TV Sucks :: essays research papers

In this essay I am going to express my views on the bad aspects of TV, and explain what they are. Possibly, this essay may change your views on TV and how it is used.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The truth is that most TV shows suck. This is especially true in so-called situation comedies. The reason they have to add that stupid laugh track is so you know what part is supposed to be funny. If you’ll notice, the funniest and most successful shows don’t usually have laugh tracks, such as The Simpsons, because it’s a good enough written show that you can laugh at the parts you think are funny. Instead of the laughing machine telling you which parts are funny. Yet, people sit through shows that they don’t even like because they are too lazy to do anything else while they are waiting for a good show to come on. Personally, I have about 60 channels, and in an hour period of time, there is maybe one good show on. That’s not much to select from. Since television’s primary purpose is to advertise, you also have to sit through about 10 minutes of commercials per 30 minute program. So, a 30 minute show is, in reality, only ac tually 20 minutes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  TV is mind numbing. In order to reach its maximum potential audience, so that the sponsors can sell more product, TV shows have to be brought down in intelligence to the point of having little or no intellectual value or relevance. Which causes smart people to get unintelligent. TV is always moving at a fast speed, there is usually action or a confrontation in every scene of a show so that viewers don’t lose interest. This tends to make people bored in real life which is a bad thing because then you will get lazy and board, which will cause you to watch more TV (do you see the cycle).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  TV is too censored. Only a handful of corporations control what you can and can’t see on TV, and who are they to say what should be censored and what shouldn’t. Often, what happens, is that kids (aged 1-12) ruin it for everybody else, because even though they are a small part of the population, TV’s censorship is run at their needs. It’s just the same as a classroom running at the speed of the least intelligent kid, which slows everybody else down.

A reflective essay to reflect the feeling of pulse taking and tongue reading Essay

