Second Lit Circle woohoo

We had a Lit Circle meeting today and I was the summarizer. I thought our meeting today was the best one that we've had. Everyone contributed to the discussion and we all had a lot to say about the book.

So far, I like this book. Sometimes I find myself thinking that I don't like it at all. I think I get that from the storyline or the slow pace of it. But I really do like it because it is interesting to read a story like that and the suspense of the tiger and Pi is very exhilarating to read. I also like the book for the themes that it has.
They consist of:

• Morals and Religious beliefs
• Courage
• Animal knowledge

I feel that each of these themes helps Pi in his quest to get rescued and his well-being.

The smaller questions that I have for the text are:

1. With the knowledge that Pi gets off the boat, do you think that Richard Parker is safe? 
2. Does Pi successfully train the tiger?
3. Do the rations of food and water last him until he gets rescued?
4. What does religion and the swimming lessons have to do with Pi and the lifeboat? Do you think that it was planned for him to be a great swimmer, care so much about animals, and practice 3 religions?

The quote that stuck out to me the most was during the time when he was considering killing Richard Parker, but not actually doing it. He instead is going to train him. "I had a plan and it was a good one. I only needed to survive to put it into effect." (Page 200) This quote was interesting to me not only because it kept my attention to find out what the plan was, but also because it was an important part in Pi's survival. I think the author was trying to make the point that there is always a way around something, if it is killing or survival. This is very significant to the book because it will depend on the actions of Pi and the tiger to keep them alive. 

Now that I know that the book will have a big, unexpected twist at the end, I am a lot more eager to finish it and find out what happens. 

Lit Circle Meeting Blog

Up to this point in my book, Pi has been stranded on the lifeboat with a tiger, hyena, a dead zebra and a dead oragutan. I predict that the supplies that Pi found will last him a long time, but the fact that he has so much supplies seems strange to me.

I think that the animals might get to the food or something like that will happen. I pictured when I read the part about him almost dying of thirst and I felt that the imagery was perfect to show how he felt and his need to drink. When I was reading the part of religion and zoology, I felt that this can relate to the story later, during the part of the sailing. I felt that this story was both interesting and boring at the same time.

The story line so far is the same a lot of the time, but even if it is, I get a little bit interested in the story. I wonder about what is going to happen to the boy and what is going to happen to the animals if there is no more food. Will Pi get eaten? Does he make new friends on the lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? I think that he will kill the hyena, or Richard Parker will, then Richard Parker and Pi will become friends and they will find a island to live off of until a resue boat saves them. But I didn't expect the story to begin like it did or continue like it is.

Returning Day

We had the ENTIRE week off last week because of the San Diego fires, so I wasn't or didn't know to blog. So we took pics today of Trader Joe's and its produce. We also started our flash.

I hope that we get enough time and that we can finish everything within the time limit that we have. It will be hard, but I think I can handle it.

Blogging for no reason

Since we are done with the water quality presentations, we took a quiz today that was SOOOOO LONG!!!! but I felt that I did really well, seeing as I was one of the last to finish and wrote a ton. We are going to go on a field trip to test water on Thursday and Mexico is next week.

In Spencer's class we had time to work on our project, since vegas is now on the laptops, we can start putting it into the movie. All we could do today was make sure our script was long enough by reading over it and timing it.

Finalized Script

Today, we turned in our finalized script. Hopefully we get to work on vegas tomorrow. We can add our interview, the flash, and maybe even some pictures to our movie. I also think that we can start our voiceovers if the booth is working properly tomorrow.

In Anne's class, we had work time all period. We had an exeter and got prepared for our SLC's this week. Mine's on Thursday. I feel like I am prepared and ready, put I also think that a little bit of practice won't hurt.

Since we leave for Mexico next week, have a lot of days off and might not have much more work time, I hope that we can get a move on with our movie and get started.

Friday is the best day eva!!!!

We had a lot of quizzes today and in the afternoon, we had work time. I worked on our flash, script, interview, and the SLC's coming up next week. I hope that I can get more done and finish each of them on time and accurately.


YAYAYAYAYA ITS THE WEEKEND!!!!!!!! woot woot

Presentation Today! and script/flash

Today we gave our pH presentation today and I thought it went very well. We knew our material and answered all of the questions that were asked (which was a lot). I hope that we get a good grade, and I felt that today was pretty productive. I took good notes of all of the other presentations and hopefully we can get them all done by tomorrow.

In Spencer's class, we had work time to do our script and flash. I cut our script down to 2 pages, not including the interview, which should cover all of the information needed and the time requirement. As for the flash, we re-did some of it, or the parts that needed improving, and we made it look very neat and professional.

