People have their own preferences for food. They may be coffee, alcohol, chocolate, cigarette, and so on. Some people drink coffee by habit, or others drink alcohol to reduce their stress. However cigarette is quiet different from others because it is more harmful than others. It affects not only smokers themselves, but also people around them. Even smoking often causes a big fire. A luxuriant forest or historical monument can be spoiled by a cigarette at a moment. To protect our health and environment, the laws and punishments related with smoking should be more strengthen than now.
10% of people die by smoking worldwide. It means that cigarette takes lives from 5 million people every year. WHO designated every May 31st as World No Tobacco Day to pursuit “smoke free society”. To prevent smoking, our government tries in several ways. There is a law to prevent smoking in certain facilities and buildings. Another law regulates to selling liquors or cigarettes to teenagers. Seoul Metropolitan Government reported recently that smoking will be ban at bus stop in Seoul. However Korea’s situation is still serious. According to the OECD Health Data (2007), the ratio of Korean male smoker is 46.6% which is 2nd grade following Turkey.
It is well known that smoking causes a lot of disease such as lung cancer, larynx cancer, heart disease, bronchitis. Besides, indirect smoking is also dangerous to health. However, smoking causes social problem as well as individual health problem. National Emergency Management Agency reported that 14.8% of fire accidents were occurred due to cigarette in Korea last year. In spite of restrictions, teenagers are able to buy cigarettes easily. The ratio of male smoker is 4.6%, which is significantly lower than man, yet woman smokers are increasing. Even young woman’s smoking may give bad influence for an embryo.
Though there are laws and regulations on smoking, many smokers still enjoy their fancies inside buildings or while on walking. In the morning, on busy street, a brave smoker ruins a lot of people’s physical health and mental health. One careless smoker destroys beautiful mountain to a bare one and make historical monuments bunt to ashes. Fines and penalties have to be severe and heavy to prevent smoking against law. Education for teenagers to prohibit smoking should be intensified from middle school.
Smokers say that smoking is an individual right. If that so, why do many country make laws against smoking worldwide? The answer is that it is not only an individual problem, but also a social one. A preference of smoking is important to everyone, but it is more important to respect other’s right to breathe clean air and stay healthy. The stronger laws and regulations are needed to reduce law breaking smokers. Also, education for teenagers will prevent them from smoking in the future.
Jun 29, 2008
About smoking
Jun 22, 2008
About Meniere’s syndrome
All the people have several experiences that are important to their life. That could be a happy event or sometimes a sad one. In my life, I also have a lot of events like marriage, giving birth, and having job. One of the recently shocking events happened 2 years ago. I never forget the morning of the 12 August 2006. The Meniere’s disease attacked me suddenly.
When I get up that morning, I felt the whole room was spinning very fast just like I’m in the rollercoaster. Then I fall down. After I went to the hospital, I realized that it was a typical symptom of the Meniere’s syndrome which I never heard before. The Meniere’s syndrome became my inveterate disease from that time. For a few months, I couldn’t do anything because of severe dizzying. That was really hard time for me. I couldn’t walk away, couldn’t read anything, couldn’t watch TV, and couldn’t listen to music. Finally, I had to leave my job for one year to cure my disease.
In 1861, the French physician Prosper Meniere described the illness which is an abnormality within the inner ear. The disease named for his name, the Meniere’s syndrome. Its symptoms are vertigo, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), a feeling of fullness or pressure in the ear, imbalance, vomiting and hearing loss.
The causes of the Meniere’s syndrome are not known exactly. Excessive stress, overwork, fatigue, emotional shock, certain foods, low blood pressure, and too much salt in the diet are known for the cause of it. Marilyn Monroe who was famous American actress was suffered from the Meniere’s syndrome, and Han Ji-Min, Korean young actress, was recently received attention after reporting that she has this disease.
