Why I want to Be a Fire Officer free essay sample

It will be fourteen year in May since the first time I said I wanted to be a fire officer. I remember being at the academy with my classmates as we talked about what we would like to accomplish in the fire department. One thing I said that echoes in the back of my mind is that I wanted to make a difference in the fire department and the community by bringing new innovated ideas and not trying to fix anything that’s not broken. Therefore, I set a long-term goal for one day to become a fire Chief. After being assigned to Engine 2 out of the fire academy my goal was at a stand still. I wanted to learn, however, it was very little effort put in to teach new recruits at that time. Therefore, Instead of continuing my career there, I decided to move on and start over. As a result I put my transfer in for Engine 124 where they had a tradition of training firefighter into good leaders. We will write a custom essay sample on Why I want to Be a Fire Officer or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Once I transferred, I told myself when I gain enough experience and become more qualified to be an officer is when I would study and sit for the officer exam. During my time at Engine 2 I became more familiar with my job by working under and being mentored by my officer. I was taught how to be a good firefighter as well as being a good Acting Lieutenant. I also learned what it takes to be part of a team. As a result of being a new recruit and not getting adequate training, Additionally, I learned to be a good leader you must be a good teacher. Now that I have almost fourteen years in the Fire department, roused through the ranks with in my unit to a first acting man, and while doing that gaining experience that makes me more qualified to be an officer. And for that reason, I think it’s time for me to continue my journey to fulfill  my goal of becoming a chief in the Fire Department.

The Origin of the Modern Calendar in Ancient Egypt

The Origin of the Modern Calendar in Ancient Egypt The way in which we divide the day into hours and minutes, as well as the structure and length of the yearly calendar, owes much to pioneering developments in ancient Egypt. Since Egyptian life and agriculture depended upon the annual flooding of the Nile, it was important to determine when such floods would begin. The early Egyptians noted that the beginning of akhet (inundation) occurred at the heliacal rising of a star they called Serpet (Sirius). It has been calculated that this sidereal year was only 12 minutes longer than the mean tropical year which influenced the flooding, and this produced a difference of only 25 days over the whole of Ancient Egypts recorded history. 3 Egyptian Calendars Ancient Egypt was run according to three different calendars. The first was a lunar calendar based on 12 lunar months, each of which began on the first day in which the old moon crescent was no longer visible in the East at dawn. (This is most unusual since other civilizations of that era are known to have started months with the first setting of the new crescent!) A thirteenth month was intercalated to maintain a link to the heliacal rising of Serpet. This calendar was used for religious festivals. The second calendar, used for administrative purposes, was based on the observation that there was usually 365 days between the heliacal rising of Serpet. This civil calendar was split into twelve months of 30 days with an additional five epagomenal days attached at the end of the year. These additional five days were considered to be unlucky. Although there is no firm archaeological evidence, a detailed back calculation suggests that the Egyptian civil calendar dates back to circa 2900 BCE. This 365-day calendar is also known as a wandering calendar, from the Latin name annus vagus since it slowly gets out of synchronization with the solar year. (Other wandering calendars include the Islamic year.) A third calendar, which dates back at least to the 4th century BCE was used to match the lunar cycle to the civil year. It was based on a period of 25 civil years which was approximately equal 309 lunar months. The Leap Year in Ancient Egypt An attempt to reform the calendar to include a leap year was made at the beginning of the Ptolemaic dynasty (Decree of Canopus, 239 BCE), but the priesthood was too conservative to allow such a change. This pre-dates the Julian reform of 46 BCE which Julius Caesar introduced on the advice of the Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenese. Reform did, however, come after the defeat of Cleopatra and Anthony by the Roman General (and soon to be Emperor) Augustus in 31 BCE. In the following year, the Roman senate decreed that the Egyptian calendar should include a leap year, although the actual change to the calendar didnt occur until 23 BCE. Months, Weeks, and Decades The months of the Egyptian civil calendar were further divided into three sections called decades, each of 10 days. The Egyptians noted that the heliacal rising of certain stars, such as Sirius and Orion, matched the first day of the 36 successive decades and called these stars decans. During any one night, a sequence of 12 decans would be seen to rise and was used to count the hours. (This division of the night sky, later adjusted to account for the epagomenal days, had close parallels to the Babylonian zodiac. The signs of the zodiac each accounting for three of the decans. This astrological device was exported to India and then to Medieval Europe via Islam.) Egyptian Clock Time Early man divided the day into temporal hours whose length depended upon the time of year. A summer hour, with the longer period of daylight, would be longer than that of a winter day. It was the Egyptians who first divided the day (and night) into 24 temporal hours. The Egyptians measured time during the day using shadow clocks, precursors to the more recognizable sun dials seen today. Records suggest that early shadow clocks were based on the shadow from a bar crossing four marks, representing hourly periods starting two hours into the day. At midday, when the sun was at its highest, the shadow clock would be reversed and hours counted down to dusk. An improved version using a rod (or gnomon) and which indicates the time according to the length and position of the shadow has survived from the second millennia BCE. Problems with observing the sun and stars may have been the reason the Egyptians invented the water clock, or clepsydra (meaning water thief in Greek). The earliest remaining example survives from the Temple of Karnak is dated to the 15th century BCE. Water drips through a small hole in one container to a lower one. Marks on either container can be used to give a record of hours passed. Some Egyptian clepsydras have several sets of marks to be used at different times of the year, to maintain consistency with the seasonal temporal hours. The design of the clepsydra was later adapted and improved by the Greeks. The Influence of Astronomy on Minutes and Hours As a result of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, a great wealth of knowledge of astronomy was exported from Babylon into India, Persia, the Mediterranean, and Egypt. The great city of Alexandria with its impressive Library, both founded by the Greek-Macedonian family of Ptolemy, served as an academic center. Temporal hours were of little use to astronomers, and around 127 CE Hipparchus of Nicea, working in the great city of Alexandria, proposed dividing the day into 24 equinoctial hours. These equinoctial hours, so called because they are based on the equal length of day and night at the equinox, split the day into equal periods. (Despite his conceptual advance, ordinary people continued to use temporal hours for well over a thousand years: the conversion to equinoctial hours in Europe was made when mechanical, weight driven clocks were developed in the 14th century.) The division of time was further refined by another Alexandrian based philosopher, Claudius Ptolemeus, who divided the equinoctial hour into 60 minutes, inspired by the scale of measurement used in ancient Babylon. Claudius Ptolemaeus also compiled a great catalog of over one thousand stars, in 48 constellations and recorded his concept that the universe revolved around the Earth. Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, it was translated into Arabic (in 827 CE) and later into Latin (in the 12th century CE). These star tables provided the astronomical data used by Gregory XIII for his reform of the Julian calendar in 1582. Sources Richards, EG. Mapping Time: The Calendar and its History. Oxford University Press, 1998.General History of Africa II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa. James Curry Ltd., University of California Press, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 1990.

