“Self-reliance and independence can transform into selfishness and license, ambition into greed and a frantic desire to succeed at any cost,” Barack Obama said in his book, “The Audacity of Hope.”

In the very first chapter, Obama lays out his core values as a man. One of these values is the hope that we can, despite our yearning for individualism, learn to be a communal society.

We weren’t made to take this world on by ourselves. No individual can live without the help of those around him or her.

“If we Americans are individualistic at heart, if we instinctively chafe against a past of tribal allegiances, traditions, customs, and castes, it would be a mistake to assume that this is all we are,” Obama said.

It seems that too often this is exactly how we think. We perceive ourselves to be weak if we have to depend on each other. We don’t want to inconvenience someone else by asking for help. These attitudes create an atmosphere of apathy amongst our society. We shouldn’t be afraid to use the resources we have around us, and this includes anyone we come upon.

Something as simple as stopping at a gas station to ask for direction might give us the opportunity to interact with someone in a positive way. The gas station attendant might be having a bad day. Talking to him or her in more than a professional matter might ease his or her tension. As a global society, we need to care for each other. This lack of caring, these apathetic attitudes, is what causes so much conflict amongst the people of this world.

God said to us that his greatest commandments are to love him with all our hearts, minds, and souls. And, equally as great, to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:28-31).

In John 13: 34-35 it says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

My life would be impossible without having the people around me who care for me. Knowing that when I’m feeling down, I have a friend who is thinking about me is a comfort. They call when I’m not even expecting it, ready to cheer you up. They open up their home and make you dinner, offering sympathy and understanding of the hard times. Without real friends, life is miserable. Too many people wear a façade, indulging in superficial friendships with no expectations. These aren’t real, and they aren’t worth our time.

Obama said that, “Our individualism has always been bound by a set of communal values, the glue upon which every healthy society depends.”

He describes our value of family and our obligations to take care of our own family.

In 1 Timothy 5:8 it says, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

This describes our value of community; the rewarding experience of working together to do something great.

This past spring break I got to go on a trip with 30 people, 28 of which were college students, to Juarez, Mexico to build a home for a family that was in need. This family of eight originally was living in non-insulated home made of concrete. It was barely larger than a walk-in closet. In that little space they had beds, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a few chairs. We were able to provide them with something, through our cooperative efforts, nearly three times that size. If we were less just one person we would not have been able to provide them with what we did. We depend on everyone that comes for their spiritual, physical, emotional, and financial support.

He describes our value in patriotism and faith, being devoted to our country and to something greater then ourselves. We lastly value common ethical behaviors among our society that Obama described as honesty, fairness, humility, kindness, courtesy, and compassion.

“In every society (and in every individual), these twin strands— the individualistic and the communal, autonomy and solidarity—are in tension, and it has been one of the blessings of America that the circumstances of our nations birth allowed us to negotiate these tensions better than most,” Obama said.

Google.com as most people know is a search engine. And an image finder. And a map finder. And a video finder. Google has its hands all across the internet, and has grown into a very powerful engine, among other things.

One of the first things I remember after viewing the site years ago was the site’s simplicity. One image, and that’s it. No fancy graphics flashing and bouncing around. No long page loads from slow connections.

I also remember thinking it was fun how the site plays with its name and makes different logos for different holidays and events.

The site also loves the Easter eggs.

I was sitting at work last semester and someone came running in to show me something. We went to Google maps, and searched for directions from New York, NY to London, England. Google map came back with directions to ‘swim across the Atlantic ocean – 3462 miles.’

I came across an article on msn. com – tech and gadgets section that lists Google’s top 17 Easter eggs. I was sad that my favorite was buried as number 15, but at least it was listed.

It also lists things like the ‘pegman’ (the little guy on the maps showing where ‘you’ are) changing his outfit depending on the season and his location, such as a snowman during the holidays.

Google streetview lets users navigate through certain towns with actual images taken by a vehicle covered in cameras. If we navigate by Google’s headquarters, we can see the ‘credits’ where all the workers are out in front posing for the camera.

Google seems to be a company that has things figured out, it knows first and foremost how to offer a powerful set of utilities that are easy to use but have also figured out how to have a good time doing it. I’m hoping that more companies can figure this out.

Happy Birthday Paul Jarema!

