A Science Project Gone Horribly Wrong

As par curriculum, all eighth graders in my school are expected to produce an astronomy project, basically outlining what would happen if an asteroid of abnormal size were to impact the earth. We have to create a timeline of past asteroid impacts, and extinctions that occurred around the same time, and things like that. However, we are expected all parts of project, but without:

• our parents knowing. There was no notice sent home for parents to notify them, nor was there an e-mail. Our teacher trusted that we would tell our parents. I ask you, how many teenage boys would actually tell their parents that they have a year-long project?
• any guidance from our teacher. The only time my teacher intervened on anyone was to scream to stop playing around with the SmartBoard in the classroom. Sure, the teacher guided us through the steps, but he/she/dog has not reviewed anyone's project to give corrections.
• And for God's sake, how can you just dump a project on six teenage boys and expect them to just magically do it?

Whew! Would you like some cheese with that wine?

So, I've been trying to do my part. Unfortunately, the part I wanted to do was dominated by the person who is in charge of our group. I have been stuck doing the section of the project that attempts to show asteroid impacts as the possible causation of extinctions, the most obvious being the dinosaurs. And I've tried, honestly, really tried to be enthusiastic about the fact that I'm stuck with the hardest part of the project, but for some reason it never came out. Here are some reasons why:

• I have been to two meetings. The first ended up at a basketball court, and there were only two people there. We got no work done.
• The second meeting consisted of four out of the six of us. First we played poker. Then we played "Take Turns Jumping on Ami and Making Slightly Suggestive Noises."

I think I have a right to be upset here, but please, what can I do?

Cyber Bullying: Why?

Okay, I can understand that cyberbullying is common among teenagers and pre-teens. We are insecure. Period. But today, in a completely random tangent, my mother tells us that whenever she decides to post something on a certain message board (which shall henceforth remain nameless), she is continually harassed by other people which she actually recognizes.

Here are some of my hypothesises why cyberbullying is among adults. On the Internet, a person can assume a "screen name" or a fake name. This, essentially, grants these us a new persona, and we can truly be whoever we so desire. In real life, we are bound by our affiliations. Our friends know who we are, and that is almost impossible to change. On the Internet, we can create new people, with new names, and personalities that may not always match who we are in real life. Therefore, people think that they have true "freedom of speech", and can express their true thoughts and opinions -- even if they may not be polite.

This could also be that people have been de-sensitized from other's feelings. After doing a certain thing so many times, we become accustomed to it. If every every day I were to dump a tablespoon of sugar in my coffee, though it may be a little overbearing the first few days, but after a while, I adapt to the sugar, and I crave more. When people cyberbully, they show their insecurities. Though it may not be nice for them at first, they will not care after doing it several times. People have lost all respect for other's feelings. (Okay, that sounds a little sadistic, but it's just a theory.)

Both theories build one another. Because people assume different names, they think that they can get away with harassment and not get caught. People who make names like this for themselves hide under a shield of the Internet. But anything can be hacked -- there is no foolproof protection.

Something Interseting About Purim

One of the many interesting things about Purim is the custom that one must become drunk so that he cannot tell the difference between Haman, who is evil and was attempting to annihilate us, and Mordechai, who is blessed and saved us from certain destruction. For those of us who don't want to get that drunk, here are some alternatives:

• You should drink slightly more than you would on an average day. (Ex: if you would normally drink a beer, today, drink two.)
• You should be able to tell such an obvious difference right off the bat, but if you were asleep, you should still be able to tell someone the difference. If you can't, you took one too many shots.
• Some reverse logic: Haman tried to kill us all, but he brought thousands of Jews back into Judaism to pray to God that they should be saved. Therefore, if one is confused in such a way, he has fulfilled his requirement.

Phew!

By the way, the guy that saved us was despised by the others of his generation. Though he was the head of the highest Jewish court, he was harshly criticized by his peers for his temerity towards Haman. While everyone else bowed down to him, Mordechai simply sat down. He took advice from the story of Daniel, who refused to bow down to a simple statue of the Babylonian king, let alone an actual person.

Just a couple Purim thoughts. That's it.

A Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge

Here's a nice activity that is nice and pleasant, and thus it comes as no surprise to me that the children that I go to school with would not have dreamt of -- not that, of course, video games and three consecutive hours of instant messaging isn't fun. I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. (That is, by the way, a five-and-a-half mile walk there and back.)

And we couldn't have picked a better Sunday to do it. My mother, like all mothers, was mortified that we would catch a cold, but halfway across the East River, we all decided to stall and take of our winter jackets. For some reasons, it was warmer over the East River twenty (about) feet up, then it was on either side on land. Interesting.

Anyway, so we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and back. I learned a new fact: at one point, when the Bridge was opened, since it was the first bridge between Brooklyn and Manhattan, it actually had railroad tracks -- and at one point it only carried trains and a walkway. Imagine. Anyway, here are some pictures:





This is my favorite picture from the expedition: