LRSE -- Blogmeister

Every second Monday in October we celebrate Columbus Day by going to parades and having parties. There is a question whether or not the United States should celebrate Columbus Day as a holiday. The nation is basically split in half between people both for and against the idea of having Columbus Day as a formal holiday. It is obvious that the arrival of European civilization in the new world should be celebrated. The year is 1492, and we all automatically recognize that as the year that Columbus changed the world, with his discovery to the Europeans of North America. With new territories springing up all over the continent, the superpowers of Europe began a frantic land grab to set in stone who would control the major resources of the new world.
If Columbus hadn't sailed to the Americas, or he turned around halfway, there would have been no more exploration in the area of the east. The natives that he came upon when he landed showed little signs of technological or civilized advancements in a period of about 1000 years. Without the knowledge and technology shared by Columbus and his party, they would still be here untouched by advanced society, living an inferior lifestyle, making sacrifices to their pagan gods.
The Americas had huge untapped reserves of natural resources. The natives had failed to exploit them to their full potential. With giant forests containing big thick trees perfect for shipbuilding, large wells of gold and rare metals, and exotic flora and fauna.
Finally, he started colonization of both North and South America. He spread European culture and way of life throughout the primitive natives. Imagine where they'd be without the intervention of the Europeans, still sacrificing and committing to their pagan gods. Permanent settlement started the American way of life, it led to the formation of great new countries, and the beginning of superpowers.
It is my conclusion that Columbus Day SHOULD be celebrated, for without his landing comes no civilized society. Without his landing, there would be no United States of America, Canada or Mexico, Panama, or any countries in the area. There would only still be the natives almost completely unchanged in the last say, 1000 years or so. Again, they showed little accelerations in technology, medicine, and other fields in which the Europeans excelled in a relatively short amount of time compared to the natives of the new continents.

LRSE's Summer Book List

Tales From a Tin Can, by Michael Keith Olson- Historical Non-Fiction

The Filthy Thirteen, by Jake McNiece- Historical Non-Fiction

Stargate, by Dean Devlin & Roland Emmerich- Science fiction

The Schwa Was Here, by Neil Shusterman- Fiction

The Young Man and the Sea, by Rodman Philbrick- Fiction

Halo: Contact harvest (and whole series), by Joseph Staten- Science Fiction

Stormbreaker: (the Alex Rider Series), by Anthony Horrowitz- Action/ Adventure

The Bridge Laying Tank; Then and Now

Ever since the dawn of mechanized warfare in the early 1900's, there has always been a need to get vehicles across terrain that is just horrible. Then there came the caterpillar track system, which could go through relatively thick amounts of mud and other previously impassable terrain with ease. Still, these systems were complicated, heavy, and get bogged down just too often. This is where the Bridge Laying Tank comes into play. In the rainy last days of WWI, a British Mk. 1 medium tank lugged a wooden scaffolding bridge across the thick mud to allow infantry to cross. This is unofficially the birth of the bridge laying tank.

In WWII when the allies land in Normandy, France as phase 1 of Operation Overlord, the M4 Sherman tanks of the American 3^rd Armored Division need to cross deep trenches and ditches that were dug by the retreating German Infantry. Shermans with crane arms and a steel bridge instead of a standard turret are called to resolve the issue. They lay the temporary bridges to get the rest of the invasion force across.

Now, modified M1A1 Main Battle Tanks are the American way of fixing the century old problem. They like the M4 Shermans of olde sport a removed turret to carry the crane and bridge. In Iraq and Afghanistan, Al Quaida blows bridges and freeways to prevent the armor from rolling in. No problem for the Army Corps of Engineers, them and their Bridge Layers get the convoys moving again.

Last month, April 22 was earth day. We (the students of the 7th grade) did a live webcast about earth day and the changes being done, and that can be done to help save the planet. We talked about landfills which will all have to be taken care of within the next two decades, the Pacific gyre, a stretch of the Pacific Ocean with garbage and pollution circulating through it, and lastly wasted resources, food, and everyday items.

Examples of science fiction movies about humans destroying the planet, depleting the planet's resources, and other misfortunes coming to humanity with enourmously disasterous outcomes are starting to come true. Say like the movie Avatar, (all rights reserved 21st Century Fox entertainment LLC, C 2010), at one point during the film the main character says; " there's nothing green back on Earth" This goes in compliance with the massive amounts of de-forestization going on all around the planet today. This movie was supposed to take place only a little more than a century forom now. (!) Some other movies involve massive invasions and war destroying the world, I really hope they're wrong....

This scan relates to my book, In A Dark Wood. It's absically the story of Robin Hood through the point of view of the sheriff of Nottingham.

The artifacts:

The coins are there because the sheriff is constantly naking money off of high taxes.

The leaves/ green background is there because Robin Hood lives in Sherwood forest.

The two pictures are of Robin's camp at the turstin oak, and a picture of what I think of Nottingham.

Lastly, the jewels are there because Robin Hood steals a variety of expensive things from the rich, and gives them to the poor.

