PLN 31

What matters in the world today is a piece of the famous Newton apple tree that is being taken on a ride into outer space on the space shuttle Atlantis. What started as an ironic joke is now turning into larger project. Originally one of the astronauts just thought it would be funny to have a piece of the 350 year old tree that helped discover gravity, in a zero gravity environment. But it has lead scientist to begin testing what happens to plants in outer space. The thinking is that if plants can still grow in zero gravity, then it might make space colonization possible. Obviously the plant would have to be provided with necessary water and light, but otherwise hope is good for the survival of the zero gravity photosynthesizes. This matters to the world because in the case of Armageddon, it we would have a possibility of survival. People could be transported to large space stations, or even bases on another planet. This effects education because of all the opportunities it will present. With space farms, longer periods of time could be spent in orbit with out having restock flights. This matters to me because it is showing that Obama was true to his word when he gave money to NASA to continue the manned space flights that I have discussed before.

PLN 30

What matters in the world today is that the Obama administration has disclosed the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The article on Yahoo! News says that the Pentagon has admitted to having 5,113 nuclear missiles along with several thousand decommissioned nukes waiting for dismantling. This is easily enough to wipe out a large portion of world. The escalation of nuclear production during the cold war, put the initial number in the tens of thousands, but SALT 1, reduced that number to its current point. The new treaty with the Russian government has set a limit of 1,550 active nukes. Even though this is still enough to wipe most of the population, the idea is that it will reduce efforts by countries like Iran from trying to achieve nuclear power. The number of atomic weapons held by the United States was previously top secret information, but now that the treaty has been signed, there is no longer a point in hiding it from the world. The impact this is going to have cannot be predicted. It could just fuel Iran into making more bombs with the goal of becoming more powerful then the U.S. Or it could be perceived as peace, and tensions will relax, and no one else will try to create more nukes. This could also lead to a more open research of nuclear weapons. Kids could learn more about what nukes are capable of and how they can be dismantled. Personally though, it raises several questions. One, why did we not know this before? Who really cares if the world knows how many nukes we have? To me it seems like this number is shocking to some people, and in my eyes, it is good to know that other threatening countries are scared of our power. Two, what is the plan of action if Iran or North Korea decides that they have had enough and launch nukes at us? If we are busy destroying our nukes, we will not be ready to protect our selves from attack, or retaliate with our own strike. This issue will have to be watched very closely in the future, because nuclear weapons are extremely dangerous in the wrong hands.

PLN 29

The article, 2txt? Or Nt 2txt by Garrison Keillor talks about how young men have been hurt by texting. He talks about how teenaged men have lost their social skills because of texting and e-mail. Keilor also states that girls have somehow maintained their personal relationship abilities through these tough technological times. I have written before about how IM and txt are removing the personal aspect of relationships, but I disagree with Mr. Keillor. I personally still have the ability to talk to new people and be outgoing; which as Keillor stated, is important when trying to get a job or when working the job. In my own experiences I have found that I am still very capable of holding an intellectual conversation with adults or with new people. Even though I still hold all of the traits that he attributed to this decline in people skills. Such as sending an average of 75 msg. everyday, and having the instinct to "beat other men senseless with clubs and seize the big butt of the wild swine carcass and thereby win the loyalty of the large-breasted, blue-eyed babe." I can talk to my teachers, waiters, girls, other guys, and anybody else you can think of without having much of a problem. The case might not be the same for other guys my age, but I know that I have no problem, and neither do most of my friends. Thus I am forced to disagree with Mr. Keillor, and say that I am just as capable as any girl, of maintaining good people skills while texting constantly.

