May 21

History of Computers!

Could you imagine life without cell phones, tablets, or calculators? These are all computers. They are important part of our daily lives. Here is some information about computer history.

What computers are

So what are computers? They are defined as devices for saving and processing data. They were created initially to calculate math problems.  Charles Babbage was the first one to invent the computer. It was a mechanical computer but he never managed to completely build it. The first digital, electromechanical programmable computer called Z3 was built by Konrad Zuse in Germany in 1941.  Another fact is that the first computer mouse was made out of wood

First Modern computer

First modern, electronic computer was called  ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) and was built in 1946-1947. It took as much as 1800 square feet of space. Early computers often stopped working. Sometimes it was caused by bugs. Not the software errors but actual insects that got trapped in these machines.

Computers now

Nowadays, people have much smaller and faster computers  And now they are not just used for calculating math problems  They are to look things up, to upload pictures, to print and to help us in our daily lives.They are also getting more powerful. But about 6,000 computer  viruses are released each month. That is one of the down sides of computers. But according to Moore’s law, computers get twice as fast every 18 months.

One thing is sure, it looks we will always use computers in our daily lives. I typed this homework on a computer, but who knows, maybe in few years, a computer would be able to write it all by itself.

 

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May 21

Our National Parks

 

Image result for national parks

Have you ever wondered about National Parks? How many are there? What are they called? Where are they? Why do we have them? Why should we care about them? Why should we protect them? Well now I’ll tell you just read on and this article will answer those questions.

Did you know that since we are in the 4th grade we get to go to each National Park, with our family, for free? So why don’t you take a trip some time? A national park is scenic or historically important area of countryside protected by the federal government for the enjoyment of the general public or the preservation of wildlife. Commercial exploitation of natural resources in a national park is illegal.

There are 61 national parks in the United States.  California has the most (nine), followed by Alaska (eight), Utah (five), and Colorado (four). Some popular national parks include Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Acadia National Park, Everglades National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Glacier National Park, Zion National Park, Denali National, and Mesa Verde National Park.

The largest national park is Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska: at over 8 million acres (32,375 km2), it is larger than each of the nine smallest states. The next three largest parks are also in Alaska.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act, which gave presidents the authority to create national monuments to preserve areas of natural or historic interest on public lands. The purpose of the Act was largely to protect prehistoric Native American ruins and artifacts.

All of these parks are holding onto something special. For example, places in California like Joshua Tree and Red Wood National Park are home to trees that grow nowhere else on the planet we know as Earth. Joshua Trees can only be found in Joshua Tree National Park. Same with the Redwoods. You can only see them in Redwood National Park.Image result for national parks

We can help to preserve our national parks by purchasing a reusable water bottle or replacing our incandescent lights with CFLs or LEDs. These are some other rules you can follow to help and protect and preserve our national parks so our great great great great great great grandchildren can visit these amazing places:

  • Try To Put Fewer Greenhouse Gasses In The Air.
  • Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
  • Walk, Bike, Carpool, or use Public Transportation.
  • Eat Locally.
  • Shorten Your Shower.
  • Use Less Electricity.
  • Replace Your Incandescent.

I hope you enjoyed this article and I hope you decide to visit a National park. I personally suggest Joshua Tree National Park. It is my favorite one because of the cool animals such as the chuckwalla. Also, the bouldering opportunities are endless. So if you like bouldering and wildlife go visit Joshua Tree National Park.

Category: Environment, Nature, Student Posts | 1 Comment on Our National Parks
May 21

Amazing Seahorses

 

Imagine yourself as a copepod floating in the ocean seagrass among clown fish, puffers, and dozens of other sea creatures, when you realize you’re being hunted by a delicate slow poke seahorse who only swims five feet per hour. Copepods can escape from their prey very fast, so fast that the reach speeds that are the same as a human jumping 3000 miles per hour. Do you think that would be fast enough to escape a hungry seahorse? Not quite!

Image result for seahorses

 

Best Ocean Predator

A seahorse’s favorite food to munch on is a copepod. Copepods are part of an animal group called crustaceans. Copepods are not only fast but they can sense vibrations from an oncoming predator and when they do sense those vibrations they get out of there speedy quick but seahorses can still catch those speedy copepods. Here’s why. Seahorses have a very unique shaped head with a feature above their nose that helps them make no waves and vibrations in the water when striking and then they suck up the copepod. This happens so fast that you cannot even see it without a very slowed down camera. If the copepods do sense the seahorse and try to bolt, the seahorse starts pivot feeding. Pivot feeding is where seahorse rotates their snout at high speed and then sucks in the copepod. This makes the seahorse one of the most successful predators in the ocean. I bet you thought it was sharks? Sharks are only successful at catching their prey fifty-five percent of the time. Seahorses are successful in catching their prey ninety percent of the time. Seahorses have to constantly eat to stay alive because food quickly passes through their simple digestive system. They have no teeth and no stomach. Since seahorses do not have teeth they have to suck in their prey and swallow it whole. 

