Live.Laugh

I'm sorry to any of the people who read or have read my blog before and take some time into listening and care about what I have to say.  I guess I can't officially call myself a true blogger. 


What inspired me to write this post is inspiration itself. The sole reason I began to write this blog anyways. She is the reason and the inspiration to this entire blog and this post it dedicated to her. I hope she reads this post somehow so she can know how many lives she touches and changes for the better. I guess I came here (library) just so I could get my thoughts up in the air. She is the most unique teacher I can honestly say in my entire life. I'm not going to lie and say she is the perfect teacher or perfect person; that goes completely against her teachings. She shares the ideas of individuality and creativity. He classes are laid back and provide an environment where one can feel safe and at home. It is a rigorous class that not only teaches science but also provides the student with the tools of life. Her presentation at our school was one that totally blew my mind. Choking back tears the entire presentation, I valued every story and secretly felt jealous and envious of her creative ideas that have begun to spread worldwide. Its purely Genius. I guess all of this has just been a little bit of background information. I'm sure anyone reading this now is thinking that I am crazy and just ranting on about how great this presentation is. Now ill get to the juice..


I think basically what she was trying to say is...


1. ZOOM IN on what you love.
                   ~Don't try to do too much all at once. Its not human to be perfect at everything. Take a step back and breathe. Focus on what you enjoy


2. Think of when you were a child. Do you remember those day? Think far back.
                   ~ Children possess the greatest sense of curiosity and as we grow older, creativity and individuality is stressed. The hypocritical thing about this is that while school and perfection and life is so grade and success oriented, that is actually draining the natural sense of curiosity and creativity we all posses as a little human being.

3. Do what makes you happy
                 ~In the end being happy is the only thing that matters. No one is going to remember the homework or the books you read in class or how you did on that math test in 10th grade. Now is the time to take advantage of the activities and things presented to you. Instead of saying "BUT" say "yes and". Don't say "Im sorry I wish I could help BUT..." say instead "Yes id love to and......" Not only are you helping yourself but you are helping and reaching out to others.


These are just three of the main ideas taught and reinforced to me this presentation in school. I sincerely appreciate the hard work and time my teacher puts into everything she does and how devoted she is in making the lives of everyone around her better and fulfilled. Something about her makes me so humble :)


Some quotes that I love


“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” 
― John Lennon

"Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?"

I hope you all enjoyed reading this entry sorry if its a little rushed and sloppy; I just needed to get my thoughts organized.

~ Benjamin Franklin Quotes

Be courageous, be bold, be yourself

Changing the Clocks

This morning I woke up to the sound of my alarm buzzing in my ear. RING! Trudging out of bed I inhaled my breakfast, brushed my teeth, and slapped on some clothes. What time is it? 7 am? Can't be, it feels way earlier. Time change. Ugggg, it feels like 6 am! WHY! Last night the clocks were set forward an hour. Meaning students like myself have to wake up earlier for school and start school earlier. The adjustment is hard even though it's only an hour. Highs school students feel the change because we need every hour of sleep we can get! The only positive thing about this time change so far, is that at 7 o'clock at night it is bright. Summer time is approaching!

The Good Old Days

I miss those days. You know, the ones where your homework takes you 25 minutes, recess is the best thing ever, getting to watch TV before school, and have play-dates on a regular basis. Don’t get me wrong, I love high school; just sometimes the stress is overwhelming.

With Valentines Day approaching, I can’t help but remember my days at Wescott Elementary School. Anticipation lingered in the air many days prior to Valentines Day. I think everyone loved shopping with their mom for the coolest Valentine’s cards, writing each kid’s name on it, and enclosing a little treat. Why don’t we do that anymore?

My favorite part of the Valentines Day celebration at school was, no doubt about it, the shoebox decorating. Hours and hours spent cutting, taping, fussing, gluing, and perfecting. I felt so important transporting my colored box to and from school. On the way to school I clutched an empty box and on the journey home I would skip and marvel at all the candy and cards I had accumulated throughout the day. No one cared who had more, or who gave out the best type of candy. Those things didn’t matter then. Those were the days….

Futuristic Transportation

I didn’t think I really ever would see the day when a flying car or hovercraft would be made! It’s exciting to think that our very own military is working to create a new futuristic flying car! We have to take into account, there would be many precautions and limitations before just ANYONE could drive one, but isn’t it cool to just think about it?

My mom and I regularly browse through old newspapers that she has kept from when she was a little girl. One that stood out to me was one titled “Flying High in 2009”. When taking a closer look, it goes on to describe a modernized city with flying copters and landing ports. This article came out in the 70’s! It’s interesting how so many people in the past have put in great amounts of thought about the technology of the future. By the future I mean a modern world with flying hovercrafts and a cliché city similar to a scene alien movie. It’s funny how so much detail was put into that little article and nothing from it is true currently at all.

Although we are making progressions, and when the US Army decides to release their civilian car, the Transition, it will be a long time until plans are fulfilled. How is this safe? There are so many concerns that come along with new technology such as this.

One great feature about this flying car is that it rides like a car on the ground, flies in the air like a helicopter, and it has an automated flight control so you don’t need to be a trained pilot.

Terrafugia, one of the companies testing and producing the Transition, is eager to say that the car may appear as soon as 2015! I am very interested to see what becomes of this new piece of technology.

Terrifugia Military Car Terrafugia Website

Barrier Reefs

Coral reefs are the most diverse marine habitat. Even though they only cover a small part of the ocean floor, they provide a home to more than twenty-five percent of marine life. Bones and parts of ancient animals have formed reefs over long periods of time. Coral reefs are built with the help of polyps. Polyps are individual small animals and organisms. Polyps connect to one another by their tentacles, and over time they harden, and new living ones grow on top of them.

Many coral reefs are found in semitropical and tropical parts of climates. They are found where the water is warm, usually ranging from 61-86 degrees Fahrenheit (16-30 degrees Celsius). There are small strips of coral reef in the North Atlantic, called cold water coral, but most coral thrives in warmer water.

There are two types of coral; soft and hard. Soft coral is not reef-building coral. It is soft, and other types of coral can not grow on top of it, unlike hard coral. Soft coral thrives in nutrient filled water, and collects food that floats past. Coral is alive, and the flesh of the coral is spiky, grainy, and textured, which keep away most predators.  Many soft corals are being cut for research, and as a hobby. Coral grown into captivity grows more rapidly, therefore helping the soft coral thrive.

Soft Coral

Hard coral can also be know as stone coral, because it is hard, and feels like a rock. Unlike soft coral, hard coral is hard enough to allow more coral to grow on top of it. It is a home to many animals that burrow in the holes, eat from its surface, and use it as protection.

Hard Coral



There are three types of coral; barrier reefs, atolls, and fringing reefs.

Barrier reefs- Offshore reefs that have water separating them from the mainland.

Atolls- Islands of coral surrounding a central lagoon

Fringing reefs- Reefs that are continuous with the land mass or mainland



What is happening to our reefs?

 

 There is always a constant threat to the reefs because they are dying off. We have already lost up to 15 percent of our reefs, due to natural and human causes. We can’t destroy the reefs because they provide a home to many animals. Also painkillers and Anti-cancer drugs are being made from chemicals in the reefs. Reefs are another wonder of our Beautiful earth

Sources and links to check out.
http://marinebio.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_biology
http://www.barrierreefaustralia.com/the-great-barrier-reef/coralfacts.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_reef

Maximizing a Minimum

A common theme amongst my blogs seems to be eco friendly and conservation. This week I decided to stick with this common theme and share with you a very interesting story about one man who utilized the small space presented to him and how he turned it into an eco friendly modern apartment.  

