Perhaps The Most Inflamatory Post About Technology Ever Written

It's truly amazing to think about how far technology has evolved in my relatively short lifetime. Computers have gone from the desktops and the extremely unwieldy, heavy laptops to smart phones, tablets, and featherweight laptops. Electronic storage has also advanced at an impressive rate. The floppy disk was on its last legs when I was really young, and it gave way to the CD, which then gave way to the flash drive, whose monumental capacity and flexible file control (no longer needing to burn files onto a disk and being able to then remove those files) were revolutionary, which then gave way to "the cloud." Now there is theoretically no need for physical storage of any kind. It's hard to imagine our future getting any more advanced than this, but it will, and I will take a shot at what a few of them will be over the course of the next ten years (and a little bit beyond that).


Prediction 1: Much of, if not all of your life will be in some way connected to your technology

This isn't as much of a prediction as it is an observation. Most everything you do now is or can be in some way associated with technology. The time you wake up is facilitated by an alarm clock, or an alarm clock application on your phone. A smart phone application can tell you how much nutrients you need to consume during breakfast and the best way to get those nutrients. Your car can give you directions how to get from place to place. Your phone can be your calendar, organizing and reminding you of things you have to do or attend. You check up on your favorite sports team on your computer, and while your at it you drop by the news site to be presented what's the day's important top stories. Now, as a student, you can take not just classes, but entire courses online. So, as I said, it's only a matter of time before everything you do can be in someway organized, influenced by, or perhaps even executed by your technology.

Prediction 2: Your entire life (past and present) will be collected in some kind of electronic database

That's scary. Your entire life. All available by some technological end. But let me clarify something: I do not think that this database will be accessible to just any entity. It will naturally be unavailable to you, but also to unavailable other citizens. It will be available to the government and certain advertizing agencies, although eventually later than ten years from now the government will lose their access.
How close are we to this now? Most of your important information is already cataloged in federal databases (social security, banking information, criminal record, etc.) and many corporations have already begun making databases about the unimportant stuff (what you buy online, what you like to eat, what you "like" on Facebook) to assess patterns of purchasing. While this doesn't encompass all of your life, I predict it's only a matter of time, perhaps not in the next ten years, but certainly in the next twenty-five, before corporations have the rest of your life cataloged to analyze what you do/like/enjoy and how they can profit from what you do/like/enjoy, and because, as I previously predicted/observed, your technology will be a part of everything you do, it will make it that much easier for corporations to gather this information. This brings me to my next prediction (those of you with weaker constitutions might want to stop reading at this point).

Prediction 3: Corporations will eventually become the governing bodies of Earth

Many of you after reading that heading are like:

So, now that the Drake and Josh reference is out of the way, let's talk about this preposterous prediction. This seems like a pretty radical stretch no matter how you slice it, but it seems especially out there when this is a blog post about technology. How did we get talking about "the governing bodies of earth"? Well, just as my second prediction is a reflection on my first, so also is this a reflection of the other two. Because our wide-spread use of technology will enable corporations to develop detailed pictures of our lives, it will give corporations significant influence over our decisions, primarily our buying decisions.
So how will corporate control over our buying decisions have anything to do with a corporate control of the world? Well, almost every government in the world at this point (if not every, many or most) is some form of democracy or republic. These forms of government rely on the support of the people in order to function, and the people control the fate of these governments. If companies control the decisions of everyone, then they control the government.
"But wait a minute: buying decisions do not constitute every decision every human has ever made ever." That's true. "And I don't vote every time I buy something." Well, think about that last one; What are you really doing when you choose between shopping at Walmart and shopping at Costco? Aren't you casting a vote on which one you prefer? "But that has nothing to do with my political affiliation or what I believe in or how I vote in elections." That may be true. Not everyone who shops at Costco votes liberally and not everyone who shops at Walmart votes conservatively. But by shopping there you support that store and by extension what that particular store believes in, both socially and politically. If a corporation chooses what you buy and where you buy it, then it chooses what ideals you indirectly support.
So I guess I should amend my prediction. I predict that corporations will eventually control the governing bodies of Earth, not necessarily become them.

Back to the Future

To be honest, I couldn't decide between the last two posts, so I'm going to write about both (is this considered cheating?) First of all, who wouldn't love to be born in the 70's-or is that just me. Living in the 60's-80's was a childhood dream of mine. Only problem I would have living back then, is the lack of technology.Obviously, a computer was not a common household object, and the internet didn't exist. As much as I love the internet, the time period sounds kind of appealing. I wouldn't be so glued to my phone as I am right now. Much more face-to-face conversations happened, and I strongly feel that you form a stronger bond with someone when you spend time with them and talk to them in real life.

