Review of Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age by Lucas Weidner

Nikola Tesla was an eccentric character to say the least. And, in my opinion, no book has been able to capture that aspect and provide an accurate description of Tesla, his genius and his inventions. Many biographies are plagued with admiration, which in it of itself isn’t bad, but it can often lead to inaccurate descriptions of the man. If you want a completely comprehensive, neutral view of Tesla, his childhood, early inventions to his very last days, this is a book for you. Throughout the book, it tells of Tesla’s early successes, his struggles, his dreams, and his eventual fall from fame. While it is an informationally exhaustive read, you will be sure to learn every fact about Tesla, no matter how obscure. W. Bernard Carlson wrote this book exceptionally well, with every little detail of Tesla contained in this 500 page volume. Complete with footnotes, images and in-depth segments explaining how the Wizard’s (A nickname Tesla was given by the press) inventions actually worked. All I can say is that this is a phenomenal and comprehensive work; I recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Defy Fear by Lucas Weidner

Fear is a wall that holds back us all.

Fear is a room, dark and small.

Fear is a lock with seemingly no key,

Smothering success for you and me.

If we listened to fear then what would we be?

How could have we progressed to our current society?

The answer is simple, needless to say,

We wouldn’t be where we are here today.

It’s because of those who step up to fear,

Who challenge it, overcome it, but they need no spear.

All they needed is confidence, bravery and the willingness to try.

They are the ones who don’t watch the days fly by.

They are the people that do things today,

That aren’t afraid of fear and tell it to get out of the way.

That is why we have progressed,

And will it be you who progresses us next?

Worth the Climb by Lucas Weidner

Leaving you shivering in the dark,

A mountain of obstacles looming and stark.

A seemingly impossible and endless climb,

One that would take all too much too much time.

If only you could see the other side,

Where golden light and success reside,

If only you could see it was worth the climb,

But that’s just why you have to try.

Letter To The Editor by Lucas Weidner

Dear Editor,

I think it would be very much appreciated by not only the community- but also by the environment- if nature was much more ubiquitous in the city. While I certainly understand the need for space in order to create housing, commercial and public spaces, e.g. townhomes, shops and restaurants, parking lots, etc, but I also believe nature should be a priority and not an afterthought.

What I am suggesting is that more space be allocated to parks around the town, places where aspects of nature such as trees and assortments of hedges, shrubs, plants and bushes can thrive. Also, planting plants and trees in existing areas, such as parks, by sidewalks, open spots on median strips and places on mainstreet would also be a good idea. All of those areas would benefit greatly from the addition of nature, especially trees. Plants such as oaks, pine trees, maples, (really all medium to large trees) require little-to-no maintenance once they mature, and they can live a long life, even in tough Minnesotan conditions and, of course, offer many benefits.

Maybe you are looking for smaller trees that take up less space, and there are a ton of good options in that category as well. Smaller birch are a good choice, along with smaller varieties of Pagoda dogwood, and some types of Serviceberry. There are many more aesthetically pleasing, hardy plants suitable for Minnesota. Bushes and shrubs would also add more wildlife into the mix and benefit the city.

While the benefits may not seem blatantly obvious currently, I can assure you that there are a plethora benefits that would come up as a consequence of doing something like this. They range from overall citizen happiness, (something critical to any city), to environmental (another critical thing), and may also make the city a more attractive place to move to, which, in an indirect way, help the city’s economy.

First and foremost, let’s talk about environmental benefits. As someone who is interested in keeping up and preserving the environment, this would be one of the most important benefits that planting more trees, shrubs, and plants in general would have.

For one, it would provide more homes for creatures such as birds, who could use the trees as foundations for their nests and use the extra material from plants to create their homes. It would also provide shelter to other animals as well. I also understand that while the newly planted plants would provide food for some animals, you would no doubt want to protect the plants from being eaten by them. However, simple measures could ward off animals and keep the plants healthy.

The soil would also benefit from the planting of new specimens, especially trees. For one, the soil would be held more firm because the roots of the plants. This keeps areas (especially steep, rocky areas like ledges and hills) protected from small mudslide events when rain or melting of snow may trigger them. Also, this would introduce more nutrients and minerals into the soil, also helping the soil in that regard.

And finally, the air and air quality. Trees filter out pollutants and odors such as carbon dioxide, dust, ash, pollen and smoke, therefore improving public health and decreasing unwanted pollutants in the air. While it may seem that planting a few trees would do an infinitesimal amount to help clean the air, just a few can actually help. A single, mature tree absorbs 48 lbs of carbon dioxide a year.¹ However, if you plant multiple, say an acre, (it doesn’t matter if they are all clumped together or if they are spread apart) then you can expect the acre of trees to absorb twice the CO2 produced by the average car’s annual mileage.¹ And that still may sound small, but think about it long term, not to mention that there could be over an acre planted, bringing that total up. This could be a very big and important improvement for the city.

