Goodbye WordPress

It’s been nearly a month next week since graduation. I meant to do this much earlier before graduation, but forgot. It was fun over the course of the 2008- 2009 school year, collaborating and commenting my classmate’s work and the Canadian student’s work. But now that I have graduated from 8th grade, and now will be moving on to high school, I will not be using this wordpress account ever again. Thank you to all those who read and commented. Farewell and good luck in all your blogging endeavors.

Ntwakgolo Support Group

Ntwakgolo Support Group in Nata Village has been educated during this current May through courses. A six week course gave the Ntwakgolo Support Group the ability use leather and sew at home independently. At the end of the six weeks, the group received certificates certifying their course completion. The group can no make leather shoes, jackets, wallets, bags or anything leather needed. They can also enjoy bead work jewelry, like necklaces, bracelets, and earrings made of magazine or paper. The future goal for the support group is that they may make more of these items with their new work at home independence and hopefully make a profit off this project. Using the Ntwakgolo Support Group’s example, do you feel that taking courses and completing them are important or a waste of your own precious time?  I feel courses are offered to learn something you don’t already know or fully understand, courses are always good and help you become more of an expert in whatever area, because no one is a complete expert in anything. What do you think?

R.A.D.S Donations

The Remote Area Development Service or R.A.D.S. , a group by that includes Peter Martinez, Kenewang Rancholo and Seloma Tiro,  recently donated nine soccer balls to the children of Nata Village. The nine soccer balls,  are being put to good use in the Nata Village School Recreation Facility. After school, and after students finish their homework, they are allowed to join in and play soccer with the donated sports equipment. The donations were given by the R.A.D.S. through a trust fund, in hopes that it will encourage recreational and healthy play. This is important to me, as a person in another continent, country, and even city because this allows me to understand the difficulties of developing villages and how many possessions I take for granted. In the Nata Village school before the soccer ball donations, the school had no soccer equipment; while in my school, we own several soccer balls and other sports equipment. How do you feel about the R.A.D.S. donations? Do you think you take your school’s property for granted at times?

The Internet Welcomes Nata Village

Nata Village has now opened several places where Internet is available.  A bit more than ten computers are available through out Nata Village, six in the post office, four at the Wild Butchery, and a number of computers with Internet at North Gate Lodge. The Internet and usage of fax machines and the ability to make copies is also given to travelers, campers, or natives of Nata Village. There is no specification if the Internet will be fast or slow, or whether it’ll be wireless or wired.  But surely, these three places where Internet, fax machines, and copy machines are available will help Nata Village come into the new technology era of exploration of cyber information.  Congratulations Nata Village.

Keep Track of the Swine Flu

A influenza scare has been brought upon many places over the globe. First starting in Mexico, and now being affected elsewhere, the Swine Flu should be tracked by those who want to remain safe. The following sites are a couple of good to keep track of the traveling virus.

Top Reliable Sites ordered by my favorites:

#1. Health Map: Probably my favorite, you can track and see the intensity level of the recent 30 diseases around the globe.

#2.Swine Flu with Google Maps: Another favorite of mine, Google map is used to track the many cases of Swine Flu. The site uses markers to identify the locations that have had suspected, confirmed, and deceased cases of the Swine Influenza.

#3.Travel Notices: If you’re going to travel in the near future, checking this site will help you be cautious of the diseases lingering in your home country or country you’re visiting.

#4.Google Flu Trends: A site where it tracks the percentage of flu being diagnosed in America and where it is most common.

and a site NOT to go to for relible level headed information is sites like Twitter or other social networking sites.

DSi

Releasing this weekend, the DSi, the new upgraded hand held console released from Nintendo.  For those of you who have seen or own the DS lite, you’ll see that the DSi is definitely different and much more advanced. DSi will contain SD card slot to hold music and pictures, it will contain a camera, wi-fi internet. Comparing it side by side to the DS lite, you will see that it is 12% slimmer and has a wider screen. Buttons are also rearranged. The downside of the DSi is that it will not work with the DS Lite’s stylus or chargers, it will also not have a slot for the Game Boy Advance Games. In the end, I think that the DSi has a good price at $179 with all the new features, but as DVICE says, if you already own the DS Lite, I’d wait off until prices drop or you could exchange it.  Between the two, which would you get?

April Vocabulary

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

Idiosyncrasy: a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual.

He’s shy in front of people he knows, but is friendly and out going with strangers, that is James’ idiosyncrasy.

Flaccid: limp, weak, relaxed

May was so tired after the fifth race, she fell flaccid and limp as she sat on the bench.

Calibrate: to determine, check

The two needed the machine to work for tomorrow’s presentation, so they calibrated the machine in advance.

Reckoning: count; computation; calculation

I’ll be sure to put her in my final reckoning.

Swine: the domestic hog

Swines are pigs, and pigs are swines.

