Core Rules of Netiquette - Virginia Shea

Core Rules of Netiquette - by Shea

Rule 1. Remember the human

Everyone posting or reading mail is a person. Everything that you post and say can hurt other people’s feelings. When posting, proactively ‘put your shoes in other peoples shoes’. Do not post hateful messages or things that you would attempt not to say in real life. 

Rule 2. Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life. 

Do not violate any rules and regulations, or even bypassing the law.

Have a sense of moral standards.

Rule 3. Know where you are in cyberspace

Be aware of your surroundings, different audiences respond accordingly to their sensitiveness toward’s how they decode messages.

Rule 4. Respect other people’s time and bandwidth.

Before asking questions, check and research whether it has been answered before to not waste other people’s time.

Make sure messages are sent to the appropriate audience

If possible, frequently use private message rather than group messages if need be.

Rule 5. Make yourself look good online

Check grammar and spelling before sending

Do not post conflicting messages.

Rule 6. Share expert knowledge

Offer to extend your knowledge to other’s who need it. Sharing is caring.

Rule 7. Help keep flame wars under control 

Do not respond to hate messages, simply ignore. Ignore them.

Do not let your emotions get the better of you, it is a reflection of your EQ and personality as well as patience. 

Rule 8. Respect other people’s privacy

Do not read other people’s private messages

Rule 9. Don’t abuse your power

You are not inferior to anybody, you are vulnerable to anybody; so are others.

Everyone should be treated with equality

Rule 10. Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes.

Politely point out mistakes privately rather than publicly addressing them, as it embarrasses the individual. 

Do not present yourself to be arrogant or self-righteous; after-all, we are all just human and we are not perfect. 

Competitive Sports Should be Compulsory in Schools

The smell of winning in the air gradually inches closer as you race towards the finish line. One mistake, one minute error, one fault, is all it takes for others’ to finish a step ahead of you. Around the world, many children are trained to be professional athletes. The competitiveness in competitive sports is so intense that it’s not just about physical skills, but also about mental abilities. Life, after all is a game about survival of the fittest. 

Whilst some kids are not born athletes, naturally in their minds they would like to participate and ultimately to be a winner; it is only human nature. In sports, unfortunately there is only one winner - and it is in every human's blood, to be the only one standing on the podium, cheered by the crowds.

First and foremost, participating actively in any competitive arena forms a strong and concrete foundation for physique, cognition and mental infrastructure. With a solid mental training simultaneously built - one can keep their minds calm under intense pressure, which will enhance the performance of the physical side. 

Furthermore, it is unanimous that everybody loves to win and take pride in beating other people, and they certainly enjoy all the benefits that come along with it - fame, pride, honour, monetary gains, self-esteem, etcetera. Inarguably, winning is one of the best satisfactions of being human because it can enlarge an individual's power and in the animal kingdom it could mean territorial rights. Take for example tigers, they fight for territorial rights among each other because naturally, the one with power will be the herd leader and dictates over every other tiger. Professional athletes are not simply trained because of the sport itself, it is their job to be excellent, and in order to be the herd leader like the tigers, they indeed have to go through intense training, hard work, dedication and commitment so that they will be the only one to win. Only the number one spot can give them all the benefits that have been described above. 

Compulsory competitive sports also mimics competition in the real society - where everybody is fearless and is contending for the same thing. For example, people compete for promotions, money, fame, power, self-interest, etcetera. These kinds of competition are no different from competing in sports. They have to go through all the challenges and obstacles in order to achieve their desires. Therefore developing at a young age a strong mental, physical and emotional attitude is crucial for their forthcoming societal needs. They need to be prepared for the intense competition when they become grown ups. On a bigger context, a society without competition will be a society that is not advancing, and we would never be able to live in a better society as time prevails. 

Taking all of the above into account, compulsory sports can enhance people's’ attitude towards their life, as well as their physical, mental and social attributes. Therefore the importance of competitive sports should be acknowledged within schools and be mandatory. 

Internet - Impact

With the invention of the Internet, the speed of communication has speed up drastically that people from the last era could not have imagined. In the old days, it will take a letter a week or 3 weeks to its destination. Now e-mails has taken over the old form of letter, and to receive an e-mail it will only take nanoseconds. 

The speed of the Internet not only has improved in communication between friends and families, it has affected people in all different occupations such as business, retail, students and teachers, scientists, photographers, artists, musicians, etc. In the olden days, business’s were conducted through signing contracts face to face. All we need to do now is send an e-mail and reply with an agreement, and there you have one business transaction complete! 

In the old days, if you want to see or locate someone it would take days or weeks. With the introduction of the Internet, basically you can locate anyone anywhere in this world instantly. 