I felt that today was very successful and that we got a lot done. My partnerships are working out and I am learning a lot of information and concepts.

Wednesday the 10th

TODAY IS ANDREW SORENSON'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!! just thought i'd let you know.

We had to finish our presentations about Latin American Independence today, we we didn't get a lot of work time for the Mexico Project.

But in Anne's class, our presentations on pH are tomorrow and I feel very prepared. We finished our powerpoint presentation and I believe that it reaches all of the requirements. Other than that, I wish we had more work time and that we can get the filming and the recording started. I feel that we are kind of lacking in that part.

However, I did help out with the bake-sale for raising money for going to Mexico today. I think that it is going to be a great experience and that we will learn a lot about water quality, our projects, and the culture of Mexico.

pH and our powerpoint day 2

Today we got all of our class time to work on our powerpoint. We got a lot done and the only thing left is to rehearse and practice it.

Other than that, the Mexico Project is kinda going by funky. We haven't really done anything for it. So I decided to edit some of the script. I made most of the edits and shortened it because it was WAY WAY WAY too long. I feel like these projects are going by pretty good and that I will do a good job on them.

I am kinda having a problem with the Panama's Independence Project just because Andrew hasn't been here and I had to work on it all by myself mostly. I can understand that he might be sick, but he should have told me. We should be able to present by tomorrow if not Thursday, when we have our quiz.

pH and our powerpoint

Today, we found out that our powerpoints for this project are due on Thursday and Friday. So tonight, I decided to put all of my information onto one post.

pH= the reciprocal of hydrogen ion concentration in gram atoms per liter

The less the pH, the more acidity the solution is. The more pH, the more basic it is.

Scale is from 0 to 14. Clear water is neutral, when the chemicals are mixed with water, the mixture becomes either acidic or basic.

Buffering Capacity= ability of water to maintain a steady pH, controlled by the amount of carbonate ions in the water.

This weekend

This weekend I didn't have a lot of time to blog and their is not a lot more information that I haven't already found out. So I didn't do anything project related. I have plenty of information for all of our projects and I cannot wait until we finish editting our script for the Mexico Project so that we can start filming.

So far, I think that this year is going by very well and that I have done pretty well with everything. I am looking forward to the rest of the year.

pH and water testing

Today was a very busy day. We had a TON of projects to work on and I had a lot to do.

I did some research on water quality testing and pH.

About Panama

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pm.html


I used this website to find basic information about Panama

Panama Pictures

Manuel Noriega- http://www.dictatorofthemonth.com/Noriega/noriega6.jpg

Omar Torrijos- http://www.country-data.com/frd/cs/panama/pa05_01a.jpg

Colombia- http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/images/colombia_map.gif

Democracy- http://www.waynedemocrats.org/donkey2.gif

Enlightenment- http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=91492&rendTypeId=4

Simón Bolívar- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Simon_Bolivar.jpg

pH more stuff

The less pH, the more acidity the solution is. The more pH, the more basic it is.


http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/images2/184phdiagram.gif



The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. Clear water is neutral. When the chemicals are mixed with water, the mixture can become either acidic or basic.


http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/184ph.html

Panama

Today we went to Balboa Park for a field trip, so we didn't get a lot of work time. I did some research at home to make up for it though.

Analysis of whether or not the ideals of the Enlightenment contributed to the country's independence and subsequent government- Since Panama was unaware of the conquering by Spain, the ideals of the Enlightenment didn't really contribute to their independence. They didn't have the urge to get independent just yet because the Canal was thriving and they needed their support. Once Panama became part of Colombia, their drive for independence was slightly altured, but not fully, they didn't mind combining that much.

Compare/Contrast (Colombia)- The comparisons for Colombia are pretty simple. Since they created one country at a certain point in time, they had to have been similar. They became one country because Bolivar recently founded Colombia, and since he was of great importance to Panama, he combined the two. But in September of 1830, Panama seperated from Colombia under the influence and force of the local military.

Websites- http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab28

Panama day 2

Today I didn't get much time to research Panama with Andrew. So we split up the work and on Friday we will have all of the research done, and we can just add it to a powerpoint.

I researched information about key figures that contributed to the independence movement in Panama. I also found information about the government.

Key figures:
Omar Torrijos- Military leader in World War II and head of government
Manuel Noriega- Military leader after Torrijos died, took over civil government

Important websites- http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Panama.html

pH stuff

Today was a strange day. I only went to school for 3 hours because we were filming our interview for the Border Project and I had to leave early for a volleyball game.

I did some research on buffering capacity and why it matters for water quality testing.

