Current Event Blog #1

 There was a devastating car crash that killed 4 people last month. The cause was a drunk teen driver. He had stolen a beer from a Walmart and then proceeded to crash his car. The first woman he killed was stranded on  the side of the road due to a car issue. Another woman and her daughter came to help and were also hit. A passerby was the last victim. The verdict was decided based on the thought that the teen suffered from  "affluenza". This means that he didn't understand the consequences of his actions because he was too rich and privileged. 

In my English class I am reading a book about suicide and that relates to this because of the deaths of young people. In Earth science we will learn about roadways and weather. I just finished a drivers ed class. This makes me think about how soon I will be driving. I don't want to end up in this teens position. I would never want to be responsible for someones death because I was being stupid. 

I think that this was the wrong decision on the judges part. Now there is an excuse for killing people that rich people can use. Not that they couldn't buy their way out of any way. This is the perfect example. He stole that beer. He got into his car. He needs to be punished. I don't know how he lives knowing what he did and the fact that he got away with it. I think some jail would do him good. He murdered 4 people. There is no way around that. Their families are suffering a loss that was unnecessary. As I read this article I was astonished at how crazy this is. I don't to drive knowing people like that are on the roads. I feel horrible for those peoples families.

His parents need parenting lessons. They should of had more control over their sons life. He should have never been allowed that freedom. I don't know him. I don't know his full story but I do know what its like to lose someone. I hope he has at least learned a lesson. I hope this teaches people about consequences. This should be a warning and should be spread. It could save lives if people find out what happens when your stupid. Don't ever think it won't happen to you. I'm sure that is what this teen thought. 

The central idea of the passage was the verdict of the case. It started by telling about car crash deaths. Then it told what this teen had been diagnosed with. The diagnosis was "affluenza" which the passage described as "his wealthy parents pretty much let him get away with everything." It explained what had happened with the case and how it ended. The final part included was what Eric Boyles, the husband and father of the woman and her daughter that were murdered, thought about the case. Boyles said "I felt that money did prevail." I have to agree with him. (Gray)

Howell, Robert. "Car Accident." Photograph. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 10 Oct. 2005. Media. 9 Jan. 2014. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Car_Accident.jpg>.

Gray, Madison. "The Affluenza Defense: Judge Rules Rich Kid’s Rich Kid-ness Makes Him Not Liable for Deadly Drunk Driving Accident." Time NewsFeed. Time Inc, 12 Dec. 2013. Web. 9 Jan. 2014. <http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/12/the-affluenza-defense-judge-rules-rich-kids-rich-kid-ness-makes-him-not-liable-for-deadly-drunk-driving-accident/>.

Bi-Weekly Current Event #5

This article was about a new device that improve the gaming experience on IPhone or IPod's. The new controller looks very similar to the controller for the PlayStation or Xbox.

The article was titled "Moga Ace Power Controller: Precision Gaming on the Go."

Strange, Adario. "Moga Ace Power Controller: Precision Gaming on the Go." Mashable. Mashable, 19 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://mashable.com/2013/11/19/moga-ace-power/>.

This controller is portable and light weight. It will allow the feeling of using a controller even when on your IPhone or IPod. The price is high though. It is about $100. The author of the article wrote that "the Moga seems to be priced just a bit above what it should be, given its build quality." Also there are some problems with it.

I have to agree that the price is high. If it was cheaper I would definitely buy it, though. It is an awesome new toy that can make gaming on cell phones funner. This affects me because sometimes when I play games on touch screen devices, I get annoyed. This would help because there would be the controller, buttons, and the touch screen. Also this would result in less scratches on the screen and much more. I think that this is an awesome idea and should be improved even further.

This could impact the world because it could result in more people playing games on their phone. It could also lessen the need for screen replacements. I think this could also cause problems though. This could make it to where anywhere people go they can game, even if they are not supposed to be. It can cause people to be distracted. I would hope that no one would try to use this while driving but I'm sure someone would. This would cause more wrecks and possibly injuries. In a positive note though, you would be able to game while waiting on something or breaks at work/school.

Bi-Weekly Current Event #4

Jossifresco, Skeleton, March 6 2013

This article telling about the new exoskeleton robot that gives you more arm strength.