PLN 28

What matters in the world today is the article, “Our boys are falling behind in education” by Dottie Lamm. This article states that boys are falling behind girls academically because of verbal differences. It explained how girl’s brains are able to become verbally faster by 3½ years; where as the average boy takes 5 years. Yet, a school in Aurora separated kindergarteners into gender classes and the boys were just as successful as the girls. My feeling about this is that the verbal difference is not the problem but instead things like attention span. Being in two all boys classes myself, I find that there is no difference in my performance whether there are girls in the room or not. The article goes on to say that the world will have a switch in society and the women will be in more powerful poisons’. However I don’t feel this is true, because boys eventually reach the same level as girls and are currently still producing stronger results in math and science. Girls will some day rise to a perfectly equal level as boys in the executive world, but they will not move a head because of education difficulties. I personally think that the only difference between boys and girls is their ability to concentrate on learning. Thus I think that lessons should be made more interactive so that boys will stay attentive. Obviously, the struggle that guys are said to have can be fixed and just because guys may struggle in school that doesn’t mean that they will fail in the real world.

PLN 27

What matters in the world today is a shuttle launch preformed by the Air Force on April 21. The X-37-B was sent on a nine month unmanned orbital test mission and will be landing in California on an undisclosed date. This is a follow up to my previous post, PLN 19, about Obama canceling manned space flight and how the Air Forces X-37-B could be a hope for continued missions. Yet, president Obama just recently gave $6billion to NASA to develop a deep space manned space craft, which makes me wonder what the Air Force will use the X-37-B for. With the nine month capability and possible manned crews, I believe that it will be used as an intelligence gathering ship. It could easily be upgraded with equipment that can read satellite messages and pictures. This would allow for quicker review of information, which will lead to quicker action if necessary. This would be a great improvement to the defense of our nation. For example, if a nuclear war head were launched at the United States, satellites could pick it up, quickly relay the message to the X-37-B, who could then alert the Air Force, which could take the necessary action. This is just my personal hypothesis of what the Air Fore will use the X-37-B for, but it seems like the best logical use of the craft at this time.

PLN 26

What matters in the world today is an article on hotjobs.yahoo.com "Ten Phrases That Can Sink Your Resume" by Liz Ryan. The article is about things in resumes that may have been helpful at one point, but now fall flat and hurt your chances. In the article the author lists ten things that are traditionally placed in resumes, such as "Results-oriented professional." Ryan explains that anyone could say this, thus it doesn't gain you anything in the employer's eyes. She claims that it would be better to replace phrases like this with examples of things you have done in the past, or saying "I love to solve thorny supply-chain problems." I think that this is a very important article for kids our age, because we are searching for our first jobs, and we want to make a good impression. I personally will think about these things when I compose my own resume, and will most definitely recommend that my friends read this article for advice. I think this matters to the world, because a lot of people were fired or laid off during the recent recession, and many people are looking for jobs. This article could help people to regain employment, and by getting jobs, they would have money to invest back into the economy. In the end this would help the economy to rise back up to more comfortable levels.

PLN 25

What matters in the world today is the fact that Obama made $5.5 million in 2009. This all started with a memoir, Dreams from My Father in 1995. Then he wrote The Audacity of Hope in 2006, earning him $4 million in royalties. Then when he became the first African American president, his book sales sky rocketed making millions last year. He also makes $400,000 a year on the presidential salary. Now granted he gave his Nobel Peace prize money to charity so he can't be called greedy. Yet my question is, if he is already a millionaire, why should he be taking tax payers money in the form of the presidential salary? Ross Perot ran for president as a millionaire with the money from his company Electric Data Systems. As a millionaire he promised to not accept the yearly presidential salary. I don't know why, that in these economic times, Obama would continue to take tax payers money when he is already a millionaire. If he is really all into helping the economy, he wouldn't waste tax dollars he doesn't need. I'm not comparing him to Prince John from Robin Hood, but his pocket book obviously isn't empty like some Americans.

