Obama and Senior year

I have always been a fan of Obama. Ever since he ran for senate. He just has that new fresh feeling that I think we need for our country. Politics is a battlefield to say the least. Your opponents are always trying to find your flaws and make you look bad. I think that it is good that Obama said what he had done. By doing this his opponent has no flaw to find. If that is the only flaws he has, well then bring on the White House!!! Now that I am 18 I am excited that I will be able to vote, I still have to register whooops. I want Obama to make it. I think he would do so well even though people think he is still young.

Senior year has been interesting. I would not say that it is the hardest year since I did not take a foreign language or a science. It is not without stress though. I still have hard classes and I really want to finish out high school with a bang, but the senoritas is really starting to kick in. I am really excited about college and we are not even half way through senior year. I think that once we get past this set of finals the year will fly by. We only have one set of finals left and this is it. Then it is off to picnics and ditch day!!! I think that senior year is not exactly the easiest but the most fun. It is when you make the best of your high school career and get yourself ready for the rest of your lives wherever it may take you. After finals are done this year will fly by and before we know it, it will be June 1st and we will be graduating. Hard to believe but it is closer then we all think!

Obama and Senior year

With the whole Obama thing, I find it much more respectable to admit your flaws and have grown up and learned from the past than to have never done anything wrong or just deny doing it. I think it is important to forgive people for things they have done, people change and grow and that is just a part of life. I think Obama is a good role model for high school students, and I don't think anyone is going to start drinking because he did, I think we are more likely to see what he has made out of himself and admire that.

Senior year... is the hardest for me too. Every other year was easy compared to this. I was so looking forward to it, because of all the stuff I heard about it being easy. Maybe it is for people who take ridiculously easy schedules, but I have 7 classes, with no gym during school. Then I have to deal with clubs, work, college apps, a little brother, and friends. I don't even remember the last day I wasn't stressed out about something.
I'm finally accepted to the college I really want to go to, so when I finish my other applications that will help a little bit. Except that then I have to start applying for more scholarships...

Barack Obama and Senior year

So I really think that it is interesting how Barack Obama confessed the stuff that he did in high school. To me it shows me that even though that Barack went through these times in high school, he was able to over come his troubled time and was able to get to where is he today....running for President. How many people can honestly say that they were a druggie and drinker and then trow that all behind him and do what he is doing now? He may of shown that he got out of his hard time in the past and now he is trying to get the hard time that the U.S. is in right now-the war- and he is going to overcome the had time and get us out of Iraq.

Senior year.... Defiantly agree with Dan. I have had some much on my plate this year and I'm surprised that I am actually handling it. I am taking a full schedule where Trig and Physics are my hardest classes and then I was captain for swimming and that was stressful as well. I didn't think being captain would have that much pressure on you but it really does because the coaches expect you to do much more then you would think you would actually have to....if that made any sense. I had to deal with applying for college and having my parents on my case about getting everything done to apply. Now I have 2 research papers to deal with and I have to start applying for scholarship which means MORE ESSAYS!!!!! But for sure... senior year is the hardest for me so far.

Senoir Year

So i have heard since i started high school that senior year is the best year and that it is the easiest but I TOTALLY DISAGREE! Senior year has been my most stressful year yet. Its moving so fast and there is so much work! It might have to do with the fact that i have 7 academics this year and there is a lot of work. Im so stressed out about like every class. I have no time to do anything between work school and extra curriculars i wanna blow my brains out. Now that the holiday season is here its just more to deal with. So when people tell others that senior year is the best i think they are lying. What do you guys think?

Presedential Drug Abusers

Can I just say, that being a hardcore liberal, that I absolutely am offended by anyone who accuses Barrack of being a bad (possible) president because of his past behaviors. Um..let's remember that George W Bush used cocaine, drank *loads* and was a cheerleader. (sorry Kim and Michelle :P ). All of us will or have done something shady in our past, and it shouldn't affect our future. These people that are politicians were once normal civilians like ourselves. Why should they be faulted because they were once like ourselves and just wanted to have fun? Anyone who blames someone else for their ^wrong doings^ then they are just immoral and dumb. (Sorry). Don't worry, I'm sure whoever becomes president has done *something* dumb in their past. If they haven't, then don't worry, they'll do something while they are president.

Response

I don't think it's fair that people are trying to criticize Barack Obama. Just because when he was in high school he made some wrong choices and did drugs or drank alcohol doesn't mean he's a bad person. Obviously it didn't play such a big affect on him considering he's a big shot now. Just because someone uses drugs or alcohol back when they were in high school, doesn't mean they have to be look down upon many years later. Many high school kids do it anyways and just becuase Obama did it when he was in high school, I doubt kids are going to try it because of that. I personally think that it is better to me fully honest and let people know of who you are and how you are then to hide it just to make a good impression too. It would be different if he was using drugs today while being a part of politics. Then I can see why people would criticize someone. Nobody want to see like the president on drugs or drunk everyday. I can't even imagine what would happen to the country. Overall I think that people should just forget about Obama's past. He has gone very far in life obviously and was just trying to be honest with the people.

I think it is crazy that someone would cut his arm off to save his life. I dont know what I would do if I was in that situation. Whenever I hear stories about that I always think about what if I was in that situation what would I do? I'm glad I have never been in that kind of situation, I think I would end up killing myself. I don't know if anyone talked about this, but it's like in the movie Saw where they have to cut their own limbs to survive, or in the new where where he had to rip his eyes out or something to live. Whenever I watch those movies I always wonder what I would do. I would probably seriously just let myself die, because I don't think I would ever be able to cut my own arm off. I couldn't even look at where my stitches were without getting queesy. I also heard a story similar to this one, where the guy was rock climbing or something and his arm got stuck inbetween rocks I think and he cut his own arm off because no one there was able to help him. That is just crazy that people would actually do that, but if it saves your life then you just have to do what you have to do.

New Topic

I recently read a column in the newspaper that had to do with the race for presidency. The article was about Barack Obama's honesty when campaigning in a high school and how he recieved some criticism for it. He was asked about what he was like when he was in high school and admitted that he had done some experimenting with drugs and alchohol. He was criticized for revealing his flaws because some believe that he is setting a bad example for the "young and impressionable" minds of high schoolers...ha. I highly doubt that every high school student is going to blindly immitate the actions of a politician...and furthermore i find greater value in honesty than i do in creating an "acceptable" impression. I actually think that by telling the truth about his past he allows more students to relate to him which might make them more interested in the election. What do you guys think?

suicide ( a couple weeks late...)

okay so i agree with most of you and i defiantly think that suicide is extremely selfish. its like most people who try to commit suicide really just have the funeral in mind, being glorified and oh look how many people would come to see me, but its too bad you wont know.. because your dead. so about four weeks ago one of my cousins that i hadn't talked to or heard of for years.. shot himself in face. he didn't succeed in killing himself, and now he is faced with living life...without a tongue, no nose, and possibly no site. hes only woken up out of a coma once, and he was so pissed off that he didn't succeed in killing himself that he just got all mad and made everyone leave the room. i think its been about 4 weeks and hes yet to see how hes destroyed his face. he stuck the gun right under his chin and shot upwards, his plan failed and he just shot off his nose and mouth. he would have died from blood loss but his brother found his suicide email, and sent police out to look for him. Now this kid was always happy from what i remember when we were little, he wasn't even a bad looking kid. but now hes just really done it in for himself. i mean i think suicide is wrong, but at the same time, i might possibly rather be dead that look like that. and not being able to taste just seems like it would really really piss me off. and you know whats the saddest part about everything, he did it because his girlfriend broke up with him. to me that's not a valid reason to try and blow half your face off. i thought about it a lot when it first happened and I'm really happy that Ive never made an irrational choice like that. i think that everyone should think their choices over thoroughly and think of all the possibly outcomes before they try and do something that could change the rest of their life.

just a thought..

hi

I think that people will do crazy things in crazy situation. It depends on how they handle it. Like this guy removing his limbs are really impressive, and that came out from a bad situation. People dont know there own strength until they encounter life threatening and dangerous situation. Like having your house on fire. You would carry your most priced possession. A guy who lovs watching TV will carry his television outside without knowing he can carry it. These type of situation increases your brain activity sending tremendous amounts of energy in the body making you do things you never thought you can. So I can agree with Sean that these things happen fo sho.

New Topic: Political Correctness! Why?