The most common way, and possibly the only way to locate people through the Internet is via social networking. Common social networking sites amongst people are Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Skype, MSN, etc. The advantages of social networking sites are that you can meet new people, chat to friends or colleagues whom you have not seem for a while, and maybe possibly connect with family members that you thought did not exist! 

Nowadays you can basically find anything you want to know on the Internet, anything. In principle, anything you want to learn, to clarify, to read, to teach, to watch, etc. You can find it in detail. In the old days it is almost impossible. You would have to go to an library to find out just one specific topic, and that would take you ages. 

The introduction of the Internet has also promote the introduction of the e-book, which has drastically minimized the cost of reading to readers. And purchase of books have now become eco-friendly as no papers are involved. You can now store up to thousands of books because of the computer. Whereas in the old days, you would need a big room to do the same thing. 

The above are only subtopics that I have touched a little on. The subtopics are mainly about how the Internet has changed the way we live. In the bigger picture, it has changed all facets of this world, including medicine, arts, history, wars, politics, philosophy, science, etc. It will take pages to describe the effects of this invention that has affected all the above. 

Can you imagine having just one day of not having any Internet? People of today must have Internet, if not there would be severe consequences. Business would take months to complete transactions, banks would take ages to process, friends inability to find long-lost-friends, it would be like going back to the dark-medieval ages. 

Rugby World Cup 2011

As you may be able to tell from the title, yes it is the Rugby World Cup '2011' and now it is 2012. But nevertheless, I thought I would include this short research paper I did in class.

What is the game of rugby about? Originating from the 19th Century, rugby football is a branch of football. Rugby was first developed in England. Rugby has developed from being an local sport into an internationally celebrated icon. Rugby is not a common sport played amongst Asian people. 

During the 19th Century, there were no regulations for rugby. You could have 2 people, to up to 100 or more attendees. Thus making the sport a contact sport where many get injured. 

“Rugby is one of the largest international sporting competitions in the world”. The Rugby World Cup is held every 4 years, where many countries compete over who should be the right host. Fortunately, New Zealand will be 2011’s Rugby World Cup host. 

At 41º South of the equator is a country made up of 203 small islands inhabited and uninhabited. 20% of New Zealand is mountainous. The highest place you can get in New Zealand is Mt. Cook 3754m. Latitude: 43º35’44.69”S Longitude: 170º8”27.75”E. There are 3 main islands: North Island, South Island and Stewart Island. 

On a map, New Zealand lies far from the equator, but has a temperate weather. Temperate weather climate zones are the most comfortable to be in. 24ºC average in summer and around 9ºC in the winter of Auckland. Temperatures in New Zealand vary from the North to the South Islands, 16º to 10º during spring, which is an excellent climate to be doing active outdoor sports such as rugby, football, rock climbing etc. 

	Summer Average Weather	Winter Average Weather
New Zealand	24º	9º
South Africa	26º	7º
Japan	27º	0º

Since only 20% of New Zealand is of mountain ranges, it is a good place for growing crops and agriculture, as well as for farming and sheep herding. Most New Zealanders are relocating or are already located in Canterbury (Christchurch), Bay of Plenty (Tauranga), Waikato and Otago. Many New Zealanders have relocated from Auckland to places such as the above. 

New Zealand’s population as of now is 4,290,347 approximately. New Zealand is the 126th most populated place on Earth.

	Population
New Zealand	4,400,000
South Africa	50,004,031
Japan	127,960,000

The capitol Auckland, is the most populated urban area in the country, with 1,354,900 residents; one third of the countries population. New Zealand is not known for its own cuisine, since they do not have their own type of cuisine. Instead they use diverse cultured foods such as British, Mediterranean and Pacific foods all in one. Auckland is a extremely low crime-rate city, in fact New Zealand is 52nd overall compared to other countries around the world. 

People all across New Zealand are all friendly and highly intellectual. 

Because of the small amount of population, there is no problem in traffic congestion. Since Auckland has a very convenient subway system, this makes Auckland the perfect spot for hosting big major events such as the Rugby World Cup. 

Giving all the benefits of this country. No doubt this is a great choice to be hosting major events such as the Rugby World Cup. 

With all the positive attributes of New Zealand there is no doubt that the “International Rugby Board (IRB) have selected New Zealand as the host country instead of Japan or South Africa.” 

Works Cited

http://www.allcountries.org/maps/world_map_menu.html

http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/weather-and-climate.html

http://www.emigratenz.org/MovingToNewZealand.html

http://www.roughguides.com/website/travel/destination/content/?titleid=83&xid=idh185804920_0099

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10712838

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081210195700AASbXVc

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

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

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

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmcumeds/99/99ap22.htm

知足長樂

Here I have what I myself consider my first well written Chinese piece of work. It talks about what makes me happy and it gives two examples of what an happy and unhappy person would do. The two examples are based on a person who is wealthy, and one that is poor - the different ways in which people think.