Download music should or shouldn't Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Download music should or shouldn't - Essay Example This in-turn gives an alarming notice to the music industry, since the government's plan of busting illegal down loaders’ can seriously harm the industry. Even the stars have different views about illegal downloading. Lily Allen and James Blunt are supporting the bust out of the illegal music downloads, on the other hand, the pop star Shakira believes that illegal downloading or file sharing actually takes her closer to her fans (Shields). WHY IS ILLEGAL DOWNLOAD OF MUSIC ETHICALLLY NOT RIGHT There are laws in every country to protect individuals from all professions. It is their right of course. Similarly, there are defined laws for protecting people in the music industry. Illegal music downloads have not only affected the stars themselves but also retail owners all over the world because they have lost some serious business. This, in turn, means that just because individuals are downloading music illegally a number of people might be getting unemployed in this time of econom ic crisis. In other words, every instance a song is downloaded illegally; an individual snatches something from another individual somewhere around the world for themselves. If anyone wants to download music, he should do it legally. There are multiple sources available to download legal music. There are cheap options available, as well. There are a certain programs that have been declared as legal as mentioned earlier. Now these are all legal because licensing agreements have been signed. Flouting copyright law is a serious offense (Downloading Music). PROs AND CONs OF DOWNLOADING MUSIC Pros Downloading music can get to the masses in minutes, which is not only handy and easily accessible to them, but also a potent treat for the... This "Download music should or shouldn't" essay outlines why it is not an easy issue. On one hand, the music download is facilitating the consumers and increasing its demand but, on the other hand, it’s not only reducing the sales figures of the music industry but also making it an inexpensive and common commodity. Pros †¢ Downloading music can get to the masses in minutes, which is not only handy and easily accessible to them, but also a potent treat for the music fans all over the world since they can get their hands on the music almost instantly. †¢ Downloading music is free. This saves the music fans a handsome amount of money since the legal copies cost a little too much for a normal man. †¢ The individuals who support music downloads say that it not only helps increase the popularity of the artist/singer, but it has also contributed a substantial chunk in the current success of the music industry worldwide. Cons †¢ It is rightly said that things that we get easily without putting in an extra effort are not that precious to any individual as would be a product which requires an extra effort from the consumer. †¢ The music downloads lead to a fall in sales of the retailers of music stores, in turn of the music companies and ultimately the stars themselves too. This can have a disturbing effect on the music industry because of the loss of funds. †¢ At times, downloading music is not even totally free. Downloading from websites may charge a subscription fee which might be equal to purchasing an actual copy (Oak).