Hey Mr. Spoor! I'm doing it. lol.

Well I am in first period right now and truly bored. i just cant wait for 6th period to get here.
but more to the point this topic just dropped on me. Some one made a joke about our teacher having a therapist and he denied it. ok thats kool, but then cause of his teacher status and so he would not offend anyone he said, "not that there's anything wrong with that." Basically im just sick of having to be aware of what kind of people i am around or more specifically what stereotype might have heard something i said or uh oh the N word slipped in fun and your chillin with a "African American" (uh oh i hope i dont offend any one in the class, i must not say black) friend of yours but they say it all the time you pick up on it. and then when and if it happens then its awkward for the rest of your time hanging out cuz your racing through your mind like did i offend them do they know maybe im just a kidding type of person and i use language loosely; and dont mean harm or to offend. But the word is allowed in their vocabulary because they are black, well for one i honestly dont find that fair, two if the black race is serious about not wanting to hear the word then it shouldn't be okay when one black guy goes up to another black guy and says What up my nigga. it should be just as offensive as if another race used the word.
seriously i dont think other races can learn not to call a black person the n word if they are setting the wonderfully responsible example they do. it sends a messag ethat its all right.

how many times have you heard a white guy go up to another white guy and say What up my honkey.slim to none right?
i just dont think black people have the right to say some one else cant say the word just cuz they aint from the hood. if they use the term so loosely. the race as a whole has to gain their respect for themselves and higher thier self esteem before anyone will give them that respect.

idk i just hate worrying bout who im around just so i dont offend someone
and its about anything not just black and white i just used this as an example because its the most played out
it goes for anybody and everything
shrinks
asians
polish people
its not always about a race either

whatever g2g cuz the eriods over

peace

The arm thing

Man that would suck! I have no idea what i would do in a situation like that. If i had to remove one of my own limbs i think i would just freak out. Its amazing what people can do in stressful situations. I have heard of people lifting cars and dogs calling the police in really dangerous situations. I personally cannot inflict much pain upon myself because my brain wont let me. Like people who pierce their own ears impress me. My body has a natural tendency to avoid pain (i think thats a natural human thing). One time i stuck my tongue to a pole in the middle of winter and YES it does get stuck, but instead of like thinking of a good way to get it off i just RIPPED it off the pole. Yes it hurt. My taste buds were still stuck to the pole a day later. I had never seen that Christmas Story movie and even if i had seen it i would still have tested the theory because i didnt believe it would actually stick. It bled a bunch and my mom found out eventually and called me an idiot. My point is, that is the extent of the self induced pain i can handle. i could never remove one of my limbs. I sure hope i never have to either.

Oh My Gosh

Wow! Talk about guts, dang. im positively sure i could never cut off my own limbs let alone have someone else cut them off. im not gonna lie, id probly rather die. but i applaud this mans courage and strength. he didnt even have a decent tool to do the job. thats amazing. how would he have gotten through the bone.

but ive heard some crazy storys of what people will do under the right amount of stress. ive heard of a woman picking up a bus of her child after the bus had run over the kid. thats sooooo unbelievable and the story may not be credible or true but some people handle stress well and some just freeze up.

i handle it well but i still could never cut off my arm.

lol- Some things in life (including itself) just cost an arm and a leg-lol

ha ha

hmmm

To start off i would like to say that although I enjoy the holidays I think that alot of people (including myself) don't really believe in whats behind most of the holidays. The holidays are supposed to be about like celebrating things in religion (for the most part) but i think most people get all caught up in the material items that come with the holidays. Its just another holiday to get presents and give presents and push the check book as far as it can go. I really like the holidays just because I get to see my family that I only see around the holidays.

On another note, I don't know if I could ever cut my own arm off. I don't think I have the willpower to cut any part of my body off, yet alone my precious arm. I guess I wouldn't know exactly how the man was feeling though because with the Adrenalin of thinking about dying I guess a lot of people would do anything. This story also reminds me of the mountain climber who got wedged into a crevice and slowly cut his arm down to the bone over a few days, and then he proceeded to crack his own bone and free himself. I don't think I could slowly cut anything off of myself, I have a hard enough time letting somebody cut my hair.

Cut my own arm off.

Wow that is crazy he saved his life by cutting his arm off. I would make that descion because it would be to painful to me and at that time my brain wouldnt process everything that is going on. I agree a pocket knife can cut of a whole arm thats pretty crazy. I cant put my self in a situation of having to cut my lef or arm off to save my life. I would freak out and just rather die then take all that pain. Wow a lady having children on her own is just crazy but not as crazy as some one cutting there own arm off. Yes the woman was probally in much pain due to she didnt take and drugs or anything to calm her down. Wow how can you try to rip your stomach open but thats good to hear that her baby and her were alright and the baby lived.

Armstrong or Arm-gone?

I got to say that if I was in a life or death situation, I would be very unready to chop my limbs off. I think the stories of people who do and live are amazing and inspiring. However, your still armless for the better half of your life. I would try to think up a different course of action to reslove the problem. Radical actions can be avoided with reasonable thinking. If there was no other choice but to severe my arm, I'm not sure I could do it. Never know though, Adrenaline may make it possible and the will to survive can cause someone to do crazy things. Lets hope no one ever has to make that decision again.

The story about the man cutting his own arm off in order to save his life is amazing. That guy deserves alot of credit for having the guts to do something like that. I don't even want to imagine all the pain that he was in. It sounds like it would be SO painful. I never would have thought that just a little pocketknive can cut a whole arm off though. When I hear stories like this, I try to put myself in the situation and think of what I would have done. I can't even imagine being in this type of situation and I don't think I would have the nerve to chop my arm off even though it would save my life.

The story about the pregnant women and having her children on her own without any doctors help is crazy. I don't here of many stories like this anymore because normally women just go to the hospital and the doctors basically take over from there. I can't believe that that women tried to cut her stomach open to let the baby out. She is lucky that she was able to get to the hospital and doctors were able to save her and her babys life. That women must have been really brave to just have kids on her own without anyones asistance or drugs. Well it's great that she was able to live and have the baby in a safe way too.

People can take unbelievable action when they are putted in to life or death situation. I saw a story on TV about woman who live somewhere around Southeast Asia, (I can't remember clearly where it was) and she was pregnant. She had borne 3 children at that time and all of her children was borne only by herself, at her house! I think she said they had not enough money to go hospital. So when she had labor pain for her fourth child, she decided to manage herself again. But this time, baby was difficult delivery. She fought nearly 3 hours but she still couldn't get her baby out. By that time she was so exhausted and start thinking that baby and herself will die as it is. So she took fruit knife and start cutting her belly open to let baby out. TV was saying it was "maternal love" but I was freaking out, think the pain of cutting your belly open. Fortunately both mother and baby was send to hospital and they were fine.
I don't think I have enough brave to sacrifice my body parts to save my life.

I love the holidays. I love being around my family and all the festivities. My mom gets really into it and decorates the whole house, so it's nice having everything up. It always puts me in a good mood and I love watching movies. I also get excited to see my relatives from out of town since I don't see them a lot. It's nice to have the whole family together and be around people that mean a lot to me. I'm really close with my family, and it's nice to have a day that we're all together having a good time.

to cut off my own arm or not to cut off my own arm...

So I am amazed at that man and any people who have to harm themselves to survive a situation. They are amazing and impressively brave. But I know if I were in a situation like that, my brain would kind of give up rather than think, "Cut off your arm and save your life!" I know this sound like I would be a quitter on life and just let the machine, or whatever the disaster, kill me, but for some reason I just would not be able to do that. Like in the Saw movies, when people had to cut off their own leg, or jump into a pit of needles, or like in the newest one where he has to sacrifice his eyes for his life..... all I was thinking as I watched that movie was, I could not do that! Thank God I'm not in that situation! I know that if I were in Saw, I would hear the tape, and sit down and cry, most likely not thinking about cutting off limbs or whatnot to possibly survive. Props to anyone who could do that though!

Also...
I looooove snow, it is gorgeous and I love how it looks glittery and makes everything peaceful and fresh. But I am terrified of driving in it! My car is a little Hyundai Accent and is so light that it spins out and does Horribly in bad weather... I avoid driving during the winter at all costs and still manage to spin out or slide and hit siderails the few times I do drive, like on the way home from basketball games or practice.

New Topic: Man cuts off own arm to save his life

So I was looking around for a new topic and I found and video clip this pretty interesting. There was a man who was tending to his crops and a stalk of corn got stuck in the machine, he put his hand in to try and get it unstuck but he got his hand stuck in the rollers. As he tried and tried to get his hand out he kept on getting farther and farther stuck up in the machine. He cries out for help but no one is around so after an hour has passed and his hand goes numb, he sticks a rod in the machine to jam it and takes out a pocketknife to started to cut away at his fingers so he could try and get free. All of a sudden the rod and machine start to spark and a fire starts to form on the machine and in the grass and by where he was. His hand right hand is still stuck in the machine so he starts to fight the fire with his left hand. The skin started to melt off his right arm from the fire, so he takes the pocketknife that he had and cuts off his right arm.

To me this an pretty amazing story. I probably would have no idea what to do in a situation like this and I don't know if I really would have the guts to cut off my own body part. I can't even imagine the pain that you would have to go through. Im in pain when I get a paper cut or something but I can't even imagine that. I was just wondering what you guys would do in a sistuation like this or if you could think of any other way of escaping? Would you cut off your own arm or leg if it was stuck? Just wondering!
Here's the website if anyone wants to check it out...don't worry they don't show anything nasty or gross.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/11/27/torjeman.sc.man.cuts.off.arm.wis

Holidays

I think that holidays are cool. There is no school, and you can relax. And you can do whatever you want to do. People can spend more time with their families and talk with them. Or, you can visit other places because sometimes it is the only time in the year that people have free. Holidays are cool because you always see many members of your family, and you spend time with them.

holidays

I have to say I love the holiday season. Thanksgiving is amazing because of all the amazing food and I get to see all my family who I usually only see on the holidays because they live in alabama and colorado and I get to see my mom's side then to. I also love Christmas because I love getting new stuff, but i also love just being with my family and we usually go to Florida to visit my dad's side on Christmas and I love going down there all my cousins and I get along and ist so fun. I also think Christmas is very stressful because I have no money right now, and with my condition with being on crutches adn all I don't know when I'm even goign to be able to go shopping and who would drive me since my parents are so busy/stressed with buying other presents and such. I love decoration the christmas tree and listning to christmas music and the smell of the christmas tree! I just love the holidays!

Snow

Christmas is almost here I love it I get so many gifts. I loved the snow espically on christmas eve its all snowy every year. Its real nice out until the snow freezes thats when its cold and I cant stand it. I love driving in the snow espically in a empty parking lot do alot of dounts with my car which is so fun. I cant wait to see what I am getting this year. I told my dad I want a new car and I want to get rid of my car but I highly doubt that he will buy me a new car because he just did this summer. Also I get to go around meet my family and spend time with them and this is the only time I do that. Also woww two weeks of school and then you come back and its almost 2nd semster which is sweet because were seniors. I know its hard for me this semster but 2nd semster is gonna fly by and then were out of high school. So lets make the best of it guys. Lets hope for a snow day this year so I can have a snow ball fight which I havent had for many years. E. coli is just sick I dont even want to talk about it end of story.

Agreement

I agree that as I'm getting older, I'm hating this season more and more. Driving in ice and snow sucks, being cold sucks, and Christmas kind of sucks. It just adds stress to my life, I have to spend my money on people and find something to give everyone that they might like. It's crazy for me this year, because I'm trying to save my money to buy a laptop for college. My family is giving me money as a Christmas gift to go towards that. So I think it's kind of silly, I should just keep my own money and not spend it on them so they don't have to spend anything on me. So we'd be even. But no, we have to do it the Christmas way.
At the same time, Christmas is a great time. And if you don't celebrate xmas, 2 weeks off school is pretty nice. It always feels good to spend time with family and be nice to each other and all that good stuff.

Snow

Personally I LOVE the snow!!!!Its what makes another part of the holidays soooo much fun. I love making snowmen and going sledding but the one thing that I really want to try is going snow boarding. I have tried "snowboarding" like with cheap ones down the Palatine Hills but I want to go to Alpine or something like that. I also like the first snow fall but a snow fall to me is completely covering the ground and not just flurries that melt when they hit the ground. Last year a friend and I went to Pleasant Hill School and went sledding on the snow piles from the snow plows....not going to lie it was pretty amazing. But anyways there are a couple of things that I really don't like about the snow. I HATE when the roads get ICY. Last year I spun out on my way to the YMCA and crashed a crappy Ford Taurus into a guard rail and cracked the front bumper and did some other damage, which we never fixed but my dad totaled it so we got another car. (since were all sharing what cars we have I share a lime green beetle with the family) But since then I am so scared to drive on icy roads. I also hate when the snow turns the gross dirty gray color and there is so much slush and when I walk to school its gets my pants all gross. Other that I love the snow but I wish we got tons of snow like we did when we were like 7 or 8. Lets hope for a SNOW DAY!!!!!!

Snow

A couple of people mentioned snow and it made me think of it. I loved snow as a kid because it was a chance to be creative outdoors and also to go sledding and all that stuff. Now that i have grown up i am not such a big fan of snow. Snow is cold and it gets all over my car (which i might add is a sexy 94 saturn with a huge wing so a dodge shadow is not so bad i think it was aubrey who said that). But i used to love winter but as i get older i feel like its just annoying and i miss summer. I wake up every morning in the winter and its so cold in my house and the sun in never out and winter is just a real downer. I was born in winter too so you would think i woud like it but i guess not. Anywho thats my random rant about snow.

Christmas time

Yes, thanksgiving is over and its Christmas time again. Christmas is the best holiday of the year! I mean presents, snow, songs, its got to be my favorite time of the year. Everyone is just happier around Christmas time. Christmas is not just a holiday or a day, its a feeling that you get. You know that Christmas is coming and you just can't help being happy. I mean when we were kids, Christmas was so much fun. Being very good through December so that good old Saint Nick will see and put you on his nice list. Its a time when you go out and make a snowman and hope that its starts dancing and talking like Frosty. A time when you see a red light in the sky and just think that its Rudolph leading Santa's sleigh to your house. Christmas time is great, the malls are packed with people buying gifts for others. Christmas also has like 200 songs about it and about other aspects of Christmas, now thats something that no other holiday has. Hearing those songs that I have heard since I was a kid, snow falling, presents under the tree, good times with family and friends, Christmas is the best time of the year!

I can't believe that it is almost Christmas again. It feels like Christmas was just the other day. I love the holiday season though. I think that everyone is always so cheerful and so much nicer to everyone. It is so pretty during the winter. My favorite is the first actual snowfall of the year. I love going outside the next morning and looking at the FRESH snow. Because after awhile it get's all messed up from my brothers playing in it and making forts and snowmen. I miss being a little kid and making a snowman every year with my dad. I also love going Christmas shopping for everyone as well. Even though I don't have much money right now it is still the time of the year to get gifts for the certain people. Driving around to go look at all the decorations is definatly my favorite part of the holiday season. Some people go all out and it looks so cool. Well I can't wait for Christmas to come and I also can't wait for it to snow!! Maybe we'll get lucky and have a snow day again this year!

i want to see that alvin and the chipmunks movie. anyone wanna go with me?

First of all...E-coli is gross. I dont know why we are talking about it, but my opinion is - if you're going to eat a ground up cow, you run the risk of eating it's ground up bowels and poop with it. So thats that. Now moving on to holidays. I for one am not too fond of family gatherings. Thanksgiving was rough this year cause everyone was so stressed and i dont know, i dont handle that well. My dad lives in FL and normally I would go there for Christmas and go to Disney World, but now my mom wants me to stay home for Christmas because I've been w/ my dad for the past couple. I say if she has a problem with it...why did she divorce him?? (she still likes him....yeah) She knows we alternate holidays...stupid!!! buts thats another convo for a different day. Anyways, all I really look forward to is buying myself Christmas presents :) and buying the Grant a Wish kids presents. I always hope for a snow day too :) oh and i like to drive my car on the snow. so if u see a shitty '93 green Dodge Shadow with a dent in the side in the school parking lot...dont hate. my car is a beast on snow.

