New Dew!

Some of you may already know, but for those who don't, Pepsi/Mountain Dew is doing a new promotion where they launched three new flavors and you get to vote for which you like best! Trust, me, pink is the best! Lol, it's Berry and Ginseng and it really is better than even the original Yellow Mountain Dew. There is a widget on my side panel beneath my "about me" that will take you to their website! It's a pretty neat site, they let you click on each state to see the rankings of all three flavors. And you can vote for your favorite! Also, if you're into it, they have things you can download (like my widget) for your blog or website that promote it! And if you don't like the pink, there's one's for the other two as well! Thought it is was a neat promotion so I wanted to share! I'd definitely recommend trying all three though before they're gone!

Montage of Family and Friends!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Blizzard of the Month!

It's the Cotton Candy Blizzard! the perfect summer treat! It's the best of both worlds, ice cream and cotton candy! :P

"Problem With the Media Today"

Well, the summer quarter has begun and with it are the last two Gen Ed classes that I need! One of them is Advanced Composition. The theme in this class is argument and debate. I'm still pretty choppy in the persuasive writing area though, it's not my best or favorite writing style! lol Hopefully I'll at least still pass.

He gives us a topic or a sentence and then we respond by writing an essay on whether we agree or disagree with the statement, and what we think should be done about it. This week was the Media and the sentence was: Media influences in the United States are largely negative, and for this reason, should be somehow regulated and even censored if necessary. This one was difficult because there are several ways of looking at it. And tons of opinions! As with anything...

If it needs to be censored, well, who's censoring it, the government? Do I really want them telling me what I can and can't watch like the government in China where it reaches to what news stories can be covered and which one's can't? Or since there is freedom of speech, what does it matter what they say, since they're free to say what they want, just turn it off. Or, shouldn't I be responsible for what goes on in my own house? If there are children in the home you can block certain channels and put parental controls on so they're not accessible. You can teach them what to watch and what not to, but what about when you gone? You can lock the TV so that it can't be turned on, but who wants to take such extreme measure in their own home, with their own children? That's basically what the classroom sounded like for about twenty minutes, just ideas and debate flying with the teacher arguing and questioning every point.

"Problems With the Media Today"
by NLT

News shows, talk radio, newspapers, billboards, and the internet - it seems that no matter where you go you are bomb-barded with the media. This means taking in the good and the bad. Every day it seems as though the lines of media appropriateness become increasingly blurred. It seems that commercials and commentary are becoming more and more risqué with each passing week. It has gotten to where a family cannot sit together in the evening and enjoy a "family program" because even if it’s appropriate, the ads certainly aren’t.
What a lot of Americans may not know is that there is an organization dedicated to regulating all communications in or originating in the United States. It’s the Federal Communications Commission or the FCC. Their primary power comes from their ability to renew or decline to renew licenses to broadcasting stations. Prior to the 1980s, the FCC had a number of guidelines meant to keep the public stations as vessels primarily for the public good. This meant that a certain amount of hours each day were devoted to non-entertainment programming only, such as educational or news shows. The problem is that the rules regarding monopolies were much stricter before the ‘80s and as they were loosened, a number of affiliates were bought up by larger companies that reduced programming diversity significantly. This meant that as is true in so many areas, money was the bottom line. Large companies bought the airways and marketing teams started to push the accepted lines, and since the American viewers as a whole did not seem to mind, things were allowed to slide to where they are today.
The good news is that although it seems it would be impossible to revert back to the days when lingerie was not allowed to be paraded across the screen at any time, it is possible to take steps in that direction. This would mean that we first demand that the FCC monitor the airways better and not allow certain shows or ads to be aired during times when children are generally awake. The old rules of family appropriate television between the hours of six and nine in the evening need to be brought back and strictly enforced. Then the issue of how much skin is actually necessary to entice people to buy a product can be addressed. Does it really take two scantily clad women to get someone to buy a new car? If so then the FCC is the wrong agency to help with that problem. Before the airways become any worse we need to stand up for responsible television airing and stop asking, “Why?” and start asking, “How can we fix it?”

Happy Mother's Day 2008!

