December 9, 2009
Yesterday morning, we headed down to the Little Theater and heard a lady telling us about the victims of the flood. JIS decided to fill a bucket with items and later give it to the flood victims. As a result, all 6th graders had to make 5 buckets each in one day at lunch time. After Young Woo and I finished lunch, we went to the computer lab and checked our JIS e-mails. Some teachers told us to go to the Bali Stage and fill up the buckets. I THOUGHT it would be boring because it was just filling some items in side the bucket. When we reached the Bali Stage, we started putting items inside the bucket. At first, it was boring for me, and as I started the second bucket, I started to like filling the buckets. As I kept on doing this, I started to get fixated with this job. We had to get to the back of the queue and get items from the box and put it in the bucket. Those items were tiny buckets, kids and adult toothbrush, toothpaste, pink and blue towels, sponge, brush, mosquito repellent and some vitamins. At the end, we had to put the JIS sticker on the side of the big bucket and put it on the Mrs. Marello place. Bali Stage started to swarm more and more. As we finished our 4th bucket, the bell rung and we had to get to SSR. However, we still wanted to do it, so we finished our 5th bucket after the bell! There were still some students and teachers left so I decided to do just one more. I finished my 6th bucket and decided to go back to class. Young Woo wanted to do just ONE more so I agreed with him. As we got the 7th bucket, we thought it was too late, so we gave up and went back to class. One person had to do 5 each, but it was fun for me so I did 6. I think it was a good innovation and I was proud of myself when I finished 6 buckets.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Bill Gates
Ruth Strother
***
I recently finished reading a book called Bill Gates by Ruth Strother. I seldom read biography and I don't like them much but I wanted to read a variety of books so this time, I chose Bill Gates for my biography book.
Bill Gates was born in Seattle, Washington in 1955. When he entered Lakeside elementry school, he started loving computer, which was a very new thing for him. Bill Gates meets a friend he will have forever and his name was Paul Allen. They make a small company called Traf-O-Data and sells a scheduling system when he was 17, where he earned $4,200. On 1973, he finally enters the Harvard University. The day Bill Gates and his friend Paul Allen started Microsoft was at 1975. On February 3, 1977, the two people sign a partnership agreement to create the Microsoft company officially. However, Bill got 64% of the money they earned and Allen got only 36%. They soon hire some workers, secretaries, and all the people who help the company. They didn't really like this place, so they decided to move the company to Seattle. The Microsoft company started earning a lot of money and started to get very popular. Almost everyone in the house had one of Microsoft's computer. The amount of money they earned started to get bigger and bigger, and Bill Gates finally became the youngest self-made billionaire by 1987. After Windows 1.0 and 2.0, Microsoft creates Windows 3.0 at May 22, 1990, and it became really popular so that almost everyone started using it. In 1992, Bill Gates receives the National Medal of Technology from President George Bush. Bill Gates had two girlfriends, but his Microsoft work was very busy, so the two girl friends broke up with him because they were tired of waiting. However on January, 1, 1994, he marries one of his workers, Melinda French. Unfortunately at the same year, Bill Gate's mother passes away by breast cancer. Also at the same year, Bill Gates became the wealthiest person in America. Microsoft makes Windows 95 at 1995, and Windows 98 at 1998 (of course). After Bill Gates has done a lot of work on his Microsoft work, he decided to care about his family more and care less of his Microsoft work. His first daughter Jennifer is born on 1996, his son Rory is born in 1999, and his second daughter Phoebe is born in 2002. On June 15, 2006, Bill Gates announces that he will not work in Microsoft anymore b July 2008.
My favourite part of this book is when it talked about Bill Gates being a billionaire. Inside the book, it also shows the pictures of the 10 wealthiest person in the world. There were a lot of Chinese and Japanese. Out of lots of Asian people, it was hard for me to believe that Bill Gates became the richest person in the world by just a computer company. As we know, almost everyone in this school uses Microsoft Windows, and it is a really famous company. I think Microsoft is really good, because it also has Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Invitation and more. Bill Gates is still one of the richest person in the world.
