Friday, November 10, 2006
Reading in CyberSpace?!?!Journal Entry Answer for Grade 10, #5http://books.google.com/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l2nrbmBQXghttp://books.google.com/googleprint/library.htmlGoogle Book Search is a tool from Google that searches the full text of books that Google scans and stores in its digital database. This service, formerly known as Google Print, has caused some controversy. Google Book Search offers 'snippets' of books and full views of books, and has been considered
illegal. What one fails to recognize is that Google Book Search's
links to books, much like all major search engines
link to websites and use thumbnails to
link to images. If Google Book Search is illegal, then all search engines are, too.
1. People have claimed that Google Book Search is not 'fair use' meaning that it is copyright infringement. But the law states that, it one receives permission ro reproduce copyrighted work, it is legal. Google Book Search does do this, it does contact the authors and publishers, and uses how much that they want to be used, no more, no less. Google Book Search's goal is to work with publishers, authors, and libraries, to create an extensive and searchable virtual card catalog of all books in all languages, that helps its users discover new books, and for publishers to discover new readers. This interaction gives Google a chance to broaden its audience, and profit from it.
2. Google, being a huge website, has its competitors, Namely being Yahoo! and Microsoft (including MSN). Google is quickly evolving, and so Yahoo! and Microsoft will have to step up its game. For example, when Microsoft basked in the glory of owning Hotmail, an extremely popular email server, Google responded by creating G-Mail, and making it better than Hotmail. Microsoft retaliated by creating Window Live Mail, even better than G-Mail. When Yahoo! sat back and enjoyed its success of its new Yahoo! Video search, Google acted and bought YouTube, a rapidly growing website consisting of videos (usually home-made) uploaded by ordinary people.
3. Google Book Search has made an impact on the access to information. When the internet was first made domestic, people found less of a need to go to libraries to research for information. But the need was still there, no matter how small. Now, with Google Book Search, this need has become even smaller. We can no access books that we cannot get in libraries.
4. I do not think librarians will be threatened by this new development. The official Google Book Search website invited librarians to lend them book so they can scan. Librarians are joining Google Book Search, but there is still need for libraries, for entertainment reading.
5. Google Book Search sounded very interesting, and I was a little bit excited when I first heard of it. Being an avid reader myself, I tried Google Book Search before I started writing this blog. I found it quite disappointing. Most of the 'Full View' books were really old, like early 1900's old. Google Book Search offered a variety of different books for research, but very little for leisure reading, and that is what I like to do. I know I will not be a regular user of Google Book Search.
Words: 514
2:50 PM; unforgotten.Y
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
What Makes YOU Special: The Genographic ProjectJournal Entry Answer for Grade 10, #4http://www.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/http://www.ibm.com/industries/healthcare/genographic/index.jsp?P_Campaign=6N3EWS5In the space of just a few thousand generations, the linguistic, cultural and genetic diversity of the human race has exploded. Scientists agree that all humans share a common ancestry in Africa. Much less well understood is how the human race migrated out of Africa and became so diverse. To discover more about this ancestral journey, IBM and National Geographic have launched the Genographic Project, a five-year study which will collect a massive sample of human DNA to put together a map of how humans populated the planet.
There has been many scientific and technological advancements made in order to make this project possible. The main one, of course, would be sample DNA testing. Just a simple swab of your inner cheek can tell you tons of information about you. This information is needed to trace your lineage. Another advancement would be that of computer software. A program must have been created to produce a map of our world, and then trace our ancestors footsteps across the globe. As information is slowly collected, the researches of this project will need to access and update this map quickly and easily. An example of this map is on the National Geographic Genographic Project website.
This is a recent project. Certainly, the theory of all humans originating in Africa has been stumbled on before, but why hasn't anyone delved deeper before now? The answer lies in the quickly advancing technology. 100 years ago, this could not be possible. People did not have computers, and they did not have DNA testing. Records could have been made on paper by pen, but what records could be made without DNA testing? 25 years ago, DNA may have been practiced, but not accurately.
