Author Archives: nam95

The Life of a Dairy Cow

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One of the main reasons I’ve been cutting dairy out of my life is due to the treatment of the cows. I went to a farm once before when I was really little, but all I can remember is that it smelled pretty pungent. The Cornell Teaching Dairy Barn gave me a chance to see first hand how this particular dairy bar is run.

 

Once the other Rose Scholars and I got to our destination, that familiar, intense smell wafted out of the barn and just about singed off my eyebrows.  All the dairy cows were in a line and being prepared for a milking.  Our tour guide informed us that the suction cups placed on the cows apply about the same pressure as a nursing calf.  There is also a disinfectant and moisturizer applied to the teats prior to milking.

 

After the milking station were the more permanent residences for the cows.  They were complete with backscratching machines, lines of food, and individual pens for the animals.  While the sleeping quarters for each individual cow looked pretty small, they opened to a much larger space, so the animals did not appear claustrophobic.

 

At the end of our tour, we were able to pet calves, which each had their own, small covered pen outside of the dairy farm.  Petting them was cathartic in a way, and I also got some really awesome close-ups of them.

 

I still think harvesting another mammal’s milk is pretty weird, but I was relieved to see that at least Cornell seems to treat its dairy cows well.

The Golden Records

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Discovering extraterrestrial life that we could talk with would be awesome, hopefully. There’s always the chance that the aliens we encounter are not very friendly, but there’s also a large chance that they are single-celled microbes, according to the lecture at Fuertes Observatory this past Friday. An interesting prospect, though, is if we are discovered by other life first. This is actually not that much less likely, since in 1977, when NASA launched the voyager, two golden records were sent with it. These records contain sounds and images that would give whoever found them a sample of what it’s like to be on Earth. There is a track listing on Wikipedia, and the sounds sent out vary from traditional folk music of a certain region, to greetings in multiple different languages. It’s a pretty nifty little mix tape.

 

What I find almost more interesting are the additional instructions on how to play the record. These have to clarify that we use a binary system when referring to numbers and we also have to define time on the basis of the fundamental transition of the hydrogen atom, because hydrogen atoms are universal. All of this is with the hopes that something does actually find the record in the vast emptiness of space. Carl Sagan once made reference to the fact that sending out something so small into an area so ginormous and unknown speaks to the hope that we have as a human race. I thought that was a pretty cool way to look at it.

Knots be gone

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Getting a massage is something I only do when Rose offers it as an event.  The past two times I’ve gone, both masseuses told me I had a lot of knots in my shoulders.  This made me wonder what knots even are and what they were a result of, but I was too relaxed to ask, so I just kind of mumbled something as a response to both.  I do remember one asking if I was an athlete, which makes me think that excess physical activity could be a potential source.   After a quick search, it turns out that muscles adhere to each other over time and this creates hard lumps.  Left untreated, these hard lumps of muscle fibers eventually lose elasticity and can negatively affect your posture, which is where massages come into play in preventing these negative effects.

While the physical benefits of a massage are apparent as soon as the massager starts kneading your back like a ball of dough, the mental affects are even sooner apparent.  It takes me less than a second to be transported into a world of splendor where it feels like my muscles are melting like butter in a hot saucepan.  It’s kind of a numb, euphoric feeling that’s probably a result of endorphins flooding my brain.  It’s also interesting see the different styles of the masseuses.  My most recent one decided to play ambient music during the process, which eventually grew on me and was pretty enjoyable.  This is the kind of event that makes me consider being a Rose Scholar again next semester.

Put Good in, Get Good Out

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Last Sunday I attended “Fueling for Exercise.” I remembered growing up with the standard food pyramid, placing grains in the largest category at its foundation, sweets in the smallest category on top, and other food groups in between. According to our speaker/discussion leader, this pyramid is antiquated and has been superseded by the more personalized “My Plate.” In the handout we were given, the plates had been divided into the three macromolecular groups: carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. After discussing each of these groups and what our body uses them for, we passed around food labels from popular snacks. Another distinct feature about My Plate is that it is tuned to the physical activity of the individual. Those performing strenuous activity for more than an hour should have a higher proportion of carbohydrates, whereas those who are more sedentary should concentrate a greater portion of their diet with fruits and vegetables.