I will give this book 3 stars out of 5 because I don't like biography that much.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Eragon
Christopher Paolini
*****
Recently, I've finished a book called Eragon by Christopher Paolini. A lot of my friends recommended it including Neil, Brandon, and Young Woo, and this book was in the recommended book list. Christopher Paolini wrote this book at the age of 15, and he became a professional writer in high school. This was his debut book and it was pretty good. This book is over a 700 pages so it took me a long~~~ time to read this.
This book is about a 15 year old boy named Eragon. One day, he found a dragon egg in a place called Spine. When a dragon hatched from it, he named it Saphira and it became bigger and bigger every day. He lived with his uncle Garrow and his brother Roran at the age of 17. The evil guy, Galbatorix kills Garrow and his brother Roran left his hometown to marry a girl. Eragon was left alone. As days pass, he becomes friends with a man called Brom, and they take adventures with Saphira. They went to a lot of places like Daret, Therinsford, Yazuac, and lots more. When Brom dies because of the Ra'zac, he meets a guy called Murtagh, who was similar to Brom. He also takes adventure with him and these adventure happen all the way through the book.
My favourite part of this book was when he fights all the bad guys such as the Urgals and Ra'zacs. Eragon learned magic from Brom and he uses these magic to the monsters but the magic is very dangerous so Eragon almost died a lot of times. He killed some Urgals, but the Ra'zacs were pretty strong. They were the one who killed Brom, who was like Eragon's father. Later on in the story, Eragon, Saphira and Murtagh meets the upgrade of the Urgals, the Kull. They are over 8 feet tall and very fat. They win in the fight, though. I really liked the part when Eragon fought all those monsters. My another favourite part of this story was when Eragon sparres with his masters, Brom and Murtagh. Brom was pretty easy to spar so Eragon kind of won, but Murtagh wasn't easy. For both Eragon and Murtagh, they couldn't have an adventage and they both said that they haven't sparred someone stronger than them.
I would give this book 5/5 stars. I would recommend this book to everyone of my friends.
Fallen Tooth
December 1st, 2009
I really don't like taking my teeth off and I think it hurts when that happens. About 1 month ago, my back teeth started shaking a little bit and this was the first time my back teeth started shaking. I was scared since then, because I didn't want to take my teeth off. There would be blood all over my mouth. One day, I was eating a nut. I chewed the nut with my shaking teeth accidentaly so it started hurting more and more, and it eventually shook a lot. It was almost going to fall off. As time passed, I started to get more scared and scared. It was last night when the teeth fell off. It was 11:00 p.m. I was still reading the book 'Eragon' and I wanted to have a break so my mom gave me a piece of bread. While I was chewing the bread with the unshaking teeth, I felt something hard inside my mouth. When i opened my mouth and took the hard thing off, I realized it was my teeth. Fortuitiously, it didn't hurt a lot. Acutally, I was going to tell my mom to take it off after I ate my bread but luckily, it came off without any pain. I went to the bathroom to wash my mouth and take all the blood out. There was a lot of blood but it didn't hurt so I could manage that. I also washed my fallen teeth for fun. Next morning, I showed it to my dad and he laughed because he thought it was funny that it came off while I was eating just a piece of bread.
I really don't like taking my teeth off and I think it hurts when that happens. About 1 month ago, my back teeth started shaking a little bit and this was the first time my back teeth started shaking. I was scared since then, because I didn't want to take my teeth off. There would be blood all over my mouth. One day, I was eating a nut. I chewed the nut with my shaking teeth accidentaly so it started hurting more and more, and it eventually shook a lot. It was almost going to fall off. As time passed, I started to get more scared and scared. It was last night when the teeth fell off. It was 11:00 p.m. I was still reading the book 'Eragon' and I wanted to have a break so my mom gave me a piece of bread. While I was chewing the bread with the unshaking teeth, I felt something hard inside my mouth. When i opened my mouth and took the hard thing off, I realized it was my teeth. Fortuitiously, it didn't hurt a lot. Acutally, I was going to tell my mom to take it off after I ate my bread but luckily, it came off without any pain. I went to the bathroom to wash my mouth and take all the blood out. There was a lot of blood but it didn't hurt so I could manage that. I also washed my fallen teeth for fun. Next morning, I showed it to my dad and he laughed because he thought it was funny that it came off while I was eating just a piece of bread.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
GeoActive Questions (2)
Activities:
1. List the main reasons for water scarcity.
The main reasons for water scarcity is that many hot places such as deserts have very low
rainfall, variations in climate, land degradation, population growth and water pollution.