“知足常樂”

中國人為什麼要說知足長樂這句話呢？

我知足長樂的原因是因為我很幸福，我每一天起床的時候我問自己快不快樂。中國人會說知足長樂所以我每一天都會快樂。最普通的東西我都有：一對眼睛，鼻子，口，雙腿，雙手，每一天都有地方住，能上學，洗澡，有清水喝，衣服穿，等等。

“不知足的感覺”

我每一天起床的時候，我每一分鐘都在想東西不夠，要多一點兒，什麼都要想多一點兒。我現在已經有兩對鞋子，但我想要買多五對。我已經有一個勞斯萊斯，但我還想要多兩家法拉利。我已經吃了兩碗魚翅，我還要多三個鮑魚。為什麼我每一天多這樣想呢？為什麼我每一天都不快樂？我買了那麼多東西，我還不快樂！

讓人快樂的不一定是有錢或物質化的東西，而且也不是在上面提出的東西。讓人知足長樂的是一重心態。知足的感覺已經令我很快樂。

Letter Home - World War 1 (Fiction)

Dear Mama and Papa,


How are you doing back in England? Hope all is well. Here at the Western Front it is a living hell.


All day we dig trenches, and pray to God that we do not get hit by enemy artillery bombardment. The trenches are narrow, possibly only able to fit 2 people in a spot. The trenches run along forever, I have never seen the other side of the trench though. You are lucky you aren’t in my position haha. All my friends have vanished, off the face of this earth, and my only best friend is my weapon, the Lee Enfield 0.303 rifle. I sleep, fight, eat and whatever you can name with my weapon.


I am eager to come home, but Sergeant Chapman says we won’t be coming home any sooner. Every now and then, there is a ripple of machine gun fire in the air. It is frightening to hear bullets whiz right next to your ear. It’s almost like there is a beehive right next to you, and if you move, the bees would sting you (but in our case, the bullets would take your life).


Yesterday was possibly the worst day yet, we had just captured an enemy trench, but the floor was half full of mud and water. We started draining it, but our work soon became needless. The captors before us already had buried their dead in the mud. The place was full of rotten, swollen, bodies. The smell, it smelt.... like vomit, mixed along with.... you know... it was basically vomit and human waste and everything altogether.


Yesterday I even witnessed a soldier who shot himself, and sacrificed his leg for his eagerness of homesickness. He couldn’t bare it no more here in the trench. He said “Harry, I am going home to my wife and kids. I’ll be some use to them as a cripple, but none at all dead!” and he pointed his gun at his toe, and squeezed the trigger. Instantaneously two of his toes blew off, and the others were left hanging by a thread. That was how far some soldiers would go, they would do such extreme things to themselves to get home. Let’s hope I am not that fast on the trigger.


Everyday I have to put up with the intolerable stench of corpses, possibly dead or alive. The bodies had been exposed for days, all swollen and mostly burst. All we can do is hope we can move soon to a new trench. But rarely will we find one without at least 50 bodies for the least. As I said, trench life is a living hell.


Mama and Papa, is it Christmas time yet? We don’t have time to keep track of dates here in the battlefield, have you had your turkey yet? Haha, our feasts rarely get any special. All we have are tea and dog biscuits. On rare occasions would we get meat, possibly once every 2 weeks (that would be considered lucky). Never would we get a second of comfort, and we would have to eat the most terrible of terrifying foods,while dipping our feet in cold, damp, wet water and put up with the smell of dead corpses.


Many soldiers would get frostbite or trench foot as they call it. It is almost a sensation of someone trying to pull out the bullet that was fired into your shoulder, just that its 100 times worst. The eerie feel lasts forever, never stopping, your feet start to swell, swelling 3 times above the regular size. Your foot would be completely numb, and someone could even stab a bayonet into your toe and you wouldn’t feel it. Many of the soldiers end up amputating their feet.


Each and every second us soldiers live by the fear of getting hit by an enemy sniper. It seems like the enemy snipers are equipped with some fancy scopes. As soon as we hear a sound or echo in the distance, we have to follow the order of hit the deck. Although there is the wary of disgust on the floor, it is for our own protection that we hit the deck when we hear a sound pop off in the distance. The snipers only pop off a few rounds to keep us occupied when we think its the safest time in the day. Most of the time, they don’t manage to hit us, but occasionally they sometimes do.


The rest of the German army charge forward towards our traverse (Front Line Trench if you would like), but they are stupid, and blind enough not to see the wire obstacles, and the barbed wire entanglements just 40 yards out of us. I mean seriously... Would you not see a whole line of stupid glittering silvery stuff? Come on... Oh well, its unfortunate for them that most of the time the raids fail.


Just recently there were some curious activities just a few clicks off of our trench camp. I’m not sure exactly what it was, but it had some smell of garlic. Sergeant Chapman stated it was some sort of gas...? Ah... I recall now.. Sergeant Chapman called it Mustard Gas I think. He said that to all the traitors who tried to run would be caught by the Germans for some reason. And they would get caught and be exposed to Mustard Gas (he said to keep it a secret between him and I). He said it would lead to death if too exposed. Phew I ain’t nowhere close to any of that stuff. What a relief.


It is so frightening here. Everyday I am opened to seeing all my friends dying, (now that they are all dead) I feel very lonesome. I do not know what to do. All I can keep thinking about is Mama and Papa at home. I’ve seen some of our machine gun post men ordered by our own Lieutenant to light up any deserters, or either let them run away and get captured by the Germans by waving a white flag. Our Lieutenant is very harsh, and he takes everything deep down to his heart. He is sort of like those patriotic-militaristic-and-imperialistic people.


Mama, have you ever wondered to yourself why humans go to war? Well lately, this question constantly comes across my mind. And honestly, even though I am experiencing front line trench warfare I can’t give you a definitive answer.


Papa, how is work? Doing good old man? Must be hell of a struggle to be making cash, or is it the other way around? Haha. How’s the weather doing back there? Although the frontline’s of Verdun seem like a hell of a crisis, the weather is the absolute best I could have wished for. According to my new buddy Richard Beasley (he’s an weather expert) he says the Northern part of France is in an temperate climate zone, which is marvelous (you could say I fished my wish). Beasley says we are in the better side of France in terms of weather: The South-east is full of an Mediterranean climate. The West is in an oceanic weather zone, and inland, it’s not the best pick out of the 4. You know what? When I come back, and I mean when I come back from this living hell. I probably would like to come back to London and become a geologist or a historian! In fact, that is exactly what I am going to do!


Anyways, how is Joan doing? Haven’t been in touch with her for a while. Please tell her that I kindly send a Hi from the frontline of the Battle of Verdun haha, and tell her I will be coming back soon. Please tell her I love her as well.


Yours truly,
Private First Class Harry Patch

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the fourth longest river in the world at 2230 miles ( 3730 km). It spreads from 31 states in the United States to two provinces in Canada. It is the second longest river system in the US, starting from the river source at Northwestern Minnesota to the river mouth the Gulf Of Mexico.  

Historically, the Mississippi River came from Ojibwa and was named “Michi Sepe” which translated means Great River. The name was created by Lieutenant Henri De Tonti. Many native “American tribes have had faith in this river”. But today, the name of the river has formed into the Mississippi River. 

Presently, the river is used for many things such as amusement, mostly for water sports. Also the water in the Mississippi River is very important to some industrial residents in the nearby area because of the drinking water produced by the Mississippi River, it is very important that it is clean!  If you haven’t noticed, the Mississippi River looks pretty a like to a shipping port, many barges and ships dock and import many things such as agriculture and industrial goods. 

Recreation: The Mississippi River catches many people locally, and internationally, it is also famous for its recreational purposes. Many people go their to go on barges, steamboats or even go canoeing, it is most famous for water sports such as water-skiing. But there are many more different things, it is not just all about water! Its about nature! There are many national parks, nature trials. 

Issues or Problems: It is said that the Mississippi River has four major problems with pollution, bacteria pollution, nutrient pollution, toxic pollution and sediment pollution. A report from the 1990’s stated that there were many toxic pollution of organic and inorganic materials. Mostly referring to metals and heavy metals.  

Start of the River: Mississippi River goes through many states in the United States, and starts from Lake Itasca, Minnesota, New Orleans, Louisiana Minneapolis, St. Louis, Memphis, Tennessee, Los Angeles, St. Paul and Baton Rouge and begins its flow to the Gulf of Mexico. One of its main tributaries is the Missouri River. Because of developed tributaries in the area, the water quality of the has changed the Mississippi and the Gulf Of Mexico. 

Up Stream:  The Mississippi River starting from its source to the confluence in the Ohio River. The Upper Mississippi River is divided into three parts: 

• The headwaters 493 miles (793 km) headwaters is the closest stream from the source. 
• Man made lakes 
• Middle of the Mississippi River

River Source: 

The river starts from Lake Itasca, Minnesota. Lake Itasca is also connected by some other smaller streams. The whole river has 41 dams in between lakes, confluences, etc. The most closest lock and dam is in Upper Saint. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis. As the closer to a lock and dam, the elevation of a river gets drops inch by inch closer to sea level.  

