For our latest Literature Circle in Humanities, we had to work with a pre-assigned classmate on the worksheet. The benefits of working with another student were that there wasn't as much work to do, and it could be edited by another person on Google Docs. A challenge I had to overcome was not being worried when my partner wasn't doing it when I checked. The night before it was due, my partner still hadn't completed their share of the work and I was worried that the assignment wouldn't be complete the next day. But I thought about it and I knew that my partner would eventually do their part. I didn't really get any new understandings on the book, so if I said I did, I would be telling an untruth.
END
This journey started about 42 years ago in a little town of Brunswick, Georgia. Wade Boggs
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Literature Circle Reflection
My groups discussion did not improve my understanding of the book Hatchet. I already had a full understanding of the story and had no questions about my understanding of the book. A key idea we discussed was Brian's motivation in the story. We talked about what would have happened if he wasn't able to stay motivated and how he had become a stronger person by staying motivated.
I connected to how Brian reacted to both the advice from his teacher, Perpich, and the hatchet his mother gave him. I said that I would probably think " yeah, whatever," and forget about the advice and the hatchet.
I predict that Brian will be found by search parties in the end and live happily ever after, like in most stories. But I think that before that, something very big will happen, like a giant bear coming and attacking him, injuring him badly. Or maybe, Brian will get sick from something he ate and go into delirium. All I can say is, something bad will most likely happen to him sooner or later, the author had to put some drama into the story, not just have Brian going around finding food and sleeping. There has to be some action in a story for it to be successful.
I connected to how Brian reacted to both the advice from his teacher, Perpich, and the hatchet his mother gave him. I said that I would probably think " yeah, whatever," and forget about the advice and the hatchet.
I predict that Brian will be found by search parties in the end and live happily ever after, like in most stories. But I think that before that, something very big will happen, like a giant bear coming and attacking him, injuring him badly. Or maybe, Brian will get sick from something he ate and go into delirium. All I can say is, something bad will most likely happen to him sooner or later, the author had to put some drama into the story, not just have Brian going around finding food and sleeping. There has to be some action in a story for it to be successful.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Symmetry in KL
I took this picture of a pink highlighter. This highlighter has one line of symmetry going from the top to the bottom. The line of symmetry intersects the pocket clip.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Eco Warrior, You Say?
Planting mangroves in Kuala Selangor's sodden, dirty marshes will most likely save some lives in the future. With the looming threat of rising sea levels due to global warming, I'm certain that there will be floods on coastal areas caused by sea storms and other natural causes (at least I hope they are natural), because mangrove swamps have the capacity to absorb large quantities of water, which will save lives.
Take Hurricane Katrina as an example. The Gulf of Mexico used to have mangrove swamps lining the coasts, but these were destroyed to make room for towns, hotels, theme parks, housing developments and so on. So when Hurricane Katrina came along, there were no more mangroves to absorb all the floodwater. New Orleans was swamped and, at least 1,836 people perished. It was one of the five most dangerous hurricanes in recorded history. If the mangroves had still been around, there would have been far less damage caused by flooding and fewer people would have lost their lives.
Another example of unnecessary loss of life due to habitat destruction was the 2004 tsunami. If the mangrove swamps had been preserved in Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, the damage caused by the massive wall of water would have been lessened by a lot because the mangroves would have acted as a wall. But no, people went and obliterated the mangrove swamps to build hotels and all the other tourist attractions. In the end, nature got back at them, in one of the worst ways possible.
In Kuala Selangor, our planting of the mangrove trees will make a mangrove wall so that if there is another tsunami, which hopefully there won't be, the wall will no doubt prevent some loss of life unlike in previous disasters.
Take Hurricane Katrina as an example. The Gulf of Mexico used to have mangrove swamps lining the coasts, but these were destroyed to make room for towns, hotels, theme parks, housing developments and so on. So when Hurricane Katrina came along, there were no more mangroves to absorb all the floodwater. New Orleans was swamped and, at least 1,836 people perished. It was one of the five most dangerous hurricanes in recorded history. If the mangroves had still been around, there would have been far less damage caused by flooding and fewer people would have lost their lives.
