We were soldiers once-- and young: Summary

Summary

Each year, the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps selects one book that he believes is both relevant and timeless for reading by all Marines. The Commandant's choice for 1993 is
We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young.

In November 1965, some 450 men of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, under the command of Lt. Col. Hal Moore, were dropped by helicopter into a small clearing in the Ia Drang Valley. They were immediately surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. Three days later, only two and a half miles away, a sister battalion was chopped to pieces. Together, these actions at the landing zones X-Ray and Albany constituted one of the most savage and significant battles of the Vietnam War.

How these men persevered--sacrificed themselves for their comrades and never gave up--makes a vivid portrait of war at its most inspiring and devastating. General Moore and Joseph Galloway, the only journalist on the ground throughout the fighting, have interviewed hundreds of men who fought there, including the North Vietnamese commanders. This devastating account rises above the specific ordeal it chronicles to present a picture of men facing the ultimate challenge, dealing with it in ways they would have found unimaginable only a few hours earlier. It reveals to us, as rarely before, man's most heroic and horrendous endeavor.

Radium Girls - Book Summary

Radium Girls by Kate Moore is a documentation of the struggle of a group of girls who ended up changing American workforce laws a lot. The book follows the lives of girls who started with relatively normal lives, working in their early teenage years. However, these girls ended up being employed by the Radium Dial Company, who made glow in the dark watches using the newfound technology of radium. In the early 1900s, when radium was first discovered, it was considered the wonder drug and was used almost everywhere. However, as we now know, radium is highly radioactive and very dangerous.

These girls were given the very simple task of painting the watch face using the paint they mixed themselves, but there was a catch: there was a smidge of radium (which also happened to be very expensive at the time) in the paint. However, because they had to paint very thin strokes and the paintbrush bristles often spread out, they needed to wet the paintbrush. The employers initially gave them glasses of water to dip in but determined they were wasting too much radium, so they withdrew those glasses, leading to the required use of licking the brush to maintain the thin composition, thus leading to "lip, dip, paint" is the way that they created these watches.

As time passed, the girls slowly grew up and left the factory for better work, or because they got married, but they continued to have lasting effects from licking the radium. In fact, one girl ended up so sick that her mouth literally fell apart, with all her teeth and eventually the jaw completely coming out. In the beginning, many of these cases were written off as syphilis, because the symptoms were very similar, but the doctors were aware that this was something that they had never seen before. At some point, various doctors concluded that the radium had something to do with all of these symptoms.

Eventually, this leads to 5 girls, Grace Fryer, Edna Hussman, Katherine Schaub, Quinta McDonald, and Albina Larice to sue the Radium Dial Company, and this case, while starting out very slowly, gained traction with media and ignited widespread change throughout the US. This lawsuit triggered many labor standard laws and workforce safety laws, and in the end, the girls won the lawsuit, earning themselves about $150,000 dollars in today's money as well as a running income of $200 a week, plus all medical expenses covered.

What is a blue screen of death?

The blue screen of death - or BSOD - is caused when a Microsoft Windows machine encounters a critical error that it cannot fix; this is usually caused by low-level software or faulty hardware.

What Causes the Blue Screen of Death?

Blue screens are generally caused by problems with your computer’s hardware or issues with its hardware driver software. Sometimes, they can be caused by issues with low-level software running in the Windows kernel. Regular apps usually won’t be able to cause blue screens. If an app crashes, it will do so without taking the operating system out with it. A blue screen occurs when Windows encounters a “STOP Error.” This critical failure causes Windows to crash and stop working. The only thing Windows can do at that point is restart the PC. This can lead to data loss, as programs don’t have a chance to save their open data. When a blue screen occurs, Windows automatically creates a “minidump” file that contains information about the crash and saves it to your disk. You can view information about these minidumps to help identify the cause of the blue screen.

What does a Blue Screen of Death Look Like?

In Windows 7 and before, the Blue Screen of Death was a very convoluted page, with lots of technical words.


In Windows 8 and 10, the Blue Screen of Death is much simpler.