Just wanted to say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! To all the Moms, moms-to-be, foster moms, and girls who can't wait to be moms! I'm sorry I wasn't near a computer to post this on Sunday but here is a Flash Presentation done by Andie's Isle (some of you may remember it from last year *sheepish grin*) I ablsolutely love it! It's called a "Mother's Day Prayer". It puts all the thoughts and feelings of Mother's Day into perfect words! It's beautiful to watch!

http://www.andiesisle.com/mothersdayprayer.html

Below I also included the link to read the post, "25 Reasons I Owe My Mother" just thought it was fitting!

http://nikkis-bubble.blogspot.com/2007/09/25-reasons-i-owe-my-mother.html

(To my own Mom, I just wanted to say Thank You for everything you do and I love you!)

Amazing Bits from American Courthouses!

These are from a book called "Disorder in the American Courts", and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam? ____________________________________

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: Uh, he's twenty-one.
________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS : ...Your honour, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Now whose death do you suppose terminated it?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Guess.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work. ______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people. Would you like to rephrase that?______________________________________

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 P.M.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him! ____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh....are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________________________

And the best for last:

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law

"My Favorite Things"

Video Montage of the Last Couple Weeks

I made a montage of the photos from my birthday party, last week in Ashtabula, and some of the Erie Lake. I had way to many pics to just post them up like I normally do, so I put them together! And no negative comments because the photos took forever to load, it took an hour to make the video! lol j/k Tomorrow's Monday!!! :P Are you ready? I know I'm not! lol I have a couple short vids on my digital camera that I'm not sure what I'm going to do with yet! lol I may post them individually or put those together to, but either way, there's more to come! lol Enjoy!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

"Lessons for Life"

A friend sent these to me today and I love them! A couple of them I've read before but they're still good! Thought I'd share!

"Lessons for Life"

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Memorize your favorite poem.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or loaf all you want.
4. When you say, "I love you," mean it.
5. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name-calling.
10. Don't judge people by their relatives, or by the life they were born into.
11. Teach yourself to speak slowly but think quickly.
12. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, just smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
13. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
14. Call your mother.
15. Say, "God bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
17. Follow the three Rs:
Respect for self,
Respect for others,
Responsibility for all your actions.
18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
21. Marry a person you love to talk to. As you get older, his/her conversational skills will be even more important.
22. Spend some time alone.
23. Open your arms to change but don't let go of your values.
24. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
25. Read more books. Television is no substitute.
26. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
27. Trust in God but lock your car.
28. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life. Do all you can to create a tranquil, harmonious home.
29. In disagreements, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
30. Don't just listen to what someone is saying. Listen to why they are saying it.
31. Share you knowledge but do it the right way and at the right time.
32. Be gentle with the earth.
33. Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.
34. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
35. Mind your own business.
36. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
37. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. It is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
38. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes for the best.
39. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
40. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
41. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
42. Live with the knowledge that your character is your destiny.

"Pluto"

This paper was done in MLA format and was relatively short for a research paper. It is the last paper for this class! Sources are included. Most of you know that Pluto is a kind of obsession with me lately! If it's one of yours too and you have a few minutes you might enjoy this! Who knows, you may even learn something new.

Pluto

Composition Assigment #7

Abstract: A brief history of the former planet Pluto and explanation of why it is no longer considered one. An examination into the events surrounding the decision to remove it by the International Astronomical Union and the efforts going on to bring it back by those who disagree.

Pluto

Pluto was discovered seventy-six years ago at a time when astronomers believed something was wrong with the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. These two gas giants seemed to not go around the sun as circularly as they should, which meant that another planet had to be out there disrupting their orbits. To find the troublemaker, twenty-four year-old Clyde Tombaugh made a careful survey of the sky from the Lowell Observatory in Arizona. On January 23, 1930, he spotted Pluto, a dim speck moving among the stars. (Phillips) It was quickly hailed as the ninth planet from the Sun. However, something didn’t add up, Pluto was to small to disturb the orbits of mighty Uranus and Neptune, still, it was years later before astronomers realized there was nothing wrong with their orbits. It was all a big mistake, but a lucky one for Tombaugh. Pluto became the First planet to be discovered by an American so, as is imaginable, patriotic feelings ran high in America – which helped to instate Pluto into the Solar System as a planet even faster. (Phillips)

Tombaugh considered many names for the new planet. His favorite, Pluto, was suggested by eleven year-old Venetia Burney of Oxford, England. Although many people believe that the planet was named after Mickey Mouse’s dog, which also debuted in 1930, Venetia denies this, and today it is now accepted that the dog was named after the planet - rather than the other way around. (News)