Another example of unnecessary loss of life due to habitat destruction was the 2004 tsunami. If the mangrove swamps had been preserved in Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, the damage caused by the massive wall of water would have been lessened by a lot because the mangroves would have acted as a wall. But no, people went and obliterated the mangrove swamps to build hotels and all the other tourist attractions. In the end, nature got back at them, in one of the worst ways possible.
In Kuala Selangor, our planting of the mangrove trees will make a mangrove wall so that if there is another tsunami, which hopefully there won't be, the wall will no doubt prevent some loss of life unlike in previous disasters.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Landing
On a Saturday in July of 2010, I was on a Delta airlines flight from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport. Up until around 20 minutes before landing, the flight was uneventful, apart from an interesting part where the plane was around eight feet above a solid bed of white clouds, which made me feel as though the aircraft was cruising at eight feet above the ground, when it was actually 35,000 feet!
But now onto the main event, which was rather, well, nerve-racking. The plane had been flying over one of the great lakes when I looked ahead through my little window and saw a horrid thing ahead: a massive wall of dark purple clouds. I had my fingers crossed all the way to it but luckily, the pilot turned the plane around the wall, which meant that it would be bad for a small CRJ-900 aircraft, the one I was in, to enter the cloud bank.
While the plane was descending towards Pearson, I was staring out the window, looking at the clouds. I then saw one small cloud ahead of the plane, just a dinky little cloud, and just before we entered the cloud, I jokingly said to my Dad " here we go!" Then WHAM! The plane was smashed by a burst of wind and dropped a fair bit, around 50-70 feet. People cried out and I had my fingers wrapped around the armrests so hard that my knuckles whitened. I knew of an accident that had happened at the same airport that had occurred in August of 2005 with Air France flight 358. The accident had happened under similar whether conditions when the plane landed on the wet runway and crashed off the end of the runway. No one was killed in this accident. But I was scared stiff. I had suspicions that the plane had hit a small microburst, which is a powerful but brief downdraft of air that had brought down several aircraft in previous years. I had my fingers crossed that we wouldn't hit another one. One was bad enough!
But nothing happened for the rest of the flight and we landed safely. But I was very shaken from the incident.
I really hope that nothing like that ever happens to me on an airplane ever again. But funnily enough, on a larger plane, like a Boeing 737 and larger, I would have probably not have felt that bump!
So for now, goodbye! See you next time!
But now onto the main event, which was rather, well, nerve-racking. The plane had been flying over one of the great lakes when I looked ahead through my little window and saw a horrid thing ahead: a massive wall of dark purple clouds. I had my fingers crossed all the way to it but luckily, the pilot turned the plane around the wall, which meant that it would be bad for a small CRJ-900 aircraft, the one I was in, to enter the cloud bank.
While the plane was descending towards Pearson, I was staring out the window, looking at the clouds. I then saw one small cloud ahead of the plane, just a dinky little cloud, and just before we entered the cloud, I jokingly said to my Dad " here we go!" Then WHAM! The plane was smashed by a burst of wind and dropped a fair bit, around 50-70 feet. People cried out and I had my fingers wrapped around the armrests so hard that my knuckles whitened. I knew of an accident that had happened at the same airport that had occurred in August of 2005 with Air France flight 358. The accident had happened under similar whether conditions when the plane landed on the wet runway and crashed off the end of the runway. No one was killed in this accident. But I was scared stiff. I had suspicions that the plane had hit a small microburst, which is a powerful but brief downdraft of air that had brought down several aircraft in previous years. I had my fingers crossed that we wouldn't hit another one. One was bad enough!
But nothing happened for the rest of the flight and we landed safely. But I was very shaken from the incident.
I really hope that nothing like that ever happens to me on an airplane ever again. But funnily enough, on a larger plane, like a Boeing 737 and larger, I would have probably not have felt that bump!
