My spring break and plans for summer

My spring break was decent. I mostly just worked and hung out with friends. I wish I would have went away for spring break, because the weather wasn't that good for a spring break. My plan for summer is to work a little bit more so I can save up for a brand new car. I have enough money to buy a used car, but a brand new one is a better investment in the long run.

For now, I plan to keep working and also finish the school year well. So far I've gotten into all the colleges of my choices with scholarships and will probably end up choosing UIC over IIT. I'm only making the choice, because I know I'll do fine there and it's cheaper than IIT, even with IIT's scholarship. That's all I really have planned.

"How to control a computer with a banana"

First off, this article can be found at: http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/05/tech/innovation/jay-silver-makey/index.html?hpt=te_t1

Reading this article, I realized how much some people really contribute to the invention of new technology. Just one man, from MIT, has made many cool technological inventions with small help. One program he created is called Drawdio, which creates music as you draw. The biggest thing he is known for now is the "MaKey MaKey". This is a kit which uses simple household items which conduct electricity in order to control a computer.

This article is named "How to control a computer with a banana", because that is just one example of a fruit that can conduct electricity. I was very fascinated with this article, because I didn't think such an invention would be out yet. This just shows us how fast technology is advancing and what possibilities there will be in the future. At this pace, technology might be COMPLETELY different in probably 10-15 years. I liked this article.

My weekend

My weekend was pretty normal. I pretty much just hanging out with friends the whole time and had fun. On Friday, I just played video games from the morning to afternoon. Then later that day, I went with some friends to a party. I had fun and came home at around 4 in the morning.

On Saturday, I woke up really late and then just hung out with friends again and was at one of their houses. Then, we went downtown for a little bit. Afterwards, we came back to my friend's house. I went home later. Sunday, I was at my friend's house again. It was a pretty chill weekend.

How to be successful

If I had to give a high school student advice on how to be successful, it would be to stay positive. Even when something seems tough or almost impossible, there is always a way. Many times students stress themselves out when thinking of all the homework they have to do or any tests coming up. We all have gotten homework where we had to stay up all night at one point. We probably thought we wouldn't finish it on time, but we still did.

Tests are even more stressful. Some classes it seems like the tests take forever and that we won't do so well on it. We should always stay positive and think that the test will turn out well. If we think that we will do bad on a test, we most likely will. That's just how it works. If we go in to take the test positively and stress-free, we'll do the best that we possibly can.

Apple iWatch doesn't scare Pebble

The article can be found at http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/11/technology/innovation/apple-watch-pebble/index.html

I really like how so many big companies are getting into the trend of making "smart watches". I think it's a really cool new gadget and helpful. It has many different features. Some are for cycling, controlling your music, running, finding the range for golfing, cool watch faces, caller id, and email and alerts. All you do is connect it through Bluetooth with your phone. It is actually really easy and quick to set it up.

In the article, they talk about how Apple wants to make it's own "smart watch". I don't mind companies competing against each other, because it will only benefit the consumer. They say that the Apple smart watch will have a curved glass display. If anything, Apple would actually bring more customers to other companies, because a huge advertisement would make more people aware of such a gadget. Overall, I found this article very informative. I didn't know that smart watches were capable of so many things. I might end up buying one in the future.

My School

I think Gordon Tech made a good decision by becoming a co-ed high school. This change was mostly positive, but also had some negatives to it. Even though now we also have girls' sports, we are not as competitive in all the sports as we used to be. If you look at all our plaques and trophies, they were mostly from the times that we were an all-boys school. Another negative is a loss in students. It might have just been a coincidence, but we have lost a huge amount of people since Gordon was an all-boys school.

 Even though there are those negatives, I still believe it was a good change. Before, the students were used to   talking with guys every day and with girls only after school or on weekends. Now, we get to talk with girls and have classes with them everyday, so we get used to seeing girls more often in our lives. That means we are better off socially as a co-ed school. My overall view is that we should stay co-ed.

My TWO favorite Super Bowl Commercials

Alright, I couldn't choose my favorite Super Bowl commercial, because I liked two. I  really enjoyed the Doritos commercial with the goat and the Sketchers commercial with the gazelle. I found the Doritos one really funny and I think it would make any viewer laugh. I also liked the Sketchers commercial, because it was a pretty well planned commercial and funny at the same time. They both relate to a good website, because they keep the viewer interested and have a good visual appearance. They are also both easy to understand, just like a good website should be easy to navigate.

Rumor: An iPhone Priced At $99 to $199 Could Launch In 2013

The article talks about how a new iPhone that might come out soon would only be priced at $99 - $199. I think this is a good idea for us consumers, but bad for their company. It's true that they will probably get more customers after lowering their price by so much, but overall they won't make as much money. To us, it's a good thing. We are getting a very advanced smartphone for not more than $200. At the same time, Android phones will try to compete by lowering their prices. In the end, the consumers will be the winners, because we will have many choices of good phones and for a good price.

