Marsh Mallowing

So me and some other guys have decided to make marshmallow guns and do something with them once we have done that. I finally finished mine, and I'm pretty proud of it, it isn't he normal one that some of you may have seen. I changed it up a little bit and modified it, making a shoulder brace, and one that shoots multiple marshmallows at a time.

If you have never seen one before you make them out of 1/2" PVC pipe. Using a saw or a pipe cutter you cut the pipe lengths to however long you would like them. Then using the connector pieces twist, turn, and cover it until there is only two openings. One for you to blow through and the other for the marshmallow to exit.

You may be reading this thinking, "wow what a loser," but I don't care they are fun to make and use. If you haven't ever had or used one I would suggest it. PVC is very cheap, I got 5' for only a buck and connecters for 10-20 cents. This makes it not only fun but cheap.

National Treasure (2)

The National Treasure series is one of the best selling right now. The second movie just came out and I did think it was pretty good, just like the last one was. Although the more I watch these movies and other ones like them, I find them less and less believable. When the first one came out, I was little younger and accepted that the whole concept was believable, even though it was extremely unlikely. But, now when I watch them after the first time, I just think they are stretching things too far. Yes, Benjamin Gates may know a lot of history, but there is no way he knows enough of it well enough to figure out the clues that are left behind in a minute. I think if you had a computer, a lot of people, and wikipedia then maybe you could figure out the clues in a few hours, but when one guy just thinks really hard and knows exactly where every piece of history is and was, it just makes it unreal. Despite this, I would still recommend the movies to others and let them decide for themselves how realistic they think it is.

What Would You Think?

Take a good look at your life. Now, right now you have a bias look on your life, you probably don't think that you are a bad person, and you are doing well in life. But, what do you think your child-self would think of you? Would they agree with what you think right now. Just think about what you thought about high schoolers, and other old people when you were in elementary school. I'm pretty sure when you were that young your acceptance of what is right and wrong is a whole lot different then they are now. Yes, granted as childern we were niave, but we were also uncorupt. In elementary school, you haven't been exposed to drugs, alcohal, and all the other such occurances in high school. I don't mean that all high schoolers are drinking and doing drugs, but I mean that in elementary school no one you know has drank exept for your teacher. It is just strange that over the years I am pretty sure we become more accepting of illegal activity. Instead of maturing when we grow up and establishing morals, it seems that more people do just the opposite, do what they know is wrong, what they had been braught up knowing is wrong. If you have gone down that road, it is your decision, and do what you want. (This is kind of one of thoes examples of were I have just began to accept that others do this). But, what would your 3rd grade self think of you now?

So Close

So today was the seniors' last day, and that means tomorrow we are now the top dogs on campus. Scary thought. It seems each year is going faster and faster, I can't believe I only have one more year of school left, yes college but that is nothing like school is now. It will be strange to be the oldest ones in the school. There is no longer people above you, like there has been ever since we started school, almost twelve years ago. Next year, the class of 2009 will be the oldest class, still active, in our school (and every other one).

When I started kindergarten way back when I remember looking at the seniors down the street at Kennedy (I went to Pierce), thinking that they were so old, and it was going to take forever to get there. But now I only have one year left. It is just mind blowing that school, the longest running thing in my life is almost done. I am looking forward to next year, I hope it is a good one and we make the best of it.

Summers past

Last summer my parents "hired" me to landscape the backyard. I agreed to do it because it sounded like fun. Now I knew it was labor but I wasn't expecting it to take the whole summer just to finish the first 3/4 of it. Last spring, almost a year ago now, we had some contractors come out and do some designs and estimates. After I saw both I was just joking to them and said I could to the same thing, maybe better, for less. So they challenged me to do it. I wasn't going to back down so I undertook it. I went out measured it, and planed the whole thing. It included a fire pit and patio made out of pavers, replacing about half of the grass in the yard with mulch, and stairs (which we decided to have someone else do). Even after I had planned this I still thought I could get it done in a month or so.

So, I started digging the whole for the fire pit and pavers and I ran into a few problems. First, the ground was pretty hard and dig not want to cooperate. Then once I had gotten down about six inches I ran into some roots. Not ones I could snap with the end of the shovel, I had to get an axe, and I even ended up having to dig up a couple of stumps. So a week or so into July I finally finish the fire pit and surrounded it with pavers, it was such a relief, but then I had to do it all over again, making a patio, and surrounding it with walls. So I went through that all and by the time I was done it was too late in the summer to put mulch down that would just get snowed on in a few months. That is now my project that I have to start here soon, although I am glad that it should be much easier, and I don't have to dig up a ton of dirt. But even though it was hard, I am glad I did it. It was fun, my backyard no longer sucks, and it gave me something to do outside.

Projects, projects everywhere

So, a little earlier I had a post about how school should be a breeze after I had finished my AP tests. Well that was exactly, wrong. I come back form my tests that we have been preparing for all year, feeling relieved that I finally finished them only to find that I still have 20%+ of my grade to finish. Yeah, all except for good ol' Herk have given me a final project. Now normally I wouldn't mind, I like doing projects, they are usually fun. The problem is after you get about two, and then keep adding more, they are no longer fun, they are a burden.

