Technologies

What is technology?
Technology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science. (from dictionary.com)
What are the 5 most and 5 least important technologies used today?
The 5 most important technologies used today are computers, calculators, phones, elevators and escalators, and security systems. The 5 least important technologies used today are gameboys, electric shaver, CD players , light up shoes, and an electric toothbrush.
How do you feel about that amount of and use of technology at AES?
I feel that we have a good amount of technology at AES and I think that we use it a bit too much. For example, we usually have lights on, that is unnecessary and we use computers for almost everything.

Kurt Vonnegut

“Do you know what a Luddite is? That’s a person who doesn't like newfangled contraptions. Contraptions like nuclear submarines armed with Poseidon missiles that have H-bombs in their warheads, and like computers that cheat you out of becoming. Bill Gates says, “Wait till you can see what your computer can become.” But it’s you who should be doing the becoming. What you can become is the miracle you were born to work—not the damn fool computer.”

- Kurt Vonnegut

I partially agree and partially disagree with Kurt Vonnegut's statement. I agree that we need to develop and become. I also agree that computers do a lot of our work and that they are the ones that develop and become. Another thing I agree with is that you should not create bombs and other things that destroy. You should only create technology that's for every one's advantage and not only for one country or person. One thing I with, is that computers do help us develop and learn. It speeds work up and makes life easier. Without computers we would be working on an two page essay for years just because we don't have Microsoft Word or other tools that help us. In addition, scientists help keep us healthy and up to date because they have technology and technology helps them develop medicines and other things. As you can see, I agree with Vonnegut's statement in many ways, but i also disagree with it.

Picture of Kurt Vonnegut from:http://bkmarcus.com/cache/Vonnegut/images/kurt-vonnegut.jpg

3Q reflection+ 4Q goals

My third quarter goals were to improve my writing skills, improve my geography skills, and to improve my vocabulary (vivid verbs, etc.). I did not meet all of those goals. First of all, I i didn't improve my writing skills because we didn't do any major writing assignments this quarter. Second of all, I did improve my geography skills a bit due to the weekly geography two minute warm up. Lastly, I do think that I improved my vocabulary.

4th Quarter Goals

1. Get a B- or C+ on my UBD research paper.
2. Improve my writing skills (including poetry).
3. Improve my researching skills.
   
4. And lastly improve my geography skills even more.

I will do my best to meet those four goals in the last quarter of 8th grade!

Why is the phrase “Holy War” an oxymoron?

Why is the phrase “Holy War” an oxymoron?

The phrase "holy War" is and oxymoron because of two reasons. First, there is not good or "holy" war. War is something that you should avoid and not start because you think that god will praise you for killing someone of another religion. Just because someone doesn't believe in your religion, doesn't mean that their religion is wrong and that god would want you to kill them. Also, most of the religions forbid killing, but still people fight holy wars and kill people who don't practice all of the holidays or people who believe in different religions. In addition, holy describes something honored and war describes something horrible, which are opposites, which makes it and oxymoron. In summary, because there is no good war, killing is always bad, and because most religions forbid killing, the phrase "holy war" is and oxymoron.

Do you think there will be a World War III in your lifetime?

I do not think that there will be a World War III in my life time because of several reasons. First of all, peace treaties have been made to keep the peace between countries and prevent war. These peace treaties will probably not be broken. Second of all, the United Nations(UN) have been joined by almost every country. The UN makes compromises and decisions that please all the nations so that there won't be a reason for war. Third of all, people have grown smarter and know that war is not good for their country or their enemy countries. They know that no matter how strong they are, destruction and death can't be avoided if a war was to happen, and no country wants that, so they avoid war. Also, now we have much better military and weapons, which would kill thousands of people at once, and that scared people. Lastly, there aren't any dictators, or fascist countries that would start a World War right now. As you can see, because there are peace treaties, because of the UN, because people are smarter now and want to avoid war, and there are no leaders who would start a war right now, there won't be a World War III in my lifetime.
Picture from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Mushcloud.jpg/300px-Mushcloud.jpg