As for the future, I have one word for you: Wall-E. If you've seen the movie, I'm sure you can recall the way humans live in the movie.

This is exactly how what  I imagine we'll be like in the future thanks to technology.

Judt though I should share this video regarding the way humans lived and how dependent they will become (already are) on technology.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPZcCvtB9Wg

Assignment Two Kaylyn Torkelson

          Growing up 20 years ago would be growing up in a completely different world. Everything from friends, entertainment, and school would be irrevocably dissimilar. Schoolwork would be completed without the aid of a computer to type your words, research a topic, or ask for help. There wouldn’t be blogs to post in or video websites through which to view information. These days, learning doesn’t stop when you leave the classroom. Learning continues to follow you throughout the day, even into your homes. I believe that benefits us greatly- I couldn’t imagine a life without computers and the Internet for education purposes. Finding ways to hang out with friends and ways to entertain myself would be strange and unusual had I lived twenty years ago. I wouldn’t depend on messaging services to communicate with my friends. I’d have to depend on them to be on time, to know where we’re meeting, to know how to get there. I’d leave my house more often if I knew I couldn’t reach my friends by sending a simple text message or contacting them through social networking sites like Facebook. Honestly, the lack of technology would force me to interact more often with people face-to-face, and I’d appreciate that. (Maybe I wouldn’t be so awkward carrying on face-to-face conversations with people I don’t know if I did it with people I did know more often.) My close knit group of friends is so spread out across the city that we’d have to meet up somewhere to see each other, and I’d enjoy that more than messaging every day. Interacting with others would be so much better twenty years ago, and I think that’s why I’d prefer the past to the present. As hypocritical as that may sound while I’m typing this blog post on a computer, listening to music provided by the Internet on an iDevice, and waiting for a friend to text me back on my phone, I could do without the technology. I’m sure I’d miss the technology, having grown accustomed to being plugged in 24/7. But if I’d grown up twenty years ago and never known the technology, I could easily imagine myself hanging out with friends right now or visiting a cool new place. Life would be different, but I don’t think it’d be any worse. Maybe it’d be even better.

Assignment 2- Thomas Ueland

How would your life have been different if you'd grown up 20 years earlier? How would you interact with others? Do you think your relationships then would differ from your present relationships? Which time period would you prefer and why?

If I had grown up 20 years ago, there would have been no Internet, no flat screens, no video games, etc. The technological advancements that occurred in the past few decades changed the way kids grow up. For example, my parents grew up playing with erector sets and games like kick the can. But my cousin, 5 years old, spends most his free time on his mom’s I-pad playing angry birds and rocket ship games. This difference extends to more than our childhood; technology has transformed the way we interact with other people. There is not as much face-to-face communication nowadays as there used to be because we can simply go online to talk to someone. My grandparents and many others that grew up in that generation think negatively of the Internet for this very reason, that it eliminates many face-to-face encounters. While I don’t necessarily agree with their opinion, I do agree that it has changed our relationships. I probably do most of my communicating through text messages or social media, things that wouldn’t be available if I grew up 20 years ago.

Personally, I can’t even imagine having to live with no TV when you get home, with no Internet to look up that movie title that’s on the tip of your tongue. Therefore, I would obviously prefer to live in the society now compared to 20 years ago because of convenience; we can touch a screen a few times and become an an expert on virtually any topic.

Assignment 2 - Jacquelyn

As much as I love technology, it has made a significant impact on my life negatively. Over the years, technology has become more efficient and convenient, and everybody loves it. I agree, but I have found that this makes me become somewhat addicted to technology specifically my iPhone. Since I got an iPhone, I have noticed that I’ve been on my phone rather than doing my homework; this occurs frequently throughout the week. Not only has my iPhone harmed me academically, but it has also physically hurt me. I have repeatedly dropped my phone on my face because I was laying down looking at my phone held above me while drifting to sleep. Dropping a phone on your face is not a painful experience, but it isn’t a comfortable one either. My iPhone has done damage to my eyes as well. My eyeballs get strained and shriveled due to the countless nights I spend with my face four inches from my phone in the dark. These negative impacts are essentially just bad habits, but I can’t break them. I could, but I would have to be put under a type of house arrest for iPhone users. The iPhone is the best but worst invention ever. Apple did too good of job.

Assignment 2: iwrite

In 1976, Steve Jobs became a co-founder of Apple. 35 years later he retired, putting his enormous company into different hands, and shortly thereafter succumbed to cancer. His retirement and death did not just mean a promotion for Tim Cook, the new CEO, but a major shift in a company that has been a key player in technology innovation in the 21st century.  Love 'em or hate 'em, Steve Jobs changed our lives.