Tributaries: The confluence of the Mississippi River is where the Mississippi and the Ohio River meet. And from the Ohio River and downwards towards the Gulf Of Mexico it is called the Lower Mississippi River. During the whole course of the Mississippi, it consists of 250 tributaries, a few major tributaries are: the White River in east central Arkansas. What is a opposite of a tributary? The opposite of a tributary is a distributary. A distributary is a branch of river that does not connect. And an example of that is: the Atchafalaya River in Louisiana.   

Water Shed: The Mississippi has the fourth largest drainage basin in this world. The drainage basin covers all over all 31 states and 2 provinces in Canada. The river basin then flows to the Gulf Of Mexico for about 100 miles. The Mississippi River drains the majority of the area from one side of the country to the other side.   

The river system for the Mississippi River down to the Gulf Of Mexico, including all 31 states. 

The Gulf Of Mexico is the ninth largest coverage of water in the world. The Gulf Of Mexico is landlocked and is surrounded by North America and Cuba. It is considered part of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The deepest part of the Gulf Of Mexico reaches up to 4384 meters deep. Due to the connection of the Gulf and the Atlantic, the Gulf has very small tidal ranges.  The Gulf receives water from 33 major lakes or rivers from 31 states across the US. It supports many fishing and shipping companies. The reason why it supports many fishing companies is because: the outer border of the Gulf the Florida and the Yucatan receive more cooler water which gets rich quality nutrients by a process known as upwelling, which increases plankton growth, which then attracts more sea creatures such as fish, squid, crabs etc. It is also one of the warmest bodies of water in the world. 

What is the connection between the Gulf Of Mexico and Mississippi River? The connection between both the Mississippi and the Gulf is, the Mississippi’s river water flow down to the river mouth, which supposedly is a bigger stream of water e.g. lake, sea, ocean etc. So the Gulf Of Mexico is the river mouth for the Mississippi River, meaning that the water flows into the Gulf Of Mexico... 

Pollution: There major problems in the Gulf as you see on the Newspapers. Many oil spills have occurred in the vicinity. There are 27000 abandoned oil and gas wells hidden in the Gulf. Not just oil spills from the oil or gas wells, but also from shipping companies that have tonnes and tonnes  of oil on board and when either the ship explodes... Or the ship sinks... Or maybe even the oil just gets spilt. 

Works cited:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_River

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Mexico

Math - Laws of Indices

As I stated before, my school is quite slow at teaching Maths (at least thats what I think). Currently in Year 9, we have started algebra - 2 unknown variables. We have learnt the Law of Indices application is very important, not only are its uses limited only to scientific notation, but it also extends to algebra.

Here are the rules for the 6 different laws of indices.

Rule 1: a^m x aⁿ = a^m+n 

The first rule implies when two bases are the same, but indices are different. This cannot occur when the bases are different. The rule for multiplying is to add the two powers together, and not multiply the bases. 

Ex.1) 9² x 9⁵ =9⁷

Ex.2) 7⁶ x 7⁹ = 7¹⁵

What not to do: 4³ x 4⁶ = 16¹⁰ 

Rule 2: a^m ÷ aⁿ= a^m-n

The second rule implies in division, the bases must be the same but indices may be different. When dividing similar bases with different indices, you subtract indices. 

Ex.1) 10² ÷ 10⁷ = 10^{-5 =} 0.00001

Ex.2) 8⁹ ÷ 8³ = 8^{6 =} 262144

What not to do: 9⁹ ÷ 9⁴ = 1⁵ 

Rule 3: (a^m)ⁿ = a^mn 

For this rule, do not times the number in the brackets by the power. You must first times the power inside the brackets by the one on the outside. After multiplying the powers, then you may multiply the base by the power.

Ex.1) (7³)² = (7)^{6 =} 117649

Ex.2) (3⁷)² = (3)¹⁴ = 4782969

Rule 4: a⁰ = 1 (a≠0)

This rule is simple, whatever number the base is does not matter. If the power is 0, the base is out of the equation. The answer to any number to the power of 0 will be 1. 

Ex.1) 9998324230948324⁰ = 1

Ex.2) 5⁰ = 1

Rule 5: a^-m = 1/a^m

This rule implies whenever the power is a negative number. Simply put the base to the power over 1.  

Ex.1) 5^-3 = 1/5³ = 125

Ex.2) 8^-6 = 1/8⁶ = 262144 

Warning: Do not put the negative sign in front of the power.