So for now, goodbye! See you next time!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Investigating the Past
Archaeologists study ancient cave paintings because it assists them in finding out what cavemen were like. They analyze these paintings closely and find out how the paintings were created and who made them. They can even find out approximately when these paintings were created. Below are some cave paintings and art tools that we looked at and had a shot at examining ourselves.
Cave Art Tools
In the image we had of these items, we saw two fist-sized rocks, some smaller brown spheres, and a thin sliver of rock. These items were laid upon a much larger rock, which was either a makeshift shelf which had been made naturally, or a rock platter, which the artist may have set down on the ground. We learned that archaeologists think that the two larger rocks were used for grinding while the thin sliver or stone was used for engraving. But the purpose of the small brown balls is unknown.
Clay Sculptures
In this image we were provided with, there were two ceramic bison. From what we could tell, they were probably around two feet high. These bison were very detailed around the head, with thin lines engraved in the manes to make hairs. Archaeologists have several theories on what the purpose of these two clay bison was. One of these was that they were clan markers, to show that the cave belonged to a certain clan. Another was that they were a ceremonial decoration, or maybe effigies of animal deities.
Spear Thrower
This spear thrower was a short stick, maybe made out of wood or bone. At the end there was a very detailed jumping stallion. It had its front legs up as if it was jumping and its head was very detailed. The mane had little lines etched into it, representing separate hairs. We learned that archaeologists believe that this spear thrower was a good luck charm for hunters. Another theory about the horse at the top was that the artist had whittled it in for decoration. And a 3rd theory was that the horse might have been related to the hunter's name.
Unfortunately, this blog must end, but now, when you leave your computer, you will be smarter than before! For you will have learned about some cave art tools, a spear thrower, and a pair of ceramic bison!
Cave Art Tools
In the image we had of these items, we saw two fist-sized rocks, some smaller brown spheres, and a thin sliver of rock. These items were laid upon a much larger rock, which was either a makeshift shelf which had been made naturally, or a rock platter, which the artist may have set down on the ground. We learned that archaeologists think that the two larger rocks were used for grinding while the thin sliver or stone was used for engraving. But the purpose of the small brown balls is unknown.
Clay Sculptures
In this image we were provided with, there were two ceramic bison. From what we could tell, they were probably around two feet high. These bison were very detailed around the head, with thin lines engraved in the manes to make hairs. Archaeologists have several theories on what the purpose of these two clay bison was. One of these was that they were clan markers, to show that the cave belonged to a certain clan. Another was that they were a ceremonial decoration, or maybe effigies of animal deities.
Spear Thrower
This spear thrower was a short stick, maybe made out of wood or bone. At the end there was a very detailed jumping stallion. It had its front legs up as if it was jumping and its head was very detailed. The mane had little lines etched into it, representing separate hairs. We learned that archaeologists believe that this spear thrower was a good luck charm for hunters. Another theory about the horse at the top was that the artist had whittled it in for decoration. And a 3rd theory was that the horse might have been related to the hunter's name.
Unfortunately, this blog must end, but now, when you leave your computer, you will be smarter than before! For you will have learned about some cave art tools, a spear thrower, and a pair of ceramic bison!
Friday, August 13, 2010
What I would Like to Be
If I could pick one of these 3 social scientists for a job- Archaeologist, Historian, and Geographer- I would pick historian. My reasons for this would be as follows:
1.) I like to study history, particularly modern history, because it is a very interesting subject. You can find out all about people who ruled countries, and conflicts that broke out between nations and what caused the conflicts - and to look at how people's personalities influenced events.
2.) I would also like to get even closer to the truth about past events.