Word War II: A Letter from the Battlefront

Wilhelm Street 15

10507, Poland

September 14, 1939

Dear Barbara,

These past 2 weeks were probably the most exhausting days of my whole life. I can’t believe I even have time to write you this letter. Since I only have little time, this letter will be rushed, but I just had to tell you about my new experiences. A few days ago, on September 1^st, the Germans invaded us on three fronts (can you believe that?), the East Prussian Front in the north, the German Front in the west, and Slovakia in the south. They used their new, unknown “Blitzkrieg” method; it was quite remarkable, but also devastating. We held them back at Kutno, and then went to regroup by the Wisla and Bzura rivers. They also had all the weapons you could possibly think of and the biggest military as well; 2600 tanks, and more than 2000 aircraft, against our 180 tanks, and 420 aircraft! To be honest, I was scared to death. And my biggest dream is for this war to end and for you, and our dearest daughter, Lola, to never have to experience something like this!

You asked for my feelings and how I am? Well, yesterday we fought, and I wasn’t unscathed. Telling you this isn’t easy, but after the fight, my left hand was injured severely. They sent me to a hospital after several hours, too many if you ask me, and the nurses said that my hand won’t mend, it had to be amputated. I’m sorry love, but don’t worry too much, I won’t die and I will come home to our beautiful house soon. We all have changed, I noticed it on the very day the Germans invaded us. We, the soldiers, now have a stern look and a spark of revenge in our eyes. I wonder if I could ever go back to our old, simple but comfortable life? Now that I’m used to such harsh conditions, bad weather (it’s been very cold lately), and food and water shortage, it’s hard to imagine the life I once lived.

I have to tell you this, though I doubt that you didn’t know this, we lost the battle. The Germans now are controlling us. We held on longer than anyone would have thought, but in the end, we still lost. Not hard to believe when you look back at the numbers of military and weapons they had! Most of us were on horseback as well, I never even thought we would win, but I wouldn’t give up. We fought till we really couldn’t go one more step without dropping dead; and more dead soldiers was the last thing we needed. On the 3^rd of September, Britain and France declared war on Germany, but we still received no help.

Yours for eternity,

Juri Pavlov

P.S. I hope that this all ends well and that I get to live yet another couple of years, to watch my beautiful daughter grow up and to spend time with my loving wife. Oh I miss you both so bad, now I know how it feels to loose someone. Please do not worry too much and if something does happen, do not let it change your life, I’m sorry. Remember, I love you forever.

P.P.S. Tell all our friends I said hello. And take care of my mother please.

Information from: http://www.kasprzyk.demon.co.uk/www/history/WW2.html

Picture from: http://pro.corbis.com/images/NA002776.jpg?size=67&uid={A97388D9-53C0-47E7-B106-372533AD6091}

WWII feedback question- Anne Frank

In The New York Times the writer Anna Quindlen asked, “Would our understanding of the Holocaust be quite the same if Anne Frank had not taken a small plaid diary into hiding with her?” Respond to this question and explain your answer.
Anne Frank's diary is a big piece of the information on concentration camps and the holocaust in general. If we didn't have Anne Frank's diary, we wouln't have specific evidence and information of how the people felt and what it was like to live in a concentration camp. Also, Anne Frank was a young girl and most of the survivors who could have given us an insight of the concentration camps, were adult males since the children and women were executed. Having a girls point of view gives us even more information. In addition, it gives the emotions of the girls feelings and the point of view of a jew. In conclusion, Anne Frank's diary gives us the emotion, the point of view of a jewish girl, and specific evidence.

A Recipe for World War II

World War II- a Cake

To create the first layer of a thick, hard crusted cake of world war II,
mix 118 grams of the Treaty of Versailles,
8 grams of the failure of the League of Nations,
and 68 grams of appeasement

44 grams of each, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and the German aggression
build next layer, emerging on top of the first and hardest layer.

knead the dough for 4 minutes
then add 15.5 grams of Japanese aggression for the filling.
Shove everything in the oven, heat, and wait.