Rule 6: a^1/m = 

The last rule implies when the power appears in a form of a fraction. 

Ex.1) 9^1/2 = 2√9 = 3

Ex.2) 125^2/3 = (³√125)²  = 5² = 25

Attributes of an Entrepreneur

There are many many many, entrepreneurs who fail. But if you become a successful entrepreneur, you can be a billionaire! But an entrepreneurs journey is painful, and lonely. Are you that type of person with these characteristics? :

Famous inspirational entrepreneurs who I personally  am inspired by are:
•Sir Richard Branson (Known for his own enterprise Virgin)
• Duncan Bannatyne. Net-worth £430m.
• Sam Walton, although deceased Sam Walton started from scratch to build up an empire of Wal-Mart.
• Steve Jobs, deceased, passed away few days ago. He said in one of his speeches, 'Stay foolish, Stay Hungry'.


Even though you may have the attributess of an entrepreneur, are you capable of becoming one? An entrepreneur has to require quite a lot of luck. Lets take Sir Richard Branson for instance, narrowly escaping death 4 times. Once on the Virgin Atlantic Challenger attempting to break a world record of crossing the Atlantic Ocean. On his second attempt on the Atlantic Ocean crossing, in reward for the Blue Riband he successfully beat the world record. His other 3 death stories all come along in a hot air balloon. Once trying to fly around the world in a helium-propelled hot air balloon, and twice trying to cross the Pacific Ocean.

But not only has he managed to narrowly escape his fate, he has also successfully started his company Virgin Airlines, even though previous airline, Lakers Airways was brought to an abrupt failure in competing against (at the time) British Airways. But Virgin Airlines successfully overcame all odds, and astonished the whole world, including Sir Freddie Laker himself.

Computer Systems

Technology is involved in our every day life. The most used piece of technology are; cars, computers, telephones, WiFi etc. We use the technology around us, but do we know what the function of them are? How they work?

Over the last 3 IT lessons, we have learnt about the 6 key components and one of the few operating systems, in our case Linux (Ubuntu). We also took apart a desktop PC, and located the 6 key components, consisting of:

Motherboard
RAM (Random Access Memory)
Harddrive (HDD)/ (SSD)
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
Powersupply
Case

The 6 key components are included in all computers, Macs, PC's, Desktops, Laptops, Netbooks, etc.

But computers don't just work by the 6 Key Components themselves, we use the 4 layer model to describe the system.

Hardware - The mechanism of the computer. The 6 key components of a computer.

Software - The system that it uses, the way it runs. Software coding, different applications from one another etc.

Network - Wireless LAN, WiFi, connecting from one person to another such as ping-ing

4. People - Without people the computer is useless. People create the applications, social networking sites, websites, etc.

Each of the 6 key components have their own unique jobs.

Motherboard - The job of the motherboard is to 'connect' all the wires, cables, components etc altogether. The motherboard also is a structural support system for the RAM (to hold it in place) and CPU, etc.

(The large green beef jerky)

RAM - The RAM is a temporary memory storage system. In order for the RAM to be enabled to use the memory, you have to first open some applications from the HDD or SS, and then the applications then move to the RAM. The less RAM you have, the less applications it can handle. Thus causing lag. The RAM is a much faster in-comparison to the HDD/ SSD.  

(The green beef jerky)

Harddrive - The Harddrive is the permanent computer memory. Once the computer is booted up, the Harddrive launches the OS in our case a Linux OS 'Ubuntu'. Once the laptop/ desktop is booted up, you can launch your applications from there. It passes on the information or applications that are being used to the RAM, which then get transferred to the CPU. The Harddrive is a very slow piece of equipment. Thus, we now have developed a new component called the Solid State Drive (SSD). 

(The heavy, slow, faulty Hard Disk Drive)

CPU - As the name speaks for itself, the CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the central area of processing data, which gets projected on your laptop/ desktop screen. The CPU also processes applications, games, etc. which then is projected onto the screen.

(Metal flap is the shield of the CPU. Little 'hook' on the left of the image)

(CPU Chip. If you flip the CPU chip over, you can see a little gold triangle in one of the corners)

The 'little golden triangle' is for you to make sure you insert the CPU back into its shield the right way.


Powersupply - Again, the name tells you all about it! The power supply supplies the main components with electric currents. 

(The large wire is the powersupply wire coming out from the powersupply unit)

Case - The function of the case is simple, to protect the internal competents, and to act as a external barrier and infrastructure. The case is built with many holes around, the 'holes' can be audio jacks, USB ports, Ethernet ports etc. 