There are also some other benefits of trees, environmentally that is. Trees also supply oxygen, something that is arguably just as important as catching and trapping pollutants. Just two mature trees do a great deal, providing enough oxygen for the average person to run off of for a year.¹ They also cool the environment by means of shade and by releasing water into their surroundings. Countless other benefits for the environment would entail planting new trees and plants, much too many to ever count.

Not only would the planting be good for the environment, it would also look good. Strategically placed trees and plants around parks, streets and sidewalks could elegantly take up space and  create an aesthetically pleasing space. Like I said earlier, small trees and shrubs could work well on median strips, downtown areas and tight spaces. Larger trees could fill up spaces on walking trails, parks and could provide shade for benches and tables. The presence of nature such as trees could greatly increase the city’s aesthetic.

Not to be forgotten, citizen happiness would also improve due to nature. Multiple studies agree that nature can provide stress relief, increase social interaction and encourage physical exercise among other things.² Trees also do a good job at blocking out noise, another reason to plant trees near highways and busy roads.

I think a good idea for planting these trees and/or plants efficiently and at a low cost would be to get the community involved. I am sure that many other environmentally interested individuals would be more than happy to lend a hand in planting. The event could be organized on Earth Day for example, or really any day of the year.

Overall, I truly believe this would be a worthwhile investment for the city in every way, even if the reward is not instant and long term. With all that I have discussed, I hope more thought will be given to the environment and to planting more nature, in particular trees. The city would greatly benefit from this, environmentally, aesthetically, by means of citizen happiness and city appeal. In short, this would greatly benefit the city and its inhabitants.

Sincerely, Lucas Weidner

SOURCES:

1 https://www.americanforests.org/explore-forests/forest-facts/

2 http://time.com/4881665/green-spaces-nature-happiness/

Interview with Raghav Goel by Lucas Weidner

Today I sat down with Raghav to talk to him about his interests and to learn about his life- everything from his pet peeves to his favorite vacation spot to his hobbies. The following is the interview that took place:

Q: Out of every place you have been, if you could choose one place to go back to because of its natural beauty, which place would you go to?

A: I’d choose India, definitely.

Q: Is there a reason you choose India?
A: I chose India because because of the beautiful trees, rivers, nature, just nature in general.
Q: What is something you enjoy doing in your free time?
A: I don’t have much free time, but when I do video games are fun.
Q: What attracted you to video games?
A: I don’t know, they are just really fun.
Q: What genre of books entice you?
A: Fantasy is my favorite because nonfiction or informational books can be boring.
Q: Do you also enjoy writing in that genre?
A: Yes. I don’t write much, but when I do I like to write fantasy.
Q: If you found an alien from a distant world, what would you do?

A: I’d would keep it a secret because of a few reasons. First off, I’d want to keep it safe. If the world found out about this alien, scientists, governments and everyone else would want to see it. Also, I wouldn’t want the publicity.

Q: What are some of your biggest annoyances?

A: Lines, people who know everything… those are just a few.

Q: What do you want to go to college for?

A: I’d want to study science, specifically chemistry. It’s cool how we know what things are made up of.

Man Arrested for Using Fork to Eat Chicken at KFC by Lucas Weidner

At a KFC in Atlanta, Georgia a man by the name of Jeff Wing was arrested and put on trial for eating fried chicken with a fork this last Friday, after he refused to eat with his hands like a “normal” person. According to witness Jake Bloom, he was “seriously offending everyone” in the restaurant and he decided to “call an officer to stop this disgrace”.

As the manager of the KFC in question, Karie Brown, recalls “We had asked this man to stop multiple times, but he said it was too unsanitary to use his hands to devour his meal.” When asked what happened when the police got involved, she added “The officer entered the building and told the man he had to leave or he had to use his hands like a normal person. When he again refused, the officer then used pepper spray to temporarily debilitate and handcuff the individual and bring him to the squad car.” The man could be heard yelling as he was taken out of the building “I all I wanted to so was just wanted to eat fried chicken!”

Jeff Wing will be going on trial this next Wednesday, facing a $35,000 fine and possibly up to 5 years prison. When we caught up with him, he said “This is absolutely ridiculous to have everybody squawking around like this! All I wanted was some decent chicken, which I didn’t get, by the way.”