Blizzard Website

Check out our Blizzard Website! You can learn a lot of new information about blizzards such as how they are formed and some famous blizzards in history. You can also learn about where in the world blizzards are commonly formed and much more! Hope you enjoy it!

Lit. Poems

"So Far Away, Yet So Close"

Liesel

Adventurous, daring

Reading, stealing, mastering

Benevolent, compassionate, omniscient, courageous

Saving, loving, caring

Mystic, perplexing

Death.

“Black”

Their hair isn’t yellow,

Their eyes aren’t blue;

Black is the only color

In the eyes and mind of a Jew.

The sun is blazing orange,

The trees are pine green;

Black is yet the only lonely color

The Jew in the basement has seen.

Purple is the color of the evening sky,

Gray is the color of the air;

Black is the color of the bomb

Which caused the family to be the last to tear.

By, crazy4coke091

Animal Fridays!

Recently, our unit has seen animals for the past two Fridays. Last Friday, our unit took a trip to the aquarium where we saw several different aqua creatures. We not only got to see but also had the ability to touch some of the animals such as jellyfish and starfish. The aquarium was the perfect trip because in science class we did learn about animal classification like fish. It was an overall wonderful trip where everyone did not just have fun, but learned along the way. This Friday was also yet another animal filled day, this time reptiles. We got a visit from a nearby zoo to our school and we were able to meet some of the zoo's reptiles. We met a turtle, a snake, a lizard, and a lizard which looked exactly like a snake. We also saw a really large alligator skin and a big turtle shell. We learned a lot of facts about these animals like how turtles are endangered creatures. We can definitely help the turtles by one simple task, no littering. The turtles favorite snack is a jellyfish, which look very similar to plastic shopping bags which we are littering. The bags are left on the beach and the turtles can't distinguish the difference between it and a jellyfish. So the bags end up being the turtle's snack sometimes. The bags stay in their stomachs and expand, letting them not consume any more food. This ends up killing the animal and letting their population decrease day by day. Overall, the past two Fridays were very intriguing and we all learned a lot in them.

Picture: http://www.lisisoft.com/imglisi/5/Screensavers/25297sh1.jpg

Earthquake Shortens Time of Day

Recently many people have heard about the earthquake that has occurred in Haiti, but on the other hand, a more recent earthquake has occurred in Chile and was much larger than the one in Haiti. Scientists have now found that because of this massive earthquake the time of day has decreased. No need to worry, it was only by 1.26 microseconds. Even though this is not a significant amount of time this change has astonished many scientists. Chile is surrounded by the Nazca and South American plates and these two plates always collide with each other constantly. This earthquake occurred because plates started to move suddenly. From this earthquake the sudden movement of the plates to the center of the earth happened, it changed the mass of the earth. When the mass inside of the planet moves around the way the earth tilts may also change. This change is the cause of the change in time because the way the earth spins determines time. When I read this article I was completely awestruck. The article started out saying that if you may be feeling that there's just not enough time in the day it may be because of this earthquake. That made me want to continue reading for I always think the day is just too short. Throughout reading the article I learned that it wasn't a large time difference at all, almost not enough time to blink. Overall, I enjoyed reading about a different side of this earthquake other than it's destruction.

Article link
Picture link

How Math Connects To The Research Task [Math]

Some would argue that math does not connect to our research task at all. That though is not true. Through my research on Afghanistan I had to use a lot of math skills to help me do the best research. Math can connect to our task in many ways. For example, in some of my research I learned new percentages about how many deaths there has been in the past year in Afghanistan. Along with percentages I also read a lot about numbers of fighters and numbers years. When it came to years, there were a lot. There were years of war or even how many years the soldiers would be in Afghanistan. Sometimes the text did not give the whole information and I opted to figure out the different between the years to find out how many years that the Soviets and Afghanistan fought. I also had to look at some graphs to find information. Even though I did not wish to use any information I learned of these maps in my essay, it was still in my research process. Also, I read about a lot of numbers. Numbers of deaths, number of soldiers, rankings. Those all relate with math as well. I learned rankings for Afghanistan, and again, death tolls. Overall, our research task did involve math.

