PLN29

I happened upon an article today called "First Marijuana Restaurant Opens In Denver" by Brian Fairbanks which was saying that Denver has opened a marijuana, pizza restaurant. This shows that marijuana laws are starting to change. Sure, you must have a medical card to enter this restaurant but did you ever expect there to be a marijuana restaurant? Laws on this drug are now not as strict and it is not too hard for some to get a medical card. It makes you wonder if this restaruant is a good or bad thing. Sure it may be good but what about for the people who do not need the drug but have a medical card? It is not hard at all for people to get a medical card. so I leave you with this: do you think marijuana restaurants are good ideas? Should marijuana just be legalized?

PLN28

I happened upon an article today called "Jeffco swine flu vaccine clinics opening to public" which was out out by The Associated Press which was saying that Jefferson County, of Colorado, today received 101,900 doses of the H1N1 vaccine. This shows that we are now beginning to overcome the problems of the Swine flu. It is a dangerous flu that has even killed children. But we have now found a vaccine for the virus. This is a new step forward in the H1N1 problem. Our main focus now, is to get the vaccine out to more than just Jefferson County. We are now taking a new step into defeating deadly viruses.

PLN27

My article of which I read was called "Man charged with drunk driving on bar stool" which was about a 28 year old man who crashed a motorized bar stool that was made from a deconstructed lawn mower. This man happened to get intoxicated and drive it on side streets. He crashed and got arrested for drunk driving... on a BAR STOOL. This just shows how ridiculous some laws and people can be. Personally, the man was driving on the side walk as far as I know so I think he should not be in trouble. I'm guessing this stool did not go very fast either so I would not see the harm. But, he got arrested. Some of these problems should be thought over more I think.

PLN26

The article I happened upon was called Broomfield man killed in fall at Grand Canyon by the Denver Post which stood out to me because of how big the Grand Canyon is to some people and how it has now become labeled as dangerous. A man was leaning over the South Edge of the canyon and he happened to slip, and fall to his death. This is important to some people because now they can know what the need to be looking for while at the Grand Canyon. What spots are safest to look at, which aren't. They should never be leaning over the edge of this canyon, if they do, it can follow with serious consequences.

PLN25

The article I read was called "Springs girl, 14, dies in Breckenridge ski accident" by Kieran Nicholson which stated that a girl skiing at Breckenridge died while skiing, this is important to all who ski or snowboard in Breckenridge. This is important to me because I snowboard at Breckenridge and I need to know that I need to be safe where I snowboard. If I'm not safe, I may end up seriously hurt. Many people ski and snowboard at Breckenridge but some also do not know the dangers on snowboarding or skiing. Even at other spots to do those things. But Breckenridge, happens to be one of the places that are not the safest.

PLN 23

In this article, "Greeley police say crime is down in 2009" by Howard Prankratz, it explains the change in crime rates which is important to our safety. It has been said that the rates in crime have no decreased greatly. This is important because we as people need to feel safe in our homes and know we are protected. If crime decreases, we get more of a sense of security. If this continues, more people will begin to feel safe and there will be less of a panic going around in their homes. Safety is a priority for America, and it seems we are now beginning to overcome the crime. And we are slowly moving away from the fear of crime, as it decreases.

PLN22

In the article "Trooper hit, injured at crash site in Mesa County" by The Denver Post, it speaks of how a state trooper got hit by another driver as he was inspecting a crash site, this shows how important safe driving can be. This officer was doing nothing wrong, he was helping others. And this careless driving injured him greatly. Careless driving is horrible. Many people have been affected and they were not even doing anything wrong. I believe we must fix this world of careless driving.

PLN22

In this article, "Put fourth our best writing skills," What does it mean you may ask? Douglas Hesse's point is to tell us all how important our future in writing is.

PLN 21

Gunman kills 12, wounds 31 at Fort Hood

MSNBC

The article I read was called "Gunman kills 12, wounds 31 at Fort Hood" by MSNBC and it was speaking about the shootings of which were done down in Fort Hood, Texas, which is the 1st Cavalry Division; this is important to me because one of my recruiters, SGT Zapata, used to be stationed in Fort Hood. On Thursday when I saw him at Future Soldiers Training, he seemed in a total daze. He knew many stationed down in Fort Hood, this also shows that we can be attacked at any moment. It was almost worrisome to see the state Zapata was in. He wasn't talking to anyone, and staring at his desk. The most he would do was go onto his computer to find out more news about the fort. His wife came in to talk to him and he still was in a different world. This fort was attacked without warning, and it harmed many people throughout America.