I never expected that this incurable disease came to me. When I get tired, I always feel dizzy and exhausted. I have to be careful about my health all the time. I was really scared about my disease before, but I thank to have this disease nowadays. It changed my life a lot. I never attempt too much anything, and I always try to keep my temper in comfortable. Most of all, it made me to realize the importance of health.
Jun 15, 2008
Successful aging
As our nation becomes an aging society, the older are rapidly growing. Socialists predict that Korea will become a super aging society in 2030. It means that people over 65 are over 20% of total population. It is certain that our lives will be long than ever before. However, we are not well prepared in this situation in society or individually. To be successful aging, we have to prepare it from young. It could be an economical, physical, and mental preparation.
Financial independent is very important to older. In the past, parents used to rely on their declining years to their children. Also, sons and daughters took it granted to support their parents. But nowadays, it’s quiet different. Young generations would not support older. If we have no money to live independently and our children can’t afford to support us, the only place we should go will be a national nursing home. Sufficient money will let us to live independent and enjoyable life.
Physical health is essential to the winter of our life. Seniors are mostly suffering from various diseases. If we have arthritis, we can’t join to family’s trip. If we have high blood pressure or diabetes, we can hardly enjoy delicious foods. In case of having palsy or Alzheimer’s, it is not only ourselves pain but also family’s burden. To prevent suffering from disease, we have to keep our body in good safe and healthy.
As well as financial fundamentals and physical fitness, good mental health is necessary for happy life as an older. As a usual, older might be easily depressive and weak. They feel alienation from young people, and their activity become decline. But it depends on mind. If we have certain hobby to enjoy with others, we will never feel isolated. Volunteer activities will be also helpful to mental fitness. These will give us satisfaction and happiness.
Our senescent life will be long and come soon. Maybe it could be the most precious time in our life because we can lead our life according to our own purpose. We don’t have to take care of family or support them. We don’t have to work on unpleasant things. But to enjoy our senior life, we need some conditions as a basement. They are financial independent, physical fitness and mental health. These three points are essential to successful aging. Though we can’t avoid getting older, we can happily face it by preparing in advance to be stable old life.
Jun 8, 2008
Various destinations for tourists
Different nations for different tourists
As the increase of income, people go abroad for sightseeing more often than before. There are lots of nations in package program from the travel agency. People choose nations and tour package according to their taste. It would be very important to choose the nations considering the tour members. The destination would be different if there are children or seniors. It also could be specialized to a honeymoon couple.
To a family with young children, it is recommended for tour places which have amusement park, zoo, aquarium, theme park or beach. Hong Kong, Tokyo, USA have Disneyland which children have enthusiasm for. Singapore has huge bird park called Jurong Bird Park and an aquarium. Guam, Sipan, and other East Asian nations with resort and beach are suitable for families with kids to stay in comfortable. These nations are not too far to fly, and usually the program has a lot of spare time to relax to enjoy separately.
To seniors, they prefer historical place, religion place or hot spring resort. Japan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and other Europe countries are frequently visited places. For a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, people travel Israel, Egypt, Italy, etc. Seniors also like to stay in spar resort. Japan has many famous places for spa. But most important thing to senior travelers is that the tour should be comfortable and not be tired.
To the honeymooners, their travel should be most impressive and separated from other tourists. Travel agencies offers special honeymoon program for newly weds. These days, they developed luxury pool villas in Asia. They located in a beautiful beach and each room has its own pool. A newly married couple can enjoy their honeymoon in separated resort swimming secret pool of their own.
According to increase of opportunities for travel, it becomes important to choose suitable place to the various travelers. Every country has its own characteristics for sightseeing. We have to make tour plans considering our tour members. It will be different if we have kids, seniors, or we are newly weds. If our choice is successful, our memories from tour will be really happy and precious.
May 31, 2008
Life cycle of a butterfly
From egg to butterfly
In the spring, you can see a beautiful yellow butterfly among the flowers. It flutters across the garden seeking honey. To become this matured butterfly, it passes through four stages in its life cycle. They are called egg, larva, pupa, and butterfly.