Going through my schedule, first obviously I have the alternative literary work for this class. Then in Physics we are supposedly going to start some sort of applied physics soon, I don't know if that is true (If you know Mr. Jensen you also know why). Then in History I have a final movie project that's worth about one third of our grade. Herk's class is fine, it's hard to do a project in math. In Psych we have community service. Don't ask me why we are doing that instead of some sort of Psychology project because it doesn't make sense to me either. Then finally the dreaded leyendas of Kollache. That is a brief overview of the upcoming stress of my life, but I'm not looking for pity, I did sign up for this, but I am wondering why.

imusic

"Turn it up, This is MY SONG!" You hear that a lot. Why is it your song? Do you just really like it? Or is does it actually have some meaning to you? Either is fine. But, I think it is strange to look at the music you currently listen to. At least for me, I seem to always find a way to associate it to my life at the time. Even if the song is completely random, and you are the only one that could make the jump. I seem to always just find that one or two songs that was, "written about me, for me." It is weird how much you can connect to, esspechailly when you look at it. Now for instance, I am listening to music as I type this up and find my self trying to connect it to my life.

I don't know why we/I do this. It may be just to personalize your favorite song, it may be that you want to understand the music on a further level, it could help you cope and feel like there is someone who has been through a similar spot, or it may just be fun. I think I do it for all of these reasons. And now, I am guessing that either you are doing the same thing as you listen to music, recalling a time that you have done it, or you will the next time you listen to music. It's not a bad thing, I like it, as I said it's fun.

Dubai

Dubai is one of, if not the, fastest growing cities in the world. It is located in the United Arab Emirates, which is in the Middle East. The prince of the country, who is very very rich, has started making the city Dubai, into a hot place for tourists. He started off by making the Dubai tower, a bow shaped building that is full of apartments, restaurants, malls, and other such forms of entertainment. Although this is now one of he tallest buildings in the world, and one of the most expensive, he didn't stop there.

His next project was making artificial islands. Now, these were not just circles of rocks and sand that they put into the sea. They are in the shape of palm trees, and one is a map of the world. People began buying real estate on the islands before they were even being built. They of course are extremely rich people, that have billions of dollars because the lots on the islands are probably millions of dollars.


He is still not going to stop there, the prince wants to make Dubai the tourist capital of the world. He has even more projects in the making. Such things as multiple new skyscrapers. But if you have been paying attention the you should know they will not be ordinary. First off, they will be spiraling, and waving, not just a straight up and down block normal one. Then on top of that one of them will be the tallest building in the world. I think this would be an aw some place to go to some day when it is a little closer to being finished, it's on the way of becoming one of the coolest places on earth.

I don't get it

We all have called someone names we have never met. It may be the jack a$$ who cut you off, the dirt ball, or the stuck up, the slut, but you have done it. I'll admit I have before and probably will again. But, the person with the pimples all over their face may not have washed their face enough or maybe it is just their genes, they can't help that, so why do we label them dirty. The stuck up that ignored you, yes they could have done it for no reason or maybe you were rude to them once, or maybe they were just in a bad mood and wanted to be left alone. There was certainly a time when you blew someone off. Then the slut. You may not agree with their decisions but they made them, they may regret them, no one goes around thinking, who am I going to get with today. Chances are they just aren't good at judging the difference between the guy who cares about them and the guy who just wants to "get some". They may think that this is the one, so why not if it makes them happy. Then when they get screwed over we don't label the guy a pig who just left, we say she is a slut.

It is not fair to label people. They are who they are, we all make our own decisions, those decisions shape us. They may be the wrong ones but we still made them and have to deal with them. No one in the world wants people to think of them in a bad way, so why do we think that way about others. The golden rule, "treat others as you wish to be treated." I'm not implying that everyone in the world should get along with each other, and we should all be one big happy family, this would be naive. What I don't understand is basically the whole high school click deal. Why do you have to stick to just the one click you have? What is wrong with the band geeks, jocks, nerds, dirties, etc. I would consider myself all of the above. I was in band all of middle school and two years of high school, I have plenty of friends in band. I am a jock; I have done just about every sport in the book, and have done four in high school, many of my friends are jocks. I am a nerd, I am in four AP classes (and I am sorry but if you are in AP Lang you are too, you are applying yourself in school) the most I can be in this year unless I took a zero hour, and I have plenty of "dorks" for friends. And yes, I would consider myself a "dirty." I shower everyday so I don't need any smart comments about that, as I do all of my "dirty friends." I don't understand why some people are labeled dirty, they are just as hygienic as the rest of us, the only difference it their clothes, and their friends.

So label me all you want, I am my own person, and I am getting tired of all the high school bull. The immaturity of labeling people you don't know, and being ridiculed for having someone as a friend. I know everyone has labeled someone else, but have you ever had a conversation with them? Do you actually know them well enough to describe them, besides their appearance? What happens when you do meet someone you wouldn't usually associate with? Think about a class, you are given a seat next to someone you don't know, they are not one of your friends, or even a friend of a friend. What happens usually by the time you switch seats next? You are friends with them. You may deny it, because your friends call them dirty or slutty, but you didn't find anything really that wrong with them. All I'm saying is, "can't we just get along?"

Almost There

On an earlier post I wrote about how there was only a few short weeks until AP exams. That day is finally here. I think I am much better prepared than I thought I would be, so I'm not stressing too much. I am in four so it is an ongoing anxiety that will bug me a little over the weekend, but now I just have to do some light review, relax, and hope for the best.

I hope I can get 3's on all of them, but I'm not going to lie, Physics is a little bit of a worry. It is a very hard subject, and we haven't even been taught all of the chapters we are supposed to know for the test, thank you jenson. What I am hoping for is that everyone in the country is in about the same spot we are, completely confused, and still taking the test. I do like the subject and if I end up getting a bad grade ont he test, I can hadle that. The rest I would like a minimum of three, and am hoping for a four.

Now despite what the teachers are going to say, once I have finally finished these four tests, my year is pretty much done. Yes, I will have the project, that is only done to use time and boost our grades, but I am not complaining, and I like doing those. These projects are the best one's of the year, partially because it is graded easier making you more relaxed.