PLN20

I happened upon an article called "Gang ringleader gets 32 years in prison" By Howard Pankratz which was speaking about how a gang leader has been arrested and has 32 years in prison, this is important because many of us want safety in our city. And with gang leaders being put in jail, it is just getting us closer and closer to getting gangs limited. Gangs have always been a problem in this world. And they are dangerous and make others feel unsafe. What this means with this leader being arrested, we are coming closer to ending the gang. Once the gang is ended, some fear is ended, with that fear being ended, without fear, comes safety. I am proud of our police force and that we can live under the eyes of Denver's finest.

PLN19

I read an article today called "Silverthorne approves rules for pot dispensaries" which was made by The Associated Press; this was speaking about the new laws for the production and sales of marijuana which can affect many of us because marijuana is a powerful drug and if someone was to get cancer, they would probably get a medical marijuana card. The laws are now changing. A few years ago, the thought of marijuana being legal was totally out of the question. But now, it is becoming legal. We are living in a new world that is becoming worse. Marijuana may be becoming legal, but it's still a drug. I believe that alcohol is more intoxicating than marijuana though. Maybe marijuana should be legal instead of alcohol though. Alcohol can get you hung-over, it can give you alcohol poisoning, it can have affects on your liver, it controls you. It can kill you, it makes you more daring. When was the last time you heard about a driver that crashed and killed someone but the driver was stoned? You don't. Because marijuana just makes you want to sit around and watch Ren and Stimpy all day. When was the last time you heard of a drunk driver killing a family? I don't know maybe... a week ago? Marijuana is now basically legal but I believe the alcohol laws should be relooked.

PLN17

Today I read an article that was called "Boulder woman accused of burning child with cigarette" By Vanessa Miller The Camera and it was about a woman he supposedly burned another child with a cigarette; it made me start thinking how this affects the world and its child abuse problem. Child abuse is cruel and needs to be put to a stop. Abuse is emotionally and physically scarring and some can lead to future abuse. Abuse never should be used on anyone. And if this woman was abusing this child, he may lead to future abusing if this was to continue. Child abuse is a serious issue that has long term and short term effects. It must be ended.

PLN16

Today, I read a article on my Google Reader and it was called "Pilot fired after alcohol test seeks reinstatement" by The Associated Press which was about a pilot who appeared to be drinking on the job. This matters to me because I don't know about you, but i don't want a drunk pilot flying my plane!! Alcohol is a intoxicating drug that should not be consumed while operating machinery. Especially, a plane!! This can be brought into the world too. If the pilot was intoxicated as he flew a plane, he could crash and if he was to crash into a city, that would kill the passengers, and many many others. The damage would be very very large too. This article shocked me and what some of the pilots of the US is like. I am glad they tested the pilot and he got fired.

PLN15

I read a story called "Our Googley advice to students: Major in learning" which was put out by a popular search engine, Google. This means that students should realize the best skills to have for your future. One of which, communication skills. This is a need to know skill. Communication can help you with job interviews or jobs that involve a lot of people skills. How do you work on this skill? Drama or theater classes. They help you with getting up in front of people and helping communicate and not coke up. Which with many jobs, you have to talk to others and for some, like the president, you have to get in front of millions and make speeches to people. You must be willing to experiment. Learn from your mistakes. Heard that saying before? If you don't mess up once in a while, how will you ever learn? You need team leadership. You need to be a leader, not a follower. The leader is the one who makes the calls and can be that person to change the world. These are all great skills. And at that, need to know skills.

PLN14

I read an article today called "Rigor Redefined" by Tony Wagner and it was talking about how schools are preparing (or lacking to prepare) us for future jobs and our careers.It matters to me because i need to know what the real world is going to be like. My class, needs to know, and the world needs to be ready for us to take it by the horns and live! This article stated that some of the countries "best" schools were lacking setting up new students and soon citizens to be ready to set foot into the real life. There are going to be new jobs coming out and we must be ready for them but some of these schools are not doing that.I can believe that my school is preparing my for the new world i am soon to walk into. And they give me the encouragement and help to do just that. I can tell that all my class mates also are being prepared for this new world. But these schools have not prepared their other students which needs to be done as soon as possible.