1936 minutes have passed,
BOOOM
the sign the cake is ready,
was heard in the whole neighborhood

Hard, thick, unbreakable,
the cake is unique, like a dew drop on a leaf
and hopefully will always be.

Animal Farm Movie Critique

The book Animal Farm and the animated movie of Animal Farm have many similarities and a few differences. First of all, one difference, that I thought was important, was that there was no Mollie. In the book Mollie had a minor role, but she represented the nobles, who were an important part of the Russian Revolution. The fact that Mollie is missing makes the movie different from the book and mostly different from the Russian Revolution. Also, there are a lot of minor changes. One of those small changes would be that Major dies three days later(page 11), not right after giving his speech and in the movie it seems like the Battle of The Cowshed was on the same day as the rebellion, but in the book it was a few days later. These small changes don't make a big difference, but they make the movie more inaccurate.
Another change was that the Seven Commandments were supposed to have mistakes in the spelling, but in the movie the Seven Commandments were spelled correctly. "It was very neatly written, and except that "friend" was written "freind" and one of the "S's" was the wrong way around, the spelling was correct all the way through." (page 18) Then, the rest was pretty much the same, Napoleon was the cruel leader, the animals his 'slaves'.
Another difference is that when Boxer was sent to the horse killer, Benjamin knew because is said so on the wagon and he read, in the book there was a sign and all of the animals knew. In the movie this resulted in a second rebellion, this time against Napoleon, which never happened.
Also, Farmer Jones broke the windmill, which was like it was in the book. In conclusion, these are the similarities and differences between the book Animal Farm and the movie Animal Farm and all in all they are quite similar, and the movie portraits the book well.
picture from: http://mrcoyle.edublogs.org/files/2007/02/af2.jpg

With which character in Animal Farm to you most closely identify?

In Animal Farm, the character I most closely identify with is Benjamin. First of all, Benjamin is smart and realizes what is happening. If I were in a situation like Benjamin was in, I would have realized what was happening. For example, if I'm in a fight with a friend, or my friends are in a fight, I would have realized not to push them further in anyway and just go along with it till they make up. Also, Benjamin is caring i.e he cared about Boxer when he was hurt and didn't leave him for a second. This I identify with, I care about my friends and family. As, you can see, I identify with Benjamin because he is smart and caring.
Picture from: http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Books/Pix/pictures/2008/06/09/farm460.jpg

Tyranny, Injustice and Self-Determination

Tyranny: Being ruled by a ruler who is cruel and abuses his power.
Injustice: Acting in an unfair and wrong way.
Self-Determination: Acting and choosing what to do without someone others influence or impact.

Tyranny, injustice and self-determination are things that are represented in the book Animal Farm. Tyranny is shown by the pigs, who abuse their power. In chapter three, page 25 they order that the apples are only to be eaten by pigs and the pigs the the cow's milk, "... Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve out health." This the pigs say to explain why they get the apples and milk, of course this is not the truth. Injustice can also be represented with the previous example, the pigs get all the apples and the milk, but the other farm animals don't get any. Also, the pigs don't work on the fields at all, they only give commands to the other animals, but they still get as much of the crops as they want, this is unfair and wrong. Self-determination is shown in the first and second chapters where the farm animals plan the rebellion and when the rebellion actually happens. They want to rule themselves and be free from Mr. Jones, so they drive him out, this is an example of self-determination. As you can see, the farm animals have experienced tyranny, injustice, and self-determination.

WW1 Poem- Survive Another Day

Survive Another Day

Blood, death, gas,

Running out to the trenches

The smell of sweat, fear and death does not pass

BOOM

We were dropping dead at all edges, like dried leafs falling from a tree

Glancing around, making sure that we don’t miss bomb blast or gun shot.

Fear, weapons, destruction,

Gun shots came from every direction,

And cries for help from everywhere,

The weapons are monsters, waiting to tear us apart

Soldiers were hiding and fighting,

Doing their best to survive another day.

Alliances, hopes, dreams

Britain, France, Russia- the Triple Allies,

Germany, Austro-Hungary, Italy- the Central Power Alliance,

We all were fighting for the same reasons,

Shattered dreams, and hope.