So, this brings us to your writing for the week:

How has technology affected your life?

Choose one of the following prompts and in 150 words or more, provide your answer.

• Has technology affected you in a majorly positive way? What happened?
• Has technology ever inconvenienced you or hurt you? Maybe technology got in your way, slowed you down or even literally hurt you? Have you seen technology have a negative impact on society?
• How would your life have been different if you'd grown up 20 years earlier? How would you interact with others? Do you think your relationships then would differ from your present relationships? Which time period would you prefer and why?
• Become a futurist and theorize on how might technology evolve over the next decade and what changes might those changes bring.  

The deadline for this blog is Sunday, September 1st at 11:59 p.m.

Siobhan (The student with the weird name)

My name's Siobhan O'Neill. And it's a pretty strange name if you ask me, but it does reveal some things about me. For one I'm Irish. Thats a no brainer, but also reflects that I like being different. Although I didn't have the pleasure in choosing my own name, as most kids don't, I did stick with being called Siobhan. I have a very normal, common middle name. Mary. Even though teachers would have a much easier time with pronouncing "Mary" rather than "Siobhan" on the first day of school, I decided to persevere through the corrections of pronunciations and answering the tedious but oh-so-common question of "How do you say your name?".

Best decision I ever made. 

My name sets me apart from people and gives me an edge. I like having a secret weapons up my sleeve. And thats probably one of the reasons why I joined the academy in the first place. It allows me to challenge and distinguish myself. 

Apart from telling people how to pronounce my name I like to paint, read, and listen to music. Really just about anything that can get my brain stimulated. I also like playing tennis and working out. Being healthy and fit is an issue that I'm very passionate about and hopefully something I can represent as a good example.

One thing that really geeks me out is fashion. Oh how I love fashion. I could read Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Instyle, and Marie Clare for hours on end. The fickleness of the fashion world keeps me on my toes as well as excited for the new trends of the season to be revealed. Fashion is something I love because it's an art form that does, regardless to prior thought, stimulate the brain. It's give individuals a chance to reflect just how unique and special they are in an exterior form. Below is a link that showcases some of Dolce Vita's (my favorite designer) newest pieces. 

http://www.revolveclothing.com/brandpages/DolceVita.jsp?HPsource=Designers_MostPopular

Assignment 1- Sepehr

Hey, my name is Sepehr. I love basketball, video games, my friends, music, sleep, and food, other than that I really don't care about anything else. I'm a very lazy person and don't like to do anything, I'm the type of person who just sits back and relaxes while everyone else is suffering. But don't get me wrong, I'm not a terrible person, sometimes. I'm not an overachiever but I do what I need to succeed in life. But theirs a few things that i really care about and geek me out. One of them is music, I just got a guitar this year and have been trying to learn it, but its going to be hard to find time with all the studying and homework, so it would be really nice if you just don't make us do anything, at all. I like almost all types of music, except some country songs. My favorite is probably rock and rap, I like them both even though they're very different. The other thing that geeks me out is basketball. I live basketball even though I don't look like I would, but trust me, I GET BUCKETS. I play basketball almost everyday, it helps me clear my mind and I really enjoy it. My favorite college team is UK and my favorite NBA team is the Miami Heat. I get a lot of hate because everyone hates the Heat, but I don't really care, the Heat is my favorite team and people are just gonna have to deal with it. I watch every all the Heat games and get really tense when doing so. I remember one time I was watching a Heat game and my friend was over at my house, there was five minutes left in the game and he decided it was smart to change the channel, but obviously it wasn't and I punched him in the face. Some say I overreacted, but I think i made the right decision because he deserved it. 

Well, my academic goals for this year is to get all A's, I usually don't shoot for all A's but I have a good feeling about this year. I'm hoping to get a good score on my ACT and my SAT and to pass my AP exams. If I could pick a superpower, it would be to teleport because I'm lazy and don't like to waste my energy. Also that way I could do stuff and get away with it cause I could just teleport away. 

I hate toasters.

http://espn.go.com/

Assignment 1- Julian Perry 5th

My name is Julian Perry, but you can't call me that. That would just be silly. Call me Julian. No, not Call Me Maybe. You may not have my number. That song isn't even relevant anymore. While on the topic, though, I can say that music is a greater passion of mine, like fine wine and the rich smell of mahogany. I am self-taught at the piano and guitar, and have been taking lessons for the cello for many years. When I play the guitar, I usually climb up in a tree, stare at the stars, and write about my feelings in a song that I will eventually title "Trees Have Feelings Too." I enjoy long walks on the beach (especially at sunset), as well as biking around my neighborhood. I also play video games in my spare time, on my computer.

