The Longleaf Experiment: My Thoughts

Nothing gets my heart racing and motor running like waking up at 5:30 in the morning to do a class experiment, in the woods, for two and a half hours, with a very good chance of rain. Oh, I forgot to mention that I was just one of two men in a class filled with sleepy cranky women who had already disclosed their displeasure of having to go on this field trip. So it goes without saying that I wasn't too excited about the class experiment, but I kept a cool head anyway. I honestly enjoy the class and my classmates, and that even though the cards were stacked against me, I was still able to enjoy the experience. For starters, it didn't rain. I was totally relieved of that. The closest we had gotten to rain was a heavy overcast with a slight mist in the air.
Everything, however, wasn't so great when we actually started to run the experiment and measuring the field. It was abundantly clear that we were all confused and didn't know our east from our west. I'm honestly not even sure if we ever got the measurments correct, but we came close. Once we were done measuring, we finally got to the part where we dealt with the trees. It wasn't easy at first, but with some help from our great overseers, we managed to pull it off.
Overall the experience was ok. I don't know if I would want to do this again if all of the elements were the same (cranky girls, potential monsoon) but it gives me better insight into how the scientists must conduct research even when the elements are less than desirable and out of their control. My hat goes off to them.

How to Play Gears of War: The Basics

In this article I will instruct you on how to perform the basic functions of the critically acclaimed video game Gears of War for the XBox 360 gaming console. If you are not familiar with the franchise, the plot basically revolves around four earthly soldiers and their efforts to defend their world against the Locust assault. These Locusts, have laid dormant beneath the world's surface for some undisclosed amount of time, and have launched a relentless attack against the humans. If you want to defend the planet against these ruthless fiends, you must know some basic controls before setting off. I will be discussing five basic functions: move, aim, shoot, run, and take cover. Gears of War is a third person shooter, which means that the gamer's point of view is over the character's shoulder, allowing the gamer to view the environment as well as the character's full body all at once. First, we must become familiar with the Xbox controller. The controller is composed of buttons, knobs, bumpers, triggers, and a directional pad which adds up to exactly seventeen components. Luckily, we won't have to explore all of them for the sake of this tutorial. First things first, you have to know how to move. On the left side of the controller is the knob that controls the the character's movement. This allows the player to move around his environment. Next, you will have to become familiar with the right knob. This allows the player to look around his environment and aim at enemies. Once you have mastered these movements, combine both knobs so that you may command full control of your character. Next we will go over aiming. To aim, you must pull the left trigger of the controller. It is located on the left back section of the controller, and is labled LT. Once you hold it down, you will notice that the view is focused, primarily down the barrel of the gun, where a set of cross hairs will appear. Next is shooting. While you continue to look down your gun you have the option to actually shoot and take out your enemy! Once you have placed your sights on the desired target, pull back on the right trigger to let 'er rip! The right trigger is located directly across from the the left trigger and is labled RT. Now that you can move, aim and shoot, now you are ready to for speed up and take cover. In the case that you are in an intense fire fight and need to take cover, all you need to do is locate a sturdy wall to hide behind, and run towards it! Do this, first move forward by pressing up on the the left knob. Once you have began moving, hold down the "A" button. The "A" button is located on the left side of the controller. Once you have engaged in a sprint, your character will swiftly run forward until you either let go of the button or collide into a barrier that protects you from oncoming fire. Now that you know the basics, you will be able to take your game to a whole new level and learn the more advanced controls. Until then, play around with what you have been taught, and soon enough you'll be killing the Locusts in no time.