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Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Imply: to indicate or suggest without being obviously stated

“From your tone, I can imply that you did not do your homework.” Said the teacher.

Dean:the head of a faculty, school, or administrative division in a university or college

There are several deans in the school, the dean of admission, the dean of men, the dean of women, etc.

Infraction:breach; violation; infringement

He had missed his homework for the first time this quarter, therefore he suffered his first infraction.

Merit: claim to respect and praise; excellence; worth.

The student is a sound character of merit.

Astounding: capable of overwhelming with amazement; stunningly surprising

The play was captivating, it was astounding with all it’s songs, dances, and awe-inducing actors.

Reflection

Since the beginnging of this year, we’ve been blogging with a Canadian class. In the weekly process, we post an article Monday, post vocabulary words on Tuesday, and then comment on my classmates blogs and the Canadian blogs.  It’s fun and usually, we learn something new from each article we post and read. I am more than half way through the school year, and I feel that I’ve learned so much from blogging weekly. From the articles I’ve posted, I feel that I have learned about the new and upcoming technology from the DVICE blogs I read about. The knowledge is nice to know and can be used in daily conversations. From the articles I’ve read from my peers, I learn something new from them too. They usually post about the new updates in their town, something they happened in another country, a personal reflection on the book they read in class, or some new divce. After this year is over, I’ll be sad to see an end to this, but we’re colllaborating globally when we post, read other blogs, and comment what we think about it.

Pizza Vending Machine

I’ve seen soda vending machines, candy and junk food vending machines, even those vending machines that sell iPods and other fancy stuff. But what if there was a Pizza Vending Machine? There is. It’s called “Lets Pizza”, made by Claudio Torghele, it creates a fresh, appetizing, and fast pizza in under three minutes and costs about five bucks. The inventor, Torgehele has already made Lets Pizza popular all over Trentino, Italy. His future plans include expanding his machine to the United States and to more countries all over Europe. But does this mean it’s a threat to local pizzeras? Will the taste and delciousness be the same from a standard pizza than Lets Pizza that is made in three minutes? What do you think?

March Vocabulary

Tuesday, March 4th, 2009

Contraband: illegal or prohibited trade; smuggling

They were charged with contraband of rare plants.

Ramshackle: loosely made or held together; rickety; shaky

Her ramshackle hands could not hold the pencil with a firm grip.

Impede: to retard in movement or progress by means of obstacles or hindrances; obstruct; hinder

Cecil was absent from last meeting, but did not want to impeded this meeting by talking about lasts’.

Renegade: a person who deserts a party or cause for another

Out of all the people in the devoted committee,  Steven was the last person I thought would lead a renegade party and join our rivals’.

Embargo: a restraint or hindrance; prohibition

As a result of the new laws, the embargo prevented them from doing trade on weekday afternoons.

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Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

Bayonet: a steel weapon attached to a gun for hand to hand combat

He didn’t like to get violent, but took out his steel sharp bayonet in times of trouble.

Strait: a narrow passage way of water connecting two bigger bodies of water.

The Bering Strait is thought to have once connected Russia with Alaska.

Daze: to shock, stupefy, or stun.

I was in such a daze today, after he had told me what happened to Amy.

Diligent: constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything

Detective Gumshoe was awarded for being very diligent in the workplace.

Nondescript: of no recognized, definite, or particular type or kind

The boss was nondescript on how the job got done, she just wanted it done before the week was over.

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Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

Multitude: the state or character of being many; numerous

The multitude of  participants showed up at the race; it beat lasts years records by a long run.

Mentee: a person who is guided by a mentor

Sarah is the mentor, and Lucas is the receptive mentee whom she teaches.

Haughty: disdainfully proud; snobbish; scornfully arrogant; supercilious

Just because Markus had placed in the top three, he began to act haughty and superior amongst his peers.

Vexations: The act of annoying, irritating, or vexing

Poor thing, I felt terrible for the Nanny, the millions of vexations that the children would give.

Bide: to dwell; abide; wait; remain.

“Go and hurry with the project, don’t bide.” said the woman.

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Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Obituary: a notice of the death of a person, often with a biographical sketch, as in a newspaper.

This week, an obituary of the former king of Candy Cane Land’s death was posted in yesterday’s newspaper.

Itinerates: To travel from place to place.

Many businessmen and women must intinerate to different countries and cities to succeed in their careers.

Sentinel: A person or thing that watches or stands as if watching

As people came to America through Ellis Island, many immigrants saw the Statue of Liberty as a sentinel of peace.

Roost: a perch upon which birds or fowls rest at night

The talkative parrot was only quiet when he perched upon his roost to sleep.

Brine: water saturated or strongly impregnated with salt

In order to cure a cut in the mouth, many suggest to turn a cup of fresh water into brine, by adding plenty of salt.