What can you do if you start experiencing BSOD's?

If you have trouble locating good advice for solving your problem, don’t worry. BSODs can have a variety of root causes. Here are some additional tips that might help you deal with many blue screens:

• Use System Restore: If your system just started blue screening, it may be a software issue. You should use System Restore to try to fix the problem. If this works, then you know it is a software issue.
• Scan for Malware: Sometimes, malware can cause system instability. You should regularly scan your computer for malware to make sure that the malicious software isn't crashing your computer
• Install Updated Drivers: An old driver, a falsely installed driver, and a buggy driver could be a cause for BSODs. Make sure you have the latest drivers and install them correctly
• Boot into Safe Mode: If your computer blue-screens every time you turn it on, try booting it into safe mode. When you boot it into safe mode, windows only uses the essential drivers and from there, you can further troubleshoot your problem
• Check for Hardware Problems: Another cause for BSODs is faulty hardware. Make sure you test your computer's memories for errors and checking your computer's temperature to make sure it isn't overheating. Additionally, you could hire a pro to check other parts that may have gone bad. 
• Reinstall Windows: Your very last option could be to do a clean install of windows. This will completely remove your existing software and replace it with a new one. If your computer continues to blue screen after that, then it is a hardware problem

Tech Tip #4

Hey guys, it's Achintya back again with another helpful tech tip for everyone. This one is to practice touch typing. Touch typing can improve your typing speeds very quickly. I have noticed many people do not know how to touch type and cannot type as fast as I can. There are many free sites that can help you, and when you learn how to touch type, you will be much faster.

Life After Humans Pt. 1

Human neglect affects the world's skies and aeronautic icons, including Air Force One, the Theme Building and a control tower at Los Angeles International Airport, the Spirit of St. Louis in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota. Elsewhere, Rocky Mountain locusts invade the cities in the Midwest, Mount Everest's ice preserves artifacts left by climbers and even the bodies of climbers who died on its summit, and the migratory patterns of birds and even the weather are affected by the absence of humankind patrolling the skies. Solar-powered radio station KTAO continues broadcasting long after humans are gone. The Cassini space probe crash-lands on Saturn's moon Enceladus, leading to extremophile bacteria from Earth that had been present inside the probe colonizing its possible water ocean and possibly causing life to evolve on it. The episode also visits Edgar, Ontario, a Cold War radar site which was abandoned in 1999, and the aging Berlin Tempelhof Airport in Germany which was closed in 2008.

Pi Day

Pi represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It’s an important part of the foundation of mathematics, most importantly geometry, where pi is key to equations calculating the area of a circle, A = πr2, and the volume of a cylinder, V = πr2h. Pi day is on 3/14 because the number pi starts with 3.14.

Pi(π): 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286208998628034825342117067982148086513282306647093844609550582231725359408128481117450284102701938521105559644622948954930381964428810975665933446128475648233786783165271201909145648566923460348610454326648213393607260249141273724587006606315588

Tech Tip #3

Hey guys, it's Achintya back with tech tip #3. Today's tip concerns only windows users. (Sorry Apple) You can use windows shortcuts in a variety of ways to help cut down the amount of time you waste, and this can allow you to use less mouse and more keyboard. Use Window + R to open the run menu. You can use Window + E to open up Microsoft Explorer, and you can use Window + M to minimize all tabs.

The Brain

The Brain

     What is the Brain? What does it do? How do we know? Get all the answers right here in Achintya's informational blog. The brain is an organ, and without it, now human could survive. Without the brain you can't eat, think. learn, or create. Subconsciously, your brain is making sure every muscle and organ is doing its job. The nervous system relays information to and from the brain so everything else in the body does its job correctly. Many scientists call the brain "the most complicated thing in the universe".

    The brain has 12 basic parts. Let's start numbering the 12 parts.

