Sunflower Update

My sunflower, after about a month of steady growth, has reached its growing capacity within the plastic cup that was provided. I continue to water it and it appears to be doing great. I assume that it will be able to produce the flower once I am able to transport it home and replant it into the ground. 

This is what my sunflower will one day look like.

Standard Operating Procedures

Overview:  We will teach you how to leave Mercer University in your car
Equipment/ Supplies:
Equipment: The equipment you’ll need is a safe car with all of its parts working, especially a seatbelt.
Supplies:  You will need a set of keys to a car, preferably your own car, a comfortable outfit, and a pair of close-toed shoes.
Procedures:
Step One:  Find your car in the parking lot
Step Two:  Unlock your car and get into your driver’s seat
Step Three:  Close your door and put your seatbelt on
Step Four:  Stick your key into the ignition and turn your car on
Step Five:  Put your foot on the break and put your car into “reverse”
Step Six:  Check your rearview mirrors and slowly let your foot off the break in order to roll out of your spot
Step Seven:  Turn your wheel clockwise/ counterclockwise depending on where the exit is
Step Eight:  Once out of the parking spot fully, press the breaks and put the car into “drive”
Step Nine:  Turn your wheel the opposite way it was backing out, and slowly let off the breaks
Step Ten:  Once your wheel is straightened and you are headed towards the exit, let off the breaks fully and you can even press on the gas
Step Eleven:  Once at the exit of the parking lot, make sure you stop/ yield according to the signs provided
Step Twelve:  After following the signs, you are out of the parking lot and on the roads!  CONGRATS!
Quality Control:  Always make sure your car has gas and battery before you drive.  Make sure you remember where you parked so you’re never searching around for your car for too long.  Always take precautions when driving (i.e. checking surroundings and mirrors, following signs, having a plan as to where to go,…)

Animal Testing

Animal testing or experimentation is the use of non-human animals in experiments. These animals include vertebrates and invertebrates, from zebrafish to frogs to mice. The research is conducted inside universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, farms, defense establishments, and commercial facilities that provide animal-testing services to industry. Supporters of the use of animals in experiments, such as the British Royal Society, argue that virtually every medical achievement in the 20th century relied on the use of animals in some way, with the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences arguing that even sophisticated computers are unable to model interactions between molecules, cells, tissues, organs, organisms, and the environment, making animal research necessary in many areas. Animal rights, and some animal welfare, organizations—such as PETA and BUAV—question the legitimacy of it, arguing that it is cruel, poor scientific practice, poorly regulated, that medical progress is being held back by misleading animal models, that some of the tests are outdated, that it cannot reliably predict effects in humans, that the costs outweigh the benefits, or that animals have an intrinsic right not to be used for experimentation. An aspect of animal testing that many people can relate to is the testing of cosmetics. I believe that this type of testing is unethical and should be prohibited from practice.