Well as most of you know the State Science Olympiad competition was Saturday, and as most of you know, we did really well, and will be going to the National competition once again which will be held back in Washington D.C. this year. Now most of you will hear this on many of the other blogs, but yes, this is our 13th year in a row winning state. Out of 25 events we competed in 20, and out of those 20 events that we competed in 11 medals were gold, two were silver, four were bronze, we placed fifth in two events, and sixth in one. So, overall it was enough to ensure us another first place victory. With the events of yesterday, I still don’t have a whole bunch to really talk about.
So at the Olympiad competition yesterday I competed in Scrambler, which is a small vehicle that is designed to go as fast as possible between 8 and 12 meters, and carry an egg, now you may think, so what? So what if it has to carry and egg? Here is the catch, there is a table at the end of the track, and you can’t hit that wall. If you break your egg, you’re done. So how does this little car get all of its energy? At the start line you put a .75 meter cube that holds a 2 kg mass, (It just so happens that ours is solid lead with a large spring attached to the front) this 2 kg mass comes down and hits this car which makes it speed down the track. Just to give you a small idea about this mass though, it comes in at about 4 times more massive (4 times heavier) than this little car. If you were to take the spring off of the mass and drop it from the .75 meters, and it hit the bone on the front of your leg, it could seriously bruise it, or break it, so imagine how hard this car is getting nailed when you initiate the run. (I competed on this event with Derek Mickinley, and we won the gold medal)
One of my other events was Rocks and Minerals, on which I competed with Nicole Ly. On this event we just pretty much identified different rock and mineral specimens and told facts and stats on these different samples. Nicole and I manage to pull off a Gold Medal in this event.
And now my one other event was Simple Machines. I competed on this event with Brian Adair. I know that a lot of you can remember going through Greenaway’s class doing a lot with physics and Simple Machines. You may think, “Well I didn’t enjoy doing it, and it wasn’t that hard…” Let me tell you, Simple Machines with Science Olympiad is just, well, crazy, some of the simple machines they have are absolutely amazing, and horribly tough, sometimes they make you think the machine through without even seeing it, it just is a description on a piece of paper. Brian and I won gold in this event as well.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Almost... There.....
Well, I find it almost hard to believe that we are almost done with our ninth grade year. It seems that this year is just moving along really fast, except for third term of course, but other than that it has been really quick. By now most all of us have gotten signed up for all of our classes for our next year of paid torture at high school. Some of us will be become Darts, and others will become Lancers, but in the end, we all came from one place, and that makes all Falcons in the end.
Well, I decided to put something kind of fun on here today mostly for lack of anything else to do. So here you go…
Well, I decided to put something kind of fun on here today mostly for lack of anything else to do. So here you go…
Police Humor
So, you thought that cops had no sense of humor… the following were taken off of actual police car videos around the country.
· “Relax. The handcuffs are tight because they’re new. They’ll stretch out after you wear them awhile.”
· “Take your hands off the car, or I’ll make your birth certificate a worthless document.”
· “If you run, you’ll only go to jail tired.”
· “Can you run faster than 1,200 feet per second? In case you didn’t know, that is the average speed of a 9mm bullet fired from my gun.”
· “So, you don’t know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?”
· “Yes, Sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don’t think it will help. I am the shift supervisor?”
· “Warning! You want a warning? O.K., I’m warning you not to do that again or I’ll give you another ticket.”
· “The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?”
· “Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven.”
· “In God we trust. All others we run through the NCIC.”
· “Just how big were those two bears?”
· “No, Sir, we don’t have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas, but now we’re allowed to write as many tickets as we want.”
· “I’m glad to hear the chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail.”
· “You didn’t think we gave pretty women tickets? You’re right. We don’t. Sign here.”
So hopefully none of us will ever get any of these lines used on us, but you never know…. All of these lines were used on people who maybe just weren’t quite ready to enter the real world just yet, in just a few years; we will be in the real world without anybody there to protect us. Well that is pretty much all that I can really think of doing on this blog today… So just remember to keep you chin up this week and batter everything that gets thrown your way.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities: Literary Analysis
The novel that I read was “A Tale of Two Cities,” this novel was set in the French Revolution time period. It tells of the many hardships that were encountered by one family trying to stay together. The theme that I decided to address is about how the noble act of one man can keep a family together. This first passage tells of how a father is torn from his family once again after just being saved.
As he said the word, a blow was struck upon the door.
