
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
#9 Response to plagiarism article
In the article we read about plagiarism, it becomes clear that the issue of plagiarism, is not exactly set in stone. What is acceptable, is not clear as well as Turnitin.com's readings of plagiarism. The girl did not intentionally pull word for word out of her sources and into her paper. The main issue was that her work was not sited correctly but she plagiarized a 9 page paper over 53%. That's over four pages of quoting directly from the source. They were not her words, they were the sources. Plus she did not cite the sites in both the work cited as well as the citations throughout the paragraph. She only cited the sources in the work cited. Even if she did summarize from a source though, she must still cite that it was someone else's idea.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Blog #8: Thanksgiving Weekend
During the Thanksgiving weekend, I had a nice Thanksgiving dinner at my Aunt's house in western Jersey. We had a wonderful time, with all the food in the world. My favorite was the pumpkin pie however, that my sister baked. Then friday, my mother always feels that she needs to repeat a holiday if it is not hosted at our house, so she cooked a whole new Thanksgiving feast which was delicious, friday night. It was just my mother, father, sister's and their boyfriends, so it was a nice little get together. Saturday was just a fun day and Sunday my baby cousins visited, which was very fun.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Blog #7- News Log: How Cirque du Soleil re-invented the Big-Top Show

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/17/142466017/cirque-du-soleil-reinvents-the-big-top-show
Blog #6- Animal
If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
If I could be any animal, I would probably be a dog because I would be able to comfort a loving family and rest whenever I wanted. I could run and play as well as lay by the families feet while they watch a movie. Dogs are very loyal and family oriented and that's why I would like to be one because you will always be with someone and never be alone.
If I could be any animal, I would probably be a dog because I would be able to comfort a loving family and rest whenever I wanted. I could run and play as well as lay by the families feet while they watch a movie. Dogs are very loyal and family oriented and that's why I would like to be one because you will always be with someone and never be alone.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Blog #5- The best thing about this week was...
When at work, a patient complimented me on how I handle situations and treat him as a patient. He said I was very thorough, attentive, and kind and said "for being a high school student, I respect you very much." That was an extremely pleasant comment and really brightened my day because it almost gives me a sense of hope for my future.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Blog #4- Things that bug me
1.) Those who ask too many questions
2.) Those who smell unpleasant
3.) Those who do not give a thanking gesture after you let them go at an intersection
4.) Excessive amounts of homework
5.) Those who stop walking when you are directly behind them
2.) Those who smell unpleasant
3.) Those who do not give a thanking gesture after you let them go at an intersection
4.) Excessive amounts of homework
5.) Those who stop walking when you are directly behind them
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Blog #3- Courage
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying 'I will try again tomorrow'." -Mary Anne Radmacher
The quote reminds me of when I had to gather the courage before going into surgery unexpectedly. It was a Tuesday afternoon, and I began to feel very ill, my stomach was causing me excruciating pain, but I proceeded through the rest of the school day. After school comes around and I'm doubled over with pain. I had never felt anything like it before. It was so unbearable that I was at the point of tears. Normally, I'd go straight to play rehearsal, but today, I needed to go home right away. I called my mom and she picked me up. She took one look at me and knew I wasn't well. I knew myself, that this was nothing I've experienced before. I had a nasty feeling of what my problem was, appendicitis. It's quite common actually, but it is still frightening. My mom took me straight to the doctor and before I knew it, I was in the Valley Hospital hooked up to IVs. Nurses were ordering an ultra sound already and the attending surgeon was examining my abdomen. He told me it was most likely appendicitis so I hit that diagnosis on the nose. I became extremely frightened at that moment when they told me I needed to have surgery to remove the appendix ASAP. Not even four hours ago I was in school! It all happened so quickly that I had no time to mentally prepare myself for going into surgery. I had forgotten what it felt like to undergo anesthesia, I had forgotten how frightening the whole process was. What if they mess something up? What if I never wake up and never get to see my family again? I was extremely tempted to just decline the surgery even though it was absolutely necessary to receive. I had to muster up a lot of courage to say "Bye, see you when I wake up. I love you guys," to my family. It was a routine surgery but I was still extremely scared. I needed that roar of courage in order to go through with it. And once that courage comes to you, you realize you are able to accomplish things you never thought possible or that seemed too outrageous to experience. But I did it and everything went smoothly. I woke up to see my family standing right at the end of my bed. Sometimes you need that boost of courage to accomplish what is unerring.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Blog #2: My Scarlet Letter
The letter that I would be wearing, would be an L. This "L" represents lackadaisical because I tend to want to sit back and enjoy life but in life, you need to work in order to reach that enjoyment sometimes but I find myself shying away from work that does not interest me or have any significance to me. Such as my math homework, I always do it but if I am having trouble, I really have to bring myself to go in for extra help because it is not something that appeals to me nor will I need a majority of it later in life. Because of these factors, it is hard for me to bring myself to complete certain tasks that I know will not be of use later on in life.