Pluto has many unique qualities, first of all, it is six times smaller than the Earth, and even smaller than seven of the solar system’s moons: the Moon, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan and Triton. Secondly, Pluto has an odd orbit. While most planets go around the sun in near circles, Pluto’s orbit looks more like that of an egg. It actually crosses inside the orbit of Neptune, making Pluto the 8th planet instead of the 9th. (Phillips) Thirdly, Pluto orbits the sun at 2.9 miles per second, or 10,140 m.p.h., the slowest of all the planets. It takes Pluto 248 years to complete its orbit. (History) However, despite the oddities of its size and orbit, Pluto’s planethood was never seriously questioned until 1992. That’s when astronomers starting finding other things in space. It turns out that Pluto’s neighborhood is cluttered with icy bodies about the size of asteroids. They orbit the Sun in a busy belt, a bit like the asteroid belt, all beyond the orbit of Neptune. Back in 1951, the great astronomer Gerard Kuiper predicted such a belt to explain where certain comets came from, so today it bears his name – the Kuiper Belt. The discovery of the Kuiper Belt, with Pluto inside it, troubled some astronomers. They wondered of Pluto could be considered a planet or just another Kuiper Belt Object. Other astronomers insisted that Pluto was both – a planet and a KBO. (Phillips) So, the debate began.

The real trouble started in 2005 when Caltech astronomer Mike Brown and colleagues found something in the Kuiper Belt even lager than Pluto. Its name is 2003 UB313 or as Brown calls it, Xena. If Pluto is a planet, they reasoned, then Xena, being larger than Pluto, must be a planet as well. That sounds perfectly reasonable, except for one thing; there could be dozens of worlds larger than Pluto hiding in dark recesses of the Kuiper Belt. Are they all planets? Does the Solar System really need dozens of planets? Some astronomers said, “Why not?” The more the merrier. With each new discovery, the Solar System becomes a livelier place, with new planets to chart and study. What better way to rouse the interest of young scientists and explorers? Other astronomers disagreed. They felt that mixing KBOs with real planets would be unscientific and confusing – like mixing apples and oranges. (Phillips)

To answer the question once and for all, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formed a “Planet Definition Committee” consisting of historians, science writers, and professional astronomers. Their job was to craft an official definition of a planet that all astronomers could agree on and use. The committee met, argued and debated, and finally settled on a definition, which they presented to the IAU General Assembly on August 16, 2006. The definition was, “A planet is a celestial body that (a) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equililibrium shape, and (b) is in orbit around a star, and is neither a star nor a satellite of a planet.” (Iau) The translation is this being that if it is round and it orbits the Sun, then it’s a planet. If this simple definition had been accepted, then Pluto would have been a planet, as would Ceres, a gain asteroid the size of Texas, and Xena. The total number of planets in the Solar System would have been twelve. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Xena, and Charon, which is a double planet. However, it was rejected. Astronomers at the General Assembly voted against it. Still, no one wanted to end the meeting without figuring out what a planet was. So the committee continues their debate for another six days. On august 24, 2006, a modified definition was proposed. “A planet is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium shape, and (c) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.” (Iau) What this means is that to be a planet, a world must have enough mass and gravity to gather itself into a ball; it must orbit the sun; and it must reign supreme in its own orbit, having “cleared the neighborhood” of other competing bodies. This definition was approved and, and just as simple, Pluto was no longer a planet. According to the IAU, the Solar System now has eight and only eight planets. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Pluto has not “cleared the neighborhood around its orbit” A planet does this by using gravity to gobble up or fling aside competing bodies. Pluto’s gravity is to weak to clear out its part of the Kuiper Belt. The neighborhood is a mess and thus, Pluto is not a planet. Unfortunately though, the committee failed to accomplish the main goal of why they were formed, to end the debate over Pluto. In contrast now, more than ever, the debate rages on.

Many people, including many astronomers and other scientists, refused to accept the IAU’s decision. Their argument is this - first of all, the IAU’s definition of planet is not entirely self-consistent. Consider the following: Pluto itself crosses the orbit of Neptune, which means that Neptune has failed to clear its own neighborhood. Is Neptune, therefore, not a planet? In fact, taken to extremes, this logic would add up to zero planets, because no planet has completely cleared its own neighborhood of asteroids and other debris. Another point of this side is that astronomers aren’t the only one’s with an interest in this. The word “planet” is thousands of years old. People use the word on a daily basis and know what it means. It’s plain English. On the other hand, the IAU has been around for less than a century. It was founded in 1919 and now, in 2006 has a membership of about 9,000. On a startling note, less than four percent of the IAU’s members actually participated in the vote to demote Pluto. Perhaps a larger and more varied group of people should be allowed to decide. (Phillips)

The subject of Pluto being a planet has reached many people outside of the Astronomic Society and those affiliated with it. A fifth-grade teacher named Pidge Wingert and her students in Albuquerque, New Mexico say, “We think that the decision shouldn’t be left to the public but decided by the scientists who have studied the planets for years. We, as a class, disagree amongst ourselves about Pluto being a planet; we are divided 50-50.” This is an interesting view coming from 5th graders. Dr. Paul Richardson, a family doctor and amateur astronomer puts his feelings a bit more strongly, “The arguments of the IAU are irrefutable. Pluto is a big member of a group of many objects, and should never have been classified as a planet – although the reasons it was are fully understandable within their time. If school kids want a planet to call their own, they should adopt Mercury—much more exciting than sluggish Pluto from which the Sun looks like a bright star.” On the other side of the fence comes Professor Paul Rybski from the University of Wisconsin, “I favor the original IAU two-part definition of planet: roundness and Sun-orbiting.

Yes, it lets in Ceres and probably Pallas as well as Pluto and Xena…it adds new worlds to explore to our Solar System and could substantially inspire young people to study astronomy. Reducing the number of planets in the Solar System would be substantially less inspiring.” (Pluto)So what’s being done? Currently there is a petition set up with a goal of one million votes. This is the easiest and fastest way for people to get involved in this debate. As of now the results for this petition are, 19,521 for Pluto being a planet and 4,489 against Pluto being a planet. (Pluto) These numbers make it obvious that there is a long way to go for those who wish to bring Pluto back as a planet. Pluto has been removed from all new products with the Solar System theme. All planet lunchboxes, t-shirts, toys, and books no longer include Pluto. Still, one has to face the fact that it has been almost two years and the confusion amongst the general public and dismay amongst many astronomers persists. If there is one thing that the controversy over Pluto has taught us, it is that you cannot simply erase 70 years of accepted history from people’s minds.

"The Overachiever and The Underachiever" - Comparison and Contrast

The Overachiever and the Underachiever

by NLT

Composition Assigment #6

An overachiever is someone who consistently exhibits superior results as a reward for putting an excessive amount of effort into a task. On the other hand, the underachiever waits until the very last possible moment to begin work on a project, puts forth a mediocre effort and is rewarded with an average result. The odd similarity of these personality types is that they are both satisfied with the outcome of their effort. They feel as though they have accomplished something grand, when in reality they have only succeeded in proving their own selfishness.
While at first glance the overachiever may appear to be a perfect citizen - always following the rules to a "T", always exhibiting loyalty and reliability, and always one step ahead, at what cost does the label of "overachiever" come? They are always working on something. Nothing is ever good enough and it is doubtful that anything another does will ever match up to them. In fact, mere attempts at success pale in the light of their ever growing list of qualities and activities that they are constantly discussing. Their friends are usually all overachievers as well so that they may routinely sit around and discuss their own attributes. It's like a never-ending game to them. No matter what they accomplish or what level they reach, there will always be that need for something more. Unfortunately, while they are spending their youth searching for that something, they fail to appreciate the little things in life and before they know it their youth is gone, and they have missed out on all the important things.
The underachiever is the type that someone might look at and be tempted to envy. After all, who wouldn't want to go through life without any worries of deadlines or commitments? This is not a matter of reaching one's full potential; this is a matter of a lack of care - a habitual display of complacency. This very thing is what makes them unreliable, unstable, and simply put, "The last one picked for the team". No one wants the underachiever on their team because they know they can't count on them to hold their end. They might have a few long-time friends but most people will become fed up with their immature and frustrating habits. "I might as well do it myself" was probably first said by someone living with an underachiever. They have no desire to help those around them, only to do the bare minimum to get themselves by.
It's fairly simple to find these two types of people everywhere; they're relatively easy to spot. In high school the overachievers can be found at the front of the classroom, correcting the teacher and working on the end-of-the-year paper that isn’t due for three more months while the underachievers can be found in the back - asleep. In college you'll find the overachievers at the library till midnight each night with their study group while the underachievers are out at a tailgating party without even a thought to the paper that's due in the morning. In the office the overachievers are even easier to spot - they're the ones in charge. They're the workaholics, always putting the company first – while the underachievers are nursing headaches from the night before.
So which is worse? What curse is best to live with? Is it a choice? Or are some people just born anal while others are born complacent? What about all those people trapped in the middle? Those who work hard for that consistent “A” average? Frankly, we may need the overachiever and the underachiever, after all whom better to make the normal people look, well, normal?