The sound of the whistle that marks the start

SSSSSSSSSS

It wasn’t the first time we heard it, there was no time to think

Running as fast as the speed of light, knowing that our time is running out,

We tried to cross the battle field

Shouts, cries, death

But we weren’t giving up, not giving up,

Only our pride stood in the way,

But we weren’t giving up, never.

Pictures from:

http://www.chemical-corps.org/history/images/GasAttack-%20WWI%20(538x406).jpg

http://www.gwpda.org/photos/bin07/imag0696.jpg

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Images/0377.jpg

http://www.aeragon.com/00/01/WwiBattlefield-420.jpg

http://www.besmark.com/ww1battl.gif

Compulsory Military Service?

In Germany, 9 months of compulsory military service are mandatory. First of all, this is needed for if we didn't make this mandatory, no one would join and our military would be too small. So, if a country declared war against us, we would not be ready. Also, you would learn certain self defense techniques which would help you if you were ever to be stalked, raped, or anything like that. Lastly, it would also help your physical fitness and your education. If you go to military you have to exercise, which would keep you fit, also, learning all the things about war and fighting helps you understand those things. As you can see, compulsory military service is needed because it expandes the military, teches you self defense, keeps you fit and helps your education.

picture from: http://www.firstworldwar.com/photos/graphics/nw_german_army_sk_01.jpg

Great Powers Game Reflection

The main visual elements in this cartoon are men, from different countries, handing each other treaties that are or will be signed to form alliances. Then there is also some people in the middle who are the great powers, then there is the medium strong countries, and then there is countries that aren't even part of the circle of allies. This political cartoon is about forming alliances.
The Cartoonist's opinion about this issue is that if you have allies, you are well of and about to get rich, but if you do not have allies, you are weak and poor, and not about to become a great power. The countries(people) outside the circle are crying and poor looking, this is evidence some in the cartoon that supports my opinion on how the cartoonist feels. The cartoonist could have emphasized the alliance treaties and made it even more clear that the countries in the circle are shunning the outside countries, for whatever reason.
This cartoon relates to the Great Powers Game because in the game we formed alliances and discussed with our allies who we should attack and stay away from and also who we should bring to our side, and confide in.

Great Powers Game Debrief

My empire was Germany. Building my empire was quite frustrating at times but we were one of the great powers, so we had a small advantage. Our empire was quite strong compared to most of the countries, but there were stronger countries that could have easily overtaken Germany. In the long run, it was probably more important to buy armies. It was more important because if someone declared war against you, you need your armies to win and if you do have enough to win, you can get the defeated countries armies, navies, industries, and colonies. Then you would be stronger and you probably wouldn't be attacked the next year(round) because you are so strong, that year you can use to buy more colonies and industries so you become rich.
We did well with forming alliances and winning wars, we also bought colonies, industries, navies, and armies thoughtfully. The thing I would have done differently is deciding who to be allies with and when to join a war or not. We had successful and unsuccessful allies, this helped us choose whether to help a country or not and learn how much information to share with your allies. Overall, my alliances were helpful, though one of our allies declared war against us, Germany, which in the end did not hurt us, but the attacking country. So, I wouldn't say that all of our alliances could be trusted. The three things I learned are that conflict and war is hurtful to your own country as well as others, you can't rely on your allies, and that you have to think before declaring a war, and then maybe loosing everything.

Image Location: http://mrcoyle.edublogs.org/files/2008/01/pp_uk_06.jpg

Second Quarter Reflection and Goals for Third Quarter

In the second quarter of school we had to make three goals. My first goals was to get a good grade on my first 5 paragraph long research paper, this goal I achieved. My second goal was to improve my writing skills, to use more vivid and strong verbs. This goal I did not complete, though I did improve a bit, I still need to work on this skill. Lastly, my third goal was to improve my grammatical skills, like punctuation and vocabulary, this skill I did improve. As you can see, I met two of my goals but still need to work on one of them.
My third quarter goals are to improve my writing skills, improve my geography skills, and to improve my vocabulary (vivid verbs, etc.). These goals I will work on at home and in class.