About Wushu training, Beijing.

And so I was away from 24 November till 3 December for martial arts training with my school team. Here's a documentation of the time there for those curious to find out about training Wushu (or other sports) in China. I'm not advertising or anything! Just sharing my experiences. Photos were taken by an Android phone so its not very good. 

Location: China, Beijing, Beijing ShiChaHai  sports school. (Pretty famous sports school in China if I'm not mistaken, here is the link if you wish to find out about it >>) http://www.admissions.cn/sch/

Temperature: < 0 degrees centigrade, around -6 degrees on colder times of the day. 

Training time: 9.30-11.30, 3.30-5.30 (We trained twice a day to maximise our time there, students usually only train once per day, so it's not as tough as you believe!)

Meal time: Breakfast 7.30-8.30, Lunch 11.30-12.30, Dinner 5.30-6.30 (We follow a rather strict timetable when it comes to our nutrition)

Lodgings: Within the school compound, in a hotel.

Hotel room, there is a computer/television at the front of the bed ( Not shown in photo)

Classes: While we trained alone as a team with their coach in the morning, we trained with their students in the afternoon session. The students in the class which we joined were considered average.

There were foreigners who joined their professional team. I believe they were from the national/professional team of their respective countries. Foreigners I met include: Italians, Australians, Canadians, Malaysians.

Their professional team is also further classified into 3 groups based on their skills (And age if I'm not wrong)
Obviously the older ones are better anyway.
 

This is  one of the places where the professional team trained. 

Also, we were allowed to use the gymnasium to practice some difficult jumps since its safer with all the cushions.

Gymnasium

Life there: We pretty much spent the time when we're not eating or training (Between 8.30-9.30, 12.30-3.30, 6.30 onwards) watching movies online so it's very laid back!

There are several places of interest located within walking distance of the school and of course good food to purchase, so its worth the time to explore those places. Not to mention plenty of clothes and electronic products! Noteworthy details: Starbucks located next to the school!

Favourite  part of the school: A giant greenhouse where the environment is cool and trees are still green

Huge bowl of noodles at 13 RMB or 2.60 SGD

Starbucks

5 or 4 storey compound located near the school (About 1km)  selling clothes and electronics, 

I'd certainly wish to visit the school again if I have the chance.

Rain

I feel uplifted when it rains, simply because its the most natural phenomenon that could happen in my city. Never at the mercy of people, it happens completely at the will of nature. No amount of trees planted in my garden city could allow my country to assimilate into nature as much as what the rain could provide. My city, having being located in the tropics, is the coolest in times of rain, and it makes the urban jungle feel alive again.

Celestial Asterisk Messier

Messier, specifically Messier55. A star among the brightest of Sagittarius.

Display pictures

I was just asked by someone to change my Facebook display picture into my own photo rather than some anime or fictional character. Well, along with our names, I'm sure the purpose of a display picture is to present our identities to the people who are going to view it. Since all my Friends on Facebook are likely to know me personally and would know how I look like (or at the very least after looking at my other photographs), why not feature a character which you like on your display picture which can better present your identity? Here's what I feel.

You are likely to be able to relate yourself to the character if you like him/her, which means you are likely to have a similar personality to the person. People who knows the character would know you better than just by looking at your face, because they recall the personality of the character in the story-line. Therefore, you can also present your identity better with that character. Even if you simply show a liking to the character without having any similarities with the character's personality, at least you show others some traits which you like which helps them better understand you as well!

Oh well, I'm just saying. If anything, the reasons I've stated are at least self-satisfactory.  

Friends

This post ironically talks about people who aren't actually one's friend. Unlike many others who openly regards everyone as their friend, I however, regard most people as an acquaintance. (Secretly, at the very least) Although it makes me appear as an anti-social individual, believe me, it's not that far off from the former. 

I believe that regarding everyone as a friend is not very much more sociable than being open to friendship.

We often overgeneralise what it means to be a friend. Some people does it with simply no agenda to it, but at other times for our darker agenda. Here's a few very common examples.

1. There are people who seek the approval of others (Probably of a higher status) by appearing to be friendly with the peers around them.
2. There are also those who seek to associate themselves with you just so as to keep an on your actions and progress before surpassing you when ever you falter.

Yet these people may be those who resent or scorn you the most.

