Amandas Notes

Best Time to Buy Airline Tickets and Everything Else!

2012-02-09T09:19:00.001-08:00

via savings.com

I Love Charts – Bureaucracy Explained

2012-02-08T14:58:00.001-08:00

via ilovecharts.tumblr.com

What a beautiful day!

2009-05-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

Caught this driving home from Rochester. Couldn't help but pull over for a picture.

So much to do, so little time

2009-04-27T07:01:00.001-07:00

This is what my week looks like...can't wait for graduation.

St Charles Fire Photos

2009-04-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

Photos from over the weekend. St Charles is slowly rebuilding. Community members are worried about the effect this will have on the economy of the community.

Just Awesome

2009-04-06T09:04:00.001-07:00

IA Court declares Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

2009-04-03T10:04:00.001-07:00

Gay Rights Activists are celebrating after Iowas Supreme Court struck down the states ban on same sex marriage. The court has ruled that the ban violates the states constitution and doesn't further government interests. The Polk county attorney says he doesn't plan to contest the ruling, meaning the decision should take effect in three weeks.

- The Associated Press

So what does this mean? Is Iowa officially the third state to legalize same sex marriage? Or do we have to wait for the legislature to decide?

Either way congrats to Iowa.

I love this headline.

2009-03-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

"Woman charged for assault with knife and pizza" http://tinyurl.com/cfxset

High Speed Rail in MN

2009-02-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

Rail.mp4

High speed rail in MN could be taking off. My question now is, how does this work with a 4.8 billion dollar state budget deficit and rising? The cost to upgrade just the original track is predicted to be over 1.5 billion dollars. Now the debate is to take it through Winona or create a NEW track through Rochester which would cost who knows how much.

16 Mayors along the original track were pushing for the track through Winona. A Rochester group (Southeast MN Rail Alliance) is pushing for a new route through Rochester to connect Mayo Clinic with Chicago and Minneapolis.

Heres the latest development on it:
Rochester leaders testify in support of high-speed rail

Also, if there was high speed rail in MN would you use it?

I have a podcast! Hurray!

2009-02-11T13:46:00.001-08:00

The work quality is poor but it will improve over time. Here's the link:
http://studentwebs.winona.edu/aefarley8046/farleycast.xml

Chicago/Florida Trip

2008-12-02T12:45:00.001-08:00

I spent last week traveling. Here are some pictures from my trip:

2008-11-20T22:56:00.001-08:00

Who is more privileged, males or females?

2008-07-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

Robin Hanson gathered two lists: the Male Privilege Checklist and the Female Privilege Checklist

The idea behind this is to use the gender roles to figure out who of the two roles is more privileged in society. Feminists would say without a doubt that men are more privileged, while many men would say females are more privileged. Mostly these arguments and lists are based on stereotypes of male and female roles, but the comments then are interesting to consider.

For Example:

"What's missing from the list are things like the female legal advantages in divorce, child custody, domestic violence and even criminal proceedings."

41. Magazines, billboards, television, movies, pornography, and virtually all of media is filled with images of scantily-clad women intended to appeal to me sexually. Such images of men exist, but are rarer.

"If I recall there was a study that for men, viewing sexual imagery increased impulsive purchasing where as for women, there was little to no affect. This could explain why the media is filled with sexual imagery geared towards men."

"The problem I see with 'quantifying' things like privilege, is that the lists of privilege are vastly different. As I perused the male privilege categories, I noticed that many related to preferential treatment in obtaining a goal-goal state, whereas many of the female privilege categories concentrated around privileges towards emotional expression"

"It seems to me the sexes evolved different survival strategies. The male of the species uses his technical skill to deal with physical reality directly, to turn a dangerous diseased jungle in to a comfy city with TVs, computers and electric blankets. The female of the species uses her social skills to get the male to deal with reality for her."

Is there some substance to this issue? The most interesting point to me is how these privileges are constantly changing. For example the disadvantage of women in the work place was much worse 20 years ago but the privilege in the matter was it was much more acceptable for women not to work, in fact it was more common. Perhaps the question is not who has it better or why do we uphold these stereotypes in our media, our culture and our lives? Why do we consider this the norm?

The Million Dollar Question

2008-04-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

What would you do if you had a million dollars?

This question seems to tell so much about personality. Whether you would give money to a charity, travel the world, or even just sit around and never work another day, it tells what you would do if you could, in a sense, do anything, within reasonable boundaries of course. However telling the question is, in reality, how many of us would really do what we say we will?

If I had a million dollars, I would want to give some to charity, save some to travel, get myself a fancy camera and maybe invest some. Of course I say that today. If tomorrow I happened upon a million dollars it might be different. Or, maybe I would never do any of the things I think of with or without a million dollars. Perhaps it is just the question of things I want to do but would never dedicate the time or money to.

The thing is, money, however much it is, changes our personality. I am sure many millionaires planned on being charitable prior to making their millions and never give away a penny, while others completely transform and dedicate their lives to improving the world. There is something about making it that changes us.