Class Response- Start of Biology

Recently in class we started learning the building blocks of biology. We learned the structures of animals. The basic unit of structure and function in a living thing is a cell. They make up any living thing, whether plant or animal. Another aspect we learned were the levels of organization and functions of all animals. The four major functions of an animal is, obtaining food and oxygen, being able to move, reproduction and keeping conditions stable. All animals need oxygen and food to survive. All animals reproduce. They either do sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction is the process in which a new organism develops from the joining of two sex cells. Asexual reproduction is the process by which a single organism produces a new organism identical to itself. Along with learning all of those, classification of animals was also something we learned. Overall, we learned most of the basics of biology.

I loved learning about all of these things about animals. Even though a lot of it was a review, I still found it very interesting. I am looking forward to this unit and especially dissecting some animals, such as a starfish. I like this unit better than our last one, chemistry. The hands on work is always fun, but to get there we must do all of the work we're doing currently. At least there's a lot of fun to look forward to!

Picture- http://seemikedraw.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/biology-final.jpg
Information- https://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/snpapp/login/login.jsp

Pastry Chef

Interview with someone who wants to be a pastry chef.

Pastry Chef (crazy4coke91)

Does Wikipedia Really Work?

Since elementary school I was told the website Wikipedia: Free Online Encyclopedia, is not the best place to get information from. Never did I really understand why it was so bad. This is why I chose this article. Wikipedia was recently found to be vandalized and people made changes to the New York Yankees and the Phillies Wikipedia pages. The website allows people to change facts on their pages anonymously and because of that people think they have to right to fool anyone who reads that page. Along with the World Series page, many other pages have been changed and have fooled various people including many different worldwide journalists. Various drug pages have been changed. They have changed the side effects section of these pages and that could end up killing someone. The website is used by many different people also including doctors and physicians who use the encyclopedia for a resource in learning different medical information. This can also toy with someone's life and might end up killing them as well.

I think this information is pure horror. I did know that Wikipedia allows changing in their articles but I had always thought that the only people who could change them is authors or workers at Wikipedia. I had heard various stories about how the website gave off false information, but I always use it for a quick resource. Now, after reading this article I have learned not to use the website even for a quick question I may have. I believe that the website should just take out the option of changing anything on the articles on the website. If they take that out than all of these problems will be solved. No one will be able to change the articles and the website will be saved from further vandalism. This may bring back the popularity of the website and it can become a great resource.

Article: http://www.livescience.com/technology/091106-ttr-wikipedia.html
Photo: http://nfajw.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/wikipedia-logo.jpg

How The Hills Connect To Science [Extra Credit]

One of my favorite TV shows is the reality show, The Hills on MTV. Before the main character, Lauren Conrad left she was studying fashion designing with her co worker and friend, Whitney Port. Fashion designing definitely connects to science because without science no fashion designer would be able to make any type of clothing. Making clothes takes a lot of work in math, and math is a form of science. Without knowing math or science the two girls, or any designer, would not be able to measure and cut the clothes or even use computers to connect with other designers. Lauren and Whitney worked on computers all the time when working at Teen Vouge and People's Revolution and their work in fashion would not excel if they did not know basic math and science. Two other characters on the show were, Heidi Monteg and Audrina Partrige. The two girls work with music and at music industry companies in Los Angeles, California. They would not be able to work with music if it weren't for science. To listen to music or even to make music, science is needed. Sound is a form of science and all of the computers and different recording devices used at their work has to do with science. Not only for fashion designing and music, but for everything in this show they use science, whether its as small as listening to music or even designing clothes, science is used everyday and in every show.

Photo: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/raim0007/gwss3307_fall2007/TheHillsSoundtrackPackShot.jpg

Largest Web Spinning Spiders Discovered

Recently scientists have found a new spider which is now considered the worlds largest web spinning spider. Golden orb-weaving spiders or also known as Nephila komaci. are the size of a regular CD. The females' bodies are 1.5 inches and the legs are 4 to 5 inches long. Females are larger than males due to the fact that they must lay eggs. They grow over time. Males on the other hand are 5 times smaller and are considered normal sized spiders. "the new species is "just a whisker" bigger, a few millimeters to be specific, than other Nephila species, which are known for their enormous body sizes", says Jonathan Coddington of the Smithsonian. Though there are larger spiders that do not spin webs, this spider is definitely still in the vast family of large spiders. These spiders are not only big in size but they also spin very large webs. They are the largest spiders that can spin webs. Very few people have seen this spider except for some African expedition researchers.
I truly find it fascinating that so many scientists pay so much close attention to animals as small as spiders. Although, this is not a small spider. This I also believe that these rare species should be acknowledged a lot more due to their unique size and web sizes. They are rarely found and only found in Africa making it rare for many people to see these beautys. Overall, I believe that these spiders should be recognized for their wonderful size.