It's the holiday season

So yes I love the Christmas/holiday season. I love that people are nicer to each other, I love giving (and receiving, I'm not going to lie) gifts, and I love the decorations. I love driving around when it's snowy and looking at Christmas lights and different neighborhoods...I am a little bit addicted to Christmas . However, holidays are stressful for multiple reasons. First of all, they are very expensive. I don't have a job right now because no one would hire me due to the insane cheer schedule, so I have to wait until Februray to get a job. That makes the financial part of Christmas so hard for me... I have no idea where I am going to get all the money for gifts from. My friends don't really understand because they all work or have parents that pay for everything, so I got suckered into a $40 secret santa... and I just don't have the extra money to throw around, so I am a little upset I didn't speak up and say I couldnt do it this year. But I love giving presents and making people happy, it will just be tough to fill the dent I'm going to make in my bank account. I'm hoping to babysit all winter break. haha
Also, my parents are divorced, and as I'm sure it is for all of you guys who are in the same situation, holidays are tough. Figuring out when to be with Mom and Dad, and then when to see Mom's side of the fam. and Dad's side, not to mention my stepdad's side and how they expect us to be there... it's exhausting. But it is completely worth it because I love being with family, sharing good meals together, going to midnight mass on Christmas eve, and feeling that "holiday spirit" that seems to fill everyone up as December nears an end.

E. Coli

I hate the idea that the food we eat might have disease or bacteria in it. It grosses me out and I don't it's just disgusting. I think that it is good they caught it before more people got sick. But how sick do you get from eating e. coli? Is it deadly? I think that if we have some e. coli or bacterial problems with our meets, I wonder how countries ravaged with poverty or war has to deal with. One would assume that it must be hard to find healthy meat that hasn't gone old or has been mishandled some way or another.

Recently a shipment of over 96,000 pounds of ground beef has been recalled by a Wisconsin company after a couple of people became sick from their meat. Studies showed that the beef had contained E coli-bacteria, a potentially deadly bacteria that can cause serious dehydration. E coli is when the meat is not processed properly and not cooked to its full heat. The products were also distributed in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia. E coli is most harmful to the elderly, infants and those who have compromised immune systems. There may be some in the southern state of illinois and the Food and Drug administration is saying to not only check the dates on them but they also released a list of different meats that may have the bacteria on the internet.

Holidays, what a special time of year. Everyone always talks about Christmas and getting presents and the feeling you get in the winter and Christmas spirit. But to me i think Thanksgiving is much more special than Christmas. I know i dont receive gifts and everything like that, but i get to see my family that i usually never get to see. Sitting around the table and enjoying the best meal you will have all year with your favorite people. To share laughs and stories over the years that have occured just makes me feel warm inside and appreciate what a loving family i have and how they will always be there for me no matter what.

I really sympathize with Dans' opinion. I,m also not a big fan of having the parties. I rather choose going snowboard or karaoke with my friends, but most of the time things doesn't go as I wanted.
It is all about a big shot of parents company. Each year in Christmas, boss of my fathers' company will hold a party inviting all the families in his offices. As a matter of fact, I really don't want to go their because I don't like party and I don't have nothing to talk with all the adults at that party. But my parents force my to go just because it is a party that boss holds and that really stress me out.

Holidays

I love holidays!!! I look forward to Christmas every year. I am kind of a romantic when it comes to them. I love the smell of the Christmas tree and the feeling of putting up the lights and decorations. I of course like the idea of having two weeks off. Sleeping in and relaxing! I love everything about it. I understand where everyone is coming from when they say how they don't like the holidays. I see them as a time to get together with friends and family and catch up on things that can't be done when in school. I am close to my family and we are small. My sister flies in from Virgina to visit and the Holidays are really the only times I get to see her. I love holidays and will always love them.

I think that, yes, I enjoy the holidays. But like Dan most of that is because of the break we get from school. Also, I think, besides snowboarding, the holidays is the only thing that cheers me up during winter. I hate winter its always so cloudy and dismal and the time, it depresses me. Another good thing about the holiday is you get to spend time with your family and friends and you usually will get presents or at least some 20 dollar check from a relative that you didn't even know existed. haha. Its a good time to be thankful for what you have and to make some New Year's Resolutions to accompish in the next year. I like some Christmas music but I tihnk that Feliz Navidad could mkae me go insane if I listened to it more than 2 times in a row. I can't stand that song. Overall, I feel that the holidays is a great time to get to know your family and friends more and to show your compassionate to them. And also, there is usually really good food too.

Holidays

Holidays are wonderful I stay with my family then I never go and vist me cousins and stuff until the holiday season. Around winter break is when I go out of town and have fun with the family. I just love to go vist my cousins in different states and gat many gifts and on top of that No school! But also krysti is right I dont know what to buy friends and family. Its so hard picking present and then you have to stay in a budget. After the holiday season I pay of my credit card bill with the money I got as gifts. So it evens out but at the end I get to enjoy with my cousins and there mostly teenagers so we get along.

Sucide and the Holidays

Suicide as everyone says is such a terrible thing and I agree with it. People keep on saying that they don't understand why someone would want to take their own life. I think about it this way... There is always going to be a point in everyones life when times are really hard. These times might last for a little while or for a very long time.Sometimes the hard times can get to an extreme such as your in so much debt that they might take your house away or you lost your job and you are trying to make all your money payments but can't find enough money to get you through. Maybe people think that things will never get better and why should they be here if they never will? These are all hard questions to answer and I hope no one will ever have to go through such a hard time that they will want to commit suicide. One of my friends was friends with the Barrington kid who committed suicide, and it was hard on him. I hope no one has to experience one of their friends doing this act. Like everyone has said there is always someone out there who is willing to help you out, talk to you, counseling, therapy, whatever it takes to help you out. No one wants to see each other get hurt especially in means of dying.

The Holidays..... I think this time of the year is a love, hate relationship for me. The love part is being together with my family and being able to enjoy each other. I know not everyone loves their family but it really depends on what type of family you grew up in and how everyone gets along. I also love the mood of the house being cozy and candles lit and baking going on for all the family members to get cookies. I think its pretty good. But the hate.....present buying....I have such a hard time of thinking of things to buy for my family members and friends. and I also hate spending all the money that I don't have as well. I don't think its the most wonderful time of the year but it maybe close!!!!!!

New topic Holidays

So this is the dreaded holiday season. The time of greed and bankruptcy is upon us. As you can see I am a rather bias person when it comes to the holidays. I dont like them. I dont really like anything about the holidays other than having a break from school. I am not a big fan of family gatherings because i would rather be with my friends. This thanksgiving was so boring until my friends came over after my family left. I dont like all the hype either. They start playing Christmas music like fight after Halloween and i hate Christmas music. (except for TSO they rock) The holidays bring nothing but stress and unhappiness in my house. My parents are all uptight abotu the money and us kids have to deal with their stressfulness. I really dont enjoy the holiday season, its a commercialized add fest beginning at Halloween and not ending until like a week after Christmas. The holidays are just another way to stress me out.

suicide

Suicide is a horrible thing to do and i agree with people when they say that it is kind of selfish. It is selfish just because they think that it is the only way out even though they have so many peolpe that they can talk to. A lot of people have been saying that teens have kind of have it hard in a way where we are pressured about certain things and are accepted to do well in everything we do by our parents pretty much. Just because you don't think that something can't be fized you automatically think you have to kill yourself even though you could go talk to your parents or someone who cares about you. After a suicide it is really hard for the parents adn that family because they don't know why it happened. Suicide is a horrible thing to do.

i've heard many people have commit suicide.
i also think its most horrible thing to do with your life.
They're just selfish that leaving the surrounders alone and hurt.
Think how much ur parents, families and freinds would get hurt so much from you.
If you really love them, would you want to see them suffering? Even if ur going through tough life.. you cant just end ur life just because ur having hard time. Everyone have their hard moments in their life at least once. People are born with reasons.. but if u cant find the reasons and just kill urself,, then what the point? So i think, people who wants to commit suicide should first think about the people that they love, then they would change their mind.

Suicide

I never really understood how someone could kill themselves. I heard about the kid from Barrington too, and how people are still trying to find clues that it was an accident. Walking on the train tracks and getting hit is a little hard to see as an accident. No one has said that he had his i-pod in or anything. The whole thing got shushed up pretty quickly. My parents and I drove by the spot on NW Highway where all the flowers are and started thinking about his family and how their Thanksgiving must be. Suicide doesn't only hurt the person it hurts everyone around them. Around the holidays we are supposed to feel a happy feeling and a warmth. When you lose someone or they take there own lives, that warmth and happy feeling goes away. All of a sudden there are tears instead of smiles and for the next few years that feeling will still be there. The best way is just to go through as usual and try to make it as normal as possible. To be suicidal you have to be extremely depressed. They feel like they have nothing left for them and the best way out is to kill themselves. We all need to watch for these signs and look for those who need our help. It is sad that the suicide rates are going up. Life has so much to offer.