What about those are related to you in school or at work, and simply address you as a friend for that reason and with no agenda at all? Perhaps it certainly didn't matter if we reciprocated their actions. Most of the time.

During a recent match (DOTA 2) a classmate of mine was taunted relentlessly by his ex-schoolmate whenever he makes a blunder. His schoolmate had been performing far below his usual abilities. Before long his taunts which bordered on insult, pushed my classmate over the edge they ended the day with a flurry of verbal assaults on each other out of frustration.  Yet, ironically, both of them, (including me) were on the same team. I cannot help but think that the schoolmate's actions were prompted by jealously as any another gamer would very much experience. His choice of words surely suggested so.

Certainly, nobody can be a perfect friend, nobody can have magnanimity to wish the best for the others when you do not share the same glory as them.

Nonetheless nobody can stop you from trying.

Would we truly live up to being a friend if, on multiple occasions, we were to dispatch an array of demeaning remarks on each other simply because they did better than you? Would we want to treat them as a friend if we have to bear with their infuriating remarks? The Oxford Dictionary defines a friend as an individual with whom one has a mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations. How sure are we that we display mutual affections with everyone we encounter anyway?

Then again, it's all up to how seriously we regard the term 'friendship'. Sometimes addressing even the most unreasonable as a friend would spare you more troubles, but on a personal note, I believe that if we treat our friendships seriously, we ought to treat the way we regard people as a friend more seriously.

My project work journey part 3: Paint-Probably the last time I'd be talking about this

Talk about the things you can do with paint! Since my group's written report would be handed up tomorrow, here is a list of my mock ups accomplished with paint. Embarrassing to say now that everyone's using Photoshop. Does anyone still use paint today? 

A photo originally taken from http://touchscreenuser.com/touch-screen-computers/what-to-look-for-in-a-touch-screen-monitor.html. Using paint I've simply erased the screen and its contents and added in my own contents to render it relevant for use as my mock up.

The rest of the coupons I've created in the mock ups. Not the most visually appealing I admit, but still felt a sense of accomplishment!

Project work, PAINT, and a confused individual

Unable to write any posts recently simply because there's too much things to do, too much things to say and I'm simply not able to decide on where to start and how to say without making it sound confusing.

Anyway, for the sake of making this look more complete, I might as well post this picture of a coupon I've created for my project on clothes wastage. on the coupon it is written ''Don't seal your clothes' fate because old is new again. Help combat clothes wastage by supporting the Fabric in, Clothes Out programme. Visit 'Together we can reduce clothes wastage'on Facebook for more information on our mission'' Although I have yet to submit the project I figured leaking a photo wouldn't hurt too much. Personally I liked the fact that I've used the Monopoly mascot's ''Get out of jail free'' cartoon as the picture. Ps: (The Facebook page has been changed simply to Fabric in clothes out)

On another note this picture is made entirely out of ''Paint'' the accessory found on every Windows computer at least. It's not very well designed but certainly better than what I had expected from this accessory. So there is quite alot you can get out of Paint I suppose!

1. Title was created from an online logo designing website.
2. Barcode and picture from Google image.
3. Everything else typed out with different fonts.

The thing about looking up to someone isn't just about looking at what he or she is known for.

Well this is going to be a very short post about my thoughts (Again).

I'm a huge fan of Owl City and I will always remain as one. While surfing the net a little earlier, there was this one line in his video about his new album Midsummer station that really strengthen my resolve in life. In the video Adam Young said: ''I don't think that fireflies (Fireflies is currently his most successful song based on the billboard chart) is really something that I have to beat because that isn't really the point and if I ever get into the point of that trying to do a song to match it or beat it, it's like I'm doing it for the wrong reasons that kind of thing.'' Indeed his words are a warm reminder for me to always do thing for the right reasons: studying to contribute to the world in the future, choosing the courses to study based on passion and not based on what is perceived to be an easier subject. That is how I live my life in school.

Again, going back to the title of this post, I'm pretty sure the reason why I became a fan isn't only because I like the songs but because I've tasted the passion above all else.

Night cycling

My city 

9th of August commemorates the 47th year of independence of my nation. What better way to celebrate the event than to cycle with your friends around the island throughout the night and experiencing first-hand the night life of this cosmopolitan city? I was awestruck by how the city remained active throughout the night but was taken aback by the downside of human society that presented itself only when much the nation fell into a blissful slumber.