2. What is a drought? What type of hardships do you think that a drought could cause if you were living in a village in a poor country such as Ethiopia?
A drought is a period of below average precipitation. If I was living in a poor country such as
Ethiopia, the hardships I would face is fatal diseases such as cholera.
3. How does land degradation affect the supply of fresh water?
Land degradation can be caused by the excessive destruction of natural vegetation through
deforestation, overgrazing and farming. Then the soil would be not able to store water.
4. (a) What is El Nino?
El Nino is a warming that develops every three to five years in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of
Peru. During El Nino, the moist easterly trade winds that normally blow across the Pacific Ocean
reverse their direction.
(b) Why does El Nino often cause drought in Australia?
El Nino often cause drought in Australia because of the reversal of air pressure across the Pacific, resulting in high pressure systems building up over most of Australia.
5. Observe the map showing the global effects of El Nino in 1982-83.
(a) What effects does El Nino have on the availability of fresh water?
There can be period of heavy rain through the west coast of South America which would cause severe flooding. Water will be polluted and only a little bit of clean water is available.
(b) Name the countries and describe the problems that arose from decreased rainfall caused by El Nino.
Africa: Reduced corn crop in sub-Saharan region
China: Agricultural land under threat from drought in northern regions and flooding in southern regions
United States: Rainfall above normal in north-western states (double the historical averages)
Indonesia: High air pollution levels, following forest fires
Philippines: Lower rice harvest following drought
Colombia: Fishing operators affected by lower catch (down 20%)
Papua New Guinea: Drought-related failure of food crops, leading to famine conditions requiring food aid
Australia: Wheat exports threatened by drought conditions across grain-growing areas, particularly New South Wales
Peru: 1. Flooding (also in Chile) 2. Fishing operators affefcted by lower catch as anchovy and Pacific sardine move offshore to escape warm currents (5 degrees C above normal temperatures)
1. List the main reasons for water scarcity.
The main reasons for water scarcity is that many hot places such as deserts have very low
rainfall, variations in climate, land degradation, population growth and water pollution.
2. What is a drought? What type of hardships do you think that a drought could cause if you were living in a village in a poor country such as Ethiopia?
A drought is a period of below average precipitation. If I was living in a poor country such as
Ethiopia, the hardships I would face is fatal diseases such as cholera.
3. How does land degradation affect the supply of fresh water?
Land degradation can be caused by the excessive destruction of natural vegetation through
deforestation, overgrazing and farming. Then the soil would be not able to store water.
4. (a) What is El Nino?
El Nino is a warming that develops every three to five years in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of
Peru. During El Nino, the moist easterly trade winds that normally blow across the Pacific Ocean
reverse their direction.
(b) Why does El Nino often cause drought in Australia?
El Nino often cause drought in Australia because of the reversal of air pressure across the Pacific, resulting in high pressure systems building up over most of Australia.
5. Observe the map showing the global effects of El Nino in 1982-83.
(a) What effects does El Nino have on the availability of fresh water?
There can be period of heavy rain through the west coast of South America which would cause severe flooding. Water will be polluted and only a little bit of clean water is available.
(b) Name the countries and describe the problems that arose from decreased rainfall caused by El Nino.
Africa: Reduced corn crop in sub-Saharan region
China: Agricultural land under threat from drought in northern regions and flooding in southern regions
United States: Rainfall above normal in north-western states (double the historical averages)
Indonesia: High air pollution levels, following forest fires
Philippines: Lower rice harvest following drought
Colombia: Fishing operators affected by lower catch (down 20%)
Papua New Guinea: Drought-related failure of food crops, leading to famine conditions requiring food aid
Australia: Wheat exports threatened by drought conditions across grain-growing areas, particularly New South Wales
Peru: 1. Flooding (also in Chile) 2. Fishing operators affefcted by lower catch as anchovy and Pacific sardine move offshore to escape warm currents (5 degrees C above normal temperatures)
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Bintaro Lama Field Trip
On November 12th, my homeroom classmates went to the Bintaro Lama field trip, where we learned some ways to clean water and some things about water. We went there because right now in school, we are learning about water. After 40 minutes of the bus ride, we went to our groups and headed inside the kampung. My group (Me, Yong Hee, Brandon) had to go to stations 6, 2 and 4. In this post, I will write about the three stations I went to.