PLN 24

What matters in the world today is a high school football stadium in Allen, Texas. Allen high school is building a $60m field. A double decked, video score board, NFL worthy field. The money came from a state grant of $120m, which also went to building an equally expensive performing arts auditorium. This matters to the world because, one it is outrageous, and two it shows that people are having more confidence in the economy. Expanding on my first point, building a $60 million dollar stadium for college or NFL is just fine, but for high school it seems a little extreme. No high school, even in Texas, needs to have a $60million arena devoted to football. What it really comes down to is that poverty is still a problem and we shouldn’t be spending that amount of money on a high school football team. My second point about the economy is that if people are willing to spend $60,000,000 on a high school, then they must have more confidence in the economy. This is a good thing, if people start buying more, the economy will rise, taking us out of the recession; which in the end is good for America all around. So obviously there are better places to spend $60 million, but this is a good sign for America.

PLN 23

What matters in the world today is that Obama just awarded NASA a $6 billion budget increase. The goal, according to Washington reporters, is to create more than 2,500 jobs in Florida. The article also says that Mr. President wants NASA to work on a "heavy lifting" rocket. A design will be decided on in 2015, and the new rocket will be employed to "carry astronauts deeper into space." This matters because he is completely going back on his word. Earlier he had canceled the manned space program, which I disagreed with. I am totally behind this new decision, but there is one problem with it. Our president is going back on his word. He made a decision and is now changing it; I do not believe that this is a good quality for someone who is in command of the most powerful country on Earth. Next he will pull back his healthcare bill, or his foreign policies. For all we know, he could start a war, and half way through decide it was a bad idea. I was never a fan of Obama in the first place, but now I am straight up disappointed. Although I like the idea of continuing manned space exploration, I have lost all confidence in our president. By doing this he is showing that he is inconsistent and is incapable of setting his mind to something. This could eventually be very bad for America, because other, more radical, countries may see this as a sign of weakness and decide to attack us. Presidents in the past may have made bad decisions, but they never turned around and contradicted themselves four months later. Like I said before, I am all for the continuation of manned space flight, but I have lost all confidence in Mr. Obama and I think America made the wrong choice.

PLN 22

What matters in the world today, is the destruction of the Dallas Cowboy's former stadium. With the construction of the new stadium, the old stadium was just taking up space. The precisely placed explosives caused the stadium to implode. This caused no damage to surrounding buildings. This big event was for one main reason. The owners of the stadium held an essay contest to find a kid to "push the button." What they found was a little boy of twelve that was into football and like all other boys his age, wanted to blow something up. But the important thing about this boy is the topic of his essay. He wrote about all of the charity work he had done, and it touched the owners of the stadium. The boy they found had been working in varied charities since he was 8, and this is what caused the owners to believe that he deserved to blow the stadium sky high. I think this is important because the boy is being honored for his hard work. This is special because he probably was not expecting his charitable services to be rewarded in such an amazing way. Personally I think it would be really cool just to have the chance to demolish a giant building, but it would be really great if I knew it was because I did something great.

PLN 21

What matters in the world today is a NYC pizza delivery man who fended off two armed robbers while delivering the pie. Assami Semde was delivering two pizzas and was stopped by two armed men. The men tried to take the pizzas from Assami, but he refused. One of the men hit him over the head with his gun, at which point Assami punched him and threw him into the wall. The other men punched Assami and the two began fighting. Assami screamed, which attracted the security of the apartment building he was in, and the two men fled. Assami is a recent immigrant to America from Africa, and has been told by his boss to just hand over the pizza if something like it ever happens again. This made me wonder, did Assami instinctively fight for the food because it was how he grew up? Most African countries are impoverished and most people starve every night. So maybe Assami was accustom to having to defend himself. If this really is the case, I think that more aid should be sent to Africa; not in the form of money because that is just consumed by corrupt governments, but in the form of things like the Peace Corps. People should be sent to hand out food and help as many people as they can. From my point of view, people should not have to fight each other for food, and although what Assami did was heroic, he should never have been forced to react in that way.

