S.T.E.M. is What's Up!

With the invasion of technology we are experiencing today, there is a need for the brains behind the operations. This means jobs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, AKA S.T.E.M. STEM jobs are the fastest growing jobs in America right now, however there are a few problems. Number one, it is no surprise that America is not the greatest at sciences and math. And if you weren't aware, the US didn't make the top 20 internationally for science, math, and reading scores. This means that international students are getting jobs in the S.T.E.M. field over American students.

Here in Maryland, we have a unique problem in that we have way too many S.T.E.M. jobs and not enough workers! There are over 220,000 jobs right now in these fields with only 40% of them being occupied by graduating S.T.E.M. students. In 2008, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley set a goal ending next year to increase the number of graduating S.T.E.M students in the University System of Maryland by 40%. With a near 40% increase from 2006-2013 in the number of grads in this booming field, the initiative is working.

Projected job increases in the STEM field

Photo: Department of Education

The problem is that we have many jobs in this field, but by the time students get to college they have already forgotten about Math and Science majors and have looked on to other major opportunities. The basis of the S.T.E.M. program is to provide hands-on learning for younger students in Middle and High Schools, to get them more familiar and engaged with these subjects before they get to college. Wicomico County has "STEM Saturdays" for these younger students, along with Summer programs as well. Once students get to SU, the goal is to keep them in their major. Salisbury University's Kristen Paul says this is the biggest issue in the S.T.E.M. program.
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With a hefty grant from the National Science Foundation, the city of Salisbury along with Wicomico County has been able to put on these programs for younger students to grasp math and science concepts at a younger age. The grant however ends in 2015, but Paul says that the University will seek funding for their programs to keep them going.

Catching the Workout Spirit

Salisbury University recently added Focus T25 to its list of group fitness programs. T25 is the newest workout video by Shaun T, creator of the popular workout program Insanity. While traditional Zumba and yoga classes offered at the university are good for getting a better body, T25 is two levels ahead. Forum users who have attempted the high-intensity program said they lost up to 300 calories per workout. And in case you couldn't figure it out, each workout is only 25 minutes long. That means you start, and you're done in no time. Forget 8 Minute Abs, this exercise is the real deal.

T25 is the newest workout from Insanity's Shaun T

Photo: Team Beach Body

The calories aren't only burning on the SU campus, but throughout the shore. 2014 is the first year of business for Planet Fitness, which is located off of West College Avenue in Salisbury, just east of the college. While the University currently has two full fitness centers (Maggs Gym, and University Fitness Club), the space which formally housed a Super Fresh  grocery store is attracting many locals looking to get in shape.

Planet Fitness offers plenty to do to get into awesome shape!

Photo: Planet Fitness

Run or Dye, "the world's most colorful 5k" is coming to Salisbury in May. At 3.1 miles, the 5k will be no easy task for your average couch potato. But, just drive around the area and you'll see many people training for the event. Starting at the Demarva Shorebirds' Perdue Stadium, the event on May 10th of this year will be an exciting event that will be inviting to many shore residents.

The marathon course starting at Perdue Stadium
Photo: Viral Events

Lets not forget that Salisbury is also home to the annual cycling marathon, Sea Gull Century. A number of other gyms and fitness clubs are also located in the area. With all of the interest in fitness blowing over Delmarva, there's no doubt that Ocean City will be full of good looking guys and gals this summer.

Local Eateries Feeding Delmarva

        Sunday March 30 was the last day of operations for the Salisbury, MD branch of Famous Dave's BBQ, that had been at the same location in the Salisbury Centre Mall parking lot for 6 years. In the same block adjacent to the mall, there are also Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Red Lobster locations. Though Dave's has been the only one of the four to shut down, recent rumors from Darden Restaurants, who owns chains such as Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Red Lobster, point to a possible closure of all 3 of the chains that are left standing off of route 13 and Centre Rd.

Famous Dave's of Salisbury shut down in late March of 2014

Photo: sbynews.BlogSpot.com

 

        While big chains on the Shore are being closed down or threatened of the same fate, numerous local competitors are giving Delmarva residents the food they want to spend money on. All one needs to do is look up restaurants in Salisbury on the popular food rating site Yelp and its apparent that the little guys are taking over. While the large chain restaurants aren't doing too hot, local eateries are popping up all over town. In the last few years, places like The Irish Penny, Evolution Craft Brewery, Back Street Bar & Grill, Sobo's, and Specific Gravity have been built and flourishing, giving Salisbury and Eastern Shore residents new dining options. Stay tuned to hear what Salisbury residents are saying about their new weekend hangouts.

*McDonalds in the Centre at Salisbury Mall, and Quizno's down the street from Salisbury University have also recently closed. However, these are not traditional casual dining restaurants, so they were not included in the story.

iPhone App to Repair Vision in Delmarva?

Take away the 8,000+ students who attend Salisbury University and who do you have left in the Eastern Shore town with a population of just over 30,000 people? According to the 2010 Census, the median age of a Salisbury, MD resident is 28.1 years old. However, the Census Bureau states that college students are to be included in the statistics of where they attend school, not where their parents live. So, take away the University and the majority of students ages 18-22 who skew Salisbury's demographic data, and you get a town which consists of many older residents. 

Next question: What do many older folks have in common? Besides a higher number of years lived on this Earth, people in their early to mid 40's start to lose their near-sight abilities. In fact, as of 2008, over 12 million Americans have hyperopia, also known as farsightedness. Being farsighted can affect many daily activities, including reading abilities. Normal fixes for hyperopia include reading glasses, contact lenses, and laser treatment. UNTIL NOW. 

Recently released by Apple's App Store, GlassesOff is an application that claims users will be able to see better by participating in 12-15 minute exercises that stimulate the visual cortex of the brain. While hyperopia is caused by the lack of flexibility in a human's eye lens as we age, therefore making changes in visual focus a challenge, visual perception is also controlled by the brain. 

A sample training exercise where users select which way the 'E' is facing. 

Image: GlassesOff Inc.

According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 91% of American adults own cell phones, while over 55% of them use smartphone technology (and this number is increasing daily). This means that over 155 million Americans have access to the GlassesOff App from their phone, including adults in the Delmarva area. Even better news for the application? It also works on a regular, internet accessible computer also, which 98% of all Americans have access to.

But the big question, does it really work?
A study by experts in the vision field say that it does. The concept is called Perceptual Learning, which is basically when you train your brain. The study shows that Perceptual Learning does indeed help older and younger (those with near-sight vision issues) people read better. After a series of exercises over only two days, the patients were able to see font almost half the size of the smallest font they could read clearly before the experiment. The researchers tested the patients 3 months after the two day exercise and found that their vision hadn't declined. All this from playing games on an iPhone. Pretty cool, eh?

For a limited time, the app will cost $9.99, but will jump to $59.99 for extended usage. However, with technology changing rapidly every single day, I wouldn't be surprised if insurance companies started covering application charges, such as they do with Americans who need other traditional vision correction devices, such as glasses or contacts. In an older town like Salisbury, MD with a growing institutional establishment of higher learning (aka Salisbury University), it wouldn't be surprising if many of the vision correction centers in the area add this cutting edge technology to their vision alternatives. In upcoming interviews with some local vision centers, I will discuss the option with doctors and see what they think of this new technology and how it will directly affect the Delmarva area.