We were greeted in every corner by drunkards as we cycling through the city, muddleheaded, yet fully aware of the several cyclists around them. The thrill, danger, and perhaps even amusing experience cycling past clubbers who appeared seemingly threatening on first impression (which soon turned out to be a fluke since they were all drunk) was unforgettable. Leaving the city and taking a quick break at a neighbouring playground after leaving the city only led me to discover that these children's hangout served as residence for homeless foreign workers at night. City life at night didn't turn out to be as romantic as people tend to think after all.

Of course, I am aware that such situations are present across the world and I bear no hard feelings for my society. I am also fully aware of the ugly side of city life (after midnight) but had never realised its prevalence and never experienced it first-hand having lived in the suburb region of the island. My impression of the city as a place where its dwellers could enjoy its picturesque scenery and have a quiet time out with their loved ones was a far cry from reality. Gone was my notion that a country as rich and secure as that of mine would be at least nearly completely free of people without proper residence. I tend to see this as a depressing and appalling aspect of human society. It was truly an eye-opening experience that many of my peers, having buried themselves in their notes would not experience.

Blind

All around me, I see people who grieve over being unable to purchase a shirt of their liking and people who regard examination grades as intelligence. I see people who studies hard without a university course in mind while lacking the skills to tie a simple knot. I see people who remembers everything in their notes but doesn't know a thing about the world around them. I see people who sacrificed the time in their co-curricular activities to study for a test. I see people who claimed their lack of understanding of the world around them to be a result of their 'purity' at heart and people who refuse to learn more if the topic is not tested in their examinations.  


I want to know a little of everything, to be able to do a little of everything, to define myself not as one who performs in only their studies but also their hobbies and to utilise my skills for the better of my society. What is one's satisfaction with the world, or even of self satisfaction, if their sweat, blood and tears do not benefit the world around them, what significance does their life hold to this universe?

I only seek to detach myself from these people and keep in contact with my friends of similar ideals. Am I blind to those people's views on success and on life? Even so, one would never know how the blind sees the world. If I am clueless about them, they are just as clueless about me. I'd just keep clear of them and live life my way.

Is my refusal to be associated with them ever going to be justified? I fear that I might be too full of myself.

My project work journey part 1: Preliminary ideas

Project work is one of the compulsory subjects students in my country have to take for our A levels examination. Although it is important to do well for it, I cherish the entire process of doing this subject and I try my best to document how I went about accomplishing this. I am still in the process of taking this subject and my work is not the perfect example of how it should be done, but this memory is definitely worth keeping. There are two topics to choose from, inventions or wastage, and the first task of this project is do work on our preliminary ideas before we gather the work with our group to decide on a topic.


First stage
I was told that the first step was to go online and search for interesting inventions or sources of wastage. Had many interesting finds form synthetic life form to catalysts for electrolysis.

Over here are three different ideas which were rejected before I started on my finalised topic. Tried my luck on wastage of paper, and wastage of human waste (yes human waste in the form of biomass) and then with wastage of batteries which I am pretty confident about, but to no avail. Pretty obvious I am inclined towards the topic of wastage rather than inventions. 

Second stage

Draft 1 on my topic of wastage of food.

Trying my luck with a graphic organiser over here. Takes up too much space with too little information. I have also exceeded by word count by a huge margin. Draft 2. 

Draft 3. Back to the portrait format.

Another attempt to use the graphic organiser to stand out. Draft 4...

The pictures below are from my final draft, reached the maximum word limit, with a mock-up created entirely by myself using 'paint'. 

Final draft. Printed in colour with a proper title

Survey results obtained from other sources.

Mock up for my plan.

To all dragonball fans

I don't really think that I'd be able to much about the situation but if anyone of you by any chance happen to visit my blog I would like to turn your attention to what is known as Dragon Ball Hoshi. From what I believe and what everyone believes Dragon Ball Hoshi is a fraud created to confuse Dragon Ball fans that another series is coming up, and I thought that I should spread this message around for all the fans of Dragon Ball. I don't have to present the evidence because others have already done so. Here's a couple of links down below with proper evidences to explain everthing.
Blog: http://thedaoofdragonball.com/blog/fans/dragon-ball-hoshi-explained/
Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWo_66UVPSk

Taken from  http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/235793  It has nothing to do with dragon ball Hoshi, just to show that this post is related to Dragon ball 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOav5edmU2o&feature=g-vrec

A video I've watched today on youtube, from the history channel.