So I accidently just deleted my great post...and I'm so frustrated... so I will try again later. Pretty much, it said that I agree with Aubrey and we need to remember that a lot of suicidal teens are experiencing depression and that affects the way they think. I also told a story about how my sister's friend in high school was depressed and threatening/attempting to commit suicide, and how all she could do was Be there for him. Once he threatened to not go home and go to Wisconsin after leaving practice, because he wanted to kill himself in a field in the middle of no where. My sister and this boy's best friend sat in their cars in the Fremd parking lot until his practice was over, to watch him get in the car and follow him home. He was upset with them and his parents at the time for watching him so closely, but now that he's grown up he is thankful for having friends that cared so much. So I agree, all we can do is be a good friend, Listen, and if it gets to be very very serious, talk to a counselor or adult friend.

Thoughts on Suicide

The first thing I want to say is that pain is relative. Kids in today's society think they have it bad because there is so much pressure to get into college and be successful and look a certain way and hang out with the right crowd. Let's say someone doesn't fit this mold and they feel lost...Their parents won't understand because they had it bad in their time too with wars going on and different circumstances in life. No one can judge someone else's pain but it's hard not to. We were talking about it in my english class, Paul Royko was a columnist and he wrote about how we didnt have to live through the Great Depression and we don't know what hard is. I think this is why a lot of people who commit suicide do what they do--because no one understands them and their pain. We cant say "Oh, you dont know what bad is, you have it great." because we as teens dont know life any different than what we have lived through. We cant compare our pain to something that wasn't in our lifetime. I think it comes down to just listening to someone and letting them know they're not alone, that their pain is real but they can get help for, instead of just writing them off as selfish. Let me add too that when people get depressed, and not like oh my cat died *tear* depressed, when someone gets really depressed, the chemical imbalance can take over and cause them to think a certain way and put them in a mindset where in any other case they wouldnt do something that extreme. And as contradictory as it is, some depression medications can cause suicidal thoughts as a side effect. So I wouldn't say it's a selfish act, but every case is different. Some people will threaten suicide for attention, others mean it. I think the best thing we can do is just LISTEN.

Suicide

Suicide is for cowards. I'm sorry if it's bold but I believe that no one should resort to something so low. I think we are here for a reason and I also believe we, as humans, only truely live once. Why would someone want to waste such a precious gift? If your having a problem and you think suicide is the only option, just tell yourself that its a bump in the road. things always heal with time. But if you commit suicide, you are erasing you own time. Another thing I absolutely hate is a person who kills themself to hurt another. That's the most idiotic thing I've even heard of. Oh yeah, They mourn and feel sadness but you are DEAD. Suicide is an awful thing that happens now and will keep happening because some people look for the easy way out. Embrace the gift of life and live it to its full potential.

Suicide

Suicide is pretty much the same as murdering other people but worst. Killing yourself is such a sin that will make you regret of doing it. Family problems, drugs, bad relationship plays a big role in suicides. By the time that you cant take it anymore, you decide to end it. Some incidents like the guy who fell off the cliff with his car had black marks on the road that he actually tried to stop in the last second. People who would likely commiyt suicide usually drops out from class adn dont go to school anymore. They give out thier priced possessions and leave notes to love ones. If you have friends,family or relatives like this, you should ask for professional help to prevent bad things happening that you might regret in the end.

Suicide

That is crazy thing to me life is wonderful why go and kill yourself. I think drugs and people not caring about others take a big part of suicide. If a family isnt watching after there son or daughter there might be a issue of suicide due to that. Yes it might suck to be a teenager but you gotta be the strong one and go threw it and life changes. If you commit suicide your hurting your self and people around you that loved you. To help just look after your friends and make the right decsions. But in my veiw I would never want to kill myself but thats just what I think.

It is so easy to say that suicide is selfishness when you've never been in that situation. I've never seriously wanted to kill myself, but I've talked to enough people who have to know that there is something deeper going on that just thinking life sucks and wanting to take the easy way out. Depression is a serious illness, and people need to get help before they are at the point of suicide. You can never really know what is going on in someone else's head. So I would agree that a good way to keep people away from suicidal thoughts/suicide is to just be there for them and be a good friend. Therapy and counseling have also helped people, but that sort of thing varies from person to person. I don't know what the answer is, but I'm sure more education would help. And being more open to discuss suicide would also help people realize that it does seem selfish and that there is help out there and better ways to deal with issues in life.
Alcohol and drugs can obviously make a situation worse, so educating people more about that would also be a good thing. It also goes back to the good friends thing, make sure there are people around you that will look after you and make sure that you don't get yourself into any trouble.

Also, I heard this one story of a family friend's daughter that was drinking after a dance and almost committed suicide. It probably was because she was under the influence. Drugs and alcohol can affect you a lot and make you do things that you may not do normally. I know that kids in high school do drugs and drink, but make sure that you don't get to that point or you don't get in that state of mind where you could make a decision like that.

I think to take your own life because you think things are that bad, is a horrible thing. It's so scary for parents and the family. Lots of times, people's questions aren't answered and the family is hurt a lot more. My mom talked to me about suicide, when she heard of a lot of teens committing. She said that she would hope that if things got really bad, she would hope I would go to her to talk to her before I did anything like that. It's scary for a parent to know that kids think that's the only way to escape all the bad things. My mom said that she doesn't think that there is anything that bad worth killing yourself over. As a teenager, we sometimes think that life can't get any worse, but we always have family. It's so sad to see what has happened to a family after a loved one has committed suicide. They have no idea. The person that did it leaves their family not knowing why. How do they know what was going on, and maybe they could have done something to help. I understand that we're teenagers and things are hard sometimes since we are at that age, but I don't think anything could be that bad to kill yourself over. You never know, maybe talking to a family member or adult you trust could help. It might sound crazy, but even going to a therapist. There are so many other things you could do than resorting to that option. It's so sad to see that family go through that pain and be left not knowing.

Suicide

Suicide is a tough topic for anyone. I think it is one of those things that is sad for everyone even if you didnt know the person. To think that someone was so upset with their life that they thought they had no other option but to kill themselves is really depressing. There are so many ways to get help now that its weird that rates are climbing. Being a teenager sucks, its stressful, awkward, and just plain hard. For some people its so difficult that they feel like they have to take the easy out and end their life. Suicide is for cowards. The people who you hurt most are the ones who loved you most. If one of my friends was to kill themselves i dont think i would be able to live normally again. Suicide is the ultimate act of selfishness. i understand life is hard but there are other alternatives that dont ruin lives. if you end your life, your ruining many other lives of the people who loved you. Af far as what we can do to help i dont know, but i know there are ways. I know some people who have contemplated it and i try my best to help them and so far its been working. i think the best cure for this problem is having good friends who are always willing to help. So if you wanna help be someone's friend because sometimes all it takes is one friend so save a life.

Wondering what you think

At church this weekend, our leader of the youth ministry Paul was talking about a student from Barrington who recently committed suicide. Many teens in our parish were deeply affected by this because of being connected to this boy either by knowing him or his brother. In his homily, Paul was saying that teen suicide rates are on the rise again and adults need to do something about it. What do you think? As we get older and become adults, this will be our problem to help solve; being teens, we are affected by this all the time. How can schools, adults, parents, etc. stop as many teens from having suicidal thoughts? Do we need to start having programs or education about these things at a younger age? We learn about depression in health class, usually around our sophomore year, but do younger grade levels need to be informing kids on how to be healthy about depression? How can adults, teachers, etc. help these numbers go down? I've just been thinking about this a lot since Sunday and was wondering what you all think.

Hybrid

I think that hybrid cars are cool. You do no pollute the enviroment like you would normally do when driving a regular car. You can also save money because you have to refill it every two weeks or so. I bet that hybrid cars will be used more frequently in the future because the costs to maintain the car will not be so expensive. And everybody could afford it. We should start buying hybrid cars as soon as possible.