PLN13

After reading this post, "Keyboard vs Pen?" which seemed to be posted by the user, codonnell, I do not agree with what the study and the school board said. I have noticed a major change, for the positive in my writing when I use a computer. For example, I am one of those people who have very poor handwriting, reading what I write with paper and pencil, well, it's a nightmare for most. But obviously with a computer, this is not something to worry about. With that said, there is also the point that typing is much neater also. When you have to erase something you have wrote, what do you have left? A gross black blotch of where the word used to be. When I type, I can also listen to music, which is almost used as a motivator to me. But even more important, it's faster than writing, with typing you can save your document, and when you need to go back for a final draft and you can easily edit and repost or reprint this document you have just typed. With all that said, that is my argument I will put out for what I believe in this article.

PLN12

"Whether we like it or not, social Web technologies are having a huge influence on students who are lucky enough to be connected," as said by Will Richardson in an article he wrote called "Footprints in the Digital Age;" which made me wonder: how does this matter to me? My classmates? Or even the world? But I think this matters to me by the fact that I am one of those people who started early with my digital footprint. Our digital footprint can help us as a class because it can make our lives easier with how we work. Blogger, it's a big part of our digital footprint and we have about 13 or more PLNs on our under our Blogger account. And it makes it all so much easier than. Having to write this up. In the world, we use technology every day which is also I piece of our digital footprint, I use my cell phone everyday, we all use TV’s or radios for whatever reason we have, for many, it's to hear the news. And we need to know what is going on in this crazy world. This article has showed me how dependent some of us are on technology.

PLN11

Today, I viewed a video called "2020 Vision" created by Karl Fisch I think this movie matters to me because this movie explained how the technology will just get better and better over the years and I use technology ALL the time and it has made life SO much easier. This helps our class as well though; I believe that most of us do better having the laptops with us; it's a lot easier to take notes and write if you have the laptop there with you. And if you're like me, you have HORRIBLE handwriting and you cannot read what you wrote a day after you wrote it! This just makes typing everything so much easier. Technology has carried this world on from day one. Now, even the military uses it to locate enemy and target from even over a mile away! I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty impressive. The only thing I worry about is if the day will come, that we are TOO dependent on technology. And it just takes us over. But mainly, this relates to my non-existent brother who is yet to graduate in year 2020. And I want him to have a better and easier life than most of us have at the moment when it comes the time for him to have a lot of weight on his shoulders. I know that all this work can stress me out; and I sure do not want him to get stressed out either! However, I have a huge question that will totally change your perspective on things; why did Google buy Ford? I mean why would they do that? Google has nothing to do with cars. A search engine and CARS does not really fit. I can not see how it would help Google to buy Ford. This video shows that technology will be growing more than ever before in the next 11 years. And we are all trying to prepare for it.

PLN10

Today I read "Solar power plant coming to Brush" put out by The Associated Press. It stood out to me because it has a lot to do with me and my life. It matters to me because in my time period of what I am living in now, the environment is in very bad shape. If we keep going in this direction it will soon become worse. But solar cells, like what is put in a solar power plant, are very helpful with our need for energy. We need a cleaner environment and solar power can bring just that. Solar cells take light energy and turn it into electricity. This process is very helpful for our environment and cuts down with pollution drastically. "The company says the plant will bring 130 jobs, plus 250 construction jobs for the 38,000 square-foot on 46 acres." was said by The Associated Press in this article. This will be a big help for us all. I believe this plant will bring us a lot of good.

PLN9

I saw a video that went by the name of "Did You Know 4.0" by Karl Fisch and it was about technology and how much of a change this world is going through. 95% of the music in this past year was illegally downloaded. Technology is a great thing, but people happen to be using its greatness in a bad way. We have been given this privilege but some people may soon ruin it for the rest of us from now getting restrictions because they have not used this advantage in a good way. We also need to make sure we are prepared for the change that is coming to this new world. The world is changing drastically and some of us may not be prepared. I know of some people that definitely will not be prepared. This world is about to take a big turn to technology and we need to be prepared.

PLN8

We all learn in different ways, but everyone probably uses technology in their learning. I saw a video called "A Vision of Student Today" by Dr. Wesch and it was all about the technology they have and how time consuming it can be. But this also made me connect to the "Did You Know?" video and the other Dr. Wesch video called "The Machines are Using Us" which also is on technology. It shows me how this technolgy is going to have an affect on me. We are being prepared for jobs that don't yet exist with this new technology in use. However, there are many people who do not have the technology we do. And everyone could definitely use it. This is a new time we are living in. And we need to take advantage of it.