This documentary provides a good amount of information regarding the major discoveries that help us build up today's image of anthropogenesis in a chronological order, covering the discovery of the fossils of the neanderthal, homo erectus, and the discovery of the fossils of Lucy, a homo Australopithecus.
Its a good thing I've decided to talk about this only after I've watched the entire video. I was about to challenge the fact that for nearly the entire documentary they spoke of neanderthals as 'our ancestors' when it is proven that we are two different species evolving from the same ancestors. Fortunately, they mentioned about this fact towards the end of the video so its pretty accurate afterall.
 
Anthropogenesis: The evolution of the human race

While I used to manage 2 blogs, I've decided to delete my older blog and to stick to this current one. My first blog all started as some silly piece of assignment and then as a way to practice on my language and to talk (lament) about life. My second blog on the other hand served as a platform for me put the things I've read up myself to good use and attempt to explain things as accurately as possible. However, what I've experienced in school as well as what I like to do both makes up important aspects of my life and are both inter-related and dependent on each other, so why not merge them? 

This is no longer just about how I see my life nor how I try to understand it. Its about me experiencing and understanding my life while I live it through. 

Still, there are things from my previous blog which I would like to keep in this current blog, such as the things I've said below. They weren't fond memories but they are things I would not want to forget, for they are still important to me.    

At this crucial point of time the realisation of  the futility of my attempts bestows upon me. A stroke of luck?

What is pride in oneself if all I strove for could not be appreciated by my reason to strive. Perhaps I am forever inferior to one of equal caliber equipped simply with differing talents?

Reality has caught up. Though I may not falter for now, my near future is clouded with uncertainty. 

11 November 2011

''Thats not going to get any better, so break it off from there. That way, a new shoot will grow so that new leaves will grow beautifully''-Honey and clover.  

12 November 2011

In times of sorrow I seek your support and yet, to no avail. A month of turmoil from the major examination my lifetime have ended as quickly as it came. I am now thrown into nothing more than a dull, vacant life, only to despair over your absence.

I spend every passing minute peering over my phone in desperation for your messages, knowing very well that in contrast, you spend your time lavishing every hour of playtime with your friends.
Friends...Was I ever treated as a friend by you? Your absence pains me, second, only to the reality that is dawning upon me. The reality of giving in to fate, which I had worked against ever since the day you were part of my life.    

18 November 2011

Keeping sane

Recently, I often worry about my sanity. The surmounting workload as the teaching of the syllabus goes full-throttle, the long school hours, but most of all the grim reality of the environment I live in- filled with students who could give up everything for the sake of academics achievement, students who delude themselves, becoming completely unaware of the importance of various skills in the real world, teenagers without a purpose nor a goal in life, and hypocritical individuals waiting for you to falter just so as to eliminate you from the 'race' so to speak.

I would only hope that as I learn to treasure what little true friends I possess who would genuinely accompany me through thick and thin, they too would learn and benefit just as much as I would with their support. I believe  benevolent ties would certainly triumph over hypocrisy.

Also, I have owl city to make me feel better  

Anguish

Painful words from the ones I cherish struck me hard again and again. Even as reverberating shocks still resonate within my already empty heart, a series of unrelenting though unintentional words continues to assault me. Just as much as I hope for my desirable outcome, it would never come to be if it goes against the wishes of  others. Human relations have always been in my opinion the most unpredictable and uncontrollable aspect of life. Now, should I salvage whatever remaining debris from a collapsed foundation knowing very well it would never form the perfect piece of architecture I pictured, or should I take to my heels and flee from her life. To flee from my problems and to spare myself from witnessing the construction of a beautiful infrastructure of my own desire, but in this case, not from my own hands. 

A lot of things have happened over the last few weeks. Unfortunately I have not been able to keep to my promise of adding one new post every week to my blog, as I was busy balancing my work with my national martial arts competition for the few past weeks. Looking back at my previous post I've come to realise it was pretty lame... Still, time and tide waits for no man, instead of lamenting over the past I rather look towards the future. Next week, I would be heading to the Nanyang technological university for my first professional science research programme. Life would become even more hectic now. Yet, it is a challenge I would welcome with open arms.