Over the past 20 weeks, we have chosen three stocks to follow and turn into a spreadshet for math. I chose Microsoft, Apple, and Pier 1. So far I have been making about $2400, spending $10,000 on each. Every friday we check the spreadsheets and update them. The image below is my latest update to the spreadsheet:

Every summer, my family rents a lake house in the lakes region of middle New Hampshire. More often than not, during the time we spend at the lake, there will be either a lightning or a rain storm. One year, we rented a good sized house with a sandy beach and a steel dock at the southern tip of lake Winnapasaukee. It was the second day, just about dusk, right before we usually come in for the day, it got dark much faster than usual. At the time, I was paddling out in the middle of the cove the property we rented was located on. I was just turning around, and there was a thunderous BOOM and a streak of pink light flew across the sky. I knew what was happening, and I wasn't too happy about it either: I was about to be caught in the middle of lightning storm while I'm out in the middle of a lake with nothing but a knee-board.(!) At this time, I was about as scared as I could get at the age of 7. The low clouds were moving fast, as if to chase me across the cove back to the house. Another bolt screamed across the sky, and two seconds later, another explosion of sound. Two seconds from flash to boom, that means the storm is only two miles away! I was paddling and kicking as hard as I could, and finally I reached the beach and sprinted inside. Just as I closed the door, a lightning bolt hit either the water where I had just been, or the opposite bank to the cove. I was just thankful to be inside and not back out on the water now.

The term “biathlon” means any sporting event that is split into two parts. This term mostly refers to the biathlon of skiing and shooting in the Olympics. In the biathlon, the equipment for skiing is basically the same as any other downhill skis and poles, except the skis must be at least 4cm shorter than the height of the competitor. The rifle, is much different than most any other firearm out there. The weapon is usually hand made and unique to fit the specifications of each shooter; no two rifles are the same. The only real likenesses of each rifle are the caliber, and the weight. It is a .22 LR type round that is used for the event. The weight of the rifle is usually seven and a half to eight pounds. Everything else is made specifically to fit the shooter's dimensions, like a small person would have a much different rifle than a tall person would.

In the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, there have been many very successful bi-athletic countries. The three most successful countries are: France with 1 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze.(6 total) Norway with 3 gold, and 2 silver, (5 total) and Germany with 2 gold, 1 silver and 2 (5 total) bronze.

The biathlon holds it's roots mainly from the Russo-Finnish War. Russia was the first modern country to employ ski-borne infantry. Though ski-troopers have been around since the time of Christ, it was after this war that the biathlon was considered to become a practiced sport. It took a long time to sink in though, with it's first appearance in the Olympics in Squaw Valley, California in 1960.

The most common biathlon type is the 12 mile Individual. This consists of five laps through a ski course spanning the 12 miles. At the end of each lap, there is a shooting course which must be completed before continuing. There are 20 targets. Each miss results in a 150m penalty lap. At the end of the fifth lap, there is a ski sprint to the finish line. Obviously, the first bi-athlete to cross the line is declared the winner. The Biathlon individual can also be done in 7.5 mile, and 10 mile variations. There is also biathlon pursuit, where two teams start at different times and one has to chase the other down the course.

The biathlon has come to be evolved over the 50 years that it has been an official Olympic event. Between the Individual, and the pursuit, the diversity of both the competitors and the equipment, the biathlon has become widely popular and prestigious. The biathlon has come to produce many great shooters and skiers, and will probably do so for many years to come.

The first sign of outsiders was the steady and repetitive "thud thud thud" of their boots stomping across our land. There were hundreds of them tightly aligned in disciplined squares and ranks, keeping their shape no matter what the terrain. They were the infamous Roman Army, and they have reached our corner of Scotland. The story you are about to read is a ballad of my adventures and travels as a Celtic warrior at the time of the Roman occupation. Our differences were tremendous, them with their organized formations, standard issue equipment, and elaborate barracks. And then there's us, with our rustic lifestyle, individual fighting tactics, and poorly made weapons and gear. Now I understand why many of us decided to ally with them...

They are clearly more advanced and sophisticated than we are. They have mastered the art of organized warfare, whilst we are still using tactics such as, get to the battlefield, and run at the enemy screaming and shouting. Their ranks are swift and powerful, and they all move as if they were one. The front of the formations are impenetrable, 14 foot spears jutting out from a row of perfectly aligned metal shields. They all resemble each other, all the same uniforms with a chest plate,a blood red cloak and a bronze helmet. We are all forced to make our weapons and equipment individually, which makes some of us able to take more abuse than maybe the man next to us who made his gear poorly. They live in elaborate barracks which seem to be more sophisticated and luxurious than the villages we have spent years building, when they only take months to make these elaborate settlements. They have elaborate bathhouses with running water, heat, and artificial lighting. The barrier separating the Roman base and the rest of Scotland is close to 10 feet tall. We have little or no protection from the elements or attack besides our meager structures. Their wardrobe consists of brightly dyed robes and gowns, with shoes of strong leather, and jewelery of gold and gems. We also have gold and gem studded jewelery, theirs is so much more elaborate. Our clothes are basically cloth that has been fitted to us. The few encounters in trade and in battle have yielded much information, but this information also tells us that they are FAR superior to us in every way.

The Romans seem to have the upper hand in battle, and in trade they always seem to have something new to offer. They are tactically, weaponologically, and strategically superior when it comes to warfare. In the field of lifestyle, they have running, heated water, exotic clothes and items, and are more socially sophisticated. We are more agriculturally stable, since we have known the land for generations. Although, I wonder how long it will take them to adapt to the climate here. It is much colder than Rome, and there are different plants and game. They will probably be quick considering they have adapted to everything almost instantly, I fear soon they will have no need for us. Only time will tell, but it is time now to carry on with daily life as a Celt, not a "sophisticated" or "advanced" Roman, for they have every luxury we don't.