PLN 20

What matters in the world today, is the new defense system that has been developed by the Israeli government. The new system involves tanks that are equipped with anti missile systems that not only detect incoming projectiles, but shoot them out of the air. The system is called Trophy, and is so small that it can fit into any tank desired. Before this "active defense" system, tanks relied on increasingly thicker armor and a "reactive defense" system. The reactive defense system would set off a small explosion when impact occurred. This would counter act some of the force, but not all. The new Trophy system can defend any anti tank weapon, which will leave mines as the only threat to tanks. The Trophy is estimated to cost approximately $200,000 a piece; which isn’t much considering how many lives will be saved. This system matters to the world because it will not only keep all tank crews alive, but it will give Israel a great advantage in the future. With nearly unstoppable tanks, the only power that would be able to stop Israel from conquering the rest of the middleeast would be the United Sates. This new system matters to education because now engineers all over the world and far into the future will be studying how the system works. Trophy runs on a program that cannot only recognize a threat, but neutralize it all together. It is extremely hard for humans to hit a moving target, but for a computer, it would be even harder because of how long it would take to process. Obviously the new Trophy defense system will be put into effect in the future and used to protect the operators of a key battle field machine.

PLN 19

Hope for manned space exploration. The X-37 B OTV is a space shuttle that is 1/4 the size of the original. Developed by Boeing, the X-37 was intended to carry 6 astronauts to and from the space station. Because of its size, the new shuttle would have been more efficient and less costly. Yet, when the decision was made to stop manned space flight, the shuttle was sold to the air force. It has been modified to be an unmanned, reusable craft. Its job is to do research on reusable space vehicle technology. The air force, will not divulge more about the project. The X-37 is scheduled to launch from the cape next month. Why does this matter? It matters because the X-37 may be the new way for the U.S. to reach the stars. Without the X-37, the cancelation of the space shuttle missions would have required us to rely on rides form the Russians. Now, the air force has the ability to pick up where NASA left off. Even though it is intended for research only, the possibility of reconverting it still exists.

PLN 17

What matters in the world today is a debate that was started after Gunner Sandbergh was hit in the head with a line drive that was traveling at approximately 130 mph. Gunner was pitching for Marrin Catholic High School at the time of the injury. He was rushed to a hospital and put into an induced coma so that doctors could remove part of his skull to allow his brain to swell. The line drive was hit with a regulation, High School level, metal baseball bat. High School bats are light weight and engineered to be light and have what players call "pop." Pop is how well the ball comes off the bat. If a bat is "dead" the ball doesn't fly as hard or fast. That is why injuries are so much more likely. The baseball travels much faster off of a metal bat than a wood one. New York and North Dakota have already banned metal bats from play and have agreed to follow major league rules and use wood bats. Gunner’s father is urging California to do the same. The debate is whether or not changing to wood bats would make a difference. I personally do not believe it would. Several years ago, Rockies minor league first base coach, Mike Coolbaugh, was killed by a foul ball to the head. That ball came off of a wood bat. So as a player, I disagree with the suggestion to change to wood bat play in High School. In all sports there are dangers. Changing to wood bats would not make a difference in the fatality of a line drive to the head. Even if wood bats have less pop, a line drive traveling 120 mph, is still going to do almost the same amount of damage as a 130 mph one. I believe that using wood bats would also make the game less exciting. Hits wouldn't go as far, and it would make the game less enjoyable for players and fans. I also think that it is more Gunner's fault then the hitter's or the bat's. In almost every game that is played, there is a hard hit back to the pitcher, and only 1 in every year causes injury. Every other time, the pitch either doges the ball or catches it, because he is ready and paying attention to the ball after he throws it. If you watch the video, Gunner finishes his throw with his head down, looking at the ground instead of the ball. If he had finished with his head up, he most likely would have been able to get his glove up and catch the ball back at him. I personally live by the rule, never, never, never, take your eye off the ball. I'm not saying that Gunner deserved to be hit in the head; it was still a horrible accident. Yet it was one that could have been avoided, and nothing to do with the type of bat that was used.