Some of the medals my team and I have won in a single day.

I wanted to write about a sense of belonging, but now that I thought about it, gratitude would be a better title for this blog post. Its going to be short and simple. 
Returning home by train, I came across many of my high school's alumnus who were returning back to my school for a game basketball. It dawned upon me that they return on a weekly basis several years after graduating from the school. They have not forgotten about their team members and made an effort to meet up and enjoy the good old days where they had back in school. Nobody could compare the bond they had with their team members to the bond these alumnus had. It is of no surprise my school's basketball team is among the strongest in the nation.

In Singapore, performers on the streets are rare. Despite my disappointment with the nation's attitude towards these unconventional jobs, I've grown to accept that nothing could be changed overnight. Nationwide, people are still blindly trying to further their education without a goal and even without knowing what they want to become, ultimately working for any company which can pay them and taking up mundane jobs which they do not enjoy. My country is young, sports and arts are just becoming more popular among students who choose to take up a different route in life. I am fortunate to have a performer around my neighbourhood and on board the train, I met him. As a singer, he was travelling alone to another place to perform and I witnessed him struggling with his equipment (speakers, microphones) as he scrambled off with the crowd and alighted at another station from mine. His work sets him constantly on the move, constantly singing for people and honestly I do not see him earning much revenue from performing. Having spoken to him, his fluent speech and polite mannerism would easily earn him a place in a company enjoying more financial stability than he has now, but until today he never did quit on his job.

We should appreciate the things around us which brightens our life and never forget the people who had once been by our side. For without them, you would never had grown into a better person (regardless of how much or how little growth there is) and your life would inevitably become more dull than it is today.

Extrasolar planets

Extrasolar planets are planets not found from our solar system in other words outside of our solar system. Recently astronomers have been finding more and more extrasolar planets and news of these planets appear once in a while. 


To introduce about extrasolar planets one important word we must know is eclipses. A common misunderstanding is that eclipses are only solar or luna eclipse. However, many phenomena are classified as eclipses rather than just the aforementioned occurrences. The proper definition of eclipse is  'The passage of one celestial body in front of another, cutting off the light from the second body'.

Extrasolar planets are difficult to find due to their distance, and the fact that the star they orbit tend to conceal the planets due to their sheer brightness and size relative to the planet. Quoted from a documentary 'The universe' in (discover channel or was it history channel) its like finding a flee in front of a headlight. However, it is possible to find it when an eclipse occurs. When a planet's orbit is positioned exactly at the astronomer's vantage point, a slight drop in the brightness of the sun at a specific point can be detected which suggests that a crossing planet is blocking out part of the sun where it is currently at as it travels. Of course there are many false alarms, but this method can enable astronomers to determine the size of the planets. Sadly most of the planets that are detected are huge gas planets which are big enough to cause a drop in brightness of us to detect.

Definition of eclipse: http://space.about.com/od/glossaries/g/eclipse.htm

When I was asked for what I believe to be the 5 most important values and qualities in life, my response was a far cry from what others of my class had presented. Many placed the need for wealth and power above all else. Others chose friendship and love. Most included 'family ties'. Indeed my 5 values, courage, freedom, respect, challenge and intelligence succeeded in raising an eyebrow among my peers.

Nevertheless I hold true to my believes. I hope for the development of humanity and not as an individual. Those who treasure aspects that concerns only themselves and their family are selfish thinkers indeed.

Conflicts, oppression, corruption. Could they be reduced if society cherishes mutual respect for each other? When one respects another would they impose their ideologies onto another? Would they obtain things that belong to others forcefully? Surely military adventurism would not even be considered. History taught us many things. Hundreds of years of colonisation that causes an uneven level of development would not occur and  plague the world as severely as it is today. Why would anyone consciously emphasis the need to treasure ties of kinship if people are born attuned to treating friends and family with respect? Respect on its own constitutes a part of what we call love. Perhaps if one adheres strictly to practicing the act of respecting one another, things would turn out better today.

Yet when respect becomes part and parcel of everyday life in every individual, perhaps freedom could be achieved. Freedom for one to choose his or her path in their lives. Allowing one to develop their forte and their talents, learning about life and carving beautiful memories of their own the way they want it to be. Being able to live their lives rather than to survive and also contribute to the world and improve it as they go along.