So what does this all mean? Well, we often spend our lives waiting for our opportunity, our million dollars to do what we want to spend our lives doing. Perhaps money isn't the problem but we are.

UW Stout makes me proud.

2008-04-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

Four Members of Westboro Baptist Church who went to the University of Wisconsin-Stout campus were met by about 1,000 student protesting the church. The WBC members came to the campus carrying signs saying "God Hates America" to picket in reaction to the death of 3 students in an apartment fire last week. 15 minutes into the protest, a crowd of 1,000 students had gathered around the WBC members shouting "go home". The WBC members left 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Pretty impressive.

http://badgerherald.com/news/2008/04/11/four_westboro_baptis.php

The King is Wearing No Clothes

2008-01-15T09:01:00.000-08:00

Bush's middle east visit plays as the old tale. He thinks he is going out with fancy speeches that will appeal to the population but really they are laughing at his ignorance.

"I pray to the same God as a Muslim prays," he said. And when asked how the Muslim world would judge his presidency, he replied, "I would hope, at least, at the very minimum, people would say that George W. Bush respected my religion."

Respecting their religion does not mean comparing it to Christianity and the war on terror being a "crusade". Coming out as the president of a free democratic state means faith has nothing to do with it. Mentioning his faith in Christianity while treading on their holy ground is a mockery. If he even respects their religion its fairly obvious that he disrespects their lives, with the many killed in his wars in the region. His failed effort to "promote democracy and freedom"is only part of the destruction he has brought to that region. His support of Israel while they were being inhumane to the Palestinians and his tearing up Afghanistan in pursuit of osama bin laden have created destruction of homes and lives that cannot be revoked. His talk of an arms deal with Saudi Arabia disregards the dangers of sending weapons to a region that is instable. That could cost lives and more importantly hearts as violence threatens the location of many Islamic holy sites.

The last thing we need is to be shipping more weapons over to the region no matter who's side they are on. Many people over there just want to live their life undisrupted by war. Sending more weapons increases the likelihood regardless of the reason. When peoples homes are destroyed they are more prone to fight merely because they have no reason not to. Creating more violence death and destruction in that area is not what is needed right now.

The religions over in the middle east vary greatly and have been the cause of great conflict, bringing up their religion in an effort for peace is putting salt in wounds that haven't been healed for the past century. Not to mention how hypocritical it is to make a an arms deal with one country and promote peace in the next.

For what its worth, President Bush did not go over to the middle east to respect the people or their religion, to promote peace, or as really the U.S. president but rather as a "pilgrim" to his own religion with his own agenda. I would expect better from a president, but he has strayed far from that title.

Sources:

Myers, Steven Lee. Bush's Mideast visit: Of faith, blogging and tourism. International Herald Tribune. Jan. 14, 2008. Visited Jan. 15, 2008. http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/14/europe/prexy.php?page=1

Macleod Scott. Why the Arabs Are Skeptical. Time. Jan. 10, 2008. Visited Jan. 15, 2008. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1702152,00.html

Bush complains over oil prices. Al Jazeera. Visited Jan. 15, 2008. http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A0327D9F-8805-4396-A175-2DC2DD4C33E9.htm

A Fresh Start

2008-01-04T21:48:00.000-08:00

A new semester. A clean slate. A new year. Welcome to the World of 2008. The Iowa primary has communicated a direct message from the American people: Change.

Obama, who has been battling the Clinton powerhouse for the past few months, has drawn out the young voters to the Iowa caucus and has started the primaries with a step ahead.

Huckabee, contends with republicans after beating popular Mayor Guiliani and experienced McCain. His down to earth tactics with the push of a strong authority figure in government. His policies represent "a new form of conservatism", as David Brooks explains.

Both contenders are strong moral figures in their parties pushing for change not only in policy but in thought. Both recognise the importance of economic morality. Americans have resolved to change the way our societies work this year. The battle still continues throughout the next year for the primary vote, but both candidates have made large strides for the lead by winning the Iowa vote.

With change in the air, many are making new years resolutions for change. The go green trend will inspire many energy saving resolutions. I think this trend is the start of a positive effect so here are some of my plans for the next year: Start a compost, Recycle more, Switch all of my light bulbs to energy efficient ones, and bike more often.

Some environmental events to plan for:
Frozen River Film Festival
January 24-27
Movies of Note:
Dalai Lama Renaissance - 40 of the worlds greatest thinkers discuss how to solve the worlds problems at the the Dalai Lama's home
Conviction - three nun's protest the Iraq War by breaking into a Nuclear Missile Siloh
The 11th hour - The 11th Hour describes the last moment when change is possible. The film explores how humanity has arrived at this moment; how we live, how we impact the earth's ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course.

Campus Energy Wars
The Winona State University Environmental Club entered us in the Competition. This event will take place during the month of February. It will be a competition between schools across the country to see who can lower their dorms energy use by the largest percent.

At 20, I find myself at the beginning of my life's journey. I am merely a tourist in the stages of life so as a tourist I plan on recording my Travel Notes here. Each Day is a new adventure. Who knows what could happen?

-Amanda Farley
Travel Notes