1. Skull- The skull offers protection from most things. There are many bones in the skull.                         
2. Cerebral Cortex- This part of the brain does many things. Most important, it helps you remember basic stuff like making sense of your surroundings, think and speak                              
3.  Anterior Cingulate Gyrus- This part of the brain that controls blood pressure and heart rate and plays a part in keeping your emotions in check                                                                                
4.   Thalamus- The master of the senses(it controls all senses)                                                               
5. Parietal Lobe- This helps you make sense or numbers, words, and maps                                          
6. Hypothalamus- Controller of your body's temperature, hunger, thirst, and sleepiness.                     
7. Frontal lobe-  Associated with character and personality. Helps you make decisions.                        
8. Olfactory Bulb- processes sense of smell; gives you a sense of smell                                                   
9. Cerebrospinal Fluid- Your brain floats in this liquid, the liquid protecting the brain                                  
10. Hippocampus- this is where memory lives                                                                                       
11. Cerebellum- helps you balance and have coordination over the movement                                              
12. Brain Stem- messages between your brain and body are sent in the brain stem. It makes sure all your organs are working properly.                                                                                                      

    Subconscious brains play an important part in your life to. They help you breathe. Subconsciously, your brain makes sure your lungs are breathing. Also subconsciously, your brain makes sure your heart is beating. Another important thing your brain does subconsciously is that it makes sure that your eyes are blinking. Basically, subconscious brains do almost everything basic while you focus on important stuff.

    Conscious brains, on the other hand, do everything else. They make sure that you are writing properly, reading properly, and etc. They help you focus on math, finish a science experiment, and get your homework done. They make sure that you listen and pay attention. They make sure your food goes in your mouth. You should get the idea by now. They do literally everything else for us.

     What happens to your brain when you go to sleep? First of all, lets tell how much sleep you should get. Are you a newborn? Then you should be getting 15-16 hours of sleep. Infants get 14-15 hours of sleep. Toddlers should get 12-14 hours of sleep. Children should get 10-11 hours of sleep. Teens should get 8.5-9.25 hours of sleep. Adults should get 7-9 hours of sleep. When in sleep, your brain enters a subconscious state, making you less aware of your surroundings. The reasons you have dreams is because REM combined with the brain that are linked with imagination, creativity, and anxiety are active. You rarely remember dreams because when you sleep, your brain's storage is off.

Tech Tip #2

Hey guys, it's Achintya back with Tech Tip Tuesday. Today's tip is how to enter Windows "God Mode" folder. Windows offers a centralized Control Panel for all of the OS settings, making it easy for users to tweak everything from desktop background to setting up a VPN. To enter this mode, create a new folder with this exact name (copy and paste it): God Mode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}. The folder icon will change to a Control Panel-style icon, and you will be able to jump in and change all kinds of settings.

Tech Tip #1

Tech Tip #1: Use Keyboard Shortcuts

You can use keyboard shortcuts to help make operating a computer easier. For example, to switch tabs on a browser, you can use ctrl + tab instead of using your mouse. You can also use ctrl + t to create a new tab, ctrl + shift + t to open the last closed tab, and ctrl + w to close your tab. Additionally, you can also use ctrl + c to copy, ctrl + v to paste, and ctrl + x to cut. For a full list of all the keyboard shortcuts, you can look at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12445/windows-keyboard-shortcuts.

Falcon-Heavy First Test Launch

What is Falcon Heavy?

Falcon Heavy is a reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured by SpaceX. It is a variant on the Falcon 9 line of rockets, and it consists of a strengthened Falcon 9 rocket core with two additional Falcon 9 first stages as strap-on boosters. The Falcon Heavy is the world's 4th highest capacity rocket ever to be built.

What happened on February 14th, 2018?

On February 14th, 2018, the Falcon Heavy had its original test flight. It was launched at 3:45 PM EST after a delay of 2 hours because of unfavorable wind conditions. There are 3 more scheduled launches, 2 later in 2018 and 1 in 2020. There is no word when the first manned flight with this rocket will occur.