As stated above, the Genographic Project is recent, but the theory of African hereditary has been though of before. The Project has been started now because we are in the Age of Technology. All the technology around us is quickly evolving, so what better time is there for this technology-savvy project? With resources close at hand, and groups of other techno-savvy people around, this is a time to explore and dive deep.
Indigenous peoples are the people who originated or lived in an area or environment. Indigenous groups are important to this project because they are the people that we know off hand have a direct relationship to the peoples who first inhabited a land. Since this project is about finding ancestors, indigenous people offer a great help when they volunteer to be DNA tested, because they're DNA is so close to the people who were here way before anyone else was.
Words: 438
4:59 PM; unforgotten.Y
When War Meets Video GamesJournal Entry Answer for Grade 10, #3http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,61515-1.html?tw=wn_story_page_next11. War games are so popular now because they give the player control and power. They get to destroy, kill, and give orders. They can't do this in reality. The player gets to control what is happening in the game, and is rewarded by points, so that they keep on playing.
2. "If it's not real, it's not realistic" is a quote in the article. I do not think realistic war games desensitize people to the horror of war. War video games are solely for entertainment purposes. People don't play it because they want to get used to and realize war, they play these video games for fun. War video games are horrific like war, but in no way can they prepare you for it. You're just sitting there with a controller in your hands, watching people die...that's not what
war is.
3. I personally think war video games are horrible. They give bad messages to the youth of today. The government tries to stop criminal acts done by youths, but what they do not know is that these youths are influenced by a factor sitting in their very own homes. A young child will oftentimes try to imitate the character that he or she plays in the game, bullying, fighting, and ordering around other kids. War video games give the message that war, and killing, is fun. That is why kids end up in jail, because they want to take their video game experience past the television screen to real life. There is a lot of graphic violence, gore, and antisocial behavior. Some war video games also pose as propaganda, twisting and distorting the reality of war. Since video games are often repetitive (if you lose your 'life', you will most likely have to start at the beginning, and do eveything over), the effect is rehearsal in behavior for violent activity. Too much exposure to war video games can lead to aggressive thoughts, emotions, and actions, as if the person is still playing the game, except in reality. They will try to apply the tactics learned in the game to real life. For example, solving a problem with force rather than discussion.
Words: 356
4:01 PM; unforgotten.Y
PROFILE
LIANE s2
Liane is in Grade 10, and is simply insane. It truly is a miracle that she made it through creating this layout without screaming at the computer or at the mouse. Liane is still pretty mad at the layout, because the butterfly is not moving the right way, but others have persuaded her to leave it be.
theLOVES;
Liane loves to laugh, especially with her friends. Boy, she can just keep going and going and going and going. Liane can laugh at anything. If you happen to meet her, just yell out something random, like...MASHED POTATOES....and see what happens. Liane also loves food, but recently has developed an allergy to milk and chicken. It really is sad. Did you know french fries and burgers contain modified milk ingredients? No more Mickey D's. Liane also loves random facts. Like...if you hit your head on a wall for 20 mins you lose 150 calories...or Walt Disney has wooden teeth...there is a section on this blog dedicated to such facts, enojoy them. Now, this may sound odd, but Liane also loves conspiracy theories. It's not that she believes them or anything, they're just interesting to read.
theHATES;
Liane hates spiders. Oh. My. Gosh. No joke. There was this one time, a long, long, LONG, time ago: there was a spider on Liane's bedside table, and she screamed and screamed and screamed and cried and cried and cried. Her whole family came running to see what Liane was crying about, and then they all laughed because it was a little house spider. But Liane knew better. It was HUGE. Okay, okay. This happened last week. So what? Liane has serious arachnaphobia, so bite her.
turning back time
Random Facts
-Ketchup was sold in the 1830's as medecine.
-Tomatoes are berries.
-Kentucky Fried Chicken translated into Chinese then back into English means "Eat Your Fingers Off".