The first station we went to was station 6, where we learned about disinfection. The kind guide there taught and explained to us two ways of cleaning water. The first way she showed us was using a thing called Aquatabs. If we just put 1 or 2 drops of Aquatab in the water, it could clean 30L of water. I think that was very cool, because just a few drops can clean a really big amount of water. They let the Aquatab dissolve, and it doesn't take long to finish this process. Aquatabs are a really efficient way of cleaning water. The seecond way of cleaning water was using a liquid called Air Ramat. You just put about 5ML of liquid inside the water, then you could clean one gallon of water! After putting Air Ramat, you have to shake it for 30 seconds to clean the water.
The next station we went was station 2, where we learned about hygiene. The guide there showed two posters. The first one they showed us was a poster showing how food gets contaminated. They told us that some people in the kampung don't wash their hands after pooing. The bacteria in the feces get on their hands and when they touch food and eat it afterwards, it is likely for them to get a stomachache. The second poster showed 5 ways of how to prevent them. One was washing your hands before touching babies, and one of the ways were also to make a toilet for them.
The last station we went was station 4, where we learned about flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration. First, they put a liquid called PUR in the water which cost RP 1,000. PUR makes the dirt particles stick together and form a floc. The dirt clump settle down to the bottom of the container which is a process called sedimentation. After that, they filter the water by putting in the claypot in the bucket. They cover the claypot's hole by laying a filter cloth. Then they pour the dirty water but the dirty garbage and things don't go past the cloth and stay there. I thought this whole process was very similar to the water treatment plant, but you put alum instead of PUR.
After visiting the Bintaro Lama field trip, I learned some new things about cleaning water. Before, when we visited the water treatment plant, I also learned cool things there but the Bintaro Kampung people taught and explained to us in a very kind way and a very understandable way. I thought the Kampung people were extremely kind to us... and there were some cute boys on the kampung!!!
The first station we went to was station 6, where we learned about disinfection. The kind guide there taught and explained to us two ways of cleaning water. The first way she showed us was using a thing called Aquatabs. If we just put 1 or 2 drops of Aquatab in the water, it could clean 30L of water. I think that was very cool, because just a few drops can clean a really big amount of water. They let the Aquatab dissolve, and it doesn't take long to finish this process. Aquatabs are a really efficient way of cleaning water. The seecond way of cleaning water was using a liquid called Air Ramat. You just put about 5ML of liquid inside the water, then you could clean one gallon of water! After putting Air Ramat, you have to shake it for 30 seconds to clean the water.
The next station we went was station 2, where we learned about hygiene. The guide there showed two posters. The first one they showed us was a poster showing how food gets contaminated. They told us that some people in the kampung don't wash their hands after pooing. The bacteria in the feces get on their hands and when they touch food and eat it afterwards, it is likely for them to get a stomachache. The second poster showed 5 ways of how to prevent them. One was washing your hands before touching babies, and one of the ways were also to make a toilet for them.
The last station we went was station 4, where we learned about flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration. First, they put a liquid called PUR in the water which cost RP 1,000. PUR makes the dirt particles stick together and form a floc. The dirt clump settle down to the bottom of the container which is a process called sedimentation. After that, they filter the water by putting in the claypot in the bucket. They cover the claypot's hole by laying a filter cloth. Then they pour the dirty water but the dirty garbage and things don't go past the cloth and stay there. I thought this whole process was very similar to the water treatment plant, but you put alum instead of PUR.
After visiting the Bintaro Lama field trip, I learned some new things about cleaning water. Before, when we visited the water treatment plant, I also learned cool things there but the Bintaro Kampung people taught and explained to us in a very kind way and a very understandable way. I thought the Kampung people were extremely kind to us... and there were some cute boys on the kampung!!!
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