It seems everyone loves balloons, but bitter bits of recent news have been bad for billions of bubbles and balloons. These stories involve a helium shortage, an engagement ring shortage and an elephant-insidesoap- bubble shortage. (The elephant thing is partially Bob Barker’s fault.) These events broke my heart and burst my bubble, so I decided to depress kind readers by sharing them.

If you and I were in a little toy shop, and we bought a bag of balloons with the money we got, we would need to fill them with helium before we “set them free at the break of dawn,” despite what the Nena song may have made you to believe. Without helium, our chances of accidentally causing a global war would be gone with the wind. And speaking of wind, I caught some from a dollar store owner that there is a helium shortage.

According to theledger. com, many factors have cut worldwide helium production, and distribution is being prioritized to medical uses. And they’re not just using it to give balloons to kids with cancer. Apparently helium is used in MRI technology and respiratory treatment. Helium prices have increased so much that, at prices people are willing to pay, it is often not profitable to sell helium balloons.

Expensive helium balloons could be bad news for Lefkos Hajji, who, according to Rueters, hid a $12,000 engagement ring inside a helium balloon. He wanted to “pop the question” to his girlfriend, but a gust of wind had other plans. The balloon floated in to the sky, and Hajji couldn’t find it. According to Reuters, Hajji said, “But I had to tell her the story -- she went absolutely mad. Now she is refusing to speak to me until I get her a new ring.”

Now, not only is the poor guy out $12,000 for the ring, he’ll have to pay a premium if he wants another helium balloon for his proposal. My advice is to save money by getting a cubic zirconia ring. A diamond may be forever, but the girl giving Hajji the silent treatment isn’t.

Hajji’s girlfriend may not be speaking, but many animal rights activists are.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana has canceled plans for a stunt in which an artist was going to surround an elephant by a giant soap bubble because of public outcry. Apparently some animal rights activists thought that it would have been cruel to do something as cool as putting an elephant in a soap bubble. In Defense of Animals, an animal rights group, and Bob Barker, fomer host of “The Price is right,” were among the objectors.

Ed Boks, the general manager of the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Animal Services, called the bubble stunt, “cruelty in the worst possible form.” Apparently Boks has never heard of branding, animal sacrifice, factory farms or a trick some people do with a cats, matches and gasoline.

Regarding the cancellation of the bubble stunt, spokeswoman Julie Smit told the LA Times, “We wanted it to be good, clean, family fun, so we’re taking away the part that seemed negative.” But what could have been cleaner than a soap bubble?

This year, no matter who ends up winning the Democratic nomination, the party will be charting unfamiliar territory. With both a woman and/or an African-American on the ticket, the Democratic Party is poising themselves to change up the gender and/or race of the Presidency.

Some unfamiliar territory that has not been seen in several years is also coming back into view this election season. I am referring to the primary season lasting this long before a nominee has been decided. 1980 was the last time that the nomination lasted all the way to the convention. With the beginning of April already upon us, both Hillary and Barack are going at each other, both hoping to draw more blood than their opponent. If the fighting and bickering keeps up, we could see another 1980.

I have only heard one good argument about this prolonged bickering session compared to the dozens of negative ones. The only good point to hearing about all of Hillary’s trips abroad, and the former preacher that performed services at the church Barack attends is this. Seeing that all of this negative blood is being spilled now, the Republicans will have a hard time finding dirt in the fall, no matter who ends up with the nomination.

Not only are the voters getting frustrated with all of the negative air time filling their 24-hour news channels, so are the Democratic Party officials and senior members. Over the past couple of weeks, two former Presidential candidates have endorsed Barack Obama.

The first one came from Senate Chris Dodd of Connecticut on February 26. At a press conference that day, Dodd said standing next to Obama, “ [He] has been poked and prodded, analyzed and criticized, called too green, too trusting and for all of that has already won more than half the states and millions of votes. It’s now the hour to come together. ... This is the moment for Democrats and independents and others to come together, to get behind this candidacy,”

Dodd is still sticking with his message, and by his man, last week. On March 27, Dodd told the National Journal that, “Over the next couple of weeks, as we get into April, it seems to me then, that the national leadership of this party has to stand up and reach a conclusion.”