(The case of the PC is located to the left, and has already been removed)

How to take apart a PC (Desktop)
Steps:
1. Unscrew all screws that are holding down the case.
2. Get a camera to record each step, and each process.
3. Start unplugging all the wires slowly and cautiously. If there are some wires that are hard to pull, do not forcefully pull them out. 
4. Then slowly, lift a hook-like object which holds down the CPU, and then carefully take out the CPU chip. Note - CPU looks like a SD Card, and is covered by metal. 
5. Then locate the RAM, the RAM looks like 3 long pieces of green beef jerky. There are 2 levers, after lifting the two will release the 2 / 3 pieces of RAM
6. Locate all the screws that are holding the Motherboard down, and unscrew all of them. Note - The motherboard looks like a large piece of green beef jerky. The motherboard is the component that is at the bottom. 
7. Basically, that's all to it! ... 
8. Except, after you finis taking apart your PC, and finished reassembling it. You may also consider installing an OS (Operating System), we used an Linux OS called Ubuntu. All you need to do for installing an OS, is simply click on your mouse, and wait. 
9. Enjoy the process! 


After having fun taking apart your PC and venturing through all the different components, and after you finish installing your OS. Then you can connect to an network, and start interacting with other people on the web.


Connect to a Router - "Use an RJ45 cable to connect your computer to a router."


Talk to Another Computer - 
"Open up Terminal
Find your IP Address 
Ping a friend/ colleague etc. - ping (classmate IP)"


Pinging websites - 
Open up Terminal
type in: host www.(whatever website you wish to go to).com
Terminal should then unfold 6 or more lines with numbers that read 72.14.203.106 etc. Not all of them will be the same, since the website may have multiple server locations
After that, you can simply copy '72.14.203.106' to your web browser and it should lead you to Google
That is to find the host server location
To cancel the 'requests' press Control C (On Mac) 
Then type: ping www.(whatever website you wish to go to).com and numbers should flow out again. 
You can also use them for connecting to the website you so wished for.


My Personal Experience with Computers
Being honest with you, I've never understood a computer. I've never been good at using one, and probably never will be as good as other classmates of mine. I've always been inept about how they work and how to use them. 


I only learn the primary things about them, such as how to use documents, how to save your work, how to access your e-mail and so on. 


So I have gained valuable knowledge and experiences throughout this whole entire unit, although it has not finished yet. I've learnt more in-depth about how computers work, how they are built, and how the interior looks. In fact, I've never thought once before outside of school, how does a computer connect to a network, (seriously, no joking). If I would have not been involved in this unit, I would never have acquired the knowledge about the 6 key components of a computer, and how they work. Ironically, all of those 6 key components are used in things such as mobile phones, televisions, printers, etc. 

What we do in Music Class

On this blog, I've never introduced what we do in music class. Although we won't be attending any more music classes this year, last year we had lots of fun.

Eagles - Wasted Time

For one of our projects, we used a file like the above, and copied it into a software called Finale Notepad. And then, we had to add our own tracks to it such as Riff, Harmony, Melody, etc. And it was a fun process for me to translate the notes from Scribd to the actual Finale Notepad document as we had to punch out every note individually with our trackpad. And I ended up making 4 more extra tracks, and it sounds really well!

Candy Man - Roald Dahl

I don't read poems often, I'm not even sure this piece of writing by Roald Dahl is even classified as a poem or not. But I guess I'll call it a poem for now.

As you know Roald Dahl writes stories and 'poems' for young child readers. I haven't read any of his books yet, apart from Boy which we studied in our English class. But apart from that I haven't picked up any of his books. I hope to pick one up soon, after I finish reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain).

Just one or two months back, I remember hearing my friend perform this poem for our Trinity Exams. Our Trinity Exams are a effective way to practice your public speaking abilities in front of a unknown audience. A examiner flew all the way from London to come visit our school. It was a optional choice of weather to take part in it. And one-third of our class took part in revising four minutes of solid writing. We were given the span of two months to memorize four minutes of writing, one prose and the other a poem. (Note - I did not take part).

But anyways, I was interested in a piece of poem that my friend chose (which is the Candy Man) - Roald Dahl. Just because it was a nice and simple piece of writing that reflects someone being happy. It gave me the feeling of being a young kid in Primary School.

Candy Man - Roald Dahl

Who can take a sunrise, sprinkle it with dew

Cover it in chocolate and a miracle or two

The candy man, the candy man can

The candy man can 'cause he mixes it with love

And makes the world taste good

Who can take a rainbow, wrap it in a sigh

Soak it in the sun and make a strawberry–lemon pie

The candy man, the candy man can

The candy man can 'cause he mixes it with love

And makes the world taste good

Willy Wonka makes everything he bakes

Satisfying and delicious

Talk about your childhood wishes

You can even eat the dishes

Who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream

Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream

The candy man, the candy man can

The candy man can 'cause he mixes it with love

And makes the world taste good

And the world tastes good'

Cause the candy man thinks it should


If your interested in viewing my friends blog please go and check it out!
Her name is Phyllis and she has a lot of content that can be interesting!
Hoped you enjoy.