I'm really surprised that not so many people in the United States drive Hybrid cars instead. I would think that many more people would want them instead. They would save you so much money that is put towards filling up on gasoline. Basically all that needs to be done is for the car to be charged and then it only requiers a little amount of gas. That is from what I have heard before. Maybe by the end of next year the sales of Hybrid cars will rocket up just like the gas prices have been doing lately too. Who knows. Maybe in the next generation there wont even be cars that run only on gasoline. Maybe one day Hybrid cars will be the only type that will be available.

Hybrids

My mother has a Hybrid Prius and I swear that car is amazing. It costs her about $30 to fill the tank up completely and she doesn't have to fill up for about 2 to 4 weeks depending on how far and how much she travels. The only problem is that when it's snowing or raining the car is like a tin can in the wind.
If you feel like watching a good movie that gives you an idea of what the future will be like in 500 years if we don't clean up out act then watch Idiocracy. Luke Wilson, Dax Shepard and Maya Rudolph are in it. It's quite hilarious and truth defying. WATCH IT!!!

Bonds

As some of you have heard by now, Barry Bonds is being indicted. Bonds has lied to a grand jury 19 times! He is facing 4 counts of perjury at a maximum of 5 years of jail time per count and 1 count of obstruction of justice. The obstruction has a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail. Bonds is facing a total possibility of 30 years in jail and every record and stat of his erased from the books forever. In the winter of 2003, several MLB players sat infront of a grand jury and said that they have never done steriods. Rafael Palmero, Mark McGuire, Jose Canseco, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds have all been caught after lying to that grand jury. Only Bonds is being indicted, is this fair? Should the MLB punish the other players that lied to the grand jury? I mean Canseco even wrote a book called "Juiced" telling about MLB players taking steriods. Bonds has lied 19 times, while others have lied once or twice. Fair or unfair, right or wrong. Baseball has been having problems through out its history. From the black sox scandal in the early 1900's to betting on baseball and now steriods. Baseball has entered the steriod era.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AopRj4FQDfYgcibPhoMoDhoRvLYF?slug=jo-bondsindictment111507&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

it amazes me that more people dont have hybrid cars these days. It saves money on gas, and is way less harmful to the environment. My aunt has one down in New Mexico and all she does is charge it overnight and fill up her tank (which is about half as a normal car) and gets about 60+ miles to the gallon! Sure the cars may be a little bit more expensive but think of all the money you save over the years with gas and what not, as it continues to go up every week.

Newton

Haven't had to come on the blog but I am here today. Well I would love to be known and invent cool things and become rich of them. But I would want a family, also friends to have a social life I dont think life is fun with out kids after your married. I would hate to invent things all day and not have a set time to do my work. Its said how his dad died and had to live with another man. As Krysti said there can be many diff. opinions about what he thought or felt. Newton didnt want to probally have a family because he would be to busy working on soem of his studies or inventing things. That wouldnt give his family time so he didnt want to be a bad father/husband. But thats just what I think.

Newton

Yea I watched this movie is physics too but i never thought about it in the way Sam did. Well for me I think it would be nice to have fame and glory but as we see in the magazines and media today not too many families that have the "good life" don't really have a good life. I know it would be nice to have a ton of money and not have to worry about expenses and all but personally I would like to have a family that I would be so happy with even if we didn't have too much money or fame. I know we all think of a family that we would like to have one day and eventually that will happen when you fall in love and the birds and the bees and so on and so on.
I also thought of the Newton thing this way. Like we (people in physics) saw in the movie Newton had a hard life growing up, his dad died when he was little and his parents left him to go be with another man. Maybe he didn't believe that there was love since he never felt it as a child. Or maybe he fell in love with his studies of trying to figure out the planets or gravity and what not. There can be so many different opinions about what Newton thought or felt but we will never know.

I love Love

(first of all, the way stacey's comment started off made me laugh because of unicorn planet "im sad.." anyways..)

I love love way too much to prefer eternal glory and fame with isolation. Yes it would be amazing to be rich and well known and remembered forever. But technically, we'll all be remembered forever through our families, friends, and anyone we make an impact on. I'm not a math minded person, so the idea of being shut up in my room for my whole life, staring at equations is horrifying, but if I were the kind of person who loved math and science, I still think I'd want a family and love before eternal fame like Newton had. I am the kind of person who craves human contact and conversation a ton, so anything like living in solitude forever like Newton or solitary confinement in prison would be horrible for me. Good thing I don't plan on going to prison.

I just want to be happy :) If I'm married and have kids, then I will balance a fulfilling career with a happy family life...but if I didn't have a family, I guess the only thing important to do would be working, so I would be sure to be the best at what I do if it's all I had. I dunno...maybe Newton just liked being alone. Some people get uncomfortable in social situations? Maybe he had imaginary friends? Who knows.. It's just important to remember that no matter what you do, balance it. Too much of something = baaad. So do what makes you happy :)

Newton response

I relized a while ago that most geniuses dont fit into society properly. Apparently newton was no exception to the rule. People that are rediculously smart are too complex to socialize normally with regular people. Einstien (which i cant spell) has social issues too. He didnt talk until later in his childhood. I think it would be a curse to be that smart. All day these people just think until they go crazy. that would suck. One of the smartest people that ever lived was named Tesla. That post down on the below with the electric sports car was named after him (the Tesla roadster). Tesla worked for Eddison (the guy who invented the lightbulb) and Eddison stole many of Teslas ideas. That would be one of the other curses of being a genius, people are always stealing your ideas and using them to be rich. Also geniuses put alot of their money back into their research and end up being poor. Intelligence can be a curse, thank God i have nothing to worry about. ha ha

Hybrid

I would like a Hybrid car because it would be great for the enviroment and it would have much better mileage. If we do our part and help the earth it with still be around when our kids are here. We need to protect the atmosphere from dangerous fumes and prevent the Ozone from getting owned.

Love or Physics

My mother has a hybrid Prius and let me tell you, she spends about $30 to fill up her tank and doesn't have to fill it up for about two to four weeks, depending on where she goes. I love that car except for that fact that it's so light that when it's windy or snowing that car is like a tin can in the wind. W.e if you guys want to see what we'll be like in the future, watch this movie called Idiocracy. Luke Wilson, Dax Shepard and Maya Rudolph. I swear it's the funniest movie, but it really shows what our world could potentially be like in five hundred.

i dont take physics so i dont really know much about it
but i guess it would be cool if ppl remember you after you die..
But having a lonely life would seriously suck. I think its really rare that ppl are like that.
well for me i would rather live normal life .. Having kids,, hanging out with friends.. etc..
Enjoying life would make me LOT happier.

That's sad. His life probably would have been a lot better if he had people there, like family, to help him celebrate all of his accomplishments in life. He reached many of his goals I'm sure, and it would have been a lot more enjoyable if he had people to encourage him and support him along the way. I know that when I accomplish something, the first thing I do is tell people that care about me (friends, family, etc.). They get excited for me because they know that I worked really hard and wanted to reach that goal. I'm sure it would have been the same thing if he had a family to share all of his accomplishments with.

Wow i never knew that about Newton. I knew he was the smartest man ever and he did all this amazing stuff but I don't think i realized he never had a wife and a family. Even though it would be sweet to change peoples live or whatnot i think i rahter have a family and friends. I don't know if have ever thought differently because I am not that smart to be able to achieve a goal like that. I think if someone was smart enough to have great inventions and other stuff then they would think about it. Even if you were smart, you could sitll have a family and friends. I still think I would rather have love though.

New Topic

Alright so I don't know how many people in this class have either taken Physics or are in Physics right now, but a couple days ago I watch this movie on Issac Newton in my physics class. Now, Newton was basically one of the smartest human ever to live because he simply thought up the ideas of gravity, light, and telescopes along with invented a whole new branch of math in Calculus. Yet in this movie, he was always alone in a little room to calculation and thinking of new questions to be answered. It was said that he did not have any friends and usually stayed in his rooms for months at a time never leaving. He never had a wife nor kids, and went on to die the most brilliant yet lonely man alive. Now my question is, would you prefer a life where you accomplish ground breaking discoveries and are deemed a legend and genious and yet are lonely a never expierence relationships or love? Or would you want to live a normal life with a fmaily and friends without the eternal glory? I think that, although being remebered for the rest of time would be nice, I would rather live and enjoy my life with my friends and family in that moment than wondering if anyone would remember me in the future.