However there are times where I'm just in a lazy mood and do not want to do any form of work and just relax, give myself a break, and do what I want to do. There is rarely ever a time when I can do that though, because work never stops; something always needs to get done or something could always be improved.
However there are times where I'm just in a lazy mood and do not want to do any form of work and just relax, give myself a break, and do what I want to do. There is rarely ever a time when I can do that though, because work never stops; something always needs to get done or something could always be improved.
Monday, November 14, 2011
MP 2 Blog #1: How are love and hate alike?
Hate and love are both two very strong emotions. They can be similar in the sense that when you love something, you are in tune with it, you want to be involved in it in a strong way. When you hate something, you do not want to be a part of whatever it may be and you do not care for it in a strong way. They are both used to connect to certain ideas/things but yet can have polar connotations.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
#10: News Log- Drug Terms Reduce, Freeing Prisoners
Summary- A new law has been passed by Congress called the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which will reduce sentencing disparity to 18 to 1. This act was passed due to the numerous controversies associated with the thousands of nonviolent criminals who ended up with sentences that were "extreme" and the disparity was viewed as racially tinged as well. When the first drug law was passed, back in 1980, cocaine use and crimes associated with the drug were through the roof. This is apparently due to the turf wars once the drug first hit the streets. Now, over 12,000 inmates will have their sentences cut from 13 years, to an average of 3 years. The main objective of this law is to save money; Michael Nachmanoff states the new rule "will save tens of millions of dollars, and hopefully allow the bureau of prisons to use those beds to house more dangerous people."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/us/terms-for-crack-cocaine-reduced-freeing-prisoners.html?_r=1&ref=us
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
#9: Response to News Logs
During our discussion, the movie, A Beautiful Life, was brought up after a news log about the new movie 50/50 was shared. The movie was about a boy who had cancer and his friend was helping him through the grueling process. However, the movie had a positive, optimistic attitude, which is unusual for a movie about a cancer infected teenage boy. The class had mentioned how it was a relief because the normal view taken upon movies where a person is infected with cancer, is severely depressing. Which is why the movie A Beautiful Life was mentioned. I had never seen the movie, but the title did sound familiar to me. From what I gathered from the conversation, the film portrays an Italian family living through the holocaust and typically takes on a depressing mood. However, I heard that it does have light moments mixed into the drama. After this discussion, I am highly interested in watching this film because it seems very intriguing and from what I gathered, it is not your typical holocaust story (the same old depressing story), it does show glimpses of hope and the end is supposedly very touching. Therefore A Beautiful Life, is the film i shall watch when the weekend comes around!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
#8 News Log: Keeping Surgical Infections at Bay With a Cocoon of Air
Summary: Nimbic Systems, Inc. has created a new surgical instrument, recently FDA approved, that is claimed to reduce the percentage of pathogens entering an incision during surgery, called Air Barrier System(ABS). This new technology will certainly aid in decreasing post surgical infections and complications such as MRSA, Septicemia, Atelectasis, and Cellulitis. The recent, cutting-edge medical device is composed of a reusable blower unit that feeds filtered air into a disposable nozzle. The nozzle is placed adjacent to the incision allowing a constant flow of purified air onto the incision site, which prevents any microbes in the O.R from entering the incision. ABS is a positive aspect for patients in several ways: it can ultimately protect them from any pathogens and infections that can be obtained and also acts as a money saver as well because a severe staph infection acquired by the patient can send medical bills into the six figures. The first surgery ABS was used on was a hip replacement, in which the wound is left to open air for an extended period of time, making the patient very susceptible to infection. The device had decreased the amount of microbes within the incision site by more than 84 percent. Now, ABS will be tested on patients in need of femoral or spinal surgeries (more invasive surgeries) to analyze the changes that ABS can make to create a safer surgical process for the patient.