"Oh father, father. What can this be! Hide Charles. Save him!"
"My child," said the Doctor, rising, and laying his hand upon her shoulder, "I have saved him. What weakness is this, my dear! Let me go to the door."
He took the lamp in his hand, crossed the two intervening outer rooms, and opened it. A rude clattering of feet over the floor, and four rough men in red caps, armed with sabres and pistols, entered the room.
"The Citizen Evrémonde, called Darnay," said the first.
"Who seeks him?" answered Darnay.
"I seek him. We seek him. I know you, Evrémonde; I saw you before the Tribunal to-day. You are again the prisoner of the Republic."
The four surrounded him, where he stood with his wife and child clinging to him.
"Tell me how and why am I again a prisoner?"
"It is enough that you return straight to the Conciergerie, and will know to-morrow. You are summoned for to-morrow." (Pg. 296- 297)
This passage is developed further by this next one, which tells of our noble man acquiring a promise to see the accused before he is to die from a guard.
“Sydney Carton and the spy returned from the dark room. "Adieu, Mr. Barsad," said the former; "our arrangement thus made, you have nothing to fear from me.')
He sat down in a chair on the hearth, over against Mr. Lorry. When they were alone, Mr. Lorry asked him what he had done?
"Not much. If it should go ill with the prisoner, I have ensured access to him, once."
Mr. Lorry's countenance fell.
"It is all I could do," said Carton. "To propose too much, would be to put this man's head under the axe, and, as he himself said, nothing worse could happen to him if he were denounced. It was obviously the weakness of the position. There is no help for it."
"But access to him," said Mr. Lorry, "if it should go ill before the Tribunal, will not save him."
"I never said it would."
Mr. Lorry's eyes gradually sought the fire; his sympathy with his darling, and the heavy disappointment of his second arrest, gradually weakened them; he was an old man now, overborne with anxiety of late, and his tears fell.” (Pg. 312-313)
In the beginning of the previous passage two men walk out of the room, and one leaves. The plan of the others is then uncovered, and our noble man, Mr. Sydney Carton, is revealed. We discover that he is willing to give is life for that of the husband of the girl he loved. Our theme is finally resolved in this final passage.
“Footsteps in the stone passage outside the door. He stopped.
The key was put in the lock, and turned. Before the door was opened, or as it opened, a man said in a low voice, in English: "He has never seen me here; I have kept out of his way. Go you in alone; I wait near. Lose no time!"
The door was quickly opened and closed, and there stood before him face to face, quiet, intent upon him, with the light of a smile on his features, and a cautionary finger on his lip, Sydney Carton.
There was something so bright and remarkable in his look, that, for the first moment, the prisoner misdoubted him to be an apparition of his own imagining. But, he spoke, and it was his voice; he took the prisoner's hand, and it was his real grasp.
"Of all the people upon earth, you least expected to see me?" be said.
"I could not believe it to be you. I can scarcely believe it now. You are not" -- the apprehension came suddenly into his mind -- "a prisoner?"
"No. I am accidentally possessed of a power over one of the keepers here, and in virtue of it I stand before you. I come from her -- your wife, dear Darnay."
The prisoner wrung his hand.
"I bring you a request from her."
"What is it?"
"A most earnest, pressing, and emphatic entreaty, addressed to you in the most pathetic tones of the voice so dear to you, that you well remember."
The prisoner turned his face partly aside.
"You have no time to ask me why I bring it, or what it means; I have no time to tell you. You must comply with it -- take off those boots you wear, and draw on these of mine."
There was a chair against the wall of the cell, behind the prisoner. Carton, pressing forward, had already, with the speed of lightning, got him down into it, and stood over him, barefoot.
"Draw on these boots of mine. Put your hands to them; put your will to them. Quick!"
"Carton, there is no escaping from this place; it never can be done. You will only die with me. It is madness."
"It would be madness if I asked you to escape; but do I? When I ask you to pass out at that door, tell me it is madness and remain here. Change that cravat for this of mine, that coat for this of mine. While you do it, let me take this ribbon from your hair, and shake out your hair like this of mine!"
With wonderful quickness, and with a strength both of will and action, that appeared quite supernatural, he forced all these changes upon him. The prisoner was like a young child in his hands.
"Carton! Dear Carton! It is madness. It cannot be accomplished, it never can be done, it has been attempted, and has always failed. I implore you not to add your death to the bitterness of mine." (Pg. 353-355)
Our noble man arrives in the cell of the accused, and proceeds to start his plan despite the pleas of the accused.