Hybrid

Hybrid cars are becoming more and more popular and I agree with Aubrey to the point where I think that there should be more of them. I don't think that that it should be illegal to have all companies make only hybrid cars. First hybrid cars are very expensive. They don't use gas but not everyone can afford to pay for one. Gas prices are continuing to go up and hybrids will help with this, but would the price completely even out. I like hybrids and I remember the first one that came out. I thought it was really weird looking. Now I am used to it and see so many different kids that look just like it. Until we can be sure that everyone can afford to buy a hybrid we should not completely take away regular cars. We are in the era of technology and in a few years (or decades) we should be at that point. We do need to take better care of our environment and we should take it one step at a time. Hybrids are a great way to start. A lot of people like the look of regular cars better even if they have to pay for gas. If hybrid cars could look like an Audi or a Porsche then more would sell. People like to have a car that looks nice. Hybrids are efficient but don't always have the same look that the consumers are looking for. People want the beauty sadly.

alternative

So...I dont know if the whole finding new feul methods is for environmental reasons, or because gas is so expensive/scarce. But either way, I think it should be illegal for car companies to make SUV's that aren't hybrid or take a gasoline alternative like the new ethanol gasses. I know this is kind of off topic, but we're talking about cars and this is what comes to mind. I'm concerned about the environment and dont want to see my grandkids suffer from the environmental effects of our choices today. So if we really want to get serious about helping our earth, why wont companies just make more hybrid cars? It shouldnt be an option, it should be a law. If companies dont make all hybrid cars, they should make cars that run on ethanol. (I think thats the name of it.) There is already a gas station that I know of in Illinois that only has ethanol, and we need to see more of them. I think it's a solution for our environmental problem and our gas problem. Win-win. I dont get why we aren't changing.

different methods..?

Okay so I was watching this thing on t.v not that long ago, and it was talking about how there converting like grease from restaurants into fuel. i found this extremely interesting. although I wasn't paying attention to the exact science of how it was done, I know that they were also using vegetable oil as well. They would put it into some sort of like tank and it would come out ready to be used as fuel. And if you consiter that the grese from the resurants doesnt really cost anything, then its almost like free. im sure that the car has to be converted or somthing for this to work. but its a great idea for the futer. think of how much grease there is in the world from all of our bad eating habbits, so if we cant better ourselfs at least we can better the enviroment. i know that it costs me about $60 just to fill my tank up.. and that barly lasts me a week.. and i hardly even drive anywhere. it sucks so bad. but im not sure if i would want one of those cars everyones talking about, although its way cheeper, it sort of sounds like a death trap to me.

Related to Dans topic, there is a car call "Telsa Roadster" . For those of you that don't know, Telsa Roadster is a fully electric sports car. Able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in under 4 seconds, and reach a top speed of over 130 mph. Additionally, this car will be able to travel 245 miles on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery.Its efficiency is reported as 133 Wh/km , equivalent to 135 mpg! So it is fast, it has great fuel(electricity) efficiency and most importantly, this car is hot.
So, which car you want to own? Smart Car or Telsa Roadster?

smart car?

I think these things are ridiculous. They are a tiny, compact, sardine tin, danger that will NOT come CLOSE to protecting you when you get hit by anything..(i.e a Honda??). The miles are great, but I have a 2005 VW diesel Jetta, and it gets 40 mpg. It has great mileage AND it has a semi automatic turbo engine. I don't think we need to sacrifice safety and style for a gas efficient trend that will die out with the invention of a new/better car.

SmArT CaRs

Alright so i was going to put up a picture of the new smart car but my computers is being ridiculous so i can't.

Ok that first thing that came to my mind when I saw this picture was a car that you would see someone driving around in, in England or Britain or somewhere in Europe. I think I saw this in The movie the Pink Panther with Steve Martin in it but i didn't watch the whole thing but I can't remember. I doesn't seem that bad, I drive a lime green bug right now its almost maybe a little bigger then the smart car. I guess it would be nice to have a car like the smart car if the car you have right now sucks up gas like crazy but i don't know. The price of gas is shooting up insanely but you could save a lot of money by owning one and the price seems really cheap to. The car seems like it would be good if you don't care what your car looks like and you just want something to get you from point A to point B. It would seem like the car wouldn't be good for long trips or you wouldn't have that much room if you had to drive more than one person in the four seat version.
I don't know if I would particularly would want that car just because of the looks part of it but I would get it if it saved me hundreds of dollars a year.

Little Colorful Shoe Boxes

I think that these smart cars are very smart ideas. I think that with gasoline being so expensive, people have to learn how to save money and do without some trunk space and feet room. I don't know if personally I would want a smart car because I like my trunk space and feet room. But if I was a person who didn't have enough money to buy a different type of car, I think it would be a wise choice to buy a smart car. I think that they would also be really beneficial if you lived in the city and had one of these bad boys. I mean think of that little paraelel parking spot that you always see that you can't fit into. Now think of it while driving a smart car, I mean it is only 8 ft long. I guess personally I would be embarrased to drive around in one because I would just feel like an idiot. Also, I think that if the creators made the car a little more appealing and less stupid looking, I would definitley buy it. I would buy it because, quite frankly, gas is just ridiculous right now.

ND

okay sorry im a little behind but i noticed that people were talking about Notre Dame football with Ty Willingham and stuff. I am probably the biggest ND fan ever my dad went there and so did his dad and all my dads brothers. It was definetly not racism that got him fired it was his lack of coaching and recruiting is what really went down. Willingham didn't bring the team to any BCS bowl games and Weis brought them to 2. Willingham also was a horrible recruiter and he didn't bring in any top notch recruiting class to the years to come. This is why now the Irish are a young team because they have no good upperclassman they don't really even have enough. Yes, the Irish suck right now i can admit that, but that is not Weis's fault at all that was poor recruiting from Willingham. Willingham didn't get fired because he was black, he got fired because he just didn't really know how to recruit i mean yes he brought in Samarja and Brady Quinn who were amazing but look at the team now he didn't bring any more good ones and when he was coach he didnt start Brady Quiinn or Samarja or Maurice Stovall. No one should give Weis a hard time because next year the recruiting class is #1 in the country and people shouldn't be saying Weis is the bad coach, he just recruited some amazing talent for next year. That's the real reason why Willingham got fired. No one was being racist, i know people siad that but it really wasnt. Sorry for the rant. I just love Notre Dame! Go Irish!

Maybe I'm the only one, but to me these smart cars seem pretty cool. It is obviously a good idea to save money on gas and also help the environment by using up less gas. It is also good that these cars themselves are pretty cheap. Sure, it would be weird to drive at first, but I think people would get used to it. They use them in other countries, why shouldn't we? Another benefit is that they would take up less space. (Parallel parking wouldn't suck so much!) We would still need vans or trucks for moving large objects, and other bigger cars for families, and of the car fanatics would still need their crazy cars... but for practical everyday use, I think these cars will be a good thing in America.

Cars

I think that those cars would be cool to watch. But I would prefer a normal size car than those small ones. A person would be encourage to buy average size cars if they will lower up the gas prices. I agree with dan that they should find new alternative fuels to make it more affordable. But those small cars will probably be famous because people will start buying them and the next thing you know, they all have one of those and its not weird to travel using that car anymore.

Smart Cars

Ok so i totally forgot about blogging for a while... anyways i think that the article about fuel efficient cars is really important. Not just because gas is expesive...which it is....but mostly because we are finally publicizing different ways that people can choose to live green and protect our environment. I agree with Dan in that they are not the coolest looking vehicles but to me other things are more important than that. The downside of these tiny cars to me is that it could be really dangerous for anyone in the car if a crash were to occur. It is cool that these cars are affordable too because it makes people more inclined to consider its benefits.

As for creating alternate fuel sources, we have been trying for a long time and there are other sources of fuel to be used but i really don't see this happening anytime soon...especially because of the fact that our wonderful president has a lot of money invested in oil companies.

New topic Smart cars

So im bored of talking about North Korea so i figured id start a new topic i read about on yahoo news, smart cars. For those of you that dont know smart cars are those little fuel efficient "cars" from europe. I put the work car in quotes because i dont know if i can consider them cars. They are tiny (8 feet long) and get really good gas milage (40-45mpg) but i think i would feel like an idiot driving around in them. They are cheap too costing under 12 grand. I can see the benefits to driving a toy car like this but i still dont think i would like one. Gas is expensive, yes, but there has to be better alternatives. Why cant we develop alternative fuels that cost less instead of sacraficing bigger more powerful cars? I love muscle cars and big luxury cars these "smart" cars are tiny and i assume they are not very fun to drive. What do you guys think about the colorful little shoe boxes?

