Author Archives: Ethan Salans Kramer

It takes a lot to be a service dog!

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This past wednesday I attended one of my favorite events this year — pet a puppy! Not only did I get to play with cuddly puppies, but I also got to learn a bit about what goes into becoming a service dog.

What I first learned, which was very interesting, was that this company only uses two types of dogs, and they breed them themselves. I was always under the impression that anyone could offer their dog to be a service dog, but apparently these dogs are raised right away into being a service dog. Additionally, these dogs go through rigorous training once they can function independently of their mother. It was neat to hear that they go through distraction tests, where they are put in situations with loud noises that test their ability to function quickly and properly. Having a dog of my own, I can understand how difficult this portion is, as my dog loses her mind once a trashcan lid falls or someone rings the doorbell. Its neat to learn how they were able to train them. Additionally, it was cool to hear that some dogs that don’t pass go up for adopotion. This could be a dog that is too energetic or doesn’t enjoy being a service dog. It sounds like there is a long list for these dogs as they are all very well trained.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed this event because I got to play with puppies. I had a very long and tough week with projects, so this was a great way to de-stress. I hope they have another puppy event such that I can enjoy their company again.

 

Did anyone attend the event and not enjoy playing with the dogs? If so, why?

More Love – a personal discussion

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This past Monday I attended another interesting discussion about Love called “Are you a master of love”. I really enjoyed this very personal, small group discussion over dinner. We discussed an article that highlighted the key points about how to make a relationship last and thrive. I thought the article was very well written and very informative. As a group we talked about the key points and mentioned any personal experiences we had from it.

The discussion was really enjoyable as we got to share stories from our own personal experience, which made the topic much more meaningful and easier to understand. Moreover, GRF Andrew shared his personal love story about how he met his wife to illustrate several key points in the article. He mentioned always acknowledging a bid for attention from your significant other, as it will greatly help the relationship. He also described how he wrote letters to his future wife every day during their long distance friendship, and she would call him every few days. It was really great to hear how much effort he put into his relationship – i hope to take his wisdom and apply it to my own relationship.

 

My question for the readers out there- what is the most romantic or caring thing you have done for someone, or someone did for you?

Don’t Blame Religion

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This past Wednesday I attended a talk with Gregory Sloan, a Senior Research Associate in the Center for Radiophysics and Space Research. He presented a very interesting talk that I was not expecting, but was very happy to attend.

His talk was about the co-existence of religion and science.  There’s a common belief (which I am sometimes a part of) that religion and science don’t mix. He shared a very interesting story about Galileo who was tried by the Roman Inquisition for Hersey because he argued that the Earth was not at the center of the universe and instead revolved around the sun. To me, this is a great example of science being stifled by religion. Those who are very religious feel personally attacked when their beliefs are challenged. As a result, they refuse to listen to evidence and only accept their beliefs. I am not a very big fan of this, as I have had personal encounters who refuse to believe scientific evidence because there is no mention of it in the bible. Moreover, these people are very intelligent, but when something challenges their religion they refuse to listen to reason. For example, I’ve had conversations about global warming and black holes with religious people. Some of them refuse to accept the many scientific sources and cite only one source – the Bible. To me, that seems like a conflict of science and religion. My question is does anyone else have examples that are either for or against me.

However, he made a point that Religion is sometimes a scapegoat for these types of discussions. Therefore, In the future I plan to make sure that I am viewing all sides of the argument and not just attacking religion.

What is love?

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Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a talk about love. It was extremely different than I expected. I was expecting us to hear a talk about different ways we love, how we love and what it means to love.

 

Ehat actually occurred was a very open discussion in small groups. I got to meet with many other members of the rose community, which was very neat. Although it was only a two hour discussion, I feel I got to know them very well because of the level of intimacy in the topic. We answered questions honestly and openingly, which made it very easy to get to know people. Although this event was very different from the typical event, I thought I was very valuable. I really got to know people in rose house. I would recommend this event to others in the community as it was a great way to get to know others. My question is for other people who attended this event – did you feel a deeper connection with others after attending this event?

Ration of Food

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Yesterday I was able to attend and participate in the Rose Cafe series with Paul Muscente and Chef Daniel. It was a very interesting and educational discussion. I really apprecaited that we were able to ask so many questions, and that they were so open and honest with the answers.

 

To start, I was unaware of the logistics that went into making cornell dining a top 10 dining school. First, cornell serves over 22000 meals a day, which is amazing. Additionally, each dining hall’s meals rotate weekly, (minimum), so you can theoretically go several weeks without eating the same meal. It’s amazing the variety of dining that Cornell offers.