Buffering capacity is the ability of water to maintain a steady pH. It is controlled by the amount of carbonate ions in the water.

This matters for water quality testing because in order for someone to try and change the pH, the buffering capacity can mess it up depending on how strong it is.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:buffering+capacity&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title

Panama's Independence

Andrew and I got a new project today about the Independence of Panama. For today, I researched dates and any information about Panama that I could find out.

Map of Panama: http://geology.com/world/panama-map.gif

Information on Independence: Panama didn't right away try to seperate from Spain because they were lacking communication from the other Spanish countries, so I guess they didn't get the memo. Panama had a great advantage compared to all of the other countries; the Panama Canal. Because of the canal, they had great strategies for using this advantage. They were doing great in the 16th century because the Spanish brought weapons and diseases, and were conquering other countries aroung Panama, while Panama thrived. By that time, there was many gold to be found near the ports, bringing pirates, so by the 17th century, Panama's importance declined. Panama won it's independence from the Spanish on November 28, 1821, but became part of Colombia.

Websites:
http://countrystudies.us/panama/4.htm
http://panama-information.executivehotel-panama.com/in-panama-history.html
http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/americas/panama/Panama-Home.htm

Water Testing Project-pH

Today we got our topics for the new project we are doing in Anne's class. My group (Kerstin, Danielle, and I) are going to be researching pH and water quality testing.

Our prompt: Examine why pH matters in water quality testing. Include a disscussion of what contributes to raising or lowering pH values. What is buffering capacity and why does it matter for water quality? If given a preference, would you prefer to have water with slightly elevated pH or lower pH? Explain why.

What I don't really like is that we didn't choose this topic, but since we didn't turn in our requests in time, this is what we get. I guess we will just have to deal with it because there is a lot to learn about pH and water quality.

From my research so far, I found out that pH is the reciprocal of hydrogen ion concentration in gram atoms per liter.
Site: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pH


I also found out information on the pH scale, which shows low and high forms of pH, represented by colors. When pH is low, this means that the substance, when added to water, increases the hydrogen ions, forming what is called an acid. When pH is raised, this means that the reduced substance in the water causes the concentration of the hydrogen ions to reduce also, creating a base.

Website: http://staff.jccc.net/PDECELL/chemistry/phscale.html

10-1-07

Today, we worked on our script to get it ready for tomorrow. We also got our interview scheduled, it is going to be on Wednesday at 10. As for everything else, we are working well and staying on task.

I feel that there is no more research to be done, seeing as our script was written out and is longer than I expected. I think that the critieqes that we will get tomorrow will help us greatly with our research and ideas for this project.

Sunday

Nothings really happening from before the last post. I'm still worried about the interview and I feel that our project might fall behind a bit because of that.

As far as filming and getting ready for it goes, I think we need to start to get ready for it. Since our storyboard is over and our second draft of the script is due, we need to work on getting started.

Other than that, we are doing very well.

Saturday!!!!!

This is for Saturday because I was very busy and didn't get to do it...

I am getting very worried about our interview. We should at least have it scheduled or done and we don't have either because our expert has some issues. So I am wondering when we are going to get to do that.

Other than that, our partnership and work ethics are doing very well and I feel that this project will go very smoothly.

Thursday

Today, we had time to work on our storyboard and script that is due tomorrow. In class, Danielle was working on the storyboard and Kerstin and I were working on the script. Then I finished the storyboard when Danielle finished her turn. I felt that today was very useful because we got a lot of work done and we didn't stress out that much.

I also called Dr. Weiss (Our expert source) and asked for his schedule of when a good time would be for the interview. Unfortunately, he had some family issues and won't know for sure his schedule until next week. So everything besides that seems to be going smoothly and I think that our partnership is working out very well.

I am very glad and privileged to be working with such hard working partners because they both contribute their best to the project and always work their hardest. I think that this project will be a wonderful experience.

Wednesday

Today, our flashes were due and we got them evaluated and critiqued. I felt that our flash was very amusing and professional, and I felt that the critiques helped even more.

As far as other due dates are going, Danielle is working on the storyboard, and Kerstin and I are finishing the script. We need to get our interview done, which we still need to set up the date and get everything ready (questions and camera).

I cannot find anymore research that is all that relevant to my topic. So tonight I mainly worked on the script and adding and editing it.

Tuesday

Kerstin, Danielle, and I worked on our script and flash today. We need to find out how long our script takes and make sure we have enough time, or to make sure that we know how much we need to add to it. Our flash is complete, except for when tomorrow comes, we will most likely have some corrections that needs to be done.

Other than that we are doing well because we started on our storyboards that are due on Friday.