"Award Winning Robotic Exoskeleton Boosts Your Arm Strength."
Strange, Adario. "Award Winning Robotic Exoskeleton." Mashable. Mashable, 7 Nov. 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2013. <http://mashable.com/2013/11/07/titan-arm-exoskeleton/>.

In this article, it tells about four people who came up with this robotic exoskeleton to help you have more arm strength. They were in a competition with other inventors and they won. The prize was money to help better their invention. There are some inventions that are similar to this but Strange said that "Although the suit is not generally for sale, it is being offered for rental". He was talking about another invention that had come out earlier. It is also mentioned though that there are people working to make this an everyday object. The exoskeleton can be used for delivery people, people in rehab, and elderly people. (Strange)

I think this is awesome. This can be a great tool that can be useful. I think its cool that they invented this and won the competition. They deserved it. This affects me because my grandparents or others in my life could use this . It can help them in their daily lives and jobs. Even I could possibly use this in the future. I hope that it is available to the public soon. 

This affects the public because it can make more things available to the elderly or help people get jobs even if alone they are not competent. If available, it could make peoples lives easier. It could make jobs available for older people that are too frail or weak without it. It can make bigger deliveries easy and possible without too much extra work. Also if someone needed to move something heavy they could move it alone or with the help of less people. I think that the Robotic Exoskeleton could is a great advancement that could help people everywhere. 

Bi-Weekly Current Event #3

 

 

Esther Vargas, Vine, Jan. 29 2013 

 

 

My topic for This weeks current event is the new update on Vine. They added some new editing tool so you can time travel the video. save drafts, and have an easier way to start sessions.

 

"How to Get Started With Vine Sessions and Time Travel."

 

This article is on Mashable.

 

Park, Annie. "How to Get Started With Vine Sessions and Time Travel." Mashable. Mashable, 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. <http://mashable.com/2013/10/25/vine-time-travel/>.
 

In this article it is telling about how to use these new additions and how to access and use them. There are quite a few, new options that help make cooler videos. The article says "Shooting the perfect Vine video just became a little bit easier." I think that perfectly describes it. You can save drafts, shoot move than one video, and change the order of the frames. (Park)

 

 This information affects me because I love Vine and use it everyday.  It helps me stay in touch with friends from last year and meet new people. I love the funny videos and now they can be even better. I am glad they added these changes and I hope they add more.  They already have so many options but its nice to have a change. I might use it more now that I can save drafts. I did not know about these changes till now so I cant wait to check it out.

 

This will impact the world because Vine is a social media site. Millions of people use it everyday.  It helps people stay in touch and it is free entertainment. It also helps tell friends or family where you are and what you are doing. Like other social media, it helps people keep in touch but in a different way. There are all kinds of different videos so everybody uses it differently. The changes it made will probably make it even popular.

 

Bi-Weekly Blog Post #3

MagicMan, Arlo. Happy Valentines Day. Febuary 13, 2008.

This week we learned about broad casting and relationships online. Some new terms for me this week were...
Risky-Potentially harmful to someone  or their emotions.
Stereotype-Assumptions  about a group of people that are usually false.
Manipulate-Trying to make someone do something they would not usually do.
Online Predator-Someone who uses the Internet to make inappropriate relationships.

Some new web 2.0 tools I learned about was Brain Shark, Glogster, Dipity, and Projeqt. They are all used for presentations.Brain Shark is used for voice overs. Glogster is just a different kind of presentation. Project is used for adding more than just pictures. It makes complex presentations.

The positives for all these are they are free to use and make great presentations. They are also fun to use. The negative is that for Dipity you can only make three free presentations and their are limits to the aspects that are free. Still they are all really good presentation tools.

The digital literacy I learned about this week was how to judge online relationships. Some rules of that are to not talk to strangers or give out personal information. Its not safe to do this and in some cases information that you share can be shared to others and you might not want it to be. There are safe and unsafe online relationships. Some examples of these are asking questions, doing research, and possible unsafe relationships could  be different social networking sites.

This affects me because I will be more aware when or if I have any online relationships. It showed me what happens when you don't have safe online relationships. It can really ruin your life. It can hurt your now or in the future.

My week has been really good. I have not had too much homework and no big projects were due this week. This week went by really fast. Every week I feel like I am getting closer to everybody and meeting even more new people.

I'm really excited for the long weekend. I'm visiting family and I have a family reunion to go to. I can't wait to get some sleep, also!