 

It seems more like common sense than anything that diet should be geared toward an individual’s physique goals and lifestyle, but I supposed the old pyramid is a quick and dirty generalization of what a diet should remotely look like. Another interesting part of the talk is that our speaker did not address different dietary options based on dietary restrictions. This didn’t seem like a huge deal, since, for most diets, compensating for the loss of a food group like dairy usually just means eating more things from another food group. Overall the event was pretty informative, and it’s interesting to see how people’s perspectives on diets have changed since I was a kid.

A Movie with a Great Soundtrack

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Coco was a great movie because it had a lot of emotional scenes sprinkled with good humor. Aside from the emotions and ideas the movie evoked, I was really amazed at its production. I haven’t seen a new animated movie in a while, so one of the things that really stuck out to me was the level of detail. When Miguel was playing his guitar, you could tell when he was strumming an E or D chord due to the great detail in his fingers and the instrument. There was a short featurette before the movie started playing that showed how the animators created layers of drawings before superimposing them to create the finished product. From the fluttering of feathers to the subtle eyebrow movement of characters, I feel like I could re-watch that movie several times and notice new things each time.

Back to the guitar though. The white, nylon-stringed instrument that once belonged to Miguel’s guitar idol was one of my favorite parts of the movie. Because it was so realistically displayed and accompanied with really clean audio, I had a strong desire to play it. So I looked it up on Google, and sure enough there is a real replica of it along with a demo of someone playing it. I haven’t checked the price, though I think I’ll stick to my minimalist acoustic fender. Either way, the details of this movie really do add up and further submerge the audience into the world of Miguel Rivera.

Taking Care of the Planet

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I’ve been dairy, beef, and pork free for almost the entire spring semester. I have a couple of motivations for cutting these foods out of my diet. The first is that cows give off a lot of methane, which is a much more potent green house gas than carbon dioxide. Also, cow and pig manure both contribute to releasing green house gases. Another reason is because I don’t know the living standards of the animals or how humanely they are slaughtered. I miss cheese especially, but overall I am glad with what I’ve been doing.

I was a little hesitant to sign up for Chili Fest because I thought being surrounded by slow cooked animal products would be a temptation too great to turn down. But then I thought more and more of how Ithaca seems, for the most part, pretty progressive. This made me think that there might be a chance at plant-based options. I would say more than half of the stands there did not disappoint me, and all of the samples I tasted were pretty awesome. But when you only eat fruits and vegetables, I guess your standards may tend to lower a little.

Apparently only around 3.2 percent of Americans are vegetarian and only 0.5 percent of them are vegan. While this number is small, it seems like more restaurants are offering options for those with dietary restrictions. I know how good meat can taste, so I can’t really be mad at people who eat it, plus I still eat chicken sometimes. But I will say that sustainability and humane treatment of animals are pretty important issues, and even just cutting the amount of animal product you eat can make a difference.

Maybe the Biggest Sports Game All Year

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I spent last Sunday keeping my fingers crossed that the Patriots would pull off some miracle play(s) and win yet another Super Bowl. I usually root for the underdogs, in this case Philadelphia, but given that a couple recent Patriots championship wins have been unexpected to say the least, I wanted to see how far their luck would take them. There is a lot involved in the Super Bowl, from the torrent of meticulously crafted commercials, to the highly devoted fans. And, zooming out from the Minneapolis Stadium in which the game was played, I could see in the Rose dining hall an assortment of people. Some were heavily invested, while a few others seemed to spend more of their time looking at their phone screen than at the game. But that seems to be the power of the Super Bowl: crowding a bunch of people together, even if for different reasons. In the end, I’m glad Philly finally got the Lombardi Trophy. Even if you don’t particularly like football, there’s a good chance that living in Philadelphia will be a lot more enjoyable for at least a week due to boosted morale. And as for Boston, Tom Brady is likely immortal, so it’s probably just a matter of time before they take the trophy back. As with last year, I’m glad I attended the event. I thought both teams played pretty well, but with the dawn of each football season, I will always be raising my own, mental foam finger held high for the Arizona Cardinals.