She goes next before him -- is gone; the knitting-women count Twenty-Two.
"I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."
The murmuring of many voices, the upturning of many faces, the pressing on of many footsteps in the outskirts of the crowd, so that it swells forward in a mass, like one great heave of water, all flashes away. Twenty-Three. (378-379)
And with that the noble man has done his last deed and not only finishes his theme but also the story.
These last few passages have been almost melancholy, but sure. They explain that one man could care enough to give his life for that of another- to keep the others family together. This really hit me, to realize, that even though they are few, there are people that care enough of others during times of need, to do whatever it takes to help them. Over all I really enjoyed this novel, and once I reached the conclusion of this theme it really wrapped up the book for me.
The novel that I read was “A Tale of Two Cities,” this novel was set in the French Revolution time period. It tells of the many hardships that were encountered by one family trying to stay together. The theme that I decided to address is about how the noble act of one man can keep a family together. This first passage tells of how a father is torn from his family once again after just being saved.
As he said the word, a blow was struck upon the door.
"Oh father, father. What can this be! Hide Charles. Save him!"
"My child," said the Doctor, rising, and laying his hand upon her shoulder, "I have saved him. What weakness is this, my dear! Let me go to the door."
He took the lamp in his hand, crossed the two intervening outer rooms, and opened it. A rude clattering of feet over the floor, and four rough men in red caps, armed with sabres and pistols, entered the room.
"The Citizen Evrémonde, called Darnay," said the first.
"Who seeks him?" answered Darnay.
"I seek him. We seek him. I know you, Evrémonde; I saw you before the Tribunal to-day. You are again the prisoner of the Republic."
The four surrounded him, where he stood with his wife and child clinging to him.
"Tell me how and why am I again a prisoner?"
"It is enough that you return straight to the Conciergerie, and will know to-morrow. You are summoned for to-morrow." (Pg. 296- 297)
This passage is developed further by this next one, which tells of our noble man acquiring a promise to see the accused before he is to die from a guard.
“Sydney Carton and the spy returned from the dark room. "Adieu, Mr. Barsad," said the former; "our arrangement thus made, you have nothing to fear from me.')
He sat down in a chair on the hearth, over against Mr. Lorry. When they were alone, Mr. Lorry asked him what he had done?
"Not much. If it should go ill with the prisoner, I have ensured access to him, once."
Mr. Lorry's countenance fell.
"It is all I could do," said Carton. "To propose too much, would be to put this man's head under the axe, and, as he himself said, nothing worse could happen to him if he were denounced. It was obviously the weakness of the position. There is no help for it."
"But access to him," said Mr. Lorry, "if it should go ill before the Tribunal, will not save him."
"I never said it would."
Mr. Lorry's eyes gradually sought the fire; his sympathy with his darling, and the heavy disappointment of his second arrest, gradually weakened them; he was an old man now, overborne with anxiety of late, and his tears fell.” (Pg. 312-313)
In the beginning of the previous passage two men walk out of the room, and one leaves. The plan of the others is then uncovered, and our noble man, Mr. Sydney Carton, is revealed. We discover that he is willing to give is life for that of the husband of the girl he loved. Our theme is finally resolved in this final passage.
“Footsteps in the stone passage outside the door. He stopped.
The key was put in the lock, and turned. Before the door was opened, or as it opened, a man said in a low voice, in English: "He has never seen me here; I have kept out of his way. Go you in alone; I wait near. Lose no time!"
The door was quickly opened and closed, and there stood before him face to face, quiet, intent upon him, with the light of a smile on his features, and a cautionary finger on his lip, Sydney Carton.
There was something so bright and remarkable in his look, that, for the first moment, the prisoner misdoubted him to be an apparition of his own imagining. But, he spoke, and it was his voice; he took the prisoner's hand, and it was his real grasp.
"Of all the people upon earth, you least expected to see me?" be said.
"I could not believe it to be you. I can scarcely believe it now. You are not" -- the apprehension came suddenly into his mind -- "a prisoner?"
"No. I am accidentally possessed of a power over one of the keepers here, and in virtue of it I stand before you. I come from her -- your wife, dear Darnay."
The prisoner wrung his hand.
"I bring you a request from her."
"What is it?"
"A most earnest, pressing, and emphatic entreaty, addressed to you in the most pathetic tones of the voice so dear to you, that you well remember."