PLN 18

What matters in the world today is a post on Dan Maas's blog that has several questions about lap tops in class rooms. The first question is, what is it like to have lap tops in class? Having lap tops in class, gives us access to the internet and many other recourses. We no longer have to go to the library to do research; we can just pull up a Google page. The second question that Mr. Maas has presented is, what can you do now that you couldn't do before? Before we had lap tops in class we would have to go to the library or the computer lab to do research. We also have connection to the rest of the world through the internet right in front of us. We can also email our projects home allowing us to work on it no matter where we are. The next question he posed was, what would it mean to you if you couldn't have lap tops in class next year? I personally would not enjoy the class as much because we wouldn't have the resources that we currently have now. It would also make things just that much more difficult. It would also be disappointing because just being able to use technology is fun and interesting. The last question he asked was, have you changed as a student since you started using lap tops in class? I don't believe so, the lap tops have made my life as a student easier but I do not believe that I have changed the way I learn because of that. All of these are great questions and they relate back to the Dr. Warschauer blog. I will re-sate what I said then; lap tops are a good resource and have made class easier.

PLN 16

What maters to the world today is the Sixth Sense project at MIT. The project is developing a cell phone based system that can be used as a resource for research and much, no matter what the location. As seen in the video, the man can be told which paper towel is most compatible to his life style, or he can dial his phone on his hands, and even draw a watch to know what time it is. This is truly amazing because the camera and projector work together to recognize the environment and instantly give information on what is going on. This matters to the world because it will make our lives much easier. The program helps us with everyday situations and guides us towards what is best. I personally like the program because it has the ability to show information on people you meet. This leads to people getting to know each other faster and starting an opinion of that person. This could also be helpful with security. At airports, guards could identify people who are terrorists or people who intend to cause trouble quicker and easier. This technology could change the world.

PLN 15

What matters today is the effect of the Chile earthquake. an article on Yahoo! News, talks about how NASA thinks that the 8.8 tremor, might have shifted the Earth's axis ever so slightly. The scientists are reporting that the shift has made our days shorter. This means that the quake caused the Earth to speed up its rotation. The shift isn't much; the days are only shorter by 1.26 milliseconds. Yet that short amount of time could cause the Earths magnetic poles to adjust, and the gravity could be affected. If the polarization is disturbed, not only will compasses not work right any more, but the weather patterns could change. The jet steam could move causing air traffic problems. If the gravity is affected, the moon could move closer, or farther away. Things would also feel lighter, effecting scales and weights. Now obviously the effects will not be too drastic because it is only 1.26 milliseconds, but if only one degree in temperature (global warming) can cause more severe hurricanes, what could speeding the rotation of the planet cause. I think that scientist should begin to work on a way to stop, or at least detect earthquakes before they cause destruction. I also think that the NASA people need to release more information on what this shift could do to life as we know it. For all we know, it could cause and early demise of the human race.

PLN 14

What matters today is an iceberg, about the size of Lexington (European country between France and Germany), that collided with the Mertz Glacier in Antarctica, and shaved off a new ice berg of the same relative size. The new iceberg is 48 miles long and 24 miles wide. It is said to hold roughly the equivalent of a fifth of the world's annual total water usage. This event matters because now, the two are floating relatively close to the Australian coast. This is a problem for multiple reasons. One, it could be a boating and shipping hazard. Big cargo ships do not have the maneuverability of a speed boat, and the pair of giant Rhode Island size chunks of ice could cause ship wrecks. Two, the closer to the equator that the two ice bergs travel, the more likely they are to melt. This is a major problem because of their size. If they were to melt, water levels around the world would rise half an inch. That may not seem like much, but adding just that much more water can cause hurricanes to become more frequent and more deadly. Number three; this is a sign of global warming. The average temperature has risen to a point that allows giant pieces of a completely frozen continent to fall off. That should be a big enough red flag to cause more people to go green.