Images:
http://www.google.com.my/imgres?imgurl=http://www.livius.org/a/1/greeks/herodotus_agora_mus1.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.livius.org/gi-gr/greeks/historians.html&usg=__EzG9d4GJ7iKK_ZVUWN0quNtFzD4=&h=600&w=398&sz=27&hl=en&start=0&tbnid=vuwMvcxHMAZPEM:&tbnh=128&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhistorians%2Bimages%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D532%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=778&vpy=149&dur=1784&hovh=276&hovw=183&tx=80&ty=164&ei=0zVmTJ76FIm9ccXT1JoK&oei=0zVmTJ76FIm9ccXT1JoK&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:21,s:0
Image 2:
http://www.google.com.my/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Theodor_N%C3%B6ldeke_in_The_Historians_History_of_the_World.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Theodor_N%25C3%25B6ldeke_in_The_Historians_History_of_the_World.jpg&usg=__YOsn7BBr4gCh0h_KhZDTQkGZQow=&h=430&w=350&sz=33&hl=en&start=0&tbnid=2DaU6AWzBUpNJM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhistorians%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D532%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=238&vpy=79&dur=2991&hovh=249&hovw=202&tx=117&ty=101&ei=4zZmTNDdGqj8cNr3_ZsK&oei=4zZmTNDdGqj8cNr3_ZsK&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0
1.) I like to study history, particularly modern history, because it is a very interesting subject. You can find out all about people who ruled countries, and conflicts that broke out between nations and what caused the conflicts - and to look at how people's personalities influenced events.
2.) I would also like to get even closer to the truth about past events.
Images:
http://www.google.com.my/imgres?imgurl=http://www.livius.org/a/1/greeks/herodotus_agora_mus1.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.livius.org/gi-gr/greeks/historians.html&usg=__EzG9d4GJ7iKK_ZVUWN0quNtFzD4=&h=600&w=398&sz=27&hl=en&start=0&tbnid=vuwMvcxHMAZPEM:&tbnh=128&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhistorians%2Bimages%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D532%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=778&vpy=149&dur=1784&hovh=276&hovw=183&tx=80&ty=164&ei=0zVmTJ76FIm9ccXT1JoK&oei=0zVmTJ76FIm9ccXT1JoK&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:21,s:0
Image 2:
http://www.google.com.my/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Theodor_N%C3%B6ldeke_in_The_Historians_History_of_the_World.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Theodor_N%25C3%25B6ldeke_in_The_Historians_History_of_the_World.jpg&usg=__YOsn7BBr4gCh0h_KhZDTQkGZQow=&h=430&w=350&sz=33&hl=en&start=0&tbnid=2DaU6AWzBUpNJM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhistorians%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D532%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=238&vpy=79&dur=2991&hovh=249&hovw=202&tx=117&ty=101&ei=4zZmTNDdGqj8cNr3_ZsK&oei=4zZmTNDdGqj8cNr3_ZsK&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Me
My name is Cameron and I am from Canada. I like making LEGO videos that go on YouTube. I also like to make model aircraft with my dad, mainly WWII aircraft. My favorite color is lime green and my favorite book series would be that Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz.
My favorite food is steak, so if I was trapped on a desert island and I only had one thing to eat of my choice it would be steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some TV shows I like are Hogans Heroes, I love Lucy, and the Andy Griffith Show, McHales Navy, too!
Three words that describe me would be humorous, intelligent, (not that I want to sound like a snob or anything, but I am), and tall. My reasons for these words would be as follow: Humorous, because whenever I crack a joke, usually, someone snickers. Intelligent, this is because I have never gotten a bad grade. Tall, well, this is pretty self explanatory, I'm tall.
My academic goal for this year is that I will get a lot of A+'s or A's. And a social goal is to make more friends.
Cameron
My favorite food is steak, so if I was trapped on a desert island and I only had one thing to eat of my choice it would be steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some TV shows I like are Hogans Heroes, I love Lucy, and the Andy Griffith Show, McHales Navy, too!
Three words that describe me would be humorous, intelligent, (not that I want to sound like a snob or anything, but I am), and tall. My reasons for these words would be as follow: Humorous, because whenever I crack a joke, usually, someone snickers. Intelligent, this is because I have never gotten a bad grade. Tall, well, this is pretty self explanatory, I'm tall.
My academic goal for this year is that I will get a lot of A+'s or A's. And a social goal is to make more friends.
Cameron
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