-Regular consumption of beer kills your weaker brain cells first, thus making your brain work faster.
-ABBA Gold stayed on the UK music charts for 5 years.
-Walt Disnet was afraid of mice.
-Marilyn Monroe has 6 toes.
-There are more stars than all the grains of sand on the earth.
-Lightning strikes 6 000 times pre minute everywhere on the planet.
-Men are six times more likely to get struck by lightning than women.
-Mount Everest moves approximately 10 cm NE every year.
-Sound carries so well in the Arctic that you can hear a conversation from 1.8 miles away.
-259 200 people die every day.
-It is impossible for a pig to look at the sky.
-When someone commits suicide by jumpong off a building, the adrenaline makes them have a heart attack before they hit the ground.
-There are more plastic flamingos than real ones in the US.
-You burn more calories sleeping than watching TV.
-If you don't keep your toothbrush at least six feet away frpm your toilet, it could get infected by airborned bacteria resulting from the flush.
-In Arizona, armrests and handrails in public buses are highly contaminated by urine, sweat, and saliva. Ew.
-The part of the nose that separates the nostrils is called the chaffanue.Goldfish have a memory of 5 seconds.
-Listerine can be used as a deodorant.
-'Sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick' is the hardest tongue twister ever.
-The dot over the 'i' is called a tittle.
-Nothing rhymes with purple, silver, month, and orange.
-'Pneaumonaultramicroscopicsillcovolcanoconiosis' is the longest word in the English language. It is a breathing problem caused by inhaling volcanic dust.
-The name 'Wendy' did not exist until it was created for 'Peter Pan'.
-Lemons contain more sugar than strawberries.
-Apple pits contain cyanide.
-Leonardo DaVinci invented scissors.
-DaVinci took 10 years to paint Mona Lisa's lips.
-51% of Italian women aged 20 - 60 think it's healthy to cheat on their husband.
-In 1980, Las Vegas hospital workers were fired for making bets on when patients would die.
-Every year, 13 people die from vending machines falling on them.
-You can't lick your elbow.
-75% of those who read the above line for the first time will try.
-Inuits have 1000 different words for 'ice', but none for 'hello'.
-2500 lefties die every year because they used products made for right-handed people.
-In the UK, 4 people die every year putting their pants on.
-Men fall out of hospital beds twice as much as women.
-If Barbie was life-size, she would be 7 feet, 2 inches tall, and too skinny to have babies. Ha ha, Barbie, ha ha.
-The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
-Crocodiles can't stick their tongues out.
-If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months, and 6 days, you'd generate enough energy to heat up a cup of coffee.
-The can costs more than the pop does.
-If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you hold back a sneeze, you could pop a vessel and die. If you keep your eyes open while sneezing, they'll pop out.
-No piece of dry paper can be folded more than 7 times.
-Tupperware is bullet proof.
-If you count from 1 to 1 trillion starting today, and counting 24/7, it would take you 31 688 years.
-Everyone has a unique tongue print.
-The 1st and last people to die when building the Hoover Dam were father and son.
-Each sip of diet soda kills 10 000 brain cells because it has so many chemicals to make it 'diet'.
-Apples wake you up better in the morning than coffee.
-Lina Medina gave birth to a 6 pound baby boy at the age of 5 years and 7 months.
-Les Colley became a dad at the age of 93 years and 10 months.
-Mum Zi became a mother at the age of 8 years, 4 months. Her daughter also had a baby at age 8, making Mum Zi a grand mother at age 17.
-Bruce Lee executed his martial arts with such great speed that when he was filmed they had to slow down the playback so that the moves can be seen.
-No matter where you are, there is always a spider some 6 feet away from you. Always.
-Elephants are the only animals that can't jump. Their bones are too fragile.
-A Daddy Long Legs spider's venom is more poisonous than a Black Widow spider. Their jaws are just too small to bite us. Ha ha, spider, ha ha.