Another former Presidential candidate has also been in the news lately for both endorsing Obama and denouncing the bickering that Hillary is continuing to prolong. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson announced on March 21 that he was not going to back his close friend Hillary Clinton. But instead, the nation’s only Hispanic governor threw his weight behind the Democratic frontrunner. Richardson said at a rally with Obama announcing the endorsement, “You [Obama] are an once-in-a-lifetime leader. Above all, you will be a president who brings this nation together.”

Now here is one thing that is throwing this race up into the air and causing lots of controversy. Many talking heads and party officials believe that the only way the nomination will be decided is through superdelegates. Interestingly enough, both Dodd and Richardson are two of the 794 superdelegates at large in the Democratic Party.

With the Michigan primary situation still in limbo, but more than likely dead, and the party splitting over the two candidates, it is time for DNC Chair Howard Dean and other party officials to step up. These top Democratic leaders need to take a stand, and put an end to this bickering and blood-letting.

Even though there are several states still left to have their primary voices heard, it is time for the party leaders to force Hillary Clinton out of the race. Almost every news organization and media outlet in this country have all aired a similar story over the past couple of weeks. That is that it will be almost impossible for Hillary to catch Barack in both pledged delegates and the popular vote. Depending on which source you get your news from, many organizations are predicating that Hillary has to receive a very large percentage of the vote in almost all of the remaining states in order to get the amount of delegates that she needs to surpass Obama. Also coupled with those figures is a statement that goes something like, “It will be impossible for her to win. She cannot do it.”

So Howard Dean, pick up the phone and make that tough call. It is time for Democratic Party to unite together and make sure we do not have a third term of George W. Bush.

Another year, another day, oh yeah it is my birthday! When I got a phone call from some old friends from high school calling me whack because I didn’t want to go to the local club to celebrate my birthday, I thought about the things I wanted in the past years that now meant nothing to me.

Some people celebrate the fact that years have passed and that they are a year older. It’s mostly the same as your last birthday, unless you’re celebrating a milestone birthday like 21 or 40.

My question is, where has all the fun gone? When I was just a little child, I had so much fun waiting for the day to arrive and waiting to get a present or maybe to go somewhere new, but now it’s all different.

My brother greeted me with jokes, like its all down hill from here. During his jokes I forced smiles but I was thinking what is the purpose of him telling me this was. I just wanted some gifts.

The one gift I will cherish is the fact that I was remembered. It was a simple phone call from people in my life that are special that made me smile. I wonder who will be on the phone this time. Who will sing the loudest and worst to make me smile?

The thousands of facebook. com messages were appreciated as well, even though I had people that I knew really didn’t care wishing me a happy birthday.

I’m so happy I have unlimited text messages because I got over a hundred from people who remembered. There were so many times that I said 'thank you' with another text asking who the sender was.

The email and cards I got were people sending me the warmest birthday wishes. Birthday wishes from my mom, aunt and other family members. These birthday wishes meant a lot because I know that they are the people that have watched me grow from a small child to a mature young lady.

The most precious gift of all was to spend it with my family. Spend your special day, surrounded by people who care and love you. It’s the most rewarding present you can give yourself.

I like to eat and cook. Food is something that came naturally to me as a young child who had a great need for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. What spurred me on to maintain and develop my relationship with food was the excitement of experimentation. Few things give me the same joy as dreaming of a properly cooked rack of lamb or a perfectly buttered grilled cheese.

There is an emotional connection that a lot of us make with food. Hot dogs and peanuts inspire thoughts of baseball and hot afternoons. Chocolate covered strawberries kindle images of romance and, for me, hope that the night will end better than it started. Green bean casserole is a punishment worse than the cold showers at the base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

A birthday without cake and ice cream is hardly a celebration and a Thanksgiving dinner without Turkey and mashed potatoes just doesn’t do justice to the Pilgrims.

There are people that don’t appreciate food the way myself and many others do. The zing of a spicy mayo on a roast beef sandwich or a thick, juicy slice of meatloaf that requires minimal chewing and provides maximum enjoyment is often lost on those too quick to swallow any number of morsels of delectability.

However, I find it disheartening when a child pushes away their plate at the dinner table because the macaroni and cheese they were expecting has chunks of ham or hot dogs in it. Sure, it’s different than what you expected, but think of it as marshmallow surprise in your cereal… only warmer and cheesier.