I hang out with friends. I have a part-time job at Kroger, I try to keep ahead of my homework as best as I can, but I'm human like everyone else. I make mistakes. I forget. I do try my best, though, and most of the time it's good enough. I would love the superpower of flight/super speed to let me do more throughout my day, because time management is something I struggle with at times.

My favorite band is a choice I'm unable to make, but I can do a top 5 list. Cake, The Beatles, Rise Against, Snow Patrol, and... yeah, I still can't do it. Chili Peppers, Sinatra, Beach Boys, Sublime... Too many to decide.

I enjoy English more than any other class, and it tends to show on my tests. Writing is something I enjoy a lot, but I always feel like I wouldn't have enough time for it as a hobby so I never really try. Maybe senior year. For now, I'm going to focus on keeping my grades up and making my "hardest year of high school" a little less unbearable in any way that I can.

Yours truly,

                            Julian

P.S.  Here's a website that I go to when I'm bored or in an awkward social situation and don't want to talk to anyone. Cracked has comedy articles written on subjects everyone can relate too, a lot of which are geeky facts about anything from ancient abandoned and underground cities to crazy coincidences that changed history.

P.S.S.  ^Here's a video I found a couple weeks ago.^ The emotion put into that is so visible on his face during the entire reading. It still gets to me.

(◕‿◕✿)

My name is Hannah Pulley, and some people call me Anna, because of the fact that there are many people, both in school and that I know who have similar names. Me, I’m used to switching between names and demeanors, depending on who I’m with.

Academically, my main goal is to survive this year. I realize this statement reveals that I’m not the strongest person, mentally or emotionally, but I also know that I will grow as a student and as a person through the work that I do. Motivation is one thing that I do have in my favor. Personally, my goal for this year is to be more flexible and willing to experience new things.  Given the workload that high school students are expected to manage, we’ll see how that goes. Making new friends, going for drives at night, that’s what weekends are for, right?

The most meaningful moment of my summer vacation was when I went to a concert with a friend that I have known for years online but have only seen in person a few times. We met because of a shared love of music, and we've become skype buddies, guitar teachers, and experts on DIY hair coloring for each other. We spent most of the day reading in bookstores and wandering around downtown Columbus, Ohio and then that evening standing in line so we could be at the barrier together to see Atlas Genius perform (which is a really cool band.)

If I could have any superhero power, it would be invisibility, mainly for the thought that I could walk onto any plane and go anywhere I wanted without a second thought. However, you would be more likely to find me at a festival like Glastonbury, Coachella or Electric Daisy Carnival than Comic-Con. I listen to a pretty wide range of music and have favorites from each genre, but a large part of my music library is variations of rock: indie, punk, glam, and math. (The name math rock coming from the complex and multilayered addition of drumbeats, guitar and keyboard effects. Foals would be a good example.)

This is a six second video that I have no explanation for, but it never fails to cheer me up.

I guess I cheated by already putting in several links, and Spotify would be a too obvious choice, so I leave you with one of my favorite online magazines. Girly and fabulous and always something to read.

-pce

Assignment 1 - Jacquelyn

J-A-C-Q-U-E-L-Y-N. Not Jackie, Jacky, Jacqueline, or Jacklyn. I guess we can begin with the basic facts. I'm 16 years old. I have an older sister who's currently a freshman at college. I also happen to have a mom and a dad. Both my sister and I were adopted from China. Besides the fact that I'm an 11th grader at Henry Clay, I am also a swimmer. I've been swimming for about 12 years now. I used to play soccer, but I quit in 6th grade to pursue swimming. I love water whether it’s drinking it or swimming in it. I’d rather swim in the ocean though. I’d choose the beach over the pool any time; I love the beach. I aspire to live near the coast in the future and go to the beach every single day. I also love cleaning specifically organizing. I’m a big fanatic when it comes to organizing items. I used to organize in my spare time when I was little, and honestly, I still do when I find time. I even enjoy organizing items that aren’t even mine. Sometimes when I go to a store, someone’s house, or see someone’s binder where it’s just chaos and madness, I would be more than glad to organize it. Organizing isn’t a chore, it’s more of an activity or hobby to me, and I don’t have OCD. I just really like organizing. www.pinterest.com This site is addicting.



This picture portrays how I feel on some day.



