Senior Reflection #3

A few weeks ago, I went on a trip to England with my mom. As I was born there along with the rest of my family, we went to go visit relatives that I had not seen in about 3 years. It was a really enjoyable trip- it was fun to see all of my cousins who have changed quite drastically over the couple of years and also to see my grandmas, uncles, aunts, ect, who have not changed a bit. It's always nice to go back because I could not imagine living there today, though that is what would have happened if my dad hadn't accepted his job offer in America. It's a lot more quiet over there because there are a lot of countrysides and farming land. Of course, the cities are a lot more urban, like London, but the place where I grew up is a lot smaller. Either way, it was a good trip, and hopefully I will be able to visit again relatively soon!

Current Event #2

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/06/08/cnet.iphone.4/index.html?iref=allsearch

AT&T answers questions about iPhone

This article basically talks able the new iPhone 4 that is being released on June 24, 2010. It describes the new features that the iPhone will have. There are loads of new added features for the iPhone 4, such as a front camera, video chatting, multitasking, slimer, conversation threading, larger battery, and a longer surfing life. It also interviews Mark Siegel, who is AT&T's spokesperson on questions that current iPhone users would have regarding the new upgrade.
This article was of particular interest to me, because I was considering getting the new iPhone if it wouldn't be too expensive. I liked the way the article incorporated an interview with a definitely reliable source from AT&T.

Senior Reflection #2

On August 20th, I will be starting college at William & Mary. I am looking forward to it, but it is also a little worrying. Either way, I am ready to be finished with high school! It will be a new start in my life, but I am looking forward to getting away and starting something different, since I have been going to Fairfax County Schools for years and years! I will have orientation on August 20th, and classes will begin on August 25th. I completed a roomate survey, but I have not met my roommate yet. I will register for classes in July, and I am planning on taking basic general classes to begin with. Either way, I am sure the whole new experience will be fun, so I am looking forward to it!

Current Event #1

Did baseball begin in 18th-century England?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/06/01/lords.museum.baseball.cricket/index.html?hpt=C2

This article talks about the fact that while Americans claim baseball is an All American classic, with the sport originating in America, baseball may have been in fact invented by the English. One evidence of this was a diary found, written in the 18th century by William Bray. In his diary, he wrote, "Went to Stoke church this morn. After dinner, went to Miss Jeale's to play at base ball with her the 3 Miss Whiteheads, Miss Billinghurst, Miss Molly Flutter, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Ford and H. Parsons. Drank tea and stayed til 8." There have also been many other artifacts found which provide evidence of this, such as the sport of baseball being depicted on hankerchiefs. Apparently, the similar sport of cricket diverged from baseball but then when baseball emerged and flourished in America, the two sports went their seperate ways. Baseball became American and cricket became English.
I thought this article was well written. It was interesting and informative, and even came with a video, provding visual effects. I thought it was effective at getting across information to viewers, and I found it interesting that England probably invented baseball rather than America, since many ideas were brought across the Atlantic to America.

Senior Reflection #1

This summer, I am planning to relax and spend a lot of time hanging out with friends before going of to college. In addition, I am going to be spending a lot of time working at Wegmans and coaching a summer swim team, teaching little children how to swim properly. I hope I will be able to save up a lot of money. I will also be swimming on a summer swim team to keep in shape. My family will also be going to vacation to a few places to relax. After the summer, I will be heading off to William & Mary for college, which I am excited about.

Editorial #3

Hug a tree, shred government forms

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/09/hug-a-tree-shred-government-forms/

Basically, this editorial talks about the massive amount of waste that is created and time that is spent by the government on conducting pages and pages of surveys. It says that The Office of Management and Budget (hey we just learned about that!) has 8,871 of these certified federal surveys, which results in 9,824,120,791 hours per year filling them out. The editorial wrote, "This busywork is the equivalent of a full-time work force 4.9 million strong doing nothing but filling out government paperwork ... it sucks an estimated $60 billion in annual productivity out of the economy." This, I feel, is very ineffective. Spending billions of dollars in, for the most part, useless surveys is a waste of time. The editorial said that the economy loses $29 billion in productivity because of the time and paperwork spent filling these out. This loss is huge, especially with the economy the way that it is. If the government stopped dealing with these surveys altogether, or cut out some of the paperwork/ really unnecessary surveys (such as for example,number of individuals who chose not to have a wire-line telephone), the workforce and in turn, the economy could really benefit. Not to mention the environment.

Editorial #2

Alexandria's Dangerous Yellow Light Game

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/04/alexandrias-dangerous-yellow-light-game/

This editorial talks about the general Assembly's House Bill 1292. Basically, the bill is going to allow Alexandria to change its yellow light to turn red in three seconds rather than its current four seconds. Also, it gives the companies who are behind traffic cameras access to certain private information kept in the Department of Motor Vehicles. This is all because Alexandria wants money. They want to take their law enforcement to these outside companies, who will charge a low price to implement these new traffic programs. Alexandria doesn't want to spend the money to pay for the program itself, so this bill would allow these changes. If these changes are put into place, and the traffic light length for yellow lights is shortened, the city is going to make a great profit. In 1997, Alexandria tried a similar program, and there was about 80% more red light runners than with the longer yellow light, and about 29% more collisions. However, Bob McDonnell has the power to veto this bill if he chooses.

I think what Alexandria is doing is terrible. They tried the program back in 1997, and it increased collisions/accidents and the number of traffic violators dramatically. I realize that the economy is bad, but using traffic lights as a way to take more money from people is not the way to go. Basically, Alexandria is substituting safety of its people for money. It worries me because if other regionals start to see how much money Alexandria is raking in from this risky program, then other regions may start to follow suit. Let's just hope that Bob McDonnell vetoes the bill.