PLN 13

What matters in the world today is a world record breaking diamond sale in Great Britain. The article on Yahoo! news, talks about a 507-carrot rough (un-cut) diamond that sold for $35.5 million. The Cullinan Heritage is in the top 20 largest, pure, un-cut diamonds in the world. Experts estimated the value at $25 million and are very excited that it sold for more. The purchase was made by Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Co. in Honk Kong. The Cullinan mine, where this diamond originated, has been the source of many large diamonds, including the world's largest rough diamond, the Cullinan, at 3,106 carats. That gem was cut into the Star of Africa stones that are now set in Britain's Crown Jewels. This matters to the world because diamonds are one of Africa's largest resources, and if companies like Cullinan were to give back to the community, then lives of African natives might improve. Life in Africa is so low compared to America. People die every minute of Aids, or malaria, or starvation. The diamond business currently only brings more violence to the continent, and if company’s like Cullinan could help, it would make another part of the world a better place.

PLN 12

What matters today is the lost gold medal of Sven Kramer, the long track speed skater from the Netherlands. In what is possibly the biggest blunder of the games, Sven is disqualified from the 10,000 meter, the event in which he holds the world record. The Dutch skater was entering the last lap of the race with a commanding lead and was setting what would have been the gold medal time. Kramer was going down the back stretch of the oval, where skaters are to change lanes to even the distance. At the last second his coach, Kemkers, tells him to move to the inside lane. Kramer was supposed to be moving into the outside lane, but he assumed that his coach was right. He was then disqualified for being in the wrong lane. Kramer is a super star in the Netherlands, where the past time is speed skating. The 23 year old is already a millionaire from assorted sponsorships. It is said that the sponsorships are also on a bonus system, and seeing as he had already won gold in the 5,000 meter, winning the 10,000 would have given the kid almost a 300,000 euro bonus. The metal error by his coach lost him an Olympic Gold and almost half a million dollars. Now granted, Kramer probably should have been keeping track of his lane, but his coach should not have made the mistake in the first place. This whole scandal matters because Kramer holds the world record in the 10,000 meter race, and he deserved to win gold on the highest stage possible. This matters to me because of the sponsorships. No 23 year old should be making that much money; they would not know what to do with it. They have been playing their sport instead of going to school and gaining the knowledge of what to do with millions of dollars. It is not just him either; America is the worst at promoting sports before education. Young kids out of high school go into the NBA or MLB because they want the money. Students work harder at their sport than at school because they think that they have a shot at making it to the big time. Yet less than 10% of them will actually make it to a major league team. Americans lives revolve so much around sports and money that kids end up forgetting about what is important.

PLN 11

What matters today is a plane crash, similar to 9-11, in Austin TX. A man, who was mad with the IRS, crashed a plane into the revenue service building in Austin. This matters because he killed many people, just because he had personal issues. Not everyone at the IRS deserved to die, and this man out of anger, destroyed not only his life but many others. This situation matters because it shows that people can do horrible things with technology like airplanes, all because of their emotions. With so much technology today it is very easy to eliminate life, and people who are emotionally unstable, have the power to do so. This shows that using technology the wrong way, can turn a helpful tool like a plane, into the equivalent of a bomb. That is why we have to be careful with things like nuclear weapons, because eventually, we will end up destroying ourselves. This man had some personal issues, and he used the readily available technology to solve his problems.

PLN 10

What matters today is a YouTube video about the "new" Call of Duty game, "Modern Warfare 3." The video is a fake news cast that makes fun of how unrealistic current games are. Supposedly, in this new game, players take part in tasks that real soldiers would be performing. Such as guarding a warehouse all night, or settling arguments between fellow soldiers. At the end of the clip, the game is advertised to be sold with a 17 and 1/2 pound wii control (replica of an actual assault rifle) that the player has to "carry around all day and is not allowed to fire unless given explicit orders to do so. This clip is important because it shows that war isn't fun like in video games, and that there really isn't that much action. I think it is important that kids realize that the video games they play and the movies they watch are not real life. Now obviously this is a fictional game, but the video could open the eyes of many young gamers