The prisoner turned his face partly aside.
"You have no time to ask me why I bring it, or what it means; I have no time to tell you. You must comply with it -- take off those boots you wear, and draw on these of mine."
There was a chair against the wall of the cell, behind the prisoner. Carton, pressing forward, had already, with the speed of lightning, got him down into it, and stood over him, barefoot.
"Draw on these boots of mine. Put your hands to them; put your will to them. Quick!"
"Carton, there is no escaping from this place; it never can be done. You will only die with me. It is madness."
"It would be madness if I asked you to escape; but do I? When I ask you to pass out at that door, tell me it is madness and remain here. Change that cravat for this of mine, that coat for this of mine. While you do it, let me take this ribbon from your hair, and shake out your hair like this of mine!"
With wonderful quickness, and with a strength both of will and action, that appeared quite supernatural, he forced all these changes upon him. The prisoner was like a young child in his hands.
"Carton! Dear Carton! It is madness. It cannot be accomplished, it never can be done, it has been attempted, and has always failed. I implore you not to add your death to the bitterness of mine." (Pg. 353-355)
Our noble man arrives in the cell of the accused, and proceeds to start his plan despite the pleas of the accused.
She goes next before him -- is gone; the knitting-women count Twenty-Two.
"I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."
The murmuring of many voices, the upturning of many faces, the pressing on of many footsteps in the outskirts of the crowd, so that it swells forward in a mass, like one great heave of water, all flashes away. Twenty-Three. (378-379)
And with that the noble man has done his last deed and not only finishes his theme but also the story.
These last few passages have been almost melancholy, but sure. They explain that one man could care enough to give his life for that of another- to keep the others family together. This really hit me, to realize, that even though they are few, there are people that care enough of others during times of need, to do whatever it takes to help them. Over all I really enjoyed this novel, and once I reached the conclusion of this theme it really wrapped up the book for me.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Many More Projects
Oh my gosh, not another one! Recently we have all been turning in term projects for our science classes; I decided to do a slide presentation on Natural Gas and Petroleum products. I found out many things that I found quite interesting while doing this. I never quite realized how many things are done with these products, and how much they affect our lives.
One part in this term project included having to make a list of 100 items made by petroleum products, but the list just keeps going!. So for about three or four slides a list of things such as keyboards, earphones, iPods, etc… goes on and on. Yet, on other slides, there had to be explanations of how oil shale is mined.
Now oil shale is an interesting rock, at Science Olympiad our coaches brought some samples, and I can remember Nicole saying “how horrible it smelled,” when you scratched two pieces together. While I seemed to think that it smelled rather “interesting, but not quite as bad as it seemed.” Oil shale holds its petroleum in little balloons, and then the petroleum is then extracted from these pores after it is mined.
Just remember that just because we can list items such as videos, speakers, and soccer balls, might just be the reason that oil prices have gone up so much. As always, we may think nothing of this, but just remember the over- use of oil is the reason prices have gone up.
But now off of the note of oil, can you believe that this year is almost three quarters of the way over? It seemed like time dragged through the almost three years that we have been at Fairfield Junior High. But now that you look back on it, it doesn’t seem like we have been there that long. I think that it might be tougher than we all think to leave the school were we have all done so much growing, and learning, and spent so much of our lives for the past three years. But, I guess that life will move on, just as it always does.
And now, on yet another different note, have any of you seen the Layton High School musical this year? It was an amazing play yet again, the name of it was, “Will Rogers Follies” it told the story of an amazing man in American history that most of us don’t even know, and rarely gets recognized. He was known for many radio shows, and being in so many different, well, follies. He stated out as a man who did amazing rope tricks, but in later life he was most known for reporting on the American government, in a very comical way. If you guys get a chance look him up, he played a role bigger than most of us would think.
One part in this term project included having to make a list of 100 items made by petroleum products, but the list just keeps going!. So for about three or four slides a list of things such as keyboards, earphones, iPods, etc… goes on and on. Yet, on other slides, there had to be explanations of how oil shale is mined.
Now oil shale is an interesting rock, at Science Olympiad our coaches brought some samples, and I can remember Nicole saying “how horrible it smelled,” when you scratched two pieces together. While I seemed to think that it smelled rather “interesting, but not quite as bad as it seemed.” Oil shale holds its petroleum in little balloons, and then the petroleum is then extracted from these pores after it is mined.