I don't like titles

Getting all of the boring things out of the way- I’m Hallie, I swim and run. I like Harry Potter, volunteering, friends, and democrats  and I spend my free time on Netflix(???).  None of that is interesting so I’m going to talk about something that we all love, food. As I spend most of my time playing sports, I need food and I want it to be healthy because I can really tell the difference in my performance when I’m not eating healthy. My favorite food by far is apples. I could talk about apples for years but I realize that I’m the only one who cares about apples so I will stop. Even though apples hold a special place in my heart I won’t discriminate against other fruits either and I a few at every meal. As fruits and vegetables go hand in hand I will talk about them next, vegetables aren’t my favorite thing but you need them to stay healthy. I get most of my vegetables from a CSA(Community Supported Agriculture) at my church that I volunteer at every weekend. This program at our church provides organic produce from local farmers who are trying to decrease their dependence on growing tobacco and distributes it to members of the community with a focus on low income families who could otherwise not afford these foods. I love this organization because it combines my two favorite things, volunteering and food. As hard as I try to be healthy, I do have a sweet tooth that can’t be tamed. This leads to eating a ridiculous amount of chocolate things. My newest addiction is putting fun things in brownies. I know where your mind just went to but I’m talking about perfectly legal things like Reecees Cups, all kinds of candy bars, pudding, and lots of nutella. So, if you ever want me to bring you some food, just hit me up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFasFq4GJYM

My current favorite song, plot twist- it's not about food

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIjVuRTm-dc 

This one is also my favorite 

My favorite picture because I'm obsessed with Harry Potter(I've read the entire series 28 times)

Assignment 1- Brittany

Hi! My name is Brittany Graul and I generally go by Brittany, except a few people call me Britt and one person calls me "Bean" for reasons still unknown. I have always loved playing soccer. I started playing when I was 3 and I never looked back. I'm also on the varsity soccer team for Henry Clay (Go Blue Devils!) in addition to a club team. Soccer takes up much of my time so what time I have left I use to read. You could say I'm obsessed with books. On many occasions I’ve stayed up all night just to finish a book despite having school the next day, which makes coffee a great friend of mine. I'm constantly in bookstores and I'm pretty sure that I'm at Joseph Beth, a favorite of mine, so often that some of the workers know me. If I could do anything I wanted, I would live in a bookstore. I'm always looking up release dates on new books and stalking (I'm not creepy just passionate) my favorite authors on social media. Just a few of my favorite authors John Green, Marie Lu, Marie Rutkoski, Cassandra Clare, Jane Austen, Ernest Hemingway, Maggie Stiefvater, Tahereh Mafi, Laini Taylor, Stephanie Perkins, Kristin Cashore, Suzanne Collins (I'm a Hunger Games freak), J.K. Rowling, Veronica Rossi, and Veronica Roth. Believe me, I could name many more but then we would be here for days. 

I'm that weirdo who can spend hours on Netflix watching shows and movies and then suddenly look up and realize that an entire day has passed. I can pretty much watch anything. If I like a movie I can just keep watching it. That is especially true for any kind of superhero movies. I'm a total superhero nerd. A personal favorite is Iron Man, but it could be Spiderman, Superman, Captain America, Thor, you name it and I'm absolutely obsessed. If I could have any superpower I wanted then I would definitely want to fly. I know it's not very original, but I think it would be so awesome. When I’m not watching movies, playing soccer, reading, or anything else, then you can bet I’m hanging out with my friends (I promise I have them.)

If you ever see me walking down the street I will most likely have headphones or earbuds on, listening to music. Some of my favorite artists are Imagine Dragons, Bastille, Ed Sheeran, Mumford & Sons, Parachute, The Cab, Coldplay, Neon Trees, the 1975, Passion Pit, The Lumineers, Florence + the Machine, and Passenger, Also, big dream of mine is to one day go to medical school and become a surgeon. I love anything to do with medicine. In fact, this summer I volunteered at a hospital for several weeks and I can honestly say it was a great experience. However, considering how much I love to read I would also jump at the chance to work in publishing. I guess we will just have to wait and see!

Here is one of my favorite websites:

http://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers

I highly recommend this channel, which just so happens to be run by John Green, one of my favorite authors, along with his brother Hank! Another favorite channel of mine is JacksGap.

My friends and I outside of Joseph Beth

After a muddy soccer game!

Assignment 1- I'm Taylore

Well "howdy", everyone. For those of you who don't know me or haven't ever talked to me, perhaps this will let you know a thing or two about me that you didn't know. At school, I'm very quiet and I like to focus on whatever I'm doing so as not to "fall behind" (because falling behind in school is a nightmare). A goal that I have for this year is to be more independent and assume responsibility in all that I do. School is getting harder, I now have a job, and I'm starting to drive on my own. I work at the Regal theater in Hamburg, and I absolutely love my job. Making minimum wage isn't too bad when you're guarenteed free popcorn, drinks, and movies. I wasn't planning on paying $5 for a bottle of water anyway, for those of you who have experienced the heartache of paying over $50 every time you come to see a movie at the theater.