Teen Pregnancies Higher In Relgious States

Two very important controversial issues that many Americans are talking about today are, teen pregnancies and religion. Now with all the teen pregnancy shows and all of the talk of religion, the two are very hot topics. The two are very important aspects and are things that are going through the minds of many teenagers who made the "wrong decision". New studies show that teen pregnancies are higher in religious states. This is a sort of oxymoron due to the fact that in most religions teen pregnancies are frown upon and are discouraged. The south part of our country have the more religious states and also are the states that have the highest amount of teen pregnancies. Studies show that people living in the south have higher rates of teen pregnancies. One reason that that the rates of teens having babies is higher than teens getting pregnant is because in some religions getting abortions are prohibited. Mississippi is the highest ranked religious state and also the state with the most teen pregnancies. Scientists also say that the more religious states put forth the fact that teens should have "safe sex" but don't stress abstinence. Studies also show that teens in less religious states had higher rates of abortion. Scientists also say that many religious teens just go out on a whim without protection and that brings their chances of getting pregnant through the roof.
Teen pregnancies and religion are two things I truly love debating and talking about and I feel very strongly for both. I believe that this is very much something that would never cross your mind. Most people think that teens that are more religious would stay abstinent, but apparently not. These studies are very odd, yet true. I for one would believe that teens in the south, or the more religious states would be encouraged to not have sex and that they would follow the rules of their Bible or any other religious book. On the other hand, I do believe that abortion should strongly be discouraged and even be taken away as a choice to teen mothers. Killing a baby is just as bad as killing a human on my opinion. The fact that even though these teenage girls are learning to at least have "safe sex" but not listening is truly unreal. Even though a baby is a wonderful thing, they should not have that much responsibility at such a young age. All in all, I believe that the fact that teen pregnancies are higher in religious states is very odd.

Article: http://www.livescience.com/culture/090916-religion-teen-pregnancy.html
Photo: http://homepages.wmich.edu/~s3mavis/1101851209_400.jpg

Plasticity Conclusion

Recently in science class we did a plasticity lab. We took, corn starch and water and mixed it together and that created the mixture for our lab. The mixture was liquid at first then became a solid. The mixture became a solid when it melted in our hands. It would be both a solid and a liquid or a special type of solid. When first holding it, the mixture would melt and then if you rolled it around in your hands it would become a solid. I for one would consider this mixture a solid, yet a special type of solid due to the fact that it would melt in your hands yet act as a solid as well. Even after the mixture oozed out of your hands it then became a solid ball like clay. If we smashed the ball that we made of this mixture, it would tend to crumble into pieces, acting like a solid. Yet if we just let it fall between our fingers, it would act as a liquid. After pushing my fingers into the mixture it would become a solid and it was had to move it. It became like clay or play dough. This mixture is just like the earths mantle which is a solid and a liquid. The mantle acts the same way the mixture does. The mantle is the layer under the Earth's crust, and it is about 1800 miles thick. The mantle is the largest part inside the earth and it is both a solid and a liquid as our mixture was. This is how this lab connects to the Earth's mantle. An example of this mixture would be in this Youtube video. This man is walking on the mixture and is able to do it due to the fact that it is both a solid and a liquid. The part where the man walks is a solid and he is able to quickly run through it without his feet sinking into it. This is a perfect example of our lab.