Still, the troubles which plague society does not solely arrive from doings of mankind today. Indeed diseases and natural disasters ravage humanity uncontrollably from time to time which mutual respect and freedom in individuals could not remedy. These would pose as challenges for mankind, challenges that would be the drive for mankind to excel. The world had done much to overcome challenges throughout history, with much breakthroughs that pushes the boundaries of humankind. Yet many of us had not grown to take challenge as a drive but perceives it negatively while ironically see stress as the push factor for themselves to excel. Without challenge civilisations would not improve, history itself would be mundane without historical breakthroughs and many great leaders and thinkers would not surface at all.

Historical figures arrive form time to time because of courage to pursue their goals and to solve their problems that plague them. Indeed courage become one of my most important values as a man with all the freedom to work and ponder about the world cannot achieve breakthrough without first working on the dreams. Courage is the most direct and yet vital factor in driving a man to achieving what he hopes to achieve. With respect that leads to freedom for mankind, and courage that enables man to begin tackling challenges, the world would progress as the most innovative of animal species reveal just how much life can go in the universe, but not without one key element that places us among the most innovative and leading specie of animal in the world today.  

Intelligence. The one thing we possess more than any other animal on Earth would be the main fuel to drive mankind to greatness. Courage to solve problems would mean nothing without intelligence to go about solving them. Intelligence had propelled us to this day and it would remain as a key factor we must cherish knowingly.  It may seem as a load of gibberish talk about mankind and greatness, but mankind itself comprises of billions of individuals, us.

Could a brain perform its functions if the brain cells began shutting down in large numbers? If we lose our direction, we, too, would begin to shut down.  

Lacking examples but this is all I could elaborate in 1 hour's worth of time.

Start of my real college life tomorrow, after a week of orientation camp. Hectic life awaits.

Confusing world of Anthropology

I've always had a keen interest in Anthropology. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crwPkPWcqBY
I was compelled to share this link after watching the video of an old BBC documentary ''walking with beasts''. This episode, talks about the Australopithecus as our ancestor around 3.5 million years ago. This video is pretty old.
Anyway,it is believed that Australopithecus is the species that led to the evolution of the 'homo' genus, that they gave rise to modern humans(homo sapiens sapiens) and our closely related species such as Neanderthals(homo sapiens neanderthal). I would not touch on this topic as of now, but I will leave some interesting facts behind. Ps: Its not really related to the show.
1: A famous fossil specimen nick named 'Lucy' belongs to this specie.
2: The last Human-Chimpanzee ancestor is predicted to have lived 5-6.3 million years ago.
3: Modern humans inter-bred with at least Denisovans and Neanderthals.
4: Yet a newly discovered  hominid specie the Sahelanthropus tchadensis is 7 million years old. Anthropologists are deciding if it is a common ancestor of humans and chimps. If it is not, things would get alot more complicated.
More on Australopithecus: http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/australopithecus-afarensis

Longshore drifts and longshore currents

After today, I will start posting on a weekly basis every Saturday. I will also include urls of the websites which I get my information from. I've been a little lazy recently, so this post would be on something I've learned in secondary school, hope it would be useful.


Waves and currents causes transportation of sediments in the coastline (the place where the land and sea meets and interacts) Longshore currents and longshore drifts are terms we need to know regarding this topic. They can be a little confusing.

Longshore currents are flows of water that move parallel to the coast. It is generated by winds, tides and waves that approaches the coast at an angle driving the flow of water along the length of the coastline. Very specifically, it is defined as such... ''the longshore current is the dominating current in the nearshore zone. It is running parallel to the shore. The longshore current is generated by the shore-parallel component of the stresses associated with the breaking process of obliquely incoming waves, the so-called radiation stresses, and by the surplus water which is carried across the breaker zone across the coastline.''