CourtshipImage result for seahorses

We talked about seahorses unique ability to catch their prey very fast and how successful they are. Another unique thing about the seahorse is that the male gets pregnant, carries the eggs and gives birth instead of the female. Seahorse males and females have a courtship. This is like dating. Before

they breed they court for several days by dancing in sync for eight hours and swimming side by side while holding the same strip of seagrass with their tales. During this time they sometimes change color.

Seahorse HabitatsImage result for estuaries

Seahorses are usually found in shallow, tropical, and mild saltwater. They live in secure areas such as estuaries, coral reefs, and seagrass beds. Seahorse species are found in the Pacific and the Atlantic waters all the way from North America to South America. Species are also found in the European and Mediterranean waters.

 

If you like seahorses as much as I do, go down to the Batiquitos or San Elijo Lagoon and you might see them. Seahorses, as slow and delicate as they are, are quite unique and skilled at catching prey. Some seahorse species are endangered because in some countries they are hunted by humans to eat and they are also hunted for aquariums. Seahorse does not do well or live very long in an aquarium. I saw one in a tank when I recently went to a seafood restaurant for dinner. I thought it was very neat to see them but now after reading more about them, I feel sorry for the ones in the fish tank. Pollution is another reason for the threat to seahorses. We should all be doing our part to keep nature clean. I am going to the beach clean-up soon. Ask me how you can join in on it! I guarantee that you learned something about seahorses that you never knew before. Seahorses are not only cute but very interesting and I hope my article was too.

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May 20

Heart Attacks!

You’ve probably heard of a heart attack, Yes a heart attack but have you ever wondered how a heart attack happens or what happens in the process of a heart attack? Well, today I’m here to tell you how a heart attack works.

A heart attack occurs when one or more of your coronary arteries become blocked. Over time, a coronary artery can narrow from the buildup of various substances, including cholesterol. This condition, known as coronary artery disease, causes most heart attacks

A heart attack happens when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a section of heart muscle suddenly becomes blocked and the heart can’t get oxygen. If blood flow isn’t restored quickly, the section of heart muscle begins to die.

I really hope you enjoyed my text on heart attacks and I also hope you treat your body right by giving it fluids and lots of healthy veggies. Know you know how a heart attack happens and what happens in the process.

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May 9

The History Of Basketball

This is an official basketball.

Close your eyes and imagine leading your team to the NBA finals. Your team is tied 62-62 in the 4th quarter of the last game. There are 5 seconds on the clock. You dribble it fast down to the other side of court to not waste time. You make a few bounces and then shoot it from the 3 point line over the point guards head. You shoot and then…YOU SCORE!

Basketball has been popular for a long time and it is the 3rd most popular sport in the United States. Basketball was created in 1891 in the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) in Springfield, Massachusetts by James Naismith.

There are 5 positions in basketball. The positions are: the point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and the center.

There are types of actions that the players cannot do. They are called fouls. These are different types of fouls: hanging on people, punching and slapping, shoving and knocking them over. Specifically, if you touch them, the ref will call it a foul. The travel is another one. It is when you hug the ball and running with it without dribbling it. A double dribble is when a player catches the ball then dribbles it again.

Here are the two most popular leagues of basketball: NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and NBA (National Basketball Association).

There are 30 teams in the NBA. They are divided in to the Western and Eastern conference. Each conference has 15 teams. Each team plays 82 games in the regular season. The court is divided in 2 halves.

There are awards in basketball. This year all star Kevin Durant won the 2018 NBA finals MVP (Most Valuable Player) award. James Harden won 2018 all around MVP award.

There are championships in the NBA and NCAA. In 2019, it was Virginia vs Texas Tech in the NCAA finals. Virginia won. Meanwhile in the NBA, the playoffs are going on right now. This past year Golden State Warriors won the NBA finals against the Houston Rockets. In the playoffs, there are series. Each series is 7 games long. The first team winning 4 games is the winner.