On Friday, December 29th, my family woke up at 5:30 A.M. and immediately started loading the car. We knew we had a long day of driving ahead of us, so we wanted to get an early of a start as possible. We were going on a vacation to Death Valley National Park for the New Year’s weekend. We left at about 7:00 A.M. and began driving.

 We traveled via the route highlighted above for approximately 1 hour before we stopped in Palmdale for a rest stop and breakfast. There we went to McDonald's and ordered coffee and biscuits, and we went to Krispy Kreme for half a dozen donuts. I ate a donut and a biscuit during the next hour of driving. We drove for a couple more hours before we stopped at the Ranch House Cafe in Olancha, California. We ate an early lunch because we knew we were not going to see another restaurant till at least 3:00 P.M. There, I ate a skillet and it tasted pretty good. From there, we drove for another 45 minutes or so till we stopped at our first point: Father Crowly Vista Point. From there, we could see volcanic ash that had come from a volcano, and I found it pretty cool.

Following that, we drove for 15 minutes more before we realized we missed what was supposed to be our second stop: Darwin Falls. We thought about going back but then decided against it because we doubted the fall would have much if any water in it. We drove for another hour or so till we got to the Stovepipe Wells where we went to get our pass permit. After that, we went to Mosaic Canyon, but the 2.2-mile drive on gravel was brutal because we did not have a 4-wheel drive. We got there around 2:30 and it was a small hike with nice views of many different rock formations.

When we finished the Mosaic Canyon, it was about 3:30 and we only had 1 more place to go to on our list: Devil's Cornfield. There wasn't much there, just a lot of underbrush that looked like dead corn stocks, so I'm guessing that's how it got its name.
<photo here>
Now that we were down on our list, we started driving to Shady Lady Bed & Breakfast, the place we were staying for the night. It was about an hour away from Death Valley, and it still was the closest hotel we could find that was not booked. We drove till about 4:30 when we came across Beatty, the closest town to Death Valley. From there, we had to eat dinner but we did not have many choices, only Denny's and Subway. Since it was still early and none of us were hungry, we took Subway to go and decided we were going to eat it at our hotel. We drove for about 35 more minutes before we came across the place, and it was truly in the middle of nowhere. It was 1/4th of a mile away from the highway, and the closest neighbor lived more than 1 mile away. We were met with a guy who called himself the owner's son and let us in. He said that the owner was shopping and would be back in about 30 minutes, so we took the opportunity to eat our subway. When he came, he and his daughter checked us in and showed us into our room, a nice place.When we got into our room, I started by checking all my texts and going to play my games for a little, and then my family and I played Imploding Kittens for about 2 hours. When we finished, it was about 9:00 and I played a little bit more on my phone, and then I slept at 10:00.

The next day, I woke up at about 6:45 and got up and took a shower. After taking a shower and playing a little on my phone, my family and I went out to go get some breakfast. I ate scrambled eggs, toast with jam, sausage, and bacon. It tasted great! Immediately after we finished breakfast, we left and drove for 2 hours till we got to Dante's Ridge, which I thought was my favorite point because when you looked down from the ridge(it was over 5000 ft up) you could see all the people and cars, but they looked liked tiny dots.

 After that, we went to the 20-mule canyon, which was basically a really cool canyon in which there was a narrow path that got you on top of a small hill. Although I didn't go all the way, it still looked pretty cool from my vantage point about 100 ft above the place where we started.Then, we went to Zabriskie Point, and by that time it was about 12:00. We were all hungry so we made the turkey sandwich with the supplies we had brought. After that, we looked at Zabriskie Point and the view was phenomenal because you could see all the way across the valley.After that, we went from being almost a mile above sea level to 280 feet under it: the Badwater Basin. This was basically a dried up salt lake, and it had so much salt that when I took a picture to send to a friend, they actually thought that the salt was snow.

After that, we went to Devil's Golf Course which was just a place with salt roughs everywhere and a place where it would be hell to play golf at.To finish the day, right after the sun was setting we went to artists palette and there were some beautiful views of multicolored rocks.We drove back to Beatty where we decided to eat at Denny's. I had a sandwich and then we went back to the hotel. Once again, we played some more Imploding Kittens, and then I played on my phone. Finally, we went to sleep.