There isn't much research left to be done. But the one website I found talked about pesticides and herbicides, some main facts about them, and what the United States is and needs to be doing to help solve this issue.

What I still think is most interesting, that this website tells you about, is that the pesticides and herbicides we use to help our crops grow, actually are traveling into our water systems, killing habitats and wildlife. So by helping our crops grow, we are hurting other areas and ourselves in return. I just thought this was interesting that we would do this to ourselves, but this kind of topic seems to be relevate to a lot of issues going on in the world today.

Website: http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/facts/point6.htm

I feel that our project is going very well and that we, as a group, might have already found all of our research, but we just have to put it into a final product, thus being our movie and script.

Monday

Today, I didn't really do much. I am having a very hard time finding people that I can blog about because my internet isn't working all that well.

So today I am going to do a little research.

I found a website called http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/human.htm. It is related to the EPA, or Environmental Protection Agency, and it mainly talked about how pesticides effect the human body, what the side effects are, and how we can prevent this from happening.

What I thought was very interesting was that when it comes to effects that the pesticides have on the human body, it depends on the type of pesticide that you were exposed to.

What I would like to accomplish this week would be to finish the flash, the rough draft of the script, the interview questions, and hopefully, book the interview date so that we can get things rolling and start our project for real.

Other than that, I feel that we are pretty well along and that I am very glad to have such hard working partners.

HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

So its sunday and im blogging and trying to watch the STEELERS game but no... So i cant find anyone's blogs that is even remotely connected to mine. So i just did some research.

This website that I found talked about herbicides and pesticides and their uses in our world. The most important aspect that I found in this article was that when farmers and gardeners use pesticides/herbicides, the chemicals soak into the earth, then draining into the water system. Making it very hard to keep out of the water we use for humans and other things. When these chemicals get into our system, they create diseases and sicknesses depending on the situation and exposure time.

http://www.princeton.edu/~chm333/2004/Bioremediation/NON%20main.htm

Other than that, its getting harder to find research because we have already found lots and they are becoming less valuable to me and my research.

Carter's Blog

Today is the weekend... and unfortunatly we have to blog during OUR BREAK!!!!!! but whatever.

I chose to post about Carter's Blog and he found a website: http://www.livingwithbugs.com/organic.html, that talks about synthetic pesticides. He thought that the most interesting thing would have to be that pesticides will keep growing and becoming more effective than natural pesticides.

I would have to agree with this. It is very interesting that someone would have that opinion without even knowing if its true or not. If we all help out by getting rid of all of the bad pesticides, then why would they be more effective than natural? Is natural really better for the environment?

Even though synthetic pesticides are cheaper than natural, wouldn't you think in the end, that if you get a disease from the bad pesticides, that it would end up costing you more than you benefiting it?

These are some of the questions that I have been thinking of and hopefully, with a little more research, I can answer them.

Our Script

Seeing as our rough draft of the script was due today and gmail failed to cooperate, I am posting our script on my blog. So you can check it out if you want. (Our script is to the left)

Today, I am going to talk about William's Blog, since I have to post about another persons blog. He is doing pesticides as well and his website was http://www.kysu.edu/land_grant/pesticides.pdf.

This site mainly talks about how to protect yourself from pesticides. I thought that this website was very useful because it had information from exposure to what to do if you are infected to what kinds of disease you may get from pesticides.

This can help us understand more about the effects that pesticides have on humans and what we as a society can do to help us avoid these diseases.

As far as our project is going, I am very upset that my email didn't work because I worked very hard on the script, and I just hope that next time we can turn things in on time and successfully.

Andrew's Blog

Another group, like us, are doing research about pesticides and herbicides. I chose to go to Andrew's Blog and post this post about one of his sources.

His source: http://www.coha.org/2007/08/13/pesticide%E2%80%99s-victims-will-finally-come-before-a-us-court/

He states that 15% of agriculture products we export and inport today come from Latin America. He also states that Latin America's exports do not meet our standards.

I feel that this is not true. From my research, I feel that we rely a lot on Latin America and their workers because we are too lazy to do it ourselves. The pesticides and herbicides that they use are to help the crops grow so that they can export them to the rest of the world. All though there is the controversy about the effect of those pesticides, it is not their fault for trying to meet our needs.

I also feel that this website was very useful in the sence that we would get to learn the peoples perspective on it, and not just the scientists telling us that these are bad and we don't need them.

Today, Kerstin and I worked on the script and flash since Danielle is gone. The script is due tomorrow and we are pretty well off, but still need work.

Kerstin's Blog

Today, we were given intructions to post about other people's posts. Since Kerstin is one of my partners, our information will be the same and I am going to post about her info on restricted pesticides.

