to your grandparents. When I was a freshman, some woman came and spoke for one of our Welcome Week events. That’s the only thing I remember her saying, but it definitely was good advice.

All for now. I’m thinking of starting my own blog… maybe… if I get around to it. If so, I’ll post it on here for anyone interested. Hope everyone’s summer is going well so far. Keep happy.

Normally, I would wait till Sunday night to post this but I’m too eager. Paolo “P-Slice” Penala emailed me today with some pretty exciting news: Apparently, two UMBC students dance for the crew “Boogie Bots” on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew.

In Paolo’s words, “The two students are UMBC Graduate Miguel Almario and current student Mike Arellano. Miguel is the current artistic director of Major Definition, UMBC’s hip hop dance troupe, and Mike was an alumni member and contributing choreographer. The crew has rehearsed on campus many times alongside Major Definition. All members that appear on the show also have at one point choreographed as a guest for Major Def’s free public dance class.”

I’ve at least seen Miguel dance and he really knows what he’s doing; I’m sure Mike can cut a rug, too. If you watch the show, show your support for UMBC and vote for Boogie Bots. How cool would it be if they won? (Really cool.)