Opening Moment 2

This article discusses a new technology that is being developed called wireless chargeing. The concept pertains to the use of an electromagnetic wave that powers certain types of phones. In this manor, if the phone is within a certain radius then it will start charging.

Strabucks in California have begun to install this tech.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/att-and-starbucks-to-bring-wireless-phone-chargers-to-some-coffee-shops/?ref=technology&_r=1

The Death Penalty

— Should the United States stop using the death penalty? Why?

The United States should continue using the death penalty for those who have committed seriously heinous crimes. I agree with the second article in that for these villians, jail is a retirement home. Once they have committed a horrendous crime, they get free food, free places to live, and have no work to do at all. Keeping them alive is a burden on society because this means that hard working Americans, who are working, must pay to support these law breakers. In addition to this, if capital punishment is enforced, and then it may even deter crimes from occuring. If someone knows they will die because they murder someone, or rape another, instead of simply being shipped of to prison, they probably will think twice about the act.

— Do you have concerns about the fair application of the death penalty, or about the possibility of the criminal justice system executing an innocent person? Do you think capital punishment is “cruel and unusual punishment” and therefore prohibited by the Constitution?

Certainly care needs to be taken when considering someone for the death penalty. It would be equal to murder if innocent people were executed via capital punishment. This should not  be a deterent from using capital punishment, nor is the death penalty cruel and unusual. It is not cruel to make a thief return money he stole, and although murder is different, the crime should fit the punishment. It should not be expected that the person be tortured or beaten because this certainly is cruel in our society, but if the person is executed in a humane manor, this neither cruel nor unusual.

— Do you think the death penalty serves a purpose, like deterring crime, providing relief for victims’ families or imparting “real justice?”

I absolutely belive that the death penalty deters some crimes from ever occuring. As stated above, prison is an easy place to be in the US. The prohibition of "Cruel and Unusal Punishment" produces this. If a criminal thought he might end up dead as the result of his actions, he would be less likely to commit them in the first place. In addition to this, some families might feel the need for vengence. This could lead to more crimes from the famlies of the victim, but if the person was dead, their vengence would be appeased.

— Do you agree with Mr. Dieter that the death penalty is becoming “irrelevant” and “may not last another 10 years?”

The death penalty is certainly not irrelevant. It may die out within the next ten years because  their are many who view it as inhumane. I believe their are practical applications for the death penalty for certain crimes, but others are not of the same opinion.

In High School and Alone in a Homeless Shelter

The main character of this article is Thakane Masondo. The author takes a point in the begining to describe a normal school life filled with activities. This is sharply contrasted with her difficult life outside school. She is homeless, has familly troubles, and few friends. Dispite her difficult circumstances, she still desires to be a pilot and is willing to put in the work to get there. She is willing to spend the little money she has in order to take the SAT. Ms. Masondo also appears to be studious. She stays up late and does her home work in the dark. All of these demonstrate to me that she is a very determined person.

I think this article was published because the person has a great story to tell. Thakane Masondo is such a determined person who wants to succeed that her difficult home life cannot impede her.

If I was interviewing her, I would like to know more about her grades. She seems to work really hard and is studious, but the article never says whether her hard work is paying off. I also would like to know in general what she thought of her family and if she thought she would be as determined as she is if her situation was different.

Against all Odds, A Beautiful Life

Who is the main subject of this article?

Maurice Mannion-Vanover

What details, anecdotes and accounts from other people illustrate the subject’s personality?

The fact that his parents got him an expensive horse. The stories of how Maurice loved his horse as well as particularly the reverend at the end demonstrate that Maurice was a caring person. Also the fact he went to Africa, Central America, and Europe to help others.

What overall impression do you have of Maurice Mannion-Vanover from the article? What gives you that impression?

He seems like he was a child who although he was sickly was full of life. He deeply cared about his horse and family as well as his church and everyone in general. Also, he seems to have been dedicated to anything he did. He received a black belt, which could not have been easy based on his illnesses.

Why do you think this article was published in The New York Times?