            Searching for something interesting to read in my free time, I stumbled across this video on an yahoo news. As it may seem based off of my previous blogs, I am really interested in architecture, conservation, and smart homes. One man, Gary Chang was interested in architecture long before he became an architecht. Living in Hong Kong with 7million other people means that there really isn’t that much living space. As a kid, he lived in a 330 square foot apartment that he later bought and renovated. Not only did he modernize everything, he made great use of the space. 330 square feet is a VERY small space, even for a single man like himself. The average house size (for Americans, is over 1,200 square feet). This gives us a great idea of how small apartments are in the heart of Hong Kong.

            What Gary did that mesmerized me was that he took the 330 square feet of apartment and transformed it so that he had 24 different rooms (combinations). There are two main rooms but one of the rooms has tracks on the ceiling and wheels on the floor. There are different pull out walls he inserted into his home. If he needs to take a bath he can simply pull out the TV/ living room panel and roll the bathtub panel out. Above the tub is a pull down bed for a guest to stay in. There are several pull outs and pull downs throughout his apartment such as a tv, kitchen, closet, and bed. Talk about a GREAT way to maximize a small space!

This is a video of Gary explaining his creation:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4yJGTPUR_0

Tell me what you think! Would you be willing to live in this fashion if it meant living greener? Thanks for reading!

"Smart" Smart Homes

My interest started just a few years ago when my family visited the Museum of Science and Industry’s new exhibit “Smart Home”.

I was always one of those kids who would begged and plead to their parent’s every time they passed one of those new giant mansions, to buy it. I always wanted a newer, hip, unique house. I had a fine house, it served its main purpose but it was nothing special.

When I saw the smart home I was flabbergasted; I had NEVER seen anything like it. It was made of many materials, and had a funky design that made it look really modern. When taking a tour of the house, I made sure to put my best listening ears on. Almost EVERY item in the house served a purpose and was eco-friendly. Everything down to the floor, table, chair materials, and wall panels were perfectly planned and had a great eco-friendly reason for being there. I was really envious of this house. All the other big mansions that I had ever seen were put to shame. This one beat it all.

Since the first time I went to visit in 2007, I have been back 5 times. The museum is always changing the furniture, just to prove that there are a lot of eco-friendly materials and options out there. My family has made small adjustments to our home, such as the kind of lights we use.

What I didn’t know was that there were tons of these “smart houses” all over the United States. I picked up a book, flipped through a few pages, and saw many homes of similar designs and even those that are made in the ground (or in a hill).

Not only do these "smart eco friendly homes exist in the US but the ideas are being used and adapted in many other countries. Check out this video, it features a man in china that lives in a 300sq feet apartment but has 24 "rooms". I promise you won't be disappointed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg9qnWg9kak

This is a look inside his small flat in Hong Kong.

These are some of my favorite looking "smart homes" from around the world. Be creative, be inventive, be earth friendly.

The mastermind behind the smart home in Chicago’s Museum is Michelle Kaufmann. This is her blog page so you can follow too!

http://blog.michellekaufmann.com/?cat=23

In the smart home at the Museum of Science and Industry, these are some of the eco-friendly resources and items you may find…

Solar panels- They are placed on the roof and create enough energy to power the majority of the entire smart home.

Skystream turbine- harnesses wind and turns it into electric energy for the home.

Nix- digital frame that turns off when it doesn’t sense human presence.

LED lights- last longer and are 90% more effective than incandescent lights.

FLOR carpet tiles- uses non-offgrassing, recycled materials, and doesn’t harbor mold or mildew.

Low-Flow Faucets- save thousands of gallons a year.

There are many more items then the ones listed above. As I said earlier, almost EVERYTHING in the house is eco-friendly.

If you are reading this, just hear me out. Maybe this will sound cheesy but hear me out. Take the time out of your day or make the effort to change SOMETHING in your life. WE are the future. If you're a kid suggest something to your mom or dad and if you are an adult take the initiative. Our world NEEDS our help and we are the only ones who can help it. Thanks so much for reading :) 

ENJOY! Try to make a difference!

Source for Smart Home Chicago:

http://www.msichicago.org/fileadmin/Exhibits/temporary/smart_home_10/smarthome2010resourceguide.pdf