The cycle begins with egg. Around two days later after mating, the female butterfly lays eggs on the leaves of the plants. A butterfly can lay 450 to 500 eggs at once so that prevent them from being scattered and strewed with the effects of natural causes like wind. The egg is a little long and transparent white color, so it looks like a grain of rice. After 6~7 days later, a worm like creature hatches out of the egg which is light green or yellow colored.
Next is larva stage which is active. The worm is called a larva or a caterpillar. As soon as a caterpillar emerges and crawls out from egg, it usually eats the egg shell first. Then it starts to eat vegetation, flowers, or fruit of the host plant. In this stage, larva grows by molting or shedding their skin several times. Each time it becomes bigger and bigger.
Once a larva became big enough, soon it changes into a pupa. In this third stage which is called pupa, a larva begins to build a cocoon with the string from its body attached to a plant. It will take 3 or 4 days of non-stop working for the new born caterpillar to finish this process. During this period, the caterpillar would turn around itself for thousands of times and secrete approximately 900~1,500 meter long strings.
After a few weeks, by undergoing changes and metamorphoses in the cocoon, finally a pupa turns into a adult butterfly. The length of the pupal stage varies with each species and often depends on temperature. Once the organs have matured, the skin of the pupa splits and the butterfly emerges. After a few hours, the wings expand and the skin hardens, then the adult is able to fly, sip nectar, mate, and lay eggs. Hence a butterfly's life cycle is repeated. The entire process, from egg to butterfly, takes an average of five to six weeks.
Although most butterflies can live for two months to one year, they have to undergo this four stage overcoming the dangers from nature or natural enemy. To become a butterfly, they have to change constantly through the metamorphosis process. Then, finally they become a beautiful, charming butterfly.
May 24, 2008
Badminton and tennis
Badminton and tennis
These days, the importance of health is highly growing. Many people run and walk in the park or mountain to keep their health. Others play sports in the playground and sports center like swimming, aerobic, golf, skate, in-line skates, etc. Among these sports, I prefer badminton and tennis. These are not so much hard to learn and not to pay much money to enjoy. Also, these two are safe sports even woman, seniors, and children can play easily.
Badminton and tennis are both a game played by two or four players on a rectangular court. To play these games, at first, they need a racket : an oval bat with strings across it to hit a ball. Besides, they need a ball which called a shuttlecock in badminton or tennis ball. Finally, they need a net across the middle of the court. Players get a score points by hitting a ball over a net. So these are called as a racket sports.
Even they seem to be very similar to play, there are differences between them. Badminton is more easier to learn than tennis. To play tennis, you have to learn a lot of rules such as the way of serving, grips and position. For example, in tennis, different grips like forehand and backhand generally are used for different types of spin and shots. Of course, similarly, there is many kind of rules in badminton. But we generally don't have to pay to learn badminton. We just learn it from family or friends for short time. Otherwise, we have to go to a tennis court to learn it from a coach for several months form the basic skills.
The net of badminton court is higher than that of tennis. The player could be lost score once the shuttlecock has struck the ground. The player should send it higher to opposite site over the net. In contrast, tennis player hits a ball so lower that it could hit the opposite ground. That's why tennis court's net is much lower than that of badminton.
Badminton can be played more often anywhere than tennis. People can play badminton without net. Because of that, tennis is played frequently outdoors as a casual recreational activity, often as a garden or beach game. On the other hand, you can hardly see the people who play tennis in the park or beach. They have to go to a tennis court to play it.
Among the sports that we can play easily and not to pay for it, racket sports is really good one for our health. Especially badminton and tennis are very popular. However, I think badminton is the better of the two. Since badminton can be played anywhere and more easy to play than tennis, I really prefer badminton. For that reason, my family usually play badminton when we go for a walk in the park. I really have fun to play badminton with my daughter.
May 20, 2008
Dates in Detroit History
Dates in Detroit History
1701 Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded Detroit after he landed on what is now the location of the Civic Center in the downtown area. Detroit became a fur-trading center.