On Sunday, we got up at like 7:00 A.M. and I showered and then went to go eat breakfast. I had an omelet instead of the scrambled eggs, and everything else stayed the same. It was one of the best omelets I ever tasted, and I was stuffed after eating it. We started on our drive to borax works, which was just an abandoned mining facility. It had a really cool looking wagon that towered above us and was pulled by a 20-mule team. After that, we went to the Salt Creek Interpretive Trail where we learned about the fish that actually live in the hottest place in the world. It was a short hike with lots of picture spots and great views.

After the Salt Creek Interpretive Trail, we went to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center where we decided where to go next. We decided to go to the golden canyon hike, which was a long hike that had 4 different routes to go. We went to the shortest one and ended up on top of a large rock that allowed you to see the whole trail we just walked. Following that, we decided we wanted to actually see the sunset at Artist's Palette, so we went there again and we saw a beautiful sunset. After that, we drove to Denny's to eat, where I had a burger. Then, we went to eat Ice Cream at Eddy's World, and then we went back to Shady Lady Bed And Breakfast. We played some more Imploding Kittens, I played some more on my phone and then I went to sleep.

On Monday, the day we were heading home, and also New Years' Day, we got up at 7:15 and quickly took our showers. We all wanted to get home, but we still had some sightseeing to do. We ate at around 8:00(I had another Omelet) and then we packed up all our stuff. We left the hotel by 9:30 A.M. and started driving. We went to Rhyolite Ghost Town first, and it was an old gold mining town. It had a jail, and a crumbling school, and a lot more and it was really cool to see a place that was over 100 years old. Then we drove for a couple more hours before stopping at Keane Wonder Mine. We hiked for about 2 hours before realizing that there was a very long hike left, and it was a colossal waste of our time. We did see the mine, but not from inside, unfortunately. Since none of us were that hungry, we skipped lunch and started the long drive home. We arrived home at about 7:00, and after the 4 day trip, we were all exhausted. I really enjoyed it and it gave my eyes a rest from all the stress I've been giving them over winter break.

Summer Camp FLSR Part 1

    We started leaving for FLSR at about 9:30. We drove for 1 and a half hours, or so, and then we went to eat lunch at McDonald's. I had a buttermilk chicken burger w/o fries or a drink. I ate and then waited because we left at about 12:30. We drove up for another hour and then arrived at the check-in place at 1:30. We waited in line for 30 minutes, then went inside, handed our forms to helpers, and got a health check-up. Then, we were given totems that were used as our ID's for the camp. We left there at about 2:30 and then drove to our campsite. We camped at Upper Amarillo. We unpacked quickly and picked tents. I got a pretty good tent, with very little noise or holes. My tent buddy was Ethan Park. Then, we changed into swimsuits and went for our swim check. I passed with swimmer rank, which meant I could swim anywhere in the pool. That's right, they had a POOL! We went for dinner and evening flags at 6:30. Then, we went back to camp, and at 8:30, had the opening campfire. It was pretty cool, with counselors performing cool skits. I enjoyed it A LOT. We then went back to camp and to sleep at 10:00.

    On Monday, we woke up at 6:00. We brushed, and then we went to breakfast. Breakfast on Monday was pancakes, hash browns, sausage links, fruits, cereal, and milk. Following breakfast, we had free time from 8:30-12:30. During that time, I did my Scoutmaster conference with Chris, and I was helping younger scouts with requirements. At 12:45, we had lunch. For lunch, there was a corn dog, some chips, and some pork and beans. After that, at 2, our first class started. During the first period, I had life-saving. We learned the basics about what we were going to learn for the rest of the week, and then we did some brick dives. Basically, we dived in the pool, picked up a 10-pound brick, and swam it back to shore. That class ended at 2:50, and I went to my next class- First Aid. During first aid, we learned the basics of what we were going to learn. At 3:50, after that class ended, I headed up the Wyandot Trail to the horse corral, where my 3rd and 4th period were. There, we learned how to catch a horse and the horsemanship basics. After that, we headed down for dinner. For dinner, we had chicken fajitas, red beans, Spanish rice, and churros. After dinner, we headed back to camp. Those with homework(Everyone in the horsemanship class) started their homework and those who didn't have homework headed down to the commissioner games. After I finished my homework, I went and took a shower. Then we had lights out at 10, and I went to sleep.