The website that Kerstin used, http://entweb.clemson.edu/pesticid/Document/FedRUP.htm, explained all of the pesticides that are restricted.

I thought this was intersting because it shows both that people are aware of the effects of these chemicals, and also that we might not be banishng them enough, because obviously, since there are still many pesticides used today, we do not take into account the amount of chemicals and the effects it can do to us.

Since there are so many pesticides, herbicides, etc. that have been banded because of the uses or ingredients, I feel that we as a whole have been doing a decent job watching out for our health. But if long exposure to these chemicals makes most of the difference, can they be bad if you are around it for only a small period of time? Or are workers/farmers that work around it in more danger than people like us who eat it?

These are some of the questions that I want to try to get answered in our research for this project.

Other than that, our script needs some work and since it's due on friday, I hope we have enough time.

Script

Yesterday and today we worked on our script thats due this Friday. We have a little done, and we still have a lot to go. Kerstin also started on our flash thats due next wednesday.

this website helped me get important info on our topic.


http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/environment/RATE/pestfact.html

Dr. George Weiss

I found some information about our expert source today. He is a nutritionist that mainly works with losing weight, which can be helpful when we interview and research him about the pesticides/herbicides that people eat and how that effects their body, whether thats a disease or gaining weight. This website says that he uses natural methods to help the person in question lose weight, I hope he can tell us about pesticide and herbicides with fruit and veggies, because it seems he knows a lot about natural foods and pills. On Friday, Kerstin and I will start the script and will think of good questions to ask him about the human body and the effects on those chemicals.

http://www.georgeweissmd.com/default.asp

Our Expert Source

Today, Danielle confirmed that we have an expert source. His name is George Weiss. I think he is a doctor and a nutritionist which can help us learn more about the human body and the effects of pesticides and herbicides. Although I do not know much about this doctor, I plan to learn more and interview him in his office in La Jolla.

Effects on Human Body

Pesticides and herbicides are toxic, thats how they kill both plants and some animals. That toxicity is divided intp 4 groups, depending on the amount of toxins in the substance and the length of exposure you have for that toxic matter. Most toxic effects are not deathly, though may cause a long time to cure back to original health. In this case, pesticides mostly effect one organ system, and in other cases can effect the entire system. Here is a table showing the main side affects to toxic substances.



CATEGORY SYSTEM AFFECTED COMMON SYMPTOMS
Respiratory Nose, trachea, lungs Irritation, coughing, choking, tight chest
Gastrointestinal Stomach, intestines Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea
Renal Kidney Backpain, urinating more or less than usual
Neurological Brain, spinal cord Headache, dizziness, behaviour confusion, depression, coma convulsions
Haematological Blood Anaemia (tiredness, weakness)
Dermatological Skin, eyes Raches, itching, redness, swelling
Reproductive Ovaries, testes, feotus Infertility, miscarriage



http://www.prn2.usm.my/mainsite/bulletin/sun/1997/sun6.html

Natural Herbicides

There are not a lot of natural herbicides out for people to use for weeds and other unwanted plants. If these herbicides are used in the wrong way, the are able to do more damage than helping. Some plants today are already natural pesticides, and the chemicals that come off of those plants can kill other plants around them. This process is called allelopathy. Most natural herbicides are used for the killing of unwanted plants, but because of the acids used, they kill the plants before they root.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-some-natural-herbicides.htm

Synthetic Herbicides

A herbicide is used to kill plants that you do not want in your yard, such as weeds. What most people don't know is that herbicides kill all plants that it comes in contact with, not just the weeds or unwanted ones. Herbicides are mainly used for agriculture and landscaping purposes, and sometimes are used by the TVC or Total Vegetation Control, for highways, roads, and railroads.

The heath effects of herbicides range from skin reactions to even death. This can be caused by breathing, eating, or even touching objects used or that were near herbicides.


http://www.syngenta.com/en/products_services/herbicides.aspx

http://www.ipaw.org/herbicides.htm

Natural Pesticides

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3741/is_6_53/ai_n14702617

This website is an overview of how pesticides work. This will help us understand what it does and how it helps or weakens.

Other than this website I didnt find a lot about natural pesticides, is this a bad thing? Should we be using natural opposed to synthetic? These are some of the things we need to be thinking about for our project.

Synthetic Pesticides

http://www.bt.ucsd.edu/synthetic_pesticide.html


This website has a lot of information about pesticides, mostly the history, types, and dangers that pesticides can cause to the human body.


http://www.livingwithbugs.com/organic.html

This website is just an over view of what different types of pesticides are and their harms to us.