Picture- http://www.skiptomylou.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/oobleck-2.jpg
Video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2XQ97XHjVw

"October Sky"

Recently in our unit we watched the movie, "October Sky". This movie was about a teenage boy and his friends who all gained a liking for rockets. They started to build rockets in their town, which was a coal mining town. This movie showed connections to both science and the character education traits.
This film showed many connections to science. One major connection was in the beginning the whole town was excited to see the launch of Russian satellite Sputnik. This launch was truly the inspiration for Homer Hickim, the main character in this movie. Sputnik was launched in October 4, 1957. This launch was one of the largest steps for all space exploration. The launch was said to change everything, it caught all Americans off-guard. Sputnik amazed all the Americans in 1957 and still leaves a huge impact on Americans presently. In the film, Homer lived in a coal mining town. The coal mine was a big deal in their town and the whole town was controlled by the coal mine. Coal mines caused many health dangers. Many coal miners risked their lives working long hard hours in the mines. They lived in the state of West Virginia, which is still known for their coal mines. 99% of the state's power is still generated from coal. The coal mine was the main priority for the town that Homer lived in. His father worked in the coal mines, and dreamed that his son would take his place one day. Homer though did not wish to work in the coal mines. Once his father had gotten injured from the mine, Homer was told to leave school and work in the mines. Staying in the mines too long would damage lungs and cause other health hazards. In 1952 though, congress passed the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act. This helped coal miners get help for their injuries. Overall, this film had important connections to science.
Also in this movie they showed connections to the character education traits. At first, Homer was just another boy in the town who played football and future was to work in the coal mine just like everyone else. He though showed everyone that not all men have to work in the coal mines. Homer became friends with a boy named Quintin and they showed cooperation because the two would never even be seen together before this but then got together and built their first rocket. Homer's dad continued to tell him that his dreams in rocket science wouldn't bring him anywhere in life. Homer was very mad at his dad for not believing in him, yet he showed self control and stayed calm when his dad threw his materials away. The teacher that cheered the boys on showed respect because she was the only one that truly believed that the four boys had potential. She continued to tell them that they should continue with their work and not stop no matter what their fathers said. Homer showed assertion throughout most of the film because he was confident in his work in the rockets and when he was told he couldn't continue with his work, he proved his innocence using math. Homer also showed empathy when he went to his teacher and she had confessed that she had cancer. He showed his feelings for her and felt bad for the only person that truly believed in him at first. He also showed empathy when his father had gotten injured from the coal mine and he had to step in for a while. This was empathy because he knew that his father was not able to work. Homer knew that he needed to support the family and he did so. All in all, this film had all the CARES traits incorporated into one.

http://www.wvgenweb.org/wvcoal/time.html
http://www.wvminesafety.org/wvcoalfacts.htm
http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/
http://www.markgerber.com/images/october_sky.jpg

Response to Down Syndrome

Recently, I read the blog of mooselover1892. She wrote about the genetic disease of Down Syndrome. This disease makes me feel very disappointed because there is still no known cure for it. There are many symptoms for this disease and some are very tragic, such as mental retardation. The patients of this disease live to a long long age, at all, in fact 85% of newborns die at the tender age of one. This makes me feel very sad because the children die before they are even able to talk. That is one of the many sad things about this disease. Still, there is no treatment for this disease but there is treatment for the health problems that come from this disease. 1 in 740 infants are born with disease making it not common yet, defiantly possible. Something that makes this disease even more tragic is the fact that most of the patients have very severe cases of it. Some of the bright things about this disease is that there are schools and training classes for children affected by the disease. That makes me feel happy because I know that the children are getting better from this terrible disease. Many of the children are most likely terrified due to this disease but the classes make them feel happier and better. That is very nice because these children need anything that can make them feel better

Cystic Fibrosis

The disease Cystic Fibrosis was discovered in the 19th century. It mostly affects the lungs and the digestive system. The symptoms one may get when the have this rare disease may be, very salty skin, persistent coughing at times with phlegm, frequent lung infections, wheezing or shortness or breath, poor growth/weight gain in spite of good appetite, and frequent, bulky stools or difficult in bowel movements. This disease obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food. It also clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections. There is no known treatment for this disease, but a good lifestyle and good nutrition may help out a lot. The mortality for the disease is 30-40s. 37 is the predicted median for the patients age. The disease has hit 30, 000 children and adults in the United States and 70, 000 people worldwide. Most children and adolescents are vulnerable to this disease. The genes of this disease are mutated. The majority of the patients are diagnosed at the age of two. About 1, 000 new cases of this disease are found each year.