Many people argue who is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). Most people say Michael Jordan and I agree with that. Michael jordan has led his fearsome Chicago Bulls along with his sidekick, Scottie Pippen to six NBA finals. Clearly, they have won all six. The Chicago Bulls dominated the 1990’s.

If you read this, this will help you get to learn more about basketball, how you play it and its rules. If you get the chance, play basketball.

Photo credit: https://dks.scene7.com/is/image/GolfGalaxy/16SPLUNBRPLCGMBLLBKB?wid=500&fmt=jpg

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May 9

The Lego Book

 

Image result for Lego brickIt’s a Saturday morning and you race downstairs to see the box of Legos you’ve wanted to start on for days and you finally get to build it! You rip open the box, take out the instructions, pour the Legos out of the bag and onto the floor and you start building a big Lego spaceship! As you build, you stop to wonder: What is a Lego? Who came up with the idea of making Legos? How are Legos made?

Ole Kirk was the person who came up with the idea. In 1957, his idea became real. The reason why Ole Kirk came up with the idea was because in 1932 his wife died and he was left to raise his four children alone. He started to think about making toys that his four sons would love. First, he started making wooden toys like ducks, vehicles, and cats. Then, he started making plastic toys like cars, trucks, and binding bricks. Binding bricks are an early design of what we know are Legos today. Binding blocks have slits on each of the shorter sides and Legos don’t.

If you were wondering what is a Lego, it’s a building block that has studs on the top and tubes on the bottom and can be built and arranged into anything imaginable. You can use two eight-studed bricks in twenty four ways, three eight-studed bricks 1,060 different ways, six eight-studed bricks 915,103,765 ways, and with eight eight-studed bricks there are endless combinations. There ten Lego features that define a Lego but 3 of them I think are the most important. The first, is unlimited play potential. I think this feature is important because you couldn’t play soccer all day long, but you can with Legos. The second, is year round play. I think this is an important feature because you couldn’t play soccer all year round but you can with Legos. The last feature is development, imagination, and creativity. I think the final feature is important because you’re learning how to follow instructions and when you build things on your own your using your imagination.

Did you know that today, the Lego factory makes about 4 million bricks an hour? There are 16 steps in making Legos. Legos start their life as little plastic granulates or plastic rice grains. They are melted between 446 degrees F and 590 degrees F. Then, they pour the melted plastic into molds. The bricks travel on a conveyor belt into a crate and to a truck that ships the crates to the packing, assembling, and decorating department. The assembly machines attach the arms to hands and tires to wheels and so on. Printing machines add faces to heads. The packing department send bags of elements or Legos and books into boxes. Finally the boxes get packed and are shipped to stores.

 

I hope you learned some interesting facts about Legos. I even have experience with Legos. I have a whole tub of Legos. I think Legos are fun to play with, are for girls and boys, and fun for every age. I think Ole Kirk wants you to get a tub of Legos so you can have some fun and build huge creations like big spaceships, cars, trucks, other vehicles, and lots more.

 

Category: Games, Student Posts | 1 Comment on The Lego Book
May 9

History Of Chocolate

Chocolate Tuomo Lindfors via Compfight

You are standing in the shade under the beautiful cacao tree in hopes that a foot long pod will drop off the tree and into your hands. When it does you run, skip, and leap to your parents. You say, ‘let’s make chocolate!’ Chocolate tastes amazing but how is it made and what is it’s history?

Chocolate comes from cacao trees. These trees grow in tropical rainforests full of exotic birds, animals and flowers. They grow under the shade or  canopy of the other trees around them. The beautiful cacao tree grows clusters of flowers and football sized pods. Inside these pods is white pulp. If you dig deeper down you will find dozens of rows of chocolate seeds! Once the chocolate seeds are gathered they are fermented, dried, roasted, shelled, and crushed into a smooth paste from which that sweet and melty chocolate bar is made.

The Maya Indians of Central America might have begun using cacao seeds as early as 600 BC. The Maya built a great civilization that included huge temples, hieroglyphics, and a passion for chocolate.  From remains of hieroglyphics, we know that the Maya loved chocolate very, very much. During their religious holidays, they offered chocolate to their Gods. The Maya did not eat chocolate, they drank the sweet sensation out of carved pots. The Maya flavored their chocolate with chilly, flower petals, and vanilla. The Aztecs, who lived around 1500 AD used many of the same chocolate making strategies as the Maya. Just as the Maya had offered chocolate to their Gods, the Aztecs did the same.