Just remember that just because we can list items such as videos, speakers, and soccer balls, might just be the reason that oil prices have gone up so much. As always, we may think nothing of this, but just remember the over- use of oil is the reason prices have gone up.
But now off of the note of oil, can you believe that this year is almost three quarters of the way over? It seemed like time dragged through the almost three years that we have been at Fairfield Junior High. But now that you look back on it, it doesn’t seem like we have been there that long. I think that it might be tougher than we all think to leave the school were we have all done so much growing, and learning, and spent so much of our lives for the past three years. But, I guess that life will move on, just as it always does.
And now, on yet another different note, have any of you seen the Layton High School musical this year? It was an amazing play yet again, the name of it was, “Will Rogers Follies” it told the story of an amazing man in American history that most of us don’t even know, and rarely gets recognized. He was known for many radio shows, and being in so many different, well, follies. He stated out as a man who did amazing rope tricks, but in later life he was most known for reporting on the American government, in a very comical way. If you guys get a chance look him up, he played a role bigger than most of us would think.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Just Stay Positive.
Well I don’t know about anybody else, but I am glad that this week is just about completely over. I mean, at least, it has been a long one for me. Although next week is not exactly looking up for any of us in band either, seriously, 3 performances! That to me seems like quite a few to try and pack into one week, although with Jazz Band starting up we should start to get some comic relief…. (Those of you in Jazz Band last year know what I’m talking about, you others, you will soon find out…) But anyways I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to blog about this week because for obvious reasons you are all getting tired of Patriotism and Swimming. Because it seems that no one has even looked at my blog for the past month.
So what I decided to blog about today is going to be a little mixture of things I decided to talk about Science Olympiad to start with, and some of you will be able to relate to this. Science Olympiad hasn’t really been as fun this year and I’m not sure if it’s because of the fact that all of our ninth grade friends are gone, or simply because we have all done it enough that we are all starting to get a little too picky or just getting to serious, but for me the funest year was probably our seventh grade year. It seems that if there is going to be a year that Fairfield doesn’t go to Nationals it will probably be this year. Although I guess that if we stay positive anything can really happen. It’s not really a lack of skill on the team it is more the lack of coaching. With only one real coach (Mr. Erickson) it seems that it is really hectic trying to break in new coaches, which, 50% of the time, seem to be parents that just want to help.
So I guess what I really am trying to say today is that through it all, everything that has been happening, good or bad, we need to stay positive. Because if we stay positive, and keep that “air” about us that just says “I can do everything, no matter how hard it is, or how impossible it seems,” with this kind of attitude we can accomplish just about whatever we want to.
So now I kind of have a challenge for all of you who actually maybe read my blog, (including you Mr. Thompson) think of some of the media in our lives, you know, like music, movies, magazines, books, and whatnots. Now think about which ones encourage us to keep a positive outlook on life and help us get through our lives, now, for me, the easiest to think of is some of the music in our lives, there are some Van Halen songs that give us pretty positive messages… So as you think about these add a comment to this blog that gives your outlook on this and maybe some positive media you found.
So what I decided to blog about today is going to be a little mixture of things I decided to talk about Science Olympiad to start with, and some of you will be able to relate to this. Science Olympiad hasn’t really been as fun this year and I’m not sure if it’s because of the fact that all of our ninth grade friends are gone, or simply because we have all done it enough that we are all starting to get a little too picky or just getting to serious, but for me the funest year was probably our seventh grade year. It seems that if there is going to be a year that Fairfield doesn’t go to Nationals it will probably be this year. Although I guess that if we stay positive anything can really happen. It’s not really a lack of skill on the team it is more the lack of coaching. With only one real coach (Mr. Erickson) it seems that it is really hectic trying to break in new coaches, which, 50% of the time, seem to be parents that just want to help.
So I guess what I really am trying to say today is that through it all, everything that has been happening, good or bad, we need to stay positive. Because if we stay positive, and keep that “air” about us that just says “I can do everything, no matter how hard it is, or how impossible it seems,” with this kind of attitude we can accomplish just about whatever we want to.
So now I kind of have a challenge for all of you who actually maybe read my blog, (including you Mr. Thompson) think of some of the media in our lives, you know, like music, movies, magazines, books, and whatnots. Now think about which ones encourage us to keep a positive outlook on life and help us get through our lives, now, for me, the easiest to think of is some of the music in our lives, there are some Van Halen songs that give us pretty positive messages… So as you think about these add a comment to this blog that gives your outlook on this and maybe some positive media you found.
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