This disease makes me feel sad. I feel sad due to the fact that there is no known cure for it yet. The patients go through hard times from this disease and they cannot do anything about it other than live a good lifestyle. I feel that doctors and scientists should work their hardest to find a cure because this disease though rare, affects many people around the world today.

http://www.cff.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_fibrosis

Man Robs a Bank in Frankin Township

Recently, in Franklin Township a unknown man robbed a bank on Friday. Investors Saving Bank was robbed by a white man, who was supposedly 40 years old. During the 1:34 p.m. robbery at the bank, located on DeMott Lane in the Somerset section of town, County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest said, no one was injured and no one was at the bank at the time. He was wearing blue jeans, a black jacket and a dark-red baseball hat with a circular logo on the front. The man was suspected of being 5 ft 11 in tall, and also wore white rimmed sunglasses. Due to the fact that no one was present during the crime, there were no witnesses, except for the teller. The man handed the teller a note demanding money and a bag. He though, did not show any weapons. The teller gave him the money and he left the bank going in an unknown direction. Investigators are still trying to figure out who this man is and asks anyone with information to contact them.

Article-http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/man_robs_franklin_township_ban.html
Photo-http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates_impact/2009/02/large_robbery.JPG
*photo taken with surveillance camera.

New Gases Found on Mars

Recently, scientists have found new gases on Mars. The gas found on the red planet was methane. The gas that we call farting. One thing that researchers are wondering is if there is truly bacteria under Mar's surface. The gas has been found in three locations on the planet. This is not easy for researchers because finding this gas is a very hard task. Scientists have been using telescopes and measurements to record the level of the gas. Truly, methane is a unstable compound and unless there is a common source for it, it would eventually disappear. Scientists still are not sure why the gas is coming out of the planet's surface. Scientists have a theory that it is coming from the ice caps because during the Summer the planet gets warmer and the ice melts. The gas may be able to slip out of the rocks. Scientists also say that there are large rocks with methane stuck in them. They say that the Summer unlocks the cages and lets the methane free. These theories all make sense but there's just one more thing, they still do not know where all of the gas is coming from. Mars methane may just be coming from bacteria, but it is still a complete mystery.

Article- http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20090218/Note2.asp
Photo-http://www.hoax-slayer.com/images/mars.jpg

My Roller Coaster Website

The Drop

Roller Coaster Project

Recently in science class we started making roller coasters for a project. We had to make a roller coaster out of only the things our teacher gave us. We had to buy the supplies with our Omega money which we received from our teachers for various reasons. We used the money to buy supplies such as cardboard rolls and milk cartons. My group decided to make it only out of cardboard rolls. We had to make three hills and still make the marble travel all the way through. Sometimes our marble got stuck and we had to figure out a new way to make it sure that it made its way all the way through. Sometimes our marble would even get caught by the tape. Sometimes the marble would not be able to make its way up a hill and we would have to try to make up a new way to make it go up. I think that this project was very fun. I enjoyed making the roller coaster and thinking of new ideas to make our coaster better. It was fun to have a hands on project that we can make totally on our own. It was fun to make the coaster anyway we wanted to and it was great that we could use our imagination all we wanted for this project.

Fire At Home On New Road

Recently a fire broke out on a home in South Brunswick, New Jersey. The fire took place on New Road on January 22nd. Firefighters got the fire under control in 15 to 20 minutes but New Road was closed for 20 to 25 minutes do to this. The fire got out of the electrical box and into the wall, then into the ceiling and adjoining room. The fire damaged the home which breaks into two apartment building but did not harm anyone. The residents of one apartment building evacuated safely. The residents of the other apartment building were not present when the fire occurred. The fire was due to electrical wiring problems but did not cause severe damage. The residents of the apartment will not be allowed back into the residence for a while because of the damage. The apartment will receive new wiring and the damage to the walls are also keeping the residents out. The residents will be given a place to stay from the American Red Cross.

http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2009/02/03/south_brunswick_post/news/doc4980d6a169a39130499916.txt