PLN7

In "Did You Know? Update 3-28-07" by Karl Fisch, he talked about how in 2046 the average computer will be able to exceed the computing skills of the human race. Technology is growing so fast that it almost seems dangerous. We do not have control over the computer but it may be smarter than the human race. This time of our lives, technology is growing and we are not sure of what may happen with everything. It may almost become dangerous. I know it sounds crazy but if you think about it, it's not. Military personnel are designing a "terminator" for 2023 that is going to replace soldiers. It is considered invincible and it will be able to think for itself. It just doesn't sound safe at all. With our technology rising, we aren't preparing.

PLN6

We all remember the day, maybe some remember it better than others, I'm talking about 9/11. I read a story called "Some Colorado 9/11 events slated" By The Denver Post, and it made me think of the effect that 9/11 had on my life. 9/11 was the day America was attacked. The day America stood still. It was the day America was attacked on out own land. This affects all of our lives because we are now fighting a war in Iraq and Afghanistan. And for many of us, we know someone who may be in Iraq fighting a war and we want them to come home safe. Or, for some of us, like me, you are looking to enlist in a branch of the military and you may be over in Iraq fighting in that war. But you probably want to know why we are there in the first place. And one of those answers is 9/11. 9/11 had an affect on many. Everyone was shocked at the outcome that had come that day. For some, they didn't even realize what happened until about a month after it happened. And it is one of the many things that have motivated me to join the US Army once I am of age. And it may has affected many emotionally if not physically. Many people were hurt in this attack and many have lost friends and family.

PLN5

I read an article called "The New Literacy" by Clive Thompson and it was about how technology is having an affect on our learning. And technology is taking off as we know it. This makes me think about the effect this has on me, and it also made me think of two other videos I’ve seen. They both can point out the good and bad of technology. However, I disagree with some of the things from Clive Thompson... He said "Facebook encourages narcissistic blabbering," and I think he's kind of making Facebook look like a bad thing which I do not believe it is. When I need homework help, I can log onto Facebook and there is probably someone there online to help me get through with the homework! But technology is very helpful too, like Dr Wesh said, every time we tag a picture or type a link, it teaches a computer an idea. Technology has come so far and it is still growing. We even learn from it, and changing things for us, like Thompson said, "technology isn't killing our ability to write, it’s reviving it." We have come so far and I do not believe it will stop here. It will grow, almost grow dangerously.

PLN4

Today I saw a video, it was called "Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us" by Dr Wesch.
Why it matters to me is it is explaining how in my age of time, computers and technology are starting take over everyday things. Even calling Apple to get help of a super easy to fix problem, who answers? A computer. And you can actually talk to this computer. Technology is now becoming so much smarter than we ever thought. This video brought something out to me that really hit me, everything we do with technology, the machine learns from it. It will save everything you have done on the machine in its hard drive. Every machine has a CPU. What is the CPU? Central Processing Unit. What is it usually referred to as? The machines brain. Machines are becoming like humans. They start to learn from their mistakes. This shows that someday machines will soon become so smart that we may not need spaces for ordinary jobs. We'll just have computers doing all the work. And soon, the machines shall take over.

PLN18

What matters to me is my future and my life, which would bring me to what I will be doing in the future. Military, Every country has one. It may not be the safest or most enjoyable job but you have amazing benefits for it. You can now get up to $81,756 for college! And along with that, $65,000 to pay off college loans. Just for signing up for the military you can earn up to $40,000 in bonuses! And that isn't even the start for the benefits you can get now. You can get a housing allowance, clothing, food, cost of living allowance even! That isn't even the start of all the benefits you can qualify for. This can have an effect on me because I'm enlisting in the military once of age. And knowing that they give you this well of benefits, it just gives me all the more reason to join the Army. And it reassures me that I will be set up well for my future. I wouldn't be so sure of joining the army if I didn't know about all the benefits I can qualify for. It has also been a good tool to get others to enlist, when I talk to a lot of people about the Army, they say they're enlisted because they want to go to college but they aren't sure how they would pay for it and the army will pay for education and they get an eye opening adventure along the way. The Army, and its benefits, is a great thing.

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Paul: Paul, who is in the middle, is like my little brother, he isn't truly but me and him treat and introducde eachother as siblings. He lives in Jefferson County but his grandma, who is sick, is my neighbor so he sees her a lot and i see him also. Paul is probably my favorite little kid. =)


Me in the mountains: I love the mountains. I go there as often as a can, it helps me get away from everyday stress or other things that can just get to you after a while.

