Pos or Not?

Amazing. Idealist.org posted about this website today. It plays off the Hot or Not website idea, but instead you are trying to guess if the person is HIV positive or not. It's meant to show us all that you can not tell by looking at someone if they are infected.

Get tested people!

http://www.posornot.com/

My first night in class

Soooo. Wow - Grad School is HARD. My syllabi are each over 20 pages long. Thankfully I only have 4 books between 2 classes, but that doesn't mean squat. There are also numerous journal articles and chapters from other books that will be provided for my reading pleasure. Woohoo! The workload is intense, as expected. And we have to think critically, which isn't a strong point of mine up until now. However, I think I am on my way to be better at that. I question things more now, especially since this subject really interests me.

My Human Behavior teacher started out class by showing us this video: http://wherethehellismatt.com/. It celebrates the diversity of humans, and points out how every similar we are. It just makes you smile. :)

In other news, I obtained a graduate assistnaship. I get to work 20 hrs/week and receive a tuition waiver! While the pay isn't high, the tuition waiver makes up for it. There is also a chance to continue working there after this semester. If they like me and the need is there, I can stay thru my entire stay! Fabulous. I really like the people in the office, at least the ones that I met. :)

I'm gonna be a social worker!

I had my social work orientation last night at FAU. I must say, I am STOKED! Since I am only going part-time, I will only have 2 classes a semester (instead of 4 + fieldwork). I will start fieldwork end of year 2, and I will work in the field 8hrs/week. Full-timers start Field in 2 weeks and work 16 hrs/week, plus 4 classes. Yikes!

I am taking these 2 classes this semester:

• Human Behavior & the Social Environment I
• Social Welfare History & Policy

I am also going to join Acolyte, the MSW Student Org. I am excited to get involved with them! The associate will provide me with endless networking ops in the community, plus ops to learn so much about this profession.

On another note, I signed up to take a 3 night Rape Aggression Defense course offered by the University Police. Since my classes get out at 9:50P, I figured it couldn't hurt to know some self-defense.

The Story of Stuff

Very interesting video on where our "stuff" goes. She talks about extraction all the way through disposal, and includes everything that happens in between. Very interesting.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

The World Population to Hit 7 Billion in 2012!!

Eve as we struggle to satisy our appetite for natural resources, the world's population will undoubtedly reach 7 billion in 2012 according to a new government projection. There are 6.7 billion people in the world today. The United States ranks third, with 304 million, behind China and India, according to projections released Thursday by the Census Bureau. The world's population surpassed 6 billion in 1999, meaning it will take only 13 years to add a billion people.

By comparison, the number of people didn't reach 1 billion until 1800, said Carl Haub, a demographer at the Population Reference Bureau. It didn't reach 2 billion until 130 years later. "You can easily see the effect of rapid population growth in developing countries," Haub said. Haub said that medical and nutritional advances in developing countries led to a population explosion following World War II.

Cultural changes are slowly catching up, with more women in developing countries going to school and joining the work force. That is slowing the growth rate, though it is still high in many countries. The global population is growing by about 1.2 percent per year. The Census Bureau projects the growth rate will decline to 0.5 percent by 2050. By then, India will have surpassed China as the most populous country.