    On Tuesday, we woke up at 6:00. I brushed, and then I went to breakfast. Breakfast was biscuits and gravy. After breakfast, we had our classes. I had life-saving first. At life-saving, we learned CPR or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. Then, for the second period, I had first aid. During first aid, we learned CPR again, and we practiced it on a dummy. Then we had horsemanship. Again, I had to go up the treacherous Wyandot Trail to the horse corral, where we practiced catching a horse and rode the horse. Then, I headed down for lunch. Lunch was a chicken patty sandwich, chips, salad bar, cookie, and punch. After lunch, we had free time for 30 minutes, then I started my open time merit badges. For the open time, I did art, and I did sculpture. Then, I went to the pool. After free time was dinner. At dinner, we had spaghetti, green beans, bread sticks, salad bar, milk, punch, and an Italian Icy. Then, I did my service project. We picked up trash around the trail to first class area. Then we went to sleep at 10.

On Wednesday, it was exploration day. In other words, we went hiking all day, and we had no classes.
We hiked up a mountain and it was a relatively easy hike. We ate lunch on the mountain. After the hike, we had free time till dinner. Dinner was hamburgers, french fries, ice cream and more. Then we had campfire in which I did a skit. Then, I took a shower and then I went to sleep.

On Thursday, I woke up at 5:30 am because we had the polar bear swim. We did the polar bear swim, and then I quickly changed because I had to do the flag ceremony, That went well, and we had breakfast after it was done. For breakfast, there were breakfast burritos. After breakfast, we had lifesaving. During lifesaving, there was makeup work and I had already done everything so I had nothing to do. After lifesaving, I had first aid where I did carries. Then I went up to the horse corral, and I practiced riding, saddling, grooming, and finally, catching. Then we had lunch which was a pizza. After that, I did pulp and paper during open time. Following that, I just chilled at camp and rested. We had dinner after that, and we had chicken cordon blue rice pilaf, and more. Then, we had the logger camp wide games and the honor trail. I went to sleep at 10.

  On Friday, I woke up at 6:00, my normal time. This was a scary day because I knew I would have to take the horsemanship test today. But first, I had breakfast, and my other classes. For breakfast, I had French Toast. Then, I went to lifesaving where we did spinals. Then I got a free period during first aid because I already finished that class. Then, I hiked up the Wyandot Trail for my last time, or so I thought. I took my test and I successfully passed everything, but it turned out I still needed to do one homework requirement, so I went back up after lunch, which was sloppy joes, and then I finished that requirement. For the rest of free time, I went in the pool. Then, we had dinner which was steak, so I had salad. Then we had closing campfire, which was really cool. I packed up everything except my sleeping bag in the evening, then went to sleep.

  On Saturday, we quickly packed up and left. We ate breakfast at McDonalds, and then we drove back home.

My visit to the getty

Gupta 1

Gupta, Achintya

Museum History

2/19/17

Mr. Gupta

My trip to the Getty Museum

The getty Museum is a fascinating place to go, especially if you love art. It holds intricate paintings dating way back all the way to the renaissance. It also holds sculptures and other fascinating pieces to look at. As of 2/19/17, It has 2 limited time exhibits, “breaking News: Using photos to show you media” and “Bouchard: one of the greatest artists of the 18th Century, yet he is also one of the most underrated artists in the world.

Gupta 2

The breaking news exhibit shows how artists use media to make their own art. It is a fascinating subject, and i easily spent 30 minutes in there, and could have spent more. THe Bouchard

Exhibit shows lots of his art, and the pictures(very few) and sculptures (lots) are great. I can’t believe that he is underrated, because he has great art.