One of the earliest references to pulse diagnosis appears in the Huangdi Neijing, also known as The Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic or The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine. A passage in the book notes that, â€Å"In diagnosis, observation of the spirit and facial color, and palpation of the pulses, are the two methods that were emphasized by the ancient emperors and revered teachers,† which implies that the practical use of pulse diagnosis existed long before the Huangdi Neijing was written. Pulse and tongue diagnosis are two of the more important diagnostic tools in Chinese medicine. They are both used to derive a TCM diagnosis for your condition which is used to plan your treatment. Of the diagnostic tools, pulse diagnosis is one of the more important tools used in Chinese acupuncture and herbal medicine. While tongue diagnosis provides valuable clinical information, the pulse can be used to gain a deep understanding of the patient on many levels . Pulse diagnosis is the ancient art and science of detecting status of a persons body, mind and spirit. Even at basic levels, the pulse provides immediate and specific information that can help clarify contradictory diagnostic information and symptomology . The pulse can be influenced by factors like age ,in this case the strength and quality of the pulse will decline as a person ages ,or gender , Men are generally stronger on the left and Women are generally stronger on the right. Another factor is the season when you have a more wiry pulse in Spring time ,stronger in the Summer and deeper in the Winter. Tongue and pulse diagnosis are both used to derive a TCM diagnosis for your condition which is used to plan your treatment. Generally the tongue, is much easier to learn and less subjective than pulse diagnosis. It is less meridian specific than the pulse, however, the tongue will show the depth and nature (hot, cold, etc.) of an imbalance and it is less effected by short-term influences such as nervousness. The tongue is also useful as a measurement tool to gauge the progress of a disorder. I believe the TCM is about energy and energy function condition  medicine culture, it is more than construction medicine culture, the pulse diag nosis is a energy feeling diagnosis, no only a position touch feeling diagnosis. In an ideal situation, the pulse is taken in the morning while the person is still calm and rested. In actuality, however, the procedure usually takes place in the clinic during the initial interview. It is important to let patients who have just arrived rest for a while to allow the pulses to settle down. Otherwise, it would be easy to mistake a rapid pulse for a heat condition when it is actually due to the person’s hurrying to make the appointment. This is one situation when sitting in the waiting room is to the patient’s advantage. From my personal experience in the clinic I can say some of the patients find pulse taking strange (on the first session) and also they seem to be a little bit uncomfortable when you ask to see their tongue. The pulse can be felt in a number of locations, the primary location is at the radial artery in the wrist. Each wrist has three positions that correspond to different organs. The left wrist corresponds to the heart, liver , and kidney yin .The right wrist gives information about the lungs, spleen , and kidney yang . In clinical prac tice, we have to always combine the pulse information with the whole picture derived from looking, listening, smelling, and asking. Through this process, traditional Chinese practitioners are able to accurately diagnose the patterns of imbalance in their patients without the help of laboratory tests or expensive diagnostic equipment. To make the patient feel more comfortable when the pulse is being take you must ensure you introduce yourself to the patient, explain the procedure answering any questions they may have, ask for their consent and also make sure they are sitting comfortably, with their arm rested. Sometimes what the patient says contradicts the pulse qualities, in which case the acupuncturist will want to ask more questions to get at the truth. Without the pulse diagnosis he wouldn’t have known to ask more questions, to delve deeper, and might have done the wrong treatment. If the patient is taking medication, or just been taking strenuous exercise, pulse taking may not work. If the patient is under the influence of social drugs it may not reveal much. Some patients have arteries that travel on the thumb side of the radial bone so you can’t feel the pulse in the normal position. Some patients have pulses so small (itself a pointer to their health) that they are very hard to take. The  pulse quality often changes within a few seconds of inserting the needle in the right place. As the right treatment progresses, the pulse qualities and strength improve, so that the acupuncturist knows, from pulse diagnosis, that the patient will start feeling better soon. There are three positions a practitioner is looking for, and each position represents a different organ or part of the body. This is the reason we take the pulse on both sides, not just one. By taking the pulse, we can tell if patients eating habits are good, if they have a cold coming on, and if their energy is high or low. We can also take note of how your organs are functioning at that time. The tongue has a special relationship with the Heart, in that the Heart opens to the tongue. The tongue is said to be an â€Å"offshoot† of the Heart, or â€Å"flowers† into the Heart. The tongue, containing water, electrolytes, mucus, and enzymes, is a very sensitive organ and its appearance changes with many physical changes in the body. In Chinese medicine, the tongue is a â€Å"map† of the internal body. Like the face, the tongue is divided into five-element zones that correspond to your internal organ networks. The tongue reading it’s all about finding what areas are stagnated, which need to be nourished, which are getting too much circulation or too little circulation, too much energy or too little, and how to balance out the body so that everything is in harmony. When we use the tongue as a tool for analysis and diagnosis, we are looking at the shape, shadings, markings, wetness, texture and even the way someone sticks out her tongue. Having this knowledge can help describe the current state of a patient health, as well as his or her genetic tendencies. It is a diagnostic technique, and it can reveal an existing disease process and disclose many things about a person on many levels. All the organs and the entire body can be located on specific regions of the tongue. The beauty of tongue diagnosis is in its simplicity and immediacy. Benefits of tongue diagnosis include: assesses a person’s current health condition; informs the practitioner about the underlying cause of disease; is an accurate way of determining what is happening in the digestive system: liver, stomach, spleen, small and large intestines; reveals the stage and progression of a particular illness; reflects the quality of the circulation of blood, bodily fluids and essence; mirrors the condition of the bodily fluids, function of the organs, strengths and depth of the pathogenic factors in the  body; shows the quality of the individual’s energy production. A normal tongue should be pink, muscular without tooth marking or discoloration, and have a very thin clear coating that exhibits proper salivary secretions. Tongue diagnosis is more objective than pulse diagnosis, though pulse diagnosis takes a long time to master, while basic tongue diagnosis can be taught in a short period of time. Before examining the tongue for diagnosis, make sure the patient has not eaten pickles, cayenne pepper, curry and other hot things. They will temporarily turn the tongue red. It takes a few hours for the tongue to get its normal coat back after the person has scraped it as well. And smoking turns the coat yellow. From my personal experience in the clinic I can say it’s common to see thick tongues, purplish tongues, tongues with teeth marks in them and tongues with cracks in various places. I also have noted tongues with coats both white and yellow, sticky and thin. Primarily a preventive discipline, acupuncture, especially through pulse diagnosis, the acupuncturist can detect disturbances in the qi at the earliest possible stage, before disease develops and restores balance through acupuncture treatment and herbs. References : www.acupuncture.com www.yinyanghouse.com Walsh S.& King, E. (2007) Pulse Diagnosis . Churchill Livingstone Chen, J.X. (2007) Chinese Medicine Study Guide: Diagnostics . Pulse Diagnosis .Dupler D. In: Krapp K, Long JL (eds.) Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 2001 Tongue Diagnosis in Chinese medicine by Giavanni Macciocia