What I found to be interesting is the way they determine the success of a meal. They mentioned they spend a large percent of the time checking the type and amount of food that gets thrown away. That indicates whether or not they should continue that meal, or if they should make less of it in the future. I thought that was very clever.

I asked what the new initiative to limit the amount of meat served to people, and they mentioned it was both for waste management, as well as for health reasons. My question to those reading this: what are your thoughts on this new initiative? Do you think it also has to do with saving money? Do you think they should or will limit the amount of cookies you can take, since they claim it is for health reasons?

 

I’m a little unsure if I believe that it is health related as they do not limit desserts which are much worse than having more chicken.

Power Poses

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I struck my familiar pose of running. My fingers tingled in anticipation. My breathing slowed and calmed. The tension fell from my neck, to my back, to my legs all the way down to the floor as it left my body. I was calm, ready, and I was powerful.

Yesterday I attended the Love your body workshop. My take away from the workshop was the above scene, where we had to replicate our form of exercise. I chose running, as it is something I do to de-stress, relax, and the stay happy. Yet when I chose the pose, it was amazing how quickly my emotions changed. I felt transported back to high school, when I would toe the starting line before a race. All the emotions of racing – the excitement, the calm, the readiness – were present years later, in a library room on West campus.

This power pose helped me feel more confident and powerful. I enjoyed the event, and urge anyone who reads this to try to find their power pose. Its amazing how a simple pose can change your state of mind of the better.

Metal as Clothing?

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Earlier today I attended an awesome event regarding metal as clothing called “Heavy metal”. As a group of 6, we got a a very personalized small tour from the exhibit curator herself, Samantha Stern. Samantha is very interested in metal as fashion, which stemmed from her interest in collecting metal purses while she was younger.

Before we began our tour of her exhibit, we got to see one of her pieces below. It is made from brass, and is extremely heavy. The fact that is is “unwearable” yet considered fashion was strange yet interesting for me.

Samantha Stern 'Malevolent Empowerment'

Samantha Stern ‘Malevolent Empowerment’

After this piece, we got to see the real exhibit. I really enjoyed getting to see the various uses of metal in fashion throughout history. The first piece we saw was hidden metal, or metal beneath/in clothing used to shape apeparance. I thought this was pretty neat because of how prominent metal was to change appearance and how little it exists now. Although dangerous, it is hard to say if it is more or less dangerous than plastic surgery, which is used to alter appearance today.

Hidden Metal

Hidden Metal

Below are some early on pieces. What I really liked from this was the item 2nd from the left. It is a ‘throwaway’ dress made from aluminum foil. So, it would be worn several times, then just discarded and not washed. This idea was a new concept to me, and it seemed quite funny. It’s really no different from very cheaply made clothing today, but the fact that it was metal made it interesting.

Very early on Pieces

Very early on Pieces

Below are are pieces made from gold. This was really cool to learn about that you could make something so delicate and intricate from a metal. Although very cool, the several thousand dollar price tag made it less appealing.

Pieces made from Gold

Pieces made from Gold

 

Lastly, the below was my favorite item because it was another unwearable dress. It looks like it was made from the tops of soda cans which seemed funny, and why I won’t ever understand fashion. Additionally, it ws extremelty heay, so it did not make sense to wear. However, that didn’t stop people from trying, as it was shown on the runway with a nude model underneath. Very different from today!

Unwearable soda dress

Unwearable soda dress

 

Overall, I thought this was a great even because of the personalized tour we received from Samantha. She was very friendly and took the time to tell us all of the interesting facts about each piece.

Get to know your professors

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This past Wednesday I attended the talk with Dan Schwarz regarding preparation for College and beyond. The two most impact items he mentioned were getting to know your professor, and changing your academic adviser to someone that cares about you. As a result, I’ll spend my journal reflecting upon those two topics.

Dan suggested trying to get to know one professor very well each semester at college. He suggested going to their OH, saying hello in class and when ever you see them in the hallway. He also said that if you only accomplish 50% at least you know 4 professors really well. The reason this stuck with me was because it made complete sense. These people are the professionals in the field you are interested, so they are quite knowledgeable about anything you may have a question on. Additionally, when it comes to peer reviews they will be very willing to help if they know you well. Given that I’m a junior and my time is halfway done, I’ve already begun to think about post college life. As a result, I thought this talk was quite important and valuable.

He also mentioned switching your academic adviser to someone that actually cares about you. This made sense as I’ve only spoken to my adviser once, and he isn’t in the field I am most interested in. However, he is still a very nice guy, and from our one encounter he seems interested in my pursuit. Nonetheless, the talk with Dan made me realize I need to take advantage of getting to know my professors while I am here before its too late.

I recommend to anyone reading this to go talk to all the professors in you classes and get to know them ASAP.