Conspiracy Behind Apple?

With the two latest models of the iPhone being released just about a month ago a long with their companion iOS 7 many people are ready to upgrade. Others, not ready to upgrade, are being forced to. A article written in the New York Times, which can be found here, talks about why many people are seemingly being forced into upgrading. Often when a new iPhone model comes out many people begin to notice a drastic difference in the battery life and speed of their phones. When a person notices that there iPhone is now becoming obsolete  they feel they have no other choice then to upgrade to the newest version, in this case the 5C or 5S. So instead of being able to hold on to their phones that had been previously functioning properly they now have to pay the 199+ dollars to upgrade to a fully functioning phone.

Why do the iPhones seem to start to breakdown as soon as the newest models come out? Is it just a coincidence? No, it is not just a coincidence. As stated in the article, iPhones have a limited number of charges that they can go through before the battery life starts to drastically decrease. After a year or so, the amount of time usually between iPhone updates, you begin to get near the end of your batteries charges and the life of the battery drops. Although the battery will continue to work for a long while, it will not be what it once was and to many people any insufficiency in battery life is a necessary reason to buy a new phone. It's also not just a coincidence that Apple releases their new operating system a few weeks prior to releasing the new models. iPhones dating back to the 4 and 4S era can not handle the new operating systems nearly as well as the 5, 5C or 5S. With this the speed of the iPhone drops exponentially and causes the phone to crash fairly often. This too makes many iPhone members believe it is necessary to upgrade their phone.

If Apple truly is doing something like this then how are their customers staying so loyal? With other smart phones being known for their durability how is Apple able to compete especially when they intentionally are ruining the older phones? Please share your opinions.

Hate That Dirty Water

Today I read an article on CNN about a man, Chad Pregracke, who has dedicated his life to cleaning out the dirty water of the Mississippi River. Pregracke started out his work life as a commercial shell diver that never would have thought someday he would spend his life being a so called "River Garbageman". Yet, as Pregracke saw that every day there was more and more trash polluting the Mississippi River he knew he had to do something about it. This is when he formed his nonprofit organization 'Living Lands and Waters'. This organization started out with just Pregracke, his boat and a dream of making a difference. Now, some fifteen years later, Pregracke has made that difference.

Pregracke and the eleven other full time members of his organization live on a barge and throughout the year put together about seventy or so cleanups along the banks of the Mississippi River. The members of 'Living Lands and Waters' rely on help from members of the communities that they are visiting for the man power to thoroughly clean areas of the water. In just one fourteen day event, Pregracke and the volunteers had managed to collect an astonishing 120,000 pounds of garbage to remove from the water. Pregracke had the dream of cleaning up the water and making a difference, and to this day he is accomplishing this dream.

Often when you hear stories like these people are trying to preach about their beliefs and are trying to publicize their efforts for their organization. For Pragracke this is not the case. Pregracke says, "If I had one thing to say, it wouldn't even be about the rivers necessarily. It would be about finding (a) cause that is dear to you and taking action." This is exactly what Pregracke did and he has made a huge difference in the communities and wildlife surrounding the Mississippi River and the many  other rivers that he has expanded to. Why do you think that someone following a cause they believe in is so rare? Or do you believe that it is not a rare occurrence what so ever? Please comment and share your thoughts.

Radiation: Should We Be Afraid?

In leu of the Fukushima nuclear problems that started over two years ago, the New York Times published an article today about whether radiation is as bad as we all seem to think it is. Radiation is commonly believed to be a carcinogen that greatly increases the risk of of cancer, many people also believe that radiation has effects that could cause genetic mutations. According to studies mentioned in the article, which can be found here, these are just common misconceptions. Researches have been following many people that were with in ten kilometers of the explosions in Japan at the tail end of World War Two. Out of the 86,611 people they have followed only 10,929 of them have died from cancer. Even more astonishing is that out of those 10,929 only 527 of the those cancer cases were caused from the radiation of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. In addition to this, although the radiation did cause extreme birth defects if the fetus was exposed to the radiation there was no permanent genetic damage.  The article then goes on to explain that although these misconceptions about radiation have been disproven people are still reluctant to move back into an area that is given the all clear for its radiation level.

It has been scientifically proven that many of the affects of radiation that are commonly believed to be true are not true, but why is the fear of radiation sticking around? Should people still be afraid even though these facts are disprove? Why are people, not only in this situation, often reluctant to change their beliefs when they are disproven?

Are Club Sport's Fair?

Last weekend my swim team and I went to Florida for a training trip. Although I had a great time and loved spending time with my friends I realized the extent to which things like this could be unfair for people who can not afford club athletics such as. Looking back at the soccer team I grew up playing on, the swim team I am now on and the lacrosse teams my brother has played for I have noticed a constant trend; the price.  Organized club athletics are a growing part of many peoples life no matter what sport they're playing but is it fair that some people can afford these things over others. 

Many people play their sports a way to help get them into a great college. Yet, if a boy from the northshore excels at baseball and plays on all the best teams how is even possible to compare him to a less fortunate boy who can not afford the best equipment, coaches or teams. As sports become more and more important to people is it fair that the cost is so high? Please share your thoughts.