You can read any essays that you might've missed by clicking the link below that says "composition assigments", I know - I'm so clever with the label names...

Happy Easter!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

I spent mine with tons of family, friends, and food!!! :P It was so nice to see everyone!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Here's a few links for your St. Patty's Day Pleasure!

music and lyrics to classic Irish songs:

http://www.ireland-information.com/irishmusic/irishsongs-music-lyrics-midis.htm

Irish Recipes here!:

http://www.ireland-information.com/irishrecipes/index.htm

A link to print out simple games to teach kids about ireland:

http://www.ireland-information.com/freegames.htm

View you Irish Family Crest here!:

http://www.irishsurnames.com/coatsofarms/gm.htm

St. Patrick's Day coloring pages, screen savers and more:

http://www.ireland-information.com/saintpatricksday.htm

How to Say it in Gaelic!:

(Good luck with the pronunciation!) :P

PHRASE: Beannachtai na Feile Padraig

PRONOUNCED: bann/ockt/tee nih fail/eh pawd/rig

MEANING: Happy Saint Patrick's Day

"Spanking" - A Response Essay

For our midterm we were given a series of essays to choose to respond to. They ranged in topics from teen pregnancy to prejudices to illegal aliens, with titles such as "Honor Society Hypocrisy" and "I Want a Wife". Some were serious while others were funny. I chose to respond to an essay by Betsy Hart about spanking and discipline in today's world.

Spanking

Composition Assignment #5

Spanking continues to be an issue of conflict even after years of debate. It seems as though every week there is a new study being done on the harmful effects of spanking. And while the people doing these studies spend countless hours searching for a link between spanking and juvenile delinquency, they fail to spend time on the positive effects that spanking can produce.

In Betsy Hart's essay, "The Need for Spanking", she makes an excellent point by saying that words need to be backed up by actions. She uses the example of telling her kids that she loves them, but never touching them or showing them affection. This can be applied to discipline as well. How will your children know you're serious is all you ever do is talk? Where is the reinforcement? Granted, there are different punishments for different things. Sometimes all that may be needed is a warning or time-out. Age also must be taken into account; a 12 year-old would benefit more from their game system being taken away than from getting a swat on the rear. Even our court systems operate this way; punishments are chosen according to the offense and the age of the offender.

Hart also explains what a spanking actually is, "A controlled, open-handed swat on the bottom or fatty thigh." Most people after reading a study on spanking come away picturing a crazed parent wildly beating his or her child. When in actuality the majority of parents would never think of doing this to their child. However, if their child was repeatedly disobeying and doing something potentially harmful, it seems perfectly reasonable that these same parents would administer a firm swat on their child's rear to send a clear message to their head.

I remember as a child when I would get a spanking, my parents would tell me, "Now, this hurts me more than it hurts you." And I would thing to myself, "O.K. then, let's switch places." But now that I'm older I understand that it was the truth. No good parent enjoys spanking his child, but it is necessary to prepare them for life outside of the home. And in the end, isn't that a parent's job?

Pics of the Eclipse!

Here are some photos from the eclipse we had about a week and a half ago! lol Sorry they're so late! :P Kept meaning to get 'em here but never got around to it till now! Lots been happening so I'll be writing an update soon...Enjoy the pics! Thought it was pretty neat! Hopefully you were able to see it yourself but if not... :P They start out far away and then get closer with the zoom on very high!!! Had to keep zooming and zooming and zooming! Shows just what a small part of the universe we really are!