Article - New Volvo Brings New Safety Features

I read an article the other day in the newspaper about the new Volvo XC60.

The new Volvo has many new safety features that help prevent crashes and may be leading the way to cars actually communicating with each other to prevent crashes. The car has airbags, rollover and side-impact protection, and an automated braking system. These safety features could make roads a lot safer. A study says that the best safety feature is electronic stability control that can help prevent a car from skidding. In Europe, if all vehicles had this feature, the number of people killed by car accidents would be decreased by 17%. The automated braking systems in some of Germany's cars give a warning when a crash seems imminent and if the driver does not touch the brake, it automatically applies the brake to avoid the crash. In the article, it says that all of these safety features will eventually lead to them being in all cars and cars will be "aware" of their surroundings.

Research Notes

Source #1: Article -- http://find.galegroup.com/ips/retrieve.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28ke%2CNone%2C10%29euthanasia%24&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&sort=DateDescend&searchType=BasicSearchForm&tabID=T003&prodId=IPS&searchId=R3&currentPosition=5&userGroupName=mnkedinahs&docId=A187579002&docType=IAC&contentSet=IAC-Documents

Source#2: Article -- http://find.galegroup.com/ips/retrieve.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28ke%2CNone%2C10%29euthanasia%3AAnd%3ALQE%3D%28AC%2CNone%2C8%29fulltext%24&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&sort=DateDescend&searchType=BasicSearchForm&tabID=T002&prodId=IPS&searchId=R4&currentPosition=13&userGroupName=mnkedinahs&docId=A179031642&docType=IAC&contentSet=IAC-Documents

Source #3: Interview -- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/october99/assisted_suicide4.html

Source #4: Interview -- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/june97/suicide_6-26.html

Pros and Cons Websites: -- http://www.euthanasia.com/proscons.html
http://euthanasia.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=126

Research Sources

Research Question:
Is euthanasia ever an appropriate treatment option?

Pavlat, Eric. "Pulling the Plug." Crisis Magazine Apr 2006: 12-18. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School. 6 Dec 2008 http://www.sirs.com

Eric Pavlat is a convert from pro-choice agnosticism and is a board member for Democrats for Life of Maryland, Inc. In this article, Pavlat discusses the misconceptions of euthanasia and what you should know about the issue. He says that patients often do not have access to pain relief, so hospitals should support patients' rights. Pavlat also explains that many pain problems can be relieved or reduced. He also says that assisted suicide is not comfort care, because in the end the patient is not comfortable, they are dead. Pavlat realizes euthanasia is a very emotional and controversial topic that people have differing views on and says that people should know the whole issue before they do anything about the subject. If a patient requests to die, Pavlat explains that they may be having the same thoughts as someone who isn't terminally ill but is depressed, so regardless of one's physical condition, they still may have thoughts of suicide. Finally, he says that if we have better pain management for patients, euthanasia would not be necessary and no one would need the option.

Stolinsky, David. "Assisted Suicide of the Medical Profession." 20 Mar 2006 6 Dec 2008 .

David Stolinsky is a doctor who writes on political and social issues. He says that killing people is not what doctors are meant to do, they are meant to save lives. Stolinsky explains that an article published in 1920 said that killing was a "healing treatment" for people who were supposedly "unworthy" of life. He also explains that some believe starving and dehydrating people is "peaceful," while sedating people is "barbaric." If killing and healing are put together, he says that a doctor's loyalty goes to the state instead of the patient.

Article - Charter School Shares Minneapolis Space

I read in article on the Star Tribune website a few days ago.

Dunwoody Academy is an independent vocational school that is going to be moving to North Community High School next fall. This will also be the first time a charter school and metro area school share the same building. I thought this was interesting because there are a lot of changes happening in the Minneapolis school district and merging parts of these schools will cut costs for both. Also, the enrollment at Dunwoody is growing while the enrollment at North High is shrinking. There are many changes that need to be done to make the transition for both the schools and district officials are continuing to talk about the plans. They began discussions of this earlier this year and have been hoping to transform North High into a science, technology, engineering, and math focused school.

I think that bringing these schools together will help cut costs and make it easier for both of these schools to function.

Breaking Dawn

Well a lot has happened since the last time I posted. I read New Moon, Eclipse, and I just finished reading Breaking Dawn. I really enjoyed reading Breaking Dawn, even though it is the last book in the series. I thought it summed everything up really well and didn't leave any loose ends at the end of the book.

I guess I will explain some of what happened in these three books.

In New Moon, Bella's birthday doesn't end too well when Jasper tries to attack her, which makes Edward think his family needs to leave Forks. They leave Forks and Bella can't stand it, so she turns to Jacob for support. Her and Jacob get closer and closer while Edward is away, but Bella finds out that Edward thinks she has died and he goes to Italy so the Volturi will kill him. When Edward realizes Bella is still alive, they return home and Edward vows that he will never leave Bella's side again. Bella puts the subject of her mortality and whether or not she should become a vampire to vote with the Cullens, and the majority of them say yes.