My Opinion?: ABS is an amazing surgical instrument; technology has now advanced to the point where surgeries are becoming even safer to undergo. Just ten years ago, certain surgeries were claimed to have high infection risk factors, but now those surgeries can be performed with confidence, knowing that ABS will help decrease the risk of attaining severe bacterial infections. Not only will this device bring comfort and trust to the surgical process but it can also reduce the price of surgeries because during post-op, antibiotics are always bestowed to the patients "just in case" of infection. But pumping unnecessary antibiotics into the body is not exactly the healthiest process and can often even present side effects to the patient or a reaction. Therefore, if ABS reduces the amount of microbes in the incision site by over 84 percent, then post-op antibiotics would not need to be administered as often, depending on how invasive the surgery is. If the patient does not receive antibiotics, then the cost of medical bills will be slightly lower plus the patient will not become symptomatic to the antibiotics, decreasing the duration of recovery time. ABS will certainly make the patient's life, surgical staff's life, and even the patient's family's life significantly more at peace and ease. This device just goes to show what advances are being made within medicine and what is yet to come that will bring reassurance to patients in the future. 
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
#7 News Log: Greece's Big Debt Drama Is a Muse for Its Artists
My Opinion?- I believe that the artists are bringing optimism to the people and themselves about their countries current state. However, I scanned through a few other works of Bleeps.gr's and found his art a bit controversial because he is a protester and a bit of a rioter himself. Being Greek, it is extremely disheartening and embarrassing that Greece has gotten to where it is today: People rioting in the streets, vandalization, loitering, and bankruptcy. This is not how the situation should be dealt with. A bright side to the artwork however, may enlighten the citizens of Greece and calm them a bit because the art expresses the frustration and apprehension that many people are feeling. This hopefully will calm the riots and poor behave of the people. I do not believe the increase in artistic activity will cure Greece of its debt drama and economic issues, but it will hopefully entice the citizens of Greece to relax and push through these hard times in an orderly, civilized manner. No one wants Greece to become that "economic model."
Thursday, October 13, 2011
#6 News Log: From Needle Stick to Cure for Hepatitis
Summary- If you were a doctor, what would you fear most? Losing a patient? Making a mistake risking malpractice rates to sky rocket? Or being pricked by an infected needle at work? Well, for many doctors it is becoming infected from a needle puncture on accident. Many have witnessed this take place and wonder what would happen if they were the one's in the situation. Everyday, doctors witness patients experiencing the excruciating process of marching toward death with hepatitis C and AIDS. Most lose hope and cannot resume habitual tasks done everyday of their lives for either fear of the past or complete loss of faith and credence. However, this was not the case for Dr. Douglas Dieterich. Dieterich was accidentally stuck by a needle contaminated by hepatitis C while working at a hospital as a third-year medical student. From that point on, Dr. Dieterich experienced enervating bouts of jaundice, fevers, and exhaustion. But Dr. Dieterich pushed through this disease and continued practicing medicine, soon becoming a national expert in hepatitis C. He has generated numerous clinical trials and drugs to counter the disease in order to better understand the virus. Now, he is cured of hepatitis C, thanks to a drug coalition he was involved in studying.
Dr. Dieterich is currently a professor at Mount Sinai Medical Center. "In the dark days of 1980s, I remember being really sick and thinking, 'Damn it. I hope I can help someone else before this virus gets me.' Now it looks like I can. I think it's the beginning of the end of hepatitis C, and that is one of the happiest statements I can make." In the end, thanks to Dr. Dieterich, we now have the tools to "start kicking some viral butt!"
My response?- After reading this article for the first time, i just thought to myself, this man never quit. He never lost faith even when life seemed to be fading away. He never showed signs of weakness, even when his disease was at its peak. And because of that determination and perseverance, Dr. Dieterich was able to muster up a cure for millions, including himself, infected with hepatitis C. Imagine your doctor informing you that you are infected with a life threatening disease that there is no cure for. Then someone, infected just like you, finds the cure because they were determined to save you first, even before themselves. Dr. Dieterich strongly emphasized the importance of finding this cure or at least an affective treatment before he himself, passed. What really became an eye-opener for me was that Dr. Dieterich had shown this perseverance in his past. He dreamed of always becoming a doctor, but was not accepted to medical school the first time around. In the end, he did not give up and luckily was accepted. Had he not been, this cure might not have come out for another several years. I highly admire Dr. Dieterich because I have always dreamed of becoming a doctor but I admit, school is not a breeze for me. I have to work very hard and sometimes the results do not reflect the effort exerted into what I do. But becoming a doctor is a dream I am extremely passionate about and would feel empty without at least attempting to give it a shot. The fact that Dr. Dieterich was not accepted to med school his first time around, made me think, well at least I have a second shot if plans go awry. As long as I have the determination and perseverance that Dr. Dieterich possessed, why can't I accomplish becoming a doctor? And look how he's contributed.