If you Get a chance to go to the getty museum, you should definitely try out the garden tour. It shows the intricacy of their gardens, and shows they put a lot of time and effort, and money into it. They explain that they first put the garden into the architect's hands, and when they had had enough, they just gave it to an artist and said, here, your canvas is the ground, and your materials are the flowers and trees and rocks. He actually made it look really, really nice.

The getty museum is a great place to visit, and if you get a chance to, take it.  

Thanks for reading :)

Achintya                                                                                                                  

Porter ranch gas leak

Hello, my name is Achintya Gupta and I have just discovered a fascinating topic to write a research paper about. It involves millions of dollars in lawsuits, as well as an estimated total of over a billion dollars for just one mistake. It is the porter ranch gas leak. The gas leak occurred from October of 2015 to February of 2016 when the leak was first discovered. This was the nation's largest methane gas leak. They have been sued over 100 times, and one of them, the state lawsuit was settled for 4 million dollars.

For my paper, I am looking deep into the effects of the gas leak, and what has come of it. For this, I have decided to interview a few people from the porter ranch community, one of which is my friend, Sumeet Kapoor. He was not affected that badly, though, and I am currently looking into interviewing another resident who had to be relocated. Much of the Aliso canyon area had to be evacuated and sent to live in hotels for a month or two.

Some of the effects will just not go away. For example, even now, many of the residents I have contacted have complained of nosebleeds and headaches, which have been identified as side effects of the gas leak. As soon as the company, Southern California Gas Company decided it would be safe to reopen, there was another gas leak, although this one was minor. Many of the residents want it closed down permanently, and I will look into these many protests.

First day of winter

The first day of winter is December 21 every year. The first day of winter has the shortest day, and the longest night. This occurs when the sun is at the southernmost point of its orbit. The first day of meteorologist winter is on December 1st. Did you know that the winter solstice was known long ago, and can be dated back before the Stonehenge? Many early civilizations including the Mayans celebrated the Dec. 21. And a myth busted... the earliest sunset and latest sunrise don't fall on December.

Non-Fiction Book Report 10/23

Illustrated

History Of

INDIA

By: Wilco Picture Library

Report Written by Achintya Gupta

Chapters 3-4

Chapter 3: The Vedic Age

The Aryans, who had conquered the Harappans were typically nomads, so rather than occupy the beautiful cities, they settled on riverbanks in small villages, or Gramas, becoming semi-agriculturists. Each of the Gramas was headed by a Gramani. The Gramas were surrounded by Fences made of wood and Bamboo to protect them from wild animals.

Soon, the demand for land grew and villages started to make alliances with other villages. They were called Vis, or small cities. A group of Vis’ united to make a Jana or a clan, and the Rajan, or the king was their leader. He had many helpers including the priest(purohit), the commandant(Sevani), and the administration(Sabha and Samiti). These cities were divided into 4 quadrants w/ 2 main residential roads. Each quadrant housed a citadel(their holy place), the residential area, the merchants and the traders. The Aryan’s single largest contribution to Indian religion was Sanskrit.With that, Aryans created the Vedas, which formed the foundation of the Hindu religion. Also introduced during this time were the two epics, The Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Also, during the Vedic age, the Caste System Emerged. Due to work specializations, different classes formed. The 4 main classes were the Brahmins(priests), Kshatriyas(warriors), Vaishyas(merchants), Shudras(outcasts).

Chapter 4: A time for Reform - Buddha

The Buddha was actually born as Prince Siddhartha. An astrologer predicted that Prince Siddhartha would actually give up his right to the throne and all worldly pleasures to be a sage. They tried to keep him away from the outside world, but by the time he was 16, he became very curious. He once asked his  charioteer to go to the outside world and he immediately came upon a frail person. His charioteer explained that when you get older, you die. He then came up to a person who looked pale. His charioteer explained that people can get sick sometimes. He came to the third group of people all dressed in black carrying a coffin. His charioteer now explained that when people die, they cremate them. One day, he left to try and find the true meaning of life, but being a sage didn’t help him. He then, when he was 29, went to meditate under a large fig tree. He learned that the key principles of Buddhism were called the Noble Truths. He spread Buddhism not just to India, but out to Burma, China, Japan and several other countries.