Longshore drift on the other hand refers to the movement of sediments along the coastline. How it occurs is simple. When waves approach the coast at an angle due to wind direction, it carries sediments to the coast at an angle. However gravity only causes the sediments to move downwards perpendicularly to the coastline thus the sediments would travel along the coastline in a zig-zag motion when it is repeatedly carried at an angle and returned vertically downwards. Note: Sediments are carried to the coast when a wave crashes onto the coast, know as a swash. The motion where the seawater retreats back into the sea is known as a backwash. The backwards motion that pulls the sediments back. Longshore currents may result in longshore drift. This is illustrated below: (due to the fact that my 2 mega pixel camera was horrible at taking good photographs and that I could not operate my new scanner I could not draw out the diagrams for use)  

I do not own this photograph check links below credits go to the website

The world's longest naturally occurring spit, the 'Dungeness Spit' is found in America. Spits are one type of coastal landform that we see, along with cliffs, beaches, bays just to name a few. It is a result when longshore currents that transport sediments in the sea encounters a place of shallow sheltered water, enabling the sediments to be deposited in those regions. The accumulation of these sediments along the direction of the long shore current creates a narrow ridge of sand we identify as a spit. 

I do not own this as well. Check links below credits go to the website

Stuff about longshore drift: From my textbook
Photo of spit: http://tidelineconsultingllc.com/
Longshore current definition: http://www.coastalwiki.org/coastalwiki/Longshore_current
More about longshore current: http://www.usoceansafety.com/safety/popup/lscurrent.asp
Photo on longshore drift:   http://cgz.e2bn.net/e2bn/leas/c99/schools/cgz/accounts/staff/rchambers/GeoBytes/GCSE%20Revision/Glossaries/Glossaries/Glossary%20Extra%20Page%20Links/LongshoreDrift1.gif

Ocean conveyor belt: Thermohaline circulation

I only know this much about the Thermohaline circulation. Its information would be useful to readers but there are two things I would like to discuss about at the end of my article. 
The Ocean conveyor belt or more accurately, the thermohaline circulation refers to the continuous cycle of water in the ocean due to its temperature and salinity. The working principle behind it is that water from different parts of the ocean has differing densities, whereby colder saltier water is denser than warmer less salty sea water. (expansion of liquids) Water which is less dense tends to float while denser water tends to sink, resulting in the movement of water in the oceans to achieve this balance.
How did this different density occur in the first place?
In the North Atlantic, winds blowing over the ocean remove latent heat of vapourisation as the water evaporates, becoming cooler. Less water in the ocean coupled with the same amount of salt causes the water to become denser. In addition, when ice is formed on the ocean in those regions, pure water tends to freeze rather than salt water. Again, less water in the ocean to dissolve the salt would cause the concentration to increase even further. This denser ocean water forms the North Atlantic Deep water (NADW) which flows southwards through deep abyssal plains found along the Atlantic.    
Down to the Antarctic this denser ocean water then flows along the Antarctic continent mixing with the Antarctic bottom water to give 'common water' where it splits up to the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Following this route.

The Pacific Ocean having a slightly higher water level than the Atlantic Ocean would flow its upper most water through Indonesia to replace the water from the Atlantic that had travelled along Antarctica. Thereafter it travels North back to Greenland where it all began, starting the cycle all over again. 

Ps: Any readers please enlighten me on the terms 'over turning' and 'Haline forcing' I did not use it in my text in fear of being inaccurate! Picture from politicalclimatewordpress.com

Permian mass extinction in a nutshell

Based on the knowledge acquired from discovery channel, do enlighten me if you happen to know some specific details which I left out. 


Trigger: Volcanic eruptions(Siberian Traps) lasting for up to a million years causing large amounts of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide to be released.
Direct consequence: Sulfur dioxide would have caused acid rain that damages the eco system, but the damage would not have been so extensive.
The carbon dioxide released in such enormous quantities would cause severe global warming that kills off 1/3 of land dwellers at that time.
Indirect consequence:The heated planet with its warmer oceans would devastate the 'conveyor belt' preventing proper circulation of oxygen in the ocean. With the absence of oxygen in the ocean marine aerobic life would die out. It also causes purple sulfur bacteria to thrive. Which is, bacteria that survives without oxygen. In addition, these bacteria produces highly toxic hydrogen sulfide which adds on to the devastation done on the marine life of the Permian period.  
The heated ocean would also cause highly temperature sensitive methane hydrate, combination of methane and water in its solid form frozen at the bottom of the ocean, to melt releasing methane which is a very potent green house gas. It further aggravates the problem of global warming increasing Earth's temperature even further and wiping out even more life on Earth in the Permian period.
Ps: I will be writing a few posts about the conveyor belt and methane hydrate really soon to further explain how it plays a role in the Permian mass extinction!