In Eclipse, Jacob decides he cannot be around Bella since Edward is back. Edward has also told Bella that he will turn her into a vampire himself if she agrees to marry him. She would love for Edward to do it himself, but she doesn't like the concept of getting married yet. Bella has also found out that Jacob has joined Sam's "gang", which is actually a pack of werewolves. Bella doesn't like Jacob being in that position and tries to make him leave and come back to the real world. Laurent comes back to find Bella so Victoria can come back and kill her, but he finds Bella and nearly kills her himself when Jacob and the other wolves come by. The wolves chase Laurent away and kill him, to Bella's surprise. The Cullens finally realize that they must fight Victoria and kill her, so when she comes looking (with a bunch of newborn vampires) Edward must fight and kill her himself. With the threat of other vampires shifted away from Bella, everyone seems much more comfortable. Bella finally agrees to marry Edward and Alice decides she must plan the wedding. Bella says yes, but under her own supervision.

In Breaking Dawn, Bella and Edward finally get married. While on their honeymoon on Isle Esme, Bella gets pregnant and they must go back home right away, because the baby is not any normal baby, it is half human-half vampire, which takes a big toll on Bella. When Bella nearly dies giving birth, Edward injects as much of his venom as possible into Bella's heart. Bella barely survives and is officially a vampire.

I won't give the ending of that one away, because it is too big. You'll just have to read the books to find out exactly what happens and how everything turns out.

Twilight

Well...I will probably make quite a few people happy with this post. I finished the book just 3 day after starting it. I actually loved it and I couldn't put it down. It was much more than I thought it would be and was a great book.

The last time I posted I had just finished reading about Bella's first day of school and she was on her way home. At that point I hadn't gotten into the book and I hadn't realized what everybody loved about it. After that, I read more and more everyday. I got into the book and it was as if I was going into a different world when I started reading.

Anyways, back to the book.

After Bella's first day, she kept trying to figure out why Edward had been so mean to her and why he wasn't saying anything to her like the rest of the kids at school had. Edward didn't show up at school for a while after that first day. But when he did come back, Bella hadn't been expecting it. The next week she saw him at lunch and continued to get nervous about going to her next class, where she sat next to him.

Eventually, Bella and Edward got more comfortable around each other and they started talking more and more. Bella realized that she felt very comfortable around Edward, but she also felt like there was something he wasn't telling her. When Bella went to La Push, the reservation by Forks, she saw Jacob Black, an old family friend. He told her a bunch of stories about old legends around the reservation, one of them being about the "cold ones". The cold ones were basically vampires and had always been the enemy of the werewolf. Bella started to think about it and realized that that story was describing the Cullens. After a bit, she finally was sure that Edward was a vampire and that she was also in love with him.

As their relationship got deeper, they fell in love with each other and learn more about each other. Edward would keep telling Bella that she should stay away from him and that it would be safer for her. Bella can't stand to think about her life without Edward and keeps telling him that she feels safer than ever with him.

I keep thinking about something like this happening today and I feel like it could happen. Obviously not with vampires or anything, but the concept of forbidden love and somebody feeling so safe with someone else that they can't imagine their life without them.

I really did love this story, mainly because of the forbidden love part of it along with the rest of the plot. I would recommend this book to just about anyone, especially people who love stories like Romeo and Juliet that have forbidden love as a major part of the plot.

So go! Read it!

Twilight

I decided to see what everyone loved so much about Twilight and read it. I only got about 30 pages into it, but it seems like a book that I will like.
I am starting to see what people have liked so much about this book. I have always liked these types of stories so I will probably get into it. So far I have found out that Bella's parents are divorced and her father lives on Forks, Washington, while her and her mother have been living in Phoenix. She goes to live with her father in Forks and starts high school there. She continuously feels like an outsider, until she goes to lunch and sees Edward, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie. As she finds out more about them she realizes they are as much of outsiders as she is.
I only got to the point where Bella is heading home after her first day of school. I will be reading more tomorrow and I'll blog again, soon. I just hope I will like this book as much as other people have so I am not an outsider.

Runner - Post 3

"'I'm dying. I've got to start my life over. Away from your father. You understand why, don't you?' I shook my head no, but I did understand." p.22

This is what Chance's mother says to him the first time he found out his mom and dad are getting divorced. When she says "I'm dying" she doesn't mean it literally, but in the sense that if she doesn't get away from there, she won't be happy and she won't enjoy her life. The fact that Chance says he "shook his head no" but actually understood what she was saying, could mean that he just couldn't accept the fact his parents weren't going to be together anymore. Many kids go through this experience in their lifetime, and they do not want to accept it so they just ignore it. I think this quote really shows that fact.
Another thing the author could be saying is that parents don't think their kids will understand why when they tell them, which is why Chance's mom asks "You understand why, don't you?"