 My summer vacation was an interesting one. It didn't go by too fast, which is always nice. I did not make the Henry Clay volleyball team this year, so I was able to stay on top of my summer assigments and get a job. I also have more time to focus on studies, which I think is important. The most meaningful moments of my vaction was probably getting to see and stay with my grandparents so much.

 It's really depressing that superpowers don't actually exist. But if they did, I'd love to be completely all-knowing. What can't you do with a huge head full of ideas?

Maybe you all percieve me as geeky, maybe you don't, but I definitely think I am. My email even is gogeeksquad@gmail.com which, thank you to my fifth grade self, has yet to be changed. On a boring note, I absolutely love math; I could do it all day. Another thing that "geeks" me, as weird and random as it may be, is the Phantom of the Opera. I love the plot and the music and everything about it. I'm quite the "phan".

 I don't have a favorite website. I really enjoy Instagram on my phone, though.

Megan- assignment 1

Hi I'm Megan.  There's really not all that interesting about me. I'm basically as ordinary as it gets. I'm addicted to Netflix and I seem to have an addictive personality when it comes to tv shows. Most recently there has been Doctor Who, Merlin and Firefly. I have to say Doctor Who is one of the newest things that geek me out, and the tenth doctor is my favorite doctor. Besides Netflix I'm a huge reader, books are the other thing that get me geeks me out. I seem to have a list of books that seems to just continuously grow despite how many books I read. Im reading the books Night Circus, Cyber Jack, and The Fault in Our Stars. After I read those I'm planning on reading Wicked which I'm really looking forward to. Besides Netflix and books I'm really into art. I've always been best at drawing just with a pencils and I can make that look pretty realistic. I've taken several art classes and I've been working on developing my paintings and sculpture, painting is coming along a lot better than sculpture. . I guess you could say I'm pretty nerdy because basically everything I'm in to is fantasy or science fiction. So basically that's me or I guess all of the stuff I'm in to. 

The Stylish, The Handsome, The One and Only: The Andy

       Hello and welcome to my blog post. I am And(rew)y. I am one of the few 17-year-olds in the Junior Academy. Music, video games, Fantasy (the genre), and reading are just a few of my passions. This year I plan on participating in Beta Club, Go Green, Young Democrats, and anything else that catches my eye. I am very active in Boy Scout Troop 73 and quickly approaching the rank of Eagle Scout. Until sophomore year I played violin and I have been playing guitar since middle school. When listening to music I usually stick to Folk and Classic Rock. My favorite bands include Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), Led Zeppelin, and Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young). My favorite (solo) artists are Ray LaMontagne, Iron and Wine, and Damien Jurado. Though I have preferred tastes I tend to listen to anything and everything, so if you have any suggestions let me know. Right now I am alternating between the Soundgarden and Allman Brothers Pandora stations. I belong to the ever-growing species that is the PC gamer. I am NOT however a PC supremacist, I hold the belief that all video game consoles are created equally (even the WiiU). I am an ardent user of Reddit, twitch.tv, and youtube.
      This summer was pretty uneventful. I mostly stayed at home nerding in the darkest corners and crevices of the internet, hanging out with friends, and working at Kroger on Romany. The most important thing that happened to me was easily my last year at Boy Scout Summer Camp. By next June, if I return to Camp McKee, it will be as an adult leader in my troop. After returning to Camp every year since fifth grade It has become a tradition that I will never forget. One of the most important parts of the scouting system is the bonds that are created with nature and my friends.
      Of all my interests the one that I "geek out" the most about is Fantasy. This is anything that has to do with the genre; video games, movies, even music. By far the most important of these are Fantasy books. For years I have been an avid reader of Fantasy, mostly epic (or high) fantasy. If anyone cared as much as I do I could talk about the genre for days on end (Sorry Karl). My obsession first started with popular young adult series like Artemis Foul, The Bartimaeus Series, and Percy Jackson. Then came a decision that altered my life forever. I chose to read the predecessor to all High Fantasy; The Lord of The Rings. Though many now consider it rambling and outdated LOTR is what sparked my interest into the world of Fantasy and will retain a place in my heart and on my bookshelf forever.
       If you read all of this I must congratulate you, it is a true acomplishment. Good luck this year (and don't take anything too seriously).


                                       These are just a few of the High Fantasy series I have over the
                                                    past few years. The second two rows are all from the past year
                                                    (minus the first four Game of Thrones books which my sister stole).
                                                     There are many other books that have been lost, were from the
                                                     library, or I read more than two years ago. PS: If you
                                                    read this far you get to know I read all the Twilight books.