It sums up this boys entire life, which was an extremely challenging one, and does so by portraying him as a great person. Although he did not do any one amazing thing, he helped others throughout his short life eventhough he was deathly ill.

If you were to write a more in-depth profile or obituary for Maurice Mannion-Vanover, which details from this article would you include? What additional information would you need to find out? Which people do you think you would interview to get this information? 

I would like to know more about his heart condition, his difficulties in tae kwon do, and his job as a teachers aid as well as the other details that are already included. I would really just need the details for each of these three items, and would probably be able to get the details from his parents, doctors, or teachers. If there was anything else I wanted to know, I would ask other people who were close to him and knew him well.

The Object of Life

My Pownal Fire Department hat tells much of my recent life story. I am a Junior firefighter for Pownal, and I wear my hat during maintenance, and meetings as well as other occasions at the fire department. This hat however represents much more then firefighting. I also wear a hat almost every time I play my banjo at various gigs. Before my PFD hat, it was my Lego Land hat, but they show the same idea. Also, I like to wear a hat when ever I go running. These three things all help represent me and my Highschool life.

Using an object to discribe history can have advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that many parts of history can be compressed into a small amount of space and represent multile things. The disadvantage is that the object might be very abstract and difficult to understand.

New iOS release

With the new iOS a release and all the problems, many people have been wondering if Apple will still be known for its quality. This article discusses it: http://www.techradar.com/us/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/ios-8-bugs-and-bendgate-show-that-apple-s-magic-has-run-out-1267040

Writing Goals

1. During this year, I would like to expand the range of sentence structure, and vocabulary that I use in my papers. Despite the fact that I know a large number of vocabulary words, I often struggle to find which words fit that might make the sentence better and usually resort to more basic words that I am comfortable using.

2. I also would like to be able to recognize "good" writing. Most of the essays I read and write are hard for me to distinguish the quality of the writing. I know there are many factors, such as subject, grammar, and sentence structure, but I don't know how to determine what is needed for a great essay.

3. The final goal I have for the year is to produce high quality work and writings, but in a short period of time. In general, the longer I spend writing something, the better the quality of the piece. It takes me anywhere from 30mins-2hours to write a 500-750 word essay, and the less time I spend on it, the more editing and revision are needed. I hope by the end of the year, I can produce great papers in a timely manner.

College Essay Tips

1. It's not all about the grades...

The college essay, according to the article, is a huge part of the application. It is so important that it nearly is equal to the SAT. Getting good grades in school, as well as doing well on the SAT have not been very hard for me, but writing my college essay, and expressing myself in general are very challenging.

2. Colleges want to hear the truth.

Even if expressing myself is a challenge, it is encouraging that colleges want to hear the truth. As given in the example of the A student experiencing failure, colleges would rather hear the truth then a made up perfection story.

3. It's not easy.

The article clearly demonstrates this is not an easy task, but that's why I think colleges do this. They want to see how well people can handle new things in addition to finding out about the person.

What is Journalism?

• What does journalism look like?
• Journalism is a compilation of facts and quotes to produce a narrative. A particular piece should convey a story from start to finish including all important events, and not leaving out critical points.
• Is there "good" or "bad" journalism?
• There is both "good" and "bad" journalism. Good journalism will accurately dictate all important features of a story with a proper flow. In contrast, poor journalism might relate a story, but lack description or decent order.
• Where do you see journalism in your life?
• Journalism can be seen in newspapers, editorials and blogs as well as other places.

• Talk about journalists you pay attention to.
• I don't really follow any journalists. I don't read newspapers, or watch the news; I only read occasional articles on the Internet.
• Why are you interested in journalism?
• Being able to write quality blogs and articles with a proper structure is skill I am certain I will use later on in my career and in college. 
• What are you curious to learn more about in terms of this class? Journalism in general?
• I would like to know better now to properly structure an article, and the best way to do so as well as writing excellent narrative pieces. I am also interested to figure out what exactly journalism is; I have an abstract idea, but nothing concrete yet.