PLN 9

"Students Helping Students" is a support program at K-State University. The group collects money and then uses it to help students who are financially troubled to stay in school. The clubs president was diagnosed with cancer when she was 20 years old. The group helped her out, and as a result, she joined the group. K-State Proud, buys things like books, lunches, or even will pay your rent for a week. In the video some of the students even help a kid park his car, and then go on to carry a girl across the street. This matters because it shows that the students care about each other and are willing to help each other out. The school obviously is a very tight knit community. I would like to believe that Arapahoe has the same connection, which is why this matters to me. Groups like Link Crew and sports teams always do their best to make the new kids feel at home, and this is good because it encourages kids to get involved. This is important because it allows kids to get the most out of their school experience. The group at K-State matters to the world, because if organizations like the UN took on the same mentality, things would be allot better. Third world countries would be able to make things a little better for their citizens. This would also lower hostilities because everyone would be just a little bit happier. So maybe the president of K-State Proud should give a speech to Congress or the UN about how to take care of one another.

PLN 8

What matters in the world today is how low teacher salaries are. Teachers deserve to be paid more than they currently are. They have more value to the community than any pharmacist, and yet the educator is paid less. Teachers shape the minds of our children and have a lot of effect on every child that sits down in their classroom everyday. Teachers deserve to be paid more, thus I have devised an action plan. Both the state and federal governments should be reviewed for wasteful spending. The profits saved would then be added to teacher salary funds. Some government officials might claim that there is no wasted money, and yet $112 million dollars is spent by the National Defense Department on unused flight tickets. Just that amount alone would be enough to greatly increase the salaries of deserving teachers. George W. Bush had a plan to eliminate the top ten most wasteful items the government spent money on, but it was never put into action. Through my course of action, I intend to mail a letter, to both Governor Bill Ritter and President Obama, with a list of wasteful, unneeded expenditures that can be eliminated. The list will include several of the items from President Bush's list, along with several that I have deemed wasteful, such as the war in Iraq and the Middle East. Teacher salaries should be raised, and I intend to bring awareness to that fact.

PLN 7

What matters in the world today is the post The Lessons of American Idol on the blog Stager to Go. This post lists 19 lessons that could be learned from American Idol and applied to academics. My personal favorite is "You learn by working outside your comfort zone." I believe that this statement is 100% true, because you never know if you like something until you try it. This article is also important because it shows that reality TV isn't all bad. It proves that you can learn something useful in just about everything you do. Yet, I don’t think that the main point of the post is to show that American Idol has a lot of life lessons. I think the point is to show that things can be learned every second of the day just by paying attention to your surroundings and watching what other people do. This is a very important lesson in its self, because by watching other peoples' successes and failures, we can learn how to do things without being in the classroom.

PLN 6

What matters in the world today is Barac Obama's new budget plan for NASA. An article on Spacenew.com explains that the new budget is discontinuing manned space exploration. Instead private companies would be hired to carry out missions. This could cause many problems. NASA has the experience that other companies do not. As a result, the private companies will end up making the same mistakes that NASA has in the past, and this will cause more fatalities and accidents. Private companies will compete with prices and speed. Neither of which are good in the space program. If companies compete for price, they end up developing product as cheaply as possible. This could cause companies to skimp on safety measures and other precautions that could determine whether an astronaut makes it back to Earth. Competing for speed is also bad, because it will end up causing another space race. If space craft are built as quickly as possible, it results in things being forgotten or left out. This again, could cost life. That is why NASA should be aloud to continue the manned exploration of space.