This quote just got my attention for all those reasons and I thought it was something to think about.

Runner - Post 2

I saw this quote on the very first page of the book and it got me thinking about the idea of it.

"I've read about kids who hate their parents for being alcoholics. I've never understood that. It'd be like hating a wounded animal for being wounded, which makes no sense at all." (pg. 3)

I thought about how much sense that statement actually makes. One way to look at it is that once they become an alcoholic, it is just as hard to change your life as it is to quit smoking, because it is a whole life style change. So why would you, or how could you, hate somebody for something that they can't stop doing that is part of their life?
On the other hand, the only reason they are an alcoholic is because they chose to start drinking, and drinking more. There was a way that they could have stopped before it got too bad, but it didn't, and that isn't really anyone's fault but there own.

I think that this is a very good statement and that it makes you realize the truth of it. A wounded animal can't help but be wounded, just like an alcoholic can't hep be an alcoholic.

Runner

I have just started reading Runner by Carl Deuker and am not very far into it, but so far this is what I know.


Characters

Chance - Main character, runner, used to run track, shy kid, coasts through school with passing grades, has a single father, needs a job, lives on a boat, goes to school at Lincoln High.
Chance's dad - He is an alcoholic, lives on his boat, single parent, got kicked out of the army.
Brent Miller - Former school bully, joined the army, used to hang out with Chance by force.
Melissa - Newspaper editor, has strong opinions, goes to school at Lincoln High, wants Chance on the newspaper staff.


I have read some other books by Carl Deuker and I have really enjoyed them. I hope that this book will turn out to be just as good.

Greed - Final Post

I have finished reading the book Greed. This book had me thinking the whole time I was reading it. Thinking about the fact that so many kids have gone through the types of things in this book has put things into perspective. There are many times when I thought my life couldn't get any worse and no one could be feeling worse than I was. Looking back on that, I realize my life really was great, and I could have been in a much worse place. This book can show people, who may just live in their own little world, what is going on in the real world. So many people don't want to think about the fact that there are horrible things happening to people around them. I believe the only reason people usually think this is because nothing this serious has happened to them.


Overall I would give this book to any one of my friends to read. Not just because of the messages in the book, but because it is just a great book anyway.

Greed

I have continued to read Greed by Robin Wasserman over the past few weeks. I have found some interesting quotes throughout the book, but one really got my attention. "Graduation only meant the end of high school, she told herself, not the end of everything." p. 236 I thought that that quote was something that everyone can relate to and take something from. There are many people who think that at the end of high school they will never see their friends again because they are going to different places. They may also think nothing will be the same after they graduate. It is true that it won't be the same, but that does not necessarily have to be a bad thing. I realized this past year when many of my friends left for college that it would be a while until I saw them again, but I also realized that just because they may be across the country, that doesn't mean my life has to end or that it will never be the same. Having the chance to make new friends and still have my friends who were at college has made my life that much better. I believe that if I, or anyone in that position, had stayed in that mind frame, I would not be having the fun I am now and I wouldn't have met some of the people I met.

Pawlenty Pushes New Teaching Rules

Our governor wants to change the way teachers get into their job, their pay, and how they keep up to date skills. In this article on startribune.com, Pawlenty says he wants to have "...summer school programs geared toward eighth-graders whose test results show a need for extra help in math and reading." I think it is a good thing to have special summer school programs for different ages, but not just one grade (8th grade), because if you get them the help they need earlier in their education, they can become a better student earlier. If you target students at a younger age to get help in subjects they are struggling in, they should be able to understand it more in the following years and get a better education during those years. He does not mention anything about new school funding, which is what many teachers are looking at the most. Pawlenty says this would be "unwise" to guarantee the major funding schools are looking for. The chair of the House education committee says that he is avoiding the big picture of school funding. She also says that those are not new ideas on how to change teaching rules. I do not think this is a good idea, because I don't believe it looks at the real issues that teachers are thinking about and what the community is thinking about.

Book Post - Greed

I have been reading the book Greed by Robin Wasserman. I think this book is a good one to read because it has issues that everybody deals with, some more than others. I have really been able to connect with this book and it has helped me to see things differently. It deals with 7 high school students and how they get through life and whatever it throws at them. There is a lot in this book that I have gone through and had to deal with. One thing they have to deal with is a car accident that leaves one friend dead and the other injured. The girl that is injured has trouble understanding why it wasn't her that died and why it had to happen at all. I had to go through a situation almost identical to this last year when some of my good friends were in a car accident last year and one of them did not make it through the next day in the hospital. I think this book would be a good one for anybody to read because anybody can connect to it and see something in it that has happened in their life, too. This book is also part of a series, the Seven Deadly Sins, which I have read the rest of. Greed is the last book in the series and so far it has done a good job of wrapping up everything. Each book has a different situation to deal with and something different to think about.

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