North Korea

The people in North Korea know nothing of the outside world. It's horrible! They think that the government controling every aspect of life and people geting shot and dying of starvation is normal. What the government doesn't tell them is that its only normal in their country. The rest of the world gets to make its own choices about everything in their life. The people of North korea are trapped in a bubble, isolated from the rest of the world. The government kills who ever they want and no one does anything about it. The government also is starving thousands of people in their country because they can't import goods that good and they can't farm that well. The UN needs to step in and say enough is enough and get rid of this horrible government. Also, the nuclear power plany we built for them is being used to make nuclear divices and not to provide power to the country.

Fortunately, we can acquire any information we want in this country. Throughout radio, TV or Internet, we learn what is happening in modern life.
Unfortunately North Korean people can't. And problem is, how the hell the children in north Korea learn about economics? Government tells them only they permitted and that is ・・・ I can't find the right word to say, but what I want to describe is that, children in North Korea knows nothing of the world. I'm not saying they are stupid, they don't have opportunity. Plus they don't have right to get out from their country.
I can't understand whats Kim Jong-il are thinking, people in North Korea are like bird trap in the cage. I definitely don't want live there.

North Korea

I would never want to live in North Korea. I bet that life thre is tough, you have no freedom. The North Koreans cannot leave their country, they have to do what the government tells them to do. They thinkthat every contry is like North Korea. I would go mad if I had to move there. Propably once you are in Korea, you won't be able to get out of there. Unless, you are on a trip like Mr. Spoor was.

agreeing with sabrina bacardi.

i dont think i would ever live in north korea. it would suck. i think that the coach definatly got fired for being black. the facts are all right there, after 3 years of dedicated service how could they just fire him out of the blue. although he had a 6:5 record i still dont consiterd that a losing record. on another note im wondering how everyone feels about the toy scare? is anyone else being more cautious this year as aposed to last year? i certainly know i am.

Replying to Callie

Just to reply to Callie asking why Ty why hired in the first place: He was hired because ND had hired someone who had basically lied on his contract saying he played such and such football and had coached at different places. When this was found out he was fired and the people who were looking to hire a coach were getting turned down left and right by coaches. Ty was the only coach who had a winning season, was qualified, and actually wanted to coach.

ND

Okay, so about the coach that got fired, I personally think that it might have been because of his skin color that he got fired. After he was fired the university said that he just wasn't "right" for the university. Look at Notre Dame's record under him and under their current coach this season. Notre Dame is 1-9 this season. Under coach Willingham they had losing seasons, but never that bad of losing seasons. Does that mean current coach Charlie Weis isn't "right" for the university? Unlike Willingham, Weis will coach the Irish for many years to come and will not be fired for having bad seasons and apparently is "right" for the university. Did race have something to do with the firing of coach Ty Willingham? This season Ty Willingham is 3-7 with the Washington Huskies and the Irish are 1-9 under Charlie Weis.

Personally I don't think racisim is the reason that he got fired. I'm sure there are many reasons behind why he was fired from being a football coach at Notre Dame. There is no proof what so ever that it is because of racisim. Even white coaches are getting fired all the time as well. If the real reason did come down to be because he was black, that is horrible and very sad. Racisim shouldn't even be a problem. Everybody is equal and no matter what color they are, if they fit the standards to be a coach for a team, they should be able to do it. And if he is now currently coaching at the University of Washington, I doubt it was because of racisim because if it really was then how would he be able to get a job coaching at that school?

ND

Here you go Kim I will make you happy and be colorful. Wow I never new he was the first black coach for a college thats amazing. Well like Dan said it cant be proven that he was fired because he was just black. He loved ND alot then he didnt go to Nfl thats pretty crazy. He might of did many bad things that got him fired. I wonder what he does now for a living. Atleast he got the team to win some games. Maybe the players didnt like him coaching so they did bad to get him fired god knows.

ND response

so although that coach was black there is really no way to prove he was fired because of racism. Coaches are in and out all the time reguardless of the situation. I dont really know the other circumstances like if he was hurassed or anything but it doesnt seem like there is enough evidense to claim that he was fired because of racism. it is a possibility and if its true thats terrible but i dont think there is enough evidense to prove it.
And i changed my font color for kim

NK

Here you go Kim, you silly color maniac.

I was talking to my mum the other day and there's a possibility in three years time that we may be moving to Spain or somewhere else in Europe. We then started talking about living in middle Asia and I almost cried. The thought of living in NK would be so sad and depressing. Not that they'd even let us in, but just the idea of knowing NOTHING of the outside world, thinking everyone is living in the same desolate world as you is so....morbid. I wish we could help free the people from their tyranny. But then, if you really think about it, will we even remember NK in a few weeks time? Remember Burma? Just a few weeks ago (or last month w.e) we were talking about them, and now the whole controversy of NK came up and we completely forgot about Burma. That's how the world is now, so much chaos is happening that we can't completely focus on one certain country, one certain disease, it's utter madness really.






On a different note, I was talking to my dad about Notre Dame and I didn't realize there was a HUGE controversy over their Ex coach Ty Willingham. The thing is, first he's/was the first black man to ever coach at such an elite level/college in college football. He was amazing, his freshman year of coaching the NFL offered him a job and he turned it down because he loved ND so much, that's dedication if you ask me. Basically he made an amazing team, coaching some great players from their frosh year and had them in some great Bowl games. But then his third year in they were 6 and 5 and they (whomever decided this) thought he was a bad coach. So they cut him loose. It was the first time EVER in ND football that someone had been fired sooner than five years. And the sad thing is, 6-5 in your third year is NOT bad, other ND coaches have done worse. So is it racism that caused him to be fired or was it something else? What do you guys think? (If this topic dies it's cool, just wanted to see what you all think.) He's currently coaching at the University of Washington.

P.S....

Boo everyone, pick a color for your post font! When you dont they just turn out orange and it looks like a boring Halloween page. We used to be so colorful...let's go back to that.

I want to live in North Korea...Not!

I would never want to live in North Korea! To me, that would be absolutely horrible! If I had to suddenly move to North Korea, I would probably get arrested in less than 24 hours because of spreading the truth around and bad talking their propaganda. But here's what I was thinking about, and I'm glad Julianne said it too...

If this question is referring to us being born in North Korea, I dont think we would hate it. We may get frustrated with strict rules if we were rebels on the inside, but I doubt we would wish to live somewhere else, because they dont know any better. They only hear things the government is editing and twisting...the only things they know and are taught and see are things the government has preapproved. So yes to us this idea of living in North Korea is horrible, but to them, it's normal. It's all theyve known and how they have been raised. I feel bad for them...it's almost like they are brainwashed the way Hitler brainwashed kids in the WWII era through propaganda, controlling the radio and newspapers, and having things like Hitler youth. But this isn't for a few years, in the case of North Korea, it's for their whole lives.
Interesting topic, guys!!

North Korea

This is a really interesting topic.. Obviously, I would not want to live there. But, if I did live there- would I really know what I'm missing out on? Since the government controls so much of their loves and what they are allowed to see, they probably don't even realize what is really going on in the world. I'm sure many North Koreans are unhappy with the government and realize that something is wrong. I don't have much else to add to this one... sucks for them, I guess. Hopefully something will change for them soon!

North Korea

If Iwere to pick countries that I would want to live, North korea isnot one of would not be anywhere of my top 5. Its a country where freedom is taken and probably fear is taking over. Not to mention the fact that they are one of the threats for building nuclear weapons. i think they should change thier form of government and try to be more friendly with the other countries.

I don't know what I would do if I lived in North Korea. When Mr. Spoor was telling us all this information i was shocked to hear that. I couldn't believe that all the cell phones lost signal. I didn't know that they didn't have what we all have. I knew they were communist and stuff, it just didn't click in my mind that they were under so much contorl and they couldn't do anything. I agree with what Elizabeth said that does remind me of "Lost" also. You don't know what is going to happen next really, and you can't escape it. I couldn't believe what Spoor told us about being in China and you make one bad move and you could all over hte newspapers and news in North Korea. I wonder how many people that happens to. I don't know what I would do if I lived in a country like that.