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March 31st, 2009

Vice: an immoral or evil habit or practice

There are virtues to follow and vices to avoid.

Prose: matter-of-fact, commonplace, or dull expression, quality, discourse, etc

Tom’s humor is prose and very deadpan.

Gala: festive; festal; showy

She dresses up for Friday night dinner in a gala showy fashion.

Tonic: anything invigorating physically, mentally, or morally

The tonic speech given last night was so invigorating.

Sign Language Converter

For this week’s article, I’ve found an interesting article that caught my eye. Mac Funamizu, the man who designed a device that will allow you to convert sign language to spoken word.  The device would work in a scenario like this: you’re be stopped by a deaf person, they’ve ask for something, but you can’t understand them. You’d then pull out your little gadget, and the cameras installed inside the gadget will identify the signs and speak the meaning out loud.  The device would only be as small as a locket, so you could wear it around your neck. Volume would be able to be adjusted on how far you twist out the bottom half of the device. If you ask me, this device is pretty useful for people that work with the deaf or have friends or realitives that are. In what ways do you think it could change the world?

Volume Controls on Converter

Facial Controls- Mimi Switch

So I’ve said before that Japan produces crazy gadgets, well get a load on this:  Kazuhiro Taniguchi of Osaka Universty is onto creating an invention, called the Mimi Switch, that will allow a person to make a certain facial to control the earbuds of any MP3 player. An example would be: if you wanted to change the song on your iPod, you would stick your tongue out. Imagine this invention being used world wide? You’d see people with their MP3 players walking down the street, constantly smiling, winking, sticking their tongue out and making absurd expressions we’d find weird. Though this idea is being worked on, there is no word on the Mimi Switch being released on the market or to the public.

Yes, Cloud Umbrella

So, umbrellas, when you think of them, you think of the normal upside down shaped U umbrella right? Well, how about we step out of the norm and the orthodox umbrellas on a rainy day and you see what appears to be clouds on a stick. Yes, a cloud umbrella.  Designed by Joonsoo Kim, a dutch designer, thought of this sci-fi furturstic idea with a pump up tube that will expand the clouds into a cover to shield you from rain. Interesting in my opinion. But there’s no exact date of relase or if they will release it at all. It’s just one idea that’s out there.

Cloud Umbrella by Joonsoo Kim

Ultimate Geek Writing Apparatus

A pen, a flash light, an ultra violet light, a stylus, and a laser pointer, all in one. Amazing.  And to top it all off, it’s only $9.99. It’s a writing tool anyone would want. Imagine using this in class, or waking up to write a magnificent idea down, or using it in your power point. All this for $9.99. I could think of a bunch of ways I could use this nifty pen, what about you?

Ultimate Pen Tool

Balloon and Bubble Lights

When I first came across them, I thought, “Are those bubbles? Is that a balloon Animal? But wait- they’re lights too?!” After reading the article, I thought it was pretty neat that these lights, called Blow Up Lamps created by Thelermont Hupton were entirely made of glass that was blown up differently. Of course, this is just to look at not to play with, so this handy creative little lamp is not for little ones. But for this child-like lamp, it starts at a big $320. Which would you buy? I’d probably get myself the first balloon animal if I had the money.

Blow Up Lamps

Smash Clock

Whenever I wake up, especially with the help of the alarm clock, I feel like smashing that annoying beeping gadget to bits. Instead I hit the snooze button, and end up getting there late. But they’ve come up with a clever way to let us express our annoyance of those pesky alarms. With this Smash Alarm, you smash it in. Interesting right? Well, the theory behind it is, when you smash the alarm clock, in hopes that it’ll shut quiet for five minutes more, you’ll wake yourself out of frustration. So you’ll be smacking the top of the alarm clock in attempt to turn it off, when the only way to turn it off is to punch it. I think this alarm clock would be handy for me, what about you?

Smash Clock

Sua Community Junior Secondary School

Sua Community Junior Secondary School, or let’s call it SCJSS for short, recently got a lectured by guest speaker,  Peter Martinez, Peace Corps Volunteer from California about the dangers of STI’S, teen age pregnancy, alcohol abuse, HIV/AIDS and domestic violence. About 600 kids were in the room where Mr. Peter Martinez, the Peace Corps Volunteer, spoke. Each topic was addressed in a very serious and bold manner, to show the young students how this is affecting people around the world. They showed students how dangerous STI’s, teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, alcohol abuse, and domestic violence is through statistics of casualties and charts of how many people are in suffering in their community alone. After the lecture, the students at Sua Community Junior Secondary School definitely must had a clearer understanding and learned the seriousness of these devastating issues that affect the world. Maybe someone has already talked to you about those things, maybe someone hasn’t; but if someone talked to you personally to the point where they gave you the statistics and facts on how many people are suffering through HIV, AIDS, domestic violence, etc, would you listen or turn away in ignorance?