The article can be found at: http://technorati.com/technology/article/rumor-an-iphone-priced-at-99/

War Veteran Loses All 4 Limbs

I think it's pretty sad how the young veteran lost all 4 of his limbs. If I had to put myself in his position, I would miss a lot of things. I wouldn't be able to play video games, wrestle, hug my parents, walk anywhere, shower, lift weights or exercise in any way, or even eat food with a spoon, fork, or knife. This video made me realize how much we take for granted in our lives. We all complain about not getting something or not having a near perfect lifestyle, but when we see a lifestyle such as this, we realize that our life isn't even close to being bad. We are actually lucky to have the sort of lifestyles that we do.

My Favorite Video Games

I can honestly admit that I'm a gamer. I play a variety of games on PS3, PS Vita, and PC.
On PS3, I play:
- Call of Duty
- Skyrim
- Battlefield
- Any other game that appeals to me

On PS Vita, I play:
- Mortal Combat
- God of War

On PC, I play:
- League of Legends
- Counter-strike 1.6
- Counter-strike: GO
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Team Fortress 1 and 2
- Tekkit
- Prius Online
- Minecraft
- Any other game that appeals to me

School improvements

If I could choose 5 things to improve about the school they would be:

- More half days/days off
- More choices of lunch food
- Getting the classes you actually chose
- More locker space
- More sports

"Print your own life-size robot for under $1,000"

First off, the article that I am talking about can be found at http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/25/tech/innovation/inmoov-robot-3d-printing/index.html

I found this article very interesting. It talks about how you can "print" your own life-size robot with just a 3D printer, a few motors, a cheap circuit board, and about $800. You can also program it to respond to voice commands such as lifting something or moving something. I think this is really cool, because we all saw some kind of futuristic robot like this in movies, and now we can have a REAL one. The best part is that it costs less than $1,000. Normally such advanced technology would cost $50,000+, but the inventor of this robot made it nice and affordable and also shared how to make it. Instead of him making thousands of these robots and selling them for large sums of money, he just tells us how to make the robot for a much smaller price. You don't usually see such an action in the business world.

Just another blog

Name the five biggest distractions from doing your schoolwork.

- Facebook
- YouTube
- Video Games
- Skype
- Movies

Being a teacher

If I would be a teacher, I would want to be the gym teacher. I would probably be a gym teacher in high school, because I could play along with the students, unlike middle or elementary school, where there is too much of a risk that you could hurt the children. When I had gym class last semester, I had fun and our gym teacher also had fun, because he participated in every activity that we did. He always seemed happy at the end of class, and that definitely would make me want to be a gym teacher.

Winning the Lottery

If I won the lottery, the very first thing I would do is put away half of it in my savings account and then start spending the rest. I would buy a huge house and at least 3 different cars. I would open up my own business with computers and might have my brother be the co-owner of the business. I would still stay in school just to get my degree, but at the same time I would just manage my business and have a nice income. The rest of the money would go to my family and then a small part would also go to the West Suburban Humane Society, which is where I got my dog from. I would donate it the money there, because I love animals and I would hate it if they had to put some animals down, because of low money.

My 3-day weekend

Surprisingly, my 3-day weekend wasn't that bad except for Saturday. On Saturday, I wrestled at Varsity CCL and held strong while wrestling with a messed up back. My back ended up getting worse after the tournament. When I got home, it was already like 6:00 PM. I just took a shower, ate, played video games for a little bit, then just knocked out. On Sunday, I just hung out with my friends and came home at around 11:00 PM. On Monday, I relaxed at home and just played some video games. Later in the day, I had to go to physical therapy for my back. At the chiropractor's office, I was told some bad news. I'm not allowed to wrestle for 2 weeks. I convinced them to let me wrestle Regionals, but I'm still really upset that I'm not allowed to practice at all. Hopefully the season finishes nicely for me. I just want to make it to State and end my senior year well.

HTML5 & CSS

I found a pretty interesting idea in the packet. One of the bullet points is:
"The internet is a worldwide collection of computers and computer networks that links billions of computers used by businesses, government, educational institutions, organizations, and individuals using modems, phone lines, television cables, satellite links, fiber-optic connections, and other communication decides and media."

I thought this was interesting, because it defines the internet in one sentence. Most people would find it hard to explain the internet.

Blog about the future

In 10 years, I picture myself having a degree in Computer Science. By now, I would be married most likely and probably owning a nice big family house. I would probably have 1 or 2 kids also. I would be a Computer Programmer for Google and enjoying my life. I would definitely be making lots of money. I might end up owning my own computer business. I would also still do MMA on the side to stay in shape.