PSE - Introducing our planet Earths so called different 'Relationships'

On our planet Earth their are so many different types of relationships, for example - girlfriend/ boyfriend, friends, family, pets, animals, etc...

This is a letter to give a brief knowledge of relationships on our Earth. This was meant to be a letter to write to Aliens assuming they have never came to our planet Earth.

4 April 2011

Aliens from Mars,

Aliens,

Somewhere in Mars, 

Milky Way, Universe

Dear Aliens,

I have heard that many of you are interested in visiting our planet ‘Earth’. And on our planet earth there are a few things that may be of importance to you. One important quality on earth that is existent on earth and not mars is relationships. You might be thinking, ‘what are relationships?’ well, relationships are the connection between people. In simpler words, how well people get along. For example, me writing this letter to you is a form of relationship. 

But there are at the same time many complicated and sophisticated relationships. Such as marriage and divorce. How marriage and divorce occurs is when 2 people have interest in each other, and start spending time together, and this can be called love. But not all people marry because they love (but I’ll get to that later, just to keep things simple for now). And as time goes on, some will choose to get married, which means to be legally announced husband and wife. But also, there could be a negative outcome where people can breakup or divorce. Currently the divorce rate is 50% in the US. 

Other reasons why people would marry (putting aside love), is for money. A main concern for a lot of human beings on this world is money, money is the key to surviving. There was a documentary on National Geographic about a wife murdering her husband just to claim his life insurance. Another troublesome part of divorce is if you have children, the jury decides on which party should have custody over the child, and also the act that one party will have to split half the money to the opposing party. 

If you are interested in coming to our planet earth, one thing you might want to consider knowing about is how to form good relationships. As relationships are very useful and can play a big role, such as finding a job. The best way to have a good relationship is to be neutral, and to not know everything about the other person. Also find a person who has the same personalities and qualities that suite you. 

Best of luck on our planet ‘Earth’.  

Sincerely yours,

Fung

If I Was A Superhero

Have you ever thought of what you would like to be in the future when you get older? What kind of occupation would you like to be? Lot of parents would want their children to be doctors, lawyers, dentists, jobs that make a lot of cash... But have you thought of wanting to be a superhero? It may sound stupidly fiction, but its just funny and creative you know!  All the superpowers are quite silly but that was just made for the sake of fun.. So enjoy as usual!

ReSpawn

I have the ability to seek through walls, have infrared vision; I can fly 10 times the speed of sound. My fists are as powerful as a cannon. I have the power of staying under water for 4 hours… And I do not have to eat for 15 days without water either. I have ears, which will pick up every word you say from a 5-kilometer radius, so watch what you say! My brain is made of organic material, and has faster calculations and speed than any computer on the planet.

I also can lift up heavy weight objects such as a cargo container. But the most important thing is, I will protect my country at all costs.

And to all those bad villains out there;

I will look for you,I will find you,

And I will put you behind bars,

If that's not enough for you, I will destroy you.

Stillness Speaks - Eckhart Tolle

I realize that I have posted a post that has the same title as above. But this is the other prose I was talking about. And the prose was taken out of the first page of this book. This is the other piece I had to recite:

When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world. 


Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form.


                                                    ~
Stillness is your essential nature. What is stillness? The inner space or awareness in which the words on this page are being perceived and become thoughts. Without that awareness, there would be no perception, no thoughts, no world.


You are that awareness, disguised as a person.


                                                     ~
The equivalent of external noise is the inner noise of thinking. The equivalent of external silence is inner stillness.


Whenever there is some silence around you – listen to it. That just means notice it. Pay attention to it. Listening to silence awakens the dimensions of stillness within yourself, because it is only through stillness that you can be aware of silence.


See that in the moment of noticing the silence around you, you are not thinking. You are aware, but not thinking. 


                                                    ~
When you become aware of silence, immediately there is that state of inner still alertness. You are present. You have stepped out of thousands of years of collective conditioning. 


                                                    ~
Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it. How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being. Allow nature to teach you stillness. 



I understand that some readers will not necessarily like this prose, as the book is a spiritual and in a way religious book which not every reader likes to read. Eckhart Tolle teaches you how to be happy in life. The book gives you a good feeling to feel calm in any circumstances. 


Hope you enjoyed it, but I do understand some readers don't like such books. Thanks!