PLN 5

What matters in the world today, is a clock that is made to last ten thousand years, the 10,000 year clock. This clock, when it is finished, will stand approximately 68 ft high, and the main display, showing all years until 12000, is 20 ft in diameter. The display will rotate 31 times through the 10,000 year period. The clock is also programmed to play a different chime everyday until the ten thousand years are complete. The clock is strictly mechanical; it keeps time by tracking the sun everyday at noon. The clock also tracks the planets in our solar system using equations that correspond to the path around the sun. All of the algorithms and designing were first dreamed up by Danny Hillis, current designer of supercomputers. This clock matters because even when humans are no longer around, it will still be running. While other batteries will die, this clock runs on solar power only. Yet there are some flaws in the mechanism. It cannot tell you what time it is right now, only the date. The clock measures in days, months and years instead of seconds and hours. So if you where to visit the clock, you would be able to check the date, where the planets are, and listen to the chimes and that is about it. The other problem with the design is, if there is a cloudy day the clock will become slightly off track. Another problem is that if something breaks in 5,000 years, no one will remember how to fix it and the cause will be lost. The clock is a good idea and will be really cool when it is done, but it still has some flaws that need to be worked out.

PLN 4

What matters in the world today is the on going argument about whether laptop computers or pen and paper should be used in schools. Recently Dr. Warschauer visited a few LPS schools to research just that. The only problem is that he only visited fourth and fifth grade classrooms. The high schools are more computer oriented than elementary schools. Arapahoe for example has wi-fi access every where in the building, and I use a laptop everyday in English. This matters to me because I have experienced the use of both in the process of my education. I personally like laptops better than paper, mostly because of spell check, but also because it allows research to be done right there in class. Laptops also make us more connected, with email and blogs, we can talk to anyone. The only problem I see with this on going struggle is that the kids who have experienced both pen and paper, and regular laptop use, have no say in the matter. Schools could suddenly decide that computers are not the right way to go and take away the laptops. That would hurt the kids who had benefited and improved because of computers. So my solution to the argument is let the student decide if they want to write on paper or with a keyboard.

PLN 3

What matters in the world today are the problems in Haiti. The huge 7.0 earthquake devastated the country and people are in need of food and medical care. The situation has become so escalated that people are looting and rioting in the streets. The problem is, local law enforcement are also facing the hard times and cannot control the citizens. The article on Telegraph.co.uk, shows just how desperate the people are. The article tells a story of police firing on looters and killing people out right. A 30 year old man was the first to be shot, when he fell, the man next to him stole his backpack and ran off. Police then surrounded the group in an attempt to gain control and order, but more chaos erupted. This mattes because aid cannot arrive quick enough, and the body count in the capital city alone is over 50,000. The UN has also reported that because of the disorder, it may be the biggest disaster they have ever dealt with. The people in Haiti need all the aid they can get. The U.S. has the ability to supply some of the help needed, which is why I believe that we should focus more of our efforts towards helping Haiti.

PLN2

What matters in the world today is an article on Forbes.com about Tiger Woods salary. Tiger is the highest paid athlete in the world with an annual salary of $112 million. Most of this is contributed by his Nike sponsorship, but other parts come from tournament winnings and smaller sponsors. This matters because he is being rewarded for the wrong thing. He should not rake in $112 million a year just because he is really good at a sport. He, along with other athletes, should not be paid millions to show off their god given talent of athleticism. The money should go towards people who do good things for the community, like firemen and teachers. People like teachers deserve to be rewarded because they are willing to help the community and enjoy doing so. Now granted, the recent injury and scandal will put a dent in Mr. Woods income, but he will still be living near the top of the rich list.

PLN1

What matters today, is the annual question posted by Edge magazine. The question presented to the world for 2010 is, how is the internet changing the way we think? I believe that the internet has caused us to become more connected and made life easier in general. Instead of having to figure out a problem ourselves, we are now able to just Google it. This gives us a quick easy answer to whatever question we ponder. The internet has also made the world a very small place. Current events are now available instantaneously, instead of having to wait until the nightly news or the news paper. This mattes to school because, as commonly seen in commercials, classes can now talk and share ideas with class in other countries. The new thinking affects me in my everyday life. I do not go a day without Googling something or checking my e-mail. So my answer to the question is, the internet is changing the way we think in a positive way.