Applying for Federal Loans for Online College Students

Federal student loans offer distance learners the opportunity to pay for their online class tuition without draining their bank accounts or seeking additional employment. By filling out a single online application, you might qualify for federal student loans with reasonable interest rates and terms. Federal Student Loan Benefits Many banks offer private student loans. However, federal student loans are almost always the best choice for students who qualify. Federal student loans generally offer the lowest interest rates available. Federal loan borrowers are also given generous terms and might be able to defer loan payments if they return to college or are facing hardship. Types of Federal Student Loans The federal government offers several financial aid opportunities for students. Some of the most common federal student loans include: Federal Perkins Loans: These loans offer a very low interest rate and are available to students who demonstrate â€Å"exceptional financial need.† The government pays the interest on Federal Perkins Loans while the student is enrolled in school and for a nine-month grace period following graduation. Students begin making payments after the grace period.Federal Direct Subsidized Loans: Federal direct loans feature a low interest rate. The government pays the interest on subsidized loans while the student is enrolled in school and during a six-month grace period after graduation. Students begin making payments after the grace period.Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans: Unsubsidized loans also feature a low interest rate. However, these loans begin accumulating interest as soon as the loan money is dispersed. After graduation students have a six-month grace period before their first payment is due.Federal Direct PLUS Loans: The Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students is available fo r parents who intend to pay for their child’s education. Parents must pass a credit check or have a qualified cosigner. The first payment is due after the loan is disbursed.Federal Direct PLUS Loans for Graduate and Professional Degree Students: Adult students may also take out PLUS loans after exhausting the limits for other federal loan options. Students must pass a credit check or have a cosigner. Interest begins accumulating after the loan is disbursed. However, students may ask for a payment deferment while they are in school. In the case of a deferment, the first payment is due 45 days after the end of the deferment period. Online School Student Loan Laws Before 2006, many online students were unable to receive federal aid. In 1992, Congress enacted the 50 Percent Rule, mandating that schools qualify as financial aid distributors by offering more than 50 percent of courses in traditional classrooms. In 2006, the law was overturned. Today a growing number of online schools offer federal student aid. To offer aid, schools must still meet requirements, but the percentage of online courses no longer applies. Online Schools Offering Federal Student Loans Keep in mind that not all online schools offer federal student loans. To find out if your school is able to distribute student loans, call the school’s financial aid office. You might also search for the college’s federal school code on the federal financial aid website. Qualifying for Federal Student Loans To be eligible for federal student loans you must be a U.S citizen with a social security number. You must have a high school diploma, a GED certificate or have passed an alternative exam. You must be enrolled as a regular student working toward a certificate or degree at a school that is eligible to offer federal aid. Additionally, you must not have certain drug convictions on your record (convictions that happened prior to your eighteenth birthday don’t count, unless you were tried as an adult). You cannot currently be in default for any student loans you already have, or owe the government refund money from grants you were awarded. If you are a male, you must register for Selective Services. If you don’t meet these qualifications, it’s still a good idea to discuss your situation with a financial aid counselor. There is some flexibility with the rules. For example, some non-citizens are eligible to apply for federal aid, and students with recent drug convictions may be able to receive aid if they attend drug rehabilitation. How Much Aid Will You Receive? The type and amount of federal aid you receive is determined by your online school. Aid amount is based on several factors including your financial need, your year in school and the cost of attendance. If you are a dependent, the government will determine an expected family contribution (how much your family should be expected to contribute, based on your parent’s income). For many students, the entire cost of college attendance can be covered by federal student loans and grants. Applying for Federal Student Loans Before applying for federal student loans, set up an in-person or phone appointment with your online school’s financial aid counselor. He or she will be able to offer advice for applying and suggestions for alternative sources of aid (such as scholarships and school-based grants). Once you’ve collected the needed documents such as social security numbers and tax returns, it’s easy to apply. You will need to fill out a form called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA can be filled out online or on paper. Using Student Loans Wisely When you receive your federal aid award, the bulk of the money will be applied to your tuition. Any remaining money will be given to you for other school-related expenses (textbooks, school supplies, etc.) Often, you will be eligible to receive more money than is necessary. Try to use as little money as possible and return any money you do not need. Remember, student loans must be repaid. Once you finish your online education, you will begin student loan repayment. At this point, consider refinancing your student loans so you have one monthly payment at a lower interest rate. Meet with a financial counselor to discuss your options.