Food makes us happy. Warm cocoa on a winter night is almost as enjoyable as lying naked on a bear skin rug in front of a large fire; but not quite. Fondue, or as I affectionately refer to it ‘FUNdue’, is just as fun to eat as it is to cook. A chain of restaurants called “The Melting Pot” make a business out of letting people cook their own food with glorified toothpicks. There is nothing especially gourmet about the ingredients, they come from a local Kroger’s grocery store.

What we like about food transcends our need for nourishment. My family and friends usually spend a majority of our time in the kitchen and sitting around the table, not because we are cooking or eating, but because this residential Mecca of mastication is comfortable and familiar to us.

One can’t say ‘no’ to a well grilled kabob, or a citrusy sweet piece of salmon. When we think of all of the words we use to describe something that tastes good, it puts our use of descriptive words for other things into perspective. Things that taste good are delectable, delicious, scrumptious, tasty, yummy, and mouth watering. Isn’t odd that we have all of the words for taste, but far fewer for love?

I blame clever marketing. How else could we be convinced that a sausage wrapped in a chocolate chip pancake, skewered on a stick and heated in a microwave could be an enjoyable breakfast item?! I am referring to the Jimmy Dean’s “Pancake and Sausage on a Stick.” With this edible innovation one does not need to concern themselves with proper nutrition or taste as this freezer item will soon be purchased chiefly by those born without adequate taste buds and placed on the rack next to an unhealthy supply of “death pockets” (formerly known as ‘Hot Pockets’).

So remember, feeling good is easy to do. Just fuel yourself with what you like, in healthy moderation of course. The crunchy goodness of a crisp, sweet apple goes miles to make you feel better than a few gallons of water after a hard night of “studying.”

I have a problem with the E-85 article [printed in the March 19 Torch] and with some of the points made. First off making ethanol from corn does not deplete the human corn supply, they use animal feed corn. After the sugar has been extracted from the corn it is re-fed so there is no waste. This process is the first generation; they have second and third generation refineries going up.

The second generation uses such things as switch grass and the per-acre yield is a lot more compared to corn. The third generation plants use leftover stocks and plants that normally would be left in the field to rot. These third generation plants will have the capacity to make enough ethanol to keep the price low and stable. The next problem is that ethanol is not the joke but flex fuel cars are, because they cannot take full advantage of ethanol. The main problem is the compression ratio of the engine; they have to keep it low enough as not to cause the gasoline to pre-ignite. When you do this you cannot use ethanol’s high octane rating to its fullest potential.

With a dedicated ethanol engine you can really raise the compression of the engine and make it more efficient. The thing is that with a vehicle designed for ethanol you can get more power, better gas mileage and have it run cleaner than a comparable gasoline powered car. To me Flex Fuel Vehicles are just a transition point until true ethanol dedicated vehicles become available and when that happens we will really see what ethanol is capable of.

Sorin Florian

The main point that I was trying to prove is that when using a Flex Fuel Vehicle (FFV) running E-85, the cost of a given trip is higher than if regular gasoline was used. Basic math, rather than advanced automotive knowledge, was the basis for this as most car owners out there have more of the former and less of the latter.

One reader was quick to write off the test drive in my dad’s FFV Ram saying that I “did not account for wind resistance with the increased payload of moving and driving conditions while making the trip.” Well, neither does Average Joe Driver. Most people use their car's built in computer to show them their fuel economy or they divide the miles they get off one tank of gas by the capacity of the tank to get a general idea. Ironically, the numbers I got (13/hwy with E-85 and 18/hwy with gasoline) with my unscientific test drive are the same numbers reported on fueleconomy.gov for the same vehicle.

Sorin makes some good points in his letter. FFVs are a transition to when vehicles that run solely on ethanol fuel are being produced for use in the United States. We aren’t quite there yet, but we are getting there. The article was a look into the current situation with E-85 and not what could happen five, 10 or 20 years down the road.

Though I never said that the human corn supply was in trouble, I did say that the increased demand for ethanol was driving up some prices at the grocery store. A Web site that sells E-85 conversion kits, mye85kit. com, reports that “corn prices, made higher lately in part due to ethanol demand, do have some impact on foods in which corn is an ingredient - namely meat, dairy, and poultry.” I saw milk as high as $4.00 a gallon over last summer.

For more information on E-85, visit e85fuel.com or talk with one of the knowledgeable professors from the Automotive Department in the College of Technology.