Technology in 10 years would be really different. Phones would be a lot more advanced obviously and would be capable of more things. Even though currently phones are getting bigger, like the Galaxy SI, SII, and SIII, I feel like it will be different in the future. Instead of bigger phones being popular, smaller phones would be the new thing. They would be really easy to carry around and they would also be more protected. Computers would also be really advanced. There would be over 128 GB of RAM and the video cards would have unbelievable quality. The accessories for computers would also be very good and might be for a better price, because of more competition in the future.

Social Media Prompt

If you had 5 minutes with Mark Zuckerberg what would you tell him to improve on Facebook?

My first and foremost thing would be to tell him to change the notifications on game requests and such. It gets really annoying when people send you game requests or some random application which you really don't care about, AT ALL. I would also mention how he should keep the Facebook mobile version up to date and fix many issues. Many people have found problems with the Facebook chat on mobile and also a few other bugs.

Just another prompt

Describe yourself in 5 words or less.

athletic, fun, intelligent, pro gamer.

In the eyes of Obama

Citizens of America,

It has been recently discovered that North Korea is planning to launch a direct missile to our nation's capital, Washington D.C. While they are currently saying that it will not reach America and that it is just a test, we believe it to be a lie. In preparation, we are setting up our defenses to target the missile in mid-air and shoot it down before it even comes within thousands of miles of Washington D.C. It is not guaranteed that they are targeting us, but to be on the safe side, we have to be ready. May God Bless America!

Review Prompt

Review a movie you have recently seen

A movie that I have recently seen is Death Race 3: Inferno. Overall, the movie was amazing and kept me watching the whole time. There wasn't really a part in the movie that was boring. If someone really likes action movies, this movie is definitely for them. I did not expect such a great ending to the movie. At first it makes you think how the main character could have pulled off such a thing, but then it explains how he did it step by step. It all makes sense in the end.

Fun Blog Prompt

5 Items I would buy with a million dollars

- 2013 Nissan GT-R

- 2013 Acura MDX

- Put half away for savings

- Buy some nice new technology

- Give the rest of the money to my family

Fun Blog Prompt

Search for a random quote. Respond to it on your blog.

 

"Well begun is half done" 

- Artistotle

To me, this short quote means a lot. It means that if you get a good start to anything in life, the rest will be easy. For example, if your future is to be successful and wealthy, a good start would be to finish college and start working. Even though it's just the beginning, in reality you are "half done". The hard part was finishing college and landing a job, but from there on, all you have to do is keep working hard and you'll be successful.

Social Networking

Advantages: 

- Meet new people
- Make groups to talk about anything
- Good for businesses to advertise and share any information
- Helps market research by using our information

Disadvantages:

- You can get hacked
- People can easily get scammed, especially with the "Click here..." chain messages and advertisements
- People's reputation can get ruined in a single post or status
- Takes up a lot of time from our day


I care about my privacy to a certain point. If Facebook is using some of my interests for market research, I don't care that much, because that's how Facebook makes its money and keeps it free for us. At the same time, I wouldn't want anyone to be able to see information about me or any photos or comments or status I have made. But, there is also a security settings feature where you can make people unable to view your profile if they do not have you added. So overall, your privacy still matters.

School Uniform

School uniforms have been a topic of discussion for a long time. Personally, I don't mind it that much, especially at our school. It's a good feeling when you wake up and know exactly what to wear and where it is. If we could wear anything, we spend more time picking out what we want to wear. Another reason I don't mind it is because we aren't as strict on the uniforms as other catholic schools. Many others require a button down shirt with a tie, while we only require a polo and pants. The polo also comes in three different colors and the pants come in 2 different colors. Many schools don't give you such a choice. Our school is also not so strict on the shoes anymore. It used to be solid colored shoes and either black or brown, but now people are wearing pretty much any shoes that go with the uniform. This just goes to show that the school uniform isn't that bad of a thing, even though I myself wouldn't mind getting to wear whatever I wanted. That is just my opinion on the school uniforms.

What makes up MMA

The common martial arts that make up MMA are:

• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
• Amateur wrestling
• Catch wrestling
• Judo
• Karate
• Muay Thai
• Taekwondo 

I wrestled for four years in high school which is amateur wrestling. I was a regional champion and was pretty successful considering I have never done it before high school. Before high school though, I did take several years of Taekwondo and Kickboxing. I got a black belt in Taekwondo and got strong from kickboxing. Kickboxing is also similar to Muay Thai, but it is thought of as stronger. Kickboxing was invented to beat Muay Thai fighters and both are still used in MMA today.

I actually know a professional MMA fighter who lives close to me. He was a
former UFC Heavyweight Champion.