Funny face of me: I love life. You can tell in basically all the pictures of me. Honestly, I don't think there is one picture of me when I'm not making a face or having fun. I know that life is short, and we need to make it the best.


Me playing guitar: Music. It's the biggest thing of my life. I love it. With any struggles a have had, music has always helped me get through it. I love playing music, I play eletric and acoustic guitar.


US Army: I am one of the few people my age who have their future planned out, my big plan is to join the army. Once I'm 16 and six months, I will start paper work for my job in the army. The army is a big thing for me, I've always wanted it. I'm at the recruiting station probably 3 times a week. My job is going to be 11B, Infantrymen.


My cousin Sara: The girl is my cousin. She lives in california but she is almost the only person I truly consider family. Me and her have always been there for eachother whenever someone has needed the other. We can use eachother just for a vent, to a hug, to a shoulder to cry on. She is one of the strongest people I know.

My father: The man in the bottom middle is my father. He died on Thanksgivng, 2006. It was probably one of the hardest times of my life.

PLN3

I was wondering today, "Why is it so gross looking outside? It looks smokey..." And of course, with my lack of being given information, I had to read up and find out by myself that there has been fires in California and Utah! It made me wonder, why does this matter to me? I think that this matters to me because I have breathing problems as it is, not asthma, but my lungs can just act up sometimes with conditions of air. And I do A LOT of running, almost daily, and that could be almost dangerous for me with how hard a will be breathing with all that smoke hanging around Colorado. If I'm running by myself and I can't breathe, it doesn't exactly sound safe does it? And I'm not the only person with breathing problems either, my brother has exercise caused asthma. And he does cross country, so he runs about 5-7 miles a day. All the smoke has to be hard on his lungs. All this smoke being around is very unhealthy. I hope all this clears up soon and gives us our clean air soon. I want to get back to more enjoyable running!

PLN2

College, it's the gateway to the new life. The real life. When you are finally free to make your own decisions. However, men are not taking advantage of any of that. In the past few years, the amount of males enrolled in college or completing college has plummeted. This can be an issue because it starts to show men may not be carrying their weight as a person. This can be bad for education because the colleges may close because they need money to keep themselves going. If colleges lose enrollment, they lose money. This can also have an effect on the world. How you may ask? Because without college graduates, companies can't get as many people into their job. Because for most jobs you have to have college hours. And if they don't have people for every job they can start to crash. Just look at Leman Brothers, they TANKED. And this can have an effect on me because it can stereotype men as without a college degree. And it could cause colleges to think twice about taking me because I may drop out because we have a higher dropout rate than females.

PLN1 DID YOU KNOW?

I saw a video today, "Did You Know" by Karl Fish, it made me think about what matters with this world and how far it has come with all its technology. I think what matters to me, is this world. We have all come so far with technology that it is just sky rocketing with its help it has done for us. It can do so much. It programs everything for my education. The teachers use it to give me my grades. It helps me do my homework like right now! I am doing this on my computer with the technology we have today. The technology we have today even helps us with our education. I mean right now, I'm at home, on an off hour, doing my homework and I'm taking advantage of the technology my phone has, it has an alarm set to go off at 10:15 and tell me I have to head back to school. It sets up all of our testing. Who grades the majority of our CSAP and MAPS testing? Not people. Computers. Technology is rapidly growing. Soon it will take over the world. Haha, Google will be the first to take over. Technology around the world is just amazing. It has helped us discover so much. Look at how much we now know about space. We know almost everything about our galaxy. We know more about space than we do the bottom of the ocean. Yes, it is kind of sad. But technology has so many uses for us. Now, we are developing a "technoskeleton" as it's called. It will be used in the Military to take weight off the soldiers. It just slides over your ACU (Army Combat Uniform) and holds most the load for the soldier. Instead of it feeling like a soldier is carrying 100 pounds on their back, it feels like ten pounds. Our technology has taken us to a whole new level of warfare. During Operation Shock and Awe, it was almost like missiles flying down your street only 7 feet off the ground hitting a target right where it was supposed to hit. On the exact inch. I'm not saying it's a good thing that it's happening but I'm not saying it's bad. I'm saying it's amazing. This world has come so far. And I'm excited to see how much further it will come. And I don’t believe it will stop here.