Spanish explorers came to Central America in the late 1400s in search of gold. That is when they were first introduced to chocolate. Spanish Conquistadors adored chocolate. One Spanish Conquistador named Hernando Cortes, called chocolate the divine drink. The Conquistadors drank the sugary sweetness both hot and chilled. Chocolate first arrived in Europe in the mid 1500’s. But it is not known who brought it there.  At first the Europeans gave chocolate mixed reviews. For 2,000 years chocolate was a drink only served to the upper classes. Hundreds of thousands of African American people were kidnapped and forced to work on sugar and cacao plantations.

This is an open Cacao pod.

Around the late 1800’s there were many advances in chocolate making. First came Daniel Peter who invented milk chocolate. He added evaporated milk to a mixture of liquor, cocoa butter, and sugar which created milk chocolate. He got this recipe from Henry Nestle. In the 1920’s Milton Hershey began to bring chocolate to the public in a grand way. He sold hundreds of thousands of chocolate bars at prices most people could afford.  In the 1920’s many candy shops made their own chocolate. World war one gave chocolate a boost. American troops were given chocolate as an energy boost.

From cacao trees to delicious candy bars and from its beginnings in Central America through Europe and to the United States, chocolate has come a long, long way. According to the Farmers Almanac  more than 58 million pounds of chocolate candy is sold during Valentines week. But Halloween takes the top spot as the number one chocolate candy holiday. 90 million pounds of chocolate candy is sold during Valentines week and Americans consume on average over 12 pounds of chocolate each year. What’s your favorite kind?

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May 8

Life Of Landon Donovan

Landon Donovan

Do you know who Landon Donovan is?! I’ll tell ya. Landon Donovan is an amazing soccer player and was thought to be the best American footballer (soccer!).

Early Age

First of all, Landon Donovan was born on March 4, 1982. Donovan was born in Ontario, California. Landon grew up to love sports, his dad was a semi-pro hockey player. At the age of five Donovan played soccer competitively, and on his first game he scored seven goals. When he joined the high school team, he averaged about one goal a game.

Playing Pros

The first professional soccer team Donovan played on was a German team named Bayer Leverkusen. But that team didn’t work out so he went back to America to play on the San Jose Earthquakes. He was instantly one of the best players on that team. The next year he led the US National team to the quarterfinals in the World Cup, losing to Germany 1-0. Then in 2005 Landon joined LA Galaxy and was their top goal scorer as a forward. Landon Donovan has made three world cup appearances and won three MLS cup titles. He retired in 2014.

Joining The San Diego Sockers

Donovan came out of retirement in 2019 and joined the San Diego Sockers. Landon’s first practice was hard for him, the coach said that he was a “True rookie.” The coach also said that he would have to adjust to the speed of play. Donovan’s first goal for the Sockers was in his second game and was scored in the first 12 seconds of the game. It was scored from the side. Also, in that same game he scored again by a volley, which was still in the first quarter.

Sockers LIVE

Did you know that you can go see the amazing Landon Donovan play at a San Diego Sockers game… LIVE? When I went to see him play I got a hug from him and his signature on my shoe and my soccer shirt. The Sockers have won 15 championships, and are in the playoffs again this year. Let’s see if Landon can lead them to their 16th title!

Category: Sports, Student Posts | 1 Comment on Life Of Landon Donovan
May 8

Super Glue

Super glue is truly super!!!

There is a lot of things to talk about when the topic super glue. In fact, this article is all about super glue and trust me you would want to read it. So please stick around and read this because you it keeps getting better and better.

Super glue is used for fixing stuff and putting things back together but it was originally made for clear plastic gun sights to be put on guns for World War 2. Then World War 2 soldiers found out about the super glue and thought it would be a good material for sealing up wounds from battle. Then they started bringing a small bottle of super glue into battle and used it they got a huge cut and a medic wasn’t available. Later a company found out about its true use (actually gluing stuff together and fixing broken things) and started to sell it as sticky stuff we call glue.

Super glue is not all as dangerous as you may have thought. When I was little, I thought it was horrible if I touched super glue so I was very careful around it. It is even sill fine when you get super glue in your eye. Eventually it will dry but fall off and your eye will be free again. And when you were in World War 2 and you didn’t have time for a medic to stitch you up you would just pour super glue on your cut and it would get sealed.

Super glue is also used for dealing with bad cuts (that are clean so you don’t get an infection) when you don’t have time for the doctor. My brother fell at school and got a concussion, we went to the ER but they didn’t use stitches and they used their slightly tweaked version of super glue. If you get a bad cut that isn’t that big, you can use super glue to seal it up but just make sure it is clean.

Now enough with the facts about super glue. Let’s get to he funny accidents with super glue. One time a lady in Florida got some dirt in her eye so she searched through her purse for eye drops but got super glue and accidentally glued her eye shut. Another funny story is about when someone illegally put super glue on a toilet seat the day before April Fools Day. Then another person sat on it and got his butt stuck. Then the people who worked there detached the seat from the toilet and he had to go to the hospital to remove it.

So if you are still here then I hope that you liked reading this. I liked learning about super glue and I hope I was able to help you learn about super glue too.

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May 1

Great Barrier Reef in Danger

Did you know in the last thirty years half the Great Barrier Reef has died? What really interested me was that the Great Barrier reefs were getting blown up to make room to fit aircraft ship. They would also blow up the Great Barrier Reef to make passageways to get through the Great Barrier Reef.

Great Barrier Reef.

Did you know the Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world? The Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest living structures on the planet is so big in fact you can see it from outer space. It’s about 1429 miles long it provides natural habitats for over 2000 species such as shark rays, sea cows, and fish, and 411 types of hard coral. A lot of people would want to see the Great Barrier Reef before they die.

Did you know that the Great Barrier Reef is in big trouble? Global warming is one of the effects that is causing our Coral to bleach and die! It’s not just a Global warming chemicals are being dumped into the ocean which is causing The Great Barrier Reef to bleach or dies and it’s not just the Great Barrier Reef it’s other reefs to!!!

Did you know that there are things we can do to prevent the Great Barrier Reef from dying? May not know but the gas in your car is creating global warming it’s not just you, a lot of people are. This is one of the reasons why we’re having global warming. We can do something about if we can ride a bike or walk if everyone does this we won’t be having any more trouble!!

We’re saving it for a world beauty for some people it’s not like they can walk right down to the beach and take a boat to go Snorkel diving it is a world treasure for people who can’t just walk down to the beach and snorkeling with their friends no they look forward to taking a long vacation to the beach.

 

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May 1

Leonardo Da Vinci: Genius & Artist

The Mona Lisa

What does it mean to be a genius?  History tells us that Albert Einstein was a scientific genius, Michelangelo was considered an artistic genius for his paintings and sculptures and Thomas Edison was the genius inventor who brought us the light bulb. Imagine being a genius who is world famous in all of these areas of human knowledge?  Such a person did exist way back in the 15th century, his name is Leonardo da Vinci. Not only did he make a robot that worked, invent a very complex type of math called calculus, he also painted the world’s most famous portrait, the Mona Lisa. For all of the things he accomplished in life, why is it that this painting is what he is known for the most? What made this painting so famous, who was Mona Lisa, and why did Leonardo da Vinci paint her?

As an artist, Leonardo da Vinci was paid by rich merchants, Dukes and even Princes to sculpt, paint or build instruments. One day, a rich silk merchant named Giocondo hired da Vinci to paint a picture of his wife, Lisa. Though Leonardo was getting bored with painting, he took the job anyway, maybe it was for the money or maybe the woman’s face appealed to him, nobody knows for sure why he took the job but he did

Although da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa between 1503-1507, it wasn’t quite finished so he worked on it off and on until finishing it just before his death in 1519. He used wooden handled paint brushes made with animal hair to apply many different oil painting styles with names like  Verdaccio, Sfumato,  and Glazing. What is amazing is that he didn’t paint the Mona Lisa on canvas, not even paper, instead he painted her on a piece of wood that came from a Poplar tree!

In the painting, Mona Lisa has a gentle smile and the expression on her face is what makes the painting so famous. She looks as if she is keeping a secret, and her eyes are full of mystery, too. A very fine veil covers her brown curly hair down to her very simple black dress. She doesn’t wear any fancy jewelry and she sits peacefully with her hands gracefully rested crossed, one on top of the other, on her lap. Behind her, a winding road with a bridge leads up to craggy mountains that slowly disappear into the mist.

It’s well known that Leonardo da Vinci is a genius, a scientist and an inventor but what I like the best about him is his art, especially his painting of the Mona Lisa. Even though Leonardo didn’t like painting anymore, he still painted the portrait for the rich silk merchant, but it took him 16 years to do it.  Maybe it took him that long to create such a mysterious look in her eyes, and that look on her face, just like she is keeping a secret. The Mona Lisa is a great example of the Leonardo da Vinci’s genius. Or maybe it’s just like a lot of things he started, history also tells us that he finished very few works of art that he started, so it’s no surprise that it took him so long to paint her.                    

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