1760 Britain took command of Detroit as a result of the French and Indian War.
1796 American forces took command of Detroit and it became a U.S. city.
1802
Detroit held its first election.
Detroit was incorporated as a town.
1805
Detroit burned to the ground. All but one of the town's 300 buildings was destroyed.
1815 Detroit was incorporated as a city.
1824 Detroit's first mayor, John R. Williams, was elected.
1837
Michigan was admitted to the Union as the 26th state.
Detroit became an important station on the Underground Railroad.
1843 The first schoolhouse is opened by the Board of Education.
1850 Detroit's leading industry manufactured stove and kitchen range.
1851 Hog Island was officially renamed Belle Isle after Lewis Cass' daughter, Belle.
1872
Elijah McCoy, an African American inventor, patented the automatic locomotive Lubricator, which was so good that railroad men asked for "the real McCoy."
1879 Belle Isle opened as a public park.
1889 The Hammond Building, Detroit's first skyscraper, was built.
1890s Detroit built more ships than any other American city.
1896
Charles Brady King introduced Detroit's first automobile. Three months later, Henry Ford completed his first car, the Quadricycle.
The Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau was founded.
1897 Sebastian S. Kresge opened his first dime store, which later became Kmart.
1901 The first concrete road in the world was built in Detroit.
1903 Ford Motor Company was formed.
1908
Henry Ford introduced the Model T. It became the first low-priced, mass-produced automobile with standard interchangeable parts.
General Motors was formed.
1920
Due to the automobile industry, the city's population rapidly increased. Nearly two million foreign-born residents were now living in Detroit.
1929 The Ambassador Bridge opened.
1930 The Detroit-Windsor tunnel opened.
1934 Wayne University was formed and renamed Wayne State University in 1956.
1935
The United Automobile Workers of America (UAW) was formed.
The Detroit Tigers won their first World Series.
The Detroit Lions won their first National Football League championship.
1936 The Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup.
1937 Joe Louis Barrow won the world's heavyweight boxing championship.
1940s
Detroit was known as the "Arsenal of Democracy," producing a fifth of the world's armament during World War II.
1947 Detroit's first commercial television station, WWJ-TV, began broadcasting.
1950 Detroit began constructing its freeway system.
1951 The city celebrated its 250th anniversary.
1954
The nation's first shopping mall (Northland Center) opened in nearby Southfield, Michigan.
1960s
Detroit became Hitsville USA with Detroit musical talent capturing the hearts of a generation.
1960
Cobo Hall (now Cobo Conference/Exhibition Center), Detroit's major convention center, opens to rave reviews.
1963
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in Detroit two months before its famous delivery in Washington, D.C.
1967
New Detroit was founded as the United States' first urban coalition. It was organized to improve education, employment, housing and economic development in the city.
1970
Detroit Renaissance, which consisted of a group of business leaders, was founded to help plan Detroit's future.
1971
Henry Ford II, head of Detroit Renaissance, announced plans for the construction of the Renaissance Center.
1974
Coleman A. Young became the first African-American mayor and was the
longest serving chief executive of Detroit, holding the position for twenty years.
1977
The Renaissance Center, the largest office complex in Michigan, opened as a symbol of Detroit's rebirth.
1987
The Detroit People Mover, an elevated train system, began operations.
Pope John Paul II visited Detroit.
1996 In November, Michigan voted to allow the operation of three casinos in Detroit.
1999
The Detroit Tigers played their final baseball game in the classic Tiger Stadium, which opened in 1912.
2001 Detroit celebrated its 300th birthday.
2002
The Detroit Lions football team began playing in the new, state-of-the-art Ford Field, returning to downtown Detroit after 27 years in suburban Pontiac.
2004
The "restored" Campus Martius Park opens in downtown Detroit featuring an ice skating rink.
2005 Detroit hosts the Major League Baseball's All-Star Game at Comerica Park.
2006 The city hosts Super Bowl XL.