My Eagle Project

------>RIDDLY DIDDLY<------

Its loud.

Cool Guy: A Cool Guy

The Rap Battle: The Famous gif is at 1:15

(Its a parody and it might have profanity, I can't remember.)

EDIT: IT DOES HAVE PROFANITY. WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu90z9Akxgk

    This isn't really my favorite website, but Reddit is inappropriate at times so I will use this. It is basically my bible and I use it to get ideas for what to read next.

Assignment 1-Eliot Smith

     My name is William Eliot Smith, and I would describe myself as an overly sarcastic, whimsical, cunning, relaxed, argumentative, tennis-playing and video-game-loving nerd.  For any situation that I am placed in that is not serious or concerning in nature, I will attempt to find an unclear, comedic aspect and expose it to my peers.  Whoever hears my comments may laugh, and they may not.  I truly don't care, because as long as I amuse myself, I can continue with happiness.  I find this self-amusement to be a key to my well-being, and I will forever consider the concept as an eternal goal of mine.
    This does not mean that I can't be serious, however.  When the circumstances require a diligent mindset, I have no problem giving 100%.  Yet, I will always prefer a jubilant mood to a serious one.
     As for my hobbies, I enjoy tennis, video games, guitar, and trading stocks. I have played tennis since I was eight years old, and I currently play on the varsity team for Henry Clay.  Guitar has been a part of my life for a long time as well.  I have always been around it; my father has been playing since five years before my birth.  I picked up the guitar when I was around 11 years old, since then it has been an easy way for me to just fool around for a little while, disregarding the worries of my world.  My favorite artists include Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The White Stripes, and The Black Keys.  As you can probably tell, I am not a huge fan of the talent-void stream of noise currently emanating from the hottest radio channel.
      A blog describing me would be considerably lacking if my love for video games were not mentioned.  I have been a lifelong gamer and I have no intention of ever ceasing to be so.  From the Game Boy Color to the PS1 to the Nintendo 64 to the Game Boy Advance to the PS2 to the Game Boy SP to the PSP to the GameCube to the Xbox to the Xbox 360 to the Alienware x41 to the (future) Xbox One, video games have been a large facet of my life.  This is certainly the reason why I label myself a nerd, considering that the question of my favorite game in history causes me to self destruct due to intensive cognition.  It goes without saying that video games peak my geek meter.
   
Here is a picture of me:

Get it? No? Okay.

My favorite website of all time is none other than the front page of the internet: http://www.reddit.com/

If you enjoy having free time, don't visit this site.

Assignment 1-Drew

Hello! My name is Drew.

I was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1997, making me a true Nutmegger (the correct term for a person from the Connecticut, the state know both as the Constitution State and the Nutmeg State). I moved here in 2004 having spent the first seven years of my life in that great state. For those of you who are now snickering at me, yes, I am in fact a Yankee, and proud to be. But do not be confused, for I am not a Yankees fan; in fact, I am quite the opposite, being a life-long follower of the Boston Red Sox. I also am an avid fan of the New England Patriots, the Boston Celtics, the University of Connecticut Huskies, the Boston Bruins (although I don't follow hockey as avidly as other sports), and as of the last nine years, the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Again, for those of you who haven't stopped reading by this point, you probably noticed that I said I root for both UK and UConn, and I do. But when they play against one another, I must confess I have and will pull for UConn every time. By this time, you've also probably guessed I like and follow sports, which I do. I enjoy playing and watching almost every "mainstream" sport (so no polo, lacrosse (sorry), underwater basket-weaving, etc.) with a few exceptions. Among the exceptions are hockey, which I watch occasionally but haven't played once and soccer, which I only watch casually during the World Cup.

So you might have thus far deduced that sports geeks me out, which they do. But a little more interestingly, things relating to aerospace peak my geek. Since I was very little, I have had an interest in things that move; not the living stuff as much, but the machines. Trains, construction equipment, military equipment, planes, helicopters, and space vehicles have always fascinated me, but the last three have always been especially interesting. I subscribe to Smithsonian Air & Space, the official magazine of the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, which keeps me informed of the happenings (both recent and historical) of the aerospace industry. I have also come to follow SpaceX, a private corporation dedicated to the idea of furthering human exploration of space founded by Elon Musk, a man who I consider a great visionary. I have read many books on the subject of the history and future of aerospace technologies, and have a number of books dedicated to that topic residing in my bookshelves. I find the past, present, and future of this technology to be fascinating. Anyway, I'm sure I've bored you thoroughly and despite the fact that there are several other things I like that I can go into excruciating detail about, I will leave you with a link to SpaceX's website and a picture of the Thunderbirds, the United States Air Force's jet demonstration team, flying their F-16 C/Ds in formation.