Now discussing the actual cure, I think Dr. Dieterich has shed light upon those infected with hepatitis C. Yes, it is a debilitating disease, and yes many treatments will not be affective. But we have the tools now; the tools that will cure a disease once labeled incurable. With this, doctors and researchers can unlock new treatments and cures for possibly the other forms of hepatitis. All in all, Dr. Dieterich's resiliency, miracle, and commitment has shed hope on a promising future for modern medicine.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/from-needle-stick-to-cure-for-hepatitis/?ref=health
Dr. Dieterich is currently a professor at Mount Sinai Medical Center. "In the dark days of 1980s, I remember being really sick and thinking, 'Damn it. I hope I can help someone else before this virus gets me.' Now it looks like I can. I think it's the beginning of the end of hepatitis C, and that is one of the happiest statements I can make." In the end, thanks to Dr. Dieterich, we now have the tools to "start kicking some viral butt!"
My response?- After reading this article for the first time, i just thought to myself, this man never quit. He never lost faith even when life seemed to be fading away. He never showed signs of weakness, even when his disease was at its peak. And because of that determination and perseverance, Dr. Dieterich was able to muster up a cure for millions, including himself, infected with hepatitis C. Imagine your doctor informing you that you are infected with a life threatening disease that there is no cure for. Then someone, infected just like you, finds the cure because they were determined to save you first, even before themselves. Dr. Dieterich strongly emphasized the importance of finding this cure or at least an affective treatment before he himself, passed. What really became an eye-opener for me was that Dr. Dieterich had shown this perseverance in his past. He dreamed of always becoming a doctor, but was not accepted to medical school the first time around. In the end, he did not give up and luckily was accepted. Had he not been, this cure might not have come out for another several years. I highly admire Dr. Dieterich because I have always dreamed of becoming a doctor but I admit, school is not a breeze for me. I have to work very hard and sometimes the results do not reflect the effort exerted into what I do. But becoming a doctor is a dream I am extremely passionate about and would feel empty without at least attempting to give it a shot. The fact that Dr. Dieterich was not accepted to med school his first time around, made me think, well at least I have a second shot if plans go awry. As long as I have the determination and perseverance that Dr. Dieterich possessed, why can't I accomplish becoming a doctor? And look how he's contributed.
Now discussing the actual cure, I think Dr. Dieterich has shed light upon those infected with hepatitis C. Yes, it is a debilitating disease, and yes many treatments will not be affective. But we have the tools now; the tools that will cure a disease once labeled incurable. With this, doctors and researchers can unlock new treatments and cures for possibly the other forms of hepatitis. All in all, Dr. Dieterich's resiliency, miracle, and commitment has shed hope on a promising future for modern medicine.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
#5 Technology
I honestly do not depend on technology too much but if there was one piece I'd have a difficult time without would be my cellphone because it is my main source of communication. If I need to get in touch with someone whether for an important reason or just to say hi, I need my cellphone. Especially if it is an emergency because I have been in an emergency situation and needed to get in touch with my parents but had no means of doing so, creating many problems.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
#4 Self Reliance
I believe self reliance is the act of relying on yourself to do what is best for yourself and others. Almost as if you have confidence or trust in yourself to be able to decipher what will be most beneficial to you in life. If you do not have self reliance, then it is most likely that you will not make the correct decisions or even just work yourself to the best of your abilities.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Number 3, Quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne
"Words -- so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them."
I believe this quote means that words, as innocent as they may look, are powerful tools and express the feelings or emotions of a person so definitively if, however, they know how to utilize them properly. Words speak loudly and can sometimes express more than actions.
I believe this quote means that words, as innocent as they may look, are powerful tools and express the feelings or emotions of a person so definitively if, however, they know how to utilize them properly. Words speak loudly and can sometimes express more than actions.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Memoir Title
The title of my autobiography/ memoir would be Nicole Panagakos: A string of musical moments. I believe this title would be appropriate because many of the most significant moments in my life I relate to music with. I always hear or see music in some way during my life or use certain moments to influence how I play piano and color each piece of music.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
My Favorite Things
1.) When my sister's and I all go to the beach
2.) My dad's humor
3.) My mom's cooking
4.) My dog's big brown eyes when he lays on my lap
5.) Going for walks with my friends
6.) Playing the piano
7.) Watching movies
8.) Christmas time!!
9.) Going to work and helping people
10.) Playing volleyball for fun with my sister
2.) My dad's humor
3.) My mom's cooking
4.) My dog's big brown eyes when he lays on my lap
5.) Going for walks with my friends
6.) Playing the piano
7.) Watching movies
8.) Christmas time!!
9.) Going to work and helping people
10.) Playing volleyball for fun with my sister
Monday, September 12, 2011
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