Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Biology 101 -- The Parts of a Seed

Today I will share with you a simple concept that will hopefully keep you all knowledgeable of the world around you.

My 101 courses are meant to cut straight to the point--No fluff, no extra information, nothing not required. They will give you what you need to know.

A seed is divided into five major components: Coat, Cotyledon, Leaf, Stem, and Root
The seed coat is like the amniotic sac that human babies are suspended in. It protect the rest of the seed from environmental factors such as temperature, chemicals, and predators.

The cotyledon is like the placenta for a fetus. It provides nutrients to the other parts of the plant.

The Root, Stem, and Leaves are like the actual fetus. The root acts as the part that gathers nutrients and also becomes both the mouth and the legs. The stem is like your body and structure. It is the bones of the plant waiting to be built. The leaves are like the arms and eyes. They capture sunlight and give it to the rest of the body.

For the seed to grow it need proper temperature, proper humidity (enough water), and enough nutrients. Germination starts when gravity pulls down on the root. This triggers the water to build up pressure called turgor pressure. The turgor pressure causes the stem to face upward, and pushes it through the soil as it grows into the sunlight.

Some seeds have one cotyledon, others have two. This is what they mean by Monocots and Dicots.

I hope this little bit of information can shed some light on the world around you. It is the bare bone basics of what you need to know. Feel free to ask about specific things or research on your own for more details!

Monday, December 12, 2011

A Quick Appology

I am quite sorry that I have not posted anything in a while. I promise that I will be posting soon and also catching up on everyone as well. :) Thank you for your support!

(Finals take everything out of you--tomorrow is my last set of finals though!)

Friday, December 9, 2011

Herpetology and Families

Not something I enjoy... Herpetology is the study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Tomorrow I have my final (Senior in college) and I am ill-prepared. It is hard to memorize over 100 families for different snakes, lizards, frogs, turtles, and crocodiles.
Instead of studying (something I did for a while by writing the names down, with little retention) I am watching Year One with Jack Black and Michael Cera. It is a pretty funny movie but there are better ones. So tomorrow I will take the test and if I get a B on the test I get a B in the class. Pretty much this test determines my grade.

My point is--Once I get done I will start posting great things daily (if possible--maybe once every two days or I might miss a day). So hopefully nobody is too disappointed. And then, if I start posting better things xD I'll get more people to follow me.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 -- The Sith Lords

I am currently trying to make this game work on my computer. It was one of my favorite games and if I find out how to fix it (or if anyone here knows how to fix it--I've searched everything in google so it'd have to be something not directly available for searching) I will let you all know and make it more available!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

The Past -- Hyrule Online

I used to be an administrator and moderator for a small MMORPG called Hyrule Online. It used to have a thriving community but now it is completely dead (except for a few people who keep up with the game and community).

So I will just share a few videos with you all about the game.
This is from the Forest Temple
These four are a spirit temple walkthrough

Just scope it out and see how old school it is. Kinda funny how much time I wasted on the game--but I made quite a good amount of friends :)

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

GATO Con at Kingsville, Texas!


          GATO Con is an anime and gaming convention that started last year at Texas A&M University--Kingsville. It was created in combination by the Gamerz Elite and Otaku Anime clubs in order to raise profits and have a local convention so students did not have to drive anywhere for the experience.
          Last year's convention was a success and this year they expect even more participants and more excitement. They got the entire Student Union Building (SUB) booked and nearly every room on the second floor and some on the first floor are filled with events. Last year there was an entire room dedicated to games, one with magic and warhammer, and one for vendors. There were other event rooms that had different things occurring every hour or two. It was a fun time and a great first year for the event.
          This year they are extending the convention by one day--starting on Friday and ending on Sunday. This means that there will be more events and more fun to be had! It also means that the price for a full event pass will be slightly increased from last year. It will now cost $30 to get a 3-day pass. According to the preregistration it is $10 for a single day pass on any day. If you want to get a ticket for just that day though then it will be $15 on Friday and Saturday, while still only $10 on Sunday.
          We will have more events than before. Tournaments that include Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Tekken, Marvel Versus Capcom, Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, League of Legends, Warhammer, Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon TGC, and many more! There are also games such as Ninja (a type of tag), anime and video game trivia, and scavenger hunts. There is also a drawing at the end where you can possibly win many great prizes. Last year they gave away a bluray player, iPod nano, and many other things I cannot remember.
          So let me leave with this: It is new but is growing fast. Get in now while the prices are still cheap. If you are a vendor then contact the people at the website and they will hook you up nicely. If you are unsure about going check out the website and just see what it is about. Possibly you'll convince yourself to go--which you should.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Recent Experience in League of Legends

          I recently played a ranked game in League of Legends and just as everyone reached 100% my internet flashed out. It came back on an hour later and, of course, the game was over. I got a leaver status as Soraka in a ranked game. I felt awful so I did hope that I was reported. I then posted on the forums hoping someone on the team I was on at least knew it was not on purpose so they would not feel so bad.
          The main reason I am writing this is because League of Legends has a nice community--but you have to be nice yourself in order to contribute to that community. Do not call people names or insult anyone. If someone is doing such things--just report them (or say you will report them but do not really do it--sometimes people have to be reminded to be pleasant and nice). Do not go around returning insults or getting out of control when someone says or does something you do not agree with. Also you have to remember that being not as skilled as someone else is not something you can ban someone for.
          So League of Legends can be fun as long as everyone there is fun to be with. Let us remember to have an exciting time being summoners and playing on the Fields of Justice! I hope to see all of you there! I have included a link to sign up for the game and I encourage you all to use this link to sign up and get at least to level 5! That's when the game starts to become fun.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

My Last Day of the Semester

          Today was my last day of student observation. It was pretty emotional for me to say the least. There were some classes and some students I just did not want to tell that it was my last day. I feel I would have cried... or at least have to hold back a lot of tears. I am glad for this though. I know I want to be a teacher now and I plan on continuing with this path.

          I believe there are people who choose to do teaching as a backup for two reasons. The first is that the person is genuinely interested in giving knowledge to these students. They accept that they have either reached their limit or know that they will be good with imparting this information onto the kids so they are able to teach without envy, anger, jealousy, or passivity. The second type of backup plan teacher is the one who thinks that it is an easy job and it will be something to fall back on in-case their main objective is not completed. While that is somewhat true for any type of backup plan--you have to know that teaching takes your entire being and it is not something you should be doing if it is something you only do as a job.
Students learn best from educated teachers. Students learn best from teachers who actually know how to teach and actually can teach. A professor is not a teacher. These professors in college suck at teaching and if you want an experience in lower levels like that then you need to get out of this profession right now.

          I got some cookies and a cup/thermos from my mentor. I bet I would have gotten letters or something if more people found out but I would not have been able to read them without crying so that is another reason I decided to keep quiet most of the time.

          If any of my students read this I just want you all to know that I will miss you a lot. I hope you all go far and continue to work hard in school. I want each of you to succeed. If I did not say goodbye it is because I could not bare to have myself become so vulnerable in front of you all. Thank you all very much--Each of you have taught me more than I could ever teach you.

--Mr. Sanford/Tetsero