 http://www.spacex.com/

Assignment 1-Garrett

Hi, my name is Garrett.  Throughout my life I have always loved music. I haven’t always played an instrument well or been the one that went to all the concerts (in fact I have been only to one in my life), yet I always have thoroughly enjoyed a certain amount of empathy with many songs.  When looking back to childhood I don’t remember playing board games with my family. What I do remember playing is “What’s the name of the song and who sings it”. Almost every family road trip, drive to grocery store, or ride to school was filled with this game, once a song came on the radio we all yelled out our best guesses. Once we all had given our suggestions, our residential master of the song (my dad) would tell us what the song really was and who sang it. If you were really lucky, a rare thing would occur, you would know a song and artist who had stumped dad; and this is how you knew you won the game. I don’t mind listening to most genres of music but usually when I pick its classic rock.  My great appreciation of music steered me to start playing the guitar a year or two back. Creating music is truly a unique experience.

This year in school I hope to accomplish many things: I plan on doing my best when it comes to school, scoring well on my ACT and AP exams, and hopefully completing my Eagle Scout rank in boy scouts.  When it comes to my best in school, I realize I have a lot to live up to. Both my sisters did extremely well in high school and although I am very proud of both of them and where their lives are headed I realize to be on par with them my feet would still have to grow quite a bit. This is why when examining my goals for grades I simply want to do my best. That’s all anyone can ask for.  The most meaningful thing that happened to me this summer was both of my sisters leaving for college. This created a certain realization that everything in my life has already begun to change, that I was already on the path to adulthood.  If I could have any superpower I would want to be able to travel through and freeze time ; That way I would have more time for homework and be able to go buy stock in Microsoft when it was still outrageously cheap. 

A cool video:

A cool Website: http://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/

Assignment 1: Catherine

Hey there! My name is Catherine, and I am almost 17 years old.  I come from a big family (two sisters, one brother, and two dogs.)  Our house is always loud and crazy, but I love it!  I am a dancer, and I study dance technique, tap, and jazz.  Last school year, I was able to be apart of the dance production of Alice in Wonderland.  I also am involved in musical theater.  I have had the opportunity to perform in front of judges from Broadway and such at Junior Theater Festival.  I also was in the musical "Beauty and the Beast."  I played one of the three "silly girls" who act dumb and flirty.  This was a blast because this character is nothing like my personality.
This past summer, my family traveled to New Smyrna Beach, FL.  This is a small town about 50 miles south of Daytona.  I took my first surf lesson and successfully stood up on the board several times on my own.  I have to say that I felt pretty accomplished, as I figure that most guys in Lexington don't know how to surf or drive a stick shift.
I am very involved in Young Life.  I have gone to YL camp for the past two summers.  This is always a fantastic week because it gives me a chance to get closer with my friends, grow in my relationship with God, and do things that are way out of my comfort zone.  For example, this year, I was blobbed by a boy that probably weighed twice as much as me.  I flew higher than the blob tower and landed on my back.  Ouch!  Needless to say, I was left with an epic bruise.
Here is a link to my favorite music site... www.pandora.com
This is how I survive homework.  My favorite music station is "Today's Country."
Love this!


   My sweet friends!


    Aspen Family (at YL camp)

Assignment 1

Hi, I’m Thomas, and in case you haven’t figured out by now, I eat, breathe, and sleep sports. I have played soccer since before I could remember (my parents say the first thing I did once I learned to walk was kick a soccer ball, but I’m skeptical) and I partake in the occasional basketball and football pickup game. I’ve been a member of the varsity soccer team since freshman year and have been blessed to witness some memorable games. In addition, I am an avid UK sports fan. I follow the basketball and football team fairly closely, and have an innate hatred of Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, essentially any of Kentucky’s rivals. I live in the middle of nowhere on 10 acres of land with four horses, which we never seem to ride, and an empty chicken coup (the foxes and hawks got hungry). I used to play the guitar and piano regularly, not so much anymore, but my love for music hasn’t disappeared. I listen to anything from alternative to oldies to hip hop to the country music I am force-fed by my twin sisters and mother. The highlight of my summer was going to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands for a week, where I had the pleasure of relaxing at the beach, snorkeling, talking with the natives, and driving on the left side of the road for the first time in my life.

This is a picture of The Office, one of my favorite TV shows. I’ve no lifed it and seen all the episodes on Netflix, and watching most of them again still doesn’t get old. The only beef I have with the show is that the theme song is too catchy and gets stuck in my head every time I watch it.

  

My website is a link ESPN (shocker, I know) because in my spare time, I’m almost always checking scores or getting the latest scoop in the sports world. www.espn.com