Ronald Reagan Museum

    I went with my 5th grade class to the Ronald Reagan museum on the 5th of February. It is a library dedicated to our president, Ronald Reagan. It displays his achievements in life and the gifts he got after he died. It was an epic field trip with many sites.

    As we arrived at the Ronald Reagan Museum, everyone stopped talking because they were too busy staring at the large Air Force One. The air force one was larger than any plane you have probably seen before, and the tour guides had just arrived. They split us up into groups and we started the tour. First we went to the Berlin wall and saw the two sides. Then we went inside the museum to see him get shot. Then we saw that he was a football player. Then we ate lunch in the cafeteria.

    The simulation started in the directory room. There, we started by learning why we are here and how we can help. Then we followed up by going into our separate rooms in our separate groups. For example, I am in the Oval Office. We discussed our problem and made 4 decisions. We made all of the correct answers. Then we got sold out by the press and we had to quickly decide against aborting, for they had given out our secret plan.

    Then we went into the press room to confront the press, and the president made a speech in front of the whole military, cabinet, and press(aka. our whole class.)  After that we went into an air force one and watched a quick video, followed by going onto the real air force one. It was cool and we actually saw a lot. Then we left the museum.

    In conclusion, I had a wonderful time in the Ronald Reagan museum. It was really fun and everyone in my class had tons of fun. It was my favorite trip to a museum!

BALBOA MAGNET: MY SCHOOL

 BALBOA MAGNET: The Most Awesome School 

Balboa Magnet : Elementary School

Why Is Balboa Magnet an Awesome School?

Balboa Magnet is an awesome school for many reasons. First of all, there are no bullies. That means us children don't have to worry about teasing or taunting. Also, there is this thing called a buddy. Fifth and fourth graders have 2nd or 1st grade buddies. They do stuff together and it is a great thing to keep children entertained while learning.

Go there. It is AWESOME.

Our Winter Performence

    Our winter performance is of to a great start. We are going to perform 2 songs. They are "When The Lights All Shine" and "Winter Fantasy". They are two songs showing peace and presenting life to the whole world. They prove that life is amazing. "When the Lights All Shine" is devoted to peace and equality in the whole world. It is showing that Christmas is a time of peace and joy, not tragedy or war.The lyrics for the two songs are shown below.

The Lights All Shine Lyrics:

She lit a candle in New Orleans 
He lit a candle in Beijing 
They lit their candles in Vienna, Havana, Jerusalem, London, Hanoi 
She lit a candle in Toronto
 He lit a candle in Beirut
 They lit their candles in Nairobi, Jakarta, St. Petersburg, Bangalore, Rome 
The glow is rising all over the world And now we're starting to see, 
A light that shines out from anyone here Is a beacon to you and me 
And when the lights all shine
 Oh when the lights All shine
 And when the lights all shine As one As one 
All around the world (All around the world they glow) They'll glow
 And all will know( And all around the world they'll know) 
Our journey to peace has begun
 Oh when they shine 
Winter Fantasy Lyrics:

1. Snow flakes falling all over town,
slipping, sliding, ev’rybody rushin’ ‘round
There’s an icy chill in the air
telling us that winter’s really here, Oh!
I’m so glad that winter is here!
Grab your sled and let out a happy cheer because it’s
snowing, blowin g, all through the day.
Winter winds will surely blow all your cares away!
2. Dashing through the snow,
in a one-horse open sleigh.
O’er the fields we go,
laughing all the way!
Bells on bobtails ring,
making spirits bright.
What fun it is to laugh and sing a sleighing song tonight. Oh!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh. Oh!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
GROUP ONE - sing verse 1
GROUP TWO - sing verse 2
All: Winter’s really here!