World Wide Currency

Today in my Econ class, our bell ringer was to read the article "China calls for new global currency" and respond to it. I thought it was very interesting and would make for a good blog. The article explained how, for mainly trading purposes, that there should be one global currency used, instead of try in convert all the different types. The four main ones used are the dollar, euro, yen, and British pound. China thinks it would be easier and more convenient to switch it and use one kind for everything. In theory, I think this sounds good, but in reality, I don't think it will happen. Too much change and conflict is involved in this along with too many countries. I think it would be more of a hassle than its worth. I realize the system we use now is maybe not the best, but it does work and that is what counts.

Salicornia to save Earth

In the article I read today in Mother Jones, they were talking about a atmospheric physicist named Carl N. Hodges who has done extensive research about a plant called "Salicomia". Supposedly this saltwater plant has a large amount of varieties that cam be used to feed humans and animals. Also it is very cheap and can be prepared in numerous ways, and also is healthy and good for the environment. I think this is the kind of research worth spending time on, because we wont have plentiful resources forever and any little bit people can come up with to help is useful.

Apple IPODs

The article I read today in Time magazine was about the new shuffle IPOD that apple has recently put on the market. The main "face" of Apple, Steven Jobs, is on sick leave until June, so he was not able to present the new item to the public. This was less interesting to me in the article. It was talking about how the company presented their product, but the product itself was what caught my attention. What I am continuously curious about is why in the world does "smaller" seem to be better these days? This new IPOD is about as big (or small) as a pen cap and has no screen; you find out what is playing when the thing "talks" to you. That, to me, would be annoying: not knowing what song is on, or to be able to get to the song you wanted. I guess that is why I have an IPOD with a screen, though.

T.V. for Babies?

In the Time Magazine article I read today, there were researchers trying to figure out what TV did to toddlers and infants under two. They wanted to know if watching TV made a difference in vocabulary or motor skills. I thought it was interesting that they did not find a huge connection there, but more so related to the parents. The studies revealed that reading and interacting with children at an early age does more for their brains and overall skills than any amount of TV does. I do not have children, yet, and I do not plan to for a long time, but I do enjoy finding hints such as this to lock in my memory for when the day comes. Anything to make being a parently less confusing than I am sure it will be.